Jumping In

A week or so ago I was job searching online for Wes. We are always keeping our eyes open because running your own business is VERY STRESSFUL and isn't always profitable. Anyway, I thought I would check out my work to see if they had anything. I suddenly had a thought for me. Years ago I actually sought employment with my work because they offer free nursing school, but I didn't end up pursuing it because we sent Wes to school first. I wanted to see if they still offered it and sure enough they do. I called SLCC (who the program is through) to set up an appointment with an advisor for the following week.

The week that followed was pretty hectic and stressful mainly because of things that need to be resolved for extended family members. I thought there was just no way I would be able to go back to school. I still went to the appointment yesterday with the advisor. Violet came with me and was content at first in her baby sling. Right before the appointment began she began to fuss. The advisor was very kind and didn't seem to mind me standing in front of his desk while I tried to bounce my little baby to help her calm down, which didn't work. I was able to get the information that I needed though to know how to move forward.

Now, you would think that I wouldn't want to pursue school right now with a newborn, family responsibilities (immediate and extended) and working full time. It has been very interesting though. I have felt very inspired that I should go back to school. Things have come to my mind which have helped me find ways to go back to school easier. I had forgotten all about the partial tuition reimbursement that my work offers, which I would need for my prerequisites courses. I suddenly remembered it while driving home after my appointment yesterday. Also, I think I will be able to reduce some of my hours at work. I have felt the spirit strongly as I have pursued school and as I have prayed I have had a strong, comforting feeling that it is the right thing for me and my family.

I have gone ahead a registered with Salt Lake Community College and I am hoping to register for my first class in the next couple of months. I have also requested official transcripts to be sent to SLCC. I want to hopefully take 1 to 2 classes per semester. I want my first class to be online if possible since Violet is still so young. I am super excited to start and am glad that half of my prerequisites are already done since I did some college when I was younger. Hopefully it won't take too long to get the prerequisites done and apply to the program. From there I will have a heavy load of schooling and they do require you to still be employed and work 24 hours a week for my company, but I have a feeling that everything will work out.

I have wanted to do this for such a long time and can't believe that I am starting on the road to become a nurse!

Our Adventure to The Olympic Park

This past Saturday I really needed a break from the stress in my life. I absolutely LOVE the Olympics and have really enjoyed watching them on TV. I thought it might be fun to get out and see some local Olympic sites. I looked up the Olympic Park in Park City and found out it is FREE so off we went. We all enjoyed the ski museum and the Olympic museum.

We made sure Violet was warm in a snow suit and hat. I carried her around in the baby sling.

One of the most amazing sites was the bobsled and luge track. There were athletes training on the track and we loved seeing the bobsleds and skeleton riders zoom by. It is much faster in person. We loved it!! We were also going to watch ski jumping but they delayed it because the athletes were busy watching their friends compete in Vancouver. We did get to see some kids ski jumping on the smaller jumps.

The girls thought that it was so cool to be able to sit in a real bobsled.

We all enjoyed holding a real Olympic torch and viewing medals from the Salt Lake City games. With all of the Olympic events and activities the girls have really wanted to take some sort of lessons. We decided to sign them up for a basic skating course. It is a 6 class course with the first one starting tonight. Hopefully it will go well. We will have to decide from there if we want to continue to involve them in the sport of figure skating.

I felt our outing on Saturday was wonderful and honestly it was one of the best days that I've had in a few months!

Violet is 2 Months Old

Violet is 2 months old now. She had her two month appointment yesterday. She got 3 shots! Poor girl. She is already 12 pounds 2 ounces and 24 inches long. She is growing and changing practically every day.

She loves her jungle baby gym that we purchased a little while ago. She used to just lay under the gym, but now she is starting to stretch out her arms towards toys. She coos and looks at the lights and has a grand time.

She loves it when her daddy and others in the family read to her. Last night Wes and Violet read 12 small books and she was content. Violet will reach out and touch her daddy while he reads and will try and talk.

She is sleeping pretty well. She will only walk up once in the night. One night she actually slept for 10 hours straight. It was quite a surprise and I actually checked on her at one point and found her peacefully sleeping.

She loves it when someone talks cheerfully to her. She will give you a huge smile and try to talk back. She is especially social and happy in the morning.

If Violet gets fussy sometimes she likes to lay on her tummy on my lap. I will pat or rub her back and it will help calm her down.

Lydia and Adelle still adore their little sister and enjoy finding ways to get her to smile.

We just love little Violet and can't imagine life without her.

Violet is officially part of the family

Violet absolutely loves it when her daddy reads to her. She loves to lie next to him on the floor and hear him read aloud and look at the pictures. She will make pleasant noises and kick her legs and move her arms all about. It really is one of the sweetest things. Adelle and Lydia like to gather around as well and listen. Violet loves books already which pleases me. She fits right in :)

I have two videos posted below that you can watch of reading time.

Reading Time Video

Violet's Blessing Day

Today was my little Violet's Blessing Day. I am so happy that she was able to be blessed! Wes' father agreed to do the honors. My father was going to bless her, but with his passing that was no longer possible. The day has just been wonderful. I have felt the spirit so strongly and I feel like my father was there during the blessing. I felt as if heaven itself opened up.

Bill blessed her with a strong mind and body. He blessed that she will be able to learn about the gospel and learn much in school. He blessed her that her parents will teach her. He also blessed that she will have mature emotions and mind to help her with the challenges and situations she will go through. He said that many of her failures will become her successes.

It was a very different blessing I thought, but I absolutely loved it. Violet looked absolutely beautiful in her dress and didn't cry at all during church, which was great. I am so proud to be her mom and I will always cherish this special day.

Spectrum of Feelings

So it has been awhile since I blogged. I began working on converting my 2008 blog into a book which has taken a lot of time. Then I got even more busy going through my father's things, which I'm not done with. Then I had doctor's appointments that I've had to take my grandmother to. Then I just became sad and didn't want to blog. We have boxes and boxes of papers to go through in Julie's garage that where my dad's. I brought home my father's bag from the navy and went through it. It is amazing what my father saved. There were assignments from college about 35 years ago, my mom's name tag from Sears, bundles of greeting cards and a calender from my parents when they were married. I opened each card before tossing it. I even tossed the calendar. Something came over me though which made me save one card and the calender. The card is from my dad's first father's day in 1976 from my mother.

Handwritten inside it says "As you know you're very special to me. I'm very glad I married you. You make me very happy and provide me with everything I need (even though you don't think so). I DO. I love you very much. You're a great father. I'm glad you're the father of our child. I love you. Helena".

My parents went on to get divorced when I was 16 but saving that small card means something to me. It means that my parents once lived and loved each other. The calendar is from 1974. It has each payday listed and monthly bills. Their car payment was $56.00. Utah Power and light was $8.00, Groceries were $20.00, there was a $28.00 bill to holly cross hospital and $10.00 to a Dr. Carpenter. Paydays don't look to large either though. The earnings for February were $175.00. Bills were $128.00 leaving $47.00. There are handwritten appointments like scouts and visits with home teachers, job orientations, visits from my grandmother, and a special note on July 21st for my father's 23rd birthday. My mom wrote "I love you" and drew 23 small candles in the little 21 square.

Going through all of these things did something thought. It has made me grieve for the loss of my mother as well. It has been very hard at times. I feel at times like a cloud is hanging over my heart, heavy and muting the world around me. When I feel really bad I'll put on a movie and try and make it through. Those moments usually don't last too long. Occasionally I do feel that little black cloud again. I have my children and family to take care of so I really don't dwell too much.

I worry about my grandmother. I feel much closer to her after our long doctor's appointments this week which has been good. I worry about my brother and what the future will bring for him. We may need to try and get him social security. My father tried to pursue that while he was alive for Phil, but he was denied. They felt he was too high functioning. I think they should be giving him social security. His autism is a disability for him. He can't drive and works a low paying job. He has a hard time interacting with others at times. I don't know if he'll ever be able to live on his own. It worries me. I will be working full time again in 5 weeks and it is going to greatly limit my time. I just need to take things one day at a time and move forward.

Our Book Club

The girls and I have started a book club. I came up with the idea a few weeks ago. I thought it might help Adelle be less bored and also create some good bonding time. Adelle started reading her very first chapter book on her own. She chose "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and finished the book in 4 days. She loved it so much and got super excited when Charlie found his golden ticket. She started reading "Matilda" next but she was having a hard time understanding it on her own so she switched to "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator".

Lydia has been reading "Anne of Green Gables" again and is really enjoying it. She thinks she is a lot like Anne with her minor mishaps and she likes to imagine living in the book and becoming Anne's bossom friend.

I decided we would have a chocolate tasting since Adelle had finished "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". We tried Symphony milk chocolate, Dove dark chocolate, and Lindt white chocolate. The Lindt white chocolate was all of our favorites because it just melted in your mouth and was super creamy!

I am looking forward to many more book clubs to come!