Full

The past 2 weeks have been very full. All last week the two older girls had their spring break. My in-laws came in a couple Saturdays ago to spend time with us and to support Emma as she choose to be Baptized.

It was so wonderful to listen to the great messages from general conference over Easter weekend. On Easter Sunday we had a couple widows from our congregation over and I went and got my Grandmother from Port Huron. We had a delightful ham dinner. I enjoyed getting to spend extra time with my Grandma driving with her.

Last week on Monday started out with Lucy throwing up. She had a nice fever to go along with her sickness. By Tuesday morning she had developed a small little rash on parts of her arm and legs and chest. When I had taken Emma for her yearly checkup that morning I asked our pediatrician about Lucy and he asked me to bring her in. So I dropped Emma off and brought Lucy in where upon they did some tests and she tested for having strep. We got her on antibiotics that day. Her fever finally broke Wednesday afternoon.

It was a blessing to have my in-laws here to help with everything else that needed to keep the home functioning. Wednesday evening my Mom and her husband Chad flew in. I had gone to bed before they flew in because early Thursday morning Sera, Eliza and I flew down to St. Louis for her follow-up visit down at Shriner's for the Enobia study she is doing for her hypophosphatasia.

Eliza was such an amazing little traveler. Very cheerful despite her lack of sleep. Sera did great on her routine tests that they do. She is so amazing! By mid afternoon we were able to get into the hotel where were staying at, and we ordered dinner in and I bathed the girls. The closet was big enough to put Eliza's pack'n'play in. She was ready for bed at 4. I fed her and she got down to bed by 4:45 which is 5:45 our time. She normally goes to bed by 6 so she was right on schedule.

Sera and I ate our dinner which was good up until I found a fly in my salad. Not extra protein in my opinion. I chose not to eat the salad and asked for it to be removed from our bill. We got to wathc the movie "Tales of Desperado" while we ate. I couldn't believe how much food Sera packed in. Once we were done with our dinner and movie we played "fashion girls" and I painted Sera's finger and toenails.

Then we chatted for a few minutes about the importance of being respectful because she had been having a hard time remembering that throughout the day. If I myself had not been sleep deprived I would have realized sooner that she too was sleep deprived and probably didn't need my little lecture. Live and learn. So we got to bed by 6:15. I woke up lots but rested very well. The other two slept straight through til 6 the next morning.


I got myself ready while they watched TV. Sera had to fast for her morning blood draws. I grabbed a bowl of cereal at the cafeteria in the hospital and a danish for Sera when she was done fasting. They got her all prepped for the blood work. They put this numbing patch on her arm for about 30 minutes. Then they took about 8 vile's of blood. They have a special helper who is specifically there to help distract the kids. She got to blow bubbles and have bubbles blown at her this time.

Afterward she got to pick out a prize. She picked out a Tinkerbell hair care set. Eliza was tired by this point so I was able to get her to sleep. Ms. Amy, one of the workers in the study who help make the trips easy, took Sera on some walks so Eliza could sleep a little bit.

Once we were all done with what we came for, we still had a couple hours before we had to leave for the airport, so we had lunch and then we went outside to their play area for a good hour.
The Shriners (really nice old retired men) drove us to the airport. We got there a bit early and I was grateful because we were able to get on an hour earlier flight. Huge blessing!

Again the girls did great on the flight. We got home safely and it was nice to be home. Earlier in the day Jared had called and asked what they could do at the home to make Saturday run more smoothly. I asked if they could deep clean the home and so it was so refreshing to get home to a very clean home. Which I know can be a difficult task when you have little ones under foot.


Saturday was full of Birthday celebration. Emma turned 8! Emma wanted to go to Frankenmuth for the afternoon. Emma took her sisters and Grandpa Chad on a horse drawn carriage ride. We had the yummy famous chicken dinner and then we walked through a couple shops and then headed home for cake. What a nice fun full day. It was nice to not have to worry about cleaning the home and just focus on family fun. Sunday was Emma's Baptism.












Emma had been taking the discussions from our missionaries to make sure she understood the significance and importance of the covenants she was going to be making. I was always at awe listening to her pretty much teach the missionaries what they were there to teach her about. Needless to say she had willfully chosen to prepare herself for the covenants she made on Sunday when she entered into the waters of baptism. She was so incredibly excited to be baptized. She simply could not contain it in her little body. It was oozing from her. It was exciting for me to see! I am constantly grateful for her example of how to be excited to live the the principles of the gospel.

My very talented Mother in law sewed Emma a Baptism dress and a nice spring dress.

Monday was the sad day when our company left. We were so grateful to those who were able to come and share in the joy of Emma's baptism, and from the support we felt from those who were not able to be there physically. My Mother spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Emma told me Monday that she told her friends about the story my Mother shared. Which the essence was that if my Grandma, her Mother, had not listened to the spirit then my Mother probably would not be here and therefore I would not be here and then consequently Emma would not be here.

I did 8 loads of laundry Monday on top of having the pleasure to take care of my dear friends 3 small children. Tuesday I made my bread and watched those 3 cute kids again. Luckily we were all able to get a nap in the afternoon.


Last night Emma got to attend her first "achievements days activity" for girls 8-11 in our church. They meet 2 times a month. She was so thrilled to tell me of the fun they had making fruit kabobs and talking with the other girls.

Afterward the Mother who brought her home took her and the other kids to 7-11 to get a Slurpee. I was so touched when one of my friends whose husbands was the Bishop before my husband, and happens to have 7 young children herself, called and expressed her willingness to help bring Emma home if we ever needed help, because she knows how hard it can be when you have other small children at home. I felt so cared for and really appreciated her kindness. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends.


So now are here Wednesday which started out with Lucy coming in to us at 6 this morning to let us know she threw up in her bed. We got showered and cleaned up and laid back down in our bed and within a minute she threw up again. Poor thing. She still is on antibiotics for another day for the strep she had last week. She threw up one more time and luckily has kept the medicine down. She does not have a fever so that is nice. I am thinking her tummy is a little rumbly from the medicine. This is the first time she has been on antibiotics in her 4 years of life. When our kids get sick I typically take them to our chiropractor and within a day they are better. So they rarely get infections that need antibiotics. For today we are going to do about 3 loads of wash due to thrown up on bedding and some sheets from Eliza. And we will do some resting and a walk this afternoon. I am looking forward to the warmth the next few days.

One of the great miracles that happened the past week is my prayer getting answered that no one else got strep. Eliza seemed to have an upset tummy and some runs over the weekend but I think that was due to her teething 3 teeth at once. I just wanted to say how blessed I feel and how full my cup feels. For me it is a true comfort to be able to feel that God loves me and is aware of and cares about me and what goes on in my little life. Yes my cup is full!