A Birthday to Remember

Michael's birthday was December 9th. To put it mildly it was a birthday that our family will NEVER forget!

We had a busy, busy weekend leading up to his birthday so we spread the celebrations out over a few nights. Saturday we used his coupon for a free meal to Tucanos and enjoyed a delicious dinner there! Then Sunday we had a quick birthday dinner at home before Michael had to leave to teach a class at the institute. On the way home the car died on the highway and by the time he made it home he was too tired to even enjoy his cheesecake. Poor guy! If only that was the low point of his birthday...

Monday the day of his actual birthday I had to work. We were having a Christmas Party for all our clients at Chick-fil-a so Michael and the girls decided to tag along. They had set up a tent of sorts outside with lots of space heaters in order to fit everyone. Well, in the tent poor Michael stepped back a bit to let someone through and got too close to one of the space heaters (one of the really hot propane type with a sort of open flame). It was so hot it caught his pants on fire! He was holding Eliza at the time and was only thinking about keeping her safe so I ended up putting the fire out with my jacket.

When all was said and done the fire had burned through his pants and his thermals and in to his skin. An ambulance ride, ER visit, a few shots of morphine, and painful scrubing later we finally made it home to start the healing process. He ended up with a second degree burn on his thigh that is about the size of a football! (And once again he didn't eat any of his cake because he was so sick from the medication they gave him)

I'm not going to lie it has been a rough two weeks in our house. Michael's burn is not only very painful for him but also very labor intensive. I had to drive him around for the first week (because the car that wasn't broken is a manual and it hurt too much for him to use the clutch). It's difficult for him to walk or bend down so helping our with chores or the girls is nearly impossible for him. Plus it was constant dressing changes, hunting for the right dressings, picking up medications, a repeat trip to the doctor to rule out infection, a new medication that is really dangerous for pregnant women in their 3rd trimester that I can't touch yet I needed to help him smother all over his burn, and keeping the house under control by myself while 8 1/2 months pregnant. He has been a trooper and pushed through finals for his students and himself despite how much it hurts. Interestingly enough, the first few days it didn't hurt too badly. But as things have started to heal a bit the pain has been much worse. Then this past week both Hazel and Eliza came down with the stomach flu. Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Along the way we have truly seen many blessings though. Our family in town has stepped up in so many ways to help. Harrison and Rebecca took the girls and drove us home from the ER the night it happened. Alicia babysat when I had to take Micahel back to the doctor. TJ has helped a ton with keeping our driveway shoveled and fixing the car so Michael could start driving again. My mom (who has been battling a painful injury herself) took the girls overnight then drove them home the next day so I could get caught up on some things. Gabby has acted as our on call nurse to answer our questions and give us tips to keep Mike as comfortable as possible. Thanks to all of you!

I also feel I have been blessed and strengthened. I have never felt this good at 35 weeks pregnant nor had this much energy. I know it's been a blessing from our Heavenly Father to me. Oh, and I never caught the girl's stomach flu which was another huge blessing! As for Michael, I know he too has been strengthened to make it though all he has had to get done the past few weeks despite feeling yucky.

We survived and we're stronger for it! (Though if I never have to repeat these past two weeks I'll be happy). Michael's burn still hurts a lot and has quite a bit of healing left to go. But it is getting better. And he finally did get some of his cake two days after his birthday. So glad we went with the frozen cheesecake so it was still good!

*I considered adding pictures to this post but they're a bit graphic and I decided to spare everyone. You're welcome!*

Thankful!

This year we made a Thankful tree during the month of November. Each day we would add a few leaves to the tree as we thought of things we were thankful for. At first the girls only wanted to list things like princesses, dress ups, etc. But as the month continued some of the things they thought up to hang on the thankful tree were really sweet. In the end it made a fun decoration for our kitchen too!

Some of my favorites from Hazel included: my first time in the Primary program, Rafi is home, the new Provo temple, princess quilt, and her mermaid costume.

A few of the things Eliza came up with all on her own were: family, coloring, Ellie, and the thankful tree.

It was also a great way for me to reflect. This year I felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude for Micahel's calling on the high counsel. It keeps him BUSY that's for sure. In many ways it is a difficult and trying calling for him and for our family. I'm left alone with the girls most Sundays (and that will only get more interesting when the baby joins us next month). It fills much of  time that is left in his schedule after work and school. And yet at the same time, I feel our family has been so blessed with love, and peace, and harmony since his call. Our Stake President put it perfectly at our recent Stake Conference. He said "People keep thanking me for my service, but I don't understand why. For me it was a wonderful opportunity. It's like saying 'Thanks for going to Hawaii'."His calling truly has been a wonderful opportunity and a huge blessing in our lives.

The Thankful Tree was a great reminder of all that we have to feel grateful for each day. We are SO blessed! 

California Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving in California this year! It was a wonderful trip visiting family and enjoying the warm weather.

By far the biggest hit of the trip was the beach. The girls LOVED the beach this year and we went every day except one while we were there. We also visited the tide pools (a first for me and both the girls). Hazel of course loved looking at things but wouldn't touch anything and when she did she would whine and pout. Eliza on the other hand loved touching things. That is a perfect reflection of their personalities!

 

We also enjoyed all our favorite California food while we were there - Wahoos, Oh Those Doughnuts, and Ruby's to name a few. 

 Thanksgiving Day was spent enjoying delicious food at Grandma and Grandpa's house with plenty of extended family. (I didn't take any pictures that day though except this one of Jamie pampering Eliza. Notice Ellie under her shirt - she's pretending she's pregnant haha).

Then on Friday night Grandma took the girls ice skating. Hazel continues to get better and better. This time she was able to do quite a bit of scooting around the ice all on her own. Eliza did really well this time too! She's been skating a few times in the past but has never wanted to do much. But this time she loved it and did awesome! She's such a natural and was also scooting around all on her own by the time they were done.

It was a great trip! We loved having a break from everything to spend time together and enjoy seeing family!

I love them!

Hazel: 

After I asked her if a specific shirt still looked okay with my growing belly
"It doesn't matter what your shirt looks like, you're beautiful no matter what."

While I was brushing her hair one morning
"I know you try and be gentle but really you pull and hurt me even though you're trying."


Eliza: 

About 20 times a day
"Can I have a treat? Say 'Sure!'" or "I want to read 2 more books. Mom, say 'I guess so'"

Nap time the other day

Primary Program

November 10th was our ward's Primary program (where the kids from 4 to 11 present a program of short parts and songs for the entire congregation in place of having speakers for that Sunday). This was Hazel's first year and she was SO excited!

Our ward did something I have never seen done, but I loved it so much. They sent each child home with a prompt and had them discuss it with their parents then write their own speaking part. Hazel's prompt was "My Heavenly Father loves me because______." For family home evening one night we had a lesson about all the ways we know Heavenly Father loves us then let Hazel write her part. Here's what she came up with:

"My Heavenly Father loves me because He made flowers for me."

It was so sweet and so perfect for her. Then she practiced and practiced. The day of the program she was able to stand up and both sign her part in ASL and speak it as well. She also signed and sang along for all the songs (we go to a Deaf ward so the program is in ASL.) We were so proud of our little Sunbeam for doing a great job on her first program!

This picture isn't from the Sunday of the program, but it is adorable.

One other side note... Hazel's favorite song that they sang for the program was "Called to Serve." She memorized both verses and she and Eliza sing it all the time. Every night at bed they want me to sing "Called to Serve" while I tickle their backs and tuck them in for bed. It's so cute how much they love that song!

Rafi is Home!

I posted a while ago about how Hazel lost Rafi and was devastated. It broke my heart to see her missing her "best friend" so much, and after about a month and a half I knew we weren't going to find Rafi. So I gathered up all my super mommy powers to make it better.

First I got online and found an identical "Rafi" on Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised when the seller accepted my offer of $15 so I didn't have to pay the full $25 he was asking for it (though I totally would have had he rejected the offer.)

Then, I got the new "Rafi" in the mail and boy was I shocked. The description said it was used, but when I opened that package I honestly couldn't remember Hazel lovey EVER looking that nice! Haha, guess that's what happens when you get used to the old, well loved, grey Rafi instead of the nice, soft, pink one. So now I had a problem. How would I get her to believe this was really Rafi? Thanks to a stroke of mommy genius, I came up with a plan.

I wrote up a quick letter and left it on the table with Rafi for Hazel to find the next morning...

What made it even more perfect was that morning we woke up to a dusting of snow for the first time this season. Hazel knew this was the real Rafi and the elves really had cleaned her up and sent her home!!!!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited she was! She carried Rafi around all morning and talked to her, catching her up on everything she had missed while she was gone. She excitedly showed Rafi her new bunk bed and cuddled her. She even told Eliza she should send her lovey Ellie to the elves so they could clean Ellie up too with their magic soap!

It truly was one of those moments that was priceless. I'm so, so, so glad it worked! Of course some day she will find out that this Rafi is a replacement, but I don't think she'll be mad. Plus, in her heart, this is the same Rafi and that's all that matters. That night in her prayer she even expressed how thankful she was that Rafi is home. While I know it won't last, I love that for now I can take away her little problems and make everything right in her world again!

Halloween

This year Hazel decided she wanted to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Then Eliza decided she wanted to be Ariel too:) I love how much they want to do the same things right now because I remember doing that with Gabby when we were little.

So the girls picked out the fabric they liked and I made them little mermaid fins. I think they turned out so cute!

I didn't want to pass  up the chance to have a fun pregnant Halloween costume so I made one for baby girl as well! I got so many compliments on her.

My three favorite mermaids!

The girls were SO excited for Halloween because it meant they were allowed to dress up ALL DAY LONG. (We've gotten to the point where they're only allowed to play with their dress up clothes before getting dressed for the day and after dinner. Otherwise they never want to wear clothes and make such a mess switching outfits 100 times a day). So a full day of dress up was heaven for them. They enjoyed that more than the candy!

For pumpkins we were able to grow 10 awesome pumpkins in our backyard this year! The girls picked out their favorites then had fun giving the rest away to friends/family. Sadly we got busy and only got one carved. Any guesses? Yes, it was Ariel:)

Tuesday night we went to the Halloween party in our "hearing" ward then Thursday we enjoyed Trick-or-Treating with friends from our ward. Poor Eliza tripped on her mermaid fin and hurt her hands a bit when trick-or-treating then wanted me to carry her a lot after that. The baby was sitting really low that day and walking was already uncomfortable so it ended up being a long night for me, but the girls loved it.  It was a very successful (if exhausting) day! 

Bunkbeds

The girls have their bunkbeds and you can see how much they LOVE them!

Hazel sleeps on top and is very careful climbing up and down. Eliza on the other hand is such a monkey and makes me nervous sometimes. I hope we don't end up with a broken arm in our future...

I just need to get Hazel's name moved over next to Eliza's now and we'll be one step closer to being ready for the baby to arrive!

Things that make it all worth it

Some days with young kids are just hard. They argue all day, won't take naps, make messes and have accidents at the worst times, fall down and hurt themselves after you warned them to stop doing something. And it goes on and on. But then there are the millions of things that happen every day that make it all worth it. To me these always come at the most discouraging times and I know they are true tender mercies from the Lord. Here are a few of the tender mercies I've seen recently....

Having Daddy home on a Sunday afternoon (a very rare occurrence these days!) Then seeing Eliza give him tons of loves and cuddles.

 Finding sweet Eliza asleep like this. It looks like she fell asleep saying prayers.

Spending time with the most beautiful princesses in the land! Those necklaces and rings are as bad as Legos on bare feet but I will sure miss this when they're older. 

Finding Hazel not napping but instead doing this... 

She even put the toe pads in before she put the shoes on. I just couldn't even be upset with her:) 

Finding the "72 Hour Kit" that Hazel made all by herself...

Realizing as I was blow drying Eliza's lovey so it would be dry for bedtime (she had an accident about 6 and won't sleep without Ellie) that I'm so thankful to be spending my days like this.

During the General Relief Society Broadcast I was touched by many of the talks and messages that were shared. It was truly an amazing night of inspiration. But the thing that touched me the most that night was singing the song "I'll go Where you Want Me to Go" The lyrics go: "It may not be on the mountain height, or over the stormy sea. It may not be at the battle front, my Lord will have need of me." As I sang I felt an overwhelming feeling of assurance that the Lord needs me most at home with my kids. The days may be long and I may spend my time blow drying loveys so little girls can go to sleep that night, but I'm so thankful for it!

Dryer Elves

You know those annoying little elves that steal socks from your dryer? Well mine have escaped and are pillaging the house! And they're only hitting big targets.

Right now the camera is missing (with an 8GB memory card in it that has pictures from the past 2 years in it!). So is Hazel's best friend Rafi. And our can opener. All of them have been lost for several weeks and it's making me crazy wondering where in the world they went. 

The last time we saw the camera was when we went on a picnic up the canyon. It was in my pocket right before we left and I swear I looked through the photos as we sat in the car on the way home, but no luck. I was REALLY bummed about losing it. Not for the camera but for all those pictures! Thankfully all the best pictures are on the blog and I'm so glad I've kept it up to date. I'm still hoping it turns up!

Then there's Rafi. Poor Hazel misses her so much. She tells me Rafi is on vacation and has been calling and texting her. But now Rafi got lost on her way home and is still trying to figure out how to make it back here. It makes me sad Hazel doesn't have her best friend. And for whatever reason, it makes be sad to think of Hazel going to school without Rafi. Hazel has talked about how when she goes to Kindergarten Rafi will come along and stay in her backpack all day. If Rafi is there she won't be afraid and she'll have someone to comfort her if she needs it when I won't be there. (Pregnancy's making me a tad overly emotional I'd say).

The can opener? Well, that I'm just annoyed by. Seriously, how do you lose your can opener?

So dear dryer elves, please bring back some of our things. Until then I'll be asking everyone for  every picture they have of my children for Christmas.