Schools Out for the SUMMER!

 I can't believe that Kaleb's Kindergarten year has come and gone. Where is the time going? My friends who have teenagers have counseled me and have said, "Once your kids get in school the years fly by!" I believe them. I don't think I am ready for this yet!! I wish I could bottle my kids up and keep them young forever!! However, I know this not to be the case. 

Kaleb's last week of school was a fun one. They did  many fun activities in class and a favorite was a Counting with Skittles Day. Each child in the class received some Skittles and they counted them and then divided them into groups. Kaleb loved this activity and talked about it all day after school. They also had a Field Day and were able to go outside and play water games and eat Popsicles. On the last day of School, Kaleb's teacher Mrs. Titus threw a surprise pizza party for the kids because they filled up the jar for good behavior. Kaleb was thrilled. After school, I picked Kaleb up and had planned on taking him out to lunch at McDonald's to celebrate but since he had already eaten we opted for Ice cream.

I am so proud of Kaleb and all of his accomplishments this year! Love you So Much Son!

Kaleb with his Friend Adilynne Hagen

Karmindy's First Haircut

Over the years I have just trimmed Karmindy's hair. Her hair is so fine and thin that It hasn't required much maintenance. Over the past month or so it has been growing and was really uneven on the bottom and I knew I needed to take her in to get in trimmed. Today I took the kids to go get there hair cut at Great Clips. Since Kaleb needed his cut, I figured I would get Karmindy's done at the same time as well. We have always had a positive experience there. When we arrived, Kaleb hopped up in the chair and was done in a jiffy. Karmindy however wouldn't let the lady near her. I don't blame her though, I knew from the start that the older lady cutting her hair wasn't really into the idea of working on Karmindy. I am pretty sure Karmindy could sense it too. Kids aren't dumb!! Needless to say, Karmindy threw a huge fit and we left with just Kaleb's hair cut. I was so frustrated. I really wanted Karmindy's first hair cut experience to be a positive one and I had been told about Cookie Cutters so went went there directly afterwards. Cookie Cutter's is a little Salon tailored to kids. The kids get balloons, suckers, and get to pick out a movie or game of their choice to watch or play while their hair is being cut. They even get to pick what kind of chair they want to sit in. Karmindy picked a pink convertible. The whole experience was a positive one and the hair stylists knew just how to get down on Karmindy's level. Karmindy got the ROYAL TREATMENT  and left with cute piggy tails. The gal also sprayed glitter spray in her hair so she would feel like a princess. Karmindy also got a couple of suckers and a balloon. I left happy and Karmindy left happy. I just wish that the whole experience would have been a little cheaper. :S

I laugh because this whole situation is so typical of Karmindy and that is that she prefers the royal treatment. Anything for my Princess. Wink.

I wish that I had taken my camera but when we got home I snapped a few. 

My princess with her goods- balloon and sucker= true bliss.

Karmindy's cute hair.

We have Gone to the Dogs...

This past week we added this little girl to our Clan...

Meet Kozette or Kozy for short. 

She is our little Shih-tzu that we adopted this past Tuesday. I have wanted a little dog for quite awhile and we decided to take the plunge and get one. I have been scouring KSL.com the past few weeks and decided to use part of my birthday money to buy her. We have truly had so much fun with Kozy this past week and we are so grateful to have her as apart of our family. 

Kaleb and Karmindy adore her.

She has taken a special liking to Karmindy!

Me with my little Ewok.

Besides her barking a little at night, Kozette has been then best natured little dog. She loves attention and loves to cuddle. She loves soft blankets and adores her little fabric toy ball. As for some other likes... she loves to play with Kaleb and Karmindy and also loves to rough house with Mark. She has especially stolen my heart and is my little sweetheart at night and cuddles with me while I read or watch TV with Mark.

Now if only we can get our little darling to potty train. Wish me luck and patience!

Life is rough at times.

Life at the Frisbey house has been rough lately. It has been a little overwhelming having gone through Karmindy's surgery last weekend and not getting the news that we had hoped for. I have really taken it hard and to be told that Karmindy will most likely have to go through another open heart surgery is suffocating. My heart breaks over this.  It is a heart break that I don't think can ever be mended until I hear the news that Karmindy is healed. The last open heart surgery was physically, mentally and emotionally draining for our family. It seems like we have been in survival mode for the last three years in hopes of hearing good news and putting an ending to this very hard trial. Good news was not received last weekend. I feel like it is hard to keep going and press forward not know what the future holds for my precious little girl.

My mind can't help but race and think about the "what if's" of this trial. I try very hard to be positive about Karmindy's future but I am sure the adversary takes delight in playing on my fears. Is it bad to be resentful when you see so many people around you having babies in your neighborhood and ward and hear someone complain about minute things like the baby's sex, or  nursery colors? It doesn't seem fair to me when other's complain about these things when all I have ever wanted is healthy kids that get to lead healthy lives. It is hard to not let the anger creep in and destroy you especially when I want to yell and say, "Things could be worse than getting a boy instead of a girl, or I would trade the exhausting job of picking out paint chips for a nursery than having to go through watching  my child suffer in pain or even death of the result of having another open heart operation. I try to be sensitive however to those individuals who are having a hard time with baby's sexes or paint colors or what not because maybe that is their trial. 

It is especially hard to think that my little girl might not get to grow up with the numerous other little girls in our neighborhood and ward. How hard would it be to watch the other girls grow up and do great things if Karmindy can't or won't have the opportunity to. I dont' want to lose my daughter. I have hope and faith that I won't but it is those "what if's" that haunt me all the time. 

Also, I feel so much guilt from other's for only having two children and just tending to the two that I have. I think about throwing another baby into the mix right now and I just don't think I could give it or my other kids the care/attention that they all deserve and be mentally sound. Especially if more heart surgeries or other health trials present themselves.  I don't know if I struggle with this because all my life I have had it drilled into my head to have a big family. What if I can't have a big family? I have fulfilled the commandment of Multiplying and replenishing the earth but why don't I feel like it isn't good enough? I know that I have learned so much from having gone through surgery after surgery with Karmindy.

 I have learned a lot from this huge trial. One lesson being to enjoy the "right now." I truly enjoy seeing my kids achieve and learn new things and grow on a daily basis. I have also learned to be grateful for what I have because even though this is extremely hard for me, someone out there in this world has always got it worse than me. I guess the hardest part is trying to wrap my brain around what is meant to be and what is my Heavenly Father's will will come to pass. I just really, really want more than anything for Karmindy to be able to grow up and have a happy and full life and get to experience life's joy's  like school, friends, family, dating, marriage and having her own family. 

I know Karmindy has a ton of spunk and feistyness in her to beat this and overcome this huge obstacle in her life. I just pray that Heavenly Father will give me the strength to except what ever the future holds when it comes to my sweet little Karmindy. 

Kindergarten Testing

It has been so nice this past week, because Kaleb has had some time off from school. With him being enrolled in Year Round School, each track takes around a week off to test all of the kindergartners on that track and see what they have learned and where they are at academically. Kaleb's test was scheduled for today at 10. Kaleb, Karmindy and I all headed to the school and after we dropped Kaleb off in his classroom for his 45 minute evaluation. Karmindy and I had some time to kill so we headed to the playground so Karmindy could play. It was nice to have some one on one time with her since both kids are usually with me. It also gave me a chance to take some pictures with my new camera that I got for my birthday. The pictures  turned out darling. Here are a few of my favorites.

After the 45 minutes were up, Karmindy and I headed back to Kaleb's Classroom to visit with his teacher. Kaleb is doing well in every subject and is reading like a champ. His teacher expressed how impressed she was with him and told me that he was reading well above grade level. This made me so happy to hear because I have been diligent about working with him and reviewing flash cards everyday with him after his homework was complete. I am so proud of Kaleb. He is a very smart little boy who loves to learn. I hope that he never loses that desire. I am also very proud of the little boy that he is becoming. He is kind to all he meets and is a good friend to everyone.

After Kaleb's testing, I snapped this photo of Kaleb with his teacher. So cute. So grateful for Mrs. Titus this year. She has been a wonderful teacher to Kaleb. She is so patient and kind.

 Kaleb is looking forward to 1st grade and is thrilled to have 2 recesses to look forward to this next year. I am sad however because my little boy is growing up and I will miss him while he is gone all day for first greade. I certainly will miss my good little helper and buddy. I love you son and I hope you know how proud we are of you!!

Little Dairy Queen

 I love that miscievous Look!

 YUM, YUM, YUM!

YUM! Do I Have anything on my Face?

Summer wouldn't be complete without eating Ice Cream. Here are a few pictures that I took while Karmindy was enjoying her ice cream during snack time.

Karmindy's Angioplasty

This past Friday, Karmindy was scheduled to have an angioplasty on her narrowing aorta. We arrived at Primary Children's Hospital around 1:30 pm to check in. After weighing her in and checking her vitals, we headed back into a room so a iv team could come in and place her iv for the surgery. After her iv was placed we got her dressed into her hospital clothes and were sent into a waiting room. The cath lab was running behind and so we had to wait until 4 pm before they could preform the surgery. It was really hard on us, as well as, Karmindy who hadn't eaten anything since the day before. She was a trooper for not having eaten anything and was so brave.

At 4 pm. they came and got us and took us back into the cath lab to preform her surgery. The reason we scheduled this surgery was to help balloon open what they thought was a narrowing aorta. The Surgery went smoothly and only took 1 hour. They had scheduled it for 3 just in case. After the surgery we were paged to go back and see Karmindy. Before we could see her though, we met with her Surgeon, Dr. Collin Cowley for her prognosis and update. The Surgeon learned that her aorta and the site that they fixed when she was a baby was not narrowing but that a piece of tissue is "kinking" the area and restricting the blood flow which is located above the original surgery site. (Think of a hose that is kinked and the hose in between is restricting the flow. The Dr. also compared it to an inverted belly button. You can push it in but it will pop right out.)  This is what the tissue is doing. They can balloon it and stretch it but it will go back to its original form.The Surgeon used 2 different balloons #8 and #10 and neither one would even balloon open the area. The Surgeon said The area would balloon out with each balloon but it would then fall back on top of each other. The surgery was an EPIC FAIL unless you consider finding out that the original surgery site was fine and it was actually additional tissue that was blocking the blood flow. The Surgeon told us that putting in a stent would not be an option like we had originally thought and so we would have to prepare to have open heart surgery again to fix this condition. Putting a stent in this place would potentially cause blood clots that would travel to Karmindy's brain and cause strokes. We were heart broken when he told us this. It is so hard to go through this time after time. It is also extremely hard on our little girl. For the time being we and the Surgeons decided that we will continue to monitor her progress and then if we have to do open heart surgery we will. The Surgeons were confident though that if we do open heart that she will potentially be fine for the rest of her life. They said we had that on our side. The other option is to monitor her blood pressure and hope this extra tissue will grow with her. We would prefer this option and hope and pray that this is the way that it grows.

This is so heartbreaking to go through and is still one of the hardest things that Mark, myself and Karmindy face. We know that we are continually sent miracles and marvel at Karmindy's determination and strength through each of these surgeries and procedures. Karmindy continues to defy the odds and press through this trial. Karmindy handles obstacle with grace. During this particular visit, she had several nurses in tears (along with her mom) because after they would continue to poke and prod, she would tell them thank you time after time. She seems  to have somewhat of an understanding of what is taking place and as her mom and those Dr.s, Surgeons and nurses that continue to work on her are blown away by her strength and strong spirit. We only spent the night on the recovery floor and she was allowed to go home early the next morning at 9am.

Karmindy getting ready to go home. She loved being able to watch TV on her very own TV and order anything she wanted to eat while she was recovering. She loved having all the chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, french fries and teddy grahams she could eat.

 I hope that Karmindy will always remember and know that she has great strength and has a great spirit to go through this very hard trial. She definitely has gone through more than most people go through in an entire lifetime. I am so proud to be her mother and she is a constant example to me, her dad, brother and those around her. We Love you Sweet Girl.

The Grass Kickers

Kaleb finished his last week of Spring Soccer this week. He had a Game on Thursday and a Game today (6/11). His team (The Grass Kickers) had a great season. Even though we weren't supposed to keep score his cute little team remained undefeated through out the whole season. The team was made up of three boys and the rest were girls. Kaleb really enjoyed himself and had a great time learning the fundamentals of the sport. Even though they only played 4 out of the 8 games due to rained out games, he has improved by leaps and bounds. The last two games he was like a whole different player! My parents were able to come up for the weekend and I am sure this helped him to "show off" his soccer skills. He seemed more confident that he has been all season just by having his grandparents there. 

Throughout the Season, Kaleb's coach would award each of the players with soccer patches to iron onto their jersey's. The kids earned them by scoring goals, being aggressive and having good sportsmanship. Kaleb was thrilled to earn 4 patches and has treasured them. I am looking forward to ironing them on his jersey and placing them in an heirloom frame to hang in his room.

Along with learning about the game and the rules he also had fun because he was able to have two good friends on his team: Cadence Hattaway and Caleb Bradford. 

Kaleb and Cadence

Kaleb and Caleb B.

Even though the season is over he is looking forward to playing again next year. I guess we need to start practicing!

Kaleb's Year End Field Trip

Kaleb and Ellie B. riding the bus together.

Kaleb and his Group standing in front of the T-Rex Display

Tyler B, Ellie G., Macee S, Ellie B., and Kaleb

This past Wednesday, Kaleb had the opportunity to go to the Hogle Zoo with his class mates. I was one of four lucky parents that got picked to Chaperon the outing. I was in charge of 4 kids including Kaleb. Kaleb had a great little group and they were all troopers by staying together throughout the outing. It made my job easy. We rode a bus up with the other afternoon D track class. When we arrived there we got off and saw a few animals and the Dinosaur exhibits before heading to the bird show. The kids, including Kaleb really enjoyed seeing all the birds and seeing the fun tricks that they could do. A favorite was listening to the parrots and hearing them talk. After the bird show, it was time for lunch. After lunch we checked out the Elephants and the Monkeys. By this time, it was time to pack up and get ready to head back to the bus. I had so much fun spending time with my little boy! It was also fun to watch Kaleb interact with his classmates. He has many friends and gets along with everyone.

Waiting for the Bird Show to Start.

Getting ready to head back to the bus to go home.

Having fun with Side Walk Chalk

When the weather warms up here in Northern Utah, my kids love to be outside and play. One of their favorite things to do is put their creativity to the test and decorate our side walks with their chalk artwork.

 This past week, a friend of mine needed me to watch her little boy while she ran to an Dr. Appointment. Kaleb was at school, so Karmindy and Dylan headed out back to have some fun. The kids had fun drawing and I was able to break out my new camera and take pictures of the two of them while they were having fun.

Karmindy Playing with Side Walk Chalk

Dylan, Karmindy's Friend

My Precious Daughter

I am so grateful for my children. I can't imagine life with out them. There is nothing more fulfilling, tough, or exhausting than being a mom. Even though there is a lot of good with the bad. I will take it! There are a few things that I want to remember about Karmindy at this time in her life and I wanted to write them down before I forget.

1. Karmindy loves Animals; especially dogs. Our neighbors have a dog named Toby and whenever it is outside she will give me a play by play of what he is doing whether it is barking, sitting or just telling me that he is, "So Soft Mom!" She also has a collection of stuffed animals in which she takes excellent care of. Her favorite is her pink monkey named, "Boots."

2. Karmindy is very tender hearted!  She doesn't like to see anyone cry or feel bad. Whenever she does, she will go up to that person and tell them, "Don't be sad, It'll be ok." She loves to give hugs and whenever I rock her in my rocking chair I will pat her on the back and usually she is patting me in return.

3. Karmindy is feisty and can hold her own. She has been known to take down her brother who is 3 years older and make him scream like a girl. She doesn't take crap from anyone! Just this past week she was playing with a friend and the friend was telling her to go away. Karmindy tried to give her a hug but her friend wanted nothing to do with it. So she clenched her fist and slugged her. Her friends mom and I had a good laugh. Moral of the story is to never cross Karmindy and always give her a hug when she is trying to hug you  and be your friend or you might get decked! :)

4. Karmindy loves to help me in the kitchen. She loves homemade bread, cookies and cake.

5. Karmindy favorite foods are: mac n' cheese, French Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Chocolate Milk, cookies, and anything sweet. Her Favorite Fruit are oranges.

6. Her best friend is her Big Brother. She loves to see him out the door in the morning and will yell, "Have a good Day!" "I will miss you!" She also gets very excited to go and pick Kaleb up from Kindergarten. The moment Kaleb gets in the car she will say in a very excited voice, "Hi Brother!" 

7. She loves to play with her dolls, doll house, and dress up. However, her favorite things to play are "Pirates" and sword fighting with her big brother.

8. She is very athletic and loves to play soccer, hit baseballs and jump on the tramp.

9. Karmimdy loves music and has her own set of songs that I sing to her every night before bed. Here they are in order: Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, Twinkle Star, Smile, Popcorn Popping, Once their was a Snowman, One Little Speckled Frog, I know that Heavenly Father loves me, and I love to see the Temple. She knows the words to all of these songs and after singing I love to see the temple, she will immediately say, "Good Night" and roll over and go to bed. I often can hear her singing in her room during the day and she will also hum her own little tunes.

10. Karmindy loves watching movies. Some of Her favorites are Dora the Explorer, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, Little Einsteins, and Cars.

11. She is very polite and has just learned the words, No Thanks. Over the past few days, we will ask, "Are you ready for bed?" She will reply, "Mmm, No Thanks!"

12. She has mastered her trike and rides like a champ. We are amazed at how quickly she learns new things and we attribute that to her trying to keep up with her big brother.

13. She loves to get her hair done in the morning. After I am all done she will ask to see herself, and will immediately tell me she is, "So Pretty!" I hope she never forgets this!

It's Birthday Time.

I celebrated my 30th birthday on June 4th, or should I say I celebrated my birthday several days in advance and after the 4th. On Wednesday June 2nd, Mark surprised me by arranging for a babysitter to watch the kids so he could take me out to eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse downtown. Mark has eaten here several times for work but I have never been. He knew I would love it and I did. We ordered BBQ shrimp and I ordered the petite filet with shrimp on top. The steak and shrimp were the best I have ever eaten. Our waitress took really good care of us and since it was my birthday, she let me choose any dessert off the menu since it was my special day. Also, when our waitress brought our leftovers all boxed up to our table she told me that she snuck two chocolate raspberry cupcakes in just because. It was nice to be treated like royalty and taken care of. It was a really nice evening and I enjoyed spending it with Mark and we both look forward to eating there again soon!

 On Thursday night, my friend Carlynn took me to go get a pedicure and then after that I was able to get out with her and several other best friends from my neighborhood. We all headed to Chili's for appetizers and desserts. It was fun to catch up with them and visit. I truly love all of my darling friends and neighbors. I had my camera with me that night but I forgot to take a picture of all of us.

On Friday night, my dear friend Emily Hattaway and I went to Color me mine, it is a pottery painting shoppe where you can go and pick out plates and other ceramic pieces and customize them to your liking. Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a small fetish for really good cupcakes. I found the cutest cupcake platter and painted it. My friend Emily painted a cute piggy bank for her daughter who is celebrating her birthday this month as well. We had a lot of fun creating all evening. After being artsy we headed down to The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake shoppe for dessert. We both got cupcakes, SURPRISE! :) 

On Saturday, Mark and the kids spoiled me. I woke up and opened presents. Mark and the kids got me a brand new camera and case. I have been wanting a Cannon for so long!! I am so excited to have it and have been enjoying taking pictures. It was fun to spend a low key day with my sweet husband and kids. During the morning and afternoon hours we spent watching Kaleb play a soccer game and then we went to Arctic circle for lunch and let the kids play on the playground. That night we ordered Cafe Rio and spent a nice quiet evening in.

I had a really nice birthday and received many nice gifts, cards and well wishes. It was a really nice way to start out my 30's.