"Come what may, and love it!......Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result." ~ Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

May 24, 2010

MRI

It was Friday.
He couldn't eat anything past 1 am.
I fed him a bottle at 1.
He couldn't have juice past 8 am.
I gave him a bottle of juice at 7:30 am.
The appointment was at 9 am
but they didn't take him back until 11 am.
I was worried he would start getting hungry and cry but he didn't...blessed.
I prayed the night before.
I prayed in that waiting area.
The anesthesiologist came in to see if I had questions I said, "no, just take care of my baby."
It was finally time to go back
We went in the room and the anesthesiologist held his head and put a gas mask over his nose and mouth
while I was holding him (thank goodness).
The nurse lady started to hold his arms down mindlessly.
I informed her that his right arm could not reach up to the mask and asked if I could hold his left.
I wrapped his little fingers around mine and brought them to my lips.
His screams turned to crying, crying to whimpering.
His eyes started blinking and finally he was out.
I laid him on the bed.
they told me it was time to leave, I did.
I went out to the waiting room where they said they would come get me in about an hour and a half.
Heath and Noah were waiting there. I had tears in my eyes.
Heath assured me everything would be ok.
I made it very clear more then once that I wanted to be there when Asher woke up.
I'm sure that is standard procedure but I just wanted to make sure they knew.

A thought from Henry B. Eyring kept coming into my mind.
"Through the eyes of faith, confidence replaces fear."
It seemed to play over and over in my mind.
An hour and a half passed by.
I went to the front desk. she called to the back. said it would be another half hour.
At 33 mins I went back to the front desk, she called the back, he was on the way to the recovery room.
It wasn't too long until they came to get me.
I walked in and there he was.
Laying in a little crib, hooked up to an IV, blood pressure cuff on his left leg, O2 monitor on his right big toe.
He was still sleeping.
The nurse said they were going to let him sleep a little longer.



There is something unsettling about seeing your baby like this.
When he woke up he cried some.
He was hungry but it was over.
After a cracker and some juice we were aloud to go.
We'll have to do this at least once more for the scope.
I'll call tomorrow to see if they have results. 



Thanks to all of you that have been fasting and praying for this little guy.
He's so sweet.
We feel so blessed.

It's true that I stayed up way too late watching the Lost finale last night. I know, I said I wasn't watching it anymore. I couldn't help it. Also true that Asher sat up with Heath on the stand at church yesterday and after every prayer you could hear "amen" (at least twice) from Asher throughout the room. So sweet.





May 17, 2010

These shoes were made for running.

Well, it's time for new running shoes. 
It seems like I have always loved to run.
I have run in Nike, Asics, Saucony, Brooks, Adidas, Mizuno and New Balance
I think that's all.
By far my favorite shoe is the Mizuno.
really, they are the best. 

I'm putting the info here so I don't forget so I can buy the newer model when it's time again.
Also, putting it here in case anyone else would like to try these great shoes.

Here is where I bought mine with free shipping.


Mizuno Wave Rider 13 Women's Shoes Sil/Blue 


Mostly pictures.

We had a pile of wood in our yard that needed to be burned. Heath was happy to take care of it. 






This is a shirt that Heath got at a ceramic conference for Asher. The size says 24 mo. It fits Noah. 


No pictures please.


oh, the many faces of Heath.


Putting birdseed out.


Little too much, cleaning birdseed up. 




“Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.”
 I don't know who said this. I found it on a friend's status on facebook

May 15, 2010

steps

Today Asher took 4 steps.
It surprised me that he did it out in the grass.
I thought it might have happened on a smooth surface.
After the 4 steps he fell forward and not being able to catch himself because of his right arm
he face planted.
I sat him up and immediately his lower lip puffed right out.
We started clapping and cheering and it took a second but then he smiled.
He was a little nervous to try it again.
We were all outside having fun and wrestling and
my glasses broke (again) with a little help from Noah.
We'll add more superglue and they'll be just fine.

The garden and Asher's weight.

We planted the garden this week. 
It has been a little cold so we'll see how it goes. 







Potty training is going pretty well. 
no potty accidents in 4 days
wish I could say the same for the BM's
He's scared
He even sleeps in his undies and wakes up dry. 
When he's done he says, "I need to splush." (flush) funny, huh?


His girlfriends will thank me for this picture someday. 


Asher had an  appointment on Wed. 
no weight gain
I was pretty shocked, I thought for sure he would have gained.
When the medical assistant told me the weight (17 lbs. 3 oz.)  I must have looked confused
because she asked me if I was ok. 
I started to tear up but I was able to stop myself from crying.
He is eating so well. He will try anything.
I concentrate so hard on making his meals so that they will have the most calories possible.
Plus, he hasn't been throwing up lately. 
The doctor came in and asked a few questions then said she would like to get a scope done.
She wants to take it in through his mouth all the way to his small intestine taking biopsies along the way.
This is suppose to check for allergies.
I asked if she could coordinate it with his MRI. She said she would see what she could do. 
I kept reminding myself that he is happy and doesn't seem "sick".
He's been blessed so much so far.
plus, this touches my heart.
I am the young women's president in our ward. 
Wednesday 3 of my girls who are sisters told me that they had called 5 different temples and put Asher's name on the prayer roll there. They each called one, their mom called one, and their older sister called one. 
Their mom is not even active.  
I know there are lots of people thinking about us and keeping us in their prayers and I feel so grateful for that, so grateful! I have no doubt that is why he hasn't thrown up in about 3 weeks. The longest span EVER!
I know that through our trials we are strengthened and we come to know ourselves and become more acquainted with God.


It's true that Heath critiques my sewing projects like he would a piece of art. He tells me what he likes then he tells me how they could be improved. Most the time he's right. He's smart. Also true that we have an apple tree in our yard and that Asher's vocabulary seems to increase daily.


May 12, 2010

Booooooooring!

My husband said that my blog was looking a little boring. 
This is my attempt to make it look un-boring. 

ALSO 

POTTY TRAINING IN PROGRESS!!!
 yikes!  3rd day, so far no accidents. whew!

May 10, 2010

i am a mother.

Words cannot adequately express the feelings I have as a mother.
I am grateful that this is an eternal calling, an eternal joy
I am in awe at the knowledge that "We become co-creators with God in having family and posterity" (James E. Faust)

I am a mother!

May 9, 2010

pictures by noah.

It's mother's day.
I got a sweet card that plays a song with two little hands on it,
a mustache, and dinner.
Happy mother's day to my moms, grandmas, sisters, and good girl friends.


This is the stache I ordered. Heath asked me last night something or other about mother's day. I told him when he shaved for church this morning I wanted him to keep the mustache. He did.
it was funny.
Everyone at church was wondering what he was doing.
A good present indeed.

 Asher is 15 months old now.
He is starting to talk a little more.
He says:
all done (not so clear)
outsi = outside
ah ma = ah man! (like swiper on Dora)
ilk = milk
juice
cheese

He is still in size 2 diapers.
He eats better than Noah does right now.
He's scared of most dogs.
He's not a t.v . watcher.
He's calm and doesn't cry a lot for the most part.
He has stopped eating in the night for the most part.
(I was waking him up to feed him in the night to help him gain weight)
He's nervous about walking.
He can't hold his right arm out for balance so I think it will be a while longer.
He has 9 teeth with the 10th starting to come in.
He has the cutest sad face when his feelings get hurt.
He likes hanging out with the boys but has a hard time keeping up.
He loves to take baths.
He loves balls.

He hasn't thrown up in a little while.
There were two times yesterday when he was crying that I thought for sure he was going to throw up
but he didn't.

I've been sewing more lately.
I wanna get better at it.
I made some cloth napkins.


That's the front and back.

Noah took some pictures today.






It's true that I'm always asking Heath for his opinion and I hardly ever go with what he thinks. Also true that I'm pretty sure it drives him nuts. I don't do it to be mean. Also he might be claustrophobic??? Seems that way sometimes. Our house is kind of small.  :)

It's true that this is Heath's eye.


Heath's last day of school was Friday. We might be going to the zoo soon. cross your fingers.

May 4, 2010

lately

No takers on motorboat face, eh?
I don't blame you. They are ugly but sooooooo funny!
Well, I made 2 reusable snack bags.
One has a lining made from an organic cereal bag.
Heath wasn't particularly fond of this one because it's a little loud.
Both had organic cotton on the inside
vintage cowboy pattern on the out
I also made a bib clip for Asher. I'm a big fan of rickrack.
planning on making more. maybe one for Noah and one for the diaper bag.
I don't know why the picture looks blue.



I moved my glider upstairs to the boys room.
I had to do some creative rearranging to fit it up there but I like it there.
I like the nap time/bedtime routine to include rocking.
I love to rock my babies.

This semester is almost over.
that means only 1 year left of school.
I can't believe it's going by so fast.
This semester was a tough one.
felt a little like a single mom.
(My understanding of what single moms endure has increased.)
and I kept telling myself to support and encourage Heath
but sometimes I wasn't so good at it.
I broke down a few times and pretty much begged Heath to stay home for a little while.
sometimes I had a bad attitude.
Just wanted to say sorry to Heath.
On Monday's he left for school early 6:30 or 7 ish
then he wouldn't get home until 9 or later.
Heath is in the bishopric and he has meetings on Tuesdays
doesn't get home until 9:30 ish from those (after being at school all day)
Wednesday I have young women at the church and he has young men.
Heath is the "acting" young men's president right now too.
Wednesday we get home at 8:30 ish.
Thursday and Friday's were usually late nights for him too.
I started to look forward to Thursdays and Fridays because we had time in the car together in the morning before I dropped him off at the bus stop and Noah off at school. 
Some Saturdays he had to work and some Saturdays he just needed to go up to school.
Some night he stayed all night up at school to fire a kiln.
Sometimes it can be rough on a relationship and rough on a mom to be with kids 24/7 with no time for herself.
Anyway, I don't want to complain.
We made it.
I just want to say I'm sorry.
Just another story of "the good ol' days" :)

Noah is so funny.
The teachers at school always tell me funny things he does.
and when I picked him up from primary on Sunday they were telling me funny stories too.
I'm trying to think of funny things he's been saying but it's not working out at the moment.
Asher, I think, has a case of gastroenteritis.
Noah had it when he was younger and I took him to the doctor.
Asher is experiencing the same symptoms.
poor guy.
not a happy few days for him.
His MRI is coming up in a few weeks.
I'm trying to prepare myself but I keep imagining them taking him away from me and he's screeming.
I hope I get to be in the room when they actually put him out.

About a week ago I had a crazy day.
Asher needs blood work done before they can do the MRI.
It was Friday.
I picked Noah up from school and we headed to Erie.
There is a lady in Erie that does a great job taking Asher's blood so, yes, I was going out of my way.
We stopped and got some lunch on the way.
I was passing little pieces of food back to Asher and then I could hear him kind of choking on something
so I pulled over (on the highway)
by the time I could get back to him he had thrown up all over himself.
Thank goodness I had done some laundry while Noah was at school and it was in the back.
We got everything cleaned up and continued on our journey.
So, I was headed to Erie and thought I knew exactly where the place was.
turns out I didn't.
I drove around for a little while and then drove to Shriner's because I know how to get there from Shriner's for sure.
So, we finally make it there.
I get the kids out of the car.
but before I got Noah out of the car he climbed in between the front seats and took a drink of my drink.
We got to the door of the LapCorp and turns out it is closed of Fridays.
Man!
So, we go back to the car.
buckle the kids in
and then I head to get in my seat and there is my drink spilled all over.
Continued the rest of the journey sitting on a blanket.
So, I'm backing out and "BANG!" I ran into some kind of concrete something rather.
I started crying. The events of the day were getting a little frustrating.
I still had to go to Target.
I cried from LabCorp to Target.
Noah kept saying "mommy, you ok?" and "I kiss you mommy, I hug you". "you need bambaid?'
He was so sweet.
We got into target, I spilled some cleaner of the floor.
got Noah some Target popcorn which he spilled in the car.
I went to pick Heath up from school on the way home and told Heath he better drive
because I 'm not sure what might happen.


On the way to pick Heath up from all of this, I couldn't help but start to wonder "why me"
what was going on with this day.
I said a prayer.
the words from a talk from the previous Sunday came to my mind.
"Sometimes instead of asking "Why me?" we need to ask, "what can I learn from this?"
So, I asked, "what can i learn from this?"


Then I started to feel grateful.
Grateful that the clothes were in the back of the car so i could change Asher.
grateful that Asher threw up mostly on his clothes and not all over the car seat.
thankful that the drink that was spilled was a light orange color and not grape juice
grateful that the damage to the car was not bad at all for the noise it made.
grateful that we were physically all ok.

It gave me some peace and comfort to look at it all that way.

Anyway, it's true that I'm probably not going to proof read this post too well. Also true that Heath is making awesome pots.



and that my kids are cute.








May 1, 2010

fasting for asher.

Tomorrow is fast Sunday.
The Bishop heard of all of Asher upcoming doctor's appointments and all the new findings
and wanted to hold a ward fast for the little guy tomorrow.
We would be grateful to anyone who would like to join in.




a profound thought.

If you're not as happy as you want to be, increase your obedience.
said by an area 70 at stake conference last week (can't remember his name)

also, obedience is the only gift we can give our Heavenly Father. 

One more thing...DON'T KILL THE BEES.

that's all!