The Storage Unit Christmas

When my husband was almost done with law school, I was pregnant with our third child, due to deliver the week before graduation.  With no job prospects as of yet, we decided to move back to Utah to be near our family.  But, because of my due date, I needed to come back early. So, in March of 2003, I came to Utah with Reuben (4) and Tim (2) and moved into two bedrooms in my parents' basement. Judd drove our belongings out in a U-haul and we put most of our possessions into storage.  He then went back to Baltimore to finish law school.  Two months later he finished classes and flew out to Utah. I went into labor the next day and had the baby ( Amy) and he left a few days later to go back and graduate.  We then settled into living with my generous parents while Judd studied for and took the Bar exam, and then started a private practice.

Fast forward nearly two years to December of 2004.  We decided it was time to go out on our own.  We had very little money.  Starting a business is rocky and it takes a while to earn enough to make ends meet.  But, we found a great basement for rent in Holladay. It was only $650 a month and included the utilities.   It didn't have a dishwasher, we couldn't fit a couch down the stairs or a queen size box springs, and my piano would never navigate that narrow passage;  but the price was right and it was fairly large at 1600 sq feet.  It was perfect for our family!

The only problem was that we were practically penniless.  Putting down a deposit on our apartment and paying to have our piano moved out of storage and into our friends' house took a toll on our bank account.

We couldn't afford Christmas.

But, it didn't matter because we developed a plan, a delightful and slightly devious frugaliscious plan.  Our children had not seen the majority of their toys for the last two years. Our youngest had never seen any of them!  We wrapped up the Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, and Matchbox cars, and all of the other toys that had been lonely for so long, and placed them lovingly under the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, our excited children ripped open the paper with glee and squealed over each new toy. They had no idea these were their old toys coming back to them.  The closest they came to finding us out was Reuben saying, "I used to have one of these!"

It was the best Christmas ever!

Just this evening, after coming home from a special family gathering to visit Uncle Ronald  and bring him some Christmas cheer, I mentioned that long ago Christmas to my boys, now 17 and 15.

"What?"  Tim said." You gave us our old presents?"

" I never could figure out why I got so many Tinker Toys, but I didn't really have that many" replied Reuben.

We all laughed together.  I had no idea the boys NEVER figured out what we had done.

 

Zucchini Pancakes

I'm all about feeding my kids vegetables.  But, I'm not really into hiding them in their food to trick them into eating them.  While that will help them to get some much needed nutrition, hiding the healthy food fails to teach children good eating habits. So, when I "hide" something in the food in an effort to increase nutrition or use something up, I tell my kids.  I might peel something to make it more visually appealing, but I don't lie to them about what is in the food.

This is important part about the magic muffins ( see my muffin post) at our house.  I can put just about ANYTHING in these muffins, and my kids will eat them.  They LIKE finding out what is in them.  AND THEY EAT THEM!

That's because they taste good.

Vegetables taste good.  They really taste good when you mix them with sugar, eggs, flour, etc. . .

So, after such amazing success at getting my kids to eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables in muffin form, I decided to go really brave with pancakes.  I have put zucchini in pancakes before, but this time, I went wild.

I replaced all of the milk with pureed zucchini.

Yes, I really did.  I took photos to prove it.

My kids loved them!

That's because they were delicious.  I don't mean to brag or anything, but I just know that somebody reading this needs a little push over to the dark green and leafy side.  Make something with "hidden" veggies in it, but tell your kids.  It's fun and it teaches them two important lessons.

1. They can trust Mom cause she tells them what's in the food and doesn't try to trick them into eating things.
2. Vegetables taste good in sweets.

Okay, well that's the blog for this week.  Have a fantastic day and make sure to load yourself up on veggies today!

Spiritual Twinkies

Yesterday my stake had a special stake conference, presided over by a member of the quorum of the seventy, Elder Michael T Ringwood. The day before, President Stewart, our stake president attended a training meeting and was taught by Elder Ringwood, Elder Holland, Elder Renlund, and others.   He shared with us some of the things he learned, and I would like to pass on the lesson of the spiritual Twinkies. I think he said this was taught by Elder Renlund.

Elder Renlund asked for some volunteers to come up and eat a pastry.  President Stewart eagerly volunteered and was selected to come up and receive a Twinkie.  After eating it, he was asked," What percent of the daily recommendation of fiber, vitamin c, and vitamin d can be found in that Twinkie?"

This is what Twinkies do to you

Of course, the answer was none.  Twinkies have no nutritional value beyond empty calories.  

Just as Twinkies offer no nutrition for our bodies, the philosophies of men mixed with some poems and a few quotes are akin to a theological Twinkie. They consist of spiritually empty calories.

Spiritual Twinkies, if they are part of our diet, need to be substituted with the substance of the Gospel.

In our homes and in our teaching responsibilities within the church, do we use spiritual Twinkies rather than relying on the substance of pure doctrine?  Do we rely on cute soundbites and clever memes to try and teach lessons, or do we boldly teach from the lesson manuals, scriptures, and conference talks?  

In order to have the strength we need to survive spiritually in this world, we cannot be offering spiritually empty pastries to our children. They need the substance of true doctrine and principles to strengthen and sustain them.

I loved this analogy and I think it's a great concept to ponder. President Stewart asked us if the words of God's mouthpiece are the most prominent in our lives?  Do we study the words of the prophets?  Do we follow them?  Or are we too "busy" choosing other ways to fill up our time?

So, my challenge today to myself and to anyone who reads this is :

Put down the Twinkie.  Not only are the lacking in nutrition, but they are really gross!
Pick up the scriptures. The longer you study them, the more you will feel like you've been drinking pure goodness, and it won't even make you fat!

Scratch and Sniff Stickers and Pride

Yesterday I had the opportunity to teach Relief Society at church. This is the class held during the 3rd hour of church for adult women.  One of my callings right now is to teach every other month.  We teach lessons compiled from teachings of past prophets. This year we are studying the teachings of Ezra Taft Benson.  He is well known for his teachings about pride and this was the subject for the lesson yesterday.

Pride is enmity toward God or our fellowmen.  It is hatred and opposition.  Pride takes on many forms.

"Pride is essentially competitive in nature.  We pit our will against God’s.  When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.”  

“Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers.  The proud wish God would agree with them.  They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.  

Another major portion of this very prevalent sin is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them" -Ezra Taft Benson

It is this last form of pride- elevating ourselves above others, that I want to write about today. I shared this story in my lesson, but I want to share it with cyberspace too. It is my story of the scratch and sniff stickers and certificates.

When I was in 3rd grade we received grades every 6 weeks. There were 6 grading periods each year. My teacher, Susan Huntley, held an awards ceremony in our classroom at the end of each 6 week period. Children received certificates for outstanding behavior, perfect attendance, and achieving the highest grade in individual subjects. Unless there was a tie, only one child would get a certificate for each subject. They were Health, Science, Social Studies, Language, Reading, and Math. The most fantastic thing about these certificates was that they often came complete with a scratch and sniff sticker! Oh, how we children in Ms. Huntley's third grade class of 1986-1987 loved scratch and sniff stickers! We had many opportunities to earn the stickers during the year, but of course, these certificates were the ultimate goal for all of the brainy competitive children.

I was a smart child, and also one of the oldest in my class, being born in October. School was easy for me, and so I started to bring home a lot of these coveted certificates.

I felt pretty special.

Partway through the year, I sat in an awards ceremony, antsy on the rug, as my teacher called out the recipients. I received a certificate right at the beginning, and sat eagerly awaiting the rest. Yes, I EXPECTED to get multiple certificates, because that is what had been happening. I grew more and more anxious, annoyed even, as the teacher called OTHER children up to receive awards that I thought should be mine- at least some of them!

At long last, I heard my name called. But, instead of going up and graciously receiving my certificate, I let loose the word that I was thinking.

"FINALLY!"I exclaimed in a long drawn out annoyed little 9 year old raspy voice.

"Becky!" The teacher expressed her disappointment in me. I sheepishly took my certificate and sat down.

This stickers still smells amazing after 30 years!

And, in that one moment, I saw myself for who I was at the time.

And I was so ashamed.

I have never forgotten that moment. I have never forgotten that feeling of realizing that I was putting myself above my fellow students. I was so focused on earning my "deserved" awards, that I never stopped to think about how the other children might be feeling. I never thought about the ones that never earned any of the awards. I never thought about the ones that had fantastic grades, but not high enough to beat me or the other kids who usually took home these certificates. I never thought that while Peter Carlseen and I battled it out for highest Math grade (I only got it once) that there might have been another kid excelling at Math who also really hoped for that honor.

No, I had never thought any of those things because I was far too busy thinking about ME. 

I took home about half of the certificates given out that year. But, what I took home that day meant more to me than my whole book of scratch and sniff stickers. I took home the lesson that wanting to be better or even expecting to be better than other people isn't God's way, and it wasn't His plan for me.

His way is to "choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are." -Ezra Taft Benson

My accidental lesson at that tender age, has stayed with me for nearly 30 years now. It may well have been the impetus for my choice to major in elementary education, and to pursue teaching opportunities whenever they arise. I love to teach other people what I know how to do- whether it is baking bread, playing the piano, embroidery, or an academic subject. I love to see the lights go on in a child's eyes when the information makes sense! I love to lift others up and even watch them ascend higher than I am capable of going at the time. The greatest happiness I can imagine would be seeing my children achieve more than I have achieved- seeing them be more faithful disciples of Christ, more successful in every way. Then, I would know that I had done my work as their mother.

"Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee, and we'll ascend together" -Quaker Proverb

Family Home Evening/Scripture Journals

   

I believe in Family Home Evening and daily scripture study.  Even though my kids can sometimes behave like wildabeasts, I still have a strong testimony of the importance of both studying the scriptures as a family and spending time one evening a week learning the gospel and enjoying being together.
     Traditionally, FHE is held on a Monday evening.  We set aside this time and make every effort to keep it open.  It is sacred to our family. When something comes up on a Monday that is unavoidable, like a graded band concert, the whole family attends.
     As important as I feel FHE is, it can be a challenge with 6 kids who might be thinking more about dessert than anything else.  So, I'm always open to ways to improve this time. While at education week, I heard an idea from a religion professor and decided to do it with my family.

So. . . last night for our FHE activity we made FHE/Scripture journals. The concept is very simple.  I purchased nice notebooks, the kind that normally cost $1-$2, but go on sale for 50 cents this time of year. The kids get to have them during the FHE lesson and our daily morning scripture study.  They may draw pictures and take notes as desired to help them absorb what is being taught or discussed.  As soon as I heard the idea, I knew it would help at least two of my kids be less likely to do gymnastics off the couch during lessons.

Last night I introduced the idea and shared some statistics from the class where I heard about the journals.  In a nutshell, this professor has scientifically researched and discovered that taking notes increases the spiritual take away by about 8 percent.  Other things that help people feel the Spirit are pre-reading and participating orally at least 4 times.  Anyway, back to the journals.

I gave everyone a notebook and then offered up my complete stock of cardstock and stickers.  These babies date back to 1997 and I figured it was time to actually use some of them.  Everyone cut and glued for the next hour and a half until each member of my family was satisfied with his or her journal.  And here they are. . .

My book is influenced a conference talk about "hearing" the music of the gospel.

Judd made the Holy Ghost

Tim has a little violin on the front, cause he plays the violin.

The back of his book is weaved.  

Reuben's says "Journal, Journal" It also offers a 25 year warranty on pianos and organs in the bottom left.  He likes to be random.

Amy went to town with all kinds of fun papers and cutouts.

For Audrey was all about the stickers.

Emmeline didn't know when to be done. She still wants to add stickers. 

Clara's journal is not pictured because, well, somehow I missed taking her picture and she has hidden the journal.  It must be somewhere safe.  

After finishing our journals, there was only one reasonable thing left to be done- DESSERT!  

We greatly enjoyed homemade cookies and ice cream and finished the night off with family prayer. Everyone said it was a great Family Home Evening and the kids started using their journals this morning for family scripture study at 6:40 A.M.  Yes, 6:40 A.M.

Mini blog two: 

  We used to have scriptures at 7 A.M. last year. Reuben left at 5:40 T-Th for early morning seminary, so he missed out.  I never felt good about that.  At Education Week a speaker by the name of Merilee Boyack inspired me to basically put my feet where my mouth is. . . she said we should be moving HEAVEN and EARTH to have scripture study and twice daily family prayer with our families.  I felt in my heart that this was something we need in our family to strengthen us in the midst of a world that teaches many things that oppose what we believe.  I told my husband how I felt and he jumped in with two feet, supporting the idea completely to add evening prayer and to find a way to include all of our kids in scripture study.  The kids talked about it and decided it should be moved to 6:40 A.M.  I initially felt some resistance because I exercise from 6-7, but then I realized that NOTHING is more important than putting on the armor of God each morning, and I decided to shorten my exercise time.  I know it's the right thing to do.  It's only been a week and a half of these two changes, but already I feel an increased peace and love in my home.  It is such a small change really, but it's bringing my children closer to each other and to my husband and me.  I love the feeling of calm and quiet peace that we have at night as we kneel together on the floor of my little girls' room and unite together to speak to our Heavenly Father.  

On This Long Awaited Day

When I had my first baby nearly 17 years ago, I began a mental countdown to the time when I would send my last baby off to school.  I was at the beginning of my career as a stay at home mom and I wondered what the journey would bring. Of course, being a mom is a job you never retire from, but the responsibilities change along the way.

I will never forget the feelings of new mommyhood.  How I anxiously anticipated the start of caring for another human.  I read everything there was to read about pregnancy and childbirth and I was perfectly prepared for an unmedicated delivery, which worked out somehow.  Sadly, in my obsessive focus on growing and birthing a baby, I forgot to read any books about how to care for a new life!  Poor Pittsling number one.  It was a rough beginning.

12 hours of breastfeeding every day.
2 hours of sleep at night, if I was lucky.
A little tike who needed to be held all day.
Throw in me still being in college, and it was pretty intense!

And I loved it!  I loved him!  I fiercely adored being a mother and smothered that child with all of the love that I could send out to him.

The second time around was even better.  I got an easy baby.  My boys have always loved each other and we moved smoothly into the life of two kids.  Life was so simple. Take care of little boys. Play with trains.  Watch Teletubbies. Go on walks. Play with playdough.  Change diapers and make sure the little ones gets enough sleep. Fill up sippy cups and kiss boo boos.

The kids kept coming and we did our best to enjoy the happy chaos of constant chatter and sticky fingers.

Time passed like hours spent reading a really great book that you can't put down.  I find myself asking ,"Did that last chapter really just end?"  I mean, I saw it coming. I SAVORED the last few chapters. I have no regrets, but I still wish for my powers to manipulate the rotation of the earth which haven't quite developed.

17 years. 6 kids. 5 moves.  7 preschools.   5 Elementary schools.

Amidst the joy and the struggles of raising 6 children, I often remarked that I would not be the mom sitting on the couch crying when my "baby" went to Kindergarten.  I claimed I would be partying about my well earned break.

And then, my last child turned out to be this sweet bundle of ooey gooey preciousness.

 She started school yesterday.  I sent the most adorable little girl off to be educated by somebody I don't even know.  I feel like her teacher should pay ME for the privilege of spending 3 hours a day with my child.  

It's not like I'm not busy, and free time evaporates around here like a drop of water in the Arizona desert.  Every week we have 6 kids to ferry to and from 4 schools, 9 hours of soccer, one voice lesson, two dance  classes, two after school band classes, one tumbling class, one gymnastics class, 4 piano lessons to teach, two houses to clean, a law practice to run, FHE, scriptures and prayer, dinners and dishes, laundry( Oh laundry), yardwork, homework, Sunday night Stirling Singers practice, Activity Days to run ( along with 4 other callings that I LOVE!), and about a gazillion bajillion other things, like everyone else!  So, yes, I'm busy.

But, now I have more kid free time.  And I'm not gonna cry!

I'm not.

I've made my plans and I'm sticking to them like, well, like the hot glue holding my glasses together.  It stays most of the time, but sometimes it comes apart and I have to reglue it.  I might mess up, I might get off track, but I'll just get right back on!

I have to face this new chapter and find meaning and purpose in it.  I have about 14 hours a week now without my little buddy.  And I've made some decisions about how to be a good steward of that time.  One sure way to succeed is to tell other people, so I'm telling the whole world here- or the 47 people who read this.

I am going to do the things I love and the things that matter.  I'm going to the temple once a week. I started yesterday. I am going to write more seriously, starting with a picture book about a cartwheeling otter with a messy room.  I am going to study the gospel for 30 minutes a day. I am going to do family history work. I am going to go to the gym AFTER the sun rises. I am going to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and follow them, starting with increasing family prayer to twice a day.  My kids need all the protection they can get while living in this wicked world.  I am going to live with purpose so that all that I do has a positive impact on my kids, even while they aren't with me during the day.

And here's my question to you-

If you are kid free for all or part of the day, what do you do?

If you are not, what do you plan to do when that phase of life happens for you?

I'd love to hear from you, either here on my blog or on my facebook page!

Activity Days Tea Party

For almost 4 years I have been serving as Activity Days Leader in my ward. At the beginning of my service I held a mother daughter tea party.  It was such a great success I decided to do it again now that I have a completely new set of girls.  Most Activity Day leaders only have one age of girls, but I have all of the girls from 8-12 because we have a small number.  So, I can't repeat activities from year to year.  

This time around I decided to really get the most out of the tea party and I planned 3 months of activities that would lead up to the party, selecting activities that counted for Faith in God requirements while also helping us prepare for this special day.

If you are an Activity Day Leader, you might be interested in what we did.  And that's pretty much the only reason I'm sharing this- well, because my friend said I should. So, I hope it will be helpful to someone. And, if it is, let me know.  If you are not an Activity Day leader, you should just stop reading now.  I'm serious.  It's going to be very very boring for you.

Here's what we did and which requirements we were working on;

Activity 1:  Manners

Requirement: Learn about and practice good manners and courtesy.( Serving Others)
ALSO Learn to sing, play, or lead a song from the Children’s Songbook. Teach or share the song in a family home evening or at Primary. Discuss how developing talents helps prepare us for service to Heavenly Father and others. ( Developing Talents)

This was our first,"get ready for the tea party" activity.  We talked about different scenarios of good manners, both for eating and telephone etiquette. After talking, the girls acted out scenarios to practice their phone manners.  We ended by having a mini tea party with some snacks, where we practiced chewing with our mouths closed, saying " please" and "thank you", elbows off the table, and asking people by name to pass things rather than reaching across the table.

During this meeting I also introduced two short songs for the girls to learn and perform for their mother during the tea party.  They were:
My Blessings

file:///C:/Users/SLCardinal/Downloads/2012-10-132-my-blessings-eng.pdf

https://www.lds.org/music/library/search?query=My+Blessings&x=0&y=0&lang=eng

and

Sing Me a Song

file:///C:/Users/SLCardinal/Downloads/2012-10-154-sing-me-a-song-eng.pdf

https://www.lds.org/music/library/search?query=Sing+Me+a+Song&x=0&y=0&lang=eng

Both songs originally appeared in the friend magazine.

Each time we met, we spent a few minutes singing the songs for practice.  This fulfilled the requirement in Developing your Talents to plan and complete your own activity


Activity 2: Hairbows
Requirement: Make an item from wood, metal, fabric, or other material, or draw, paint, or sculpt a piece of art. Display your finished work for others to see.
(Developing your talents)

For this activity I taught the girls how to make simple, yet adorable, hairbows from felt.  Here's a link to a tutorial showing how to do this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYQwh5_VR1g

 This activity was extremely inexpensive, and I just donated my personal materials.  All you need is a few felt sheets, hot glue, clips, scissors.  They turned out so darling. The girls each made two, one for them and one for their mothers.

Activity 3: Invitations
Requirement: This activity didn't really meet a requirement, but could be used for service for a write in activity.

I provided cardstock, paper, stickers, and glue and let the girls each make an invitation for their mother. Since our theme was flowers, I also gave them some silk flowers that they could choose to glue on.

Activity 4: Decorations
Requirement: Developing your talents write in

For this activity the girls each received a small foam ball and had their choice of oodles of flowers to glue on them.  We then stuck a wooden dowel into the ball and put it in a pot.  They turned out so darling! This was the most expensive activity we did.
Here's a breakdown of the cost to make 12.
foam balls= $8 for 12 at walmart
wooden dowels-$2 for 12 at walmart
hot glue- $6 for 50 fat stick. We used a ton of hot glue.
flowers- $17 at the dollar store, plus about that much or more from my personal stash that I bought in grab bags at Walmart.
yellow paper stuff- $1 at the dollar store.
pots- $3 for 12 at the dollar store.  These plastic pots were not heavy enough and we had to add rocks. Terra cotta pots would be better, but Joann's was closed already by the time I went out to shop.
paint- donated mine
foam for pots- $2.47 at Walmart.  I used all of it.

This was a pricey project considering that I have a $10 a month budget. You could easily come up with a much less expensive centerpiece.  These ended up costing over $3 a piece and would have been closer to $5 if I hadn't donated flowers from my supply.

We used these to decorate the tea party, and at the end the girls got to take them home. We made enough for everyone whether they came to any particular activity or not.

Activity 5: Cake Balls
Requirement: This could be a write in for either developing your talents or service, since the cake balls were being made for the tea party for their moms.  

I do a lot of activities where I make up my own activity that fits with the category. I guess I mostly do this because we run our of activities to do over 4 years when we meet 24 times a year and there are only about 28 ideas total.  So, that only gives me something to do about 25% of the time when I feel like I can't repeat anything specific for 3 years.



Activity 6: Tea Party
Requirement: 

• • 
  Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project. (Serving Others)

You've probably noticed that none of these activities count for Learning and Living the Gospel.  We'll focus several activities on that this fall, as we did in the Spring.  

My daughter Audrey

My daugther Clara

I didn't make food assignments, but had a true potluck. We ended up with  a great variety.

Here's a picture of the girls singing for their moms.

The tea party was a wonderful culmination of 5 activities of preparation.  Out of 11 girls, we had 10 come to the tea party. This was fantastic!  I usually get 6 or 7 on a really good day, so I was very happy that so many girls came. There were 20 people in attendance and we fit very nicely at 3 rectangle church tables pushed together to make one long table.  The girls topiaries lines the center of the table, the flowers were clipped onto the napkins, and I hung tissue paper puff balls above the tables.  2 packs of multicolored tissue paper from the dollar store made 5 puff balls.  We had one more table set up for refreshments and each girl brought one or two items to share. 

For our beverage we were treated with "Mormon tea"  which was actually tap water.  I had planned on serving lemonade, but I completely forgot about a drink until 15 minutes before starting time.  Whoops!  

At the beginning the girls sang their two songs for the Moms and we had a short review of good manners. Everyone acted like a princess and had a great time eating and enjoying each other's company.  At the end, I talked to all of the moms about the schedule for the school years to make sure that my planned meeting time of Fridays at 3:30 would work for everyone. It was really nice to have them all together at once to get that settled.  

So, that's it.  

6 activities.

6 or 7 requirements accomplished.  

11 happy little girls.

Note about the cost:

As I mentioned earlier, the decorations for the table were pricey.  You could easily come up with a project that costs less.  I chose to buy plastic tablecloths, paper plates.  We could have used real plates and tablecloths. I'm turning in a receipt for the cookies and coconut we coated the cake balls in, but I donated the cake supplies and dipping chocolate.  I asked each girl to bring a dish to share. I donated the supplies for the invitations and the flower hairbows.  I wasn't trying to be crazy frugal, but I was trying to be careful, and I'm turning in receipts totaling almost $60, which is half my budget for the year.  But, since we spent 3 months on these activities and I usually come up with completely free activities, I'm doing fine on my budget. It's actually the only money I've spent all year.  If you want to do a tea party, and budget is an issue for you, consider asking girls to bring supplies for home if they have them.  Ask parents what they have that they could donate. Lots of people have extra craft supplies lying around that they bought and never ended up using- people like me who can't resist buying an 8 ounce jar of red glitter for $1.49.   

Emmeline's Aerodigestive Journey

I've just returned from a doctor's appointment with my sweet little Emmeline. She is newly 5 and preparing to enter Kindergarten in 2 months.  For the last 3 years or so, or maybe longer, she's been an incredible trooper dealing with her frequent respiratory illnesses.  I've been hoping she would "outgrow it".  But, the final straw broke this camel's back about two weeks ago when she got sick again.

IT'S JUNE!  My kid is not supposed to get a cold in June.  My kid is not supposed to get a cold that starts with an instant cough in June coupled with vomiting twice in less than 24 hours due to that horrific cough.  This is the 3rd sick season ( usually just Winter and early Spring) that we have dealt with cold after cold after cold. It wasn't uncommon for her to be sick for 2 weeks and then only be healthy for a few days or a week before getting sick again.  Her precious little face would barely heal from a runny nose before it would start up again.  

About 2 1/2 years ago, around March or April I took Emmeline to the doctor for this problem.  I realized she had been throwing up a lot with her colds, and that it probably wasn't normal.  So, we went to see the pediatrician. I told him that something was wrong, that I thought she either had acid reflux or asthma or both.  He agreed with me and we started to treat her for both.  She got better, but the asthma treatment was $500 for a month supply and had to be delivered through the nebulizer, which is fantastic, but slow. It took 20 minutes every day. After a while we stopped treating for reflux and continued the nebulized steroid for about 2 months until the weather was warm.  I hoped the coast was clear.

As soon as the weather turned cold again, yep, you guessed it, she got more colds and vomited more.  I need to slow down here and explain exactly what I mean.  Emmeline would catch a cold and get a runny nose and a cough, like any normal cold. But, when she would start coughing hard, she couldn't stop until she vomited. This could happen once a day, multiple times a day, every other day. . . it wasn't predictable. But, it was guaranteed to happen if she started to run or got injured.  Cough cough cough- barf! Sometimes she threw up every meal. Other times nothing for a few days.  It happened with every cold.  As she would get better, towards the end of the cold, she wouldn't throw up any more- usually.  Some of her colds weren't scary. Others were very scary.  About 4 colds ago I borrowed an pulse oximeter from a friend just to make sure she was ok.  She practically slept with that thing on for a week.  But her oxygen was always okay, so we didn't go in to the doctor. That's kind of been the story about the whole thing. She gets sick. She throws up. But, she just picks up and goes back to playing. She doesn't get upset. She doesn't cry.  She doesn't let her get it down. Anyway, I just kept hoping it would go away. I didn't want her on steroids full time. But, with this last time, I just had this feeling come over me that it was time to ask for more treatment options.  

We went to the doctor.

She gave us a prescription for a new inhaled steroid- Q-VAR.  She told me to start her on a reflux medicine and to go see a GI- gastroenterologist. That's where we went today.  Since we started those two meds one week ago Emmeline hasn't had one coughing fit and subsequently has not vomited. But, it has been a very mild cold, so I thought maybe that was why.  I stopped the Q-VAR two days ago.  That night I heard Emmeline coughing violently in her sleep. We started the Q-VAR again last night.  

I don't know what is wrong with my little girl. We went to our visit.  I said, "I don't know what's wrong, but I am WAY too good at finding something quickly to catch vomit." She laughed. She understood. There are other mothers who develop this disgusting skill. The gastro doctor doesn't know what's wrong either- yet.  The problem with her symptoms is that they can be caused by one or more problems.  She told me, as I already knew, that normally she would be destined to visit three specialists and would probably get scoped by all three of them: Ear nose throat, GI, and pulmonary.  In simple terms this means she could have acid reflux, asthma, and/or allergies.  

3 scopes?!!!  

Then the doctor gave us fantastic news- there is a new clinic at Primary Children's called the Aerodigestive Clinic. It's only been running for about one year. We can go and see three specialists at once and have all of them participate in one scope.   The only downside is that we can't get in until September.  So, until then, Emmeline will be taking Prilosec and Q-VAR. The doctor heard wheezing in her lungs today.  My heart sank when she told me this because she appears to be pretty healthy right now.  This cold has been the most mild one she's had in the last 10 months.  She sent her for a lung x-ray today so they can look at it during her aerodigestive appointment.  

Emmeline was amazing during the entire visit. We read stories and looked out the window. She colored in the waiting rooms. It was so nice that they had stuff for the kiddos to do while waiting.

During the exam, Emmeline breathed in and out, held her breath, stuck out her tongue, got weighed and measured, had blood pressure taken, had her stomach probed, and even had her little bum checked.  She cooperated with everything like it was a pleasure.  She was the same way for her x-ray. She is such a champ.

So, now, we wait.  I'm so grateful we can go to one clinic to get answers, so thankful for the great care available in Utah for children.  I saw a lot of sick kids in that building today, kids with  serious illnesses with multiple struggles that are never going to get completely better, but can only be managed.  Whatever is "wrong" with Emmeline, I know there's treatment for her.  I know she could eventually outgrow reflux or asthma or have really mild cases that require medicine but don't affect her daily life.  I'm pretty sure that will be the outcome. We're so lucky to live in a time where there are such effective treatments for these conditions.  I was very concerned about her needing to be on Q-VAR, possibly for life.  The doctor admitted that it does stunt growth, but no more than one cm total.  I guess we can live with that if it is what she needs.  Hopefully we'll find out more answers after her 2 hour appointment in September with three specialists at the same time, and three copays too.  

And that's it folks. Something is wrong with my kiddo.  My powerful wishing didn't get rid of it.  We need to get a handle on this so she doesn't miss half of kindergarten! 

Dear Clara,

This is my final love letter to my child, for now, unless I get more children one day.  ;)
Dear Clara,
     Of all 6 of my children, you are the only one who never had a nickname stick.  I'm not sure why, but Clara just fits you so perfectly.  You are the star of many blog entries because of all of the funny things you said and did when you were "little."  Lately, you've declared yourself to be a big kid, but it seems like yesterday that you were born.  We lived in Holladay, Utah and had the pleasure of delivering you at the Birth and Family Place Birth Center just a block and a half away from our house.  This was my first birth center experience and I would never go back to the hospital after- it was so wonderful!  Daddy really wanted you to come on his birthday, which was about 8 days before my due date.  I wanted to cooperate, so I made myself the "labor inducing" eggplant Parmesan recipe from the internet.  I ate it the day before Dad's birthday.  His birthday came and ended with no signs of labor.  We were disappointed but not surprised. We went to sleep around midnight as August 15th ended, taking with it all chances of a shared birthday.  At 1:30 a.m. I woke up feeling funny.  I thought I needed to go to the bathroom.  I got up and went and got back in bed, but the funny feeling came again.  Judd asked me if I was in labor.  I whimpered,"I don't know!"  He reached over and felt my belly. It was hard and firm from the contraction  was having. "You're in labor." he told me.  "Okay, I guess. You're probably right."  Within a few minutes I knew he was right. We called Grandma Kristie and woke her up to come and also called Grandma Dellory to come and help me.  Grandma Kristie lived pretty close but we couldn't wait.  We left the other kids home asleep and headed to the birth center a few minutes before she got there.  Things had gotten intense very quickly. The midwife, Rebecca Williams met us there and we went inside.  I remember laboring in the tub and my mom gently rubbing my arm and encouraging me to breathe in and out and to release the tension. It was very soothing and helped me stay focused on relaxing.  After a fairly short time I felt like you were ready to be born. I got out of the water and climbed up on a big comfy queen sized four poster bed.  Daddy sat next to me while I got on my hands and knees and rested on a pile of pillows.  I was really tired at this point, but ready. I waited for the next contraction .They had been coming every 1-2 minutes the whole time.  But, they stopped for about 10 minutes and I just relaxed. Then, they started up again and I quickly pushed you out.  Your amniotic sac broke as you were born.  Start to finish was 1 hour and 15 minutes!  You were born at 2:45 a.m. on August 16th, missing your Dad's birthday by less than 3 hours!

One of the most exciting things about your birth was that we didn't know if you were a girl or a boy. When you were born I flipped around and held you, pulling you up to my chest and checking you to find out if we had a new son or daughter.  That was one of the most incredible moments of my life.

We brought you home in an adorable yellow ducky outfit and you quickly became part of the family. You were a very easy and happy baby.  Grandma Dellory told me that you had mischief planned- she could see it in your eyes. Well, dang it all, she was right.

You waited a while to let us know, cause you knew you needed to wait, but you became quite the wild thing- about one month after I became pregnant with Audrey.  And you stayed a wild thing for several years.  When Audrey was 2 weeks old and you were almost 2, you stripped her naked and rubbed desitin all over her body while I was in the bathroom.  As you grew older, your wildness evolved into a more controlled zest for life- usually.  You are still very, um, fiesty.

We know that as you grow up you will be a powerful force for whatever you put your mind to do.  You have a way with people that is clearly a gift from God.  You see all people as worth getting to know and are not intimidated by age or unusual dress or grooming.  We had to tell you that you were allergic to men when you were little so you would stop climbing on stranger's laps all the time.  It took you a long time to figure that one out.  Sorry.  You are just very friendly.

One of my favorite stories about you is from last year when your class at school visited a nursing home and performed for the residents. You sang a song. Afterwards, you visited with the people and treated them with such kindness and interest that your school counselor sent you a letter in the mail praising your behavior.  What she didn't know is that you are always like that. You love people! And they usually love you back.

You are a determined kid at anything you do, whether it is dancing, soccer, softball, or convincing someone you are right.  You are a loving sister and daughter.  Clara, I wrote this in the blog about your baptism, but it's really important and true, so I'm writing it again. You ARE your name.  You are a "bright bringer of light" Clara Lucille.  I can't wait to see who you become and be your cheerleader as you continue to progress and achieve everything you set your mind to doing. I love you Clara!

-Mommy

 

Dear Otter

This is the 5th installment in my Love Letters to my children series.  One more to come. Then, I'll be out of children.

Dear Otter,

Otter, otter, born in the water.  You came into this world in the most awesome way of any of your siblings! I was 39 weeks pregnant and taking a nap on the couch on a hot Saturday afternoon. Earlier that day we had picked up the final Harry Potter book and spent some time reading it.  Your dad had jokingly told me I could have you any day except July 21st, the day that book came out. He didn't want to miss out on reading it.  We are pretty big Harry Potter fans.  I told him I  was going to have you that day because he told me not to do it. Well, we were both teasing, but you had plans.  You let us have most of the day to read the book and relax.  Everything was quiet. The clock switched over to 4 P.M. and . . .

POP!!!!

My water broke, abruptly awakening from my peaceful slumber.

Knowing I was likely to have a fast labor (the last one was one hour and 15 minutes), I jumped up off the couch and raced to the phone.  As I ran I yelled upstairs."Judd, my water broke!"  He raced into action loading Reuben, Amy, and Clara into the car. Tim was at a friends' house.  I called the midwife who was driving her son to the pool.  She understood I could have a very fast labor and flipped a U-turn over a concrete median to head to the birth center. I love her for that!

After the call, I ran to the car.  When I say run in the post, I actually mean run.  We were off.  It was about 4:05. The birth center was in Holladay.  We didn't want to take the time to get Tim.  I called my friend who had him and asked if he could stay overnight and she said yes.  A few minutes later, I had a contraction, nothing really strong, but definitely my body getting down to business.  The drive was about 15 minutes.  So, we got there around 4:20.  Grandma Kristie, who was luckily available, met us there to watch your older siblings.  Your dad and I headed back into a birthing suite and Becky( the midwife) checked my dilation. I was 6 cm, which was one more than I had been at my last check, so things were getting going.  I decided to get in the nice hot tub.  During this time I had been having contractions every 3-5 minutes, so not very many. I thought I would labor in the tub for an hour or more, but as soon as I got in, and Becky left to change into scrubs, I felt really safe and I told my body that I was ready to have you.  And my body listened.  With the next contraction, I could feel that everything was in place for you to be born.  I could feel your head starting to come out.  I hollered for the midwife to come back and forget changing.  By that point, a second midwife had arrived to act as nurse.  They asked if I could get out of the tub to deliver on my hands and knees like I wanted to do.  But, I couldn't get out. You were coming! Things went so fast.  I think I had a total of 8 contractions, including the 1 or 2 it took to get you out into the water, then straight into my arms.

  Start to finish- 39 minutes.   You were born at 4:39.

Well, kiddo, you made a grand entrance, and you've been awesome ever since!  You were an angel baby. You went to sleep without any trouble.  You loved to be held but also loved quiet time.  You were cute and sweet and fun to cuddle.  Everybody loved you, especially Clara who is only 23 months older.  She really loved getting a living baby doll!

After a while, your fabulous spunky personality emerged.  Audrey the cheetah/otter- loud and funny, queen of the cartwheel,  friendly, compassionate, silly, and kind.  You are a spitfire! You love going to school, once you've gotten there each day. You love to sing and dance and play with your sisters.

One of my favorite things about you is finding you asleep many nights of each week with a book covering your face.  When you were quite small you carried around a book by Gordon B. Hinckley. Then for a while you toted a large copy of the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe! The other day you had a homemade bow ( like bow and arrow) tucked in with you and tightly cuddled while you slept!

I loved getting to be your preschool teacher and I love getting to be your mom and watch you enjoy and excel at so many things.  I'm so glad to have a kid who loves to be with all of her sisters and who is game to try just about any activity.  I can't wait for you to turn 8 in a couple of months and for the new adventures that await you.  I'm so excited to watch you grow and see you develop into a woman. You're just awesome!  I like it that you say strange things like" Mommy, when you die, I want all of your jewelry. All of it! Oh, and your shoes too!"

You are just full of spunk and sass all squished into a beautiful package with silky brown hair and big sparkling blue eyes.  I must have done something right to get to be your Mom.  I love you Audrey!