Decorating for Christmas

We usually get our Christmas decor up the day after Thanksgiving. Since we had quite the eventful Thanksgiving, we didn't get any decorated until Dec. 1st.

I wonder if those three fingers will ever catch a break...

 All I have to say about this picture is, I really, really wish I had a fireplace and mantle. IF we ever move, my next house WILL have a fireplace and mantle. 

Aspiration

On Tuesday November 20th, around 11pm, Kinley was asleep in her bassinet. Kinley started to cough, then she puked, and coughed some more. She then began to cry. Her cry sounded really strange. I got out of bed to check on her. Her face was covered in puke. She continued to cry. Jeff went to grab her some clean clothes. When he came back, I started to undress her, she continued to cry. As soon as Jeff saw her stomach and the way she was breathing, he realized she had aspirated on her puke. We called our neighbor to come over so we could take her into the ER at Holy Family. 

Once at Holy Family, she was taken back to a room pretty quickly. They drew blood and did a chest x-ray to check for signs of pneumonia. Both the blood work and x-ray came back normal. Kinley's heart rate and temp were both elevated though. (200bpm for her heart rate and 102 for her temp.) The ER doctor wanted to keep her for the next 24 hours to monitor her to make sure her heart rate and temperature returned to normal levels and that she did not develop pneumonia. Holy Family doesn't have much of a peds department, so at 4am, Wednesday morning, we were transfered to Sacred Heart.

Kinley did well all day Wednesday, but her heart rate and temp stayed elevated, so the peds doctor wanted to keep her there for yet another night. Jeff and Rich Nelson (a member of our ward) gave Kinley a priesthood blessing Wednesday evening. Around 11pm that night, Kinley's heart rate and temp returned to normal levels and she still was not showing any signs of phenomia.

Thursday (Thanksgiving) Kinley was discharged around noon. She has been diagonsed with silent reflux and now takes medication once a day that she absolutly hates! 

For about a week after this lovely "event", Kinley's voice and cry were really horse sounding. She seems to be doing much better now.

In this video, you can kind of hear how raspy she was.

New Testament Class, Week 11, Student Choice Assignment

Choice 1: Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1-2. The Savior’s Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane

1. Review Matthew 26:36-46; ; Luke 22:39-46, making a list of words and phrases that describe the Savior’s suffering. Include in your list clarifications provided in the footnotes. Sorrowful, very heavy, distressed, very troubled, exceeding sorrow, deeply grieved, pain, agony, sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 
2. Write additional insights about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane found in the following resources:

• Mosiah 3:7; Alma 7:11-13; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19 Suffered even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death. Took upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance. Christ trembled because of pain, bled at every pore, and suffered both body and spirit. .
• The institute student manual commentary, “To What Extent Was the Atonement Completed in the Garden of Gethsemane?” (pg. 173) Christ was alone. the Father withdrew support of His immediate Presence.
• The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And Being in an Agony, He Prayed More Earnestly” (pgs.173-74) Christ bore the sins of all. He took upon himself the "weight and agony of ages and generations, the indescribable agony consequent upon this great sacrificial atonement".
• The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And His Sweat Was As It Were Great Drops of Blood Falling Down to the Ground” (pg. 174) "It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing."

1. Read Matthew 26:36 and the institute student manual commentary for Matthew 26:36, “Then Cometh Jesus … unto a Place Called Gethsemane” (pgs. 172-73). Write a paragraph about how the meaning of Gethsemane adds insight to what the Savior experienced there. Gethsemane means "oil press". In order to extract oil from an olive, the olive has to be under a lot of pressure. The garden was a place Jesus went to often when he wanted to pray or speak with the disciples privately. 
2. Write response to each of the following questions, looking for lessons you can apply to your own life from the example of the Savior in Gethsemane:

• What were the Savior’s disciples doing while He was praying? What had the Lord taught the Apostles in Matthew 26:41? What does His example teach about how to be obedient even when “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”? How does Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 apply to this verse? His disciples fell asleep. The Lord taught them to watch and pray so they would not enter into temptation. In D&C 10:5 the Lord instructs us to pray always so we may escape the temptations of Satan. Because we are not perfect, we need to pray for strength so we do not fall into one of Satan's "pits".
• Read Mosiah 15:7; 3 Nephi 11:11; Doctrine and Covenants 19:19. Write the phrases from these verses that describe what motivated the Savior to “drink the bitter cup.” Christ's motivation was to bring glory to the Father.
• Write your thoughts about the Savior’s use of the word “nevertheless” in Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42. In each of these accounts, what did the Savior initially ask for? What did He say next, using the word “nevertheless?” What does it require to submit one’s will to the Father in this way, no matter how painful or difficult the outcome might be? When have you followed the “nevertheless” pattern the Savior exemplified in these verses by submitting to Heavenly Father’s will even though it was very difficult? The use of the word "nevertheless" meant that Christ was asking if there was another way, but if there wasn't, he would submit His will to the Father's will. We need to have faith that whatever the will of our Father is for us, we need to follow it. He knows what is best for us and we need to have faith in that.
• According to Luke 22:44, as the Savior’s agony became more intense, how did His prayer change? Do you feel more like praying or less like praying when you are suffering? When has it made a difference in your suffering to have turned to the Lord with more earnest prayer? Christ's prayer became more "earnest". When I am going through a trial, I pray more often, almost on a constant basis. When I pray like this, I feel comfort from the Holy Ghost, telling me that everything will work out the way it should.
• Reflect on what you have learned about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane. Write a paragraph about lessons you can apply to your own life from the example of the Savior in Gethsemane. When I think about the garden of Gethsemane and the atonement my Savior suffered there, I feel a greater desire within myself to become a better person, to replace my bad habits and sins with good habits and righteous living. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my Savior for all he has done for me, and my loved ones so that we can become pure again and live with our Father in heaven again.

All dressed up

We have some pretty cute kids. Period.

Shiloh's 2nd birthday

Shiloh turned 2 on the 17th of this month. We had a few family members over for cake and ice cream.

Meet Connorita, Julia and Bill's daughter. :)

Shiloh got some new rain/snow boots for her birthday. She LOVES them and wears them all the time, even with her pj's.

I feel so blessed to have Shiloh in our family. At one time in my life I was terrified of having a girl. Shiloh has changed my opinion of that 10 fold. (Hopefully, she will not change my opinion back when she becomes a teenager). Shiloh is helpful, funny, sweet, caring, and much much more. We love you Shiloh!

November randomness

I *think* these first two pictures were taken in November, possibly late October. My sister and brother-in-law are tearing out their backyard and re-doing it. They were able to borrow this backhoe from their neighbor (lucky!). Mason and Cooper had a great time watching Jeff and Bill tear things up with it. I also *think* Jeff let them drive it with him.

Shiloh, Cooper, and Mason played doctor on each other one night. I would totally trust my doctor if she came in the exam room with three fingers in her mouth, wouldn't you?

Little miss Kinley. Love her. That's all.

One day while walking home from the bus, Mason kissed the sidewalk. He had some really great war wounds to prove it.

We had a few days of snow. Shiloh LOVED getting all dressed up to go play outside with her brothers.

One day I was sitting on the couch nursing Kinley. Shiloh sat next to me with "cat", pulled up her shirt, stuck cat's mouth on her nipple, and said, "cat eating". 

New Testament Class, Week 10, Student Choice Assignment

Choice 1: Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20. The Institution of the Sacrament

1. The Savior instituted the Sacrament the night before He was crucified, near the time of the Passover celebration. Many centuries earlier, the feast of the Passover had been instituted to help the children of Israel remember when the destroying angel “passed over” their houses and delivered them from Egyptian bondage (see Exodus 12:21-28; 13:14-15). The blood of the unblemished Passover lamb that saved ancient Israel was a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who redeemed all mankind. Review Matthew 26:26-29 and Luke 22:14-20. Then read the institute student manual introduction to chapter 23 (pg. 160) and the commentary for “What Is the Relationship Between the Sacrament and the Atonement?” (pgs. 161-62). Write responses to the following questions:
   • What was the relationship between the Passover and the Atonement of Jesus Christ? The Passover gave the Jews hope that the Lord would be merciful to them. The Atonement gives us hope that our sins will be washed away. The lamb was slain in the Passover to symbolize Christ as the lamb of God being slain for the sins of the world.
   • What is the relationship between the Sacrament and the Atonement of Jesus Christ? Each week as we partake of the Sacrament, we can repent of our sins and be cleansed. Through the Atonement, we can be cleaned from our sins and live with our Father in heaven again.
   • How does John 4:13-14; 6:48-53 add to an understanding of the symbolism of bread and water? The bread represents Christ's body and the water represents Christ's blood. Christ is the bread of life and the living water. We cannot be saved without Christ. As we partake of the bread and water each week, we symbolically take a part of Christ into us.
   • Considering the Savior’s instructions in Luke 22:19 and 3 Nephi 18:7, why do you think we are commanded to partake of the Sacrament weekly? How does Mosiah 5:13 apply to this idea? We partake of the sacrament as a testimony to the Father that we do remember Christ. We are commanded to partake of the Sacrament weekly so we constantly remember Christ. Mosiah 5:13 talks about not being able to serve a master who we do not know. If we do not constantly remember Christ, we cannot serve him.
2. Carefully look at the additions and corrections in the Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 26:26, 28 (see Matthew 26:26 footnote b, and Matthew 26:28 footnote a). Write responses to the following questions and tasks:
   • What important truths do we gain from these verses of the Joseph Smith Translation? As we partake of the sacrament we need to remember that Christ's body was given as a ransom for us and our sins.
   • What does ransom mean? How does properly participating in the ordinance of the Sacrament ransom us? (See JST, Matthew 26:26) Christ, through his atonement, has done more for us than we will ever be able to do for him. There is nothing we can ever to to fully repay him for what he has done for us. By partaking of the sacrament weekly, it is a small gesture to Christ of our desire to repay him for what he has done for us. 
   • Make a list of what you want to remember about the Savior the next time you partake of the Sacrament. What his sacrifice means to me, what the bread and water fully represent, what sins I need to repent of, and what I need to do better at to be more like Christ.

New Testament Class, Week 9, Student Choice Assignment

Choice 2: Mark 13; Luke 21:5–38; Joseph Smith—Matthew. Preparing for the Savior’s Second Coming

1. Review Mark 13:5, 9, 23, 33, 35, 37 and identify the words take heed and watch in each verse. List at least three things from this chapter that believers could watch for in order to be prepared to meet the Lord.

       1. False prophets, claiming to be Christ. Do not be deceived by them. (verse 5)

       2. The events Christ has foretold. Wars, natural disasters. (verse 23)

       3. Pray always, for we do not know when Christ will come again. (verse 33)

   2.   Explain in writing any other additional truths that are taught in the following        references about how to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

• Doctrine and Covenants 87:8 We need to stand in holy places, whether it be our homes, churches, temples, etc.
• Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:32 The abomination of desolation foretold by Daniel will be fulfilled. 
• Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:37  Treasure up the word of the Lord and you will not be deceived. 
• Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:46–50 Prepare for the Second Coming now. Always watch and be ready, for it will happen when you least expect it to.
• Doctrine and Covenants 33:17 Have faith, pray always, strengthen your testimony and conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Doctrine and Covenants 45:56–57 Receive the truth and allow the Holy Ghost to be your guide.

Halloween 2012

I am starting to see and feel the effects of being a mom of four. Case and point right here. It's over two weeks after Halloween, and I am just now getting around to finish my post about the dang holiday! Don't get me started on the lack of pictures of everything we did. I now know why there are no pictures of me (child #6) as a baby or toddler. My parents didn't have time to take pictures, or the mind set to remember to do so. We didn't get a single picture of Kinley. Oh well. On Halloween she wore an orange onsie that said, "Auntie keeps the candy coming", a pair of jeans, and a bow in her hair so she wouldn't look like a boy. No fancy costume for her, they are more of a pain at this age then it is worth.

We started out or festivities by carving pumpkins the Saturday before Halloween.

Then the Saturday before Halloween our ward had a Halloween party. Jeff and I went as firefighters, Mason and Cooper were Army men, Shiloh was a monkey, and Kinley was her cute little self. 

Halloween night we had both my sisters and their families over for dinner as well as my parents. Then all the kids went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood while Debbie, Kinley, and I stayed home to pass out candy. After a little bit we were joined by Shiloh and my dad.

 Shiloh with Hannah