St. Patrick's Day

Mesquite!

Elleigh and Sophie posing in front of the Casa Blanca hotel in Mesquite.




My mom and I went on a trip with the girls to see my Great Aunt Joan and my Uncle John. They live in Mesquite and it is always fun to go see them and stay in the fun hotels down there. Elleigh and Sophie thought that it was the greatest trip ever! They are very positive about things. We had a wonderful time. They are really neat people. I am very fortunate to know them and be related to them. They are pretty special.

Uncle John, Sophie, Aunt Joan, Elleigh

One night, Sophie slept through dinner. We tried everything to wake her up. So when she finally did wake up she was hungry. We decided that we didn't want to go back out to get her something and so we ordered her room service. It was so fancy! She felt really special! So here are pictures of her first room service! What a little princess!

In Aunt Joan's backyard

Sophie's Hospital Visit

Anyone who has to spend any amount of time without their spouse will probably relate to this. The world seems to fall apart when they are gone. The strangest things will happen that would not occur if they were here. Some things I have experienced while Matt is gone: a bizarre mice invasion of my home, cars being towed without any cause and then returned to me after some help of my neighbors, my children getting so sick that they are asking for priesthood blessings, relatives dying, and the list goes on.
In this case, I had a very sick little Sophie who was struggling to breathe. She has had respiratory problems since she was a baby. When everyone else just has a cold, Sophie will get it and it will turn to croop or something awful. While Matt was gone, she got a cold and one night she was having a really hard time breathing. She was having a hard time sleeping and so was I because I was so worried about her. We had tried all the regular things, medicine, a humidifier, a steamy shower, and taking her outside wrapped up to help open her airways. By 1am she was only getting worse and I knew we wouldn't make it through the night. Luckily we were living with my mom so I was able to leave Elleigh asleep while I went to the emergency room with Sophie.
I thought that this would be a misearable experience because we were both so tired and I knew they would probably have to do breathing treatments on her. I thought that she would be crying and a mess because she was so tired and sick. But my little Sophie continues to suprise me with her patience and ability to handle situations. She was an absolute angel. She did everything the doctors and nurses told her too. Their were some other little children in the emergency room for the same thing and they were having a really hard time. Not my Sophie. She actually thought it was fun! She quickly became a favorite with the nurses. They couldn't believe how good she was and so they brought her a whole cup of suckers instead of just one. She was so funny. The mask they gave her had a strap that went around her head. I put it on her and told her she had to keep it on. Later the nurses came by to check on her and said that they couldn't believe that she had kept it on because it was so uncomfortable. They told me that she could just hold it up to her face and it would do the same thing. She is so obedient. We both came home and crashed but at least she could breathe. I am so grateful for the people who helped her and for my mom who was there for me during my separation from Matty. Sophie just kills me. It seems like only she could handle that situation in that way. Love you Sophie.

A Walk To The Temple

We had the privilege of living right down the hill from the Mount Timpanogous Temple at my mom's house. We had a really nice sunny day in March that felt like a walking day. The girls and I decided to take Munkin (my mom's dog) out for a walk. We walked all around the Temple grounds and talked all about how mommy and daddy were married there and what it means for us as a family. We talked about how we are sealed together for eternity and that we can be together forever as a family. It was a really fun teaching moment for me and the girls. Their dad was still gone and had been since January and so I think it was meaningful for them. At the time, I took for granted that we could walk to a temple. We could drive to at least 6 within an hour. Now that I am hours away from a temple, I am even more grateful for them and for the temples that are being built every year so that more members of the church can have a temple close to them.

Just Some Funny Pictures