Sick

Yesterday afternoon I started to feel really dizzy and lightheaded. I also got really nausious. I finished teaching piano lessons, had a nice long bath and went to bed. Today it was worse, so I called my doctor and they said that I needed to go to the hospital to get checked out and so they could make sure baby was okay.
Jay and Suzanne are coming over tonight to babysit the kiddies for me (I totally LOVE them for doing this for me!!!) and we are going to spend most of the night in the hospital.
I will keep you posted.

Snow, Cold and Ice

I was sitting in my eating nook last night, with my family. I was looking out the window and the snow and ice storm that was raging outside. The temperature plunged to -28 degrees C, and with the wind chill factor it was -45 degrees C. We were all sitting together eating a wonderful Sunday dinner of Roast pork, noodles, caesar salad, freshly baked buns and sweet potatoes. We had a fire roaring in our fireplace, and we had classical music playing in the background with our overhead kitchen speakers. And I just couldn't help but feel so grateful that we had this wonderful, warm house to live in with yummy food to eat and I just felt so blessed to be able to have that for my family.

I was worried that the power might go out last night because of all of the wind, cold and ice, so I made everyone take a flashlight to bed and bring an extra blanket into their rooms to have by their beds. I made a mental note of where all of the candles were and where all of our emergency supplies was and what we would do if the power went out in such cold conditions. It made me realize that there are a few things that I do need to make sure that we have in case of an emergency in a cold, snowstorm like that. I had a hard time sleeping because I wanted to make sure that everyone was okay (and they were), and I was so grateful this morning when I woke up and even though it is still EXTREMELY cold, (-32) at least the wind and the ice have stopped blowing.

Everyone talks about getting a food storage ready and an emergency kit ready, and it finally hit home the importance of that while I was up, worrying about my kids. It was so nice and cozy in our warm bed, but how warm would it have been without our furnace working? I realized that it isn't in good weather that you lose power, it is in the cold, yucky stuff, and so I need to be prepared for that. If anyone has any suggestions on what they have in their emergency kits for the cold, I would love to hear it! I just don't know how you would survive in your house when it is -45 outside with the wind!!!

San Diego???

Well, isn't it amazing how quickly things can change? This year we had planned on staying home for the summer with the exception of a quick jaunt to the cabin. Then we got an email from my dad that changed everything. It was a quick email that was forwarded from my Great-Aunt Jolene (who is my Grandma Lee's sister) talking about a family reunion that she is planning on having in San Diego. Well, I just HAPPEN to love San Diego, so I asked Otto if we rearranged some of our funds did he think that we could swing it? He told me to work out all of the details and we would decide. Well, two days later and here we are, pretty much planning on going to San Diego in July. I am so excited. We are still waiting for one or two more conditions to be met before we can say for sure, but I am quite confident that everything will work itself out!
The reunion is Thurs, Fri and Sat, so we are planning on going down on the Sunday before that and staying until the end of the reunion. I am so excited to take my kiddies down there to go see Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Tijuana Mexico, see Legoland spend a day at the beach, see my cousins (they had better come down!!!!), go to La Jolla, and the hotel that we are going to stay in is right in Old Town San Diego, which is one of my favorite spots in San Diego.
Lee will be 3 months old, so he will be perfect travelling age, and so the only child I am really worried about is Dustin. I think that this will be a great vacation for us to do with the kiddies because the girlies will get to spend some time in Mexico (which they love to do), we get to go see some fun places, the weather is generally quite nice there, the Canadian dollar is high, and we won't be going to places where we have to spend alot of time standing in line. We had talked about going up to Disneyland after the reunion instead of staying in San Diego the whole time, but I REALLY don't want to go to Disneyland in the middle of the summer with a brand new baby and 4 other young children. I do love Disneyland, but I do not forsee that being much fun. I think that San Diego will be a blast, and I can't wait to go!!!!

Abby

There are alot of advantages and disadvantages to being the oldest child (as I can attest to). One of the advantages of being the oldest is that everything that you do is a big deal. This can also be a disadvantage, but it is great for birthdays and milestones. Also, with being the oldest, your parents tend to spend more time with you to make sure that you are ready for things. I remember being a young child and my mom making up AWESOME birthday parties for me! She also always helped me write and memorize my primary talks and memorize my parts in plays and other events. Abby pretty much has the same set up. I do hope that I will have just as much time to help the other kids as they get older, but I am a realist, and I do know that somewhere along the line someone will think that they got the short end of the stick. . . my goal is to not have all of them think that.

Abby, on the other hand, does have more responsiblity than the other kids. She is a very responsible girl (I like to think that she gets that from me) and she gets asked to help out alot. The nice thing for her is that we had Anne right after her so Anne does get to share in alot of the workload. . . .that was something I had always wished for growing up!

Okay, now onto the facts:

- Favorite Color: Blue

- Favorite Toy: MP3 player

- Favorite TV Show: Hannah Montana and the Suite Life of Zack and Cody

- Favorite Past time: Playing on the computer, playing basketball, reading, playing with babies and animals, listening to her MP3 player

- Favorite Characters: Hannah Montana and Cinderella

- Favorite Food: Hamburger Helper and Spaghetti

- Favorite Snack: Pretty much anything. . .she is not picky!

- Favorite Book: Whatever she can read to herself

- Precious Moments: Abby LOVES babies.

Abby LOVES to babysit.

Abby has a beautiful accent when she speaks Spanish.

Abby loves to travel and ride on airplanes.

Abby is a great helper!!

Abby is very responsible.

Abby loves school.

Abby loves Dana Sherwood and they are best friends!

Abby can't wait until she is baptized this April.

Abby loves to swim.

Abby is willing to try new things (with a little prodding of course).

Abby is generally a happy girl who gets along with everyone.

Abby is the boss! (She DEFINATELY gets that from me. . . what can I say??)

When Abby was born, I turned to Otto and I said, "I could do this again". And we did! Abby is pretty much a very easy child who is quite obedient and responsible. I love having her in our family because I rarely have to dicipline her. It seems as though I can simply sit her down and talk with her and she understands things beyond her years. I am looking forward to watching her grow up.

My Anne

Anne's first name is Nellie, after my great-grandmother. . . whom I miss so much sometimes!!! I swore to my great-grandmother that I would never actually call her Nellie if I named her that, but I told her that I was going to name my daughter after her and there was nothing that she could do about it. (I get my stubbornness from my great grandmother, so I think that she kind of expected that response and would have been disappointed with anything less.) My great-grandma (Nana) hated her name and so she did not want anyone else to have to endure that name. The name Anne comes from a princess name, and to me that is alot of who Anne is. Anne is very sweet and is loved by everyone she meets. She is kind and gentle, and kind of reminds me of Snow White. I can totally see Anne being lost in the woods, singing and talking to all kinds of woodland animals. Okay, now onto the facts
- Favorite Color: yellow
- Favorite Toy: Webkinz
- Favorite TV Show: Anything that Abby will let her watch. She still likes little kid shows like Barney, Dora, etc, but she also likes the older shows. . . .the ones that Abby likes to watch.
- Favorite Past time: Playing on the computer, dancing, reading and solving math problems
- Favorite Characters: Sleeping Beauty
- Favorite Food: Chicken and fries
- Favorite Snack: Anything that mommy bakes
- Favorite Book: Whatever she can read to herself
- Precious Moments: Anne has lots of friends and often gets invited over to people's houses. She not only plays with her friend when she gets there, but she always includes their younger siblings.
Anne thinks that food tastes better at other people's houses and will eat things there that she wouldn't eat at home.
Anne is a very linear thinker. I can always tell when she has been playing with toys because they are all lined up in a straight row.
Anne does not like things to be out of order.
Anne loves to wear socks.
Anne can't match an outfit to save her life. She always has to ask if something matches, and it usually doesn't.
Anne loves to grow things.
Anne loves to read.
Anne loves to solve math problems. When we are in the car she will continuously ask me if two numbers add up.
Anne loves to dance. She is very good at it and she is very disciplined.
Anne loves to take piano lessons (from her mother).
Anne loves speaking Spanish. (She is in a Spanish school).
Anne is GREAT at going to bed.
Anne is kind to everyone (well, her siblings are only most of the time).
Anne can look past physical appearances and see people for who they really are. She doesn't notice physical handicaps.
Anne is very sensitive and doesn't always understand sarcasm. (This can sometimes be a problem around Grandpa and Uncle Jason).
Anne is very thoughtful and will constantly do random acts of kindness for people.
Living with Anne is like living with a little angel. When I think about her, the one word that I always come up with that describes her perfectly is "beautiful". Anne is not only beautiful on the outside, but she has the most beautiful personality. She is the epitome of goodness and loveliness. She is always a pleasure to be around and there are very few people who don't absolutely LOVE my little Anne.

Sweet Caroline

My Sweet, Cheeky Caroline. Today it is her turn to be written about. Right now she is 4 years old. I love her cheekiness and how she loves to tease people. She has problems with her speech (which she is getting help with through specialists at her school), and I think that that is what makes her such a character!
- Favorite Color: PINK
- Favorite Toy: Dora Computer Game
- Favorite TV Show: Dora, The Little Mermaid, Bugs Bunny
- Favorite Pasttime: Playing on the computer, playing dress-up, playing with Dustin, copying her big sisters
- Favorite Characters: Dora, Ariel, Littlest Pet Shops, and Strawberry Shortcake
- Favorite Food: Chicken and fries
- Favorite Snack: She will eat just about anything (she gets this from her daddy!!)
- Favorite Book: Whatever Abby reads to her
- Precious Moments: Caroline LOVES to help Mommy cook. Ever since she was a baby, if I was cooking something, she had to be right there (on the counter) "helping" me. She can whip whipping cream by herself and she can make her own caesar salad.
Caroline loves Dora. Her bedroom is Dora and most of her toys are Dora.
Caroline loves to negociate. If she wants to do something and you tell her "NO", she will try and come up with a compromise. Because I love this so much, I usually agree with her compromises.
Caroline will NOT wear matching PJ's. They CANNOT coordinate in any way, shape or form!!
Caroline has accepted the fact that her Uncle Jason now calls her "Monster". She used to tell him "Uncle Jason, me no like you call me monser".
Caroline loves her Uncle Jason. She thinks he is soooo coool. (Maybe because he likes to tease too!)
Caroline is VERY strong willed (this is not always a good thing).
Caroline has 2 best friends Deidre and Mulani.
Caroline LOVES strawberry shortcake and dollies.
Caroline is so excited to have baby Lee come and she prays every night for baby Lee to come out of Mommy's tummy.

My labor and delivery with Caroline was the worst experience of my life. However, I could not imagine my life without her. She adds a dimension to our family that I love. She makes us not take ourselves so seriously, and because Otto got to spend so much time with her right after she was born, they have a special bond that is so wonderful to watch.

My Boy.

As I keep getting closer to having this next baby, I have been thinking more and more about why I love my kiddies. I hope to take the time to write about each of them, and so I have decided to start with Dustin. Right now he is at a very fun age (2) where he is trying a whole bunch of new things. I really want him to know what I love about him at this age, so please bear with me!
- Favorite Color: ORANGE
- Favorite Toy: Thomas the Tank Engine
- Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Dora
- Favorite Pasttime: Breaking things and "fixing" them, doing puzzles, watching his sisters play on the computer, cuddling with "Mama"
- Favorite Characters: Mickey Mouse, Thomas, Dora, Bob the Builder, and "Winnie the Poop"
- Favorite Food: Chicken and fries
- Favorite Snack: Anything that can be found in the pantry, from chips, to lunch snacks to flour and sugar
- Favorite Book: The Monster at the End of This Book (It's mommy's favorite too!!)
- Precious Moments: Dustin LOVES his Mama!! He always wants to be around me.
When you sing the "Clean up" song from Barney, Dustin will clean as long as you keep singing and point out things to pick up. . . .if you are patient enough, he can clean an entire room!
Dustin will just randomly burst out into song (he also gets that from his Mama!!)
Dustin loves to tease his sisters.
Dustin is VERY particular about things. If something is not done in what he thinks is the proper order, he freaks out. He also likes for things to be in straight lines and they always have to be put back in their spots. (I LOVE this about him)
Dustin HATES to be outside in the cold.
Dustin is nervous in water. However he loves baths.
Dustin loves people, especially if his Mama is there.
Dustin can "Shake and Bake"
Dustin loves to take off his pants
Dustin loves his Nana and Papa and Auntie Manda and Uncle Jason's dog "Mac" (His name is really Max, but not according to Dustin).

I am very excited to watch my little boy grow up. I am very interested in the type of man that he will become. I told Otto that we need to make sure that we put him in sports because right now he really just likes music, electronics and "fixing" things, so we need to make him a little more rounded. Thinking about these things makes me so grateful that I am his mom.

Friday Forum

Well, I am back doing Friday Forum. I don't know how much I am excited about doing it though. I am really debating whether or not I think that I can continue doing it until March. Ever since Christmas, I have really not been into the whole catering thing. I still LOVE to cook, but I think that I might need a break from all of the WORK that happens when I cater. Friday Forum is a weekly committment that I have made to cater for the Institute of Religion at the U of C. I do not get paid to do this. They only cover the cost of the food. I only have 7 more weeks until I can't do it anymore because of the baby, but I am torn as to whether or not I should continue to do it until the baby is born.
On one hand, I do love going there and seeing all of the young single adults flirting with each other. I love getting into the gossip of who is dating who and who is getting married next. The people who help me do the dishes are really fun and I like them alot. It is cool to be able to go somewhere and have other people know my name because they see me at the institute all of the time. It does give me a break from being a mom for awhile. I do get to try out pretty much any recipe that I want.
On the other hand, I HAVE to go grocery shopping EVERY Thursday, rain or shine, with kids. I have to start cooking at 8 am on Friday mornings and I don't even get home until 2 pm that afternoon. I always get crampy afterwards and so I am pretty much out of commission after Friday Forum until Sunday. I have to clean my kitchen 3 times on Fridays, plus all of the clean up that I have to do at the institute. There are some YSA's who whine about having to help me clean up and that infuriates me because they have NO idea how much work I put into this. I am pregnant and so I can snap at any given moment, so sometimes I am a bit grumpy at Friday Forum.
I don't know. I really don't know. What would you do if you were me? I really need some input here. It seems so much easier to give advice when you are not the one going through something, so I could really use that type of advice right now.

Baptism

I just want to start off by saying that I really do like it when people ask questions that make me think about why I believe certain things and why I do things the way I do. It makes me take the time to actually sit down (when I have time to myself) and really study it out in my mind instead of just going through the motions.
Recently I made a post about my New Year's Resolution to read the scriptures with my kids every night to help Abby get ready to be baptized. Now, the question was posed that do I think that I should "not give her a choice" in the matter. . . .would that be the best thing for her? I really liked getting this question because it has been something that I have thought about alot. Here is my answer:
As a parent, it is my responsiblity to teach my children about our religious beliefs. We believe that at the age of 8 that children are old enough to become accountable for their own sins and that is why we wait until the age of 8 to baptize them. This does not mean that they are old enough to make all of their decisions on their own. They are still children. I wouldn't trust them to go on dates by themselves, or drive a car by themselves because they do not yet know everything that is involved in making those decisions. However, I do want Abby to know why she is getting baptized. I don't want her to just "do it because mom said so", but I want her to learn more about our beliefs and to WANT to get baptized. This isn't really hard because she is already soooooo excited for her baptism, but I would feel bad if I just made her do it without knowing everything she possibly can about baptism and her religion before doing it. Does this make sense?
It is really tricky to be a parent, and the older I get and the older my children get, the more I understand my own parents. I do try to make the right decisions for my children and let them learn how to make good choices without forcing things on them, so this has been something that I truly have thought about alot. Now, if Abby started to get really upset and scared and cry and scream as it got closer to her baptism I probably would wait a couple of months so that I could help her through it and find out what she thinks the problem is. However, I believe that if I do take the time to make her prepared and to teach her that she will understand that baptism is a wonderful thing and it is something that will not only bring her closer to God, but it will make her a better person.
I think back to my baptism day. I remember how excited I was to get baptized and how I thought that I would be transformed into this superhuman being. I was disappointed when I felt like I was the same person afterwards. It took some time before I realized that one of the biggest blessings of being baptized is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. To me, this has been the greatest blessing that has come from my baptism. As I have grown up, I have relied on the Holy Ghost to help me in so many ways. He has helped me when I have had to do simple things like take a final exam, or choose a name for my babies. He has helped me when I have had to make big decisions like whether or not to marry Otto, when to have the babies. And He has gotten me through some rough times like when Otto lost his job, or when our little Robin was stillborn.
The other greatest blessing that has come into my life because of baptism is the blessing of being able to be married to my wonderful husband forever. This is a blessing that has made my life so much better in so many ways that I can't even count them. But, without baptism, I would not have been able to get married to my husband forever, and thus I would not be with my children forever. That really hit home to me when I had Robin. Even though I will not get to be her mother in this life, I will one day get to be with her again. Baptism opened the gate for this to be possible.
Is this blessing something that I would want to deny my child? Absolutely not. I don't know whether or not she will completely understand the importance of baptism until she is older, but I do feel as though I would be a terrible parent if I didn't give her every opportunity to experience the blessings that come out of being baptized. Will she resent me for it one day? Maybe. But then again she can add it to the long list of things that I know that she will resent me for anyways.
I am curious though, has anyone else struggled with this same decision about baptism? I mean, like I said earlier, I don't ever want to FORCE my children to do anything, but at the same time is it better than the alternative?

Tuesday

Okay, so here's the story. When I read the "anonymous" post from a concerned family member about safety, I was quite shocked that someone from my family would make such a comment without actually talking to me or telling me who they were. So, I did respond to that comment as well as blogging about safety (which most of you read). After doing that, my husband came into the room and said, "did you read the comment I posted??" I just about threw something at him for being so frustrating! He was just fooling around and had actually made a comment on my blog and it had to be obnoxious!! So, for all of you out there who commented on my blog, thank you. . . and my husband thanks you. . . and if any of you want to send him cheeky remarks on his facebook account, be my guest!
So today is Tuesday. . . I normally HATE Tuesdays, and I am a bit nervous about this one. I have a doctor's appointment at 10 and they should be telling me when we are going to schedule the C-Section. I am also nervous because I was supposed to get the diabetes test done, and I have not been able to do it with Dustin around all of the time. I hope I don't get in trouble for that. Whenever I go to the doctor they say that my baby is big, but in the ultrasounds they say that he is normal size and that my uterus is just big. Which I think is probably due to the fact that I got pregnant one month after Robin was born, so it hadn't had time to completely shrink after her. I guess that I will find out more today.
Also, I am nervous because in about 6 minutes, the registration for Camp Croppin' will begin and I am nervous that things might not go as smoothly as I would like!! Hopefully everything will go okay and our website will not crash and everyone who wants to get into the camp will be able to, but there are never any guarantees. . . . especially when you are dealing with the Internet!!
Well, that's it for now, but I will keep everyone posted as to the birth date of this little man.
Here's wishing all of you a Happy Tuesday!

Safety

I just received a comment on my last post by a concerned family member who is concerned about our safety. I have never meant to put anyone in harm's way by writing about them, but this blog was meant to be a sort of journal for me so that one day my children can read it and know what their life was like when they were younger. I always wished that my mother had kept more journals, so this is my way of giving that to my children. I find that typing is way faster than writing by hand and since I have to spend alot of time at the computer anyways, I figure I can kill two birds with one stone.
This blog is listed privately for those of you who are concerned, but if you still have issues with it, let me know and I will take your names out of the blog. If your name is mentioned in here, please feel flattered and not offended as it means that you are important to me and to my children and so I feel as though you are worth mentioning. Another reason that I do post on this blog is so that my family and close friends can know what is going on in my life and in the lives of my children. I am not eloquent and sometimes my phrases don't even make sense because my brain goes faster than my mouth, but know that I am trying my best to write down the things (whether everyday, or momentus) that are happening in the lives of my family.
Again, if I have given you cause for concern, please contact me directly and we can work something out, otherwise know that I love you all and I love to talk about you.

ZZZzzzzzzzzzz

If I doze off in the middle of writing this blog today, blame it on Dustin!!! I have not yet had more than 20 minutes of continuous sleep since Tuesday night. I don't know why my son thinks that sleep is optional, but the two of us spent the night with him forbading me to sleep while I was secretly wishing that he would lose his voice so that I could just put him in his crib and leave him there and not listen to screaming!! Oh wait, and the fact that Caroline came into my room 4 times last night didn't help either!!
On to some more exciting news. . . for me anyways! I am now 30 weeks along with my pregnancy with Lee!! This is awesome for me. . . I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. Before Christmas I was having some problems with contractions, but ever since the Christmas break has started, I have been doing great! Maybe my body realized that I was too stressed to go into early labour, or maybe this baby is just cooperative, but either way I have been doing awesome! I am carrying this baby really high, though and so I often get a foot in the ribs which makes it quite painful to sit or breathe. While I was complaining to myself about that yesterday, the thought came to me that I really do not have anything to complain about because the alternative to this would be that Lee wouldn't have made it this long and I have already been through that before and do not wish to experience it again. I am getting really excited to have Lee be born into our family. It seems as though I can now focus on it more since Christmas is over. The one thing that I have never been able to do with my other babies is get their bedrooms all decorated for them before they are born. We have either not owned our own place, or we were too poor, so this time I plan on having a special room all ready for Lee when he is born. It just so happens that he will be sharing a room with Dustin, and if anyone knows Dustin, they know that he LOVES Thomas the Tank engine and the color orange. So I plan on incorporating that into the room. I already have it all planned out in my mind, I just have to execute the plan now. . . . it's really too bad that I can't just imagine what I want and have the room magically transform itself. . . .I have a feeling that this will be alot of work for Otto and I. I wonder how Otto will react when I tell him what I want to do. . . .hmmmmm. . . should be interesting. . . I might have to save that for another blog entry. . . .I'll keep you posted, but for now, I am counting down the hours until nap time because seriously, I am falling asleep!!!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

New Years Resolutions

I guess that it is that time again when we all declare what our New Year's resolutions are going to be. I always stop going to the gym in January because it is always packed with people trying to fulfill their New Years resolutions of exercising more. I, personally, love the fact that when I go back in February, the gym is basically empty again. It always makes me laugh to myself.
I actually love resolutions because I am a very goal oriented person. I love to set goals for myself (and have others do the same) and then I relish in the feeling of accomplishment that I get when I fulfill these resolutions.
This year, I only have one resolution. It is to read the scriptures with my husband and children every night. Abby is getting baptized into our church this April, and I want her to at least have a basic understanding of what she believes before she makes that committment (not that she really has a choice at this point. . . I just want her to be prepared). I am so excited for Abby to get baptized into our church because I know how much comfort my faith in God has given me throughout the years, and how much it can give her. We had a tough year, last year, with our little Robin being stillborn and Abby's friend being killed in the car accident, and I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have the beliefs that I do. I know that it has given me so much solace and that it has really helped my children, and especially Abby, deal with everything that has been going on.
I hate to say it, but I do think that our challenges are going to get worse. I am terrified when I think about the types of things that my children will have to endure and what they will become exposed to. So, even though I only have the one New Year's resolution, it is the best way that I can think of to protect my children.

Fernie Family Fun

This past week we were able to go to Fernie with my family. It was fun being able to spend that time with the kiddies and with my siblings. On Friday, most of my siblings and parents went skiing. Otto and I took the kiddies to the Aquatic Center that is there in Fernie and we had a blast!! Abby jumped off of the diving board, Anne swam under water for the first time!! Caroline jumped off of the side of the pool with no lifejacket and Dustin. . . well. . . he was a bit of a mama's boy and just hung out with me in the nice warm kiddie pool. My sister, Amanda and my sister-in-law Suzanne just hung out all day at the Fernie and had a catch up session with each other.
We played alot of games with the family, and the kids did crafts! I was also surprised that my family didn't go skiing on Saturday, but hung out at the condo. It was great for the kids though, because everyone made snowmen with them. . . well one pregnant snowman and one snow turtle. The kiddies love that! Then Otto took the big kids swimming while I stayed behind so that Dustin could have a nap.
Later that afternoon, everyone except for my little family left and we stayed behind and watched football, played games, did crafts, and watched a movie. On Sunday we left Fernie behind and made the trek home. We stopped in at Blairmore where Otto's grandma Pierzchala lives and had lunch with her. It was fun except for the fact that Abby was sick, Caroline threw up, Dustin wouldn't sit still and Anne refused to eat her lunch and then complained about being hungry all the way home. . . ahhh the life with kids!
I was glad that we were able to go somewhere for our Christmas vacation because with all of the weddings that went on, we hadn't been able to spend much time as a family. I think that next year we will just go on vacation. . . it's way more fun than working!!

Hold 'em Tight!

Right now I am holding my children a little tighter, saying I love you a little more frequently and trying to memorize every little detail about them. Why, you ask? Well because yesterday I received a terrible phone call.
It seems that on Sunday, at about 2:30 in the afternoon, Abby's friend Amy was travelling with her family to BC to go visit her uncle. All of a sudden they were hit head on by a Dodge truck coming from the opposite direction. Amy and her father were killed instantly, her mother is in the hospital with a broken collar bone and shattered wrist and her brother, who was in a different vehicle is completely fine.
My heart is broken for this mother who, in a split second, lost just about everything that she had to live for. She had already had another daughter die at the age of 2 when she was on vacation in Hawaii, and now she has lost her other daughter and her husband. She is, of course, devastated, and in the hospital. I can only imagine the pain that she is going through at this moment. I spent yesterday in tears because I don't know if this would be something that I could ever recover from.
As I explained everything to Abby, it was comforting to know that she understood our beliefs as to what happens when we die. She immediately said how excited Amy must be to be playing with her older sister up in heaven. She also said that Amy must be talking to Robin and playing with her, and I assured her that Amy would probably be telling Robin all about her big sister. Abby and Amy were good friends. They rode the bus together and they sat close to each other in class. I am worried about what it will be like for Abby on Monday when she goes back to school, so I am making arrangements for me to go with her and spend a couple of hours with her at the school until she feels ready for me to leave.
This is a terrible event that has happened to this family, and as I sit here and listen to my children playing I am sending up a prayer for Jennifer (Amy's mom), because my heart breaks for her, and I wish I knew what else I could do.