Happy Birthday to my little friend!

On Friday, it was Ethan's 7th birthday. Many of you remember when I use to nanny two little boys...Ethan & Aidan. I watched Ethan when he was 3 months old until he was about 4 yrs old, since then I have usually watched them a couple times a year and I see them at least every other month. Anyway, Ethan still likes me and he has now started to call me on the phone and talk to me. (I love it!) A week before his birthday, he called me up and invited me to his birthday party and told me all about how much fun it was going to be (because it was a Super hero theme and they were renting a Spiderman jumper...) When I told him that I would for sure be at his party (and reassured him that it was written on the calendar and I would not forget) he let out a big "YES!! I'm so excited, I can't wait for you to come!!" I talked to Becky on the phone after that and she told me that when they asked Ethan who he wanted to invite, the first person that he said was "Sara! can we invite Sara?" It totally made my day!!

Friday was a very busy day for us. My Great Uncle Paul Ward passed away, and his funeral was that morning, so Curtis and I attended that. I had a doctor's appointment after lunch, then helped Curtis get ready for his camp out with the scouts, and then went to Ethan's party. The party was thankfully inside the church bldg (it had been raining late morning and early afternoon) and there were kids everywhere. (I think there were about 17 kids...) I had fun watching them play games and go crazy in the jumper. After cake and ice cream, the kids went home and I stayed to help clean up and also play in the jumper with the boys. Since Curtis was gone camping, I ended up staying in Kuna for a while after the party. I helped Ethan do some science experiments (he's been into learning a lot about science and wanting to do his own experiments, so his parents gave him his first science kit and boy was he excited!). I don't have pictures of the "mad scientist" at work...his Mom took those pics...but it was fun watching him learning and having fun. After that, Becky and I went and got dinner and then went Easter shopping for her family. We were both pretty tired from the long day, but we still managed to have some fun shopping and laughing at each other while we were trying to remember everything that we needed to get. I didn't get home until after 11 pm, (and was EXTREMELY tired) but it was such a good day! Here are some fun pictures from the party:

The Birthday Boy!
Getting instruction on the race game that they were having

I let Ethan take some pictures with our camera.

He took this one himself of us...I think it turned out pretty good!

I got him a sound card...It had Spiderman on it and when you opened the card it said "Happy Birthday Super Hero!" given the theme of the party, I thought it would be great. Here he is listening to the card (his Dad put the card up to the microphone so everyone could hear it)

He thought it was the coolest card ever!

After all the kids left, Becky and I got in the jumper with the boys. It was fun, even though I couldn't walk very well for a few minutes afterwards (I got dizzy inside there...but it was worth it)

A nice picture of Ethan, Aidan and I. I love my little boys!!!!

A visit from my cousin

Last weekend we had a fun visit from my cousin Caleb and his wife Audra and their kids. They live in Northern Idaho (Craigmont) and were coming down to attend the Temple and needed a place to stay and someone to watch the kids. I was excited about their visit because Curtis was camping with the scouts, so this meant that I didn't have to be home alone for the night. On Saturday, Caleb, Audra and I went to the Temple. My Mom and sisters watched Jewel (2 1/2 yrs old) and Gideon (7 months old). I'm so glad that I was able to attend a Temple session with Caleb & Audra. It made me realize that I don't go to the Temple nearly as much as I should. I live about 15 min. away from the Boise Temple and they live about 5-6 hrs away. I'm very grateful for the example they are to me about the importance of Temple attendance.

Just like most trips with Caleb's family down here in the Treasure Valley there were errands to run for his parents. Caleb brought stuff down for Grandma and Grandpa Ward and a few other family friends that live here. They also needed to get some stuff from other friends down here and bring it back with them. Because of this, they ended up staying Saturday night too. It was a lot of fun. Jewel has lots of energy and entertained us a lot. We borrowed some toys from Curtis' parents for Jewel to play with (no kids at our house=no toys either....). Thanks Chuck and Judie for letting us borrow the toys, they were well used!! Parley also made it over to our house to visit with Caleb, so it was fun to see him too. All in all it was a good weekend filled with lots of fun with familly!

Jewel wanted to put my coat on and go outside.

My coat is just as big as her, but she sure looks cute in it!!
Parley and Caleb chatting

Jewel loved Curtis' hats!

Gideon has the cutest smile, but every time I tried to take a picture it went away.

She LOVED playing with the Jack-in-the-box. She figured it out pretty fast and it still usually made her jump. Every once in a while she would stop and give Jack a hug, and then put him back in the box and started the music again.

Gideon loved the slinky....and loved jumping.

It was a great work out for me.

Visiting the Zoo

This week was spring break....not that I got one, but all of those in school had one. I decided that it would be fun to take Brenda, Nicole and Mom to the Boise Zoo. We had planned on going on Wednesday because of my work schedule and Brenda's schedule with the Development Center that she attends. Of course, that had to be the day we had bad weather. The night before I watched the weather report and they said it was suppose to rain. When I got up Wed. morning I looked at the weather channel website and looked at the hour-by-hour forecast, they said that until noon there was a 5% chance of rain and around 2:00 pm on was higher than 50% chance of showers. So we decided to still go. Of course once we got into the Zoo, it started to rain and it didn't stop until late afternoon (don't worry, we brought our umbrellas). Oh well, we still had fun. There weren't a lot of people there (probably because of the weather) and we did get to see most of the animals.

Below are lots of pictures that we took at the Zoo. The newest animals at the Boise Zoo are the lions and giraffes. When we first went to see them they were inside their shelters because of the rain. We got to see the giraffes through the window but couldn't get a good picture. Despite the poor weather, we still were able to get some good pictures. Here are just a few....Enjoy!

Giraffes

I got this picture about a month ago when I took my client to the Zoo.
Snow Leopard.
He is not out a lot because he is easily agitated. This cat likes to run back and forth in front of the big windows and jump up on the walls. When this happens the Zoo keepers put him in his den to calm him down. He was pacing when we walked up, but he left for a few minutes and came back. Since we were patient, we got to get a good picture of him when he's calm.

One of the Tigers. A beautiful big cat!

The giant tortoise.

When ever I'm at the Zoo, this animal never moves! However, we watched him for a few minutes and sure enough he started moving around. I love this picture, it's like he's sticking his tongue out at us and saying "Yes, I do move....slowly!"

Spider Monkey

This Monkey is in the Rain forest exhibit. We stayed inside this exhibit for a while because it was nice and warm in there. The Spider Monkey's were very active and were having fun showing off for us. Brenda sat in front of the window and put her hand on it, this monkey came up a few times and put his hand where hers was....too bad he moved when ever I tried to get a picture...

Penguins swimming...very fun to watch!

These penguins were taking turns sitting on the eggs. The Zoo has quite a few penguins, but only a few were swimming, the rest had babysitting duty.

Lions

After we walked through the whole Zoo, we decided to go back and try to see the lions. We were in luck. They were under a covering by the windows, by the African school building. (The windows are at a 90 degree angel). No zooming needed for this picture!

Brenda and the Lion King! I love the look on his face here...

Me and the lion.

Brenda decided that I needed a picture with him too. As you can see, his head is 3-4 TIMES as big as mine. He could have probably swallowed me whole. This is the closest I will ever be to this King. (and the safest too...)

Right before he swiped at Brenda.

I decided to go to the other window to look at him & the female lions. Brenda put her hat back on and tapped on the window. He didn't like that and tried to hit her (but only got below the window instead). She jumped a little, but wasn't too scared. I laughed...probably shouldn't have, but it was kinda funny, especially to see just how big his teeth and mouth really are!

Front page of the paper for the 2nd time...

Yep, it's happened again. I'm in the paper and it was on the front page of the Idaho Statesman. This time it was about the Idaho Legislature wanting to completely get rid of the Adult CF program that pays up to $18,000 a year per Adult CF Patient. This year's story was printed on St. Patrick's day. The story 4 yrs ago was about the Idaho Legislature wanting to increase the funding for the program from around $2,500 yr per adult patient to $18,000 yr per adult patient (which did pass!). This story was printed on Valentine's day. Both stories talked about the struggles that I go through each day living with CF and features a picture of me using the Vest on the main front page of the paper. I really wish that I wasn't on the main front page, but I guess it's good because people definitely notice it!

here's the link for the story this week:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/700568.html

Being interviewed by the reporter is kinda intimidating. The reporters are usually nice and friendly, but they are writing down everything that you say! I didn't think about it too much while I was talking to them, but afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about the questions that they asked and if I answered them "correctly" or not. Did they understand what I said or did they interpret it differently? However, after it's all said and done I did what needed to be done. I told them truthfully about my life and how I felt about them trying to get rid of the program. I answered the questions and in the end they are the ones that write it and I have no control over that. I helped to put a real face to the issue at hand and I hope that helps. I know several other adult CF patients in the valley (besides my sisters) and they could have interviewed any of us and it would have had the same effect. Of course the thing that I don't like the most about all of this is the attention on me. I hate only being known as "the person with CF". But, CF is a part of who I am and I wouldn't change my life.

I'm getting use to all of the "Hey, I saw you in the paper!" and I just smile and say "yep". Yesterday I also heard a few times "I've never known anyone in the paper before and especially someone on the front page". Hmm...so what about a person who's made it on the front page twice in 4 yrs? Does that give me celebrity status? J/K So, on Facebook I was commenting back and forth with a few friends about the article. Dixie (CF research coordinator & RT) was also quoted in the paper. She mentioned that she was sad that one of her quotes didn't make it in the article. She said "they didn't use my usual quote of thick sticky mucus. It just rolls off the tongue!" Yes, gross....but true & VERY funny! You have to find humor in the not so fun things in life. :o)

Last thing, I encourage EVERYONE to write to their State representatives about any of the issues that you feel are important. If you live in Idaho, Please write to them and let them know of the importance of this program to the many Idaho Adult CF patients who rely on this program to help them get the medications and medical care that they need. We have the freedom and choice to vote for those who represent us in the government and to let them know how we feel about the issues. They have the responsibility to listen to our concerns!!!!

My 28th Birthday!

Last week was my birthday! I love my birthday....not because I'm vain, but because it means that I have lived another year. After I was born and diagnosed with CF, my parents were told that I wouldn't live to see my 16th birthday. Ok, I'm not sure of the age that they gave, but I know that I wasn't suppose to live a long life. I have outlived what the doctors thought over 20 yrs ago. I have lived to see my High School graduation. I've lived long enough to get married. I've lived long enough to make it through college and graduate with my bachelor's degree. So every year I get excited about my birthday because I have lived another year longer than doctors expected me to so many years ago. On the side note: I also love my birthday because while it is technically still in winter, it means that Spring is just around the corner and Springtime is one of my favorite times of the year. I love watching everything come back to life, seeing the flowers bloom, listening to the birds, and having the temperature outside just right.

Anyway, last Sunday we celebrated with my family. We had prime rib roast that was soooo yummy! For dessert I made an angel food cake (from a box....gotta love just adding water, mix and cook!) and we topped the cake with strawberries and cool whip. Mmmm, mmm good!!! (It reminded me of my birthdays when I was younger. Grandma Ward always made, from scratch, an angel food cake. She taught me how to make it and I've made a few of them myself....I just need to practice again.) Anyway, below are some pictures from my family get-together. I got my wish this day as well.....I blew all 28 candles out in one breath!!! (not so easy sometimes with lungs like mine).

My birthday (Tuesday) was a pretty good day. I watched the hail storm that we had and listened to the thunder. (Not my ideal weather for my birthday but the sun did come out and shine afterwards so it was ok). I got lots of birthday wishes from friends and family. I didn't have to work (yahoo!) and I ate lots of chocolate and cookies. Curtis didn't buy my present until after work, but he made up for it by making dinner for me. I wanted fettuccine alfredo and decided to make it easy for Curtis. So I bought the noodles and a jar of alfredo sauce and some french bread. Curtis was really good and cooked everything (including grilling some chicken to have with our meal too). It drove me crazy...I was so hungry and wanted to help cook dinner so that it would be done sooner, and Curtis wouldn't let me. He wouldn't even let me turn on the stove to start boiling the water for the noodles. However, dinner did get done and tasted really good, so I can't complain. And, it was made with lots of love! I love you Curtis!!!!

Doesn't this look so good!!A cute picture of Brenda and I

Aren't they cute!

This is a cute picture, except for the goofball in the background....

I got all 28 candles out in one breath!!!!

I love Curtis!!!

Curtis' Beating....oh wait, Curtis' Beading

Clear back in September 2007 Curtis attended a Wood Badge training. I know that you are asking, what is Wood Badge? Wood Badge is Scouting's premier training course. Baden-Powell (the Father of Scouting) designed it so that Scouters could learn, in as practical a way possible, the skills and methods of Scouting. Curtis went up for 3 days on 2 different weekends and participated in this training. At the end of the training he had to come up with 5 different goals that he would do to help him to apply the things that he learned. These goals were known as his ticket. Curtis had 18 months after the training to complete his ticket, then he would receive a certificate, a small neckerchief, a leather slide, and two small wooden beads on a leather thong. Those who have been to Wood Badge call the presentation of their certificate as their Beading Ceremony (well at least all of those in his patrol did...). Leave it to Curtis to cut it close...he had until the end of March to finish, and he finished with about 5 weeks to go. There were 5 other people in his patrol and 4 of them finished before he did.

What were some of Curtis' goals? They were to: 1) Exercise 3-4 times a week for 6 months 2) Make sure that all of the boys in his troop were trained in their positions 3) Teach the scout committee about the troop mtg plan and the patrol method 4) Attend mtgs of 10 different units (besides his own) including Venture, Varsity, Cub Scout and other Boy Scout troops to learn more about scouting and how they run the program (6 of these had to be non-LDS troops) and 5) Create a knot board that had all of the knots and lashings needed to pass for 1st class, and collect other troop resources.

After finally finishing all of these, Curtis was awarded his beads. He had the option of receiving them at the monthly Round Table mtg that the district puts on, or at some other scouting event. Curtis decided that it would be fun to receive his award at a Court of Honor that our Ward did this past week. Curtis' troop guide, Jim, came to the Court of Honor to recognize him in his achievements. Jim dressed up as Baden-Powell and told the story of how scouting was started and why he created the Wood Badge training. All of the boys there loved it...Baden-Powell gave some history: he was born in 1857, the scouting program started in England in 1907 and started in the US in 1910. Before he had Curtis come to the front, he called the Wood Badge Court of Honor to order by putting an ax into a log that was in the front of the room (this was the part that the boys really liked). Anyway, after the history lesson, Bonnie (who was also in Curtis' patrol at Wood Badge) helped to present Curtis his neckerchief, leather slide, and two small wooden beads on a leather thong. Then Jim presented him with his certificate.

Curtis was pretty excited about accomplishing his ticket. He did not receive his Eagle Scout award, but feels like he is an Eagle Scout now because he was in the Eagle patrol up at Wood Badge and he successfully completed his ticket. Way to go Curtis!!

Jim (aka Baden-Powell)
Bonnie finally able to get the beads around Curtis' head
(the string was tied a little too small, so we later re-adjusted it)

Getting his certificate!

Making blankets with Brenda

This year I decided that I would help Brenda work on her Young Women goals so that she could get her Young Womanhood Recognition award before she turns 18. (I can't believe that my baby sister is 17 and will be 18 in just over 8 months!) As many of you that know her, you know that this is no small project, as Brenda has a severe cognitive disability (it's like dealing with a 6 yr old all the time). Every Saturday Brenda comes over to our house while Dad is sleeping and Mom and Nicole are at work and we work on her YW goals. So far I think that we have been able to finish about 12 goals, finished one 10 hr project and are in the process of working on another one. Most of her goals/projects we are adapting to her needs, so this can be a little difficult because I've had to be a little creative. Brenda and I have been reading scriptures together for most of her goals. I've been very impressed that she can read most of them by herself and that she will read them out loud to me. (I have never really been able to get her to read to me until now(she reads at about a 2nd or 3rd grade level)....I'm excited about this and very touched. Brenda has a sweet spirit and a strong simple testimony). One of the project ideas listed in the book was to make something for your future home. I realized that Brenda could still do this....we could make a blanket for her. Now I know your thinking, Sara sew and get Brenda to help...yeah right! Don't worry, this blanket required no sewing at all. We made a no sew fleece blanket, so all we would have to do is cut and tie the fabric and ta-da, a brand new warm blanket!

I talked to Judie (Curtis' Mom) to find out where the best place was to buy fleece. Judie had an ad for Hancock's fabric that had fleece fabric up to 50% off-so we went there to look at colors. I told Brenda that she could pick black & gold (for Kuna), blue & orange (BSU) or some other colors if the didn't have those colors. I was surprised that she picked black & gold because she is always wanting more BSU stuff...but since she is in High School, it's cool to have Kuna stuff. Because of the sale, we were able to buy enough fabric to make 2 blankets. Brenda decided that she wanted one of the blankets for herself and the other one for Nicole. The first blanket was definitely an adventure. There was more black fleece than gold (they varied in the width...which I didn't know until after we bought it. Now I know to check the labels to see what the width of the fabrics) So we cut it to be the same size, the best we could...(it was a little off, but oh well). Then we cut a 4 inch square out in each corner and marked where we needed to cut the strips. After cutting 1 inch strips all the way around the blanket, we started tying every other strip. When that was done, we flipped the blanket over and finished tying the rest (this was suppose to help the blanket not ball up...). Brenda had a hard time getting these strips tied, so I ended up tying the knot and she would pull them tight. The blanket ended up balling up in the corners, but still looked good. She was sooooo excited to take this one home and put it on her bed! She was also really excited to show her YW leaders what she had done. Here are some pictures:

Cutting the strips

working together to tie the blanket

The finished product!

The second blanket I had Judie help me cut evenly so that both the black & gold fleece was the same size. I also decided to cut the strips into 1/2 inch strips to see if it was any easier for Brenda to tie. This time Brenda was able to tie 98% of the strips on her own and the only thing I had to do was keep reminding her to pay attention to what she was doing. It took us 2 different Saturdays to tie this one, but it looked really good when we finished.

the 2nd blanket

Brenda holding both of them. I think they turned out really good!!!

All in all this was a fun project to work on with Brenda. She was so excited to work on it and kept saying over and over how much she couldn't wait till she could give Nicole her warm blanket and show everyone what she had made. It was pretty cute. I was also very impressed that she was able to concentrate for so long on a project. Next project with Brenda: I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking about what she could realistically do. But one thing is for sure, it should be fun! I love you Brenda!!!

Our Valentine's Day

Yes, I know Valentine's Day was a week ago...I'm trying to catch up on all of the different things that I wanted to blog about. However, better late then never!

Valentine's Day is kinda fun for us because two days before is our 1/2 yr anniversary date. So we have now officially been married for 3 1/2 yrs as of Feb. 12th. Even though this is an important date for us, we don't usually do a whole lot, I think it's because my birthday is just over 2 weeks after that and Curtis feels that my birthday is special and should be celebrated more (I have no complaints...).

This year we both actually thought ahead and planned something for each other. Curtis made me "breakfast in bed". He got up early and made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, bacon, toast, and orange juice. I didn't get up until he was done cooking. He was going to bring my breakfast to me in bed, but I decided it would be easier to just eat at the table. I loved breakfast because 1-I didn't have to cook it and 2-Curtis made it all by himself. (He does know how to cook, but it doesn't happen very often. When he does cook, I usually end up helping him and telling him how to do some part of it. So I was very impressed that he did it all w/out my help.) I knew that Curtis had called the day before and ordered something but had no idea what it would be. While I was doing my morning smoke (aka treatments) he left to go and pick it up. I was surprised when he came back with roses. (I can still count on one hand the number of times that he has bought flowers for me....however the next time I'll have to start using two hands, unless I count w/sign language-hee,hee,hee) When Curtis came in the house he had gone straight into the bedroom and then came out looking sad. Apparently he had also bought a teddy bear to go with the flowers and realized when he got home that it was the same bear that he had bought for me last time. He told me all of this before I got to see the bear, so I went in the bedroom to look. Sure enough, the bear that he had just bought was the twin to the last bear that he got for me...but with slight differences in the color of the fur. Usually when Curtis buys flowers for me he goes to Flowerama. (The owners of the store (Courtright's) were in my ward in High School and she was one of my Young Women Leaders. They are also the ones that did the flowers for our wedding.) Anyway, they had teddy bears and other cute things that you could buy and so that is how he ended up buying the twin bear. He knew that I would like it and remembered why when he got home.

Aren't they beautiful! A week later they are still alive!

I decided to take Curtis to the BSU men's basketball game that was on Valentine's day. Several months ago we were considering getting the pick 6 plan, but we never got around to picking 6 home games that would work for our schedule so we never did it. I had remembered that one of the games was going to be on Valentines day(BSU vs Utah State), so I thought we should go. (Curtis hasn't been to a bball game all year and really misses it. Of course he likes the football games slightly more, and I prefer the basketball games...it all goes back to my balance & dizziness problems over a year ago). I tried my best to surprise him with going to the game. I kept telling him that I had plans for us on Valentine's night so he was not to plan anything. For a while I had him going that we were going to get away to a hotel for the night just for some much needed time together with no family around. (My sister lives with us, it's great to have her here, but you never know when she's going to have friends over...). A few days before, he had asked if we were going to the game, but I didn't ever give a yes/no answer. On Friday after Curtis got home from work he said that he couldn't take it any more....he wanted to know what we were doing and how he needed to plan his day. I tried to make him wait, but I couldn't stand the begging anymore....so I gave him the card and tickets. You should have the look on his face when he realized that we were going to the game, he was like a kid in a candy store.

We went out to dinner at Carino's and for the first time in several months, I ate just as much as Curtis did. Then off to the game we went. It was lots of fun. We sat in the student section (it's nice to still have a family member still going to BSU, thanks Sam!) During the first half we were wondering if BSU would ever get ahead, then right before half-time they got a 3 point basket and went ahead for the first time all game. The second half was great! BSU at one point was ahead 12 points. The game ended 66 BSU 56 Utah St. The best thing about the game was that we killed Utah State's 19 game winning streak (the longest in the nation). Go Broncos!!! Here are some pictures from the game that were on the Bronco Athletics website.

notice the finger caught in the net...

Our computer is FINALLY fixed!

Our computer has been having some problems over the last 6-8 months. It wouldn't start up about every 10th time that we turned it on and then it would take about 5 or 6 tries before it would start up (there were a few other things as well, but this was the main problem). It wasn't a virus problem, it was an HP problem that they have had with some of their laptop computers. They had sent out a recall on computer but since it wasn't a major issue we just never got around to getting it fixed. Of course we kept having deadlines that we needed the computer for and felt that we couldn't be with out a computer for 2 weeks or more, so we just did what we could to live with the inconvenience of the problem. About a week and a half ago the computer finally gave in and stopped working. We couldn't get it to turn on and nothing would show on the screen. Curtis spent an hour or more talking to the HP support person (0n 2 different days) and they finally decided to send us a box to get the problem fixed. Last week the box showed up on Tuesday, we shipped the computer back on Wednesday and by Friday afternoon our computer was back in a box and on it's way back to us. We got it back last night and were SOOO EXCITED to find that it was our original computer and that the problems were fixed! Yahoo!!!! (We were worried because we had been told that they would end up sending us back a computer that was the same notebook series but not our original computer. We also thought that it would take 2-4 weeks to get it fixed.) I'm sooooo glad that it only took a week to get the computer fixed. It's amazing how much you rely on using the computer until it is not readily available to you the second you need to use it. On the other hand, it was really nice to not have it around because we were able to spend more time with each other talking and doing other things instead of wasting time on the computer (that wasn't work or calling related). Man, what would the world be like if we didn't have computers? I almost can't imagine it anymore.

Sara's Job

I now have a job! Can you believe it? I have been meaning to write about this for a while now but the last month has been pretty busy since I started working and I haven't had the time I wanted to do this. I know that some of you know that I'm working and all of the details about it, but I'll share all of the who, what, where, when and why for everyone else who I don't get to talk with as often as I would like.
A year ago I was in school and was sort-of thinking about working. Curtis and I were in the Temple on Valentines Day last year and we saw Jim Grigg and his wife in the cafeteria. Jim is a distant relative of mine (I think that my great-grandma and his grandpa were brother and sister) and had been in my parents ward in Kuna at one time or another. He asked me what degree I was going to be graduating with and was very excited when I told him Social Work. Jim is the owner of Kuna Counseling Center and is a individual and family Counselor. He told me that whenever I wanted to start working that I should give him a call and he would have a job for me. So I tucked that info away and didn't think about it for a while.
After having some much needed time off from school I was encouraged (in August) to get a job from my counselor at Vocational Rehabilitation. They helped pay for most of my schooling and in return I was suppose to find a job and keep it for at least three months. By doing this they would be able to call my case a success and be able to get more funds from the government to in turn help someone else with a disability to find employment as well. I didn't want to work at first and was very overwhelmed by this, mostly for health reasons. After looking and talking with Curtis, I finally decided that I should just call up Jim and ask him if he still had a job for me. When I made the phone call I was pretty much hired on the spot w/out to many questions. I went in the next day to talk to Jim about becoming a PsychoSocial Rehabilitation Worker (PSRW). (Basically one-on-one with someone who has a mental illness who needs help learning social skills and how to manage their illness....a lot like working with my sister Brenda) We discovered that since I had my Social Work degree I had to be licensed in order to work as a PSRW. So that started the long process of me taking my licensure exam....about 3 months or so from filling out the paper work to take the exam to getting the paper in the mail that said I was an official Licensed Social Worker (LSW).
I kept in touch with Jim over the last 6 months and in January was finally feeling well enough to start working. I called him on a Friday and at the time he didn't have a position opened for me (mostly because all of the clients that needed a PSRW had one), but he would put me on the top of his list to call when something came up. I thought it would be a month or so before something came up but NO.....the very next Monday (Sam's birthday, Jan 19) he called and said that one of his workers left to go somewhere else and work and that he had a position opened for me with as many hours as I wanted. I went on Jan. 21 to fill out paper work and attend the weekly training meetings of the other PSRW's and have been busy working since then. It all happened really fast for me, but I've been very blessed to get this job when I did. Jim knows all about my health problems (Samantha use to nanny his 5 or 6 kids and worked in the office at one time too) and was completely ok with me setting the amount of hours that I wanted to work. Being a PSRW I basically work when ever I want....my client is allowed 4 hrs a week and we can work together anytime as long as it fits in with my schedule and theirs. Most of the PSRWs have at least 3 or more clients, but Jim is completely fine with me having only 1 client (I may try to pick up another one in a month or so....we'll see). Even though I only get paid for 4 hrs w/my client and for my hour of supervision/training each week, I am working a little more than that. I don't get paid to do all my paperwork or finding resources to use with my client. So right now I'm probably putting in around 8-10 hrs a week with all of that factored in too. Yes, it is very part time, but it is perfect for me! (of course all the time I spend taking care of myself is basically like having a full time job!)
A little about my client: I'm working with a 9 yr old girl who lives in Nampa. She has ADD/ADHD and is all boy (aka very much a tomboy at heart). She is VERY smart and pretty fun to be around. Right now we spend a lot of time playing games like Operation and Mancala and talking a lot. I'm suppose to teach her how to respect adults, understand her ADD/ADHD and learn coping skills during times when she is stressed. On paper it sounds kinda hard, but I'm learning that it really isn't too bad, it's a lot of common sense skills that I'm teaching her that come naturally to most people. Right now my biggest challenge is learning to ask the right questions or learning to understand what questions I have that I need to get answered, but it's slowly coming with time. I really like my job and the adventure that it is bringing into my life.

This is so funny!!

As many of you know, I use this thing called The Vest to help with airway clearance everyday. I use this thing for 30 min. at a time at least twice a day (or more if I'm sick). One of my favorite things to do is have family and friends try this on just so they can see what it is like. It's absolutely hilarious!!! It's so fun to turn the Vest on full blast and then watch their reactions. I also love it when they try to sing a song with it on. (One time Shasta put in on when I was in the hospital and then proceeded to read us a story about the 3 Little Pigs, complete with different voices....We all laughed for a good 30+ minutes and almost wet our pants because it was so funny!!!) Since Sam lives with us, many of her friends have been over and tried it on. This video was taken at Christmas time when they were all here for dinner & games. I tell you, watching this is like doing a breathing treatment. I laugh and cough so much....I love it! I hope the video works (sorry that it's sideways, I don't know how to change that) and that you enjoy a good laugh today. :o)

Happy 21st Birthday Sam!!!

I've been meaning to post this all week, but we took pictures on Sam's camera instead of ours, so I had to wait until they were downloaded. (It's so nice now that Sam has her own camera to take pictures with!!) Monday Jan. 19th was Samantha's birthday. On Sunday the family come over and we celebrated, Parley even brought his dog Molly over-which totally made Sam happy! We had a yummy dinner of spiral glazed ham, potatoes, baked broccoli & peppers, and french bread w/melted butter and Parmesan cheese...all of her favorites. Mom, Sam, Nicole and Brenda all enjoyed playing with Molly (who was surprisingly well behaved, at Parley's place she jumps everywhere and barks a lot, but there are also 2 other dogs there. When she was by herself she listened and hardly barked. I loved it!) I enjoyed watching Sam open presents, mostly because we wrapped hers several times and used duct tape (I know that will come back to us on our birthdays, but it was soooo worth it!) We gave her the book "Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants" because she is a Gospel Doctrine teacher in her ward and she said it's a lot harder to teach than the Book of Mormon was. The whole time we were lighting the candles Brenda was taking deep breaths and blowing them out while her hand was over her mouth. Brenda absolutely LOVES to blow out the candles and she knows that she can't blow them out unless its her birthday. We used to cover her mouth, but now she does it herself. (it's really funny) Anyway, right when Sam went to blow out her candles Parley put his hand right in front of her face and in the process it blew out most of the candles....so she only got to blow out about 3 or 4. (Don't worry, she got to blow them all out on her cake that her friends made on her birthday). Hope everyone enjoys the pictures below...yes, mostly of Sam, but hey, it was her birthday so we gave into her vanity....next birthday in the family...Sara's!!! :o)

opening her gift from us :o)

Parley's dog Molly

Isn't she cute!!

She finally made it through all layers of paper & tape!!

Lighting all 21 candles

Enjoying the attention of us singing to her

Because of Parley she only got to blow out a few candles

Christmas 2008

It's been a while since I've posted anything. So, what have we been up to? Lot's of things! Curtis had the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's off, so we were able to spend lots of time together doing things. The week of Christmas we spent a lot of time driving around in the snow to finish our shopping, going to my doctor appointments, and running other errands. I was especially grateful that Curtis was home so that he could drive in the snow and not me. (Thank you honey!!!) Christmas Eve we drove around a few of the subdivisions by us and looked at the Christmas lights. Then Sam and I made a gingerbread house. It was pretty fun! We first made a replica of the Temple...we both thought that it looked pretty good (there is a picture below). Since we had a ton of candy we then turned it into a log cabin sort of building. We probably ate more candy then ended up on the house and we sure felt it afterwards. The best part of our house was the structure, it was very sold and there was no way it was going to collapse unless someone dropped a book on it or something. When we threw it away, Curtis finally saw it and was VERY impressed that we came up with it ourselves. I now can't wait until next year to see what we come up with....

Christmas day was fun and very busy. My Dad came over right after he got off work that morning (he works nights and gets off around 6:45 am) My family was all at our house by 7:15 am. We made breakfast and then opened presents. They didn't stay past 9, so that Dad could go home and get some sleep. After a few quiet hours we then traveled to Nampa to have "lunch" with my Grandma & Grandpa Ward and other extended family. We stayed for a few hours, came home long enough for me to take my IV medicine, and then we went to Boise to spend the evening with Curtis' family. There we opened more presents, ate dinner, talked to other family members on the phone, and played some games. I think we got home around 9:30 pm and boy was I tired. I very much enjoyed the day with family, which made it all worth it!!!

Other things we did: Went to New Plymouth (in between snow storms) to visit my Grandma Myers. Went to Mountain home to visit my best friend Shasta & her husband, took Grandma & Grandpa Ward out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (That was fun because they had never been there & Grandpa LOVED the food!!!). We cleaned the carpets in the dinning room & living room (this took about 4 days to do because we moved furniture around, but we got it done!!!). I spend some time with my friend Jackie Hayes before she moved down to southern Utah. (she is a friend that I met when I did my internship in the disability office at BSU. Our favorite thing to do together....laugh!!!) We played games and went to bed early on New Year's eve, mostly because we were both pretty tired from all of our running around. Curtis and I also sang a duet at the Stake Baptism last Saturday. All in all, it was a great two weeks. Even though it was really busy, I was extremely excited about spending all of that time with Curtis. It was time that we BOTH needed together. Now that the new year is here, its back to work and still being as busy as ever. Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Our Temple

the finished product

top view...very cool with the "snow" on top

Curtis was VERY excited about his new backpack for camping!!!

Jackie & I

Grandma Myers & I

A fun & goofy picture of us on Christmas day