My Mom and Laurel's Baby Blessing

We took an emergency trip out to Colorado at the end of September because my mom was going to have brain surgery.  We'd known something was wrong for several weeks, but had been waiting for a diagnosis and treatment.  A few days after Laurel was born (early August), my mom had a grand mal seizure.  She'd never had any seizures and seemed to be doing well, so it was a shock.  An MRI showed a growth on her brain, but it was very small. Over the next several weeks, she continued to have seizures and developed paralysis in her left arm and leg.  At the end of September, another MRI showed that the tumor had doubled in size over the course of six weeks.  Because it was so aggressive, the doctors determined that she needed surgery immediately.

We learned what the doctors were thinking one evening, packed the car, and headed to Colorado the next day to be have time with her before the surgery and to be there during it.

This was the first time my mom met Laurel.  She'd been so eager to see her new grandbaby, and so frustrated that she couldn't come to us.

We had a big family dinner that Sunday.

I think it meant a lot to her to have her family around her during the days preceding surgery. The kids were overwhelming at times, but mostly a great distraction for her from all the worry.

As we were packing to head out, Jim suggested that we might be able to have Laurel's baby blessing at my mom's house since she was homebound.  So I packed the dress.  While we were traveling I called our bishop to find out if we could do it that way (since this usually happens in church).  He said as long as a member of my mom's bishopric was there, we could do it.  So we made the arrangements.

Jim's brother, Ben, had just been ordained an elder that day, so he was able to participate in the blessing.

Jim's dad (who lives in Iowa like us) just so happened to be in Colorado then, so he was also able to participate.

My Uncle Dave and Aunt Marilyn (on the far left) were also in town to be with their daughter and grandkids who live near my mom.  We were grateful so many family members were able to be there for Laurel's blessing.

My mom said it meant a lot to her that we were able to have the blessing in her home.

The rest of these pictures came from my mom.  Prior to her illness, she'd put a lot of love and effort into making her home a fun place for her grandkids, so she really enjoyed having them there.

This really captures my mom's relationship with all of us.  We have so much fun with her.  She has always made such an effort to be close to all of us and to support us in everything.  We love her so much.

September

We visited Jim at work one day because they had a tractor show.  It's always fun to visit Daddy at work.

 I played 'singing measles' with the kids at church one Sunday.  The teachers watched their classes for kids who sang well, and anyone who did was given a measle to put on me.  They really sang out!  I made a deal with the older kids that the picture would go up on facebook if they sang their hearts out.

Laurel, about 1 month old.

I LOVE this picture.

Logan loves his baby sister so much.

Jim loves nothing better than to cuddle a baby.

I love little baby bodies.

I posted this before, but here's the kids' bug house where they were giving their bugs special privileges.

Cattle Fair

I took the kids to a local cattle fair sometime in September.  We arrived fairly early, so the crowd was light.  Fortunately, we managed to see all of the cool shows before it started raining.  This included acrobats, wild animals, bears, and dog tricks.  Very fun.

My kids wanted a picture with the 4-H display.  They didn't realize that's what it was, but it's funny because this will be our first year participating in 4-H.

They thought this big pumpkin was neat.

We met a balloon artist/ clown on stilts.

Bears.

After seeing the shows, we walked around and looked at all of the animals.  Logan really liked the bunnies.

Alex was so funny when we were walking through the cattle barns.  He was checking between the legs of each cow and announcing, "Girl!...Girl!...Girl!...Boy!...Girl!..."

They were excited to pet this baby cow.

I forget what breed this is, but I took a picture for Jim because Jim and I always called these cows 'hippie cows'.

In the vendor building Logan wanted to ride the bull SO BAD.  I kept putting him off about it, but finally he convinced me.  He even paid for it himself.  On his first ride, he stayed on for the full minute.  He beat the bull!!  So the guy cranked up the speed.

Logan's face was so terrified when he started falling off!

More End of Summer

I had a few pictures from the end of the summer on my phone.

Cute Abby on the way home from church one day.

Laurel...two weeks old maybe?

Sweet corn!  We have an amazingly kind friend who invites everyone she knows to pick as much sweet corn as they want for free!  We brought home a wheelbarrow full and then husked it, cut it off the cobs, and froze it. 

3 weeks maybe?

I'd forgotten about this when I made the post about Logan's birthday, but on the day of his birthday we had a fun excursion.  It was the first day of school for our area, so we went to the splash pad and had it pretty much to ourselves!  We also had a pizza picnic lunch while we were there.

Laurel slept while they played.

Because one headband is never enough...

Fixing her hair like mommy...

Kids Say

Alex, "Sometimes when throw up is in my neck, I drink it back down."

The kids were playing an imaginary game and Alex says to me, "You can be the wicked queen.  Then when we kill you it will be a good thing."

Annie, "I do wonder what poop tastes like!  I would be very grateful if someone would tell me what poop tastes like."  She was dead serious.

Alex was being TERRIBLE while we were out one evening.  At our last stop he saw a machine that sold bouncy balls.  Alex, totally serious and in a mean voice, "If I had a bouncy ball, then I wouldn't be so rotten!"

Logan complaining about the smell of the plowed fields, "Even worse, it's AGED manure!"

Logan, "Mom, you can't tell that it's spicy because your tastebuds are AGED!"

Logan, "Mom, you make the best corn, even if you didn't grow it."

Alex earned a date night to Texas Roadhouse and there was a long wait when we arrived.  As we're waiting I asked him what he wanted for dinner.  His answer, "Peanuts."  Wondering why we needed to pay for a meal...ha ha!

Alex, "Dad, guess which king could put Humpty Dumpty back together again."  Jim, "I don't know."  Alex, "Jesus Christ."

Me, "My tummy is saying 'Feed me!'"  Alex, "Mine is saying, 'Don't feed her!'"

Alex touching my forehead, "It looks like you're frowning cause you're a lot wrinkled up here."

Putting Alex to bed one night he says, "Dad was rotten to me tonight!"

Grandma (my mom), "I need an Abby hug."  Abby, "All gone!"