I LOVE LITTLE MIRACLES!

Tuesday morning Dan needed to take the Excursion to work because I had to get his tags renewed and it was the last day (of course). So he left at 7 as usual. At 7:30 I got a call that he had a blow out on the freeway. There was no spare in the car because we were already using it and just hadn't gotten around to replacing the last flat tire. So I took our little Mazda out to him (he had a big meeting at 8:00). He left--very reluctantly (I guess men don't like leaving their pregnant wives on the side of the freeway) and made me promise not to lift the tire myself and that he'd take care of it after his meetings. I sat and waited for a bit for my dad to come get me. A police officer stopped and asked what he could do. I told him my dad was on his way, and that I had to go get the spare fixed and then I'd be back to get my car. He said that once the car was tagged with an orange sticker I only had two hours before it was towed. He was kind enough to not tag it, but warned me that another officer could come by at anytime and put one on. Well I got home, had my dad put the spare in the back of my truck. Then went and headed out to get the emissions done on the truck so I could get the registration done. This was our third try! It passed (miracle #1). I ran back home to do the registration online--thank you technology! A few minutes later my phone rang. It was a sweet member from our ward whose husband happened to see our car on the freeway and wondered if there was anything he could do. (I guess it's pretty easy to spot our big green machine with a line of 7 little kid decals on the back window and a 4EVRFAM licence plate) (Miracle #2) I told her everything was fine and that I was just heading out to get the tire fixed so I could go pop it on. She argued with me, saying a pregnant woman shouldn't be putting a tire on her car on the side of the freeway and made me promise to call her husband so he could put the tire on when it was ready. Oh and an officer had tagged it so he pulled the sticker off to give me a little more time. (Miracle #3) I got to the tire store, told them I needed the tire quickly as I didn't want to get my car towed. They said they'd hurry, but it would be at least an hour wait. So we waited. During that time my brother-in-law called me on my cell. He saw my car on the side of the freeway and wanted to know what he could do to help. (Miracle #4) I told him everything was fine and that I was in the process of getting the tire fixed. He said he'd wait until I got there so he could put it on. I told him it's be at least an hour maybe two and assured him that I knew had to change a tire, no big deal. He's a little (ok a lot) stubborn and said he'd meet me at the tire store in a few minutes. Oh and he tore off the orange tag another police officer put on my car (Miracle #5).
I called my good friend's husband back and told him not to worry about it. I had someone to help me. My brother-in-law showed up. We got our little girls all something to eat while we were waiting. (oh yeah, we had a four, a three, and 2 one year old little girls with us, just to add to the drama) The tire was finally ready, an hour and a half later, and we loaded it up and started to head out. My good friend called me on my cell again and said she and her husband were sitting by my car on the side of the freeway. She said she knew me too well and thought I might try to still put the tire on myself. (Miracle # oh I don't what number anymore, but a lot!) Well I told her I was on my way and that I really did have someone with me to change the tire. They hesitantly left, but not before pulling off yet another orange sticker. We got there fifteen minutes later. The tire went on easily (I could have done it myself, you know) I said goodbye to my brother-in-law and thanked him for his help. Then drove away, but not before pulling off --yes you guessed it, another orange sticker! My day of miracles wasn't earth shaking, but it reminded me what wonderful people I have looking out for this stubborn, independent old pregnant woman and her family. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Fetal Echo

Friday was our unborn baby's fetal echo cardiogram (try sayng that 5 times fast!) It was recommended we have him tested because of Bekkah's heart problems. I had great hopes of a clean echo, but unfortunately things didn't go my way. We do know he doesn't have an Epstein's Anomaly (one of Bekkah's problems), we won't know until after he is born if he has Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome (another one of hers), as an EKG can't be performed in utero. It does look like he may have a septal aneurysm, or an atrial septal defect. But again, we won't know until after he is born. The doctor said I shouldn't be too concerned (yeah, easy for him to say!) and that many babies are born with ASD's, and have no major problems. He may need surgery when he is older, but again, don't worry. So I'm trying to take his advice. Which is a little hard to do when you google fetal septal aneurysm. I need to stay off the Internet! At least we have a "heads up" this time. His pediatrician and a pediatric cardiologist will be there at his birth so that's reassuring. I guess the bottom line is that I know the Lord will bless us and I know faith and fear can't be present at the same time. So I'll try to enjoy these last few weeks of my pregnancy (I'm not quite so sick anymore) and remember that we are only given what we can handle. I love knowing I have a Heavenly Father who cares about me. How do people go through life without the gospel?!

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

Sunday was Tres' first Missionary Preparation Class. The parents were invited to attend the first meeting. The first thing I noticed was that in a chapel and two overflows full of young men and women and thier parents, I was the only pregnant mother! Does that mean I'm too old to have babies or too young to have a missionary? I prefer the latter, though my body knows the real truth.

As mothers I think we always feel like we could do better. Our FHE's should be more meaningful, our chore chart should be longer, we should teach more, or lecture less. But what an overwhelming feeling to have your Stake President loving tell you what is expected of your young man, oh and by the way you have 10 months to get him ready!

I think I half expected, half hoped that the 18th birthday would be magical. Somehow he would become responsible, patient, and self-motivated overnight. Since magic didn't work, I guess it's up to us.

I'm not real worried about the spiritual aspect for Tres. He has an amazing testimony. He knows the scriptures better than I, probably better than most. He's read nearly the whole Preach My Gospel Manual. He says his prayers and can talk gospel principals with the best of them. It's the living away from home that gets me. Will he be able to wake up on time, will he remember to wear his retainer (we put a lot of money into those teeth!), how will he deal with the different personalities of his companions, what if he gets lost, or scared, or discouraged.

When I got home I spent some time on my knees. I needed answers to my fears, and what I found was a quiet reassurance that "all will be well, do your best, and I will do the rest."

I know we still have some work to get him ready. He will need to get up close and personal with the iron, among other things, but I know with the Lord's help he will be a wonderful missionary.

IT'S A BOY!

So I'm finally posting the news. Christmas morning we openned up a cute little blue and gray sweatsuit. We haven't had a boy in 7 years so you know what that means...SHOPPING! (sorry Dan, but it's got to be done) The official due date is March 9th, but we're expecting a February baby as number 8 probably won't hang in there all 40 weeks. We can't agree on a name, but we still have a little time so we'll keep working on it.