Another round of stitches

Just minutes before church began today, Grace fell forward, without catching herself,
and hit her chin on the church pew in front of us. Hard. I think my mother's heart
knew the minute it happened, I wouldn't be attending church that day.

I got her out into the hall and within a few seconds, the blood started. When I got
a look at her chin, I was pretty positive we were headed for stitches. But I asked
Jacob to get our friend from church, who is a doctor, to make sure I wasn't
imagining things. A couple of minutes later, we were headed to InstaCare.

And this baby girl, did absolutely amazing. We were there for more than two hours
and she truly only cried for about a minute, throughout the entire thing. She even fell
asleep while waiting for the doctor. And during the actual stitching, she never even
flinched. She held completely still, like I asked her to, and she didn't need
to be held down, like the doctor was sure she would be.

 The nurse that helped us initially was so, so kind to her. I'm so grateful for good people.
She just kept following his every move around the room, more curious than nervous.

I wanted to get a picture of this little darling and when I tried,
she automatically smiled. Honestly, this sweetheart...

 I was so grateful she slept through about 30 minutes of the waiting.

Honestly, this child. I think she was as relieved to be home as her mother.
I'm so grateful that exhausting/sweet experience is over. We are so blessed.


{Our first experience with stitches is right here for anyone interested.}

January phone pics

This is me with sciatica at the beginning of the month. No, I've never had it before.
Yes, it is every bit as horrific as you have heard. Laying still to rest or use a heating
pad was everything I thought it would be. Geriatric lady, losing her mind, party of one.
My hand just shot straight in the air for those who couldn't see me.

I love this baby girl. And her perpetually messy hair.
(For the record, she was looking at a picture of her daddy.
She might love him a lot.)

I left the room for literally 37 seconds. And apparently in those
37 seconds, laundry basket lunch dining became a thing.

Someone has a dad who introduced him to Khan Academy. And he might be a little into it.

Have I mentioned I really love the sky?

Apparently Grace has decided she no longer wants to be the youngest and the smallest.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, my goal in life is to raise nerds. And it appears to
be going swimmingly. You know, just tutoring his brother in computer programming. For fun.

Campbell boy was asked to a Sweethearts Dance by a cute girl from another school.

Only this darling girl would not only decide to make cookies, but then invite her little sister
to join her. And while putting on her apron, would realize that little miss didn't have one and
take the next several minutes fixing that problem. This girl is just really cool and really kind.

This pictures makes me smile and a little emotional at the same time. Jacob took his first
business trip of the new year (and quite frankly, the first in several weeks, which we were
so very grateful for) a few days ago. And when he got on the plane, who would also be on
his same flight? An amazing young man who is in our ward. Jacob was able to take a few
pictures and then text his parents to let them know their missionary was doing really well.
I know from this elder's mom and from being a mom myself, this was a huge, huge deal
on a morning when his parents were missing their boy. The Lord is so very kind.

Klondike derby

Jacob sent me the following text as he and Matt lay in their tent, ready to go to sleep:

You know those times when the pattering of rain as you
lie in bed is comforting? This isn't one of those times."

I seriously love my husband.

Matt makes everything exciting, because he truly enjoys the moment and has fun.
He is willing to try anything and especially if it involves the outdoors, he is in heaven.

Freezing cold, but happy. Matt really loves life.

I'm so grateful for Jacob and for Matt. They are amazing and good. And I'm also really grateful
for my warm bed and for not being invited to the Klondike derby. Happy day for this mom.

Ben's first pack meeting

I'm so proud of this boy and how hard he worked to earn his Bobcat. It was such a fun
night and we are so grateful for so many good scout leaders and how they help our boys.

Annie vs. the mud

Why does this dark, muddy picture still make me laugh like crazy? Because if you had been
there when the ocean of corral mud finally conquered Annie and her feet came out of her
completely-cemented-into-the-muck boots, you might have laughed as hard as I did.

The story of our crashed hard drive

About a month ago, the hard drive on our computer completely crashed. It was sudden and really bad. It definitely felt inconvenient, but I was so thankful that we had been paying a company to back up our computer, including all of our photos and all of our videos, for the past several years. I breathed a sigh of relief and we focused on deciding what new computer to buy.

After the purchase of the computer, we immediately went into the company website to restore all of our files. I had been on their site numerous times in the past, to make sure our things were being backed up. I had never checked things one-by-one, just went through folders quickly to make sure everything was there. And that definitely appeared to be the case.

Well, apparently what looked like a complete back up was far from that. As the day progressed, I began to realize that hundreds and hundreds of our photos (including our wedding photos, pictures of some of our children the day they were born, family history photos, multiple family vacation pictures) were gone. Every single one of our videos was nonexistent.

I could never describe the feeling I felt when I realized how bad it was and what we were missing. To click on a folder that was labeled and identical to one on my computer, and have it be empty or only have one photo in it (when there were at least 40 or 50 in the original one), was heartbreaking. I had almost never felt that sick to my stomach.

Oddly enough though, I knew my Heavenly Father was mindful of something that in the grand scheme of things was likely small, but was absolutely huge to me. Most anyone who knows me, knows how important our family memories are to my heart. And yet, even with the realization of what we had lost, my first reaction was a prayer to ask for help to handle this well. I just so wanted for this not to make me angry or inconsolable--not matter the outcome.

Long story short, after trying a recommended company to get a quick and fast recovery, it didn't work. So we went the much, much, much more expensive route.

This morning, our mail included a box that had a hard drive in it. And that hard drive gave us back every single thing that we lost.

My gratitude is deep.

Of course it was difficult to think that a company had told us they would protect and take care of our valuable memories and they didn't. And it was no small thing to spend the amount we would spent on an exciting family vacation, to get those memories back. But the fact that they could be recovered, is miraculous to me. And even more importantly, I have a Heavenly Father who helped me to handle something significantly better than I ever could have on my own.

That is a life lesson I am trying hard to never forget.

I'm so very grateful.

A leadership retreat and a prompting

Jacob and I spent the last two days at a leadership retreat for his work. The time away with
Jacob was wonderful, it was fun to be with some of his coworkers and get to know them better
and the kindness of his company to make the vacation possible always means a lot to us.

In addition, Jacob and I were asked to run the group activity yesterday afternoon. It was a
few hours long and we felt like it went well and everyone had fun, so we were truly grateful. 

 The view from our hotel room.

 My view Friday morning, as I woke up to Jacob gone to the training for employees.
I relaxed and read and relaxed and read some more. I truly could not get over the quiet.

 The portion of the group activity Jacob was in charge of that afternoon.

 The rest of the group planned their skits.

 You really had to be there, it was absolutely hilarious.

And each of us learned that crossing Keith is not the best idea.
Joking, joking. It was a part of the skit and was beyond hysterical.

I have to add that Friday evening, after dinner all together, we were all supposed to head back to our
hotel. Both Jacob and I quietly felt like it was important that we went home instead. It didn't make
any sense to us, as our kids were all completely happy and totally healthy, but we decided to follow
the prompting. We arrived home to a clean house and our cute kids. We were a little confused as to
the logic of our feelings, but were just grateful to be home. Just a few hours later, at around three am,
sweet Gracie started throwing up. It was a long few hours for sure. And all I could feel was such
deep gratitude that I was with her to take care of her and comfort her. The Lord is way too kind to me.

Dress up with friends

A darling friend and I switch off tending each other's kids every week and today was my
turn to take her cute boys. The kids wanted to play dress up and I snapped this photo of
all of them and their cuteness. We are so thankful for good friends and fun times.

Our newest cub scout

They're gone

Again. But this time for just six months. We like that a whole lot better than eighteen.

Eight

It was this boy's birthday today and I spent the day shaking my head that he could be eight.
But whether I could believe it or not, the day was here and we loved celebrating Ben all day.

Ready to open presents--no excitement here for sure.

Matt made Ben a life-size Monopoly game. Holy cow, it was absolutely amazing.
Ben loved it and it was just such a kind, kind gift from our Matthew boy.

The traditional toilet roll filled with hilarious notes and "coupon" gifts
from the siblings. I love this tradition so much I can barely stand it.

His mother might have very carefully, and with no lying involved, convinced him
that receiving this particular soccer jersey in time for his birthday was not possible. 

I think he was pretty happy.

A second gift he loved.

His third gift wasn't too shabby either. Who doesn't want a bow and arrow?

Especially when the arrows fly far and are safe to use in the house and around others.

And finally time for birthday pie.

With those eight candles showing me that no matter how crazy fast it feels,

it is for real. This boy is growing up and we could not be more happy for him.

We love our Benjamin so very much. And are so thankful he is ours.

My favorite books of 2015

Finally, the countless number of people waiting for this post to arrive can rest in peace. All three of you. But you are such nice people and always so kindly beg, so I will keep going with it, as long as it is helpful to even a few.

This year I read 54 books. Not a record, but actually pretty close. I read some good books this year and actually had a really hard time narrowing it down to ten. But no one wants to read about the 25 books I really enjoyed (I have no idea how many would actually be on the list, just making up a number), so we are going with ten.

And here they are, in no particular order, except the first...

The Book of Mormon
Now, you may call me a cheater for naming this book as my very favorite again, when I didn't actually finish it all the way through this year, but I am going with it anyway. Because I have read it more times than any other book on earth and this year, my heart told me that delving deeper into it would be a better choice. So I read a good part of it, plus read hundreds of pages of a study guide discussing it and took dozens and dozens of pages of notes. It helped me to love The Book of Mormon even more than I already did. But I missed reading it all the way through and have a way this year to do just that, as well as continue my study. Oh, I love this book.

41: A Portrait of My Father
When Jacob interviewed President George Bush a year ago last December, President Bush actually asked Jacob if he had read the book he had written about his father. And Jacob had to say no. Yikes. So I bought it for him for Christmas and he read and loved it. Then passed it on to me to read. Oh man, I wasn't sure how much I would love it (I knew I would like it), because it would be a difficult task to write about your own father without looking too biased, but it was just brilliantly done and I loved it a whole lot. And seriously, comments he shared by Barbara Bush still make me laugh these months later.

The Blue Castle
Anything that Lucy Maud Montgomery writes makes me happy, but I had never heard of this book until this past year. It did not disappoint. I don't even know what to say about it except I wish there were five sequels following it. It just made me happy. And the writing was just wonderful.

Chateau of Secrets
This book was so different and so unusual and I really loved it a lot. I learned a lot about World War II and just enjoyed this book so much.

Kisses from Katie
I've read this book before. And will be reading it again. It touched my heart deeper than most any book I have ever read and has changed me as a person each time I have turned its pages. It is absolutely incredible and written in a way that makes me want to be a better person with every day that passes.

Lady Maybe
Julie Klassen makes me happy. And oh man I hope she keeps writing books. Because I will read every single one she writes. Love, love, love them.

The Rose Garden
This. Book. I have read enough books now that it takes something quite different to make me stop in my tracks and this book did exactly that. It was so, so unusual and I literally could not put it down. Warning, it does have a few swears. There are only a few, but man, it kills me when people use them and they aren't necessary. Just wanted you to know so no one comes yelling at me that I didn't warn them.

The Waiting
Okay, apparently I read several books that were different from my usual reading and this was one. It was a hard subject, but never graphic. And the story was just plain beautiful. I thought about it for weeks afterwards.

An Arrangement of Sorts
When I was making the collage below, Matt walked in and noted that I sure do "read a lot of books with girls on the front cover facing sideways or backwards." And he has never been more correct. Here is one of those books. But it was clever and fun and clean and apparently I just happen to really like books with girls on the front cover facing sideways or backwards. Regency books are definitely some of my favorites.

All Fall Down
I seldom, seldom buy books, so when I picked this one up at a book fair at the kids' school, I wondered what I was doing. But after reading it, I knew it was a good pick. Jacob and some of the kids read it and liked it a lot. I really did think it was a good book, but mostly, the ending has me dying for the next one. Which I have put on hold at the library. Just 50 more people and it is mine. Because it makes perfect sense that I haven't purchased the sequel. I'm so weird.

There you go fine people. Thanks for being kind and thanks for caring.

Until next year...

Goodbye 2015

Each of these pictures represent so many stories of our little family in 2015.
It was a year that took my breath away with the heartache and brought me to
tears with so much joy. I'm a little sad to see it go. But so grateful for the person
it helped me to become and for every second spent with those I love the most.

December phone pics

What I paid for gas one day during the first part of December. Happy day for grocery points

that make gas inexpensive on occasion. I felt very accomplished all day, just for this reason alone.

This sky had me pulled over to the side of the road in admiration.

She couldn't quite hold the apple in her mouth, like her big brother, so she settled for a hug.

 A reminder to myself that snow is beautiful. But I still don't like it. Sorry Mom.

 

Our first Christmas card wall filled up pretty quickly and a second one was started. It was just
a few cards short of full when Christmas came around. This is my favorite tradition during
the holiday season. You people are the best and we love every single card we receive.

I actually just took this picture this morning. A little girl in her mom's glasses. The end.

Grandparents and time together

Jacob's parents had the opportunity to come home for a few days, before finishing the last six
months of their two-year mission, and we had the incredible privilege of being with them tonight
(and will see them a few more times before they head back to the Middle East). And I definitely
wanted to document this wonderful time with a picture taken by my darling sister-in-law, Taunya.

This is just 18 out of their 27 grandchildren (they had been with the others a few days previous).

What a wonderful legacy they are leaving. We are so very grateful for them.