A New Favorite

It might seem early (because I know that Mother's Day isn't for another couple months still and that is most often when we reflect upon such feelings) but I feel like I was just hit with another surge of respect/love/adoration for the role of mothers. I came across the following quote again in a recent study and thought I'd share (it has fast become a new favorite):

“To be a righteous woman during the winding-up scenes on this earth, before the Second Coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is society’s basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 326–27).

I love that! And if you want to read more like it, I encourage you to read "I Am A Mother" by Jane Clayson Johnson. It is officially one of my favorite books of all time (and I've read it over and over)! It's uplifting, inspiring, encouraging, etc. Just as it claims, the book offers affirmation that mothers DO matter, and how important your calling is - so be proud of it!

I have to add that all you mothers are definitely inspiring to me. Your posts are likewise validating, comforting, encouraging, etc. and I'm so blessed to be associated with you! And above all, I'm so grateful for my own mother. She's taught me most everything I know (and we are so almost eerily similar because of it), I am who I am because of her, she is an amazing example, and I have the most love and respect possible for that great woman! Where would any of us be without our mothers?!

Our Sugar Baby

Vanna has such a sweet tooth (much like her daddy). She is forever trying to sneak into the cupboard for marshmallows, or the pantry for any sweet treat she can find (we have even had to add a lock to our pantry door in an effort to keep her out of there more). From a very early age (before even a year), she knew to pick through cold cereal like Lucky Charms for the sweet marshmallows, and leave the rest. And of recent we have witnessed her biting off the 'frosting' of Frosted Mini Wheats and returning the remainder of each cereal piece to her milk. What are we going to do with her!?

Gotta' love that cheesy grin (that shows off her cross-bite brilliantly). Vanna rummaged through Cash's Preschool V-day Party candy stash and found blue Fun Dip. Her first experience - need I say more?!

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day (late) with a heart shaped sucker to boot!

And a couple tid-bits:

Last night I asked Cash to get his pajamas on and he came out like this. He said, " You told me to put on my pajamas, so I put them all on!" - of course accompanied with his silly giggles.

And Ty is feeling much better, thankfully. I think he recovered quickly actually, as he went back to work a week after having surgery. One thing about it, he won't have to go through this rig-a-ma-roll again. The only thing that seems to bother him now is the tugging at his stitches that occurs when he performs one of his big, manly sneezes. And he's not yet working out like he normally would but that will come before long. We are just grateful everything went so smoothly and well and that he's fine (and we so appreciate all of your concern and well-wishes).

Surprise!

Well, this past week held a few surprises for us:

#1 - Ty had surgery! Yep. He woke up Tuesday night in terrible pain (he was the perfect depiction of a man "writhing in pain"-it wasn't pretty). It never let up so we headed to the hospital early Wednesday morning. Four hours, blood tests, and a CT-Scan later proved he had an enlarged appendix that the Dr.s were certain was infected - hopefully not ruptured yet. Since a team was immediately available for the surgery, Ty went in for an apendectomy that afternoon. Although these surgeries are very every day to hospital staff and perhaps not considered a big deal, it still shook me up a little. It's simply not natural at all to see Ty weak, miserable and in pain on a hospital bed. And I definitely didn't like the part where they gave me Ty's wedding ring before they wheeled him into the surgical room. I suddenly felt so detached from Ty at that moment. Very uncomfortable.

But, Ty pulled through magnificently and thankfully his appendix had not yet ruptured but it was very 'sick' (as the Dr termed it), so they were glad to have gone in and taken it out. After the surgery, I met him in the recovery room where I tried to feed him but he was so knocked out he keep falling asleep in-between bites. It was really almost comical (take away the reason he was under such heavy medication :). His healing has been slow but sure. He says he feels better every day and I have no doubt he'll be back to wrestling with the kids and lifting weights in no time.

Didn't think you'd really want to see pix of Ty's "sick" appendix that I got from the Dr. so I thought I'd throw in these recent and random pix of the kids dancing in the front room.

#2 Vanna threw up for the first time on Sunday. I think our poor little girl was scared (thinking "what is happening?"). I guess when it rains it pours! It wasn't enough to be taking care of a spouse just after surgery. Humor had to throw a child puking all over in her bed and my bed to the mix. :). Thankfully Vanna got over her illness quickly and we are all on the mend and doing well.

Wow - I love this picture and my little girl's get-up. She loves to pull on her swim suit and run around in it but today she pulled it over her other clothes, complete with slippers and goggles that I think make her look so silly! Love that girl!

It's funny - not more than a couple weeks ago Ty and I were talking about how fortunate we had been to have skidded through the winter with little illness (we all had a cold for a short while but beyond that -nothing) and then WHAM! I guess we spoke a bit too soon. Still, we feel very blessed by the way everything has turned out over the past week.