OUCH!

We've had quite a day today. I got a call this morning just after school started from the school nurse. "Abby fell off the monkey bars and might have broken her wrist." She didn't sound too worried, so I didn't get too worried. I took a few minutes to finish up breakfast dishes, then left the younger kids with John and headed to the school. When I got there, there was an ambulance and a fire truck pulled onto the school recess field, and paramedics were swarming around Abby, who was still directly under the monkey bars. As I looked at her arm, my stomach did a few twists. Be brave--you're the mom! Between her right elbow and wrist, her arm was in the shape of an "S". Pretty deformed.

The paramedics tried to find a good vein to give her morphine to dull the pain and help her calm down before they attempted to splint her arm. She was beside herself with pain and kept telling me she was scared. Heart wrenching! After poking her in one spot and failing, they poked her in another spot. Failure again. So without any pain meds, they moved her around to splint her "S" shaped arm, then got her on a stretcher and loaded her in the ambulance. In the ambulance, another paramedic tried to poke her in a different spot to find a good vein. Failure. Then again in a new spot. Failure. This whole time, Abby was almost in shock with pain. And I had to just sit there, wipe away her tears, hold her hand, and tell her I'm so sorry and it's going to be OK-but had no control and felt completely helpless.

When we got to the ER, a new nurse tried to find a vein. Failure again. All her good veins had collapsed because of the trauma. By this time, Abby had worn herself out from crying and didn't want to get poked anymore. I felt tears welling up in my own eyes. Be strong --you're the mom. But they didn't stop. I didn't want Abby to see me cry, so I bowed my head and said a quiet, fervent prayer. Please, help the nurse find a good vein so Abby can get out of this misery.

Finally, almost two hours after the accident, a different nurse found a vein and was able to give her some heavy pain meds that took off the edge. My quiet prayer was answered. Within minutes, Abby was relaxed and much more comfortable. I thought her first few concerns were cute: I won't be able to play in my piano recital coming up in a few weeks if the cast covers my fingers or elbow, who is going to pick up EmmaClaire from her kindergarten class when school gets out today, and does this mean I can't watch Taylor and Mason's last basketball game or go on my school field trip on Monday?

She got x-rays taken. She broke the ulna and radius (both bones between her elbow and wrist) completely through. And it wasn't a very clean break. Kind of messy and jagged. Kind of graphic and gross. So don't look if you have soft stomach--it's definitely "X-rated".

Then we sat, and sat, and sat. . . waiting for the operating room to open up. Late in the afternoon, a surgeon was able to completely sedate her, then reset her arm without making any incisions, thank goodness. Had she been older and more fully grown, this break would have required some major hardware with surgery. But because she still has some growing to do, hopefully her bones will fuse together more quickly. Then he casted her from the wrist to just below the shoulder, with a few slits for swelling.

She's home now. After Panda Express, Jamba Juice, a few treats from neighbors, some fun movies from Redbox, extra TLC from her siblings, and lots of pain meds, she's feeling quite comfortable. Dr's orders are; lots of elevation for the next 10 days, back to the hospital for more x-rays and a new cast in two weeks, and lots of sitting around and doing nothing. She's such an active little girl, this might drive her batty!

After observing all the TLC Abby's gotten tonight, Taylor shared that he might like to get his arm broken too. Because breaking your arm brings extra treats, comfy pillows, favorite dinner from a restaurant, nice visits and cards from family, and tons of care. My first reaction was to lecture him on being so unsensitive, not recognizing all the pain and discomfort Abby had been through during the day. His comment kind of bothered me. John noticed that, shushed me before it turned into an argument (in his oh-so-gentle way, of course) then said to Taylor with a twinkle in his eye, "I can break it for you if you want". That brought laughs from everyone and dispelled the stress. He's so good for me, I just love it!

I know that prayer works, and it's real. And during that tough time when my tears reached the surface, I thought that maybe these helpless yet painful feelings were minutely similar to those of Heavenly Father, as He watched down on His Son suffer on the cross. I knew Abby would get through it, I knew that she would be feeling better soon, and that her life would continue to go well. This was just a bump in the road. But even with that knowledge, it still crushed me to watch her go through all the pain. I wished so badly that I could take it from her, or somehow do something to get rid of it for her. But I couldn't. All I could do was give comfort-stroke her cheek, wipe away the tears, tell her I loved her and that things would work out in time. It was one of those "ah ha" experiences for me.

Nonetheless, I hope that was my first and last ambulance ride.

Those darn monkey bars!

Picacho Peak Hike

John took the kids on a fun hike today (See post below.) Here's a few pictures of their adventure.

President's Day

I woke up this morning with a sinus headache (nothing new, I've been dealing with being sick for almost a month. . .allergies, sinus pressure, yucky cold, migraines, etc. . . ).

John woke up this morning with an itch to hike Picacho Peak.

I stayed in my jammies, John got everyone up and dressed.

I scheduled a doctor apt for myself, John took all but Kate to the mountain and hiked it to the top. (On his way into the park, apparently the ranger 'recommended' that only kids older than 12 hike to the top because it was pretty challenging. . . whatever--that didn't fly with John) Then he visited Dairy Queen on the way home, brought Pizza home for dinner, helped clean up and give asthma treatments to Kate and Andersen, and is now watching Star Wars with all of them.

And what did I do all day? Take a nap, visit the doctor, pick up a prescription and snuggle on the couch with Kate, who is also sick.

Pretty much, he's AWESOME and I'm in love! And our kids are lucky to have him for a dad. He has won their hearts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

There's lots of love at my house today. The kitchen is plastered with construction paper hearts and sweet notes to each other. Last night we had an FHE on loving each other. I read this poem and had the kids and John act it out:

HUGS By: Shel Silverstein

I will not play at tug o'war.

I'd rather play at hug o'war.

Where everyone hugs

Instead of tugs,

Where everyone giggles

And rolls on the rug.

Where everyone kisses.

And everyone grins,

And everyone cuddles,

And everyone wins.

I laughed when I got to the kissing part, everyone ran towards Kate. She's so kissable.

This morning we had pink heart shaped pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. And tonight I have a lasagna dinner planned (everyone's favorite that hardly ever happens) with individual chocolate lava cakes for dessert (John's favorite!).

We did homemade 3-D valentines for the kids this year. To get the full picture in your head, imagine cutting a tiny slit above and below the fists with a razor, then sticking a sucker through those holes. They turned out pretty cute.

John has been my valentine on this day for 15 years now. This morning as we were getting ready for the day, we reminisced on some of those Valentines Days and how our relationship has deepened and strengthened over time. I'm a lucky girl to have him by my side--now and forever!

The New Year brings 8 AM Church!

First of all, getting all the kids ready on my own (John leaves for meetings at 6:30) and being on our way at 7:30 AM, looking nice, breakfast fed, and "happy" is almost a joke. (I say 'almost' because yesterday morning was a pure success! But barely).

Then there's the whole rest of the day to keep the kids doing reverent things, being kind to each other, and keeping the Spirit in our home.

Here's Taylor and Mason, getting bored enough to do arm curls with the hamper, with our little heavy weight champion in tow. Very creative! And it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, which of course ALWAYS happens (in this instance, about 2 minutes after snapping the picture).

All the kids enjoy being together, which I am so grateful for. They don't require any outside entertainment or friends because they have each other.

But typically, with time the 'being together' leads to wrestling, UNproductivity, teasing, lazy laying around, 'creative' messes in the kitchen, and lots of noise. And there's only so many tricks in my bag for keeping them productive on Sunday afternoons. And it's usually all me, as John is typically gone most of the day with meetings.

I am not complaining, but I am up for suggestions. . . .

The Deal of the Century!!!

Guess how much I spent on this cute pair of pants from Old Navy?

I went in to return some "boy" clothes and exchange them for "men" clothes for Taylor. Can't hardly believe that I have to shop in the Men's section for him already.

And while I was there, all the clearance sections were marked an additional 30% off. So, without looking for something specific, I browsed a little just to see if there were any deals. I found these brown pants in my size, but with no tag on it.

So I took it to the front desk, thinking that if it was a great deal then maybe I'd get them. After telling that to the store clerk, she rang up the price and said to me, "wow, I think you've gotten the deal of the century". In my mind, I'm thinking, "no-you don't realize how cheap I am. 10$ for a pair of pants isn't a 'deal'. . . even if it was origionally $28". So I started telling her how cheap I am and how I really didn't want them unless it was a screemin' deal, not just a good deal.

Any guesses?

$0.67. Yep-that's what I paid. Sixty-seven cents! Definitely not a need, but for sixty-seven cents, how could I pass it up?

I came home and told John about my amazing shopping experience. His response was, "what a waste of money. . .that's worth a pack of M&M's. And M&M's 'are' a need, not those pants!"

Hey, at least the color of the pants reminds him of chocolate.

Merry Christmas--a Trip to the Dominican Republic

John and I had saved for and planned our trip for a few months, but Taylor had no idea he was going until Christmas morning. He opened his one and only present--a trip itinerary and a passport. His first response was pure SHOCK! But he got over that and was pretty excited for the trip.

We left for the DR the following day and enjoyed an AWESOME vacation. The best part--we got to spend lots of time with my parents. Here's a few pictures of our fun times.

Me and my mom, standing on her balcony. Love Love Loved having time with my mom.


Spencer (my baby brother), me, Taylor, John and my darling dad.

One of the most memorable things we did was serve in an orphanage that housed children ages 3-12 boys and 3-18 girls. There were about 50 children all together. Taylor and his uncle Matt made some good friends while playing basketball together. Taylor was impressed that although he couldn't speak their language, they still had fun together. And body language goes a long way in basketball.

I can't speak very much Spanish either. But that 7th grade Spanish class amazingly made an impression. These girls laughed at my limited communication skills, but nonetheless became my favorite amigos. I learned about them and shared a lot about me and my family. It was a neat experience for me.

Here's a line of children waiting for their main meal of the day at the orphanage. We served them beans, rice, carrot salad, rolls, juice, and a cookie.

And here's the line-up of workers, serving the plates of food for the kids.

No where in the city of Santo Domingo did I see any kind of mowed lawn or manicured bushes, plants, etc. Except for the temple. It definitely sets itself apart from the rest of the city because of how clean, orderly, and beautiful it is.

We spent an afternoon visiting the church-owned property/camp that is used for youth camps and hopefully something like EFY each summer. It was surrounded with lush jungle. Lots of vines hanging from all kinds of trees, massive leaves, lots of flowers. Compared to the AZ desert, it was BEAUTIFUL! This picture doesn't do it justice!

It was rewarding to do baptisms for the Dead in the Santo Domingo Temple with Taylor. Something he'll never forget!

A few people have asked me if the water really looks like it does in all the pictures. No, it's better in person. We were amazed at how clear the water was. Hardly any waves. We spent a day snorkeling around some remote little island and had a grand time. On our way home, the driver of our boat dropped his anchor in what is called "the World's Largest Swimming Pool". In the middle of nowhere, the depth of the ocean was about 4 feet deep, completely flat, and covered the size of about 5 football fields. It was amazing. We jumped out and swam for a while. Here's a picture of John, Taylor and Grandpa holding up a few starfish they found at the bottom of the "pool".

My brother Matt and Taylor, ready with gear on to snorkel.

We spent another day learning about Christopher Columbus and his exploration of the New World. Santo Domingo was the first city in the New World, even before he found America. This is my brother Spencer and Taylor with tour headphones on, hanging out with some coat of armor guy in a Christopher Columbus museum.

A day at the beach. Missing it already!

Notice the difference in the water color behind us. Some parts are very light blue/green while other parts are darker. It's not shadows. While snorkeling, we found that the darker parts are where lots of seaweed/plant life has grown in bunches. And the lighter parts are white sand.

Because the water was so clear, we could see lots of sea life from the boat. I spotted a shark a few feet away (only a bout 2 feet long). We also saw sea turtles, star fish, lots of Nemo's and Dora fish, eels, and lots of other big schools of fish swimming together. Pretty awesome.

I took this picture of the temple from my parent's balcony. You can see the ocean directly behind it.

Taylor at the Christopher Columbus museum with some new friends.

The building/cathedral was built under the direction of Christopher Columbus in the 1500's and is the oldest standing structure in the "New World" and throughout the Americas. The inside structure was more impressive than the outside. Thinking of how they built such a big building without cranes and modern-day tools just blows my mind.

We had great experiences there and enjoyed learning about the culture, people, their language and history. And spending time with my parents and brother was priceless!

All in all, I came home with a renewed commitment to never complain about anything in my life. I have so much and am so blessed--so many comforts and conveniences, so many opportunities, and most importantly, I have knowledge of the Gospel of Christ and a safe and happy family--that's what makes my life wonderful.