Recap of the Summer

This summer has been a whirlwind, what with a move, 2 trips, 2 family reunions, a yard sale, out of town guests, medical issues, swimming lessons, etc. Now that things are FINALLY winding down I'm going to do a little "recap" of our summer - just in case you're interested. I'll do one event each time I post (let's say once a week and then if it's more often I'm an overachiever :) ).

First stop....Draper and Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open Houses

We've been so blessed to be able to attend not one but TWO! temple open houses this summer, both without traveling too far from home! There is nothing more special to me than being inside a temple with my whole family! I just love sharing it with my husband and children! We didn't get pictures at the Draper one because there were tents surrounding it, but we took a little photo op at Oquirrh Mountain.



Highlights (in the kids-do-the-darndest-things, not spiritual, category): I mentioned the couch jumping and diaper pooping in our Draper Temple post, and Oquirrh mountain wasn't quite as eventful, but at the end of the tour, guests get to visit a reception hall sort of area, where there are refreshments, music, and an opportunity to visit/ask questions/etc. This particular reception hall had a beautiful player piano which completely mystified the kids! Angel watched for a moment, and then closely examined the piano, perplexed. She asked "Who is playing the piano?" to which I replied "Who do you think?" "The Holy Ghost?" she wondered. We all got a kick out of that one.

Sleepless Nights, Surgery, and Still Laughing....

So, after 4 years of almost NEVER sleeping through the night (I know firsthand what sleep deprivation is, let me tell you! :) ) we finally realized our sweet little Angel had more than a learned aversion to sleep. After multiple various attempts to get her to sleep through the night failed, we finally sought medical treatment and learned that Angel has Restless Leg Syndrome and Sleep Apnea, which, we hope, are the root of her night terrors and problems.

The restless leg syndrome has been easily remedied by supplementing her diet with iron (since we are, for the most part, vegetarian, she doesn't eat as much iron as her little growing body needs). The sleep apnea, however, is not such a quick fix. Her ginormous tonsils seem to completely obstruct her airway several times a night and are therefore no longer welcome in her sweet little throat. So she is scheduled for surgery next month.

Angel has been such a trooper through the whole process. Undergoing an overnight sleep study at the hospital was a bit daunting, but fortunately they let her Daddy and her Teddy accompany her, and she proved every bit the Angel; the nurses all spoke of how sweet, cooperative and accomodating she was! Following the results of the sleep study, we prepped her for the visit with the ENT, saying something to the effect of "Your tonsils seem as though they may be too big, so we're going to go see a doctor that knows a lot about throats, to see if he thinks we might want to take them out. But if you do need to get them taken out, it might hurt, but you'll get lots of yummy things like ice cream, popsicles and milk shakes." (Nothing like a little bribery...I mean incentive... right?)

The day of the appointment I asked "How are you going to feel if the Dr. says we should take out your tonsils?" to which she responded "I'll tell him 'I'm a little nervous about getting my tonsils out, but I'm looking forward to all the cold treats!'" That made me chuckle.

At the doctors appointment, she waited quietly and patiently as I spoke with the ENT about what we'd tried, the results of the study, etc. Then he asked her to sit up on the table so he could take a look. Since "Daddy is a Dr." and she loves playing "doctor" at home, she's usually very comfortable and cooperative with doctors examining her, but this time she held back and clutched at my arm. "Are you OK, sweetheart?" I asked. She leaned in and whispered into my ear "Is the Dr. going to take out my tonsils right now?" Realizing I may not have given her the whole time frame and scenario, I felt bad, and quickly assured her that this was just a checkup, and the surgery, if necessary, would come later. She was fine then, and jumped right up.

I know I'm rambling - this entry is more of a journal of sorts - but the punch line is coming up! Angel and Grins wanted to see their tonsils, so we took turns opening our mouths wide to show one another our tonsils (or, in the Mr.'s case, lack thereof), and then took pictures so they could see their own (I know, we're medical geeks. But it's all in the name of the scientific education of our children!) :) When we shined the light on Grins' throat, Angel excitedly shouted out "Look!! I can see his balls!" The Mr. and I could not stop laughing, and the kids looked at us as if we were crazy (we use correct anatomical nomenclature, never slang, so our children had no idea what we found so funny). Mature, I know. But it was just so unexpected.

Moving and Gratitude

Since I am STILL in the throws of moving and having such a hard time dealing with all the chaos, disorder, cleaning, packing, unpacking, rearranging, getting rid of things, etc. etc. I've started having a bad attitude about the whole thing. I realized how bad it had gotten when, one night, I had a dream the Mr. had died. And, though I was, of course grief-stricken at losing him, what bothered me the most (in the dream!) was that I would have to move again! This was a sign to me that I need to change my attitude about moving, since it seems to be my lot in life to do so frequently (we've been married just under 8 years and have already moved 10 times!)

So, I've decided to compile a list of things for which I am grateful, with regards to moving:

Moving has made me appreciate:

~The opportunity to declutter. I am, by nature, a 'pack-rat', so frequent moves have forced me to learn to let go of excess and simplify my life!
~The opportunity to deep clean regularly. I manage to stay on top of the day-to-day cleaning (for the most part) but I'm not very good at the whole 'deep cleaning' you're supposed to do every 6 months or so. Moving forces me to do this, since we're almost never in the same place for more than a year!
~The opportunity to make new friends. I am somewhat predisposed to being shy, but frequent moves have afforded me the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends everywhere I go.
~The opportunity to find things I've been missing. Once we lost a library book, and I was certain I had taken it in. When we moved we found it behind/underneath the bookshelf (where I had looked, but would never have found until actually moving the entire shelf!) Woohoo!
~The opportunity to develop a list of likes/dislikes. Moving so frequently and living in so many different homes/apartments/states/cities/etc. has really given me a taste of what I want in a location, home, neighborhood, ward, school, etc. I've got a good list going so that, when the time (finally!) comes for us to get a house of our own, I will know exactly what I want. Living in our last home (5800 sq ft), for instance, has taught me I do NOT want an excessively large home and yard (unless I intend on having hired help). It is SO much work to keep up! Big homes are overrated, in my opinion.
~The opportunity to have a fresh, new start. This is one reason why the Mr. LOVES moving.
~The opportunity for physical activity. Let's face it. I'm a lazy couch potato. Moving gets me off my duff and gives me that little kick in the seat I need to get moving. Packing, cleaning, carrying boxes up and down stairs. Quite a workout, I must say. Goodbye, love handles! :)
~And, finally, and most importantly, my children. They have truly been troopers through all of these moves, and have even been such good helpers - packing up their things, carrying little loads in and out of the house, being told they couldn't play with things that were already packed, being neglected while their parents spend hours packing/unpacking/cleaning/etc. And, their enthusiasm about our new place has been enough to keep me going.

So, in 10 months when I'm moving yet again, I'll look back on this list and try to buck up instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself.