Pneumothorax

The whole month of August 2011 is a blurr to me.  Curtis & I went on vacation from July 28th until August 6th.  We went to Utah to visit family & friends in Salt Lake & St. George (see previous posts).  It was hot, but nice to spend time together & see everyone.  When we got home I wasn't feeling good & spend a week at home trying to "recover" from our vacation, I may have gone on oral antibiotics that week, but can’t remember now.  We celebrated our 6th Anniversary on August 12^th.  We didn’t do much since I wasn’t feeling good, but I do remember that we had Corino’s take-out.  Sunday August 14^th was a big day for us….Curtis was released as the Scout Master at church!  The whole 6 yrs we have been married, he has been either the Assistant Scout Master or the Scout Master.  But don’t worry; he is still working in scouting, but this time as the Scout Committee Chairman.  So he still gets to do stuff with the scouts, but doesn’t have to go camping every month or go to the weekly activities.  Honestly this couldn’t have come at a better time.

After coming home from vacation we had decided that maybe it was time for me to go to the hospital again.  The last admission that I had was back in January & February of 2010.  This time though we wanted to get insurance approval to go to St. Luke’s hospital because they are the ones that have the Idaho CF center & are more comfortable caring for CF patients. (our insurance is contracted w/St. Al’s…& staying there is tough since my primary doctors are w/Luke’s).  So I contacted our amazing CF clinic nurse Mary & talked to Perry about it, since they had to be the ones to write a letter to get insurance to pay for it.  I did have CF clinic on Tuesday August 16^th.  They were still waiting for the final ok from insurance, but were 99% sure that we had it.  We decide that it would be easier to go into the hospital the next morning.  Then they could get all the paper work/orders done, we would have insurance approval, & I could pack my bags & bring what I need.     

Anyway, the night before I was suppose to go to the hospital my lung collapsed simply from a regular cough while we were at home.  Curtis & I were sitting on the couch trying to decide what to have for dinner & I started coughing. Nothing new.  After I was done coughing I had a pain on my right side.  Again nothing new, especially since I cough so hard, I often can pull a muscle or throw my back out.  After about 20 seconds Curtis looked over at me & asked if I was ok. By this point I felt like someone was stabbing me in the back by my shoulder blade & felt like someone was sitting on my chest in the front.  I also could not get a deep breath in.  We turned up my O2 & I did an abulterol nebulizer treatment.  At the same time as this Curtis was googling chest pain & the symptoms that I had.  We both realized at the same time w/in 10 min that I probably had a collapsed lung.  Curtis wanted to call the ambulance, but I told him it would be faster if he just drove me to the ER.  When I stood up I about passed out because of all the pain! Curtis gave me a quick priesthood blessing & we were on our way. We went on faith & went to St. Luke’s downtown.

It’s amazing how fast you can get into the ER when you come in & can’t breathe! They took me right back & w/in 20 min of arriving it was determined that I for sure had a complete right lung collapse.  Then they placed a chest tube into me to start removing the air & fluid that had filled up the cavity where my inflated lung should have been.  I honestly don't know how I was able to make it through all of that.  Getting a chest tube placed was soooo painful & such a horrible experience.  (They don’t give you any medicine & they stab you w/a huge needle in-between your ribs & into your chest cavity.  Then they pass a tube through it that stays.  The tube is then hooked up to suction, or a negative pressure vacuum.  This then helps remove the air/fluid from the chest cavity & it expands your lung….yes, it is just as horrible as it sounds, sorry for the details if you have a week stomach).  While I was experiencing all of this, if I thought about it too deeply it scared me to death!  BUT I was able to remain fairly calm during everything & the Lord was there helping me.  I know that I had angels in the room with me!  

This is what my collapsed lung looks like.  The triangular drum in my chest is my port that we use for IVs.  All of the black around the right lung is NOT suppose to be there  Yes, my lungs have a lot of scar tissue in them.  (one of my amazing RTs showed me my xrays & took the picture for me)

About 6 hrs after I got my chest tube place, in the wee hrs of the morning (4 am…) I had an air leak from my chest tube & my soft tissue/skin on my body swelled up.  I thought that my lung was collapsing all over again.  It hurt sooo bad!!! It started in my right chest & shoulder area & spread pretty quickly through the rest of my body, except my legs.  My arm looked like a Poppeye arm after he eats spinach, my cheeks looked like golf balls were in them & I had a double chin.  The air leak that I had is called crepitus.  The medical definition is:  Crepitus: A clinical sign in medicine that is characterized by a peculiar crackling, crinkly, or grating feeling or sound under the skin, around the lungs, or in the joints. Crepitus in soft tissues is often due to gas, most often air, that has penetrated and infiltrated an area where it should not normally be (for example, in the soft tissues beneath the skin). Crepitus in a joint can indicate cartilage wear in the joint space.   When you touched my skin you could feel the “rice crispies” or “bubble wrap popping” under my skin.  It was extremely painful & scary. So, then I had to get a second chest tube placed.  (Thankfully I was given medicine this time & so it wasn’t so traumatic). That first 24 hrs were the scariest that I have ever had! 

 This is the one and only time I will be “fat Sara”

The first couple of days w/two chest tubes & crepitus were horrible.  I was on constant pain medication & could only move enough (with help) to get out of bed, turn & sit to use the bedside commode. I also couldn’t take a shower while I had chest tubes.  Thankfully each day was a little better.  By day 5 or 6 I could get to the bathroom (with help) & use the toilet in private.  While I was hooked up to the chest tubes I was on full suction.  So I had 2 boxes that only had about 12 ft of tubing total for me to be able to move around the room with.  Man, I had so many tubes & cords during that week…O2 tube, 2 chest tubes, IV line, 24 hr heart monitor on (w/5 wires that were stuck to me all the time), my feeding tube at night, & I’m sure there was some other tube/cord that I am missing.  So yes, I only had about 12 ft. of room to move around with.  By day 10 I was starting to really wish that I could take a real shower (instead of a bed bath) & wanted to even just go out & walk the halls.  But I couldn’t be off of suction.  Finally on day 12 they pulled the bottom chest tube out & the doctor FINALLY gave me permission to go out and walk the halls and just be on water seal (meaning no more vacuum suction & being stuck to the wall).  I LOVED being able to go out of my room!!!  On day 13 they pulled out the last chest tube.  I had to stay ibin the hospital a few more days after that before I was released to go home.  By this time I only had one small area of crepitus & I wasn’t needed any more pain medication.  Yay!!!

Boxes that collected all of the fluid that the chest tubes were pulling out from 

my chest cavity & helping to re-inflate my lung.  These were part of the 

tubing/12 ft of  leeway that I had for 12 days

Lungs 1 week after having chest tubes, there was still an area on the top right lung that wasn't completely healed, but you can tell it's MUCH better than before! 

Finally being able to go more than 12 ft & getting out of 

my hospital room for some new scenery!

My hospital stay was full of scary moments but there were so many blessings. During that time I was blessed to have my lungs get better a little bit each day.  I was able to get lots of rest & lots of good therapy for my lungs to heal.  Curtis was also blessed to be able to handle all of this very well.  He was able to keep up with his busy work schedule while also getting to spend time with me each day.  During my whole hospital stay, but especially at the beginning of it, I often thought of my Savior Jesus Christ.  I can’t imagine that the pain that He suffered.  His pain was even MORE than what I was currently experiencing. I still don’t completely understand the Atonement, but I did gain a small glimpse into what Christ has done for us when He took on himself all of our pain (physically/emotionally/spiritually) that we experience.  I have gained a stronger testimony that the Lord really does KNOW who WE are & that HE LOVES US.   All of my needs were met through other people being there when I needed them most...doctors, nurses, & others.  Each day I had small tender mercies from the Lord.  Those tender mercies are what helped me get through all of this.  I'm soooo thankful for them, for the power of prayer & for the knowledge that I have that I am a Child of God & that He loves me & is helping me every step of the way.

July 2011

Our Utah vacation was the last week of July & the first week of August, so that is why it got it's own post.  But there were some other fun things that happened in July that I wanted to document (or show pictures of). After this post, then we'll get to all the exciting medical stuff that has been going on with me, along with the other family happenings that have been going on at the same time.

July 4th weekend we got to meet our little niece Annie Kate Shores.  Heather & Ben decided to have her baby blessing up in Idaho instead of at home in Utah, so that more family could attend the blessing.  It was a fun & busy weekend full of family fun.  The cutest picture of all weekend was this one:  

Snuggling up with Uncle Curtis!!!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!

Another fun even that we went to that has no real significance, but was a blast, was the annual Overland Ward Water Bottle Rocket activity.  We had a BBQ in the park & everyone was invited to make a rocket.  Since Curtis is an engineer, he was SUPER excited about this activity.  I think he spent most of a day designing & building this rocket.  He named it the "Cahoon Duct Tape Express".  It didn't do too bad for it's first & only launch.  The best part of the whole activity was watching the kids & how excited they were.  Right after we were married, this was the 1st family ward activity that we attended, so we look forward to it every year.  And every year it gets better & better. :)

   

 The rocket

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 3, 2, 1....

Another day that I wanted to document was getting to spend a few hours with my friend Brandis & her family.  Brandis & I know each other from our days growing up in Kuna & going to school together.  I ran (well, sort of ran...) cross country with her my senior year.  That is the one & only time I did.  I only completed 1 race that season & did half of another one.  I was slow & I admit, I was mostly there to have more time to spend with my friends. One of my good friends from that time was Tracy, Brandis' younger sister. Tracy was a great example to me & a great friend at a time when I was learning that I could push myself.  Her & I were often the last to finish running at practice & we had many good talks while we were suppose to be running out in the middle of nowhere.  Unfortunately Tracy was in an auto accident & her sweet spirit was called back home.  I have often thought about her since then & have loved the times when I've seen the Edwards family out in the community. Well, after high school & several yrs of not really keeping in touch with anyone....along comes Facebook.....& along comes me connecting up with the Edwards again.  Now Brandis lives in Arizona, so it's nice to have FB, or email, or texting to keep up with her.  (for the record, I did find out this year that Brandis & I are actually the same age....I just happen to have a March b-day & she has one in December, so unfortunately she was a year behind me in school)

At the time that we became "friends" in FB, I had started reading Brandis' blog.  I saw her small family growing & saw pictures & read stories about all of them.  About the time Raya was born, I was trying to make the decision about getting a feeding tube. A few months after Raya was born, she needed a feeding tube.  She started with an NG tube.  Then I got my G tube placed about the time that they were thinking of switching Raya to a G tube.  It was at this time that Brandis & I really connected.  Even though I'm 20+ yrs older than Raya, we were still going through the same thing.  I had the patient perspective & Brandis had the caregiver perspective.  We shared a lot together about things that worked or didn't work etc.  Then as Raya's health problems grew, I started blog-stocking her blog about Raya & her tube.  You can find her story here. Through all of my G tube problems & medical supplies & other stuff relating to tube feeding, I know that at least one person truly understood what I was going through.  I didn't have to try to make anyone understand me bcuz I knew that she got it.   Brandis has a strong testimony & is a wonderful friend & mother.  She is a great example to me & I want to be like her when I grow up. :)  When Brandis came up to visit her family last summer, we set up a time in her busy schedule to meet up. It was fun seeing all of Brandis' family again & also meeting her kids.  They are adorable.  So even though we don't have a lot of pictures of our time together, we did get this one & I love it!

Thank You Brandis & Raya for all that you do for me!!!

Utah Vacation 2011

We had a lot of fun last summer on our vacation.  We decided that we wanted to go and visit Curtis' Grandma Hasfurther.  She is his only living grandparent & she is in her early 90's.  Grandma is fairly healthy, except for having macular degeneration, which has caused her to lose her sight.  The only problem w/visiting Grandma is that she lives in St. George, UT....a 10 hr drive away.  At the time, Curtis' sister & her family lived in Magna, so we went for a visit to see them too, especially since we have a new niece.  So the dates were set....even though it was one of the hottest parts of summer. 

While we were visiting the Shores' family we got the chance to have fun being Aunt & Uncle. Curtis & I babysat the kids so Heather & Ben could go on a much needed date (to the movies).  Yes, we even watched little 2 month old Annie.  All weekend we had fun playing with the kids & visiting with Heather & Ben.  We also went and visited my CF Camp Grandma Carol Wood while we were in the area.  We also went & visited with one of Curtis' college roommates Karl & his family.  We brought the boys along with us on this visit & they had a lot of fun playing with Karl's little girls. :)

Then we made our way down to St. George to visit Grandma Hasfurther.  While we were there we helped her around the house...well it was more Curtis helped & I just sat & watched bcuz the heat just zapped me & we had a few problems w/O2.  Heck, Grandma, who is 93 & is blind & had a broken ankle was running circles around me!  Anyway, while there we took Grandma for rides around the area, shopping, & we visited with some of the other family in the area, some of whom Curtis hadn't seen in over 10 yrs!  We also went to the St. George Temple & did a session w/Grandma.  The St. George Temple is the OLDEST operating LDS Temple, & it was amazing to be there & to feel of the pioneer spirit that is there.  It was a wonderful experience that I will cherish forever!

On the way home we stayed w/the Martin's.  Chelsea had graduated from beauty school a few months before & I had FINALLY consented to let her cut my hair.  I also decided to be brave & let her put highlights in too.  I think it turned out really cute.

Disclaimer: Blogger changed the format of how pictures are put in, so the pictures are posted from last to first of our vacation.

My new do after we were all fiinished 

 Curtis' cousin Nancy & her family 

Grandma took the picture which explains why its not centered. :)

 Grandma & her sister Cleo

 Curtis' cousin Cathy

 Us w/Grandma & her sister Alma

 Carol & I

 My adorable little nephew Matthew!

 Uncle Curtis w/all the kids. 

 Spencer LOVES is little sister Annie

 Old college roommates

 Cute nephews

Isn't she adorable!!!

Going Viral

Apparently I am going viral....or at least my story of living with CF is going viral. I knew at some point this was going to happen for a couple of reasons....1-I'm waiting to get a lung transplant & people want to hear my story & 2-my sister Sam is in charge of the CF Great Strides Walk this year in Boise & she is trying to spread the word to help raise awareness & funds for CF (& she also has A LOT of friends!) Sam sent me an email today with links to 4 different blogs that have mentioned me & also the information about the CF Walk this year. Sam is also directing everyone to my blog so that they can hear my story......So I suppose I should update my story huh....

I am going to try and work on that over the next few days! I promise!!! Honestly the biggest reason it's not updated is because I like to have pictures with what I'm talking about. The last 8 months have been quiet busy for me....5 hospital visits (or about 72 days...if you were counting), family birthdays, holidays, 2 lung collapses, Sam's wedding, going through the process of getting on the lung transplant list...ok, you get the picture. I have some cool pictures from when my lung collapsed the first time (well, not cool having it or dealing with the pain...but if you are interested in how the body works & are a visual person, then you might think it's cool). They have been on my cell phone & just this week learned how to transfer them from my phone to the computer so that I could save them & post them on my blog. I do want to go into some detail about everything that I have been through. It's been a crazy roller coaster for us this past year. It has been hard, but we know that the Lord's hand has been through it all! We have NEVER been alone through all of this! Through all the pain & ups & downs of trying to figure out what we need to do to help me, we have had love & support from our family, friends, doctors, nurses, RT's, hospital staff, strangers, & our Heavenly Father! We have had soooo many tender mercies & miracles & I want to make sure that I document them while I remember them.

Here is a brief update of what's going on with the transplant right now: Curtis & I are attending the Lung Transplant Education class tomorrow (April 19th). We will also be finishing up the last bit of paperwork that we need to do. After that is done we have been told that I will be on the lung transplant list here in Seattle & that I will be high on the list. We do not know when I will get my transplant...it could be w/in a couple of weeks or it could be months. I'm now living in the Seattle area so that when I get the call for my new lungs, I will be there as soon as I can.

So in the meantime....please keep me in your prayers! You can also help by Walking &/or Donating to the 2012 Boise CF Great Strides Walk that will be held on June 2nd. Join my team "Laughter is the Best Medicine" & help raise money (if you can...donations are not required to walk). Go to this link here to help!!!

Thank You!!!! :)

April-June 2011

April-

I've decided that I really shouldn't put off blogging/journaling for a year. I can't seem to remember what happened now. Thank heaven for pictures!!! (well, when I actually remember to take them...) I do remember that April was really busy. When I was looking back at pictures, I saw these pictures from the zoo with Ethan & Aidan. Then I realized that they weren't really from April, they were from one of the last days of March. BUT, I love these two little boys & all the fun that I have w/them, so I can't help but put the pictures up. :) As a side note: I probably should stop calling them my little boys because they are almost bigger than me! (and yes I know that it doesn't take much to be bigger than me)

Ethan next to the Lion King

Aidan "petting" the King

My attempt at getting a picture w/the 3 of us & one of the tigers,

not too bad for being a self-portrait :)

Don't they just look soooo adorable!!!

In April we did have some pretty cool thunderstorms roll through the valley. I love listening & watching the storms here in Idaho. This particular storm brought lots of vivid colors with it & I had to try and capture it on camera. Of course the color never looks as good on the camera as it does with the naked eye, but I still think it turned out pretty good.

Full rainbow

Huge guests of wind came with this storm. One took out half of the neighbor's tree across the street from us. I heard it crash. I was SOOO glad that it wasn't one of our trees. This storm was also very stressful for me. Before it came Samantha decided that she was going to leave and go run 1-3 miles before it started to rain. About 15 min into her run is when it started pouring. I watched it just get worse & worse. Then the thunder started & the huge wind gusts & I saw the tree break. I was beside myself with worry while Sam was gone. She didn't take her phone w/her, I knew approximately what her usual route was, but she also had several different routes that she took. Worst of all, I couldn't leave because the Oxygen guy was suppose to be at my house any minute to fill up my O2 tank, someone had to be there for them & I had to leave w/in a 1/2 hr to go to a dr appt. The storm passed quickly & Sam came walking in 10 min later, soaked to the bone & laughing. She thought it was the coolest thing ever to be running during that storm. I wanted to strangle her because I thought that she was going to be hit by lightning, or knocked out by flying debris from all the wind & that no one would know who she was. I cried the whole way to the Dr office, because of worry for her & also relief & thanked Heavenly Father for protecting her. Next time she had better take her phone! :)

May-

I do remember how busy May was. I jokingly called May, the Jensen month! With the end of the year it always brings lots of school performances for various groups & also graduation. Curtis & I love going to concerts & plays, but don't usually get to go because we either don't know about them or find out about them after it's too late to change our plans. Since we don't have kids of our own, we usually try and ask some of the families/kids that we know about their stuff. More often than not we just end up going to the Jensen's kids stuff (honestly we don't mind!). Last year they were involved in the following activities: Riley in drama & choir, Amanda in drama & debate, and the boys in TaVaci & maybe some other beginning sport. Since last year was Riley's senior year, we tried to go to at least one play & one or two choir performances. I didn't get any pictures of these performances, sorry...but the were a lot of fun to be at. :) The boys also had their Spring TaVaci concert that we attended. This concert is always entertaining!!! (I have a video of one of the songs that they sung, for some reason it posted at the end of this post...not sure why, but it is totally worth watching!) The end of May was also Riley's graduation. So once again we headed off to Kuna High School's graduation. (It's Curtis' favorite school!!!! We've gone to KHS graduation 4 times in the 6 yrs we've been married! Go Kavemen!!!)

I didn't get much out of graduation as I was trying to help keep these two entertained. Aren't we cute!

Jensen family

The new graduate! Isn't she beautiful!!! :)

Don't you love it when boys dress themselves....

Aidan is a heart-breaker w/the hat!!

Ethan's dog Sasha is super cute too!!!

On Memorial day we decided to take a day trip to go see Shoshone Falls over in Twin Falls with Curtis' parents & brother. Since there was a lot of snow the previous winter, the falls were running at one of the highest levels it has in it's history. The irrigation district usually diverts some of the water from the falls to the farmers, so it significantly cuts down the flow rate over the falls. I think we made it over to see the falls just a few days before they started diverting the water. I did manage to get some good pictures, but again these pictures still don't completely capture the beauty of this natural wonder.

Aren't we cute! :)

Chuck, Judie & Tim

I don't have a picture for this but I have to mention it. On May 31st Curtis & I became and Uncle & Aunt to a beautiful little NIECE!!! Her name is Annie Kate Shores & she is adorable!!!! I was SOOO excited when Heather called me an hour after she was born to personally tell me that I could buy PINK!!! Now don't get me wrong, I love my nephews, but they just aren't the same as having a little girl in the family to dress up in cute frilly girly things. So that afternoon I went out shopping to 2 or 3 different stores to my our niece some of her first pink/red/or purple outfits! I Loved it! I do have lots of pictures of Annie that I will post later! We love you Annie Kate!!!

June-

This year June started off with the annual CF Great Strides Walk. This year it was pretty exciting because they made a few changes. First off the new "theme" for the Walk to to "Blow CF Away" and they are using pinwheels. Also the Boise Walk was moved from the Veteran's Memorial Park to Ann Morrison Park, which is a much better location for a big 5k walk to be held. We kept the same team name this year....Team Sister's, and had several new walkers on our team. It was soooo much fun! This year the weather was nice, the scenery was beautiful, and the company fun & amazing! I can't wait until next year!

Sara, Mary, Perry, Sam

Team Sister's

Adolf family

yearly Sister picture! :)

Tim & Chuck's first time at the walk :)

BFF's

My cheerleaders.

Some of them walked/ran the whole thing & then came back to

help me finish the "race" I may have been the last one back, but

I DID FINISH!!!

Sara, Becky, Riley & Amanda

I love you guys!!!

Here is Ethan's TaVaci song that I recorded...I hope it works....

January-March 2011

I never thought that I would get a year behind on my blogging, but I have. Being the type of person that I am, I can't just skip what I've missed & start with what's going on now....I have to go back & write about things. Every time I start journaling I do the same thing...I want to write about what has happened to "catch up" to what is going on now. I'm going to attempt to not be too wordy...(can't promise anything on that one though). I did have lots of pictures that I wanted to share & I'm going to attempt to keep those "under control" too. So we'll see how I do.

January-

I remember at the time that January was really busy. I can't remember everything that went on then, but I do have a few memories about it. Usually the big event in January for my family is Sam's Birthday. This year she spent the whole month celebrating. She was always gone with friends doing something "birthday related". Sam & I did go out to eat together for her 23rd Birthday....Tuconos Brazillian Grill!!! YUMMY!!! She signed up for the birthday club deal, so the month of your birthday you can go in and get a free meal if you have the card. It's totally worth it! The company was great. The food was AMAZING! (Grilled Pineapple is HEAVENLY!)

Happy Birthday!

We also had a family party at our house to celebrate Sam's birthday. We had my immediate family, Grandma & Grandpa Ward, Aunt Leah, Marguerite & Issac & their 1 month old baby girl Danika. Having a cute newborn around the house kinda stole the thunder from Sam, but no one cared. We all got to take turns holding her. Here are the cutest ones that I got:

Won't Curtis make a wonderful Father someday!

Brenda did really well holding Danika by herself. :)

I also had sinus surgery this month. (can't remember if it's #8 or #9...). I was absolutely miserable before surgery. My left ear hurt all the time & the pain was going down my neck. I had constant sinus headaches. Then my left eye was constantly twitching because of all the pressure in my head. Coming out of surgery I could tell an immediate difference! My ear stopped hurting & the annoying twitch went away. I is kinda annoying that I have to have sinus surgery on average every 1 1/2 yrs, but for the relief I get afterwards for about a year is sooo worth it. (My chronic sinusitis comes because of my CF. If my body would stop producing extra thick mucus all the time then I probably wouldn't have as many problems. But I'm not going to complain about it because I know other CF patients who have sinus surgery several times a year),

February-

February started out pretty busy. 1st weekend of the month was the annual Klondike Scout camp out/activity for the district. This is the hardest camp out to get ready for because 1) it's a winter camp out & 2) they are competing against other scout troops in the district & they are graded on their knowledge & preparation, so in other words there is a lot of equipment to bring up. Even though it's cold, the boys always LOVE this activity & look forward to it every year.

Troop 140

We also had a visit from my cousin & his family the first weekend on the month. Their kids are 4, 2, & at the time 1 month old. Caleb & Audra came to be able to go to the temple & also because Marguerite was going to have Grandpa Ward give Danika her name & blessing in church that weekend. My Mom & Brenda came over for a while to help me watch the kids while Caleb & Audra were at the temple. They loved it! We had a lot of fun playing w/the kids that weekend & visiting w/the adults.

I got Jessie to smile! :)

Jewel was sooo tired. This is how we found her

My Mom thoroughly enjoying her time with the kids. She got both of them to sleep!

March-

Of course the big thing in March is always my Birthday. This year was a big one too....the big 3-0! I was very spoiled on my birthday. Several people made it special for me. I woke up to my house completely decorated with Birthday stuff everywhere. Sam stayed up late & cleaned up the kitchen & decorated the house for me. I didn't here her at all & it was a great surprise. :) My friends Robin, Annette, & Jolene took me out to breakfast at JB's. I was then able to go with my Mom & Nicole to the Boise Temple, which was wonderful. I honestly can't think of a better place to be on your birthday than in the Lord's house! After that I was showered with notes on facebook, email, and some phone calls. Curtis came home from work with roses & a gift for me. We then got some take-out and enjoyed a quiet evening at home eating dinner & watching a movie (although I can't remember what movie we watched....). For my birthday I wanted to throw a party with some of our friends, but I didn't want to pay a bunch for it (ie. rent a room at a restaurant or pay for games at Wahooz) & March is a tricky month with the weather. So we set a date, planned on going to the park, & had a plan B for the party at our house in case the weather was bad. Turns out it was raining a bunch that day, so we ended up at our house. It was lots of fun. We got to see several friends that we don't see very often. They also brought their kids, so we go to play with them too. It really wasn't an "exciting" party, but it was perfect for me. Some yummy food, good company, & lots of fun with kids. Maybe next time we should do something in the summer. :)

Here are my pictures for my Big day:

Officially 30!

Beautiful roses!!!

Balloons 1-29. One for each year of my "youth"

Sam thought it was pretty funny.

Kitchen view of the decorations

Another view

Mom & I at the Temple

Nicole & I w/Mom in the window reflection : )

Having fun w/the kids while we enjoy visiting with the adults too.