Oveson Christmas Party

So this year we had the Oveson Christmas party the week before Christmas so Kira could be with us. Kudos to Jenny and Kori for putting together such an awesome party. We played "Minute to Win it." which I am sure many of you watch. I had never seen it before but plan to after watching the fun games Kori and Jenny had us do. In this game Gwy and Mick had to put Vaseline on their nose and without using their hands they had to get the cotton ball on their nose like Rudolph. Therefore, they had to jump around and try to flip that thing onto their nose... HILARIOUS!!!

This is Mayser and my cute nephew Grady. Mays loves him and tried to carry the poor little man around the entire party.

And then their is Mays and Quayd. I am just going to take a guess that these two little men are going to cause big trouble throughout their lifetimes!

Maddog and Nya. They are the same age and have been best buddies since they were old enough to play. Maddux is a couple months older than Nya but when Nya called to tell Maddux she lost her first tooth it was the funniest thing.... he had lost his first tooth... the exact SAME tooth... that same day. They love to share that story!

And then their is all the cousins in their PJ.s! Aren't they cute?

Nutcracker and School Christmas Sing

So once again, Macee's dance studio preformed the Nutcracker and once again Macee was a party girl and Russian. She actually loves doing the Russian! There is alot of tumbling involved and it's full of excitement! This is her cute cousins Peighty and Ellee. We so appreciated friends and family that came out to support Macee. She really does get a thrill out preforming for people she knows! This was Macee's little party girl whom she ADORED. This little 2 year old is so stinking cute and ridiculously smart!

And then there was Murphy. I ended up taking him one night on a fluke. I thought for sure it would end up bad and he would get restless and be loud. This kid sat on my lap watching the entire 2 hours of the Nutcracker intensely. He woke up every morning for the next 2 weeks and the first thing he said was, "do we get to go see Macee's Nutcracker today." He was obsessed!

So now... Macee's dance team was having a dress-up costume the same day as her school sing. So we decided to look around on-line for a new hair do and this is what we came up with! Yes... I am totally proud... I'm going to be honest! Super easy and super festive!

Online they used a headband... we used Christmas Ribbon! We have tried it with the headband and amazingly we can now get a headband to stay on Macee's head!

And then there is Mr. GQ - Maddog!!! They were suppose to dress in their Sunday best but many of the kids don't dress up at all and I hate sending Maddux in a full suit because I know he will still play football at recess regardless of what he wears! So a suitcoat and shoes were put on in the morning before the "SING....."

And then a sweatshirt and tennis shoes were put in his backpack to change into for recess. He looked so stinking cute!

Of course Macee will strike a pose!

This is Macee and several of her classmates singing somthing about Aliens for Christmas???

And here's cute Gwy and his class singing Feliz Navidad! You could tell how excited he was about me taking his picture.

Good News!

Thank you... Thank you... Thank you.... for all the prayers. We received a call from the doctor today and he THINKS that it appears it's not in his lymph nodes. He told us CT's aren't 100% but doesn't see anything around the area that would suggest that.

He is leaning toward it being a cyst which like I had mentioned, has to be removed due to the placement. 80% of the time these are removed they are benign so we have GREAT percentages! He said we could get a biopsy but if it were him he wouldn't put a little guy through that. He said that it was going to be removed regardless so we could find out at that time if it were malignant or benign.

I feel so much better about it today. After going through all the emotions and worst case scenario thoughts and crying the majority of the day I was in bed and Eric said to me, "Jess... you've already decided it's cancer... and if it is, which I have a good feeling about, do you not have Faith in your Father in Heaven?"

So then we started talking and I put all the bad thoughts out of my head (a little) and it was better. I'm not going to lie and say I slept well or much but at least I wasn't crying! When the phone call came in and I spoke with the doc I felt so much better. So even if we aren't totally out of the woods... I know that all the prayers and kind words have totally given me a little bit of peace.

Another positive note is that the facial nerve runs through the prada gland. They were thinking that the placement of the cyst was in the gland but it looks like it may be more on top so he said that he would first try a small incision and see if it can be removed the more common way which means no big cut down the face! GOOD POSITIVE STUFF!!! He wasn't sure it would work but said he would definitely try that first! So today I feel like doing little cheers!

I don't have much time but definitely knew there were concerns and appreciate all of you amazing people and your prayers!

Murphy Update

So first of all... Thank you all so much for all your texts, calls, messages... I honestly started out the morning in tears due to the fact that I had so many texts from friends wishing me good luck and letting me know that their thoughts were with us. Overwhelming how I have surrounded myself with such awesome, compassionate friends.

So to start things out... Murphy had a rough cough last week so I scheduled him a doc appt. While we were there I had questioned Dr. Pete about a bump that we had noticed a couple months ago in the front of his ear. So I have taken a couple of my kids before with bumps behind their ears or down their chin line and they are always pockets of infection that go away with time. After this wasn't going away we thought we should ask about it.

The doctor referred me to an ENT which we saw today. There were a few different scenarios and the doctor is not sure what it is and cannot be sure until he runs a few tests. He was leaning toward a lump in his lymph-node. He followed that statement with, "this is most commonly a from of lymphomo." He also stated that over 70% of the time these are benign.

Our options were to get a CT scan to see if there were more lymph-node (which would be a bigger sign of lymphomo). The good news is that he couldn't actually feel anything so he said that was a good sign. Our other option would be to biopsy it which would mean put a needle into the side of his head and pull out stuff from the "bump." The doctor said he would hate that.

Regardless of whatever it is or whether it is cancerous it HAS to be removed. It is in his salivatory gland which affects a few things that shouldn't be affected. So normally it's an easy procedure that they cut a little hole and remove it. Unfortunately it is right on the "face nerve" which controls the function of the left side of his face. So they will have to cut from the top of his ear down to under his chin bone. They then peel back his skin and remove it carefully without bumping or heaven forbid, cutting, the nerve. The doctor assured me he has done several of these surgeries and only had a few paralyzed faces!!

HaHa... totally just kidding! Never paralyzed anyone before. So.. due to the fact that it will be removed regardless of what it is the surgery has been scheduled for December 30th.

I asked the doc what he would do if it were his child. He told me to do the CT scan so we could have a better idea of what he was dealing with. When we called the hospital they weren't able to schedule him until Thur morning. The doc called the CT people in his building and tried talking them into doing the CT immediately. They told us that they never do CT scans on 2 year olds without sedation and they were concerned because if there were any movement at all the CT wouldn't work. Our doc told the CT tech that he wasn't a normal 2 year old and he thought he would do it.

He is so mellow and good that Eric and I were also confident that it would work. Besides that, we couldn't wait another 2 days to know anything. So... they go to do his IV and he totally freaks out and pulls it out. I was ready to throw in the towel and didn't want to see him go through that again. He was frantic and scared and mad and bawling uncontrollably. Eric suggested we try the other arm. We both knew how tired he was and knew if we could get the IV in he would hopefully fall asleep which would make the actually scan simple! So after both of us and 2 nurses holding him down we did get the IV into the other arm.

He was so not happy with us. I held on to him and snuggled him to sleep after he tried catching his breath for 5 minutes from crying so hard. He would almost get asleep and say, "I want to get out of here mom." We told him they had a Buzz Lightyear ride that we had to go on first and then we could "get out of here." He wasn't convinced. After 30 minutes he fell asleep and I laid him down on the CT bed. He woke a bit but went back to sleep shortly after. She started doing the CT and his eyes popped open. I was dying. I thought for sure we had just wasted the last hour... knowing if he moved it would have been for nothing. When he opened his eyes he saw the lights flashing and said, "mom... is this the Buzz ride." I assured him it was and told him to tell me what color the lights where. They then shot the dye, or liquid, into his IV which isn't comfortable and gives you a bad taste in your mouth. He didn't like that much and started to move a bit... He said, "Mom... I'm melting (its warm liquid)... mom I'm melting... my blood is melting". It made me smile and he was not liking it until he saw my sexy x-ray jacket. He said, "Mom, you have a buzz lightyear shield on." After that he laid perfectly still for the next 5 minutes and had a perfect CT.

So now we wait... They said we should hear from the Dr. first thing in the morning with the results of the CT. It took all I had not to break down in the office but I did it. For the next couple hours I couldn't think about it without breaking down. So I'm a big, fat, cry-baby and can't talk about it. I apologize for not calling everyone concerned and it was definitely too long to text. Everything will be okay. Regardless of anything... it will be ok (Eric has assured me this all afternoon). I'm sorry I'm such a wuss but if I start talking I cry and then I feel like a big dork because it could possibly be nothing!

But until I know... I will just be a baby! I love you all and appreciate your kind words and prayers. I will update as soon as I hear anything!

Happy 4th Birthday Mayser

Is he really turning 4? I decided I better do this post tonight or he might not get one until he is 5. This little man has grown up SO MUCH this last year. My favorite 4 things about Mays is: 1. His gorgeous blonde curls! He wore a hat most of the summer and Eric wouldn't let me cut his hair. It was cute when he had his ballcap on and it curled up around the brim!
2. The sparkle in his eyes! And yes... it has converted a little more from a devil sparkle to a nice sparkle.

3. I love that Mays has decided that Murphy isn't a baby and can now be his Best Friend. These two are the only ones home every day for a few hours and they would be lost without each other.

4. I love his cheesy smile! When we ask Mays to smile he smiles so big he can't keep his eyes open!

5. I love that in 50% of the pictures that I take of Mays he is biting his nails. Not only his nail, but his MIDDLE finger nail. Mick's buddies get a kick out of his pictures thinking he is being naughty. Oops. that was 5! And I could keep going...

I love this little man so much! He has grown out of his naughty stage and is such a sweet boy. Don't get me wrong... he does revert back to that mean, naughty Mays sometimes but most of the time... he is just a sweetie! Mays' 4 favorite things are:

1. His DS and the Wii - He is a video game junky

2. Baseball

3. Hanging out with Micks friends

4. Donuts

Here's to another awesome year Mr. Mays! Mommy loves you!

Fall 2010 Recap

Oh dear, as I mentioned last time I skipped several months... the worst part about coming back is catching up. So this will be more of a picture/post/quick recap of our Fall. Then maybe.... just maybe... I will do a bit better about posting. So this fall Maddux and Gwy played on their first sports team together. It was awesome! Maddux played Fall baseball so we decided if we had him to flag with Gwy and Bosto for $35 we wouldn't feel too bad if he only made half the games. Luckily, I think he only missed 2 games due to baseball. They had an awesome time! Never have we had an offensive and defensive coordinator in flag football... My boys actually learned stuff in Flag Football....
This pic of Gwy and Bosto kills me. Please keep in mind, they are the same age. Both kindergartners... Gwy is tiny and Boston is HUGE!!!

And this would be their cute little time. They were called something Wolves because every time they would do their huddle and Cheer they would howl.... soc cute!

They boys having a little fun with pictures!

And then their would be the first day of school for my kiddos....

My cute, social Gwy started Kindergarten this year. I am sure he wishes it was full day, seven days a week. The kid loves being around his friends.

We were so very lucky to get Mrs. Kendall as Gwy's teacher. She was Maddogs Kindergarten teacher last year and we adore her! Unlike my other children, Gwy struggles a bit in class with holding still and being quiet! Surprise, Surprise that he was the first child I got a call on!!!

Maddog started 1st grade this year. As you can see from his expression, he get's a bit nervous about school and 1st had been a huge adjustment. He got Mrs. P (the cute dark gal) who is fantastic with Maddux. Maddux really excels in school and his teachers and step-up teachers always refer to him as the "smarty-pants." In a good way!

Macee was so excited to start school this year. She was excited to find out that she would once again be in the same class as one of her BF's - Bailee! These 2 girls are like 2 pees in a pod! She has Mrs. Anderson who she really likes!

And then, of course, there was baseball.... MUCH baseball. When football rolled around this Fall, Mick chose to take a season off. He had some things he needed to work on with baseball and Eric had him work with UV's speed and agility guy. I thought maybe it was burnout from going from one sport to the next, to the next, to the next for the past several years but that didn't slow Mick down. I told him that I wish I would have taken a picture of every uniform he wore this Fall. He literally played ball EVERY night of the week with one team or another... It was Heaven on Earth for him!

This particular tournament was pretty awesome. Both Mick and Maddux won the championship on this day. We thought that was pretty awesome. I'm sure there won't be many days like this but it was pretty stinkin fun!

This is Maddogs' good friend Ryder - who plays on the Marshalls. I had to take a closeup of the 2 of them and I wish I would have had them both smile or not because they seriously look like twins. It's a little freakish. There's not one person on the team, or parents of the boys that haven't mistaken one for another. One night Grandpa Pete came to watch Maddux and when Ryder was walking by Grandpa, Grandpa kept yelling, "Maddux," "Maddux." He told Eric he was surprised that Maddux ignored him. Eric was just worried that Ryder thought Grandpa was crazy!!!

And here's Maddugs cute team. Sorry - Blackberry quality photo!

Murphy had his first dentist appointment about a month ago. I was so worried about him but the kid was a stud!!! He did so great and let the dentist brush, clean, x-ray... everything.

Where did my baby go?

And here's Murphy with Geoffrey the Giraffe (Toys R Us). We were walking around The District shopping one night and Geoffrey came out and gave Murph hugs!

The next few photos will tell the story of my entire October.... PUMPKINS....

PUMPKINS....... and more PUMPKINS. Thank goodness that season is over!

This is Macee and her friend Mary. I took the kids to the Jason Derulo/BOB concert. It was a riot!!!! I'm pretty sure I was the oldest one there (except for maybe one person) but boy did I feel 21 again! We rocked it all night. The kids even hung until 11 when the show got over. We loved B.O.B... Derulo... not so much!

And our most recent adventure was Thriller. Both boys played in baseball tournaments in Vegas/Mesquite/St George over Halloween. Our fabulous friends invited us to go to Thriller at the Tuacahn with them one night and it was so stinking fun!

I highly recommend the show. I don't know if it was the show that I thought was so awesome or if it was the Tuacahn. It was my first time there and it was so awesome!

Macee watched the show intently. It was so funny... on one of the Acts there is a ballerina and Macee leaned over and said, "Look mom... her feet are so sickled." Um ya.... like I know what that means. Obviously it's not a good thing for a ballerina. I just thought it was funny Macee was watching her feet!

Last but not least... Macee did her first performance of the Nutcracker tonight at the South Town Expo. After getting home her friend called and asked if she could go to the play, Peter Pan, at the Jr. High.

This is how my daughter came out of the bathroom. Forgot to remove makeup... dressing like a diva! I think she thought maybe she could fit in with a few on those Jr. High Girls. It makes me sad to see her growing up so fast! I love this gal! Time to lock her in her room!