Credit Where Credit Is Due

We've had a sort of miracle.

As was mentioned before, being sick as a dog is something I'm no stranger to. When I knew I was going to be sick again for a while, I was anticipating to be sick until at least half way to when the baby got here.

We always hung on to the bizarre hope that my sickness might taper off in early second trimester, as it usually does for "normal" mommas. It's never happened for me before, but there was always hope that things could be different this time.

Then the strangest thing happened. The sickness tapered way down all of the sudden. And sooner than it ever has before! With all seriousness it took several days for the realization to sink in--it was really happening! I honestly couldn't believe it!

For days I was in denial. Then I went through a phase of crazy guilt--I didn't deserve this!

But slowly I've come to embrace the humbling fact underneath it all--we're being blessed! It took a lot of faith to get this far. But even more so the faith that has been supporting us from friends and family cannot be ignored.

We have had so many ward members and friends in the neighborhood praying for a sick momma. Our families have prayed for a miracle that the sickness would go away soon. Those prayers have undeniably been answered.

While this has been a testimony growing experience, it transformed in a way I couldn't imagine. My understanding of the atonement covering not only my sins, but my pains and infirmaries, has grown so much. I am never alone. As that testimony grew, I also believed I was meant to endure this trial, not to be rescued from it. I accepted it fully. But I also believe that sometimes we are often left in troubling waters until the true moment we embrace our trials and learn our lesson.

That is where this miracle took place.

The surreal experience of calling to be discharged from home health services was liberating. Still picking up my prescriptions a few days later keeps my pride in check though. ;) I still have my days, and they are a fresh reminder of my trials. Compared to days past, it's hard to complain.

I have a loving Heavenly Father, who loves me. He watches out for me. He is fully aware of my life, my struggles, and my joys. He knows exactly who to place in my life, to say the right thing, and to help me along my way. I believe in helping angels. I also believe there are people around us that do angels' work. I cannot even begin to express my full appreciation for every single person who has helped me or my family the last new months.

May I never forget to give credit where credit is due.

Learning Curve

We've had a CRAZY month!! The boys have bounced around the whole neighborhood/ward three or four times over with play dates every single weekday throughout March. We had SO many volunteers that helped us out while things were rough! I was tickled each time they came back from a friend's house and was told they were so good!

They've discovered what it means to be a superhero.

They took a while to adjust to the play date life. Now they're adjusting back to life at home again with Mom (and Dad). Most importantly they're adjusting to following our home rules again. Who knew a two and four year old could master talking back? Our golden phrase is, "Okay, Mom." They know it. They get stickers on a "good job" chart every time they practice. 

Truth is they're so sweet! They love to help me and will come running and do whatever I ask if they know I just need help. I had no idea who much I missed their touch until I had a few days of us hanging out on the couch together this week. 

The quiet was nice, but the noise seems more fitting for our house.

Golden

I've tried really hard to find some golden moments in life for the last little bit. They're tricky to find when you're otherwise very distracted.

Gabe went off to school and the only thing that sounded good to me was a baked potato for lunch. Thank heavens for Wendy's drive thru for LAZY people like me! This buddy of mine enjoyed his kid's meal with his shades on and bed-head wisp in full throttle. I assure you that eating lunch with this stud was all my pleasure!

During sacrament at church, I pass out multi-grain Cheerios for (me and) the boys. On Sunday Gabe turned to me and said, "I want some more Cheerios, please? The choice is up to you!" Thank you pirates of Peter Pan.

He's also was resourceful with his parroted phrases when he'd see our home nurse come out each morning. She'd walk in the door, and he'd announce, "Welcome to our home!!"

The SWEETEST thing my ears have heard come from Gabe recently. He comes up to me while I'm resting and asks, "Mommy, how are you doing?" It's so sweet to watch him pay attention to, and ask how someone else is doing. He's also learned what it means to console someone.

It's strange to think that there was once a time when the goober on the right was NOT a fan of the goober on the left. They do everything together. I love that the FIRST thing they do when they see each other after school is give each other a hug!

The other day I sat down for just a minute at the end of the day while our bedding finished going through laundry. My phenergan "coma" hit fast and I was OUT. Garrison tried to wake me up, "Why don't we get you to bed?" Apparently my response was, "We have no bed!" Garrison thought I was pulling a "Gabe," aka making up an irrational excuse to get out of something. Moral of this story is don't expect a coherent conversation with an exhausted me who has no way to communicate simply, "The sheets are still in the dryer."

 Nate's been doing amazing with his speech. It tickles our speech pathologist pink every time she comes. He just needs to figure how to articulate. Lots and lots of practice. It excites us. He's also picked up a lot of phrases. One common one includes playing dumb with I ask him to do something. "What are you talking about?"

Also exciting news is that we finally have a real piece of furniture in our front room! It's been empty, or only had old kitchen chairs to sit on for almost a year. Now we have a nice, big couch. We clearly benefit from handy-me-downs. It's super comfy and I secretly like to sit there just to watch cars drive by on our street. 

OH! And only three more weeks until we find out what we're having!