School!

Things that make me wish time went by faster.

1. School. I have 3 more semesters. I will officially finish my bachelors this fall but won't graduate until I finish the teaching program in December of 2011. It really feels like it's just around the corner..... but then again, today was the first day of school.

2. Roxy. I wish Roxy was home already. I know she is doing the Lord's work and serving the people of TX but I miss her so much! Out of the 8 kids, we are the closest in age at 15 months apart. She has Sept, Oct, and then she'll return in November! Whoot Whoot. Fly time fly.

Things that make me wish time went by slow.

1. Kids. Leila will be 2 years old next month and I can't believe it. I remember the semester I told my mom I was pregnant. We took a bowling class together. Lexi is 3 months old today. I love that they learn so much but I hate that they get bigger. Seriously.... you blink and they're a month older.

2. Special Service Missionaries. I LOVE all the SSMs in my ward. They are all such loving people and I ALWAYS feel like I've known them longer than I really have. Then all the sudden they say they are going home. Their presence makes time fly. Not fair. Time needs to freeze.

I'm so grateful for all the above mentioned things in my life including the hubs. Everything is just going so well and I can't give credit anywhere else besides to my Father in Heaven. He knows me and wants me to succeed. I love HIM!

p.s. Can't talk about the kids without posting some pictures.


And, since I have the pictures I have to compare the little kiddos since they too are all growing up so fast.

March 2010:

July 2010:
Love you all!

Gallbladder Follow Up!

Sorry this may be a long post but I will try to write everything as accurate as possible for journaling purposes.

July 5th: 1:30 a.m. I woke up with real bad back pain. Why? Well from sleeping outside on the ground... I thought. We camped out in my parent's back yard for the 4th. Well I went inside with Lexi and decided to sleep in the couch. Luckily, I was able to get a few hours of sleep but woke up at 5:00 a.m. I could sleep any longer so I decided to watch t.v. I noticed that I could not slouch at all or breath deeply. I just kept thinking that I must have done something bad to my back. By this time I couldn't sleep on my side back or stomach. I just had to sit up. Alex my little brother asked if I wanted a Priesthood blessing. It's a good thing he asked because I don't think I would have asked. (Still working on asking when I know I should.) Aubrey put the oil on my head and Trevor my older brother gave me the blessing. After, I took some Tylenol and I tried taking a hot bath but that didn't do much. I was stuck in a very straight up uncomfortable position. The family planned to go boating that morning but I decided that we wouldn't go. I really wanted to but how was I supposed to enjoy it? So Aubrey and I went home. I tried lying on a heating pad with my back down. I touched my stomach. Ouch! I knew something was wrong. We decided to go to So. Ogden's Instacare. I fed Lexi while waiting. Having 8 pounds in my arms held close to my chest hurt really badly too. Note* While waiting in the lobby to be called, a lady sitting near by said, "I've gone through the same thing as you. It was my gallbladder. I had it removed and now I'm just fine." Weird.
Anyway, the pain was getting worse. All you women out there that have experienced contractions.... times this by 10 and don't let it take a break. Contractions go on for a minute then release. Not this. I was almost in tears because I could not get comfortable but most of all I was scared. I had no idea what the pain was and the nurse happened to ask if I got an epidural with this delivery. I said yes and then thought of all the side effects an epidural might have. Maybe the dummy got the needle into my gall bladder. Anyway back to thinking about all the things that could go wrong the doctor came in and told me to change. I peed in a cup and then came back to lie on my back as directed. The doctor felt my stomach. OUCH!!!! I about burst into tears. He touched my gallbladder and it hurt bad. He said that my white blood cell count in the urine was high. The pain was subsiding and I was able to breath a little more deeply now. He scheduled an ultrasound for my gallbladder.
At McKay Dee I had an ultrasound done and it hurt too. Okay it was uncomfortable, I wasn't crying but still I didn't like having pain that I couldn't identify. The tech finished the ultrasound and called the doctor. Result: My gallbladder was a little inflamed. Not bad, it could have been a lot worse by having gall stones in there. I should have done this first. Go here to see what exactly your gallbladder is for.
July 7th: I had a follow up appt. to talk about the ultrasound. Aubrey and I had been reading up online and found that .5 million people get their gallbladder removed every year. So I thought, I'm probably going to be one of those people.
July 13th: Had a HIDA Scan done. It is a procedure to check the function of the gallbladder. I had to pump and dump my breast milk because of the radioactive chemical they injected into my arm. To know more about a HIDA scan go here. McKay Dee performed 2 to 5 HIDA scan a day and usually finds something wrong. The procedure takes about an hour. I would get my results back in a couple days.
By this time I am just dying to know what is going on. I had been following a low fat low cholesterol diet and I was determined to follow it for the rest of my life just so that pain would never come back. I wasn't going to put myself through a non stop contraction if I wasn't going to get a baby for it. Plus, Aubrey and Leila hadn't had a home cooked meal since I hadn't learned how to make a low fat low cholesterol meal yet. There are lots of different reason one can have a gallbladder attack and I didn't know what the cause was. My guesses out of the possible reason.... Being female, having just had a baby, my age, or...... milk, hot dogs, and cheese are my weakness. I was mad that this was happening to me because I try hard to take care of my body by exercising and not eating out of control.
July 15th: Got a call from the nurse with my HIDA scan results. NORMAL. What? Seriously? I beat the odds. Not to mention I wasn't going to become one of 500,000 people a year. I felt so good about this. My thoughts were turned back to something Trevor mentioned in my blessing. I can't quote it but I do remember him saying THINGS IN YOUR BODY WILL RE ALIGN. wow! This is very special because in the research I did, I read that whatever damage has been done to your gallbladder is irreversible hence, people get it removed. I was and am grateful to my Father in Heaven for this and I spent time on my knees showing my gratitude. It has been a wake up call to eat better and to feed my family better even though that may not have even been the cause. For most people it is and I don’t want to be part of the reason that happens to someone else. So things are going good and sorry there are no pictures in this post. Until next time…..

Gallbladder Fun!

Shortest post to date... I had a gallbladder attack today. Details to come, maybe.

Again, I've found something fun to do on my blog from someone else's. Enjoy!

1. the most recent picture of yourself.

2. A picture you took to prove your innocence!

3. A picture you photo shopped.

4. A picture you took on your cell phone.

5. A picture of a wound you received.

6.A childhood memory.

7. Something that you have way too many of but still wouldn't mind having more!

8. A photo of you that was professionally taken.

9.A picture of a haircut you hated!

10.A photo of a haircut you loved!

11.A picture of you and someone you love.

12.A picture of your feet!

13.A room in your home.

14.A picture of the happiest moment you've had up to date.

15.A picture taken on a vacation you will never forget.

16.A picture taken before everything was about to change.

17.Something that makes you laugh but not everyone would understand.

18.A picture of something adorable!

19. A picture of you & your best friend.

20.A picture you like and have no idea why!

If you read this, consider yourself tagged and do it on your own blog.

I am Marci

I found this post on a blog. I thought it would be fun so I inserted my words and here's what you get.

I am: a mom.
I think: I have to be the best.
I know: what it feels like to love my two little girls.
I want: to be good at decorating my house.

I have: a sexy Persian husband!

I dislike: mushrooms and when people assume things.
I miss: having some of my high school friends around.
I fear: death of a loved one.
I feel: good...overall.
I hear: Aubrey's laptop fan and the wind outside.
I smell: nothing really.
I crave: vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
I cry: when I'm overwhelmed.
I usually: stretch in the morning when I wake up.
I search: for aerobic steps on ksl.com and every thrift store.
I wonder: how many kids I will have and if I will ever really be a teacher.
I regret: not saving money when I was younger.
I love: my family and when we are all together.
I care: about my appearance more than I should.
I always: kiss Aubrey good night.
I worry: that my family will fall apart.
I am not: going to have jacked up hair for the rest of my life.
I believe: in Jesus Christ and what his atoning power can do in my life.
I sing: in the car.
I don't always: exercise as much as I should.
I argue: for fun.... sometimes. (dad)
I write: in mine and my daughters' journals.
I win: sweet prizes like tacos for a year and an ipod.
I lose: my keys and phone all the time.
I wish: I could see my life in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years.
I listen: to people around me.
I can usually be found: playing with Leila.
I am scared: of the wind! I hate it!
I forget: that we are on this earth for such a short time.
I am happy: when I am with my family.
I am learning: how to let my spirit master my body.

Lexi Afsar Barker

May 23rd, 2010
6:46 a.m.
7 Pounds 1 Ounce
20 Inches

So I was wrong about going past my due date but I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Lexi is finally here and she is such a joy. I thought it would be harder to take care of two girls but it hasn't been that bad. Lexi was constantly kicking me inside the womb but she is pretty laid back and her sleeping schedule isn't too bad either.

Saturday night Aubrey and I watched a movie, ate some popcorn, and then I took a shower. After the shower I mentioned to Aubrey that I felt different. I could feel a different kind of pressure. He joking told me, "She's crowning." So we went to bed about 12:30. At 1 o'clock I felt a contraction. For the first time I felt something that hurt me. With Leila I never really had a good idea of what "labor" felt like because I was induced. So my doctor told me to come to the hospital when my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Well for 3.5 hours. They were all 6 minutes apart.
I called my mom to see what she would say. I didn't know if they would send me home or not. Like I said I didn't really know what labor was like. Well, after multiple calls to 7 different phone numbers at the parents house with no answer anywhere I was still debating on going to the hospital or not. Plus we needed someone to come to our house while Leila was still sleeping. I couldn't sleep and Aubrey was getting kind of worried. I decided we needed to go to the hospital. Aubrey called his dad who works at night to come over when he finished up his work. Dan (dad) happened to get finished earlier than usual.
Aubrey got some stuff together (minus the video camera. Dang it) and we waited for Dan to get there. By this time (4:45) I was out of bed putting clothes on and I had to just freeze every time a contraction came on. I had my phone in hand still checking the intervals. Dan arrived and I got into the car when I could. Now the contractions were 3 minutes apart. They were painful. I can't really describe it but I was really glad to feel what I did. It was new to me and I was glad to know that the baby would be here soon.
In the first room they put me in, the nurse checked me in and asked me some questions. She said she knew I was going to have the baby soon just by looking at me. She checked me and told me I was a 6! This was good news and also surprising. Aubrey told me that my first doctor (with Leila) said contractions needed to be 4-6 minutes apart to come to the hospital. That would have been good news about 4 hours ago. Anyway the nurse gave me an IV (the worst part) and sent me to a delivery room. They called my doctor to come in. The anesthesiologist came in saying how busy it was that morning and that me and 4 other moms must have planned to have the babies all the same day.
Lucky for me, I got the last of the drugs (epidural) that the doctor had. Getting the epidural was nice but sometimes I think I could have done with out it. The delivery was real short (read on). The epidural was in at 5:50 ish and I was still just waiting for my doctor. I was at a 10 by now. Lexi was right there then finally my water broke. Shortly after, my doctor walked in, talked for a sec then went to change his clothes. When he came back and was ready he said, "push". Lexi started coming and so my doctor was sort of surprised so he finished putting his gloves on quickly.
After only 3 minutes of pushing Lexi was here. Yes, only 3 minutes. I couldn't really believe it either. With Leila I pushed for 20 mintues but 3? I was my mom's quickest delivery and labor of 3 minutes but I was her 6th baby. This is only my second. So hopefully the future only brings shorter labors. hahaha. It felt so nice to have Lexi in my arms. She was born and I got to have her. Leila was taken to the NICU And it was days before I got to hold her.
Lexi is such a good baby and the nurses and CNAs did such a good job at taking care of us. I delivered Leila at Ogden Regional and Lexi at McKay Dee so the experience was completely different than I expected but it was perfect. We are glad to be home and healthy. I am a mother of 2 and loving it. Leila loves Lexi and things are going well.
Aubrey and I are so blessed to have the life we do. I don't know what I would do without Aubrey. He is the best husband and dad in the world. He supports me in what I want to do and never hesitates to do what is right. His testimony has always been so strong and it shows. Leila and Lexi are lucky to have him. I know that he loves them and will do anything for them.
Experiences like this help us to realize how much our Father in Heaven loves us. He loves us enough to let us experience parenthood and the chance to feel what He feels for us. I truly learned what it feels like to love someone one with all of my heart when I became a mother. Having two children only doubled those feelings. Knowing that they are mine and Aubrey's forever through the sealing power is AMAZING!
This also goes to show what happens when we keep the commandments and choose to follow the prophets words. Aubrey and I decided early on in our realtionship that we were going to be parents and fast. My dad always told me when talking about having children, "Always put the Lord first and he will put you first." I truly know that because of the choices I have made to put the Lord first, things in my life are easier and He's put me first. I have always known the importance of having children and not postponing one of the biggest commandments given to us. Everyday through the experiences of motherhood I am reminded of the blessings. Leila and Lexi

38 and 6

38 weeks and 6 days. I am currently dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. This doesn't mean much to me since not much change is occurring. I won't be surprised if the baby comes in June but we'll have to see. I asked my doctor how far past my due date he would let me go and he said 3 weeks! Really?! Isn't that dangerous? Anyway I just don't want to be induced and I definitely do NOT want a C-section. So things are going well and I am having contractions but nothing that hurts. They are not consistent so I don't keep track. I just notice my stomach is tightening up. And no the hospital bag is still not packed. My stuff is all just in a pile waiting to be put away.

Well that is it for now. Happy 17th Birthday to Alex and congrats to Ali finally graduating from law school!