The Sweetest Sounds

I have always liked living in places where you could hear birds singing in the morning. Lately I have been enjoying something much sweeter in the morning. Samuel loves his voice!
Every morning for about the last 2 weeks Samuel has been waking up on his own and just laying in his crib singing or babbling. He will go on for a little while and trying to do all sorts of things. He loves to say ba, buzz his lips and growl. Then, when he has said all he has to say, he will either go back to sleep or let out a little shout so that we know he wants to come play with us. He is such a good little boy. One of these mornings I will try to record his jabbering so that you can all enjoy it too! However, while we listen to it live at 5 AM, you are more than welcome to play it at the time of day that works best for you!

Another BIG Day!

Yesterday I took some pictures of Samuel because I just can't believe how big he is getting so fast! Of course, I think he also continues to get more adorable every day too!

He does have rosie cheeks, but in this picture he had just finished eating his carrots so his face is a bit orange.

Here Samuel is trying to stand up by himself...he is still quite wobbly so Dad is close by to catch him.

And for a special treat Samuel also decided he would show us that he really does know how to roll over. He still really dislikes being on his tummy so usually if he gets on his tummy he will just scream until someone "rescues" him.

Today we had an appointment with the surgeon and we scheduled Samuel's final surgery. He will go in to have the ostomy closed on February 11th! Like I said before, we are so excited for this to happen, but we are of course still nervous. It is a major surgery and it is always so hard to give our little guy over to someone.

This third surgery is the most difficult and dangerous...the surgeons have prepared us for what will take place and because they will be operating on the intestines there is a greater possibility for things to go wrong. The surgeons said from the beginning that the final surgery is the one when babies are some times lost. Of course, Samuel is strong and he has always done really well through all of the surgeries that he has had, and the doctors really are amazing.

Samuel will likely be in the hospital for a week after the surgery to recuperate and heal before he can come home and really start healing from the operation under the loving care of Papa and Grandma!!! We are all so excited to see them again.

Finally, to end our day we met with a realtor that we have been working with for the past little while and we decided to make an offer on a house! We are excited and really hope that our offer is accepted. It is a beautiful home and if the offer is accepted then we are getting an incredible deal! Here are pictures of the front and back of the house as well as of the kitchen.

Ignore the spots (I removed some of the identifying data just because I just didn't feel comfortable having all that on the blog)

I took pictures of the other rooms, but they didn't really turn out. However, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms, right? Anyway, we are super excited and hope that things turn out well so that we can re-enter the world of homeowners!

Marian Wright Edelman

I heard this quote at work today and it really struck me at how true it is. I have heard this concept before and I though the quote today was a really good reminder.
I overheard a coworker assisting one of our clients and something needed to be corrected on the case. My coworker explained the situation and aplolgized for the error. The person responded that it was okay. My coworker then thanked the client for being so kind.
I was impressed at this thank you. I have received so much kindness and I am really thankful for kind people. Being kind really isn't huge (although in some situations it takes quite an effort to remain kind) but constant kindness really does make a huge difference in the lives of so many.

The Correction

The above quote was not by Nelson Mandela - I would like to thank the commenter that brought this to my attention. So this little experiment is working already in that I have learned that I have fallen victim to the urban myth that it was included in a speech by Nelson Mandela when really it was in a book Return to Love by Marianne Williamson.
Has anyone read that book? If you have, please share some thoughts on it. I think I may go check it out if it is at our library.

Quote by Nelson Mandela

I don't remember where I found this quote, but I do really like it. We are all great in our own little way and why not celebrate each other's strength. You can be great at something and if I'm not then you shouldn't feel self-conscious about that talent, you should share it with me so that I can enjoy it and possibly even improve myself. So, go ahead, be great and have the courage to share your talents with everyone.

I guess the reason that I loved this so much is because I didn't always realize that I am still great if someone else has a talent that I don't have. The fact that I have talents different from another person does not diminish the worth of anyone, in fact, it is quite the opposite. We are all given different strengths so that we may edify one another and we can all shine together.

Mom's Brain

My mom was a collector of quotes. She would write them down on any little piece of paper when she heard them. She would write them in a little notebook, on the back of envelopes, on receipts. It just depended where she was and what paper was available to write them on. Anyway, near the end of her life she started to gather all of these little pieces of paper and tried to put them in one location - that chosen location was a plastic bag, and that compliation of thoughts and quotes we lovingly called "Mom's Brain". I'm not sure where Mom's Brain is now, but if anyone has it I think it would be great to have it all put in a book.

Anyway, I am also a collector of quotes. In my scriptures, school books, and other nooks and crannies I have pieces of paper on which I have written a quote that I read or heard and have been inspired. So, I thought I would share those thoughts with all of you. I labeled this the "Quote of the Moment" because honestly I didn't want to commit to sharing a different one on a regular schedule (i.e. weekly, monthly, or even yearly). Plus, if I come across a new one before the end of a pre-set time then I want the freedom to post it....and because this is my blog that's just what I'm going to do!

Now, I would like to encourage you to go ahead and share what your thoughts on the quote that I have shared. You may share what you like about it, how it has changed your perspective, or anything. You may even choose to disagree with the quote. I'm hoping that this will be great learning experience for all those who would like to join.

Trust

I have been thinking about trust lately and about how parenting does require quite a bit of trust.
From the moment Samuel was born we have trusted doctors and nurses to help us to provide the best care possible for Samuel. Then Samuel went to daycare and we have to trust the teachers to care for him while we are at work.
When the second surgery came around it took a huge amount of trust. In the waiting room we met the anesthesiologist and the surgeon reviewed what he would be doing during the surgery. We changed Samuel into a gown and I rocked him for a little while. Then the nurse came in. Handing Samuel over to the nurse and walking toward the waiting room while the nurse took Samuel back to the OR was so hard. I had to trust that the medical professionals would do everything they could to keep our little guy safe.
As I have been thinking about that experience and also preparing for Samuel's final surgery I wonder if I can actually hand him over again. Honestly, I trust the surgeon completely. He is awesome. And the anesthesiology department at the hospital is tops. But, it is still hard. I want him to be safe and I would give anything and everything to help him.
So I have thought about Heavenly Father and what He has done. He knows Samuel and what a wonderful boy he is. He also knows me and knows everything about me. Yet he has put His trust in me and David to raise this little boy and keep him safe. I am honored that He would trust us with Samuel and I am so thankful for my little family.
This has also taught me a little bit about how important those little updates are. I mean, every day from daycare we get a report card of what and how Samuel did that day. I love those little papers. During surgery we get updates about how Samuel is doing and those little updates are sanity savers. Well, if I feel that way about those little updates, how much our Heavenly Father must love those little updates of how we are doing and how Samuel is doing. Part of the reason I trust the daycare and the surgeon so much is because they are so great at communicating with me. I really need to be better at communicating with my Heavenly Father and giving Him those updates. That is a goal I have during this year and forever.

So those are just some thoughts - what has parenting taught you?

South Carolina

We took our first family vacation with Samuel. We drove up to Hilton Head on Friday and came home Sunday. It was wonderful! And thanks to David's job we got a great discount on the room so it was way affordable! We stayed at Disney's Resort at Hilton Head.

Here is Samuel with the towel animal that greeted us in our room. It was a cute little octopus.

We walked out on the pier and saw some neat birdies - it was beautiful!
Here is Samuel with Thumper and Bambi.

And here Samuel is sitting with Mickey in the lobby.We had a wonderful vacation and hope we will be able to go up there again. It really was a nice little drive (only took about 5.5 hours to get there and we were able to do it on less then a tank of gas!).