Prayer of the Children

We just found out that Dave's nephew went in to have his wisdom teeth removed and had a seizure.  His wife, who also had her wisdom teeth removed, posted on Facebook to request prayers in his behalf.  I called all of the kids in to kneel down and say a prayer.  I showed them TJ's picture, Beau's daddy, and Shaylee's picture so they would know who they were.  Then I explained that TJ was sick and in the hospital and needed our prayers.  Of course, they ALL wanted to say it!  So we knelt in a family circle and I let each of the kids say a prayer for them.  We talked about praying for Shaylee as well that she would have peace.  Isaac asked me what peace was.  I explained that peace is happiness, when the Spirit touches you and helps you feel good and know that everything is going to be okay.

It never ceases to amaze me how mature my kids are.  That Isaac asked me what peace was and then took that prayer VERY SERIOUSLY!

Each prayer also touched me.

Isaac: Please bless that TJ will be okay and won't be sick anymore and that Shaylee will have happiness from the Spirit.

Abby: Please bless that TJ will get better and that Shaylee will be happy.  And please bless we can get in our new house and have flowers and horses.

Brianna: Please bless that TJ will get better and that Shaylee will have the peace.

Happiness from the Spirit.  That was Isaac's take-away understanding of peace. And isn't that so fitting?  And as he said it, he was sincere and focused -- no lightness or laughter in his voice like he often has when he's praying.  I guess maybe he feels like daily prayer is a dress-rehearsal or redundant.  But when it counts, he's present.

Abby remembers to ask for our new house and flowers and horses in EVERY prayer!  She is so focused on what she really wants and needs, and she takes it to Heavenly Father in faith every chance she gets.  It is no wonder that we have had miracle after miracle in the timing, signing, and closing of our new house.  Another example from my life of people saying, "It's impossible -- it probably won't happen -- be prepared," and things being POSSIBLE, HAPPENING, and getting prepared being a waste of energy and time. I am SO THANKFUL for that constant pattern in my life.  And that my kids are LEARNING it in theirs as well!

I was very touched and actually started to cry when my little 2-year-old was the only one that simply asked that they be blessed with peace.  I often think she is too little to understand and remember things.  She was the only one who didn't ask.  The only one who didn't jump in on the discussion about peace and clarifying language.  And after the discussion and two prayers from her older siblings, she still simply asked . . . for peace for them.  I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say, except that I am amazed by her love.  I am amazed by her simple understanding.  I am amazed that she remembered and . . . obeyed isn't the right word, but something along those lines.  And I was amazed at her focused, humble, quiet, reverent tone. 

I love my children.  I am so thankful I get to be their mom.

I LOVE Living in Utah

NEVER thought I would say that.  But I do. Let me count the ways . . .

1. Dave only works FOUR DAYS a week and gets home just 15 minutes later than he did the ENTIRE time we lived in California. AND we are within five miles of any small town we could ever want to live in.  Which means he can also bike to work - and we save about $200 in gas every month.  PLUS we get to have fun family days EVERY WEEK, no extra sacrifice required.  LOVE it!
2. I am NEVER afraid to open my garage door and see huge cockroaches scatter.  And really, even the biggest spider I have killed here was STILL smaller than the smallest cockroach I killed there. I will actually step outside my door without shoes here because I don't have to be prepared for the worst all the time.  And the only thing I'm afraid of the kids finding in the backyard is mud . . . that they made themselves with the sprinkler.  Not a bad trade, if I do say so myself.
3. We live SO CLOSE to so many temples!  Within 30 minutes, we can have a fun family getaway and be home again in the time it would have taken us to GET to the temple in Spokane or Los Angeles.  HUGE blessing!!!  And I may actually get to go to the temple while breastfeeding a baby this time around without having to plan my entire life around it.  I may go by myself, but with four children ages four and under, I am SURE there are worse things than a temple trip all by yourself!
4. The weather here is getting PERFECT for family outings.  We can take the kids walking, hiking, camping, biking, it's PERFECT!  And great as well for an early-morning getaway before the kids wake up.
5. There are so many things you can do in Salt Lake without having to LIVE like you live near a big city.  We have access to all the cultural and social perks that we could ever WANT to take advantage of without having to live in the middle of all of those who want the ones we wouldn't choose.  We can be to the country with cows, horses, farms, barns, and fields within 10 minutes of our house.  Or the city within 30.  Great arrangement!
6. My sister lives close enough that we can get together once a month.  I don't even have to PLAN a trip to her house if I don't want to.  And since I am pretty sure Isaac is FEELING his lack of male cousins, it's great to be around the only one his age for them to grow up together (however long it lasts) and not get ganged upon or left out by all the girls.

So those are my top six.  And with such a FABULOUS top six, do I really NEED any more?

Last Sunday we went for a family trip to the Salt Lake Temple and took pictures of the kids.  We also ran into some friends who have recently moved here from California as well.  So even the difficult time making friends here so far may have just been solved!  Heavenly Father has blessed us SO MUCH.  Our entire family dynamic has changed.  And I am SO THANKFUL for that.  

Picture This . . .

No camera for these moments, but a few memories I don't want to forget:

*Tonight at our church Christmas Party, Dave told the kids they had to have ONE BITE of all of the food on their plates: ham, potatoes, green beans, and a roll.  Only THEN could they have a cookie.  Isaac took a bite of the ham.  And a few more.  He tried a bite of the beans.  And one was enough.  Then the potatoes.  One bite was all, friends -- just one small bite.

Fast forward AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER!  The band had played, the crowd had sung, Santa had circled the gym on a skateboard with lights on it, and all the while . . . there sat Isaac, completely silent, refusing to swallow that ONE BITE of potatoes.  And Daddy determined it was a battle of the wills that Isaac was NOT going to win.

We tried everything -- "Isaac, here hold the cookie - all you have to do is swallow the potatoes and you can eat the cookie!" (He tried stuffing the cookie in beside the potatoes in his mouth -- but it didn't work very well, so he just held it!)  When Santa left the room, "Isaac - hurry and swallow your potatoes so you can talk to Santa!  You can't talk to Santa and get candy if your mouth is full!"  Nothing!  He just looked at us, taking it all in.  A young man in the ward gave him a box of nerds.  Again, he tried really hard to fit them in next to the potatoes.  But again, he sat and listened to all the prods to just SWALLOW the potatoes and quietly shook his head.  Dave said, "Well - I guess we have found a solution to the days when he is so loud we need an off button."  I said, "I think you should just take him to the bathroom and let him spit it out!"  But he wasn't "giving in." As we waited in line to see Santa, someone tried to get him to swallow by making it a competition, see who could swallow first.  Isaac just stared and did nothing.

Then, just as we got to the door, Isaac threw his head forward and spit those potatoes all over the floor!  I don't think it was intentional -- he was covered and looked pretty flustered by it all.  I think Abby started to faint because I heard someone say, "No - Abby! Don't touch!" and I turned to find her falling on her knees almost RIGHT IN the mess on the floor - which she would NEVER intentionally do because she HATES being dirty.  I handed Brianna off and went to clean Isaac up as Dave dashed to the bathroom for paper towels to clean up the mess.

In the bathroom, I said, "Isaac! Why did you spit the potatoes all over the floor - why didn't you just SWALLOW them?"  He said, "Because I wanted to talk to Santa!"  I guess he was listening after all . . . . And you have NEVER heard a more proud and excited boy than the one who ran up and climbed up on Santa's lap and told him that he wanted DINOSAURS for Christmas.  He talked about it the whole way home - that he sat on Santa's lap and talked to Santa and got candy!

And, I might add, beat Daddy in the battle of the wills!  Who learned a lesson tonight?

Two other memories I need to record:
* I walked into the kitchen to make dinner only to find Brianna . . . sitting in a pile of broken glass and salsa!  YIKES!  Fortunately we grabbed her, discovered the blood all over my arm was just from a small cut on her right hand, and got her into the bath before more damage was done.  Tender, tender mercies!  With the size and the extent of the shattered glass, it could have been much, MUCH worse!

* I was changing Brianna's diaper, and she started to just cry and scream and wiggle away from me.  Abby and Isaac came and knelt beside her, and Abby started stroking her hair and saying, "It's okay, Bria!"  Then Isaac took her hand and kissed it and Abby started to sing "I Am a Child of God" to her while I finished.  She calmed right down.  I LOVE how tender my twins are sometimes!

In the Still of the Night

It has been such a long - LONG - time since I wrote anything.  It all started with my mom, sister, and niece being here from Idaho! 

We went to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, an island near San Diego (Carlsbad?  I'll have to check - it was definitely unforgettable and worth recording), and Disneyland to celebrate the twins' THIRD birthday BEFORE they were actually three and we had to pay to celebrate it there with them. (Incidentally - if you ever go, check Craigslist for tickets!  We got two adult Park Hopper tickets for $100 - and an evening and night at Disneyland is TOTALLY worth $100. I mean, you'll pay $50 just for dinner for two at a fancy restaurant these days!!!  The parade and fireworks and night show on the lake, the Casey Junior ride with all the little model towns lit up, the night lights on the town and the gorgeous buildings -- all AMAZINGLY magical! And if you have a chance to go with someone who is handicapped, even better!  We got to go through a special line and rarely had to wait more than FIVE MINUTES for EVERY ride!  In fact, I don't think I'll ever go there again without my mom . . . . or I'll just rent a wheelchair and strap on my "boot" from my foot surgery and enjoy!  Just kidding . . . sort of! ;-D  But in all seriousness, hats off to Disneyland because it was such great fun watching my mom RIDE THE RIDES with my kids -- and that is something she would have NEVER been able to do if we'd had to fight through traffic and crowds with her!)

We made these AWESOME Family Home Evening boards.  I'll have to post pictures later, but since I've wanted a Family Home Evening Board for the last THREE YEARS, it was that much greater to put our noses to the grindstone and our pedals to the medal to drive around for FOUR days, through FOUR towns until we got JUST the right accessories to do everything JUST the way we wanted it.  (Incidentally, since you might not know what an FHE Board is: think job chart where you rotate assignments, except it's for fun things -- song, scripture, prayer, activity, treat -- these are the things we include in our once a week family night that is just that - a NIGHT set aside for the family to have some quality, focused, fun-filled time together!)  And since I have my other sister for Christmas - she got an early Christmas present and now has one as well!

A few days after my family went home, Dave's family flew/drove down to have a long weekend with us as well.  And what was supposed to be another fun-filled weekend turned into an IMMENSE tender mercy and testimony of how aware God is of the SMALLEST DETAILS of our lives, preparing the way even before we know a way needs prepared!  Isaac was sick, so I kept he and Brianna home with me while Dave drove down to pick his sister up at the airport to drive over and meet his brother and sister-in-law for dinner.  His sister-in-law had been in Los Angeles for the month to spend time with her family while her husband - Anson - was finishing his tour in Afghanistan.  WHILE THEY WERE EATING DINNER WITH MINIE, she got a Facebook message that said, "I heard about Anson - I am so sorry!  Let me know if you need anything."  She had NOT heard about Anson.  And when she made calls, she was told that there was an accident but he was fine - just a few minor scrapes and bruises.  So they continued to have a fun-filled night.  But when they got back to Lancaster, his sister said that she just didn't have a good feeling about it.  At 6:00 the next morning, we got a call from their mom that Anson had been hit by a grenade and was in a coma, on his way to a hospital in Germany.  And that news began an intensely emotional roller coaster of a weekend that ended with Anson being flown from Germany to Bethesda, MD to the Naval Hospital there.  It has been a long row to hoe.  Most of Dave's family has flown back there to see him.  Dave and I couldn't afford to fly there with the kids, so we took some time and went and spent a few days with Dave's dad while we all waited to see what would happen with him.  It soon became clear that he would be in a coma for a long time and there would be complications, infections, blood transfusions, etc. along the way that would and continues to make it a difficult journey. 

And through it all what continues to shine through is our faith!  And knowing that from the beginning (incidentally, the accident happened almost EXACTLY at the moment that Dave was picking his sister up from the airport to go over and have dinner with Minie - and Dave's other sister had decided the NIGHT BEFORE to also fly down and spend the weekend with us), God was in the details!  Dave's family NEVER gets together!  NE-VER!  And Anson's family lives in Louisiana.  So to have five out of the seven kids accounted for when he was injured was pretty miraculous!  The support, the love, the coming together, the laughter over tears, the tears over tears, the prayers as we knelt together, the fasting together that Sunday morning, the last-minute flights and travel plans, the offers to take care of their children while Minie was with him, just EVERY SINGLE DETAIL and EVERY MOMENT OF FAITH AND HOPE AND LOVE were obvious love notes from a very aware and loving Heavenly Father to His children.  As was the incredible blessing of modern technology as we were able to spread the news quickly to so many people and begin immediately to receive added prayers and support and love from friends and strangers alike!  It has been a MOST humbling experience!

The twins turned THREE on Monday!  Since we had already spent a lot of money on Disneyland, we had a simple birthday party here.  We got a discounted cheesecake sampler and the cheap a la cheap strawberry ice cream from WalMart.  And we picked up Dora and Diego toothbrushes so they would have something to open!  They were so thrilled!!!!  Then their nursery teacher, Sister Black, came over and brought them magnetic trains and coloring packets.  Nursery leaders are the BEST!!! You'd think she plays with them for two hours every Sunday and knows what they like or something!  Isaac didn't put that train down!  They even snuck it into the bathtub that night (and I learned why they had been playing so contently for over an hour and a half)!  And he sleeps with it and would eat with it if toys were allowed at the table!  It was great, great fun!  And I am amazed and humbled that they are getting SO BIG, SO FAST!!!  Tonight Abby asked me what I was looking at.  When I told her I was looking for recipes, she said, "You're looking at recipes?  Oh.  That's cool."  And when Isaac tells me, "Mommy - please don't spank my bottom.  That not very nice!  That make me sad!"  I realize over and over how GROWN up my kids are!  It's been fast and furious, but I really would not change a moment!  And I pray every night that I get to enjoy a lifetime more with them!

Also on Monday, my nephew Jared, who has had seizures for years, went through some pretty intense testing to see if they can do surgery to stop the seizures.  The family took turns sitting with him - he couldn't be left alone for a single minute for like three days of testing - and in the end, we are hopeful they were able to get some good information and a better solution for him and his family is very near!!!  I am amazed at the strength of his family and thankful that my family always pulls together, however they can!

We went to Dave's work for family day the Friday before the twins' birthday.  It is the only day you are allowed past the security gates and locks.  We got to see really cool airplanes, including the one Dave has been involved in testing.  And they had a barbeque and shaved ice and a giant blown-up trampoline with an attached slide!  The kids LOVED it!  And Dave said they ordered the 108 degree weather just for us to appreciate what they go through out there in the desert where it is ALWAYS hotter than we get here . . . in the desert! Whatever!  I know he planned it just to have something to complain about and try to get me to feel sorry for him.  Total manipulation at it's worst! ;-D

And yesterday we took the kids to the fair!  They actually handled it pretty well when we told them we didn't have money for the taunting rides and souvenirs.  But they didn't handle it so well when we pulled them away from the animals in the animal barns!  Abby had a meltdown every time!  They LOVED the goats and sheep and chickens and turkeys and chicks and ducks and rabbits and -- oh the excitement when Abby saw a "MAMA!  Mommy, Mommy, it's a MAMA" (llama) in the petting zoo!  She would NOT leave its side for more than a few seconds before she was looking everywhere to find where it had walked away to!  And by not leave its side, I mean she literally had her hand on its side, patting it reassuringly as she moved wherever it did!  Brianna would whip around me from side to side, eyes and mouth wide open when an animal would walk past us or try to eat my clothes in search of food!  Though she was never sure enough to pet them more than a few pats, she was still incredibly intrigued!  Isaac was equally intrigued but demonstrated it differently.  Like when he pulled the already angry turkey's tail feathers just minutes after I had pulled him AWAY from the practically hissing bird.  Or when he walked right up to the potbelly pigs in the petting zoo, contently sleeping lazily on the side of the fence, and pushed them so hard they actually started to ROLL OVER before I snatched him back (and the roley poley animals rolled right back to their original places)!  I managed to keep his fingers out of the bird cages, but it was incredibly hard when the ducks encouraged him by quacking BACK when he quacked in their faces!  They both wanted to jump on the goats' backs and ride them -- I mean, who wouldn't?  That's what you do, right?  And I was certain we were going to have a few toddlers overboard in the fountain/wishing well!  Add in the sheep roundup with the sheep dogs and I think you can begin to imagine how much FUN our night at the fair was!

Tonight we played a game of Dora the Explorer's Candy Land.  Abby is great at games!  It is so much fun!  Isaac doesn't have the same zeal/attention span for it! But it's still really fun to actually be SITTING DOWN TOGETHER as a family and playing games!  We also have a little hummingbird that has popped up in the last few weeks and likes to fly in front of my kitchen window!  I'll have to see if I can find a reasonably-priced feeder to bring it back!  That would be a fun thing to watch with the kids every day.

In the meantime, Brianna is literally walking CIRCLES around everything and every room!  Seriously she is so proud that she can walk that every time we applaud her - still a bit surprised to see her everywhere and into everything - she gets a proud smile and starts walking in circles, like she's showing off on just how WELL she really IS doing!  She loves it!  And tonight she sat at the table with ALL of us for dinner - no tray between her and the family!  She is saying a few words very clearly, like when she calls for Daddy ("DA!") or shouts "HI!" as she waves to anyone lucky enough to be within range!  Of course she says "Ma-muh - Ma-muh!" and tonight even started saying, "Na-nuh" for night-night!  She has two front teeth and is incredibly adventurous!  And more than once we caught her dancing away on top of Dave's shoulders as we heard music while walking around the fair.  I've just started weaning her, and she loves to drink water from her cup (we're still working on milk -- the weaning from mom process has been a little hard for her, for both of us really as it has gone a lot more quickly than I intended because my milk took the first cue and headed south for the winter).  And she is really the sweetest little angel with the most amazing laugh and contagious smile!  She also sings a LOT!  The most recognizable is "E-I-E-I-O!"  And she LOVES to play with and around the kids.  Tonight Isaac was tackling her and pulling her and patting her head and even trying to ride her!  And through it all, she was as gleeful and giggly as could be!

As for Dave and I -- the other night he told me how much he has realized in the last few weeks that he REALLY WANTS TO DATE ME!  So I guess you could say we're doing pretty good! ;-D  With Brianna weaning from me and this sudden realization after three and a half years that we like each other enough to "date" - life is great! :-)

It is late, but I couldn't let another week go by without updating.  It has been a fast and furious few months.  But life is too short to let those moments go by as just moments!  And if anything were to happen to any of us, we would ALL treasure more than anything the fact that we have even these vague notes to go back to and learn and grow and remember!  And that is priceless!

And if you've stayed with me to the end of this update from the last few months, you get a gold medal!!!  Or at least a gold star of appreciation.  I mean, THAT is true friendship! :-)  And you can never have enough such friends!  Thank you!

Be Still, My Soul

Just a few thoughts that are running disjointedly through my head.  Sorry my blog isn't a picture book - I guess my world doesn't happen in pictures! ;-D

"Be still, my soul - the Lord is on thy side!" I am really feeling the tender mercies of the Lord today.  I feel so incredibly blessed.  When you do all you can, He truly does make up the difference.  Sometimes "all you can do" takes you to the very edge of what you have the strength to bear.  And when He has tested your heartstrings and found He still has center place in your heart, He makes it all a little easier to bear, helps you even to feel it is a blessing to struggle and a blessing to have the struggling lifted or even removed. 

"Be still and know that I am God."  In the end, this is what He is working for.  He doesn't worry about depleting funds.  He doesn't worry about sickness or disease or death or trial.  He is all about HAVING your heart.  Having us KNOW that He is God - God over all.  In and about and through and over everything you could ever experience or struggle with.

"Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin . . . .Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

And there is the real test - seek the Kingdom of God and all other things will be added unto you. Don't pull up or cast away the seed of faith because of fear or doubt or lack of answers.  The Lord is on YOUR side.  And He will take care of everything you need if you will just give Him your heart.

And finally, Neal A. Maxwell taught, "As you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give. Don't wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it! No need to wait for a receipt; the Lord has His own special ways of acknowledging."

'Tis the Season

It's been a hard last four months, but today I want to write about how watchful and mindful of us the Lord has been.

Remember when I was in Boise with sick kids, waiting for Dave to recover and trying to get home?  He got a call one afternoon that essentially told him that if he didn't drill by the end of that day, he was being discharged from the National Guard.  Which led to me getting a call from my husband that I better not take the kids to the doctor until future notice.  I called the insurance and verified that we did, in fact, lose all coverage effective the date of discharge.  And I cried.  A lot.  There were other unknowns and are other repercussions of his discharge that came with it, but nothing hit me as hard as losing health insurance.

A few weeks went by.  Dave called and left messages, trying to find out what was going on, when his discharge day was, if he had already been discharged, etc. And we never heard back.  Then Abby got sick.  So Dave went on base and got into his records and found out he hadn't been discharged yet.  So I took her to the doctor.  Then I got sick.  Then Isaac.  Each time, it was okay, we were still on, we could still go to the doctor.  Then one day a woman called and told Dave that his official discharge date was Dec. 20.  And she apologized left and right for the way it had all been handled and the lack of communication on their end.

That was great until Tuesday when Isaac and Abby were diagnosed with chronic ear infections -- meaning there is fluid on their ears that won't go away with antibiotics and has to be manually drained in an outpatient surgery when they put tubes in their ears.  We were referred to a doctor, she couldn't get us in until January.  We had planned on switching insurances in January, so we thought - "No big deal, we'll just wait until the new insurance kicks in and get it taken care of then."  Then Abby woke up crying this morning and told me, "Mommy, ear hurt, need go to doctor."

Great.  So we have two children with ear infections that won't respond to antibiotics, fluid that is building up and causing them extreme discomfort/intolerable pain, a doctor that can't see us until January, insurance that ends on Sunday.  I called the doctor back and said that I needed some help knowing what my options are and what I should do with these two toddlers.  She called back and told me to try another ENT Specialist.  So I called, and they can get me in tomorrow; however, THURSDAY (today) is the doctor's surgery day, so the soonest they could get operated on would be next Thursday, which is only if the hospital has room on the schedule to put in two more patients.  And, either way, we won't have insurance.  The nurse at the ENT specialist's office also told me the worst-case scenario is that the fluid will build until the ear drum breaks and the fluid comes out.  And the ear drum will generally heal itself, we would just probably need antibiotic drops to get the kids through it, which without insurance would cost us around $260 for the two kids.  Do-able.  Not favorable, but do-able.  She explained the protocol for taking care of the kids if the ear drums did break, bathing procedures, etc., and said that without surgery a broken ear drum could, in the long run, lead to hearing damage/loss.  I listened to it all and took notes on everything she said -- worried, relieved, etc. Though in my mind I was already crying at the thought of watching them go through that much pain for that long until the drum just broke on its own.  I went ahead and got them the appointment for tomorrow.

And then I did what any good parent would do and started to pray HARD.  I called and told Dave what had happened and asked him if could please try to get in touch with the Sergeant in charge of his discharge and see if, by some chance, the paperwork had fallen through the cracks again or they were waiting on someone to get back from vacation and it hadn't been signed or SOMETHING that might make it so we had insurance longer than the previously-established date of December 20.

And I called my mom who urged me to talk to Dave's work and see if, since he had involuntarily lost insurance coverage, there was a way to get on insurance prior to the date they had given him already.

I was about to go and look up a number to call when Dave called me and said, "Um - so I talked to Sgt. ???????, and we have coverage until December 31, at least, possibly longer than that.  She said she can't guarantee coverage past that, but she can guarantee we will have it until December 31."  I was speechless and got out something like, "How?  Why?"  And he said she was basically holding it for signatures through that date as a favor to us because of this situation and -- I think -- because she still felt bad about the lack of communication throughout all of this.

Or maybe you can scratch all of the above - or loop it all together - and just say that Heavenly Father needed me to know today that He is still aware of ME and is watching out for us because He knows we are doing all we can do.  And that is the story I am sure I can join with countless others this holiday season as many people see and feel the hand of the Lord and His miracles in their lives.

But you know what?  I don't think it's limited to this season.  I think this is just the time when we have eyes to see and ears to hear.  And I hope I can do better at seeing and hearing all the time to take note of and offer thanks for the miracles that happen in my life, and the lives of those I love, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Update 12/17: We went to the ENT Specialist this morning and have surgery scheduled for next Thursday, Dec. 23.  I am incredibly nervous as a mother - it is going to be so hard to see them go through all of the pre-op stuff and get put to sleep.  And I know they are going to seriously FREAK OUT!  I'm crying already at the thought.  BUT, I also know that this will be the end to a LOT of misery and pain and sleepless nights.  And for that, I am so thankful for modern medicine and that they don't have to get to the point of having so much fluid build up that their eardrums break on their own.  They'll be able to hear better and sleep better and not have Tylenol and Ibuprofen on the top of their best friends forever list.  After last night's tears and cries all night from Abigail, I think that would be even more miserable to watch.