Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year.  We were able to spend the week down in St. George with my family.  Russell's family had travelled out to Texas to be with Traci so we spent the holiday with the Morwood's.  Russell had to work on Thanksgiving so, sadly, he didn't get to celebrate with us but he brought us down on Sunday and spent  few days with us before heading home on Wednesday to go to work on Thursday and Friday.  Then he came back down on Saturday for more fun and then we went home on Sunday.  The kids and I enjoyed playing with cousins, family, and friends while we were down.

Originally we were going to come down when the kids got out of school on Tuesday but then we thought that would be too much back and forth for Russell in a short period of time.  We decided to take the kids out of school on Monday and Tuesday and come down earlier instead.  This was a great decision for us.  

As it turned out our plans were perfect.  Sadly my childhood friend, Heidi's, mom died the week before Thanksgiving.  The funeral was planned for Monday morning and I did not want to miss it.  My other really good friend, Trista, was going to make a trip into town from Albuquerque, NM for the funeral as well.  I was glad we decided to come down earlier.  The funeral was very nice.  It was so good to see Heidi and Trista again and catch up with them.   I wish it had been under better circumstances but it was good to see then anyway. 

After the funeral, we decided we needed to get together and catch up some more.  We all met up at Yogurtland that night with our husbands and had a good visit.

We spent the night laughing and reminiscing about times past.  It was so nice.  I wish we all lived closer to each other so we could do this more often.  We all agreed to keep in better contact.  It was also nice to get to know their husbands as well.  I know Trista's husband a little but this was only the second time I had met Heidi's.  What a fun night we had.

The rest of the week was spent with family and enjoying the warmer weather.  The kids loved playing outside.  It was like they had been let out of jail.  They basically spent the whole week outside in the sandbox and sunshine.  They got to play with their cousins and loved every minute.

Charlotte was so funny.  She loved Clint!  She really didn't even know him that well but as soon as he sat down in the rocking chair, she climbed right up on his lap with her bottle and blanket and wanted him to rock her to sleep.  Clint didn't really know what to do so he just kind of sat there and let her do her thing.  It was so funny.  We had to get a picture of it for proof that he has held a baby.  Charlotte was always doing stuff like this all week.  

Thanksgiving was really entertaining.  Everyone was over to my mom's and there was so many people.  We also had so much food.  After filling up on turkey and pie, we played  bunch of new games.  We learned how to play Cover Your Assets, Hand and Foot, and Dutch Blitz among others.  Emily's new favorite game is Dutch Blitz.  She played it all week and even practiced with herself when no one else was there to play with her.  She got pretty good at it.  

On Thursday night through Friday morning, Lacie and her girls and I hit the stores for Black Friday.  We got some pretty good deals but we were so tired afterward because we did not get any sleep.  Friday afternoon the whole family went to the movies.  We saw the new movie called, "The Star."  This was a cute movie about the Nativity story told from the point of view of the animals.  The kids really liked the show and though I was skeptical at first, I thought it was a really good movie too.  Much better than I thought it would be.   My favorite quote from this movie was, "Just because God has a plan for us doesn't mean it won't be hard."  I thought this was a good summary for what our year had been like.  Heavenly Father has a plan for us.  That doesn't mean it will be easy but it will be worth it in the end.  

We had a terrific week in St. George this Thanksgiving.  We are always grateful for the time we get to spend with family and love visiting.  We were sad to leave but it was time to come home and get back to the routine of school and work.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Turkey Trot

I think we have found another runner in the family!  Emily was able to participate in the Smithfield Turkey Trot this year with her school Running Club.  She had a blast running her mile this morning.  Colby was supposed to run with the Running Club too but he had a wrestling tournament.  Right at the last minute, however, on the morning of the tournament, it was cancelled so we rushed over to Smithfield to support Emily in her run.  I was kind of glad the tournament was cancelled so we could make it to the run.

Five of the members of the Running Club ran in the race.  They all did amazing.

When it was time to line up at the starting line, Emily was really excited to race.  They said "Go!" and she was off and running.  Emily ran so fast.  As she approached the final turn to the finish line, she started running the fastest she had ever ran.  It was her final kick to the end.  

The boys and I cheered so loud for her as she was running in but Emily was so focused she said she couldn't her us.  I was really excited for her because as I was watching the other people come in, I noticed that Emily was the second girl to come in!  Emily was really happy with her results too!  She finished with a time of 10:17 minutes and came in first place in her age group, third girl overall (I don't know where that other girl sneaked in front of her...) and 17th overall.  Amazing!!

For being first place, she won a medal.  The rest of the Running Club did great as well.  Jordan Merrill won first place in her 10K and their principal, Stacie Williamson won first place in her age group too.  This was a really fun race day.  Good Job, Emily.

Wrestling Champ

This year Colby had a chance to try wrestling. We asked him and he was excited to do it. He told us that now he was going to be way busy between running club and wrestling.We told him he would be in good shape because of it. 

The first day of wrestling practice was fun to watch, a lot of them did not know what to do. A lot of them were just throwing each other to the ground and trying to do what coach showed them. Colby was doing pretty good on following instructions. When he would get someone to the ground he would hurry and jump off of them. I had to tell him to stay on top of them until he pinned them or they say stop. This wrestling was a good opportunity for him to understand it is okay to show some aggression and be competitive. I also wanted him to learn when he got hurt or felt pain that he needed to shake it off and keep going. So he practiced and practiced and then the day came for his first tournament. He was nervous, of course, but he was ready to have fun.  Here are some pictures of our little wrestler. 

His first match was good and he had a great time. One of the kids kept trying to get him in a half nelson and Colby would not let it happen. He kept his arm out and then finally the boy rolled him and Colby hurt his arm. He started to cry and I talked to him and told him to shake it off and get in there and get him. I also told him to use your pain as aggression and get him pinned. He went back on the mat and when they did the second round I saw the look in his eyes and man did he get the kid and got him on his back. It was a great learning opportunity for him to learn. Another funny story. Colby told me that he was tired of people getting him a half nelson and him not being able to get out. So I showed him a trick to help him get out. Ever since I showed him how to shrug the arm that goes around his neck, no one has gotten him in that move. 

He worked hard and had a great time doing it. Out of all of his matches, he only got pinned once.  We are so proud of him.  Good Job, Colby!

More Fall Fun

We have been having a lot of fun this fall with all of the activities the kids are involved in and all of the fun things there are to do in the Valley.  

Lets start the Fall fun off with this cute little girl. Our little super star. She has grown up so fast that we can't keep up with her. 

 Charlotte loves to be funny and she definitely finds ways to make us laugh. I was changing her one day and she kept calling me "Mama," so I helped her know that I was "Dada." I pointed to myself and said "Dada." I did that about ten times and I did not expect it to stick. A few days later, I asked her "Where's Daddy?" and she pointed to herself and said "Dada." I laughed so hard that she did the actions while saying Daddy. She is also a little sneaky little girl. There will be times we would find her in the bathroom drawer getting into the Q-tips and wanting her ears cleaned. You think she would play in the toilet or something, but no she puts down the toilet seats (thank goodness). She has an amazing personality. Love you little girl.

Next is Colby: This big boy has grown up a lot this year and he has had a lot of fun with all of his adventures. This picture made me a proud Dad because I remember the first time I started to mow my parent's lawn in Las Vegas.  It was getting time to start winterizing everything and one job was to get the lawn done. Colby came out and asked to help and of course I said yes. I told him I was his age when I started to mow the lawn and he wanted to do it, so off he went.

 He did a great job, I'm so proud of him. He also made a goal to earn money for the book fair at the school and this was one way I told him he could earn money. He also helped rake the leaves in the yard so he could jump in them. I was laughing at first when I heard the only reason he wanted to rake leaves was to play in them. Then I thought work hard and then play. He did work hard and did a great job getting them in a pile. I had a fun time showing him some pointers to help him get better. I love Dad teaching moments. I have amazing kids. Thanks Colby for being my helper.

Emily is getting so pretty, beautiful and amazingly smart. Even though we butt head and argue a lot she has my heart because she is my oldest daughter and I love her so much. She has come so far this year in all of her adventures.  She loves school and playing with her friends. She enjoys being a little helper to her parents. Even though I tell her to not be the mom, she is another mother hen because she loves her brothers and sister. Sometimes I wish she would not grow up so fast and stay a kid. I keep telling her to be a kid and I guess I want her to get all she can out of being a kid before she grows up and misses out. 

She loves her piano and she is amazing at playing it. She has had many recitals and has done great on all of them. This is the Halloween recital and she is dressed up as a cute Cabbage Patch doll. She loved it. She also has had fun with her CCLT leadership club at the school. She tries to sign up every Fall and Spring. She also loves her singing class and has done great on her performances.  Emily has been a busy busy girl.

Logan has done a lot this year and has grow up so big. He started pre-school this Fall at Mt. Crest High School. He loves telling people he goes to high school. We all laugh. He also is doing really good in his music class and loves going. He is our kid that loves playing outside. He would play outside all day if you let him. He loves to read his books and thinks he is as big as his older siblings. He has been a great help to me out in the yard as well in getting things ready for winter. He also has been a great help to his mom when she was not feeling good. Logan has the biggest loving heart and he loves sharing it. He loves giving hugs to those that need it. Love you Logan!

Like any kids they all like playing in leaves. We made a couple of piles in the yard and rolled around in it and had a blast. 

We buried Colby's head and they buried me also. Charlotte is old enough to have a great time and throw leaves around. It is amazing how much fun a simple thing like dead leaves can be! 

We also brought in the little car and buried it to act like it is stuck. We played I think until it was getting dark and then we went and ate dinner. These are the four best kids a Mom and a Dad could ask for. They are truly are amazing and we love them all.

We had some other cool little school adventures with the kids also. 

Colby had Turkey 'Tie'm with dads this month in his first grade class.  It was a time that dads could come into the class and read a book or show what he did for a job. At first Colby asked if I could just read a book and be done. I said that is fine with me. The week before I came into his class he changed his mind and asked if I could bring my turnouts and tell them about my job.  I had fun telling them about how important it is to be careful with fire and also what we wear in a fire. Colby had a fun time putting on my gear.  

We also had Patriotic Night at the school to honor the veterans and public safety men and women. Emily loves putting my name in. I planned on just wearing my normal clothes and she asked if I could wear my uniform. Of course anything for my girl to make her feel special. It was a great night. 

Well this is the complete opposite of the picture on the top of this page. Charlotte was having a bad little minute in her life and I was able to catch this little funny sad face. Doesn't it make you want to hug her and give her kisses? She also got a hold of  Tiff's beanie and put it on to play peek-a-boo. Charlotte loves stealing Tiff's hats to put them on her own head.  She is so funny. 

Emily and Colby also had a tooth loose at the same time, so it was a contest on who could pull it out the fastest. They spent an hour or longer each night just trying to pull them out. We finally told them to go to bed and worry about it later. I went to work and I got a text message with the two of them holding their own tooth with a smile on their faces. Emily's fell out at school.  Then Colby couldn't be shown up so he worked on his all day.  Finally Tiff just grabbed it and twisted a little and it came right out that night. I told the kids they had lost too many teeth and the Tooth Fairy was running out of money. They of course did not believe me one bit and put their each teeth under the pillow and the next morning they proved me wrong. The Tooth Fairy came. Colby has a funny look because he has the upper and bottom teeth gone in alignment. Emily has been brave since her first tooth and pulled them out on her own. Tough girl.

There you have it, our fun random adventures over the last couple months.

Final Surgery... Cancer Journey Part 13

On Friday, November 3rd, I had my (hopefully) final surgery because of this cancer stuff.  This was my breast reconstruction surgery.  It is crazy how my mindset has changed over the last 6-7 months.  When I went in for my first surgery, the mastectomy, I was a nervous wreck.  I was in tears and just shaking in the days leading up to the surgery.  This surgery however, I was not that way.  I was actually looking forward to it.  Don't get me wrong, I was a little nervous because, let's face it, surgeries are nerve racking!  There is always that unknown.  But I was not the nervous wreck I was before.  I knew I was in good hands with Dr. Isom and I trusted he would do the right things.  I was looking forward to this surgery though because it meant an ending to this crazy time in my life.  I was finished with chemo, I did not need radiation, and now finally I was completing the plastic reconstruction and on my way back to a semi-normal life. Isn't that exciting!

Before the surgery I was taken to the post-op room where I was prepped for the surgery by getting an IV placed and meeting with the doctors and anesthesiologist. While we waited to be taken to surgery Russell and I had fun taking some pictures: 

Yeah about the nurse call button, boo about the IV!  Finally it was time to be wheeled into the Operating Room.  While I was lying on the Operating table the nurse were talking to me about St. George.  She also told me she was the nurse that helped with my first surgery.  I don't remember anything after that because that's when I went to sleep.  The strange thing about this surgery was that I had dreams while I was out.  I can't remember now what they were about but I remember having them.  Weird...

During the surgery, Dr. Isom removed the tissue expanders and replaced them with the actual silicone implants which are more permanent.  Also while he was at it, he had to do some fat graphing to fill in some spaces and make the implants look more natural.  In order to do this, I had liposuction or fat harvested from my stomach and waist.  This fat was then moved to the breast area.  Now this sounds like the perfect plan right?  Well let me tell you, it is not all it is cracked up to be!  I do not recommend it unless you want to be sore for weeks. More on that later.  

Also during the surgery, Dr. Anderson came in and removed my port.  I was really happy to have this out.  The port was good for what it was used for but it was also kind of annoying and painful when it got bumped by Charlotte or something else.  I was glad to be rid of it.

After what seemed like two minutes (but really it was 4-5 hours), I woke up and everything was done.  Russell met me in the post-op room.  I was really tired and sore but good.  I was able to rest and recover for a couple hours before we started preparing to go home.  This surgery was just a same day surgery so I was able to go home that night.  

As I was getting dressed to go home, I was so sore.  All of my stomach muscles just ached.  It was hard to get dressed so Russell had to help.  I felt like I had just had a baby. I staggered to the wheelchair and Russell and I were able to go home.  I did feel much better after this surgery than the last though.  I was glad to be home and sleep in my own bed.  Coming off anesthesia is really weird.  I felt like everything was so heavy all night long.  Even my tongue felt huge in my mouth.  After getting some sleep though I felt better in the morning.  

The recovery from this surgery was much better than my first surgery.  I could move my arms and everything this time.  The worst part of this surgery was the soreness associated with the liposuction area.  I felt like I had been beat up.  To help with swelling, I had to wear a girdle around my stomach and waist where the fat was harvested.  Because of this, I could not move very well or fast.  

On Monday, I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Isom.  He asked me how I was feeling and I told him I was feeling fine except for the liposuction area.  I told him I thought we were friends but now after seeing all of the bruises and feeling like I have been beat up, I was not so sure.  He laughed and said he was sorry.  After he removed all of the bandages, he said everything looked great.  In my head I was thinking, "Everything looks great?  I look like a huge bruise!"  I had bruises in every part of my body.  Even places I didn't know could bruise!  They told me the bruising and soreness would go away over time and I should feel better in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime I needed to wear the girdle 24 hours a day for six weeks.  Then for half of the day for another 2-3 weeks.  This would help with the shaping and swelling of the liposuctioned area.  As for the breast implants, everything felt pretty good.  The incisions and stitches were healing nicely and the scars should be minimal.  I was really pleased with the outcome of the surgery and how everything looked (minus the bruising that will go away).  

I am continuing to recovery from the surgery and I cannot lift anything for at least three weeks but I am feeling a little better each day.  I am grateful my parents have been able to be here and help us out.  Russell's parents also came and helped out one weekend while Russell was at work.  My stomach muscles are still pretty hammered but hopefully will get better soon.  

I am glad to be done with this surgery and on the road to recovery from this and cancer.  I never imagined this would be in my future.  I never imagined myself having plastic surgery, liposuction, and getting breast implants.  But here I am fake boobs and all. I am glad however to be healed from cancer and on the road to recovery.  Now if only my hair will grow back...

Logan's Surgery

It has been one crazy year for all of the Farnsworth family between surgeries and people being down for health issues. Tiff has taken the major part of it and now it was Logan's turn to have a surgical procedure done. About six or so months ago I got Logan out of the bath and let's just say something did not look right with his jewels. So I took him to the emergency department because I thought it was a circulation issue and I would be danged if he would loose his jewels. After a few tests, it was not a threat to his prosperity and it turned out to be what they called hydrocele. This is where the fluid keeps leaking down into the testicle sac causing swelling. The pediatrician told us to keep an eye on it because it could go away or change.  If it did not get better in a few months we would be on our way to Primary Children's Hospital to get it fixed. Well it did not go away or get better so here we are getting ready to get it fixed with a hydrocelectomy. 

Logan was a great sport through the whole thing and he was not even scared. The whole experience was great for us because of how well they took care of our little man. The whole time, he was showing off the "Indian Shoes" his grandma had made for him for his surgery.  He was also super excited to get some awesome yellow hospital socks!  He has been wearing them every night since and calls them his "Sleep Socks."

While we were waiting to go into the OR, Logan had a great time playing in the car they used to bring kids back to the OR for surgery. 

They made him feel really relaxed and calm during the whole thing. Before he went back, the nurse told Logan that when he gets out of surgery they would have a slushy waiting. He perked up even more when he heard this. So off he went in his car and we went out to the waiting room to wait. The wait was not very long only about two hours but it seemed like forever waiting for our little boy while he had surgery.  Tiff was especially nervous because she hates all things medical especially when it happens to our kids. We were told that the procedure was not too technical. The doctor did about a one inch incision in the abdomen on the right side and went in and sewed up the vessel that was leaking.  The doctor also checked the left side to make sure nothing was leaking on that side as well.  The left side seemed to be fine so out of surgery he came about an hour later.  After letting him recover and come out of the sedation for a while, they told us we could see him. 

When we first saw him he was out of it but slurping on his slushy that he was promised by his nurses. He was one happy boy with his drink.  But kind of a zombie...

"I am a Zombie feed me my slushy. I need more slushy."

We waited in the post-op room for another hour or two until he was much more recovered from the anesthesia.  While we waited, Logan got to watch TV and he found Mickey Mouse Club House.  Lets just say he was hooked.  When the nurse asked him if he was ready to go home Logan told them no.  I think it was because he was right in the middle of his show!  After Mickey Mouse was over, the nurse asked him again if he was ready and this time he was because the show was over.  They gave us the discharge information and told us what to watch for.  Logan was told to be on light duty but whatever that means to a 4-year-old.   No jumping and crazy playing, so the incision and the vessel can heal right. It was hard for a boy his age to understand to not go crazy and relax. Other than that the doctor said he should be fine and healed within a week.  After the post-op we took off home.  Other than a little nausea and throwing up from the anesthesia on the way home and being tired the rest of the day, Logan did fine with the recovery part of the surgery.  All in all he did a great job and he has healed up just fine.  I am glad everything went so smoothly and Logan will be just fine.