Family picture

Ok fam
Finally, I got to editing the family picture. (individual families to come soon... in theory)

Here are some options, they are all the same just a little different in color or orientation. I will also be posting them to a Picassa album to share with you when I have all families completed. I can email you files too just let me know what you want. Sorry it's been so long. That surgery has set me back.

Family Camp-out

I finally uploaded pictures on to my computer from our family camp-out and I thought that I would share them with everyone. The only pictures that I took the entire weekend were when we went on our adventure to see the house up the canyon. I do have some pretty good ones though. I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer. I know that we are, Mason has just finished tball and is looking forward to swimming lessons starting.

Here are the pictures :) They are in no particular order!

School Work

I have to say that I am very proud of my husband. He has been wanting to finish his high school diploma for quite a while and a couple of years ago he started an online course to complete it. Unfortulately he fell behind on it due to other obligations, but with the economy the way that it is, we felt that him getting his diploma took a very high priority!

It has cost us quite a bit of money for him to get his diploma, but it will be worth it in the end. We had thought that it was completely paid for and that all that he had to do was start doing his school work again, but we found out that we still had some to pay on it so with some of our tax return money we finished paying for it and last week we received the final 12 courses that he has to finish before he chooses his elective courses. The nice thing is this will be an actual high school diploma and not a GED. He will receive an actual diploma as well as a class ring when he is finished!

Since he received his 12 course books on Monday he has completed 5 courses which have approximately 4-5 exams per course. Once he completes all of the 12 courses then he will choose his 5 electives which are career based electives. He can choose courses like basic electrician, small engine repair, auto repair technician, small business management, home inspector, catering/gourmet cooking and others.

He has really been working hard at getting this done and is hoping to have it completed within the next couple of months. I am really proud of him and of how hard he is working. He works on his school work most of the day while Mason and I are at school and then he spends time with Mason when we get out of school and then he hits the books again after Mason goes to bed. He has been totally dedicated to getting this completed so that he can hopefully get a better job to help support us because it is looking like he might not have a job anytime soon.

That is an update on how things are going here. We hope that things are going well for everyone. We love you all!

Personal Blog

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have set up a family blog for Jose, Mason and myself to make it easier for friends and family to keep in touch and know what is going on in our lives. The web address for this blog is: http://theloughmillerfamily.blogspot.com

I hope that everyone is doing great and had a great New Year's!

We love you all!!

Lost Tooth

It's official!! Mason has lost his first tooth! He is becoming such a big boy and is growing up so fast! Before I know it he will be graduating from high school!

Mason with the space between his teeth! It actually looks like he has lost two teeth, but the tooth in the middle is leaning in because it is ready to come out as well. It may actually come out today if we work at it a bit.

Biopsy Results

I finally received the results of my biopsy on Friday morning. My doctor had been out of his office on vacation since the 24th and he finally came back on the 2nd. I called him first thing on the Friday morning because I couldn't stand the waiting anymore. He was swamped with people calling him and paperwork, but he gave the receptionist the okay to give me the results.

It said that it was a breast tissue mass which was NON-CANCEROUS!!!!! I am going to talk to him on Monday because I still want to know whether it was just a blocked duct or whether it was actually a tumor and how I need to procede in the future, but at least for now I know that its not cancer which means no chemo or radiation.

I am glad that for now this is over and done with. I am feeling good except for a little soreness and bruising. I am ready to go back to work after having two weeks off. I think that Jose and I got on each others nerves a bit and it will be nice for me to back to work. I really missed the kids that I work with and it will be nice to see them again.

I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas and a safe New Years.

Surgery Update

I just thought that I would give everyone an update on my surgery.

I made it through with flying colors. It was a little scary trying to get to the hospital and home yesterday. Richfield got a little over 10 inches of snow between Sunday night and Monday morning and then the wind was blowing really hard. We weren't sure if we were even going to be able to make to the hospital. However, we got up really early and drove really slow and was busting snow drifts the entire way, but we made it.

I went into surgery a little after 10 am and the surgery lasted about 45 minutes. My surgeon, Dr. Fiaschetti, said that they got everything removed. The pathologist wasn't able to make it to the hospital because of the weather so they weren't able to have it biopsed right then so I should know the results of the biopsy by Friday, at the very latest Monday.

I am in some pain but not to bad. I have a patch over my left breast that I have to wear for three days. I can't get the patch wet so I have to take a bath and Jose will have to help me wash my hair in the sink. I will have an indentation in my left breast where they removed the pollup or tumor and they also had to remove some breast tissue. Dr. Fiaschetti told my mom and I that it is very unlikely that this will come back as cancerous. He said that less than 5% of them come back as cancerous. To me that is very good odds.

I just wanted to give everyone an update. I hope that everyone is doing well. I will post more when I know what the results of the biopsy are.

Merry Christmas! We love you all!!!

Jose's Cattle Drive

On Sunday Jose went on a cattle drive to help my uncle move his cows about 12-14 miles back to the ranch from the field where they have been kept since October. When they started at about 10:45 in the morning it was only 6 degrees and it wasn't above 10 degrees when they got done at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Here is a picture of Jose just after they got back from the cattle drive. He looks absolutely freezing, but he said that the only thing that got cold was his hands because they weren't moving that much. It's hard to believe that Jose has turned into a cowboy!! He would rather spend his time on horseback than do anything else.
This is Jose & my cousin Derek on their horses after the cattle drive. My uncle put my cousin in the lead because it was really foggy and with his bright coat he said that they definitely wouldn't get lost!!

Jose had a blast on the cattle drive and can't wait until its time to do it again! My uncle is wanting to preg test the cows, but said that it had to be the coldest day of the year because he didn't want the guys thinking he was getting soft and have them do it on a day that was above freezing. When they moved the cows in October it was a blizzard and then on Sunday it never got above 10 degrees!

Quick Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that I go in for surgery on Monday at 1 pm in Ketchum. I have to be at the hospital at 11 am, but will go in to the operating room at 1 pm. The doctors have found either a pollup or tumor in one of the ducts of the nipple on my left breast and they are going to remove it on Monday and then do a biopsy of it. My surgeon does not believe that it is a tumor or cancerous and I feel very comfortable with him as my surgeon.

I have been having excruiciating pain in my left breast as well as discharge coming from the nipple for the last two and a half months and I went in for two different breast exams the beginning of November and they couldn't find any lumps so I was sent in for a mammogram and an ultrasound the beginning of December. The ultrasound revealed some concerns so they did a procedure called a Galactogram last Thursday and they found this pollup or tumor in one of the ducts of my nipple. I wanted to have the surgery done over the Christmas break because I am off of work for two weeks starting this Friday. School is out from the 20th until the 4th of January. I will have plenty of time to recuperate although the surgeon today said that I should be able to go back to work the next day (Tuesday).

I hope that things are going well for everyone. I will post some pictures of Mason's school Christmas program by this weekend. He is getting very excited!! I can't believe that he is old enough to be in a school Christmas program.

Love to all!!

New Family Pics

Here is poor Jose freezing before we had our pictures taken!! It was so cold outside!! It snowed all day long and he had been an awesome dad and put up the lights outside on the deck and then I made him go and have his pictures taken outside!! I think that the pictures turned out great!!
This is my favorite picture that we had taken!! We had our pictures taken at my parent's house next to their haystack and barn. This is the picture that I choose to put on our X-Mas cards that I hope to have sent out by the weekend!! I definitely have my work cut out for me!!
We took a family picture with my dad's new hay wagon and Mason insisted on having a picture of just himself on the wagon!! He is such a ham!! I really like this picture of him!! He is growing up way too fast!!
I really like this picture of us as well! I love the look of my dad's old barn in the background!

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately! We are busy trying to get our Christmas shopping done and preparing for Mason's school Christmas program which is on Wednesday night. He is so excited!! I will get pictures posted of it by the weekend! I hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy!

Love to everyone!!

Mason's 6th Birthday

I can't believe how the time flies! Mason is going to be turning 6 on Thursday and is going to be having his first kids party with his classmates from school. He is so excited to be getting to have a party that he can invite his school friends to. He has turned into such a big boy. He loves school, and is such a big help to Jose and I. He can't seem to get his hands on enough educational material which is a good thing I guess. My mom and I bought him a beginner math book that teaches him the beginning steps on how to do math and he almost had the book finished the first night!!

I will get some pictures posted after his party.