CHRISTMAS WEEK 2007 Subtitled: Tifani writes a book

I (STILL) LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Let me start by saying that we have like 16 hours of Christmas music on iTunes so I turned it on to shuffle and listened to that all day every day, and it was beautiful and our tree is so pretty and we got a TON (literally) of snow this past week! I love that each ornament that we have has a story to go with it! I love the Christmas cards we received (you know who you are OR ARE NOT!!) and our pretty lights! I love Christmas! I loved this Christmas! I am sad for it to end! I have been thinking that while I find complete spiritual fulfillment in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by my church, I would like to go to a Christmas mass. I have never been, despite living in a predominating Catholic area now and when I lived in Holbrook. That is my plan for next year. I would also like to find someplace that does the Messiah. This year I realized what a big role music plays for me in enjoying the holidays.

Important background information to clarify my state of mind (lessness). At least one kid has had the stomach flu since the 9th of December. UGH!

RACHEL'S CHOIR CONCERT

Tuesday Rachel had a choir concert, which was so beautiful I actually got goosebumps three times and teary twice. I love that they came into the auditorium singing to start the concert. The sound is just amazing. At the end they sing "Dona Nobis Pacem" acapella (in English – “let there be peace” but they sing it in Latin) while standing throughout the auditorium. I don’t think there was a dry eye. Larry stayed home with the sick Daniel who missed his own 4th grade Christmas program because of the pukes.

Such silly and pretty girls! Rachel and her friends after the concert.

They even let Sari in on the fun.

DANIEL'S IEP (INTERGRATED EDUCATION PLAN)

Thursday. Thursday Thursday Thursday. ((((((((Sigh))))))))) Daniel had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which is basically where the teachers and administrators sit you (in this case, Larry and I) down, discuss all the testing their did on your child, and then tell you what they are going to do. The sad thing is that your child has to be two standard deviations BELOW normal before they will do anything (and that is REALLY REALLY low!). The good thing he has a teacher who just really is on the ball and knows how to work the system and FINALLY recognizes that Daniel has a lot of coping techniques which disguise what is really going on. He is so scattered in his skills that it is hard for a regular test to accurately diagnose him. For example, he reads on a 7th grade or higher level. His comprehension is on a 2nd grade level. He understands the words and basic plot but if you ask him to read between the lines and get the story implied he cannot do it. Still, put the scores together and his reading is fine. Except it is not. Also, he is very literal. For example, if you say, “What would you do if you found a wallet?” He would say, “I would give it to a teacher.” But when asked why he answers only that he is supposed to. When asked what would happen if he didn’t give it to the teacher, he can not formulate a scenario because he would give it to the teacher because you are supposed to. So, anyway, the upshot is that Daniel needs extra help in comprehension and math. He needs some sensory help and interpersonal skills too. The upshot is that an IEP is VERY depressing. I mean, it is good, I have been bucking for him to get extra help for years. Of course, being the cynic that I am, I think he finally got help because this is the year of the first WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) and they don’t want his failing score to count against them. By making an IEP he is exempt from the same standards. I mean, of course they are doing it to help the children. I think this is one of those experiences that you just have to go through to appreciate the vast range of emotions. I have to remember how far how he has come and that his life has been in Heavenly Father’s hands from the start and Daniel has accomplished miraculous things so far and whatever level he is supposed to attain he will. BUT, I don’t want to get to the other side and find out that I didn’t work hard enough or do enough.

BEN POPS OUT HIS KNEE (BUT IS THE ONLY ONE TO NEVER GET THE STOMACH FLU).

After the IEP I went to Ben’s wrestling meet just to discover that during warm up he had popped out his knee again (first time on Tuesday but he could walk it off) and his muscles had seized. He actually nearly CRIED, and his leg was purply and swollen. Poor kid. I know JUST how he feels! I was nauseaous watching the trainer move his knee around and my knees began to hurt. We are getting an MRI on Friday, January 4th. A Ben who doesn't wrestle is a bored Ben and a bored Ben is a naughty Ben.

I am pretty sure this is illegal in most states, were they not "wrestling".

JOSEPH'S CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

Friday I went to Joseph’s kindergarten Christmas program – they are always hilarious. I have to say Joseph’s class was superior to the other teachers’. All of Joseph’s class knew the words and actions, and were MUCH better behaved. It cracks me up that in Spokane Washington the schools do such great CHRISTMAS/JESUS programs, and in Utah it was just generic winter holiday programs.

Love the tucking the dress into the tights that Joseph's neighbor girl is doing.

STOMACH FLU IS AN AIR-BORN VIRUS. BLEACH DOES NOT HELP.

Saturday Larry and I did Christmas shopping. Novel concept, I know. We also scurried about like bees to make sure the house was spotless and clean, laundry done and put away, toys organized, coat closet organized, sterilized out all the sickness, bleached, disinfected all the doorknobs, etc. so that we (me, too!) could all enjoy the peace and joy of this Christmas season, especially Christmas day.

Saturday night Daniel threw up (again) and I JUST KNEW someone would because I have only been to one Christmas Sacrament Meeting in the last seven years – someone is always sick – usually croup. While I was at the store that night Larry called the bishop and made arrangements so Larry stayed home from church (after his morning meetings and this is his month to conduct), and I went to church. It was very nice of him and I loved all the classes.

NEVER THINK YOU ARE TOO BUSY TO BALANCE YOUR CHECKBOOK

I didn’t love that I found what totaled to be about 3 months worth of tithing and fast offering checks in various church bags. Ugh. Yeah, balancing the checkbook regularly is something that went to the wayside the last … year.

That night – LARRY’S BIRTHDAY!!!! and Larry started to feel not so great. All night and Christmas Eve Day he was full-on-stomach-flu-sick-as-a-dog. We had a VERY MELLOW Christmas Eve day and we cancelled with the missionaries who were going to come over. Sari got sick again.

LIVE NATIVITY ON CHRISTMAS EVE

Every year Ben volunteers to be "the ass". I think he likes to have an excuse to say the word without getting into trouble.

Joseph gives Mary and the Jedi-Shepherd a little love.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas day – bright and early – like 2 a.m. - I came down with the same flu! Lucky me!! And it was a terrible one! SO, we had a VERY MELLOW Christmas day, too.

Traditional shot on the stairs before the big reveal!

Matthew got weapons for Christmas. It is never too early to start them on the path of violence.

Thank heavens Larry was feeling better! He ran things for two FULL days all by his lonesome. I am very lucky, I know!

DENTAL EMERGENCY DEFINED

While all this was going on, my tooth, one that has a crown because it broke in fourths 18 months ago and has been going south for awhile, began to hurt endlessly and painfully. The day after Christmas we finally called the dentist only to find out that wasn’t an emergency for him and he called me in some antibiotics (which, apparently can cause bloody pluterutous up to FOUR MONTHS after you take it and you have to go to the ER and tell them you took this medicine but not to worry, it is RARELY fatal, you can’t lie down for 30 minutes after you take it (because it can make your esophagus bleed), and I am supposed to take it 4 times a day?!!! ECK!!!) and some narcotics (makes me puke – thanks for nothing) and said to call the next morning to get an appointment.

The next morning, THURSDAY (tooth had been hurting since SATURDAY) I called and they said, “Yeah, he told us about you, we can see you TOMORROW.” !!!!! What the heck?!!! They told me 3:50, which I confirmed twice because I thought dentist turned into pumpkins at noon on Friday. It turned out, when they called me at 2:00, they THINK they said 1:50. They were smiling, talking nice and saying it RUDE. Doing that to a dog makes it crazy. It does me, too.

Friday, AFTERNOON!! by the way (7 + FULL days of constant, unrelenting tooth pain and I have a high pain tolerance!), I got a root canal and I have to say, THAT was absolutely painless! I LOVE my root canal! It was/is GREAT!! I don’t see what the big deal is. My tooth is only a little tender, and thank goodness I already had a crown on it so it was “only” $1000. We owe $250. It seems that the dentist office forgot to tell us that they are no longer primary providers for our insurance AND HAVEN’T BEEN for FOUR YEARS!!! The mean lady at check-out (refer to previous newsletters to remind yourself of the times she has made me cry) just says, “This is what it costs, and this is what your insurance will pay and this is what you owe. Please do not let any blood from the kidney you just ripped out drip on the floor, keep it in the basin.”

Oh, AND!!!! the office charged me AN EXTRA FIFTY DOLLARS (not covered by the insurance) because it was “AN EMERGENCY VISIT!!!” Can you believe the nerve??!!! (No pun intended, hehe) I am livid and changing dentists immediately!! For an emergency visit I should like to be seen sometime in an “emergency” time frame. If I had had an ice-skate I would have pulled a Tom Hanks from “Castaway”. (If you don’t know – he knocks out his own tooth because he is on a deserted island – I just as well have been!)

ORTHODONTIC EMERGENCY DEFINED

Last night (Saturday), while expanding Daniel’s expander, he said, “It feels like it is coming off.” And sure enough, the glue had come off the back tooth ring thing that holds on his expander and all the braces on top. Every time he opened his mouth, it fell off and he was kind of biting it. I was so sad because it was a nightmare to get on in the first place.

Sunday morning, after Sacrament Meeting, I called the orthodontist office and they are closed until Wednesday but had an emergency number. I called that number and the other orthodontist of the partnership, who we don’t go to and had never seen, answered. He sounded 10 years old. I explained. He said he was skiing but would meet us at his South Hill office (we go to the North Side office) in 2 hours. (Can you believe the difference between the dentist and orthodontist?! I would have thought it the other way.)

I farmed out the kids for rides home and left church early, and took Daniel to the South Hill office. I wrote a quick note about Daniel’s mouth on a sticky note and slipped it to him when we got there (we were early and by the way, he is a short, slightly rotund gray/balding 65ish man who is just jolly looking) he read the note, didn’t say anything about it and proceeded to be so gentle and kind and good to Daniel that I am getting teary just writing about it. He took off the wire and expander, and fixed it and cleaned it and put it back on (and didn’t use any gauze so Daniel didn’t FREAK out) and glued it and rewired and banded him. It took more than an hour and he was just FABULOUS! Daniel did great. (Daniel and I also prayed beforehand – some of my most earnest prayers are in dentist/orthodontist parking lots!)

SABBATH DAY OF REST OR THERE IS NO PEACE FOR THE WICKED?

Afterward, we were starving, but I kept the Sabbath day and we drove home to go to tithing settlement (we have been rescheduling for a month because of sick people) when the orthodontist called me back. Did I have his keys?


Of course not.

Well, actually, yes, I do.

They were in my purse (they looked EXACTLY like mine!) so I turned around and drove BACK to the south Hill (40 minutes from our house) and I worried the whole way about our transmission because the car wouldn’t go faster when I pushed on the gas. Larry called the bishop to say we would be late. No problem. Well, I got to the office and turned off the Suburban and gave him his keys, showed him mine, he was very gracious to this kleptomaniac and got back in my car and tried to start it. Nothing. Crikey!! Well, I mean, it would turn over but not catch. The orthodontist was very sweet (and so was his wife) and he tried to start it and it still wouldn’t. I insisted they leave and I called Larry to come get us and USAA to come tow the Suburban. Larry called the bishop who said, “Okay, you know what, let’s assume you are full tithe payers.” and Larry drove the 40 minutes to pick us up and arrived minutes before the tow truck. By now it was about 4 p.m. I was using Rachel’s cell phone (I left mine at home and thank GOODNESS I took hers!) but I didn’t have MY numbers, NO coat for Daniel or me (15 inches of snow in Spokane right now and a balmy, BREEZY 23*), AND no food or water. Daniel and I were STARVING. Lesson learned. I will at least TAKE a coat. Larry took us to Subway. The Suburban went back to the shop. No car this week.

Christmas Eve dinner became Christmas dinner, became today’s dinner, became … New Year dinner! Crossing our fingers! We have a great party planned. And we are entering a new phase, as Rachel was invited to a New Year’s Party at a friend’s house. She is at that age. It is weird to think that we only have two more New Years with her before she goes to college. Time just flies right now.

FAILING TO FLY OFF THE RADAR

The icing on the cake - tonight Sari said, “Oh, mom, the Stake President called to talk to you.” I said, “You mean dad.” She said, “NO, you.” Begrudgingly, I called him back. Now I am speaking in Stake Conference in May. I got a four month assignment and then I give a ten minute talk on keeping my will aligned with Heavenly Father’s.

THE END

And that, dear friends, has been what I did the week of the celebration of the birth of my Savior. God clearly has a GREAT sense of humor! I hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

MATTHEW

Matthew did something VERY cute last week – one morning he got up, got dressed in real clothes (as opposed to superhero dress up) specifically a plaid long sleeve collared shirt, khakis, and a belt. Even shoes and socks (this boy is usually in various stages of undress). Then he said to me, “Look Mom, I am Dad!” Sure enough! Then he said, “I just need a watch right here” and pulled on his belt loop, where Larry keeps his pocket watch. Very funny!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARRY!!

Today is Larry's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARRY!!!

He is one year younger than me, something he reminds me of often. For him today, I will write some things you may or may not know about my eternal companion. And in honor of him, I will leave the font black and plain because he has never really understood my obsession with finding the perfect font and color to accompany what I want to say. He is an engineer, after all ...

• He served an honorable mission to Brasil.
  Look how skinny he is! He lost 40 pounds in one month! Worms, parasites, and other microbials will do that to you...)
• He has a testimony of the Atonement.
• He is hilarious! It is hard to pick just one story for this. He is really great at quietly saying something that is just right on and funny.
• He is insanely optimistic.
  Here he is, proudly wearing the pink shirt the YW gave all of the bishopric for Girls Camp one year. This picture was taken at the Father/Daughter Camp Out.
• He is my best friend.
• He has high morals. He didn't know I saw this, but once at Fred Meyer, I walked down the aisle to catch up with him, and a girl in front of him bent over to pick something up and she revealed her tushie and sequined thong panties. Larry immediately looked away. What a great guy! This past weekend Ben wanted some cologne from Victoria-Has-No-Secrets (his friend gave him a sample) so we stopped by the store in the mall. Larry didn't want to go in and waited at a different store (snowboards). Later I asked him why and he said he just preferred not to have those images in his mind. He didn't make a big deal out of it and wouldn't have said anything if I didn't ask. That is just his way, to quietly do what needs to be done and I feel like he is 100% faithful to me.
• He is an understanding dad.
  Channeling his inner child, Tom Sawyer's island and seeing Jack Sparrow are his favorite parts of Disneyland. I love that he carried Sari's purse for her without a second thought.
• He is (usually) more patient than me.
  Here he is teaching Matthew to shoot a Red Rider bb gun at Father and Sons.
• He has a good perspective - he is really good at figuring out what the REAL thing is and then working it out. He is good at seeing past the current unpleasantries and then focuses on the big picture.
• We can talk for hours at a time. When the kids were little we used to go on drives, just so they would fall asleep in the car and we could talk without interruptions. It was a sad day when they got too big for that.
• He can remember EVERYTHING but chooses not to use his great memory against me.
  How growlishious is this picture?
• He fits me perfectly - where I lack he is strong.
• He is thoughtful. Here is just one example: On Mother's Day, after Daniel was born and I was EXHAUSTED he gave me a nap. Not any old nap, but one at a hotel. He knew the manager and arranged it - no, it wasn't THAT kind of hotel, it was a nice one that usually didn't rent out by the hour. Anyway, I think it was the best nap I have ever had. The three hours passed in about a nanosecond. I didn't even know I had fallen asleep. If I had stayed home I would have cleaned, or thought about cleaning, or listened for the kids, or stayed awake thinking about bills, but being in that neutral location - it was lights out.
  Larry loves this kind of stuff and he's good at it.
• He can fix things and if he doesn't know how he will learn.
• He makes me breakfast almost EVERY Saturday morning and takes care of the kids so I can sleep in.
• He bbqs steak fabulously.
• He is a true and loyal friend.
• He insists on date night.
• When I am gone at night I know that he will take care of family scriptures and prayer.
• He starts Family Home Evening.
• He loves and respects his parents (and his siblings and their families).
  Rachel says, "This is the hottest picture I have ever seen. I wish I wasn't related to them, I would blow the picture up big and hang it in my room." Snaps to Larry and his brother, Steve.
• He doesn't even think unkind thoughts toward others (unless someone driving in front of him is going slow :). ) He genuinely does not understand why my sister and I used to read some Christmas brag/newsletters and laugh our eyeballs out - not at any one's who reads this blog - really, I promise.
• He gives everyone the benefit of the doubt.
• He is a good sport.
• He is stubborn, I mean, willfull and persistent.
• He is a hard worker.
• He is a good example.
• He will go into work very early so he can get off work in time to attend the kids's sporting events and other things that are important to them (like Daniel's IEP last week - another blog, another day.)
• He takes me to the temple.
• He makes it possible for me to be a stay at home mom.
• He supports me in all my crafts, sewing, scrapbooking ("crapbooking" he calls it), reading, and pretty much everything.
• He is honest.
• He doesn't like to get his feet wet. But EVERY summer we have been married he has gone camping with my family to the lake.
  Here he is at the beach in Los Angeles.
• He keeps confidences of anyone who confides in him. He is shut down like a vault, baby.
• He is a worthy priesthood holder.
  Larry and Daniel on Daniel's baptism day.
• He has a lovely voice. I never tire of listening to him sing.
• He is a great dancer.
• He loves all sports and is good enough to teach our kids - football, baseball, wrestling are his favorites.
• He is an Eagle Scout.
  One year for his birthday he wanted his Eagle award framed. How easy is that?
• He prefers to spend time with me and the kids rather than hanging out with his buddies.

I could go on and on. How much time do you have? Okay, I guess I will leave it at that for now. I am so lucky that I found him. He won my heart and has never let me down.

***Legal Disclaimer - Someone called and said this was awful sappy and not really true because she/he knew I had been mad at Larry before. Well, here is the disclaimer: OF COURSE in our 17 years of marriage I have felt mad/frustrated/angry/depressed/lonely/discouraged/alienated/sorry for myself/stressed/misunderstood/homicidal even. I think that is normal. This post isn't about what Larry does that bugs me (a lot of which are twists on the things I admire) but it is about his character and nature of his being. So, thanks for reading and hugs and kisses to all of you!

TO TEILANI ... tribute

Happy Birthday, CHICAMIA!!

Today is my little sister's birthday! Because she cares more about that stuff than me, I will not post her age, but will say that I am 40, and I was 3 1/2 when she was born.

Some things I love about Teilani: (not in any particular order)

• She doesn't act her age.

• She will try anything.
• She does crafties for me and with me.
• She reminds me not to be so uptight (this, from a girl who used to iron her money!)
• She is HILARIOUS!!! Truly a genius at one-liners!
  
  
• She doesn't care what other people think.

• She did a pole dance for my mom and I on a subway in New York City.
• We "get" each other. We laugh at the same time, for the same reason, without talking.
• We have kids the same age so we can compare notes.

• She enjoys kids more than I do.

This is her and Tamilie.

• My children adore her.

• She adores my children and spoils them when they stay with her.
• She is a great artist.

• She saved her Halloween candy until Easter and Easter candy until Halloween. I think she still does.
• She has really vivid dreams, like I do and we discuss.
• She is my best friend confidante. She is my therapist and conscience. She is the devil or angel on my shoulder.
• She taught me to play Guitar Hero.
• She is a hard worker.
• She dresses fabulously.
• Marissa, our Indian placement student who Teilani HATED, named her illegitimate daughter after her. (And her second one after my mom, Jaelynne. None after me. I am so crushed!)
• She is generous to a fault.
• She knows how to have fun.
• She speaks her mind.
• I know she will keep her end of the "solemn vows" we have made to each other.
• She invented her own language with new uses for words like "couch" and "spinach".
• She loves me.

Happy Birthday, Teilani!!!

I feel like I should mention my other sisters. I have an older sister who died the day she was born and my youngest sister died on her 4th birthday (I hold my breath on birthdays). I used to feel really ripped off by that. I still kind of do, but then I figured out that Tanja was without a sister in the Spirit World for 4 years while Tamilie was here. That must have been lonely for her. Now Tamilie and Tanja have each other there and Teilani and I have each other here. We each have a sister and someday we will all see each other again and remember what we used to know about each other. I am sure that Tanja and Tamilie, while perfect, must have our family's warped sense of humor and that we will have a great reunion.

GETTING CAUGHT UP ...

First of all, please take a moment to vote on my poll. As I have been working on Christmas cards this week I have had several friends tell me that it is out of style to include family letters. Just send a picture.

I LOVE pictures!! Really! I hang them up and then I scrapbook them at the end of the year.

Now, about those Christmas letters: I had an epiphany a few years ago. I got my friend's newsletter and I needed a Prozac IV. Really. She spoke of her seven children all playing different instruments and being in a family chamber choir. Several children had earned black belts in Tae Kwon Do. They had cheerleaders, gymnasts, honor students, student government, and a long list of musical productions various family members had been in. They had an impressive list of a variety of pets from the usual to the exotic. They went on a cruise as a family and she and her husband took several trips alone. The icing on the cake? Her two year old BOY was potty trained AND learning to read.

Yeah. You see what I mean?

Here's where my epiphany came in. Because this was a GOOD friend of mine, I also knew a lot more than she wrote in the letter. In addition to her impressive list of accomplishments. She also has an impressive list of trials. It may seem hard to believe that there could be something to compete with what she accomplished, but believe me - there is!
That is when I realized that brag letters are about the GOOD things that happened that year. People write about Suzy's straight A's and not her unidentified lip fungus. No one wants to tell the world about the deeply personal challenges they face.
Once I realized that I began to enjoy the "brag" letters a lot more. So, I say, "brag away! And send me those letters!" I LOVE to know what is going on in everyone's lives. It seems like my friends' kids are all growing up so fast and I love to read all about what is new! I have a friend who lives on the other side of the United States and her newsletters are size 8 font, single spaced. They are hilarious and worth several read-throughs! We also get top ten lists in size 24 fonts. I love both kinds.
While I have about 35 people who accepted invitations (do you feel special? we really did limit our invites) to this blog (and about 5 who comment - you know who you are and thank you :) ) we send Christmas cards to about 100 people. If you are one of the lucky ones that know ALL about us anyway, well, consider yourselves twice blessed OR twice cursed, whichever.

I think I will continue with the Christmas letter and I hope everyone else will, too! (By the way, in our Relief Society newsletter this month someone had written about ways to simplify Christmas and she said, "I am going to send out a personal card to everyone this year instead of the mass mailing." WHAT??? Was that a typo? Oh my gosh! That is NOT simplifying for me!! I got hives just thinking about personally writing 100+ letters. U.G.H.

On to other fun things the last little while. Have you been to SimponizeMe.Com yet? You download your picture and then they draw you as a Simpson. Here is our family:

Maybe we will send this out for a family picture this year.

Now, onto Daniel: (See how I change colors? That means a new topic.)
This week Daniel got braces.

Daniel CAN NOT stand to have his mouth touched. In the strange way that brain injuries are, he cannot feel some things in his mouth and in other places of his mouth the slightest thing will set him off.

Here's some relevant history: When we brought Daniel home from the NICU (a few days earlier than they wanted to send him home but Daniel's charge nurse told us that while he was not the most well baby in the unit, he was the baby that had the most on-the-ball parents and they were overflowing full and needed the bed - so see you later - not even a practice overnight stay - VERY SCARY!!!) it took 20 hours a day to feed him. He could barely suck and it was really weak and it was SO HARD!! It was exhausting beyond anything words can express. After a week of this, I told Larry to give Daniel a blessing so he could eat. (He had already had a blessing that reversed the DIC which is a miracle and another blessing that said he would come home and live with his family so I had complete faith that Heavenly Father could fix the eating problem.) Larry was hesitant to go into the blessing with that in mind, incase it wasn't Heavenly Father's will and he didn't want me to be disappointed. I KNEW it was Heavenly Father's will. Larry gave the blessing and over the next 24 hours Daniel improved to where he was eating "normally".

Here is where we jump ahead because there is just too much information. We had to teach Daniel to eat real food. We had to freeze his food to teach his tongue to feel it because he wouldn't be able to feel that he had food in his mouth until it hit the back of his throat and then he would choke. For many years Daniel could eat ANYTHING because he couldn't taste it. This past week I asked him if he wanted salsa on his taco and he said, "No, it is too hot." To my knowledge that is the first time he has been able to TASTE hot, as in spicy. When he was younger he sucked down salsa like I suck down a double chocolate chip blended creme frappacino from Starbucks!

Every six months Daniel has to be drugged to have his teeth cleaned. Just brushing them required two people and a headlock. When he has had to have actual dental work it usually meant a sedation. We put the lead vests on his torso and legs, with his hands on his stomach. That pressure seems to help calm him.

When he was about 5 or 6 the dentists worried that he would develop an underbite, that is pretty easily correctable when kids are that young because the top of your jaw grows until ages 9 to 12 so you pop an expander in there and you are good to go! We did that with Sari.

There was NO way that Daniel would tolerate an expander. His underbite had gotten worse, to the point that he wouldn't smile with his teeth unless made to. He was always hiding his mouth with his hand. When we talked to the dentist he said that when Daniel was 18 or so they would do surgery on his jaw. That seemed like a long ways away to be dealing with an underbite (which has to be terribly uncomfortable!) The dentist said, "You can try braces if you want, just to be able to say we tried everything but I don't think he will be able to handle it." There was also the additional concern of the extra tooth care braces require. I felt that we needed to try it.

So, we took him to a few orthodontists. To my surprise, he tolerated their exams pretty good. We picked the orthodontist office that seemed to click the most with Daniel. And we began the braces journey. First the spacers on the top. He was nervous, but they went right in and Daniel asked, "When are you going to do it?" Haha. The next visit they had to fit the rings around the top tooth to make the expander. That was a VERY bad day!! He screamed and cried (and orthodontist offices aren't set up for that) and it was a mess. While he was taking a break he said to me, "Mom, I know what is wrong. We didn't say a prayer before we came here." So we both closed our eyes and prayed. It was tough, but they fit the rings. He had a week off and then the next week he had spacers put back in on the top and bottom. Flew right through that.

Now, we are at this past Tuesday. Wow. Daniel had a complete meltdown just like he did at Disneyland. (oh, I didn't blog about that. ugh. Meltdown. Wanted to go back to Washington. Crying. Throwing up. Pulling at his hair. Lying on the ground or chairs. We had to get a stroller to move him. I don't think we realized how much we control his environment at home to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen.) So, Daniel spent the morning throwing up, screaming, sobbing, and flopping about. To top if off, he was on day 2 of a cold, which is the bad sore throat day. ugh. I thought about delaying the appointment, but it was inevitable and things are kind of timed in orthodontics.

After I got Sari and Joseph off to school and Matthew down with a movie, I sat down with Daniel on the couch and tried to talk to him. He refused eye contact. So I said, "Daniel, let's just say a prayer." Then I held my 10 year old on my lap and pleaded with Heavenly Father, that if it be His will*, to please let Daniel be able to get the braces so that he could eat normally and feel good about himself. The prayer, 200 mg of Advil, and one Sudafed seemed to do the trick. I dropped Matthew at Julie's house and went to the orthodontist.

Well, it took longer than expected and the power went out at the office a few times, but sure enough, he has an expander in, braces top and bottom, AND a medieval torture device called a reverse pull headgear (we call it a bionicle mask) and so we start. We first visited the dentist and the entire office came out to congratulate Daniel and the dentist was totally shocked! Daniel was beaming.

I prayed that he would be able to get them on. Now I pray that he will be able to adjust to them being on. It has only been three days, but he is living off of liquids entirely. He sobs at night and I continue with a small adult sized dose of Advil twice a day. I need to be patient and remember all that he has gone through.

Is this picture too much information? I hope not. I don't have a really great filter on that type of thing because of my family's dinner conversations which were very specific and medical and ... often gross.

On Sunday Daniel turned 10!! I can't believe it. I have so much in my heart about this milestone but not the time to write it so here are some pictures. First, of his cake:

One of Daniel's gifts was a Krabby Patty lego set. I detest Sponge Bob. The filming of it gives me a headache, I don't like how the characters are mean to each other, the whiny voices, I could go on and on. Legos make kids smart, though, so I conceded on this. Below are the characters that came with it. Sari took a bunch of pictures of them (thank goodness for digital cameras) Even I have to admit, these characters are pretty cute:

And now, the last item of the day. This week Larry had a work related function at another office. This office does a Christmas gift thing where everyone brings in a homemade ornament, and then they have a silent auction and all the proceeds go to the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. Kind of a good idea. So, I spent Tuesday searching for ornament ideas that weren't dumb or made with pipe cleaners (those never look as good as the pictures!). Finally I made this one (pictured below) and a Swedish heart out of similar paper. We put some Dove chocolates in the Swedish heart and a note that explained them (thanks mom, for teaching me about these). To my UTTER shock the Swedish heart won the best in show award! (Trying and failing to think of the quote from a Christmas Story where the dad wins a very special award and it is the leg lamp - Utah, what is it?????) I thought this ball was cooler, but it just shows, chocolate makes everything better.

That's right, TWENTY little circles all cut and folded just so and glued together. Just call me Martha. Martha Molly Mormon Stewart No Insider Trading Thank You. I thought hanging it on a wire with beads at both ends was a great touch. If I had had more time, I would have sprayed it with glitter spray. Maybe next time.

*My friend, Cathie, has an incredible story about her son Christian, born with many disabilities. One of them is an extremely curved spine that is compressing his vital organs. He went in for surgery to have metal rods put along his spine which would alleviate the pressure there and help withe his heart and he would be a lot more comfortable and not in pain. The Drs. put the rods in and they paralyzed Christian. So, they took the rods out and cried with Cathie and her husband about the failed surgery. Fast forward five years - there is a new heart surgery that would help Christian. He is one of 30 out of 5,000 applicants picked to have this surgery. The surgery has to be done while Christian is in an MRI machine. IF the metal rods had been in his spine, Christian would not have been able to have this MORE necessary surgery. Goosebumps, right? Me too. This surgery was not even a conception when they tried to do the rods. What seemed like a failure was a preparation for something better. I try to remember that when I really think I need something right away.