Lorenzens 2010

Last Tuesday night my amazing friend Julianna made the trip to visit us. I was so dang excited! The timing was great and horrible. I was so glad to have them here when I was still recovering but I wasn't up to doing everything I wanted. I did my best to rest and keep up.

Wednesday morning we drove back to the Jemez mountains. I thought it was a great way to see a lot of New Mexico in a relatively short distance. First we drove through the reservation and stopped for some Fry bread. We continued up the mountain and stopped at Fenton Lake. It was wonderful. The weather was stunning and the water pretty dang chilly!

We next tried to hike to the hot springs. We didn't think the kids (or I ) could make it but we thought we'd give it a shot. But we were derailed. By a heard of cows. Anyone ever gone for a hike in the mountains and come upon a heard of grazing cows? It was funny & strange. We tried to go around but one of the Mamas let Julianna know in no uncertain terms that we should back off. Everyone had plenty of fun playing in the streams and running through the trees. And my poor Madeleine took such a spill. She was splashing in the water, somehow lost her footing and fell face first down in to the water. Scratched her face so bad. :(

The next morning we took our time with breakfast, Noelle's teacher came by the house for a visit, had lunch, then headed out to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We saw some neat dancers and learned a lot about the different Indian Pueblos here in New Mexico.

Then we were headed over to the Temple. We took a scenic route through my favorite part of Albuquerque. A great little area that incorporated itself in the 50's. It's called Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. Huge Cottonwood trees, big beautiful homes, little farms, horse property, etc. We saw a sign for an open produce stand and turned right around. Little did we know what kind of treat we were in for! One day I will own this property. A little inn, organic farm, gourmet restaurant, animals, oh gosh. The life I am destined to live. http://www.lospoblanos.com/

And they were so nice to us! Let us play with all the animals, answered our many, many questions. Lucky us showed up when it was time to milk the goat and they let us all have a turn. Yep, I've milked a goat.

Lastly, we made it to the Temple. It was gorgeous.

Julianna had planned on leaving Thursday morning and I could hardly stand the thought.

But, they were having such a good time they stayed another night!
Unfortunately, I was beat. And I mean beat. I'd pushed myself well beyond the limits for two days and although I wanted to do more, I simply could not. The kids were more than happy to just play at home and I laid down for a while. Next thing I knew I was waking up. Then Julianna took the big kids to the $1 theatre and I stayed home with Madeleine.

When they got home we went to Noelle's school for an ice cream social. We loved looking at the campus and checking out her classroom. Lastly, we went to dinner at a local place called Hot Tamales. Yummy, affordable 'New Mexican' mexican food.

There was no shortage of funny faces at the table.

I've left a lot of fun details out, pedicures, yummy homemade meals, board games, Wii, long conversations, so much more.

We loved every single second of their visit and are so grateful they made the effort to come. We can't wait for next time. There was so much we did not get to!

I Love You, Julianna.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Finally...Surgery Day!!!

The week before the kids were sick and I kept hoping I would stay well. But, a couple days before hand I started to feel horrible and feverish and had a sore throat. I tried to rest, drank water like crazy, fresh squeezed lemons, honey...you name it. Aaron and a friend gave me a blessing the night before and I hoped for the best.

When I woke up my fever was fine but as we were walking out the door I felt it coming on. I was freaking out. Everything was scheduled with my kids and Aaron's days off work. Plus, I could not stand the thought of re-scheduling. I prayed for guidance, popped two ibuprofen and we headed out the door and thought "What will be...will be." Now ibuprofen is bad because is increases bleeding but I am not a bleeder, quite the contrary. What a blessing that it worked out fine.

First, I just have to say how funny Aaron was with the camera. He's not one to remember to take pictures and I did not plan on even taking it but he made me run back into the house to get it. "What about the blog?" he said. Adorable.

Checking in.

IV and adorable gown.

Pretty hat and they roll me out.

See you in a while! I'm off to take one serious nap. :)

And all of the sudden you're done!

Then you're home with an ice-pack wondering who on earth just scrambled your brains.

The doctor called me that night to check in and basically said my sinuses were one hot mess. He could not believe all the polyps and diseased, infected tissue he had to remove. Uck!

The first several days I had a headache and the strangest light-headed weird feeling. Saturday night and Sunday my throat was killllllll-ing me. One look at my tonsils and I was shocked. They were HUGE and covered in gunk. All the infection draining down my throat infecting them. That night I took two Vicodin and the pain still woke me up several times. About day 5 is when the real healing set in and my actual nose really started to hurt. The headaches have been intense and the inside of my nose feels like someone punched it. Hard.

I cannot wait to feel 100% soon. I think I am a pretty tough girl. I thought I'd be further along by now. But I am so grateful. Once in a while I get a faint smell of something and I feel hope!

See another post below!

Jemez Mountains

Last weekend before surgery we wanted to do something fun because we knew we would be laying low for a while. Noelle was just getting over a week long fever and it seemed like Madeleine was heating up but we went for it anyway. New Mexico certainly is a desert but it's also an incredibly diverse place. We have so much exploring to do!!!

We drove up to the Jemez Mountains (pronounced Hay-Maas). It's a fun drive because how fast the landscape changes in about 50 miles. First you are in the middle of no where desert...then you hit incredible red rocks...then you are in the forest. The little town is really neat with several B&B's and a bath house from the 1800's.

We wanted to scout out some camping spots, the hot springs, and Jemez Falls.

We got out at a newly renovated campground and heard distant thunder. Aaron though we should get back because that weather would be here in no less than 5 minutes. I old him in nice terms to not be such a baby and assured him the second we felt a rain drop we'd be back in the car. Suddenly we heard what sounded like the earth shattering and down came the rain. We grabbed our kids and ran as fast as we could to the nearest bathroom overhang. Poor Noelle did not feel well and was already whining to go home (which she never, ever does) and this just sent her over the edge. After about 15 minutes it died down enough to run to the car.


Next we saw a sign for a lake and decided to check it out.
Beautiful!
We didn't make the hot springs or falls...too far of a walk for our sickie girls.


On our way back we stopped at check out Soda Falls.
(a hot spring that with the rock formations looks like foaming soda!)
and at a stand on the Reservation and bought some fry bread.

Such a great Saturday. Is there anything better than family days?

Summertime Cont...

Splash Park!
We've been here a couple of times and it is FUN!!!

I am so in love with this picture.
I have to admit that it was pure luck.
I just had it on the action setting and viola!

Bowling!

Thursday mornings you can bowl for $2/game.

Noelle has done plenty of bowling but only on the Wii.

She had a dang good time. Madeleine was there too but

she was being the world's biggest pill.

Crying...whining...you know the drill. No pics of that!

Before We Go Forward...

Please answer this question for me...

What on earth does she do while she naps to accomplish this?

Summertime Sizzle

We've been trying to do a lot of fun things and really enjoy summertime. Daddy was gone every night last week and I've been feeling especially nostalgic for the hours and hours we've spent with friends at the pool & beach. So, we're doing what we can to stay really busy.

And summertime it has been. Like everywhere else it's been screaming hot. To most people's surprise summers are usually quite mild here given the elevation. It's hit 100 degrees a few days in a row setting all kinds of heat records. Sunday night we had a fantastic storm roll through. Thunder, lightening and pouring rain. The cool off felt awesome. Madeleine went crazy with excitement while Noelle kept trying to coax her back in the house. Finally, when it quieted down just a little she joined in the fun.

The heat means we have to spend the middle of the day inside and that means all kinds of messes. Lotions, bread, cortisone cream, you name it. Here are just a few I got on film. My favorite was spilling water everywhere and emptying out every towel and rag to dry it up. At least she was trying, right?

One night Noelle asked if we could have pizza and luckily we had all we needed!

We whipped up some quick rise dough, fired up the oven and went to work. We were able to use a lot of fresh herbs I have growing. YUM!

We decided to make it extra fun buy having a TV picnic. Growing up some of our favorite memories were TV picnic with our Grandma. She would make all sort of yummy finger foods, put down a blanket in front of the TV, and we'd watch a movie while eating. So, we did just that. After pizza we got some ice cream and I let them eat it right out of the container. Eventually, Madeleine decided the spoon was too cumbersome and just used her fat little hand to scoop it up to her mouth.

Stay tuned for more!!

My Biker Girl

I've been shy with the camera lately.
Nothing major going on.
You know...meals...giggles...dishes...laundry...
bathtime...diapers...snuggles...stories...
The other night Daddy stayed inside with Madeleine

while Noelle and I went outside.
She rode her bike all over the neighborhood while

I walked and walked behind her.
The weather was spectacular and we had the best time together.
Love, Love Love her.

Unfortunately, Motherhood is not always

cool evenings, puffy clouds and bike rides.

But, I am grateful for when it is.

Stuffy

A stuffy nose... That is what I have had for basically the last year. Sounds innocent enough but it's unbearable! It started with my first ever sinus infection last May. Things got better but never when away completely, and as most Mamas know, you're often the last person who gets taken care of. In the fall I realized I could not smell a thing. As in ZERO smell. Saw a specialist, got things taken care of but after a really bad flu bug at Christmas, it was all back full force.

By then we were moving and I had to start all over. And let me tell you I have been M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. Talk about a quality of life issue. After different medications, lots of allergy testing, a ridiculously large course of antibiotics and finally a CT scan that revealed nothing but bad news. Every single set of sinuses in my head is completely blocked. This means surgery. My first reaction was, "Uh what?" But at this point, if they told me they had to use a stick of dynamite to clear things up I would not be opposed.

Saw the surgeon today and because of the involvement of so many sinuses, particularly small ones by some pretty important parts, he wants to use a hospital that has what is called: Image Guided Surgery. This uses a machine along with special CT scan images during the procedure so the surgeon knows exactly where he is in relation to your specific anatomy. And, of course, the hospitals that have this ability are out-of-network. He is absolutely confident that they will approve it but meanwhile we have to wait. Plus, getting approval from my thyroid doc and a few extra tests because of the Graves.

My answer was, of course, I wanted everything to be done in the safest manner possible but I need some serious relief. NOW. That means steroids which are not a healthy thing. I have done them once already for a week and they did provide significant relief but I am not happy about having to be on them for too long. One side affect, especially in the beginning is insomnia. I've been up since 2:30am. This should get better as the dose gets lower over the next week.

So pray the insurance company does things in a timely manner and we get this taken care of. Can you believe I WANT to smell poopy diapers?

Happy Birthday America!

Even though it felt like everyone in California was getting together for the 4th of July (not to mention missing Naomi's blessing) we still have a super fun holiday.

Saturday morning we went to a ward potluck breakfast at the park. I did not get out my camera because the sprinklers came on and the little kids thought it was funny to turn the heads around so it sprayed all of us and the food! I was not happy about my freshly blow-dried hair getting soaking wet. Grrrr...

Then Daddy took the girls to the mall while I got to go with Tracy & Stephanie to a couple of stores. It was a great break and we had some good laughs.

That afternoon we just hung out at home, made some food and our cake!

Then we headed over to the Hiatt's (Tracy) for dessert and fireworks.


The girls were stunned and slightly freaked out when they first saw them but it took no time for them to warm up. It was a fun night

Sunday after church the Ehat's (Stephanie) had us over for Tri-Tip and games. Super fun, but no pictures. Then they were going to watch fireworks but I felt beat and my kids had missed their bedtime too many nights in a row so we bagged it. All in all, we had a great time and are grateful for the people we are getting to know and the friends we are making!

Up The Mountain We Go!

Last Saturday we packed up a picnic lunch and drove up the mountain.

Can you believe that this is less than an hour drive from our house?

But as you can tell, there was a storm headed our way.

The lightening from up there was breathtaking!

Not the best planning on our part but the adventure was definitely worth it.

These girls thought they were in heaven.

I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck!

Aaron kept assuring me they would be just fine.

My response to him was this:

"The last thing I need to be is on the evening news!"

'New Meico couple devastated because child falls off cliff.'

Finally, enormous raindrops started

falling and we hustled back to the car.

We can't wait to go back.

With Madeleine on some sort of leash, of course!