Seriously?

Okay.  So I never want to be one of those buzzkill bloggers, but here I go anway.  I am putting this on here just so I can remember that I do indeed have trials sometimes.
   
January 20 - Kai got stung by a scorpion and we had to take him to the ER.  He was fine, but little did I know it was the start of a chain of not-so-fun events.
Feb. 18 - I came down with tonsillitis. It was, literally, the day before my entire family came into town.  It felt like the flu, but worse.  I was so sick.  Luckily I had my wonderful husband to take care of me. 
Feb. 22 - Kai gets sick.  He's burning up and wants to do NOTHING except lay on me or Randy.  Doc said it just needed to run it's course.  It took nearly a week for it to "run it's course."
Feb. 23 - I begin a miscarriage at 8 1/2 weeks along.  Not fun.  5 hours in the ER, bloodwork, rhogam shot.  Misery.  I've had my bloodwork done at least 5 times up to this point.  As of today, I am still waiting for the entire process to be over, which, honestly, has been far worse than I imagined. 
March 1  - Randy starts his new job which we are thrilled about.  He wakes up in the middle of the night with what I can only describe as violent food-poisoning.  Trooper that he is, he gets up 3 hours later and heads to his 2nd day on the job.  Ava comes down with a fever and wants me to "cuddle with her on the couch" all day.  She was really complaining that her belly hurt.  Saturday rolls around and I'm kicking myself for not taking her in to her ped on Fri. 
March 5 - So we head to Urgent Care.  She has to potty in a cup which took almost 25 minutes, but I hear it could be worse.  She freaked out about putting her finger in the little oxygen thing and it was an all-out battle to check her mouth and ears.  Then she had to do an x-ray to check her belly.  She was super nervous, but smiled cutely when they said "Say Cheese!"  Bottom Line - Constipation and a possible bladder infection which she got an antibiotic for.
March 7 - I hurt my back.  AGAIN!  Doing nothing, might I add.  Also, found out that I can't register Ava for kindergarten until she has her shots. 
March 8 - Registration is tomorrow so we headed to the doctor again today.  Believe me when I tell you that Ava is strong, stubborn, and hates shots.  Oy.  At least we all got doughnuts out of it.

Why am I relaying this sad chain of events?  Because I want to remember it.  I also want to remember how I've been feeling through it all.  I've always had this weird feeling that my life is going too well and something bad is always lurking right around the corner.  People bear their testimony in church and talk about learning from their trials and how they are grateful for them.  Don't get me wrong, we have certainly had our trials, but this last couple of months has taught me so much.  I can honestly say that everything we've gone through has humbled me and that I am truly grateful for my trials.

I am grateful for my wonderful husband that provides for us and my two healthy, beautiful children.  I love my family so much and am so grateful that I am lucky enough to be a part of their lives.  Sometimes it takes losing something, whether it's a miscarriage, good health, or anything else, to really see what we have.  I've always been grateful for my family, but right now I am extra grateful for my family.  Sounds lame, but it is what it is.  Which, by the way, has been my mantra over the last little while. 

I don't feel picked on or put out.  Life is life and you just take it as it comes and try to have the best attitude about doing it.  When I started my miscarriage I was pretty upset.  It's hard to understand it without actually going through it, but it is so hard.  It's unnerving, depressing, and something I wouldn't wish on anybody.  BUT, with that said, I'm fine.  Miscarriages happen a lot, to a lot of people, and while it's not fun, we make it through.  I hope it never happens again, but I am grateful for what I've learned throughout the process.

I am honestly not posting any of this to get sympathy.  I am truly fine.  I'm happy.  I'm grateful.  The point is that we all have trials and bad things happen, but we can get through it.  I've also decided to quit being afraid that things are going to good.  Heavenly Father doesn't look at your life and think, "Hmmmm . . . they seem to be doing well, I better knock them back a little."  I truly believe that He doesn't work that way.  While I can say that I am truly humbled and grateful for what I have learned over the last little while, I also hope that today is the day that I can put it all behind me.  That's what I've been thinking for two months though.  :)

PS - I have never wanted to be one of those people that complains and talks endlessly about their ailments, so I promise you this is the end of it.  :)   

Happy Valentines Day!



January . . . . .

I think it's about time to move on from my Christmas post. Especially since it is now February and we're coming up on Valentine's Day!  I always feel like my end of the year posts are themed.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.  January has no theme, which is actually pretty fun in itself.  Here's what we've been up to. 

Ava is obsessed with taking pictures with my camera.  I have hundreds.  I've chosen two of my favorites to share.  They crack me up.



From Random Blog

We had snow in Vegas.  Super exciting.  The kids were loving it and the whole thing had me laughing.

From Random Blog

Miss Ava has quite the attitude and imagination.  I went in to check on her after she'd fallen asleep and this is how I found her.  She had been going through her Strawberry Shortcake book and wanted to find an outfit just like Strawberry had on.  Well, Ava found her outfit and her closet became a disaster zone.  She also got a kitty hooded towel for Christmas and she's decided that it's fun to pretend to be a kitty and sleep in a kitty bed.  Don't ask me, but it sure keeps her entertained.

From Random Blog

We were able to get together with Randy's cousin Matt a few weeks ago.  Their little boy is about the same age as Kai and it was fun to see them play together.  This was the only picture out of I don't know many that both kids were looking at the camera.  The same night I was taking pictures of Ava sleeping, I decided to grab one of Kai.  Why is it that kids can sleep so soundly?  I know for a fact that if anyone tried to take my picture while I was sleeping, I would instantly wake up.  I think it's party of being a Mom. 

From Random Blog

Randy and I were downstairs one night when I heard giggling and water running.  This is what I found.  Ava kept telling me it was all Kai's idea.  Kai didn't realize he was being thrown under the bus so he didn't defend himself. :)  They definitely keep my laughing; and cleaning up messes.

From Random Blog

Christmas Day . . . .

At the beginning of the month, we had a Family Home Evening talking about the meaning of Christmas.  The first thing I asked Ava was why we celebrate Christmas.  She yelled enthusiastically, "To Get Presents!"  I then asked her who's birthday we are celebrating for Christmas and she yelled, "Santa Clause!"  She was so proud of herself thinking she had the right answers.  I, on the other hand, had failed as a mother.  That night we talked about the meaning of Christmas.  We made little presents for Jesus filled with the "gifts" we were giving him and hung them on the tree.  Ava got her own little nativity set to put in her room and she played with it the whole month.  We took the kids to a live nativity which was amazing.  Ava asked a million questions and loved seeing everything acted out.  We really focused on Christ this season and on Christmas Eve, Ava gave the whole family the shortened version of the Christmas Story.  I was really proud of my girl.  I also felt somewhat better about my ability to parent my children.  :)

We also started Elf on the Shelf which was such a highlight!  We named him Jazzy.  The kids loved finding him every morning and the hider himself enjoyed it almost as much!  Ava would find him first thing when she woke up.  She would tell us to not show Kai because he had to find him himself!  Then she would promptly run to Jazzy and point him out to Kai because she was so excited.  It is definitely a tradition we will be continuing.  My favorite part was reading Christmas books every night.  I put all of our Holiday books away until after Thanksgiving then we read them every night until Christmas is over.

What a fun Christmas Day we had!  Ava was so excited to put out Christmas cookies and milk and was even more excited to see the remains of them the next morning.  The kids let us all sleep until 8:30.  Merry Christmas to all of us!  Their big ticket items this year were a dollhouse and train set.  My sister mentioned that it could have been a Christmas straight out of the 50's with the gifts they got. 

This year was such an amazing Christmas and I'm sad to see it end.  I love the togetherness, hot cocoa, lights, Christmas tree, nativities, and excited smiles from my kids.  Such an amazing 2010 Christmas!

Christmas Eve . . . . . .

We started our Christmas Eve off with a trip to the Bellagio Conservatory to see the Christmas Display.  The kids loved it and it was a good distraction to pass the time because we were all a little anxious for family to arrive.

When my parents were on their way, Ava said, "Is tonight the night that I do a Gingerbread house with Grandma?"  Well, exactly one year earlier Ava did a Gingerbread house with my mom and they planned on doing it again.  I don't know how on earth Ava remembered that from an entire year earlier, but she did.  Well, Grandma delivered and another fabulous Gingerbread house was created.

The kids got some fabulous new jammies and slippers . . . . .

As did the rest of us . . . . .

The Singamajigs were a great hit.  My mom loved them so much she ended up buying three. 

What an amazing family we have!!!  (So amazing that the last sentence deserves 3 exclamation points).