Mothers Intuition and Other Stuff

First of all...sorry I have been absent. I will explain later...
So last week Maya got a bug bite of some sort, actually she got two of them. I'm no expert but they looked like the run of the mill mosquito bites. After a few days one went away the other looked a little puffy and red. Two days after looking puffy and red I took her to my backyard neighbor, who happens to go to my church, and also happens to be a dermatologist. He said it looked like an infected bug bite and to watch it over the next 24 hours to see if it spread or if Maya got a fever. The next day it didn't look like it had spread but the bulge definitely felt bigger. Maya was complaining of the pain and I just didn't feel right about it. So I called our doctor friend and he got us in the next morning.
After two other doctors consulted they all thought it looked like an infected bite and thought that doing a biopsy was a bit much but they couldn't give me a true diagnosis without one. The last thing I wanted to do was a biopsy. I hate taking the kids to get their shots, and A was out of town so I had to be brave. I told doctor friend that we were leaving for Hawaii in three days and I needed to know what was going on with her leg.
He agreed that we should do the biopsy. Oh it was awful. I will spare you the details but I was sweating, feeling woozy and I was holding on to Maya just as tight as she was holding on to me! Thankfully she was on her belly so she couldn't feel what was going on but when they stuck her multiple times with the needle to numb her up she was as still as could be but was her huge tears were killing me. She was the most amazing patient.
So the doctor did a cookie cutter slice (about the size of a pencil eraser) and started squeezing and it was GROOOOSSSS. There was definitely an infection. He thought it was staph but sent it to the lab for further testing. I was dying, I couldn't believe it. I was so grateful that I took her in.
Well today I got a call from doctor friend telling me that he was wrong. It wasn't staph. Oh no...it was MRSA! Seriously! He said the only way to get rid of it is to drain it, which is what he already did. It is resistant to most antibiotics. Thankfully Maya is recovering fine and has no symptoms that MRSA is still in her body.
I am a huge believer in mother's intuition, but what I really think is that is the whisperings of the spirit. I pray everyday, as any good Christian mom would, to know how to keep my children safe from harm, accident or evil. That is part of my prayer every single day. I am so grateful that my prayers were heard and that I was able to protect Maya from the harmful effects of MRSA.
Say your prayers sisters....say your prayers and more importantly LISTEN when you receive a prompting.
Okay now on to the very, very short version of why I have been absent...

Spring soccer has officially begun

I had a wedding dress that needed to be altered...

...for this sweet girl...

I had to say good bye to this sister...

Sister Bailey, she's on her way to Nauvoo to finish her mission.

I also had to say good bye to this sister...

Amy has left me, but we are meeting up in Hawaii...YAY!

We've had piano recitals...

...and sweet Mari's big 8th birthday celebrations...

I was honored to speak at her baptism.

This fabulous sister of mine has kept me busy with her kitchen reno take three...pictures will come someday.

And this little crazy cocoa puff is keeping me EVER so busy!

My Mother-Daughter dinner with Maya was definitely a highlight. She made the whole dinner with her Activity Day group. It was delicious!

I've also been busy with my dyslexia tutoring. I got to go here Susan Barton give a 3 hour seminar last week. It was amazing and so worth the time. I will do a post on that soon.

I've been busy sewing 16 dance costumes for the girl's dance classes. I am so done with that hobby for awhile.

Last but not least my marathon training has become a part time job. I am happy to report that I ran 20 miles today in 3 hours and 30 minutes. It was fabulous and I am so ready for my marathon!

Okay I'm done. Notice the time. I have to get on a plane in 2 hours.  I will be in Hawaii enjoying 6 days of sunshine, alone time with Aric, and fun times with the Sampson's. I will give a full report soon.

Mahalo!

A is for Aric

Last week we celebrated A's birthday. It looked a little something like this...

First we went to watch the Shock play their opening game of the season.

 

We got SAAAWWWEEEET season tickets this year. Yea, that's us in the background. Pretty cool huh.

We invited our fun friends the Mark and Cami to join us. Cami was a former cheerleader too. We went through two sets of thunder makers...

The game was so fun, even though the ending wasn't what we hoped for. We stayed til the bitter....and I mean BITTER end. The front row people took off for the last part of the game. We hopped up and took their spots and got to be helpers.

It was a fun way to celebrate Aric's birthday. He loves this sport and he loves this team. I love that we get to share these fun times together.
A's actual birthday was on a very hectic Monday. By the time the girl's got home from dance it was after 6pm. We went out to eat and then it was homework, showers and bedtime. Not much time to celebrate but we did the best we could.
Even though the festivities weren't spectacular, the day was an important one. Aric is such a great guy and many in this world are blessed by his life....me and my children especially.

Easter Goodness

It all started with some Easter manicures on Easter Friday... 

Camden got into the spirit of Easter by having snack time with Jesus...

Sharing his Teddy Grahams

This is C's "pretty face"

On Easter Saturday the weather was horrible. We are talking hail and snow. I ran seventeen miles in it. It was fabulous! This is Ryan R. modeling the hail for us.

A took M and E to an Easter Egg hunt while I stayed home with a napping C.

Last year we forgot to dye eggs. This year we remembered.

 

Easter Sunday was wonderful. Our church has a world wide church conference where church leaders speak to us. We watched part of it on Saturday and today we got to watch some more. We got to spend the day listening to inspired talks as a family. C was quite distracting for the morning session. The afternoon session was much more peaceful thanks to a napping baby. From the talks to the music, it was the perfect way to spend Easter Sunday. We got to listen to men and women bear testimony of Christ and his divinity. As we listened we were reminded of His love and his sacrifice.

For dinner this year we decided to keep it simple. I usually host a big shindig, but this year I purposely kept it small. Just me, A and the kiddos. I still made everyone dress up...

We had to get dressed up because I did invite one very special guest, Jesus...

The girls saw the extra place setting and were so excited to find out who was coming. After they were sitting at the table I had them close their eyes and then I pretended to open the door and lead someone to the table. They were definitely surprised to see our guest, it was not at all who they expected.

We spent dinner talking about how would act if Christ were always sitting there at our table. We've all had some issues with yelling, fighting and complaining. Clearly after my last post, I've got some work to do...So we talked about how we need to change some of our behaviors if we want a Christ centered home. We had a neat conversation and I loved the sweet spirit that was there.

After dinner the girls gave me and A these Easter gifts that they had made for us...

Then we enjoyed some banana cake with strawberries...MMMM.

M and E wanted to take pictures of their banana cake creations.

Here is A enjoying his non-chocolate dessert...this no chocolate diet of his is KILLING me!

After dessert and showers we had scriptures and prayers. Nothing out of the ordinary. But tonight as I sat there listening to Eden stumble over the big words, and Maya read more than she needed to (as usual), all while Mr. C was throwing toys and tripping over his feet, it was all I could do to keep my heart inside of my chest. In that moment my joy was full.

I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's plan that is so amazing and so perfect. I am so grateful for my Savior and what he did for me. Not only did He suffer for my mistakes and feel all of my pains and sorrows...he kept his promise and gave his life so that I get to be with these fabulous people forever.

I love my Savior. He truly is my rock and my salvation.

Behold the wounds in Jesus’ Hands

(This is my favorite Easter hymn, it is by John V. Pearson, I've only put the first and last verse. Go here to see them all.)

Behold the wounds in Jesus’ Hands,
The marks upon His side.
Then ponder whom He meant to save
When on the cross He died.
We cannot see the love of God
Which saves us from the Fall,
Yet know that Christ from wood and nails
Built mansions for us all.

Behold His wounded hands and feet!
Come touch, and see, and feel
The wounds and marks that you may know
His love for you is real.
Then as you fall to worship Him
And wash His feet in tears,
Your Savior takes you in his arms
And quiets all your fears.

 

*Monday is A's birthday. He is awesome. His birthday post will come later. You can go here to read a previous birthday tribute.