A New Outlook

So, we had a barbeque, ate homemade ice cream while watching a funny old movie, and then headed over to my parent's for fireworks. Picture, if you will, 8 adults and 5 kids sitting comfortably in a driveway while fireworks are lit in the parking lot about 30 feet away. We were all enjoying ourselves, oohing and ahhing at the fountains and keeping our distance so no one got hurt. Then, for the grand finale, we had two aerials to enjoy. We all moved away from the car port, so we could see better and my wonderful husband lit the first aerial about 100 feet away from all of us.
It was amazing, but the second had twice as many aerials and we were all excited. Three of the kids were standing by the car, which was in the parking lot, but they were still 100 feet away. I was holding the baby next to my Great Aunt and Uncle by the fence that separated us from the parking lot. My dad and my two-year-old were sitting in the golf cart just next to us, and I'm not sure where my mom and two sisters were.
My husband lit the second aerial and then moved to safety. The first two or three exploded into the air and then I felt a 60 mph baseball (it could possibly have been going much faster) nail me on my big toe. I was so surprised by this that I looked down and then it exploded. I looked to my right to see my Great Aunt and Uncle surrounded by flames and then turned to my left to see another explosion in the golf cart. My Great Aunt got the flames out that surrounded them by stomping on them and all I could think to do was to get away from it. I yelled for everyone to run and heard someone yell for my two-year-old. As I looked to my left again, while I was high- tailing it, I noticed the flames in the golf cart and my sister helping my dad out and my dad handed my two-year-old, who was surrounded by fire, off to safety. My dad, I believe it was, was yelling for the hose and we had a bucket of water but I, for the life of me, couldn't remember where it had been put. I turned the hose on and the flames were extinguished.
What happens next is a miracle. There's really no other word for it, because all of us, as we gathered after what should have been an enormous tragedy, were fine. I have a bruised toe and a 1st degree burn on my upper lip, my dad will probably have a bruise on his leg where the "baseball" hit him, and our two-year-old has a couple small 1st degree burns, about 5 small 2nd degree burns, and one small 3rd degree burn. And all of his burns are below his belly button, besides one on his hand. ( I make it sound like no big deal, but he was pretty upset until the Tylenol we gave him started working.)
My dad's pants were burned, but he wasn't burned at all. My one sister's flip flop was melted apart, but she wasn't burned, either. And my Great Aunt and Uncle weren't harmed at all. What's more amazing is that the three kids in front of the car and the baby in my arms weren't hurt at all.
After we got home, I made sure the kids were all okay and then gathered them together to express to them what a miracle we had been a part of. I told them that Heavenly Father protected us and that it could, and should, have been much, much worse. They were all pretty worried about their little brother, but realize now that he will be okay.
My dad and husband gave our little guy a blessing and we're going to take him to the doctor first thing in the morning (we figured we'd be waiting at the ER until 8am anyway). I feel confident that he is going to be fine and that he's been saved for a great purpose.
I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father protected my family tonight. This could have been such an awful experience, but has turned into a faith-building experience instead. I feel so blessed to be going to bed with all my children and husband asleep safely in bed. I hope I never forget this moment and that I cherish my life and the lives of each member of my family as I never have before. Thank you Heavenly Father for this enormous miracle!!

Jeepers Creepers

How do you start a post when it's been MONTHS since your last one? Just like that, I guess.
So, my man has been out of town since Sunday and it's been especially rough, for some reason. He and I have spent a fairly massive amount of our married lives apart, so you'd think a week would be no biggie, but it kind of has been. You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours"? Well, Monday it really poured. I had serious "mommy meltdown", but thankfully it only lasted a day. Unfortunately, S.J. will probably remember it until he dies. So I'll probably spend the rest of my life apologizing for my incredibly imperfect self and hope that someday he forgives me for being "the worst mom ever". Amidst my imperfection, S.J. said, "If you act like that, no one will want to be your kid." I couldn't have said it better myself.
It has made me ever thankful for my wonderful husband who is incredibly swamped with school and work, but takes time to listen to me rant and even comes to my rescue, or the kids rescue, whichever the case may be. He's much more patient than I and incredibly unselfish. I don't know how I make it through these trips without him, but I think it's Heavenly Father's way of helping me appreciate him just a little more.
I've been watching 3 kids every day now since just before school started and I think it's been really good prep. for me, because we found out a couple months ago that I'm expecting our 5th. (Did I just say FIFTH???) I guess that maybe after 3 extras, 1 will seem like cake? Is that even possible? To say that I'm scared would be an understatement, but I am excited, too. I'm not a fan of the preg. part, but I guess it is a means to an end. ALL the kids are hoping for a girl. Isaac told me we have enough boys in our family. I hope he'll be okay when it's a boy.

Too Little, Too Late

Audrey had her gymnastics meet tonight at 8 (super late for us Taylors), so we dragged all the kids out and watched her smile and perform so proudly. She really did have a good time and it was fun to see all that she learned over the past few months. She doesn't often to get to be the center of attention, so I think that was really good for her.
It was hard for Spencer, Jr. to let his little sister be the center of attention, though. He told my mother-in-law as he sat down that he could do everything these girls were about to do and made sure Audrey knew that her metal wasn't real like his. How do you get kids to be uncompetitive? I just don't know.
So, we got home around 8:40 and the kids just barely went to sleep about 30 minutes ago. Late nights always make for fun mornings, so wish me luck. It's times like these when I'm tempted to just let them sleep. The less chaotic day is motivation, though. So, school it is!

A Quickie

Yesterday was a funny kid day. Isaac and Audrey were both in our bed yesterday morning and Audrey was climbing over Isaac to get to me. She had almost made it without incident, which is really something with Audrey, when Isaac yelled out, "Audrey, you on my toe and it has a tummy ache." Audrey was disgusted at his ignorance and was quick to let him know that our toes to not, in fact, have tummies.
Audrey had an assembly at school about the flag and Betsy Ross made a special appearance. Apparently she falls under the same category as Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny. I told her to tell Spencer who showed up and she replied, with all the confidence in the world, " Butts Rusty." She gets really upset if she sees you laugh at her, so I had to try to hide it.
Kids make life funny. That's for sure.

Nervous Tick

We had our RS birthday party tonight and I was asked to sing a solo, which makes me so nervous, but it really was a great experience. It has, however started me thinking about nerves. Why do we get nervous? I practiced the song I sang at least once a day for about a week, knew all the words and the notes I was to sing, but I was still a pile of the shakes. It took all the courage I had in me to get up in front of those sisters tonight. It's obviously insecurity and a fear of failure. So I have to wonder, how much different would my life be if I were brave? I don't think I'll ever know the answer to that, but, and this will sound strange, I'm thankful for my nerves. They keep me humble and help me appreciate the fact that I can't do much of anything on my own. It's blessings like the tummy flips that help me remember Heavenly Father's hand in my life. I never pray so hard as when I have to get up in front of other people. So, thank Heaven for my insecurities.
I'll end with some kid moments. Spencer asked how my song went and I told him I went squeaky a couple times to which Audrey replied, "Well, didn't you practice?!" Why didn't I think of that? Isaac was out in the office with Spencer yesterday and asked, "Dad, wayw is my bite?"(where is my bike?) He looked around for a minute and then said, "Oh, I sidin on it." And then he giggled as only an Isaac can. Thanks for kids that keep life funny.

Better Late...

I so wish I had remembered to blog last night, because our Family Home Evening was one for the books and there's no way I'm going to remember it all now that an entire day has passed. I'm going to try, though.
Picture if you will Isaac running around like a crazy man, Spencer, Jr. asleep on his daddy's lap, and Audrey drawing pictures of, who knows what, while sitting next to me. Fortunately, after we sang and prayed, things calmed down a bit. We talked about Moses and the burning bush and there were several good comments made after I asked what they thought Jesus came to tell Moses. None of which I can remember now. Spencer wrote them all down since he's giving a talk about how our family is applying the ward goals, but he's downstairs trying to get the kids to stay in bed.
I've also had some great Audrey moments over the past few days that I've forgotten to write about. We've started locking our door at night, because we somehow end up with 2 extra bodies in our bed. Well, tonight Audrey and Isaac came back upstairs while I was folding laundry and since Spencer was at Mutual, I had the door open. Audrey volunteered to put her clothes away, but she wanted to make sure she'd be able to get back in, so she made me "pinky squared." I'm pretty sure that means more than your typical pinky swear.
She was doing something a couple days ago and wanted to make sure that her "nickles" weren't going to get scraped up.
And finally, she has made up her own language. She was talking to me yesterday and threw some word in to the conversation that I had never heard before. I asked her what it meant and, without hesitation, she had a definition. Since then, she's been throwing all sorts of crazy words around. She makes me laugh, that's for sure. She makes me cry, too, but I'm trying to focus on the good and there's definitely plenty of it.

KaBlam!!!

So, I've obviously been a slacker the past couple days. In my defense, it has been a little crazy, though. You see, I'm a little bit, or a lotta bit, of a dork.
Spencer had Friday off, so we spent most of the morning running around Provo getting things for his Klondike camp out and the finishings of our dining room. I dropped him off at home around 11:30 so he could get his math final finished up and I headed to Orem to drop some food off for my sister's work party and pick Audrey's glasses up. After we picked the glasses up, Audrey and Isaac were begging to get some food from my sister, so I obliged. While they were in getting grub, I waited in the parking lot in a spot reserved for someone else, but was assured by my sister that it would be fine since it was Friday and they weren't supposed to be working that day. As I waited, a car pulled out across the parking lot and since I was paranoid, I went to park in the spot they pulled out of. Just as I turned the car off, my sister came out with the kids. I was very careful not to hit the car next me, got to where I could see the kids clearly, and began waving excitedly toward them. The next thing I knew, I had slammed into a cement barrier. So, I backed up and my entire bumper fell off. That's right, the whole thing. To top it all off, many of my sister's co-workers came out to check it out. Not my brightest shining moment.
Now, I've gone over this moment several times in my head. How are you in such a place that you don't see a cement barrier.? Looking back, I still have no answer. A few funny kid moments have come from it, though. Audrey and Isaac saw the whole thing, so as I was telling another sister about it, Audrey became very animated as she reinacted the accident. There's no way I could adequately retell as she did, so just use your imagination.
On the way home, Audrey said 3 or 4 times, "Mom, I'm so sorry that happened." To which I replied, "Oh, Audrey, it's okay. It's not your fault." And she said, "Oh, I know. But, I'm still sorry you did that." The next words out of her mouth were, "Mom, I bet the people in their cars are embarrassed by our car." Yes, Audrey, I'm sure they were. I know I was. And when I picked Spencer, Jr. up from school, he looked at the car and said with a laugh, "Wow, mom! That's a bad one." Yes son, it is. It guess they know more now than ever just how human their mom is.
I missed church again today since Isaac and Michael are both sick, but hopefully all the kids will be well by next week, so I can become active again. Spencer did say it was pretty quiet since he and Jr. were the only two there. I'm glad one of us had some peace. :)

Do My Best

When I got the calling to be the Bear Asst. last July, I was super intimidated. First of all, I have never been a scout, surprising, I know, so I had no idea what a Bear even was. The only things I know about scouts were learned from going to Pack Meetings with my brothers. (Who pays attention then?) Anyway, the ward boundaries changed in November and I was suddenly the Bear Leader. Whoa!!!
Well, I'm finally getting the hang of it and am liking it way more than I thought I would. We had Pack Meeting tonight and it was pretty stinkin' fun. We got to make paper airplanes, yell a lot, and watch grown men try to whistle with crackers in their mouths. What other calling in the church is there that allows you to act like an 8-10 year old kid and get away with it? So, even though I was scared at first, I'm really liking it and the challenges it brings.

There's No Place Like Home

When Spencer and I lived in WA and AZ and would come to UT for a visit, I would always refer to it as home, because I think home is where your family is. Of course it was nice to feel adult and live on our own, but I'm so thankful to be back HOME!!
As I mentioned in my last post, Audrey is really sick. She was up most of the night last night with a pretty high temp. and woke up this morning throwing up. She was so sweet last night, though. She kept telling me between groans that she loved me and even threw out one time that I am a star! Pretty cute, right?!
As I was getting out of bed way too early this morning, she asked where I was going. As I told her, she begged me not to go. "Please mommy, please stay here with me." I should add here that Spencer ended up on the floor, because I was sandwiched between Audrey and Isaac, so he was the bear that fell out when we all rolled over. Anyway, Audrey was so hot and I felt like a water bed exploded all over me, but I just couldn't resist her request. About an hour later, the barfing began. She threw up probably 5 times in 2 hours. This may sound strange at first, but I'm really thankful it was Audrey with the barfs, because she will do everything in her power to make it to the toilet, so we didn't have one mess to clean up. (Ah, the simple pleasures.) I don't know how she has such great control.
I got her in to the doctor at 10 and found out that she has an ear infection and a virus. The ear infection is causing the fever and the virus is making her throw up. Thank heaven for medicine, though, because she managed to keep the antibiotic and the Motrin down and has been a different kid since her fever broke at about 3 this afternoon. She was like a kid in a candy store at dinner. I don't remember her ever eating like that. Even after dinner was over, she raided the fridge for all the veggies she could find. Veggies? What 5 year old scours the fridge for veggies?
Amidst all this, Spencer's mom called, a couple of my sisters called, and my mom stopped by to see how she was doing. And to top it all off, my mom took Isaac home with her, so I could get the kitchen clean with Audreys' help. (Spencer is at BYU tonight.) It's such a blessing to be home again! (Hence, the title.) It makes me wonder how I ever got by in AZ while Spencer traveled so much. We had great friends that would sometimes call and invite us over and my amazing parents drove the 14 hours at a moments notice once when I was having a pregnant moment, but nothing compares to being just down the street. It's one of those blessings amidst a trial. One of the tender mercies. I'm thankful that Heavenly Father sent my family to be my guardian angels today. What would I ever do without them?!

Kids, kids, kids, and more kids!!

So, Audrey is still sick. In fact she's gotten worse as the day has progressed. I'm pretty sure it's an ear ache/cold, but boy, oh boy, is she grumpy and super whiny!! She's had a fever most of the day and just been miserable. She's spent most of the day just laying around, which got to her at about 10 this morning. I really feel for her, but this past hour has been one for the books. She won't go to bed, because she doesn't see the point since she won't be going to school tomorrow.
In the meantime, Isaac is up as well. He doesn't ever like to go to bed (when do we grow out of that?) so he does everything he can think of to get out of it. He even prays that we'll let him sleep in our bed. He must have a lot of faith, too, because he ends up there way more than he does his own bed. Hopefully that won't last much longer, either.
Anyway, Isaac potty trained a couple months ago, but we haven't quite gotten the unders back on after the deed is done, so he runs around commando quite often. He's been doing this tonight since I was putting laundry away and trying to get Audrey and Spencer to bed, so his nudity was my last priority. Well, that sent Audrey over the edge. She says, in her best disgusted voice, "Isaac, go get dressed. You are sicking me out." To which Isaac replies, "No I not."
This conversation continued for a few minutes until I finally helped Isaac get the Superhero Squad back on.
It's a really good thing this comic relief came when it did, too, because I was nearing the breaking point. You know that point, when you've asked a child to do the same thing at least 9 or 10 times, but all your really doing it exercising your vocal chords. With all that vocal exercise I do every day, I should be the worlds greatest opera singer.
Heavenly Father must really love my kids, because if it hadn't been for all the sicking out around here, there could have been real trouble.

Super Slacker

I've been feeling extra guilty for not blogging more often. (Can I say more often when it's been too long to remember my last post?) Audrey has a cold, so we stayed home from church today and one of our Sabbath activities was to watch Mormon Messages. One of them was President Eyring talking about writing in his journal every day no matter what. If an apostle who is surely busier than I am can take the time, then I certainly have no excuse. These are the times in my life that I'm sure I'll look back on and smile. (People in the grocery store remind me of this often.) Even though there are days like today when I'd like to cry, hopefully they'll be memories I can laugh at later.
Isn't it amazing how quickly life changes? Just a few months ago, I was playing Army wife on my own and now Spencer is home all day, every day. How lucky am I?! I hope to never take him for granted. He is such an amazing man and I don't know how I ever got along without him. Hopefully I'll never have to find out again, because I know which I like better. Being a "single parent" is the pits!!
So, here is the beginning of my being a good blogger. I was going to say again, but I just couldn't feel good about that. One day at a time, right?!

Zucchinis in A Defected Grave

Today has been a particularly funny kid day. Each one of the kids, with the exception of Michael, of course, has had their "Kids Say the Darndest Thing" moment. I'll start with Audrey, because her's was the funniest, I think.

She and Mom were sitting downstairs talking and Audrey says, "Grandma, I can't wear Zucchinis. When I was at Seven Peaks, my Zucchini gave me a rash." To make this even more funny, I wasn't sure at first what they were talking about and it wasn't until hours later that I got the joke. Also, Audrey was not amused and got quite upset that we were laughing, so we have to do it secretly.

Then, just after Spencer, Jr. got out of the bath and got dressed, he walked into the Kitchen and said, "Mom, I think the bath has made my foot defected." He thought it was pretty rude that we were laughing about it.

About an hour later, Spencer, Jr. was sitting at the table reading the "Friend" when Audrey walked in and looked over his shoulder at "Our Creative Friends." Audrey asked Spencer, Jr., "Are you going to draw a picture of you and dad?" To which he replied, very matter-of-factly, "Audrey, that's a picture of Adam and Even in the Sacred Grave." I had to leave so I could laugh.

Thanks for kids that bring a whole lot of comedy to life!!

This One's For You!!

I'm doing this just for you, Amanda. :) I started from the day he was born up until now, so you'd feel like you were here. Did it work?

Catch Up!

Apparently I've used this title before, which is a good indicator that I don't blog nearly enough. I guess once a month is better than not at all. I have finally uploaded pictures to my computer, though, so I can use those. That is no longer an excuse of mine but I'm sure I can think of some others.
The other day was Audrey's 5th birthday. I can hardly believe she's 5 already, but she reminds me often and I sometimes wonder if she's a teenager already. (I'm thankful she isn't.) Unfortunately, Spencer, Jr. came home from the ranch on Wednesday with the stomach flu and passed it on to Isaac and Audrey. So, lucky for Audrey, she had the flu on her birthday, so we celebrated a day late. She had a good attitude about it, but reminded me this morning that it was not as good as it could have been because there were no balloons. I guess I'll have to work on that for next year.
We've been having some fun in the backyard with the kiddie pool and the slip 'n slide. Who even knew that those two things combined could be so much fun?! It's been nice being at my parents for the summer since their backyard is so big. The kids love it and I love that they love it. It's a fun party place.
Spencer only has 4-6 weeks left in Iraq. That could always change, but that's just part of Army life. Nothing is set in stone. I think one thing the Army has taught me is to be flexible. Maybe someday I'll apply that knowledge.
I become more and more thankful for my wonderful husband as time passes and realize just how much he does for me and our family. I'm thankful for his unselfishness and positive attitude throughout it all. He's a great example and I truly admire the wonderful man he is. He had quite a scare this past week on a helicopter, so I'm extra thankful that he is safe. Heavenly Father obviously has lessons for us to learn.

Finally!!

I can't believe I've been such a slacker! Has it really been 3 months?! Part of the reason I've been such a slacker is because I don't have the chord that hooks my camera up to my computer, so I haven't gotten the pics. from my camera FOREVER!! I suppose I could also use the excuse that we've had a baby, moved, are buying a house, sending my husband off to Iraq, and I'm just now beginning to feel settled at the parent's house. Life is definitely busy, but good.
One of the many benefits of having kids is that it helps the time go quickly while Spencer is in Iraq. They certainly keep me and everyone else busy. At this very moment, Audrey and Isaac are playing skydive into the playpen, and Spencer is showing Michael his ScoobyDoo shirt. There's yelling and screaming, but I am grateful that at the moment it's happy screaming and no one is hurting anyone else. Ahh, the simple pleasures in life.
Having your husband deploy puts a lot of things in perspective. First of all, it makes me appreciate so much more all that he does for our family. I'm completely exhausted at the end of every day which makes for a great night sleep, but Spencer was always the one to get up with the kids. I miss having him home for lunch every day, talking late at night during the quiet, calling him whenever I want, and watching him play with the kids. He's such a wonderful dad and does so much for our family. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining, because it's these times that I learn the most about myself and help me appreciate all I can do with the help of our Heavenly Father. I'm thankful to have these experiences that cause me to grow in ways that I otherwise wouldn't.
It also brings me closer to the kids. Especially since Spencer, Jr. is on Summer break. I love seeing them play and learn together. They usually play really well together and I'm thankful I get to see that. It's been especially fun the past few days, because their cousins were here. They had a lot of fun with them. Audrey loved it the most, because she doesn't get to play with other girls very often, so she thought she was in Heaven for 3 whole days. She got her nails done, did some crafty things, and really just had a great time. She's excited tonight to go to their dance competition. In fact, she's been talking about it all morning.
I'm thankful for the distraction kids bring. They make me laugh a lot and teach me about what is most important. Being a mom is a HUGE blessing!!

A Little of This, A Little of That

That's right, folks. I still haven't had Bruno. Spencer got to go with me to the doctor yesterday, which was good, because I think he's just about as crazy I am waiting for this little guy. Apparently when you're at 39 weeks, they no longer give you a choice about whether or not you get checked. So, the grand total is... (drum roll please) I'm at 2-3 cm and 50%. The baby is still really squirmy, so we could have a little while yet, but at least he's still doing well.
We've tried a few things to induce labor. The other night Spencer and I took a jog around our little circle. I'd been having contractions for about 3 hours, so we thought that would help. (In case you were wondering, it didn't.) Tonight, we're going to drive up the canyon with our bikes and I'm going to ride back down. (Just kidding. I think I could probably make it on AFHV if I tried, though.)
Honestly, though, even if he's late, it's fine. Spring Break is the week after next, so if he waited until then, we'd all be home together since Spencer, Jr. has school off and Spencer, Sr. gets a week off work after I have the baby. (Thanks to the Army for that one.)
So, Bruno, there's no rush. When you come, you come and we'll all be thankful.
Really quickly, I have a funny Audrey moment from last night. To start, though, Isaac's favorite movie is Monsters Inc. You could say he's obsessed with it. He has to watch it at least once a day and since Audrey is home with him, she usually ends up watching it, too. Well, last night as we were getting the kids ready for bed, I could hear her in the hall saying, to no one in particular, "Mike Wazouski! Last night was one of the worst nights of my entire life, far none. I thought you cared about me. Soshi, I thought you liked soshi. Soshi, soshi, you think this is all about soshi." I thought I was going to die laughing. I've made her repeat it about 5 times since then. Thanks for kids that make us laugh!

Lesson Learned (I hope!)

So, since my prego blog, I've come to realize a few things. The most important is that it really doesn't matter when I have this baby. I was spoiled with the other 3, because they were all early. Not to say this one won't be, but I'm going to make it if he isn't. (I think!)
The other is that I'm not in charge and just need to be grateful for the health of this little boy and myself. I've had zero complications and, as far as we know, everything is great with our little guy. His heart rate is normal and he seems to be growing well.
While I was at the doctor today, they let me decide if I wanted to be checked or not. If you've had a kid, you know that this isn't exactly a comfortable or pleasant thing, so I opted out. I decided that it doesn't really matter if I'm dialated or not and that I'm going to be happy knowing that, eventually, I'm going to have a baby. Besides that, I'm a pansy and don't like unnecessary pain. If it let me know when the baby would be here, I probably would have been less woosy about it. PROBABLY
So, all that being said, I'm still pregnant and could quite possibly go past March 11, but if that is the case, I'll be grateful that Heavenly Father took care of me, our baby, and helped me remain sane throughout it all.
And, in case you were wondering, I wrote this blog so I can remember this attitude I have at this moment, because I guarantee I'll forget this positive moment I'm having and start complaining again. Possibly as early as tomorrow morning. :)

A Funny

I hope I can remember the details of this well enough for it to be as funny as it was at the moment. Spencer, Audrey, and I were sitting in Spencer's office (it's really our closet with a desk in it. You know, the quietest room in the house.) and Spencer jokingly pushed up on my belly and was worried that it had hurt me. I told him it actually helped relieve some of the pressure, so he said, "You just need a girdle." To which Audrey quickly replied, "No, it's a boy."

Ready to Pop

I'm at that point I get to during pregnancy when I'm feeling ready to have a baby. This, of course, doesn't mean it's going to happen any time soon. It just means I pray extra hard that it will. (Pretty wussy, huh?!) Honestly, though, I think the final weeks of pregnancy are so straining because, when the deed is done, it makes you that much more thankful to hold that baby in your arms. Who cares if you're not getting any sleep. At least you can lay whichever way you want, roll over without the earth shaking, and get out of bed without calling in the National Guard! This sounds a lot like complaining, but in all honesty, I just can't wait to get this little guy out so I can get back to some sense of normalcy. (Even though I'm not really sure what that's going to mean.)
I realize, too, that there are women that have it much worse than I do, and so, I give props to them. More than props, actually. There's a sister in our ward that has diabetes, so she has to drive and hour and a half to the doctor once a week and will have to deliver there. That means she'll have to find someone to watch her other 2 kids while she delivers and hope that everything goes smoothly, so she won't have to leave them overnight somewhere. Her husband is in the Army Band, too, so he travels a lot which could mean she'll be on her own when d-day comes.
Thank Heaven for no complications and all my wussy aches and pains.
On a less complaining note, Audrey is doing better. We can't take her outside because she coughs up a lung every time the fresh air hits her, but other than that, she's doing much better. You'd never know she was sick, actually. I don't know if it's because it's such a normal part of her life, but she doesn't complain and can always find something to do, even when she has to miss out on preschool.
I'm enjoying these final days of 3 kidedness and hope I'm up for the 4 kid challenge. We obviously know it's what Heavenly Father wants, so we're up for the challenge, because we know He'll help us along. I'm also really thankful that Spencer is around for this one. Having him home for the whole month of March will be awesome! His boss has been really great! Thank Heaven for great bosses.

Number 65

Okay so maybe it's more like six or seven but the number of times Audrey has been to the ER or urgent care is climbing rapidly. Last night we added another tick to the ER side of the stats. She woke up at about 1 this morning and was having a coughing attack. This isn't all that unusual (in fact, as I write this, she's having a pretty awful one) but her further symptoms alarmed me. I went in to give her a drink of water to help her throat as this is usually what she requests in such situations. When I tried to give it to her, she seemed delirious and wouldn't make eye contact with me. She'd pause as if to take a drink and then would either swing her head around or just fall back onto her pillow. As I was trying to figure out what was up, I placed my hand on her chest and was taken back by how rapidly her heart was beating. I placed my head on her chest and tried to count her beats per minute but honestly couldn't get an accurate count. After consulting with Jaime and looking online to learn a little more about children's heart rates, I decided we ought to take her in.
I admit I'm a bit of a fretter when it comes to my princess Audrey. Interestingly enough, when it comes to the boys I tend to be a little less compassionate for some reason. Anyway, I'm still glad I took her even though it turned out to be less of an emergency situation than I originally thought. As it turns out, it seems (the Doc didn't sound positive) she has RSV again but her oxygen levels aren't as low as last time (when she spent several days in Utah Valley RMC). The hospital staff administered a breathing treatment including some medication to help open up her airway and also x-rayed her chest which is where the diagnosis came from.
So, chalk up another adventure for Audrey. She's a little angel and was very cute through it all. She kept telling me about the differences between the doctor and nurse and asked me all sorts of questions I couldn't answer about the equipment in the room. We got home around 530 this morning. It was a good time. - SBT