But despite all the business, we also had very wonderful, very joyous moments.... like my parents visit, the kick off to flag football season, Evelyn's Little Mermaid play, our amazing trip to Disneyland, AND a stay-cation in Del Mar with the Rustands. THANK YOU to Nancy for her willingness to watch the kiddos while Blake and I enjoyed two nights away... it was fabulous.
One disturbing happening occurred mid month when Dane was stung by a bee in his left arm. It became rather swollen and the swelling lasted quite some time-- a week to be exact. But, it was localized, so we weren't too concerned. Unfortunately, a week later, the poor little boy was stung again, this time in his right arm. And this time, the reaction was systemic-- hives all over his body-- especially his ears and neck. YIKES. We gave him allergy medicine and headed to the emergency room in case of an anaphylactic reaction. THANKFULLY, he recovered once the medicine kicked in. That being said, the doctor's prescribed an epipen as each sting reaction has progressed in severity of symptoms.
Now, this may not seem like such a big problem to the average reader, but it's a big deal to this mom. Dane is my little angel and he is out of my sight a lot-- he spends TONS of hours at soccer, football practices without me on the sidelines as I'm usually running the other kids to their practices- just dropping him off. He has his epi-pen in his bag, but I'm scared. It's definitely been on my mind this month and in my prayers. I pray if he is stung by a bee, the reaction will not be sever, that his coaches, or nearby parents will be able to administer the epipen if it is severe and that all will be well. Man, the things we have to worry about as parents. I love that little boy more than life itself. I just want him to be safe. And I also want him to enter adulthood without a parental-induced psychological disorder because his mother worried about his safety all together too much- haha!
Literally the day after we discovered Dane was highly allergic to bee stings, Blake and I had planned a getaway with our friends, the Rustands! Nancy was kind enough to babysit and we were so looking forward to two nights, two days away from the daily grind. It was hard to leave with some of my bee anxiety lurking at the forefront of my mind, but with such a competent Grandma on the scene, I felt as relaxed as one could in such a circumstance! We enjoyed the beach, hiking Torrey Pines, eating out, shopping, biking through Mission Beach, riding the scary rides at Belmont Park, watching movies late at night, getting foot massages, and pedicures, catching up for hours and best of all.... laughing our heads off with two of the dearest friends we've ever known. It was a great couple of days.
Loved returning home just in time to see the boys' football games. Dane is quite the player-- he's a wide receiver and such a fast little guy! He catches that ball and runs for it. Now, his defense could use some work! He's not so good at grabbing the flags, but hey, that will come with time. Grant, on the other hand is a pro at flag grabbing! He just absolutely ADORES flag football and is just all heart out there. I cannot put into words how wonderful it is to watch my children do their thing. Last night, Evelyn tried out for Annie in a little choral group and my heart almost burst into a million pieces. She's so cute and such great singer! I love all of my kids to pieces and love that they are passionate about sports and music.
We really were so grateful to Nancy for watching the kids and taking such good care of them. Evelyn was sad the first night.... nothing that a little on-line shoe shopping couldn't fix! Happy Easter from Grandma! Sure did the trick to cheer that little girl up:) Lately, Evelyn's been dressing up to the max. She's my little fashionista! I love the outfits she's been putting together. She's a pro!
A few sweet little moments this month included watching our friends' kids whilst they had their third baby girl at the hospital. Ava and Ellie were so darn sweet. Especially Ellie. I want to adopt this little baby! Evelyn was thrilled-- she slept in the same room with her and cared for her all night. "It's like having my own personal baby, mom!" --Evelyn
We enjoyed celebrating Charly Poulson's birthday- good friends from our old ward. Love this family and I know Evelyn misses seeing Reha (big sis) on a more regular basis. In fact, we miss all of our friends that we don't see as much. Darn it, change is hard. It takes awhile to become good friends with a new group of people, and especially when you just miss the old people you love so dearly.
But I'm sure God will help us all with this. Dane in particular, has had quite the adjustment-- he wants his friends in the scouting program with him and it upsets him that he is the "new kid" and doesn't really know any of the boys. He's such a sweetheart. Always taking such good care of Anna... reading to her, getting her breakfast in the morning- -she is the light of his life.
As funny as EVER is our little Grant who is constantly thinking of the funniest things. This week he and his friends came bursting through the back door with an idea "MOM! We're going to be rich and famous! We are going to create a new drink that will be delicious and make us rich!" Drink ingredients included: milk, water, rootbeer and lime juice. It was pretty gnarly.
We haven't engaged in as many Easter festivities as I'd have liked to! It's been minimal to say the least. BUT.... we DID dye Easter eggs and heck, what's better than that around Easter time? And we DID enjoy two of our most favorite Easter traditions.... our easter egg FHE where we discuss all of the symbols of Jesus's resurrection-- and also the best BEST Easter tradition-- the Easter Walk. This story (Grandma gave us two years ago) is absolutely precious. You go on a walk and collect 6 items from nature and then read scriptures along with the story about two young children whose mother has passed away--that helps you to understand better the miracle of the resurrection. I'm telling you... there has never been a time I've read this book without tears.
I filled these little easter bunny eggs with candy for my young women.... "someBUNNY loves you" credit to my mom for thinking of the idea:)
And of course, we also had the Easter outfits. It's all good! Festivities cut back, but some years are just going to be like that.
