Happy Holidays

We would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season this year. It has been one crazy year with many changes and miracles. We are so greateful for everyone's friendship and love and would not have been able to be here today without all of you. The love and remembrance of our Savior has blessed us each.

There is also good news to share with everyone. Last week we were told the wonderful news that so far the tumor that was removed in February this year has no sign of returning thus far and my percentages of it coming back are slim now after several MRI's the last few months have been clear and look fantastic. We are still waiting on the EEG results to see if there is a reason for the seizures but all in all things are looking up. We are also testing several other medications and doses to see if we can get the headaches under control or the source of them. It is really nice to have some normal days without the headaches after so many years. They would like them to be minimal so we are still working on that one. Our family has been very lucky this year and many things to be grateful for.

The kids went to visit Santa Clause this past weekend. I think we were as excited as the kids to visit him. Our little Katelyn is so smart and would only tell Santa this year what she would like him to bring her. This challenge has been an interesting one but the puzzle was resolved with a visit to the big SC. Shawn is still in his Star Wars mode and trains so his list was easy to know. We are starting to wonder if he is going to grow out of this stage and feel bad that for the last several Christmas's it has been the same theme for him. Although it makes it so you alwaysknow what he likes and not to go wrong in that department.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

The Hollingers

Time Flys When You Are Having Fun

I just noticed today that it has been quite a while since I have done any updates. This post will be short but I will be updating it over the next few days and have everything caught up. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to the season ahead.

Flying

Today we had a great surprise phone call. Dad had invited us to go flying. Both kids had been begging grandpa to take them and it had been years since I had been up. All excited me and the two kids took off to meet everyone.

The kid’s absolutely loved the ride and had to tell everyone that they had been able to fly like the birds. Here are a few pictures to share.

School is back in and everyone is excited!

Katelyn has now stared 1st grade and is floating on cloud 9. She had 2 days last week with her new teacher which Katelyn is so excited about being in her class. When Saturday came this weekend she was upset that she could not go back. Today we got to tell her that she goes back tomorrow and so that cured her weekend blues. As for us we are excited to see her as happy as she is to be going back to school. Now to get Shawn ready to start next year. I don't even know what to think that in 2 years both of them will be in school full days. Excitement is a good way to put it but also nervous to do new things and turn that part of my life back on. It has been 5 years since I have worked during the day and not crazy hours. Sleep will become a part of my schedule again each night.

Our neighborhood is changing also a lot these days. Many of our good friends are moving or have moved in the last month. I realize this is what happens but you don't really think about it until it happens. Christine - I miss you being just across the street! I know this is a great situation for you and I am truly excited for your family. I just need to pick up the phone more often.

The kids have been enjoying the new splash pad that was put it not to far from our home. It is has been a nice peaceful place to visit and just let the kids play and play until they are dropping over to sleep. When we have not been up to the splash pad it is in the back yard with the trampoline. Sprinklers under the trampoline or water balloons on top of it "trying not to pop them". Either way they get all wet to cool off in the 100+ degree weather. I will admit fall is going to be welcomed by me with open arms this year.

Hope all of your summers have been excellent filled with joy and peace.

Thank You!

Thank you for

Standing by me,

And lending an ear.

For helping me out

By just being near.

Thank you for

Cheering me on

Or saying a prayer.

For holding me up

And showing you care.

Thank you for

Making me laugh

And giving me hope.

For showing support

And helping me cope.

Thank you for

All that you've done

And all that you'll do.

I'm so very fortunate

To have someone like you.

-Linda Nielsen

First Crushes….

I know that Katelyn will probably hate me for writing this blog – but I just cannot resist. It is hard to know that my little girl is growing up and after the last little bit there is no way of getting around it. She had attended a friend’s birthday party not long ago where they watched the High School Musical 3 movie. It was after this party that she was interested in watching the movies and where this all began. We soon found that the reason why she wanted to watch the movies was to watch “Troy”. It soon became a joke each time we would see a picture of Zac Efron we would tease her that there was her boyfriend. It has been fun to watch her blush and get embarrassed over it. It is official though after today she is not shy about it anymore.

This afternoon she came up to me and asked for my camera. A little bit worried about her using it I asked why. She would not tell me other than she wanted to take a picture. Realizing that she was watching High School Musical on TV I asked her to draw a picture instead. She soon ran upstairs with a picture of a boy playing basketball. It was so cute that I went onto the Internet and printed off a few pictures of Zac and put them in a sheet cover. I then walked out of the room and handed it to her. Her face lit up as her eyes grew big and the “Oooo…” came out of her mouth. She than ran into her bedroom closed the door to hide the pictures. Later on I found them hanging up on her bedroom wall. When Brian came home he asked if she thought he was cute and she will proudly tell us now - yes. She has now come in and asked for more pictures and has 6 pictures of him in her room. What are we going to do when she gets older?

Spring Time...

I am trying to figure out where to even start it has been so long since I have done a post. Easter was very nice this year and the kids had a wonderful time at Grandma’s egg hunt. They both found out the woes of eating too much candy and sneaking candy into their bedrooms where we did not see it and then eat it. Unfortunately that also meant a few long nights on our end up with them when they were sick. Now the Easter candy is a great after school snack and is monitored and behind lock and key.

With the warmer weather outside the kids have enjoyed playing outside. They don’t understand why it is not time to run through the sprinklers and put on swim suites. I would like to find a way to just bottle an ounce of their energy to use each day to keep up with them. They are having fun and being kids and that is the best way to be.

We have spent a lot of times at the dental offices for the kids and Brian. Katelyn was such a big girl and her work done on a tooth and was not sedated. What a brave girl she was and made the choice on her own to finish the tooth without rescheduling. The dentist was very good with her and gave her stickers, bracelets, and a stuffed bear for being so brave. She now talks about how much she likes the gas and wants to go back. She sure takes after her daddy! Shawn goes in to finish his work next month. Brian’s work is a work in progress. A few more trips and he should be taken care of also.

Katelyn and Shawn are also finding an interest in gymnastics, which makes me smile since I loved it when I was growing up. I have been able to coach them a little bit on a few tricks on the trampoline and they are getting better all the time. This summer I would like to get them into a program at the recreation center for swimming lessons and a sport of some kind.

Brian and I are staying busy with work and keeping up with the kids. We are also gearing up to being yard work and have done little projects here and there to start. It feels like we just finished last fall and it is time to do it again. The time these days is flying by too fast!

We hope that all is well with your families and wish everyone a wonderful Spring and beginning of Summer.

Long Overdue Update...

Wow, it has been a month since I have written in our blog. Things have been kind of crazy here in our home for the last two weeks so this should catch everyone up to date. For those that do not know I underwent surgery on February 13th to remove a brain tumor that was found just 6 days before surgery. This came as quit a surprise to say the least and the last thing we thought would be going on in 2009. For many years I can think back to at least 6 years I have had really bad headaches and so when they were more frequent and nothing helping the doctor decided that it was time to do a CT scan. Within an hour from the scan I had received 3 phone messages at home to call in. Not getting them until Saturday morning I called back and was told the news I had a brain tumor the size of a golf ball behind my right eye and it was going to need to come out as soon as possible. I met with the neurosurgeon that Tuesday and was in the hospital early Friday morning.

The surgery went as well as one can go and recovery is coming along. I am sporting a new hairdo of the buzz flat top look and had a nice shiner for two weeks and a scar that will be hidden by my hair. But those things will be fine. The black eye is just about all gone and makeup will cover it just about all the way now. My hair is growing fast also and is about ¼ of an inch long so come spring I will be good to go. I wear a lot of hats right now and do have a wig that I purchased. Still working with the wig to look more natural and not like a dead animal on my head I have only gone out in it one time so far. But I am getting there so soon I hope no one will even notice that it is not my own hair.

Brian and the kids are doing great and are wonderful troopers. Recovery is going to take some time and I am finding I have more limitations than I expected. Shawn thinks it is cool to see mom and does not like it when I cover my head. Katelyn is the opposite and does not want anyone to see my head without a hat or the wig. They have been trying to “take care of mom” as much as they can and it has been cute. Brian has struggled the most but is still hanging in strong. I keep trying to put myself in his shoes to understand his viewpoint. I am so grateful for all of their love and support along with all of the support we have had from our ward and neighbors. Words cannot even describe how this has effected our family.

Other than this everything is going great. Katelyn loves school. Shawn has had fun playing with many friends and making new ones as many people have helped me while Katelyn is in school so I can lay down for a bit and catch my breath. Brian is staying busy with work and has been spending a lot of hours to help get things caught up there. Me, I feel like the lazy one in the family. My energy is starting to come back a little more each day and I am able to do a little more each day. I still have 2 weeks to plan on being down and then after that it should pick up more. This will be so nice and I can’t wait to be back to “normal” if there is such a thing.

Hope all is well with everyone and I will try not to wait another month before posting again.

Trying New Things…

Brian is always telling me that my taste buds are bland so I have been trying to explore the possibilities out there in many areas and not just food. Yes, I would rather have original potato chips, popcorn, ranch dressing, tee shirts, shoes, hairstyles, the list goes on. Jumping outside of my comfort zone is hard for me but paying off so far this year. I don’t really believe in “New Years Resolutions” but maybe this could be considered one for me this year.

I have found so far that I really like vinaigrette dressings of all sorts. Although I still love the ranch these are a healthier alternative and tasty at the same time. Today I even went to the extreme for me and tried calamari which I have been offered several times in the past but knowing it is squid has made me squeamish and yet to try. To my surprise it is not bad when cooked right. In my mind it reminded me of something that would be chewy like rubber. The only thing I can really compare it to would be the texture of shrimp but without the fishy flavor. Even Shawn liked it and ate several pieces. The next thing would be Mittens. The big question would be how I would do with a cat and allergies to them I was hesitant to say the least. But little Mittens has made my heart melt and found that he is staying as a member of our clan. I do struggle at times and Benadryl has come in handy more than once.

The next big step for me would be talking to people and letting them get to know me. I realize that this may sound very corny to most people but it is something I struggle with more than you know. Accepting a church calling was exciting but terrifying at the same time. Thinking that being a librarian would be the perfect fit for me I didn’t even hesitate. Always thinking it was more of an “elderly” position I felt a little odd but got past it. That was until I walked in and noticed that yes I will need to get to know people much better and not able to just sit on the back row and blend into the wall paper. I have found that many people already know my name and who I am so I guess I didn’t blend in too much. I just hope that no one is offended if they know me and I have to ask what their name is since I can’t remember.

So far into this year I have made some good steps forward and continuing to keep going no matter my fears – wish me luck!

Welcome Mittens!

Yes, for all of you that know me I swore I would never own a cat right? Well, welcome Mittens as the newest member of the Hollinger family. Katelyn has been begging for years to have a cat and has loved every type of cat out there. Thinking that with my allergies to cats I would be safe I have just always told her that sorry we just can’t have one. As you can see I have lost the battle and after hearing the argument that I am allergic to Peppy (our guinea pig) and we still have him I gave in.

Mittens is about 5 months old and was rescued by a family that just was not able to keep him. He is mostly black but has white paws and white markings on his nose, chin, and belly. Already being mauled by Shawn and Katelyn and unable to try and check out his new environment. Brian about lost it when Mittens was downstairs and jumped behind the TV entertainment center using his game counsel as his landing point. Brian jumped from the couch to get him out of there faster than you would think is possible. Now our goal tonight is to find a way of keeping Mittens out from behind there but not sure yet how to accomplish it. This may be a tricky problem to fix but we will find a way.

If anyone has ideas on cats I would love to hear them where this is my first experience of owning one. Thank goodness he is already litter box trained!

Really Mom?

I hope that I am not alone when trying to do something different with our daughter’s hair. Katelyn has the most stick strait hair I have ever worked with. To get it to curl I have had to use a lot of hair gel and hairspray with the smallest curling iron in her hair to the point to where a hurricane would not move it. Over the weekend I saw some of the sponge curlers that my mom used to put in my hair while I was growing up. Excited I placed them in Katelyn’s hair Saturday night. Can I just say that the little blue curlers were probably not my best choice and after taking out about 2 of them there was no question that this was just not going to work. I let her look in the mirror before I sprayed her hair to get the curl out and blow-dry it normal before church. As you can see in the pictures she was not so impressed either and brought tears thinking her hair would not go back to normal. The question now is if we try the larger curlers or not? I wonder if she would even let me try?

Holidays...

Wow, time fly’s when your having fun! It has sure been busy and a whirlwind the last couple months. We have had Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and started birthdays all in a short time.

We have all had a great holiday season and hope that your family has done the same. Santa came and spoiled us rotten. Both kids received everything that was on their letters to Santa Clause. Then Santa made a surprise family gift that is being used probably more than he could have ever imagined with the Wii Entertainment System. Even Katelyn and Shawn love to play and beg each day to spend just a few extra minutes on the games. Katelyn has a real knack with the games and so far is the Bowling Queen in the family. Don’t ask me how she does it some of the times she is laying on the floor, jumping from one side of the room to the other, more times than not she is not even facing the TV but yet will still strike or spare in her turn. We have each tried to do the same however she still holds the title. She also loves to drive as well as Shawn on the Mario Kart game. Shawn had his dream come true with his gift from Santa and the Yoda light saber sword. He is a little obsessed with Star Wars to say the least. He asked for this particular sword for over 4 months and didn’t think he would survive without it. He babies this sword as if it was the most precious item in the whole universe. Katelyn was excited to receive Hello Kitty makeup and a jewelry box also the Tinkerbell styling head and other Tinkerbell toys, which she enjoys.

On New Years Eve I took the kids to a play area in our area where the kids could run, jump, and play to their hearts content. For two hours they ran around and had a great time. I have to say this is the place I will always remember and will revisit more often. It has several blow up slides, jumping, climbing, and interactive areas with other kids. What more could you ask for when you have two hyper kids that can’t wait for New Years?

Shawn also celebrated his 4th Birthday on New Years Day. One of his other favorite toys is Transformers and was excited to have a new one on his cake. We had a small family party at our home where he was spoiled rotten and will probably be in shock now that it will be another year until he will have Christmas and another birthday. Katelyn is on the countdown to her birthday that is at the end of January.

Wishing everyone warm wishes and hope that your Holiday Season has been spectacular!