Aiden is 3

Aiden had been waiting for this day for weeks! He has carried around his batman invitation since we sent them out. Every night when he said prayer he would say 'thanks for my birthday.' So cute, so today was so exciting for him. He had so much fun jumping in the castle with his friends and opening his really cool batman presents. Thanks to everyone who made it special for him. He loved it!

17 Weeks

I am not loving being pregnant so much this time around. I have been feeling so much more tired than I did with my first pregnancy, and also have been experiencing morning sickness that lasts into the night. It is getting better though. My appetite is back and I am eating regularly again. My goal this pregnancy is to gain as little weight as possible and not to get swollen. I can only control these to a certain point and then, well it is just up to my body I guess. We find out the sex in two weeks! We are super excited and can't wait for the weeks to pass, especially little Aiden. He is so excited to be a BIG Brother.

Surgery

I am so late posting this but wanted to share it anyway because it was quite the experience. The second week in January my little (big) brother had braing surgery to remove a tumor that was inside the lining of his brain. It was such a scary time for our family and especially for Denny. He was so brave despite all the fear that was built up. He arrived to the hospital in Phoenix a day before the surgery to be admitted for some pre-surgery testing. One of the first tests done was an angiogram which is where they stick this straw type IV line through your groin all the up to the brain to check the blood flow of an artery. After this initial surgery Denny was a little out of it but keeping a positive attitude. The incision mark was painful and he was having discomfort because he was not allowed to move for SIX hours. He had to lay flat on his back and it was really bothering him. I fed him some lunch and chocolate cake which seemed to make him happy for the time being. Later that evening he got a room and we visited with him there. We all went down to the cafeteria for some dinner while Denny got his final MRI before surgery which was going to be at 7am the following morning.

Saying goodbye that night was really hard, one of the hardest things I have done in my life I think. It was tough to watch him cry as he held us tight as he said his goodbyes and it was also hard to watch my parents as they watched their child so upset.

The next morning we came to the hospital and waited in the waiting room for hours. Around two or three o'clock the doctor came in to let us know surgery was done and Denny was doing well. That was such a relief. Later that night we found out there were some complications and Denny would be going back into surgery the following morning. That surgery went well too, and the complications turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the doctor found more tumor hidden up in the vein.

He recovered really well and four weeks passed as he went back up to Phoenix to see his doctor for a check up and to also follow up with an oncologist. Although the tumor was not cancerous it was the worst type tumor to get other than cancer so the doctors were treating it like cancer. The oncologist told Denny that there was a 99% chance the tumor would come back but if he did radiation it would knock the chances down to a 15% chance. My parents prayed about it and felt it was the right thing to do, so Denny has started his pre-doctor appts for radiation. He will need to go Monday thru Friday for six weeks up in Phoenix. So my mom will be making the drive daily so that Denny can still complete highschool. He officially starts tomorrow and we are anxious to get it going and done with. Denny is really keeping a positive attitude and we just love him so much, I am really proud of him. Although this may delay his mission slightly he is still excited and willing as ever to serve and we can't wait until summer time when we hope he can put in his papers.

I know that the Lord blesses us each daily and as we overcome whatever trials we have in our life we are stronger and it is always a good learning experience. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the peace I felt as Denny was going through all this. Although it is scary it is nice to be able to exercise faith and rely on the Lord.

This is the healing process just two weeks later.