FINALLY...it was warm.....

We had a great day in the sun today. We had the pleasure of going to a local park and having a picnic with some friends--the Lagunases. The kids had fun on the slides and swings. They had SO much fun that we all came home and had a THREE hour nap--VERY rare and VERY much appreciated and needed. After dinner the kids headed out to the backyard. Can I just say how nice it is that I have THREE mobile children this year?!! Last spring Aubrey still wasn't walking and Olivia was only a few months old. Here are a few pics I snapped.




And (as children do best) the girls found some mud.

I *think* I have an idea of what labor is like??

So maybe this is a bit farfetched--something I will never truly know but humor me here. I have physical therapy 3 times a week for 1/2 hour to help strengthen my knee postop. Now, I've been making good progress (therapist says I am ahead of the game **pats self on back**) and I was SO proud of myself for getting a mile in on the bike before my 5 minutes were up (and I burned 30+ calories I'll have you know). Each therapy session, I either get a new exercise and/or more reps with my old exercises. I was feeling pretty good about my progress today having done 30 reps on multiple exercises and even survived the squats without too much agony. To end the sessions, the therapist stretches me. Now, stretching sounds nice and relaxed, right? HOLY COW!! So he was "helping" my knee bend as close to my bum as possible and I thought I was gonna pass out right there. As I groaned in pain, I was SURE he was gonna let up but you know what he told me (the nerve!) "Breathe deeply and count to ten." Ha! As soon as he released my leg (for a couple of seconds only)I commented how I had three c-sections but think I knew how labor must be. He chuckled and said I was going to learn the skill yet! LOL! I have been very sore all day and I only had three 10 second segments of pure torture. To you mothers who have truly labored to have your babies....I have new respect for breathing and counting to ten! One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...TEN!
This pic is a couple of weeks old (and looks much better now!) but just a little visual for those that want to see the "baby" I labored for. ;)

Toilet Teeth and Enemas: A Child's Guide to Gross Survival

No matter how hard we try, our children will find away to somehow totally gross us out!

Tonight while I was supervising teethbrushing (yes, I was too worn out to fight Aubrey's shark teeth so I let her and Kyle brush their own tonight *gasp*), I took my eyes off of my precocious 2 year old for one second and out of the corner of my eye, I see her dipping and brushing from the TOILET!! UGH! Not that this is a first time event mind you but I was THERE. The other times she had a partner in crime (aka Daniel) and they managed to use several toothbrushes but at least I wasn't in the room so they had full reign I guess you could say.

Perhaps the best discovery of Olivia's this day was an adult enema. Don't ask where she got it just know that yes, she was stealth-like. Now, I am only accostumed to seeing baby enemas which are teeny but holy cow....hope I don't need one of those for myself soon! Anyway, hoping that the ingredients are all natural (and maybe will stimulate hair growth ;)!) Ha! Not much was missing and I dare say more was on the floor than possibly got in her mouth but they need to put child proof caps on those babies!

Somehow my children have continued to survive so they must be born tough!

Aubrey the Ripper......

So all three kids were getting a bath together the other night (which is a very common affair in our house) and as I am gathering up everyone's jammies, I hear Kyle say..."Aubrey, you're ripping me off." I thought it was a strange comment (now when would he have heard me say that?) but went on my merry mothering way of preparing for their bath departures. Soon Kyle calls, "Mom!" so I went into the bathroom to hear Kyle say, "Aubrey keeps grabbing my pee and she's going to rip it off!" And there that poor little boy sits with hands clasped tightly between his legs and which stayed tightly clasped until I exited Aubrey out of the tub.

Of course I had to keep my composure and turn to Aubrey and be as serious as I could in explaining to leave Kyle alone but boy, have I had some good laughs about it!

Good, good times!

My Baby Boy Turns 4

On March 27, 2004, my life changed forever. Not only was I a daughter, sister, aunt, wife but I was a MOTHER!! Kyle Sage Hawley joined us at 8:21 am and weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz and since he felt the need to jump into life feet first, was delivered cesarean.



As I contemplate the past 4 years that I have had this little guy in my life, I am so incredibly blessed. He has come with such an incredible spirit and I stand in awe that I have been allowed to be his mother. He is always thanking me for things. He is SO thoughtful and while I have been recovering from knee surgery, he has been right there to wipe my brow--SO sweet! He is sincere in his prayers and prays about anything and everything. My favorite is when he includes "The Statue of the Liverty" as he calls it. Thanks to Little Einsteins, he knows what the statue of liberty is and while we were in Las Vegas visiting family, he saw the replica of the statue at New York, New York and was very excited to see it!

Happy 4th Birthday Kyle! I LOVE YOU!

An Angel Returns Home

On Saturday, April 5th, a precious little boy, Ethan Isaiah Powell, returned to our Heavenly Father after his short 16 month stay on this Earth. For 14 of those 16 months, his little body fought and fought against leukemia. One of the most remarkable things about his story is the incredible faith of his parents, Ben and Becky. Ben set up a special website to blog his son's journey with the trademark works....PRAYER WORKS. His mission was to recruit as many "prayer warriors" as possible to pray for his son who was at St. Jude's in Memphis. Thousands upon thousands heard this plea and prayed daily for this infant who overcame multiple odds time and time again. On the days where he would take a turn for the worse, his dad would only plead to spread the word to pray for his son and on the days where miracles occured, he only wanted to shout for the rooftops that PRAYER WORKS! And soon to be added to that was BELIEVE!! Ethan was also referred to as little E and therefore BELIEVE became BeLIeVe in honor of this brave little boy.

I have been deeply touched as I have followed Ethan and his parents over the past year. When times were rough, I checked the website multiple times a day to see how Ethan was doing. And I rejoiced when yet another miracle occured and he was smiling and laughing.

The few days before Ethan's passing were very rough and he worsened very, very quickly. Even though his condition was fastly deteriorating, it was a complete shock to my spirit to read that he had passed away. I wept for the loss of this precious, precious child! I know that he is finally free of pain and cords and monitors and medication, etc. He truly is free. My deepest ache is for his parents who must let go for a time of their only child to whom they have devoted their entire life, love, energy to him and the fight against cancer.

It is the most profound ache I think I have ever had for someone I have not personally met but whom I felt I knew and loved!

His parents, although heartbroken beyond comprehension, have rallied yet again around their faith and are celebrating their sons life and his mission that he completed here and that he continues in Heaven. Their strength has been humbling.

It has made me hug my children a little tighter, played with them a little longer, withhold a word I might've said in rebuke, and love the moments Olivia has let me rock her.

I think she has had a sense of the passing of a friend she didn't know on Earth but with whom she may have communed in heaven. They entered this life only 24 days apart. She has seemed to have a sense of knowing that I need those extra hugs and those early morning or nap rocking sessions.

May we each take each day and love it! May we each take our family and LOVE them!! Ethan has inspired me! And though I am mourning his loss, I celebrate his life with this post.

In memory of this incredible warrior, please take a moment to visit his website and watch a video from a few months ago. And BeLIeVe..PRAYER WORKS!!!

www.ethanpowell.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJX2JwaWmbc

Long time no bloggy........................

Well, seeing as it is almost December.......tomorrow in fact, I guess I should get back into this blog stuff. We have been super dooper busy in these here parts but it's time to get back into the picture/life sharing.