Lunch Tales Continued

Add 1 lost lunch tote to the list. Hmm, paper bags from now on I guess.

Lunch Tales

5 days of taking lunch to school
1 lost tupperware container for sandwiches that came with lunch tote
1 lost lid to take-and-toss tuppeware
1 soaked backpack, folder, and lunch tote from opened Capri-Sun that was returned home ("bring home any leftovers" was taken quite literally)
1 thrown away unopened Capri-Sun ("Mom, I didn't open my drink today, but I threw it away like you said")
1 watermelon juice soaked lunch tote from when the lid was lost

Today- pizza day at school. No lunch from home. Hooray!

Jayden can do it

At the beginning of this summer, Devon tried to get Jayden to learn to ride his bike without training wheels, but Jayden didn't want to, so we didn't push it. Over the last month or so his friend Zane has been working on learning to do it, and got it figured out last week. Ever since seeing Zane learning how, Jayden suddenly decided he did want to learn how, of course his timing was poor, since that was about the time Devon had his appendix out, and I am in no condition to try to run bending over behind a short bike (I tried - didn't work). On Saturday - to add to Jayden's great day of having his first soccer game- Devon took him outside and seriously in less than 5 minutes Jayden was out riding his bike by himself. I tell you - this kid amazes me at how natural some things come to him. And yes, my child is out riding his bike with a helmet (smart), and flip flops (not so smart)- what can I do?

Soccer Season Again

Jayden has been waiting so so long for the day he was old enough to play soccer. He knew he had to be four, so once he had his birthday last December, he was asking when his soccer would start. The joyous day has come, and he had his first game last week. He is loving it to the fullest, and asks everyday if he has soccer. He is a very athletic boy, and catches on to sports and anything else that takes coordination really fast. So, when the game started with the kick-off, Jayden went after the ball, and dribbled it right down the field and scored while all the other kids stood there not knowing what to do. He ended up scoring 4 times during his game. Its funny how different each kid is and its fun to see the things that they excel at.

Dylan is on a team with a lot of his friends in the neighborhood. He is having fun playing soccer, and he is getting better at it each year. He also got a goal on Saturday.

First Grade!

Dylan started first grade today - it feels so wierd! He was very excited, and was dressed for school and his bed made by 6:15. School starts at 8 am for him - we were hoping for the 9:15 track, but didn't get it - so it means we do need to start early, but not quite that early. I gave him the option of school lunch (pizza today) or bringing a lunch from home, and he chose lunch from home. Of course having a new lunch bag, and getting to have a Capri-Sun and Fruit Rollup with his lunch probably is what made him choose that, but I still thought pizza would win out. I figure I want to mostly do lunches from home, but occasionally take advantage of the convenience of school lunches. It will be so wierd to not have him here at lunch time, but I love seeing him grow up and do so well with new things.

Temple Square

I have been meaning to take the boys up to Temple Square for the last 2 years, and we just haven't made it. With Devon working right there, I have really been meaning to go, and meet him for lunch. Well, with two days left before school starting, and Devon moving to Riverton for work in 2 weeks, I figured my days of procrastination better end, or we would miss out. So we headed up and had a grand ole time today. We first hit the Church History Museum, which the boys enjoyed - especially the I Am A Child of God display for the kids. They had fun making stained glass windows (not real ones) and exploring all the other fun activities in there. Then we enjoyed walking through Temple Square. My favorite place is in the North Visitors Center in the room with the Christus. While there, I told Dylan about how when he was about 4 months old I had brought him there, and when he saw the statue of Jesus, he just lit up and began babbling like he was telling him all sorts of things. It was so cute! I swear he remembered him! Then we walked around the temple. The boys loved all the fountains, and really couldn't resist trying to touch the water each time, even though I told them not to. We also went up to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, to see the temple from up high. We not only got to eat lunch with Daddy, but Grandma and Grandpa were there for church business, so we joined them in the cafeteria for some good food.

I know I enjoyed the morning, and the boys seemed to, as well. There is just something special about spending time near the temple. I love it!

7 Months Pregnant and Counting

Ever since my sister and sister-in-law had their babies two weeks ago, I have been feeling ready to have mine, too. My second trimester was fabulous as normal, but this last month hasn't been quite as good. I still was doing pretty good, until on Monday suddenly this baby boy decided to drop - big time. I happened to have a doctor appointment the next day, and he confirmed that his head is super low. He didn't seem too concerned, but warned me to watch for signs of preterm labor. I have always dilated and all that other stuff pretty early, and starting around 34-36 weeks, it seems they always say - "wow, you could seriously have this baby any day." And of course, week after week goes by, and then eventually I have been induced. I don't remember the baby dropping this early, though, and it makes me a little nervous. I'm curious to see how dilated and effaced I am when they do start checking me. There are times during the day when I wonder if I should call the doctor, because I feel some serious pressure, but I hate to call the doctor, and it has been going away after a few hours each time. It seems like he fluctuates up and down a little during the day - with no specific pattern. While now I always feel like it is pretty hard to bend over, there are times when seriously, I feel like there is no way to bend, and and it is hard to even walk. Lets just say, I hope these last few weeks fly, but as always, I know the last few weeks will crawl. At least its all worth it!

Blessings

I am always greatful for those times when I can see the hand of the Lord in my life. He blesses me each day, and there are those times when I see blessing after blessing. Last Saturday Devon started to have really bad stomach pains, but after a few hours they eased up little by little, until on Monday morning he felt good enough to go to work. On Sunday we had talked about how he should just go to the doctor and get it checked out (which to me now is a blessing). He did, and after being sent to do some tests at the hospital the diagnosis was appendicitis. It was in the early stages (yet another blessing). He called me from the hospital after doing those tests to let me know he was staying there for surgery. That was not quite what we had expected. So I quickly called family and was able to find a babysitter so I could hurry over to the hospital (its been such a blessing to have family always ready to step in). So far I had done pretty good keeping my composure, the only time I lost compsure was as I was trying to figure out how to tell the boys where I was going. Luckily I was able to get through telling them without crying, because I know that would have worried them. Really I wasn't all that worried - I actually felt very at peace with everything. But there is something about my kids that always makes me cry when I worry about them going through anything. After the emotions were stirred up from that, I was expecting to probably cry the whole way to the hospital. Again, I really wasn't worried, but I am such a crier - and a 20 minute drive to hospital wasn't going to help. Just as I was getting ready to leave, my mother-in-law called to see if I wanted a ride to the hospital, she just happend to be around the corner dropping my nieces and nephews off. To me this was such a blessing. I was able to keep from crying because I didn't have to just think about things in the car. We talked and laughed about how funny this day was turning out. We got to the hospital just as two of Devon's brothers were going to give him a Priesthood blessing. I felt blessed to have been there for that, and blessed that my husband's brothers could be there to do that, and that they were worthy Priesthood holders. It was just minutes after that they took him off to surgery. Of course by this point, I had cried a little more. Priesthood blessings always get me teary eyed, no matter the circumstance or the person receiving it. And also kissing my husband goodbye as he heads into surgery is something that I would think would be impossible to not make me cry. A while after Devon headed into surgery his dad joined us (his Mom and me) as we waited for the surgery to be done. It was so nice to have them there as I waited, to give me conversations to focus on, rather than the emotions of the situation. And after the surgery it was so nice to have them there for a little while. A little more than an hour later the surgeon came to tell us it all went well, and that he was sure from the looks of the appendix, that there was no question that it was what had been causing problems. A little while later Devon came out of the recovery room, and we sat with him for a while in another room. Eventually Devon's parents headed home, and I stayed there with Devon until he was ready to be sent home around 11 pm. Devon's parent's had taken our kids to their house for the night, which again was such a blessing. To know there were being taking care of, and also to not have to worry about them during the night, or early in the morning when they woke up. Both Devon and I were exhausted, and it was nice to sleep in a little before picking the boys back up.


Another blessing I think is the timing of this all. If I knew something was going to happen and I could pick the timing, now would have been the week. We had nothing too important going on right now. He will be fully healed just about 2 weeks before the baby is born, which is good. I couldn't imagine trying to take care of a newborn, the whole house, the other 3 boys, and him all at the same time. He will be feeling mostly normal in the next few days, which he can't wait for. I am so thankful he went in and it was caught early. Had he not decided to do that, who knows how this week would have turned out. Honestly, I feel so blessed that there wasn't anything bigger wrong with Devon. My brother-in-law Jason has been super sick in the hospital and at home for the last two months, waiting for his body to be healthy enough and ready for surgery. For him, it has been no quick fix, quite scary at times, painful, and also an added financial strain, to name a few things.

Obviously this isn't something we hoped would happen, but as things are going on around us, I know we are being watched out for by Heavenly Father. For these many blessings, I am so thankful!

Going to the Races

By random chance we ended up with two VIP tickets to a day of race car racing. Dylan ended up being the lucky boy who went with Dad because he was the first one ready to go. Of all the boys, I think it was something he would enjoy the very most. Don't get me wrong - all the of boys would have LOVED to go, but I think Dylan just loves those things a little bit more. So, off Devon and Dylan went, and they had a great time! Their seats were just behind the pit area, and they got to walk around the cars before some of the races. And they ate lots and lots of candy and junk food. We were just wishing we had tickets for two more boys.