*Our Slice of Heaven*: *2012 * January

If 2011 could be titled "Lovin With The Lires'" then 2012 would be "Townhome Takeover". After 10 months of living in the parentals basement we started looking into housing grants for students. When nothing really panned out we made the decision to take out student loans to pay for our housing. Tim would continue working part-time at Sprint and I would still be full-time stay at home mom. We knew we would be taking a risk getting into that much debt but felt like if we found a place that was affordable and could cover all the rest of our bills we would dive down that rabbit hole. We ended up finding the most perfect two bedroom townhome just across the freeway from UVU in Orem. They even allowed us to bring our dog, Milo. It was heaven. Actually heaven is an understatement. We LOVED it there. Our own little private backyard. A giant kitchen. Plenty of living space. Spacious bedrooms. After coming from the basement, it was pure joy. Plus they had a pool and playground in the development. The LDS ward consisted of couples our age living in the townhomes and condos, plus these cute old farmers that had lived on Geneva Road their whole lives. As you can tell we adored living there. Tim thrived at Sprint and was knocking his classes out of the ballpark. I think he had two 4.0 semesters while we were there. I've seriously considered trying to buy one when Tim finishes his MBA and we're paying off student debt...blah!

In January, before we moved into the townhome, TJ had his first shunt malfunction and revision surgery. When he was about 6 months old we found out his shunt had been recalled due to high malfunction. His neurosurgeon decided to wait since he wasn't seeming to have problems. He said it could be possible that his shunt had malfunctioned but his body didn't need it anymore and we would never really know that it had happened. But if he started experiencing the symptoms of hydrocephalus we would know it had malfunctioned and he would need to have brain surgery to replace it.

He had been having symptoms off and on for a few weeks. Finally it had gotten so bad we decided to take him in and receive a CT scan. His ventricles were full of fluid and it was time to replace his shunt. His body definitely still needed it. His surgery was a success and his recovery was shocking. 24 hrs after brain surgery he was back home with some stitches and plenty of energy to play with his cousins.

*Visiting with Snookie and Papa Joe in Nephi*

In April the boys and I bummed a ride to Portland to visit my sister Lacy and her beautiful Faas family. We rode with my parents and brother Charlie. Emery was still nursing at the time and it was a 12 hr drive. So, while riding in the car, I very covertly pumped and fed Emery with a bottle every few hrs. It was definitely an adventure. We had such a wonderful time. We spent a few days at my sister's house, Easter egg hunted, compared babies {it was the only time Zeke, who is 6 months younger, was smaller than Emery}, and then spent a few days at the Oregon coast. We also had the chance to visit the zoo while there. And the instacare {TWICE} cuz my boys can't travel anywhere without getting croup. Their home was so beautiful and Portland was just stunning. I hope we have the chance to visit again {even though my Faas family up and moved to San Diego...I guess that's better}.