Sumer Time

In January as we are cuddled up in blankets dreaming of summer we always have grand plans!

Summer stretches out on the horizon just out of reach.

Then April hit and we started finalizing plans (I'm a planner by nature) for the summer.

By June, we were ready!

For KatieJo's birthday she got a plane ticket to fly to Denver.  She'd never been on a plane more or less on a plane. 

On June 12 we (minus Samuel who was at day camp) took KatieJo to the airport.  All 4 of us got gate passes to take her to her gate.  Maija and Phillip thought this was AWESOME!  We walked her to the gate and I tried my very hardest not to cry.  It was really a futile effort, but I tried anyway.  

She was so very excited to get on the plane.

Maija and Phillip refused to leave until we watched the plane drive out to the runway.  It took approximately 5 minutes after KatieJo got on the plane for both of them to start saying that they missed her.

Almost 2 weeks later the other 5 of us drove to Hall, MT to visit Stuart's grandmother.  We always enjoy visiting her on the ranch and our time there never seems to be enough!

After that we headed down to Denver for a week and even got to go camping in Estes Park.  As it turns out the altitude makes it VERY difficult for those of us who live at sea level to breathe!

After Colorado we spent a couple days in Idaho Falls and then left KatieJo and Samuel there with Stuart's parents.  

And we came home with two kids.  On a day to day basis I don't realize how loud my house is.  Then I only have 2 kids and all of the sudden it's like a grave yard around here!

Thankfully it didn't last long and we met Stuart's parents in Vancouver/Portland at his brother Mark's house to get the kids.  Well that and take Stuart's parents up to Seattle to see Pirates of Penzance.  LOVE that show!!  But Seattle leaves much to be desired.  It was CRAZY busy.

And now we're back home with all 4 kids.  I'm so glad!  I sure miss those kids when they're gone.

So now I'm starting to plan for the school year.  Stuart is switching jobs to the Kennewick school district, Samuel is headed to middle school and KatieJo and Phillip are homeschooling and Maija...well we're not 100% sure about what she's doing this fall but I'm planning for her school year as well.

There is a whole slew of information out there for homeschooling and I'm somewhat innundated with information right now.  But I'm getting there and I'll be ready for when Stuart heads back to school.  We're going to start our school year a tad earlier than the schools here as there are some days we'll need to take off that Samuel and Stuart won't technically have off of school.  

Dancing through life

What's been happening with us?  

For date night Stuart and I signed up to take a cha cha dance class.  This video is from the first class.  I personally think we've improved drastically since then!  We have so much fun practicing...everywhere...literally.  We took the kids to the park and we danced.  Took Samuel to the ER and we danced (there really isn't enough room to dance in an ER room however...but we tried regardless).  Turns out we LOVE to cha cha!!  The instructor attends BYU and is home for the summer and is working on getting on the BYU dance team.  

Don't mind my large rear-end!

There is a small park about a block away from our house.  The kids play there almost on a daily basis.  The city has tried since the early 1960's to take the park away for various reasons.  The latest is they wanted to put community gardens in the area.  Now, for the record none of us are opposed to community gardens, just not where the kids play.  This is the only park the kids are allowed to play at because to get to any of the other parks they have to cross very busy roads without cross walks etc.  

The kids and I walked around with a petition and had people sign to save the park and we went to the City Counsel meeting on the 21st.  We were told the kids wouldn't be allowed to speak, but we took our kids anyway.  How else are they supposed to learn to fight for what they want without being able to see how it works?  At the very end of the public comment section Samuel decided he wanted to make a comment.  You can see that here.

We were so proud of him!  

And, finally this last Saturday Samuel started complaining of stomach pain.  I ignored him at first thinking he didn't want to walk to the store with me and the other kids.  I've started keeping track of my steps each day and had about 2000 steps left for the day so walked to WINCO.  On the way back his friend and KatieJo took turns carrying him....I thought he was faking.  We got back to his friend's house where Maija had stayed and Samuel proceeded to curl into a ball and not move.  His friend Ethan jokingly took his temperature and it was 101.  At that point Lou (Ethan's mom) and I started probing Samuel's stomach.  Of course it hurt in the belly button area and towards the lower right.  So, the rest of the kids stayed at Lou's house and I took Samuel to the ER.  Stuart was on his way home with the Senior class from the Senior trip and wasn't supposed to be dropped off in the tri-cities.  At first he thought I said I was taking Samuel to the ER for a sinus infection.  It wasn't until we had been in the ER and had an IV put in and blood tests sent off and I was telling Stuart about what the plan of action was and that he may end up in surgery that Stuart figured out I had told him it could be appendicitis.  At that point he kind of freaked out and made the bus stop in Richland to let him off!

At 5 Sunday morning they told us to go home because his CAT scan didn't show anything....literally. They told us to come back at 4 for another round of blood tests.  Come to find out Samuel was in the 5% of people who's appendix doesn't show up on the CAT scan.  

So we went home, managed to get the other kids ready for Church (some very lovely people from Church picked the other 3 up and took them for us).  And then at 4 we headed back in.  Samuel spent most of the afternoon trying to convince us he didn't need to go back in.

I was VERY irritated by this point.  They put us in the non-emergency ER rooms and took some blood.  All of a sudden the doctor rushed in and told us they were going to operate that he did have appendicitis and that his white blood cell counts were up as well as his inflammation markers.  They didn't waste any time getting him up there.  

As I was calling people to let them know what was going on I talked to Lou.  She asked if there was anything she could do.  So, I asked her to bring Ethan up.  These two are inseparable.  Come to find out Ethan was scared and worried that he had done something to cause Samuel to need surgery.  

Ethan was there before he went into surgery and then stayed the night with me and Samuel in the hospital.  Ethan wouldn't even eat or drink until Samuel could.  Such a sweet boy!  

Thankfully we are on the mend (after a minor blip yesterday which resulted in Samuel being put on antibiotics.)

Now, onto SUMMER!!!! 

 Can't wait! Maija has 2 days, Stuart has 3 days and KatieJo and Samuel have 4.5!

Drops of....

I got to teach the first Sunday lesson in Young Women's two Sunday's ago.

The topic was the Atonement....kind of appropriate for the Easter season.

I found this great object lesson on Sugar Doodle (sidebar:  LOVE love LOVE Sugar Doodle!)

Drops of Awesome.

Ever heard the story?  Quick version is that we often put ourselves down and rather than do that we need to realize that we are great and that for everything we do we should get a "drop of awesome".

So I had a 2 quart bowl, 2 very small droppers and a pitcher of water.  All the girls had to do was fill the bowl with water one drop at a time for anything and everything they have done that is "awesome".

At first they were a little hesitant because apparently it's rude to get up in the middle of a lesson.  I thought this was funny, but commendable.  Towards the end of the lesson there was almost nothing in the bowl and they started to panic.  At the end of the lesson there were 3 girls trying to get as many drops into the bowl as possible.  They had even grabbed the pitcher to dump the water in.  

I stopped them and had them sit down and started talking about how our drops of awesome are great and we're great, but somehow we just can't fill the bowl.

And that's when I pulled out another pitcher of water labeled with the "Atonement".  

My eyes may have started sweating at that point.  The room was really hot...really.  

Without Jesus Christ our drops of Awesome will never fill the bowl.  We just can't be that awesome without him.  AMAZING!

So to get on with why I actually started this post.  

I had the opportunity to go to our Stake Relief Society meeting last Thursday and they had classes we could attend.  I chose to go to "Sticking with the Basics!  Getting the Gospel into our hearts & into the hearts of our children".

I often worry that I don't do enough to help my children feel close to their Heavenly Father and just my luck that's what this class was about.

The one thing that really struck me was this sister saying that she had one child who was "explosive".  I thought to myself..."Me too, Me too!"

She said that it occurred to her once that when her daughter was having a rough time she pulled her aside and when they were alone she knelt down in prayer and asked her child to kneel with her.  Her daughter of course refused for quite a while but she just waited patiently.  After a while her daughter knelt next to her and prayed.   They did this a few times and one day she was feeling overwhelmed and sent her daughter to her room without going with her.  Less than 15 minutes later her daughter came bouncing out of her room in a great mood.  Before bed that night she asked her daughter what had helped change her mood so quickly.  Her response was...I prayed mom.

WOW.

For the record, this class wasn't for anybody but me.  

Now to put the two together....

How often are we given ideas or answers to our prayers by something or someone we would least expect?  I almost didn't go.  I was tired, I still had KatieJo home recovering from surgery and I had Mutual the night before and Stuart had a school function on Friday night.  

But I did, and I'm so glad I did.  

There were a lot of other things in this class that helped, this just happens to be the one part that helped me the most.

Without the Atonement, my drops of awesome with my kids would never be full.  But, because of Christ my bowl will be filled and I CAN be a great mom!

What a blessing!

Spoiled rotten?

This past week a friend of ours found a puppy on her front porch.

She tried her hardest to find it's owners but needed a place for him to stay.

Because I have a week spot for dogs (small ones in particular), I decided that we'd foster this puppy so it didn't have to go to the pound.

Of course our friend got a call that said that the person who owned the dog had abandoned it.  

By this time the dog and KatieJo had become quite attached.  And by attached I mean he woke me up at 2 a.m. to go finder her and then proceeded to cuddle with her and DOES NOT leave her side when she is home.  And sits on the couch staring out the front window whining when she leaves.

Maija named him Sprinkles.

We weren't going to keep this dog.  

Stuart was VERY adamant that this was a temporary solution.  

Our friends' sister offered to take him as did my sister.

And then KatieJo in her quiet way BEGGED to keep him.  

I do mean quiet.  

I was the first to cave.

Then, I went to bat for her with Stuart.

My argument was that he's not technically a dog.  He's more of a rat with a lot of hair.

Stuart said he doesn't even classify as an ankle biter....he's more of a toe biter.

We both got a good laugh out of that.

In the end, she gets to keep the dog.  It's her birthday present, a really early birthday present.

She's thrilled, and chose the name Leopold.  He gets called all kinds of names...Leo, Leopold, Leopowd (Maija and Phillip can't say the second L), Sprinkles, hey boy....etc.

He is a great dog.  The only problem...he's TINY, and can fit through the gates into the backyard.

We're going to have to work on that.

Watch out for fog

Did you know that when one has a hysterectomy and they leave one ovary it can throw you into a fog?

Oh yes. 

 A FOG!

And I didn't even realize I'd been in one until I started not sleeping this last week.

Literally not sleeping...at all.

So annoying!

Therefore I called my doctor and asked to go in. 

I had to sleep!

I think they thought I was suicidal, and they kind of rushed me back in.
For the record, I wasn't. 

I just wanted to sleep...and not be in a fog!!

I also knew I couldn't remember anything and felt like doing nothing except laying in my bed trying to sleep.  

Or crying, or just being left alone.

Everything was just fuzzy and I was lucky I managed to get the kids to any of their activities.

 Then Dr.O gave me a shot of Estradiol.  

Oh LOVELY estrogen!

I woke up yesterday morning and FELT like doing something.

I actually had grand plans for my day!!

And that was after less than 24 hours.  

Apparently it can take up to a week to completely take affect.  

YAY!

I did however over do it yesterday.  

Go figure.  

 But, my head feels great!

Ah, I'm back in the land of the living.

And, I'm allowed to do some light cleaning.  

Who knew that would be exciting!?!

Mom

My mom came to take care of us this last week.

I am so GRATEFUL!  

(And not just because she's going to read this blog.)

She did all the laundry AND matched all the socks (not to mention found all the socks).  

I hate matching socks.  I'm really in favor of the mismatched socks that kids think are cool these days.  Well for the kids anyway.  I personally won't wear mismatched socks.  Come to think of it neither will Phillip.

Mom also cleaned and helped me (okay she did it, I laid on Phillip's bed) go through Maija and Phillip's clothes to get rid of the clothes and shoes that are too small.  We took about 5 trash bags full of clothes and shoes and other stuff to Goodwill.

I'm not good at loading stuff up to take to Goodwill.  

 She made dinner and drove us around.  She made the kids breakfast and took them to school.  She had a pizza lunch with all of them and talked to them about Aunt Ila (really it was a talk on table manners and that Aunt Ila would have been proud!) on Thursday and then took them all to their appointments.

I'm so very grateful for a mom who is willing and able to come take care of us when I am down, especially when Stuart had to work late 3 of the 4 days he was at work this week!

The kids were so excited to have her come.  We don't get to see her very often and it was thrilling to them that she was coming and it wasn't a holiday!  They even got the traditional "Grandma breakfast" of pop tarts and hot chocolate every day.

Stuart was excited to have her come because it meant he could go back to work.  He doesn't think he'd make a very good stay at home mom.  

And I was excited because really, when you don't feel the greatest having your mom around is all a person could ask for!

THANK YOU mom!  We Love you!!

Choose to be Happy

I can't do it.  I thought I could.
I thought I'd be able to blog about what has happened in the last 2 weeks and I can't.

Suffice it to say that I had surgery on the 27th and spent the night in the hospital.  I'm healing slowly but it's supposed to be a slow recovery.

I'm Choosing to be Happy.
I wasn't sure if I could be.  But after visiting with our Bishop and receiving some great advice:
"Don't forget to put your faith in the Lord."
I'm going to be happy.

Funny how being reminded of something so basic when you are facing something you don't know if you can handle helps to reign in the fears.

So, I'm choosing to be Happy and grateful that I have the family I have.
I have 4 beautiful children.
And one very wonderful husband.
And a heap of friends.