This blog is either obsolete or too serious. Sorry about that. The last two years have been borderline ridiculous. Of late, I cannot say how often I've stopped and thought, "Wow, I never thought this would happen to me." But why not me? I'm learning and struggling, but I'm also enjoying and having fun. I'm trying not to take life too seriously.

On that note, here's another serious post. I'll try to wrangle up something lighthearted soon. :)

Written June 17th, 2012
Our Miss Lady was born two weeks ago. Oh, she is beautiful. As I stared anxiously down into her face one night in the hospital, I felt a word impressed on my mind: "special." She is special. unique. Already her grandmothers have commented on the strength of her spirit: "She must be strong, to be willing to come to this earth in a less-than-perfect body." She has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder which we are still trying to understand. Though she is healthy, her body cannot regulate her adrenal gland adequately and so she will be on medication for the whole of her life.

We spent the first week of her life in hospitals: several days at the hospital where she was born, and then four more at the San Antonio Military Medical Center several hours away, where a team of specialists worked with her. As she was constantly being poked for blood samples and held down for ultrasounds and x-rays, she bore it all so well. Some nurses referred to her as an "angel" or "doll" baby. Those days in the hospital were long for me. I tried to follow her example and endure it well, but I often felt so alone. I know the Lord bore us up during that time, as Mike worked and cared for the boys back home. Mom's arrival at the hospital came as an immense relief. She helped process the constant onslaught of medical information and gently reminded me to watch for the Lord's hand. I was so glad to have her there. 

 Now that the initial tests are done and a diagnosis made, I am happy to be home with our family for a whole week as of today. There is still much to discuss and determine, but life is starting to move again. I've started breathing again, after holding it in for so long. Mom-in-law and other amazing women from the ward stepped in and helped with the boys. Though they regressed in potty-training and pacifier usage, they survived having me gone and are making it through the adjustments. As always, it's hard to see them confused and unhappy. What would we do without the amazing examples around us? These amazing women who came so quickly to help? I can do this. I can. I can. I can.

I love you, Miss Lady. I love your sweet, playful smile and strong spirit. I am honored--terrified, perhaps, too--but honored and blessed to be your mother. We'll figure this out together.

And we'll all be okay.

Surprise . . .

Surprise pregnancy. Yup. That's what's up around here lately.

It's a whole different game when you're not expecting it. This time, I've been much more impatient with first trimester fatigue and nausea and food aversions and mood-swings (which made them worse). We weren't positive that this was what we wanted. And we're still not positive that we can parent three children under age 4.

But, I found extreme comfort in Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk Children.
And I tore through the final pages of A Joyful Mother of Children, by Linda Eyre (which I happened to be reading at the time). She says of motherhood:

"I had been going along these past seven years being a faithful, loving mother: having children, learning the hows and whens and wheres, but not really realizing the whys! I projected myself ahead in time and tried to look at life and the childbearing years from an eternal perspective. I was startled to realize that in all eternity I would have only about twenty years in which to bear physical children on a physical earth and reap the eternal joys therein: the joy of learning to manage time and feelings and people, and the joy of molding lives and developing relationships that would help me to learn and grow forever. Only twenty years! Right now it seems like such a long time to change diapers and stand in foyers with fussy, noisy children, to prepare meals and put on bandages. Yet, . . . soon there will be only a memory of how I did, to what extent I was anxiously engaged in grasping all the joy and happiness that was there for me to find in that short time. Then it will be over---forever! I began to concentrate less on the difficulties of pregnancy and childbearing . . . I began to see it all from a new perspective: My eyes were opened, and like a warm, wooly parachute settling over me, the whys began to make themselves manifest. Having another child is a great blessing to be looked forward to with enthusiasm and excitement" (A Joyful Mother of Children; pg. 18).

To be honest, I'm still trying to focus on the whys, but we're definitely excited to meet this little person in June.

This made us giggle

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Squeeeezing in Some Fun Stuff

So I know this is picture overload. Recently I've been thinking life isn't all that exciting; we're just living the typical life-with-kids. Mike works extra hard at learning Farsi and the days are sometimes difficult and long. But sifting through our pictures I realized that we love this typical little stuff.

Monterey Fair

Winning (3) Fish

Standing at Parade Rest with Daddy's dog tags. I think he's got it down. :)

Curious about Monterey weather? This explains it.

The Monster Box meets "Ouch Charlie that really hurts."

Pulled these from our recycling. His favorite toy is Cookie Monster . . . He's hugging them. I giggled.

:)

The Oakland California Temple.

View from the Temple terrace. Hello San Francisco!

The boys were abnormally quiet while we were getting ready for church one morning. I found them like this "reading to each other."

Family Home Evening Paper Airplane Night

A "spinster" in action. (I think Mom and Dad enjoyed this activity more than the kids did.)

Party On

 

This Little Man Turned 1!!

We love him. :)