A Heart for Carter...

This has not been an easy year for my family to say the least, but for every trial we have been given, we have also been able to experience a miracle. Carter's heart is one of those miracle's. Carter is my nephew and when my sister in law, Jessica, was pregnant she found out that Carter had a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He had his first open heart surgery at 3 days old, spent his first 6 months of life in the PICU at Primary Children's Medical Center, and has been in and out of the hospital ever since. This little boy has been through more than anybody I know and and goes through all of it with a smile on his cute little face. Ever since he was born we knew that eventually he would need a new heart, but I always figured it would be in his teenage years or later. When complications came up and the final surgery he needed to reconstruct his heart was not going to be an option, we realized he was going to need a heart much sooner. He was listed on the transplant list a few months ago and on Sunday Dec. 4 Stayler and Jessica got the call that there was a heart for Carter. This came a lot sooner than any of us expected and after 13 hours of surgery, countless prayers and a lot of waiting, Carter had a new heart. I can't express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father enough for sending Carter to our family. He has taught us SO much in his 4 short years of life and has truly been a blessing to our entire family. Mostly, he has taught me what faith is. He has taught me that our Heavenly Father is in control and there is plan, even if I can't see it from where I am standing. His parents have taught me the true meaning of sacrifice and charity through their amazing love for Carter. Anyone who knows Carter loves him! Little Miss may be one of his biggest fans and is always so excited to see him. His road has been anything but easy, but his spirit is so strong and his will to live life is even stronger. I am so grateful to the donor family for their willingness to allow Carter a chance to live his life to the fullest with a new healthy heart.

And this is one of the most incredible families I know. My brother Stayler, his wife Jessica and their four kids; Carter, Bridger, Mason and Audri. Carter is so lucky to have them as his family, he couldn't be in better hands. They are his biggest fans and his constant support and I am lucky to get to have them all as my family and I love them so much!

Our Thanksgiving 2011...

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Since Miss A was just over a week old, we decided to keep it low key, so we stayed at home and did our own little Thanksgiving with just our family and it couldn't have turned out more perfect. Jeff did the majority of the cooking and oh boy did it turn out amazing! He took time to study out some recipes on-line and found one for some amazing mashed potatoes and since neither of us are huge turkey fans, he also found a recipe for ribs...they were incredible! I made the stuffing and the rolls and a key lime pie for dessert and together we made a pretty impressive feast. After eating and filling ourselves completely full we watched some football and just spent time together as a family. Us girls were so grateful to get to have daddy around the whole week of Thanksgiving and to just spend time with him. Jeff helped out so much and especially made the transition to two kids a lot easier on me. We love him so much! We ended the night with a family "sleepover" and watched a couple short Christmas shows. It really was a perfect day and we really do have so much to be grateful for. I love my family so much and am very grateful I can have them for eternity.

Baby Alyssa...

Our sweet baby Alyssa is here!! She was 7lbs 12oz and 19.5in long. She must have been pretty excited to get here because she was a week early from her due date and 5 days early from my scheduled c-section, and we are so glad because we were so excited to meet her! She is an absolute joy to have in our home and I can't express how much we all love her! Especially Caitlin, she has taken to being a big sister so much better than I could have even hoped. She loves her so much and always wants to protect her when she is crying. She will get right by her face and say so soft,"oh heavens, oh my goodness Alyssa, its ok..." She kisses her head so soft and loves when Alyssa holds her finger. It has been such a gift to all of us to be able to love someone else this much and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for sending her to our home.

The Story...

So the night before Alyssa was born, a bunch of my friends decided to do a "last" girls night before I had Alyssa, apparently, just in time! We just sat around laughing really hard and eating awesome food. I was joking before I left that I thought I was going to go into labor that night...little did I know. I got home about 12:50am and got ready and went to bed. I didn't sleep very good and woke up at 3am feeling pretty uncomfortable. I just tried to sleep, thinking that would make me feel better, but with no luck. At 4:30am I woke Jeff up and told him I thought I was in labor. He started timing my contractions and they were coming 1.5-2 minutes apart so he told me we better get to the hospital. We called my friend Laurel (yes, she was out till way too late the night before too!) and she came right over to stay with Caitlin and we headed out. By the time we got to the hospital, my contractions were pretty intense and the nurse asked if I wanted to try a VBAC or do a c-section. Up until this point I was so unsettled on what to do and couldn't feel peaceful about either decision, but I looked at Jeff and we both just knew she needed to come c-section. After they finally got an IV in me (with the aid of an ultrasound on my arm and 4 attempts...I have the battle scars to prove it) I was able to get the epidural and it was definitely as welcome this time as last! My doctor and Jeff were able to give me blessing and we were set to go. They took me down to the OR and got the c-section under way and at 7:04am our little girl was born, beautiful and healthy. She didn't even cry much at all, just looked around at everyone and made a couple little noises. I got one look at her and it was love at first sight. Jeff was amazing. He gives me so much strength and peace when he is with me and I know that he will keep us safe and provided for. I love him so much and am so glad I have him to experience this life with. He is pretty smitten with this new little one as well! Jeff took her to the nursery with the nurse and I headed to the recovery room. An hour later, Jeff and Alyssa joined me and I found out quickly that she was going to be a pro at nursing...yay! We left to our room and we got to spend time with our new little one. Laurel was awesome and took Caitlin to church and brought her to the hospital later that day. Caitlin didn't want too much to do with me in the hospital bed, but she instantly took to daddy and "baby Alyssa" (if we call her anything else she will correct us!) After spending a while with us and warming up to me again, Laurel took Caitlin back to her house and she spent the rest of the day with them. Jeff's parents left Utah and headed to Washington to see us as soon as they got the call I was in labor and we are so grateful they did! They spent the whole week here and took such good care of Caitlin. It was such a relief to have them here so Jeff could stay with me and spend more time at the hospital. Our house was cleaned, food prepared...We love Grandma and Pa! While I was in the hospital some of my really good friends came to visit and made my stay that much more enjoyable:) Overall, this experience has been so amazing. I love my husband and girls more than I could ever imagine and am overwhelmed with gratitude for my blessings. This is why we are here, to bring families to this earth and have our joy be full, and mine is very full! We love you Alyssa and are so glad we have you forever!

Biker Babe...

Little Miss has been wanting a bike forever! Every time she goes to the park and sees all the kids on their bikes she wants to ride them or just stand by them even! So my friend Laurel told me about these balance bikes that don't have any pedals or training wheels and they are supposed to be awesome for teaching balance. So in October Jeff and I finally ordered one and it was an awesome purchase! She LOVES her bike! She is already starting to be able to pick up her feet and balance on two wheels. It is so fun to watch her grow up and learn new things! And luckily, Laurel lives in a house in a super quiet neighborhood and there is a perfect little route around their block that they can ride their bikes and wear themselves out. Little Miss loves Hank and Charlie, so it makes for a perfect day...especially because she goes to bed so easy on those nights:)

Halloween 2011

So Halloween was not the ideal holiday for us this year, but we still had a great time! Little Miss was starting to get sick but we were able to make it to our ward trunk-or-treat on Saturday night and we had so much fun! We have such awesome friends up here and the kids have so much fun together! She was supposed to be a ballerina, but my friend had this super warm butterfly outfit that she let us borrow and I was so glad she did...I didn't have to worry about her freezing all night. So we decided she would be a ballerina on Monday for all the indoor Halloween activities we had planned...little did we know. On Monday, Jeff came home from school to play with Little Miss and I headed to a doctors appt. When I got home we were all so excited and dressed her up in her pink ballerina outfit and headed to the Halloween carnival. After the carnival we were going to go to the mall to trick-or-treat and then to a few houses, however, right as we pulled up to the carnival, she threw up all over herself, her car seat and our car. We didn't even get to park. We just kept driving and headed back home. She was such a good sport and asked if we could go home and clean her up and then go back to the carnival...she said she felt better:( It was so sad and I kept telling her how bad I felt and that I was sorry. She just kept saying, "its ok mommy, I'm ok". I love this little girl so much. So hopefully next year will be our year for Halloween...right?!

To The Rescue!!

This past weekend we went to a 'Super Hero' party for one of Caitlin's best friends up here and she had a blast! There was a mini photo shoot of all the kids in their super hero attire, and this is hers...she is pretty much dressed as herself with extra powerful lady bug boots. She had to wear them. I love this girl. If I was ever in mortal danger she is exactly what I would want to see!

Time...

I feel like I need to take a minute to write down some thoughts I have been having over the last few days and I am trying to follow promptings I receive, so I better get writing.

A couple weeks ago my mom had me listening to a collection of talks by Pres. Henry B. Eyring and there was one talk specifically that has really come to mean a lot to me in the last week or so. I will not be able to convey his message near as eloquently or accurately as he does but I hope the feelings I am having will come across as I mean them. The talk was about how the real gift that our Heavenly Father has given us is the gift of time and the ability to use that time the way we want to. We don't know how much time we will be given but we do know that the use of that time will have eternal consequences and we know that our Heavenly Father's mercy is so great that he will give us as many opportunities as he possibly can to turn to him and redirect our paths. I know now why one of the mottos the Church has is "It's about time..." because that is what it is all about. We only have a small amount of time on this earth to learn to love deeply, serve unselfishly, comfort unceasingly and judge righteously. We only have a small amount of time to learn to bear one anothers burdens, repent of our sins, forgive others their mistakes and weaknesses and to become more like our Savior.

I have recognized the teachings of the spirit more in the last 12 days than I have in my entire life combined and more than anything I have been taught of the unconditional, undying love that our Savior has for each one of us. It truly is his work and his glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He loves us, he wants us to return to him, and he is willing to do everything in his power, aside from take away our agency, to help us to return to him. I know these things are true. I know He hears and answers our prayers. I know He will send peace and comfort even in the most hopeless of times if we will but ask, and the peace and reassurance He will send is unlike anything the world has to offer. As we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ he will make more of us than we could ever hope to make of ourselves. There are so many people that are lost and have forgotten who they are and what they can become, and it is our responsibility to seek them out and help them to feel the love of our Savior through our service and example.

I know Jesus Christ lives and I love him with all of my heart. I know he atoned for our sins and I know that families can be forever. I know that the time we have been given here is so precious and that we need to use that time each and every day to grow closer to Him and to bring others with us. Let us use this time to judge less, forgive freely, serve with all our hearts, and love others as He loves us. Let us repent of our sins and turn away from those things that will draw us away from His light and His love.

Let's try to remember each moment we live that it is about time. Don't wait to tell the people you love that you love them. Don't wait to forgive someone who has wronged you. Don't wait for tomorrow to listen to the promptings of the spirit. Now is the time and my prayer is for the strength to act on and remember this each day for the rest of my life.