Time Flies!

So I realized the other day that I haven’t updated this in awhile. My intentions were good but ….well…. life happens. The whole month of December was hectic and even ended with a bang. January was a little better but then again who am I kidding. This will be a long post so I understand if you get bored and only look at the pictures.


Family Pictures
Just before my birthday we had family pictures taken. The last time we had them taken was about 5 years ago and we have since added a few more to our family. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Surgery
A few days after my birthday, I had surgery on the front of my mouth. I had a small hard bump on my gum just above my front tooth. I think they call the procedure an Apicoectomy?? They basically cut open my gum across a few teeth and pull the gum back to expose the teeth and bone. Then jab, poke and scrap the mysterious bump out of the bone. They only used a local anesthetic so I was awake for the whole thing…..not so fun.

Here is a picture a few hours after the surgery. My roommate said I looked like a Chipmunk.

I had a total of 9 stitches. This is the first time in my life having stitches.

It was interesting to see the reactions on people’s faces when I told them that it was stitches in my teeth and not food! Although I can see why at first glance people would think that I had something stuck in my teeth.

Christmas
I spent a lot of time with my family this year. Any time I wasn’t at work or a party I spent at my parent’s house.
Of course the real reason we celebrate Christmas is the Birth of the Savior. So my roommates and some friends and I did the twelve days of Christmas to someone. We decided to do a piece of the Nativity scene for each of the twelve days. On the last day we gave the baby Jesus and the manger, completing the scene. It is so true in life that without the Savior nothing would be complete.

I was lucky enough to go to the Teample lights several times this year.

I don't normally like to dress my dog up but this santa outfit was just so cute.




World Turned Upside Down
The Saturday after Christmas was a very hectic day and ended on a bad note. My Dad was having some problems breathing and well to make a long story short we had to call 911. It really shook my whole family up. He was admitted to the hospital for a mild heart attack. After some tests the doctor decided my dad was too much of a risk for open heart surgery, so they would just put stents in. It was suppose to be a pretty standard procedure. Well when they went to take the catheter out the tip of the sheath broke off into his blood stream. This has never happened, so my dad was the talk of the hospital! He was put in a medical induced coma to prevent the sheath from moving too much…wherever it was. It was so hard to see my dad like that, completely vulnerable. He had so many tubes and IV’s in him. Thankfully they found it wedged in a blood vessel near his heart. This ended up causing more problems.
My dad spent the next week and a half in the CVICU. I guess you caould say my mom did too because she couldn’t stand to be away from him and he wanted her there. So sweet! He was finally able to come home and is trying to get better. He is eating a lot better and has already lost a lot of weight.

Through this whole ordeal and all the time I spent in the hospital I had time to think about life. Life is so precious. I know there is so much I can do better at. This sounds horrible but my family needed this experience to help us get back on track.

Good Bye Chad!
Ok so Chad is a car, my sisters’ car to be exact. This car is one of those cars that goes from one sibling to next. My older sister and I got this car for Christmas one year. It was totally a surprise and we loved it. Well my younger sister Sara has had it for awhile. While my dad was in the hospital Sara and Jessica went to visit him and on the way back were involved in an accident. A hit and run accident none the less and Chad was totaled. On the bright side of things though, my sisters are ok other then a few bumps, burns (from the airbags) and whiplash. If anything it gave Sara a real reason to get a new car.

Hiking!!!
My sister Jessica has started a hiking club. We have been going hiking every Saturday. The group is for the most part who ever feels like waking up ridiculously early on a Saturday. At first I was even a little skeptical, but I have had a lot of fun! I am usually the one to get to the top last but I am ok with that at least I make it there. I have decided that parts of Arizona can be really pretty.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the hikes!