Dear Laura, We love having you in our family so very much. You are growing, but not too fast, and we are soaking up every last remnant of the newborn phase. You are eating really well. The first month of your life there was concern about your tongue being tied on the sides of your mouth. …
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The First Six Weeks, Part 7: Laura’s Blessing
One of the beautiful gifts Grandma gave us was the opportunity to bless Laura Carolyn, who she is named after, in her home with all of our family. Thursday morning, the day after the funeral and our last day in Utah, Andrew’s family drove down to Provo to join us. My mom prepared the dress…
The First Six Weeks, Part 6: Funeral
Monday morning the kids were up and going around 8am and Andrew and I rolled out of bed sometime after. Emily and Nathan slept in the children’s room and by the time we made it in there they had pulled out just about every toy in the closet. A dream come true for those two….
What I Learned from the Hard Things in 2017
This last year has been a continuous flow of difficult circumstances. I spent the first few months of the year learning in the waiting. As soon as I had found peace there I became pregnant and experienced a physically challenging pregnancy. The physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion and pain continued for nine months to varying…
The First Six Weeks, Part 5: To Iowa and Utah
The rest of Wednesday, December 16 was spent in preparations for going to Iowa AND flying to Utah. Andrew ran errands with the kids while I packed. We had a late dinner and went to bed. Thursday we finished packing and cleaning and drove to Iowa. The kids settled right in playing with toys while…
The First Six Weeks, Part 4: Jackson Family Christmas
We were planning on spending Christmas in Iowa with my family so we had our own little Christmas on December 16. The night before was our pretend Christmas Eve and the kids opened their pajamas. Once they were snuggled in bed, Laura and I got the presents set up and Andrew finished a few last…
The First Six Weeks, Part 3: The Christmas Season
At the end of November I put together a short list of things to celebrate the Christmas season. The very first thing we did was decorate the Christmas tree. My first solo day with three kids we had 10 hours to ourselves to make ornaments out of cardboard. We made a few that helped us…
The First Six Weeks Part Two: Grandma Jackson Visits!
On Dec 4 Grandma Jackson arrived to spend a week with us. Her timing was perfect. I was worn out after a week of taking care of the three kids while Andrew was busy trying to get ready for finals. When she arrived I slowed way down and focused on recovering and Andrew focused on…