Love this Quote

"So many of us make a great fuss of matters of small consequence. We are so easily offended. Happy is the man who can brush aside the offending remarks of another and go on his way.  Grudges, if left to fester, can become serious maladies”                

~Gordon B Hinkley

Out of the fog

Counseling really helped me with my anxiety, but then a series of stressful happenings at home kind of put me in a funk.  I felt stressed out and down, and so frustrated.  I really felt like I was doing everything I could possibly do to feel better.  Exercise?  Yep.  Praying? Yep.  Reading Scriptures?  Every Day.  Counseling?  Yes.  Temple?  Once a week.  Spending time with kiddos? Yes.  Date night with Chuck?  Yep.  What else can I do???  I am trying hard to be the best person I can be.  I'm doing my two callings, keeping up with school work, going to the gym, doing everything I'm supposed to be doing.  But I still felt like I was drowning.  Have you ever felt like there are too many crises going on, and you are trying to lift everyone around you up, and save everyone, but in the process you are drowning?  Well that's how I felt about six weeks ago.  I finally realized that I hadn't felt really happy or excited about anything in months, and I was tired of feeling this way.  I called my doctor and set up an appointment to get on an antidepressant.  Then I called a nutritionist about a couple of my kids' health problems, and after talking to him for 15 minutes, I felt like this was my answer. I canceled my appointment with my doctor, and went to this nutritionist instead.   I took Carson in to Randy at Divine Nature, and after looking at a drop of Carson's blood under the microscope, Randy told us a lot about Carson's health problems, and recommended some supplements.  I asked him about my mood problems, and he had a supplement for me to try too.  I asked him about Cade's reflux, and he had a supplement for Cade as well.  This guy is the nutritionist for several pro sports teams, and he is LDS, and he has developed his own line of natural supplements made from whole foods.  He also gave me lots of info to take home and read about foods to help our issues, and eating right.  Long story short: I am feeling normal again.  After two days of taking "Energy and Clarity," I noticed the sky was blue and I heard birds singing.  I woke up without feeling exhausted in the morning.  I had a lot more energy, and I basically felt like a cloud had lifted.  I still feel that way.  Carson has not had a cold sore and hasn't had any stomach problems since taking the supplements (both were a constant problem for him), and Cade has gone from having acid reflux 7 times a day to having it once every 3 or 4 days.  Amazing, huh?  I don't want to sound like a testimonial for Divine Nature, but I am now a believer.  Who would've thought that a vitamin could make that much difference for me and my health?  And for Cade, it is an enzyme/probiotic that is making all the difference in the world.  Anyway, if any of you want to try it, call Divine Nature at 480-779-4422 or 877-74FLORA.  They also have a website: www.DivineNature.com .  I asked Cade's GI specialist about the supplements and he said that the enzyme/probiotic stuff has been proven to help IBS, colitis, diverticulitis, and lots of other stomach issues.  He wasn't sure why it was helping Cade's reflux, but he said, hey, if it works, keep it up.  Anyway, I feel so much better, and I'm so glad my friend Shanie recommended this place to me, so I just wanted to share with everyone too!  If you want more info about it, call me.  The blood analysis was $70 (which included an hour's worth of information about nutrition), and the supplements are all $17 a bottle.  We had just paid $80 for a month's supply of Prevacid for Cade (which didn't help his reflux at all), so $17 seemed like a bargain for a solution that works for him.  Anyway, I guess this did turn into a testimonial for the nutritionist--sorry about that.  I'm just excited and wanted to share!!!

New Hamster

 Here's Cade's new hamster!  We tried out a bunch of different names on him--Streak and Stripe were the favorites, but we all ended up calling him Dozer (the name of our last hamster).  

 He's a cute little grey guy with a black stripe.  He loves sunflower seeds. 

The kids all love holding him. 

Cade's Golden Birthday

Cade turned 9 on March 9th.  He is in 3rd grade, and he is in the 25th percentile for his height and weight.  What he lacks in stature, he makes up for in personality.  Cade gets along with anyone and everyone.  He is so friendly and outgoing. 

Cade is an easy-going kid.  He is so loving and sweet.  He tries hard to keep the peace between his siblings, and to make everyone happy.  When he gets mad, he gets really, really mad.  But thankfully, that doesn't happen too often. 

Cade didn't ask for much for his birthday.  He got some cash, some Webkinz, and a surprise...a new hamster!
We gave him the hamster bedding and food as a gift, and let him pick out which hamster he wanted at the pet store.  He was so excited and happy to have a little pet. 

He picked out a cute little grey hamster (more pix to follow).  He chose to go to Olive Garden for his Birthday dinner, and I made him mini cheesecakes for his birthday dessert.  He wanted Bahama Buck's too, but he was stuffed from dinner, so we had to wait and take him to B.B. on a different day. 

For his birthday celebration, we took Cade and some of his good friends to Amazing Jake's.  We went during Spring Break, and that place was a ZOO!  It was so super busy, but the boys had fun eating pizza, playing games, and riding the rides.  Cade brings so much personality, love, and fun to our family.  I'm so thankful to be his mom!!

Spring Pics

 I don't think I ever posted any of their fall school pictures, but here are some spring pix of Cade and Cheyanna!  Cade is 8 years old and is in 3rd grade.  his teacher was Mrs. Moyer, but she suddenly resigned a few weeks ago, and his new teachers are Miss Holly and Mr. Brett.  Luckily, Cade didn't love Mrs. Moyer, so he wasn't too sad that she was gone, and he has adapted really well to the change.  Cade loves school, and his favorite subject is math.  He is a great reader, and just finished reading the 5th Harry Potter book. 

Cheyanna is 6 years old and is in first grade.  She is in Mrs. McClain's class.  Cheyanna loves her teacher, and has two best friends at school: Madison and Kimberly.  I wouldn't say Cheyanna loves school, but depending on the day, she likes it pretty well.  She is so well-behaved at school.  She has never gotten  even a warning about her behavior.  She is a good reader, and loves the Junie B. Jones books.