Family Week

We've had a really great week.  James finished classes last Saturday, so we have all enjoyed the family time together.  On Monday we had FHE, on Tuesday we all went to the dollar movie theater and saw Wall-E.  On Wednesday the kids and I rode the bus to campus to have lunch with Daddy.  It's an idea that I got from my sis-in-law, and I want to do it once a semester.  The kids loooved riding the bus.  I was a little nervous about catching the right one and keeping track of my 3 kids and double stroller, but we made it there and back like old hats.  Thursday was Thanksgiving, of course.  James' parents drove from Davenport (3 hrs) to spend the day.  All James let me do was sweet potatoes and cranberry jelly.  Thanksgiving feast is definitely his show. :)  I still say that I could have done a better job with the rolls.  Ah well, maybe next year.

I finished up a few projects that I will try to get pictures up tomorrow.  Curtains for the girls' room and a Christmas advent calendar!  Fun for me to work on!!  

Catch-up: Halloween

I'm finally home! I've never been so happy to be in my little apartment and look after my little family. :) Here are some pictures of our Halloween- The costumes I seriously made the night before, since I had just gotten home from Phoenix. Not that hard- I found Brooklyn's on familyfun.com and is just made out of craft foam. I made up Logan's cowboy outfit with brown fabric for the vest and chaps. Brighton wanted to be a princess, so her special touch was a crown made out of foil and glued-on gems.

The loot! I couldn't get them to look up for a picture. :)

What Logan and I did on Halloween night while Brighton and Brooklyn went trick-or-treating with Daddy.

On the road again...

Yesterday I drove to Wichita to help out my family. Well, I guess I should say something about my trip to Phoenix. It was tough seeing my mom in the Neuro ICU. She couldn't really talk, and was hooked up to all these tubes and things. Her left eye was a little droopy from her surgery. And it was hard when the nurses would come in every shift and ask her questions, like her name. She couldn't remember it. She had a hard time understanding what they were saying and wanted her to do. After a few days there, she got to move out of the ICU into the acute ward. That was much better as they didn't have to bother her as often. My dad had a hotel room, but we (meaning Christy, my mom's sister who was there from the beginning) pretty much stayed at the hospital the whole time, only going back to shower and change clothes. We ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches and any leftovers from mom's hospital plate. :) We took turns sleeping on the couch and recliner.

It was really neat to see her start physical and occupational therapy. She was trying to hard, and it was encouraging to see her be able to do things like brush her teeth. And starting to walk again. She improved a lot every day.

Anyway, I won't say too much about the hospital because she's doing so much better now. I was there for a week, then flew home for a week before driving out. It's only a 7 hour drive, so not too bad. I brought the kids, but James has to finish up the semester. The plan was for Mom to be in a rehab hospital here for 2-6 weeks, but she was done with that after 4 days. She really didn't need to be there. So she came home yesterday, and she's been doing really well. I get my kids up and fed, then I go upstairs and wake her up and help her shower and get ready for the day, and then I get myself and my kids showered and ready for the day. My mom is walking so great now, without a walker or any help. She can't walk too far because she does get tired. And I usually hold her hand so I can tell if she's getting off balance. Because of the stroke, she's partially blind in her right eye. She hasn't adjusted to it yet so she runs into stuff a lot because she can't see it. She's talking a lot more, even though it doesn't always come out right. When asked today how tall she is, she guessed eight feet. :)

Right now, she always needs someone to be with her. And to help her get her meals and take her medication. Part of that seems weird, but really she is doing soooo much better than when I first saw her after the stroke. And I'm glad that I got to be with her at the hospital, because I don't think I would have realized what she has recovered from. She has been so strong, even when she was scared because she didn't know what was going on. I'm so glad that I could give back a little.

Fairy Dance

Our library had a fairy dance the Saturday before I left for Phoenix. It wasn't quite as sumptuous an affair as the Fairy Tea at the Provo library, but it was still fun. :)

I learned my lesson last time, that half the fun is taking time to get all dressed up. They let me curl their hair and everything!!

Some gals from ISU came and did a short ballet, then led them through some fairy stretches and such that sounded similar to a beginning ballet class. The girls had a good time!

Reiman Butterfly Garden

We visited the Reiman Gardens- part of ISU campus- a few weeks ago. 14 acres of beautiful grassy hills, stone walkways, lake and rose gardens. The lake is in the background here.

There is a children's garden that has a current theme of trains, as well as an exhibit garden with the Moby Dick theme. My kids love the fish ponds, the little stream and running up and down these hills.

Here's the white whale himself. Isn't this amazing?!! It's all out of twigs. When I visited the gardens a few years ago the exhibit was out of actual cars that had been "planted" the ground. Really cool.

Cute little house at the end of a maze of walkways separated by really cool prairie grass. I didn't get any pictures of the best part- the butterfly house. There is a U-shaped walk inside with a butterfly habitat. There are so many butterflies in there that they land on the ground, the walls, and on you. It's nice and warm and has lots of flowers and trees and bowls of sugar water. The colors and sizes of all the butterflies are amazing! I don't stay too long in there as I constantly worry that someone is going to step or grab one. :) There is also a case of all the cocoons so you can usually see several butterflies emerging and drying their wings. So cool! (Compared with BYU's Bean Museum- the good ol' Y is sadly lacking :)

Going gothic

So, I paid $80 for this color job!! I swear I told her dark brown, and pointed out a color to match- but as you can see, it's black.

I thought the girls would say something, but they didn't. Until a few days later, on Sunday, when Brighton was pointing out her friend "that has black hair, like you!" :)

I need to have it fixed, but haven't been able to get in, and now I'm leaving for a week. Maybe I'll wait and get it done after Halloween. :)

My mother

Well, a lot has been going on. My mom had a go-kart accident (I know, crazy) a few months back which revealed that she had a brain anuerism. It was determined that because of the size and location of it (kind of sitting on her brain stem) she needed to see one of the leading neuroligists in Pheonix, Arizona. She flew there for surgery last Friday. The surgery went well, but after a few days she still hadn't woken up. After lots of tests and waiting, it was discovered that she had had a stroke, and her brain was swelling a bit. She's still expected to gain everything back, except maybe her right peripheral vision. The news of how she's doing seems to change hourly, and it's been hard to get the information to so many people. (8 kids, remember?)

It looks like she's starting to recover, but it's going to be slow going. I'm flying out this Sunday to stay with her at the hospital for a week. She has her good friend Christy there, which has been a big help. I've been through so many different plans this week- driving to Kansas to be with my younger siblings, flying to AZ, my older sister flying here, finding friends to watch the kids, etc. I'm so tired of thinking! I'm glad to have a solid plan locked in. My younger sister McKenna is flying here to help watch the kids while James is at work and class.

This has been so scary for me. I feel like she's going to be okay. It has been really stressful to find things out a piece a time, especially for the few days when she just wasn't waking up. We didn't know whether to be worried or not. I'm really glad to be in a position to go and be with my mom. And I'm glad for the priesthood- she's had several blessings. We've also fasted for her recovery. It's brought our family closer together as we all try to help out.