Eating Fun

I am paying my children to eat.  I know it sounds ridiculous but I was done hearing non stop complaints about what was for dinner.  We have had a long standing rule that they had to have at least one bite, but the one bite rule wasn't changing anything.  Tyler and Alyssa both were as picky as ever.  They had succeeded in taking all the joy out of cooking and I had had enough.  So a couple of weeks ago I made a change.  I have a jar of $1 bills on the table.  They are still required to take at least one bite but if they choose to finish the serving that I give them then they get to take a dollar.  Amazingly it is working better than I thought it would!  I told them both that we sometimes need to eat because our bodies need nourishment, even if it isn't our most favorite thing.  Unless there is gagging and vomiting, they can eat a food that may not be their favorite.  Last night Tyler ate a casserole with a lot of veggies and rice all mixed together.  He even asked for seconds!  He has never liked to eat casserole type dishes because so many things are mixed.  He likes things pure and simple.  Alyssa has tried several different soups successfully and has been really good about finishing up her serving even if she doesn't like it all that much.  There just may be hope yet!!!!  And Jeff and I are enjoying some variety of meals again.  Now all I have to do is get Jared from gagging over a piece of hair in his mouth!  Someday, we just might all sit and eat a meal together without any complaining!

Funny Things Jared Says

Jared says some of the funniest things.

He has been sick the last few days and a stuffy nose was one of the symptoms.  He called it his "underwater nose".  "This underwater nose is driving me crazy!"

A few weeks ago, on his birthday, we were talking about how big he was getting now that he was nine years old to which he replied;  "I'm almost to the count down mom!"  He loves space and loves to count down from 10 when he launches his space ships.

Jared is so sweet and tells me that he loves me many, many times a day.  "Mom, I need to tell you something.  I love you!"

He calls a backpack a "packpack."  And Taekwondo, "twondo".

Tyler Blesses the Sacrament

Tyler blessed the sacrament for the first time yesterday.  It was strange to see him up there!  It is a tradition in our ward that the first time a new priest blesses the sacrament his father does it as well.  It was so nice to see Tyler and Jeff sitting up there together.  They both did a beautiful job!  I am so grateful for these two priesthood holders in our home.  Tyler is growing up into such a good, kind young man and it is so wonderful to see him happy and confident.  We had some rough years, but he is doing so well now.

The Week I Needed an Insta-Care in my Back Yard

This week actually took place a month ago but I just had to get it down because it was so crazy!  This will be a day by day play by play.

Saturday- Jared woke up with his left big toe huge and swollen.  He couldn't walk on it and it looked really bad so I took him to the Insta-Care that morning.  They thought that it was an infection around his toe nail so they gave him an antibiotic and told us to see a podiatrist ASAP.

Sunday- His toe was still terrible looking.

Monday- Took Jared to see a podiatrist who recommended that we remove the entire toe nail.  This is normally an office procedure but Jared obviously couldn't handle that so we set up a hospital sedation for Friday to take care of it.

Tuesday- A quiet day.  We LOVE quiet days!

Wednesday- The kids had been at school for just over an hour when Jeff came running into the house asking for help.  He had been at the school for a meeting and ended up bringing Alyssa home.  She was having a severe dizzy episode.  It started just after getting to school and she hoped that it would pass.  After an hour she still felt terrible and headed down to the office and found Jeff there.  Just as he got her into the car she started vomiting.  I am glad that he was there!  We got her into bed and cleaned up but she was still so dizzy.  She couldn't even close her eyes because that made it worse.  She vomited several more times and after a couple of hours she was able to sleep.  She felt much better after sleeping.  She hadn't had a dizzy spell this bad since June as she was still recovering from surgery.  After talking to her neurologist, we all decided that her body wasn't quite ready for full school days yet.  Since allowing her to sleep longer and getting her to school in time for 2nd period, her dizzy spells have been much milder.

Since Alyssa was feeling better we decided to go to our ward's end of summer picnic.  It was a lovely evening and we were enjoying getting to know more people in our new ward.  Jared was having so much fun with all of the kids and was so happy.  Unfortunately the fun didn't last as Jared came running up to us crying that his wrist was hurting.  He was in a bounce house and I don't know what happened but he was hurting.  He was inconsolable so we loaded up and headed home.  He was still hurting so much and since he has a history of bones breaking easily, we finally decided that we better get him to the ER for x-rays.  So he and I spent the evening in the ER!  Luckily, nothing was broken but it was very sprained.

Thursday- Alyssa had a dentist appointment to pull four baby teeth that were not coming out on their own.  She has never had a problem at the dentist's office and I figured that we would be in and out quickly.  It ended up being quite the ordeal.  I think that there must have been some post traumatic stress disorder as a result of this last surgery because she did not handle things well at all.  It took some convincing to just get her in the chair.  Then she refused to use the laughing gas which she has always used before.  Then she wouldn't open her mouth for the numbing gel.  After an hour of convincing we finally got her to at least try the numbing gel.  The assistant put a small bit in and then Alyssa completely lost it!  She went crazy and could not handle the feeling of being even a little bit numb.  I have seen plenty of tantrums because of a child not wanting to cooperate but this was beyond a normal tantrum.  This was terror!  I am wondering if subconsciously, the feeling of being numb reminded her of how she felt after her surgery.  She wasn't able to move her right side at all at first and it felt very different.  She doesn't remember much of the first few days because she was so drugged, but I am sure that her body remembers.

She finally calmed down and we asked her what she would like to do.  She decided that she wanted the dentist to just pull them and get it over with.  So she opened her mouth and the dentist had all four teeth out in less then two minutes!  No numbing or anything!  The dentist thought for sure that it wouldn't work, but he was the first to admit that he has been wrong before.  For Alyssa, the feeling of being numb was worse than just pulling them!  How crazy!  Two hours after arriving at the dentist's office we finally walked out with four teeth successfully pulled.  I WAS EXHAUSTED!  It is terrible watching your children hurt and having no way of taking it away!

Friday- Jared and I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 AM for his toe nail removal.  Things went smoothly and the toe nail was successfully removed.  The thing that upset him the most was having to keep the bandage on it for several hours.

Saturday- Jared seemed a little off all day but I assumed that it was a result of the sedation from the day before.

Sunday- We ended up bringing Jared home early from church and he started running a fever.  When I was putting him to bed I noticed a rash on his face and neck.

Monday (Labor Day)- Jared's rash was everywhere and he still had a fever.  Back to the Insta-Care we went since it was a holiday.  He was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic he was taking for his toe!  I am allergic to the same antibiotic so I knew how miserable it was.  Poor boy.  He spent the rest of the day laying down and was so grumpy and miserable.  We had all of our friends from BYU and their families over for a barbecue that evening and our normally happy, social Jared spent the entire evening in bed.  Luckily, by Wednesday he was on the mend and back to school.

What a crazy week!  After two trips to the instacare, a trip to the ER, an adventure at the dentist's office and a hospital sedation, I needed a week to recover!  Life is rarely dull around our house!

Unchanging

Sometimes the state of the world and our country scare me.  Today was one of those days when I just had to turn off the news and not listen any more.  The world is just getting more wicked and confused by the day and it is especially difficult to see our country getting so lost.  There are some scary things out there and today I just wanted to pretend that none of it was happening.  And so what do I do when panic starts to set in?  I remember all of the talks given in General conference this weekend.  So many wonderful talks meant to encourage, uplift, remind and teach.  There were several talks about how our Heavenly Father has promised that if we will listen to the prophets voice, that we will be listening to him!  The organization of the church is set up so that we can never be led astray if we listen and do what the prophets tell us to do.  And that is the beautiful thing about the gospel.  The doctrine and truths of the gospel are unchanging.  God is unchanging.  So, when the rest of the world is reeling with change, I can rely in the knowledge that if I listen to the words of the Lord, that everything will be ok.  Jared asked me again today when Jesus will be coming back and that he misses him.  I am with you Jared.  I miss him too.

“The Lord’s house is a house of order and we need never be deceived about where to look for answers to our questions, or uncertain about which voice to follow. We need not be ‘tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.’ God reveals His word through His ordained servants, ‘For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.’ When we choose to live according to the words of the prophets, we are on the covenant path that leads to eternal perfection.”

Carol F. McConkie (First Counselor, General Young Women’s Presidency)

Jared's Baptism- February 28, 2014

On February 28 my sweet Jared was baptized!  What a special day it was!  We had debated about when to have him baptized because developmentally he doesn't quite have the understanding that most eight year olds have, but we decided that we wanted him to be baptized in the ward that has known him his whole life and the year that the other kids in his primary class were baptized.  He was very, very excited about it.  I made him a little book that I read to him the weeks leading up to it that helped explain what was going to happen and why in very simple words and pictures.  He knew that Jesus was baptized and that Jesus wanted him to be baptized.  We were a little worried about how he would handle being immersed in the water but he did wonderfully!  He could tell that it was a very special day.

Luckily, it was just Jared from our ward that was baptized that day so we were able to fine tune the program to suit his needs.  We just had one talk, given by his Grandma Shawcroft and she was able to speak just to him.  Grandma did a beautiful job and it was perfect but half-way through her talk Jared stated, "Can I just go and get baptized now?"  Everyone had a laugh about his comment.  He was just so excited and wanted to do what he was here to do!  Alyssa then sang a beautiful song for us and then it was time!

After his baptism and confirmation, Bishop Giles shared a few thoughts with us. He specifically mentioned how some of the very elite souls have often been given less than perfect bodies but how we can learn so much from them.  I loved how he talked so sweetly about my sweet, perfect little man, and the spirit in the room was sweetly felt by all.  It was a perfect morning shared with wonderful friends and family and we were so blessed to witness Jared's baptism.  I have no idea what the future holds for Jared.  We just take each day as it comes as he continues to amaze us with his intelligence and funny little things that he says.  He may live with us forever and what a blessing it would be if that is the case.  I am so grateful to have him!

 This smile!  It just melts my heart!

 You can tell how excited he is by looking at that smile!

 How grateful I am for this wonderful husband of mine!  He is the best!

 My sweet family.  Jared was getting tired of pictures by this point.

(And yes, Tyler is as tall as me in this picture.  He is now officially taller than me by a couple of inches!)

Alyssa, Jared and I with Jeff's wonderful parents.

Love these two!

SleeeeeeeeeeeeP

It's never a good sign when you sit down to start writing and end up falling asleep.  Today was busy.  This week has been busy.  And I can't seem to keep my eyes open so if strange words start to show, then we will know why!  I love you husband, I love my family!  And I love the Savior.

Become As a Little Child

Sometimes I wonder how much Jared can remember about his pre-mortal life.  Jared LOVES to talk about Jesus.  He tells me at least once a day how much he loves Jesus and how much he misses him.  He asks me when he will be coming back to Earth and how he can't wait until he can give him a hug and a kiss.  It is fascinating to hear how his little brain is processing thoughts and ideas.  He knows that Jesus is in Heaven with Heavenly Father and in his understanding, heaven is in space with all of the planets and the asteroids.  He knows that he can pray and ask Heavenly Father and Jesus for help.  In Jared's mind, the only thing that he ever needs help with is getting past the next angry birds level, so that is what he asks for help with!  His simple testimony of his Savior is so sweet and pure, so innocent and perfect.  I love it!  He reminds me daily to remember my Savior and to ask for his help and Heavenly Father's help even for things that may seem trivial and not worth their help.

One evening the kids and I were in the car and Tyler and Alyssa were arguing as they often do.  They were about to drive me crazy and I finally told them that they couldn't speak for the remaining time in the car.  They were grumpy and they were making me grumpy.  Jared had been very quiet during the ride and as soon as the arguing subsided, he stated that he loved Jesus and then started talking about him.  The entire feeling in the car changed from one of grumpiness to one of peace.  As we pulled into the garage, Tyler commented that he was so grateful for Jared.  What an incredible teaching moment we had in the quiet of the car as Jared told us all about Jesus!  My children teach me so much.

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4)

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)

Changes

It has been so long!  But I am back.  I have so much to record.  We have had a HUGE year and I need to get it all down.

1.  We built a new home!  We have been living in it for three months now.  We love it and it is perfect for us!  I wouldn't change a thing.

2.  Jeff started his own business.  He just hired his first employee!

3.  Alyssa had more surgery in Cleveland in March and in May.  It has been rough but she went two and a half months without a seizure!  Unfortunately she has had two in the past two weeks, but we aren't giving up hope!

4.  Tyler started high school and just turned 16!!!!

5.  Jared turned 8 and was baptized!

There have been many more adventures but these are the "big" events.  I will continue with more details over the next few weeks.