Sold!

Sold! To the lady with the crazy hair, hot husband, and wild kids.

Yes, it is true. We have been MIA the last several weeks because we have been busily tromping through every single house in all of SL county. After much consideration, anguish, fast food, frustration, prayer, dickering, bickering, tears, laughter, foot stomping, and handwringing, we have found a home. Justin's employment will be taking him to the big, bad, city and this will cut down on his commute significantly.

We're very excited, nervous, and sad to be leaving our ideallic little community. We hear great things about our new community and we think it will be a great fit for our family. The kids have been as good as can be expected during the process (cough, cough) and I know they are rejoicing with us that the search is finally over.

Know anyone who wants to rent a townhouse in mid-September?

And a well-deserved shout-out:
We couldn't have survived this journey without our marvelous realtor and new best friend, Jennifer Corbin from Keller Williams Realty. She is fantastic. If you ever need a realtor in our county OR the one north, I couldn't shout this gal's praises loudly enough. Seriously, she's absolutely amazing.

Freaky Friday

#1. You can fail swim lessons. Who knew?

#2. If you leave your cell phone outside in the rain overnight, it's very bad for your phone. A friend recommended I set it in rice to pull out all the water. I'll try it, but I don't know! And I'm in big trouble when the boss gets home. It wasn't that long ago that I lost the van key with the remote entry. We found it two months later... 3 days after paying for its replacement.

#3. Google is down. How does one function without google searches, google reader, and gmail? It should be illegal for them to be offline. Or they should at least cover any mental health expenses incurred during the blackout. Jeesh.

Dex's Stone Setting

Dex's gravestone was set in the Angel Garden this week. We are so happy to have it in place.

My friend Ashley once said, "Headstones are a wonderful tribute, but what's even more wonderful is knowing the headstone isn't THE tribute. Our hearts are. I don't think there is a better gift, a more brilliant tribute, than a life led in goodness and joy."

She also gave me the idea to call the monument company and have them alert us when they were pouring Dex's stone so that we could come and place handprints in the wet cement. I love how it all turned out!
As expected, Crew's little monkey mitts were by far the most difficult to accomplish. We redid his contribution many times. We ended up with a hand-like print and a foot-ish print of his. The rest of us imprinted our hands, plus a special heart left from Mommy.

We had a very ironic and interesting learning experience with this part of the journey. They originally called us to do the imprinting as we were walking out the door to go to the Oquirrh Temple Open House. We had waited a long time for their call and I felt guilty and disloyal to Dex when I asked them to delay the pouring until the following week.

We toured the temple that morning as planned and I was reminded again that Dex himself is not in the cemetery. Dex was not waiting impatiently for us at the monument place. Do you remember how we were accidentally detoured during the tour? Let's just say that when the tour guide in the sealing room said "wow, what a wonderful privilege to be in the temple sealing room today, together with your whole family!" she had no idea how right she was.

The Lord's mercies are very tender indeed. My darling Dex continues to watch over us as we navigate the complicated mortal journey. I love him, I miss him when he isn't near, I appreciate all he does for us, and I'm so blessed to have him as a son.

Blessing Crew

Twice this month we have had the privilege of attending the blessing of babies that are dear to our hearts. First our NICU friend, Leo, and this past weekend our sweet niece Tora. These recent experiences have given me the opportunity to reflect on the circumstances of Crew's blessing.

You may (or may not) have noticed that there are no pictures of Crew on his big celebration day, no announcement of his blessing, no invitations to a luncheon. You may have wondered exactly how long we were going to wait!

The fact of the matter is that we had him blessed in the hospital when he was 10 days old. Our stake president and bishop gave us permission to give him a name and a blessing whenever we felt it would be appropriate. While we know that it is not theologically necessary for Crew to have the ordinance performed before death, it was very important to us emotionally to have it done. When Crew was life flighted for emergency surgery on his bowel rupture, we didn't know how things were going to turn out. Having already buried one son 5 days before, it didn't seem so crazy to think that this one might not make it either. We felt the time was right to have him named and blessed, just in case...

I wish I could remember the words of the blessing, since I have been able to write down and reflect upon Kinley's and Tanner's over the years. I remember a vague feeling of peace and that's it. It was such a stressful situation that it required all of my focus to simply remain on my feet near my baby.

Crew has had many many priesthood blessings since that day. We have seen the hand of God perform miracles on our tiny prince time and time again. We have been very blessed in tender moments that are too sacred to share. My life would be very different without these rich, unspeakable blessings that have come at the cost of so much sorrow.

Nevertheless, I found the very human side of myself grieving this weekend over the "blessing day that never was". I was completely blindsided by the unexpected emotions. I have managed to stuff deep inside the pictures I once had in my mind of blessing my two treasures in their matching white outfits. Because Crew's "official blessing" was so different and so incomparable to previous fantasies, I had been able to successfully repress my sorrow over the loss of Dex's special day as well.

I felt very silly to be thinking such thoughts. I just wasn't anticipating them at all. We have had such wonderful experiences with Dex; he has slipped into a very real and very important role in our family, and spiritually I feel quite comfortable with our situation. And you already know the joy I feel in Crew's path. I wish I could adequately express in words the happiness and absolute peace that fills my heart because of the perfect mercy of the Lord. Therefore, it felt so ludicrous to be hung up on the mortal side of things. I guess though, it might have to be "my normal" to be content in the eternal perspective and still allow myself the moments to say "my baby died and that's really sad!"

Can I have joy in our situation and still feel bereft of the mortal dreams we once had? Apparently so.

At my mother-in-law's suggestion, I dressed Crew up in his blessing outfit and took pictures. It was emotional for me, but I'm glad that I did it. I didn't wash the outfit beforehand, so the "newborn" size still fits him perfectly. We bought matching outfits for Dex and Crew to be blessed in as soon as we knew they were coming. When they were born, soft white blankets were purchased and my mother-in-law remodeled Dex's outfit to be a beautiful, tiny burial gown. Crew's outfit has remained untouched in the closet until today.

I love my tiny miracle babies. I suspect that I'll continue to find myself sorrowful from time to time as we reach new milestones with Crew. He is so beautiful in white. He is so precious and so pure. My husband and my children are treasures, and I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

Kinley's First Book Report

I needed Kinley to be occupied while Crew's OT/nurse was visiting, so I asked her to write a book report on the most recent Billy and Blaze book that she finished.

I promised her I would post it on the blog. Please tell her how awesome she is so that she'll do more in the future :)
Translation:
"Dear Friends,

This is a story I read and I want to share it with you. So this is how it goes. Well, my favorite thing was the fire. I forgot to tell you what the story was called. It is called "Blaze and the Forest Fire". And my not favorite part was this Blaze got shocked in a wire. That is all that I want to tell you. The end."

Cousin Fun

All of the cousins on Justin's side of the family were together for our whirlwind, quick trip north. We went up on Saturday and came home on Monday morning. They managed to squeeze plenty of fun into that time.Ellie, Karlee, Dex, Crew, and Tora were all born within the last year. That's a lot of quilts for Grandma to make! Each of Justin's 3 siblings (and us, of course) had at least one baby this year, for a total of 5 new grandbabies in 9 months! I never would have seen that one coming!
Tora is the most recent addition to the brood. She's cute as a button, and had the good manners to arrive smaller and lighter than Crew is currently.
All ten of the little monsters.

Cowgirl Kinley

Kinley was absolutely delighted to ride Grandpa's horses. She has been reading the Billy and Blaze series on her own as well as the Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series, and I know full well that she was fantasizing about her life with a horse of her very own. She is amazingly comfortable and relaxed high up on Copper. She would have ridden him all night if we had let her.

I got a little snappish when Justin chastised/mocked me for scampering right behind the horse to get a good picture of the rodeo princess. Not all of us have grown up around farm animals, after all, and I'm still a little dense on horse etiquette.

Nevertheless, I climbed up for a ride with my brave cowgirl, who told me "see how relaxed I am, Mommy? There is nothing to be afraid of. You can totally do this." And I did. And if gentle Copper smelled fear, he didn't let on.
Kinley and cousin Kaden petting Max.

Daddy and Crew

Justin is the best daddy ever.

Tora's Blessing Day

PRB Feed

We took a trip to Idaho this weekend for our new niece's blessing. We usually go to Idaho every few months, but our life has been "kinda complicated" recently and we haven't set foot on Idahoan soil in over a year.

Therefore, we hadn't yet had the opportunity to see Grandpa's new feed store! Our favorite cowboy recently left the ranch and moved a (very) little bit closer to town. He and some partners have opened a feed store in their community. We're so proud of him!

Smoooooooch!

Who has the most kissable, lovable little baby in the whole wide world??

Thanks so much to my mission friend, Kat, for fully capturing his sweetness in this picture!

Swim, Swim

Yesterday Kinley and Tanner had their very first swim lessons!

Kinley was very excited.Tanner was filled with all kinds of trepidation. Fortunately, his strong desire to get in the pool to play overrode his concern about this "class" business.
Warming up to the idea...
Sold!! Swimming lessons rock!
My little mermaid.

Gather the Kiddies

I ran across this on my mission friend Victoria's blog. Kinley and Tanner watched it (5 times) and laughed their little hearts out! Call the kids for this one!

Perler Beads

Recently, Kinley learned of the wonderful Perler Beads from our friend and neighbor Nikki. We finally picked up our own set at Walmart (also available at JoAnne's, Michael's, Robert's, etc.) and they are amazing. It keeps Kinley occupied for hours and it was only $9.95 for 3 templates and 8500 beads. You use a blank pegboard template to make your own beaded design, cover them with the included parchment paper (or wax paper), iron them for about 10 seconds, and voila! The beads melt enough to stick together permanently and you have a completed craft to love and share! Reuse the templates over and over and over again!

She Wants a Pet

I don't know how two people like us ended up with such an avid animal lover for a daughter.  Seriously.

Poor, deprived Kinley has been denied every pet she has ever asked for (though I briefly considered the llama, strictly for shock value.)  Anyway, she has been in a pet-yearning mood for the last few weeks. Yesterday I came home with groceries to find her outside feeding leftover pizza crust to her new "pets". Even this cold-hearted mom can admit that the current state of affairs is pretty pathetic. Justin felt sorry enough for her to donate a bit of crust from his own lunch.  

We don't feel badly enough to do anything about it, of course.  But maybe when she has a home of her own, we'll kick in a few bucks for kitty litter. 

Seriously? Her???

Words I never expected to hear from my red-faced, mortified 6-year-old:

"Uh, Mommy? I have a bead stuck in my nose."

It's out, thank goodness.

Slow... deep breaths... I'll confess this wasn't a time that I took the Mommy High Road. There was much snarling, gnashing of teeth, and a "what were you thinking??" thrown in there.

Wild Thing

I wouldn't call it exactly a mid-life crisis. I absolutely love it. Justin doesn't hate it either, which is a bonus.

Making the Local Paper

Well, my brother Matthew is now infamous.

Oquirrh Temple Open House

This morning we attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. What a fantastic experience for the whole family. None of us have ever been to a temple open house before (our lives were kinda complicated when the Draper open house was going on), so this was a new and exciting treat for us.

It is beautiful and peaceful, small, yet elegant. Our favorite rooms were the sealing rooms at the very end of the tour. "Somehow" in the congestion of the walkways, I took a wrong turn and bypassed the sealing rooms altogether. I couldn't hear Justin's urgent whisper, so obliviously continued on my merry way. By the time Justin caught up to me and we circled back to where we left the path, most of the rest of the people in our large group had already gone through and we were "coincidentally" ushered into a sealing room all to ourselves, just our family. It was very special indeed.

I am so thankful that the Lord loves us enough to afford us the merciful opportunity to be together with our families forever. "I love to see the temple... for the temple is a holy place, where we are sealed together. As a child of God, I've learned this truth: a family is forever." Heaven just wouldn't be very heavenly without my family.

Following in His Footsteps

This was a fun little activity for the children. You could use a pattern (which I'm happy to share via email if you ask) or you could trace an adult foot and cut it out. The children colored them, we cut out ankle holes and a slit in the back so they could wear them on their own feet. I actually glued them onto some construction paper before I cut them out so that they would be stiffer.

It was so fun and so easy. We talked about all of the ways that we could follow His example. Once the feet were completed, Tanner shuffled around the house squealing "look at me! I'm following Jesus' footsteps!!"

They're "Sucking Blisters"

My pediatrician informed me with a laugh of the politically correct term "sucking blisters" when I was complaining about the "self-inflicted hickeys" that Crew is sporting all over his wrists.

Now you know and you too can be politically correct.

I love how he slurps himself. I love how deeply committed he is to his hands and his wrists. When he's in a slurping mood, you can hear him down the hallway, tasting his yummy fingers, hands, and wrists. This kid is so cute! He is just too much cuteness and sweetness. His personality is really coming out lately, the big fat flirt. He is gentle and patient and sugar-sweet. He is happy and sociable and smiley. He's my gooseberry and I just can't help covering him in kisses whenever he is in range of my lips. He's an embarrassingly good baby and a sweet sweet treasure.

I love you, Crewton, and I'm so glad you're mine. Thanks for coming to our family.

What Would Jesus Do?

Mommy: Tanner, what can you do to follow Jesus' example?

Tanner: I can follow Jesus zample! I not poke my eyes. And I not pick my nose. 'Cause that's gwoss and Jesus don't poke his eyes or pick his nose.

I'm So Skinny That....

I can wear my wedding ring again at last! I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring or any of my non-maternity pants since I was 7 weeks pregnant almost exactly one year ago.

I can now wear both! Wahoo!!

Be Careful What You Assume

I got the first part of my temple recommend renewal done back in March. I went in last night for the second part with the stake presidency.

Councilor: I see you had this done back in March?

Megan: Yes, it's been kind of a crazy time.

Councilor (dripping with sarcasm): Oh, yes, I'm sure it's really far for you to come all the way to the stake center from where you live. (two blocks away)

Megan: Actually, my son was in the hospital for several months and his brother died. Sorry, but we're still trying to get our lives together.

Councilor: Um, oh...

Then he was very nice and asked questions about Crew, etc. I desperately wish that my tone had been more pointed than polite/borderline apologetic, but I still have a tendancy to let people off the hook for stupid comments because I hate to make them feel as badly as they have made me feel.

Moral of the story: Don't make assumptions or snarky comments if you don't have all the facts. Better yet, don't make them at all.

Is This Your R.S.?

Snicker, snicker...



And this one:

Crew Update

Crew will be 7 months old this week, with his adjusted age of 4 months. We went to the pediatrician this morning and he is doing really well. He continues to grow better than we have any right to expect and weighs in at a hefty 10 pounds, 14 ounces! He has dropped a little in height advancement (like we didn't see that coming from a mile away. Sorry for the genetics, Crew!) His head circumference continues to grow perfectly, hallelujah! He is scarring over nicely from his myriad surgeries and is super active, wiggly, and sociable.

In really exciting news, in the last three days he has finally started to reach for things. He doesn't do it very often and he doesn't do it very well, but we can tell that his attempts are purposeful and it makes us breathe a little easier. We've been waiting on this milestone for a while, starting to bite our nails about it.

In other great milestones, he now sleeps through the night! Wahoo!! He wanted a snack at 5:30 this morning, but generally he goes down at 8 or 9 at night and sleeps for 10-11 hours. He's such a lovey little kid. He needs a bath just about every day. I don't remember my other kids being so stinky, but I think his specialty formula leaks through his pores when he sweats and gives off a funky odor. Ick.

To my sadness, he seems to be through his licking-mommy's-shirt-all-day phase and has moved onto regular-ol'-drooling. It was just so cute of him to explore his surroundings with his tentative little tongue. I miss it already. He still loves to be packed around in his sling and he has even fallen asleep a few times on my bed, in our laps, and in his swing, without being swaddled. Whoa.

Our little trooper is beating all the odds, continuing to thrive and surprise us every day. Kinley said the other day, "Mommy, Dex is our miracle baby and Crew is our other miracle baby. When you were still pregnant, I didn't know we were going to have two miracle babies in our family! I thought we were just going to be a regular family!" I just love that she considers Dex another special miracle in our lives because that is how Justin and I view him.

Down She Goes...

I'm happy to say that I am down 5.2 pounds from when I started My Food Diary almost 3 weeks ago. That is 1.7 pounds per week. Yay! Slow and steady wins the race!

Only 28 more to go, eyes rolling...

Have I Got a Bargain For You

I've got a 3-year-old to sell. Real cheap. He'll do wonders for your ego. For example:

Kinley: Mommy, you look very nice today. And very thin!

Tanner: No, she don't look thin! She look fat!  Really fat!

As if he wasn't tempting enough, he also farts on command.  Bidding starts now.

Sing, Sing a Song

Mommy: It's opera singing.

Kinley: No, it's not.

Mommy: Yes, it's opera.

Kinley: Nope.

Mommy: Kinley Rose. It is opera. Not Oprah.

Kinley:  Sure, if you say so.

(There was no visible eye rolling, but I'm sure it was implied.  And no, I don't watch Oprah.  Don't even like her, actually.)

Rock Canyon

Adventure/Nature Club* is back for the summer and we are thrilled! After a dramatic melt-down over a pair of missing pink sunglasses, we made it out the door and to our rendez-vous point almost on time.

I don't know why I get a warm fuzzy feeling seeing a caravan of mini-vans and SUV's pulling out of the neighborhood for a group adventure, but I absolutely do. This morning we hiked a short distance into Rock Canyon, just far enough to find some water to splash around in.
One of the exciting moments of our day was seeing a butterfly land on Kinley's sock! Can you see it?
She was much braver about the rocks and water than she was last year. Almost too brave, actually. I had to temper her wading ambitions a little.
All's well that ends with a cookie.
I love this stupid picture below. That is such a Tanner face. Crew was a champ in his sling for the whole morning, until I squatted down. He did not like that at all. He is screaming his head off into my bosom.


*This is not an exclusive club, by any means. Johanna usually plans the once-a-week outing and she has some great ideas. It's a fun way to meet new people and have summer adventures for the children. If you would like to receive the announcement emails, please let me know and I'll be sure to forward them on to you!