A few things....

That I have been meaning to write down...
- Brock is smiling now. I still have to work pretty hard to coax them out but they just light up his face when he does! His first real gee I'm happy to see you mom smile was on March 18th.
- Rhett needs more mommy attention. I'm working on that.
- Zane had a great birthday and has been such a great brother to share everything with Rhett.
- Rhett was eating crackers this evening as I was nursing Brock and this is what he said " look mom, I'm eating his head (as he took a bite out of both crackers in his hands), look mom I'm eating his arms....in my mouth....look mom I'm eating his bum... At this I burst out laughing! He just cracks me up sometimes.
- We bought a new chair....well new to us. I love kijji. And I never get to sit in it. But both boys fit in it and they're happy happy happy about it.
- Lego Indiana Jones is addicting.
- I went 3 days without eating any chocolate. It's been my big sugar fix lately so it was a big deal. Had a little yesterday....but didn't binge so was happy about that. Did no chocolate and no chips today. Trying to get back to eating healthy and exercising again.
- I worked out 4 times this week. Yeah me! I wish it was 6 times but I'm focusing on the positives.
- Brock still has no schedule. Some days he eats like crazy, some days not. Some nights he sleeps great, some nights not.
- Brock is not a happy boy when I eat ice cream. No, I should re-phrase that. Brock IS a happy boy when I eat ice cream but is happy at 3 am for about 2 hours so mommy isn't happy.
- I am missing the HOURS I was spending on quilting almost every day.
- I finally cleaned my bathroom today. It's been on my list since Monday.
- I went to a fabric store during a 50% sale and didn't buy ANYTHING! I did help a friend spend $200! She's making her first quilt.
- I love going to church but I dread the 9:00 time. I actually have to get up before Brock....still very hard to do that.
- I have to perform Cannon in D on Easter Sunday....I'm very worried. I'm not performance ready yet and my days just keep flying by without my fingers touching the keyboard!
- I'm looking forward to being in southern Alberta, but not the trip by myself with the kids.
- My kids have the best aunties and uncles any kid could ask for.
- I'm due to write a 10 Things post....but not tonight!

Zane is 6

Wow. Zane turned 6 years old on Sunday. We've been parents for 6 years! How has that much time gone by so quickly? We are so blessed to have Zane in our family. He is a kind, caring, sweet little boy who loves life. He is an awesome big brother, thoughtful and loving son and generally a delight to be around. He has a budding testimony of the gospel, asks me questions that make me think and is a SPONGE for information. He loves going to school and has lots of friends. His teacher adores him. And he can't wait for the soccer season to start...he's registered to play for the first time this year. Good thing Cliff and I got him some cleats, shin pads and a real ball for his birthday! He was excited over them but much much more excited over the Lego Indiana Jones game his brothers came up with. Pretty good for almost 3 and 6 weeks, eh? Hee Hee Hee. It really was an eventful weekend....Thursday night Grammie S and Grandpa Dooley surprised us! They weren't supposed to be here until sometime Friday afternoon - but it was awesome to get them early! Friday mom and I took Brock and did all the grocery and party shopping. The boys and Cliff and Grandpa fixed our kitchen faucet and hung out. Saturday mom and dad helped me get everything ready for Saturday night and Sunday. We decided to combine Zane's birthday and Brock's blessing so our families and friends only had to make one trip. However, we couldn't fit everyone into our house at one time so we booked the church. My parents, Cliff's parents and 2 sisters and some friends were all able to make it. We had invited everyone who was standing in the circle with Cliff and their families. Some could come, some couldn't but it was still fun! I made 2 big crock pots full of chili - one very hot at the request of Cliff and Dad. Apparently it still wasn't quite hot enough but whatever. So we had chili, chips, buns and some yummy fruit platters. The kids had a blast running around with the noise makers and balloons I picked up at the dollar store and decorating the crowns I picked up as well. Everyone ate lots, we sang happy birthday and blew out the candles on the cupcakes and of course opened presents. Zane got spoiled of course. Zane's favorite was his Lego Indiana Jones game, mine was the quilt that Grammie S made for him! He likes it but I'm sure he'll appreciate it more when he gets older. Grammie said he reacted about the way she expected him to!

Sunday morning we woke up to about 8 inches of snow and it was still falling!!! Seriously. Ugg. I'm so done with winter. But whatever. I don't control the weather and we HAD to go to church because we were blessing Brock! So away we went into Red Deer - only did about 80 the whole way but we did make it. Mom and I went to get Brock dressed while everyone else got a seat. We had Cliff, Grandpa Dooley, Trevor Pratt, Warren Van Orman, Dave Robison, Steve Hall, and Collin Anderson stand in the circle and Cliff gave Brock an awesome blessing. And if you don't know he was officially blessed and named as Brock Dooley Johnson. We tried to get some good family pictures after Sacrament Meeting was over....We got the pictures but they just make me laugh because Rhett was in a very uncooperative mood. He wanted to go to nursery and wanted nothing to do with sitting nice and smiling. Oh well. At least we were all together!

Mom and Dad J and the girls left right away to combat the weather and Mom and Dad R stayed for a little while after church. I had choir so they took the kids home and Cliff stayed to drive me home...I was in no condition to drive - far too tired! Grandpa Dooley made Zane a birthday cake on Saturday and after we had eaten lunch on Sunday we lit candles again, sang again, and had oh so yummy chocolate cake with fudgy icing. Yumm Yumm Yumm.

What a good weekend!

Yesterday started out good. I shoveled out in front of our house where we park....Cliff almost got stuck leaving for work and I didn't want to get stuck when it was time to go get Zane from school. I called that my workout for the day and my oh my are my arms feeling it today! After shovelling my day went downhill because Brock was a fussy fussy baby all day. I think the poor kid cried more yesterday than he has since being home. I think it's because I ate 3 bowls of chili in 24 hours and from all the excitement and passing around of him over the weekend. He was hardly put down (which I expected and had NO problem with) so yesterday he just wanted to be held all day. I accomplished getting the laundry washed and supper made. That's it. But he did sleep really well last night - I was only up once! And today has been a good day.

Enjoy the pictures...I've only been trying since Sunday to get this post completed!

Oh Yummy Mummy....

Some of you may know my very talented friend Tisha Gilbert. She is amazing and has designed her own line of baby and mommy essentials. Everything is SO cute and comfy and cozy. I LOVE it. You can go here or here to check it out. I have a Mei Tai which Brock and I ADORE! and I get compliments on it everywhere I wear it. And I get my Kelly bag tomorrow. Oh I'm so excited to get my knew bag. So if you haven't already you should check out her site. She's sure to have something for you or someone you know!

Why not....

Fifty Questions.
1. Do you like blue cheese? I've never tried it. I think there are some things that shouldn't be blue.

2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Nope. Never been tempted to and the smell makes me sick.

3. Do you own a gun? No. The few times I attempted to shoot a gopher were fun but I have horrible aim.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Never been to Sonic but I'm partial to berry flavorings...

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Routine ones no. Surgery - yes and the first couple of baby ones yes but only because of the complications we've had.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Yum. Especially with cheese, ketchup and mustard.

7. Favorite Christmas Song? how about CD? LOVE the Forgotten Carols. It was the only Christmas music the kids and I listened to in the van this past year!

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water. Sometimes orange juice - the real kind with lots of pulp.

9. Can you do push-ups? I'm not sure if I can anymore.

10. What is your favorite movie? I don't think I have one.

11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring and my sleeper hoops. I never remember to put earrings in so I love having my hoops.

12. Favorite hobby? Quilting. Blogging. Spending some time alone!

13. Do you work with people who idolize you? Nope.

14. Do you have ADD? Probably. Ask Cliff.

15. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? Being passive.

16. What’s your middle name? Lynn

17. Name three thoughts at this moment: When is Brock going to wake up. Do I have enough time to finish this and get supper started before he wants to eat. Maybe he should sleep in his swing tonight.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: Vinegar and chocolate chips and Cliff bought part of Zane's birthday present.

19. Current worry right now? Having everything ready for this weekend.

21. Current hate right now? Extreme sleep deprivation

22. Favorite place to be? With my family.

23. How did you bring in the New Year? Cliff me and mom did something....and we made it to midnight.

24. Where would you like to go? Somewhere with no snow and I'm looking forward to a few days in southern Alberta at the beginning of April.

25. Name three people who will complete this? I hate these types of questions. I guess whoever has the time.

26. Whose answer do you want to read the most? Again, lameo question.

27. What color shirt are you wearing? Black.

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never done it but don't think I'd like it. I prefer the t-shirt ones.

29. Can you whistle? A little.

30. Favorite color? Red. Brown. Lots of blues.

31. Would you be a pirate? Nope.

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I think in the shower.

33. Favorite girl’s name? Aubrey

34. Favorite boy’s name? Zane, Rhett and Brock. I LOVED the name Quaid but Cliff wouldn't go for it. I also really like Jack.

35. What’s in your pocket right now? No pockets. Wearing sweats.

36. Last thing that made you laugh? Brock.

37. Best bed sheets as a child? No idea

38. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Bat to the head. 3 stitches and still have the scar.

39. What is your favorite snack? depends on the day. Toast is good, yogurt, chocolate....

40. Favorite thing to do on Sundays? Have a nap and enjoy time as a family.

41. Who is your loudest friend? Jennie...it's one of my favorite things about her!

42. How many dogs do you have? No dogs here.

43. Does someone have a crush on you? well Cliff still loves me after almost 8 years of marriage...does that count?

45. What is your favorite book? Usually whatever one I've just finished. I'm actually working my way through a bunch of Ensigns right now.

46. What is your favorite candy? Most things chocolate and Mike and Ikes.

47. What is your favorite sports team? Don't have one. Cliff's is the Canucks.

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Who thinks of these things?

49. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Going to bed or getting up with Brock for the first time...I can't remember!

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Please don't wake up for awhile yet Brock....

Did anyone else realize that #20 and #44 are missing? They weren't there when I copied it. Oh well.
Lists are always fun to do - fun to read others and to look back at the answers you wrote.

A few other things I'm thinking about today...
My dad sent me an email awhile ago. It was a story about a little boy who makes a cub car by himself with mom's supervision because dad isn't interested. He goes to the rally and ends up in the final race against the best looking car there. You know that the kid didn't do much and the other dad pretty much did everything and that this other car is going to waste his wobbly, homely little car. The boy asks for a minute to pray and after his prayer starts the race with a smile. His car wins and he loudly proclaims Thank You! Of course everyone assumes that he prayed to win. But when questioned about it he says something to this effect : "Oh I wouldn't ever pray for someone else to fail so that I could win. I prayed to have the strength not to cry when the other car beat mine." I've thought about this a lot over the past couple of weeks because I think I often pray for the Lord to change something or someone to suite my purposes instead of praying that the Lord will give me strength to face whatever it is I'm facing. This morning I prayed for strength in body and mind to cope with the sleep deprivation. (Brock has slept horribly the past couple of nights) I told the Lord my situation and that I couldn't be the mom that I needed to be in my current state so either I needed my body and mind to work at a higher level or Brock needed to start sleeping at night. I've had a very productive day and know that the Lord has answered my prayer. I hope to remember to pray for strength and not solutions that change the Lord's plan for me.
I've also been thinking about a primary song that Zane is learning. It's not in the Children's song book and is called The Family is of God. The chorus is my favorite and goes like this:

God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be
This is how He shares His love
For the family is of God.

Zane told me that this song makes him feel Jesus in his heart. What can say it better than that?

And I'm thinking about our temple recommend interviews last night. We went to have the stake sign them and met with a member of the presidency that we didn't know. Our presidency has only been in for a few months and President Moore lives in Rocky Mountain House - 45 minutes west of here. Anyways, I went first and after answering all the questions President Moore told me that I have a wonderful countenance about me and that he really enjoyed asking me these questions...this struck me because it was the same thing my bishop said when I met with him. Now I'm not trying to brag or make myself sound better or anything like that. The reason I mention it here and why I've been thinking about it is because it makes me think about my countenance and what other people see there. I don't see anything remarkable when I look in the mirror. In fact right now I see someone who is very tired but trying to do her best and be the best mom she can be. I see a woman who is desperate to start exercising again but can't make herself give up any of the precious little sleep she is getting. I see a woman who eats A LOT of chocolate lately because she's an emotional eater. But those are my concerns and my flaws that I see. It is nice to know that others are seeing something different when they see me. Cliff told me that President Moore said a lot of nice things about me to Cliff as well...I'm not writing them here because I feel like I'm bragging about something that I didn't really do. It also encouraged me because it made me think that some of the small things that I'm doing in my life are affecting me and people around me without me knowing it. It's a nice thought.

Brock at 1 month...well really 5 weeks but who's counting?

So I really meant to do this post last Sunday....and now it's Sunday again! How did that happen? Oh well, not too much has changed in a week.

Brock is now 5 weeks old and last Monday weighed in at 9lbs 7oz!

His hands and thighs are starting to chunk up.

His eyes look like they are going to be my blue.

Wakes us from a nap hungry and cries. If I'm not there in a couple of minutes he goes back to sleep for 10 minutes and then wakes up again.

He mostly nurses but also takes a bottle.

Doesn't have a problem taking a bottle from me.

Likes to be swaddled up to go to sleep.

Has definite cries for hungry and for tired.

Is awake and alert a lot more now.

Is discovering his hands - mostly when they accidentally hit something else.

Has the cutest 'confused' look I've ever seen. It cracks me up!

Has a smile that lights up his whole face. Just waiting for him to do it on purpose!

Can be a little fussy in the evenings but nothing horrible. Usually just wants to be held.

Is usually in bed between 10:30 and 11:00 and starts off the night sleeping 4 hours. Then eats and goes back to bed for another 3.

Has one long nap in the morning, one long nap in the afternoon and goes between various stages of alert and out of it in between those.

Takes 45 minutes to nurse, get bum changed and nurse on the other side. Downs a 4 oz bottle in about 15 minutes.

Loves to cuddle.

Loves his Mei Tai.

Sucks on his soother but is not terribly attached to it.

Is an easy baby so far.

Other happenings in our family....Zane is almost over his latest cold and Rhett is in the middle of one. Brock has been stuffy but seems to be fine today so hopefully he won't get the cough his brothers have had/have.

We got rid of the ugly recliner/rocking chair that we've had for almost 6 years. It was unanimously the favorite of the men in this family but was also just disgusting. Six years of constant every day use and not leather. Do I need to say more? So how do you ask did I finally convince Cliff to get rid of it? I have to admit that mom pointed out the obvious to me. Seeing how it is the chair that all 3 of them hang out it - whether they are healthy or not - it was just crawling with germs. And Cliff, Zane and Rhett just keep getting sick. I don't ever sit in the chair and I'm not getting sick. So, I presented this idea to Cliff in my best wifely ways, expecting that I was going to have to sell this idea a couple of times to get my way, but Cliff surprised me and got rid of the chair Friday morning. I'm so spoiled - my hubby almost always gives me my way. We traumatized Rhett a little in the process as he was sitting in it when Cliff came to get it. "my chair, my chair" was his cry as Cliff hauled it out the door. But he's adjusting well. We do intend to replace it - but with leather this time!

We had a really great day together as a family on Friday just sitting at home and hanging out. Cliff was a great hubby and cooked a bunch of bacon that I needed for a recipe for Saturday and Brock and I hung out in bed because the living room was too cold with all the windows open and fans going. Then he got rid of the chair and all the other stuff that piled up on the porch when it was too cold to go out, we watched movies with the kids, Allreds came over and he played in the snow with all the kids....it was just a nice, relaxing day for all of us. It's so nice to have someone else around to hand Brock to when he's hungry and I need to get supper ready!

Zane and Rhett go from one extreme to the other lately - playing great to screaming at each other. I guess that's normal. And oh my oh my the play fighting/wrestling has started in earnest. Rhett is now 43 lbs and Zane is 59 and only has about 8 inches on Rhett so he's not afraid of hurting him anymore. Results are big brother pushing and pulling back where he used to just walk away. Thankfully they're very mindful of where Brock is and haven't rolled over him....yet.

Zane FINALLY got to see the pediatric dentist and was a pro. He drank back the sedation medicine and did everything that they asked him to. The only time he got upset was when I had to leave for the x-rays and at the end his tummy got a little upset and he threw up. Other than that he did great. He didn't like the freezing coming out but definitely milked the whole soft foods diet for as long as he could. He was supposed to get 2 molars capped and ended up getting 6! Yikes. But he's done and hopefully he won't need to go back. He is now eagerly looking forward to his birthday next Sunday and all the friends and family that will be involved in that!

And we are finally being social again. I went to the RS March 17 dinner on Thursday and took Brock with me. He was a hit (of course) and it felt so good to sit with everyone and get all caught up again. I couldn't believe how much I missed! Last night we went over to Allred's for a potluck, games and guitar hero. It was so much fun! We're so lucky to have such great friends! And today all 5 of us went to church! And made it there in time to get a bench instead of the chairs. I was impressed. Poor Rhett coughed once before we left and by the time we got to church he was hacking pretty good. I felt bad but Cliff and I both had commitments that had to be done after sacrament so we stayed.

This week we're gearing up for our families to visit for Zane's birthday and Brock's blessing on Sunday. We've invited those who are going to stand in the circle and have planned the dinner the night before...now I just need a clean house, the food, and about 20 hours to finish a quilt. I'm thinking the quilt isn't going to get done but I'm going to try my best. It's for Kristie's birthday/graduation. But I'll get done as much as I can.

I'm sure as soon as I hit the publish button I'm going to think of something else that I wanted to write here. sigh. I miss my brain.

I Know....

I read about this idea in the Time Out For Women newsletter that I get every month. You take 15 minutes to write down "I Know" statements that pertain to you. The only catch is that you have to KNOW that each statement is true. I've been wanting to do it for awhile now so here goes!

I know that being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done but also the most rewarding thing I've ever done.
I know that my sons were chosen to be here on earth at this time for a very specific purpose.
I know that I love my husband more today than the day I married him.
I know that I am the one and only in my hubby's world.
I know that the Lord has blessed me with wonderful friends to fill the gap of being far from family.
I know that prayers are answered.
I know that not all prayers are answered right away.
I know that I belong to the the true and living church of Jesus Christ - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I know that life can be hard.
I know that life is a test.
I know that I will not be perfect in this life and that's OK.
I know that I MUST try my hardest to become perfect in this life.
I know that the atonement is real, that my Savior, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for me and was resurrected so that we might all live again.
I know that we will live again after this life.
I know that we can be eternal families.
I know that raising faithful children in today's world is challenging but necessary.
I know that I cannot leave teaching gospel principals to my children to other people. It has to happen in my home.
I know that I am supposed to stay home and nurture my children. Cliff is supposed to provide for us. This isn't always easy.
I know that paying tithing brings blessings.
I know that we all have different challenges.
I know that we all have different talents.
I know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and that He loves us.
I know that I am the center of my children's world right now and that it will change one day.
I know that raising boys is a lot different than raising girls.
I know that days, weeks, months and years go by faster the older you get.
I know that my age changes every year but I don't feel any older!
I know that I have learned, grown, and changed a lot from the 20 year old girl that married Cliff almost 8 years ago.
I know that I have TONS to still learn.
I know that I love quilting.
I know that I have a talent in music and usually enjoy sharing it.
I know that losing weight is an ongoing, never ending battle for me.
I know that without medical technology two of my sons wouldn't be here today and I probably wouldn't either. That is a miracle.
I know that we are all given trials that we can bear.
I know that I love spring and fall. Summer's a close second and I tolerate winter.
I know that I would hate living farther away from our families but would go with Cliff anywhere he felt our family should be.
I know that being a first time soccer mom is going to be a learning experience!
I know that a smile, kiss, hug or I love you is the best present a child can give you.
I know that life is not always fair.
I know that the Lord has a plan for us all and that I need to trust His time line rather than imposing my own on Him. I know this but don't always remember it!
I know the first 6 weeks with a baby are the hardest and some of the sweetest you'll ever spend.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord and restored the true church to the earth.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true and was written for us in this day and age.
I know being sealed to Cliff in the Temple is one of the best decisions in my life.

I think my 15 minutes is up. That was really refreshing and fun to do!

Flying Solo

I have been on my own for a whole week now with the three munchkins. Mom actually left us Sunday afternoon to go home and surprise dad and Cliff had Stake Priesthood meeting Sunday night so I got to do bedtime with all 3 all by myself. Luckily newborns sleep a lot!

We're slowly settling into a semblance of a routine. It all revolves around when Brock is going to eat. Sometimes he goes 3 hours or a little longer and sometimes he barely makes it an hour and a half! Rhett is slowly coming around to the idea that daddy can help him out with things when mom is feeding Brock and has also figured out to ask me for juice right before I start nursing... as in almost ready to latch Brock on. Oh well. At least he's asking BEFORE we officially get started.

It's been a little bit of a crazy week. Cliff's been gone Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. So I've definitely gotten used to the whole bed time routine again! Rhett is sleeping much better than last week but I still find myself bouncing between my bed, Brock's rocking chair, Rhett's bed and back to my own bed again. There was one night this week that I spent more time out of my bed than in it!

4:00-6:00 is our most challenging time of the day. Rhett is struggling to stay awake and is usually quite grouchy, I'm trying to time supper around Brock's eating, and if he's not eating he wants to be held usually during this time. I'm not sure how I'm going to swing piano lessons yet as I usually teach from 4:00 to 5:30 or 6:00 twice a week. It's going to be interesting when we start up again!

I'm definitely sleep deprived but trying to deal with it as positively as possible. I'm a lot more relaxed this time on what I expect of myself. It's a lot less stressful only having my home to take care of and not my home AND the apartment building like I did when we had Rhett. I basically try to do one big house chore a day that's not getting meals, changing bums, feeding a little one and general clean up stuff. So far, so good. But like I said earlier, Brock sleeps a lot!

I've also managed to get in a nap about every other day. That helps a lot.

The munchkin is fussing so I'll sign off for now. Can't believe that he's already 3 weeks old!

Brock - all the details....finally

So I think I finally have more than a minute to be on the computer and thought I'd write down Brock's journey here. It's probably going to be a little long so if you have time go ahead and read. And if not, here's the end: Brock's home and happy with us.

10:45 pm Saturday Feb 7 my water broke - not a big gush, just enough for me to go 'umm, I think my water just broke

11:00 pm getting a few contractions - and since strep B positive decide to head to hospital like Dr advised earlier

11:45 pm arrive at the hospital and have confirmed that my water had indeed broken and dilated to a 2

still having contractions but not really going anywhere

admitted and spent a sleepless night with contractions off and on and Cliff slept on the floor :(

7:45 am Feb 8 Dr Mark Darby came to see us and decided to start me on the pitocin (sp?)drip - I figured for sure once I got some of that in me the contractions would pick up and just keep going and we'd have a baby in a couple of hours

12:30 pm Dr Darby has to leave for a family function and still no closer to having a baby. Still at a 2 and getting frustrated

1:45 pm at an 18 on the pitocin drip, at a 3 and Dr Badenhorst re-breaks my water (they figure I either had a smaller bag that broke first or it broke and re-sealed itself) Pitocin is cut down to a 4 and contractions immediately pick up and get intense in pain and duration

2:00 ish I got a shot of phentanol (sp?) and that took the edge off a little

2:45 pm I am declared a 10 and told that I can start pushing. I panicked a little bit here because I wasn't mentally ready to push yet. I figured I was only a 6 or maybe an 8 like I had been with Rhett when I felt like that

Cliff was great and counted for me so I could focus on something - the nurses weren't prepared for me to be ready to push quite so soon and Dr Badenhorst wasn't quite ready to catch. But everyone got organized and at 3:13 pm Brock came into the world screaming. I was thrilled because he's the first to come out crying

They whisked him over to the warmer and a few minutes later brought him for a kiss and told me they were taking him to the nursery for a little bit of oxygen and my first thought was " if they get him in that nursery he's not coming out"

Cliff followed Brock shortly while the doc and nurses kept working on me - I hemorrhaged last time so they were taking extra precautions this time around. I was finally allowed up, got showered and over to see Brock around 6:30. We met up with Grammie and the boys on the way over to the nursery and all got our first look together....he wasn't just in oxygen anymore - he was hooked up to a c-pap machine - it basically forces oxygen into their nose. I wasn't allowed to hold him and figured we were in a for a long run

Monday 3:13 pm Brock is intabated and given a dose of bless to open up his lungs. Still haven't got to hold him. Nurses ask me if we have a preference for Edmonton or Calgary if they have to ship him out to a bigger hospital. Cliff gave him a blessing that night and promised that he would be healthy and strong and that his lungs would heal.

Tuesday 4:30 am find doc on call and nurses all clustered around Brock's bed (I had been there pumping) They were comparing x-rays, doing blood gas tests etc trying to decide how best to wean him off the machine because he had started to let it do the work for him - I was pretty stressed and pretty out of it but managed to keep it together

11:00 am get to the nursery after being discharged to find Brock off the machine and in hyper oxygenation. Room air is 21% and he was in 60%. I was surprised that he was off the machine and thrilled at the progress. I also finally got to hold him. His nurse knew how desperate I was to hold this precious little boy and had waited to do some things in his isolette so she could take him out and let me hold him. I had to hold an oxygen mask a few inches away from his face so he would get enough oxygen but it was so sweet to hold him and get to know him. I sat and held my sweet boy and cried.

Wednesday Brock went under the lights for jaundice and was still in 60%. His respiratory rate was still pretty high - he had a pneumothorax (sp?) in his left lung and from my understanding that meant that he had a spot on his lung that wasn't fully opened yet. So instead of averaging 40-60 breaths a minute he was closer to 80-100 breaths a minute. Because of this the doc wouldn't let him eat and he was just getting electrolytes through his IV

Thursday not much changed.

Friday his nurse let me give him 5 mls of breast milk through a bottle which he sucked down in about 3 minutes flat! He was so hungry and was much happier after that. His oxygen sat levels and his resp levels just settled down nicely and he was the most settled he had been all day after that.

Friday afternoon they started weaning Brock off oxygen

Friday night or sometime early Saturday doctor decided he was ready for a nasal gastric tube and started a continuous milk drip

Saturday Brock was in room air by 12:30 pm and his IV came out

Sunday night we got to start nursing on demand and I stayed in the parent's suite

Monday I was at the hospital all day to nurse Brock whenever he was hungry and had nurses with differing opinions on the car seat test but we ended up doing the test which he passed with no problems. I also had a couple of nurses comment to me about how calm I had been through the whole thing - especially with a CRITICALLY ILL baby. Umm, critically ill? No one ever told me he was THAT bad! It's probably a good thing no one ever said critically ill around me 'cause I probably would have lost it. But I also know I drew a lot of strength from the blessing Cliff gave me before we left for the hospital and the one he gave to Brock in the nursery. So in just over a week Brock went from the sickest baby they had to the healthiest one! Thank goodness for the power of the priesthood.

Monday night the nursery got so full that Brock was actually moved into the middle of the nursery and not hooked up to anything anymore. I was tempted to grab him and run!

Tuesday morning I was the first one that our pediatrician assigned to Brock saw and he gave us the go ahead to come home! He told me that his lungs were good enough to come home but would still take a couple of months to fully heal so was given lots of counsel on avoiding certain places and screening visitors etc. Lots of hand washing and we're kind of quarantined for the next little while. So I won't be going to church for the next couple of weeks and if I do have to take him out I'll be doing my best to keep him covered up and hidden from view/germs etc.

It felt awesome to finally leave the hospital WITH Brock in tow and to walk in the house with him. Zane was so excited he was jumping around in circles and couldn't wash his hands fast enough to get a hold in. Rhett was very excited to come and look and point out all of Brock's things like his vibrating chair and blankets. He also raced down to Brock's room to bring him the toy that auntie Kizzy sent up with Grandpa.

Zane loves to hold Brock and look at him and talk to him. And Rhett is my best helper. As soon as he sees me getting ready to change Brock he's got a diaper, the wipes and cream ready. He's always concerned about where he is and what he's doing. He doesn't want to hold him yet but whatever.

And we are thrilled to have baby boy #3 here. Last night was a long night. I think he's hitting his 2 week growth spurt and most of the night was spent nursing, falling asleep nursing in the chair, waking up and nursing again etc. So I'm pretty tired today. Glad mom is still here and I can get a nap in this afternoon! Mom's leaving us Monday morning and I'm a little nervous but I know after a couple of days (or maybe weeks) we'll get into a routine and soon I'll wonder what in the world we ever did without Brock in our family. Mom is going to stay home tomorrow morning with Brock so I can go to sacrament meeting - I've already missed 2 weeks of church and probably won't be taking Brock until his blessing day - March 22. So she decided that I should go tomorrow.

And those are the details!

A little more....

(These pics are from a couple of days ago)

So today is day 6 in the SCN and it was a good day. Brock has been steadily improving and today he was completely weaned off of oxygen. He was in room air for most of the day and did really well - keeping his sat levels above 90% where the doc wants them. He also nursed twice today!!! The doctor is really happy with how his chest sounds now and says he can hear his heart sounds a lot better now - they were really muffled before because of how hard he was working to breathe. So basically the goal now is to get him nursing/bottling every 3 hours instead of every other feed like we did today and his jaundice is still an issue. He's only been under one photo light ever since he went under and if his levels still weren't down with the blood test tonight they were going to start another light as well. I don't know why they've waited so long - it's a little frustrating that the thing holding us up the most now is the jaundice!! But we are just so grateful that he has made such great progress. Every morning I'm pleasantly surprised that he's just kept plugging forward towards coming home. With Rhett he would do really great one day and then have one or two bad days and then progress again. It was really stressful and in the back of my head I keep expecting Brock to do the same. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. We're hoping that he'll be home with us in a couple of days.
Rhett is having a hard time with mom being gone all the time. He's turned into quite the tantrum throwing stinker and I'm anticipating a rough couple of weeks even after Brock comes home but it's all part of life. For now I'm trying really hard to give him some extra cuddle time when I am home but also to let him know the tantrums aren't acceptable and I'm not giving in to them. It's a hard balance when I'm only home in the evenings but hopefully we'll all be home in a matter of days and then we can work on bonding together as a family.
Zane is doing great... he's adjusting so well to having a new brother and can't wait every day for me to phone with an update on Brock. He's also learning how to tell time and recognize money. Grammie bought him some fun flash cards and he couldn't wait to show me what he knew tonight. He brought them down to Brock's room while I was pumping tonight and went through all the times he knew - all the o'clocks and the 30s.
I am so incredibly blessed to have 3 sons. It's still sinking in that I am a mom to 3....it will feel more real when #3 is home with us. I'm also so blessed and grateful to have the priesthood in my home. Cliff and dad gave us all a blessing last night and also received blessings themselves. Everyone has some form of cold and we need our house to be healthy for Brock to come home. I have been blessed to have the mildest form of the cold - just a little bit of head cold and have felt much better today. I'm hoping for continued improvement in all of us.

Today's pics

Here's Brock today just chillin' under the lights. His billy count is a little high so the lights it is for him. He was in 60% oxygen today because the doc wanted his saturation levels to be really high in the hopes that the spot in his left lung that hasn't opened all the way will hurry up and get there. His doc is almost more anxious than we are to get him better and home!

Other than that there's no change really. He started on his NGT today (nose tube for milk) and seemed a lot more content than yesterday. I didn't get to hold him today because the doc wanted him in the high sats all day but I did sleep a lot in the chair.

Maybe a change tomorrow.

Brock is here....

I'm not going into all the gory details right now...I'm too tired and I need to pump. But the quick break down is that Brock Dooley Johnson was born at 3:13 Sunday afternoon. He was 37 and 4 days gestation, 8 lbs and had not great lungs. So he's currently hangin' in the SCN in Red Deer with fabulous nurses and doctors. He's been hooked up to a c-pap machine, intibated and given bless to open his lungs (I'm sure that's not how to spell that drug but that's what it sounds like) and when I left the hospital this afternoon he was breathing on his own in oxygen in his incubator and just went under lights for jaundice. His billy count was getting high - not quite jaundice level but we're being pro-active on it.
I'll write more of the details another time....he's beautiful and we can't wait to bring him home!

Speaking of Which...

The other day Zane was talking to Grammie S on the phone when I heard him say "speaking of which..." and then go on with his conversation. I have NEVER heard him say that before and I don't think I use that phrase so I'm not sure where he picked it up. The funny thing is that he used it correctly! It makes mom and I giggle every time we bring it up because he was just so serious and it's so grown up.
Grammie arrived on Tuesday and we are loving having her here. We would love it even more if I would have this baby bu I'm not having much luck in that department. Anyways, the afternoon she got here I suggested she move her truck to the other side of my van and when she went out to do it discovered that the tires had melted down into the ice and she was now stuck. As she and I tried different things I had to take a break to take Rhett back inside - he decided to investigate in his socks! - and Zane met me at the door with a very serious expression and said "mom, I know what the situation is and I have a plan..." Seriously, can this kid get any cuter?
And other than that our house is just clicking along. I'm very hormonal, very uncomfortable and very anxious to meet this new baby. And if one more person tells me that maybe I'll make it all the way to 40 weeks or further this time, and then laughs like it's some kind of a joke I will punch them.

Somewhat Random

I finally took some pictures this month....I've really been slacking in the camera department....too much quilting I guess!

I have FINISHED my quilt!!! And I love it. And it's been cuddle approved by Zane. I'm posting pics on my quilt blog.

I hit 36 weeks on Wednesday....doc checked to see if I'm dilating at all...NOPE! Most of me is really glad - he needs to stay in there a little longer - small part of me is sick and tired of being prego and just wants this kid out. I'm trying to stay focused on the staying in there part.

I have no idea what size this kid is going to be. The other two were always measuring slightly big and were 7-1 and 7-8. This one is measuring right on or slightly small according to my doc. So I'm curious. Any guesses out there?

I did a lot of baking today. And laundry. And now I'm really tired. I was going to plan my next quilt....but I think I'm going to curl up on the couch under my new quilt and veg out for awhile.

My boys

I was thinking last night about my boys who are already here and the one that is almost here. The one that is almost here was the reason for my very sleepless night - not the last he's going to cause I'm sure. And I was thinking of some of the fun/cute/endearing things they have been doing lately.

Zane is very proficient at prayers - meals, morning, bedtime....and almost every time it has been his turn to pray lately he has included the following "and please bless mommy to do good on her quilt...". Could he be any cuter? He's also beginning to read so he's always asking me how to spell/write words or arranging the magnets into 'words' and asking me to read them to him. I love him to pieces! He asked me the other day what day the baby was going to be here and I told him I didn't know - only the baby and Heavenly Father know that. He's so excited for his new brother to get here and is always telling me random things that he's going to teach him or do for him. He's going to be a great help! And he loves to wrestle with his daddy. In fact they were just having a 'session' while I sit here....Cliff retreated back to the couch, Zane got his shirt back on - don't ask - and then Zane looks at Cliff and goes - you're asking for it!

Rhett is my little tornado that never stops! He loves everything that Zane loves, wants to do everything that Zane is doing and does a pretty good job of being 5 when he's only 2.5. He's always learning new words and phrases. He has a blue light saber and our friend Parker also has a blue light saber. To nix any fighting over which one belongs to who I wrote an 'R' on Rhett's and showed it to him. He now brings me the light saber at least 3 times a day to show me his R - R for Rhett he says and then "Parker has blue too" to which I have to respond "yes, Parker has a blue one to". He's so pleased with himself. He loves finding books...Waldo, eye spy, Usborne 1001 Pirate and 1001 Wizard Things are probably his favorites right now. He's into counting and being his turn to pick the movie. And computer....he's learning to handle the mouse. This is taking a lot of patience on my part. He knows where our baby is....in my tummy and wants to give him kisses. I'm not sure that he's going to be quite as excited when the babe is actually here. A good friend came over yesterday with her little guy - 6.5 weeks old and oh so cute - Zane was enthralled with watching him and Rhett wanted nothing to do with him. Wouldn't even come over for a closer look. But I'm not worried. He'll figure it out soon enough and your own baby is different than a friend's.

I'm so blessed to be the mommy of these boys and to have another one almost here. Lots of cramps and contractions and more downward movement of this one has me thinking it won't be much longer....but I could be wrong. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted!

ps - I had to change my bakcground because when I posted this I had something completely different splashed across my whole blog that wouldn't go away. Grrr. I'm not techie enough to fix it up really cute right now. Oh well.

My 2 year old....

May or may not survive to see his baby brother born. He probably will because his cuteness out weighs his stubborn orneriness that has been overly abundant these last couple of days. But we have had some serious moments in the last couple of days. For instance, he has inherited a pair of Incredibles jammies that used to be Zane's....but he calls them his Spider Man jammies. The other day I was trying to get him dressed to go run some errands and had the audacity to take off his shirt and put a truck shirt on him. Oh. My. Goodness!!!!! The tantrum he threw lasted at least a half an hour. Now, really is is that big of a deal for him to wear his jammie shirt out? Nope, but I'd already told him no before he launched into his huge tirade. I hate it when I get myself into that situation - you know, the one where you say no without really thinking about it and then can't take it back because they're throwing a huge fit? Can't give in because then they think every time you say no and they throw a fit they'll get their own way. Finally he picked a different shirt and we carried on with the day. Later in the day at Walmart he threw another fit because I wouldn't buy him smarties. So Zane pushed our cart and I carried Rhett to the door kicking and screaming the whole way. I'm such a mean mom. He was asleep before we made it home...and we only live 5 minutes from Walmart!
But then he does really cute things like cart around this teeny teddy bear and call it his baby, or pick out the funniest combinations of clothes, or come for kisses. The other day he would come up to me and say "mom, I 'prise (surprise) you"- and then pull out his toy hammer and shoot me with it! Yep, he's a keeper. Hopefully he'll realize soon that tantrums do not get you your own way!
And I realize that I haven't posted any pictures lately....I apologize. I haven't taken any since Christmas. How is that possible? I'm the picture queen usually. I'll blame it on days that fly by and nesting. But I promise to try and remember to take some pictures soon and post them!

Testing my blood annoys me because....

I can't eat whenever I want to. I have to test 2 hours after each meal....which means when I've had supper and I'm wanting something sweet an hour later I have to wait an hour so it doesn't mess up my stupid blood sugar. Grrr. Really, it's a good thing to get back into the habit of eating really good again....but I think it's annoying me mostly because I 'have' to, and not because I'm 'choosing' to. I was banking on the last few weeks to still eat whatever and whenever I wanted before going back to my good ways and getting back in shape and all that stuff. I know. When you think about it, it's really a dumb thing. Why cause myself all that extra work? It's not because I'm going to enjoy the extra workouts or anything. Nope. It's all about the psychology of being pregnant. Not a good defense, but the one I'm going with. And I'm so looking forward to chocolate fondue Saturday night. Yum Yum Yum. I'm going to eat as much as I want and not even care about what my morning reading will be. Watch - it'll be the lowest one yet.
Did you know that I got flagged for this fun time because my fasting sugar was .6 higher than what it should have been? POINT 6!!!!! I'm shaking my head and counting the days. And yes, I'm a whiner. And I shouldn't be because I have wonderful friends who have to do this every day of their lives and take insulin. Yep, I'm shutting up now.

Nesting....

It's what I'm doing. I have no desire to go anywhere or do anything that I can't do at home. I read to the kids, quilt, minimal housework and cooking.....yep, that's pretty much it. Oh, and test my blood sugar level 4 times a day. We have recently discovered that I am INSULIN IMPAIRED. Seriously, who comes up with these names? Anyways, I had to go for a tolerance test because I had glucose and ketones show up in my urine the last time I saw the doc and 1 out of 3 levels came up slightly elevated. Hence, the IMPAIRED part and now I get to test my sugars 4 times a day. I was even a good girl and went to the class and you'll be so proud to know that I even paid attention! And I've been applying what they told us and so far I've only had one high reading. We'll see what the diabetes people say on Monday.
On a quilt note....I'm almost 1/2 way done quilting my current project. And I'm loving it. It's really coming together the way I envisioned it. I'll post pics on my quilt blog when I'm finished.
So, I'm really just hanging out, counting down the days.....hoping for another 3 1/2 weeks...nothing more nothing less!

Remember Me?

Hi. It's me...you know, the author of this little blog. The one who's nesting has kicked in pretty badly and I've pretty much been ignoring everything outside the walls of my own home that didn't have anything to do with quilting, getting Zane to school, quilting, and making sure we had food to eat? Yeah, I know, pretty lame excuse but it's the only one I have. And did I mention that I'm going into mom with drawl? Yep, pretty sad. 28 years old and I miss my mommy. But in my defense she is one of my absolute best friends in the whole entire world and we got to spend almost 3 whole weeks together!!!! And it was so much fun and the kids loved every minute of it and the only thing rotten about living in Central Alberta is that our families live in Southern Alberta. OK, I'm done whining. I think.
Seriously though, I have loved every minuted of the last couple of weeks being with my mom and dad in Raymond and then having mom here for the week and dad able to join us for the weekend. It was hard to see them leave...even though we have separate lives and things to get done and responsibilities etc etc, I count it as precious moments every time we get to visit them or they get to visit us - especially when it's for an extended period of time.
Mom and I spent a whirlwind couple of days de-junking all the toys, closets and drawers of the boys. Then we tackled the baby clothes and got those all sorted out....minus the ones I forgot I had stored in Raymond which turned out to be the newborn to 6 month stuff (thanks dad for bringing them up this weekend!) And now those are all sorted out to. And then we moved onto the fun stuff. We quilted, we played with the boys, we quilted some more, and we cooked a little bit. But mostly we quilted. Mom got her baby quilt done, and another quilt cut and started sewing the blocks together. I got a queen sized quilt top sewn together and today I finally finished pinning it all together so tomorrow I can start quilting it. It's the biggest quilt I've undertaken so far and I'm LOVING it. I can't wait to see it all done. BUT, I won't ever try to pin another quilt of this size together when I'm prego. Yep, 8 1/2 months prego and I'm on my hands and knees pinning about 750 safety pins into my quilt! Oh to have a table like mom's table in her sewing room. One day, one day.
We have had some fun family adventures....Saturday the boys and I travelled to Rocky to attend Lindsay's birthday party. They both had a great time and it was fun to see friends we haven't seen in a long time! We went to church with Grandma and Grandpa and the kids chose to sit with them rather than Cliff and I....not enough room on a bench for all of us. This caused some minor panic in a couple of our friends as they saw the kids and grandparents but not us. They assumed that I had had the baby and were very relieved to find me still hugely prego. And yesterday for family home evening we went to the lake for skating with friends. Cliff and Zane skated and Rhett and I sat on the bench. We tried to get Rhett to go for a ride on the sled but he wasn't having any of it. When they were done skating Cliff took the boys over to check out the ice castle on the lake - so cool by the way - and then they ended up having a snowball fight with some friends. It was fun times. And next time I'll take my camera and take pictures of the castle. I wasn't sure it they had it lit up enough for the pics to turn out good but I think they do.
So, I really haven't been smothered by a pile of fabric or kidnapped by aliens or anything like that. I'm just nesting and loving it.

Holiday Train....

I had a great ride on my holiday train and have been busy busy busy since getting back! So here's our holiday re-capped!

23rd:

- we opened our family gifts early in the morning...the kids had a blast playing with their new stuff all morning while I packed for our trip and Cliff went to work

- we left for Raymond and made the trip uneventfully

- We arrived in time for STRUDELS!!!! Oh yum.

- Alisha worked some of her fabulous computer magic and transformed one of our old family Christmas traditions onto DVD and we all really enjoyed it

- The kidlets went to bed, we all stayed up WAY too late and then Kizzy and Cliff headed to Lethbridge at MIDNIGHT to do some last minute shopping....silly people

24th:

-I woke Cliff up and told him we needed to go to the hospital because the baby hadn't been moving for almost 24 hours

- We got to the hospital for a stress test and the stinker started moving as soon as they strapped me in....we were much relieved!

-Back to the house for breakfast and then present opening!

-Rhett was Grandpa's elf and was just running every present to whoever it was....except for Auntie Lishie. Every time Auntie Lishie was supposed to get a present Rhett headed straight for Auntie Kizzy and had to be re-directed. It was really funny to watch and we all had a good laugh

-Presents opened...we all got spoiled spoiled spoiled

-Yummy turkey dinner

-Zane coaxed Uncle Jay to play laser tag guns with him (thank you Grandpa Dooley) and really stomped him in the first couple of games

-Naps for some, cards for others and a really good day all around

-Arrived in Barnwell around 9:00....forgot the stockings in Raymond. Thank goodness mom J had extras!

-got to Grandma Great Johnson's in time for the yearly nativity production. This year it was complete with written script, choir section and costumes. We got drafted and costumed and had a good time.

-Kids opened pjs and finally hit the mattress while we stayed up WAY to late with the sibs and watched a really STUPID movie. Oh well

25th:

-Up and moving just after 7:00....and Santa came through with the LIGHT SABERS! Even Daddy got one to join in on the fun

-Again, Rhett got to be the elf and had lots of fun passing out the gifts

-And again we all got really really really spoiled

-The day was kind of lazy...just playing with all the new stuff and enjoying each other's company

-Mom J put on a great supper and we got to see Grandma and Grandpa Great Jackson and Uncle Brian and Aunt Judy

-Uncle Jamie got in on the Light Saber action and the boys had a blast chasing him around and around...what a great uncle!

26th:

-We hung out for most of the day. It was nice to be lazy and not need to do anything for most of the day

- I got packed again....decided what to send to Sylvan with Cliff, what to take back to Raymond with me

-Went to Great Grandma Johnson's for lunch and games and white elephant gifts. Fun but long and warm in the basement

-Said goodbye to Cliff as he headed home to Sylvan and we headed to Raymond

27th:

-Spent good part of the morning shopping for ice skates for Zane with Auntie Kizzy before heading to Bow Island to skate and hang out with the Robinson side of the family. It was Zane's first time on the ice and thanks to a great apparatus at the rink and Auntie's Kizzy and Lishie and Uncle Jay and a spare pair of hockey pants from the cousins, he did really great and had a blast. We enjoyed lots of good company and visiting before heading back to Raymond

We quilted as much as we could for the whole rest of the week. You can check it out here. Even New Year's Eve was spent quilting! It was so much fun to be up in mom's sewing room with the boys up and down and playing with Grandpa! They played, watched movies, played more....the days just flew by!

And now we're home. We got home Sunday evening and mom came with us! She gets to stay until next Monday! My WONDERFUL hubby had put up the boys new bunk beds, took down Rhett's loft bed, AND put up the crib! I was really surprised by the crib but very grateful. I was worried how Rhett would take the change but so far so good. We got all unpacked, kids in bed and then attacked the Christmas decorations. Got everything down and packed up and puttered a bit before calling it quits for the night.

Today is my birthday! 28 and not feeling any different than yesterday. Had a doc's appointment and had glucose and ketones show up in my urine so that may mean I've developed gestational diabetes again....doing a test on Wednesday and will know the results when doc does. Until then, I'm not stressing. Good news is that babe is head down...thank goodness because he's starting to drop and I'm definitely waddling!

After getting home mom and I de-junked ALL the toys, books and movies. We're trying to get everything re-organized and ready for adding number 3 to this household. We brought in all the baby stuff from the shed and went through it all. Funny thing though.....we got almost all the way through it before we realized that we didn't have ANY of the newborn, 3 or 6 month stuff. Sigh. After much thinking we realized it must be in Raymond and dad confirmed this. Thank goodness Alisha is going to be up here on the 18th and 19th and can bring it to me. Oops!

Cliff came home with a yummy ice cream cake for my birthday and the boys were just ecstatic! They blew out my 2 candles...all we had in the house....and really enjoyed their cake.

Mom and I plan on doing some rearranging of the kids' rooms and furniture and a little more de-junking and then we can start quilting again! Mom has a baby quilt she wants to finish and I have a full size one cut out ready to sew for a cuddly couch quilt! I'll keep you posted!

And I really tried this year to cut down my Christmas pictures significantly....not because I don't enjoy them but because I wanted to focus on the fun and the memories, not on all the presents we all got.

Looking Up!

OK, so I think I have an inkling of how to help Zane's stomach thing. After some reading and research I think he needs more soluble fiber in his diet. Well not necessarily more, just making sure he gets some everyday. I think that's the connection. Things like starches, bananas, apple sauce, oatmeal. We've been trying this for 2 days and so far it is working marvellously. No tummy pain and last night was the first night he slept through the night since Wednesday without waking up in agony because of all the gas in his gut. Christmas will be a challenge with all the sweets and stuff but luckily he's old enough to 'get' it when I tell him that this will help his stomach and that won't. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday was interesting....went for an oil change and found out that my back driver side tire was pretty much flat - the guy looked at me like I was insane for not noticing. To which I think - I'm sorry- I'm almost 8 months pregnant and have a toddler with me in MINUS 30 weather. I don't think to check my tires. I think get in the van and get the stupid car seat done up before i get frost bite on my fingers! But I digress. He suggested that I might have a slow leak and should get it looked at. So what did I do? I called Cliff. I drive the van, I fill it up with gas, and go to the drive-thru oil change place. As far as I'm concerned everything else falls in Cliff's department. Long story short I ended up at Walmart with both kids while they hoisted my van, took the tire off and found a pin-size piece of metal in my tire. They fixed it and we were back on the road. As I was driving home I thought about what a pain the whole thing had been and then I thought, yes, but what a blessing it was too. We leave for Raymond tomorrow...what if we had been driving on the hi way and it had blown? What if I was driving with the kids alone in this weather and it went flat? I really felt that it was a true testament and answer to the prayer that Zane had said that morning before we all left for the day "please bless that we will travel in safety". It's something that seems automatic and somewhat routine as we say those morning prayers but I know that every morning I fervently wish for us all to travel in safety.
Yesterday was our Christmas program in Sacrament meeting and it went FABULOUSLY!!!! Really, the Spirit there was so strong, the music was awesome and the closing number was unbelievable. If we were a clapping church the whole congregation would have been on it's feet. We were so blessed to have a plethora of music people available this year - the last number consisted of the organ, the piano, a violin, a soloist and for the last verse the congregation. And I was blessed to be part of the congregation and could just focus on the spirit. I couldn't sing because I was crying, but it was well worth it!
And today has been busy busy busy. Into Red Deer so Walmart could re-tork my wheel - thank goodness they weren't busy when I showed up and we were in and out in 15 minutes, picked up Cliff's last Christmas present - had to wait for it to be done - and dropped off all the books at the library. Laundry, baking for Cliff when we're not here, clean the bathroom and try to referee and keep the boys from killing each other. AND Zane has been doing such a great job of earning stars for XBOX time! He's earned 20 stars 4 times now. And has learned some new skills along the way. His newest skills are folding towels (and I have resisted re-folding them...harder than I thought!) drying dishes and matching and folding socks. It's harder than I thought to help him earn the 20 stars because it takes planning on my part to have chores for him to do. A lot of the things would be done better and faster if I did them myself but I'm also learning a lot from it. And it's fun to give him stars for things the doesn't realize like being extra kind to Rhett or something like that.
And it's time to make supper. FHE tonight is going to be cuddles and a Christmas movie. We're opening our family gifts tomorrow morning before Cliff heads to work and then I'll be busy with the kids getting everything packed up, organized and ready to go to Raymond. We're hoping that Cliff is able to get off early and that we'll be in Raymond by 8:00 but we'll see what happens. I can't believe that it's here and we're all looking forward to spending this wonderful time of year with our family and friends!
I'll try not to board the holiday train and get lost....but no promises! Merry Christmas to everyone!