Family Life

Anthony’s mom called tonight. I haven’t really shared much about this because, honestly, it isn’t my story to tell. But I also know there are so many families quietly walking through things like this, and sometimes sharing our struggles helps someone else feel a little less alone. Anthony’s mom has early-onset dementia. She is only 66 years old. Her own mother passed away from dementia, so this has been something the family has feared for a long time. Watching it become our r

Sam is gone this week. He headed to San Antonio for the week to celebrate his best friend's birthday, and I have to admit... I miss the kid. I cannot believe he is going to be a senior this year. How is that even possible? He'll be 17 on August 6th, but he's definitely what I call a young 17. He still doesn't have his driver's license and only recently got a job... a job he already wants to quit because wrestling starts soon. Priorities, right? This weekend Anthony decided it

I am lying next to my husband, and for the first time in almost 24 hours, he's finally asleep. I never thought the sound of someone snoring would bring me so much peace. If you follow us on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook (@durstfamilychaos), you already know Anthony had surgery yesterday. If not, here's what has been going on. Back in February, Anthony was in a car accident while he was working. A woman made a left turn right in front of him, and he T-boned her. He had the ri

Our trip is coming to an end. Saying goodbye has always been hard for me. I live for my family, and not being near them all the time is depressing. I wish I could watch Jack grow up. This trip he seemed so distant from me. For the longest time he was afraid of me, and I was so busy helping Anthony with Devun's yard that I didn't push him. I didn't want to terrorize my grandbaby. He did learn my name, though, and he calls Anthony "Papa." It's super cute! I just wish it wasn't

I can't believe it's already July. Anthony took his first week of vacation so we could come to Devun's house and help him get his home and yard back under control. We've spent the last few days working hard, tackling weeds and cleaning everything up. We did run into a little problem with the house itself, but we'll deal with that tomorrow. Today, though, is all about family. Ava came up last night from Utah. Marissa and Zuriel drove in from California. Then, of course, there'

Marissa and Zuriel flew in to celebrate Anthony's birthday and Father's Day! It was a quick trip for them, but we made sure to squeeze in as much fun as possible. Marissa was sad that Zack wasn't able to spend much time with us. He had to work, and his schedule is made weeks in advance. Thankfully, Emily brought the baby over both days so everyone could get some time together. We all went to dinner as a family at Taphouse. Zack, Emily, Marissa, Zuriel, Sam, Aubrey, Maia, Char

Yesterday I had a pool party and invited some people from work. Originally, we were going to do it on Wednesday, but the rain came in hard and fast, so I changed the date. Emily and my grandson Caleb came. Zack showed up a little later too. We sat outside under the umbrella for hours talking while the kids ran in and out of the pool. After holding Caleb for nearly two hours, I finally handed him over to Grandpa and enjoyed a few Ranch Waters while floating in the pool. It was

This little guy turned 5 yesterday. It’s hard to believe that five years ago he came into this world weighing just 5 pounds and blue as a smurf. The entire labor process, I knew something was wrong. I even asked Anthony to give me a blessing because his heart rate stayed around 125, which felt low to me. Then with every contraction, it would drop even lower. When he was born unresponsive, they called a code blue and suddenly the room filled with nurses. Everyone was working o

About a month ago, Aubrey and Ava came home from the store with a tiny kitten. The whole family instantly fell in love. Devun called her his “desk cat” because she would climb up onto his computer while he was doing his MTC work and just lay there with him while I was at work and the other kids were at school. After Devun left, she and Benny became inseparable. They would play together all the time—she would even play catch with him. The two of them really loved each other. S

I’m over here feeling sentimental. I wrote a post about my grandfather, and on Memorial Day my sister called me saying she had been thinking about him. I asked, “Did you read my blog?” She said no :( Then we started talking about all the things we used to do for him. I wish we could have talked longer, but she was at work and had to go. I probably made some of it about me — I’ll be honest, I do that sometimes. It’s one of the many faults I picked up from my mother. But that’s

This world is getting crazier and crazier every day. This morning Anthony went fishing for a little while, and when he got home we drove to Lowe’s because his mom heard they were hiring. We figured we would go put in some applications… but unfortunately they aren’t hiring at this location right now. Huge bummer. While we were there, we also tried to find more tile so we could finish a few things around the house. Of course, they no longer sell the tile we already have and are

First day of summer! Or I guess I should say… first day of NO school. I did go to work this morning, but only for about an hour. Then I came home and took a nap because last night’s sleep was terrible. Anthony didn’t come to bed until 2:30 a.m., and of course he woke me up when he came in. I am NOT kidding when I say I was outside putting chlorine and shock into the pool at 3 a.m. I just could not lay in bed awake any longer. I had plans to have friends over to swim tomorrow,

I got my house REALLY clean today! I can’t believe how much more energy I have now that I’m not throwing up all day. I started in my room, then cleaned the girls’ room, the boys’ room, the front room, and the family room. The kitchen was still looking pretty good from Saturday, but I touched it up a little too. No rest for me today! After that, I made a quick trip to Costco and only bought what we NEEDED. I still somehow spent $200, but honestly that’s WAY better than I norma

I don’t know what it is—every time I sit down to write about our life, the baby starts crying. I just sat down, and sure enough, he began to cry. Luckily, Anthony is home now and was able to take him off my hands for a few minutes. The past few weeks, Anthony has been busy working on a “big” project, which left me home alone with the kids from 5 a.m. until around 1 a.m. Those were very long days, but thankfully the project only lasted eleven days. As exhausting as it was, we

He is home! We were able to pick him up today (Sunday) at 9 a.m., although computer issues ended up delaying our discharge until around noon. It was a long wait, but I’ve learned a lot of patience through this journey. I was so grateful to have my aunt and sister here helping with the kids during that time. The last two days he was in the NICU also gave me something special—I was able to spend one-on-one time with each of my other children, really talking with them and bondin

Last night was the first night I’ve slept at home in a week. I thought I would be able to rest, but I kept hearing the baby’s oxygen machine beeping in my head—baby is still in the hospital, but my mind just wouldn’t let it go. I did wake up at 9 and called the NICU. He was feeding at the time, and his next feeding was scheduled for noon. About 45 minutes later, I got a call from the NICU saying Sammy was still crying. He had already eaten 3 oz but wouldn’t settle or fall asl

News update for baby Sammy: I’ve been going back and forth between home and the hospital to feed the baby in the NICU. Honestly, I’m practically living there right now. I come home long enough to shower, eat, and let Anthony spend some time with the baby while I spend an hour with Aubrey, who is having a really hard time with all of this, before heading right back. Since Sammy is only nursing, the hospital has allowed me to use a boarding room for the next 72 hours. I’m reall

This was written very fast, so I know there are probably still lots of errors… but here is our birth story. Labor started Wednesday morning. I had a really bad contraction followed by bleeding and all the other fun things that come with labor. My contractions were only about 10 minutes apart, so I spent most of the day in bed. Anthony still had important work things he needed to get in order, and honestly, I didn’t want him to come home until he absolutely HAD to. Later that

Just a few minutes ago, while I was editing photos, Sam came downstairs and asked me what other names we had considered naming him. I pulled out the journal I had printed and started flipping through it with him. I couldn’t believe hJust a few minutes ago, while I was editing photos, Sam came downstairs and asked me what other names we had considered naming him. I pulled out the journal I had printed and started flipping through it with him. I couldn’t believe how much histor

Anthony had to go into work today to deal with a problem, but before he left, we still managed to squeeze in our Saturday morning walk together. When we got home, I spent about an hour editing photos before heading to the gym. I ran for 30 minutes and then rushed home . Once I got home, I opened all the blinds and started editing again. Last weekend I spent almost the entire weekend working, and I didn’t want another weekend where I felt like I did nothing with the kids. So I