Something is missing

Does anyone else ever get tired of feeling like something is missing?

3 weeks ago Monster got neutered and this picture reminded me of it. Although Monster isn't a cat, its still funny!
And from the whole experience I will NEVER make an animal go through that again!

Just when you feel like giving up.....

My favorite talk from conference this year was by James B. Martino. His talk was about Trials. There could not have been a better time for me to hear this talk. Here are the highlights.

* How we react to difficulties determines our success.
* Not when we face them BUT how we face them
* Trials help us develop traits & attributes like out Father
* We grow from experiences but challenge is seeing the eternal perspective as we go through them.
* 5 things can be learned from the Savior
1. Will of Father- he was commited even through his trials
2. Don't complain or murmur- Ask What am I to do? Change? Learn? not ask Why Me?
3. Seek help from God- this helps strengthen us and ease the burden
Don't become bitter, become faithful
4. Serve others- it helps us forget out problems and helps strengthen ourselves
5. Forgive others/Don't pass the blame onto them.

We also got to sing I Know My Reedemer Lives during Sundays afternoon session. I was very thankful that Conference fell on Easter this year, it made it all the more special. I was thankful that I got to hear such wonderful messages from a prophet of God and the General Authority of the church. My faith has been strengthen because I listened.

Everywhere in nature we learn the lesson of patience and waiting.
We want things a long time before we get them and the fact that we
wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come.
-Joseph F. Smith

Meet the newest member of the Larson family

After much contemplation and a year of looking, we have decided to add another car to our family, a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder and we are in love with it!

Ok, so pie day was a little late

I made my first blueberry pie Monday night.....by Tuesday night it was all gone!

Happy April

...Oh believe it!

Happily Ever After

I attended the YW dinner and broadcast lastnight at our stake center. Can I just say that the Lord knows when we need to hear something. I have experienced this the last few weeks as I have not wanted to go to church just because I didn't feel like going BUT I went anyway because I knew I had to do. I get such spiritual fufillment from going to church. So far, every week I have felt like not going, I have heard a lesson or a talk that the Lord meant for my ears to hear. So back to the broadcast, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was the closing speaker and I say they saved the best for last. His talk compared our lives to a fairytale, we have to go through some trial to get to our happily ever after. This is so true, we have to go through the trials in our life and learn and grow before we can have eternal life. We may not like our trials, who really does, but its how we deal with them and what we learn that helps us grow and move forward with our lives. I can say I have not enjoyed my trials at all, I dispise them but I am greatful to have gone through them because they have helped me grow and learn and I have drawn closer to our Heavenly Father.

Although....it would be nice to have a break for a bit!

8 weeks.......and counting

Wow have I neglected this blog or what? Nothing new really to report in the last month. I am STILL sick! We are going on 8 weeks now! The doc put me on my third antibiotic, Prednisone and gave me an inhaler. The list of side affect are super long, I was kind of scared to take it! Today I experienced hyperness, jitteriness, crabby-ness and then after lunch I crashed!!! I am so exhausted and I have a killer headache.
On a lighter side, the weather and perked up and it was a gorgeous 65 yesturday. I even went a purchased a new spring coat. I am hoping that his nice weather will help me feel better and finally kick the walking pneumonia to the curb.
SPRING IS COMING!!!!

My first experience with an earthquake

Wednesday morning we were awoken at 4am by a loud noise, barking dog and a shaking bed. I knew right away that it was an earthquake, Dennis on the other hand tried tp pass it off as Monster shaking. You see when he gets woken up in the middle of the night, he will bark really loud and start to shake because his adrenaline is going. This I am very greatful for because I know that no one stands a chance at getting into my house at with my guard dog. While the boys were up checking out what was going on, I could still feel the bed shaking, no way it was Monster, he wasn't even in the bed. So we brushed it off not really knowing what it was and fell back asleep. 6am my alarm goes off and they are talking about a 4.3 earthquake just 2 towns over from ours. Dennis starts hitting my arm, babe we have an earthquake last night he says to where I respond, see I told you, hit snooze, and roll back over. Ours was small, I can't even image what the people in Haiti went through.

Oh Joy!!

This picture pretty much sums up what I have been doing for three straight weeks, NON STOP!

So I have been sick for 3 weeks now. It started with a cough that just got worse and worse and worse. After anihilating an entire bottle of Robitussin DM, Niquil & Dayquil and having zero change in symptoms I decided to go to urgent care last week to see what was going on. I was told that I have an upper resp. infection. I always get them this time of year and they most likely turn into bronchitis or step. I was given cough meds adn sent home. A week after taking the meds, nothing changed again, still have my annoying cough and I even managed to hurt my rib in the process. Yesturday I decided to go see my PCP in Geneva because I just didn't feel right. I really haven't had much energy these last three weeks and haven't wanted to do anything. I have completely abanded my training schedule for my 1/2 marathon. I attempted hitting the treadmill earlier this week with no luck. I started coughing and just not feeling right. So the doc tells me that I have had walking pneumonia and sends me home with an antibiotic and nasty tasting cough meds with codene and instructions to stay home and rest. Mind you I took the nasty disguting made me wanna gag cough meds before bed lastnight. Well they wore off around 3:30 lastnight when I started coughing in my sleep so bad that it woke me up! I get up this morning to take the dog out, go to cough and hear a pop, fall to the ground because I can't breathe and start to cry. Now this really can't be good. I decided to go visit the chiropractor asap to get some treatments done and see if he can figure out whats up with my rib. Sure enough I had popped one out of place and I may have possibly cracked one. So now, it hurts to cough, laugh, breathe deep or pretty much move. There is nothing I can do except give it time to heal itself. So now when I cough I clench my fists hard and try to get through the pain. I am just glad I went to my PCP and found out what was really going on and finally got some goods meds that should knock this right out. I just hate this time of year because I always come down with something and it's never any fun!

Galena Girls Getaway 2010

Alyse & I LOVE Santa/ Our Mexican Pyramid/Amanda & her beef

Hola/Bonnie, Lisa & I/ The moment Lisa tossed Alyse

hanging by the monk/Bonnie ate stale popcorn on display/chick flick

This year, a bunch of us got together and headed 3 hours northwest to Galena for a girls weekend. We had a pj party, gift exchange, chick-flick night and a day on the town. It was a great getaway. Can't wait till the next girls trip.....!!! (Hopefully Bonnie won't eat stale display popcorn again!)

Progress

I have been keeping up with my running, as much as I can, since returning to work this week. I hit a milestone this week. I ran a mile in 9 minutes! Now, while this is great, I want to work more on endurance right now than speed. I went to the massage therapist on Thursday because my left shin was killing me. Found out I tore my muscle on my shin. Nothing that couldn't be fixed I was told. So I stretched and didn't run for 2 days until the pain went away. I went to Lifetime Fitness with a friend today and I ran almost 2 and 1/2 miles before I could feel the pain come back. After we completed our run, we sat in the hot tub for a bit and I can tell you it really helped! I wish I could sit in the hot tub after every run. I am working through this minor injury, I am not going to give up on my running goal. It's just a bump in the road.

Winter in Chicago

This was about noonish

By the end of the day, we had 12 inches

I was very upset that I didn't get a white Christmas when I woke up Christmas morning and the little amount of snow we had was melting. When we woke up the day after Christmas, there was no snow on the ground and then it started to snow some giant flakes. You can witness these photos of the event of that day that led to our snowmobiling adventure later that evening.

New Years 2009

Shaun rockin Roxanne / The girls

Shaun & Lisa

Midnight Dance Party / Rockin it (I got way into the guitar)

Lisa bustin a move / Funny faces for the camera

Dennis & Lisa

We decided to throw a mini New Years Party at our house this year with a few friends. We played games, pigged out and busted out the good "ole Rockband". We had an absolute blast and it was a great way to ring in the New Year.

Best date night ever!!!

Lastnight, Dennis and I decided to take advantage of our 12+ inches of snow and head to his brothers and spend the evening snowmobiling. It was alot of fun to race down the trails and open throttle down the bike path behind his house. Dennis and I rode the trail once together and he almost landed us in the river because the sled wouldn't turn. We raced down the bike path and found this awesome straight road we could just fly down. It was by far the best date night we have had in a very long time. YAH! For all the snow. As a side note, my back is killing me from all the bouncing and turning not to mention I went sledding with my nephew and tried standing up and I fell forward and rolled. It hurt but the whole evening was well worth it!

Merry Christmas

Cuddling Cousins

Opening the gift from Vienna

Christmas Eve Eve (Cilley Christmas)-

The Cilley clan got togethera few days before

Christmas. We got to talk to Brian & Betka

on skype and hang out the the family. The elves

were there to hand out presents.

Christmas Eve (above)- Was spent eating

chocolate covered strawberries in a box at Pat

and Tony's.

Christmas Morning - Dennis built a lean to at 4am

so he could smoke our turkey because we had 40 mph

winds that morning. He also learned that it only takes

4 hours to smoke it as opposed to the 10 the internet

told him. One of Dennis's favorite gift was his red &

green only sour patch kids and I got a remote start!!!

The BEST Christmas present EVER

Dennis bought me a Dyson for Christmas. I have already used it twice. As you can see from the picture, it sucks up the smallest speck of dirt. I used it on the stairs and there is a big difference in the color of the carpet now, it looks cleaner. I have a feeling I will be using this thing alot more than my last vaccum.

Family visit

He likes to talk / Den & I / Check that face

Quilt I made for Tonya / The grandparents / Tiff & I

Sisters

3 days after we got home from Cancun, we went down to visit my family and attend my sister Tonya's baby shower. It was the first time my family was together without any drama. However, I ended up getting sick which made my whole family sick by the following week.