Bella is 6

It is so hard for me to believe that Bella is 6 years old!! I can't believe how much she continues to change my life! She is such an Angel and I am soooo blessed to be a part of her life! Her family invited me over for her birthday party and it was so great to see everyone! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to come down here and work with her and be part of their family for a short time! As always she was so spoiled!! :) I can't believe how strong and big she is getting! She is an inspiration to me and I love her soooo much! Happy Birthday big girl! I love you more then words could say!!









Sorry the pictures are sideways I don't know how to turn them

A New Nephew

I am the very proud aunt of another beautiful little nephew!! He was born on St Patrick's Day, he weighed 7lb 13oz and was 19 inches long. He has an Irish name and a tint of red hair to go along with being born on an Irish holiday! He is so precious and I absolutely love my little Bean!

No Longer a Hobo

Since August I haven't been able to find a roommate or a cheap place to live (except for my two week long roommate and trailer just before Thanksgiving) so I have been staying with different friends. It's actually quite funny I have the trunk of my car set up like a closet and I have about 4 different places I stay a week, so as we joke I am "sleeping around"! My friends husband was watching tv one night and the definition of a hobo came up:One who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or a means of livelihood. He turned to me and said "Kourtni that's you! You are a Hobo!" So I have become known as the hobo around here!

Well in February I finally found a place!! HOORAY!!! A place that I could call home, a place where I could put my stuff everyday! I place that was mine!! Now don't get my wrong I am so grateful for all my friends and their families for helping me out and being so gracious but I got a little tired of the sleeping somewhere different every night, living out of suit cases etc..

Needless to say I have an apartment!!

My closet I made

Disney World

My friend asked if I would be willing to drive to Florida with her and the kids and help her by surprising the kids with a trip to Disney World with their grandparents, cousin and aunts and uncles. I told her she may have to twist my arm a little bit to get me to go with her... JUST KIDDING!! I freaking love Disney and was more then happy to go with them! I was very excited to see all of their faces cuz it was the first time to Disney for most of them (extended family included). The drive down there wasn't to bad we learned that we need a new seating arrangement for the drive back but lets be honest for 15+ hours in the car the 6 kids did GREAT!!

We got there the night before everyone else so we just hung out the next day til everyone got there the kids were a little curious and anxious since we were in a different place where they haven't "explored" so it was a little stressful on mom and Ki-Ki at times but they were so excited to see everyone when they arrived.

I don't remember the exact order we did things in but I'll post what we did. We went to see the ocean (it was a little to cold so we didn't swim we walked around and found shells instead). Then the older girls (16-30ish) age group took all the kids to a nearby park to play.

That evening after dinner their grandparents and aunt/uncle gave everyone a gift and inside was a certificate saying we were going to DisneyWorld with a shirt or jacket and a pair of Mickey ears! Everyone was soooooo excited!!

The next day we all went to Disney it was so crowded! We went the 30th of December but we all still had a blast! We were able to watch the parade, go on rides, see some characters and watch the fireworks! Going to Disney with kids makes such a magical place that much more magical! It was AMAZING!! It was so neat to see Disney thru their eyes! I think that everyone had an enjoyable time and 3 of the kids were asleep as we walked to the car. Thanks G'ma L and G'pa E for letting me join the family fun!!

The next day D and I had to run some errands to get ready to drive back to Texas so we ran to a couple stores and then that night we all hung out and brought the new year in together! We said our goodbyes that night since we were planning on leaving early the next day. We had rearranged the carseats and bought bread, peanut butter and jelly and snacks that I made while we were driving so we didn't have to make to many stops. The drive home went GREAT and I was happy to go! Thanks for the fun trip D!!

HOME for Christmas

After a very long and hard month I was able to go home for Christmas. I was so excited to be able to see my family and get to spend sometime with them- they were relieved that I was coming home and that they got to see me after my hospital stay. I was able to see a few friends but I told most of them that my trip home had to be just about family and that I had to spend as much time as possible with them. It was great to get to spend so much time with my family and to be able to participate in all of our yearly traditions!! I love having the whole family together for the holidays! Nothing beats it!! We honestly didn't do to much but hung out inside alot, it was just so great to be with my family I really needed them!! I for some reason didn't take hardly any pictures but we did go get family pictures done. It was such a great christmas!! I absolutely love my family!

Week from hell!!

*warning long post with a gruesome picture*

Well I found a roommate and we had just moved into our trailer when I got a call at work, my roommate had gotten in a huge fight with the land lord and we had to be out by the end of the month (this is the day before Thanksgiving) well I am going out of town the next day and will be gone the whole weekend and then back to work monday (the 1st is the following wed so I have to move my stuff today.)I was so excited that I had finally had a place since I was living "out of my car" for the past 3 months and had no idea where I was going to go so I had a minor breakdown. Needless to say about 5 hours later I had packed and moved all my stuff (except my mattress)and went to my friends house where I was behind schedule on making a million rolls for Thanksgiving dinner the following day, well this night I get sick to my stomach with a minor stomach flu type thing or stress related or who knows what.

Thursday I do an early Thanksgiving dinner with my friend and her family and then drove to Houston to stay the weekend, I had to stop a little over half way there to sleep for a half hour cuz I was so tired and still not feeling well (it should have been an indicator to me that something was wrong since this NEVER happens to me.) Well we do Thanksgiving dinner and hang out for a bit then make our plans for black friday shopping!!! MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!:) My friend, her brother and sister in law and I all set out for shopping we had a list of a few stores to hit and a few things to grab it was fun but I was still wiped out ( I may have almost passed out while standing in line at one of the stores.) We got back to her brothers house where we all took a nap for a bit. Friday we just kind of hung out, us girls went to a movie and we did a little more shopping.

Saturday my friend and I went to the Renessance Festival, it was soooo much fun and such an amazing experience!! On the way back we met her bro and his family for dinner and then bought hair dye (we had a girls hair dying night). Well something that I hadn't mentioned to anyone was that my left leg has been bothering my for a few days there is an ingrown hair or something that has become infected it was swollen and so tender and all the walking from the past 2 days about did me in. I decided if it still bothered me on monday I would go to a clinic after work.. It couldn't be anything serious..

Well come monday morning at work I was in so much pain and it was so swollen that I could barely walk and couldn't do much with the kids. My amazing boss sent me home so I could go to a doctor. I went to just one of the walk in clinic places and she told me that I had a staph infection and to take hot baths, put warm compresses on it, stay off of it for a day and take the meds she gave me and it should be fine. So I went to my friends house where I was staying and did just that. (her and her sweet dad went and got my mattress for me.) Well that evening I woke up from a nap and knew something was wrong and that I needed to go to the hospital. I was in sooooo much pain and I couldn't stop crying! My friends mom took me to my friends work where she took me to our Bishops house ( he is a doctor) he looked at it and advised me to go in and called the ER to tell them we were coming.

I couldn't walk and I was shaking so bad because I was in so much pain, the people in the ER were fantastic! They got me started on an iv for pain and then numbed the area so they could lance it OMG!!! one of the most painful things ever!! They admitted me and told me I would be there for a couple days. Well Tuesday morning the doctor came in to check on me and decided they needed to do surgery he felt like they didn't get all the infection out so scheduled me for later that day or the next depending on things. At this point I think mom and dad were pretty worried and ready to come be with me but I reassured them that I had great friends who were caring for me.

Wednesday morning I went in for surgery where they removed the rest of the infection ( he said it is a good thing we did surgery because there were some really deep pockets of infection) he also told me that the wound needed to be left open so it could heal from the inside out and that they would be hooking me up to a woundvac to help with that. I was in so much pain and things didn't seem to be getting better and that afternoon the doctor came back in and had told me that I now have mersa which is resistant to antibiotics so they put me on a "toxic" antibiotic which keeps blowing my veins and they have to keep checking my blood to see if the infection is getting any better, and I am getting shots in my hip every few hours for the pain so I have now turned into a human pin cushion! I would have been a total wreck without my parents being here but I have such amazing friends and bosses that I was surviving just fine!

Thursday morning they came in to hook me up to the vac ok now this is one of the most painful things ever!! I was by myself and it sucked!! I was crying so hard I was hyperventalating and I was just done with it all! Done with being poked! Done with being in pain! Done with EVERYTHING!!!!! I couldn't stop crying like seriously I would calm myself down and the nurse would walk in and I'd bawl, the doctor came in I bawled, my friends boyfriend came to sit with me and he walked in and I bawled I was just a mess and wanted my family! I also discovered today that I have cellulitis in my leg - not fun!

Friday morning I was doing a bit better things kinda seemed like they were turning up for me.. I was finally gonna get a sponge bath and get cleaned up a bit (sad how excited I got for someone to help me wash off.) My spirits were a little higher and my doctor said if I wasn't going home within the next few days that he would put a central line in me HOORAY!! No more pin cushion! Well come to find out from my nurse I have developed a yeast infection because of all the antibiotics ( my first one ever). I would call my mom everyday with the new thing I was diagnosed with and it kind of became our joke. If I was going to be in the hospital much longer she was going to fly down here to be with me but I told her not to worry about it yet.

Saturday morning the came in and said I could go home, I honestly had some mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong I don't love the hospital but i was in so much pain, I was now throwing up anything I ate or drank, I could hardly move and I just didn't feel 100% ok with it. I talked to my nurse and she said if I felt more comfortable staying we could tell my doctor but I decided to grin and bear it and I went home with my new side kick the woundvac.

Life still suck a bit I was getting better slowly but surely I was still out of work and they were coming every other day to change the woundvac. I am sooooo grateful for the amazing friends that I have and all of thier love and support!!

We thought I would have to have the vac on when I went home for christmas and I was stressed about figuring all that out but luckily I got it off after about a week and a half.


Pictures of my opened wound OUCH!!

Renissance Festival

This year I had the opportunity to go to the "Ren Fest" with one of my really good friends and it was so much fun! I have never done something like this before and it was so cool! The building simply amazed me! The fact that they built this whole "city" just for it to be used a couple months a year is incredible. People dress up in so many different costumes, there are fantastic show and amazing food! It really was soooo cool! I would love to do it again! Like not even kidding you people actually get married here, they have like 4 little garden areas where people get married. I wish there were more places like this more often so everyone can experience it! We were able to watch some really entertaining shows and we got to ride and elephant!! A REAL elephant how freaking cool is that! I had such a great time! Thanks for going with me G!

2 jobs

I am so blessed that I was able to find work quickly! I work at a day care from 6:30 am - 2:00pm then would work with an amazing special little boy from 2:30pm-6:00pm. I absolutely love both of my jobs and have 2 of the most amazing bosses I have ever met! They are so helpful, loving, kind, sweet ladies and I am very grateful for the opportunity to be working

San Antonio

I had the opportunity to go to San Antonio with my friend and her family for a vacation. As always it was so fun to spend time with my wonderful friend D and her kids and also to get to spend time with her family as well. While there we went to the Riverwalk, The Mall ( I don't remember the name), The Alamo, The Children's Museum and The San Antonio Temple. On the way back we stopped in Austin to see the bats but they wouldn't come out. It was cool to learn about Texas' history and see some of it's famous historical places. It was such a great trip and I am grateful I had the opportunity to go!

1 month 2 continents 3 countries 4 wheels 5 planes and 6 states later and I am back in Texas

I flew back to Utah to spend sometime with family and to pick up my car to drive back to Texas. While in Utah my dad, mom, sis and I drove down to St. George for my birthday to see Tarzan in Tulican it was such a great show and so much fun to spend time with part of my family. I then made the 28 hour trek back to Texas it really didn't seem that long at all and there was perfect weather and so many beautiful states to drive thru! We live in a beautiful country!

9 July 2010

For some reason I didn't write in my journal today.. Zazu dropped us off at the airport where we checked in, found our gate and got boarded for our flight. We again had a lay over in Ethipoia ( a couple hourse) then we began the long flight home. Timon was staying in DC to visit her friend and Rafiki and I were booked on different flights. We ate lunch and then I boarded my plane, she got in to Utah not to long after I did where mom, dad, and the boys were waiting for us.. I can't believe how fast our time went and I can't wait to go back! I MISS AFRICA!!

4 July 2010

Tude really wanted me to be the one to go with her to visit her grandma so Zazu, Tude and I headed into town since Sarabi and the girls were going back to town today we gave them a ride. Their girls are such gorgeous, fun girls! Their oldest couldn’t come but the younger two did P (10) and F (6) it was fun having them here with us. When we got to AP’s we explained our plans and dropped off a few things, we left Sarabi there cuz she was helping AP and Zazu, Tude and I set off. We got to her grandma’s house but unfortunately her grandmother was at church but her uncle and his mother in law where there, then his wife got home. Tude seemed to be ok with the fact that her grandma wasn’t there. She didn’t want to stay long so we were there for a short amount of time ( like 45 min). We then ran back to AP’s to find out if she needed us to go to the internet café for her but she didn’t so we ran to the store to grab a few things and then headed back- I was pleased because my goal is to spend as much time as possible with the kids since I leave in a couple days.
When we got back I make Tude and I some lunch. Nala is braiding (really twisting) Rafiki’s hair- African style and tomorrow she is doing mine. So I visited and helped for a bit and then I went down to be with my kids! Hips, Dancer, Queen, Dee-Dee, Drama, Volume, Simon and Chicken built a house ( the same little house that they always build) we played house, then they sang their standard songs for me, then it was back to house where Hips made “food” for us and we did “church”. They then found their way back to my “slippery” hair as they call it. After that I taught Abraham, Rock and Clown how to play jackpot but instead the jackpot was 20 dollars and they had to do their math to add it ( great math game). Then Timon and I did one for the money with a few of the boys and then we played some more with the kids.
Since it’s the 4th we made us an “American” dinner we made grilled cheese sandwiches, beans, pea pods, mango and avocado slices with a coke to drink and a pastry for dessert. It was a fun night we ended with music and talking like every other night! LET FREEDOM RING!