Such a big miracle, in such a little girl....

Wow, Two posts in one week! I think that's a record, but Brooklyn has given us many reasons to smile the past couple days. And to be honest like any almost 3 year olds, many reasons to not smile, but I won't get into that! So a few days ago my grandpa came over and was asking where Brooklyn's walker was. I told him that she doesn't use it to walk with every day yet, just during therapy or when I'm practicing with her. Well Brooklyn heard heard the word 'walker' and she turned to me and said, "mamma, I wanna walk" Well I was too lazy to go downstairs to get her walker so I said " you want to walk? are you sure?" The reason for my hesitation is because it usually takes a small army for that little girl to take a few steps. When her therapist comes it takes both of us to get her to walk. One of us pushing her legs forward, and supporting her hips, and someone helping Brooklyn push the walker, etc. So I figured if she really wanted it I would get it. So I brought it up and stood her up to it, and next thing I knew Brooklyn took about 7-8 solid steps across the room before I could even do anything about it!

Later that night when Jonny got home I told him the story and figured it was a one time thing, but we got out the video camera and stood her up and she walked the whole length of our family room before flopping down and said, "Dada. this kinda hard!" I am sure there will many more posts like this where I will say, no today she really walked. But this was the first of many firsts I guess! We have always hoped that this day would come, but we never knew what Brooklyn's abilities would be. We are constantly in awe of her strength. And so grateful for answered prayers.

On a smaller note but just as important......Brooklyn has been going poopy on the potty! This is something that we hoped she would be able to do when she was much older, but many adults with spina bifida, simply don't have the control, so it may never happen. I know we have a long road, but now I know it is possible. I just hoped that we could have her going on her own by the time she was in school so she wouldn't have to feel self-conscious about diapers, but hopefully by her progress and understanding (and feeling!) we can be done with diapers much sooner! It is amazing that she can even tell me when she has to go. Yay for small miracles!!!

Giving Thanks

We had such a fun Thanksgiving I'm sad it's over. For only the second time since being married, my whole family got together, so we took a trip to St. George. The car ride was a breeze since we have a DVD player and we let my mom and dad tag along in the car to entertain their favorite grandchild. Only it wasn't that far down the road that I heard my mom and dad argue with Brooklyn over what movie they should watch. Yes, mom. Brooklyn would love to watch Holes instead of Twelve Dancing Princesses!
We actually made it to Vegas for a day and I finally got to see Mamma Mia! It was good, but I honestly liked the movie so much that I think I compared the two a little too much. I totally owe my Aunt Christy for driving Brooklyn from Vegas to St. George while she screamed "I no yike this car!" so we could go to the play.
I also learned that I will never leave Brooklyn and go on another trip again because the repercussions from her just aren't worth it. All week long she thought we were leaving her and was a monster to anyone who wanted to.....forbid......hold her. When I went to the bathroom without notifying her first, she would be sobbing by the time I got out because she thought I left her again.
All in all it was so much fun and so worth the drive to be with my family. I wish we could have been two places at once, because this Thanksgiving especially, I know Jonny really wanted to be with his family too. We are very spoiled and have too many blessings to count.

Only Five Years???

So Jonny and I celebrated our five year annniversary this past week. Yep, I said week. All week long! We both can't believe that it has been ONLY five years. We laugh when we say that because we don't know if that's good or bad that it feels like longer, but it's hard to remember much before us being together. So in celebration we went on a cruise! It was alot of fun......but not what I expected either. Here is a list of the good and not so good things that we took away from our trip

Good:

First and foremost..... the food! SO much and so good!

We got to be together without distractions or two year old interruptions

Gettin' dressed up. That hasn't happened in years :)

Staying out past 10:00.

Brooklyn had more fun with us being gone.

Bad:

No two year old to interrupt us! Yes. someone got a little homesick.

I got sea sick

Mexico is not all the glamorous and made me sad to see little two year olds begging on the streets :(

I got sea sick

I'm not sure anyone spoke English on the ship but us.

Catalina Island

Jonny striking a pose in Beautiful Mexico

Yes, don't I look great? This would be the day I was a wee bit sea sick.

That's an understatement. I wanted to die.

I think we were talking when this picture was taken, but it is the only one where I am wearing make-up so I thought I'd add it :)

Caught Red Handed!

These two little girls are lucky they are so cute! Brooklyn and her little friend Brielle came across some toll paint in our basement and apparently played patty-cake in it. I wish I took a picture of our carpet. Actually this happened a week ago, and I probably still could!

Back in Business!

I know all of you are breathing a sigh of relief as you realize I can finally put pictures on my blog again! No I didn't find my cord but I searched my relatives house and found one that fit my camera. So sorry for the picture overload but here are the much anticipated pictures from our Halloween Party.....


Going Trick or Treating!
This is me and Brooklyn off to our ward trunk or treat. I had the great idea to be cheap this year and dress up from things we already had at home. So Brooklyn was a Michigan cheerleader, and I guess I sort-of am too. I found an old cheerleading sweater that matched the same colors as Brooklyns outfit.

The night of our Halloween party Brooklyn acted sick until all the people showed up so this is how she looked! She is a pretty mean cop though don't ya think?

SO I asked Jonny to quickly paint her face, then I would do her hair. Well this is what I found. I freaked a little considering we had about five minutes before we had to leave, but it washed off pretty easily.

Keri and Danny sweatin' to the oldies in style!!! I love it.

Jonny never found his Michigan jersey so he decided to be a crazy Raiders fan. He keeps telling me this is how they look. Whatever.

My mom and dad, dorky as always. We joked that my mom looked like a stripper. We kept saying, so you gonna go get your boom box and get this party started or what? Her gloves actually said "hottie police" on them. And she calls herself the Bishops wife......


With 17 kids in my basement I wondered why I even bothered to clean up before the party!

Happy Halloween......A Week Late!

I realize it has been forever since my last post and many have given up on me, so that is why I am glad that a holiday actually arrived so I COULD have something interesting to blog about! OR something not so interesting because I lost the cord to my camera so I can't post any of the adorable pictures of Brooklyn as none other than a Michigan Cheerleader, or of the crazy annual Halloween party we get suckered into hosting every year! We did have a blast and were glad that all our friends that we invited were able to make it.

This Halloween was extra fun because Brooklyn actually got the concept. Instead of saying 'Trick of Treat' though she would say ' I want tandy'! She did get a little freaked out though after the third house because we pushed her up to all the doors in her stroller, which put her pretty low to the ground, only to have almost every door that opened up to us also had a dog that would come running out to greet our daughter is ironically terrified of anything with fur. So we called it quits a little early but it was still a blast. I'm sure I'll find the cord to my camera around June so I'll post the pictures then!

Family Pictures

It's pretty sad when the best family picture that I have to choose from is the one posted at the top of my blog! Somewhere between our last family picture and now, Brooklyn has completely forgotten how to smile. Holly did a wonderful job, and I'm still surprised that any of them turned out based on how they started out. We took these pictures in Island park and I managed to forget about half of what I needed. I forgot Brooklyn's curling iron, hence her flat hair. I also forgot her headband, and her shoes (what does she ever need shoes for??!!?). I was pretty annoyed before the pictures were taken, so really it is a surprise that I don't have a smile more like Brooklyn's in all the pictures too!! Here are some of my favorites, and some of my not so favorites......... I'm sure you will be able to tell the difference!

News You Never Want to Hear

Saying that things around our house have been pretty tough lately is an understatement. Jonny's oldest brother Jason who is 33 had been having some pretty scary problems with his eyes starting about six months ago. Though he went to a number of doctors and had a number of tests run, the doctors found nothing to be concerned about. The family continued to worry though because his symptoms continued to get more and more frequent. So last week Jason went to the hospital for a follow up appointment for another MRI. Unfortunately this MRI proved that Jason's anxieties were not un- founded because it found a cancerous brain tumor. He had surgery to remove the tumor on Thursday which went really well. Unfortunately the doctors also discovered that the tumor was a Primary tumor, meaning it originated in the brain which makes this type of cancer so much more serious. The doctor who has been working with Jason told him that this type of cancer gives its patients 1-4 years to live. Though those of you who know the amazing people the Fishers are know that they are going to fight hard, and pray even harder.
I
can't describe the devastation this family has felt the last week, but along with that has come at times a great calmness to Jason, his wife Heather, and many members of the family who have been touched by the spirit as they have prayed and been part in giving priesthood blessings to Jason. Anyone who knows Jonny and his two brothers knows that there was never three brothers who were more different, yet so alike. They laugh at the same dumb jokes, they are obsessed with Michigan football, and when Jonny hangs out with them for too long he talks just like them! I guess as the younger brother he still wants to be just like them :)

I don't anticipate updating the ups and downs that will no doubt be ever present during this process. I will let Jason and Heather share what they feel they want to share through this difficult time. Jonny did set up a blog for Jason and Heather to keep family and friends informed but I'm not sure they have begun to use it yet. I will add them on my blog as a link and when (if) they begin using it.

Family Reunion

We just returned from yet another successful family reunion at the Fisher family cabin in Island Park. I would have to say that I probably get more excited about these reunions than Jonny does, and it's his family! Brooklyn had so much fun just crawling around in the dirt and playing in the sand with what seemed like the hundreds of children that were there. We had a blast and enjoyed being with everyone again.I only took pictures on one day and it was the day that there was a carnival for the kids with face painting, a fish pond, cookie decorating, and a pinata. Here are a couple of pictures of Brooklyn at the Carnival.


Here she is showing off her beautiful face painting done by Aunt Heather. She really did love it. She got a fish on one side of her face and a flower on the other.

This was Brooklyn trying to crack open the pinata. Or at least trying to hit it!



Here are some random pictures that I took a while ago of Brooklyn standing. I've wanted to post them for a while so here they are! Isn't she such a big girl? We take the couch cushion off and it's just about the right hight for her to stand. She loves to stand up and down like this while sitting on the couch and watching her favorite movie Elmo.

I Hate Tags!

I have put off doing my tag for a while now, but since I got the same tag twice, I suppose I will play along. I am sure you are on the edge of your seats dying to know eight MORE things about me! Here goes.....

Rules:1. Each player starts with 8 random habits/facts about themselves.2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their blog about their eight things and post these rules.3. At the end of the post you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.

1. I am a very sleepy person. Jonny says I am a three year old trapped in an adult body. I rarely go a day without a nap and if I do I'm not happy about it. When camping, visiting family or friends, you can bet I'm the first one to call it a night.

2. I get sooooo car sick I don't even like going to Wal-Mart if I'm not driving. Reading in a car is out of the question along with turning around to give Brooklyn a sippy, or to pick up a toy she dropped. Those things alone can make me queasy for the next twenty minutes! Unfortunately for Jonny, on vacation he loves to drive all over the place sightseeing and exploring. My upset stomach puts an end to that fun real quick.

3.I love cereal. I eat it for Breakfast, lunch, and as a side with dinner. Though I love sweets, I don't like sweet cereal.

4. I Have yet to find "my thing". I have played most sports and still end up hiding in the back or sitting on the bench. I've attempted to sew countless blankets and skirts, but I end up swearing during most of it and it ends up crooked or un-usable. I have scrapbooked, made dozens of bows, and will hide both of these is anyone asks to look at them. I hate school and pass by the skin of my teeth. I've taken piano for years and can barely stumble through a song.(wow, I'm gonna need some help with my self-esteem when this is done!) Lucky for me though, I'm an under-achiever and like mentioned above, I'm much too sleepy to care!

5. I'm a neat freak. The only thing I don't underachieve at is keeping my house clean. I can't go to bed with a messy kitchen and I vacuum even it's clean just because I like the lines it makes in the carpet. I may be rubbing off on Brooklyn because she freaks if she makes a mess on the floor or her hands are messy or sticky.

6. It's no surprise, but I love staying home with my little girl. Though there are times I get a little bored and things get mundane, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I spend half the day thinking, "who gets to do this?" Especially when I get to nap with her, rock her, read her books, buy hamburgers and chicken nuggets and have picnic with just me and her at the park. It's awesome.

7. I still have the same best friends that I met in the 7th grade. Now who can say that! We still love to get together with all our husbands (those of us that are married) and it feels like old times. Too much like old times because our poor husbands can't get a word in and we laugh non-stop.

8. I'm too sleepy to think up an eight one. Any of my good buddies want to think up one for me?

I tag whoever wants to do it. I'm not even sure I have eight people to tag!

Hip Hip--Hippo Therapy!

It's a dumb name I know but Hippo therapy is a real thing and we have finally got our scaredy cat of a daughter to try it. You can Google Hippo therapy and find out tons on it, but I'll give you the shortened version of our new found hobby/therapy. Hippo therapy is basically riding a horse. "They" claim that horses walk very similar to humans, so if you put a child on a horse (there are all sorts of ways you have to do it), but if the child has mobility or strength issues, riding the horse will do wonders for them and actually give them the feeling that they are walking and strengthen all sorts of muscles. They also use this therapy for children with emotional or mental problems and it is supposed to calm them and help them in numerous other ways mentally and socially. Pretty cool right?

I'm kinda mad at myself though because all winter long I waited for it to be nice so we could start this therapy but stupid me forgot all about it earlier this summer because of all the other crazy stuff going on in our lives, and also Brooklyn is afraid of her goldfish (I'm serious), so what chance did we have of getting her on a horse? Well after weeks of trying, this past week she finally rode my parents good ol' horse Flicka (aka Ficka), several times in fact. She even got so relaxed that she sang and laughed while we rode. Now I hope the weather stays nice enough a little longer for us to keep up our daily horse rides and that I hope we will see these miracle benefits that should come from this therapy. Here are a couple pictures of our horsey rides.

If it wasn't for my mom's friend Gwen who goes dilegently every morning with her 18 year old son who is autistic, I wouldn't go either! Gwen chases down Flicka, gets her all harnessed, and then makes about 15 laps around the pasture by the time she takes her son and Me and Brooklyn. This is rare smile from Brooklyn while riding the horse!

Since we always go horse riding first thing in the morning, this was the first time Jonny got to experience the "joy" it is to ride around the pasture with our calm daughter!
For Family Home Evening we all decided to roast hot dogs and smores and ride the horses. I grew up with these horses and can probably count the times I have ridden them. I'm glad this therapy has benefited everyone being able to get together, and we actually remember that we have horses now!

Brooklyn puttin' on a brave face, but really wanting to scream her head off. She's pretty good if you make is seem like she's not on a horse at all. Having her sandwiched between four cousins really helps! I just love the fat little tummy poking out of her shirt. She had eaten about four smores by this point.

Normal At Last......

well as normal as things are around our house! For once I haven't had a list of things to post which in my eyes is a good thing. Things have definitely slowed down finally and we have been really enjoying the last half of summer. Brooklyn and I have fallen into a routine of going on a bike ride, then to the park for free lunch, then taking naps (including me), and usually followed by swimming at someones house and playing with cousins. Don't you love summer?

I dare say that I have never seen Brooklyn so happy. Don't get me wrong, the 'terrible twos' is a title that she rightfully deserves by the growing number of tantrums that just started surfacing a couple times a day! But never have I seen her able to explore and entertain herself. She has finally reached a level of independence that is a miracle to me. Somehow over night she has become my little helper and quite the jabber jaws. I laugh at her every day! I guess this all came as a surprise because I was sure that once she got those casts off it would take time for her to get strength in her legs back, but the opposite happened. She gained so much muscle from lugging those things around that she crawls better than ever and even stands (with her walker) occasionally. We videoed her standing for the first time which I'll try to post soon.
With weeks as fun as these it makes me wonder what we'll do to entertain ourselves come winter!

THE 4th, THE CASTS, THE SURGERY.........A VERY BUSY WEEK!

Before I start with my latest complaint (I seem to have a lot lately!), I will start by saying how dang cute Brooklyn was on the 4th. We felt like being crazy and headed to the fairgrounds for the fireworks. Those of you that don't know, Brooklyn has ALWAYS been terrified of a noise louder than a sneeze. Actually those used to terrify her too! When she was little I couldn't put away groceries around her because the sound of the bags made her hysterical. Clapping, vacuuming, doorbells, knocking, and laughing terrified her and she would sob uncontrollably. So to say the least, it was a huge step for us to attempt to sit directly below the fireworks. After the first firework went off her little fingers flew into her ears for the remainder of the show, but she loved it. She would take her hands off when she would get really excited to clap once then put them right back in her ears. It was so cute. And it's only taken us 2 "short" years to be able to take her somewhere with noise!

So she finally got those heavy casts taken off on Monday. I seriously couldn't sleep the night before because I was so excited. Brooklyn has loved it too and crawls faster than ever now just cause she finally can for the first time in almost 5 weeks! We made it a good day and went swimming with her cousins. Her legs are pretty beat up though from being in the casts and her toes drug out of them the majority of the time so we are constantly keeping a dozen bandaids on her legs and feet.....again. She also has developed a terrible rash on her legs since they have been taken off so I wonder if she touched something with latex, which she is allergic to.

Her eye surgery is on Thursday and I'm not very happy about it. The doctors are loosening her eye muscles because occassionaly her eyes are pulled the wrong direction ( I happen to find it very cute!!!). The good news is that they may loosen the muscles too much so her eyes will fly the other way so we will do surgery AGAIN to fix it. Cool huh? What's even cooler is after her surgery we can't get her eyes wet for another three weeks. How's that for timing??? When they told me that in the doctors office I seriously almost cried. Only three days after getting her casts off, water is once again forbidden. I'm a little frustrated and I have been throwing quite the pity party lately so if anyone would like to join me let me know!

Happy Birthday To Me!

For my Birthday(July 2) Jonny did a very un-Jonny like thing and planned a last minute trip to Jackson for just the two of us. The key word there is planned, because usually we drive around lost tyring to find hotels in the middle of the night wherever we go and spend the rest of the time trying to buy tickets to a place that is usually sold out. But not this time! It was so much fun! I called my mom Tuesday morning and asked her if she could watch her favorite grandchild for a couple days and of course she agreed. That is the beauty of living by my parents and Jonny's parents. We always have a babysitter! So we packed rather quickly and headed up to Jackson. Here is a quick re-cap of our little vacation.

* On Tuesday night we went to the Bar-J wranglers show. It was alot of fun, but it could have been a little funner had we not gotten there so late and had to sit in the very back crammed in with some people who did not smell so good. Let's just say I didn't eat much of my dinner while sitting elbow to elbow with those people!

* On Wednesday, my Birthday, we decided to take a hike first thing in the morning up to a beautiful lake. It only ended up being about four miles and was quite enjoyable not having to pack a two year old along! I would just like to point out that Jonny has been complaining since about being sore. I guess I am just in better shape than him :) That same day we also played mini-golf which I beat him by three points, while also getting the only hole-in-one of the whole game. Then we raced a couple of times down the Alpine slides. Jonny did beat me at that both times, but I figured he was feeling a little inferior at that point anyway! Then we had my Birthday dinner at our favorite and of course cheap restaurant Bubba's. Jonny somehow convinced the waitress and half the staff to come over and sing me happy birthday. I was quite embarrassed, but I got a free Banana Cream pie out of the deal so I forgave him rather quickly!
* Today we intended to go to the Temple on the way home but the Idaho Falls Temple was closed and we didn't want to drive all the way to Rexburg. We were also missing our little girl quite a bit so we rushed home to kiss her cute face! We didn't take many pictures but here are a few from our hike.


It took us about ten times before we actually got a picture of us and the lake in the same picture. It started getting a little funny how difficult it was!

Five More Days!!!

We are so excited that it is almost time for Brooklyns Casts to finally come off! They are so big and heavy that my back has been hurting from lugging her and her cement shoes around for the last four weeks and we have several scratches in our wood floor and we seem to be able to find exactly where she has been crawling by the chips left in our trim all around the house. Character marks right? Despite the headache they have been, the time has gone by rather quickly and we have still been able to enjoy some fun by the pool and Brooklyn hardly goes a day without hanging out with at least one of her many cousins that she adores! Here is a couple pictures of the fun Brookie has had the last couple weeks.....

Lots of kids have to put garbage sacks on their
legs when they swim........don't they? Brookie
didn't seem to mind as long as she had a Popsicle!

Jonny and I decided to take a leisurely walk with Brooklyn

on Sunday and this is who we ended up with. If you look close you

can see Brooklyn's legs propped up by the steering

wheel so her legs don't drag while we push her. Good thing

she is flexible!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

For those of you that are daily bloggers and occassionaly check any of the people's blogs on my friends' list, I'm sure that you have probably heard all you can about our trip to Vegas that we got home from about a week ago, but how often do four bestfriends get to leave their kids and husbands home to go on vacation together? Well in five years since we have all been married, it has NEVER happened, hence our excitement.

So the four of us loaded up my friend Jessica's Honda and took off to Vegas. Actually everyone had it pretty easy since Jess and I had at least another three hours added to our trip since we started in Pocatello, but none the less the drive was fun. What? no screaming kids? No one yanking the daylights out of their carseat straps yelling "OUT! Mamma! Out!" No one had to get out two hours into the trip because they decided they were hungry, or bored, or had to pee. (actually they tried, but I wouldn't stop the car until we were almost out of gas! I'm alot of fun, can't ya tell?)

Poor Jonny had to work every day at the Bookstore, while juggling his Realtor duties and playing full time dad. While I was gone he took Brookyln to the eye doctor and found out that she needs eye surgery, her Go-Go- Boots fell off the day after I left so he spent a day dealing with that (we have since gone back to SLC and got her fixed finally!). To say the least he looked completely trashed when I got home and perhaps I gained a little more respect from him, if that is possible :)

We loved our hotel we stayed at and tried to relax as much as we could. We tried for three days to get tickets to Mamma Mia, only to be told each day that they would have plenty the next day, so on Friday we excitedly asked to purchase four tickets to the show only to be told that it doesn't play on Fridays! We were pretty mad, but got tickets to the Knights show at Excalibur. We also realized that we are all pretty bad drivers, and have poor sense of direction without our husbands around. Anyway, I'll let the few pictures that I actually took speak for themselves........

Basking in the sun in the Lazy River. We decided that some pervert got the idea to create see through tubes. I posted this picture small so you can see very little of the rest of us through the tubes! After going around the river for about two hours poor red-headed, light skinned Keri was left with the worst sun burn ever. Not quite the way to start out the trip. We got told that we resembled the four girls off Sex and the City. I was the only sinner who had even seen the show so it meant very little to Jessica, Angela, and Keri.

This is how Angela and I spent most of the trip....with our noses buried in a book. We perferred doing this to shopping with Keri and Jessica for SEVEN STRAIGHT HOURS!!!

Although as you can see, we did manage a few hours of shopping when we weren't reading. This is the reason Jonny told me that he thought it would be "fun" for me to go work at Costco when it arrives at the end of the summer. Sorry Jonny, this is my job. And no, I am not pregnant but I agree that it appears that I am based on this picture......

And Here we are testing our line dancing skills at Stoney's. We are not the brightest since we decided to pose in front of the Bull (that I successfully rode), for a picture only to realize that we covered the whole thing up with our cute little pose. It wasn't until later that we wondered why we didn't pose ON the bull......what a great idea. I'd also post a picture of me riding the bull but Keri was the photographer who got pictures of me and NOT the bull while I was riding it. It's OK Ker, I forgive you. I just know not to ask you to take pictures again.

Here we are at the show at Excalibur. That's our waiter sticking his bald head in the picture behind us. He would give us a look of sympathy when the drunk brothers next to us would order another beer or two. I'm not sure who was more entertaining, them or the show!

See ya in Vegas next year Girls!!!

Go-Go-Boots for Brooklyn

Too Stinkin' Cute!!!!

Well we finally got new casts on Brooklyn today. We found someone in town who specializes in casting people who have sores on their feet so it worked out pretty good. Of course we are still terrified that they may rub or the positioning of her foot may slip, but at least it is something. These casts are closed at the toe so we really can't see if her foot is slipping which is a little scary.

I also decided that these casts look more like Go-Go-Boots than casts. I think Brooklyn actually looks quite trendy! This came at good timing because after all the stress the last few weeks I am definitely ready for my trip to VEGAS with four of my very best friends (there are a few friends that I wish could make it but can't :( . I am sure they are all ready to kill me because I have not been able to give them a definite date that we can finally go until today so we are off tomorrow evening, yay!

Enjoying a good book before bed!