Way to go Austin

It has been so nice to have so many helpers around. My mom has five kids living at home and they have each been so good with the kids. The oldest my little brother Austin has been especially helpful and the girls have really taken to him.

For those of you who do not know yet Austin has been called to serve an LDS mission in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I am so proud of you Austin. You have turned out to be such a great guy! I know you will be bless greatly for serving the Lord and keeping his commandments.We will miss you but I am so glad that we have had the chance to see you before you go. We love you!
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There's More

I was beginning to feel better and was finally able to get out of the house for a little while but as fate wouldn't have it. On Tuesday night Ellora woke up with the stomach flu. Then Chalyse and I took our turns in quick succession. I think that we got it at the airport or on a plane. We were lucky though, I looks like we will all be better in time for Halloween.

Pictures for Dad

I was going to Email some pictures to Tom but I figured that I would just post them so you all could enjoy them.

 

 Grandma's giant carrots 

 The girls eating zingers. Chalyse said "grandma made cake last night." 

We had to explain that they came from the store.

 The girls screaming while they eat cake

Ellora playing the piano with Grandma Jana

We love you Dad!

The Perfect Storm

I have been so blessed. I have such a wonderful hard working husband. I am also so glad to live in a time when health care is where it is. True we have a lot to learn still but I am sure that all of you know several people who would not be alive today were it not for modern medicine.

For those of you who have not heard yet I am pregnant. I am about 8 weeks along and am due around June 1st. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was feeling great. Not even feeling very morning sick. I slowly began to feel dizzy and tiered, both common side effects of building a baby. As it got worse I looked for advise and found that it could be low iron, low blood sugar, or dehydration. All of which can usually be taken care of with a change of eating habits. After this did not work and I was continuing to get worse I decided to go to the local clinic to get my prenatal lab work done. In Point Hope there are no regular doctors or nurses just certified health aids.

If I was low on iron it just took a simple test and they could give me a prescription to take care of it but my iron level was normal. They did find evidence of an infection, though. They gave me a type of antibiotic that was very specific to that type of infection. Despite the antibiotic the next day I was much worse and could not even get up off the couch with out feeling as though I might collapse.

Over the next few days this came and went. Some days I had the energy to take minimal care of the girls, meaning feeding them and making sure they didn't kill them self but Tom would usually have to come home at the end of the day and wash the dishes, clean the house and put the girls to bed. On other days Tom had to come home and feed us because I couldn't.

Tuesday night I got really bad again this time with a high fever so I decided to go to the clinic again. The health aids found that I had lost some weight and that I was very dehydrated. After 3 health aids and 7 pokes they managed to get an IV in me to rehydrate me. After the IV I was still feeling pretty rotten but the woman's health practitioner was visiting. She checked to make sure the baby was in the right place and she was even able to find the heart beat! She gave me a few ideas to why I was feeling sick but said that is was probably just because I was pregnant. She suggested going to where I could let some help me take care of my girls but this was not the first time the thought crossed my mind. Tom had taken a lot of sick days and we didn't know anyone else who didn't work during the days so after praying we decided that I needed to be closer to family and doctors. As my condition was only worsening I left as soon as I could with the girls.

Before I left, Tom gave me a blessing. He said that God would place angels in my way to help me on the trip. The nurse practitioner was on the same flight out of the village. She was very helpful with the girls. After we landed I needed to take my luggage and the girls across a parking lot to check in for our next flight. Out of nowhere one of the pilots for Bering came over to take my luggage over for me. All along the trip people were very helpful and we arrive the next morning very tiered but very glad to be done with our journey.

The Doctor here in Utah told me that I was the perfect storm. Pregnant, an infection, a virus, and he diagnosed a second infection. He gave me a new antibiotic and said that when my infection and my virus clear up that if a am still feeling dizzy and low on energy that it is likely just the pregnancy. Hopefully when it does I will feel well enough to return home with Tom. He will be down for Thanksgiving.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

I'll be home for...Halloween?

As most of you know already, Camille and the girls are back in Spanish Fork. Camille got sick and needed medical attention that she couldn't get here.

When the truck came to pick the girls up to go to the airport, Chalyse got scared. I told her that if she's scared, she can sing "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" and it will make her feel better. She sang the song to herself to the airport and most of the way on the first flight.

I told Chalyse that she needed to be a big help for her mom on the way home. She said she would. She told Camille that she wanted to sleep on the airplane, and she slept for a good part of it. That was probably the most helpful thing she could have done.

Animal Sounds

Like the Rings on a Tree

I love general conference! It is such a blessing to gather to hear the words of the living prophets. One of the talks that stood out to me is the one that President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, gave entitled Of Things That Matter Most.

  President Uchtdorf talked about the rings on a tree. He said, "One of the things we learn from studying the growth of trees is that during seasons when conditions are ideal, trees grow at a normal rate. However, during seasons when growing conditions are not ideal, trees slow down their growth and devote their energy to the basic elements necessary for survival." He drew a connection between this and flying an airplane through turbulence saying that "professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed." He says, "It is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

So what does this have to do with life? 

Presedent Uchtdorf says, "When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be...

"Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.

"It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks."

So what can we do?

Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

Pres. Uchtdorf said, "There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions." He says, "We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

What are those things that matter most?  

President Uchtdorf talks about our four key relationships we have. First with our Father in Heaven, second with our families, third our fellowmen and last ourselves. He advises us to strengthen and maintain these relationships and gives some great advice on how to do this.

He then invites us to rejoice in the pure restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am so grateful that in this world of so much confusion and question that I have been blessed with that pure but oh so powerful truth that God lives, that He loves me! He truly sent His Son Jesus Christ to atone for my sins. I often get overwhelmed when I read something that explores things that we do not entirely understand. We live in a world that is so full of questions or guessing. It is a relief to have the opportunity to read the scriptures and know that it is not full of questions but answers. In this I can find peace and survive the struggles and hardship that my life may hand me.

Monday Activity, The Color Train

Chalyse loves to line things up and call them choo-choo trains. She also likes to collect similar objects from around the house. She really enjoyed this simple activity.
The Color Train:

Line up a row of cups, bowls, or lids. I used the rectangular plastic baby-food containers. This will be your train. Then go around the house or rummage through the toy box to find objects of of the same color to put in each car. A red car, a blue car, a purple car etc. Here is our color train:

Also use this activity to help teach counting and numbers. Use beans, buttons, small toys, cereal, or anything else small enough then put one in the first car, two in the second and so forth.

Writing the number or color on the car will help your child begin to recognize how it is written.