Feelin' the Love

One of the BEST parts of being a Mommy:

Gotta love the sibling love!

My Testimony Today

I have been waiting for this day for almost 2 years. Because today I can stand before you and say that I no longer believe- I know.

I know that the Lord answers prayers & I know that if we do our part, the Lord will keep his promises.

To back up a little for those of you that don’t know our story, almost 2 years ago, at 2 weeks old, our son Jack was diagnosed with a bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss. We were shocked & upset, of course, but it didn’t seem like the end of the world. Then, in Jack’s blessing at 4 weeks old, our Heavenly Father, through my husband, promised us that our son’s “hearing would be made whole.” I knew that this promise came straight from the Lord, because my husband surely doesn’t talk like that!

I felt such relief & thankfulness to know that my Heavenly Father knew the fears of my heart & was comforting our family during a difficult time.

I don’t know if you can imagine my utter devastation when at 4 months old, Jack was fitted with hearing aids and we were told that he would have to wear them for the rest of his life. Is wearing hearing aids a big deal? Absolutely not. But I expected the Lord to make it all better right away, & I was so confused! It took a while for me to realize that I needed to remain faithful & let the Lord work in his own time.

So for the past 20 months we’ve endured hearing tests, speech therapy visits, developmental evaluations, 2 sets of tubes, & more hearing tests. It’s been a very long road for 2 parents who didn’t think Jack actually needed the hearing aids in the first place.

Every time we had another test that confirmed he had a hearing loss & every time a friend or stranger inquired about his ears, it was a test of my faith. I literally had to trust the Lord with all my heart & lean not unto the experts’ understanding.

I am thrilled to stand before you today & say that this last Tuesday it was confirmed that Jack has, in fact, 100% normal hearing. No hearing aids are necessary & he’s actually ahead of schedule developmentally. The staff at the Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind didn’t know what to say. They almost didn’t know how to proceed with a child that they now had to release from being eligible for their services- needless to say, this doesn't happen all that often! They’ve occasionally commented that I was in denial about Jack’s hearing loss. My only reply to that was that what they called denial, I called faith.

This week was truly wonderful. I have felt no surprise, only an amazing thankfulness to the Lord. I had a wonderful missionary experience as I was able to bear my testimony to the staff at ASDB as to how I KNEW that the Lord had promised us this & I was only waiting for the day when it would actually happen. They called it a miracle, but I think that’s a little extreme.

I really feel that Jack’s wearing or not wearing hearing aids is completely beside the point. It’s not a big deal to me. I kind of miss them & they make for a great conversation starter in the grocery store. What is a big deal to me is the feeling of thankfulness & resolution over a promise that was made almost 2 years ago.

I know that we were blessed because we did everything we were supposed to do. We did the testing, we bought the hearing aids, we met with the experts regularly. I don’t know if we would have been so blessed had we not done all of that. I know that the Lord did his part after we did ours.

So I just want to stand here today & say that I now KNOW that the Lord is aware of us. He loves us & wants to bless us. I know that my Heavenly Father is looking for ways to make us happy.

I love my Heavenly Father. I love my life, I am grateful for a calling that gives me the opportunity to bear my testimony on a regular basis.

I know that my Reedemer lives & that he loves me. I am so thankful for my beautiful family & know that we can be together forever if we are faithful.
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Today was a great day! I was able to bear this testimony & loved every second of it. The people in my ward were truly touched by our story & Jack was kissed all up & down the hallways. So many of my friends & family have made this journey of faith with us, & I want to thank you all for your prayers & faith. I feel amazing, knowing that we passed a test of sorts. I can only hope that this doesn't mean we'll have even bigger trials of faith anytime in the near future!

Today was a really great day!

Got a Couple Hours?

I LOVE this time of year.

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The kids helping, the yummy food we put up, and the feeling that I'm doing something good for my family.

It doesn't get any better than this. (Except maybe when it's time to do green chiles or apple butter. YUM!!!)

We're Having A....... (Try #2)

Ultrasound #2 was fun.

Emma was out of school today, so all the kids got to tag along with me to the Dr's office. Daddy had to work, so we threw a little "surprise" party for him when he got home to announce the news.

Emma chose the party music & Frank dictated where to hang the streamers & balloons.
Nice centerpiece, Emma. Very tasteful.

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And the "surprise"?

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Daddy had to examine the ultrasound for a LONG time to accept it.

I think he's still in shock.

I think we all are.

(In case you can't tell, I was SURE that this little munchkin was a girl. Therefore, everybody else thought it was a girl, too!)

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So baby #4 is going to be BOY #3.

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Oh, boy!

Is It Monday Yet?

Life is not always daisies & roses.

Our weekend, in fact, was more like sewer rats & root canals.

Enjoy knowing that this was not you!

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1. Emma trips in the driveway on the way out on our family walk, impaling herself on her Popsicle stick. Bloody knees, scraped elbows, sore chest, the whole 9 yards.
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2. On our family walk, Daisy the dog got HIT BY A TRUCK DRIVING 50+ mph.
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3. Family walk, remember? The kids got to witness the whole gruesome event- I can't even begin to describe the hysteria. Horrific, just horrific.
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4. While trying to hustle the kids into the shower to avoid the bloody dog outside, Jack gets cracked in the head with a cabinet door. More bruises & tears.
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5. Mommy seriously overdoes it on Saturday. Costco, Wal-Mart, baptism, canning peaches. Yikes! Contractions already? Ugh- I am going to have to watch it so they don't stick me on bed rest again.
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6. Sacrament talks on pornography, Beehive lesson on chastity. Super fun!
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7. Jack gets swarmed by an ant hill of giant black ants. More than a dozen bites all over his body result in manic tears & scraping his body on the floor all over the house.
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8. Allergic reaction to the ant bites! Where's the Benadryl??!!

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I truly cannot wait for tomorrow to get here.

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FYI- the dog is doing fine. She was heavily medicated & got to reside in the house with the humans for a while, but she's up, about, & chasing bunnies tonight. I think the prayers my kiddos & hubby were offering constantly had something to do with it. Seriously, after seeing that collision I can't even believe she's alive, much less healthy.

Want a SERIOUSLY TOUGH dog?

Get a heeler.

My Good Deed for the Day

As my act of service for August 3, I didn't punch an old man in the mouth.

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Yeah, you read right. Call me awful, mean, & just plain witchy, but I think you might feel the same way too if you were me.

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If you were sitting in a nice restaurant eating a nice meal, with 3 kids making almost no noise & stuffing their faces as fast as they could. (This is not usually the case, so I appreciate it when it does happen.)

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If you had a waitress bring an elderly couple to sit at the table next to you & the man says (loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear) "I don't want to sit anywhere near all those kids- I want to sit over there."

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If the waitress burst out laughing & led them to a table across the restaurant, with the other diners suddenly looking at you like your family has leprousy.

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I really do think that it was an act of charity for me not to go tell him just how I felt.

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Sigh.....be Christlike, Kris.

Maybe he has terrible grandkids & can't stand to be around anyone under 4 feet tall.

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Why did this have to happen when they were actually behaving themselves? And why did they have to hear it? Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if they were being stinkers & it could be used as a learning experience.

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Sigh.....this Mama Bear is going to bed now. Maybe tomorrow I'll take them for ice cream to show them that not all adults are mean.

Joy School!

My Frank is officially a big boy.

He started preschool this week & is VERY proud that he gets to go to school like Emma.

(Although Emma calls preschool "baby school." What a stinker!)

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He had a little trouble understanding why he goes to a different house every week instead of a school building like Emma, but he got over that quickly & is loving it.

Yep-- 4 boys & no girls in this group. This is going to be an interesting year! Do you think he digs the backpack?

He wears it about 75% of the time now, even in the car. I love this boy!