A Hard Week

It's been a hard week. My mother-in-law is doing very poorly. Her health has been rapidly declining over the past few weeks. She was diagnosed with a rare lung disease called bronciolitis obliterans over two months ago, but the doctors are now testing her to see if she has cancer since she hasn't been responding to the lung treatment. We are hoping and praying that her doctors will find a way to cure her, but the outlook is looking pretty grim now. My father-in-law came home from the hospital a few minutes ago and told me that Margaret had a few minor heart attacks during the night. It seems as if Margaret's body is giving up.

It's hard trying to stay focused on the positive at this time. There's so much sadness involved. But I'm also grateful for the happy little moments mixed in with the hard times. I am very thankful that Lizzy is here with us. She balances out the difficult times by adding some cuteness and sweetness to cheer us up. She truly is a little bundle of joy. I am also thankful for Brad's family. There's so much comfort knowing that we can rely on each other and lean on each other when we need to. I feel very blessed to be a part of this family. I am also very thankful for all the support we've received from neighbors, friends, and fellow church members. My heart is filled with gratitude for all of the prayers given in Margaret's behalf.

I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. I know that He will comfort us during this difficult time. I know that He wants us to put our trust in Him no matter what happens. We need to have faith that He knows what's best for us and that He knows what's best for Margaret.

Remembering Christmas 2009

Here are a few snapshots of Christmas this year. We had a very fun time together as a family. It was very enjoyable watching Lizzy play with wrapping paper and wear her cute little reindeer hat. We received so many presents and treats from loved ones and friends. Santa brought us nice gifts, too, our favorite being a brand new 42 inch screen TV. The only thing that could have made Christmas better was having Margaret home with us. We missed her very much.

The Highlight of My Day: December 2009

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in December:

Tue 12/1/09: I got some visiting teaching done on the first day of the month! Yay me!

Wed 12/2/09: I talked to an old acquaintance from Long Beach today. He's now the Walmart greeter at the superstore near my home.

Thu 12/3/09: Scott and I went to a combined YM/YW activity tonight. I'm happy he's 12 and can come with me to activities.

Fri 12/4/09: Brad and I went to Del Sol's Christmas party at the "Energy Solutions Center." I saw my very first Jazz Game, and Brad got to go down on the floor at Half-time and low-five all the Jazz players while they entered the court.

Sat 12/5/09: Brad treated me to In-N-Out for lunch today. 'Twas yummy! It's neat finally having In-N-Out in Utah now.

Sun 12/6/09: Lizzy wore her pretty formal dress from Aunt Rachel to church today. It was her first time. She looked so adorable!

Mon 12/7/09: Hot chocolate, marshmellows, a glowing fire, and good company make a great Family Home Evening night!

Tue 12/8/09: Today we had a huge snowstorm! It's very, very cold outside-- in the single digits.

Wed 12/9/09: Lizzy is six months old today! Tonight we took her to Walmart to get her picture taken.

Thu 12/10/09: We got a large sum of past due money in our bank account this morning. Thank you ORS.

Fri 12/11/09: Organized the house for my Mommy! She arrived at the SLC airport after midnight. I went to the airport with Brad to pick her up.

Sat 12/12/09: Spent the day with my mother. She had so much fun with little Lizzy, and Lizzy loved her, too. Brad and I took her out to lunch at Applebees.

Sun 12/13/09: Mom came with us to church today. She held Lizzy the entire time. I am going to miss having her here.

Mon 12/14/09: I picked up Susie today from the airport! Tonight for FHE we went to the library then over to Bruce and Loralee's house to visit. I love having my sister here!

Tue 12/15/09: Susie and I drove over to Brad's work and had lunch with him. In the evening we took Susie and the kids to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. Susie's friend Michelle was there with her family.

Wed 12/16/09: Susie went to her interview at the University of Utah. I hope they accept her! It would be great if she could go to medical school in Utah.

Thu 12/17/09: I went to Scott's and Emma's Christmas Program at their school this afternoon. Lizzy came, too. In the evening, Scott and I went to the YM/YW Christmas dinner and etiquette night activity.

Fri 12/18/09: Made "lemons out of lemonade" and got done a whole bunch of Christmas shopping this morning! It was nice to finally have some time to do it.

Sat 12/19/09: Finally got to see New Moon tonight! Thanks Marilyn and James for watching the sleeping baby.

Sun 12/20/09: Today we had our annual Christmas story reading during Young Womens.

Mon 12/21/09: I got done a LOT of shopping today-- both Christmas shopping and practical every-day shopping. In the evening Brad and I went to Sam's Club and stocked up on lots of food.

Tue 12/22/09: Lizzy is starting to sit up without help! She's getting so big! Tonight I made cookies for Brad to deliver to his home teaching families. We also talked to Scott and Emma on the phone, which was nice. We miss them and love them.

Wed 12/23/09: We finally got around to passing out Christmas cards to some of our neighbors. It's nice not having to worry about that anymore.

Thu 12/24/09: Today was Christmas Eve. Brad only went to work for a couple hours, then he came home and spent the afternoon with me and Lizzy. Neighbors brought us goodies all day long, and we got packages in the mail, too, which was very nice. I made a big ham dinner and Marilyn brought the traditional Christmas cake.

Fri 12/25/09: Brad and I made a big breakfast today, then we had a quiet morning waiting for the kids to come home. When the kids arrived we opened up presents and emptied our Christmas stockings. In the mid afternoon the cousins came over and we spent the rest of the holiday with them.

Sat 12/26/09: Tonight we went over to Bruce and Loralee's house and had an enjoyable time playing Loralee's homemade game called "Realitivity."

Sun 12/27/09: I dressed up Lizzy today in green and purple-- my two favorite colors-- and she looked adorable! She is such a beautiful, happy baby.

Mon 12/28/09: Brad and I watched Avatar tonight. It was an amazing movie! LOVED IT!

Tue 12/29/09: We took Brandon, Ryan, and Scott to Burger King for lunch today. Then we stopped and hung out with Bruce and Loralee while swapping kids.

Wed 12/30/09: I had an enjoyable evening with Brad tonight. We discussed his meeting and talked about finances. He got paid a day early, which was nice.

Thu 12/31/09: I took Emma and Scott to see "Princess and the Frog" for New Years Eve. Later in the evening we ate French toast and bacon, then we played Tomb Raider on the PS2 until it got late. We were awake for the countdown! It was the first time Scott and Emma stayed up until midnight to welcome The New Year.

My Heart is Full

My heart is filled with gratitude for the out-pour of love and support we received from so many people over the Christmas holiday. We literally had dozens of people dropping off goodies at our home, inquiring after Brad's mom, and offering to help us in any way they could. I am also thankful for all the people who have been praying for Brad's mom. She is showing signs of improvement now, which is a huge blessing. We are hoping and praying that she'll continue to improve and that she'll regain her strength. We want her whole and well again so she can come home to us as soon as possible. I'm sure that's what she wants more than anything else.

Merry Christmas!

6-Month-Old Gallery

Lizzy turned 6 months on the 9th. As part of a family tradition, we took her to get her picture taken. I thought it would be cute to make a little gallery of the kids when they got their 6 month pictures taken.
Here are the three siblings at 6 months old. Aren't they adorable?

Scott at 6 months.
March 1998

Emma at 6 months.
May 2001

Lizzy at 6 months.

December 2009

It's cute to see the resemblances between them.
And just for fun, here's a baby picture of their daddy when he was around 3 months old:

I think Lizzy looks a lot like him.

What Happened to the Poodle?

Rosie went from looking like this:

To looking like this:

What happened to the poodle?
Talk about extreme make-overs!

My Mother's Visit

My mother came to visit me during the second weekend in December. Some very nice people donated money for her to come which I greatly appreciate. It was a real treat having her here. She spent hours mothering Lizzy and spending time with her. The only time I had Lizzy to myself was when I nursed her, but even that was less often than usual, because my mom constantly asked to bottle-feed her.

It was really fun having Grandma Whitcomb here. We hope she comes again soon.

My First Turkey

I officially feel like a housewife now. I made my first turkey dinner last Sunday, right after the Thanksgiving holiday. The turkey was a gift from Brad's work. I roasted the 14 pound bird (whom I named Wilbur) all Sunday afternoon while we were at church, then I made some candied yams, corn pudding, and turkey stuffing. Brad, his parents, and I had our own little mini Thanksgiving dinner. I used the left over turkey to make a homemade soup yesterday. Emma loved it!

The Highlight of My Day: November 2009

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in November:

Sun 11/1/09: The weather is beautiful and perfect! I love the hint of crispness in the air without it being too cold. I love seeing the leaves change colors. It's gorgeous!

Mon 11/2/09: I was bad tonight and let Lizzy try a tiny bit of my ice cream. She really liked it! Her little tongue kept going in and out as if she wanted more. I only let her have a couple of licks, though. I was surprised she liked it so much.

Tue 11/3/09: I am so pleased that Scott is reading Harry Potter! He can hardly put "Order of the Phoenix" down. I think he's on page 790. He'll be done by tomorrow!

Wed 11/4/09: I had such sweet little moments with Lizzy today. At one point she and I were sitting on the couch together. She was looking at the ceiling and smiling. I was admiring how beautiful she is. I kissed her cheek. She giggled. I kissed her again. She giggled. We repeated this over and over again. I love her so much!

Thur 11/5/09: We finished reading "The Five Children and It" tonight. Scott and Emma enjoyed it very much. We'll be starting a new book shortly.

Fri 11/6/09: It was Date Night for me and Brad! We went to Jamba Juice and watched Brad's new U2 video. I got the Pumpkin Smash smoothie for the first time. Very yummy!

Sat 11/7/09: Brad and the kids did an amazing job cleaning up the living room and doing the laundry. I appreciate their help. I love my family!

Sun 11/8/09: I love how both Scott and Emma call me "Mama" now. It's my new name. :) I love it!

Mon 11/9/09: This morning I took Emma to her Speech evaluation meeting. We brought Lizzy along, and it was really sweet watching all of the ladies in the office and hallways admire how cute she is. My baby is adorable!

Tue 11/10/09: I am grateful to have a husband to lean on during hard times. We were both feeling sad tonight since Brad's mom was back in the hospital. It helped spending time together.

Wed 11/11/09: I cut Brad's hair for the first time tonight! It was my first time ever cutting a man's hair. I did a pretty good job.

Thu 11/12/09: Lizzy learned how to splash in the big bathtub today. It was so cute watching her little legs kick! Tonight was Activities Day for Emma, which I attended. When that was over, Emma came with me to Young Women in Excellence. I loved listening to the speakers talk about "Making a Marriage a Happily Ever After."

Fri 11/13/09: I exercised today! It was my first time on the treadmill in about a year. I felt so good afterward.

Sat 11/14/09: Brad and I went on a date without the baby! Hooray! We've only done that one other time so far. Today we went to the movies in a snow blizzard. I admit that I thought of the baby the whole time, but it was nice to finally be alone with Brad, too. I liked seeing all the pretty snow during our commute.

Sun 11/15/09: Tonight was tithing settlement, and both Scott and Emma came with us. Marilyn and James watched Lizzy. When we got home we had a joyous time watching "Shaun the Sheep" together.

Mon 11/16/09: We filled out "Who am I" questionnaires for FHE tonight. We also talked about modesty and the importance of keeping our bodies clean (physically and spiritually).

Tue 11/17/09: Tonight was SEP conferences at Scott's and Emma's school. They did such a great job this past term. Both of them made their AR goals, and both of them got high grades on their report cards.

Wed 11/18/09: Brad was such a sweetie today! He offered to clean the refrigerator and did a wonderful job. I have such a fantastic husband.

Thu 11/19/09: Scott and Emma came home from school early today, since they don't have school tomorrow. I love spending the extra time with them!

Fri 11/20/09: Brad took a half day off of work and we took the kids to Super Salad to celebrate Emma's 9th birthday. Happy Birthday, Emma-girl!

Sat 11/21/09: Emma had two birthday celebrations today. Her little cousins came over for lunch and we had pumpkin pie instead of cake. In the afternoon we had the rest of the family come over (minus Brad's Mom), and watched Star Trek and ate birthday cake. To top off our festive and busy Saturday, we went to the church in the evening to attend the Hill's Pie Party. That was fun!

Sun 11/22/09: Brad's mom came home from the hospital today! She'll be staying in the living room until her health improves a little more. I am so happy and so grateful that she is home and not in the hospital. My heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for answering our prayers.

Mon 11/23/09: It was great spending the day with Margaret and helping her. I've missed her so much. She means so much to me.

Tue 11/24/09: Sister Healy made us a delicious dinner tonight! She made homemade burritos with yummy white sauce and cheese. SO GOOD!

Wed 11/25/09: Have I mentioned lately how fantastic my husband is? Today he worked on cleaning and organizing the pantry. He did a wonderful job! The pantry is finally in order and there's so much more space now than before.

Thu 11/26/09: Loralee made Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year. She did a fabulous job! We had a houseful of nieces and nephews. It was nice visiting with family and having Brad's mom with us.

Fri 11/27/09: Had a marvelous evening with Bradley and the Twinkle in Springville, UT. I love romantic getaways! They remind me how much I love my husband.

Sat 11/28/09: We had a lovely morning before returning home from the hotel. Brad brought home a giant box from Best Buy to be our Christmas present this year. We also went over to the storage unit this evening and picked up some Christmas decorations.

Sun 11/29/09: I made my first turkey! Brad brought home a free 14 lb turkey from Del Sol, so I got to make a mini Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It turned out perfect!

Mon 11/30/09: The kids came home today! We had a good FHE lesson after going to the library. We talked about the media and making righteous choices when choosing what to watch, listen, and read. It's so good to have Scott and Emma back!