You Can't Make This Stuff Up

The last week and a half has been emotional and crazy. I'll try not to belabor the issue, but here's a little recap.
My grandma (my mom's mom, my last living grandparent) has been sick for a long time. And for the last few years, we knew she didn't have much more time on this earth. So I was not too terribly surprised when my mom called last Sunday morning to tell me Grandma had passed away during the night. I was sad, of course, but I also knew she was MUCH happier reunited with her eternal companion and freed from the frailties of growing old.
Of course we made arrangements to fly out for the funeral. The plan was to leave Thursday afternoon and fly into Salt Lake City (the funeral was on Saturday in Blanding, the farthest south you can get in Utah). We also figured that since we'd be in Utah anyway, we'd take one extra day to see some of Tyler's family that live in Utah, so we'd leave on Monday.
All of this went according to plan. We saw cousins and aunts and uncles and great-aunts and new in-laws and the whole shebang. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was worth it.
Lincoln was amazing. We rented a car which I fell in love with (Nissan Rogue, check it out). Part of the reason I fell in love with it is that when Lincoln got fussy in the back seat, I could climb into the back and feed him a bottle or what-not then climb back to the front when he was happy. That car saved us a fair few hours on all that driving we had to do, let me tell you.
So things were going according to plan until we went to the airport to check in to leave on Monday afternoon. "So sorry," they said, "but your flight's been delayed and you'll miss your connection in Denver." So there we were. No real option but to wait for the flight the next day, but that meant one MORE day of missed work. We were already pushing it.
It turned into a pleasant evening, though, and the flight back was smooth, and all was well with the world.
Until 11 o'clock last night.
That's when Lincoln started screaming bloody murder. And aside from a few fitful moments of quiet, he didn't stop until we finally got him into the doctor's office. It's much like when something's going wrong with your program you're running and you call someone over to look at it, and suddenly it works great? Tell me you've been there.
Luckily the doctor didn't dismiss our concerns, and found out Lincoln had a double ear infection! Poor kid. He'd been amazing on the flights, so I wonder when they really flared up?
So, I took Lincoln, filled the prescriptions, and then spent the afternoon working from home. Which, by the way, is easier said than done with a sick infant.
But back to the title of this post. I had GENUINE and UNAVOIDABLE excuses (twice in a row!) not to go in to work. The loss in pay is frustrating, but so is the havoc my schedule's been through the last week and a half.
I need another vacation...

P.S. Pictures to follow, don't worry.

Lincoln Update

It's been a while since we posted, so I thought I would add some photo/video evidence that Lincoln is still around and growing. He is getting so big. He is about 24 inches and is upwards of 15 pounds. Seems like he gets bigger every day. He will be 4 months old on May 28. He is getting better at sleeping through the night and is tons of fun. I hope y'all enjoy the pictures as much as we do.

Evidence he can hold his own bottle. He doesn't do it very often.


He likes to push himself back on the Boppy so that his head hangs back. Kid loves to have his head hanging back.

Lincoln with his Williams-side cousins, James and Gwen Miller. Lincoln has the best "sad face."


Gwen likes to hold Lincoln, but he's almost as big as she is (she is 13+ months older), so she gets tired.



He has started to find things with his hands. He doesn't really like to be covered up with a blanket, so he either kicks it off or pulls it up.




Just like his dad (used to be when he was little), he likes to suck his thumb and watch TV, which he was doing until the aforementioned dad so rudely interrupted him.

And, finally, Lincoln trying out his jumper. I don't think he thinks it's as much fun as we do.

Kelli has also posted some more pictures to the "Lincoln" Facebook album -- link on the right of this page. Hope y'all enjoyed these as much as we do. We may be a little biased, but we're pretty sure he is the cutest baby ever. We sure are grateful for him and that he is healthy. He's so much fun.

PS - this post is going up on Link's Grandma Williams' birthday, so Happy Birthday, Gramma!

Let's recap, shall we? AND new trauma/drama...

All right, let's take a trip back in time to March 2nd, when my mom flew out, and all of the problems began to surface. Funny, now, how I optimistically called in Murphy's WEEK. First it was the car, then the washer/dryer, then the AC, then the water heater, then still the car, then the new roof, THEN the pressure regulator valve. I'm sure I'm missing something, but come on, seriously. All that is one month? Is that just? But then I remembered my blessings, rediscovered my sense of humor, and things were better.

And then we had the ER visit with Lincoln, but he seemed to recover fine, and I thought that once the ceiling was painted (scheduled for Thursday and Friday, while my parents were in town to babysit the painters, since Tyler and I have NO LEAVE left), all the trauma/drama would be over. It's a testament to my optimism, I'll say that much for me.

Because yesterday the painter noticed that there was damage to the wall that the leaking skylight would have dripped down to. So I got the go-ahead from the insurance to fix that. And from there it exploded. They have to replace all the drywall and the insulation because it's all moldy/mildewy. Yay! They need to redo the framing around the two windows on that wall. I just HOPE and PRAY that none of the other walls need it. Though they do need to paint the rest of the room, otherwise it won't match.

Oh, and I still need a new glovebox for my car. That's a different story. A funny one though. Kind of...

So, what's the lesson learned from this experience? Make sure you have good homeowner's insurance. And be greatful for loving and generous parents who will babysit your son AND the contractors at your house.

Pray for me that Murphy's Months will be over on Tuesday? Please?

One Down, X To Go

We had our first ER trip for Lincoln on Saturday. Those of you who know me at-all-well know I like to set the stage for stories, so let's start with about last Thursday. Just sit back, relax, and try to follow the train of thought...

My cousin's status on facebook last Thursday was "Please include Jane and Jacob Smith* in your prayers. Their 3 month old baby, Jon*, died in Jane's* arms 2 nights ago." This immediately made me cry because Lincoln is almost 3 months, and I just couldn't imagine the sorrow.

Then we had a ward (church) activity on Friday night. Everything went well, and the last thing one of the ladies at church said to me was, "kiss your baby for me!" Little did she know that her own baby (ok, he was 19) would die tragically, suddenly, and needlessly in a car accident about 30 minutes later. When I got the news on Saturday morning, I once again immediately starting crying. (Just as a review, remember I'm still post-partum, so I think all the crying is normal.) And I continued to cry (bawl, really) about losing her little baby (even though he was 19, he was her baby).

THEN I went to get my sister-in-law, and we went to do the March for Babies (thank you to those who donated, by the way) which is just one more reminder of little babies who live too little in this mortal life, if at all.

So when, after the race, my brother-in-law and niece and nephew came up to meet us and my BIL told me Lincoln was sick (had a fever, and in kids that young, it's tough to tell why) and Tyler was taking him the ER, I basically flipped out. (For those unfamiliar with how I tell a story, we finally got to the good part.) So I hopped in my car, all of a dither, and raced to my in-law's house to meet Tyler and take Lincoln to the ER. (Side-note, my car usually prefers to go 70 on the interstate, where my last car (ah, Ruby, I do miss you so) preferred to go 90. WELL, when Lincoln's in trouble, Sophia ALSO likes to go 90.) Anywho, we left my car at my in-laws and took Lincoln to the pediatric ER at Huntsville Hospital. They poked and prodded him, trying to get an IV placed (unsuccessfully, though they tried about 5 places), and Tyler held ME while I cried, but in the end, his white blood cell count was ok, and they sent us home with orders to give him tylenol every 4-6 hours as needed for fever. And he's been ok ever since. I'm not sure what it was, and I hope they call soon when the cultures are ready to tell us they didn't find anything, but better safe than sorry.

However, here's the lesson I learned from this experience:
When the doctor orders an IV for your baby, if he's drinking/eating and peeing ok, tell them no. In the politest way possible. There was no need for that IV unless he was dehydrated or needed IV antibiotics. It was a painful lesson, but I'm sharing it with all of you. You all probably knew that though...

Tyler got a great picture with his phone that pretty much sums up how ALL of us felt, though:


Please remember to pray for mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and friends who lose loved ones. I know that those who die are not lost to us forever, but I can only imagine how much sorrow one would have because you would MISS a family member or friend.

*Names changed, just in case. In case of what? I don't know.

March For Babies

My company has a team for the March for Babies by March of Dimes this year, and I've decided to participate. When Tyler and I found out our little son was coming 4 weeks early, I was so worried. But he was born at 10:10 at night, spent the 4-hour transition in the NICU, and then was transferred to the nursery for the rest of our hospital stay. A 6 lb, 15 oz preemie! I felt so blessed that he was healthy. And as I've seen and heard of friends and family having babies early who have to spend weeks and even months in the NICU, I feel so blessed to live in this time of modern medicine. And I've decided I'd like to support it with more than just my words and prayers.

The walk is on April 18th in Huntsville, and there are several ways you can join with me in supporting this cause. My personal webpage is: http://www.marchforbabies.org/shapika
If you follow that link, you'll see that you can donate, help me spread the word, or if you're in the area, come walk with me.

Please don't feel obligated, but if you can give a little, that'd be great. If nothing else, please remember to pray for those precious babies sent down from Heaven. And the mothers and fathers who worry...

Further Proof, My Friends

I got great feedback on my last post. It appears that juxtaposing religious material with fashion (and a distinct lack thereof) really makes people wonder. I'll try to do it more often. :)

But I digress. The further proof that March (the bad month, remember) is REALLY over is that I went to the dentist today, and I did not have even ONE cavity! You have to understand that from the time I was little-little (side note: words are cooler when repeated, such as sing-sing, a little somethin-somethin, and bling-bling), I ALWAYS had 2 cavities when we went to the dentist. It did not matter how little or much I brushed, flossed, rinsed, used fluoride, etc, etc, (notice that repeat?), I ALWAYS had 2 cavities. So, this morning I expected to need about 3 root canals. But no, my friends, I triumphed. I think that's happened perhaps once before, maybe twice. And I was especially surprised because while I was preggo I was REALLY bad about not brushing my teeth after having a midnight snack. Or three. So the question is, does this reinforce good behavior or bad behavior? Bad behavior. Not good. On the other hand, when we look at the bigger picture, the one that involves more than just my midnight snacks and cavities, we realize that even one tiny cavity might have finally been the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a tender mercy, for which I'm most grateful.

Welcome to April, My Weekend Plans, and Shoes and Socks

I kid you not, March was cursed. I'm not sure EXACTLY who had it in for me (though I could make some guesses...), but I feel confident it only lasted one month, so April is going to be MUCH better. For instance, Lincoln slept for SIX hours last night. Blessed child. It was especially nice because Tyler and I are both pretty sick. Sick to the point where I would have just stayed in bed and moaned all day if I hadn't taken so many days off earlier in the week because of Lincoln being sick (we've covered that I exaggerate as a defense mechanism, right? Good.).

So, I've had a lot of random thoughts in my head lately. A little neuroses, of course, and trying to problem solve. Remember my post about the possible solutions, and then I/we remembered the most obvious one? Well, most of you know that we're members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe that the Church that Jesus Christ organized when he was on the earth has been restored, and we believe that there is a Prophet and Apostles who lead and guide our Church.

But, make no mistake, we believe the Jesus Christ is the head of that Church. I mention this not to be preachy, but because twice a year we have the privilege to hear from these inspired leaders what the Lord would have us be taught at this time. I consider it a great blessing in my life. As I mentioned, it's twice a year, and this weekend is one of these General Conferences. If you're just curious, you can tune in for a talk (sessions are Sat and Sun at 10 and 2 MST) or more. But I testify that whether you are LDS (Mormon) or not, it will be an opportunity for you to feel the Holy Ghost testify to you of the divinity of our Savior. If you're in Huntsville and you have Knology, it will be on channel 11. If you have Comcast or you live outside of Huntsville, and you're interested, let me know, and I'll see if I can find out. If nothing else, you can listen/watch on the internet. I believe that no matter which church you are a member of, it is a blessing from our Heavenly Father when we have an opportunity to feel the Holy Ghost testify of His love for us. And, in March, I really struggled with that (being comforted), as you may have noticed from my whining. But I'm excited about the weekend. In conclusion, if you want to learn more about our Church, I invite you check out this site.

But like I said (did I say it?), I wasn't trying to be preachy. I just wanted to share that with you all. On a lighter note, let's talk about shoes. I'm breaking in a new pair of black flats, and I've decided that they definitely look better with lighter socks. Why is that? And that reminds me that from the time I was in grade school, I always tried to match my socks to my shirt, and I was WAY behind the curve when I realized that when you grow up, you're supposed to match your socks to either your shoes or your pants. What is that? And how is it fun AT ALL? I like striped and polka-dotted socks in outrageous colors, but I draw the line at striped and polka-dotted pants in outrageous colors. Who makes these rules, anyway? It reminds me of a Jem song (points if you get the reference, as usual). More ramblings later.