Have you heard the song This is My Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood? I've had it stuck in my head for the past six weeks.
Watch the music video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraOiHUltak.
Wil and I bought our house before we were married. I remember spending a date night deep cleaning the house and dreaming about what life would be like together after we were married.
I wondered aloud what the walls of the home had seen and what the people who lived there before us had been like. Were they happy? Were the walls filled with laughter and love? (I think Wil probably thought I was crazy)
It's just a building - wood, nails and stucco - but home becomes such a part of who you are. A home sees your best and your worst, your happiest and your most heartbroken, your crazy busy weeks when all you do is blow through and your relaxing hang out on the couch moments you wish would last forever.
When we first moved into the three bedroom on Clara, it seemed huge! We rarely used half the house. But we soon filled it with sleepovers and pets and happiness. We worked on home improvement projects, decorated baby rooms with loving care and poured pieces of ourselves into our house. We brought babies home and filled it to the brim with swings, cribs, toys and books.
In August, my grandma's health suddenly got worse. I spoke with her Hospice nurse on Friday, the 16th about how she was doing. The nurse thought she was feeling poorly because she had tried to do too much that week, but mentioned that if this was the new normal, my grandma wouldn't be able to live by herself much longer.
Wil and I discussed the possibility of us moving in with my grandma briefly that evening, thinking it would be months down the road. (Our once too big house was now too small for my grandma to move in with us) Early Saturday morning I headed to youth conference for the day, and Sunday afternoon, we headed to my grandma's house for a going away dinner for Lynda who was headed back to school at the University of Arizona.
It was immediately apparent my grandma was not doing well at all when we got there and we decided we needed to speed up our plans to move in. Monday morning we began clearing space at my grandma's house and moved our beds and a few suitcases full of clothes and toiletries to my grandma's.
We were not physically, mentally or emotionally prepared to move, but you do what you have to do, and with a lot of help from our ward were able to get most of our things packed and moved in the coming weeks. Unpacking is another story...but I'm working on it...some days.
This is My Temporary Home played over and over in my mind as I packed our belongings and worked on making a new home for my little family. Soon, my grandma's house will feel like home. We'll fill it with laughter, love and new memories...and probably a few tears as well. Our old house will find a new family to fill its walls with the joy of daily living -- in fact, we're hoping to rent it out...if you know anyone looking ;-).
The song keeps playing in my mind, and the last verse makes me feel better about my grandma's declining health as well. This is her temporary home. I have faith that when she leaves this life, she will find peace and joy in the next. I have faith that this earth is the temporary home for all of us. That we will see each other again and that our families will be reunited for eternity.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Smurfette
We had tucked Addie in for a nap during the middle of our projects and were blissfully waiting for her to wake up so we could head home and get ready for the babies blessing day the next day. She'd been asleep for a LONG time, so Wil decided to go check on her. When he opened the door, he found this...
It seems there was a box of paint in the closet that no one knew was there...well, no one besides Addie.
The bedspread managed to escape mostly unscathed. Her dress and the carpet, however, are another story.
I should have been mad...but mostly, it was just funny! It must be something about nap time at GG's house. I remember my cousin Lynda doing something similar with a permanent marker when she was supposed to be napping at my grandma's.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Reading With G.G.
Addie LOVES books and reading with G.G.!
My grandma has COPD and pulmonary hypertension and has been on oxygen for about five years. She started Hospice a couple weeks ago...something that I am not at all happy about, but that I am slowly learning to accept.
We've been spending a lot of time with GG lately, trying to soak up as much of her as we possibly can!
Teddy Bear Picnic
A few weeks ago, a friend at church hosted a teddy bear picnic at our church building. It was a potluck and we all brought our own blankets for the gym floor. All of the kids brought their teddy bears and they played while the moms visited. Addie had a GREAT time!
A little more than a week later, I woke up from a nap to find this...
Addie set up her own teddy bear picnic in the living room.
I'm loving this stage and her imaginative play!
My Day...In Two Pictures
These two pictures sum up my days...most days at least.
Mason is my crier. He has reflux, which makes life tough for him right now. He's a baby...so he eats a lot, but it hurts to eat. Fortunately, the doctor was able to give us some medicine for the reflux. He's almost a whole new baby when he takes it. But when it starts to wear off (or when he's just in a mood), this is the face I see. Luckily, I'm starting to see this face less and less and his smiling face more and more!
Alisa smiles in her sleep ALL the time! It's adorable! She is my peacemaker. She still cries, after all she is a baby, but she's pretty content to just hang out and look around. Sometimes I feel guilty because her contentedness often means she doesn't get as much attention. I am SO grateful for her calmness, though. I don't know what I would do with two little babies that were criers!
Now...if I just had a picture of Addie laying in the middle of the floor screaming because she didn't get her way this post would be complete!
Playgrounds
It's about eight billion degrees outside, so we've been trying to find things to do indoors that entertain Addie...and hopefully help tire her out!
Last week, we found a place called Playgrounds close to our house. It's an indoor play area. My grandma went with us, which was lucky because it happened to be grandparents day so it was only five dollars for about three hours of fun! My grandma sat in one of the comfy chairs with the babies while I played with Addie.
Addie had a blast! We'll definitely be back again!
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