Merry Christmas from The Whitlocks!

 December 24, 2011

Dear Family and Friends:

Well the Whitlocks have joined the latest trend of “Going Green” (aka being cheap and lazy) and we are sending out a virtual Christmas card this year.  We hope this finds you happy, healthy and a little bit jealous (aka guilty) of not “Going Green” yourselves.  We are a little worried about where all this “Green” living with take us like electric cars, joining OWS , closet democrats, arm pit hair on Amy, and a beard on Nate (OH NO it is too late for that one!).  But if we think about it is “Going Green” (aka being cheap and lazy) a big departure from our regular personalities?  Anyway, enough about us being awesome… wait isn’t that what Christmas letters are for, to talk about how awesome we are?  Okay, we will give the fans what they want!

This year was filled with some more changes because we have not had enough in the last few years!  We moved… AGAIN!  This makes 3 times in 4 years (unless you count summer moves for internships which would make it 7 times) which may seem like a lot because IT IS!  But we have purchased our first Utah home and plan to stay here for a very, very long time.  We bought a beautifully remodeled home in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.  We have loved living in this neighborhood!  It is quiet, safe and most importantly we can send the girls outside for hours at a time and they play with other kids that we don’t have to feed and clothe.  It is awesome!  Most of the kids on our street are boys and are referred to as “the boys”.  Abby has a fun call for them when she goes outside and is ready to play.  For some reason we can’t fathom, when they hear it, they come running!  Iris calls one of the boys “Fire Boy” which makes me a little nervous, but in light (no pun intended) of the fact that they can stay outside for HOURS, I like to think of this as merely a term of endearment. 

In unrelated news, one of our neighbor’s houses burned down this year.

Now the part of the letter where we talk about how individually awesome we are…

Iris turned the BIG 4 this year!  She is smart and sassy and emotional and almost always a joy to have around.  She loves Dora and Diego and can speak a little bit of Spanish and what she doesn’t know in Spanish she makes up.  This is a technique she learned from her older sister.  Her favorite foods are nutella toast, froot loops and marshmallows.  Her least favorite foods are fruits and vegetables.  She has worked her way up to trying pork chops, chicken (non-nugget variety) and fish… all of which she loves as long as she can dip them in salt.  Some weeks I cannot keep enough leotards/swimsuits that are used as leotards in her dresser to fulfill her desire to wear a leotard/swimsuit used as a leotard every single day.  She has been known to defiantly dig a leotard out of the hamper and put it on under her clothes.  She also loves to wear skirts.  Well, one skirt in particular that is the BANE of my existence.  But I let her wear just about anything she wants.  If she goes outside she must dress appropriately for modesty and weather, but inside, anything goes!  So she comes up with some pretty crazy outfits which, I must admit, is really cute.  Iris is in her 2^nd year of preschool and LOVES it!  She is very ready for Kindergarten.  She is starting to put letters together to form words and can count to about 15.  Iris loves watching commercials on Qubo and telling me how much we need everything that is advertised.  Coincidentally she really wants a Baby Bullet and a new baby to go with it.  She cracks me up every single day.  Her favorite phrase is “Really, Mom, really…?” said in a very cute sarcastic tone.  She is a girl after my own heart!

Abby is still a spunky, fun-loving, friendly little girl.  She has had a rough year this year beginning with a broken jaw and ending with a diagnosis of ADHD.  We LOVE this girl because despite all of our mistakes throughout her lifetime, she loves us!  And honestly, who has ever met Abby and not instantly LOVED her?  Abby is now 9 years old and in the 4^th grade.  She is going to her 4^th school since entering kindergarten.  She has adapted well to all of our crazy adventures.  She does great in school which this year includes 3 teachers with whom she rotates throughout the day for different subjects.  She has also spent the last year taking violin lessons and is very talented there.  Abby finished the Harry Potter books and is in love with reading!  She is a true leader and has never met a stranger.  We find it a blessing and accomplishment that she has never mentioned Justin Beiber.  Abby has a strong faith and testimony of her Savior, loves to sing songs in Primary and even had a solo during the Primary program this year (which she graciously shared with Iris who learned Abby’s part with her).  For those who don’t know what Primary is, it is the children’s organization of our church.

Nate is doing well at his firm, Trask Britt.  He is learning a lot, and his job is keeping him happy and challenged which is very important for an engineer.  Since law school has ended, Nate has taken up a couple of hobbies.  He likes internet shopping, particularly with Amazon (which has dwindled since forgoing Amazon Prime) and Woot.  It is often that he is opening a “box of crap” from Woot and enjoying whatever Woot decides to throw in the box but usually includes a screaming monkey.  Nate has also begun making a solar heater out of aluminum cans.  It might be important to mention how totally awesome his wife is for not only supporting this hobby with minimal eye rolling, BUT also for drinking a lot of Diet Dr Pepper to help supply the main component of this solar heater.  Nate is also into recording episodes of “The Office”, “The Simpsons” and “The Big Bang Theory” on his computer/TV recorder.  He now has 3 computers which makes him very, very happy!  Nate teaches Elder’s Quorum at church and enjoys that too.

Amy is the glue that keeps us all together, the grease that keeps the gears turning, the little bit of sanity that keeps us out of the nuthouse, the light that keeps out the darkness… well you get the picture.  I have spent the year honing my mommy skills and relying heavily on my sense of humor.  I have somehow gotten myself involved in 3 book clubs which is very ridiculous, but kind of fun.  I’ve been reading a lot of books but I try to have a daily nap for balance (which is really why Iris loves Dora and Qubo so much).  I do enjoy reading and may have three books at various levels of being read throughout the house.  I am the provident living specialist in our ward which is just as impressive as it sounds!  Actually I haven’t done a whole lot with it, but I’m learning a lot and what I’ve done so far has been fun!  I was also put in charge of our ward Christmas party this year.  Basically I asked for a large committee and bossed everyone around which worked well (see how those mommy skills are paying off?).  My committee was fabulous, and working with them really endeared the ward to me.  I ran two 5K races this year which were hard but fun.  Running is one of those things I don’t really enjoy but I feel all anxious when I can’t.  It is hard to explain so I’ll leave it at that. 

I have been able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents since we moved to Utah.  I lost my Grandpa Leaf in September when he passed away after suffering many health setbacks.  This was very difficult for me, but I feel so blessed to have spent so much time with him in his final year of life.  And our last words to each other were “I love you” which comforts me greatly.  I now spend a lot of time with my Grandma Leaf and enjoy every minute of it.  The hardest part of losing my grandpa was watching Abby mourn his loss.  When Abby loves, she loves with her whole heart and she was devastated when he died.  But it is such a blessing that Abby and Iris are able to get to know my grandparents.  And it touches my heart every time I hear them talking about my Grandpa and how he will “live again”.

This year has had its many ups and downs, just like last year and, no doubt, like many years to come.  Life is so fun but also fragile.  We have enjoyed growing as individuals and as a family this year.  No matter where we go or what we do, when we do it together we are at our happiest.  We are grateful for our knowledge of a loving Father in Heaven and we are also grateful for all that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has done for us.  Thank you all for sharing your lives with us and allowing us to share them with you.  We hope everyone out there has a great Christmas and a fantastic New Year! 

Love,

The Whitlocks

Amy's First 5K May 2011

BYU vs DUKE game Nov 2011

Family Trip to Zions April 2011

Easter 2011

First day of school Aug 2011

First Day for Iris Aug 2011

No more braces!  Nov 2011

Mental Picture

So I had one of those moments again today.  You know, the one where you take a deep breath and really focus on the image in front of you so that you can remember things just the way they are.  I didn't have my camera handy, so I took a mental picture and decided to record it on my blog.

Picture this:

Two girls, one 8 1/2 and one 3 weeks shy of 4 years old, sisters, enjoying a beautiful 70 degree day outside.  The 8 year old is on her scooter riding down the street, in the gutter, keeping watch that she doesn't go any faster than her sister.  The almost 4 year old pedaling determinately down the sidewalk, on her little training wheeled bike trying hard to keep up.  Both wearing helmets and not even fussing about it.  Both wearing smiles as they glance at each other, then to where they are going, then each other again, repeating this pattern almost mechanically.  I could see the leaves in the trees swaying a little and the birds chirping promises of many more days like this.

I actually said to myself that this is the moment to stop time, to realize what blessings we have in this image alone: Peace, love, sisterhood, family, beautiful weather, freedom, happiness, safety, togetherness, heart and FUN!

The Ignoring Game!

Have you ever played this with your kids?  Chances are they play it with you numerous times a day, and you don't even know that you can play to.  I feel like I'm sharing trade secrets, but I'll take the risk.

My girls, Abby in particular, love to ignore everyone.  She loves people to repeat themselves numerous times before she responds (if she responds at all).  If you didn't know any better, you'd think that she was losing her hearing like she did 3 years ago.  And no matter how loud I gradually get to try and get her attention, she just keeps staring off or doing whatever it is she wants to do.  It would be admirable if it wasn't so frustrating!  But something she can hear even in a near whisper are these few words, "Oh so I guess we are playing the ignoring game."

Let me tell you something... the reaction I get is so predictable, but always entertaining: "NO, MOM! NO!  I DON'T WANT TO PLAY THE IGNORING GAME!  MOM!! MOM!! MOM!! I SAID I DON'T WANT TO PLAY THE IGNORING GAME! MOM!! MOM!! PLEASE TALK TO ME MOM!! PLEASE DON'T IGNORE ME!! MOM!! MOM!! MOM!! MOM!! MOM!! MOM!! MMMMMOOOOOMMMM!"

Funny, right?  So here is how you play.  It's pretty simple really.  When you notice your kids aren't listening or responding to your many requests, then say in a soft but firm voice, "Oh, so I guess we are playing the ignoring game."  Then button your lip and ignore your child.  Ignore them for as long as you think it necessary to get the point across.  The great thing about this game is that there is unlimited play!  You can play it all day long if you want.  You can play it anywhere too.  There is one glitch I haven't been able to fix, at least with my Abby.  She seems to understand for that incident, but begins a new game the next time she wants to keep doing something and I want her to do something else.  However, I just say those few magic words and she snaps right back to attention.  I'm hoping one of these days all this practice will pay off!

So go enjoy the game!  You are guaranteed to have some fun with it!  The kids?  Well, whoever said all games should be fun for kids?

It Looks Good on My Finger!

This is a tale of sorrow, patience, faith and triumph!

Three days before Valentine's Day, I put my wedding ring in my pocket in order to put lotion on my hands.  I don't know how many times I've done this, but I know it is almost daily for the last several years.  I actually thought, "Maybe I should put it on the bathroom counter."  Spirit... I think yes!  But then I thought, "Nah, Nate and I are going out later and I don't want to forget it at home."  Not listening to the Spirit... I think yes!

So we are one our "date" which involved going to look at houses with our realtor and his wife then dinner.  I don't remember when I realized my ring was gone.  It could have been when we got to the realtor's house or it could have been after we saw the first house, but I told myself that I probably just put it on the bathroom counter after all. But when I got home, I saw it wasn't there and then I got nervous.

I looked all over the bathroom floor, I searched everywhere I sat after I put lotion on my hands, I searched the car, and I checked my pants pockets about 20 times (I even checked after I washed them, at least twice).  I was coming to the realization that it was gone... and I can't even explain how sad I was.  I was nearly in tears.  Then I told Nate it was gone.  He emailed the realtor and the realtor checked his car...no luck.  I also prayed a lot.  I prayed that I would find it.  After my prayer I felt calmer and it helped that Nate's reaction was supportive and not angry.  He said, "It's just a ring, it's not what matters."  And he was right.

I never gave up hope that I would find it... somewhere, maybe behind some furniture when we move or miraculously someone would find it and post it in the classified... so I scoured the internet for lost and found or even for someone selling it (in case they found it and tried to sell it).  I even thought about stalking the local pawn shops... there are a lot here, though.  We also took a trek to the house we looked at that night and looked all over their driveway, gutter and yard.

This would be a good time to give you a little history of my ring.

When Nate proposed, he did it with a gold CTR ring with two diamond chips.  It is a really pretty ring, and now fits on my pinkie ;)  After Nate proposed, I said yes and he graduated from UW, he went off to CA to start working on his Master's program and I stayed in WY to take some summer classes and plan the wedding.  While separate, and poor, we decided to get a JC Penney's credit card to buy our actual wedding rings.  He went to a Penneys in CA to look at rings and I looked at an ad for Penney's in anticipation of shopping at the store.  I found a ring set that I really liked which I was going to look at.  Nate called me and gave me the item number of a ring set he looked at and liked.  And what do you know?  It was the exact ring set I liked.  Spirit... I think yes!

So we purchased that set and have been wearing them since.  Also, a few years ago, we were thinking of putting in a new and slightly bigger diamond.  Okay, okay, I admit it, I was thinking about it.  Then my mom offered me the main diamond from her wedding band from her marriage to my dad.  It was a much better quality diamond than what we had and I was pretty sure it wasn't cursed (even though my parents divorced after 10 years of marriage when I was 5).  We did the swap and I've enjoyed having it.  Oh and Nate and I have been happily married for 12 1/2 years ;)

So you see how important this ring is to me.  It isn't the fanciest, biggest or shiniest, but it is MINE and it matches Nate's.  I still get choked up about losing it.

I knew that if we didn't find it, we'd have to replace it.  I just don't like the idea of going around without a wedding ring.  With all this hawtness and awesomeness, I didn't want to be picked up.  Okay, okay, just kidding... not that I want to be picked up... but, well you get it, right?  I just didn't want to have a naked ring finger, call me old fashioned.  So I went to Kohl's and picked up a sparkly, fake replacement for $8.  It looks real enough, but it just doesn't feel the same.

Fast forward 5 weeks to the day, and as I'm packing for our move, I open up our couch (it has a storage place underneath the seat) I start taking things out to sort and pack and there it is... sitting there... waiting for me to find it!  Now I promise you that I looked there, more than once and didn't see it.  WOW!  I was home alone, but I actually jumped up and down and said, out loud, "I found it!  I found it!"  Then I went to the computer, but before I updated FB or instant messaged Nate, I said a prayer of gratitude.  Because let's be honest, Heavenly Father didn't have to answer that prayer for me.  It wasn't life or death or even the biggest deal in the world, but it was a big deal to me!  And now I have my ring back and the thought makes me smile!

If only that ring could talk and tell me all about it's adventures, I'd love to know how it ended up there.

Oh Happy Day!

We're Moving!!!

AGAIN!!!!  Do I sound excited?!? Well I'm NOT!  Okay, I am and I'm not.  I'm excited to have my own house!  I'm excited to have a yard (aka outside babysitter), and I'm excited to leave this wretched rental.  Okay, that isn't fair.  The rental has had its perks like being cheap, being large, having nice neighbors, introducing us to new friend in our ward, and having a front loading washing machine.  But let's face it, a different color on every wall, outdated floors, freezing basement, detached garage, and NO YARD has really worn on me.

Tomorrow Nate will officially give our 30 days notice and buy out our lease (2 months rent).  We are set to close on our new house on March 24th.  I am highly skeptical that this will happen on time, but who knows, banks can change... right?

The house we are buying is an older house that has been completely remodeled.  It has hardwood floors in the main living area, granite counters in the kitchen and bathroom, new cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, tiled floors and walls in the bathroom, new carpet in the basement and bedrooms and new fixtures throughout.  Also, as part of our offer, they are putting in a gas line so I can finally cook with gas again!  We are also getting all new appliances. PHEW!  This house is the nicest house in our price range in the areas we have been looking.  It is in Cottonwood Heights which is about 5 miles from where we live now.

There are a few things that will take getting used to: 1. it is a split level (not my favorite floor plan) 2. The garage is in the basement 3.The front and back yard will need some work.

I found out today that the school Abby is supposed to go to doesn't have a preschool, but another school, very close by, does and I can transfer Abby if I want to and have Iris go to preschool there in the fall.  For now though, they will both just stay with their schools until summer.

Here is a link to some pictures.  The first ones are the pictures they posted online.  They have finished a lot of work since those pictures, and should have everything else completed this week.

When we looked at this house, we both felt is was a great house!  After looking at others we started feeling really good about this one.  We made an offer two weeks ago, they countered, we countered, they countered, we countered and then they countered exactly the same as their previous one.  So we walked.  I was feeling extremely disappointed, but I just thought they weren't being reasonable with their expectations.  I also had a feeling things were going to work out.  We looked at a few others over the weekend.  One Nate thought was a really good house to look into, but even that one just didn't feel right to me.  Lo and behold, the Monday following the weekend we walked, their agent called our agent and asked that we resubmit our offer.  I guess they realized that they blew a good sale with good buyers over $3K and it wasn't such a great idea.

Now we are on our way.  I'm not excited about packing, cleaning, moving, cleaning, unpacking, cleaning etc, but I'm sure excited about living in a practically new house, in a great neighborhood where we can take walks, ride bikes etc and did I mention it has a YARD?!?

One funny story about the yard.  On the day before our first offer we took the girls to look at the house for the first time.  They LOVED it!  Even Iris loved it, the girl who won't stop talking about her yellow house!  I sent them outside to play and they played for like an hour!  They got filthy, but they had a blast!  About 20 minutes after being outside, Abby came up to me and said, "Mom, come meet my new friend Tess."  Sure enough, the girls had made friends with a cute little 6 year old girl from across the back fence.  20 minutes after that Abby came up to me and said, "Look what Tess gave me!"   It was valentine's candy!  Then there was the begging to let Tess come over and play or can we go to Tess's house and play!  So I can put the worry of this move affecting Abby's social life right out of my mind.

So there you have it, what we've been working on the past several weeks!

PS Just a quick update on Abby.  Tomorrow she will have finished serving time (2 weeks) in a neck brace because we found out her neck suffered a whiplash affect when she hit the wall at school.  We are hoping we have no more injuries for a while!

"I'm NOT Cute!"

So Iris is going through a little identity crisis.  She seems to think that "cute" is a derogatory word.  I'm not sure why.  But she doesn't like being called cute or her actions referred to as cute.  Which is pretty difficult... since she is, in fact cute.

Two instances of this phenomenon.  One is not so good, the other pretty... well... cute

Instance #1:
The girls got up late, we were rushing to head out the door.  Abby needed to be dropped off at school by 8:40am and then Iris would go straight to my carpool-mate's house so I could get to Zumba by 9am.  It was a nice day out, so I thought I'd dress Iris in a "cute" denim dress with a "cute" red sweater complimented by some "cute" red tights and "cute" black boots.  She was not happy about it. She only wants to wear twirly dresses, which is a problem since all her twirly dresses are church dresses.  "It's not a dress if it doesn't twirl!" she exclaimed.  I'm pretty sure I offered her to wear pants but she wasn't having that either.  So I enforced my parental authority and insisted she wear it because I had no more time for an argument about it.  Some other day I might have picked to not fight this battle, but on this day, I needed to stick to my guns!  I persuaded her by saying that I'd take her picture (every 3 almost 4 year olds dream) and put it online to ask my friends if she is cute.  "No one will say I'm cute!  I'm NOT cute!"

The poll numbers are in and 21 of my voting Facebook friends say she is cute!  22 if you include me!  Nate wasn't get involved! LOL!

Here's what I presented as evidence

Okay so the picture is blurry.  You can see all the comments and a good picture here.

Instance #2

Today I was driving to Costco with Iris in the back seat.  She said something "cute" and I called her on it.  "You know what, Iris, you are pretty cute!" I said.

Indignantly she said, "I am NOT cute!"

And I thought, "Here we go again!"

But she finished by saying, "I'm pretty and sparkly!"

Well, I can't argue with that!

Abby and Her Mouth!

If you think this post is about sass then you haven't been on Facebook lately! LOL!  Oh the adventures we've had this past week.  Let me set the scene for you:

Last Tuesday I headed to Abby's school for a scheduled parent/teacher conference.  As I approach the school I see Abby playing in front waiting for me to arrive.  I park the car in the parking lot and the moment I step out I can hear Abby screaming.  This isn't her "I'm faking it for sympathy" scream.  This is the "mommy's heart just jumped into her throat and she can't get to the kid fast enough" scream.  If you have kids, then you know what I'm talking about.  Unfortunately, I couldn't obey my instincts to run because I had a stronger "you can't leave your 3 year old in a parked car with the door open in the middle of a parking lot" instinct.  As I'm looking back and forth between the scene involving my injured child and the dawdling three year old I notice the school secretary booking it to swoop Abby up and take her inside.  As quickly as I can, I get Iris out of the van and head into the school.

In the office I can still hear her crying and I see she is rinsing her mouth out which is bleeding profusely.  I get to her and find out she has just fallen against the side of the school and smacked her mouth.  I take her face gently in my hands and examine her.  Her nose is not broken but her mouth is bleeding and her teeth don't look right.  Right away I see that they are chipped, and I know that her mouth is in a lot of pain.  "I'm so sorry, honey!" I say and I try to comfort her to get her to calm down.  "Tell me exactly what happened."

With her jaw rigged, she says, "I was playing tag and I lost my balance and I hit the wall.  It really hurts mommy!"

I tell the secretary that she was really fast in responding and she tells me that she heard Abby hit the wall and then heard screaming.  Abby hit the outside of the wall, the secretary heard the collision from inside the wall.  The wall is probably 2-3 feet deep with solid brick on the outside.  That will give you an idea of how hard Abby hit.  Pretty hard.

Needless to say, I canceled my conference and phoned the orthodontist.  If you remember, in November Abby got a palate expander.  I was concerned that she may have damaged it or having it in her mouth may have damaged her jaw.  We rushed over there ASAP.  This entire time her mouth has not stopped bleeding.

The orthodontist took a good look inside and said that she had cracked her teeth but the appliance was fine and there was nothing more he could do.  He referred me to a dentist.  Luckily this dentist, on his day off, agreed to see Abby.  It is now one hour from her accident and her gums are still bleeding.  He looks at her mouth, talks about filling the teeth (since she broke about 1/2 of one tooth and 1/4 of the other), but he can't do anything until the gums around the teeth heal.  See when a mouth suffers trauma like this, the gum tissue becomes inflamed and that makes the teeth loose and unstable.  He would have tried a stabilizing bar, but he figured he didn't want to add to her trauma by giving her a shot and messing with her teeth.  He made an appointment to see her the next Monday.

Abby was swollen for a couple of days, but then returned to normal.  She couldn't bite down at all with her front teeth, so she was on a soft food diet.  The next day she called me from school to say she fell on the playground, hit her chin which knocked her teeth and they hurt a bit.  I took her some ibuprofen and told her to try and tough it out.  I also gave her strict instructions NOT to run or be rowdy.

This brings me to Sunday... the day before her dental appointment.  I noticed after dinner that her lip and cheek were swollen.  I automatically worried about an infection.  She had been complaining for about a day that her two front teeth hurt, especially right under her nose.  I didn't really pay attention to it since it seemed to me that it came on when she was bored, in trouble or asked to do something.  But by Sunday night I knew something wasn't right.

Fast forward to our appointment on Monday.  Her lip and cheek are still swollen and tender.  The dentist rules out a nerve infection, but is now wondering if the bone above her lip is fractured.  Let me set this scene for you:

I requested nitris oxide for her because I knew that this filling was going to be painful.  So she's been on nitris for 20-30 minutes.  He puts the gum numbing stuff on her gums and then gives her the anesthetic shot.  I have NEVER seen this child in more pain.  It was killing me to have to hold her down while he put that needle in her gums.  She screamed so loud and hurt so much that I was barely able to contain my emotions.  This motherhood stuff is NOT for the faint of heart.

Once numb (the sensation of which totally freaked Abby out more) he determined that he probably shouldn't fill the teeth because they had shifted with the impact.  So now her teeth have been pushed into the gums causing them to be pressed together at the bottoms.  Any filling would fall out at this point is what he said.  So he smoothed the jagged break instead.  And he went back and forth whether to say that the bone was broken.  Finally he gave me instructions to head back to the orthodontist.  Whether it is broken or not, those teeth are not stable and need to be stabilized and straightened before he can fill them.  He also worried about root damage and referred me to an endodontist (these guys specialize in root canals).

So let me get this straight... a week ago her teeth were only chipped and we could do an easy fix after the gums heal.  NOW I'm being told that my daughter most likely has a fracture in her jaw (which she has had for a WEEK) and is now at risk for losing one or both of her front PERMANENT teeth?  Not only this, the exam has now left her writhing (and I didn't really understand what this meant until this night) in pain and her face is still swollen.  It was almost too much to bare.

The second we left the dentist Abby started crying and screaming about the pain in her mouth.  "It's killing me!" she said over and over and over.  I was so confused because she was supposed to be numb.  I called the dentist and while waiting for him to call back I went to the store for more ibuprofen.  I gave her that and called our home teacher to come help Nate give her a blessing.  The dentist called and said to see how the ibuprofen worked and call if it didn't so he could prescribe something stronger.

This is where we learn about the power of the Priesthood of God.  After the ibuprofen and a beautiful blessing, Abby went to bed and slept all night.  I give complete and utter glory to our Heavenly Father who, no doubt, was suffering as much as I was.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood Power and the miracles we receive from it.  This child was in so much pain that neither nitris, nor anesthetic could touch it.

First thing this morning, the dentist called to check on Abby and to urge me to see the orthodontist first.  He told me that the more he thought about it the more he was convinced her jaw was fractured.

The orthodontist confirmed the fracture.  He can't just stabilize the fracture with a bar because that would fix the teeth in the wrong place... which would add more problems.  So he put 6 braces and a wire on her top teeth to stabilize or cast the fracture and to guide the teeth to a straightened position.

This is where we learn about the power of Prayer.  This morning I solicited prayers for Abby.  Knowing how much she suffered last night and knowing how much her mouth would go through today with the exams alone, I knew she would be hurting and not very cooperative.  She was so brave and so tough when they put those braces on her!  I couldn't be prouder of her.  And it seemed that the minute those braces came on, her demeanor changed.  She was my happy Abby again.  If you don't believe in miracles, this should change your mind.  If my words aren't sufficient, hopefully the Spirit is testifying to you.  To see the change between the girl suffering, more than I've probably ever suffered in my life, the night before to the girl skipping out with a SMILE on her face was again a testimony of God's love for her and for me.

With one more appointment to go, we were on our way to fixing this problem.  The endodontist visit was short and sweet.  Her teeth are still developing.  The stems have not closed off, so there is a good possibility that the blood and tissues feeding the teeth will heal and "rejuvenate".  He put her on antibiotics as a preventative measure and we will revisit him next week.

I know this is long.  I don't know if you've read it all the way through.  I felt the need to put this experience in words.  I hope Abby can read it someday and know how much she is loved and how much we do for our kids so that they don't have to suffer.  It is hard to see your kids hurting, no matter the cause.  It is even harder to know that they have suffered more than you knew at the time... those are the moments when we really kick ourselves.  But it is difficult experiences that give us the strengths to face new challenges.

Now if I can just get Abby to slow down a bit, then my heart can resume it's normal beat.  Tonight I caught her lifting a portable booster seat over her head with a belt (don't even ask).  It came about 4 inches from smacking her in the mouth!  "I just spent $1000 on that mouth so you better just put that thing down!"  I shouted.  Then I thought a second and said, "Abby you have no idea how much your mouth would hurt if that hit you and you were close!"  That probably should have been my first reaction... I still have a lot to learn.

And here is the photographic evidence (I also posted these on Facebook):

The swollen lip and cheek after seeing the dentist (for the second time)

Part of the lip swelling is due to the anesthetic shot

There's that beautiful smile... now full of braces!

You can see that a lot of the swelling is gone already

Just a little bit of swelling in her lip and cheek

She was so excited about choosing colored bands

***If you look at the picture on the header of my blog you can see how big her front teeth are.  The space between them in that picture is due to the palate expander.  After we did all the adjustments, her top teeth started moving closer together (from the top).  In these pictures you can see just how much tooth was knocked out and how now her teeth are angled toward each other at the bottom.  Good times!***

A snowman question

I thought about putting up a really boring update.  But I didn't want to type that much or put up pictures.  So I thought I'd ask a question that has literally been bugging me since the first snowfall of the season.  And this question keeps irritating me more and more every time I see a snowman.  I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder this, and perhaps there are even brave souls out there, like me, who will even ask this.  But...

WHY IN THE WORLD DOES A SNOWMAN NEED A WINTER HAT?  SNOWMEN ARE MADE OF SNOW!!! SNOW IS COLD!!! ALL A HAT WOULD REALLY DO IS MAKE IT WARMER!!! DOESN'T THAT GO AGAINST EVERYTHING A SNOWMAN STANDS FOR?

Okay, sorry that was actually a question, three exclamations and then another question.

These guys even have scarves!  I mean, come on!

It's ridiculous, right?  When you think about it?

So I was scouring pictures of snowmen to put on here, since the picture of the girls' snowman they made is all the way on the camera in my purse.  And NO it didn't have a winter hat.  Abby used the scarf as hair and put her elephant sun visor on it.  Anyway, I came across this picture and thought, "Now this makes sense!"

See the cap?  At least this will protect him from the sun.  Still has a scarf though!

Anyway, everyone can put whatever they want on their snowman.  I just have to let these little frustrations out sometimes!