Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Day

Marcus and I had a great first Valentine's Day together. He got me a beautiful rose, perfume, and an immersion blender! (I know appliances are usually taboo, but I really wanted one of these so it was great!!) :)

I feel like men get gypped on Valentine's Day because they are expected to do a bunch of things for women but don't really get any gifts in return. So I told him I would make him any meal he wanted. It turned out to be a great meal!


We had steak, lobster tail, and baked potatoes. It was very delicious and VERY filling!

And for dessert, I made tuxedo strawberries.
Aren't they cute?! I'm pretty proud of my work.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Appendicitis anyone?

Well it's been an eventful day to say the least. Here is a time-line:

Thursday, Feb. 4 10:30pm- we get into bed and Marcus complains that his stomach hurts. He is restless for about 1.5 hours before he gets up and lays on the couch

Friday, Feb. 5 2:00am- I wake up restless attempt at sleep and realize he's still on the couch so I get up to check on him. He's literally writhing in pain. We decide that we should go to the ER to see what's going on.

2:45am- We get to the ER. They bring him back, do some blood work, and give him a CAT Scan.

3:30am- They tell us that Marcus has appendicitis and will need surgery.

4:10am- Marcus is wheeled to the OR and I'm told to sit in the waiting room. Thank goodness for cell phones that allowed me to talk to both moms this morning to help the time pass more quickly!

5:10am- The Surgeon came out and told me they were taking him into surgery and they'd let me know when they were done. It could take anywhere for 30min to 2.5 hours.

6:10am- The Surgeon comes out and tells me that the surgery went well and he's in recovery. His appendix was about 3 times its normal size so it's a good thing they got it before it ruptured.

7:30am- Marcus is brought up to his room and I finally get to see him! It's been a LONG 3 hours by myself in the hospital all morning...

8:40am- Marcus is medicated and sleeping . I decide now is the time to go home, shower, get something to eat, and pack our bags for our sleepover party in the hospital.

10:00am- I arrive back at the hospital equipped with things to keep me occupied while he sleeps all day. Although I have not had much sleep either, the chair-bed the hospital bed provides for me gives me only semi-decent sleep. And I don't really sleep well during the day anyways.

1:00pm- Marcus' cousins Brian and Jack arrive to give him a blessing and bring me lunch (since Marcus is on an ice-chips only diet and cafeteria food did not sound appealing to me). We are so grateful they live close enough to come visit and provide that wonderful service for us!

3:00-4:00pm- Marcus and I both sleep for about an hour. He's starting to get his color back and be more alert. He is definitely starting to feel better! (The morphine probably helps with that...)

It's now 5:40pm and Marcus gets to eat "dinner" in about 20 minutes. He has been upgraded to clear fluids which we hope includes jello. I have no idea what I'll do for dinner since I hate leaving him here by himself. It's gets so lonely when there's no one sitting in the hospital with you (as I experienced this morning). So I may suck it up and eat the cafeteria food.

I plan on sleeping here with him because even though our bed at home is WAY more comfortable than this chair-bed, I don't think I would sleep well worrying about how he is doing. And one night in this chair-bed will not be a big deal. The doctors tell us we'll be able to go home tomorrow and should be home by 11am, which is great!

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure Marcus will be up and his normal self in no time! :)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

So Marcus' birthday was on January 3rd and I'm so behind that I'm just now posting about it...

But- it was a good birthday!


I made Marcus the birthday cake he requested: Chocolate Cake with Rainbow Chip frosting. It was delicious! And he's getting so old that there was only ONE candle left in the box. ;) Some friends were able to come over to enjoy the cake and ice cream and we're grateful they came! (Sorry there's no picture but we appreciate you coming- Brock, Kate, Bryan, and Kayla!)

And since I'm such an awesome wife, I didn't listen to him when he said I couldn't spend money on him for his birthday. He got two children books (a tradition we have started for each birthday), 4 shirts, a bookmark, and a watch (that died two days after his birthday- we spent the money that originally went to the watch to get him new sunglasses).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABE!

I LOVE YOU

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Holidays!

I know I'm way behind but I'm finally writing my post about our Christmas break. It was an AWESOME break! We spent it with Marcus' family in Washington. I don't think I could have married into a better family! We also discovered another benefit of marriage: two families = tons of presents on Christmas. :)

I did take some pictures but mainly they are of the nephews because they are just so cute!

This is Cole:


I am so glad Aimee and Sean were able to come visit while we were home!


This is Cole and the original Aunt Brittany
A.K.A Brittany Ann
A.K.A Brittany the first
A.K.A Brittany the daughter/sister
(A lot of names have developed to distinguish between her & me since Marcus & I were married)

He is ADORABLE! :)


This is Ukiah:

James (Ukiah's dad) kept having Ukiah pose for the camera.

So CUTE!


Here is Ukiah and his big brother Dallas being Rock Stars!
(They got the game Rock Band for Christmas)


I miss those cute little guys! And the rest of the family!
I was so great to see everyone!


HAPPY 2010 from the Gilson's!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Comfort during hard times...

Marcus and I are Sunday School teachers in our ward. As I was looking through the manual today, I found this quote:

Elder Richard G. Scott counseled:
  • “Many of you have heavy hearts because a son or daughter, husband or wife, has turned from righteousness to pursue evil. My message is for you.

  • “Your life is filled with anguish, pain, and, at times, despair. I will tell you how you can be comforted by the Lord.

  • “First, you must recognize two foundation principles:

  • “1. While there are many things you can do to help a loved one in need, there are some things that must be done by the Lord.

  • “2. Also, no enduring improvement can occur without righteous exercise of agency. Do not attempt to override agency. The Lord himself would not do that. Forced obedience yields no blessings (see D&C 58:26–33).

  • “I will suggest seven ways you can help.

  • “First, love without limitations. … Second, do not condone the transgressions, but extend every hope and support to the transgressor. … Third, teach truth. … Fourth, honestly forgive as often as is required. … Fifth, pray trustingly. ‘The … fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much’ (James 5:16). …

  • “Sixth, keep perspective. … When the things you realistically can do to help are done, leave the matter in the hands of the Lord and worry no more. Do not feel guilty because you cannot do more. Do not waste your energy on useless worry. … In time, you will feel impressions and know how to give further help. You will find more peace and happiness, will not neglect others that need you, and will be able to give greater help because of that eternal perspective. …

  • “One last suggestion—Never give up on a loved one, never!”

How lucky we are to have living prophets to help guide us through life!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

So Excited!

Marcus and I are EXTREMELY excited to see this movie:


We're calling it a belated birthday present for Marcus so we have a good excuse to spend the money to go to a movie! :)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Our Apartment!!!

My Mom came to visit for the last ten days and it was AWESOME!


When we got married, she decided to make curtains for our apartment. While she was here, she finished all of them. Here are the final products:

This is the kitchen curtain:

This is one of our kitchen chairs. She made chair pads that match our kitchen curtains.


Here are our living room curtains:

And the matching couch throw pillows.

This is the valance in our bedroom.

And here is Marcus being a handyman. Even though he said hanging up curtains was a "woman's job."

And here is our bed. My mom made the pillows, bedskirt, and valance that all coordinate with the quilt my Aunt Melinda made us for our wedding. It's great having a talented family.



Thank you, Mom, for all of your hard work! We love it! And we miss you already...