Gratitude

I am up at 3:24 this morning with a lot of gratitude in my heart. I have had two experiences that have really helped me realize how much Heavenly Father loves me.
A couple nights ago, Halley just totally randomly let out a few little screams. I am a very light sleeper so I naturally woke up. She didn't cry anymore, but I felt a little funny so I tested my blood sugar, and lo and behold, I was way low. (For those of you who don't know, I have diabetes, and having low blood sugar is bad. You can have seizures and stuff.) I thought, "Hmmm . . . maybe she woke up just so I would wake up."
Well, about ten minutes ago I woke up from a HORRIBLE dream. It was one of those dreams that make you really mad and sad and scared and all those bad emotions at the same time. Well, I kept trying to go back to sleep, and I couldn't because I was thinking about the dream.
Anyway, so I decided, well, I may as well test my blood sugar. Yikes! My blood sugare was not 138, it was 46 (normal for me is 80-120)! Holy cow! I am still feeling a little weird.
I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is looking out for me. When I was first diagnosed, I had NO problems waking up in the night if my blood sugar was low, but I guess I am more tired now - what with three crazy children keeping me on my toes all day and sometimes during the night. He he he . .
So, I am off to bed with a feeling of humility and gratitude because I know someone cares about my family and me and our well-being. Oh, and I am going to change the basal rate on my insulin pump really quick too. I think it must be too high, and that's why I've gone low.
Goodnight!

Random Pictures from March

Here are a few pictures I've taken over the past few weeks.
Some of these are of Halley pulling herself up on her knees. She does that all the time now. These first couple are from the first few times she did it. I love these pictures because of her hair. I had it up in a cute ponytail, and I can't remember if she wiggled in the car seat and it came out or if Connor was playing with it, which he sometimes does. Grrrr . . . anyway, it made for a cute picture. Her hair sticks straight up after it's been in a ponytail.
And here's Connor. How could it have been him? He looks so innocent.
This is a shirt my bestest friend, Shelby, made for me for a Christmas/birthday present. Yes, she MADE it. Isn't she awesome??
Here's another one of Halley pulling up on a chair. Connor was actually peeking through the chair at her, but I missed that photo opportunity. :(
And this cute picture is of Halley in a dress my sister bought for her while she was on her cruise. I even did her hair all cute. This was right before church, and we were in a hurry so I only got one picture, and then my camera died. By the time we got home her hair was all messed up from napping at church, but she looked really cute, huh?

Jump!

So, I took 8 videos of Halley in the jumper my sister loaned us, and I never got one that I really liked. Between her turning the other way and the boys trying to get in the video, it's almost impossible. This is the best one I got.
She is so cute in this thing, and it's like the only time we can ever get her to use her legs! This was a few weeks ago, and actually, she is just starting to want to stand up a little when we set her down. I am glad because from the time she was born, she has never wanted to stand up, like at all!!
Anyway, sorry for my annoying voice. I sound so different to myself. :)
Our Little Jumper

For Melissa

My little sister just sent me an e-mail telling me she can't believe Halley is talking. I can't even remember if I have done a post about her babblings, but here is a video of her saying, "Wow," (I know, it sounds more like a growl.) and doing her fish thing. The fish thing is her primary mode of communication now. We tell her to say "Mom" or "Bradley" or "Connor" or "light" or to point at her nose, and she usually responds with the fish face. At least she knows she is supposed to be opening and closing her mouth to talk, right?

She has said a few words in the past month or so. Her first word was "banana." It sounds more like "ma-na-ba-na-ma-ma," but she definitely knows what she's talking about. She also has said, "yum-yum-num" a lot. Yah, food is definitely her priority. She still hasn't said "ma-ma" in reference to me, but she just started saying "da-da" to Wes a couple days ago.
She still says "Wow" every now and then. This was the day after we taught her to say it so she was still doing it a lot. She hasn't done it as much this week, but it's cute because she usually points her finger at lights or other interesting things and tries to remember how to say it.

Kids, Kites & Kindred Spirits

First of all, I just want to do a little blurb about how grateful I am for so many wonderful friends out here in CA. I love in Anne of Green Gables how she describes her good friends as "kindred spirits." I totally feel that way about so many people I have met since being here. Living away from family is definitely not easy, but it sure makes it easier when there are good friends around! Thanks to all our good friends out here!
The day Halley got hurt, we had planned to go to the beach with some of these great friends I'm talking about -Becca, Russ and their cute son Vincente and Becca's mom, Pam. Because Halley is such a trooper we decided it would still be ok to go. It ended up being a really fun afternoon.Connor had fun holding Halley and the kite. She loved it too.
It was a little cold and windy, but it was perfect for kite flying! We had three kites up in the air for quite awhile. These three boys get along so well. I love Vincente's face in this picture. He was totally fascinated by the kites.
We also had a few episodes in which our wonderful kids let go of the kites. Man, kites go far when there's no one hanging on. I think they got away from us three times.
The first time it was hilarious because Becca and her mom chased after the kite - fast. Now, this is funny because Becca is nine months pregnant - yah, her due date was THE NEXT DAY! She is my hero. She ran after that kite two of the three times, and she is dang fast. I never even had to go that far into my pregnancies, but I know I couldn't have moved like that even the last month of mine. GO BECCA!I wish I had gotten a good picture of that, but oh well. Oh, and our good buddy, Russ, chased after the kite one of the times. He took a great dive into the sand. It was classic! We had so much fun.Here's a cool sort of silhouette picture. I love the beach in the background. Even if it was cold - it was a beautiful night.The kids also enjoyed playing in the sand. For some reason the boys love to make sand angels. They have done that almost every time we've gone to the beach. It's really funny..And we had dinner on the beach. By this time it was FREEZING cold, but we wanted to finish our fun night. We even had to put the extra socks I brought for Connor on Halley's hands. Here she is watching Vincente play in the sand.

Whistle While You Work . . . or . . . Jump on the Furniture While Mom and Dad Work

Last Saturday I wanted to just sit around and do absolutely nothing! Instead, we ended up moving the desk and cleaning under all our couches - which we haven't done since we moved in, um, a year ago. :) Then, we went to a bar-b-que at the park in the freezing cold! I didn't take any pictures at the park, but we got some fun ones of the kids playing around while we cleaned.
Wes also got a great picture of the BLACK WIDOW we found under our couch! Yah, I was absolutely freaked out! Wes caught it and, get this, set it free in our front yard!!! Are you kidding me? I was pretty upset. I am still not sure why he did that. I thought he took it outside to kill it. Grrrr . . .
I got some precious pictures of our baby girl! She is so sweet. See how much worse her injuries look, well, not her fat lip, but the rest of it. The scabs look worse than the initial pictures we took. They are already falling off though so I am glad she is healing ok.

Ouch!

So, on Thursday last week I had a very bad mommy moment. It was one of those times when I just wanted to rewind and try again. Connor, Halley and I were on a walk, and Connor asked me to zip his jacket. "Sure," I said, "I'd love to." While I'm doing that Connor says, "Hey Mom, the stroller is rolling away." I turned to look, and I think, "Oh, it's fine, she'll just have a fun little ride. It won't go very far."
Well, it wasn't a fun ride. Halley leaned over the side, and the stroller tipped over. I think her face hit first, and it was pretty bad. I was so mad at myself!!!! Then, of course, I had to carry her home while pushing the stroller one-handed with Connor telling me the whole way that her nose was bleeding and that she was crying and that she got hurt and that the stuff fell all over and on and on and on . . . It was a long walk home and up a big hill too.
She hurt her lip pretty bad. It was really swollen. Her nose was bleeding too. These pictures actually look a lot better than I thought things looked in that moment. I thought she had a concussion or that she had chipped her tooth or bitten through her lip and that she would never be able to eat or sleep again! I am such a drama queen. I was going crazy. And actually, her scabs the next morning looked a lot worse than this.
So . . being the good mom that I am, I gave her some Motrin and graham crackers to make her feel better. Ha ha ha . . . She is such a trooper. Yet again, I am amazed at how resilient and positive my children are. Thank goodness. I stress so much about things, I don't need them worrying and stressing like I do.

Despite how bad I thought things were, we actually even went to the beach with some friends that afternoon. As usual, I worried too much. :) I'll post some pictures of our fun beach adventure tomorrow!

Sunday Moments

So, we have church at 1:00 now. We are not liking that so much, but we will press on!
Anyway, so we got home on Sunday, and everyone was starving. We gave the kids a few little snacks, and then Wes decides he wants to eat a leftover "Weston-burger" from our bar-b-q the night before. Well, the kids were jealous so Wes gave in and they all ate hamburgers for a snack! Ha ha ha . . . needless to say, they didn't eat much dinner, but it was fun!Later, after dinner, we pulled Halley's high chair over by the silverware drawer so she would be entertained for a minute while we cleaned up. Confession - we never buckle our kids. So, she tried to climb out. :) One of us was right next to her the whole time though. (I had a very bad mom moment last week involving the stroller falling over with Halley in it so I was exceptionally vigilant!)
She had a lot of fun opening and closing the drawer and getting things out. We discovered that she has great balance. She is so cute and growing up so fast!

We Moved the Computer . . . So Look for More Posts!

So, we officially moved the computer into the living area so that I can be with Wes while he studies instead of hiding away in our bedroom. We usually end up instant messaging each other while we are working. Now we can actually talk. :)
It's also very nice because now I can work on the blog while the kids are awake and asleep! I have never been able to do that because there isn't anything for them to do in our bedroom, and I'm afraid of doing it while they sleep because I don't want to wake them up. This is great. Another added bonus - I can see the beautiful ocean! Yah, it's right out that window on the left. It's awesome!I am still behind on pictures. I cannot decide what to do. I have pictures from over a month ago and some brand new ones. I think what I am going to do is be totally random. I'll start out with the newest pictures, but here and there I may put in some other ones as I have time. I'll try to make sure and note the date when I do each one.

One More Really Quick

Wes is still catching up on reading our blog so I am going to do one more post dedicated to Connor.
These pictures are the edited version of what I really wanted to take a picture of. A little while ago Wes and I told the boys to go get dressed. They were gone for awhile so I went to see what was going on.
I found Connor completely naked - except for this cowboy hat and boots.
Ha ha ha . . . I tried so hard not to laugh, but it was hilarious. Bradley had at least made some progress - he had underwear on. They were playing some crazy game involving climbing up the ladder to the top bunk and then flipping over the side to fall on the bottom. It was so funny!
I decided to take pictures after he finished getting dressed.
A few more quotes from Connor:
-He has had a really bad cough off and on for awhile, and he's thrown up a few times. One of these times he finishes puking and then promptly says, "I had some good food today." It was so funny. Wes and I were laughing so hard. Connor has such a positive attitude about life. Who throws up all their dinner and then talks about how great it was to eat!-Another coughing episode - picture Connor coughing so much we think he's going to lose a lung, in the middle of the night, crying. I keep asking him what he needs and how we can help. In between coughs and sobs and grunts and screams he says, "I love you Mom." How sweet is that?
-Now picture the boys running from a giant or monster or something. I don't really remember what it was, but they are running around and around saying, "Run for your life!!" Connor stops by Halley, bends down and says, "Halley, crawl for your life!!"
Ha ha ha . . . he is such a funny kid. I am sure lucky to be his mom.

Then . . .

Halley has been crawling for almost exactly a month now so I guess I should post some pictures. These are from the first time she crawled. She is so funny because she still does the whole crawl a little ways and then just lay on the floor thing. It makes me laugh.
Yet again, I couldn't decide what to post so I'm posting a bunch of stuff. If you are bored - don't look! He he he . . .Halley was wearing this exact outfit today, and I took some pictures of her pulling up to the couch on her knees. It's crazy how fast things happen. Before we know it, she'll be walking . . .
Time for bed now, but I will be doing another post in the next few days with some more recent stuff!

Coincidences

Coincidence #1:
Guess what Wes came home with today - roses! No way, huh? Yah, I thought maybe he'd read the blog, but it was all his own idea. He also bought me a head set for my cell phone because they have that hands free law here in CA. I sat in a parking lot for a half hour today on the phone with our cell phone company because our phones don't work at home. He is such a thoughtful man. I LOVE WES! I LOVE WES! I LOVE WES!
Coincidence #2:
Wes was in his uniform at Costco picking up the flowers and head set, and while he was standing in line he was debating about whether he should buy a pizza for dinner while he was there. He was thinking about money because we are on a budget. He had just decided not to buy anything when the guy in front of him turned around and handed him some money and said, "This is what I can do to serve my country. I really appreciate your service. Buy some dinner to go along with those flowers."
He gave Wes $60! Can you believe that?!! I am all teary-eyed because this is what America is all about - people serving people.

A Tribute to My Wonderful Husband

Wes and me one year ago . . .
We have come so far since then. It's amazing!
I have been wanting to do a post just dedicated to Wes for awhile. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. Moving here has really helped me to appreciate him more.
It has been a year since he graduated from basic training. I am so proud of all that he accomplished there and has done since then. It has been so fun to be here with him living the military life.You gotta love those BCGs. That's what the military calls these glasses - Birth Control Glasses. They are soooo attractive!
I thought I would randomly post a few pictures of his basic training graduation since I don't know how many people have seen these. Just looking through these pictures brings back so much emotion! The first few pictures are from family day. That was pretty cool because they all came running out across the field through all this smoke. We spent that day on post looking at all the places where he had been trained and yelled at. :)
I feel like Wes and I are so much more in love than we ever have been. I think it is because we are trying so hard to serve each other. Wes comes home from a 13 hour work day and eats dinner with us. Then he promptly gets up and does all the dishes - whether it's just the ones from dinner or a whole days worth. After that he spends time with the kids and then helps me put them to bed. Then, he studies for an hour or so!
Oh, and some nights he has meetings or activities to go to with the young men from church!
And, just now, he put me through a very rigorous army workout! I think my arms are going to fall off. My husband is even helping me to work out after he's done PT twice!! How cool is that? We are going to start doing that a few times a week. Guess what. I did two pull-ups - well, not really, I had my feet on a chair, and Wes had to pretty much lift me up, but I tried! Anyway, I just wanted to tell everyone how amazing my husband is. I am so grateful for him and all that he does for our family. He is the love of my life and my very best friend.
These other pictures are from his graduation day. He got a special award so he got to stand with the honor graduates and meet with some high ranking officials after the graduation. You can't really see him but he's in there with the other 20 or so people out of 500 that got awards.
And this last picture is from a few days ago. He is reading a book my in-laws sent for Valentine's Day with the kiddos. They all adore him, and so do I!!