Family Weekend

We want to thank you all for the comments that you have left. I know you think of them as something simple but, let me tell you that they mean SO much. Those words of encouragment and love really mean a lot to us.

This weekend has been one of good and bad days. On saturday we had a family Christmas party to go to for lunch. Everyone was so kind and those of you that even came up to say that you just didn't know what to say except that they were thinking and praying for us. Thank you so much. It makes it just a little bit easier knowing we have family that cares so much for us and all that is going on.

Let me back up for just a minute...this week was finals week. Reed finished his last final on wednesday and I have never been so thankful. On friday we both were going to have the evening off together and we wanted to make a memory with our 3 children and our unborn child.

We decided to go see the lights at temple square. What better time to see the salt lake temple than at Christmas time. We also decided to use this time to also pick out a premie/newborn outfit at a specialty store about an hour from our house. It's apparently really hard to find the really small sizes of white outfits...most stores offer 0-3 month sizes and bigger.

So as soon as I pulled in the driveway...Reed had the car packed with hot chocolate, gloves and boots. I hurried and changed out of my scrubs to something that would be a little warmer and we left.

We wanted to have the kids help us pick out some stuff (like a blanket) we'll need but, they ended up being more interested with the toy area which was just fine because the kids really didn't understand that we were buying a burial outfit. WOW. That is really hard to say. It gave Reed and I time to talk about why one outfit over another and we both decided on the same one and it was soft and perfect. What better could we want for our little one? It makes me sad to think about this outfit but comforting to know we choose it together for our son and we both love it.

We finished at the store and got in the car to head to the salt lake temple. We were giving the kids hints about where we were going as a family (they knew we were going to the store and then somewhere for a surprise). Reed gave a hint that it was sometimes called "the mountain of the Lord". Kaden immediately gets excited that we are going to the mountains. He thought we were going to play in the snow like we did when we got our Christmas tree. I just laughed and told Reed we needed to give easier clues.

We finally found parking a few blocks away (apparently the tabernacle Christmas concert was going on that night and we had forgotten). We walked around enjoying the snow and the kids love the lights. We were enjoying the splendor of all the lights and I wanted a picture. I had all three kids stand by the lights by the bell tower. I got one picture and the camera said the battery was dead. So the picture above is the only picture I have and I didn't even get a family picture yet. We then walked over to see the nativities by the reflection pool. We were standing by the reflection pool where joseph, mary and baby jesus are floating right in the middle. I try to take a picture and it is totally dead. A mother next to me asks if I would be willing to take their family picture. I oblidged and took a few pictures for them. I asked her if they had any double A batteries. She said they didn't and that their camera took a really weird battery that they had to special order. She asked if she could take a picture for us and would email us the picture. We said that would be great and she took a family picture at the reflection pool in front of the salt lake temple. I really hope and pray she sends me that picture because I really would like that picture.

Sunday (today) has ended up being the not so great day. Why...who knows? I woke up just sad about the entire situation. Reed and I were able to spend quite a bit of time talking before the kids awoke. I will cherish these times when we can talk so openly about our feelings and everything that is going on. I am so thankful for the gospel and for eternal families. I am thankful for these hard days just so that I know when to enjoy the good ones when they come.