Halloween already???

Ah--another week has flown by.

Jenna decided to join Benson in the quest to become immune to all things. Unfortunately her sickness left her weezy and very short of breath--at 2 am.
Thankfully we have a nebulizer at the house. Unfortunately Jenna thinks that breathing treatments don't work unless I am holding her in the rock-a-bye.

Actually I don't mind. And Benson very courteously kept us entertained all day today.

The afternoon was really rough for Jenna with lots of crying and trying not to cough (but not worse than 2 am this morning...). Tonight she still has a fever but is feeling much better.


Austin finally got to have his turn for family home evening lesson tonight. He was thrilled to be able to cause his parents the joy of a face full of flour. The lesson: Stay away from the edge. Don't try to get close to things that aren't good. Everyone gave examples of things that could be acceptable but might be pushing a bit too close to the edge. Ex: drinking energy drinks--or for us caffeine in general, listening to bad music, not wearing clean white shirts to church...(we've been working on being presentable to pass the sacrament for Sunday mornings). The game is to try to cut the flour away from the penny as close as possible without making it fall...



You get the picture.

We are not ready for Halloween. I still have to make a witch dress to Jenna's specifications (and they are specific...) and a werewolf costume.

Any ideas on that one?

Thankfully Benson wants to be a knight which is a costume I could easily provide for the entire neighborhood.
And I am in charge of a first grade party.
Hmmm--everything has to be done by Thursday.
I hope we will be able to leave the house by Thursday!

oink,oink

Benson and I have been hanging out in the 'rock-a-bye' chair since Saturday morning. We have been told he has the classic swine flu symptoms going on and not to come to the office (surprise surprise!). Apparently the swine flu test has a very low sensitivity--only around 45% accurate, so much of the diagnosis is based on symptoms. The symptoms aren't too fun. Yesterday Benson was crying and crying because "everything except my feet" hurt. I finally had to get some ice packs for his arms which seemed to be the worst. This morning he woke up with a ghostly pale face (and fever) and puffy purple rings around his eyes. Poor boy.

Two of the neighboring school districts to our town have closed their schools because of wide spread flu outbreak. The kids tried to convince me this morning that they all need to stay home from school. Hmmm, tempting but I told them not to call me unless they actually have a fever. We can always hope for the best!

Dallin and Landon are done with football. Their team was third in the league. The first and second place teams are the only teams that came close to beating them. We are looking forward to some quieter evenings so we can enjoy the beautiful fall weather while it lasts.

Global warming among other things

"If this is global warming then I would hate to have seen it before!"

That was Landon's comment when we woke up this morning to ...

Snow

Not just the "is that frost or is it snow?" kind of snow but big fat thick wet flakes sticking to everything in sight. It didn't just snow for a few minutes but continued for the entire day. In fact we had to get the ladder out twice to clean the satellite dish out so we could watch conference today. It somehow made our conference-morning cinnamon rolls feel very festive.
Rustin and Austin and I also went to the Saturday morning session of conference at the conference center in Salt Lake. The other kids stayed home and watched Dallin and Landon play in their football game. (Thanks to my family who were all home visiting!)
We loved visiting our friends from Memphis--the Gibbons. Austin and Andrew were little buddies when they were tiny and they picked right back up where we left off. We really enjoyed spending some time with Austin by himself this weekend!

Now I think we need to head out to the shed and bring in all the winter gear. We should get some nice fall weather here next week but better safe than sorry!

Benson

Last night we all got to remember what we thought and felt five years ago when Benson joined our family.

Austin mostly remembers that Brother A. came over to baby sit at our house. Austin tried to teach him to play video games to no avail. They still have a private joke where Brother A says to Austin "you know, you're not too smart" and Austin says back "you know you're not too good at video games."

Dallin and Landon remember .

Jenna was barely walking (15 months) and was happy to share binkies with him.

I remember the night before the big day. I was completely exhausted from a pregnancy complicated with early labor and bed rest. I had gone into labor two and a half months early (30 weeks). I had spent three days in the hospital with the maximum doses of uterine-relaxing medicines pumping into my body. There was a moment when I heard someone's newborn baby cry next door and I thought "I really don't want to do this. That does not sound fun at all."

But then I had this little glimpse of Benson's spirit. Just for a second. And I felt peace. I really did. I felt sure that I could and would go through these hard things for that precious spirit. And I felt that having our fourth boy was of course the perfect thing.

So, that night before Benson was born, I sat on the couch downstairs and felt my rib cage stretch as his little foot pushed for more space (he was 9 lbs. 8 oz and 22 in.) as my belly continued to contract over and over again--as it had since those days in the hospital. I wondered if I would ever feel such a sensation again. I don't know how I could see through the discomfort but I recognized that it was such a unique blessing and experience. To know that I had a husband and children who were also ready and waiting for this baby was very comforting.

We are so, so thankful that Benson is who he is. 

Perspective

This morning I lay on the couch completely avoiding my morning motherly duties.
I have never done this before because getting everyone out the door with all essentials in tow requires my full attention. Though lately the dark skies and cold temperatures have me wishing to stay in bed.
I am having a hard time embracing this new 6:30 am wake up time for the twins. They are too. We say every morning "we need to go to bed earlier don't we?" but then there are just too few minutes of relaxing nothingness in the day so we stay up too late.

But this morning, just for a minute, I felt different. I usually look at our big window and wish for the 100th time that I had the beautiful velvet drapes I have been dreaming about, but this morning I could see the sky. The clouds were moving so fast that I could almost feel my place in the universe. It's a very strange feeling.

The sky this morning was kind of purple and full of threatening clouds. It made me think of heaven. What I will feel like when I get to heaven? Will I say "it was really hard for me down there. I wish I could have done better" or will I say "I am so glad I got to have such a great experience. I wouldn't change a thing!"

I hope I will say that my spirit recognized the beautiful things on earth that were patterned after the world where we used to live.

Benson turns five tomorrow. That is somehow the official 'big boy' age. It is a different stage for us now. Did I enjoy those sweet baby cheeks enough? Did I give hugs in place of frustration enough? They grow up so fast. Much of the kids' toddler years were just plain exhausting for me.
It kind of feels like we are constantly entering new waters. Right now we are adjusting to growing kids and Rustin's overstretched physical, emotional and spiritual schedule. We have a lot of compensating blessings that none of us would trade, but it's still an adjustment.

In all, I guess I have been reminded that everything is a stage. None of it will last whether pleasant or unpleasant. Many have gone before me and have been able to keep their priorities in the right place. My ancestors have handed down a legacy of happiness and obedience. And I think their chance was over before they even knew it. Mine will be too. Today I will read again President Monson's quote on my side bar and smile at my laundry.

Genetics?

Here's one good reason to get the bunk bed project finished.


(yes those are five kids sleeping on the floor)


Here's the reason that it might take me a bit longer than planned.



I guess the kids did inherit something from me after all. A bit of clumsiness. ouch.

Does a thumb with five stitches count as an excuse to have laundry waiting to be done?
I say it does.

The old big bulky beds are now downstairs in the missionaries' apartment. The new beds won't take up as much space and will have lots more storage. If I ever get them finished.

We are Loving the fall-ish weather. Jackets in the morning--shorts in the afternoon. Perfect corn, tomatoes, apples and all kinds of yummy stuff.


And of course football. The three big boys are loving football but they secretly can't wait until they have afternoons free again. So they can practice the piano. uh-huh.

The Errand of Angels

Do you ever need to say thank you to someone but know that there really is no way to do it adequately? That is how I feel this morning.

Last Thursday I got one of those phone calls that only a sister can understand. It was pretty much a jumble of incomprehensible sentences that sounded something like "they mixed up all the piles...eight o'clock tomorrow morning, locked in their rooms, I CAN'T DO THIS..."

My sister is moving to Australia. Her husband left about three weeks ago to start work and that has left Juli with five kids and a house to organize for the packers.
Some things need to go to storage, some to Idaho, some on slow boat to Australia and some by air shipment to Australia. And then, the most important things had to be neatly tucked into suitcases meant to hold every item needed for clothing or comfort for the next month or so.

A day spent cleaning and organizing was undone in a matter of minutes by her unsuspecting children. I could completely understand her panic. And I do mean panic.

My mom and I considered jumping in the car to make the ten hour drive to New Mexico to offer what comfort we could. But it would be too late. The comfort was needed immediately. We couldn't get there in time.

That's when I remembered Susan. Months ago when I was visiting New Mexico Susan let me program her cell phone number into my phone just in case I ever needed to get a hold of her for any reason.

So I called her. At 9:30 at night. I explained that the moment of help had arrived. The moment when only a sister will do. Fortunately she understood that the bonds of sisterhood reach beyond blood. Because we share the same lineage. It is unthinkable to let a sister go uncared for.

Juli's doorbell was ringing before we knew it. The kitchen was cleaned, piles were sorted and the kids asleep in their beds.

I can only think of one adequate way to say thanks and that is to return the favor. I have a feeling there are sisters all over the world in need of a sister. I'm sure someone has a sister near me in need and I am determined to be there. No sister should have to carry her burdens alone. We can be there together. I think I finally understand that now.