Young Women in Excellence

" Stand ye in holy places and be not moved..."  was the theme this year. We had so much fun planning this Young Women in excellence. In the end Danielle was not able to be there because she had just had her precious baby girl the day before. We missed her terribly but were so glad she had helped us plan ahead. Here are some Pictures of what we did.

 We gave the girls nail polish and hangers.
The hangers said:
Stand ye in holy places and be not moved
Hang on to your values
Hang on to your testimony
Hang on to the spirit
so that some day you can hang your temple dress on me

The Polish said:
It's fun to have cute shoes and toes,
But what's more important,
Is having those cute feet,
Take you where the lord wants you go

 

2013 Summary

2013

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. That pretty much sums up how I feel about 2013.

 In February, we lost Sasha, my brothers Shar Pei of 15 years.  She lived a very good life.

In March, Rob and I had the privilege to go to Colorado to see my Cousins twins get baptized. That was a wonderful trip. We loved seeing all the family and catching up on what was going on, not to mention the really good food.  Within 24 hours of our return home our Dachshund Mimi passed away. She had a mystery disease that took her from us way to soon. She was 9 when she passed. March also brought birthdays for Robert and me though they were not very happy.

In April, we suddenly lost Annie our first Dachshund. She was 10 when she passed. Needless to say we were feeling quite broken by the time May came around.

May was busy with prepping for TREK. Robert and I were the food committee heads this year for Trek. It was very stressful but we had A LOT of experiences of feeing the Lord near us. When we didn’t know how to move forward he was always there to guide us and we were grateful for that. May also brought an addition to the Family –Mom got a Shar Pei that is named Daisy. In May I was also elected as the HOA president and Robert is the Secretary.

June brought the TREK. I was not cleared medically to actually go on the trek so I prepped everything and Rob went and cooked and kept things moving. I went up to meet the hand carts on Saturday and took popsicles up with me. There is a much longer story that goes along with me taking popsicles but let’s just say this years trek will forever be remembered as “The Miracle of the Popsicles”. The lord does answer prayers even if they are as simple as a Popsicle.

In July, I went to Utah with a friend of mine and had a blast. I loved traveling with her and talking and getting to know her better. I also loved seeing family. I spent a few days at my Uncle Roy’s and I just LOVE being there. Heber City will forever hold a very special part of my heart. I have sooo many happy memories with my Dad, Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle and all the family there. I had so much fun taking time to stop with Uncle Roy. Stopping is not something that I do well but it was so nice to not have to do anything. We could watch movies and get to things when we felt like it. I think I got my point across that I loved my visit .

 July also brought Rob and my 12th anniversary.

August brought Robs Mom Moving to Utah. That was a big change in our lives. She has spent the last 12 years living very close to us. We always knew she was just a call away if we needed her and we had lots of fun just dropping in to see her when we had a free day. The move was good for her though and it is giving her time with her grandson which is priceless. In August Rob and I also resided the house. We took down the old wood siding made some repairs and put Hardi board up. Sharon and Christopher came down and saved the day in helping us get the job done.

The rest of the year we have been busy with our callings, volunteer work and life.

Robert is still singing with the Temple Hill Choir when he can. He is the Executive Secretary for the bishop which keeps him busy on Sunday but he tries to sing every chance he gets. He will be singing in the Christmas productions up at Temple hill again this year. Rob is still working at the Surgery Center which we are grateful for.

I stay busy running here, there and everywhere. I enjoy creating cakes for people or finding a craft to do for Young Women’s. I love my calling in Young Women’s and thank the lord every day for the opportunity to serve with such amazing people. I love the opportunity I have to be a house wife.

While the year started off very bumpy it has been a wonderful year filled with doing things we love with people we love. We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a Happy 2014.

Much Love,

Robert, Megan and our 4 footed girls- Penny, Sarah and Emily

 

Annie Louise Elliott our first furry kid. She was so tiny when we first brought her home that she actually is in a sock for a coat.
On April 11th 2013 we lost our dear Annie. She had just celebrated her 10th birthday and we thought we would celebrate many more with her till her body changed the plan. She had battled back problems for years and for us became a part of life. Her back would flare and we would treat it as we always did and she would pull through and move on. This last flare up came on sudden and progressed quicker then even the Vet had ever seen. This time her back issue caused her to loose full function of her back legs and began to create a breathing issue!
So, we had to make the decision to put her down.
RIP our sweet little princess! We love you!

Mimi

Sarah (White) and Mimi (Red)

 

 

I first met Mimi in 2005 when she had Sarah. Sarah was born  October 9,2005. She comes from a litter of 5- 3 boys and 2 girls. I originally wanted her sister but she was already spoken for so we got Sarah. We got to watch her interact with Mimi and her Father until the time came that we got to bring her home. On December 3, 2005 we picked up Sarah to bring her home :0) we were giddy to have another baby in the family. As we were leaving with Sarah, Mimi let out this cry that stopped me in my tracks. It was a heart wrenching cry that to this day I can still hear,that day I told Rob that if we ever got the opportunity to get Mimi I wanted her. Little did I know I would not have to wait long. In October 2007 we brought Mimi home to be reunited with her daughter. On the way home we stopped and got a bite to eat. We ordered Mimi chicken nuggets and Rob and I each got a burger. As I was trying to feed her a chicken nugget my burger got to close and she made short work of that and from that point on I called her my cheeseburglar.We were warned that she probably would not remember Sarah and would not want anything to do with her. Wow was that wrong! We brought Mimi in though the back so she would learn where to potty before she met all our other dogs. When we brought Sarah out she came around the corner so she could see Mimi and stopped dead in her tracks Mimi and Sarah just stared at each other then Sarah's tail started to wag and she ran to Mimi and they sniffed and rubbed each other and Mimi was full of kisses for Sarah. From that day on Mimi and Sarah were always together. Mimi protected her like any good mother would. To watch them interact really made my heart sing. I was sooo happy to reunite them. Mimi was a wonderful,well mannered part of our family. She was very independent and had her own routine each day which always meant spending a lot of time outside (unless it was raining). Mimi had a cute wiggle when she walked and a true hound bark. Thank goodness she didn't bark much. In August of 2012 we noticed Mimi was not her self and after months of tests and trips to the vet it was determined that she had gone blind from what they thought was a stroke. She deteriorated fast and we didn't think she would make it to Halloween. Then we found some medication that seemed to help her and she started figuring paths from the back yard and back up the stairs to her bed. She also found a route from her bed to the kitchen and her spunky spirit started coming back.  After the stroke I had to carry her outside and to bed and different places but she learned to give a cry and I would come carry her out. Many people told us to put her down  and we seriously thought about it but we couldn't. As time went on she made it to Halloween then Thanksgiving and even Christmas. I am sooo grateful for that time we had with her. When I was caring for her so much I called her my snickerdoodle and she was the color of a snickerdoodle. We had our special bonding time. In January our Sharpie who's health had been deteriorating started to really go down hill. With Sasha going down hill Mimi started having alot of seizures which meant alot of good days mixed with some real bad ones. Again we thought of putting her down but just couldn't. On February 26th Sasha Died and Mimi started doing even worse. On the morning of March 4th Mimi took her last breath and passed away. My first words were thank the lord she no longer has to suffer. Shortly after that reality set in and with it came and enormous amount of sorrow. I felt like I had just lost my child. Yes, Mimi was a dog but to Rob and I our dogs are the closest thing we have to kids. I had panic attacks and horrid sorrow for a few days until I was overcome with gratitude that I still had Sarah, so I still have a part of a piece of Mimi. I love Mimi so much and miss her dearly but I am sooo greatful to have her Sarah, to Love.

2012 A busy year

2012 Has been a very busy year but I have not kept you up to date as the year went by, so I thought as the year is coming to a close I had better summarize.

January-Nothing major except one of the soaps I watched my whole life went off the air :(

February-I helped throw a friend a baby shower. It was soooo much fun.

March-Rob and I were both sick with in a week of each other. I had jury duty and we both turned a year older.

April-We had an amazing Easter ( which I already wrote about) . The 11th mom had both knees replaced. It was a very scary time for me and eye opening as to how hard it is to take care of Lisa and everything else. I was released from doing the bulletin at Church and put in Young Women's. I am sooo thrilled to work with the young women it is a calling I have prayed  many years for.

May- brought many baby showers and dinners with friends. 24th of May I had gastric Sleeve surgery forever changing my way of eating in hopes of one day being a mom.

June-one of the quietest months of the year. I think that was simply because I was trying to figure out what to eat and when and how much then  I had to figure out when I could  drink and what and how much. June also brought the death of my best friends mother who I loved like one of the family. While I was happy that she no longer had to suffer with her lung cancer her passing brought a great sense of loss to me.

July- Roberts great uncle Al passed away. We attempted to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary but didn't quite succeed because mom was quite sick and needed us to come back home and care for her. We also had more showers and birthday parties to go to.

August- We had planned on being in Utah to watch Robs nephew get baptised but Lisa was deathly ill so we had to stay home and get her some medical help.
I also started loosing my hair, a side effect of my surgery :(

September- Rob was called to be Executive Secretary to the Bishop at church.
As I look at my planner the month is filled with ink..there are days that I don't think I could put one more thing but most are not blog worthy appointments.

October- We celebrated a good friends birthday with a surprise party.
We  had fun at the ward Trunk or Treat party.
 We also started fighting to find out what was sucking the life out of our sweet Mimi.

November- Robert's mom and Dad both had knee surgery 5 days apart! talk about keeping Rob hopping then I got sick so I couldn't help go visit :(
Many days we thought we were going to bury our sweet Mimi. We even considered putting her to sleep and had researched a grave yard to have her buried.  We just kept getting this feeling to wait and as hard as that was to do with her sooooooo sick I mean I would go to bed at night expecting to find her dead in her basket in the morning. We got our miracle and she started turning around and today with the exception of her sight she seems to be doing very well.
November also brought a great treat for me..Mom and I went to Lodi for Thanksgiving  to have a family Thanksgiving with almost all the family. Ryan was at BYU Idaho and Rob had to stay with Lisa so they were missed. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving that I hope we will get to do again.
Rob also sang in the Temple hill Choir.

December- Rob had gastric sleeve surgery the 4th of December. I was sooo nervous going in to this with him, I couldn't figure out why. Day of surgery came and the surgery went well. Post op he had a terrible time with gas being trapped in his chest and high blood pressure. He was in soooo much pain and I felt so helpless it was awful and scary and a whole host of emotions. I was emotionally spent that night let me tell you. Thankfully he is better now.  He is now focusing on his journey to a whole new way of life. 
I also have discovered my condramalasia is getting worse and I am almost at bone on bone in my left knee. I also have a hematoma on the bone there. So I had a shot which I had before about 6 years ago but this time I had an awful reaction and my blood suger spiked to 259 and I was a mess yesterday. Greatfully it is going down but I will be calling the Dr. in the morning when he gets back in to find out more about why that happened.
We are looking forward to Christmas. Robs dad will be joining us and I always love having family around at the holidays I wish we were able to have more come.
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope 2013 will be our dream come true year and perhaps a little less busy.
   
                                  

What does 100 pounds look like?

Megan 100 lbs. ago

 

100 lbs Lighter  and Healthier

 

Lots of Changes

I haven't blogged about what has been going on in my/our life because I wasn't sure I wanted to share. I have come across a lot of people with very strong negative opinions on the subject and frankly I don't want to hear it. I have decided that I will share thought because I am proud of my choice and am not going to live my life in hiding. On May 24th I had a Sleeve Gastrectomy. As someone that was very vocally against any type of weight loss surgery I can't believe how my heart has been softened and my mind opened. I did it for more than weight loss, I did it for more reasons than I want to list but a lot of them were health related. I have been very blessed to be surrounded with supportive family, ward family and friends.  This is a learning and patience building process that I am enjoying...most days. I am doing very well and feel very blessed to be as well as I am. I am grateful that my sweet tooth is gone for the most part. I crave protein and veggies and love that change. I have been told I will experience many changes over the next year some I welcome and some I hope pass me by. I get to start soft foods now and next week I am cleared to exercise again. There are some foods that I don't like anymore that I used to love like Cranberry, Lemonade, watermelon,and mashed potatoes. I have been warned though that my tastes will continue to change over the next year.
Robert has been an amazing support to me through this process. He reminds me to not lift, have my protein drink and on and on. I am very grateful for him.

Mother's Day

As you may know last year at this time I was explaining how Rob and I had renamed Mother's Day Fussy sock day and that we would not go to church that day. I went to church this year. No, I did not have baby in the last year but the lord has softened my heart and shown me a few things. I have been blessed to be called to Young Women's where I am the Secretary. I love my calling and the fact that I now have 12 girls that I get to help on there path to womanhood.  I also have many little nieces and nephews that I love to spoil and there parents let me. I have been so blessed.  Something has changed in me because I didn't just go to church today I loved being there. There was a young man that spoke today that I used to babysit when he was very little. I was there when he became a big brother for the first time...what a joy it is to me to see what a wonderful young man he has become. 
I also am reminded of the 5 little Dachshunds that I have that call me mom. Some may think I have lost my mind but in a way I feel that these Dachshunds are preparing me for motherhood. I have to feed them, get up with then in the middle of the night when they are sick, bath them, take them to the vet when they are sick and on and on. Yes, I know they are dogs but when they don't feel good they come to me  and when they need loves they come to me so that makes me mom:)

Easter Afternoon and Evening

Through all Rob's performances I have not gotten a picture with him so this time we did.
The Trio




Rob and Mom

Robert(John) with Aubrey (Mother Mary)

(Thomas,Peter and John)

Played by

Greg, Rojohn and Robert

View of the Temple when we arrived

View of the city around 6 ish

Easter evening we went to the 4th and final performance of Lamb of God up at the inter stake center in Oakland. Rob was doing his final performance as John. It was a wonderful show I would even say the best of the season. I left the show feeling relieved to no longer need to be a Choir widow and yet very proud and honored to be Robs wife.

Easter Morning

Robert,Jarum,Beautiful Izzy and Megan
James with Andrew



James, Jarum, Andrew and Chris



James, Brendt, Jarum, Andrew, Chris,Ryan

Robert, Mike, James, Brendt, Jarum, Andrew, Chris and Ryan
The Men

The Happy Family (minus Sarah)

Chris, Andrew,James and Jill

Robert,Andrew,Chris and James

Jill and Chris

Sam, Brandon and Amy

Izzy woke up from a 10 minute nap

Izzy needs to go down for a longer nap

Megan and Izzy..Just love that little girl

Izzy and Jarum

(she was looking at me when I attempted to take this picture)

Rob and I had a wonderful Easter morning with family. We drove up to Lodi to enjoy some of Andrews special day and got the bonus of seeing my nephew and his baby girl who were in town. Rob had a performance in the evening or I think we would have stayed longer in Lodi.

It was so nice to be surrounded with so much family and so many little ones.

Megan's Birthday

Why do I have a picture of a grave you ask? For my birthday for the last 10 years I go visit my

Dad. I hate that I have to visit a grave yard to see dad but such is life. This year I also decorated his grave for Easter so the 3 circle things in reality are egg shapes.
Sarah, Me, and Pete--They joined Rob and I for my Birthday Dinner Surprise.

My Awesome Cousin brought me these cookies that you eat Raw. They are sooo good! I still have a few I have been stretching them out.
Thanks Ashley!

My Friend Karen brought me these yummy cupcakes. I thought that was sweet of her.

White Chocolate, Raspberry,Truffle cheesecake

Rob Decorated that hat for me. In the basket at the end of the table Rob had 35 eggs and in them were 35 things he loved about me. I thought that was an awesome gift.

My surprise dinner destination

Yes I am blindfolded in this picture. Rob wanted to surprise me so he blindfolded me while we drove to the restaurant.

Gifts at home.

As you can see I had an amazing Birthday. Rob worked so hard to make it a nice day for me and I had lots of sweet friends remember me and send me lots of love. Thank you everyone for remembering me and showering me in love.

Megan's Birthday--The Beginning

I have found in Marriage that there are days that I would love to ring Rob's neck and then there are days that I am over the moon and feel like the luckiest lady around. Since my Birthday is on a Monday and Rob has to work my birthday began early. Rob surprised me with flowers..great love them and all the color but the kicker is he arranged them himself for me.

This was shaping up to be an over the moon weekend with that.

Next came my favorite goodies ever...Shari's Berries. I LOVE these strawberries and apples! I love Shari's Berries more that See's..can you believe I just said that. All weekend I have been enjoying these beauties.

In case you can't tell the white thing in the middle is a caramel apple.

That is how my birthday has started I am looking forward to tomorrow to see how it plays out and what surprises Rob has up his sleeve.

Robert's Birthday Continued

Robert with Mater as we were taking the cakes into his work.
All the cakes at Rob's work

Rob with his gifts and Penny checking them out.

If you can't tell that is Mater that the boy is playing with

I found a Nike outlet and Rob goes through shoes like I go through water so it works.

I went an decorated his office.

Rob seemed to enjoy his birthday and I enjoyed spoiling him. In case you are wondering what is up with all the Mater stuff let me explain. Last year we purchased a 1992 Explorer from my nephew so Rob could have a vehicle of his own. Robert and I we name our vehicles for example the truck Rob had when we were dating was Beast, my escape is Sully so we had to think of a name for the new addition. Now the "new" addition is old and kind of beat up...it works great for him and he loves it but it just reminded us of Mater and so it is. The explorer is Mater and my hunt for all things Mater for Rob began. In January Rob showed me a web site of this bakery that did a Mater cake which planted the seed for me. I was at first just going to order the Mater cake until I discovered it was $300 so the planning and research began. I must admit I was scared to death to to this cake. I had done a lot of cakes but never one like this and I had to somehow make frosting look smooth because I didn't want to use Fondant. I was sooo excited when it actually turned out. That's the news behind Rob's Birthday.