Lessons Learned

Phew. 3 posts in one night. A new record!! Trying to play catch up.

Lessons learned from Day #1 of speaking assignments:

Ok, so our new found plethora of time with Chris is kind of over. Not completely...but a bit. A couple of weeks ago he was asked to serve as a member of the high council at church. How do I explain this to my friends of other faiths.... Our church is organized by geographic boundaries. So the actual congregation you go to each Sunday is based on where you live. Several congregations (or wards) make up a stake. So he now helps with more regional things on the stake level (made up of several wards). And everything we do at church is volunteer. You are asked to serve in a certain spot and you can decline or agree, but it's all unpaid. Does that make any sense? If not...you'll just have to come with me and see what I'm talking about for yourself. :)

So among other assignments, once a month we are assigned to speak in Sunday services at one of the 11 wards that make up our stake. Each month it rotates and we will be somewhere different. Today was the first one. Lessons learned from today:

1. 1:30 is too late to start church for 18 month olds who didn't take a nap.

2. 4 year olds don't like their cheese moved. In the beginning. But by the end, they are happy their cheese moved. (Also known as...four year olds don't like to attend other congregations...they miss their own friends and teachers...until they realize it can be just as much fun and they can meet new friends.)

3. 4 year olds will, if parents are not watching closely, make their way to the front of the congregation where their other parent is speaking. Several times. Especially if one parent is holding a sleeping baby and is not sure how to snag him with said sleeping baby. Oops! :) A little distraction and entertainment never hurt anybody, right? :)

4. 18 month olds who really like their dad should not be sitting near the front in church where they can see said dad really well. They will probably keep calling out to him while he is speaking. Daaaaad!! Daaaad!!!

5. Chris loves to speak. In church. In public. Really, anywhere. Krista, well, does not. But is learning that it is ok. I guess.

6. I thought the high council was for old guys. I mean no disrespect. :) But apparently it's for young guys too. :)

7. It actually can be a lot of fun to travel to different wards and visit old friends and make new ones and get out of your comfort zone!!

8. (Chris' item #1) When Krista says she only needs five minutes to speak, what she means is that YOU only need five minutes to speak.

9. (Chris' item #2) Four year olds LOVE finding hymn numbers. For example, if you tell a four year old to find hymn #219, they start at hymn #1 and go in order until they find #219. The carrot is when they hit, for example, hymn #29. "Hey! There's a 2, and there's a 9, but there isn't a 1 between them. Keep looking!) Hours. Of. Distraction. (Or at least until mom starts speaking and you need to run onto the stand. Again.)

10. (Chris' item #3) Tori K. is my all-time speaking partner. All other high councilors BACK OFF! ;) (I'm also thinking of poaching Bradley C...any thoughts on whether I can pull it off?)

Beach Boys

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...

While I was on girlcation, Chris was ambitious. He decided to take the boys camping at the beach.

And wow. Those boys are still talking about it. They had so much fun!

What a fun memory for them!!!

I'll have to get the other pictures from Chris and post them because there were some really fun ones!

Funny side note--in case you didn't realize it--it's HOT in Texas this time of year. So Chris was apparently roasting all night. But when they woke up in the morning, Caleb said, "Man! Next time I need to bring my jacket! I'm cold!!" Haha. Little Texas boys don't know what cold is. Let's hope to keep it that way! :)

Girlcation

For my birthday, Chris surprised me with an airline ticket for and helped orchestrate the first annual girlcation (Girl + vacation = girlcation. It's science). He even took the days off work and watched the boys himself. Now if all of that doesn't win you the Husband of the Year Award...I'm not sure what would! He is pretty much the best!!

So I hopped on a plane by myself and man oh man was it weird. It was strange to go through security at the airport without a whole bunch of kid gear. It was strange to get on the plane and not have kids to distract. It was weird carrying only one suitcase through the airport.

But I somehow persevered the weirdness and I met up with my sister, Kaylyn (aka Nyn) in Nashville. About two miles outside the airport...we had our first of many adventures.

Hehehe. Awesome, huh? That's what fun memories are made of right there!! A guy rear ended us. Welcome to Tennessee!!

We met up with another sister (Kim) in Huntsville, AL. We went to the space museum and played games galore and just had fun catching up with each other.

Caleb apparently loved all the pictures of the spaceships I kept texting them. He kept asking me to ask someone there if we could all ride on one. :) The only thing in Huntsville I probably could have done without is the human centrifuge machine thing they called experiencing g force. :)

Then all three of us met up with Kip and family in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. What a crazy but fun place. I think it is becoming the Vegas of the East!! We road a tram 3000 feet in the sky, played miniature golf, rode a ski lift up to an alpine slide and raced down the slide, hit the outlet stores, ate out, made candy in our hotel room, and just had a relaxing but fun time.

Chris said the only thing I had to come home with was a date and place for next year's girlcation. :)

And so...looking forward to next year! :)

It's funny, but really all I wanted to do when I got home was all the daily things that sometimes get mundane. Life is so good.

And when I got home to a nice clean house and happy boys, check out what else was waiting for me!!

I had to take a picture of those cupcakes. Pretty much masterpieces, don't you think? They tasted even better than they looked though! Thanks, Jill!!!

Grinning

Maybe...just maybe...I have had a permanent grin on my face since Sunday.

Maybe Chris was released from being first counselor in the bishopric at church. (For those not down with this lingo--I've been told by my friends of other faiths that it might be compared to an assistant pastor of sorts. Except it's all volunteer and unpaid.) So maybe...just maybe...a lot of his time has been freed up and we have certainly enjoyed him being home a bit more!

And maybe I sat and giggled during church when Chris came and sat with us and the boys wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and were all over Chris during the meeting.

Here's Caleb showing us how excited he is by showing us the bull:




And sporting women's sunglasses

(Thanks for dressing my son in these fancy sunglasses, Aubrey--and taking a picture--but this looks suspiciously like it was during church--hmmmm.... :)

And Carson was so excited, he was doing a mariachi song for us



And doing a happy dance on the table

Ok. Actually...that is where you can find him anytime I turn around for more than a second. Crazy kid!

All teasing aside though--Chris really enjoyed serving in the Bishopric. I know there will be plenty of other opportunities to serve, but he will definitely miss being able to serve in this capacity. He constantly amazes me with how hard he works. He was going to school full time finishing his second master's degree, working 60-70 hours and serving in the church full time and yet managed to make his family feel like the priority. Now he is finished with his MBA, usually working only about 40 hours a week, and has a break from church service. Hence our smiles! :)

And the second exciting reason I am maybe...just maybe...smiling a lot is because Carson started Nursery at church on Sunday. (Again, for those that are not down with the lingo--they have a class that kids start attending at church during the second and third hour when they turn 18 months.)

Ok. Not really! I'm not smiling that big about this yet. I can't believe my baby is 18 months old and I'm a little sad about it. Sniff sniff. Ok. A lot sad. And I think it makes it harder because he is having such a hard time with nursery so far. As in crying so hard he puked. This is a new adventure for us as Caleb walked into nursery like he owned the place! Any suggestions? Tips? Pointers?

And speaking of grinning...here's to hoping that Chris is still smiling when I get back from girlcation!!! :) hehehehe.

Summer Fun

Just a random (albeit long) sampling of some of our fun this summer....

We have been having a lot of fun so far this summer! We just love those free summer movies. And we've been actually making it to playgroup. Ok...sometimes.

Ok. And seriously? The. Best. Dollar. Ever. Spent.


Marble races. Awesome. It's one of those swimming noodle thingys (that's the technical term) cut in half and stuck together with toothpicks with a shoe box at the end to catch all those racing marbles. Seriously...we have had hours of fun! You can find more detailed directions online here. Awesome site!! Love it!

Caleb started swimming lessons and LOVED them!



Caleb is doing quite well at the swimming thing. And Carson is too. Carson was so cute watching Caleb's swimming lessons. He would walk around the pool kicking his little feet and saying, "Kick kick kick!" while the kids were practicing their kicks in the pool. When they went under the water and blew bubbles, he would be blowing too. Every time Carson gets in the bath or pool now he kicks and blows bubbles in the water and practices everything he saw Caleb's class doing. Funny kid. He even insists on wearing Caleb's swimming suit (and one flip flop) at all times.

I always think that thing is hidden...but he comes up with it somehow!

Speaking of water...we have spent quite a bit of time at the Sea World water park this summer.


Um, yeah...in case you were wondering...it's HOT in Texas in the summer. Not as hot this year as other years...but still hot. I thought this picture of them sucking down their drinks was funny.

I've been very surprised and very proud of Caleb for wanting to do all the water slides. He goes by himself on any that he's tall enough for. I took him on a kind of scary slide and thought I had probably made him swear off water slides forever. It was dark and fast and at the end he was bucked off our tube. But he got up and said he wanted to go again! I was ShOcKeD!

Caleb and Carson love the various play areas at Sea World.



They have also enjoyed some sprinkler time



It's actually rained some this summer...so on the rainy days we find things indoors to amuse ourselves:

Like riding a bag of dirty diapers like a horse while shouting, "Woo hoo!" Sick. But not too sick to stop and take a picture first. :)

Or racing in laundry baskets:



We spend time indoors being crazy box head



Or giving each other rides in boxes



Or rides on blankets



or just playing hard core together



Or just kicking back and having a cold one:



Or having breakfast in bed:



Maybe we have enjoyed a few too many indoor play lands.


Ahh...so much fun and so yummy too.

Carson's vocabulary is EXPLODING! He says EVERYTHING we say now and it is SO very funny! He also imitates everyone. Like this:

Caleb fell and twisted his ankle a little bit. So he was scooting on his bum over to see me. So what does Carson do? Why of course...he drops down on his bum and scoots over to see me too! He had everyone in the place laughing at his antics.

This is Carson's new spot for dinner cooking:

A little wet and well, at first I thought it was kind of gross...but then I decided it's nothing a little clorox can't fix. :)

And what summer is complete without...

...a flat tire. Can't you see how excited the boys are to wait an hour and fifteen minutes for a patch? :)

Also needed for some summer fun--

...some bike riding...

...and some skating



So there you have it! A random post about some random summer fun!

Now go make that marble racer thing. And just TRY to pretend you don't think it's fun!

Fourth Fun

Ahhh...nothing like some Fourth of July Fun and a three day weekend! Action packed fun, really!

Where to begin? We had a church breakfast celebration in the morning--complete with a kazoo parade for the kids.

Um...thank you...I THINK...for the now well used kazoos! :)

Then we hit a good old fashioned small town parade


The boys scored a ton of candy! And some pretty necklaces. Nice. :)

Then we hit a community center celebration, complete with food and fire trucks and such:




Went to a very fun pool party

Stayed at said pool party way too late. Stayed up even later when we got home and set off a few of our own fireworks in front of our house.

Regretted staying up so late the next day during morning church. :) Remembered how one and four year olds should not be up until 11:00pm. Recommitted during morning church to never staying out so late again. At least on Saturday nights. This month at least. :)

Went to a very very very yummy barbecue at some awesome friends' house. Then missed meeting up with some other good friends for some fireworks. But still saw the fireworks. A bit disappointed they were so short...but the boys didn't care. In fact...they loved them. I have just been personally spoiled by Cincinnati fireworks.

Of course we had to do some 4th of July crafts and make some yummy treats


(boys putting festive sprinkles on cupcakes)

And of course we had to have matching patriotic (and dirty) t-shirts.




My favorite part was just being with my three boys. My boys' favorite part I'm pretty sure was the poppers.

Iron Gut

A little quiz for you:

Which of the following has Carson had a drink of or eaten:

A. Chunks of his flip flops
B. Dirt
C. Bubbles
D. Wood chips
E. Sand
F. Glue stick
G. Sneakers
H. Foil wrappers
I. Elmers glue
J. Dishwashing soap
K. Pool water
L. Puddle of rain water
M. Very hot and spicy salsa
N. Chunks of sponge
O. All the above

Yes, that's right friends. Carson has eaten or taken a drink of each and every one of those things. His new nickname is Iron Gut because he's going to have one if he doesn't already after eating and drinking such yummy things.

Exhibit A:

Carson--apparently thirsty--decides to just bend over and drink some nice pool water at the splash pad. Yum yum!!

p.s. For the record...the kid LOVES salsa!

p.s.s. I try to stop him. I honestly do! He's just too fast for me!

Father's Day

Our theme for Father's Day this year was "King for the Day" and we had a lot of fun with it! The boys had a blast calling Chris "king" all day, making him wear a crown they made him, and giving him clues to his treasures and back rubs and just serving him all day. Too cute!!

Each year I put together a dvd of pictures and videos of Chris with the boys for Father's Day. This is the beginning of this year's dvd. I put this on here mostly because Caleb likes to watch videos on our blog and especially loves watching the "dad movies" as he calls them. If you're really, really, really bored, you can watch and enjoy too. But BEWARE!! Chris has turned to the dark side since moving to Texas and so there is ample dark music (country!) Oh, and cut me some slack on not being able to polish it. Something about some meningitis going on and a little helper that turned off the power button on the computer when I was about half way done and smart me hadn't saved it yet. :)


We love Chris so much and think he is the best! He is such a good dad to Caleb and Carson!! So much fun, such a good example, and so loving and doting!

We also love our dads. They are too good to us and we miss them tons! The older I get, the more I realize how much they have done and continue to do for us and how ungrateful I've always been! We love you and hope you had a good Father's Day!!

How?

How do I explain to someone how last week could be so so awful and yet so wonderful?

How I wish I could erase the look on Caleb's face as he was in so much pain last week!

How I wish I could erase mental snapshots like this that will forever be ingrained in my head!



How do I thank someone for making my sick and pained son smile with their gifts?

How do I thank someone for praying for my son?

How do I thank someone for showing up at my house at just the right moment with just the right words or gifts or services?

How my heart melted as I watched Carson just want to make his brother better again!



How do I thank my husband for choosing to be with us and support us over not losing income?



How do I explain to someone how last week has affected me for the good?

How the things I worried about a couple weeks ago seem so trivial!

How I desire to be a better mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, disciple of Christ!

How do I thank a loving Father in Heaven for the feelings of peace and comfort I have felt?

How my heart hurts to think of all the mommies out there who are hurting and worrying about their little ones tonight!

Scary!

Life is so fragile. It can really be taken at any time. No one ever thinks it will happen to them!

We spend so much time worrying about and being frustrated by things that are utterly and totally meaningless!!

We had a small reminder of that the last few days. Sweet, sweet Caleb.

Friday night Caleb just stopped playing and just put his head on the table to rest. Chris went and got him ready for bed and noticed he had a fever. He complained that his head hurt. No alarms going off in my head yet.

Saturday the fever continued and by mid-afternoon he had a crazy crazy rash. It spread all over his body. He complained that his head hurt. Strange--but still no alarms going off for me. I was just wishing it wasn't the weekend!! Why oh why must they always get sick on the weekend when the doctor offices are closed?!?!

Sunday morning, he woke up and his rash and fever were gone. I questioned my decision to stay home from church. But Carson was running a fever and I had a cold myself. By early afternoon, Caleb's fever came back. And then the rash. In full force. Again, Caleb complained that his head hurt. I asked him to show me where and he pointed all over his head and his neck too. I thought maybe he had a sore throat or something. By early Sunday evening I was getting a bit worried. Chris walked in the door and took one look at Caleb and said we were going to the ER. I convinced him to slow down and call the free nurses hotline to see if we should really be worried. Haha. As soon as we were telling the nurse the symptoms over the phone, the alarm FINALLY went off in my head! Oh my gosh!! He is having head and neck pain!! And fever!!! HELLO?!?! The nurse kindly but emphatically said to get him to the hospital NOW! I tried to wake Caleb up as he had fallen asleep about an hour before. I tried to explain to him what we were doing but he really wouldn't wake up and was not very responsive which only added to my panic. Although I know he was somewhat with it because he later opened his eyes long enough to say, "No shots!!" and go back to his delirium. :)

If you ever want fast service at the ER, just drop the buzz words "head and neck pain" and "fever." Dang.

They ran a bunch of tests to try to rule out other things. All came back negative. He had to have a spinal tap to confirm what the doctor already heavily suspected--meningitis.

Funny side note--during the spinal tap Caleb had to be sedated. One of the monitors on Caleb's thumb had a red glowing light that as he was coming out of the sedation, he thought was pretty cool. Chris had a good ol' time with him. They had the same conversation over and over and over again. It was rather hilarious. "Caleb, your thumb is red (because of the light from the heart monitor on the end of his finger)." "Oh wow!!! Why does it do that? Wow!!" 10 second pause.... "Hey Caleb, your thumb is red...."

Another funny story--after Caleb finished the spinal tap and had come out of the sedation, they brought in a little bag with several little presents. He was so excited when he pulled out this little car and exclaimed, "It must be my lucky day!!!" Again, we found it hilarious. Perhaps the staff in the ER thought we were strange finding so many things hilarious. But anybody that can believe it to be their lucky day after going through all that craziness and still laying flat on their back in the ER recovering from a spinal tap is my little hero!! He is just such a sweet kid. He smiled through his whole hospital stay even though it was scary and new and crazy and painful.

The spinal tap results came back and confirmed that he had meningitis. Now to fully understand my mommy worry--the only thing I knew about meningitis was that it had taken an old friend of mine in her 20's who had been perfectly healthy just a day or so earlier. And that the ER doctor basically told us this is very serious. Yikes!

We quickly learned that we were hoping and praying for viral meningitis and not bacterial meningitis. Caleb was showing a few signs of both so it was impossible for the doctor to guess. Not that guessing matters except to put my mind at ease!! We had to wait for the cultures to come back. We would know preliminary news at 24 hours and definitive at 48 hours. Praying for viral. Praying for viral.... Bacterial is just straight up bad!!

The next day we found out it was viral meningitis. Serious...but not as serious as it could have been!!!

Bottom line...we were released from the hospital and are now at home dealing with it.

Caleb has been a trooper. He has had a lot of head, neck, back and stomach pain. Especially after he thinks he is feeling better and starts playing for awhile. I cannot stand to see him in pain...it just breaks my heart. So we have been watching a lot of tv and movies. Bleh. :) But Caleb is in heaven about that part. :) Caleb basically has zero immune system right now so we cannot go anywhere and have to be ultra careful about not having anyone sick come to see him. And yet, overall...I am just so happy that things are not worse than they are. My hope is that things just improve from here on out.

I brought Carson in yesterday because he too had been running a fever since Saturday. Just an ear infection. Phew! Never thought I would be so happy for an ear infection! :)

We are so thankful for priesthood blessings and the prayers of many and their healing power. We are so so thankful for such loving and supportive friends and family. We have learned so much about being charitable and giving service. It is just not possible to put into words the gratitude that I feel....

We are also thankful for lessons learned. Another life event that just has an amazing ability to zero in our focus on what is truly important in life.