Thanksgiving Blessings

We hosted Jed's side of the family this year at our home. It was a great experience, I can't take any credit for it's success other than providing a semi-clean house. The happenings truly felt like a family on taking and each person contributed and helped all along the way to make the transition so smooth.


I love the tradition with the kernels of corn and I really feel like I have been more grateful this year than I have been in my entire life. I'm 25, I suppose it's a little late in coming; but I will run with it. I bought a box of tissues especially for myself. This was my 3 thankfuls:

1) Dr. R and Dr. N for helping my son live a normal and full life. We got really great news back on Wednesday that means his 2 weeks of treatment did exactly what it was supposed to. His smile is back and we have so much hope.

2) My mom and dad. As far as their children go, I don't think they have ever asked what was in it for them. With every year that passes, I find more and more that I want to be like them.

3) Experience. Even when it is painful and causes us to worry and sorrow it can be for our good.When we come out on the other side we can see that it has the power to make us stronger and better for going through it.

I got some amazing(at least I think so) shots of my kids this morning before I sent them downstairs to watch the parade so I could peel 17 pounds of potatoes in peace. :) I love and cherish these little faces and personalities. They truly are one of my greatest blessings. Jed would have been involved in said photo shoot but he was out participating in the Turkey bowl. He is a blessing too.

These pictures scream personality to me. If I were to post the 5 pictures I got of each of them, you would easily to see the personality that fills these little bodies. I think I am going to have to print a montage of each of them.

It was wonderful to have GG Romig with us. She astounds me, she is so spry from recently recovering from her broken hip and for being almost 91. She is amazing. I got some sweet shots of her with Emma and Eli. She was singing to them, it was a moment I will not soon forget. She also brought her sucker tree. All of the grandkids loved it and on of my favorite sounds was Brody walking around all afternoon asking for a sucker.


One other highlight I feel is important to mention is that in my duties as host, I failed to procure a salt shaker. It was comical/embarrasing to see my 2 pound can of salt being passed around the table and watching salt being very carefully dispensed so no one ended up with a cup of salt on their potatoes.

T and Chase were the last ones here and we invited them to stay and play a game with us. I was so happy they stayed, we have a truly wonderful time and it was so fun to see the girls have so much fun with "Melissa" and Ashlyn. Seeing my girls make those sorts of memories with their cousins evokes so many memories from my own childhood. I love it.

Beauty all around

With all that has been going on, I realized this morning that Bustaloo is 7 months old and continues to be that sweet boy that entered our lives in April. He is starting to do baby push ups and is rolling (slowly) around the floor. It is fun to see since the girls rolled from their tummies to their backs and were content. We truly are so blessed to have him in our home.


The girls have given us some very amusing moments that I would be most sad if I forgot. Each one has a little bit of preface, so bear with me.

- We were learning Latter Day Prophets in Primary and I asked the children if they knew of any other presidents of the church other than Thomas S. Monson, and Gordon B. Hinckley. Some kids were able to name some, and then when I called on Ruby she said in a fog horn voice "George Washington."


Emma and I were looking through some photography shots of peoples favorite four legged friends on www.thepioneerwoman.com and she would tell me what each picture was of. We came upon some dear in a graveyard and I asked her what those were and she said "Oh, it's a Bambi." I told her she melted my heart and she said "It's ok mom."


Ruby gave FHE on Captain Moroni (her choice) a few weeks ago and as we were reviewing the story about the title of liberty, she said "I want to go to his land and marry him. I love him." I told her that he was in Heaven and that he was already married, she said "To who? What's her name?" I said that the scriptures don't tell us but I was sure that she was a beautiful righteous woman." (Maybe my mom was visiting that day and told her that but I can't remember.) Anyway on Halloween I was doing her hair for church and she looks in the mirror and says "I'm a beautiful righteous woman, why can't I marry Captain Moroni.?"

At the end of what felt like to me a completely exhausting day, Ruby came up to me as I was putting dishes away and she told me "Mom, you are so beautiful everyday and you make the most delicious dinners." Those small words meant more to me than she could have possibly have known that day.

These little faces melt my heart. We truly can find beauty in the simplest places. So grateful for the beauty I experience daily.

Dr. visits

Eli had his 6 month checkup on the 19th. (We are a little behind...again.) He is looking good, Dr. R is a good sounding board for me and takes time to listen to all of my concerns, no matter how legit they are.

As for his stats they are as follows.

Weight: 20 lbs. 4 oz. 90th percentile
Height: 27 1/8 in. 75th percentile
Head: Can't remember but is average-ish.

We love the little squish.

Eli had an EEG this morning, due to some things that we have been seeing, I get worried but am trying to just focus on the now until we know more, and if it is anything at all to be worried about. I think no matter what stage you are at, you are constantly worry about them in one way or another.

Eli loves to jump and bounce and does little baby push up's which will help his hands. He has been working to get his top teeth in for a couple weeks now and is constantly chewing on his thumb. I think they are getting close to coming through and Tylenol is the boys new friend.

As for Halloween I will state here and now that I am quite possibly the worst mama. We were in such a rush that we didn't take any pictures. I am going to pull a costume recreation, if for nothing more than documentation. Can't believe that November is here and looking forward to all of the holiday excitement.

Halloween cousin party

My Mom, Erin and Meg came to our house yesterday, for a little Halloween get together. My mom and Erin did the planning, and we had a great time. The girls made witch puppets. Each were unique and cute.


They played a dice game called Spooky eyes. It was funny to see the 3 younger ones "roll" the dice(shake it and then lay it down on the side they wanted up) and get matches. Ruby asked why she didn't have as many matches as the other girls.

My mom cut out Halloween masks for each of the girls and Delphia picked who would get what. They were so funny with them on and I think it turned out to be the highlight of the party. Ruby and Chloe are werewolves, Delphia a vampire and Emma was Frankenstein.






They each made a ghosts, marshmallows dipped in white chocolate with milk chocolate eyes. They had fun playing together in the basement and being together. It was a fun afternoon and I really enjoyed some adult conversation.



I love the Holidays!

Peg leg and thoughts

Had my Dr. appt last week. The Dr. said he could still see more of the fracture line than he would like, but has to take into consideration that I had a baby in the last 6 months so my body is still playing catch up. I will stay in my walking boot for 1 more month until the bone is stronger. I feel like I have a new lease on life being able to carry Eli around. I am turtle speed slow but the ability to do things for myself is makes that not even matter. I am loving this new freedom. This is what it my leg looked like 2 hours after I broke it. Now all the swelling has gone away, we have laughed about how skinny it looks compared to the other. The beauty of atrophy. :)



The girls have had a great time playing outside with friends and enjoying the cooler weather. As I was preparing dinner a few weeks ago, I looked out the window and spotted the girls playing red rover with the neighbors. It made nostalgic as memories of my own childhood flooded back to me, we spent hours playing games like this. It warms my heart to see Ruby so willing to take Ruby along when she gets invited to play with friends. I hope their sweet relationship will continue. Don't be fooled though, this sweetness coincides with plenty of tears and cries of "She's hurting my feelings!"


My mom made a really cute Halloween advent calendar for the girls and they get to pull a little surprise every day. One of their favorites so far is a simple little game called Ghost Chase. They love it. We also had a Amish friendship bread start that I somehow ruined. I have to petition my sister for a new start but the girls loved mushing the bag together.



We had Dallen, Spencer and Melody over for dinner last night and had a lot of fun. We love having visitors, and I think we will start doing Sunday dessert with families in our ward that we have wanted to get to know. Time feels like it is going so quickly and we are happy.

6 months

Today my boy is 6 months old. It seems unfathomable that 1/2 of a year has past. He truly has made the transition to 3 a breezy with a fair amount of showers(due to his love of blowing raspberries.)


At his last neurology appt. we met only with the PAC. We got his meds figured out and as we see any sign of his seizures all we need to do is call up to Primary's leave a message and they will get back to us quickly, as his meds are based on weight. So when he grows we will just have to up his dose as needed. She didn't seem all that impressed with his hands, but we talked about his seizures for 30 minutes and then she held toys out for him to try to grab and observed him for about 2 minutes. I came away discouraged because at home he grabs for things that are placed out in front of him. Then I decided that the last time she saw Eli he was 2 weeks old, so not to worry to much. I felt like as long as I am seeing improvement we have something to feel good about.



Here are some words to describe Eli at this point: happy, drooly, observant, hungry, gentle, and sweet.

He is sitting up now and loves it. He is content to just hang out on a blanket and play with toys for a decent amount of time. We have also nicknamed him Bustaloo, a term Ruby coined when she mistook it for bust a move. But when ever we say it to him in a Vegas lounge singer voice he smiles.


I think his saucer has helped him as far as reaching for things goes. When we first started putting him in it, I don't really think he knew what to do, but now he pulls things into his mouth and spins the toys. It has been exciting to see.

Since my breakage, Jed has been getting up with Eli at night to feed him. They are so fun to watch together, and Eli cuddles right into Jed's shoulder which he rarely does with me. Jed attributes it to middle of the night bonding. :)



Love you so much Eli.

For Angie

I feel like I have lacked much to write about, and pictures to go with it. As I look at the date on my last post I find myself blushing and how long it has been. I really do love my blog and am feeling sad that it has been so terribly neglected.

And so it is for Angie that I write today. I know what ever I consider to be boring ramble, Angie will like it.

My life in the last couple weeks on paper looks a little like this, not a huge amount of activity that I am used to, but much more thoughtful and gratitude filled for the things that I used to do, that now someone else does for me, or that I have found a way to do even though it takes 3-4 times longer than it used to. In short, I think we often forget how amazing our bodies are. When I am finally free of my "shackles" (Hopefully I will be off crutches by next Thursday and just in the walking boot for a few weeks. It would be very nice to no longer have my hands involved with the walking process.) I will make a post more specifically about what I have learned from this experience.

Jed passed his insurance test on Tuesday! That was such a relief. It has brought a lot of unspoken stress for both of us that we didn't talk about until Jed passed. I am so proud of him and how much time he put into his studies with all of the motherly duties that have been heaped upon him, due to my clumsiness. He is a jewel and I am glad he is mine.

He will attend his 2 weekly company meetings, schedule his hands on training with his team leader and then I think we just have to wait for his License to come in the mail. I told Jed he should make an appearance on the blog to explain his work stuff to all of my faithful readers. He politely declined and with a smile and said "No, I don't want to blog." So there you have it.

Jed has a job it's just all of the certification and all of that jazz that seems to be delaying what most consider the definition of having a job; making money. We foresee that being in sight soon. Which will be a nice change.

Like I said, I don't really feel like I have much quality blog material to write about, but years from now perhaps I will read this post and be grateful that all though lacking in brilliant content, I wrote anyway. Thanks for the encouragement Ang.

Truly though, my heart is just filled with gratitude for people who are in the right place at the right time and remind me that Heavenly Father is in the details and that with each new experience we have it can be for our good.