Celebrating 5 months of Life

So, here is our little man, all of 5 months old. How did we celebrate his 5 month birthday? With an EEG, of course. Sean has had a couple seizures over the last 2 weeks and his pediatrician ordered an EEG to figure out what was going on. So, I dropped Leah off at a friend’s house and headed down to Galveston. Naturally, the last 2 weeks has been clear and mostly dry, but the day I have to drive 40 minutes to Galveston Island the weather is dark and pouring rain. Yech.

The EEG wasn’t the most pleasant experience of Sean’s short life. The technician drew marks all around his head with a black pencil, then scrubbed them, then stuck 20 electrodes on his tiny head with glue. Poor Sean, the calmest, happiest baby you’ll meet, screamed the whole time. I have never heard him scream before and it broke my heart. Then the tech wrapped his whole head in a bandage to secure the wires in place and he looked like a sad little baby with a head injury. Not unlike my brother Nathan after he slammed through the front windshield of a car.

Of course, this was just days after Barry had his own bike accident. Barry was jealous that Nathan's accident was in the newspaper, even though Barry got a ride home in a police car.
After another hour or so we were finally done. We headed back to get Leah and stayed to visit a bit with my sweet friend and her energetic son. A couple hours later we got a call saying Sean’s doctor reviewed the test and everything was normal. As far as Brad and I can figure, the 2 times Sean has had seizures he has also been overheated. So, our goal is to keep our little guy cool. Watching my son go through a seizure is a very scary thing that I do not ever want to repeat again. Needless to say, it’s been a rough couple weeks with this worrying my mind. I am very grateful that there doesn’t seem to be anything major wrong, we just need to be careful in this Texas heat, I guess.

Short sleeved pajamas!

All in all, I’m feeling very blessed with the wonderful family I have. My husband is so in love with our children, takes such wonderful care of all of us and treats me like a queen. My daughter is happy, affectionate, and funny. My son is such a sweet, loving little guy. Our parents have been very supportive and helpful while we try not to worry too much about something we can’t control. Every squeeze, kiss, giggle and smile is a reminder of how blessed I am.

Busy Hands

If anyone is curious about what I've been up to for the last several months or so, besides giving birth and keeping my children happy and healthy, here are some of the projects I've been working on:



I actually started this cross stitch project before Sean was born, thinking I would make it for a friend. But then, as the months passed, I realized it was going to take a very long time to finish. Then I found out I was pregnant, and finished it in time for little Sean. Perfect! I started another counted cross stitch for a gift, but it will also take a while to finish. My cross stitching time is very limited.

Because I did a cross stitch and made a quilt for Leah, I felt it was only fair to also make him a quilt. My friend Sheri is an amazing quilter and helped me figure out a pattern I liked then designed it for me. It was a very good learning experience and I finished sewing it the night before Sean was born. So here’s the result:




Close up of the square patterns.

I backed Leah’s quilt with flannel, but now that we’re living in Texas I didn’t feel the need to use flannel.

Then, today, I made a new pillowcase for my body pillow. It was super quick, to my surprise. Both my children cooperated so I could whip it out. I also added more stuffing to the pillow since IKEA is stingy with their stuffing. Now I have a nice, fluffy pillow with a pretty case instead of a flat, lumpy pillow with a nasty lime green case. Such a nice change.



Today I am feeling so very grateful for my amazing sewing machine and my sweet husband who gave it to me for Mother’s Day.

Cute Excuses

I would say, "Whoops, I missed a couple months," but this little face is totally worth it.


One evening, after Leah was in bed, I was snuggling the little man and told Brad I wanted a picture because there weren't very many of me and Sean. Brad did point out that I tended to be nursing Sean whenever the camera came out, hence few pictures with me. So this was a rare moment of me being prepared, if tired and worn out, for a picture. Sean smiled at the perfect moment. He's such a good snuggler.

Leah is absolutely in love with her little brother. We heard a lot of warnings about jealousy, but Leah just loves her brother. She will talk to him, make him smile, and give him (often overwhelming) cuddles and kisses. She only gets frustrated when we limit her contact with him. Sean is patient and sweet in return. I know I have been blessed with two very sweet children.

On the news front, Leah is currently recovering from a double ear infection. Friday afternoon she woke up with a fever of 103 so I immediately called the doctor. While waiting for them to call back, we drove over to pick up Brad from work and Leah started vomiting. I dropped off Brad and Sean, and then Leah and I headed to the ER where they confirmed both ears were infected and prescribed medicine. We were there for over 2 hours and for the first hour waited in the internal waiting room by ourselves and the tv playing "Hoarders." Leah was content to lay sprawled across my chest and let me rub her back - a sure sign of illness. The girl is affectionate, but rarely cuddles for any length of time. She was a very good girl during our trip, and, I have to say, I feel very good about my housekeeping and storage abilities after watching an hour of "Hoarders."

So, that was a rough start to our weekend. Then I woke up on Saturday under the weather, so we all stayed home from church on Sunday. The thing about our apartment - we have crummy cell phone reception. So when Brad walked upstairs to get something he found he had several missed calls and voicemails. As did my phone upstairs. Turns out our bishop was frantically trying to reach us and finally left a message saying he was releasing me as 1st counselor in the Primary. He felt bad he had to do it over the phone, but I was fine with it. There was no way I was going to church that day, so it had to be done. Poor man sounded a little frazzled. And apparently we have a new primary, but I haven't a clue who's in it because my old primary president hasn't called me back. Just a little (lot) curious.

The counselor I talked to told me to take a week off so I have a feeling they already have another calling waiting for me. Brad and I are hoping that we will be able to go to Sunday school together at least once. That would be a nice change! I have loved serving the children in Primary, with all the struggles (pretty much only with adults) that come with the calling. We'll see if I keep serving in the Primary or where the Lord sends me next.

To finish, here's a couple more pictures of my excuses for not posting sooner:

And we're back

February 10, 2013. That’s a long time between posts. I really do want to be more…consistent in my blogging so here’s to a new beginning. Today my sweet husband gave an incredible talk in church. He captivated the congregation with his charm and shared his well prepared study and insight into a beautiful topic – the Savior’s love. At one point he opened his soul and spoke about a very personal and spiritually intense experience he had. I was so proud of him for sharing so much. I know his faith is deep and firmly founded in Christ, and I was so happy that he was willing to go outside his comfort zone to share his testimony with others. I was a very proud wifey.

So, Brad does this thing with Leah where he’ll shake his finger at her and say, “Don’t overdo it,” and she shakes hers back and jabbers something in Leahese. Well, as Leah and I were sitting in the congregation listening to Brad, and he started going into the story that was pretty intense, Leah suddenly started shaking her finger at him and jabbering. I could just hear her saying, “Don’t overdo it, Daddy!” I couldn’t help laughing and tried to sober up because I didn’t want to distract Brad. It was pretty funny and we couldn’t wait to tell him about it when church was finished. He couldn’t wait to tell us that the first person to grab him after the meeting ended (and she rushed over there) didn’t want to congratulate him but to give a passionate plea against us circumcising our son. Not that we had mentioned that. To anyone. Ever. Poor Brad, spiritually drained from his talk, and pretty darn hungry to boot, could only say, “Uhm. Thank you for that,” and go on his way. We’ve had some good chuckles about it.

I’m signing off since I don’t want to overdo it. Leah and Brad make sure I keep that in mind lately. I will try to be back soon, though. Really.

Newlywed!

I am married. I have a husband. I am a wife. I called Brad “Husband” and he responded with “Wife.” Then I told him that I’m getting used to saying husband, but it really throws me for a loop when he calls me “wife.” :D I love being married to my beloved. Every day I see more and more qualities that I love and admire. How blessed I am!

I am currently sitting on the couch resting from the exhausting last few weeks, trying to fight off a nasty cold, and watching Brad make dinner for me. Again. That man is tirelessly compassionate. He has been spending the last couple weeks putting our sweet little home in order. Then we get a mess of packages, presents, and I dump the last of my luggage and he quietly gets back to work cleaning and organizing while I hop off to classes. Have I mentioned how in love I am with my husband? Yeah, this is a pretty mushy post, but I think my family and friends should know how wonderful my eternal mate is. :D

Brad is the best husband, I am so blessed, so happy.

Conclusion

In my reading preparing for class, I had a hard time understanding some of what the manual was trying to explain, so I really appreciated Brother Line’s class tonight. He had some very interesting facts about the destruction of Jerusalem and dismantling of the temple in 70 AD. We were reading Joseph Smith Matthew and did some comparison to Matthew 24. I was amazed at how thoroughly the Romans sacked Jerusalem and methodically destroyed the sacred temple. To be honest, though, I’m not surprised that such a drastic event occurred; the hearts of the population were very hard. When people reject the prophets and apostles like that, the protection of the Lord is no longer theirs.

It’s always interesting to me to study apostasies and the progression that leads to the fall of civilizations. When God’s people choose to revile His servants instead of revering them, the consequences cannot be avoided. God, in His infinite love, continually tries to warn His children, but the ultimate decision is ours. I appreciated what Brother Line said about how the elect in 70 AD could be deceived; when the prophets and priesthood have been taken off the earth, confusion soon follows. God directs His people through His servants, but He will not provide that direction if it is not wanted. It is a warning to us that we should be very careful in our attitudes towards our prophets and leaders. When I hear about members of the Church criticizing the leaders, especially their General Conference addresses, I can see how dangerously close they are to the attitudes that prevailed in 70 AD and other times of apostasy. God won’t force His blessings on us, and to reject His guidance and love is the most foolish error we can make. I know pride manifests itself in many different forms, and if left untended will grow to take over more of one’s spirituality. That is why it is vital to read these accounts and carefully examines one’s own standing before the Lord.

Abrahamic Covenant

For my own personal reasons I have a deep interest in the Abrahamic Covenant, so when we studied it today, I really perked up. I got the chance to teach about it this last year when we came to the lesson in Sunday School and had a really neat experience with it. I had prepared the lesson with PowerPoint and had a video clip and everything all lined up for class, but when I went to set up, I discovered that the media wouldn’t work that day. So, I put away the projector screen and drew a chart on the board and led a discussion on the details of the covenant. We outlined what God promised to give Abraham and the responsibilities Abraham accepted on his part. The beauty of teaching that lesson was how well I really understand the different parts of the covenant because of drawing that chart. For the first time I felt a real click in my mind about the details of the covenant and how it specifically applied to me. I love studying about Abraham because I feel that the better I understand his life and relationship with God, the more included I feel as a member of his family.

I understand about the literal descendants and the need to be a literal seed of Abraham, but I also see how the adoption into the house of Israel reflects the great mercy of the Lord. He promises that we can become literal descendants when we make covenants with Him. There is an actual change that occurs with covenanting with God that enables us to partake of the Gospel fully, even as there is a very real change that occurs when we repent of our sins and use the Atonement in our lives.