Sharby

Steven is 3

You Have Too Listen To The Words

From what I've been told Joe Satriani is most commonly known for his talent on the guitar. For me, this song is all about the words. The way to really appreciate and listen to this song is to turn it up really loud, close your eyes, and open your ears & mind. It's really a beautiful song, words and music. I know it's a little long, but it's worth the time. You'll thank me for it later.
Love,
Brett

CAMERA CORD FOUND!

I found the camera cord, so new pictures and lots of updates coming very soon!!!!! I'm so excited!
Love you all,
Brett

Life's too fast

Okay, so I haven't posted anything in a while. Sorry. I can't find the cord that hooks into my camera, so I can't down-load pictures. My dumb. Lets see - Brian had surgery AGAIN and guess what? It failed, so it looks like we are going to try one more time, maybe sometime in September. Trevor and Mitchell are back at school and they are doing great. Shar is the cutest baby ever! (she says mom-ma) Steven is a joy, he's starting to count and he thinks he can talk just fine, we (the rest of the world) are the ones with a problem. We have Karate testing this weekend so I'll record some clips of the boys and hopefully get them posted soon. I love all of you and hope everyone is doing good. I would like to also say how proud I am of my two Utah cousins who have recently left for their missions. Way to go guys! Good luck, and we always remember you in our prayers.
Love Brett

Brian going back under the knife

Today, Brian went to the Dr. with complaints of his spinal implant. An X-Ray was performed and it turns out that the ends of the wires in Brian's upper spine have come loose. Where the 2 inch paddle ends should be in the spine, only about a half an inch is where it should be, and the rest is obviously not. This is going to require that the neurosurgeon open up his spine again to fix the problem. As this just happened today we are not sure when the surgery will be scheduled. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue through this hardship.

Shar Looks Like...

With Steven it was easy, he looked like his dad. Shar on the other hand keeps throwing us off a bit. What do you think?

Brett or Brian?

Under the knife

On May 28th, Brian underwent a back surgery to reduce the chronic pain that he has suffered from since 1992. The surgical procedure required placing a permanent implant in has back called a 'Dorsal Column Stimulator'. Basically, wires run from Brian's mid-back down to his hip where a small battery pack was installed. This system provides electrical stimulation which keeps the nerves in his back and legs occupied and reduces the pain significantly.

For those who are interested in the full medical details, continue to read. If you are squeemish, then you may wish to skip this part: The surgical procedure required the surgeon to remove the back of vertebrae T-8 (this procedure is called a Laminectomy) which allowed the Dr. to place small wires against the spinal cord. He then 'fished' the wires down through the spine, and into the top of the right buttock. Another incision was made to place the battery pack just under the skin/fat layer. The battery pack is about the size of a silver dollar and is about 3/8th's of an inch thick.

Now that the system is installed, it is programmed by a technical rep to target the areas that Brian has pain in. This is done by a computer program and is aligned by Brian telling the tech where the stimulation is. The stimulation can be moved and then hard-programmed into the wireless remote. The remote is about the size of a cell phone from 8 years ago, unfortunately, but considering the alternatives is worth carrying a small brick around.

The battery pack is charged by placing the charging unit up against the skin where the battery pack is installed and allowing 3-4 hours will fully charge the unit. The wireless remote controls the intensity and the program # that was determined by Brian and the Tech. 4 different programs are available and slightly change the target area and the frequency pulse.

The electrical stimulation is just like that of a T.E.N.S. Unit, or if you don't know what that is, it is a mild, constant electrical shock that usually feels like a sort of massage.

Despite the lingering surgical pain, Brian is feeling quite a bit better and his chronic pain has lessened by a good amount. We will know in a few months to what extent this will help Brian's quality of life.

Our Very Own Dinosaur

The other day Steven came running into my room telling me there was a dinosaur outside in the back yard. He kept doing this little scared shaking thing with his body. So I run down stairs and look out the sliding glass window and there is a lizard in my water bucket right outside the door. I brought the lizard in and put it in a glass jar for Steven to look at. (by the way lizards bite, I found out the hard way) Any way he (Steven) was so cute, he kept saying, "oh, baby dinosaur". It's not a great picture, but it's a picture.

Trevor's All Done

Trevor's end of the year pool party for the whole 6th grade class was really fun! (except for having to wear a swimsuit part) It was funny because we had been getting up into the hundreds all week and then the day of the pool party it was like 70 degrees. We all went swimming any way, and it didn't start raining until all the kids where walking back to class.

Trevor is all done with elementary school forever. He finished up 6th grade with really good grades, we are all proud of him. (he's got 4 parents and like million grandparents) He seemed to be especially strong in reading and writing. I'll see if I can get some more of his poems posted soon. Trevor is getting so tall and handsome, I'm gonna have to beat the girls off with a stick. He's also a great help to me and is an awesome big brother!

2nd Degree Blue Belt Testing (Mitchell)

Mitchell just tested for his second degree in blue belt. He did awesome. I am so pround of him!

Answers

For all of you who don't know, Shar has been a very difficult baby. She is very fussy and sleeps little. I had exhausted my own parental knowledge (and that of others as well) and had no more ideas left on what to do for her. When I say I tried everything, I really mean everything! Well, the other night I knelt (sprawled out across my bed exhausted) for personal prayer and decided not to pray for Shar to sleep or be happy, because that's one of the many things I had been trying that wasn't working. Instead, I pleaded to know what I needed to do. I told Heavenly Father that I was out of my own ideas, I was exhausted and a little help and inspiration would be nice. Immediately I felt that Shar was uncomfortable in her crib that it was too cluttered with blankets, teddy bears, rocks (don't ask), and that she needed to be turned over on to her belly (she's 4 months now so I'm pretty sure that's safe). That night she slept for 6 hours! We've had a few rough nights here and there, but for the most part we're sleeping for 6 hour at night, and Shar is taking a good 2 hour nap in the afternoon now. I know that my Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I'm just glad I was exhausted enough to listen. Maybe that's what he was waiting for?

Love you all,

Brett

Family Date Night

Date night we went bowling, yes we take the kids. The boys are actually really good. We had a lot of fun!

Yum Yum Yummy

So, I leave Steven for 5 minutes and this is what I come back too. He had it in his hair on his legs, everywhere. But it was really good cak (cake in Steven language).

Prettiest Grandma Ever!

Grandma turned 81 yesterday and I personally think she's the prettiest grandma ever! My mom's pretty damn cute too! Grandma is hoping to come home soon, she showed off to everyone how she can walk and raise her arm. I'm hoping she comes home soon too.

Sportiest Looking

Yesterday Mitchell raced his super cool car in the Pine Wood Derby. I don't know what place he came in, but his car looked GOOD. He got the award for Sportiest Looking. Thank you Daniel for helping Mitch. out with his car, it looked great! I think it may have been fast too, but you know girls, it's all about the color.

Cute Kid

This is Steven trying to wear his older bother's shoes and hat. Wow, what a cute kid!

Gurrrr

Mitchell got his Bear recently and it was a big thing! They made us both growl and it was totally embarrassing because I growled all loud and he did this lame little gurgle thing.

Before

Before a war, before a raid,
children used to run and play.

Before September 9-1-1,
New York shown brightly in the sun.

Before the evil of men's desires,
peace will always burn like fire.

By Trevor Gonzalez

Trevor got an A for this poem!

Easter 2008

We all had a great time coloring eggs on Saturday. Even Trevor had fun, though, he did want to combine all the colors together and make poopy brown colored eggs. I don't get it? I told him we would by brown eggs. On Sunday Trevor gave a wonderful talk on the restoration of the priesthood. He did so good, I was so proud. Thanks to Mom and Robby for coming. Around 4pm we all headed over to Mom and Dad's for an Easter Egg Hunt, it was a gorgeous day! I kinda lucked out because although Steven loved playing with the eggs, he wouldn't eat any of the candy. He doesn't eat anything really. What can you do? Shar looked beautiful in her Easter dress.

Here We Go!

So, I really have no idea how this whole thing works, but everyone has one so I figured it was about time I gave it a try. Erin has music and pretty back grounds and everything. I'm not there yet, and I might never be, but I'll put pictures up and write stuff. Don't mind my spelling, I really do run everything through spell check, but that doesn't seem to help all the time.
Wish me luck,
Brett