Neglect

Obviously I fell out of the habit of updating my blog, and I apologize.  A lot has happened, but there's no way I could cover it all...and I'm a little sad about that.  I have done a little better with writing in my journal, thank goodness, but I still like to have things recorded on here so I can look back through them with pictures included and remember things I had forgotten.  Let's see if I can do better now.

We were able to get Ryan's back feeling better last fall with the use of trigger point injections, but last month the back pain returned, and after three sets of trigger point injections in the past few weeks, he still isn't seeing much improvement.  We're looking into getting a neural implant placed on his spine to prevent the pain signals from getting to his brain so that he can continue to work and provide for our family.

After months of trying different medications to help ease my depression and anxiety, I am finally off of them all and feeling lots better.  A combination of all the meds and stress had me slowly putting on weight, but the last medication I tried had the unfortunate side-effect of me gaining 15 pounds in one month... :(  Now I weigh more than I did when I was 9-months pregnant, without the happy cause of growing a baby, which makes me feel sad and uncomfortable in my own skin.  And, thanks to lovely DNA, most of the weight I gain sticks to my stomach, making me look pregnant.  I've had more than a few people ask if I am.  :'(

So, please pray for us as we try to regain good health!

I can't believe that Nicole is almost done with 4th grade (when my last post was about her starting it!)!!!  She has done amazing this year!  :)  And now Becca is two years old!  These beautiful girls are amazing!!!

Ok, now let's see if I can sort through pictures and not get too carried away with posting........

 Grandma and Grandpa Hollinger took us to Fuji's - a Hibachi grill.  It was fun and delicious! :)

 Becca and Cole got to sit in a helicopter. :)

 For Halloween we made sugar cookies with some good friends -- Becca preferred eating them to frosting them... ;)

 One of Cole's school assignments on how we can keep earth healthy.

 Becca developed this habit of laying down on the ground whenever she felt tired.  We were on a walk around the neighborhood, and suddenly I realized she wasn't next to me.  I found her about ten feet behind us, face on the ground, just resting.  lol :)

 For Halloween we went to a local pumpkin patch, and had a blast!  :)

 Robie got Becca the CUTEST bear costume!  Becca has always been "my little growl-y bear," so this costume was perfect!  She never wanted to take it off!

 Here's another instance of Becca laying down to rest...in the middle of Shopko!  Such a silly kid! :)

 Ryan's parents moved to a new home last year, and there were many fond memories to re-live before they left the house they had remodeled/rescued years ago.

 Ready for Trick-or-Treat-ing!  :)

 The first snow!  Becca was fascinated by it (having been too young the previous winter to remember snow).

 My little Coley-bug turned 10!!!  A whole decade old!  Has anyone figured out how to stop them from growing so fast?!

 Last Thanksgiving we went as a family into the mountains to chop down our own Christmas Tree.  It was the first time I'd ever done that, and it was a blast (especially tying the tree on top of our little Prius to bring it home!).  :)

 Making peppermint cake with Robie.

 Mitzi had her beautiful little girl in December, and we were able to surprise her with a visit after Christmas!  It was so much fun!  :) <3 p="">

 Baby Lydia, in the blanket that I made for her.  (And I feel awful to say that I have not yet completed the blanket for baby Mia... :( ...apparently blogging isn't the only thing I've been slacking on!  She's the only baby cousin that I don't have a picture of Cole holding...)  The Muench Bunch just keeps growing and growing! :)

 Thanks to a very kind and wonderful friend (you know who you are!), I was able to surprise Ryan with a trip to West Yellowstone for his birthday.  :) <3 p="">

 This is the dress that my Mom made for Nicole to wear in my baby brother's wedding.  Now it fits Becca!  (Her faces crack me up!)

 We were able to take a trip to see my Grandpa Bailey before he passed away this spring.  He was an incredible man. <3 p="">

 Becca's hair gets soooo curly when wet!  I love it! :)

 Ryan spent hours making us these beautiful origami roses for Valentine's Day!  They are beautiful, and last MUCH longer than a bouquet from the store!

 I found some old clothes of mine in my mom's attic, and some of them just happen to fit Nicole!  Weird!!!

 The first day of spring that was warm enough to go on a long walk!  We had to celebrate it with pictures. :)

 Hiking is one of our favorite past times. We have found all sorts of cool things this spring, and can't wait to keep exploring all summer long! :)

Nail polish fun! (Cole chose green, I chose purple, and Becca picked super-sparkly pink.)

 My little rock climbing monkeys!  :)

 Some snap shots from my Grandpa's funeral.  <3 p="">

 My first attempt at making a decorative cake for a combined Muench birthday party.  Not TOO bad, eh?

 Easter Egg Hunt for all the Muench cousins! :)

 Teehee!

 We convinced Dad to go hiking with us! :)

 Ryan and I had a great date weekend, when Grandma agreed to take our two little monsters so we could have some time to re-charge and re-connect.  We didn't have money to go out, but we did cook dinner together at home, and it was fabulous! :)  (There is steak under those mushrooms...)

 Castle Rocks State Park was AWESOME!  We went there for one of Cole's Idaho History assignments, and couldn't have had more fun!  We also stopped by Register Rock, which was an awesome piece of history! :)

 Late-night silliness.  ;)

 Sleepy little baby girl. <3 p="">

And, finally, we'll end with the fun time we had this past weekend when Kyler came to stay with us so his mom and dad could have some time to re-charge and re-connect.  ;) Isn't family great?!?!?!  <3 p="">
(forgive me for not doing any formatting to the pictures...there were so many, and I felt a little overwhelmed.)