Pat and I had the privilege to meet a wonderful couple named Steve and Elaina at the U of U Newborn ICU. We had lunch with them on Monday and I enjoyed every minute of it. They just delivered beautiful twin boys named Samuel and Nicholas about 12 days ago. They were around 29 weeks gestational age and a little over 2 pounds each like Colby.
They are actually in the same room in the same isolette places that we were in with Colby and Austin. Their boys are doing so great. They are tiny as expected but both are on room air and for those that traveled our NBICU journey with us you know that is wonderful news. I really enjoyed talking with them and telling them our good news story. They were amazed that our boys now weigh 21 and 24 pounds and I told them their boys will be home before they know it and will be double trouble.
I ask that you pray for this family that each day will be a good day for the boys and that God will give Steve and Elaina the strength and comfort they will need for each day. Most of you know the journey they are on and how important faith and prayer is. They are strong in their faith and are such good parents to the boys.
I hope to keep in touch with them and visit whenever they let us. I'll keep you updated whenever I hear something. Maybe I can get a photo or two to show you.
Other great family news for us. I got my first real estate listing last week so I am very excited. Pat is doing extremely well and things are picking up after the holidays....thank goodness. I am enjoying my new career and appreciate all the support Pat is giving me to help with this transition.
The boys are doing great and every day is something new with them. Austin is my big talker and is actually working on putting 2-3 words together. His favorite thing right now is "I did it!" Sometimes we ask him what he did and he just repeats himself, "I did it!" so we just ok honey.
Hope you are all staying healthy as I hear flu season is in full swing in some areas.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
My boys helping with laundry!
I know the pictures will tell the story but I must give my perspective. I am always trying to find time to fold laundry and this particular day the boys were playing so nicely together that I thought I would take 5-10 minutes and fold a basket of clothes that had been calling my name for 2-3 days. I ran into the living room, put the basket on the couch. Since the boys never noticed I took the opportunity to run to the bathroom. When I returned maybe 3 minutes later I found my clean clothes all over the boys were using my laundry basket as a car. Needless to say I immediately ran to get the camera not worrying about the clothes because I had much rather have the pics. My laundry will always be there but the fun moments like that are just that...a moment that will not last and may never happen again.
I mentioned yesterday that we were due a BIG storm and so here are a couple of photos of our rental condo here in Utah today. We got so much snow at our house that Pat has to blade the driveway twice with the 4-wheeler. We had to go to Draper today which normally takes about 40 min, well today it took us over 2 hours. Cars were going everywhere and it was totally crazy.
Last but not least are a couple of my favorite pictures of Pat and the boys with night-time stories.
Colby is feeling much better today and hasn't run a fever so hopefully whatever he had this weekend has passed.
Lex
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Just another crazy day
So if you've been wondering where we've been lately we are still here. I have successfully completed two weeks with Century 21 at the Rockies and so far I am enjoying it. I jumped right in and started making calls to "for sale by owners"and made 5 appointments for this past week. It was nice to get out of the office and see what is for sale....and there is a lot for sale. Our business is doing great. We currently have 9 listings, 1 under contract and he has two more listing appointments this week. One of the for sale by owners I met with is a definite lead for me. I am also meeting with a former student in Provo that will be wanting to list his property probably within the next month. So we are very excited with how 2008 is starting for us.
The boys are doing great. Growing like weeds and into everything. They never stop or rest unless it time to eat or bedtime. We had some lab work done on Colby recently to see if there was any reason he was not gaining weight as fast as Austin. All the results came back within normal range. So looks like he may just be on the small side.
They are really talking up a storm too. We are working on things like geen (green), lelow (yellow), boo (blue) and of course what our favorite animals say. They can make the sounds of a dog, cat, sheep, fish, cow, monkey, lion, tiger, bear, and we are working on elephant, snake and bird. Austin is without a doubt my biggest talker.
Natalie and Sean are doing so well. Sean has started Utah Jr Jazz basketball and he has won one game and lost one game. His first game that he won he scored 10 pts. He was on fire that night and the last game that they lost he didn't score at all. He was just having an off night. Natalie continues to revolve her life around cheer. We are starting to have some challenging moments with her as a teenage girl. I'm sure most of you can relate.
We are still getting a lot of snow here in Utah and the temperatures have been so cold that it almost hurts to go outside. The bad part with that is the boys and I are getting cabin fever. We can't wait for spring so we can get out in the backyard and play. We are due another big storm tonight, but I'm not sure how much snow is expected. We have been dealing with a sick child all weekend. Colby started running a fever 102.5 yesterday and has run a fever all weekend. The fever breaks with motrin or tylenol but spikes as it wears off. Colby slept from 7-9 last night then I was up with him the rest of the night. He would doze off and on but for the most part we got no sleep. He seems to feeling a little better tonight and his fever today stayed around 101.
Well I'm going to close now as the boys are in bed and I will actually get a hot meal thanks to Pat.
Sorry no pics this time.
Lex
The boys are doing great. Growing like weeds and into everything. They never stop or rest unless it time to eat or bedtime. We had some lab work done on Colby recently to see if there was any reason he was not gaining weight as fast as Austin. All the results came back within normal range. So looks like he may just be on the small side.
They are really talking up a storm too. We are working on things like geen (green), lelow (yellow), boo (blue) and of course what our favorite animals say. They can make the sounds of a dog, cat, sheep, fish, cow, monkey, lion, tiger, bear, and we are working on elephant, snake and bird. Austin is without a doubt my biggest talker.
Natalie and Sean are doing so well. Sean has started Utah Jr Jazz basketball and he has won one game and lost one game. His first game that he won he scored 10 pts. He was on fire that night and the last game that they lost he didn't score at all. He was just having an off night. Natalie continues to revolve her life around cheer. We are starting to have some challenging moments with her as a teenage girl. I'm sure most of you can relate.
We are still getting a lot of snow here in Utah and the temperatures have been so cold that it almost hurts to go outside. The bad part with that is the boys and I are getting cabin fever. We can't wait for spring so we can get out in the backyard and play. We are due another big storm tonight, but I'm not sure how much snow is expected. We have been dealing with a sick child all weekend. Colby started running a fever 102.5 yesterday and has run a fever all weekend. The fever breaks with motrin or tylenol but spikes as it wears off. Colby slept from 7-9 last night then I was up with him the rest of the night. He would doze off and on but for the most part we got no sleep. He seems to feeling a little better tonight and his fever today stayed around 101.
Well I'm going to close now as the boys are in bed and I will actually get a hot meal thanks to Pat.
Sorry no pics this time.
Lex
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Big decision for 2008
Natalie and Sean got the boys an Army Build a Bear for Christmas. They love them as you can see. They will have to name them themselves once they are old enough to understand it. For now they call them "baby" and they will hug and kiss them like a baby. It's so sweet. The hats the boys have on actually belong to the bears.
I spent my first two nights away from the boys this past week. Pat and the boys did great but I sure did miss them. I dreaded being away and I couldn't wait to get home. I finally got to fly to FT Carson, CO last week to out-process the Army. I was supposed to go the week prior but my unit apparently didn't pay for my ticket therefore when I tried to get through the airport I didn't get very far. During the holidays the military only works half days so I was not able to get out until this past Wed. I was able to do everything in one day and fly home on Friday. Now I am on terminal leave which in civilian terms means vacation. I saved up 74 days of vacation so my last paid day in the Army is March 15th then I am a real civilian....maybe.
I have a total of 17 yrs 9 months and 11 days in the military. It's very hard for me to walk away from that with nothing. I know some of you may be getting ready to have a heart attack on me, but I've been talking to the Army Reserves. I would like to finish out my 20 yrs in the Army Reserves. Now that some of your hearts are beating fast and you are saying to yourself "Lex, what are you thinking" let me give you some more information. If I finish my 20 yrs I would start receiving a retirement check at the age of 60 and maybe 55 if they get it passed. I would do a 3 year commitment receiving a $10,000 bonus for signing up for 3 yrs. I would be guaranteed a 2 year stability with no deployments which would be my first two years. I would be rolling the dice for the last year but since my retirement paperwork would be submitted the chances of my deploying would be very slim. Plus who knows where the world or military will be in 2 years. I would drill one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. The unit I am looking at is Fort Douglas in Salt Lake right next to the hospital where the boys were. There is a new BDE being stood up and they are so new that there two weeks this summer will be home station which means right there in Salt Lake. I should make LTC within the next 2 yrs and that means for at retirement. I am supposed to meet with the Reserves again this week to start looking at what jobs are actually available. There is no aviation in the Reserves in Utah I will be doing what the Army calls a branch immaterial job which means any officer can do it whether Aviation, Infantry, Engineer, Armor etc. Pat and I are continuing to gather our facts, praying very hard and hopefully we will make a decision soon. Pat is also considering it. He would have to serve 5 yrs but his retirement check would be larger than mine because he has more active duty years than me. I have some time because I can't start with the Army Reserves until I am out of the Army on March 15th. Just keep us in your prayers that whatever decision we make will be best for our family.
The boys have stayed very busy playing in their box houses. I told Pat the next hunting trip he will have to find a large box and make a house before he leaves.
We hope everyone is staying warm and healthy. We continue to get snow here in Salt Lake and the ski resort is just calling my name.
This Monday will be my first official day at Century 21 with Pat. I am excited but nervous because if you know me you know I don't like change. So I'm stepping out of the Army box I've been in for 17 years and trying something new. I will even have to put thought to what I am going to wear each day. That's one good thing about the Army, there is no thinking when it comes to what to wear.
Wish me luck.
I spent my first two nights away from the boys this past week. Pat and the boys did great but I sure did miss them. I dreaded being away and I couldn't wait to get home. I finally got to fly to FT Carson, CO last week to out-process the Army. I was supposed to go the week prior but my unit apparently didn't pay for my ticket therefore when I tried to get through the airport I didn't get very far. During the holidays the military only works half days so I was not able to get out until this past Wed. I was able to do everything in one day and fly home on Friday. Now I am on terminal leave which in civilian terms means vacation. I saved up 74 days of vacation so my last paid day in the Army is March 15th then I am a real civilian....maybe.
I have a total of 17 yrs 9 months and 11 days in the military. It's very hard for me to walk away from that with nothing. I know some of you may be getting ready to have a heart attack on me, but I've been talking to the Army Reserves. I would like to finish out my 20 yrs in the Army Reserves. Now that some of your hearts are beating fast and you are saying to yourself "Lex, what are you thinking" let me give you some more information. If I finish my 20 yrs I would start receiving a retirement check at the age of 60 and maybe 55 if they get it passed. I would do a 3 year commitment receiving a $10,000 bonus for signing up for 3 yrs. I would be guaranteed a 2 year stability with no deployments which would be my first two years. I would be rolling the dice for the last year but since my retirement paperwork would be submitted the chances of my deploying would be very slim. Plus who knows where the world or military will be in 2 years. I would drill one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. The unit I am looking at is Fort Douglas in Salt Lake right next to the hospital where the boys were. There is a new BDE being stood up and they are so new that there two weeks this summer will be home station which means right there in Salt Lake. I should make LTC within the next 2 yrs and that means for at retirement. I am supposed to meet with the Reserves again this week to start looking at what jobs are actually available. There is no aviation in the Reserves in Utah I will be doing what the Army calls a branch immaterial job which means any officer can do it whether Aviation, Infantry, Engineer, Armor etc. Pat and I are continuing to gather our facts, praying very hard and hopefully we will make a decision soon. Pat is also considering it. He would have to serve 5 yrs but his retirement check would be larger than mine because he has more active duty years than me. I have some time because I can't start with the Army Reserves until I am out of the Army on March 15th. Just keep us in your prayers that whatever decision we make will be best for our family.
The boys have stayed very busy playing in their box houses. I told Pat the next hunting trip he will have to find a large box and make a house before he leaves.
We hope everyone is staying warm and healthy. We continue to get snow here in Salt Lake and the ski resort is just calling my name.
This Monday will be my first official day at Century 21 with Pat. I am excited but nervous because if you know me you know I don't like change. So I'm stepping out of the Army box I've been in for 17 years and trying something new. I will even have to put thought to what I am going to wear each day. That's one good thing about the Army, there is no thinking when it comes to what to wear.
Wish me luck.
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