Mom comes back! ... with Dad!

Lucky for us, the fun didn't stop at Jason's wedding.  Mom and Dad decided that rather than fly back home to Kentucky before their preplanned Maui vacation, they'd just hang out with us for a weeks.  Dad set up a temporary office in our living room, and mom continued her time hanging out with me and the kids.  I am amazed at how hard working my dad is.  Every morning, he was up at 5 am to work east coast time hours and when he wasn't doing that, he was either hiking or building.  By the time two weeks was up, we had new shelves in our garage and a much needed cart for my dance floor.  Our now organized garage feels amazing!  The highlight for me was taking grandpa out for a bowling night.  It was strange saying a final goodbye after a summer full of visits.  David told my mom, "Grandma, this is always your home."

Wedding!

Jason and Anjali were married September 30.  It was such a joyous occasion!  Both bride and groom were stunning.  The flower girls were also pretty cute.  It was especially wonderful to have all the family together.  We did a lot of eating, laughing, and topped the night off with a huge dance party.  Can't think of a better group to celebrate with!

 

Mom came to town

We always joke that mom comes to visit at the most chaotic times in our lives.  The timing of her visit during Johnny's debute was no different.  We all knew that new house, new neighborhood, and new baby would be challenging, but at two weeks postpartum the house nearly flooded with a slab leak.  Suddenly we were also dealing with home warranty calls, plumbing calls, and no running water for five days.  I truly felt like I was going to die.  Sweet Mom had the best sense of humor the entire time.  She did every thing she could think of to cheer us up and made sure when she left that we had ample supply of food in the fridge and homemade cookies. She was my ministering angel that week.  I hope that someday I can do the same for my daughters.

Johnny at two weeks

Getting used to life with a baby

monitoring the fight over who gets to hold him next...


making sure the second youngest still feels important..


embracing slow mornings with pajamas on until noon..


trying every imaginable method to find the perfect sleeping method with hopes that baby will sleep longer at night!

Disneyland- California Adventure

Ruth and David were both gifted Disneyland tickets for their birthdays, so of course, the anticipation for the big day was torture!  Finally, the day after I brought Johnny home from the hospital, Joseph loaded the three older kids and gave them a day to remember!  Since it was the middle of the week, the first week of school, and over 100 degrees, the park was quite empty.  As I review these pictures, I am quite stunned to see how much older these three are getting.  Seems like the entrance of a baby always spurs a growth spurt in the rest of the family.

Creative or Crazy?!!

Symphony in the Park

Towards the end of July, the city of Mission Viejo partners with the Pacific Symphony to do "symphony in the park".  It is a wonderful night with lots of free crafts, interactive music experiences, and a great concert at the end.   We were quite surprised to see a man on a jetpack fly in during the opening number.  Impressive!

Splash

Summer isn't summer without getting wet!

Courage

Visitors

Getting to know you..

Though recovery from the birth of a baby is not fun, having time alone with Johnny in the hospital was very special.  As we were wheeled to the recovery room, all the nurses had to stop us to find out what this 10 lb baby looked like.  I felt very proud!  From the moment he was born, he was a hungry little fellow!  He also HATED to be poked, or changed, or taken away from ME!  We had lots of time for snuggles, which I'm sure was as calming for him as it was for me.  I sure love this little boy.

August 28, 2017

John Joseph Larsen.  10 lbs 6 oz.

I Broke a Rib

Now that I am four months past pregnancy, it is difficult to relate to my past pregnant self.  What I do remember is that I repeatedly told myself "never again".  Oh, how I have loved my babies!  What a sweet miracle they are.  I love being a joint creator with Heavenly Father in creating a home for His beloved children.  There is no other role that I'd rather have.   Physically speaking, however, this was the most difficult thing I have ever done.  All I felt was pain, pain, and more pain, whether standing, sitting, walking, or sleeping.  I truly suffered.  Just when it felt like things couldn't be worse, I slid off a couch cushion one week before my due date and felt a jolting "pop" in my rib cage.  As I tried to sleep the following night, my ribs continued to crunch and the increased pain only confirmed that something was really wrong.  One more day passed by and then night came again, only this time the pain was so bad that I sat on my rocking chair and cried the hours away.  Finally at 4 am, I decided that if I didn't get medical help, I would just have to die on the spot.  Sweet Pam showed up at 5 am, and we were on our way to the ER.  

A few X-rays confirmed the damage...broken rib.  Since pain meds were out of the question for fear of hurting the baby, we decided to proceed with induction.  At around 8 am we found ourselves in the labor and delivery department, waiting for baby to come.  My epidural was the first time in months that I was relieved of pain and I was in heaven!  Nap, book, and did I mention, no pain?!   Thus began the beginning of a new chapter in our lives called "baby #5".

First Day of School

Seems like we spent all summer just waiting... waiting for birthdays to celebrate, for baby to come, and for school to begin.  The children are very happy at their new school and seem to have excellent teachers.  James is in 3rd with Ms. Swanson, Ruth is in 2nd with Ms Myers, and David is a 6th grader at Niguel Middle School.