It has begun...

They have discovered bookshelves and they love them. I'm starting to see a little personality come out in each of them. Anna is especially interested in books. She will sit and flip, flip, flip a book over and over. She loves turning the pages. Any time I pull a book out, they both come crawling fast to be read to. I'm curious to see what things are not child proof around my house. I'm sure very soon I will know! As of now, I know that my bookshelves are very exciting to two little babies!

 Anna is sort of sitting up and fell asleep on Audrey's back.

 I think this is their favorite place to be. It's a full time job to watch both babies on the stairs as they aren't super secure at getting down safely.

 The other night Nate said "Mom, I don't know why, but I feel much safer with weapons on me." So he went to bed with his machete attached to his belt. Funny boy.

 Bath time is so fun and Nate and Sadie really wanted to join them! They had a ton of fun together.

Anna and Audrey love the stool the Great Grandpa Walton made. They love to climb on it (when it is sideways) and sit and feel so big. Today they both squeezed on and barely fit. They were so happy sitting there together.

California

I couldn't pass up the great deal on the 8:30 am flight but I was wondering if that was a good idea come Monday morning when we all had to get up at the crack of dawn to head to the airport. I had such good helpers and everyone traveled well - so it all worked out! With car seats, I couldn't believe how many things we had to carry to check. Good thing we fly Southwest and get to check things for free.

Grandpa and Grandpa (and the rest of us) spent a lot of time on the stairs teaching these girls how to go down. They were obsessed with the stairs but we sure didn't want them falling down to the tile! If one escaped from the kitchen, we knew just where to check: the stairs. 

 Dave, Nate and the babies had a fun visit to Grandpa and Grandma Walton's for a visit while the Fishbein girls went to see a play.

 Snuggling up during their nap at the Walton's.

 Nate, Anna and Audrey had fun playing with cousins at Gr. and Gr. Walton's house!

 Grandma Shelly and were out playing badminton with Ash, Sadie and Nate. Who ever designed that game? It just seems odd to have this little ball with a net attached to it to try and hit.

 Ryan had fun (Anna and Audrey had more fun) pushing A and A around on a cookie sheet, I think it was? We had fun getting to see Mike and Stephanie's house and cute boys!

 Anna and Audrey loved when Grandpa John came home from work. He would get on the floor and they climbed all over him. So cute.

 Anna and Audrey helping Grandma Shelly put dishes away.

 Sage is strong to hold both babies!

 Cousins and donuts...doesn't get better than that!

 Cute big sisters dusting off Brie's headstone. So sweet.

 I can't count how many times I've visited the cemetery with a heavy heart or an unsettled feeling that somehow our family wasn't complete. It was a miracle to visit the cemetery with such a happy heart and a feeling of contentment with our family. We are complete and it finally feels right.

 We always kiss our thumb and then kiss the B. Ashlyn is helping Audrey kiss the B.

 Happy Audrey on her big sister's headstone.

 Anna and Audrey having fun together. I'm sure it would make Brie smile. It sure made me smile.

 People ask how I travel alone (without my husband) with two babies. I have two big girls that take a baby for the whole flight. They are awesome helpers.

 Dave made it out for a quick weekend to see us in CA. He came back to pick us up at the end of our trip. Audrey was crazy about the ride Dave gave her on the luggage. She was in heaven.

Sleeping babies and Christmas

 Barely touching in bed. I love how Anna's hand is reaching out to make sure they are at least touching a little bit.

 Science class by Nate. They girls were sooooooo interested in Nate's lesson on bearded dragons! I'm afraid they seem especially amused by animals. I'm totally outnumbered!

 Nate was such a cute helper at their doctor appointment. I loved how the doctor asked if Nate wanted to be the one to hold them while she did the exam.

 Is that comfortable?

 Having our "angel cake" to celebrate our December 22 Angel, Amber from 2005.

 Ginger bread house cookies. Mom used to always do gingerbread houses with us. Every year that I can remember! Since we've had a few rough Decembers, I switched to making a giant gingerbread cookie in the shape of a house. It's easier and they still have a ton of fun.

 We had a few families over for dinner and the kids all acted out the Nativity. I had to document this picture. Nate used to have a little crush on this cute girl. He claims that is a thing of the past, but whenever the girls say her name, he does get a cute smile. Either way, Ash and Sadie are voting for him to marry Kaitlyn because they really like her and think she would make a great sis in law. She was the only girl who wanted to play Mary and Nate was gonna play Joseph...they made a cute couple!

 Sadie and Nate worked hard on our veggie tray for our Christmas Eve dinner.

 Anna and Audrey LOVE bath time.

 I love the little hands helping Nate play his song.

 Christmas morning.

 Those eyes just make me melt.

 Going for a fun sledding afternoon with some fresh snow.

 Ash had a big science project to do for the science fair. With Dave involved, of course it had to do with guns. It just makes me laugh to see this sweet girl with a massive, powerful gun.

The Mayo Clinic

It's not every day that you hop over to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in the winter! 

After over a year's battle with eosinophil pneumonia, wacky blood tests that had my eosinophils charted at 10 times their normal production, 3 different specialists doing tests and more tests (including a bone marrow biopsy with all negative results except high eosinophils), it was highly recommended that I go to the Mayo Clinic for some answers. I was devastated to hear this news. The thought of leaving my family, my babies, heading to a freezing cold state in the middle of winter all by myself to do miserable tests for my health that has been so frustrating...it just sounded like too much. But we felt like I needed to go. We spent days stewing over what to do and how to do it. Me go alone? Dave come with me and leave the kids with Grandma? Friends? Bring the family? No options seemed right. Shannon and Scott had already so generously offered for Shannon to come help me in Colorado just because I had been so sick in general (she even had a ticket to CO already for the very week I would be scheduled at the Mayo Clinic). Dave thought Shannon coming would be a great option because of how she would cheer me up. He knows how she makes me laugh. I just felt so bad asking her to coming along so I wouldn't be lonely. I kept thinking I could just be tough and do it. Well, one day it just all clicked and we asked if Shannon would come to Minnesota with me and Dave could stay with the kids. 

It still makes me cry thinking about it. When I called and asked her, she told me that had I not asked her to come, she was planning to surprise me in Minnesota to be with me. Wow, wow, wow!! I feel forever in-debt to her for coming (and Scott for holding down the fort at home with 4 kids). She made  ALL the difference. 

I felt such a heavy weight leaving my family and going to such a serious place for health issues we couldn't resolve. But having Shannon there to make me laugh 100 times over again and to keep a positive attitude and just be at my side was the best medicine I could have asked for. 

She couldn't even come to my first appointment with me because we were worried we would get the giggles and the doctors wouldn't take me seriously. Instead she sat right outside and was there the second I came out. 

 Here we are on our first morning at the Mayo Clinic. I have come to have very fond feelings of this place. There is a special spirit there of love and warmth and kindness. The doctors and staff were amazing and truly care.

 One of the many buddies we made while at Mayo. So many people sit for hours at this place waiting, waiting, waiting for appointments. We talked to so many people, heard their life stories, shared, and just passed the time as we all waited and waited! It's amazing how many struggles are going on in people's lives that you just can't know until you sit down and have a conversation. I love people and I loved getting to meet so many wonderful people in Minnesota!

 A picture I texted to Mom to let her know I was taking good care of Shannon.

 There was this beautiful grand piano and there was almost always someone playing Christmas music on it. These two old men were playing and were so cute! It brought so much cheer to the whole place!

With my wonderful Dr. Patel! He was amazing. One of the days he spent 90 minutes with us. Who does that anymore? The next morning he spent about an hour. We had some good talks about life and it was so neat to get to know him and see his love for his patients and take such great care in his life's work. 

There were many times I had to fast for different tests. I was holding a can of my favorite almonds to just get in the smell since I couldn't eat.

 I was on the phone and Shannon wandered into a small museum at Mayo. It made me smile to see her sitting on the ground reading away! We had some time to burn while there. :)

This place was beautiful. They made such great efforts to make it a welcoming, lovely place. It really does cheer you up to be somewhere so beautiful.

Just one example of this place. This was waiting to get blood drawn. I think we counted 77 people. You show up, meet with a doctor, and then are given an itinerary of all your appointments and tests. It's quite a production they have going on. It's so orderly and well executed. The waiting is usually because you are trying to get a test done early so you just wait for an open spot. But for the normal tests and appointments on the itinerary, I was always seen on time. 

We had good and bad news. The good news was that after an echo, CT scans, and a million other tests, they couldn't find anything wrong or that was causing my elevated eosinophils. Especially after all my lungs have been through, I was thankful that my lungs were not damaged in any way. I was so thankful for a healthy heart and other organs. The frustrating part is that they deemed my case "idiopathic" and explained that sometimes they just can't find the cause. So they will treat the eosinophils with medication and the hope is that before long my body will re-boot and stop making extras. 

With our answers, we packed up and headed out for a little fun before our flight the next morning. 

The first stop was the Mall of America. When Dave told the kids we might all go to Minnesota, he told them about this mall with a roller coaster. Nate was set on going. He was bummed he couldn't go so I assured them I would ride on the roller coaster for them. We also stopped at the huge Lego store. It was fun to have a chance to shop up and down a mall like that - I don't think we've done that together since high school. 

That night we had a wonderful visit to the LDS Minnesota temple. It was a perfect end to our trip together. 

The video Dave posted was my welcome home present that they made for me. Dave worked half days and Ash and Sadie held down the fort while he was gone. Ash had a big week of school work so it wasn't easy but she managed to get a lot done when Dave got home each day. They were all such a huge help. Ashlyn was extra thankful for me to get home and said "Mom, I can't believe how much you do!" I guess it's good for them to get a taste of motherhood once in a while! 

Getting ready for the in-mall roller coaster!