Updates on Baby Ben...

I am so sorry I haven't had time to update my blog in a while, this is the first time I have been home in a long time. I can't believe Ben is going to be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Being at the hospital is a rollercoaster everyday. There's good and bad news constantly. Clinically, his vitals are improving, but we had some bad news from the last echocardiogram on Tuesday. It showed the leaking in his mitral valve is worse than it was before the open heart surgery and his aortic valve is just a mess as well. We are hoping that when they repeat the echo on Monday the rest he has had will have made some improvements. They pulled the breathing tube out yesterday but ended up putting it back because after about an hour of doing fairly well his heart just didn't have the energy to breathe any more. It was really, really scary. Cody and I have started taking turns at the hospital and coming home to try to give the girls some normalcy at home and to break out of the depressing environment and recharge a little. I was aching to be with the girls but it is devastating to drive away from little Ben in Salt Lake. Thanks everyone for your continued faith and prayers...they really help.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Cody's Surprise Baby Shower

Cody needed a treat for his work Halloween party that was easy and could be made the night before. We have made this before with blue jello (to simulate the ocean at Aimee's Ariel birthday) and also with red jello (my favorite), but for the occasion we tried it with orange. It looked like candy corn with the darkest layer on bottom and the lightest on top but it tasted more like a "dreamsicle". Mmmm, yummy!

Recipe---
Two large boxes of jello (the 8-serving ones)
Two 12 oz tubs of cool whip
6 cups boiling water

Dissolve jello in water completely. With a wire wisk gently stir in 1 1/3 tubs of frozen cool whip (put the remaining 2/3 tub in the fridge to thaw). When all mixed in pour into a 9x13 glass pan (must be see through or it defeats the purpose of the layers Ü). Let chill in fridge for about 2 hours then spread remaining thawed cool whip on top for final layer. I usually refrigerate a little longer to let last layer set but you can serve immediately if desired. Cut in squares and enjoy.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Here are Jocey and Aimee riding horses at their friend Kayla's birthday party. Happy Birthday Kayla, thanks for a fun day!

Practice, Practice

One of the last few days in our old house and I found Aimee in one of her favorite spots...singing and playing the piano. Check out her perfect fingering! I wish I had thought to get video of it at the time because she has the most beautiful and tender voice. Unfortunately she caught me watching her, smiled, and got down.

Well we're late posting these pics, but here is cute Jocelyn on her "First Day of School"! She is loving Candy Apple Cove Preschool and her amazing teacher Miss Vicki. She has made lots of friends and is learning tons. In fact she can already say the full Pledge of Allegence and has learned lots of fun songs too. She is really blossoming and it is wonderful!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

How to enjoy life...

So I was going to complain that I am really sick of being in "house selling, always have to have it clean, leave at a moment's notice, no sleep, stress all of the time" mode. But then I remembered something that my friend Jenny has on her blog:

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." --Carlos Castaneda

Thanks to all of you that remind me to try to be positive and cheerful and "this too shall pass". I guess I could learn to take the advice I've dished out to two people this past month--If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it! Oh to have more faith...gotta work on that one. I really am so thankful that the Lord gave Cody and I the promptings that it was time to sell our house and to move to Germany because we had been searching for a while for the direction we should take for our family. And even though this brings so many "unknown's" which I hate because I am a little neurotic and always like to play it safe and plan everything down to the smallest detail, I know that everything will work out the way that it is supposed to. And what a comfort it is to know, as my favorite scripture says, "that it is by (Him) that (we) are led."