Reunion-ing!

Wow, 10 years!? This weekend is really my ten year high school reunion!? In a lot of ways it seems like yesterday I was in high school. When I get together with my cute high school buddies (which isn't often enough) it's like we haven't skipped a beat. But then when I think about all the things that have changed since then, it seems like forever. I mean, we didn't even have our own cell phones in high school and now I have third graders in my class that have their own cell phones! Things have changed a little.

I'm excited to go reminisce this weekend. I hope a lot of friends can make it. There are a lot of people I'd love to see. High school was fun...I'm okay that it's over...but it was great while it lasted. :) Enjoy a couple pics from then & now:

Then . . .

Choir Tour

Hanging out at my parents' house after a dance

5th Ward Seminary Graduates

Hanging out at my grandparents' cabin

Another choir tour

And now . . .

This was a couple weeks ago at a baby shower for my good friend, Alisha. Not everyone was able to make it, but we had so much fun!

Even though we don't see each other often, I'm so glad I've been able to keep in contact with so many special friends. Love you guys!

Hello!

Yeah, it's definitely been a while since I've participated in this side of the blog world. I've checked out all your blogs, but haven't really put anything real out there myself! Well it's time for a little Peterson Update I suppose.

Things are really great for us right now. As many of you know, Mikey has suffered with kidney stones for years (literally...his first one was in 5th grade!). It's been super hard. Finding a doctor/solution has been a struggle. We knew (hoped) there must be a solution out there somewhere, but for so long no one really knew what to do. We even saw a really talented urologist in Salt Lake who, after a lot of examination and tests, finally basically said, "Well, when you're ready to have your kidney cut out, let me know!"

But, to make a long story short, there have been a couple things lately that have made a huge difference. The first one is that Mikey was referred to a pain specialist who performs spinal blocks to basically freeze the nerves in the area where you have chronic pain. Mikey has now had this procedure done a couple times and it's worked! In fact, in the past few months since he had his last block in December he has passed probably about 8 kidney stones without hardly any pain!

The second thing that has really made a difference is a solution that my sister Lynette found. She was researching online one night about possible things that could help Mikey and she happened across a center in Michigan that had some holistic remedies for him. So Mikey and I have spent quite a bit of time in Michigan over the past few months and now we have some solutions. It's so cool.

As a whole, life has always been great, often hard the past few years, but great. And I don't really want to say, "Phew, I'm glad I'm done with that trial," because who knows if it's really over. But it's a heck of a lot better than it has been! So, that's the update. Life is great.

Here are a couple pictures from the recent past. Mikey and I got to go to California over Spring Break to visit his brother, Rusty and his girls. I have to say it was pretty fun to be basking in the sun while it was snowing back home.

Also, make sure you check out Mikey's blog. He's getting back in the saddle, too!
http://mikeyandkarie.wordpress.com/

While at Disneyland, Mikey got to talk to Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo,

who nicknamed him "Malibu Mike."

Other Southern California adventures:

Outdoors with Jason Mraz

My Parents on the News: KSL News Story on Mongolia!

A few days ago my 83 year old Grandma Verda called my sister, Lynette, telling her that after she had read a recent USA Today article on the National Disaster facing Mongolia (where my parents are serving as the humanitarian aid directors) she thought it was time Utah heard what was going on. She took matters into her own hands and sat down and wrote an e-mail to our local news stations but she wasn't sure how long it would take for it to reach the people it needed to so she decided it would be more efficient to just call them. She gave them my parents as a contact and within 24 hours KSL News called my parents in the middle of the night (since there is a 15 hour time difference) and interviewed my dad. Above is the news clip that aired last night.

As stated in the video clip this situation in Mongolia is a huge problem. My parents have been able to grant 3 states in Mongolia with financial aid from the LDS Church Humanitarian funds. This will help the herdsmen providing them with food, clothing, and grain for the animals. There are actually groups in Mongolian who are making covers to help prevent the animals from freezing. The following is the article written by Jennifer Stagg.

Also, for those interested in seeing more of what my parents are up to, here is a link to their blog. They always love a little note or comment from family and friends!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Utah missionary: Mongolians hit hard by harsh winter
February 26th, 2010 @ 10:45pm
By Jennifer Stagg

SALT LAKE CITY -- Like many parts of the world, people in Mongolia are experiencing a heavy winter. But in a country where much of the population lives in remote areas as livestock herders, this is more than some extra snow -- it's become life or death.

Though the country is used to extreme winters, this one has been devastating.

"They say it's the worst they've had in 30 years," Richard Lasson says.

Lasson and his wife are serving a humanitarian mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mongolia.

The country is having a weather phenomenon known by locals as a "dzud" -- a summer drought followed by a terrible winter with heavy snow.

"They went into the winter unprepared because they weren't able to have enough hay stocked up for their animals, and then the animals weren't that fat because they didn't have that much food in the summer time; and so now they've got a real severe winter; and so a lot of the country is covered with heavy snow, and they've had temperatures as low as 58 degrees below zero," Lasson says.

Nearly 40 percent of Mongolia's population is livestock herders, and close to 2.7 million livestock animals have died so far. Analysts predict another 3 million to 4 million animals could die before the end of the year.

The snow has also made getting medical attention to those in need nearly impossible.

"These people are losing their livelihood, and they've had several pregnant mothers pass away. They've had children, babies -- they cannot get to hospital help when they need it," Lasson says.

West Jordan resident Garrett Wilson served an LDS Mission in Mongolia, and his wife is Mongolian.

"Mongolia is just such a poor place that when they have an event like this happen, it's something that they can't really help themselves out of," Wilson says.

Wilson's wife has family still living there. He says the people rely heavily on foreign aid in disasters, and the worst of this one may be yet to come.

"They have all of these dead carcasses lying around, that are frozen right now, but when the weather starts to warm up, those carcasses will start to rot; so that's going to be a big problem," Lasson says.

There are still several more months of winter left in Mongolia. When it does start to get warmer, there could be outbreaks of disease from the dead animals, and also flooding.

Friday, the LDS Church released a statement to KSL News about the situation in Mongolia. It reads: "In response to severe winter weather in Mongolia the Church is partnering with Mongolian officials to distribute food, clothing, medicine, candles, fuel, and hygiene items to herder families and is providing funding to repair broken heating systems in school dormitories."

If you would like to help the people in Mongolia, Lasson suggests donating to the LDS Church's Humanitarian Fund, UNICEF or The American Red Cross and specify you want the funds to go to Mongolia.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Happy Anniversary, Mikey.

I have loved starting eternity with you.

Here's to 5 years . . . and counting.

I love you.
Yours 'til butter-flies,
Karie

Happy Suprise!

This morning I woke up to this beautiful surprise!
About three inches of fresh, white snow coupled with blue skies . . .
. . . but this was the BEST surprise of the morning! Our driveway and walkways were all cleared. Our bishop received a snowplow attachment for his four-wheeler for Christmas. Now, every time it snows he's out there like a little kid with a new toy. He's all smiles as he goes around helping people. Thank you, Bishop. That was so sweet!

Christmas Lights

One of my favorite Christmas activities is going downtown to see the Christmas lights. I just love the atmosphere of downtown at Christmas time. It's so happy and festive. This year my Grandma Verda booked a week in a condo that was right across the street from the Conference Center. She didn't stay down there the whole week, so she let Mikey and me stay down there for a night, which happened to be the night they turned the lights on at Temple Square. So a lot of my family met up to walk around and see the lights and then go back to the condo for donuts and hot chocolate. After everyone went home, Mikey and I even went out for another walk--just the two of us. I can't image a better night to bring in the Christmas Season.
This was the view from the outside of the condo.

Back-tracking!

Before the BYU v. Utah game!
During the BYU v. Utah game!
And after the BYU v. Utah game! :)