Mitchell Life....NEVER A DULL MOMENT!!!

These first 2 pictures are of my sweet OakLeigh. She is now in SCHOOL!!! I am so lost with her gone. She is such a sweet, energetic girl. I cried when I left her in her classroom. YES, I WAS THAT MOM who had to walk all the way around the whole school with TEARS FALLING DOWN MY FACE! But she LOVES school and has learned so much. She is learning to read! And the first 3 days of school she could write her WHOLE name. Which I am so proud of because her name is really long and has really hard letters in it!!! Yay for OakLeigh! I love you sweet girl and am so proud of you!

Our Krypto dog was not feeling so super in the picture where she is asleep on the couch with Memphis. She had a "visitor" while we were on vacation in New Mexico and well you can see the result. She had 5 of the cutest puppies! And they all have homes to go to on November 18th! We are loving on them. It will break the kids (and Krypto's) hearts when they have to go! We had a massive snow storm hit on October 4th. It basically shut down EVERY road in or out of Wyoming. We got A LOT of snow. We had a snow day on friday and we played in the snow off and on all day. I went out for a while and the snow went to my knees. I think we ended up with 15 inches! Thank goodness for a great wood burning stove! It dried the snow clothes and kept us warm!! The kids all started school on August 19th. They all were able to get in to Evansville elementary together. It seems to be a good school. I was really worried that they were in the ghetto of the area. But the teachers they have are great and they all have some good friends!! OakLeigh has now lost 2 teeth and she has very calmly pulled them by herself. To compare to my other 2 kids, it was like they were in a warzone. They were screaming, thrashing around, crying...Not OakLeigh. She says she has a wiggly tooth and looks in the mirror and pulls and pulls till its gone! What a kid!

Pictures

MOVED!!!

We have done it AGAIN! We moved! We live in Evansville, Wyoming. It is basically Casper. We lived here about 10 years ago. And it has GROWN so much! Big Piney was the right place at the time we moved there. And we made some of the best friends we could ever have. And I know that because of those friends our family is who we are today. A very special friend helped Brandon through a very difficult time. And for that I will NEVER be able to repay him or his family. Thank you Davis family. Amy and Spencer mean so much to us. And all 4 of their girls are such good kids and each of my kids love them so much. The night before we moved we spent the evening at their house. When it was time to leave there wasn't a dry eye. All the girls were crying, each of my kids and I were crying. Amy was crying. I think Brandon and Spencer were just trying to be macho. We love you Davis family! We now live 4 hours away and I told Brandon I REFUSE TO MOVE TOWNS AGAIN! UGH! I did manage to get my kids in the SAME ELEMENTARY school though. Apparently that is hard to do! But they are all 3 in Evansville. I don't know if its the greatest school, but we missed the sign up by oh 6 months! I LOVE LOVE LOVE our house. It is 2x bigger than our house in Big Piney and we are on 30 acres! It is nice to be out of town again! And the kids seem happy and I PRAY they adjust and make good friends at school! We had a blast at our reunion in New Mexico! It was total CHAOS and I wouldn't trade that time in for anything! There are 23 grandkids and 12 adults! Smash all that together in my parents house and you get FUN FUN FUN! :) We had lots of swimming in my parents pool! Thank goodness for that because it was HOT! They had a pool table and air hockey set up in the garage and even had an air conditioner in there! That was great! The kids also got to ride the doom buggy thing and they LOVED that! Memphis couldn't talk about anything else for days. When we left Weylon was just getting over Bronchitis. He was pretty miserable for a couple days. Then Savanna got it and she was miserable for a few days. And I pray that we didn't give it to anyone else, but I know we got Justin sick....ugh so sorry Justin! I just want to say that I love each of my nieces and nephews. I am so proud of the wonderful good kids they are. They are such good examples to me and my children! And my first nephew Kyle is leaving on his mission in August and I am so thankful for that decision he has made! I know he will make a GREAT missionary! I want to tell my mom and dad how thankful I am for all they did for us. I know they went to so much hard work for us and it was so appreciated. I am so thankful for the family I have. We all had a great time and mom and dad thank you for all you did. I have a million pictures to post but I have to find the camera card. So, that will come later!

Tender Mercy!

I have so much to be thankful for. Once again, I have received a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. I better begin at the beginning. In 2000, my USU campus doc noticed a lump on my neck. I ended up having a golf ball sized tumor on my thyroid. So they removed it and half my thyroid. All went great from then on. I didn't have any thyroid issues (as far as I could tell). Then after I had OakLeigh, in 2008, my Doc noticed a lump again in my thyroid area. I had another tumor on the other half of my thyroid. So when OakLeigh was 5 or 6 months old, I went in for the removal of that tumor and the rest of my thyroid. I stayed in the hospital for 4 or 5 days and went home to my babies. I was told that the biopsy came back as benign. That I had nothing to worry about. So for the past 5 years I have been on synthroid (thyroid hormone) and living life! When we moved to Big Piney I found me a new Endocrinologist in SLC, UT. I had a list of about 15 doctors to choose from. But after calling several and looking over the list, Dr. Goodman's name kept coming back to the top. And I felt very drawn to have him as my doctor. Now I know why. I know that he was the Doctor that would get my records, be very THOROUGH, and help me in a way that I needed at this time. I know that my Heavenly Father was telling me to go to him. Well Dr. Goodman pulled all my records from as far back as he could. He looked over the mayo clinic report of my biopsy in 2008. He said that that tumor did have cancer. I should have had iodine radiation therapy 5 years ago. So, a couple weeks ago I had the radiation. LET ME TELL YOU, I have never felt such fear in my life. Our family doesn't exactly have a good track record when you hear the word CANCER. I watched my Aunt Betsy with her struggles of cancer, and finally her passing away because of it. My Uncle Stoney was a fighter of cancer and he lost his fight. My grandfather Felkins and Uncle Cliff also lost their fight to cancer. Cancer is not a word I take lightly. It is something that I will never just toss around and say for attention or fun. And every scenario went through my mind. My doctor put me on an iodine free diet. It was ROUGH to say the least. I like food. I like to eat food. And I was not a very nice person for those 14 days. My poor family. Brandon made ribs one day, I had to leave the house. One day I cooked pizza for the family. I was a baby. Pouted, threw a rag or 2, and again had to drive around for a while. On this diet, I lost 15 pounds in 14 days. I guess I know I can lose weight now. I just basically need to starve myself. HAHA I had a HUGE list of the don't eats, and a little list of the you can eats. I basically lived on an apple, small baked potatoe (PLAIN=GAG), and 3 oz of plain, TASTELESS chicken breast. And in the morning I ate 1 cup of malt o meal with 1 tsp of sugar. I WAS STARVING. And I am on some insulin resistant meds so, to eat so little for so long, I had the shakes, and added nausea and vomiting to that. WOOHOO! That made for a grumpy momma. However, I do know the good from this diet. And I do plan to adopt a LOT of this eating for my new way of life! (Its just so hard to go from eating whatever to basically around 500 calories a day... that makes a person ornery!) Anyways, I met Emily in SLC and she was my driver and we had the best time. Thank you Em for taking my mind off my family back home, and off the reason I was away from them. We laughed and talked and it was just like old times with her. After 2 days of thyrogen shots, on the 3rd day I had to drink a small dose of radiation. It didn't taste terrible, just like stale, dirty water. It made me feel pukey but wasn't too bad. Then on the 4th day, I swallowed a big silver looking pill of radiation and was locked down from Thursday till Monday in LDS hospital. At first it was kind of nice! PEACE AND QUIET! WOW! I even went to the bathroom SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE DOOR SHUT! AND NO FINGERS UNDER IT OR ANYONE YELLING AT ME! LOL But after about the first 5 hours, I WAS SO BORED! I had LOTS OF BOOKS though and I read 8 books in the time I was there! And I watched some fun movies that Emily and I used to watch in high school. I prayed a lot. I pondered a lot. So many thoughts went through my mind. At the end of this, on Monday morning I was to have a full body scan. I would find out if I had cancer. So many thoughts. What if I had cancer? What if it had spread? What would we do? How would my children and Brandon be ok if it had spread and I didn't make it? How do I break the news to them? My Savanna is the biggest worrier in the world, how would she cope? I knew in my mind, that this radiation is the magic bullet of thyroid cancer. I was aware that if any cancer had remained from the tumor, that this would most likely kill it. But there is always a possibility of it spreading, and then what? I had expressed some of my fears to Brandon. He is my rock. He would always say, "do you have faith?" I do have faith, but faith doesn't always heal you if it isn't the Lords plan. And I would tell him that. And he would always say, "well I have faith that you were drawn to this DR for a reason. I have faith that you are doing this treatment for a reason and I have faith that you will be just fine..." And he said, if you aren't we will deal with it and learn to accept our Heavenly Father's plan because HE KNOWS BETTER AND MORE THAN WE DO. And I know this. I do have faith. I received a beautiful preisthood blessing from Brandon and the bishopric. All my fears were put aside until I was locked up and alone and had too many irrational thoughts and feelings bombarding my brain! I am so thankful for my mom for always being here for me. She came to my house and stayed with my wild bunch. Even though Brandon was home from work in the evenings, I was so thankful to have someone I could trust here. And she was so sick for the WHOLE time. She ended up having bronchitis. I had my scan and was told it was all fine! Brandon took me to Chik-fil-a for breakfast. Because I just wanted to eat and get home. I missed my kids so much! The next day I was called by the dr and told to come back for an ultrasound because they found some questionable spots. HOLY CRAP ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I thought this nightmare was over! We went BACK to SLC and did an ultrasound. My dr. is confidant that if it is cancer, the radiation will kill it. It takes 3 months for it to do its magic. So I will go back in 3 months and see what they say! All in all, I feel so blessed. I know my Father in Heaven led me to this doctor to take care of me. I know that he protected my children while I was gone. I know he will continue to watch over this issue and help me along the way. I feel like I have received so many tender mercies from Him and it will all be ok. As the saying goes, "come what may and love it". And so I will. NO matter what my Father in Heaven has in store, I will live my life to the fullest. I will enjoy all I can and love on my children for as long as they will let me! And I will, everyday, thank my Heavenly Father for always watching over me and keeping my family in his loving arms. Do I think I have anything to worry about? NO. Do I think that the cancer has spread anywhere? NO. But when you are alone, locked in a room for several days, your mind runs away with you, and you can't help but think about the worst and best. I am only putting this on this post for my children. I am doing this blog as a journal for them someday. If I write this down now, I will remember that I have so very much to be thankful for. I have been blessed beyond what I am sure I deserve. On another note, my Savanna girl is 10 years old now. She is the most sensitive, caring, loving child you will ever meet. You know there are people you meet that you can tell immediately the gifts they have been given. Like the gift of gab, or gift of laughter, gift of service. Savanna has the gift of love. She has more love for others in her little pinky that some grown people have in their whole bodies. She constantly worries about the welfare of others. And she doesn't just worry about, she acts upon it. For instance, on Mother's day, the primary made flowers for their moms. Savanna made several extra. And she looked around for some of the older ladies that didn't have any children or grandchildren there and she gave them a flower. So they wouldn't feel left out. I have heard her go into her room and pray for someone she saw kids being mean to at school. She has even had a slumber party (in Rozet) and invited 2 girls just because she knew they had never been invited to a party before. And she made sure she stuck right by those 2 girls and made sure everyone included them. She is one smart cookie also. She LOVES TO LEARN. So for her birthday we got her a kindle fire. And it is the coolest thing. Brandon and I are saving up to get us one too. I will post some pictures. She wanted a 3 layered cake, with rainbows and monster high on it. I tried. I have so much to be thankful for. I am home with my children and Brandon. I live in a free country. I have a family that constantly loves and supports me and everyone else. Brandon has a great job. Even though Big Piney is not my dream town, it is a SAFE place to raise my family. I don't have to worry about my kids in school, or playing outside. I have been given so many tender mercies from Heavenly Father. Also, one of the pictures is of our Financial Peace University class. It is a Dave Ramsey class and We LOVED IT. We are learning how to manage our money. Not let our money manage us! We are almost out of debt completely and we are saving up to pay cash for a house! Our goal is in the next 4 years to pay cash for a home. This class has helped us in more ways than one!

Motherhood

Well I can't believe that time has come again for Mother's day. It is in a few days and it always gets me thinking about my life as a mother, about my mother and all the influential mothers I have had in my life. (Too many to count or name...) All I ever wanted to be, growing up, was a momma. I would fantasize and dream about how wonderful it would be. About how I would be such a good mom. About how my kids would always behave. I would dream about how life would be "PERFECT"! The day I became a mother was the best day of my life. Next to the day Brandon sat across the alter from me and was sealed to me for time and eternity. But I was scared to death. I didn't get that handbook passed on from my mom or any other wonderful mom before me. Thankfully Savanna was a dream child. She hardly ever cried. She was a very content baby...most of the time. There were a few times that she would have an all out screamfest and I wouldn't know what to do. Those were the days I felt inadequate to be a mom. I remember when she was only a couple months old, Brandon's dad, Lon came to Casper and took us to a bluegrass music festival at the Casper events center. She did wonderful through out the entire day, until the end when we went to Applebees for dinner. She decided to start screaming and would NOT stop. She wouldn't nurse, she wouldn't go to sleep. Rocking didn't work. Bouncing didn't work. Soothing talking didn't work. I finally took her to the car and sat in there and cried with her. She had NEVER cried this way in the whole 2 or 3 months of her life and I was at a loss at what to do. She finally cried herself to sleep. And that was the ONLY screamfest she ever had. Other than times when she was sick, she was a very easy baby. Heck, she even potty trained herself. She just started going on the potty one day at about 17 months old. She was a talker, she was SO SMART! She even weaned herself from nursing. She was just done one day. She made me think, "oh yeah, I am doing such a good job as a mom. I rock..." Then I had Weylon. He was a screamer from day one. He screamed the second we put him in his carseat from the hospital. And he never stopped! He had times he was really happy, but he mostly screamed. I think for his first 14 months of his life he screamed. And he never slept. We would get him to sleep, he would get maybe an hour in (at night) and would wake up and scream. I kept thinking something was wrong with him. That he was hurting somehow. I kept wondering where I was failing him? Savanna was so easy. He was NOT! I took him to the pediatrician about 100 times and he always checked out fine. But I knew something was not right. Then I took him to an ENT and they checked his ears. Poor kid had a ton of fluid on his ears. And every time he laid down to sleep, the pressure would build and he would hurt. We got tubes put in, and that night he SLEPT ALL NIGHT LONG! That was the first night in 15 months that I got over 3 hours of sleep! I was so HAPPY! I wasn't a failure. He was in pain. PHEW! Little guy is still as stubborn as the day he was born though. And he still crys when you are in the car for long periods of time. He does NOT like to be confined to a small space for long. But what a good, hard working kid he is! Once OakLeigh was born, I felt like I could be an ok mom. She was a very good tempered baby. Then she got mobile and she hasn't stopped moving since! She is always on the go go go. Her little brain never slows down, her body never slows down. Her mouth never stops talking. Then all of a sudden at night, she crashes. She doesn't move for the next 10 hours and then we start all over again the next day. When I delivered Steven, it was a very sad time for me. I LOVE all my children with all my heart and soul. When I learned that he had passed away in the womb, I lost a part of myself. I asked myself over and over what I did wrong? What could I have done differently? And the agonizing answer is, NOTHING. His time on earth wasn't in his plan. As much as I ache to hold him, as much as I hurt because he is missing from our family here on earth, I know that the plan for him is perfect and one day I will hold him. One day I will be able to walk with him and talk with him. The day I kissed him goodbye was a very hard day, but I also received peace and a COMPLETE reassurance that all would be well. That it was not my fault as a mother. That as HIS mother I actually did my job. I carried his sweet little body for as long as our Heavenly Father deemed necessary for his mission. And that is what gets me through the hard days when I miss him. I don't think anyone can ever understand unless they have lost a baby or been through a similar situation. Even though he didn't breath on this earth, he is still my sweet little boy. He is still my son. He is a HUGE part of me, and I, as his MOMMY, will love him unconditionally forever, here on earth or not. Just as I love my other children. Our sweet little Memphis came to us at such a critical time in our lives. Heavenly Father had it planned just right. (Hmm, imagine that? He does know what is best when it is best :) Memphis literally brings a smile to EVERYONE'S FACE! He is a happy boy. He is a joy to the whole house. He can make dramatic Savanna stop and smile. He can make stubborn Weylon stop whining (yes we do call him Whiney WEYMORE FOR A REASON) and smile and play. He can stop OakLeigh from running wild, slow down and give him a hug and kiss. He can bring Brandon and I out of a low day and help us smile, enjoy life. Each of my children play a vital role in my life. I am mom. I don't really identify as anyone else. Sometimes I get low and feel like I am a maid, a nurse, a teacher, well mostly a maid. Mother is a very demanding job. Some days I would love to run away. Take some time to just sit on the porcelin throne ALONE. Take a 5 minute shower ALONE. Get dressed without 4 kids (and a husband :) barging in. But at the end of the day, I WOULDN'T TRADE THIS ROLE AS A MOTHER FOR ANYTHING ELSE. I wouldn't be happy as anything else. I wouldn't be who I am with out my sweet children to remind me of who I am every day. I recently read an article about Christlike Mothering by Rachel Hixon. It hit me like a bag of bricks. The artile talks about "The Mother's Atonement." I am going to put a couple quotes in here from that article..."All that He did and all that He was in His life pointed us to understand the true nature of His Father, our Father. The glory was to be pointed there. It was never about Him. He swept up the crumbs, mended the broken, and made no comment or had any thought as to who was responsible. He cleaned up our messes infinitely with the perfect love of the Father, so that we could come to know Him. My job as a mother is to point them to the Savior, who will then point them to the Father. Christlike mothering isn't about what I've done for them. It's about what heart I did it with. When I show my children who He is through my actions and my heart, then, and only then, can I consider the mother's Atonement applicable to me. Only then do I feel like I am participating in christlike mothering." Wow!~ SERIOSLY! I have the GREATEST role here on earth. I get to be the mother of the most wonderful children. I have the opportunity to love and teach as Christ did. I have been given this divine role. And can love and DO LOVE my children as our Heavenly Father loves us as his children. I need to remember that I don't need a thanks, I dont need acknowledgement. I am their mother because my Heavenly Father trusted me to do this. He trusted me to be their mother. And that is enough for me. I love my babies with all my heart and soul. I can see part of me and Brandon in each one. And they actually teach me more than I could ever teach them. So reflecting back to my "FANTASIES AND DREAMS" of being a mother are funny. My kids are not perfect. We have our moments that we should probably be caged. We are the row at church people avoid sitting by. But I am happy. I am trying. My role as a mother is much better than I could have ever imagined it being. It is not perfect, we have bad days. And I am glad for that because we know how to appreciate the good. I am so thankful to be a mom. I also think of my mom. We still talk 2 or 3 times a day. I call her for reassurance. We complain to each other about the daily happenings of life. But I couldn't ask for a better mom for me. She is not only my mom but my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her. I have to go to SLC the end of may and have iodine radiation. I will be there from May 27th through June 3rd. And I knew without a doubt, that all I had to was say the word and my mom would be here for us. She will drop anything for any of her children. I understand her pains and worries now that I am a mother. But I am so thankful that she is here for me whenever. I am so thankful that she will always be there to give me the kind, reassuring love that I still need, even as a 37 year old mother now. When I first got married it drove Brandon nuts that mom called me all the time or I called her. But he is used to it now. And if I haven't talked to her in the day, he always asks, "is your mom ok? You haven't talked to her today. You better call and make sure everything is ok over there." Thanks mom for always being there for me. For giving me "the talk" when I needed it. For giving me unconditional love through all my decisions I have made in my life. I have so many moms in my life that I will never be able to thank enough. Granny, Grandma, Momo, Aunt Betsy, Thelma Jo, Beth Bluemel just to name a few. Some days, I pick up my phone still to call Granny. She passed away several months ago, and I can still hear her sweet voice. I can still hear her telling me how a real lady should act. I can still feel her love. I can still hear my Aunt Betsy calmly teaching me how to drive stick shift. I can hear her laughing at me and telling me I really shouldn't be dating a particular boy I was dating. I can still hear Momo telling us how we should behave. That we shouldn't be, in her loving words, "LITTLE Sh$@$%..." Grandma Felkins, was there when I got my wedding dress fitted. She, not being a member, drove with Aunt Shirley to Utah from Colorado to sit outside the temple to be there for me. That meant so much to me. That, even though she couldn't go in, waited outside and still showed her love and support. Beth, I miss her cackle laugh. I can still remember her sitting down with Em and I crafting the day away. She didn't care about the HUGE mess we made. She made her own right along with us and gave pointers to help us along. Thelma JO, will always be momma Jo to all of us. She loves us enough to give us the what for, when no one else dares. She will drop anything at anytime if we asked. She has been to all of our weddings, all of our graduations, even a few big sporting events for high school, countless rodeos for her family, mission farewells and returns. Thank you to all of my MOMS in my life. I couldn't name you all, or all the things you have done for me and the great influences you have all been to me. I am very blessed. Happy Mothers Day!

Weylon is 7!!!

I can't believe my little baby boy is 7 years old! He has so many qualities that make Weylon the boy he is! He is probably the HARDEST working kid you will ever come across. He can outwork MOST kids and some men I know! When Brandon was putting shingles on the chicken coop, it was so stinking hot outside! I think it was around 100 that day. And who was out there in that heat, not me! It was Weylon. He climbed up and down that ladder handing his daddy shingle after shingle. They would take a break every so often and come in for some ice water and his little head had sweat just a dripping off it, but he wouldn't quit until daddy was done. He is the one in the house that will vacuum to perfection for me, he mops, he cleans the bathrooms! He is a good kid and I am so proud of him! For his birthday he has never gotten a party, its too close to after Christmas and we just couldn't usually afford it, well thanks to Dave Ramsey and working towards getting out of debt!, he got to have a party this year! And a good one! We went to the bowling alley and he had Nahir, Tyler, Natalie, (the others didn't make it) but then the whole Davis family and ours! He was so excited! And the kid made bank, he ended up making 52$ for his birthday in total! Not bad for a little boy! Here are some pictures of the party and how much fun they had! Love you my Weymore!

Our OakLeigh Lyndelle turns 5!!!!

I can't even believe my baby girl is 5 years old! Sheesh! Time has flown so fast. She is one unique kiddo. I honestly don't know any other like her. She is more energetic than the energizer bunny. She will run and run, very literally in circles, through the living room, play room, kitchen, jumps on the couch, back off, on her head, back to her feet, spins a circle and runs again. If she isn't doing that, then she is being a horse or finding something to turn into her horse...that she can ride. We were in the church cleaning and she found the coat rack. The church coat rack has hangers that are stuck to the bar so you can't take the hanger. Well she figured out that it is attached. Next thing we see is her hanging off the hangers swinging back and forth like a monkey. Until the hanger BROKE off and she went flying. Most kids that would be a red flag to stop. Not OakLeigh, she just finds another hanger. Until she sees us and our faces. Then she breaks down crying because she stopped to think and realizes that was the wrong thing to do. Oh but we love our non-stop on the go little girl. She is so kind hearted and loving. One evening, shortly after the shooting at the school in Connecticut, she must have heard me talking about it and how devastating it was. And how bad I feel for the parents of all those babies that were killed. I was going into the bedroom to kiss OakLeigh goodnight and got to listen to the sweetest prayer a 4 year old could possibly think of. She asked that all the bad kids would find the Christmas spirit so Santa could bring them just one present. Then right after that she asked to "please bless the sad parents that lost their babies in Connecticut." Brought tears to my eyes, first because she is so little and has heard of such a tragedy, and also because she thought of them and how sad their families are right now and wanted to make sure they were blessed. What a sweet girl I have.

Here is my OakLeigh only 3 weeks old. She was such a pretty baby.

As you can see she already had quite the personality at about 15 months old!

She LOVED playing on the old tractor at our old house in Rozet.

Here she is this year. She has grown so much!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! We love you so much!