Christmas take 3

*a couple more from the other night*

**
So a late Sunday brunch at our house was in order so we could see Grandma, and exchange gifts. It was a lot of fun, and this time the boys were well behaved. It was great to have more time together and enjoy another day of food and family.

*the only problem was that we stopped taking pictures half way through the day! So hello siblings...send a few my way???

Christmas Eve and Christmas

I cant believe its over! Christmas has come and gone and let me tell you- sooo many pictures to share and remember this year by. It was great to split the families over the entire 3 days as there were lots of visitors and plenty of activities.

This is a picture of me with a bag that my mom made- but not just any bag- one that she made for all the Booth/Devenney girls. I just love it.

Christmas Eve at my Mom and Laynes is always a nice affair...we open gifts, have a traditional poem by Layne, and enjoy great food. This year was no exception, everyone that could make it was there, the mood was festive and the kids did fairly well...( more to come)

Gift giving is my favorite part of Chrismas....

Cory and Whitney unfortunately opened all of their gifts Christmas Eve so that was kinda a bummer. But I think they got a bit spoiled with all the additional gifts later on that they received.

We finished up the night at Moms with way too much dessert for my liking and feeling completely full....ready to head home for baths, new PJ's and all the nights activities to start( ie SANTA!!)
****

Christmas Day! Well the morning started out well, they boys slept in, we opened stockings and presents, but soon thereafter the melt downs, and tantrums begun. See Jonathan and I have been on extremely shaky ground with the boys.....

So much so that for the last few weeks we have been hanging on by a thread. Im not kidding. There has been much tears, by both parents and children. The reading and implementing of "parenting with love and logic" has been marginally successful....

However after time at our house in the morning-- off we went to Jonathans family's- and much to our surprise( not) we ruined Christmas for them. We should have known better and just stayed home, but we felt perhaps the change of scenery and new people might prove a potential positive outcome. However intuition was correct.

a true disaster, and we came home very shortly after without exchanging any gifts. After a long nap we decided to venture out to see TANGLED( which by the way was AMAZING) the boys seemed to pull out of their funk and we invited Jonathans parents over for round two.

Things once again quickly escalated between the boys and additional screaming, hitting, and tantrums were thrown with in-laws in attendance. However this time, the calm, loving Grandparents were with us during the hours long tantrums and helped us battle our children.

Without their help that night Im not sure what we would have done. We felt immediately better having someone there to help, and witness what we are going through almost on a daily basis. With coaching from Carl, we got through one of the more terrible Tristan moments to become victorious, and finally WIN one.

We ended the night on a good note. Boys having lost a battle to us, and some hard lessons learned, but most of all, felt that we had crossed a bridge. So much so that while therapy is likely in our future, we feel hopeful that we can continue on this journey of parenthood, and possibly remain sane. We hope.

Day 3- Sunday( another post with pictures had My Dad and Nancy and that side of the clan over to our house...) was quite enjoyable.

I have to say a few days post trauma, life is getting back to normal. Its actually been great to have a few days off with the boys. Last week Jonathan was seriously considering having to take the time off as well, for fear I would hurt the boys or myself if I was left with them for any length of time( not really, but it was getting pretty bad for a while)...

But thankfully, its been the opposite. The time hasnt gone by without hiccups, but with minimal stress, me not running around before and afterwork like normal, the boys and I have had lots of time together, fun outings, and remained busy.

I am overjoyed at where things stand this week with the boys....On another note- We all have been incredibly spoiled. Christmas was a success at the house with lots of new( well really used) video games, a tool set for Tristan which has been an absolute hit,

a bit of legos( again I should say a TON of legos) and a few meaningful present exchanges for the Mr/Mrs..

a necklace for Jonathan with a new mouse pad family picture-

and a box of new clothes that I had shopped for and put away for Christmas( such surprises!) :)

We are all happy,

healthy,

warm,

loved,

hanging in there,

and having fun. I hope everyone has enjoyed their few days and had a very Merry Christmas!

Medical update so exciting! :)

In an effort to keep track of all the medical stuff that has been going on in the last few years, I thought to do a re-cap of an appointment I had with a much respected pharmacist/RN that specializes in women and hormone imbalances. “don’t read if you don’t want to hear a LOT of my personal information etc “
I should preface this by saying that my mother and several of her friends have been seeing her as they have gone through menopause for hormone replacement treatment etc, and she does a lot to help people regulate their systems through extensive interviewing, lab work, testing etc to determine which supplements etc that can optimize your health and ease whatever issue you are facing. My mother has suggested that I see her over the last while, but since I was getting good results from my daily medication for my migraines I was hesitant to do anything different. However with our latest infertility issues( minor as they may be to others) I knew that something was amiss and when the doctor referred us to the infertility clinic I knew I was right. The first stage is for us to try Chlomid, and after explaining what it was going to do, my mother increased her belief that I should talk to this pharmacist first. Mom called and told Christine( the pharmacist) what I was doing and she said I should come talk with her right away.
It was going to be pricy, as nothing she does is covered by insurance, but I thought its worth a try. I would rather try something natural than do the drug route anyday.
Well the appointment was routine, I gave her all my medical history with migraines, what drugs ive tried and birth control options Ive used over the last 15 years, current lab results etc. I wont bore you with ALL the details but some of the key things that were mentioned:
People with a history of Chronic Migraines have a tendency to have lower levels of progestin that is naturally occurring. So they are more sensitive to triggers or issues surrounding hormonal triggers of headaches. So my birth control pill that I was on from 19-25 caused me to see a significant INCREASE in headaches as the levels of the progestin in my pill was not at the right levels. However because I was in my twenties, and having no real issues with age I got pregnant quickly. After I had Elijiah I went to a copper “T” iud for my birth control. I was regular and didn’t suffer any side effects and there was no hormones being pumped into me so when the time came to change my birth control and get pregnant with Tristan, I got pregnant right away. However after Tristan, my doctor in attempt to help me control my headaches said that I get them with my monthly cycle and if we could eliminate just ONE headache a month that would be great…the Mirena was another IUD that reduced and often stopped menstruation so I should see a reduction of my headaches during that time of the month.
I was told that the hormones in the Mirena were so SLIGHT that I shouldn’t have a problem in general. However-progestin levels since Im already are LOW were sent even lower and INCREASED my headaches( even though the doctor said that wasn’t the case). Jonathan had done extensive research on the Mirena and even though the medical studies on the mirena didn’t support the increase in headaches, there were forums of women stating all sort of issues with the IUD . Jonathan suggested that I remove the IUD but with countless conversations with my Dr, he felt it was unsupported and backed by clinical research, so whom am I to argue with that????

ANYWAY, basically Christine said that she sees countless women come in with problems resulting from the Mirena and issues after removal. She went on to say, that because the Mirena thins the uterine lining to stop periods, progestin hormone levels are at an all time LOW so when I had it removed, my age, combined with my body not being able to reproduce that hormone as quickly or easily as if I were younger, that could be why-- ONE my headaches became SO severe for the 2 years after I had Tristan and TWO why I cant get pregnant now( which supports the LH, and FH hormone levels being off the charts low in my blood work) SO whats next? I could try the Chlomid, and within a few months hope that it will work, or I can work with Christine to try and replace what my body is missing naturally.
While a bit pricy, Im leaning towards the natural hormone replacement and supplements. WHY? My faith in my OB has been a bit shaken; I spent 2 years being a lab rat to multiple medications with numerous side effects and suffering unbearable pain and depression while MD’s continued to “try” new drugs or experimental drugs to help. Im not saying that they did it on purpose- but I think they are trained to ONLY think about the one thing they specialize in rather than an holistic approach to the body and take in account EVERYTHING. NOT once did my ob and Neurologist consult one another, not once did either of them separately think I should undergo blood work and testing to see what could be underlying in my body that could be causing my issues, not one ER doctor did anything other than treat the pain and send me on my way….
I called my mother after my appointment and cried. Told her I wish I had gone several years ago to see Christine. I don’t believe that ANY one person has all the answers, but for the first time in 18 years, I felt that what she was saying was true. My gut, the same gut that wasn’t sitting right as I was getting steroid shots to the head, felt finally calm. That perhaps this woman will treat my body as a whole and try to make it function optimally. Then if everything is in harmony and balanced, perhaps THEN I will go to the medical community again for the next steps…..

Weekend update

The weekend was great( or it was going to be) Grand plans of going to Lava Hot Springs, and having a fun day. But alas the fates conspired- migraine, boys being snots, Jonathan and I feeling like we wanted to leave everything behind and find ourselves on a beach....however we did our best to carry on. Elijiah had his piano recital, which he ROCKED! He did awesome and I was so proud. Later we hooked up with my great friend Pati and her girls for our long awaited trip to Lava. However just north of Ogden the weather was getting worse and we knew it was going to be a long drive in the snow....

Though we brought provisions, and were well prepared, we didnt feel that the drive would be worth it if we got stuck or the trip took all day...so what did we do? We turned around, and decided a day swimming,

followed by a lunch out was in order. Fun was had by all, and the day ended on a high note.

It was moms bday so Sunday we went over to dinner to celebrate and thankfully the kids were well enough behaved so we could enjoy the visit.
All in all a good weekend.
*** so much to do this week and so little time...:)
( on a side note- went to another follow up dr.appointment and feel that for the first time in a long time I have the answers Ive been searching for. I just wish I had gone years ago- perhaps life would have been a bit easier these last few years- more to come....)

Happy - Sad

Happy news, I officially gave notice at work today. Im off to a new adventure and really excited about it!

Sad news, Dr called. Confirmed my suspicions that something is wrong, and that is why we arent getting prego. Recommends a fertility clinic for next steps. ( Have some alternatives in mind, but I think we will end up at the clinic sooner or later )

Who knew that the girl that got pregnant 3 times without batting an eyelash or trying, would one day end up with "issues"...but as I am continually reminded...while I dont feel that old....I AM!

tristans prayer

Title: Cutest monster moment yet!( by Jonathan)

So it was the end of a pretty long day. Typical, but definitely long. Tristan and Elijiah had been relatively good (only attempting to kill each other a few times), and things were blissfully starting to wind down towards happy-happy-passout-time. Elijiah and I were having our speck of “boy time” playing some geeky new computer game on our bed, and Amber decided to read some stories to Tristan next to us.

After a short while, Tristan lost interest in reading and started, well, started being Tristan. Amber decided it was time to put him into his bed but thought we should have a family prayer since we were all gathered in the same 20 sq/ft space (rare). Amber asked T if he wanted to say it to which he responded, “yes” (after several attempts to get Amber to say it with him in “MAH ROOM OER DER!!!”). Amber tried to get him started by saying, “Heavenly Father” to which Tristan interrupted quite loudly:

“you no say Jesus! I do it mahseff!!” We all acquiesced in minor shock and waited to see what he would come up with. He started with, “Jeeeesus… … thank you food… … Jeeesus… Bless… Mommy, Daddy, L-eye-sha(elijiah)… … … thank you food… … …” and Amber interjected with “In the name of…” as it appeared that T had exhausted his creative vocabulary for the moment.

It was the first time that he’s ever done something like that: unprovoked, uncoached. Pure angelic little boy that’s growing up way too fast. It always surprises me how these little perfect (and sometimes rare) moments completely wipe away some of the pains this little tyke puts us through.

BIG DAY!

I cant say enough good things about yesterday...Elijiah was baptized and it was a very spiritual, and memorable experience. Not everyone was able to make it, but those that came made a big effort which was appreciated and noticed by Elijiah. He was very concerned about the logistics as well as who was going to come....but the program and event went off without a hitch, and Elijiah had a great day. Jonathan did the actual Baptism, and my brother Cory did the confirmation. Khory- Elijiahs dad came and that meant the world to him...to have his dad there. I meant to get a group picture, but for some reason it didnt end up happening. Owell. I know that Elijiah will have memories of that day for the rest of his life. He got some new scriptures, a church outfit, and few things from Khory and Melinda that he really was grateful for. Its very cute to see him yesterday and today getting out his scriptures and looking and reading through them. His good friend Zach came as well and gave him a little gift and later in the day as they were playing they were swapping baptism stories which was very cool. My hope is that Elijiah will always remember his day...will remember the feelings of peace and comfort he had and will continue to grow into an amazing young man! :)

E and uncle Cory after the event!

E and me...:)

E and his daddy...

Jumpsuit fashion!! :)

turning 34

Taking cue from my friends list- 34 things that are happening right now…
Another year older…
1. I love that we are sleeping –Tristan has FINALLY started sleeping 10 hours a night.
2. A house that feels like home
3. Fighting a chocolate addiction- daily, each minute….
4. Will miss coaching my girls classes
5. An exciting new adventure work wise
6. Cookbooks that I can pour over
7. Children that are all safe and healthy
8. My dear friends and family that support me so
9. The never ending search for the sweater dress and black boots
10. School, OT, stolen moments at the end of the day for Jonathan and I- we are both going a million miles an hour and its usually in bed the last few seconds of our day that we see eachother
11. Realizing that 6 months of trying can continue indefinitely with only a 7% chance of success each month. Never thought I would have a problem- nor be considering plan B, C
12. Headache free- for the most part.
13. A special one is getting baptized soon and I have to say I cant believe how fast the time flies!
14. Mornings can be brutal at the Bechtold house. Jonathan is up and out of the house by 4:30 am so he is at work by 5, the boys are VERY tired at 5:45 in the morning, so I let them sleep in till 6am. Usually backfires…so much fighting due to grumpiness that I lay in bed dreading the morning routine.
15. Missing my outdoor running
16. Trying to find positives about the elliptical machine
17. Its all about the color in our house…I cant seem to pick adult or grownup stuff. All I have an eye for since we moved into our house, is colorful, fun, and casual décor. Maybe its that I am in denial of getting older- I don’t want a house that says – come in but sit down or youll break something….
18. I have a hot hubby. One that I am soooo in love with. He makes me laugh, and want to strangle him, but its all good. Hes my best friend!
19. We recently did a closet purge…and if I had to be honest, there are still about 90 items that Id like to get rid of, but I cant justify the expense of a new wardrobe.
20. I miss Noel. The boys miss her. This has been the longest stretch of time that I haven’t seen her. 18 months. I see pictures of her, and feel like she is a stranger to me with how much shes grown up. It’s a lot like Lauren. Khorys daughter- these years go by and they are grown and theres nothing you can do to stop time L
21. The good die young- so true
22. I love having my family around. Some people would say that it can be too much. Family stuff. But again with each passing year I realize how precious it is to spend time with extended family. I loved this thanksgiving, Im excited about Christmas.
23. Wait its DECEMBER already?? So much pressure – the baking, activities, crafts that ILL TRY and do, advent calendar( Im behind already…it’s the first and I don’t even have one yet!)
24. I want to try really hard this year to do things that I love, inspite of the difficulty with the kids- get outside more….its been too easy to just let the kids play around the house than go up to the mountains or take day trips…I want to be better this next summer
25. The elusive wingback chair that I want…but cant find, and have no time to look for.
26. The darn TV in the kids room, that I hate having in there, but is our godsend with Tristan. Its been a conditioned response I know- giving us some much needed quiet time before bed. But when you are up at 3:30-4:30 am with a baby and all that will entertain is baby Einstein in the am that will allow you rest…we caved. Now its at night before bed that he wants his movie…ahhhh I know Ill have to wean him from it soon…I just relish my nights of quiet before sleep.
27. Questioning how I got so lucky.
28. Elijiah- his anger management issues we are struggling with. He gets it from both his parents but he can be destructive and physical and it can be hard to know how to deal
29. Not feeling all that charitable at the moment. Ive been turned inward after being turned outward and saying yes all the time. It will turn in the other direction again soon Im sure.
30. Don’t feel that my strengths are all that apparent but my weaknesses are. Im working on seeing more positives and remembering that I have talents and attributes- regardless that I cant SING and wont be the next cast member on GLEE.
31. Having a garage to park in is a novelty for me. After 15 winters in Utah, not having to park on the street is such a blessing. Now all we need to do is clear out the other side so Jonathan can park in there too.
32. Kids in all the snow gear- falling headfirst into snow drifts, building caves, red cheeks, and frozen hands.
33. I love the pink sunsets of winter, there have been some absolute beauties lately.
34. Turning 34. Having ONE day a year that is dedicated to celebrating your life, and being special. I guess that’s why Birthdays are so important to celebrate. Why Christmas is especially meaningful….our Saviors birth and the celebration…..

Snow

This weekend saw my Noel turn 15, a day to catch up on cleaning and laundry, shopping, planning, winter storms, tons of baking and Tristans first backyard adventure in the snow.