Sara turns SEVEN and Phoenix Temple Trip

We planned our trip to Phoenix over Sara's birthday. This is our "off" year for friend parties, so each kid gets to do something special. Sara was excited to go. We opened the few presents we had before we left. Sara had also picked out a helmet, hers is a unicorn. She got that and a bunch of "soft pants" since she is our sensitive kid who refuses to wear jeans.Grandma Jane also sent a Kristoff doll to add to the Frozen sisters from Christmas. Sara continues to be our special girl with her own ideas and feelings about everything. She is a sweetheart who loves everyone. She hates cleaning and spends a lot of time pouting but she does hear what we say to her and when she is ready or motivated, she will do as she's told or make really good choices. She loves jewels, princesses, pink and sparkly. She loves that her name means "princess." She is really catching on to reading and is already way past the end of the year benchmark for that. It is so fun to see her viewing the world as a reader. She also writes in a journal at school every day and those are precious. I love 1st grade spelling, makes so much more sense, and I love how excited she gets about things. We love our Sara!

We left on the 5th after Parent\teacher conferences. The drive is around 7 hours, but the girls did well and we only had one stop for lunch and one stop on the side of the road for little Miss Tiny Bladder.

Monument Valley

After we got there, settled in, and had dinner, we went to the Mesa Temple which was quite close. The girls liked the flat top (no spire) and the fountains. Also the palm trees and cacti.

We went in the visitor's center which was really nice.This is the Christus statue.
The next day was Sara's birthday and Zoo day. We spent the entire day walking around there, it was a good zoo. We paid a little extra to get a pass that allows unlimited carousel rides, so we used that at least three times. Probably  their favorite thing,

Zebras

Sara's favorite, flamingos.

Sting Ray bay. Sara was nervous about it all day, but once we got there, she loved it. Whitney tried and did not love it. Everyone got soaked to the shoulders.

Some cactus.  After the zoo we went to dinner, Sara picked a Chinese buffet, it was good and close to the hotel. We had a fun time. After that we got to go swimming in the pool, and they all did really well. I think by the end of summer we will have 3 swimmers, it is such a relief. Abby and Isabel are already quite good, and Sara is fearless and just needs to improve her technique a little. I love it.

The next morning we had our tickets to the Gilbert Arizona Temple open house. This is when the public is allowed to tour a temple before it is dedicated and only LDS church members in good standing can enter. This is a chance for the girls to see the inside of the temple that they would not be able to see until they are older. The temple is very special to us, and this building was so well constructed and every inch of it was beautiful. I loved being able to see it. This is us outside on the grounds, the fountains were gorgeous.

Yes, we got a zillion comments on our matching outfits. These are the girls' Christmas dresses, I happened to match because this dress is comfy and travels well.  I love the cute girls together, but I always miss Lauren, I wish I had my fifth cute girl in a little pink dress. People can't see that space in our family, but I do. They did look very pretty.

All of us together, because of the temple we know that family is forever.

The decor had a theme of the agave plant and these flowers, they were on every surface and so pretty. The stained glass was amazing.

Sara finally got her cupcakes we picked up at Costco in civilization and brought home, she had princess candles and a sparkly pink number 7. In all a really good trip, awesome weather, good roads and good memories made.

Air Force Memorial Museum

After we visited the temple, we had some more time. The zoo had worn us out walking, so we picked something a little different. There were so many fun things to do in Phoenix! For once, we picked something Scott would like and something a little more boyish. At some point in the next few years this will be our reality, so why not get used to it. I thought the girls would like to see the planes anyways. The museum is mostly a few big hangars, there are veterans and volunteers who give little tours and answer questions. It was cool to see the planes and some of the old bombs, uniforms, posters and all the history they had there. The little pedal plane was the highlight for these two.

 Inside the bomber which we were allowed to climb through. It actually flies, as do most of their planes. They tour them in the summer to make money for the project.

 jumping pic...gotta do it

Whitney flying.  
After the airplanes we got Jamba Juice an found a playground. Although Abby thought it was a little too small for her, it was Whitney's favorite thing of the day.

Isabel turns NINE!

 She picked out the ummm..."coolest" shark helmet at WalMart and we snuck it home for her. She was very happy

 Skor cake, yum. can't go wrong with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and whipped cream

Love that girl. Isabel is now a self-proclaimed tom boy. She likes blue, she likes music, especially Taylor Swift. She is a great reader, does well on the piano, she is an amazing big sister and helper. She can climb and swing like the monkeys she loves. She asked for Nerf guns, walkie-talkies and remote controlled vehicles. She has a lot of friends and is a happy girl. She is sensitive inside if you get a glimpse of it. She loves joke books. She has a hard time listening the first 7 times. She always drops her backpack on the floor. she loses things.She is stylish and loves accessories,including fake glasses. All together an amazing person who we are so thankful to have in our family. Happy birthday Isabel!

St. George New Year's quick trip

 We had a few days over the break to get away. We decided to go to St.George, UT. Usually it is much warmer there, but we lucked out and it was frosty. We did get to see Palm trees though. We found a great hotel and had a lot of fun. We took the girls mini golfing, Whitney was hilarious, she would put her ball a foot from the hole and use a really weird stance and swing to drain it every time. Then she would jump and yell "YES!" it was cute. The other girls had fun, although Sara wanted to do bumper boats instead...they did take a freezing dip in the outdoor pool. The water was warm-ish, but the weather was not. poor kids.

 We went to Zion National Park and had a good time. I wish I had better camera skills, it was really beautiful. The girls worked on their Junior Ranger badges and did really well. They completed everything they needed for that. They are almost pros, we are so blessed to live near a lot of parks.

 The Tunnel, definitely a highlight.

 A very,very slippery hike to the Emerald Pools.After it snowed the snow gets packed into ice and just stays in the shadows. AKA most of the trail. But we went slow and it was worth it, really pretty.

 A picture with mom in it???

 Playing near the river. After the day, we needed one more activity, and Dad suggested going to Frozen in the theater a second time. Lucky girls, they loved it.

 On the way back we stopped at Cove Fort, an old pioneer stopping point. It was cool. I hadn't been since our one Utah trip when I was a teenager. Scott had never toured it.

Teeny Tears progress

 stacks of no-sew hats

 My first real donation

 Abby helping flip

Some cut out and partly sewn diapers,as well as a completed set.

Over Christmas break I was able to put together a small diaper party. I needed help with the non-sewing steps and got a few people involved. I had a lot to do to prepare for it, and it ended up being a bad Saturday that many people could not attend, but it was a big step for me. I love doing the diapers, but it is hard to ask for help. But I know I can serve more families if I spread some of the work around. It was fun to visit and we did get a lot done, cutting, trimming, flipping and ironing. I work on the diapers as I can when I have time and a clean table. I was able to finally make my first donation of 20 sets of diapers to a hospital in North Dakota. It was a lot of work but really fun to put together and send. I have many stacks in different stages of completeness, so I had not really felt like I was contributing. There is an active Facebook group and I wasn’t able to be giving like I wanted to, like others in the group. So now I feel better, I was able to help a little bit. The main goal is to have a big donation and or a stockpile ready to go by Lauren’s birthday. In February I am working with the Young Women in our church to make the no-sew hats to go with eat set of diapers. I ordered all the supplies and am now just sewing and waiting to get that done. They want me to say a few things and I am working out what the best ideas will be. Hopefully by early March I will have an awesome stack of these sweet little diapers to give away. I still hate that there is a need, but I am so grateful I can help. My girls love to help, too, and I love what this service is teaching them. I share this not for my own vanity, but so that others are aware and maybe motivated to help. Or so that if anyone ever has a need for something like this, they will know it is out there for their precious baby. The women in charge of the organization are the amazing ones, and I love seeing the good they do, and how good they are at it. 

Teeny Tears website

Christmas 2013

Whitney's Joy School concert

Gingerbread men

A surprise visitor came on Christmas Eve!

Matching PJ's

The General disaster\explosion of blessings,wow.

 All the girls' stockings

 Abby and Isabel did a duet of Silent Night for their piano recital. It was really pretty

Christmas was crazy but good. The girls got completely spoiled. We had many packages arriving the weeks before, and for a few days after. We kept things simple overall which was nice.We had the recital, a church Christmas party and the school concert. The girls did great with all of them. This was not my year for neighbor\teacher gifts. I feel slightly guilty, but mostly relieved. We tried to focus on our family and the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. I was able to add a little to our nativity this year, a camel with a rope, which always moved around and had different people holding it each time I looked. Some of the best presents: Abby got and iPod, Isabel got a FurReal monkey pet which she named Minka. Sara got a musical jewelry box with a spinning ballerina and Whitney got a little set of Frozen dolls. Somehow we have seen Frozen twice, and Isabel three times! We also watch the songs on YouTube and the girls sing it often. Abby was very sick and had no voice, Scott was also sick so our holiday was pretty low-key. It was nice to have Scott home for a bit, even if he was mostly resting. After a few days of boredom before Christmas, the new toys helped keep everyone happy afterwards. Scott got a folding saw and little stove that can use gasoline. Amy got new pots and pans and a folding table so I can set it up to sew without always using the kitchen table. A very blessed Christmas.

Pregnancy update

This little video is mostly for the grandmas to enjoy.  You can see his little face on the right, his hand is above his head and his elbow is sticking out towards us. Then you can see the heart beating, the cord and he kicks on the far left of the screen as well. Hope you enjoy.

The pregnancy is going well. Everything looks just fine. I am now heading into the appointments every two weeks, I can’t believe it! The baby is very active and still a ninja. I have had a cold recently and he doesn’t like when I cough and sneeze, he moves a lot. Also when I drink cold things. He seems to be very strong with sharp little feet and hands. I am so thankful he moves so much, I will not complain. I have not gotten out the Doppler much the last weeks, I can feel him often enough that I don’t worry about finding a heartbeat.

We are still debating names and most likely won’t come to a conclusion til he is here, but that’s ok. Scott’s family wanted to throw a baby shower for this little guy and at first I was very, very scared to do it. Now I am feeling more excited about the idea and about him really coming to live with us and actually needing  blue things.  I think that no matter how I feel, and no matter how wrapped up in Lauren’s story his pregnancy has been, this little one deserves his own special treatment, and I am willing to do that for him.

I have tried to share a little about this journey of pregnancy after a loss. For me, because I have read so much I know that my experience is pretty typical, although each person and story is unique.Ours all happening in one year makes it pretty crazy. I don’t share it to make people pity me or think I am a little crazy(however true that is), but to help others understand that not every single person who gets two lines on a test is going to get a baby,and it can be scary. In a normal pregnancy, loss is an abstract worry, and if you get past 12 weeks and tell everyone, it is assumed that a bundle of joy is a sure thing. 

Someone put it this way, and I would agree this is how I felt the first half of the pregnancy, when we were so scared and hiding it:

  “  I had just given birth to my stillborn daughter, Amelia, and became pregnant two months later with my first rainbow baby.   I quickly realized that the thrill of pregnancy was forever changed into an experience full of fear.  I can only compare it to walking on a tightrope over hell and hoping you don’t fall in.  I just wanted to make it to the other side of my pregnancy . . . that happy ending place where I got to hear my baby crying after delivery instead of the awful silence only filled with my own cries.

I desperately missed the happiness ~ the anticipation of meeting this new little baby.  All I could manage was a luke-warm hope that this baby would live.  I needed a place to unveil my fears and feelings so that I could begin to bond without judgement to this new life.  I craved a place where I could talk about Amelia (whom I was still very much grieving) while still trying to navigate an entirely different pregnancy.” Stephanie Dyer. 

(they call them rainbow babies, the beauty after the storm of a loss)

I also really related to this article about pregnancy after loss.

The natural response is one of awkwardly trying to not to “get your hopes up” in an impossible attempt to protect your heart from the pain you know can happen.

I have been thinking the past few weeks, WHY is it so scary? I have come to the conclusion that it is because it is such an out of control process. When you have a child, you are scared of losing her. So you put her on her back to sleep, you don’t give her fluffy pillows, you pick up marbles and cover outlets. As she gets older you keep her off tall things, check behind the car when you back up, use a car seat. Then we begin teaching safety, stranger danger, bike helmets, looking both ways…the list goes on forever. When you are pregnant, all you can do is try to take care of your body, and hope that your body takes care of the baby. If you have had an experience where your body did not do that, it is hard to trust that everything will be ok. You know that in an instant everything can change, and you might not even notice, and you might never know why or what happened. If the loss is early, perhaps passing the hurdle of that first trimester, or when the baby is “viable” or any milestone may alleviate some fear. In our case, losing Lauren all the way at the end of a normal pregnancy just means that we will be waiting until we see him with our own eyes to believe that he will be ok.

But honestly, things are looking up. We are feeling more confident. We have a good plan with our doctor. We are getting into the home stretch and we are watching everything very closely. I know the odds are highly in our favor. All of this helps, it isn’t perfect, but it helps get through this time. I had a sweet friend offer to do newborn photos for us. I have been able to Google images of these little ones and prepare ideas without completely flashing back to Lauren’s photos. So similar, yet so heartbreaking. A few months ago it would have been too hard.For ten months I have avoided looking at newborns or their pictures. I think with time, with effort, with hope for a new baby in the family, we are moving forward as best we can. Always missing Lauren, always with questions and sadness, like how do we include her in happy pictures of the girls and baby brother? Will I feel like she is missing? She is missing, but do we always have to represent her? How do we deal with the comments about the 4 girls and one boy when we know there are five, but you can't see one? It’s complicated but I know we are growing in our grief and working to make the best life we can for all of us. Her birthday is coming up soon and we are planning to make it a special and happy occasion, hopefully being able to serve other grieving families by donating little diapers and hats, and releasing balloons or lanterns, and eating cupcakes, whatever works for us. Whether my emotions will cooperate is another story, I surely wish we were planning a real first birthday party and taking messy cake pictures instead of visiting a cemetery, but there it is.

Thank you all for being so supportive and letting me try to explain my feelings.I know many of you deal with your own trials, each is different,each reaction is different. This is just my experience. I am grateful for both these babies and always thankful I have my 4 beautiful girls and the opportunity to be a mom, no matter what.