Thievery

I've discovered lately that my sister is a thief. A bolg thief that is! I was reading through her blog and saw some posts that sounded strangely familiar...and realized that they were mine! Haha she gave me full credit, and it felt good to know that she liked what I wrote enough to share with her fellow bloggers. I look up to my sister in so many ways, so tonight I'm taking a page from her book (literally)! The things that she says in here are the sweetest things I could ever hear!

I have something to say about my sister...

I've stolen quite a few posts from my sister's blog, and now I have something I want to say about my sister.

Let's begin at the very beginning, a very good place to start (name that movie, Amanda!)...We begin before Amanda was ever born. I was an only child, spoiled rotten, with a really good life, but what I wanted more than anything was a little sister. I spent nine years of my life praying and begging Heavenly Father for a baby sister. In 1986, God finally answered my prayers. Amanda was almost a Christmas present (that was her due date), but I spent quite a few prayers begging Heavenly Father not to send her on Christmas (it would have really messed up my Christmas, after all!). Instead, my little sister arrived on New Year's Eve.

I wish I could say that I loved her perfectly from day one. I did love her from the start, just not perfectly. It was a difficult adjustment for me to learn to be a good big sister and share some of the lime light. And really, who can compete with an adorable baby? There may or may not have been some tantrums on my side of things. But I was fiercely protective of her. One of my best friends from high school remembers how I wouldn't let anyone hold her but me. I'm still fiercely protective of her. No one hurts my little sister! I had promised my grandpa, before Amanda was born, that I would never, ever fight with my little sister. I think I was able to keep my promise until she started talking. My grandpa loved to tease me about that all the time.

Growing up, we weren't very close. It was a huge age gap at the time. She liked to write her name with marker on everything I owned (books, homework, doll's foreheads...basically, anything that I valued had 'Amanda' with big, backwards A's written on it). I liked to torment her in any way that I could. For example, (what you are about to read is a huge confession) one time my best friend and I put catsup all over ourselves and got out a big butcher knife and convinced my little sister and brother that a killer had broken into the house and was still in the house trying to kill all of us. I made them hide in their bedroom while we sat and watched a movie, just so I wouldn't have to deal with them for a couple of hours. I'm ashamed, and slightly proud of the creativity, of my big sister tormenting.

Luckily, after my mission, when I had matured quite a bit, we found our sisterhood. What a blessing! People used to always tell me, "Just you wait. One day your sister will be your best friend." I never believed them, but they were right. She is my best friend. She is my confidante, my partner in crime, my shoulder to cry on, and my friend to laugh with. We have so many inside jokes, so many memories that we love to reminisce about together. I don't think I've ever admitted to her how hard it was when she went on her mission. I missed her so much. I didn't want to tell her how much I was missing her and make her homesick, so I would just tell her how proud I was of her (which I was very proud). What I tried not to tell her was how heart broken I felt every time I went to call her and tell her something and couldn't. It was a rough 18 months!

And now, with the boys, she's not just my best friend--she's theirs. She truly is Super Nanny. Take, for example, this past weekend. It was her birthday. What did she do for her birthday? She and my mom took care of my boys because I was sick. I think it was well after 1 p.m. and after a long morning and afternoon of wrestling Sam, that she announced, "I am now going to take a shower, if that's alright, because it's my birthday!"

She is always willing to drop everything at the drop of a hat to come and help me. Amanda has this huge heart and is always sacrificing and serving others. She is such an example to me of the Savior's love. And my boys love their Nanny. She has such a special, sweet relationship with both of the boys. I know that they will always be friends, even when the boys are grown-up. I can see Sam taking his kids some day to go visit Nanny on a regular basis.

The thing I love the most is that Amanda loves my boys as much as I love my boys. It melts my heart every time I see how much love she has for them. And my boys know it. They know that their Nanny Manda loves them with all of her heart (and that she loves to spoil them rotten!). I told her the other day that I kind of don't want her to get married and have kids of her own because then she'll love her kids more than mine! I was joking...I think. But I am amazed by her.

I guess when I prayed for a little sister all those years ago, I really had no idea what I was going to get. When God blesses us in answer to our prayers, He doesn't give us what we want--He gives us something far better. For me, that was Amanda.

You know, Amanda, I am having a good time.

Miracle Mark

If you know the movie I modified the title of this post from, 100 bonus points for you!
Now, on to the important stuff. Just over a year ago, perhaps on New Year's Day (?) I was reading my sister's blog. This is her opening to hew New Year's post: "This past year we received two thousand ten plus blessings. I'm excited for the one more blessing we'll receive this new year. I am just feeling really blessed in my life right now." As I read that I stopped and asked myself if she was pregnant. Apparently others thought the same thing too, because some friends commented asking if she was indeed expecting. I realized quickly that she was referring to the year (2010, hence the two thousand and ten blessings, plus one more for 2011) and I laughed as I told her of her almost-folly the next day. To my surprise she got really quiet and looked around to make sure no one else was around then told me that she was indeed expecting! A Freudian slip! She really did mean the number of blessings to equal the year, but it just worked out that she would be receiving one more blessing in the form of a child. Little did we know that this one blessing would lead to so many others.
Being around for this pregnancy was a lot of fun, and a lot of work at first! It was so hard to know and not be able to tell! I was in charge of making sure that my sister got to eat when we needed to at parties, and that she didn't get too tired. I kept waiting and waiting for her to make the big announcement so that I wouldn't have to keep the secret anymore! Tell she did, on Valentine's Day, which was a lot of fun. Sam started saying "baby, baby, baby" and patting his tummy, and we all started making preparations for the new little guy to join our family.
On August 23rd little Mark Emmitt Clay was born at 7:15 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz, 20 1/2 inches long. His best feature-his flaming red hair! Marmitt, as his Nanny likes to call him, is like the horse of many colors when it comes to his hair; sometimes it's strawberry blonde, red, flaming red, and all shades in between. I got to meet him the very night he was born and introduce myself, which I loved! Little Marmitt being born also meant that I got to spend some Nanny time with Sam, which I loved! We played, had tons of fun, and got things ready for when Mommy and the baby came home. It was great! I got to stay with the happy family for a few days to help everyone adjust, and then I got a new job so I had to take off for home. It was hard to leave my little guy, but a Nanny is never far away!
On September 4th I was in the middle of a long Sunday nap when my Mom woke me up. I could hear panic in her voice as she told me that our Marmitt had been taken by ambulance to Primary Children's (hospital) because he was having seizures. I jumped out of bed and in less than 5 minutes we were on the road, heading to SLC.
When we arrived at the hospital we were taken to the ER room, but everyone was gone to a test. We anxiously waited and a few minutes later everyone came back, little Marmitt on a big stretcher hooked up to machines, with Mommy and Daddy close by his side. We found out that he had bleeding on his brain, which was causing the seizures. This started a long and scary road for our little miracle boy.
Marmitt spent 13 days at Primary's, with lots of ups and downs. So many prayers were said for him, and I know that the faith of those prayers is what saved that little boy. At first we weren't allowed to touch him while he was in the PICU because they didn't want him to get over-stimulated. Seeing him hooked up to all of those machines and wires was really hard. One of the many miracles that this little boy experienced was in his Uncle J and Aunt Fishy's wedding day. Jolene and Nic left him in the PICU to come to the sealing and wedding brunch. When they got back to the hospital they found out that the little Marmitt had been graduated to a regular room-no more PICU! It was a perfect addition to that day! I know that the temples of the Lord bring blessings for those who attend, and this day was no different. Our entire family was in the temple that day, and we were blessed for it. We had a wedding miracle! There were plenty of other miracles that the little Marmitt boy experienced, this is just one of them.
Finally Marmitt got to come home after 13 days. It was a crazy time for everyone, but eventually life got back to "normal." Marmitt has been getting services from Early Intervention, and from them we learned that he is even more of a miracle. For the severity of his bleed he is doing amazingly well! He has a slight weakness on his right side, but that is it. The little miracle boy kept proving to be a miracle!
Earlier this month Jolene took Marmitt in for his regular checkup with his neurosurgery team. That was when they found out that Marmitt had hydrocephalus, also known as swelling of the brain. The doctors had initially believed that Marmitt's body would take care of everything on its own, but now it was telling them otherwise. The solution: a shunt. A shunt is a device that is surgically placed in the body that moves excess fluid from one place to another, in this case from Marmitt's brain to his belly. We were all nervous about this "minor" surgery, but excited for something that was going to help Marmitt in the long-run.
My Christmas wish this year was that our little Marmitt would be home to enjoy Christmas with us. His surgery was on the 19th, just days away from the festivities. More prayers were said for the little miracle boy, and once again, faith overcame fear and doubt. Marmitt came through the surgery like a champ, impressing his doctors and nurses. He came home as scheduled, and is doing great. It's crazy to see the difference the shunt has already made in the Marmitt boy! He was a happy baby before, and even happier now! (Minus a little minor grumpiness due to a cold...) He is truly a miracle boy! And my Christmas wish came true-the little miracle boy was with us on Christmas morning! Our entire family got to celebrate Christmas together, which is a great blessing!
I know that God hears and answers our prayers. Sometimes we go through hard times, but the Lord it with us through it all. When we are weak He is there to be our strength. The Little Miracle Boy, Miracle Mark, is proof that God is not absent from our lives. He still works miracles in our lives every single day. God loves us and showers us with his blessings.

Photos:

Top: Marmitt's hospital "mugshot"

Second: at home, a few days old

Third: Marmitt's hospital stay

Last: Marmitt 2 days post-surgery

Chasing heartbreak

Lately I've noticed myself being crazy envious of people breaking up in movies. Yes, you read that right. I am envious that they are breaking up. Why? The answer is quite simple: two people breaking up means that they had a relationship to begin with. My favorite breakups are the ones where the two people are meant to be together, and you can just tell it. When they get to the climatic breakup scene they are both so heartbroken over the fact that they are ending their relationship. This usually calls for an epic song (if you're watching a musical) and plenty of tears on both sides. There is generally some pretty awesome and quotable dialogue as well. I love the look of desperate love in the eyes of the breakees, and you feel like your heart is being ripped out, just like theirs.
I know that it sounds crazy, but I envy that these people had something so hard to let go of in the first place. I've had a few breakups in my life, and I don't want to repeat any of those moments (perhaps because they weren't as epically tragic as the ones in the movies) yet I long for my own breakup. I was talking to a fried today who was trying to convince me to take an institute class called "Happiness in Dating." I ensured him that I am finding plenty of happiness in being single, to which my friend replied that I needed to learn to find happiness in dating. And thus we get to the point of this post. I want to date. Even if it means getting my heart broken, I at least want to have cared and have been cared about that much by a person of the opposite gender.
I had such high hopes that this past Christmas season would bring a new relationship my way. I could just feel it! I knew that the twinkling lights and softly falling snow would surely bring a sweet romance into my life, leaving a soft smile on my face. Christmas has now come and gone, and no romance came my way. I'll blame it on the lack of softly falling snow, or any snow for that matter, but I won't give up the hope that it will come. I know that somewhere, someday, it will happen. Maybe what I should be looking for is a spring fling...haha! Until then I will keep enjoying my tragic breakups, and subsequent makeups, and keep that faith that both are coming my way!

Celebration!

Wow, it's been a whopping 5 days since my last post! Haha! My journal is grateful though, things were getting pretty boring because I didn't feel like writing everything out twice!
It's been a nice start to the month of December. Yesterday we got to celebrate my Dad's birthday. I did my best to make it a fun day for him. Before I went to bed on Saturday night I put little signs all around the house wishing him a happy birthday. To top it off I made a happy birthday banner! I thought that it was pretty darn cute! I hope that he liked it too! When my Dad got home from his meetings I gave him a special pre-present present: some crackers, cheese, and salami. When he opened it he just rolled his eyes! The salami had been purchased a few days before, by my Dad. The crackers came from a box in the kitchen, but the cheese was a new addition purchased by yours truly! I wanted him to have a nice birthday snack! So thoughtful of me, so thoughtful!
Later in the evening we had everyone over for birthday dinner. Dad got to choose the dinner-ribs, baked potatoes, and other random dishes that my Mom made up. :) It was a fun time celebrating my Dad's birthday! He got some pretty cool gifts, including a Harry Potter book that talks about how they made the movies, new belt, new pants...good times!
I think that about covers the past five days! I'm looking forward to Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year!