Thanksgiving 2014

Well.... if nothing else, this Thanksgiving was memorable.  We had exciting plans to travel to Boise this year and meet up with all of the family.  I was especially excited about seeing my sisters-- I'm pretty sure it's been about 2 years-- the twins were about 12 months old in the pictures from our 2012 family reunion.  I also really wanted to see Grandma Afton--  now that she's moved in with Mom and Dad, she would have been right there for the visiting.  And being 96, it could be 5 more days or 5 more years-- who knows when her last days will be.  Anyhow, long story short-- we didn't end up going.
Sunday Nov. 23 was an absolutely wonderful day (which I'll discuss in a different blog post.)  However, after church Jason's stomach started feeling queasy.  There's been a funky 24 flu bug going around so that's what we all thought it was.  But, by evening time, the pain was getting more and more intense.  Jason finally decided to head to the hospital and see about getting some significant drugs to help the pain go away.  He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep like this, and no doctor's office is open on a weekend.  So, I figured he'd get some heavy duty anti-nausea medication, come home and be right as rain tomorrow.  To be honest I did not realize how much pain he was in and wasn't taking him very seriously.  A few hours later, the doctors check him out and turns out, he has appendicitis!  Yikes!!   Ya, I guess Jason has a very high pain threshold.  I would have been rolling on the floor, but he just winces and drives himself to the emergency room with appendicitis!  Sheesh! Anyhow, Dawn rushed over, I made sure Jason was okay at the hospital, and they admitted him with lots of lovely morphine that night.
Monday morning I took the kids to Dawn and Sid's house, while Jason had laparoscopic surgery to take out his appendix.  The appendix hadn't ruptured, but had leaked a bit, so they pumped him full of antibiotics and kept him overnight.

Tuesday, Dawn came over to our house so that I could spend the morning with Jason and bug the nurses to get his paperwork processed.:)  They were really sweet and we checked him out by about noon. 

Needless to say, the trip to Boise was cancelled.  Although laparoscopic surgery is by far better than opening up his whole abdomen, Jason was still pretty sore.  Wednesday the kids and I started decorating for Christmas and watched "Scrooge the Musical."  I have always adored this rendition of A Christmas Carol. I especially love it's message of unconditional joy. Truly, "happiness is wherever you want it to be."

By the way friends-- this is how you keep the baby from knocking over your Christmas tree!  We put a weight in a box, out the tree up, and out a non-rolling weight on the base of the tree. Haha! 

Meanwhile, Jason mostly stayed in his recliner trying to decide between taking drugs and feeling dizzy, or not taking drugs and feeling achy-- by Thursday he chose no drugs.  Even as I'm writing this a week later, he can walk around and do most things.  But, driving the car for more than a short distance, bending over to get things out of a low cupboard, or tying his shoes are not on that list.
At least Thanksgiving brought Jason's sisters into town--yay!!  We got to see our Baker girls and new nephew Teancum-- he's HUGE!!  And Shauna and her new little miss Avery came into town too!  It was so great to play with them!  The kids were in HEAVEN!

These are the three October babies! --Lincoln, Avery, and Teancum. Notice Teancum has a wedgies and Avery is just swimming in her onesie-- haha! 

On Friday night the two older boys stayed at Grandma Dawn's house for a cousin movie night and sleepover.  Then she kept them all day Saturday.  When we arrived that evening to have dinner with everyone and do some fun crafts with Auntie Shauna, they were just beaming.  Monopoly pieces were all over the floor, they had been to the airfield with Grandpa, and they were having so much fun with Mylie and Brynlee.

Meanwhile the twins had their own "sleepover" at home. While I took the older boys to Grandma's, Jason and the twins ate ice cream and played a board game. He put them in Braden's bed toe to toe and they giggled all night and played like best friends all day. It was so cute, when they woke up. I think they played in that bed for at least a couple of hours, pretending to be asleep when they thought I was near and giggling together! 

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Thanksgiving Day was a mix of great and not so great.  Let's just say "memorable" is a good descriptor.  Suzy had/has been cutting teeth all week, and Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much cry-all-day-and-refuse-to-eat days.  On Thursday around noon, Jason could see that I was tired, losing my mind a bit, and still needed to bake my pies.  So while I gave Suzy some medicine and put her down for her afternoon nap, J took the kids to Grandma's house early to play with their cousins.  It was sooo nice listening to Christmas music and making Grandma Afton's homemade lemon meringue pies without interruptions!  Ahhhhhhh. Suzy miraculously slept the entire time and the pies turned out picture perfect!  

I even got to Facetime with my family in Boise and check in on their Thanksgiving preparations.  It was so great to see their faces and hear about the deep fried turkey breast--haha!  I never did hear how that turned out-- did you end up needing the fire extinguisher?!  Mom and Kimbre gave me tips on my meringue peaks

and I even got to say hi to Grandma Louise!  It would have been a picture perfect day. . . .  until the actual dinner.
 Don't get me wrong-- the meal was lovely.  The turkey was bountiful, the sides were decadent-- I esp loved the sweet potatoes with apples, and the cream of asparagus, and the magical MacKay spinach salad.

However, even the best dinner sours. . .  when odor of barf comes wafting through the air.  Or as we would have it-- splashing on the floor right next to the table.  Yep.  Brooklynn was happy and springy all day, and then just as most of us were finishing up our meal, she says, "Mommy I don't feel so good," and BLECH!  She leaned over her highchair and HURLED all over the kitchen floor!  I didn't know such a little body could hold so much material. Jason later said that suddenly he noticed the room was kinda quiet and the table was empty.  I guess everyone didn't feel much like eating anymore. Thinking back, I probably should have just called it a night and taken her home at that point.  But we hadn't had pie yet, the other kids were still partying with their cousins, and I figured if I set her up with a barf bowl and a movie she'd be fine. There couldn't be much left in that little body, right?  Wrong. And wrong again.  Before the evening was out, she barfed two more times, borrowed a change of clothes from Bella, and ruined one of Grandma's throw pillows.  I felt so bad for everyone.

But hey, at least the pie tasted good!

Anyhow, that was our week!:). And this is supposes to be a post of Thanksgiving so....

I am so very thankful for my family-- in Boise and in Vegas. 

I am thankful for my sisters and parents and grandparents that I dearly, dearly missed this year.  I love you! 

I am thankful for the most generous, kind, and patient mother in law I could ask for.  Not only did she watch my kids for 4 1/2 days this week, she did it with a smile and they loved every minute. 

I am thankful for sisters in law and cousins that made this holiday special and fun for everyone. 

I am thankful for Jason and his love and dedication to me and to our family; for his consideration even when he's in pain.

I am thankful for modern medicine, for laparoscopic surgery, effective pain meds, kind nurses, and capable doctors.

  

I am thankful for the Priesthood and good friends who brought us pizza and visited Jason in the hospital; who always have our backs and are so loving and kind. 

In spite of the disappointment I felt at the change of our plans, I am so very thankful for the timing of all of this. One day later, and we would have been on the road. One day later, and we would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere, at some strange hospital, with all of the kids, alone. Jason already had the week off from work for the holiday, and everything went fine. If he had to have appendicitis, this was the time to have it.

I am thankful for The Lord. I see his handprints in my everyday life. His tender mercies keep me going and give me hope. I feel His joy every time I sing. I am eternally grateful for the testimony I have of my Savior and His gospel.