I have so much to catch up on: Bryant's birthday party, Christmas parties, Christmas day, etc. The digital world is in sight, but has yet to come to pass thusfar, so we are waiting on FOUR rolls of film to be developed and then I can "get caught up"-that term is so relative :D
Anyway, onto the point of the post. I have not been very good at the whole Christmas card thing...it used to be something I looked forward to doing, but for some reason the last couple years it just hasn't really sparked an interest. I know that you all know we care and think of you, and let's face it, most of you already know the happenings of our life through this ingenious tool, so why send a brag card? So, no Christmas cards this year, and maybe not for a while. With this amazing tool of internet and blogging I will be able to do an "end of the year card"...I will do a recap of the year. As most of you know I want to make this into a book and I think that doing a recap would be fun to have at the end of each year. I hope to print the blog at the end of each year to have an instant scrapbook ;)
So if you don't need the recap, stop now...otherwise brace yourself this got longer the more I typed!!2008 was quite the year for us.In mid-January we discovered that I would need surgery to remove an ovarian cyst and consequently the ovary and fallopian tube itself. On top of being pregnant at the time, it was quickly a matter of prayer. We put our faith in the Lord and retired from managing student housing here in Rexburg and moved to a very small, quaint basement apartment the first of February.
Six days later I had surgery. My sister-in-law was a lifesaver!! The cyst was quite painful, so to pack and unpack was really difficult especially for my overly ambitious OCD self. She was very willing to pack while I finished my last few days at work and watch the kids. She was here everyday before the surgey helping me unpack 2100 square feet into 900 square feet!!
(Yeah, most of it ended up in storage-thankfully Jake has family nearby or I would have had some VERY tearful goodbyes with "things"). She was very willing to watch the kids the day of surgery since I had to be there at 6:00 in the morning with a planned overnight visit. I think that she helped me everyday for an entire month! I don't know if I ever really said thank you...I was incredibly humbled to realize that someone would take that much time from their personal schedule with a toddler of her own to just help! So, in case I never thanked you {M}, THANK YOU!!!
(words could never express my gratitude).
It quickly became a reality that I was a stay-at-home mom and
I didn't know what I was doing. After working 4 years (at home), I didn't know what it really meant to raise kids and I had THREE! It was quite the shock for me and unfortunately it became a difficult adjustment for my children. With the support of my mother and friends I managed to figure out a system that would work for me and my children through the day. It has taken close to a year to actually feel "normal" (again a relative term). And through this all Jake was attending school full-time and working full-time. Somehow we made it-we definitely had the blessings of the Lord to help us "endure to the end".
In May, Jake graduated with his LPN and already had a job lined up. He quickly scheduled to take his licensing test and was promised to begin working with his temporary license. That being said he put in his two-weeks notice at the local hospital he had worked at for FIVE years,
who seemed to not really care if he stayed or left (interesting, if you ask me). He got his temporary license shortly after he had quit working at the hospital only to find out he would not be able to work for them until he had truly passed the test and had his permanant license...what's a man to do when he has no idea how long it takes to get a permanant license in the mail???
FIVE weeks later, and getting incredibly desperate financially doing all the odd jobs he could fit in, he finds out he has passed and gets his license in the mail only to be told that he would have to wait a few more weeks to get approved for his job! Again, what's a man to do? By the middle of June, he finally got the call that he would be put on the schedule starting the next day!!! Halleluiah! He has been working for the "doc in the box" clinic in Idaho Falls since and
LOVES his job!! His employer is so good to him and he actually looks forward to going to work and comes home with a smile still on his face! Oh what a dream job!
In May we discovered that Bryant and Sarah were having an incredibly hard time sleeping due to breathing problems. We had always assumed it had to do with the changing of the seasons, but for some reason or another we both decided that we should have them checked out. Come to find out they would BOTH need their tonsils and adanoids taken out. Two weeks later we had both kids in the hospital quite curious actually, beings that they were very used to this hospital since it was where daddy had worked for five years, but they had never been IN the hospital room IN the bed IN the gown! Luckily we got the best nurses who soothed them before they could even be nervous-they each got to bring home a special teddy bear. Recovery actually went quite well and they are both breathing wonderfully! We had learned that Sarah had tonsils that looked like a 40-year old, they were so worn and were blocking 80% of her airway and Bryant wasn't far off. We are relieved we followed through with our feelings on this!
Lydia joined the family July 16th at a healthy 8lbs. 9 oz. and 10-days early (mom didn't want anyone delivering her besides the trusty mid-wife (she was going out of town the next day) she's used for all four children). Lydia has been a joy in our home and quite an individual. You'd think that you'd get one kid somewhat similar to another, but oh no, why would we have that when we can discover-AGAIN-what tricks might work. She is a very happy baby now that she is a little more independent. She has been my only child that doesn't take naps during the day and literally would not let mom put her down for ANYTHING! Thankfully the women on the Thornock side bought me a Moby wrap, it saved me most days from the exhaustion of just holding her and getting nothing done! Once she turned three months I whipped out the trusty exersaucer (after trying a papasan, bumbo, swing, the floor, etc) to discover she will actually play in it longer than two minutes!!! It's been heavenly! She got her first teeth at four months and has been sitting unsupported since five months! She LOVES to tackle the kids (with the help of mom or dad)-it gets the biggest squeal and laughter of anything. We all love her so much!!
The rest of the year has gone quite smoothly for us, health-wise. It has been a struggle living in a small basement and discovering the bugs and mold and yucky things that exist from an old home. We've struggled financially, especially after the setback from Jake's transition from one job to the next, but we've managed to pay our bills on time and provide the bare necessities for our family and we're still happy!
Bryant started Kindergarten this fall and has loved every minute-even during those few weeks when he had minature bullies, but he figured a way to make them his friends and now they are all he talks about. He can't wait for school to start again on the 5th
and neither can mom!! He has really grown up since Kindergarten started. He is still a strong personality with a definate leadership quality, but he is so helpful and tries so hard to assist even when sometimes it would be much better if he didn't ;)Kayelynn started preschool this fall. I never thought I would have my kids attend preschool at all, let alone when they were three, but she needed it and it's proved to be just the thing for her interest in learning. She is soaking in so much-the teacher even commented that she acts as if she's an oldest child by the way she just takes it all in. She is growing up so fast. It seems sometimes we get a small glimpse of how she'll be when she's a teenager, it's so scary how fast they grow!
Sarah has just blossomed! She is our little tomboy with a hint of princess every now and then. She loves to help with Lydia and has really developed the mommy assistant role-it's kind of cute. We've struggled this year with her and her health. We discovered, about the time we moved, that she was having some real problems eating certain foods and kept getting told that she would grow out of it, but doing at-home "tests" proved that there was more to it than that. She has major issues with 100% fructose...she cannot absorb it like most do and it just sails through her. For a while we were worried that she had diabetes or something, but blood tests didn't hint towards that...to this day we still aren't completely sure what's up, but we've been told that she is "fructose intolerant"...she can't drink fruit juice and she's just starting to tolerate fresh fruits again...it's been really hard because that is what she wants. She has developed a diet higher in proteins and carbs, but we can tell when she needs something to eat (most people have disregarded it to being two), but there is a huge difference between a two-year tantrum and a "low-blood sugar level". We've gotten in our groove.
This year has had plenty of ups and downs, but we have learned to have faith, trust in the Lord and to accept service. We hope we can remember the lessons we've learned and make 2009 another year for the memory books!
Goodbye 2008, welcome 2009!!
