Lots has been going on the past few weeks. Mainly, for the kids. I think they are having a very fun summer. Unfortunately, I have been terrible with taking pictures and documenting.
So, here is a list of what the kids have been up to, and some of what Ben and I have been doing too.
Swimming lessons for two weeks.
Grandma JoJo came for a week and took them to Deer Creek Reservoir, McDonalds twice, the snow shack, shopping for a new toy at Kings, the park numerous times, and they also played here at our house in between. We love visits from JoJo.
Grandpa Lonnie came for a day, and gave us a tour of the Lonnie hotel (his camper).
Dan and Kristen and their two kids came this weekend also and we visited, played, went to Dairy Keen, went to the Classic fun center and did the bounce houses, jungle rooms and roller skating, and we also went swimming in Kamas.
Our neighbors did the monthly outside movie, this month was Bedtime Stories. Mary and Sam loved it.
Our ward was split a week ago, and our half of the ward was created into a brand new ward. We are now the Daniel 2nd ward. We are happy to still know everyone in our ward, and relieved to now have a normal size ward to get to know and be a part of. Everyone in our old ward was released from all callings.
Ben was released from the Elder's Quorum Presidency, and I was released as a primary teacher. Ben was called to the Sunday School Presidency of this new ward a few days ago. I am still awaiting my new calling.
Mary went to a 4 hour Spa night Birthday party, and had the time of her life.
Karate, tumbling and cheer are still in full swing.
Yard work, yard work, yard work.
Lots of play dates with friends.
Sam has created some crazy high bike jumps, and flies over them.
Family reading of The Indian in the Cupboard.
OB appointments every 2 weeks for me. This has been an extremely long pregnancy for me, particularly this last trimester.
Naturally, I am hot, tired and uncomfortable. I have had a couple breakdowns, and my nerves are hanging by a thread, but I am trying my hardest to hang in there. It is not easy.
Carb starve is still as miserable as ever, but at least there is somewhat of an end in sight.
My list of foods I plan on eating once this is over is getting pretty long.
Cereal, homemade oreos, and my mom's homemade pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting are still on top of the list.
This list, along with picturing my little girl safely in my arms, keeps me going some days.
Sunday hikes/walks in the mountains.
Mary went boating with the neighbors and flew all over the waves on their tube. She loved it.
Playing outside in the cool evenings with friends.
I painted our room, wallpapered our room, painted the bathroom, and am hoping to finish a few more projects.
And I am sure there is a lot more I have forgotten.
Up next is the K&K family reunion this weekend, my family staying with us next week, Lagoon, swimming, my sisters wedding and reception the following week, hopefully getting top soil in the yard, and hopefully FINALLY getting the backsplash put up somewhere in between there, and then school starts August 19th. (3weeks from today)
We are going out of this summer with a bang!
This Is Where It All Begins
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
about time
As I mentioned in a previous post, our washing machine broke, and eventually led to flooding our house in our effort to fix it. We bought the washing machine used, about 5 years ago. It was small, clunky, loud, and ready to bite the dust.
Our dryer hasn't really worked in about a year. It would just tumble clothes around for hours, until they just kind of dried themselves. We have needed a new set for a while now, but other priorities have taken it's place. It really has been about time.
The timing wasn't the greatest for our machine to finally bite it, (as we are trying so hard to finish our yard, and a new machine and dryer are not cheap) but I certainly will not complain about the AWESOME new washing machine and dryer that came out of it all.
Just spend one week doing 6 people's worth of laundry at the creepy Laundromat, driving back and forth, juggling kids, being stared at by creepy people, paying lots and lots of quarters, and even the worst washing machine, as long as it is in your own house, will feel like gold!
For me, the arrival of these beauties was so very exciting that I should be embarrassed, but I'm not, I am just flat out thrilled.
The washing machine is huge, and did all of our laundry in 2 loads! It is computer operated, so I got to just push buttons and pick out the cycles I wanted. It was awesome! It cleaned our clothes so thoroughly that I didn't recognize some of our clothes, because the colors actually showed up again.
The dryer dried everything in one cycle! AND, they both play a cute little song to tell me the laundry is done.
As I was doing laundry last night, and commenting on how grateful I was to finally have a machine again, I commented to Ben that the pioneers were probably laughing at how helpless I felt without one this past week. It's amazing what we get used to having, and soon can't live without. We are a very blessed generation.
I was so excited to do our laundry, that I have been washing everything I can think of.
Then, this morning, as I dumped another load out onto our bed, I realized that the washing machine does not fold and put away the laundry for me.....and I was staring a huge mountain of clean laundry in the face.
I can fold the laundry, but taking it up the stairs is another story right now.
Oh well, my kids are well trained, and have two legs that can run clean laundry to it's proper place faster than you can say "slow pregnant momma."
I think the only person that loves our new washing machine and dryer more than me is Luke. The washing machine lid has a window, and when I did the first load, Luke sat on the machine and stared in the window as long as I would let him. When I took him down, he bawled, so back up he went.
He now asks me daily if he can watch the "machine". He knows something awesome when he sees it!
Our dryer hasn't really worked in about a year. It would just tumble clothes around for hours, until they just kind of dried themselves. We have needed a new set for a while now, but other priorities have taken it's place. It really has been about time.
The timing wasn't the greatest for our machine to finally bite it, (as we are trying so hard to finish our yard, and a new machine and dryer are not cheap) but I certainly will not complain about the AWESOME new washing machine and dryer that came out of it all.
Just spend one week doing 6 people's worth of laundry at the creepy Laundromat, driving back and forth, juggling kids, being stared at by creepy people, paying lots and lots of quarters, and even the worst washing machine, as long as it is in your own house, will feel like gold!
For me, the arrival of these beauties was so very exciting that I should be embarrassed, but I'm not, I am just flat out thrilled.
The washing machine is huge, and did all of our laundry in 2 loads! It is computer operated, so I got to just push buttons and pick out the cycles I wanted. It was awesome! It cleaned our clothes so thoroughly that I didn't recognize some of our clothes, because the colors actually showed up again.
The dryer dried everything in one cycle! AND, they both play a cute little song to tell me the laundry is done.
As I was doing laundry last night, and commenting on how grateful I was to finally have a machine again, I commented to Ben that the pioneers were probably laughing at how helpless I felt without one this past week. It's amazing what we get used to having, and soon can't live without. We are a very blessed generation.
I was so excited to do our laundry, that I have been washing everything I can think of.
Then, this morning, as I dumped another load out onto our bed, I realized that the washing machine does not fold and put away the laundry for me.....and I was staring a huge mountain of clean laundry in the face.
I can fold the laundry, but taking it up the stairs is another story right now.
Oh well, my kids are well trained, and have two legs that can run clean laundry to it's proper place faster than you can say "slow pregnant momma."
I think the only person that loves our new washing machine and dryer more than me is Luke. The washing machine lid has a window, and when I did the first load, Luke sat on the machine and stared in the window as long as I would let him. When I took him down, he bawled, so back up he went.
He now asks me daily if he can watch the "machine". He knows something awesome when he sees it!
32 week appointment
I had another OB appointment today. Ben is out of town, so I found a sitter, and went on my way.
I saw Dr. Clark again. The poor guy looked like the living dead. He has been here 2 weeks now. He was up until 3:30 in the morning delivering a baby. He just moved his family of 5 kids, and I'm sure his wife isn't loving his crazy schedule either. He didn't get a lunch break, so he was literally stuffing his face between seeing patients. He looked hashed to say the least.
He was very happy with my blood sugar numbers I gave him. I have been recording them the past 2 weeks, and have to continue to record them until the baby arrives. It is a pain, but it does tell a lot. I was relieved that so far, my placenta is responding well to this horrible diet, and isn't going totally psycho at the moment and forcing me to take medication to control the diabetes. That can happen though, and I am ready for it. There is no way to prevent it, it just happens, or it doesn't. For now though, all is well in gestational diabetes land.
The baby caught back up to where she should be. FEW! She didn't grow much in June when I had the flu, and got about 3 weeks behind schedule. Today, she was right on target, and gave the Doppler machine a swift kick, to let us all know that she is doing fine.
I gained a pound, which is actually a good thing. I lost too much weight with the flu, and the doctor was hoping I could gain at least a couple pounds back by this appointment. One pound was progress.
I haven't quite gained 20 pounds yet this pregnancy (I've gained 17) and I am 8 months along today. Normally I have gained about 30 by now. As long as the baby is fine, I am thrilled with this. Less weight to have to work off after the pregnancy. It is probably the ONLY thing I like about this carb starve diet.
The joke is that I will gain all the weight after the delivery, because I will make up for all of the carbs I have been deprived of and stuff my face. I have a plan I mind to avoid this, but still be able to eat the foods I have been missing for so long now. It's all about balance and moderation.
Of course, as the end gets closer, I am starting to worry.
What if I really do have placenta acreta? After all, three doctors thought I had it, one said I didn't. We are going with his diagnosis.
What if the baby is really a boy?
What if the diabetes is effecting her more than we know, and I have a 12 pounder at birth, or end up with a C-section because she is so big?
What if she is still breech?
What if all of the genetic testing missed something?
What if the flu caused her permanent damage of some sort?
What if, what if what if.
I had planned on asking Dr. Clark all of this, but one look in his saggy red eyes, and I knew it wasn't the time. He was doing his best, but I could tell he was barely hanging in there.
I only asked him about the placenta acreta, because that would put my life on the line when it is time to deliver, and is very scary to me. I want to know for sure, if we should be ready for some very serious complications, a C-section and a hysterectomy.
He told me to tell the doctors and nurses about it when I go into labor, make sure I deliver in Park City not Heber, and they will have to take the necessary precautions. Other than that, it is too late to do anything. Not very comforting, but oh well. I am putting God in charge of this one.
I will push the doctor harder in a couple weeks with my other concerns. I would prefer to have one more ultrasound, to ease all of these fears.
Other than that, I am just counting down the days and trying hard to hang in there until we get to meet our sweet baby. 8 more weeks to go.
I saw Dr. Clark again. The poor guy looked like the living dead. He has been here 2 weeks now. He was up until 3:30 in the morning delivering a baby. He just moved his family of 5 kids, and I'm sure his wife isn't loving his crazy schedule either. He didn't get a lunch break, so he was literally stuffing his face between seeing patients. He looked hashed to say the least.
He was very happy with my blood sugar numbers I gave him. I have been recording them the past 2 weeks, and have to continue to record them until the baby arrives. It is a pain, but it does tell a lot. I was relieved that so far, my placenta is responding well to this horrible diet, and isn't going totally psycho at the moment and forcing me to take medication to control the diabetes. That can happen though, and I am ready for it. There is no way to prevent it, it just happens, or it doesn't. For now though, all is well in gestational diabetes land.
The baby caught back up to where she should be. FEW! She didn't grow much in June when I had the flu, and got about 3 weeks behind schedule. Today, she was right on target, and gave the Doppler machine a swift kick, to let us all know that she is doing fine.
I gained a pound, which is actually a good thing. I lost too much weight with the flu, and the doctor was hoping I could gain at least a couple pounds back by this appointment. One pound was progress.
I haven't quite gained 20 pounds yet this pregnancy (I've gained 17) and I am 8 months along today. Normally I have gained about 30 by now. As long as the baby is fine, I am thrilled with this. Less weight to have to work off after the pregnancy. It is probably the ONLY thing I like about this carb starve diet.
The joke is that I will gain all the weight after the delivery, because I will make up for all of the carbs I have been deprived of and stuff my face. I have a plan I mind to avoid this, but still be able to eat the foods I have been missing for so long now. It's all about balance and moderation.
Of course, as the end gets closer, I am starting to worry.
What if I really do have placenta acreta? After all, three doctors thought I had it, one said I didn't. We are going with his diagnosis.
What if the baby is really a boy?
What if the diabetes is effecting her more than we know, and I have a 12 pounder at birth, or end up with a C-section because she is so big?
What if she is still breech?
What if all of the genetic testing missed something?
What if the flu caused her permanent damage of some sort?
What if, what if what if.
I had planned on asking Dr. Clark all of this, but one look in his saggy red eyes, and I knew it wasn't the time. He was doing his best, but I could tell he was barely hanging in there.
I only asked him about the placenta acreta, because that would put my life on the line when it is time to deliver, and is very scary to me. I want to know for sure, if we should be ready for some very serious complications, a C-section and a hysterectomy.
He told me to tell the doctors and nurses about it when I go into labor, make sure I deliver in Park City not Heber, and they will have to take the necessary precautions. Other than that, it is too late to do anything. Not very comforting, but oh well. I am putting God in charge of this one.
I will push the doctor harder in a couple weeks with my other concerns. I would prefer to have one more ultrasound, to ease all of these fears.
Other than that, I am just counting down the days and trying hard to hang in there until we get to meet our sweet baby. 8 more weeks to go.
swimming lessons
We just finished the first session of swimming lessons this summer.
It was two weeks, four days each week.
Doesn't sound like much, but when you have to get everyone up, fed and ready to go, pretty early in the morning, drive to Kamas, hold a 2 year old while being 8 months pregnant, and have kids in classes at different times, it can get a little nuts.
Overall though, it was a good experience.
Mary did a diving class, and absolutely LOVED it!
She dove off the diving board for the first time.
And by the end of the session, she was diving BACKWARDS off the diving board and doing flips off of it.
Sam started the session not really being able to swim.
He ended the session swimming across the deep end!!!
He has been afraid of the deep end, so I was extremely proud of him. Even better, he was proud of himself!
William had a blast learning different swimming strokes and playing Mr. Wolf. He grinned through every single class, and was just happy to be there.
It was two weeks, four days each week.
Doesn't sound like much, but when you have to get everyone up, fed and ready to go, pretty early in the morning, drive to Kamas, hold a 2 year old while being 8 months pregnant, and have kids in classes at different times, it can get a little nuts.
Overall though, it was a good experience.
Mary did a diving class, and absolutely LOVED it!
She dove off the diving board for the first time.
Sam started the session not really being able to swim.
He ended the session swimming across the deep end!!!
William had a blast learning different swimming strokes and playing Mr. Wolf. He grinned through every single class, and was just happy to be there.
Luke was actually pretty good at sitting my lap during the boys lessons and watching the cleaning guy vacuum the floors. Then I would take the boys to the bleachers where we would eat snacks and watch the rest of Mary's diving class, before heading home.
By the end of the session, we had this swimming lesson thing down to a science.
They start the next session in a week. I can't wait to see the improvement that will bring.
Hooray for swimming!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
4th of july
This year we decided to go to Pocatello for the 4th of July.
Growing up, this was one of my absolute most favorite holidays. It was full of tradition, boating, parades, ward flag raising and 5000 calorie breakfast, cousins, firework shows, fireworks after the show, and everything in between.
I have always loved the feeling of patriotism, and reflecting on how blessed I am to live in a free country, and how thankful I am for those who made that possible.
It was really fun to go back to Pocatello this year, and let my children get a taste of all of this as well.
We got in to Pocatello really, really late Thursday night, so we opted out of the ward breakfast and flag raising.
Mary did go to the parade though, with some of my family, and had a great time.
After the parade, we got out the pool, and let the kids have a blast playing in my parents amazing back yard and water toys.
The Tyhee ward I grew up in was having their 100 year celebration, so we headed over to the church for lunch, and games.
They had the traditional greased pole climb. They have done this every year I can remember. I have lots of memories of my brothers and numerous other children trying over and over and over again to climb the metal pole completely covered in grease, with envelopes of money taped to the top.
We sat and watched numerous kids and teenagers of all ages try and try again. The grease was so slippery, it was crazy! Then, Mary and Sam asked if they could try. Why not?
Sam gave it a good solid effort. We have a picture of him, but I don't have it on here yet.
Next, it was Mary. She got further than anyone had up to that point, and received lots of cheers, exclamations of shock and applause.
Then, she tried again...and made it! She got the $20 envelope, and lots of people very surprised that a 9 year old little girl could do that. I was not surprised. I have seen Mary climb a 40 foot rope numerous times in gymnastics.
After more people tried, and finally got the other envelopes, they decided to let Mary and the other kids who made it to the top, try it again, to earn $100.
Mary made it, and the others were too tired, but they let some boys try it, and 2 of them made it, so they split it 3 ways. Mary walked away with $56! Pretty cool!
After lunch, we all played in the yard some more, and then it was off to Fort Hall to buy fireworks!
Fort Hall is an indian reservation, so we can get the really "cool" fireworks there.
The kids also got some fun rides on Bop's new motorcycle.
Then it was off to the firework show. It was the best one I have seen so far in Pocatello, and the kids thought it was awesome! Luke could hardly stand it, he thought it was so amazing. He yelled, and hollered and clapped through the whole thing. It was adorable.
William actually slept through it, but he did like what he saw.
We came back after the show and had our own firework show in my parent's backyard. This is always a favorite of mine, and I was happy to see that the kids loved it as well! William and Ben slept through it. Two peas in a pod.
The next day was boating! We loaded up all sorts of yummy food and headed to the reservoir.
Luke and William loved the boat, and Mary and Sam got more and more brave on the tube. In fact, they actually went all the way out, went faster, and even hit waves hard enough to fall off.
No tears, just lots of laughing and shouts of joy!
We all came home from boating and crashed. Some of us crashed before we even made it home.
We had to wake up very early in order to get back home to Heber in order to fulfill church callings.
Pretty packed, fun filled weekend! It was awesome.
Happy 4th of July!
Growing up, this was one of my absolute most favorite holidays. It was full of tradition, boating, parades, ward flag raising and 5000 calorie breakfast, cousins, firework shows, fireworks after the show, and everything in between.
I have always loved the feeling of patriotism, and reflecting on how blessed I am to live in a free country, and how thankful I am for those who made that possible.
It was really fun to go back to Pocatello this year, and let my children get a taste of all of this as well.
We got in to Pocatello really, really late Thursday night, so we opted out of the ward breakfast and flag raising.
Mary did go to the parade though, with some of my family, and had a great time.
After the parade, we got out the pool, and let the kids have a blast playing in my parents amazing back yard and water toys.
The Tyhee ward I grew up in was having their 100 year celebration, so we headed over to the church for lunch, and games.
They had the traditional greased pole climb. They have done this every year I can remember. I have lots of memories of my brothers and numerous other children trying over and over and over again to climb the metal pole completely covered in grease, with envelopes of money taped to the top.
We sat and watched numerous kids and teenagers of all ages try and try again. The grease was so slippery, it was crazy! Then, Mary and Sam asked if they could try. Why not?
Sam gave it a good solid effort. We have a picture of him, but I don't have it on here yet.
Next, it was Mary. She got further than anyone had up to that point, and received lots of cheers, exclamations of shock and applause.
Then, she tried again...and made it! She got the $20 envelope, and lots of people very surprised that a 9 year old little girl could do that. I was not surprised. I have seen Mary climb a 40 foot rope numerous times in gymnastics.
After more people tried, and finally got the other envelopes, they decided to let Mary and the other kids who made it to the top, try it again, to earn $100.
Mary made it, and the others were too tired, but they let some boys try it, and 2 of them made it, so they split it 3 ways. Mary walked away with $56! Pretty cool!
Fort Hall is an indian reservation, so we can get the really "cool" fireworks there.
The kids also got some fun rides on Bop's new motorcycle.
Then it was off to the firework show. It was the best one I have seen so far in Pocatello, and the kids thought it was awesome! Luke could hardly stand it, he thought it was so amazing. He yelled, and hollered and clapped through the whole thing. It was adorable.
William actually slept through it, but he did like what he saw.
We came back after the show and had our own firework show in my parent's backyard. This is always a favorite of mine, and I was happy to see that the kids loved it as well! William and Ben slept through it. Two peas in a pod.
The next day was boating! We loaded up all sorts of yummy food and headed to the reservoir.
Luke and William loved the boat, and Mary and Sam got more and more brave on the tube. In fact, they actually went all the way out, went faster, and even hit waves hard enough to fall off.
No tears, just lots of laughing and shouts of joy!
We all came home from boating and crashed. Some of us crashed before we even made it home.
We had to wake up very early in order to get back home to Heber in order to fulfill church callings.
Pretty packed, fun filled weekend! It was awesome.
Happy 4th of July!
Monday, July 7, 2014
phone
Thursday was the day we decided to head to Pocatello for some 4th of July fun. We planned on taking off when Ben got home from work...around 5:30.
It was a big day of packing, a stress test for the baby, cleaning, running errands, and just the usual.
I was just finishing up loading all of our luggage into the car, and waiting for Ben to pull in any minute, when Ben called me from a random phone number.
He had been mountain biking, and had lost his phone somewhere on the trail. He was headed back to the trail to look for it. I could either wait several hours for him to come home, or I could drive to Poky with the kids, and he would come later.
Both scenarios weren't exactly great.
We decided that I would drive to Poky with the kids, and Ben would come later.
As I loaded the kids into the car, I realized the significance of Ben's phone being lost. His contacts, phone numbers, and so on were replaceable. His phone was insured. Those things weren't a big deal, just an inconvenience for a few days
The part that made my heart drop was remembering the videos Ben has on his phone.
He has numerous videos of William telling stories, Luke seeing his first vacuum, and several other absolutely priceless moments, that we all love to watch all the time. Knowing these were lost was extremely sad for all of us. They are abnormally precious videos.
The kids and I said a prayer that somehow Ben's phone would be found, and headed out the door.
I decided to just drive up to where Ben was, bring him a packed suitcase, and have him get in our car to come to Poky with us. I had no way to get ahold of him to tell him that, so I just had to hope the timing worked out.
The problem was, I wasn't exactly sure where he was. I drove to 2 different ski resorts and drove all around looking for his car. The kids were a wreck by this point, and starving, so I got them dinner and tried to figure out what to do.
I drove around a little more, and Ben called from another phone. He was in the place where we were! He didn't find his phone. We were all pretty sad. Luckily though, the timing worked out, and we were able to pick up Ben, leave his car at another resort, put his bike on our car, get a second dinner for Ben and the kids that were supposedly still hungry, and finally get on the road.
Needless to say, we got to Pocatello extremely late.
Ben was sure his phone was long gone. Probably in the bushes or trees along a trail that is miles long. The chances of someone just happening to see it were slim to none.
We prayed anyway.
A couple days later, I got a call on my phone, and it was from Ben's phone! Ben answered it, but just as he did, his phone died, and he was not able to talk to anyone.
It did give us hope that someone had found it though!
The kids and I had another prayer that whoever found his phone would be honest and turn it in, or find a way to charge it and call again.
We waited and waited. Nothing happened.
Then, on our way to go boating, and less than an hour before losing reception, I got a voicemail from the lost and found at the Canyon's, where Ben lost his phone. They had Ben's phone! Someone had turned it in!
Ben had to track down the person that actually had it, and told them to put it somewhere where he could get it on our way home.
It was a HUGE blessing, and a big answer to our prayers. I was so thankful that our kids were able to experience such a miracle and answer to prayers.
Later, we learned that one of Ben's clients had called Ben, and some person answered it and told Ben's client that they had Ben's phone. Ben's client then sent Ben a message on Facebook that his phone had been found.
Ben had not seen the message yet, but it was pretty cool that there had been more than one avenue created for Ben to be able to recover his phone.
It was also the 4th of July weekend, and the Canyon's was having a HUGE gathering of some sort. People were everywhere during the time his phone was gone, and anyone could have stolen it, stepped on it, or accidentally kicked it aside and lost it even more. We are so grateful that whoever found it was honest.
We really wish we knew who it was and where it was found. We would love to know the story. The odds just seemed so slim.
On our way home from Pocatello on Sunday, we stopped at the Canyon's, and Ben was able to get his phone. No damage, scratches, water marks, or anything. Just one giant picture of Williams adorable laughing baby face right on the front screen.
What a miracle.
I plan on downloading all of those videos onto our computer tomorrow. We are all very grateful for a second chance to have those back!
It was a big day of packing, a stress test for the baby, cleaning, running errands, and just the usual.
I was just finishing up loading all of our luggage into the car, and waiting for Ben to pull in any minute, when Ben called me from a random phone number.
He had been mountain biking, and had lost his phone somewhere on the trail. He was headed back to the trail to look for it. I could either wait several hours for him to come home, or I could drive to Poky with the kids, and he would come later.
Both scenarios weren't exactly great.
We decided that I would drive to Poky with the kids, and Ben would come later.
As I loaded the kids into the car, I realized the significance of Ben's phone being lost. His contacts, phone numbers, and so on were replaceable. His phone was insured. Those things weren't a big deal, just an inconvenience for a few days
The part that made my heart drop was remembering the videos Ben has on his phone.
He has numerous videos of William telling stories, Luke seeing his first vacuum, and several other absolutely priceless moments, that we all love to watch all the time. Knowing these were lost was extremely sad for all of us. They are abnormally precious videos.
The kids and I said a prayer that somehow Ben's phone would be found, and headed out the door.
I decided to just drive up to where Ben was, bring him a packed suitcase, and have him get in our car to come to Poky with us. I had no way to get ahold of him to tell him that, so I just had to hope the timing worked out.
The problem was, I wasn't exactly sure where he was. I drove to 2 different ski resorts and drove all around looking for his car. The kids were a wreck by this point, and starving, so I got them dinner and tried to figure out what to do.
I drove around a little more, and Ben called from another phone. He was in the place where we were! He didn't find his phone. We were all pretty sad. Luckily though, the timing worked out, and we were able to pick up Ben, leave his car at another resort, put his bike on our car, get a second dinner for Ben and the kids that were supposedly still hungry, and finally get on the road.
Needless to say, we got to Pocatello extremely late.
Ben was sure his phone was long gone. Probably in the bushes or trees along a trail that is miles long. The chances of someone just happening to see it were slim to none.
We prayed anyway.
A couple days later, I got a call on my phone, and it was from Ben's phone! Ben answered it, but just as he did, his phone died, and he was not able to talk to anyone.
It did give us hope that someone had found it though!
The kids and I had another prayer that whoever found his phone would be honest and turn it in, or find a way to charge it and call again.
We waited and waited. Nothing happened.
Then, on our way to go boating, and less than an hour before losing reception, I got a voicemail from the lost and found at the Canyon's, where Ben lost his phone. They had Ben's phone! Someone had turned it in!
Ben had to track down the person that actually had it, and told them to put it somewhere where he could get it on our way home.
It was a HUGE blessing, and a big answer to our prayers. I was so thankful that our kids were able to experience such a miracle and answer to prayers.
Later, we learned that one of Ben's clients had called Ben, and some person answered it and told Ben's client that they had Ben's phone. Ben's client then sent Ben a message on Facebook that his phone had been found.
Ben had not seen the message yet, but it was pretty cool that there had been more than one avenue created for Ben to be able to recover his phone.
It was also the 4th of July weekend, and the Canyon's was having a HUGE gathering of some sort. People were everywhere during the time his phone was gone, and anyone could have stolen it, stepped on it, or accidentally kicked it aside and lost it even more. We are so grateful that whoever found it was honest.
We really wish we knew who it was and where it was found. We would love to know the story. The odds just seemed so slim.
On our way home from Pocatello on Sunday, we stopped at the Canyon's, and Ben was able to get his phone. No damage, scratches, water marks, or anything. Just one giant picture of Williams adorable laughing baby face right on the front screen.
What a miracle.
I plan on downloading all of those videos onto our computer tomorrow. We are all very grateful for a second chance to have those back!
baby
So, the same day as the flood in the house, I had an OB appointment.
There is a new doctor working in the office, and I was scheduled to see him. He is not new to the field, just new to this office.
I was not excited about seeing a new doctor, and was scared not to be with the one I have seen all along. I just wanted to get the appointment over with, and get back to my regular doctor.
From the first few minutes he walked in, I felt a really big sense of comfort around him concerning the rest of this pregnancy. I got the feeling that Dr. Sabella, the one I have seen up to this point, and the one that has literally saved this pregnancy and baby time and time again, has done what she needed to do for me and our little girl. I felt like this guy would need to be the one to see it the rest of the way through. It was an interesting twist to my idea of how things would go, and of course very unexpected, but I know in my heart, it is right.
He is extremely educated in gestational diabetes, the one thing that doctor Sabella admittedly doesn't know a ton about. She is pretty much amazing with everything else. She is a high risk specialist after all, and worked miracles for us through divine guidance and her own skill and knowledge.
Ironically, gestational diabetes causes the most problems from 30 weeks or any time after. I was 30 weeks exactly at this appointment. Time to start really monitoring things in this area.
He measured the baby, and noticed that she was measuring about 3 weeks small. I also weighed 7 pounds less than my last appointment. Total weight gain this pregnancy so far...16 pounds. Amazing what the flu, bronchitis, a sinus infection, and the carb starve diet will do.
I told him about having the flu, and how severely sick I was for almost an entire month. He looked into it, and was shocked with how bad off I was. He was not happy at all that the doctors who cared for me during that time did not contact my OB, and he let them know. The flu is extremely dangerous for both me and the baby. And obviously, it did effect us both.
The baby's heart beat sounded great, but he still had me go in for a non stress test for her. We did that the following day, and she passed with no problems.
He also is having me log my blood sugar numbers these next few weeks, and is keeping a very close eye on my diabetes, and how it effects both me and baby girl. There is a good chance the baby will need to come a little early because of it all. As long as she is okay, I don't care if she comes early, I just want her to be healthy and fine.
He talked to me about a plan of action if my numbers go out of control, or if the baby continues to be too small....or ends up being too big, which is extremely common with diabetes.
He was very confident, and sure, and I felt that I was in good hands.
For now, I am just sitting tight, continuing to be very strict with the carb starve diet, and sending growing vibes to our baby girl. My appointments are every two weeks now, so I will be back again next week to see how things are going.
I can't believe the last stretch is finally here! Less than 10 weeks to go.
I literally just sit in my bed at night and think about holding my sweet little girl, smelling her new smell, staring at her sweet face, my finger in her closed fist, and eating a GIANT bowl of cereal full of carbs.
There is a new doctor working in the office, and I was scheduled to see him. He is not new to the field, just new to this office.
I was not excited about seeing a new doctor, and was scared not to be with the one I have seen all along. I just wanted to get the appointment over with, and get back to my regular doctor.
From the first few minutes he walked in, I felt a really big sense of comfort around him concerning the rest of this pregnancy. I got the feeling that Dr. Sabella, the one I have seen up to this point, and the one that has literally saved this pregnancy and baby time and time again, has done what she needed to do for me and our little girl. I felt like this guy would need to be the one to see it the rest of the way through. It was an interesting twist to my idea of how things would go, and of course very unexpected, but I know in my heart, it is right.
He is extremely educated in gestational diabetes, the one thing that doctor Sabella admittedly doesn't know a ton about. She is pretty much amazing with everything else. She is a high risk specialist after all, and worked miracles for us through divine guidance and her own skill and knowledge.
Ironically, gestational diabetes causes the most problems from 30 weeks or any time after. I was 30 weeks exactly at this appointment. Time to start really monitoring things in this area.
He measured the baby, and noticed that she was measuring about 3 weeks small. I also weighed 7 pounds less than my last appointment. Total weight gain this pregnancy so far...16 pounds. Amazing what the flu, bronchitis, a sinus infection, and the carb starve diet will do.
I told him about having the flu, and how severely sick I was for almost an entire month. He looked into it, and was shocked with how bad off I was. He was not happy at all that the doctors who cared for me during that time did not contact my OB, and he let them know. The flu is extremely dangerous for both me and the baby. And obviously, it did effect us both.
The baby's heart beat sounded great, but he still had me go in for a non stress test for her. We did that the following day, and she passed with no problems.
He also is having me log my blood sugar numbers these next few weeks, and is keeping a very close eye on my diabetes, and how it effects both me and baby girl. There is a good chance the baby will need to come a little early because of it all. As long as she is okay, I don't care if she comes early, I just want her to be healthy and fine.
He talked to me about a plan of action if my numbers go out of control, or if the baby continues to be too small....or ends up being too big, which is extremely common with diabetes.
He was very confident, and sure, and I felt that I was in good hands.
For now, I am just sitting tight, continuing to be very strict with the carb starve diet, and sending growing vibes to our baby girl. My appointments are every two weeks now, so I will be back again next week to see how things are going.
I can't believe the last stretch is finally here! Less than 10 weeks to go.
I literally just sit in my bed at night and think about holding my sweet little girl, smelling her new smell, staring at her sweet face, my finger in her closed fist, and eating a GIANT bowl of cereal full of carbs.
flood
Last week, the day before we planned on taking off to Pocatello for the 4th of July, our washing machine hose broke while I was doing a load of laundry. I was upstairs cleaning and playing with the kids, and had no idea our house was flooding on the main floor.
When I came downstairs our entire wood floor in the kitchen was under about 2 inches of water. The laundry room was completely swimming, the hall was under water, the bathroom was flooded and the hall closet was under even more water. The water was quickly making it's way to our carpet in the family room as well.
I ran into the laundry room, and saw water spraying out from the broken hose, so I turned the washing machine off, and tried to turn the water off that leads to the washing machine. No luck. The water was still spraying from the hose, and spreading through the house. I completely panicked!
I grabbed every single towel we had, and also had Sam and William run around grabbing bathroom and dish towels, and we made a barricade around the carpet.
Then, I had the thought to call our neighbor. In hindsight, it was complete inspiration, and I am so thankful for it.
He literally ran over to our house. I saw him running over here, from out the window.
When he got here, he ran through the water and down to the basement to turn off our main water line. I ran down after him, and the basement looked like it was having it's own rain storm. Water was pouring from our air ducts and vents, and the basement was flooded.
Our house is turned a different way than what was originally planned, so the main water shut off was not in the normal spot. I had no idea where it was, and no one else would have known either.
Luckily, our neighbor happened to be in another home like ours a few months ago (a house that was turned a different way than planned), and while he was there, he noticed their water line switch in a weird spot, but didn't think much of it. I like to think that it was God, looking in to the future, and knowing that he would need to see that.
That popped in to his head as he was in our basement, and he was able to cut through our plastic wrap and insulation and find our main water switch, in a place I NEVER would have found it. It was completely buried behind the wall. No one else would have known where that was. He turned our water off, but the water continued to spray from the washing machine hose and flood our house.
We decided to turn on all tubs and faucets to drain the water from the pipes more quickly, finally we got the pouring water from the hose to stop.
All I could think of was our gorgeous new wood floor completely warped and ruined under inches of water, our carpet having to be replaced, and our walls full of mold. I was sick to my stomach. The kids thought it was awesome, like we had all the sudden made a giant splash park in our house, and Luke came running through it, only to slip and fall, smacking his head on the floor. As if there wasn't enough chaos already.
My neighbor ran back to his house, and came back with a huge shop vac. Thank heavens he had one.
I had to pick up Mary from tumbling, and he kindly stayed and sucked the water up while I was gone. My heart was pounding and I felt so panicked during the drive to and from getting Mary. I couldn't get back home fast enough.
When we got home, the water was all sucked up, but we had wet towels everywhere, and the laundry room was still flooded, along with the hall closet. Miraculously, the carpet was not wet at all. Our towel blockade worked, along with some divine intervention.
I had to clean out the hall closet, and everything that was soaked in it. It was mostly mops, vacuums and a few backpacks on the ground. Nothing that was ruined by the water.
Then, it was down to the basement to survey the damage of our insulation and wood. Amazingly, the plastic wrap had saved the insulation, and the cement floor was absorbing the water really well! The basement ended up completely fine.
We continued to vacuum up the water, open windows to dry the floors and hang the soaking wet towels out to dry.
I thanked my neighbor about 100 times, and once the last of the water was sucked up, finally sent him on his way.
I was very nervous the next few days about our floor warping, but somehow, it is all okay. I am so, so thankful!
We had to do several loads at the laundry mat that evening, and while we were out, we bought our neighbor a gift card to a really good milk shake place here in town.
It kind of stinks to do laundry at a laundry mat, but we just ordered our new washer and dryer today, and I am SO EXCITED! It is an awesome set, with a huge machine that will reduce the ridiculous amount of loads I do every single day. And the dryer will work! Our old dryer just spun the clothes around, it took hours to dry one load. We have been in need of a new set for a long time now, but it just hasn't been on top of the priority list. It is a little embarrassing how excited I am for a new washer and dryer, but I really don't care. It is worth a few trips to the laundry mat for a while.
I am so grateful that this didn't happen while we were in California, or Idaho. It happened in the few days in between the trips. I don't really believe in coincidences that often, I think God intervenes in our lives way more than we realize, and really feel that we were blessed. Our entire home could have been completely ruined, had this happened just one day later, or two days earlier.
It was a pretty crazy morning, and it was extremely stressful, but now I know where the main water switch is, all is well, and I will forever check twice when I turn on the washing machine!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
baby room
I finally finished the baby's room today, and I LOVE how it turned out!
I do have a few more little things to add, like a cute little lamp and clock that match the décor, and cute twinkle lights for the fairy tree and windows, but other than that, the room is done!
Of course, there is no crib in there, because the baby will be with us for the first little while, but when it is time, we will move her little bed in there too.
I thought for a long time about what to do for her room, and was pretty stumped. Then I went to a craft store one day, and saw a few things that got my brain rolling, and it all fell in to place.
I decided on a fairy garden.
Not one of those creepy fairy gardens with half naked fairies, weird gnomes, and scary creatures. Nope, not that.
I did a cute, happy, flowery, fun fairy garden. I had a blast doing it!
I have one final idea for a wall hanging, and I can't wait to do it, but we need to wait until baby girl has a name first. I will probably finish it after she is born. I will post pictures of it when it is done.
So, here are some pictures of the room. I call it my "happy place" now, and when I get discouraged, or feel crummy, or worry about the pregnancy or our little girl, I just go in here, and I feel happy, at peace, and close to my baby.
And there it is. So fun!
I do have a few more little things to add, like a cute little lamp and clock that match the décor, and cute twinkle lights for the fairy tree and windows, but other than that, the room is done!
Of course, there is no crib in there, because the baby will be with us for the first little while, but when it is time, we will move her little bed in there too.
I thought for a long time about what to do for her room, and was pretty stumped. Then I went to a craft store one day, and saw a few things that got my brain rolling, and it all fell in to place.
I decided on a fairy garden.
Not one of those creepy fairy gardens with half naked fairies, weird gnomes, and scary creatures. Nope, not that.
I did a cute, happy, flowery, fun fairy garden. I had a blast doing it!
I have one final idea for a wall hanging, and I can't wait to do it, but we need to wait until baby girl has a name first. I will probably finish it after she is born. I will post pictures of it when it is done.
So, here are some pictures of the room. I call it my "happy place" now, and when I get discouraged, or feel crummy, or worry about the pregnancy or our little girl, I just go in here, and I feel happy, at peace, and close to my baby.
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| The little chest holds the dress, hat and bloomers that Mary wore for her first photo session. This little girl will also wear this dress. |
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| I bought all of these adorable little flowers to stick to the wall above the bed. Each flower is so dang cute. I wish I could take a picture of each one. |
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| It took a long time to find cute fairies. I love the ones that I found for this shelf. They are playing musical instruments made out of leaves. |
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| I bought this picture of the fairy picnic for Mary's room when she was little. I was so sad to put it away when she changed her room up. Now it is back up again, and makes me smile every single time I look at it. I will get a close up a little later. The light from the windows was reflecting on it, so I couldn't get one today. |
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| You can't see it, but there is a wind chime hanging down from the right side, and lots of pretty beads and shiny things mixed in with the leaves. I will soon be hanging cute flower twinkle lights here as well. |
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| trying to get a close up of the adorable flowers and cute bird |
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| above the closet doors |
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| you can see the corner of the fairy tree. It has lots of flowers, lights, and sparkly things in it. |
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| I tried to get a shot of the cute little balls I hung all over, from the ceiling. You can only see a few of them in this picture though. |
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