Blessings

The last couple of weeks have been very challenging and have really forced me to submit myself to constant prayer, fasting, and faith. I am grateful for what I have learned and am tremendously grateful for the blessings we have received. I came accross this quote out of the Ensign recently. It is so applicable to our family right now and has given me much comfort. I wanted to share it.

"Living the gospel does not mean the storms of life will pass us by, but we will be better prepared to face them with serenity and peace. 'Search diligently, pray always, and be believing,' the Lord admonished, 'and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly.'"

I want to share some of the things that have "worked together for (my) good".

1. Mason had a successful surgery

On Tuesday Sept. 23rd, Mason had his surgery to remove the rods that were placed in his leg back in January. I cannot tell you the relief I feel to have this over. I really struggled over the past month as Alan and I were trying to make the decision about whether or not to leave the rods in. Our surgeon didn't reccommend either way what to do, he stated there are pros and cons either way and ultimately, it was up to us. I HATED that answer...couldn't he just tell us what to do?! After my own research, talking with other medical professionals, and lots of prayer, I still couldn't decide what was the right answer. I even had nightmares that Mason wouldn't come out of the anesthesia. Literally, I was terrified. But after more and more prayer, we decided that taking the rods out would be the best for the future. Now, I had to have faith. I had to believe that Heavenly Father would protect Mason. I had to know that our prayers were heard and have faith that whatever the outcome, it was God's plan. Although so, so challenging, this was a very faith growing experience for me.

Mason was quite proud of his yellow socks and "cool" pajamas he got to wear at the hospital.

Before Mason went in for the surgery, they gave him some Versed, a medicine that makes you very relaxed and sleepy. It worked wonderously for Mason! Watch the video and see!

Here are the two rods that came out of his leg. They extended from his knee all the way up to the top of his thigh

Mason is now, one week later, still recovering and doing very well. He is hesitant to bend his knee, but he can walk and gets around very well. Our discharge instructions were NO impact activities for 8 weeks. In other words, no riding his bike, playing on the playground at the park, climbing, running, or jumping on the trampoline. Now, for most people the months of October and November wouldn't be such a big deal to keep a 4 year old inside, but we've been hibernating the last couple of months and now it is finally cooling down to where the kids CAN play outside! So we'll see how this goes!

Here is the story from the beginning of why we even were having this surgery in the first place...

On January 28th, the kids were all playing outside in the backyard. I was fixing dinner but had the glass door open and was watching what they were doing. Mason and Jalen kept climbing on the 3 foot Little Tykes playhouse we have. After Mason jumped off of it, I had a feeling to get him down. I went outside and helped him off the playhouse and told him if he did it again, he would have a time-out. He climbed up again and jumped off. After Mason's time-out, he went back outside and started playing. Before I knew it, he had climbed up and jumped off again. Now he was lying on the grass crying that his leg hurt. Because it wasn't a very high jump, I thought he must have landed on his ankle wrong. However, he was complaining that his thigh hurt and he wouldn't walk on it. I brought him inside and looked at his leg. His thigh was a little swollen, but I knew there was no way he could have broken his femur bone by such a small jump. I layed him on the couch and turned on cartoons. He wasn't crying or complaining so I continued making dinner and thought maybe it was a sprained muscle. After a few minutes, I checked on him again and realized his leg was really swelling up and he was sweating, clammy, and pale. This made me nervous. I couldn't imagine this being a broken femur, but I knew something was wrong. I quickly took Mason to the hospital. He never complained unless he was being moved, he even fell asleep in the car on the way. The paramedics suspected immediately that it was broken and later that was confirmed with an x-ray, showing a spiral fracture of the femur. It was a huge blessing no major arteries or veins were punctured. We were taken by ambulance to Phoenix Children's Hospital where we waited for the decision between surgery with rods or a body cast. (I can't imagine how we would have survived a body cast!) Mason had surgery the next day and we spent a couple more days in the hospital as he recovered.

During this time, it was my friends from the ward that saved my family from utter chaos and despair. We wouldn't have made it without them. I only made two phone calls, one to Shelby to see if she would watch Jalen and Madelyn while I rushed Mason to the hospital and another to Becka (I had to cancel having dinner brought to them). From that point on, the Ashtons, Biancamanos, Lundts, and Turners took care of everything. They made sure Madelyn and Jalen were taken care of, stayed late in our home during the surgery, brought meals, and met many other needs. They were (and still are) amazing! Words can't express my gratitude to them.

Over the next 8 weeks, Mason had a splint on his leg from his upper thigh down to his ankle. He wasn't allowed to put any weight on it. This could have been devastating for a little 3 year old, but Mason was extremely patient and positive. He never complained about having to be pushed in a wheelchair at church or when we went out; having to miss out with friends; having to be carried from one room to another; or having to miss school for over 2 months. He became very adaptable to the situation, learing to scoot around on his bum and even mastered going up and down the stairs. He was such a trooper!

Here is Mason enjoying the park, even with a broken leg!

Mason felt very special because he got to eat his meals while sitting on the recliner chair in the living room, and not having to sit up to the table.

Mason even spent his 1st real birthday (Leap Year Baby!) with a splint. But as you can see, he didn't miss out on the fun!

We are so grateful that the second and hopefully last surgery is behind us and that Mason is healthy and happy!

2. Heavenly Father provides a way
For the last year and a half, I have worked as a "pool nurse", meaning I help fill in for other nurses when they need it. This position has worked out very well for our family, providing a little extra income, allowing me to keep up on my skills without being a "working mom" and letting me pick and choose days when I do want to work (no holidays, weekends, nights or times when I have other things planned). It's been a fabulous job. However, there is one drawback, I am not guaranteed hours. Usually this has not be an issue until recently. A couple of weeks ago, I was only needed one day for the month of October. I wasn't too worried until Alan quit his job. With his new career change, he will be studying until November and probably not making any money until December or January. We were contemplating what to do, whether I should look for a different job and give up this awesome position I have and absolutely love, or live off of our savings. Then last week when I went in to work, my supervisor said that the doctors were insisting on having a nurse in every procedure that we prep patients for. This is something that we hadn't done before and so we would need an extra nurse for every day. My supervisor told me I could sign up for as many days as I wanted. Alan and I decided that I could work 3-4 days a week during October and November while he would be at home studying.

This new schedule and arrangement that we have is definately very challenging. I am physically exhausted from running on my feet all day. I come home to hungry children, a sink full of dishes, unmade beds, laundry that still needs to be folded from days before, and homework to be done. I know that I can't expect Alan to do all of this because every spare second he has, needs to be spent studying. At times I have felt frustrated with the situation and wanted to blame Alan for putting us here, despite knowing it's wrong to feel this way. I truly believe it was the right thing for him to leave his job; putting it off any longer would only procrastinate the inevitable. After a few days of these bad feelings, I received a strong sense of comfort and a clear impression of this: "I always said I wanted to get my education so that "IF" something ever happened, I would have something to fall back on. That "IF" is now." I know these thoughts and feelings were from God.

It is so much easier to work together with Alan as a team, to push forward despite the challenges, and to know that this has to be done with this new perspective and insight. The need for another nurse was definately an answer to our prayers and a huge blessing. Heavenly Father does know of our individual needs and provides a way for us to make things work.

3. There really are good and honest people in the world

A few days ago after work, I ran to the grocery store to pick up two items I needed for dinner. I left the kids home with Alan to make the trip less chaotic and faster since it was already 5:00. I got home, quickly made dinner with three children at my feet all vying for attention. Madelyn needed help with her homework, Mason's coloring pencils were not newly sharpened, and Jalen just wanted to "help" mommy. I barely survived the rest of the evening, being completely exhaused from the new schedule we've got going on. But the children were all in bed by 7:45 and I was just going to start laundry. Then I got a phone call. It was Albertsons, asking me if I had lost my purse. I had not even realized that I did not come home with it. I only had a few items and no children with me, so I can't blame it on too many distractions or groceries I was concerned about. All I could think was, "Oh, my gosh!" Everything was in my purse, wallet with cash and cards, cell phone, and even my camera with lots of pictures that I hadn't saved onto my computer yet. I found out that a lady had returned my purse (with everything still there) after finding it out in the parking lot sitting in a grocery cart. I felt overwhelmed and so grateful for the honesty and integrity of this person. Also, I can't help but acknowledge Heavenly Father watching out for me. A stolen purse would have been so devastating to us right now. It is a tremendous blessing knowing there really are good people out there who are honest and will return a loaded purse!