Long Weekend...

In a good way! We have been looking forward to this weekend for a while now. Not that we have anything significant planned, but any time you get 3 days in a row...its awesome! Hailey did so good in her first week of school. She had some trouble with talking in class and not following directions, but show me one 5 yr old that does it 100% and I will owe you money! She really likes her teacher and works hard to please her. I already see her behavior at home improving. :)

Megan misses her big sister during the day. The BFF she has known since birth is gone nearly all day long. She is adjusting though. She asks how Hailey is doing and when she is coming back. The good thing is that she understands she IS coming back. So, she spends her time helping my mom take care of Joseph and her cousin. She is very maternal!

Joseph is still doing great. We have not used his G-tube (other than for medicine) in over a week! He has slept through the night for 4 nights in a row now! Its great! It makes my early mornings and full days of work much easier to deal with. He is talking and smiling so much more now. And his appetite is none other than a duplicate of his father. The boy always wants to eat!! Its times like this where I don't miss nursing. I would have loved the chance to nurse him but for those of you who nurse...you know what I mean when they always want to be right there at your boob! He has several checkups in the beginning of Sept. I will update when we know more.

For our Holiday tomorrow we are taking the kids to the Zoo. I for one am very excited. I love the Zoo!! Its been a little while since we were there last and the girls are looking forward to it. We are going to take Joseph too. :) He will have his first real outing tomorrow. We are taking my sister and her daughter too. It should be a fun day.

Last but not least...the Twilight series. I am still very much involved. I am just under half way done with the final book. So far I'm really loving it! In fact, after I get the kids into bed, my plan is to dig right back into it! I cant wait to find out what happens next!

Off to College???

Not quite, but I feel like Im losing my hold on her really fast. Hailey had her first official day of school today. She did sooo good when we dropped her off. She acted as if she had done it a thousand times before. She walked right in, sat down, and began the coloring activity. So many other parents were in tears or their child was crying. Not Hailey...she was very excited. Once I realized that she didnt "Need" me there, we said our goodbyes. She just smiled and kept right on coloring saying "See you later Mom." My baby seemed so grown up. Her teacher is really nice and I know she will definitely be good for Hailey and her large amount of energy. :) As shocking as it was, I didnt cry. I fully expected that I would. But I guess seeing just how well she did was a major comfort. I did shed a tear on the way to work thinking about how much she has changed and accomplished in 5 years. Wow...



Megan was sad to see her go but understood that Hailey was going to school to LEARN not play. Megan thought school was just a big play ground. haha. She will learn soon enough that there was no rush! After we dropped Hailey off I took Megan and Joseph to my mom and I headed off to work. I had planned to take atleast the morning off, but ended up only being an hour and half late. My boss was pleased. lol.



Here are some pictures of Hailey on her first day. I also included one of Megan's "Backpack." :)

The Last Days.....

Before School that is. I cant believe that in a matter of DAYS now, Hailey will be in school. How does one cope with this? I have such mixed emotions about it. I WANT her to go...but I don't know how to LET GO. My first born baby is going out into this crazy world. Strangers to me are supposed to take care of her all day. UGH...the feeling makes my stomach hurt. On the other hand, I'm super excited for her. I feel her life is really starting to take off. She is going to get so much experience from this. I'm excited for her to have friends at school, to tell me about her day, help with homework, and see her put all her energy to work! Again....Letting go is the key.

I'm still very involved with the Twilight series. I am on book 3...about half way done. I'm so glad I didn't have to wait like some of you to find out what happens next. Its a continuous story for me! I read every single day and sometimes night...lol. Its such a good series. I am like my friend Heather, when its all done....Then what????

Anyway, I believe we are going to do Hailey's party this weekend for her birthday. Its so hard trying to mesh schedules. It isn't going to turn out quite like I planned...but oh well. She will get the main idea behind the "Princess" theme. Its hard to keep up this blogging deal now that I am back to work. I feel so exhausted by the end of the day. I will keep going though. :)

P.S.- For those of you with children...incase you didnt know Sept. 7th is Grandparents day. Show some love to your childrens spoilers! Here is a site I love that makes it easy. www.personalcreations.com

Work Shmirk....

Today I finished my first official week of work. It wasn't TERRIBLE...but it wasn't great, fun or exciting either. Its pretty much back to normal now. I wish even more now that I could find a way to work from home. We don't have anymore appointments planned for this month. HUGE SHOCKER. Since he has been home he has had 1-2 each week. Things are finally starting to settle.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday to buy all of Hailey's school supplies. I spent 65.00. I couldn't believe the list. I know that I am buying for the whole class for the entire year, along with other parents, but I also know I am making up for parents who don't buy anything. One item on the list said "18 Elmer's Glue Sticks". Yes....18!! Now if all 20-25 students bring it...that's a WHOLE LOT of glue! I have just learned to stop complaining and buy it. Its not like complaining is going to make the list disappear.

Anyway, not much has been going on. Hailey is excited for School, Megan is finally pooping VERY regularly in the toilet, and Joseph is still making progress. Joe is doing his thing at the Sheriff's office and I'm back at work. Its nice to finally be somewhat Normal again...but now that things have slowed down...I find myself....bored. (but in a good way) :)

Blessing Day

So Yesterday we were finally able to Bless Joseph. It was a great day. Our Bishop was kind enough to attend the blessing at our home. It has become a tradition. Back tracking.... when Hailey was being blessed my grandparents flew in from California. The airline lost their luggage and it would not be retrieved before the blessing. We decided to bless her at home so that my grandparents wouldnt need to go to church in street clothes. When Megan was born we decided it was nice to have the privacy of just the family sharing the event...and so began the tradition. The same went for Joseph. Everyone in my family was there accept for CJ (he wasnt able to get out of teaching his priesthood class) and Celeste who lives in Utah. My mom provided his blessing outfit (that is her tradition) which even in the smallest size made, he was still swimming in it. The blessing was beautiful. It gave me some comfort. Joe was very emotional through it all. He paused several times to compose himself. I love that about him. I have been very blessed to have my husband worthy enough to provide these sweet blessings to all 3 of our children. Joseph did very well through it too. He started to fuss just a little, but the gentle rocking of all the men soothed him easily. Needless to say, the spirit was very strong. Here are a few pictures.

Will the Rain Cloud ever leave???

Alot has happened the past few days, hence the reason I was not able to post. Hailey fell down and broke her right arm. Its not a bad break...but a fracture. She has a bright pink cast on for the next 4 weeks. She doesn't seem to mind other than the fact she cant scratch when she itches. The other negative is that she will have it on for her 5th birthday and her first few days of school. :( I was hoping it would be done by then. Below are some pictures. It just seems the old saying rings true..."When it rains...it Pours." I believe we have filled our quota of bad things for quite some time. "Dear Bad Karma, Please pack your bags and leave the Flings alone!"

New Obsession?

What on earth...how can a book...a fictional story captivate me so intensely? I am constantly thinking about this book and its characters. This author is sooo good. I'm glad I decided to finally read this book. I'm a little more than half way finished with the first book. I would be done by now if part of my day and night wasn't taken up by work, kids and sleep. :) I look forward to finishing it and starting the rest of the series. Not to mention I'm so excited to learn there is a movie coming out in December. I WILL have to see it. Anyway, this post really serves no purpose except that I cant read anymore tonight because I have to sleep...so I get to at least blog about it one last time tonight. :) Pathetic...but fun!

Work...well kinda

Today was my first day back at work. It was...interesting. My co-workers were really excited to see me. It has been 3 months and 2 days since I was last in the building. I took some pictures in reflecting back on the 2 month journey in the NICU. I logged into my computer only to find that I had 400 unanswered emails. OH JOY. Each one needed my attention one way or the other. I knocked it down to half by the time I left. It was a long day because of the lack of sleep I received the night before. Little man was not very cooperative when I mentioned I was working the next day. It was a nice break though. I still worried about him, wondered how my mom was making out for the first time alone with him. She did good, a little nervous (completely understandable) but good. It takes time to get used to his routine. She is a mother of 7 kids...but its her first time with a feeding tube and continuous medication. Not to mention he had surgery days before and still has the bandages on his head. I feel more comfortable with giving some of the responsibility to others. Not completely...but I'm getting there.

I have also been reading more of the Twilight book. Its great so far. I love it when people tell me "This book is a must read...you will love it" and it turns out to be the truth. I find myself thinking about the characters as if they were real people. Odd huh? Its almost like I found myself wondering " Whats Bella doing right now?" or "I wonder if Edward was back at school today." Again, this all could be from lack of sleep too. Haha. Well...I'm going to make some dinner and settle back into my book. I want to answer the above questions. :)

Home At Last

We made it home. FINALLY. This was a short hospital stay when you consider the nature of the surgery but MY GOSH it was soooo long for me. It was a very difficult past 2 nights. Monitors beeping, babies crying, kids screaming, late night visitors for the roommates, nurse checks every hour...it was terrible. However, we endured and he is home safe and sound with me. Seems he needs some Tylenol every 8 hours or so..but WHO can blame the little guy. He just finished his 3rd major surgery in 3 months! The doctor was pleased with results and confirmed the shunt is in place, no additional bleeding and his ventricles already appear to be smaller. YAY for little man! During my stay in the hospital I decided to read a book everyone had been raving about. Yes, I began "Twilight." The verdict....great book so far! I'm very intrigued. I'm not a reader so this has to mean this author is amazing! I continued reading nearly through the 2nd night because there was no possibility of sleep. To those who have not yet read the book, get it. Start it...you WILL finish it within days. Anyway, just wanted to post to confirm our homecoming.

Quick Post

Well, things didnt go as planned. Joseph ended up needing to be admitted early to the hospital for surgery. It was not life threatening but he was uncomfortable. He had his shunt surgery at about 4:30 pm yesterday. I stayed overnight with him and will again tonight. He is doing great though. He was in such good spirits by late morning today. He was smiling too. :) If all goes as planned, he should be home tomorrow afternoon. I will post again with an update. Thank you, to those who kept him and I in your prayers. They are working.

Heartache....

Its late. I can't sleep. My little one is fast asleep in a peaceful slumber...all 3 of them as a matter of fact. I walked into my little girls' room and tucked them in for the night. They always kick their covers off in their sleep. I always seem to sleep better when I know that they are warm, safe and content. I just starred at them. My gosh they are gorgeous. The two most beautiful creations on this earth. Such sweet little girls. So full of life. Such a passion for excitement and fun. Words cant even come close to expressing how much love I have for my children. I only want what is best for them. I never want them to hurt, feel sad or scared. I want to protect them from this world we live in. Yet I want them to experience life. I want them to grow up and express their individuality. I want them to become amazing adults. Then my thoughts always turn to little Joseph. An amazing little spirit. So strong, vibrant and special. HE IS SOMEONE GREAT. But why...why must he have to endure such hardship so early? I want to take it from him. I begged God today to let me have it...to put his pain and suffering on me. I wanted his little head to be healed so badly. I prayed and it didn't happen. I'm not mad at God. I know that Joseph was his son before he was mine. He doesn't want to see him suffer. And I know he is protecting him from our fallen brother. Still though, knowing all that does not make it any easier to see my precious baby boy endure so much in such a short time. How much can a little baby weighing less than 9 lbs take? But my gosh he is a fighter. He is amazing. His sisters love him so much. Hailey loves to take care of him. She has so much concern for him. Always wants him to be happy. Megan just wants to protect him. She loves to hold him and sing him songs. And he loves them in return. He just stares into their faces listening so intently. Heavenly Father has blessed me with 3 beautiful children. All 3 their own person. I thank him so much for that. I need him to hear my prayers...I am slowly cracking. I'm a compassionate mother. I can only handle seeing my children in pain so much before I lose it. And I'm losing it. I find myself holding Joseph and crying into his tiny chest. I have apologized to him for not making it better...not having the power to change it. I try my best to explain that there is a reason for it all. He is so sweet, he just looks into my eyes almost as if he knows why. He is loved by many. I just need a break from the bad. Anyway...this post is a late one. My heart is very heavy right now. I just want to cuddle my baby to sleep...and that's exactly what I intend to do.