Friday, November 16, 2012

Where in the crap is my husband?

So, we have had a lot on our plate lately.  I have been meaning to get on and blog, but life has been happening too fast and I am too tired. 

 (insert super long story  :)

So let me tell you about the latest stressful thing around here.  So go back in time to Wednesday. It was my oldest daughters 15th birthday.  The older kids were at school and  I was having a normal morning.  I had a phone call from John at 11:16 am  saying he wasn't feeling well and he was coming home.  I said okay, see you when you get home.  I talked to Kim and asked her to babysit while I took him to the doctor.  I didn't know what was really wrong, he had said something about possibly low blood sugar, and being week and fevery..  I looked at the clock and saw it was time for him to be home.  I thought I heard his car so I got off the phone with Kim but I was wrong.  So I just sat by the window and waited.  A few minutes later, still no John.  I was getting worried and called John.  My phone said I had missed a call from John but he did not leave a message.  I sat back in my chair, staring out the window.  I kept calling John over and over and over.  His cell number and work phone.   And Kim was on the phone helping me decide scenarios as to where he was and why he was so late.  By 12:20, I had to leave and go get lunch for Cassi and wait for her bus to bring her back to the school from a field trip and take her to the dentist to get 2 teeth pulled.  That is a long story by itself.  So after that, it is 1:30 and we came home.  I have been a nervous wreck.  I kept calling his phone over and over.  I checked my home phones caller ID and I had a missed call from a hospital.  Now I am panicking.  I called them but they had no John  there.  So I wonder, do I owe them money from taking one of the kids?  Or did John call from the waiting room and then leave?  Where could he be?  There were so many random possibilities  We have 9 kids.  He could have stopped to run an errand.  Those are the things we do sometimes.  So I called his work to find out when he really left.    Someone answered and said, "Hi, John."  I said, sorry, this is John's wife.  I am trying to get a hold of John.  She went to find him, said she couldn't so told me he is probably in a meeting.  I told her I didn't think so.  And told her part of the story.  She said she would ask around.  So I decide to drive to the hospital.  I left my poor 13 year old with a mouth full of gauze to fend for herself and care for the 4 little ones.  She even had to get her own ibuprofen.  I know, I am an awesome mom like that.  I was almost to his work that is really close to the hospital.  On my way, his coworker, Phil called.  He was super worried also and feeling pretty bad that he let John leave.  So, now I have a bit of John's story.  Phil said that John was laying on the floor by his desk feeling sick and dizzy.  So him and another coworker had taken  John to a couch and John had laid there for almost 2 hours.  Then John just wanted to leave.  They both offered to drive him, but John said he would be fine and just go home.  He had left right after he had called me.  So Phil went to the hospital and checked near by parking lots in case he went for food and slept, or passed out.  Since Phil was there, I took John's route home.  I looked everywhere for his car, checked the instacare and went home and sat outside the house in my car wondering what to do next.  Every couple of minutes, I would call the hospital again.  I put feelers out to his family to see if he had contacted them.  I also went in and called the police. When they asked what he was wearing, I said, something BYU.   I kept in contact with Phil  They were in contact with different police also.  So his sister went to the hospital to check again.  After like 10 minutes, they found him at the hospital.  He had been listed as anonymous.  I got the call and I took off running.  Kim had just come over and brought one of her kids with a cake for becca.  They were hugging me and making me cry. When I got the call of where he was, I just grabbed my purse and took off running.  Becca had just gotten off the bus and I yelled, "Happy birthday becca.  Daddy is in the hospital, I have to go."  and I took off.  I called phil and told him.  I called and bawled to my mom.  It was the longest drive.  I had no idea what happened.  I get to the hospital the same time Johns mom did.  On my way to the elevator, I got a phone call from a nurse.  By the time I made it to him, he had a full room.  Co-workers, sister and mom.  I have never been more thankful to see him.

Now on to his story.  He left work and was getting on the freeway and tried to call me.  That was my missed phone call.  (Some of this is speculation.  I have not talked to the trooper or seen the police report, so this is what we have figured out to the best of our info.)  He was on the freeway on a one mile turn and passed out.  He was feeling really bad, but thought he could make it home.  I guess not.  He crashed into a barrier or wall.  He woke up to 2 men helping him.  He remembers bits and pieces.  Memories keep coming back to him.  He woke up laying over the center console and could see the outside ground from inside the car.  He saw his glasses that had flown off his face broken on the dash.  He had blood dripping down his face.   The ambulance came and cut off his super nice BYU shirt.  They loaded him off to the hospital.  The reason I couldn't find him at the hospital is because at this hospital if there is a major trama they don't care what their name is.  They attach some random name for technology purposes.  To keep track of everything they give him.  His name was Jagged Zzzim.  Silly me for not asking the hospital for Jagged Zzzim.  My bad.  He kept trying to get a hold of me.  First he gave them his cell number, then his work number.  He couldn't get his brain to work.  They tried the house.  (That was my missed phone call).  They said they tried the cell, but it must have been when I was frantically calling and texting everyone to see if they knew where he was.  He even tried work.  He had them call Mike, his boss.  But his work told them there was no Mike there.  Ha ha


I was so relieved to have him back.  For sure he had guardian angels with him.  He had forgotten to put on his seat belt since he wasn't thinking the best with being sick.  He was going freeway speeds when he hit a wall.  I am so grateful to have my husband.  I have never been so relieved to see anyone.  I am still in shock that he survived the accident with minor cuts and bruises.  He is super duper sore.  He even had the Nissan insignia bruised into his arm.  His head took a beating.




 This is his only stitches.  The top of his head is
covered in scratches and bruises.  He spent the night in the hospital.  After we got home, we spent last night picking shards of glass out of his his scalp.

The only camera I had is from my phone and sadly I don't have a smart phone, only a dumb phone.  But here are some photos.


His knee is pretty banged up.  It is his knee he had all the surgeries on, but nothing too terrible is wrong. It was huge!!!! We do have a appointment with his orthopedic surgeon  but it should be fine.


It is hard to see it in the photo, but this is his Nissan insignia   You can even see the letters.


Here is his car.




























This is a view from inside the car.  Sure enough, he could see the ground through the floor of his car.




I am grateful for his airbags.  
 His head did a good job on the windshield 

 So I guess this is my Thanksgiving post.  I am so thankfull I have a husband.  I am grateful he did not need any surgeries, or have broken anything.  There are so many what-ifs.  I could go on and on, but instead  I will tell you what great people we have in our lives.

Kim helped drive the kids.  It was Mia's dance picture day.

Suzanne and family took my kids to her house, fed them, had a little party for Becca got them to Mutual and James to scouts.  And took care of the little ones.  Including Elly puking.
Then Suz stayed home from work to care for them all the next day also.  Wow, talk about amazing.


Phil, James, Mike, Natalie and coworkers for helping me find him.  They also sent dinner for after we got home from the hospital.

Faith made a diaper run.  I was sitting in the hospital when I remembered that I was out of diapers.  Twin 2 year olds with no diapers is a bad thing.

Andrew for getting his entertainment and hanging out at the hospital.

Michelle for rechecking the hospital to find him.

Mother in Law for spending the night with the kids.  And taking care of puking Elly all night.

Alex and Gary made a late night run to get our chargers and clean clothes  for John.  Oh, and chocolate truffles for me.

The Fosters for bringing us dinner tonight.  (I love being LDS)

Our neighbors for bringing us another dinner.

My kids for being completely wonderful and amazing though out this scary ordeal.

All the phone calls, texts, and facebook messages from people.  All the offers for help are amazing.

If I forgot you, it is not because you are unimportant, it is because I am tired and emotionally exhausted.

I am a very happy wife.


 (I'm so sad    :by james)


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Brigham City Temple

A local LDS temple was built in Brigham City.  We had to opportunity to kind of participate.


First off, we took a tour before it was dedicated.  That was a neat experience.  Temples are so beautiful.  Elly leaned over to me and said, "Mom, I can't find Jesus."  So we spent the rest of the tour, looking for the gorgeous paintings of him.  

Here is my small little clan in front of the fountain.  
 My sweet kids in front of the door to the temple.  
 Here is a picture of each of the kids (I thought I would tell you in case you couldn't tell, ha ha :)





 Do you like how sly he is being with trying to stick his had in the water?
 Slyness didn't last long.  


 Jonah wasn't in a posing sort of mood.
 You can't visit a temple without noticing all the flowers.  


 This is one of my favorite photos.  My dad saw this and had me come take a photo.  We call Becca, mamabecca.  Jonah and she has a special bond.  If mommy can't fix it, Becca always can.  

My adorable parents.

 Because we have a big family, this is a common scene.  Random kids holding hands as I try to not lose anyone.  I haven't yet, well not for long.  So I guess it is working.  


 The babies had a blast on the bus. 

So that was our tour at the open house.  


A few weeks after that, we got to participate in the Cultural Celebration.  

Here is a newspaper article describing it. 

BRIGHAM CITY — Thousands of young people of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed in a cultural celebration the night before the dedication of the Brigham City Temple.
Nearly 4,000 young men and women, ages 12 to 18, have rehearsed and planned for months for this event that parents, friends and church leaders watched Saturday night.
Elder L. Tom Perry and Elder Russell M. Nelson of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared their excitement.
"Oh, this is wonderful," Elder Perry said. "To think that we'll have a cultural celebration before we'll have the great dedication of the Brigham City, Utah temple."
The city has strong ties to pioneer history, and is named after the LDS Church's second prophet, Brigham Young, who gave his final address in what is now known as Pioneer Park. The church's fifth prophet, Lorenzo Snow, is buried in the Brigham City cemetery.
"This is an experience of a lifetime," Nelson said. "Any temple dedication is, but in Brigham City, it's very, very special, a place held dear to us all."
Before the celebration, they visited with families in the stands.
"Now, don't worry about your performance tonight," Perry said. "We just hope you've made a lot of friends that will last and endure for the eternities to come. God bless each of you."
Then the young people recreated the history of the Brigham City area through song and dance. They honored the Native Americans, the immigrants who came from Denmark, Wales and Latin America. They even recreated the building of the railroad and the driving of the Golden Spike.
"They've learned the various cultures and some of the things that drew them here and what we can learn from those other cultures," said Box Elder Stake President Ronald Frandsen. "I think that makes us better Latter-day Saints."
For the performers, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"At first I thought it was crazy but, now I'm liking it a lot," said Willard resident Ethan Mills. "I think it's a really neat experience to do something for the temple like this."
The Cultural Celebration closed with all eyes on Brigham City's beautiful new landmark.
The 36,000 square-foot Brigham City temple is the 139th to be built worldwide and is intended to serve parts of northern Utah as well as Malad, Idaho, covering 13 stakes and 40,000 members of the LDS church. The design is reminiscent of historic temples of the church. It has a very unique design, combining the old and new. A peach blossom design can be found both inside and outside the temple on various areas. Latter-day Saints throughout Utah and in Malad, Idaho will be able to participate in the dedication in their Church meetinghouses. There will be no regular Sunday services for them tomorrow. 

It was an extremely long day.  It started at 9:30 am at a local high school.  We hung out on the bleachers and watched for a while. 

We had some cousin time.  My sister, Aunt Sissy, came up with most of her kids.  
 That is a lot of youth.  

 Jason invented a new kind of sandwich.  It is nutella on the inside and meat on the outside.  
 Our lunch on the grass.  Thank you Grandma. 
 Wow, a police golf cart . . . AWESOME!!
 They had these amazing paintings at each of the entrances. 
 We practiced our part a few times, but other than that, we just sat around, hot, and waited to be told we were in a bad spot and should move.  That was amazing.  
 The kids invented a new roll and throw your water bottle around the high school commons. 
 What ever entertains the troops.  Although, we were making the lady guards nervous.  


 Sweet Cousins
 My nanny Mya.  She was always on top of where the babies were.  I must admit, we forgot the stroller and the babies made it an even longer day.  
 Then we waited for our turn for the dress rehearsal outside.  Yep-a-doodle, more waiting.  


 Here was all are by our mailbox.  Our part was near the end of the show, they had a young man who was leaving for his mission to Mexico get a mission call out of a giant mailbox, open it and hug his family and wave a flag.  Then it was our turn.  Mom opened a call to Latvia we hugged her and Wesley waved the Latvian Flag.  Then they had a sister missionary do it.  The fun thing is that she was leaving for a mission to Canada on the next wed.  To the same mission my nephew is at.  Totally cool.  Here were are all with our mailbox and flag.  
I love my family.  
 Nice flag waving, Wessy.  
 They had put cute sayings on the lockers. 
 Yeah, 2 active 2 year olds were quite the handful.  
 They provided everyone a yummy dinner.  They actually did a great job with how many kids there were.  


 What is a picnic dinner without some hill rolling.  

 We all wanted to do this, but Mya was the only one that slept.  
 Hyrum and Jonah were buddies.  Hyrum even held him on stage.  the only problem with being on stage was that the kids had done it so many times and were so comfortable with being there, Elly and Mia almost fell off the stage.  But Jonah did great with Hyrum.  
 Here are some of the church authorities coming in to watch.  



All in all it was a great opportunity to be involved.  Definitely some lifelong memories.   Thanks Mom and Dad for inviting us.