It's been too long!!

Well, I guess it's about time to do some updating again! Hopefully it won't be too random, but I am out of practice and it IS late... Bear with me. But what to say? We have just been crazy in love with our little Ivy, and busy as can be with the boys (Josh included) and their school and other activities!

Josh is stretched just as thin as possible these days what with working full-time, taking school classes, homework, and even taking a non-credit CNA class (which takes a lot of time!). Even with all the demands that are on him though, he finds time to be a loving daddy and sweet husband. He takes it all and still has a pleasant demeanor and sense of humor. Thankfully there is beginning to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. It just can't get here soon enough.

Paul is doing really well in school, pulling all A's. He is involved in a lot of athletics and is really enjoying shootin' hoops and playing his guitar. (He's got a natural ability in the music department.) He's growing like a weed, and is such a great help to me and Josh. It's funny how busy a 9 year old can be, too... School, scouts, sports, music, homework, lots of eating(!!)... It adds up! For sure, Paul fills my heart with such love and joy for what a good and sweet boy he is!

Nick is still doing amazingly well. We have gradually been decreasing his heart meds, and at the end of January actually took him OFF the meds! He had a bit of trouble that week, but to our knowledge hasn't had trouble since! SUCH A BLESSING!! His appetite has grown immensely, he's becoming sturdier in his stature, his color looks soooo good, and he's just a living, breathing, daily reminder of the Lord's tender mercies and miracles. My heart just swells and makes me feel like my chest can't possibly contain it when I think of the miracle we are experiencing. Nick is smart as a whip, and has a really great sense of humor... always saying something funny.

Andrew is becoming a great reader and trying to keep up with Paul in the sports department. He's loving bike riding, basketball, and baseball. He seems to be really liking building things too. Andrew, like Paul and Nick, is totally smitten with Ivy and is very protective of her. All 3 boys fight over whose turn it is to sit be her in the car, EVERY TIME. (It's really cute. lol) Andrew is growing up so fast and it kind of breaks my heart to have my littlest man be so big. He's such a tender heart and so sweet to me. What a lucky mom I am to have such wonderful boys in my life!!

Ivy is 3 month old... today. WOW. The time goes by so quickly once the babies are born! It seems like while you're pregnant time practically stands still, but once they get here, *BAM* -- there goes the days, weeks, and months in just a blink of an eye! Ivy is smiling, cooing, and giggling, and pretty much wrapping us all around her tiny little fingers. =) She's as beautiful as they come, and just melts my heart. I don't know how we ever got along without her!

So let's see here... Pretty much I have a full, joyous, swollen, broken, melted heart... Just LOOK at what these kids do to me! lol

I've been busy but when I go to tell doing WHAT I've been busy doing, it somehow escapes me! All I can seem to come up with are one word spurts... kids, house, baby, cooking, washing, FHE... But my life is so good!! I'm in heaven with this new baby, my boys are all so great and amazing, my husband is working hard for our future, We're just GOOD! ... Hmmmmm, what else? I've gone to a couple of ZUMBA classes lately (Fun, but I gotta admit I'm pretty much the epitome of the "white people can't dance" stereotype. No joke.) But maybe with more practice... =) I also have been having a lot of fun finding new favorite recipes online and out of cookbooks! What can I say? I just really love making good food! Sometimes I just wish I had a bakery or something so I would at least have an excuse for baking so much!

I think that's about it for now. Like I mentioned at the beginning, it's late and I am out of practice. I'll work on it. =)

Miss Ivy Jane

(Oops... how did I not notice that this hadn't posted but had only been saved as a draft? Oh well. Better late than never, right?)



We are so happy to welcome our newest addition-- Miss Ivy Jane Jardine! She was born on January 14, weighed in at 7lb 12oz, and was 20 1/2 inches long. All of us here at the Jardine house are just taken with her! It's so amazing the amout of love these tiny spirits draw from us!!

***SIGH*** =) We're home again. Adjusting to life again. Nick is healing well after his surgery in MN. We feel so thankful to have been blessed with this miracle!

We're finding ways to stay busy around here. Paul and Andrew are happy little bike riders (Nick is doing a lot of video games until he is healed all up); I am busy with child rearing, housework, and yard work; besides work, Josh is reorganizing the garage and also preparing to take the T.E.A.S. test so that he can apply for the nursing component of his schooling. We've also been steadily trying to reorganize our house in preparation for another baby due to arrive in January. =) We're about 14weeks along at this point! It's been a pretty eventful year for our family.

Quick rundown of some of the events for our family this year are:
Paul turned 8 and was baptized!

Nick had his 3rd heart surgery- this time at the MAYO clinic in MN and they were actually able to REMOVE the huge mass from inside his heart!

Josh pretty much finished earning all his pre-req's for the nursing program (which is basically the bachelors degree portion -- so now all he needs is the nursing component!)

Josh and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in June. (Has it really been that long??)

We have learned we're having another baby!

And upcoming events are:

Josh will be turning 35 in August... (hehehe)

I will be leaving my 20's behind me in September... Not sure if I should be happy or BOO??

ALL 3 kids will be in school this August. Exciting but a little heart wrenching.

We are so happy. TIRED? ABSOLUTELY. But happy and feeling greatly blessed.

I know I should be posting on here, but I am a little otherwise occupied... If you would like to know more of what's happening in our family, please go to www.nicksheartstory.blogspot.com

A picture of my cute little guys on Easter Sunday


The weather was beautiful, and the kids were dying to ride bikes for a few minutes before our company arrived. I love that look-- collared dress shirt, rolled sleeves, and blue jeans. One of my fav's.


Mom, Dad, and Zack came over to share Easter Dinner with us. Here Mom is afterward, helping to make sure the colored eggs get put to good use. Gotta love Moms.


Just a cute shot.


After several days, I offered to give the boys some money if they would part with some of their Easter candy. They happily agreed, and I was proud of them, thinking that they were gonna put the $$ in their banks and save it for something they wanted. Um, No. I opened our door to the garage and LO! And Behold! There are 2 little culprits, spending their $ on candy from our little vending machine. Look at those faces. LOL

The egg hunts...

On the morning of the Easter egg hunt, it was snowy, VERY windy, and VERY cold. But, it was one of the 1st times that Josh was home and could go with us to do a hunt, and the boys really wanted to.... so.... we bundled everyone up in all their winter clothing from their hats and gloves to their snowsuits, boots, and scarves, and we made a go of it.



I was very surprised at all the LOOT they got from the city egg hunt! WOW. Who even needs an Easter basket after something like that??



We froze. My hands had no feeling for a good 1/2 hour after we came in. The boys had a great time though, and it helped get 'em psyched to hunt their colored eggs the next morning.





After the kids found the eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden, they decided to hide them for each other and keep the fun going. These next pictures are ones that Josh took of the place Nick hid some eggs... We wondered how he had hidden them so fast. lol



Thank goodness for the innocence and sweet joys of youth! =)

Egg decorating

Here we are decorating Easter eggs at the Jardine household... It was much more fun than I had remembered in the past! Possibly due to the fact that this year everyone could do it unassisted. =) We had a great time and ended up with quite a few beautiful eggs for the E.B. to hide!

"Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition."

My good looking boys~

Paul on his baptism day


Son and Father pic


Just before the big moment!


Josh teaching the boys how to play Battleship


Nick and Andrew playing their own game


Andrew "just checking" Nick's board


Nick "just checking" Andrwe's board


Making a "monster-mask" for a school activity


Nick and Andrew modeling their masks


Just making sure who's behind each mask... those 2 are pretty hard to tell apart sometimes.

Just some pics with a couple of our fav's at PCMC.

Nick and Dr. Cowley


A goofy shot


The awesome lady who does a lot of the work with the ICD (but who I've temporarily forgotten her name), Nick, and Dr. Saarel.

Newest Nick News

Today I took Nick to see the cardiologists at Primary Children's Medical Center. For the first couple hours of the appointment things were pretty routine, and it looked as though we would be sent home and asked to come back in a few more months. It ended up, however, with the doctors and us deciding that another open-heart surgery will probably be the next step for Nicholas. This is probably going to be done in Rochester, Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic, and probably fairly soon-- like May/June-ish. This will be another attempt to remove (if not all, then most of) the fibroma inside of his heart. I keep saying "probably" because it's mostly discussion today, and our cardiologist will start working on pulling things together for us soon.

Hopefully this will be a good thing. There is a risk by not doing anything, and a risk by doing something. We have gone a long while not doing too much interference (other than some cath labs, medicine, etc.)and Nick has done well, but this may be the time to try another approach. He has been having some very serious heart rhythms, ones that would prove fatal if not for the implanted defibrillator, and the ICD has had to shock him more than once each time recently to get the desired results.

There are still several questions, many of which cannot be answered yet, but sometimes life is a step-by-step process, so we will put one foot in front of the other and pray to be led through the right course.

There are a few things that I do know though.

*God is a kind and loving Father who loves us.
*He wants good things for us.
*We have been blessed, and He will continue to bless us with what HE knows we need.
*Things are ultimately up to Him. Always.

So. We're preparing to hold on tight and get ready for this next ride. Hang on baby, here we come! =)

Februarys post

In an attempt to keep current on stuff, here's a February update for the Jardine Fam.

On February 5, the morning before Paul was to get baptized, the boys and I were in an car accident in Idaho Falls. It actually totalled the van, but THANKFULLY none of us were seriously hurt. Paul managed to get a bump and bruise on his head, Nick just a little red spot on his head, Andrew a sore neck (from the seat belt I think), and I just got a bruise on my knee and a little bit of a sore back. I feel VERY blessed that everyone was OK. The passengers of the other vehicle were also fine and they were able to drive away from the accident.

That was big news in our household for a few weeks. The kids were very shaken by the whole thing. They're doing fine now, but still find plenty of opportunities to bring it up. =)

Well, since the van was totalled, Josh and I had to go out and find another car. Luckily, we found another van, same make but 1 year newer. It seems like a good car. Again, blessed.

Other stuff:
Paul is liking scouts. He made a cool "BAKUGAN" cake for the Blue and Gold Banquet last week and that was fun. Also, Paul is doing really well with his reading, which is awesome. Right now he's enjoying the likes of "The chocolate Touch" and "The Call of the Wild". I love to have readers at my house! And I'm so thankful to have such a great little boy to help me and to set a good example for the little boys.

Nick is doing some great reading these days too. And writing and drawing. He's pretty phonetically accurate with his spelling which is fun to try to read. =) Also, he seems to have a current obsession with numbers. He wants to carry a calculator everywhere and is always asking me what certain numbers added together equal. He is a very inquisitive little guy!

Andrew has been practicing his coloring a lot and is really improving. He's also been WAY more mellow since I've been able to be home with him a little more (now that my school classes are over for a while). He keeps saying at different times "Now THIS is what I call a PARTY!" Fun, fun, fun little boy!

Josh is getting ready to apply for the professional component of the nursing program at ISU! He can apply sometime in March! He's such a great husband and daddy-- just working his heart out for us and he still stays happy and loving and great.

I am trying to plan a get-away for Josh and my 10 year wedding anniversary this coming June... It's not as easy as I thought. I'm not sure where to go or how to get the best prices. Maybe it's just because its February and I'm cold, but right now, I'm thinking somewhere WARM. =) Although, come June, I may be singing a different tune. LOL

That's pretty much it. We're just staying busy with work, kids, and school. But we know that we have angels tending to us for sure!

PAUL IS GETTING BAPTIZED!

Anyone who would like to come is invited!

Ok. So I have been neglecting the blogging world for WAY too long. Time to do some updating.
I'm gonna do a quick summary of the last months and then I'll try to keep up on things more currently. =)
August and September were gone in a flash. Chelsea got engaged and married and we (Mom and I) tried our best to help her pull it all together. It was beautiful and fun and amazing.
Also I celebrated starting the last year of my 20's. Good times.
October was a blur. We headed to SLC for an appointment at PCMC and things looked stable. =) Nick was, as usual, very happy to see Dr. Cowley. And Halloween was fun. Josh took the boys out and about and we also went to a pumpkin walk which was cool.





November I began a CNA class to get re certified. (I was a CNA in high school) The class was non-credit and only 2 months. I expected it to be a lot easier than it actually was (like in high school) BUT it was a lot of work and required a LOT of time. It probably took at least 15 hours a week not counting drive time and clinicals. I know it doesn't sound like much, but with the kids and their school, working p/t, Josh's school and work (both full time), church and callings, and regular old stuff, it was actually pretty tricky. I did get re certified this month though and so now I work not just at Broulims, but at The Gables of Shelley (assisted living).
Oh yeah, also it was Thanksgiving. We headed to the Johnson's for a cozy little dinner with Matt and his family, and Mom and Dad. As always the food was Delish! AND we also got together with the Jardine's for a family picture and some hanging out. The family is getting big!



December was crazy. I could barely keep up with things. We had a nice couple of get-togethers with family and a hilarious UGLY SWEATER party with friends. SO much fun. Josh wouldn't go get the camera for me though (yeah, that's right, I'm giving him the blame), so I dont have pics of it. The boys had their school Christmas program and did awesome. But for as much singing as they did at home, I still can't figure out why they didn't sing on stage... It's not like they're shy. =S





January has still been busy. I keep making this joke about how I only know that Josh and I still live in the same house because we do each others laundry and hand the kids off to each other as we race out the door. Josh is working SO diligently on his schoolwork and will be able to apply for the nursing program in March. I'm very proud of him.

Paul turned 8 last Sunday and is excited for his upcoming baptism... It should be the first Saturday in February. Anyone who would like to come is welcome! He's doing awesome in school. He works so hard to be perfect at everything that we have to remind him that it's OK not to be "perfect". He's my little sweetheart and a great helper.

Nick is doing great, being fun and funny, and causing mischief. I wish I could remember to write down the stuff this kid does and says because I would have a BEST SELLER. He's also coming along wonderfully in his reading!

We did have a bit of a scare on the 19th though. We had spent the long weekend in SLC at Paulines house, and Andrew, Nick, and I were sleeping on a mattress together when at about 4 AM Nick jolted and I woke up to see him jolt and then sit upright and begin screaming and crying. I tried to soothe him, but he hurt. He did fall back to sleep quickly and slept soundly till 7. I suspected he had been defibrillated. I sent in a medtronics report when we got home that night and my suspicions were confirmed when the cardiologist, Dr. Saarel called the next morning. He had actually been defibrillated 2 times, the first time not stopping the V-FIB. He had poor profusion, and possible ischemia she said. Now, we evaluate and watch, and keep doing what we are doing. He's such a unique situation that there really is not much else to do.
I cannot say enough how thankful and blessed we are and feel to have such wonderful doctors, technology, and the Gospel.

Andrew is growing like a weed. He's almost overtaking Nick in height and definitely has a solid stature. He's very much looking forward to going to school next year and wants to sign up right away. He gives the BEST hugs and loves to do chores to earn coins. I'm trying to figure out the best ways to help his moods though... because when he's happy he is very very happy and when he is not, WATCH OUT. LOL

That's about it for now. Our goals for this year are to pretty much just try to keep our heads above water.... oh, and to find a cheap good mileage car for Josh to drive to and from classes. The truck is killer on the wallet for gas fill-ups. =S LOL

Todays secret

Tonight while I was making dinner, Nick approached me and announced that he had a secret. I leaned in with interest and said, "Okay... What is it?" He tilted his head up and said in his "duh mom" voice: "I can't TELL you... It's a secret!...... But maybe if I just say it soft so no one hears me..."
I say "OK." And then he says so sweetly to me "Ok. My secret is-- why do you cook food SO GOOD?!"
I laugh and smile down at him and say "'Cause I'm AWESOME!"
Nick looks up at me, tilts his head, kind of squints his eyes and says "Um.... I think cause of Grandma."

LOL

True story dude. Grandma (my mom) totally taught me how to cook. Can't slip one by him, can I?

Pictures

I know. This doesn't exactly qualify as "soon", and I'm not journaling in depth, but here are some pics anyway!(They're a little out of order... sorry!)


The boys playing Missionaries. They love their little missionary tags!


Andrew showing me what missionaries do.


Nicks version of how it's done.


Paul loves being a missionary. He played this EVERY day for like a week. He kept begging me to let him go out around the neighborhood and "teach".


Couldn't resist a shot like this! =)
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Every time we go to Primary's we pay a special visit to Spiderman! Currently he resides on the 3rd floor.


And here the brothers FINALLY meet Dr. Cowley. They were so excited to meet the man that we talk so much about, that "helps Nick's heart, and is "better than Santa Clause!" It couldn't have gone better either. He was engaging and kind and totally lived up to their expectations. Thanks Dr. Cowley! We love you!


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Playing at a park in Soda Springs one Sunday-- SO FUN. My favorite pic is Josh playing with the scooper thingy. Forgive the terminology... =)

















And below, we are checking out the Man-made geyser in soda. It's cool. It goes off every hour and stays up for about 5 minutes!



This is another park -- at Hoopers Spring-- Cool toys. The kids loved those HUGE tires! We were going to get some water from the spring and try using it with kool-aid, but some other people had used it as a wishing well, and so we opted out for that idea. Still kinda cool though.












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Fathers Day



These boys sure love their daddy!


Happy Fathers Day Josh!
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Nine years of marriage and on to the 10th! Happy Anniversary!
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Two little men conked out and collapsed on one another... so tired from all the playing this summer!
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Andrew a little unsure about riding his bike in the rain, but he did it anyway.


Rain Rain Rain can't stop us!


In fact, we CELEBRATE! .... With S'mores!


Oh the sticky, gooey, sweetness!


What do YOU do on a Rainy day?We run around outside and get soaking wet! After all, our skin IS waterproof... =D
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Some Family time weeding the garden.
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Our version of Blackjack-- using dinner mints and M&Ms as $$. Good fun!



My "girls weekend in Vegas. Late nights, good comapany, a much needed break and lots of fun. Wish it could happen more often!