My Wonderful Husband

I have had a cold for the past two weeks.  Right when I started feeling it coming I started taking Cold FX.  I thought it was great.  I could feel my cold still but it seemed a lot less intense.  Then my cold really hit on the weekend.  So I don't know whether or not I am a fan of the stuff.

Anyway since I had been sick I have been letting things slide around the house.  I was thinking that getting my rest was more important.  So Ed has been picking up the slack lately.  He has stayed up with the girls, cleaned the house, managed to fulfill his calling, and make it to work.  So yes I think that he deserves a shout out.

I don't know what time he got to bed last night, but this morning I found him asleep on the couch.  (I guess he didn't want to disturb my drug induced slumber.)  The kitchen and living room were sparkling and I saw an empty bottle on the floor, evidence that he took care of as least one Lexi feed last night.

Ed you are the best.  I know I don't tell you that near enough.

I am feeling much better today.  

Our Yu Adventure

Yesterday morning was beautiful. Ed went to the driving range for two hours while I prepped for our trip to Edmonton. Ed returned home and we were on our way by about 1:30pm. Since Lexi has to be rear facing for another 6 months we decided to take our Neon as the body is bigger than the Jetta. When we all take the Jetta my knees are cramped against the dash.


Anyway so here we are on our way to the City of Champions when Ed starts complaining about the car. He told me that the car wouldn’t go any faster than 100km/h. Since the Neon is getting old it really doesn’t like to go fast and I will rarely push it past 100, so I suggested that he not drive faster than that. I didn’t understand that he meant the car wouldn’t really go any faster than that. As we continued on Ed couldn’t go any faster than 80 km/h. At this time we felt we should turn around and go home. So we stopped in Olds, filled the tank, and headed back home on the country roads.

As we continued on our way back home our max speed was becoming less and less. We found that we could only go about 50 km/h and we were really struggling to make it up the hills. Finally our max became about 20 km/h and Ed suggested that I call a friend to come get the kids and me as we were only about half an hour from home.

As we putted along I asked Cali to say a prayer that we would get home safe. Not a second after this prayer my cell phone rang and a friend of mine was on her way to rescue us. We continued to putter along and then it started to rain. Then the rain quickly turned to freezing rain and wind began to blow. The freezing rain then turned to snow and Ed decided it was time to pull over and wait to be rescued.

With winds reaching the speed of 100km/h, and wet snow surrounding us, we waited. Due to the white out conditions our rescuer got lost. As I am always prepared for long car trips I had packed cookies, bread, apples, and lots of water to snack on. We also had plenty of blankets, and each other as sat in the car but our poor rescuer was all alone.

As Ed and I worried about our friend Cali filled the time in with wiping the condensation off the windows, singing songs, and eating snacks. To her it was a great adventure filled with cookies. Lexi also was a little trooper for everything she needed was there as well. I am just so glad that Lexi is a breastfed baby otherwise we would have been in trouble.

About an hour into our wait Cali informed us that she had to pee. I suggested putting a pull-up on so she should pee in it. Cali wouldn’t go for it. She was a big now and that was that. Luckily I packed a potty in the trunk… but it was in the trunk. Ed offered to go and retrieve it but he couldn’t open his door because the wind was blowing so hard. So I jumped out in my flip-flops and grabbed the potty. I sat the potty between Ed and me and Cali had a pee. Then a few minutes later she told me she had to poop. So we repeated the process and Cali had success. I opened the car door and flung the poop into the storm. Then a few minutes later Cali informed me that she had to poop again. Once again more poop was subjected to harsh weather outside. I am so glad that I thought to pack the potty.

After about four hours (that actually few by) our friend came to our rescue. The weather remained crumby but we made it home safe at an average speed of 30 km/h.

All in all everything went well. Ed was able to get a ride out to the car today and brought it home safely. Let me tell you that car will be replaced ASAP.

Thank Heaven for answered prayers, good friends, and family that can make you laugh even in the worst weather. With every adventure we are building memories.

My Two Girls

These two girls keep me very busy and I love just about every minute of it.  I was thinking yesterday that just four short years ago I didn't even know Ed.  Things in your life can change very quickly.

The past few weeks I have been feeling a little stressed with Ed being so busy with work, coaching, and with his bishopric calling.  I feel like we rarely get 10 minutes alone together.  It seems like when that happens we look at each other and collaspe.  So I am looking for any advice that anyone has to give about coping without a husband and maintaining my support.  

One thing I started to do was to make waffles on Sundays after church when we are all hungry and cranky.  I make the batter the night before so when I come home we have fresh homemade waffles in about 10 minutes.  I altered a recipe and made them very healthy (only 2 points each!)  This has made my life easier.  Any other suggestions?

What else is new with the Yus?  Here are a few videos from the past couple of weeks.

I finally caught a Lexi laugh on video.  She sure loves her older sister!



...Cali got into the hot chocolate mix...



... and Lexi taking a few steps with assistance.







 

Reflections on the First Year of Marriage

My blog is a tad behind. We have been away for two weeks in Utah for my brother Steve’s wedding; which was perfect of course. Where should I begin? Hmmm… since I was thinking that this blog post would be marriage related I think that I will only focus on that for this time; however there many other adventures needless to say.

First let me explain how wonderful it was to be inside the sealing room with my family as I watched my brother kneel across the alter from his beautiful bride. The emotions of gratitude and happiness overwhelmed me and I was crying from joy. I thought of my wedding just three years prior when Ed and I were in the same position. All the promises and blessings given to us at that moment were too much to take in, so it was nice to listen again to sealer’s words.

After the wedding and reading a new book I have been contemplating my first year of marriage. The book is called “Joy in the Morning” by Betty Smith. It was such a beautiful story of a young couple’s first year of marriage. It was funny as I read all the adjustments that those two had to make as they learned to live together. I laughed as I read some stories that were similar to my adjustments. I won’t go into details as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who would like to read it. The book took me only two days so it’s a nice easy read that warms the heart that and comes strongly recommended.

Yesterday I decided to start reading the biography of Gordon B. Hinckely, 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As members of the church we believe that he is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for the entire world. This is a huge responsibility given to only the most worthy of men. My next comment on the adjustments of marriage is taken from this book.

"Shortly after they had announced their engagement (Gordon B. Hinckley and Marjorie Pay), Emma Marr Peterson, Mark E. Peterson's wife, had warned Marjorie that the first ten years of marriage would be the hardest. Her comment both puzzled and shocked Marjorie, who later admitted: 'I was just sure that the first ten years would be bliss. But during our first year together I discovered that she was dead right! There were a lot of adjustments. Of course they weren't the kind of thing that you ran home to mother about. But I cried into my pillow now and again. The problems were almost always related to learning to live on someone else's schedule and to do things someone else's way. We loved each other, there was no doubt about that. But we also had to get used to each other. I think every couple has to get used to each other'."
- Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley by Sheri L. Dew

This brought me comfort as I read it knowing that even future Prophet and his wife had adjustments to make. I know that Ed and I certainly did; it didn’t help that I was pregnant and a “tad” emotional by the end of our honeymoon. It’s funny talking to Ed about it now as we both laugh. He couldn’t figure out why I suddenly turned into a bag and I was confused about why I married such an insensitive jerk. A few weeks later we found out I was pregnant and we had our “a-ha” moment. A similar episode occurred last February… sure enough we now have Lexi.

A few days after the wedding I was able to ask my brother how he liked being married and he said that it was better than he imagined. I completely agreed with him being married is great. I love Ed and I wouldn’t change a thing. The adjustments are normal and we can laugh at them now… they only build a stronger relationship. Remember the upside-down sandwich in Chicago Ed? Love you lots!

Overworked

Ed has been overworked this year.  The night before the last day of school he was up until 3:30am writing tests for his students.  This has been a common occurance over the past four months.  Between teaching, coaching, church assignments and a new baby Ed certainly is overdue for a holiday.

So this is an image of how a true teacher begins his Christmas Holidays.  You come home go downstairs take off your coat and pass out a pillow that is conviently lying on the floor. 

As you can see in this picture Ed is lying on his coat... he didn't have the energy to hang it up or get on the couch beside him.  He didn't even notice when Cali put a couch cushion on his head or nicely placed Sammy on his chest.  Cali was sweet enough to cover Ed and Sammy with a nice flowered receiving blanket.  So this is how Ed spent the first few hours of his Holidays. I swear he didn't move. 

I certainly hope that Ed is able to recharge his batteries over the next two weeks.  I miss my husband!