February 2013

 FEBRUARY 2013

-Sickness attacked our family.  We will forever remember this month as the one where we were sick for pretty much the whole month.  We all fell victim to the flu.  Carston had it the first week, and the rest of us soon followed.  The kids were able to recover pretty quickly, but mom and dad were not so lucky.  They hardly left their bed for 2 weeks while the kids fended for themselves.  They got their own food, they played electronics all day long, they brought mom and dad gatorade or anything else we thought we could handle, they got to skip out on all responsibilities....The house was overrun with garbage and dirty dishes.  We didn't want anyone to get what we had, but Grandma and Ashlee brought dinner for the kids a few times and we greatly appreciated it.  We were also so grateful to Brett for taking John to instacare to get two units of IV fluids to help him with his dehydration.  That was a scary night where I stayed up all night with the light on to make sure he didn't die on me.  I don't recommend researching "flu complications" or "flu deaths" on a night like that.

-Carston decided to follow in his father's footsteps and started making a movie with a bunch of friends.

-Kate became a party planner. 

-We had a war with the mice in our house.  It took awhile, but eventually, mom kicked their butt after she got done being sick.  In the end, I think we caught about 10.  John found the last one rotting in the bottom part of our fridge.  It had crawled up there and died.  You can imagine the smell.

-John found my big pregnant belly to be thoroughly amusing.  I on the other hand.....not so much :)

-Carston had his last basketball game of the season and scored 13 points.  He had a lot of fun playing with Bron and Kade and a bunch of neighborhood friends.  Dad was a pretty good coach too.

-Kate planned a "Church Birthday Party" one day after church.  Lucky for her, she has two nice sisters who helped make it happen.  There were decorations, games, presents (for her, not the church), brownie "cake" complete with candles, and good company.  We were grateful Brett and Ashlee's family were able to come join in the festivities.

-Kate: "Mommy, your tummy is fat.  Do you think you're a fat lady?"

-Macy gave her first talk at church.  She drew all her visual aids and did a great job.

Valentine's Dinner

 Chocolate Fountain-minus the strawberries since they were sold out at 3 stores

What a trip to the library looks like. Rolling backpacks for Christmas was genius.

 Sleeping Beauty Ballet at BYU

 Avery dressed up as the prince for the occasion

 I may or may not have been having scary thoughts about dying during childbirth that prompted me to take pictures with each of my kids :)

 Avery stole the camera

 Macy really wanted a picture with the cast, but only if mommy got in on it too!

 John and I attended some Utah film award show to support his friend Kish who makes costumes.  It was the Utah version of the Oscars and quite an eye opening experience to a culture in Utah we knew nothing about.

 It was quite the feat finding a fancy dress for my super pregnant belly.  You can't tell from the picture, but it was quite large! This picture makes me laugh.

 We partied it up in a limo bus! Woohoo!

 Those of you who know me know that my Grandma Gladys holds a special place in my heart.  She passed away almost 6 years ago.  Every year on January 31, we celebrate her birthday.  We make snowmen if we are lucky enough for snow, and we send balloons up to heaven with a little wish.
I have thought often about how motherhood can be passed down from generation to generation.  My grandma was a wonderful woman.  She was a woman of faith.  A woman of kindness.  A woman who knew how to work hard and to endure that which was hard.  She was a woman who knew that life was meant to be enjoyed no matter what it brought you.  She was a woman who knew how to love and make people feel special.  And she passed all that wonderfulness to my mom.  My mom is every single one of those things.  I seriously couldn't ask for a more amazing mother.  And she has passed many of those things on to me.  I am far from perfect, but I at least value those things and strive for them.
Good mothers who love their children and strive to do their best should never be taken for granted.  I am so grateful for a grandma who taught my mother what was most important in life.  And for a mother who taught me in turn by her own example.  I hope as my girls grow up and become mothers themselves, that I will not have broken the chain, and that all the goodness and greatness of these two women will continue to flow down through the generations.

Hadley Robin

Thank you to my awesome sister Chelsey for taking such beautiful pictures!

Dear Hadley

Dear Hadley,
Hopefully this will be the first of many letters yet to come.  I am so happy that you are here, alive and healthy.  The second you came out, I felt like I wanted to sob.  It was such a long and difficult road to get you here, and I was so relieved that we both made it.
There are few things as powerful as the birth of your children.  When you get older, you might want to know the story of your birth.  It all started last Friday about 7:00 am.  I was having strong contractions, but when I started timing them, they weren't very regular.  They were anywhere from 3-8 minutes apart.  I took a bath, got the kids up, did everyone's hair.....all in between stopping with each painful contraction.  Dad had showered and was lying in bed waiting for me to tell him we were heading to the hospital.  But I am a little silly when it comes to labor.  I don't want to go too early, and I don't want to go too late.  I told him to head to work because we weren't going to the hospital anytime soon.  I had to pick up Carston from school at 10 and then we were supposed to go to the library.  He said he would be expecting my call in a half hour :)
And that is exactly what happened.  The contractions were getting pretty painful.  I called my mom to come get the kids.  I called John and got his voicemail since his reception is so poor in his office.  And every time I had a contraction, I would decide it was time to go.  Then the contraction would end, and I would decide I was just overreacting.  Dad came home and we headed out.
Once we arrived, we found out I was dilated to a 5.  The pain had a purpose.  I am always scared of complications from the epidural, so I have to be hurting pretty bad before I want it more than I am scared of it.  It was quickly getting to that point.  My nurse said another woman came in at an 8, so she was up first.  2 hours later, with me gripping the bed rails and being on the verge of screaming :), I was still waiting for the epidural.  John decided to call the nurse.  Lucky for us, our nurse got him to come give me the epidural even though he was already 30 minutes late for surgery.  After he left, she told us that was a close one.  By the time he was done, I was at an 8.  If John hadn't called the nurse, the doctor never would have made it back in time and I would have been feeling the "ring of fire" and the stitches afterwords.  I was EXTREMELY grateful that didn't happen.  Not long after the epidural, the nurse checked me, said I was a 10 plus 2 (meaning you were already making your way out), put my legs together and went quickly for the doctor.  He told me to push.  You came out in 3 pushes.  John couldn't even believe it.  In one push, half of your head was out, another push for the whole head, and one push for your tiny little body.  We decided that is what happens when the babies are small :)  We couldn't believe that we had a baby under 8 pounds.  I think that might have had something to do with the fact that I was really sick for the whole month of February.
It was amazing when you came.  Absolutely incredible.  I often think about how babies are born every day, and yet, they never cease to be miraculous.  I look at your tiny fingers and toes, your eyes and ears, and I marvel that all of it was created inside of me.  Perfectly.  John talks about how crazy it is that my body knows how to make a heart and an eyeball.  It is almost unbelievable.
You weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz.  and were 20 inches long.  You have long fingers and toes.  You have a crazy toe-your pinky toe tucks behind all the other toes.  You have dimples and a full head of black hair.  You came out like Carston with dark hair on your back and shoulders and ears.  You are just so sweet and beautiful and absolutely perfect.  Your brother and sisters were so excited to come and meet you.  Dad videotaped it and said it will be one of the best videos we have.  It was a long road for all of us to get you here.  Everyone had to say goodbye to the mommy they knew and cope with the one who was always sick and unable to do anything but survive.  Carston and Avery love to hold you, Macy loves to give you your binky when you cry, and Kate decided you like when she plays peek-a-boo with you.
So often over the last week, I have thought about how grateful I am that God has a plan for me that is better than the one I come up with.  Pregnancy is hard for me, and I would have easily stopped with 3 kids or even 4.  But God had a plan for me and our family.  And he made sure to sneak you in.  I will be forever grateful for that.  You have only been here a week, and already I can't imagine our family without you in it.  I love you Hadley.
Love, Mom

Hadley's Birth