Small miracles

It is a miracle that when your child calls out to you in the middle of the night, that you can hear her and go see what she needs.
It is a miracle, that when her bed and panties are all wet, you have clean, dry clothes to put on her and a warm, dry blanket to cover her up with.
It is a miracle she can walk across the hallway to a warm and clean bathroom and make sure all the pee is out for sure.
It is a miracle that you can just go downwstairs and throw all that stuff into a washing machine, that will wash it FOR you in the middle of the night.
Thank you, pioneer sisters. I really appreciate the miracles!

Herron Christmas

So we  enjoyed Christmas Eve (Josh and the girls actually ventured out into the shopping world) and Christmas Day at home. We had rice pudding again (sorry honey!) and opened one gift each on Christmas eve after our Christmas story. Then we played with our race track. It was very exciting.
Christmas day at 3 a.m I woke up and could not breathe very good and my chest hurt, so finally I woke Josh up and my mom said to go to the ER. So we woke up our wonderful neighbor to sit here with the girls and we went off in the cold early morning.
Apprently I am do not have anything major wrong with me. (Nice to know). We got home around 6:30 and Josh decided to wake up the girls and start the party! We have it on video, so one day maybe I will figure out how to get it on here. Anyway....
A good time was had by all and there were LOTS of excited screaming and yelling. We went off to church for just an hour and I played the organ and Josh conducted.   Then we packed up and headed off to the Mortensen house for the Herron party...

Danell, as always, was the hostess-with-the-mostest, serving excellent meals, treats and planning fun fun games and adventures for all the kiddos. Thanks Danell!
Our girls got more fairy/princess activities AND art kits - they were SUPER happy.

 Josh taught the boys how to play "Settlers of Catan" and was very helpful in the gingerbread house building activity and won us some great prizes!

We chatted and ate and talked and played until Ashley was practically alseep on the floor and then we came home. A great Christmas for everyone. Thank you!

The Michigan trip

We took two days to get to Michigan. Stopping for the night, laying flat to sleep and even getting to swim were delightful!

And the hotel had a great breakfast in the morning before we headed out - nice and early.
Mom got up at 2 a.m. (their time) to welcome us. Ellie woke up and wanted to stay up and chat with grandma, but apparently she fell back asleep mid-word and we all enjoyed a nice night.
Sunday at church mom got to give a talk (very nice, on gifts of the spirit) and Sara and I did a baby-wave from the back row.

The grandchildren were shown off and everyone had a nice time.

 Then we just spent the next three days playing, shopping, chatting, talking, eating, sleeping, etc. We went to see Great-Grandma Bluemlein (aka "G"):

The toys at grandma's house were awesome and kept the girls happily entertained for hours! Also, we made a gingerbread house:

Sara likes to hide from the camera:

but came out of hiding when we presented our Christmas gift, one of those boxie things that let's them get netflix, hulu, mormonchannel, etc. on their TV. She and Josh also enjoyed playing games:

Grandpa continues his decline, but was cute with the girls:

We enjoyed an early Christmas Eve dinner (with yummy rice pudding) and opened gifties!

 We left on Thursday morning and drove into Nebraska and decided to stop. The girls were excellent the whole trip. One night, they played hide-n-seek in the backseat. One would hide under her blankie and the other one would count and then find her. This occupied like 30 minutes!

We got home early Friday evening and everyone enjoyed a great sleep in their own beds!

In Michigan

We are on the way home after a delightful visit with the Bluemleins. We are super fancy, blogging while driving in the car. I am going to work hard on my cross stitch. Happy week before Christmas.

Also,

Also, I got a flu shot yesterday and feel yucky from that. Went to see Heather and VERY popular Bab Ben. Did some shopping. Talked lots. Napped! Heather, you are a great seester!
Tomorrow I am washing, packing, etc. We are picking Ellie up from school and leaving for Michigan right after that. Happy Christmas!
When we were little, this was the slogan for my birth-state and I am sure we sang it like a billion times on our childhood trips to visit grandma and relatives. Remember the time we came home with the lion baby walker on top of the car?

Here is what I have...

Today I finally went back to the doctor about my on-going stomach pain and found out that I have these:

They are called HBP - or the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. Well yah for simple blood tests!
Now I have these drugs that consist of FOUR pills to swallow twice a day for the next 14 days ("many people say their mouth tastes like metal, just so you know," said the helpful pharmacy guy). And it was CRAZY expensive (even with the insurance paying $350).
Stomach ulcers were long thought to be caused by stress (check), Type A personality (used to be, check). But one day a researcher rationalized that uclers might be caused by bugs. So he GAVE himself a stomach ucler and then CURED it. He won a Noble Prize.
Also, my whole face is turning brown (well sort of), so the nice dermatologist gave me a cream to lighten all that sun-damage from my youth. WEAR SUNSCREEN! And did you know that in the last year, all the sunscreen products have (had to) become more accuate in their labeling? You can no longer call it "water proof" or "water resistant" (because it is not) or stuff like that. Truth in advertising!
See how smart I got today? I think I need a nap now.

Our 5-kid weekend

We were asked to be foster respite for this weekend (Friday noon to Monday morning). It's sort of like babysitting, only for foster kids. We welcomed N, T and baby J on Friday. It has not been too bad. I was a little crazy after bathing, hair-washing, nail-trimming, feeding, keeping alive, etc three extra kiddos on Sunday morning all by myself. But it was ok.
Josh was super cute helping out with 2-month-old J. Since we are  a private blog, here is a picture:

Here are the 27 bags I needed for church: music, Primary, entertainment 1, 2, 3, diaper bag.  Crazy.

We are looking forward to next week. Josh called me from work last week and said we needed to go to Michigan to see my parents. We are thinking of leaving Friday after school. Yah adventures!

Grief and grace

Monday night I found out my dearest Logan friend, Lori, had delivered a stillborn girl, born in October.
I immediately called her and we went up today for ice cream, tears and bonding. Lori and I met (with our spouses) at adoption classes. Then, randomly, we met one day in the Logan library while looking at books and the years have led us into a long, very close relationship.

She and her wonderful husband, Ryan, had a beautiful baby girl about a year before we adopted Ellie. Then about four years later, they had a fabulous little boy. Lori was one of the loudest yelling "Hurrah!" when we got Ellie (and Ashley).

They had been very joyfully anticipating this child, when they found out she had died at about 20 weeks. They were able to have a funeral, and wonderful people took photos and gave them keepsakes of their precious RuthAnn.

Today I got to see all the keepsakes and visit the gravesite. What a precious experience. I am so sad I had to share it with my friend. She is a wonderful woman. And she is so (completely understandably) sad. That is heartbreak.

We talked about grief. She has noticed that her older friends are all well acquainted with grief and how to help her, but that none of her younger friends know what to say. So that has made me think. As we get older, is it good that we know more about grief? And is that exchanged with an equal helping of grace?

And the other thing that I loved was how EVERY woman that I mentioned it too was SO supportive. I mentioned we were going up to Logan to comfort a friend who lost a baby, one woman took FIVE minutes to give her condolences and sympathy to Lori. And even my friends here in Tooele were so concerned and loving. We women need to support each other like that all the time! THAT is sisterhood.

Anyway, if you want to send up some prayers for the Wood family and their angel RuthAnn, that would be great. And you can be in my sister-hood.

Fun and busy days

Wow, I forgot how fun it is to be party central! We had lots of friends over yesterday and (since I scored a GREAT deal on the required-two-packs-of-play-dough-for-the-year at the Black Friday sales) we opened up the last of last years play dough supply:

 But the most exciting thing happened yesterday!!
We paid off the van!! (aka Fancy Nancy)!!!!!!!!!!

 Welcome home Fancy Nancy!!!

 Also, today being our Lazy Day, Ashley wanted to dress up for her crepes-for-breakfast:

And Ellie worked hard on her FOUR pages of 1st grade math. Go Ellie!

Oh yah, while I am blogging...I have been stocking the fresh turkeys at Maceys. (Because, really, who doens't LOVE turkey sandwiches??? Communists, that's who). And yesterday night, they were on sale! So I bought a 30-pounder!

It barely fits in the oven. Come over around 6 for all the turkey you can eat!!!

And Monday we partied even more!

Well, a nice family-type of party - with our friends with Korths! We went to free day at the aquarium, and then the SLC library, which we all LOVE. Here are some pictures:

Then, Monday night after a VERY short Family Night (Ashley wanted to go to bed- so we set up part of the Navatity set), Josh fixed the toilet in the laundry room! It has not been flushing/filling well for quite some time. Josh took it off and found out the seal was totally smushed (which means no nice hole for everything to drain down).

And he totally got a new one and put it all back. You are wonderful sweetie!

Then my family came to play

So we shopped a bit on Friday, and went to the Logan Temple. Then we came home and on Saturday, we set up the tree and got holiday-ee!

Stop by and I will light the pine-y smell-y candle for you! That afternoon, the Lewis family stopped by on their way back from the Idaho-mecca.
Then Holly and Matt came by to play on Sunday!
Oh, let me mention here that on Saturday night I was running up to help  Ash stop coughing and tripped on the little stairs and wacked (REALLY HARD) my hand against the wood banister. So my two left pointer and next to it fingers/knuckles were all bruised and ouchy.

Then on Sunday morning, because my fingers were slow, I totally closed the curling iron on my left thumb. OUCH. Let's just say that organ playing on Sunday was painful at best (in many different ways) and several people mocked the huge wet spot on my skirt due to my leaking ice-pack. I had ice on the thumb for like 10 hours and today it is WAY better! And it is generally way way better today.
Baby Ben, was of course, a HUGE hit. Aunt  Holly explained "over stimulation" to the girls (can you see why?) I heard he slept real good last night:

 And Emma was as cute as ever. Her hair is getting so LONG!

Well I am tired. I will have to write about Monday tomorrow. Have a nice sleep!