Love These Kids

Oh boy, has it been a trying couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, we all got bad colds (including me)...knock down, drag out sick. We were finally seeing the upside to things when we got hit with a stomach bug. It was a BAD bug! I'm still not sure how we got it, what exactly it was or where it came from.

Two Sundays ago, the kids had a little bit of tummy problems, but it didn't seem bad. We loaded up the kids and brought them to church. It was one of those busy Sundays--Scott went to a missionary farewell, headed straight to PEC and then Ward Council, came home to pick us up to take us to church, and then headed to church. Scott spoke in sacrament meeting, I had to teach Sharing Time, and Scott had BYC after church. If I would have sat back, I'm sure I would have realized a lot sooner that the kids weren't going to make it through church! I was just too busy to realize it.

We went to sacrament meeting. The kids went downhill fast. In one hour, Macey and I had to make two emergency trips to the bathroom. She and Cooper kept telling me their tummies hurt. Macey laid on the bench through sacrament meeting, and Cooper stayed on Scott's lap the entire time. (I'm still so grateful that Scott was able to sit with us until his talk...I'm not sure how I would have held two kids and run Macey in and out to the bathroom twice.)

Scott and I decided that I would stay to teach Sharing Time and he would take the kids home. I helped them out to the van, taught Sharing Time, and then started the walk home as soon as my last Sharing time ended. We flipped, Scott went to BYC and then we were all home together.

Home is where we stayed. Macey had tummy problems through Monday, and then it ended. She was able to go to preschool and dance and had no problems after that (YAY!).

Cooper and Jemma were the opposite. They threw up and had diarrhea several times a day for 9 days. 9 days. Thinking about it now, I can say that so casually, but it was SO incredibly hard. I did laundry constantly. I had to wash sheets everyday, multiple times a day. Each kid wore several pairs of clothes everyday. They felt terrible, and Jemma cried constantly and wanted to be held, but she did not want to sleep. Cooper just wanted to cuddle.

On day 6, Cooper woke up in the middle of the night and threw up all over everything. It was about 3:00 in the morning. We had to strip down him, all the sheets on his bed, clean him up, and change his diaper. Jemma had thrown up and had diarrhea all over her crib at midnight. I crawled into bed after helping Cooper and just cried. After 6 days, I didn't think it would ever end. I had cleaned, done endless laundry, and cloroxed everything!

I am so incredibly grateful for the power of the Priesthood and that Scott holds it worthily. He calmed me down, and laid his hands on my children's heads and my head in the middle of the night. He was ready and willing to use the Priesthood so quickly in the middle of the night.

The doctor told us it was just a bug that we would have to wait out. It would take 7-10 days to go away. They were so little, we couldn't give them anything...just keep them hydrated. We are currently on day 10, and things aren't completely better...but we are almost there!

The last several days, in the middle of piles of laundry and sickness and cuddling, I have been able to have some perspective. I have been able to look at my children and remember how much I love them and want the best for them. I just wanted to make them better. It's no fun being sick, and I am so glad we are feeling better!

My kids have their shares of fights, but they also love each other a whole bunch! Macey told Scott a couple days ago that "Jemma always watches out for her" and she loves playing with her. Today, I found these two reading side by side in their doorway.

The End of the Garden

Today ended our garden. It has been a good year to us. We were spoiled our first year here, and our garden produced magically! I feel like I have been fighting ever since. Last year was a bit of a bust, but this year was better! I put things up as I get them, but tonight I put the last of the jars on the shelf, and I felt so grateful for all the food we have gotten!

A couple weeks ago, I was visiting one of the ladies I visit teach. She and her husband have an absolutely beautiful yard and garden. I asked her husband how he grew such good corn--because I have tried hard the last two years and failed. He offered to let me come pick from their crop! He had 7 rows of corn. He and his wife (who are in their 90s) had picked what they needed and bottled corn, so I was welcome to the rest.

They live around the block from us, so one night, I wheeled our kids wagon around the block. I loaded up two giant totes with corn--and I only went down 1 row! (Like I said, beautiful garden!) I brought it home and Scott and I froze 42 cups of corn for our family this winter! Such a blessing!

Along with the frozen corn, we also filled our deep freezer with diced tomatoes and shredded zucchini!

We bottled a lot of foods this year. Yesterday, we went out and picked all the apples off our apple trees. I bottle apple pie filling today--enough for 9 pies! But I ran out of quart sized jars...and then pint sized jars...so we got creative! I guess running out of supplies is the official end to bottling!

Here is our finished supply for winter, including: A WHOLE lot of green beans, carrots, jams, green salsa, applesauce, peach puree, apple pie filling, bottled peaches, bottled tomatoes, salsa, pickles, and spaghetti sauce. So grateful for our garden and all the blessings we have received this summer!

Power Picnic!

We live in the best town! Every year, Monroe Power Company puts on a picnic at the park! They provide a free dinner and then raffle for prizes! Our first year here, we won one of the raffles--money off our power bill! We are still waiting to win again :), but we always have so much fun there, nonetheless!

A Jemma Post!

Jemma was a little behind getting her 1 year old shots, so we just barely took her to her 1 year appointment! She weighed in at 24 pounds, in the 93rd percentile, and the 89th percentile for height! She is growing, and it breaks my heart a little to watch it!

She is one spunky girl, though! Jemma marches to her own drummer. It's fun to sit back and watch that personality, but I am sure it will come back to bite me when she turns 2!

Jemma likes her older siblings, and she runs to keep up with them! It's fun to see how having an older brother has rubbed off on her. She readily plays Avengers (and shoots from the palms of her hands...) and plays with Cooper's matchbox cars, flat tummy, on the kitchen floor.

Bathrooms and Jemma don't mix. Macey is really good at closing doors behind her because if not, Jemma will go in and play in the toilet water or unroll toilet paper. I find trails of toilet paper on a daily basis...it's a good thing she is so cute!

The Tooth Fairy!

We went to the dentist in July for our family's routine check-ups. I was in the room when Macey was getting checked out, and the hygienist gasped and said, "Lisa, when does Macey turn 5?" I told her that she just turned 4--so another year. She told me her bottom two teeth were loose. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor! I knew that my two nieces, who were barely 7 had lost their first teeth recently...and Macey is 4! She asked if she had any tooth traumas, and she hasn't! The dentist wondered if it's just because she has been ahead developmentally her whole life (plus the fact that those little, bottom teeth came in when she was 3 months old)!

So we knew that they were loose, and I have been checking up on them periodically. I didn't think much of it until we were eating lunch last week, and Macey said that she was bleeding. She pulled me out of my drowsy state, and I said "What?!" Her little tooth was laying down! It was only hooked in the front, and I totally freaked out. I knew then that I couldn't pull it out. (Why did I think I could be a nurse, once upon a time?!) I told her that we would wait until her dad came home, and he would pull it out...because that was only 3 hours away.

Well...guess what?!

 Someone could not wait until dad came home, and at 3:00, she pulled out her tooth herself!

From the time Macey's tooth was loose to when it came out was only three hours!! I decided a long time ago that I was going to make something for Macey to put her tooth in for the tooth fairy. I put down the younger two for naps, and I went right to Pinterest to look for ideas. I decided to run with what I wanted to do, and an hour later, I had this pillow made. And...One hour after that, the tooth was out! (I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, and I knew that I would be stuck there for a couple of hours and wouldn't be able to make the pillow and dinner together before bed time!)

In case you didn't know, I have a really good husband. :) After working on graduate school homework for the night, he asked where the glitter and markers were. He pulled out paper, and made a note for Macey from the tooth fairy. It had swirly pink letters and "fairy dust" (which Macey told him in the morning, "Dad, it's just glitter...")

We snuck in her room at 11:30 at night, and I had to slip that tiny tooth out of the pocket on her pillow and replace it with a $1.00 bill. Scott hooked the note right next to it. Macey was one happy girl in the morning!!

Macey's First Day of Preschool!

If you knew how much Macey loved preschool, you would know how incredibly hard this summer was for her! She was SO ready to go back! Every time we drove by her preschool teacher's house, she would tell me her class was there and I needed to drop her off. I had to remind her that everyone was with their families, and we would start preschool in a couple months. (At times, it seemed as hard on mom as it was on Macey!)

With a new school year meant a new preschool class. We had many talks about how her class would be different, and it never seemed to sink it. She was just excited to go see her friends again! We had preschool orientation a couple weeks before school started, and Macey walked in to Ms. Carma's like she owned the place! She took me around and showed me everything. She insisted on sitting in a certain chair--because that was her seat at the table. She made a princess castle out of wooden blocks while we were there. Her preschool teacher told me that she plays with blocks everyday--she loves to build things. At the orientation, we saw her class list for this year, and I recognized 3 kids from her class last year and one girl from her primary class--phew!

For the next two weeks, I tried to get her used to the fact that preschool would be different this year, but I reminded her of all the people she knew in her class. I kept telling her about how fun it would be!

The night before her first day at preschool, Scott had the chance to give her a priesthood blessing. Priesthood Blessings are an incredible thing--especially as our kids get older. As a parent, you spend everyday with your kids. There are certain things you WANT for your kids, and then there are certain things they NEED as individuals--that you don't always recognize as their parent. With priesthood blessings, it's incredible to see what they NEED and who they are slowly BECOMING.

Macey was blessed that she would be everyone's friend. She was blessed to see those in her class that need friends and to be their friend. She was blessed that she would be able to comprehend and learn, and that she would be prepared for the years of school ahead. She was blessed that she would be calm and know when to listen and understand. At the very end of the blessing Scott paused. He then blessed Macey that she didn't need to be nervous that the feelings she was having, that she couldn't describe was nervousness. She was blessed to be calm and assured of all the happy and fun times that lay ahead. Macey is such a social butterfly (especially compared to her mom!). She has no inhibitions, and I love that about her. Scott and I had no idea she was feeling that way, but her Heavenly Father did. As soon as the blessing ended, teary eyed Macey ran right to her dad and hugged him. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room!

The next day was preschool day! Macey goes to preschool from 12:30-3:00. It was a long wait until 12:30!! We survived, though!

(If you think that it's easy to get a picture of Macey, you're wrong! I finally got a smile out of her when I asked her the face she would give her dad, if he were taking the picture...or course. :) )

Macey ate lunch before she left, and she didn't eat a lot. She was also REALLY quiet. I assured her several times how much fun it would be and tried to be as upbeat as possible! When she got ready to run inside, we hugged and I told her everything was going to be fine and reminded her off all the fun things that she will get to do at Ms. Carma's. She told me she loved me and then ran off to the front door.

I'm convinced I'm going to cry at the beginning of every school year, and that's exactly what happened the whole way home.

Macey had so much fun her first day! She got really serious, and then told me there were a lot of different people in her class, but they went around the circle and introduced themselves. So she knows their names.

I can't do this post without talking about Cooper, though. Macey and Cooper are 19 months apart, and they really are best friends. They do everything together--seriously, everything! They had the entire summer to play together. Every time preschool was brought up, Cooper would tell us he was going to preschool too. He was sure that mom and dad were wrong, and he was going with Macey. He has another year to wait until 3 year old preschool, though!

I was really concerned about how Cooper would handle Macey leaving him. After Macey received her Father's Blessing, Cooper hopped right up on the chair, so Scott gave him a blessing too.

Cooper's blessing was perfect for Cooper. He was told that Heavenly Father knew his feelings of frustrations--feelings that he had and that he would have. But right now he is needed at home. There are things that he needs to learn at home this year. There are experiences that he needs to have that will prepare him for preschool. He was blessed to be a good big brother--to help take care of Jemma and the new baby that is coming. He was blessed to help his mom out in all the ways he can (which...he already does. He is a really good helper!).

The blessing ended, and Macey was the first person who ran up to Cooper and gave him a hug. They hugged for a while and then Macey said, "I love you brother". For all the fighting that those two do...there are moments when I realize they really do care about each other, and then this mom gets emotional again.

It has been a great school year so far! Cooper doesn't talk like Macey does, so when she leaves for school, the car ride home is pretty quiet! I have worked it so Cooper and Jemma both nap during preschool time, and the house is completely quiet for 2.5 hours, and it's pretty magical! Macey is learning about bugs in preschool this year, and I feel like she has learned so much in two days already!

Scott's First day of School!

Scott had two first days of school this year! The high school started and then graduate school started a week later!

This year in seminary they are learning the Old Testament! Summer was good to us, but it was time for Scott to go back to school and get back to teaching again! It's always hard to get back into the swing of things, though! Enrollment has gone up this year, so they have a whole class more than they had last year!

Graduate school started a week later. He has his orientation course to finish and then he is taking two introduction courses this fall. There is a lot of work! Scott printed off his syllabii and I helped figured out when homework was due. (For educated individuals, these professors don't offer very organized schedules for students to work with...) We calendared out homework assignments. He has at least 2 assignments to do a night Monday through Friday (most Saturdays are free!). He works on school as soon as the kids go to sleep until it's done. It makes for some long nights! It can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours a night.

When Scott was working on his undergrad, and he had 21 credits, I remember going to sleep and leaving him to work through the night. He would get done with classes for the day, do part time maintenance at the apartment complex, eat a late dinner, play with Macey, do homework and then plan a seminary lesson for the next day. Some nights he didn't get to sleep until 3 in the morning. I guess we haven't gotten there yet, so we will count our blessings!

We know graduate school is the next step, though, so we will keep on working! :)

First Home Football Game!

Our football team has a bit of a different schedule this year. They had one home game, and then they are going to be away for 3 weeks and then they will be back home for 3 weeks. So, we went to their first home game! The kids were in love with the experience, but our poor boys got slaughtered 63-6!

The week before the game, the kids had been picking up toys before bed to earn $.50 to get a sucker at the game. Earning that $.50 was harder than anyone thought, but it happened! They were happy, sticky messes when we got home!

Cooper and Macey love dancing to the marching band! I got a video of Cooper's moves. Macey also followed all the cheerleader's moves and she followed everything they did! Next time, I'll get a video of her!  For now, presenting, Cooper Lee Bagley!

Dance Class!

Macey started her 4 year old dance class last week! Macey has been waiting for this day all summer long! She was so excited to go and be a free spirit again, and I was so excited for her to go! We got all dressed up, and she told me how she wanted her hair done. From what I hear, dance class was awesome, and she only got in trouble once for dancing when they were supposed to be listening. :)

A New Dishwasher!

A couple weeks ago, I sat down on Sunday, and I figured out how we could get out of debt (I feel like I am constantly doing that, though...). I had it all figured out...

Our car had been making funny noises when we slowed down and turned to the right. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The next day, Monday, I talked to Scott at work, and we agreed that we needed to take the van in. We quickly discovered that we needed to replace the brakes in our van and two rotors.

Two days after that, our dishwasher stopped. It had been slowly going out--all the lights slowly stopped lighting up, and then, while doing a cycle, it completely stopped on us. We decided, after the brake situation, we would wait until we could pay for a new dishwasher. After 3 days, with 3 little kids at home, we decided we couldn't do that! We went and bought a new dishwasher from Home Depot. It was delivered 4 days later. We decided that we wanted out dishwasher hauled away (for only $15!) but we had to uninstall it first.

Thanks to YouTube, we learned how to do it. After about an hour, Scott and I were able to disconnect the old one. High points included disconnecting the drainage cord (remember when I talked about how our dishwasher stopped mid-cycle??) and having to drain all the old (5 days old) dirty dish water, and me taking a picture while Scott was disconnecting the electricity. Poor Scott thought he was getting electrocuted because of the flash!

Our new dishwasher was delivered on Wednesday, and my parents came down to help us install the dishwasher on Friday. From Wednesday to the next Friday, we boiled water on the stove, and washed all our dishes by hand. I was so grateful for a dishwasher to be installed!

My dad helped us install our new dishwasher, and thank goodness! I know we couldn't have done it by ourselves. Our house wasn't the best constructed house, and every time something has to be installed or redone, we are reminded with how poorly constructed it was! The dishwasher has to be level in order to drain properly. It has legs that help to level it. In order to get it level, all 4 legs had to be set at different heights (because the floor was uneven). When the level said the dishwasher was even, the dishwasher was 3/4" away from the counter top on one side, and it was 1/4" away from the counter top on the other corner (because the counter is crooked too...). We did it, though! And it is installed and runs beautifully!!