Stress into Gratitude

This past week was one that I knew would be busy and stressful. On Monday, I had an appointment at the pediatric cardiologist's office for a fetal echocardiogram. If you have had one child with heart defects, your chances of having another child with heart defects goes up (although the chances are still pretty low, at least with the particular defect Collin was born with). I tend to be a HUGE worrier, so I was pretty proud of myself at how calm I was able to remain before the echo. And much to my relief, the appointment went well (aside from my almost passing out twice). The ultrasound tech and the cardiologist both said that from what they could see, there are no indications of any problems with this baby. Collin has a great cardiologist. He assured me that it if I still have concerns about possible heart problems with this little one, that they would do a second echo after she is born. I was so grateful to hear that everything looks good, and glad to check one stressor for the week off of the list. And about the passing out part, it is generally advised during pregnancy to lay on your side rather than your back, because there is a major vein that can be compressed by the baby when you lay on your back. I guess my body is really sensitive to that, because almost every ultrasound I've ever had during the second half of pregnancy, I end up getting super hot and lightheaded. It usually takes 10 minutes or so for me to get to that point, but for some reason this time, I was feeling it just minutes after laying down. I knew it was an important ultrasound, and they were checking some tiny areas of the baby's heart, so I guess I waited too long to ask for a break. I got really hot and started seeing spots and knew I was on the verge of passing out. Oops. Since Collin has had lots of echos done, I knew this ultrasound tech in particular is not always the most patient or warm person either. Luckily, she was really nice and understanding about it all. I was just so glad that that was the worst part of the appointment!

Tuesday was my dad's birthday, so we met my parents for dinner to celebrate!. Obviously that was not a stressful part of the week. In fact, by the time we left their house that night, I felt much more ready to handle the rest of the week. The following morning Collin was scheduled for an MRI with anesthesia to get some more accurate measurements of parts of his heart that they are keeping an eye on. So Tuesday night after dinner, my dad and Dave were able to give Collin a priesthood blessing. Since having kids, I have really come to appreciate the opportunity my kids and Dave and I have had to receive priesthood blessings when we've needed them. Being the worrier that I mentioned I am, I love the peace that I feel during and after the blessings. It is a good reminder to me that Heavenly Father is so aware of us and our situations and will help us through them. My dad has also been a huge help to me as our family has faced different surgeries and procedures. He has come with us to the few surgeries (both big and small) that the kids have had, and has been a tremendous source of strength for us. During those times, I know he was probably as worried as we were, but he has always been strong for us when I felt like I couldn't be. On Wednesday morning, he took off work and went with us back to the same hospital where Collin had his heart surgery as a newborn, so they could do the MRI. It was bittersweet walking through some of the same hallways we had walked several times a day when Collin was there for his surgery and recovery over two years ago. I felt so grateful that we were only there for an MRI. We arrived at the hospital at 9am, and his MRI was scheduled for 10:30. Because he was getting anesthesia, he hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the night before. That was another source of stress for me, because the first sentence out of my kids mouths most mornings is a request for something to eat. However, Collin never said a word about food or drink the entire morning. Even when the MRI ended up getting pushed back to 11:30, he never complained about being hungry. He was actually a total angel. He was cooperative as they did a chest x-ray, took his blood pressure at both arms and legs, and did all the other little things they had to do to get him ready. He played happily as we waited for his turn to go back. In fact, he was having so much fun jumping around and playing in the tiny waiting room we were in that Dave joked that he hoped we'd get a two-for-one deal if he ended up needing stitches as well. When they took him back, he cooperated as they put the mask over his mouth, and he was quickly out. The MRI ended up taking longer than we anticipated, so I was getting pretty antsy by the time they told us he was in a recovery room. He was crying for the next half an hour as he woke up more. But he was fine after that and we were so happy to have it all over with. We won't get results back for a couple more days, but since they haven't called us yet, I know there must not be anything super urgent in their findings. Again, I am grateful that it went so well and that we can check that off our list.

The rest of our week was filled with the regular busy-ness of the week. Dave has had to work a ton of hours lately and the kids have been more needy than usual, so he and I both feel like we're always just trying to catch up with life lately. We were both looking forward to Saturday night, when we had a babysitter and were going to dinner with another couple from church. Just before our friends were supposed to come over, we found that a mystery wet spot in Collin's room was actually a leak coming from our kitchen. We scrambled to get his furniture pushed to one corner of his room, pull up half of the carpet in his room and rip out the pad beneath. We had the fridge pulled out from the wall, and fans going all over the place. Luckily our friends were understanding as we had to make a few calls to get people out to fix the leak. We ended up having a nice dinner out, and the kids (5 total with our babysitter) all played well together and were QUIET when we got home. Sunday ended up not exactly being the "day of rest" that we were hoping for, but we were happy that Dave was able to get someone out to find the source of the leak and help us figure out what we needed to do to get everything fixed. We were so grateful that things came together, and that we were able to catch the problem early enough that there is no major damage.

It was my turn on Sunday to give the Beehives lesson at church, and despite not having much time to prepare, things came together fairly well. I was even able to bake cookies like I had been planning for part of my lesson, while the guy worked on the fridge. The morning also included a large decorative glass jar being shattered in the living room when the kids were throwing a ball around. I probably would have been more irritated about it, but the one who broke it immediately came up to me and offered several apologies and then both kids agreed to play nicely in Brynn's bedroom while we took care of the mess, the baking cookies, and the fridge situation. I really felt like Heavenly Father has really helped our family through each of the challenges we've faced this week. I know I needed to be reminded that even when our trials and challenges aren't taken away, He gives us the things that we need to be able to get through them. What a comfort it is to know that as I face obstacles and difficulties in the future. Especially for this worrier.

Just a little side note: for the past two weeks or so, there has been a cricket behind the fridge that must have a microphone. Every night, it would chirp SO loud, that I was starting to worry that the thing would drive Dave crazy. It was loud. And annoying. As we were dealing with the fridge leak, we realized that it had been a couple days since we had noticed the cricket chirping from behind the fridge. We joked that even though we had to deal with the issues the leak had caused, that at least it had probably caused the cricket to no longer be an issue (we wonder if it maybe drown?). I'm just thankful that we've been able to keep a sense of humor this last week.

Edited to add: I wanted to make sure and add how thankful we were for my mom's help as well as my dad's. While my dad has been with us during every surgery and procedure my kids have had, my mom has been at home taking care of our other kid. She is an amazing mother and probably loves my kids as much as I do, so I have appreciated knowing that when we have to be somewhere with one of our kids, the other has been taken care of. She is always a wonderful source of calm for me, and is always reminding me "not to worry until you know you need to worry". I know I am so blessed to have the parents that I do.