Fall Fun :)

Charlie officially loves school. I am so happy that he is thriving, (at least for now) I can only hope it lasts! He excels in math like his Mama, and LOVES science. Mike and I both have a chance to volunteer in his class, and it's so nice to be able to talk to his teacher on a weekly basis! We've been through a parent teacher conference, a book fair, and a trip to the fire station already! I offered to help chaperone, and had to take Kinzie and Nick with me. Kinzie LOVED it as much as Charlie did, but Nick was terrified the whole time we were there!This was Nick's expression the whole, when he wasn't crying :(

On a medical front, his 'lazy eye' is getting worse, and we've had to start patching the good eye for 8 hours a day in order to make the bad eye start working again. We also have a consultation in December with a surgeon in Missoula to decide if surgery will be a better/final option. He's doing pretty well with the patch, much better than I thought he would!

The eye patch :)

We let the kids choose their own costumes for Halloween again this year. Kinzie was stoked to be a dragon, and Charlie chose a cheeseburger, which in turn made Nick choose a cheeseburger as well. The morning of the 31st Charlie had a change of heart, and was worried kids would laugh at him for being a sandwich, but it seemed like in general, kids (and parents) were pretty excited about the cheeseburgers!

We also had a chance (and a nice enough day) to take the kids to a Corn MAiZE about 30 minutes from Great Falls, we spent the afternoon there and we all had a blast. Went through the maze, and played in corn, and hay, and had a little train ride. Will definitely be a tradition for us!Jumping in the hay.

Covering Amber with corn in the corn box, instead of sand box.

Mike taking Nick through the corn tunnel.

I can't believe it's November already! This year is flying by! Hopefully I will update more this month than the last 2!

End of summer...

The Munson babies had a pretty uneventful summer, until August rolled around!

We started our August out with a quick trip to Utah so I could see my doctor down there. We managed to get a full day in at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. We rode the train, and the carousel, saw the baby elephant, ate lunch there AND had icees! The kids had so much fun, and so did Mike and I! We will make this trip again next August, it's a great little end of summer vacation!In the car, on the way to Salt Lake City.
In front of the Hogle Zoo.
Riding the train at the zoo.
Playing on the playground at the zoo.

A few weeks after that, my parents and niece Hannah came to Montana to visit for 5 days. We drove along the Missouri River to see the falls, went to the Paris Gibson museum, the Lewis and Clark interpretive center, had a picnic in the park, went to the fish hatchery, the outdoor plane museum, and played lots of cards! The visit was way too short, and went way too fast. But we were sure glad they made the trip! The Munson babies in front of the Missouri River.

Hannah and Charlie in front of the buffalo at the
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

Nana and Papa with the grandkids at the
outdoor plane museum on base.
Everybody feeding the fish at the hatchery.
Papa and the Munson babies sitting by the river.

A week after they left, Charlie officially became a full time student! He started Kindergarten on August 25, and he LOVES it! Mike and I really like his teacher, he has a class size of about 20, and one of my good friends here, her daughter is in his class! He has PE, and Art. Music, Computer time, and Library. Plus I was nervous about him eating school lunch, and planned on sending a sack lunch everyday, but he's actually tried a few hot lunches and surprisingly liked them! Kinzie, Nicholas, and myself definitely feel his lack of presence at home though. We're all 3 so excited to see him after school!All ready for his 1st day of school!

August also brought us Mike's 28th birthday! We were lucky enough to actually get to go out and celebrate, just the 2 of us! Our friends' anniversary was the 28th, so we switched baby-sitting and each enjoyed a much needed night out, KIDLESS! Mike and I hadn't been on a date alone since we left Germany, 15 months ago! We were going to go to dinner and a movie, but neither of us were hungry, (or hungry enough to be able to eat supper AND pig out on movie theater snacks!) so we went to Old Navy, to get Charlie some new jeans, walked the aisles of Office Max, and spent some time in Barnes and Noble. We went and saw The Expendables, which I must confess I wasn't looking forward to, but that's what Mike wanted to see. I ended up really enjoying it!

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors

Wednesday 21 July, Kinzie and Nicholas both had well child check-ups. Both are completely healthy, and right on track developmentally. Kinzie had her vision tested, and as of now, doesn't need glasses (yay!)
Nicholas was 27 lbs, 33.5 in and 60% in height to weight ratio.
Kinzie was 29.2 lbs, and 38 in, with a 20% height to weight ratio.

Thursday 22 July, I had a follow up endocrinology appointment. My thyroid level, which is supposed to be between .03 and 3.4, was .47 (yay, last time it was 42!) At 1st the physicians assistant that I see, thought my medicine level might be TOO high, they don't want me to become HYPERthyroid (having no thyroid makes me hypothyroid). So she said I need to have labs redone the 1st week of September with a follow up visit the last week of October. After I left the clinic she called the house about an hour later, to say she is now wanting my my levels to be even LOWER than 0.47, so I had to go back and get labs done that day, in case they want to up my dosage! Other than that, everything is looking good, I even lost some weight! Woo-hoo!

Friday 23 July, Charlie had an appointment to check his hearing and vision before Kindergarten. His hearing was perfect, but his 'lazy' (for lack of the PROPER word) eye, was very apparent, and the dr referred us to an optometrist. He hasn't seen an ophthalmologist since before we left Germany, so I was almost expecting it. He weighed 36.4 lbs, and was 42 in tall. I didn't take him, so I don't know what percent that is, but he still looks tiny to me!

Future appointments: I have to go to back to Utah the 1st week of August for my 6 month post surgery follow up. I can't believe it's been 6 months already!
Mike has to go to the dentist to get a special mouth guard because we found out he has sleep apnea, if the mouth guard doesn't work, he will most likely have to have surgery.
Charlie goes to the optometrist the day after school starts! I will be praying that we only have to patch his eye. They told us back when we 1st noticed it, that if we couldn't control it with glasses and patching, he would have to have surgery on it.
I think that's about it for now! This has definitely been an interesting medical year for us! And expensive, if not for military insurance!

And the baby turns 2!

Nicholas John Munson was born on July 16, 2008 at 10:52 am.
He weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 21 in long! He was my biggest
baby. Today he turned 2, and is STILL my biggest kid!

At his 1st birthday party, he had to share the day with his sister McKinzie, and his cousin Mayah. Unfortunately he fell asleep right before all the fun,
so he got to have his own little celebration later that day.
(he DID have to share his cake with Aunt Jenni, because she wanted white cake, but only a sliver, and he demolished the rest!)

Today, he is 2, and all day has definitely acted the part!
He's my little sweetheart, and I wouldn't change a thing!

He was very determined while opening his gifts!
He loved having all of us sing to him!
He worked SO hard to blow out his 2 candles!

I had to add Kinzie's cake from her party, I hadn't
taken the picture when I did her blog!

A video of us singing happy birthday to Kinzie and
Nick opening up one of his presents!

The Princess turns 4!

July 14, 2006: I went to the dr for a normal check up. However the Princess chose not to cooperate, and it was decided that this would be her day of arrival! 3 extremely short hours of labor, 6 minutes and 4 pushes later she came screaming into the world!7 lbs 9 oz, 20.5 in, born at 4:31pm

Check out that attitude already!

July 14, 2007: Celebrating the 1st birthday of the Princess was a huge affair! Her friends all came to wish her the best birthday. However, it was also a sad day as her daddy was not there to celebrate with her!
1 year old, hardly any hair, and still refusing to walk
(she waited until her daddy got back from the desert!)


July 14, 2008: The people celebrated the Princess's birthday early, since her younger brother was due to make his arrival around her birthday. They were back in KS for this birthday, and it was around the same time as her cousin Mayah's, so they had a joint party. The people enjoyed her Uncle Justin's bbq, and fireworks show, and all the family and KS friends were there to enjoy it with them!
Finally enough hair to do something with!


July 14, 2009: Once again the Princess was able to celebrate her birthday back in KS with the family. It was decided to have a joint party for her, Mayah, and baby brother Nicholas at Great Grandma and Grandpa Schley's house.
1 year later, and her hair is SO long!


July 14, 2010: Today the Princess turns 4! Her parents just can't believe how fast time has gone, and how much light and joy she brings into their lives. She got presents, and balloons, and most importantly CAKE!

So in short, life in the kingdom is good for the Princess, and in return she makes life good for every one around her!
Happy Birthday McKinzie Joy Munson, we love you!

Mommy, Daddy, Charlie, and Nicholas

Getting back into it...

So, I realize I've been lacking in posts, but really not much has happened in our life! PLUS almost everyone who reads this is on Facebook as well. You can pretty much get all our information from there! :)

I've decided to keep blogging, mostly because I really like writing...I can't guarantee it will be worth reading, and I don't think it will be so much about 'updating our families back home', but it's something I want to do!

Yesterday we went to Mike's squadron's picnic. It was HOT and the kids were rather bored, but we still managed to have fun! We didn't win any of the door prizes (gift cards, or t-shirts), or the 50-50 raffle (a whopping $110!) but we enjoyed the company, and the food!

Today we took the kids to the park, one Charlie's been BEGGING to go to for months! We made it about an hour before the black clouds came rolling in! After a trip to Walmart to get groceries, the weather was gorgeous again! (and we promised Charlie a return trip to make up for having to leave early!)

I picked up the July birthday kids' presents today. It's hard for me to believe that Kinzie will be 4 in 12 days, and Nick 2 in 14! Since the birthdays are so close, I've decided that as far as cake goes, I will be taking a normal boxed cake mix, and making 2 8x8 cakes, so they can each have their own, and there isn't TONS of cake leftover (for me to eat, no doubt lol). Eventually we will have to find a way for them to each get their own celebration, but for now, it's going to be shared!

My parents are planning a trip out to see us in August, I can't wait! AND they might be bringing my neice (who is my Goddaughter, and the 1st neice/nephew for both Mike and I!). We've been here for over a year now, and I'm ready for some company! We were only in Germany for 10 months when we got our 1st visitors! *ok, so technically I have had SOME company, my cousin stopped by for 1 night on her way through, and my other cousin came out to help while I was doing the cancer/surgery recover/radiation, but I mean visitors just visiting for fun lol*

We don't really have any plans this summer. A few projects around the house (and yard!), but that's about it. Mike's still dealing with his heart issues...we're hoping to get some real answers by the end of the month. I'm still trying to get my thyroid medicine back on track, and in August we are making another trip to Salt Lake City for a follow up with the surgeon. That should be my last trip down there, which I have mixed feelings about! I will be glad to get this whole thing behind me, but it sure is nice having a reason to zip on down to SLC for a few days!

I think this is it for my new approach to blogging. Hopefully the next one is more structured and
thought out!

March is happening and I'm still in October!

Well hello blog world, I've been away, but it's ok, I'm back now! A lot has happened since my last blog, and this is going to have a LOT of writing, and a few pictures, but I have more pictures to add over the next few days!

So, October happened, My kids LOVED Halloween! We went to the Charlie's school to a Harvest Fest, they had a lot of fun activities there! Then we walked around a few streets on base, overall it was a great night! The kids pumpkins, L-R Charlie, Kinzie, Nick

They picked their own costumes this year! My Monkey, and Fairy.

Plus my mini-Monkey!

Kinzie golfing at the fest. Charlie playing ring toss!

November brought the 5th birthday of my 1st born! I can't believe it's been (over) 5 years! He had a quiet little party at home, but got what he wanted, so it was all good!

Only a few months old!!

The big day! With his CAKE, not cupcakes!

November also brought me another biopsy in Helena, which came back the same, suspicious but not diagnostic for cancer, so my dr in Helena recommended I go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, he felt they could better handle my odd situation!

I have a TON of cute pictures from December, so I will make that a whole separate blog! We had our 1st real snowfall in years! Went to SD to have an amazing Christmas with my parents, siblings, and their families! We were essentially snowed in at my brother's house for a week, and it was the greatest! All the grandkids,

(clockwise starting with back left) Hannah 8, Elijah 6,

Mayah 5, Colby 5, Charlie 5, Kinzie 3, Cadence 3, and Nick 1,

(oh and SURPRISE My brother and his wife found out
they are expecting THEIR number 3 yay!!)


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (ok, a little late! ha ha)

2010 has brought us MANY miracles, MANY blessings, and MANY miles on our car! (not too mention that last few miles to South Dakota and home in December!)
After my dr recommended I go to Utah, (back in Nov.) I kept waiting for my dr to get back with on follow-up. Finally the beginning of January, I call to talk to my military provided primary care manager, and he can't see me until mid-Feb, I break down crying on the appointment line, and the lady immediately transfers me to a patient advocate and low and behold, I get somewhere!! I ended up getting an initial appt the next week down in Salt Lake City!! So we packed our bags and made a mad dash down there for a mini vacation! You can view the pictures from that visit here. For only being there 4 days, we actually got to do a little sight-seeing! Medically, I met the Endocrinologist (Dr. Bentz, AMAZING), had more lab work done, and ended up doing a 3rd biopsy, which also came back suspicious, but not diagnostic. Dr Bentz decided to go ahead and remove the lumps, so we started planning another trip to SLC!

Which brings us to February! When Dr. Bentz's nurse called to tell me he wanted to do the surgery, she said I have 2 opening's next week, which would you prefer?? I was a little shocked at how quickly they would be able to get me in! I made the necessary phone calls and it was decided that my mom and sister would fly to SLC, to watch the kids while Mike and I were at the hospital, and my surgery was scheduled for Feb 4!
My kids loved having Nana and Aunt Jenni there to cart them around the city, they went to the Planetarium, the Children's Museum of Utah, a drive into the mountains, and Wal-Mart! You can view all of those pictures here.
The surgery went very well, the dr decided while he was in there, that my lymph nodes looked suspicious, so he went ahead and took them out as well. I was feeling great the next day, but ended up staying in the hospital for 4 days because my calcium was low. It was great being able to recover without the kids hanging all over me, but I was very restless in the hospital for so long!
The final diagnose ended up being positive for cancer! Ironically it was the lymph node (just 1 out of 4!) that had the cancer in it, not the thyroid tissue or the lumps, thank God he decided to take them out! Dr. Bentz decided with my previous history, and the positive cancer diagnose, I needed to have radiation therapy. Essentially that means, they will take me off my thyroid hormone stimulant, and make my thyroid tissue (and any remaining cancer that ACTS like thyroid) really REALLY hungry. Then I will take radioactive iodine in pill or liquid form, that the thyroid craves, and any remaining cancer will eat it up, and die.
Which brings us to March :)
I am very fortunate to have the family I have. A cousin of mine was able to fly up to Great Falls right after we got back from Utah, to help out with the kids, while I finished recovering (I was on lift restrictions, and still having a bit of pain). My kids have really enjoyed having another adult here to play with, and I've loved having someone to talk to! I am really going to miss her when she leaves!!
I actually had another miracle from God this last month. I received my referral to see an endocrinologist in Great Falls, to start the radiation process. The same NIGHT, his office called and said, Dr Cohan is booked for 2 months, but we JUST had a cancellation for tomorrow morning, would you be able to come in? Of course I jumped on the opportunity, and Dr Cohan decided March 1st, I would stop my meds, and March 8th, (ahem TOMORROW) I would get lab work done, to make sure the the thyroid/cancer is hungry enough to take in the radiation, and if so, we should hopefully be able to start the radiation process Wednesday! It's so surreal that this all started over a year ago in Germany, when a random dr( not even my own pcm) decided to do a little bit more in-depth lab work, and it came back with a protein that shouldn't be there, and it could all be over by the end of the month! I've been very fortunate with the drs I've seen, the facilities I've been to, and the family that has been here holding my hand the whole way. Not too mention the thousands, and I feel I am not really exaggerating here, that have been praying, and sending well wishes, and happy thoughts and vibes to me and my family. I can never thank you all enough, but it really has meant so much to us!

Signing this one~
With much love and thanks to all
Jessica, Mike, and kids