Opening Up. . .

Sometimes life takes you by surprise. Lately, I've had myself a surprise. I've found that my thyroid isn't working as well as it should. I have Hypothyroidism. I'm not very medically smart, but here goes. My brain makes a hormone called TSH. It tells my thyroid how much T4 to make. T4 is the hormone that controls essentially every thing in the body. My brain is not making enough TSH. So my thyroid is overcompensating to be able to scrape by and make enough T4.

I've been placed on a medication to help level everything out. I will go back for another blood draw on Thursday and get my TSH levels tested again. Another thing that has been considered is the size of my thyroid. Since it's overcompensating, it's growing larger and larger. It's turned into a goiter. Even though I'm on medication to level things out, my thyroid probably won't stop growing. So, we are going to have my thyroid removed. I will be able to find out more information regarding the surgery next week.

I've been so blessed while we've been discovering this all. James has been nothing but supportive. I just love him so very much! Heavenly Father have given me this trial to handle. I'm so grateful for it. I hope I can match the task given me. I know that Heavenly Father will continue to bless me as long as I do my best and put all my faith in Him. We'll just do what we need, and be grateful for every step he leads us through.

Helicopter Intro Flight

Susi bought me a introduction to flying certificate approximately 1 1/2 years ago which I was finally able to use yesterday, July the 12th 2008. We got up early and got ready to go and then we headed to the airport. To our surprise, they have a breakfast once a month for activities they do with different types of aircraft. So we got a free breakfast before my short training meeting. Although it was short it was very informative. My instructor was Ed from Mountain Air Helicopters who was very polite and very knowledgeable. Ed and Susi know each other from her days at State Farm so he was nice enough to let us use my certificate even though it was so old.


After I learned about the controls of a helicopter we drove out to the hanger and Ed got the Helicopter out for our flight. One of the very important things he discussed about piloting a helicopter is that when you are in control that you want to make SMALL MOVEMENTS while in flight. We got into the helicopter and Ed started it up. It is a completely different feeling when you are in a helicopter! It a really cool!




Ed and I took off from the airport and headed towards our house so that we could take some aerial pictures of it. The helicopter has two sets of controls so that you can fly along with the instructor. Ed had me hold onto the Cyclic so that I could feel the movements he was making while we were in flight. He was not kidding when he emphasized SMALL MOVEMENTS but he was trusting enough to let me fly a little bit. It as awesome! As you can see our house looks a lot different form the air.



After we got done circling our house we headed out towards Hyde Park/Smithfield area. While on the way there Ed had me take the controls again and it got to the point that I had full control of the Helicopter. It was a completely awesome experience!! I have always been fascinated by helicopters and maybe will pursue a career in them but this introductory flight was just what I needed! I appreciate Susi and her gift to me! We headed back to the airport after toughing down in a field just north of Smithfield. Once we got back to the airport Ed demonstrated the auto rotation technique which is what you need to do when you loose engine power. So we were stopped just above the runway and ed cut the power to the engines. We started out descent and made a safe touchdown on the runway and then we took off again. We got back by the hanger and a different Runway and Ed was showing me how to hover in a helicopter. It is a lot harder than it looks. If you watch the video you can tell when I have control because we start flying all over out of control but it was great. Anyways it was an awesome experience that I will never forget.
Thanks Susi!!!!

4th Of July Weekend

Ok, so it's a week late. But we had a great time. I picked up James from the airport on the 3rd and we headed straight home for our party and fireworks. We had such a wonderful turnout of family and friends. We love them all! We had some great eats followed by the annual fireworks at the University's football stadium. Luckily, we have great seats being just a block away and can stay away from the crowd. It was lots of fun.


Independence Day began with a pancake breakfast put on by the local scouts. Then we went to a matinee of Hancock. Pretty good flick. Then my handsome husband and his awesome brother fixed the boat. That would prove lucrative. Then James and I got together with Roxy, and our new friend Alana and the Louie Tibbitts' gang and went to the Styx Concert. It was so much fun!!

Saturday, July 5th, was our first boating trip of the season. We packed up with Daren, Ashlee, Brandon, Roxy, Alana, Bear and Sophie and had a great time. Then we went to the Cruise-In parade. There were so many pretty cars. We like that. I was just annoyed that there were also new cars that were plastered with advertisements in it.

Please share our fun by watching the slideshow!

The wait is over (almost)!

The sky is blue, the temperature is nice, and best of all. . . . JAMES IS COMING HOME!!!!! I get to go pick him up. His flight comes into SLC at 2:30 pm. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM. HE'S MY SUNSHINE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!