The Gospel

The past few days while I have been "blog hopping" I have come across a few blogs of families that have lost a child. When I come across something like this the only thing I can think is "I just can not imagine the pain". There is no way I could go through that. What I have also seen on most of their blogs is the gratitude for their Savior and the Plan of Salvation. I have realized that as much as an awful trial that would be to endure, the gospel offers so much hope. So, tonight I need to blog about how grateful I am for the Gospel. I actually am in need of a "refinement". I have been slacking a little in the spiritual category and need to do more to have the spirit with me. I am grateful that our Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us inspite of our struggles. I am grateful for Eternal Families. I can't imagine not being able to be with them forever. I am grateful for the truth that my parents taught me and that I have come to learn for myself is true. I am grateful that I can give my kids this same foundation and pray that I can do all I can for them to feel the spirit in our home so they too can one day come to know that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is such a blessing and living true to the gospel standards will help them not only endure life's trials, but will bring true happiness.

Blog Jar: Describe your typical Sunday
7:45 Wake up and realize I really need to hurry
7:45-8:15 Get Jax a bottle and the get myself ready
8:15-8:45 Get kids dressed and fed. Get bags ready
9:00 (ok-I'll be honest her. It somewhere between 9:00 and 9:15) Get out the door. Good thing the church is close. We are almost ALWAYS late. The only thing is that two weeks ago they switched our schedule to have Sacrament last. This means if you are late to church you walk in late to Primary/R.S/Elder's Q. and it is much more embarrassing then sneaking in to the back of Sacrament meeting. So we are trying harder to be on time.
9:00-12:00 Jadyn goes right in to Primary. Scott and I then spend the next 3 hours walking the halls, trying to occupy Jaxon. It's hard right now. He is just at that age and he WILL NOT sit still for more than 3 seconds. He just goes and goes and goes and wants to be in people's bags, pulling out cords, yelling because he is happy, crying because you are trying to hold him, crying because he is just so tired and misses his morning nap, ect. It's so hard to make it the 3 hours, but most of the time we do. My mom is in our same building right now and the times she takes Jax for a little while is such a treat! She would take him every week, but come on.....that wouldn't be so nice of me!
12:00-1:00 Get the kids fed
1:00 Put Jaxon down for a nap! Whew....everyone-including Jax-is well past ready
2:00 Jade goes down for rest time and Scott and I have about 2 hours to nap, read the paper and just relax!
5:00 We head on over to my mom's. Now that we are only .5 mile away we usually walk if it is nice weather.
7:00 Head home and get the kids ready for bed
8:00 Jax is in bed and Jade is usually playing with toys in her room
10:00 Everyone is settled in for the night and I usually spend time on the computer!
This schedule changes yearly as church time changes but this is how it is for the time being. I have a hard time getting everyone ready and out the door by 9:00 but I will say it's nice to have the afternoon relaxing

Has anyone seen my nice, sweet, CALM baby boy?

I have heard from SO many people that when their baby got tubes, that had a completely different baby afterwards. ALL of them meaning that their crying, sad and irritable baby became a happy baby. Well, I agree with them on the "different" baby afterwards. We went from a very sweet, loving, calm, quiet,-but sick and constantly dizzy baby, to a very LOUD (think grunting and yelling), opinionated, never slows down for two seconds, in to everything he shouldn't be, baby. I honestly think the loudness comes from him finally being able to hear normally plus getting to the age where he knows what he wants but can't tell us so he makes loud noises instead. The constant movement is from him trying to catch up on the past year of not feeling good. I know most will think he is just being your average one year old, but my mom, dad, and his daycare lady are all quick to disagree. He goes everywhere. HE climbs up, he climbs down. He opens drawers-pulls everything out, and quickly moves on to anything and everything else in his path! Yes, I would take this compared to him being sick, but it is so wearing. Trying to keep my house clean is a joke! I look so forward to nap time and then feel bad when I get him there. Saying "Thank you" as his first word was just to cover up the many "NNNNNNNNo!!!" we would hear shortly after! :) Why wouldn't it be. Unfortunately, I tell it to him WAY too often! Oh well, I love Jax all the same, it is just amazing to me the difference the past 3 weeks have been. The good thing is that we don't have any stairs he can fall down and the main floor is pretty baby proof so when we are home he can have free reign. So he goes from one thing to the next and is just happy to be constantly on the go.
The GREAT thing is that he is VERY good to sit in his stroller. He will sit in his stroller for a long time and be totally happy. If my mom is around she will get him out because she feels bad for him, but amazingly enough, he is very content to just sit and watch what is going on around him. We went and helped my dad in his yard last Monday and he seriously just sat and watched us from his stroller for over 2 hours! He got a little antsy at the end, but overall was so good! He is the same way when we got to the mall, zoo, walking, whatever. I am grateful for that. It would be so hard to go places if he wasn't content in his stroller!

One other thing, he started waving this week. It's so cute! I was leaving and said "Bye Jax!" and he just stared waving! I loved it! I just love him to pieces and-if he would let me-I would sit and hold and cuddle him all day! He is such a sweet boy-just a very busy one right now!

Blog Jar

Blog Jar: Do you have any special memories about Halloween?
Seriously, my friend Rachelle posted this question and talked about her Mom made clown costume and I would seriously have to ditto her. So-When I was 4 (I think) my mom made this fantastic clown costume. I don't remember wearing it the first year but I know I loved it so much that I wore it again the next year! I still love that costume. Hmmm....I should pull it out for Jade! Ok, maybe not, but still, it was great! I also remember when I was in 6th grade I was so excited to go tot'ing with my friends and we went for HOURS!!! Scott and I aren't in to dressing up so much. It always seems fun, but it's definately not something Scott would be keen on. My memories now are buying Halloween costumes for the kids WAY early (Think august) and then taking them to Scott's class to Trick or Treat. We also go over to my mom's house in the early evening for Hot cider, Taco Soup, and donuts. It's so fun to see all my nieces and nephews dressed up. I love having my own kids on Halloween. Makes the holiday so much fun!

You know your daughter drinks too much pop when.....

You go in to the gas station to get you, your husband, and your daughter a drink. You think you get your daughter the requested "mamma's drink" only to have her say a few minutes later "Mom, did you get me a Daddy's drink?!?!" I didn't think so but told her to hand it to me. I taste it and laugh....sure enough, it had Coke in it. Wow....the girl can distinguish between her mamma's drink and her Daddy's drink. And yes, I know it is actually a sad moment and means she drinks WAY too much! I have really been trying to cut back on her intake lately, which I guess is a good thing!

Blog Jar

Ok, so my friend from our last ward just started doing something called a Blog Jar on her blog and invited whoever to do it with her. She did it for the same reason I am going to: Lack of keeping a regular journal and it gives interesting a good topics to blog about

Blog Jar #1: Describe your parents
Dad: Wish I knew how tall my dad is, but I don't. I'll make a guess of 5'11" but I could be completely wrong. He has sandy brown (ummmm there may be some gray in there too!)He is a hard worker and is willing to help me with whatever I need, whenever I call. He loves his kids and grandkids and even though he admits to hate living alone, I think he loves going home to a quiet house after a night of being with all of us. He works for a builder and deals with customers who are having homes built. I don't know how he does it, but he does a great job. I love him very much!
Mom: 5'4" tall and brown hair. I should just say that we look a lot alike. People that know her and then meet me always say "Oh....you look just like her!" Yes, I know. She is the most unselfish person I know and would give all she had and more for her kids. She is patient and loving and simply amazing. I would say I would love to grow up to be just like her, but I know myself too well to know that that is not going to happen. so I'll just aspire to get as close as possible. She is a teacher, a wonderful singer and the greatest mom and grandma that I know.

For those of you who love The Office, be VERY Careful....

Scott has recently borrowed "The Office" 2nd season from a friend of his. Scott was watching it-laughing way too much- while Jadyn was playing. I had just walked in the door with a bag from the store. She immediately jumped off the couch saying "I want to see what's in the bag!" I set it on the stairs and walked in the kitchen. I hear the guy from the office (I think his name is Michael) say "What the hell" at the same time Jadyn walks around the corner with the toothpaste from the store in one hand and another hand on her hip while she says- in her best 3 year old attitude voice, with the added head shake "What the hell is this?" And then because I didn't answer since I had, wide eyed, turned and looked at Scott (who was also staring at me), she asked again "What the HELL is this?" Oh my Gosh....We both busted up laughing while I said "Jadyn that is a naughty word. We don't say hell ok?" She was not fazed in the slightest by Scott laughing so hard he might just die and she quickly said "What the devil is this?" Wow.....this was a first swear coming from Jade's mouth. She used it in perfect context SECONDS after she heard it. So....Lesson learned by us: She hears much more than we think and is aware of much more than I knew. Yes, we turned it off and distracted her by decorating cupcakes! Hopefully she forgets this ever happens and doesn't use the word again! :)

The photographer

Many of you have asked who did our pictures so I thought I'd post her photo blog. The only problem is she is out of commission for awhile to have a baby! She is great though.

www.expressionsphotosite.blogspot.com

Summer Pictures!

Line Dancing

While we were in Island Park we went to a Rodeo. They started doing some line dancing and I took Jadyn with me to go and try it out. She loved it. She laughed and tried doing it on her own. She thought it was so much fun. A few days after we got home she heard "Boot Scottin Boogie" on the radio and told me we needed to get it on our computer (itunes). As soon as I downloaded it she insisted we dance! She likes to show everyone her new moves! It's pretty cute!

ETA: I love at the end where she starts singing along. She thought this song was so great bacause it says "Jack" in it!

I always knew he was such a nice boy

It's offical. Jaxon's first word(s): Thank You.



Now, I know that none of you would believe me so I took it upon myself to get it on camera today. It's at the very end and hard to hear, but clearly "Thank you"



Background on the first words. I think it was while we were on vacation that I first heard "Thank you". I don't remember where we were exactly, but I was with my mom and I said "Thank you" to someone to which Jaxon said "Thank you"! At that time my mom and I looked at each other an laughed and I just figured it was some weird babble coincidence. Then yesterday, I was with Scott's brother and sister and someone held the door for me while I was holding Jax. So, I said "Thank you" to which Jaxon-clear as day-said "Thank you" We all bust up laughing and then got him to say it about 10 more times last night. It's so weird. I mean he can babble "ma, ma, ma, ma" and "da,da,da,da" but this is the first thing he has repeated! I can only hope that first words are the first sign of a kids personality/dipostition! I think Jade's first words were "NO!!" :) The thing is, I will admit Jax has gotten much fiestier since the tubes. Amazing what happens when you actually feel good! :)

Mmmmmm Chocolate!

I took the kids to my mom's today because our Daycare lady is out of town. When I picked them up they were frosting cupcakes! Such a nice grandma! Jadyn ate a cupcake after rest time and I decided to let Jax have one after dinner. Spaghetti for dinner and cupcakes for dessert makes for a very messy-but happy-little boy!

Sick again? Of course

(This is Jax on Thursday. He would lay there for a long time with the washcloth on his head and not move at all. It was so sad! Yes, he did want the golf ball with him though!)

On Wed (07/02) I put Jaxon to bed around 7:30. I had a lot of work I needed to get done before we left for vacation the next morning. I was planning on working all night long. I got started around 10:00 only to hear Jaxon crying around 10:30. I went up to check him because it was a "something is wrong with me" cry rather than "I just woke up-will fuss for a minute-and go back to sleep" cry. When I picked him up from his crib he was on FIRE. I was shocked because he had been fine all day. I gave him some medicine and gave him to Scott to hold because he was upset, not going to go back to sleep, and was just so hot and pretty out of it. I got him a cold washcloth and he actually let me put it on his head and left it there. He moaned and groaned while Scott held him for about 45 min. I checked him and his fever went down slightly. I didn't have a thermometer, so I really wasn't sure how hot he was-but it was high. We didn't know what to do. The paper from the ear infections said that if they had a fever over 100 within the first week, they needed to be seen. We couldn't decide if we should take him to the E.R. or try to get him in the his regular Dr in the morning. Since we were supposed to be leaving around 10:30 and I didn't know if we could get an apt that early, and since he was so out of it and so dang hot, we decided to take him to the E.R. Just as we were leaving he threw up all over. I called my mom, who was still up packing for our trip. She was fine with my bringing Jade over. Jade got upset because she wanted to come with us so she started crying and gagging and saying she was sick. Most or her problem was that it was 11:00 and she was very tired. She was ok once we got to my mom's. We got to the E.R. and I was still trying to decide it we were making the right decision. A lady was in the parking lot when we got there and when we were walking in she said "I would go to a different hospital. This one sucks! I've been here 5 nights in a row!" We were like "Um, ok" but just went in. We didn't have to wait long before they took us back and started getting our information. We got to the room and Jax was so miserable. After about 30 min someone came in and lucky for Jax took a rectal temp. 90 min after having motrin his temp was 104.2! Yeah, on fire. At that point we were VERY glad we brought him in. They decided they should start an IV right away to get some fluids in him and also brought him some more medicine. Well, they came in to start the IV and I quickly handed Jax to Scott. It's his dad job to hold the kids during those things. So Scott and another nurse hold him down and another nurse tries to get the IV in. Jax is screaming and it doesn't work. She tries again, Jax screams more and....another vein blown. She calls the head nurse. We tell Jax to hang in there, one more time. 3 people hold JAx down, I whisper to him and rub his head and the head nurse tries the IV. She gets it in and digs around for a vein gets it in only to have it blow again. OK, Scott and I are starting to give each other the look like "Ok, if something doesn't work soon we are going to go crazy on these people." She tries the other arm-Jax at this point is sweating, screaming, and just way beyond irritated! One more time and what do you know-the 5th time they are able to draw blood and get 1/2 the fluid in they wanted before it blew again. Everyone leaves-Scott goes crazy and was way upset, as was I. I thought later that day about all the parents who have very sick kids who have to watch them endure so many awful things. Man, I have so much sympathy for them. That would be awful! I understand that it may have happened anywhere we went, but we just weren't impressed with a lot of things at the hospital ER we went to and resigned to no longer go there if we are dealing with the kids. It was very frustrating. We wait, and wait and wait for the blood test results. After about 2 hours (so about 3 hours after we had been there) the Dr comes in and says he thinks it's just a virus and that he should be better soon. The good news-and the reason we went in-was his ears looked great-no infection, so that was good. At that point Jax had cooled down, was actually smiling and we just wanted to GO HOME!!! We got home around 3:30 and got Jax down. Unfortunately he woke up again on Thursday on fire. Scott had gone and got a Thermometer so we took his temp and what do you know-104.1!!! Great. We started giving meds every three hours, tried to get him to sleep as much as we could, and Scott and Ryan gave him a blessing. We decided around 3:30 that he seemed to be feeling a little better so we went ahead and left on our trip. He slept more in the car and was pretty good. By the time we got to Island Park he seemed to be feeling much better! The ER Dr actually called me on Friday and said his blood cultures actually came back positive for a bacteria infection and he felt we needed to get him on antibiotics as soon as possible. I spent a few minutes trying to find a Pharmacy in Yellowstone and then Scott and I went and picked it up. Of course the Pharmacist says the meds can be out of the fridge for 7 days only for me to find out a few days later that's not true and we have to start the antibiotic over (as well as pay for it again) today.

Needless to say, we are all crossing our fingers that Jaxon can now be happy and healthy for a long time!