Amazing Race

Following a very relaxing and quiet Christmas morning (probably because I completely lost my voice), we went to St. George to meet up with all of my family. I love my family and I love St. George. It was a little cold the first couple days and then it really turned beautiful.

I volunteered (don't ask my why) to create an Amazing Race game for the family to compete in. Last year we did a photo race through St. George and we had a lot of fun. So thanks to the Internet and the actual show, I came up with 6 destinations in Washington County and tasks that had to be completed at each site. I divided the family into 3 teams and they competed in activities such as gulping down In-N-Out, performing at Tuachan, sketching famous artwork of Zions, racing to the marathon finish line. I wish I could have seen what actually happening at each place. But, I have pictures of the teams as they made it to the last pit stop.

On the 26th, we had a birthday party for my mom - HOLLYwood style. We had a red carpet, paparazzi, and a FroYo bar. Kenyon used photoshop to do some cool shots of my mom as a movie star. It was so fun and my mom was a good sport. She HATES any fuss over her birthday. However, my grandma always made sure that we made a special day for her.

We also fit in some tennis. I stink and really need some lessons. Kenyon, of course, did great even though he feels so lousy. Completely unfair. The kids also got to play a little. They love to play tennis with Grandma and Egan.



We only wish we were there for their New Year's Eve party. We have no party plans here.

Happy Birthday

Today is Kenyon's 35th birthday! Probably not one of the more exciting birthdays. It is too hard to go anywhere without germs. Darn it. And then that dumb BYU loss. But we did celebrate with some pizza and cake.

I am sure this is one of Kenyon's least favorite years. But he has been a good sport through it all. He has kept a good sense of humor. That is hard to do when you feel like puking all the time. And he never complains (unlike me). We are anxious to have him back at a 100%. The kids want to be chased.

Best Deal

The last time we had our kids sit with Santa for pictures - I was prego with Elise. Nice, huh? We found out that you can go to Thanksgiving Point and get your picture taken for free and they will email you a copy too. Gotta love that. Plus, they have real reindeer. Gavin was excited to feed them a bag of reindeer food that he made at preschool (oatmeal and sprinkles). Our neighbors made it extra fun. They helped kill the time in line. And then we piled all the kids in the back of the truck and the adults in the cab to drive through the lights. Quinn was on her worst behavior but everyone else had a great time.

STOP!

Things that need to STOP

1 - Snow. I love how it looks, but it needs to STOP. I hate driving in it. It totally stresses me out and it I really can't avoid it. Kids need to be picked up. Errands must be run.

2 - Quinn. My cutest little baby needs to STOP growing. I want her to stay a tiny little newborn for a little longer. Except she has learned to smile and it melts me!

3 - Leukemia. It needs to STOP. What is happening? We just learned that a little boy we know was just diagnosed with leukemia. He is 4. This this the 3rd child this year that we know. And it seems like every week we are learning about other families who are facing this dumb disease. What is going on? It seems like it is getting more frequent, but why? Before Kenyon was diagnosed, we knew people dealing with some other cancers but it seems like leukemia must be on the rise. Who knows but it needs to STOP. I am so sad for these families struggling with the health of their little children. The treatment available seems to very successful and most likely these children will do well. But it is not a fun road. In fact, it is awful and hard. It makes me sad. I know that the Lord blesses these families, prayers are answered, amazing service is rendered, people grow stronger, etc. But still...

A Little Good News for Kenyon

The worst medicine of all is OVER. It is called GenGraf (cyclosporin). It is the immuno-suppressant drug. Kenyon has been taking this medicine for a LONG time and it has made him so sick. Even the sight of these pills made Kenyon sick. It was probably one of the worst parts of this BMT for him. Of course, if that ugly GVHD (graft vs host disease) ever shows up then he will go back on it but so far so good. Now that he is off that medicine, his new immune system will start working. But it is weak. So, it is still really important that we keep him away from all germs for about 3 more months. Last night Kenyon and Quinn stayed home from the ward party to try and avoid some of that. It is such a bummer because he would love to get out of the house and join in the festivities. But better safe than sorry. Plus, he really hates that mask.

Shortly after I made my last post about Kenyon, we got a call that his counts are moving in the right direction. He is at 98% donor marrow and 2% his own marrow. He has clinic on Monday and hopefully will get a little more info on what the plan is.

We are happy that he now has all his hair back on his head. We even had to give him a little haircut a few weeks ago. It is different and actually better. I was pretty worried about how it would look but I like it!

A Little Bragging

It is my blog so I can brag right? Today was Elise's gymnastics performance. She goes to a great studio - Jolley's - in Riverton. It is hard work. She puts in two hours a week and it has paid off. She is strong and talented. She dreams of being in the Olympics and doesn't understand that she would be the first 6 foot plus gymnast. It just doesn't work that well. But for the time being it is good. I hope one day it will pay off and help her to be great at something else - volleyball, for example. Anyway, her performance today was impressive. I love watching her. I would put up a little video clip but I did a really lousy job trying to film it.

Waiting

I know. I haven't updated my blog for quite some time. I have been waiting. We are supposed to have some Kenyon's tests results back. My plan was to update as soon as I had word to the tests. Well, it has turned into weeks and I give up.

Are you ready for Christmas? Not quite. I have plans, projects, ideas but I haven't made many of them happen. Thank heavens for the internet because I have done MOST of my shopping online. Here is my one big complaint. I ordered Gavin's one big gift (a green machine). The UPS guy delivered it at 6:00 pm (when everyone is home) and to make it worse - there was a huge sticker/label with the item on it. Couldn't they have packaged it in another box? Duh! Obviously it was being ordered for the holidays. Then if the UPS guy sees it - couldn't he have knocked on my door and told me that he had a package so that I could distract the kids. Nope. So I had to lie. I told Teague and Elise that one of my neighbors ordered it and had it shipped to our house. Dang it.


Gavin has picked up on some of this dad's habits - lounging on the couch with the laptop. Isn't that the good life?

We are constantly amazed at our little Quinn. She is growing so fast. She is such a good baby. We love her smile. Elise has been such a big help - she has been changing Quinn's diapers. Love it! It has been most helpful when I am trying to get dinner together. Quinn likes tummy time. If she is tired, she will fall asleep and have a good nap while sleeping on her tummy.

Hopefully, I will be able to give an update on Kenyon soon. He seems to be doing pretty well. We made it out to our first movie. We took the kids to see Bolt. We picked a time when there would be no one in the theater. Five minutes before it started, we bough tickets and picked a row that was far away from the other 10 people in the theater. A few minutes after it started, two days and kids came and sat right behind us. Duh. There are a bazillion other choices and they picked the ones by us. Oh well. We enjoyed the movie and a little time out of our house.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Here is Quinn! Can you believe she is already 4 weeks old? She is getting so big. I know she is still tiny but it isn't the same as that new born tiny. Gavin told me today that she is so cute that sometimes he gets tears in his eyes. Teague said that she is so cute he just can't stand it. We are pretty smitten.

No official turkey bowl this year but Kenyon took the kids out to the front yard for a our own little mini family flag football game. The kids had a great time and no major injuries.

Now we are counting down the days to Christmas. I love advent calendars and I saw one like this in Creating Keepsakes so I gave it a go. It is the first part of a Christmas present for my sister-in-law Lindsey.

A Month Without Preschool

Sad story. Gavin's cute preschool teacher broke her ankle. It really is miserable for her. And me. :( It was my first day home alone with the baby and my mom was gone. Understandably, his teacher had to cancel preschool for the month of November. She can't get down to her basement and teach twelve 4 year old kids. But that left me with our darling G-man. He is really a great little buddy to have around and he completely ADORES Quinn. He calls her "Cutie," "Princess, " or "Quinn E Bear."
But, come on! He wants to do these amazingly creative projects all day - and he wants to start them by 7:30 am.

He created this little project with candy, graham crackers and frosting. Another day he wanted to create city buildings out of empty cereal boxes and paper. He built a boat out of wood with Kenyon. We have played with play-do. We have played every game in the closet. And you know it is really bad when he wants to do Barbie fashion-plates (one of my favorite childhood toys). He came up with some pretty great outfits. He has also practiced writing his Christmas list a thousand times (I'm not kidding).

Good news - He gets to go back to preschool on Monday. He will be so excited and so will I.

Spaseba!

That would be THANK YOU in Russian. We have been spoiled by gifts, adoring visitors, and meals. I think I need to start doing my own cooking but it has been so nice. I have to send out a special thank you to my dear ILP friends. I taught English in Russia (Fall '95) with the greatest group of girls. The whole experience was a amazing (crazy, scary, fun, hard, cold, etc). A major part of the Russian experience - at least for us - was FOOD. And it wasn't always a good experience. I mostly hated the food but somehow that didn't stop me from coming home a good 15lbs heavier. I think it was all the nutella and bread we shoved in our faces. It was our way getting through the whole thing. My Russian mother would grab my cheeks to see if I was getting fat enough. To her - it was a sign that she had treated me well. A little too well. I have some pretty choice pictures of these amazing girls but they aren't digital and I currently don't have a working scanner. It is probably better that way. But, I am so grateful to them. They have organized meals (from Idaho), cooked amazing dinners, drove a ways to deliver them. Spaseba! Let's get together soon. December?

Different Subject: Craziness. I am one of those seriously crazy people who went to see Twilight at midnight. Who does that? The movie isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The District sold out all 20 theaters. All the showings started at midnight. That means there were about 4000 crazy females in one place. Aghhh! I am not a big fan of crowds of crazy woman. It probably is the easiest time for me to leave the house but it is also about the only sleep I am getting. And I gave it up! It was fun and I thought the movie was good. I am sure critic will rip it up. It certainly has some problems but as a Twilight fan - I was happy. I am too tired and brain dead to write a decent review but my die-hard Twilight friend, Andrea, wrote a great review. I thought the same thing, so I will call it my review too. :) Thanks to my niece, Annie, for getting us the tickets. And super thanks to Jen and her girls for going with me. (I think I said crazy too many times. I need to go to bed.)

Death By

...Haircuts and Socks. What? I know. My kids are extra sensitive or something. Both the boys were sure that they were just going to DIE during their haircuts today (Kenyon cuts their hair). We had a song playing about Joseph Smith and his trials and Teague told us that he thought his life was just as hard. PLEASE! Clearly he doesn't know what a hard life is. Then it was time to put socks on for church and once again - the boys were sure that death was imminent because the socks just didn't feel right. Sadly, my mom told us that they got this lovely quality from me. I am happy to say that I am no longer like that (I hope!) but apparently I struggled with these issues as a kid. So, I will try to be patient with my kids. It certainly makes our home interesting.

Meanwhile, we all LOVE Quinn. She is changing every day. Her hair is out of control. I don't really know how to manage it but it gives her character (right?). Tomorrow is her 2 week check-up.

My Mom is the best!

I really don't think I could have a baby if my mom couldn't be in town. She was a life saver. She always steps in to help in anyway. She got up every morning with the kids and managed their crazy schedules. Plus she cooks, cleans, and does whatever needs to be done. When she leaves it is always a little overwhelming for me. I always have that feeling like - "wait - you are the mom. you can't leave me with all these kids by myself." Oh well. She does have her own life and I seem to manage (with a few tears here and there). I am so grateful for such a great mom.

Quinn is officially one week old today. I can't really believe it. She watched her first BYU football game this weekend. She has been loved to pieces by so many. We have been spoiled.


This morning when I woke up at 6:45 to help the kids get off to school, I looked out the window and found that someone thought it would be funny to toilet paper our front yard. I am in way too hormonal a state to think it was funny. Plus it was raining. What a mess. I don't know if it was random or someone is just mean but I really didn't think it was funny. Thankfully - some good neighbors cleaned it up for me. Thank you!!!

Anyway - that is our update for now. Nothing new to report on Kenyon. He continues to do pretty well.

More of Quinn

Gavin has finally warmed up to having a little baby. He has always been excited but a little nervous to get to close. Now he loves holding her. We all do. She is such a sweet, little baby.

Announcing...

Quinn Evaline Porter! She was born at 3:14 today. She is our heaviest and shortest baby - 7lbs 15 oz and 20 1/2 inches. We love her. It was a really lousy delivery. I had 4 epidurals - the first 3 didn't work and finally when I reached 10 cm, the anesthesiologist was able to get the epidural to work. But, otherwise it was a pretty good delivery. We are so grateful that she is healthy and here. The kids can't wait for us to bring her home. They were very interested in giving her a bath and getting her dressed. That will come with time. I am going to try and get a little peace and maybe some sleep before we come home.

Trick or Treat

Here are the three kiddos on the night of the truck or treat. Our knight in shining armor, Iron Man, and Shawn Johnson wanna-be. Gavin didn't end up participating because he thought people would laugh at him. We tried to talk him into it but he said, "I'm lucky. I get to go to bed early and I won't have cavities." Hmmmm That isn't very Gavin-ish. He loves candy more than anyone (except maybe me). We'll see if he goes out on the actual trick-or-treat.

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins a little earlier than I planned (last Wed) because Teague was supposed to take one to Pack Meeting. I don't know that they will survive until Friday but they looked good while they lasted. It is nice that the kids are finally getting to the age where they can do most of the work themselves. I am getting lazier by the minute.

PS - I know that I have been tagged. Multiple times lately. Why do you want to know any more than you already do about me? I don't know. I will try to get to the tags - they are all slightly different so I may just combine them.

The Twins Save FHE

Tonight FHE wasn't looking too great but the twins saved the day. They showed up just in time to make sugar cookies and help the kids frost them. They weren't masterpieces but they tasted yummy and the kids were HAPPY! Thanks Jane and Kristine (and check out their etsy shop!).

Raise the Bar

Today we had Stake Conference. I was feeling pretty good about getting all three kids out of the house 30 minutes early to go get seats. Apparently everyone was doing pretty well today because the first row of seats available was pretty far back. It put us right behind two families of 6 kids. One family with 5 boys and one girl. They didn't have any bag of tricks and all of them sat there the entire 2 hours. The other family had 5 girls and one boy and the youngest two were baby girl twins (about 4 months old). And the dad is a bishop. (Just like my family.) They also all sat without any entertainment except for their youngest two children. The moms looked totally together and calm and appeared to have listened to the whole conference without any interruptions from children.

Geesh! I had my 3 kids and a bag full of stuff and we couldn't be reverent. Then watching those twin babies and all their needs, I started feeling a little overwhelmed about adding a 4th. What were we thinking? Well, we need to raise the bar at our house. The kids and I need to do a little work. My kids might freak out when they go to church without a church bag but apparently it can be done.

On a positive note - I was very impressed with all the stories that my kids were able to recite from conference. Apparently they actually were listening. It wasn't a total waste of 2 hours for them, after all.

Our visiting general authority was Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis. He is from Brazil but serving in Argentina area. He was fabulous. He reminded me so much of my grandpa Cannon. He had a great sense of humor, excellent at telling stories, and had great messages for the youth and the adults.

The Stake President's message was to encourage us to commit our families to the stake goals: 1 - meaningful daily prayer, 2 - daily scriptures study, and 3 - weekly family home evening with a gospel message.

We had a little extra time today, so took a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Kenyon has been wanting to go up the canyon since Labor Day and we just haven't been able to make it happen. It was gorgeous and the perfect little family outing.

It was a good sabbath day! (plus it ended with homemade chocolate cake - thanks Kristine and warm apple crisp).

Kenyon Update

Today we had our 100 day evaluation meeting with the doctor (even though it is actually more like 112 days). It was kind of complicated and that makes it a little difficult for me to put into words exactly what the results are and what they all mean. I should really make Kenyon write this because I think he understood it all a little better than I do. But here goes... (Some of you might be bored with all the details - long story short - Kenyon is doing quite well).

Kenyon is doing well. He still HATES taking pills but his appetite and energy are improving - gradually, of course. The blood marrow tests show no sign of CML. That is great! However, other tests show that 97% of his marrow is from his donor and 3% is still his own. That is not uncommon for patients at about day 100. But, it has to get to 100% donor marrow. The problem is that left unchecked the 3% could start producing leukemic cells. The doctor reassured us that there are "many tools in the toolbox" for this problem. The first step is to speed up his medicine taper. That forces the donor marrow to step it up and fight off the 3%. The drawback to this tactic is that the chance of GVHD (graft vs host disease) is more likely - but not necessarily guaranteed. (Defense for GVHD is to continue to avoid any infection and sunburn). Next there are some meds or infusion methods that they might try. It also means that we continue to make frequent visits to Huntsman and more tests in month to check those percentages.

So, overall it was quite good news.

While I was sitting in the waiting room this cute gal approached me wanting to talk. She and her husband are from St. George and a little younger than us. Her husband is preparing for a transplant at the end of the month. They have a 1 and 3 year old and are also expecting a baby. She had so many questions. It was nice to talk with her and share a little of our experience. I am so glad to be this far out and able to tell her how blessed we have been and encourage them that it will work out. I know the stage she is in and it is such a scary, overwhelming place. I just can't imagine having to uproot from home and move to go through this. That will be a whole different challenge for her.

I have also been following an 8 year old boy, Trent, here in the South Jordan area who is losing his battle with AML. They had a great fundraiser for him at Chick-Fil-A on Monday. It was packed so hopefully it provided a lot for his family. If you want to be inspired - read what he has written on his blog. He is an amazing kid!

We continue to be so grateful for all the love, support, babysitting, prayers, etc. Thank you!

I Should Know Better

Of course, I should have posted the recipe. Duh! If I could I would have had you all over and shared them.

It is from Kenyon's niece Lynsie - She calls them the "World's Greatest Pumpkin Cookies."

4 cups flour
2 cups quick oats
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
1 16 oz can pumpkin
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions:
Combine flour, oats, soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and gradually add sugars until light and fluffy. Then add egg and vanilla mix well. Next, alternating pumpkin and dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture. Mix well. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting. (I actually didn't do that last night but it would have made my kids very happy if I had.)

Pumpkins for Family Night

We have a great pumpkin patch by our house and it made the perfect family night activity. Apparently everyone had the same idea. It was fun but dang cold. Please go away! I hate the coldness. But then we came home to warm oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We also had a little lesson on the being happy while we are helping - a much need lesson around here. You would think I torture my children with endless chores and that they never, ever, ever get to play with friends. Yep. I just sit on the couch and watch them slave the day away. It's great.

3 1/2 Weeks...

I had a nice visit with my Doc this morning and we scheduled the arrival of Baby No Name for November 3rd. Hello! I can't believe I know a date. Of course, she could come sooner. But hopefully we will make it to that day. I am a bit of a cheater, I know. I have to schedule everything. It makes life easier. With every child I think, this time I won't be induced and I will just let it happen. But then as it gets closer it just makes so much sense for everyone involved to have it totally planned. My Doc reassured me that it is not cheating - in fact, God made pitocin (sp?) possible so that we could plan these things out. Who knows but I will take that reasoning for now.

The crib (Thanks Gavin) and car seat are ready (Thanks Brit). Some clothes are washed. But still no name.... I need something brilliant. I feel like it is on the tip of my tongue but I just don't know what it is. Do you know? If it hits you, let me know.

Hip Hip Hooray...

It is Day +100. What does that mean? Well, it is kind of complicated and a little anti-climatic but it is a big milestone for Kenyon. It is amazing that 100 of days have passed. It hasn't been great but definitely not as bad as it could have been. We have been blessed. I would love to have a big party -but not the greatest plan because he still needs to be very careful about germs.

We don't have our 100 day conference with the doctor until the 14th of Oct. when all the test results are back in. But, the main idea is that if Kenyon didn't have any GVHD (graft vs host disease) before day 100 then the chances of GVHD after are less. He really did quite well without major complications during the last 100 days. It also means that he begins to taper off his meds. We hope that he will feel lots better as he gets rid of the number of pills he swallows each day.

He still struggles with some nausea but his appetite is much better and seems to be putting weight back on. His hair is growing back.

The warning is that while he is feeling better each day - he is still on immuno-suppressent drugs. That means - he really needs to be careful - still. That is mostly a problem in large groups or around anyone who is sick.

We are looking forward to him being back to 100%. In the meantime, we are also counting down the days to the baby coming. 34 days!! That kind of freaks me out. Time to get serious about this. I am absolutely not ready. It is panic time.

The kids and I were excited to finally finish the Book of Mormon this morning. Don't ask us how long it took us. I read to the kids every morning over breakfast. Sometimes it is a chapter and other days we get in a few verses. But we made it!! We talked about Moroni 10 this morning and Teague said, "Every time we read the scriptures my testimony gets stronger." Love it!

Our Fall Fun

A few favorite September activities... Harvesting seeds from our giant sunflower that mysteriously grew in our backyard.
Lovely Mt. Timp in the background and fun at the cabin in Sundance.
Kenyon and the kids on the Sundance slopes.
Yummy mini carmel apples for FHE. My friend linked me to this recipe on Family Fun.

General Conference Packet

Last Conference, I received several emails with link to this awesome General Conference activity packet. The lady who created this has updated it with a new packet for this October Conference. From what I have read - she wants anyone to feel free to use this. It was great to have so many activities in one place and it really helped the kids make it through some General Conference.

General Conference 2008 Packet

There is also a link on her blog to an Apostle matching game that you might like for FHE.

Enjoy!

For my friends who are not familiar with General Conference - it is a worldwide meeting that is held twice a year (April/October). Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) listen or attend General Conference where we are taught and instructed by our Prophet Thomas S. Monson and other church leaders. They are the best meetings of the year - inspiring and uplifting. Anyone is welcome to listen - check it out here.

Check it out!

Here is my blag of the week...my cute twin sisters (recent graduates of BYU-I) have opened their own etsy shop - OneFourThree. They have made darling things. They are super talented and I hope to one day make something as cute. Keep checking out their store because they will keep adding new creations. Happy Shopping!

RS Good News

Wouldn't TAMN just love this? So the Good News thing in Relief Society isn't my favorite thing. But, I did have something to share today. Drum Roll....Kenyon came to Sacrament Meeting today. Of course he came late and left early and he sported the lovely teal covered face mask. But, he was there and he was able to see our kids participate in their Sacrament Meeting Primary Program. It was his first real outing and it seemed to go OK. Tomorrow is officially day +90 so that is also good. We are so close to that magical day +100. This was definitely a much better week than last.

'hold on thy way, fear not, god shall be with you forever and ever.'

A couple of weeks ago, Elder Holland gave a CES fireside for the young adults of our church. http://www.lds.org/move/index.html#lang=english My sisters attended this fireside and then sent the family an email encouraging us to watch/listen to his talk. I love Elder Holland's talks and I finally got around to taking the 44 minutes to watch it on my laptop. It is fantastic and I thought I would put it out there for all of you. Take 44 minutes and listen to Elder Holland. It is definitely applicable for every one of my readers. We all face trials. Elder Holland describes Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail and the lessons that we can learn from this experience.

Itty Bitty SLC

I have always wanted to to do this and never have. I am not sure it will happen this year but YOU should do it. I think it would be fun to split up with a bunch of couples and have a race around downtown looking for as many pictures as possible. Check out this article in the Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700259065,00.html

Every year the Deseret News sponsors a contest in downtown SLC to find these places. They provide 20 photos - itty bitty snipits of things seen around SLC. You have to locate these pictures and document their exact location. I think it sounds like to the best thing to do on a perfect fall evening. Plus, I love going downtown. And, if you are really good - you could win some cool prizes.

PS - update on Kenyon - he is improving so they will not do the GVHD tests. It is/was probably a virus. We will go again Friday for a couple more tests to make sure the levels are alright.