Can you hear me now???

A little while ago I had my kids at the doctor's office to check their ears - again - (what else is new??) and my family doctor thought that Grace's adenoids were looking a little big. So she referred us to a ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist to have them checked out. Today was the appointment - I had to have all 4 girls up, dressed and fed, and out the door by 8am so we could get to the University Hospital by 9am. I don't usually have to drive in rush hour traffic, so the girls were wondering why it took 45 minutes to go 15km - and honestly, so was I. We found a parking spot in the already crowded 5 level parkade and made our way into the hospital to try and find the right area we needed to be in. After 2 wrong stops, we finally made it - and we were only 4 minutes late!! The nurse was great and took a history and then sent Grace for a hearing test. After making our way over there, having the test done and making our way back, we finally saw the doctor. He was quite surprised at the size of Grace's adenoids and at the "significant hearing loss" that she apparently has right now. She just had another ear infection about 3 weeks ago and there is still a lot of fluid buildup, so that explains some of it, but the doctor was still concerned. Grace will be having surgery sometime this summer (or whenever they book us in) to have tubes put in her ears, her adenoids removed and possibly her tonsils removed as well. It will just be a day surgery (very different from the 3 day hospital stay I had when I had my tonsils out) and hopefully this will help with her hearing and ear infections. I am wondering if life will ever slow down and I am coming to realize that it probably won't. Oh well, ready or not, bring it on!

Life Lessons

Life has a way of tipping you upside-down sometimes. It's not like I have never had this happen before, so I am not quite sure why it always takes me by surprise. Every once in a while I just have a bad day and the adversary loves to take advantage of that and fill my head with all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings. I know how to combat this, I have done it many many times. What I don't know is, why does it take me so long to do it! I don't know why I have to wallow in self-pity and blow things out of proportion, but I guess I am only human and the only thing I can do about that is to try and learn something new. Yesterday was one of those days when I just couldn't seem to shake the negative and look for the positive. I was feeling a little down on myself and let myself indulge in some thoughts and feelings that probably were a little justified, but not as bad as I let myself think they were.

I am feeling much better than I was, but I am still not quite myself yet and I am having a hard time not being able to do everything I have been used to doing - - BUT, my health WILL continue to improve and I WILL be able to do everything again, just not today. I am trying to learn patience!

I have been feeling somewhat guilty that I have sent my son to live with my sister for the rest of the school year and wondering why I could not be everything my son needed - - BUT, from everything I have heard, he is doing GREAT!! I am so grateful for family and the willingness they have to help. I am learning that I don't have to be everything and that asking for help is OK!

I am also feeling a little sad that I will be released from my calling as Primary President this Sunday (shhhh, don't tell anyone yet!). I have been in that calling for 3 years and I will really miss working with the children - - BUT, the things I have learned and everything I have experienced there have been an awesome TESTIMONY BUILDER! I know that my time there is done and that it is time for another wonderful person have the opportunity to learn and grow like I have done.

So, I guess life is not that bad after all. I have an amazing husband, 5 great kids, and healthy baby on the way, a home to live in, food to eat, phenomenal parents and siblings and extended family, and a firm testimony that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants me to be happy. I also firmly believe in the ministering of angels and I am grateful for a mother who listens to those promptings and acts on them. (Thanks again MOM).

So for today, I plan to be - - HAPPY!! (It makes life a whole lot funner that way!)

Life goes on....

I have been home from the hospital now for a week and I can't figure out if life is in pause or fast forward. It has been three weeks since I got sick and it just seems like one big blur, but at the same time having so many days that have been so similar - they seem to drag by too. I am feeling better and better every day. My ward has continued to be amazingly supportive and I haven't cooked a meal for what seems like forever. Matt is still the most amazing husband ever - he is always there to take the laundry downstairs, waking up and feeding the kids breakfast, cleaning, cooking, running errands, taking the kids out to the park, etc, etc, etc. Last night we made a last minute decision to go to the temple. It was amazing how quickly things worked out. Brendan left for cadets at 5:30, we had dinner, decided we should go to the temple, called for a babysitter at 6:00 - thank goodness she was available, called to make sure there was room for us in the session, quickly got ready and were out the door by 6:30. The session started at 7:30 and we had 1/2 an hour to sit and enjoy the spirit there. I was quite tired afterward, but the blessings of peace and comfort were well worth it. I love the feelings I get when I go to the temple and it was especially nice after it has been such a difficult few weeks for us. Parenting is not the easiest job I have ever had and I am always grateful for any extra help and inspiration I can get. There was one quote that I heard at the Time Out for Women conference that has stuck in my head. "When you come to the end of a dark road and are staring out into a black abyss of nothing, just take that step of faith and you will either find solid ground to walk on, or you will be taught to fly." I know it is not word perfect, but it still means something to me. So, here comes that step of faith. I don't know if I will be flying or walking, but either way, everything will be ok.

There's no place like home.......

After being separated from my husband and kids for the last 10 days - there is definitely NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!! The whole thing started on Friday, April 17. We had 4 extra kids in our home for the weekend - which was fine. I really don't have a problem with extras - they just play with each other and have a lot of fun. There is just a bit of extra cooking and cleaning to do, but kids are great helpers too. Matt was off for the entire weekend too, so I really was not too stressed out about it. Around noon on Friday I started getting a bit of a fever and a headache and so I took some Tylenol and didn't think much of it. On Saturday this continued and I actually spent most of Saturday evening in bed while Matt made supper and cleaned up after 9 kids. I really didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but there was a potluck after church and I thought it was an "easy out" for supper, so we packed everybody up and went. This whole weekend I was on Tylenol every 4 hours and continually dealing with going between being boiling hot and totally freezing. By Sunday evening, all our extras had gone home and I told Matt I had better go to the hospital and see if they could do anything for me. I had gotten the flu in March, and I visited the hospital then as well. They gave me an IV and pumped a couple of liters of fluid into me and I felt much better, so I assumed that the same would happen this time. So, off to the hospital I went. I was in quite quickly and they popped in the IV and started the fluids. I really did feel quite a bit better on Monday, but it only lasted until about the early afternoon. Since I was babysitting a couple of little girls - I was glad I made it through the day and was very glad when Matt got home and took over - again! Tuesday was a quiet day - after getting the three oldest off to school, I let Rebecca watch TV all day and I just sat and held Sarah while she napped. By that afternoon though, I did not have the strength to even get up off the chair I was sitting on and had to call Matt and tell him to take the day off on Wednesday because I really needed some help. When Matt got home he and Roger (thank goodness Roger was visiting for a couple of days!) gave me a blessing and took me to the hospital again. They took me in quite quickly and again another IV was put in. This time though, they took an x-ray and found that I had pneumonia in my left lower lobe, right lower lobe and right middle lobe of my lungs. They kept me in the ER for the night and tried to see if I could handle the antibiotics they wanted to try me on - apparently they can cause some nausea. I did ok with them, but in the morning my oxygen levels started to drop, especially when I tried to stand up. So, they brought down a respiratory tech and he did a test called a blood gas where they take blood directly from your artery in your wrist and see how much oxygen is actually in your bloodstream. Well, mine was only at 59% (it should be above 80%), so they found me a bed upstairs and started me on IV antibiotics. And that began my LONG hospital stay. They were quite concerned with the baby, as they wanted to be sure that there was enough oxygen for the both of us, so on Thursday morning they did an ultrasound. It was quite ironic that I actually had my ultrasound booked for that Thursday afternoon, so things went as planned there. The ultrasound tech was training a new student, so they were talking lots and making sure they had everything they needed - it was very interesting seeing all the parts of the brain, heart, stomach, kidneys - you name it! Matt and I have never found out what we were having and really preferred to keep it a surprise, but I guess being sick and not totally being myself I had a momentary lapse in brain function and asked if they could tell if it was a boy or a girl. I don't think I really expected an answer quite so quickly - I thought they would have to look around a bit - but the tech quickly told me that we are having a BOY!! I was a little shocked and had to ask again, but he was quite certain - the only thing I was a little sad about was that Matt wasn't there to share the moment with me. I do think that he is a little bit excited though! The ultrasound was absolutely normal and our little one seems no worse for the wear even though his mom wasn't doing so hot at the time. Throughout the rest of the weekend I started to feel better and was itching to get home. I really thought that by the following Tuesday (my birthday) I would be home, but they couldn't keep my oxygen levels up. They did another blood gas on Wednesday and it had only risen to 62%, so the next morning they did an ultrasound on my leg to see if I had a blood clot - nope, nothing. Then they wanted to do a VQ scan that afternoon, but the radiologist said it wouldn't show anything but the pneumonia and wouldn't do it. Then - to be sure there wasn't a blood clot in my lungs - they did a CAT scan on Thursday afternoon. The results were absolutely normal as well, so apparently I just have a really nasty pneumonia that is refusing to go away and let my lungs function properly. The doctors wanted to keep me in the hospital until I was better (it had already been 10 days - how much longer was this going to take!), but I really said I wanted to go home. I really missed my husband and my kids!!! They tested my blood gas again - still 62% and not high enough for the baby, BUT apparently not low enough to qualify for government funding for an oxygen tank at home. So, we footed the bill and rented the tank ourselves and I am HOME!! It felt so good to sleep in my own bed next to my awesome husband with no lights going on and off, no alarm bells ringing and no nurses coming to say "we need to check your blood pressure again!". I am so deeply grateful for everybody that has brought in meals, cleaned my house, helped take care of my kids, etc, etc, etc. Matt has done an amazing job being both Mom and Dad for the last 2 weeks and I am so totally in love with this amazing man. Granted, he is pretty wiped, but I love him for it. I am totally looking forward to going to Time out for Women with my sisters and Mom today - oxygen tank and wheelchair and all! It feels good to be alive. I don't know why this all happened, but I do know that my faith in my Father in Heaven, my husband, my marriage and my family has been undeniably strengthened because of it. There's always a silver lining - and there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!

Back to normal?

I am feeling a little bit sad tonight knowing that tomorrow spring break is officially over. We have had such a great week just have a break from the "normal" routine.
Brendan had his first scout camp and Matt was able to go with him. They left Tuesday morning bright and early and got back Thursday afternoon. They went to Wizard Lake and were able to go ice fishing, quading, shooting (pellet guns, bee bee guns, and 22 rifles), orienteering, cooking over a campfire, starting fires and basically having a ton of fun! Both Matt and Brendan came back looking like they had been in Mexico - they got quite a bit of sun while they were out there. At least the weather co-operated and they weren't frozen the whole time.
While they were gone the girls and I had some fun too. We put up some adjustable shelving in our "shoe" closet. The closet by our side door isn't large enough for coats and shoes, so our coats are on hooks and all our shoes are now on shelves from the floor to the level of the unusable rod. We had some baskets for shoes that had been working OK, but there were so many shoes on the floor sometimes that we couldn't get the baskets open, so we switched it to shelves and that seems to be working much better. I put up some blinds in my kitchen, replaced the curtain rod in the girls room, cleaned out the cupboard under the sink, reorganized it and put child safety hooks on the doors (Sarah's favorite cupboard of course had to be the one with all the chemicals!), and we also cleaned up a bit outside since all the snow was finally starting to melt. We had quite the productive week!
We all had a great weekend listening to conference too. We stayed home on Saturday and tried to listen to as much as we could. The little girls were not too interested, but we actually got to hear most of conference. Sunday morning we actually took everybody to the church and it was amazing how much I got out of conference. We packed a big bag of crayons, paper, the Friend magazine, activity pages, and snacks and also since there wasn't a lot of people there we took up two rows so everybody could have their own space. I really enjoyed conference and there were some powerful messages that really touched my heart.
After we got home, I made some lunch and then had a nice long nap. It really reminded me of growing up at home where we went to church in the morning, came home, had lunch, mom took a nap and later we had a dessert for "supper". I decided this was a great idea today and made raisin pudding for "supper", but I don't think my kids quite caught on. They kept asking me when we were going to have supper. Oh well - it was a nice break for me anyway.
Well, the backpacks are packed and ready to go in the morning and I almost wish we could hide away forever and forget there are schedules and appointments and commitments that are waiting for us. I can hardly wait for summer!!!

Fun Friday Night

We had a great day/evening today! The kids had the day off school for a PD day, except Anna. She was excited the kids got to see her get on her bus though. By noon, the kids I was babysitting were gone and it was such a quiet relaxing afternoon. We all just kind of hung out and there were no major catastrophies, yelling, screaming or tears! I felt a little bit like celebrating since we had done our taxes yesterday and we are getting a fair chunk of money back from the government, so we decided to splurge and take our kids out for supper. Now, splurging in the Hatch house is not such a bad thing - - it just so happens we live about 5 minutes away from IKEA and our kids LOVE to go there! So for $20 we fed all seven of us with a few fries to spare and then we went across the road to Wal-Mart and bought "Bolt" and a few treats ($30) for a movie night at home. So for $50 we fed and entertained our family and everybody thought it was the funnest night ever!

Catching up

March has been an unbelievably busy month for us with lots of fun things that happened in our family. Brendan turned 12 on March 4th and was ordained to be a deacon on March 8th. Anna also had a birthday - she turned 5 on the 7th of March. Mom, Dad, Roger and Mary Lou made the trek up here for the weekend and survived our crazy northern Alberta winter weather. The Saturday they were here we had a huge blizzard which made basketball games and shopping a little crazy, but fun at the same time. We had a big pizza party for everybody who had a birthday here on Saturday night - which included Matt's mom (March 1st), Brendan (4th), Anna (7th), Rachel (9th), Zach (26th), and we even included Cub (Feb 19th). Now if only Mindy could have come we would have had all our March birthday's up here! The kids had fun opening all the presents and spending time with their Grandma and Grandpa and uncles and aunts.

The next day we had church at 1pm, so it was a nice relaxing morning. Even though Brendan used all the hot water we still survived. Brendan was ordained just after sacrament meeting so Mom and Dad could get going on their long drive home. Brendan felt that he wanted his Uncle Roger to ordain him, so that is what happened. Roger gave Brendan a beautiful blessing and it was a very spiritual experience. How did I get so lucky to have two wonderful priesthood holders in my home???

The following weekend, Brendan and Anna both had birthday parties. Brendan had a couple of friends over on Friday night and they went to the Edmonton Rush (Lacrosse) Game and then slept over. It wasn't much of a sleepover since Brendan had a 9am basketball game on the north side and had to be out the door by 8:30am, but they still had fun. It was Brendan's last basketball game of the season and he went out with a bang getting fouled out - two of the fouls being technicals! Apparently they had a ref that was a little picky about playing "zones" and found that Brendan wasn't quite playing up to her standards. I don't think he even knew what she was talking about, but there are some fun memories anyway!

Saturday was Anna's day for her birthday party. She had 4 little friends over and she had a princess party. The girls had fun playing games, decorating crowns, eating cake and opening presents. We played "freeze dance" with the girls and videotaped them dancing and stopping, then we let them watch it afterward. They thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen! Anna really did enjoy herself and I think all the other little girls did too. Even though it was a "princess party", Anna insisted that she wanted a radio cake, so that is what she got!

Of course, another fun part of March is always St. Patrick's day. I hadn't ever given it much thought, but the girls really made a big deal of it this year. So I made them green pancakes for breakfast and they thought that was the best thing they had ever had! A few funny comments we got this day were:

Grace (all dressed in green): Anna, do I look like a leprechaun?

Anna: No, you look like grass!

Grace: Anna, we should paint our faces green too, then we would be green all over!

Anna: Just not behind my ears. It really hurts when mom washes behind my ears!

And my most favorite - - At school Anna got to make a wish on "leprechaun dust" and when I was putting her to bed that night she said, "Mom, can I have some hay?" So I asked her why she needed hay. She then said, "I made a wish for a unicorn, and my wish is going to come true, and it is going to get hungry!"

Just last week we had some friends that were hatching chicken eggs in their house so their kids could experience this and they invited us over to watch. The girls had a blast watching the chicks hatching out of their eggs. Luckily there were already some that had dried off a little so the girls got to hold them.

Anyway, other than birthday's, parties, ordinations, basketball games, multiple doctor's appointments, ultrasounds, dentist's pulling teeth, green pancakes, hatching eggs, a teething baby, and more puke that I care to remember....... that about sums up the March the Hatch's had this year. Hopefully, our April will be just as much fun???......