fused ankle

six months after shattering his ankle devin finally got his subtalar joint fused this past week. he has two screws through his joint now, and in the next little while the two bones will heal over the screws and fuse together. this is supposed to take away the pain while maintaining mobility. we are hopeful it will be a good thing in the long run. 

i've always been the one in surgery. this was my first time on the other side. waiting for your loved one is no fun. gratefully i had cope to hug and squeeze. we tried to make the best of our many long hours waiting in the hospital before, during, and after the surgery...

three good ankles, one bad one.

 thank heavens for modern medicine, OR rooms, pain killers, kind nurses, insurance, days off work, exceptional surgeons, amazing bodies, dinners from family, and prayers of loved ones. here's to ten quick healing weeks of crutches, knee scooters, hopping around, and three casts. you're a trooper dev.

woops

we did it.

we put up our christmas tree already. sorry if you're annoyed.

last year in europe we had no holidays but christmas around this time of year. no halloween and thanksgiving to take up time. no beating around the bush-just straight to the good stuff. we also had no family to spend this time with and we had really long work weeks. so we made a memory we'll never forget. 

by candlelight--since that is how our belgian friends taught us to have light at night, devin and i spent tons of hours cutting white paper into chains and snowflakes. we knew we were coming home for christmas so we didn't get a tree, but we made paper ones. my favorite part about this process was that the mindlessness involved in cutting paper freed our brains to chat about the good stuff. 

now, mind you, it was no anthro display. and is nothing like this

or this.

but we had fun. and it submerged us in the spirit of the season.

i feel like a different person after having experienced such anticipation around the best holiday, christmas. so this year rolled around and i still listened to christmas music while handing out the halloween candy. but instead of feeling like i was jumping the gun, i felt like i just wanted more happiness around me. so i busted out the tree. why wait?

four years and eleven inches later

babye bun. bonjour bob.

tips?

i have a sick baby for the first time. coughing and slight fever (around 99.5). what to do you do?

i've got the diffuser and humidifier running. we've stayed inside all day.

when do you go to the doctor? 

give me your wisdom.

why i know God hears our prayers

The other day I experienced a wondrous demonstration of God's love for me, nothing shy of magical. Let me share.


Devin and I haven't been to the temple together since our little angel was born. Last week, some dear friends offered to take him while we went to God's house. Our friends are ultra busy and it meant the world to us that they would give up one of their only free days, plus we felt really comfortable leaving Cope with them. We were so excited to finally be going together-some of you may know the feeling. It's hard to get there, and I haven't had as much anticipation to go there since maybe the day I was married! 


Anyway, we got there, put our things away and headed up to the chapel. I must've looked like I was hurrying to meet someone because a worker along my way told me that the group had just been escorted back to the room and invited me to go if I was with someone. I didn't know if Devin had already left in that group. I quickly got into the chapel, found him, and we debated about whether or not we should go into that session. There were people ahead of us in the chapel who were waiting for the next session, but we decided we may as well try. I was the last person to walk into the session. 


We took our sweet time in the celestial room, and even lingered chatting with some people we grew up with. As I was walking back to my locker in the dressing room, I passed by a familiar face. I had to do a second-take, but on second glance and with a little bit of hesitancy, I tapped her shoulder from behind and asked, "Are you sister Young?" It sounds, and I felt, ridiculous. The second she turned around I was certain! YES it was her.

(Quick explanation: This is a pic of many mission presidents of the El Salvador mission in the mission home. Sister Young is the fifth from the left in this picture, my mother is the third from the left. I first met the Youngs through her sweet daughter who lived in our first married ward, went to high school with Devin, and is a bosom friend. Sister Young and her husband served as mission presidents in El Salvador. When the temple was dedicated this August, they made the trip down. They met up with my parents, and even took a few gifts for my folks.)


Back to the story. She instantly said my name, which I thought was sweet that she remembered. We made small talk. She asked about my parents, and I thanked her for taking things down to them at the dedication. Then she gave me a hug and said, "This is from your mother in El Salvador." I squeezed her with every ounce I had and shed a few tears. She wisely told me that while their mission will be good, it too shall pass:) I thanked her deeply for the sweet words of encouragement and she was gone.


In a daze I sat in my dressing room, the tears really rolling at this point, and thought about the tender mercies of the Lord. He led me to the temple on a certain day, when certain trusting friends offered to watch Cope, just in time to walk by a specific sister who would invite for us to attend the specific session even though there were people still waiting in the chapel for the next session, to be the last couple in the session, and stay in the celestial room just long enough to pass by Sister Young who also was led to the temple at that specific time as well ALL so the Lord could show me he loved me. Boy did I feel loved. I think it was the best gift I've received since my little boy was put in my arms--being able to hug someone who had just hugged my mother:) You see, of  all the people I know, Sister Young understands our situation. She knows exactly what it is like to live in El Salvador. She knows what it is like to miss grandchildren's births. She just knows. And Heavenly Father sent her to me so that I could have a hug from someone who knows. 


The tears roll easily again as I think about the beauty of it all. I can't be positive of the amount of times that I've longed to be near, hug, talk to, or see my mother in the past few months, but I know it in the thousands. God heard those longings, and for a few minutes that special day, he perfectly choreographed a meeting with the closest human on earth to my own mother. Something I very much needed, am deeply grateful for, and will never forget.


I know God hears our prayers.

nothing to say

kiss for mama

cope has always had a thing for his daddy. after two weeks away, the day devin came home from china cope smiled for the first time. for a little while after, he would only smile when dev did this specific silly gesture and sound, no matter how ridiculously often i tried mimicking the goofy sound. devin gives cope a bath more frequently than i do, and gets smiles endlessly. not the case with my baths.

i'm excited to see their father son bond really bloom.

in the first few months i was sure cope was gonna be a daddy's boy. he probably really is, but the other day he giggled for me and still does giggle for me. thank you son for letting mama know you love her too.

i guess i'm just interpreting something small like a first giggle, as that special mama's boy connection i so hope for. one thing is for sure, i'm glad to have another little protector around, another someone who will treat me royally like his daddy does. i can't wait to do things like scout banquets, throwing baseballs in the backyard, and shopping for mission suits (i don't like thinking about those long 2 years yet just the suit shopping). i have zero experience with merit badges, sports rules, or serving a mission-but i want to become well versed in whatever it takes to raise a righteous son.

images by. and a new little polaroid converter

made out like a bandit

in honor of our belgian love, we went french last night. 

French Bandits.

mostly, i wanted this costume because i think any infant costume is one million times better if it has something to go over their eyes. so cute.

we forgot his money bag below

those pictures were a rarity. most of the time cope had his mask on he looked more like this. too bad i thought it was so adorable.

we had a great party at the glaziers.

we made chocolate bowls and orange dream machine ice cream for dessert.

we were able to skype with mommer and papa. 

we always let the kids trick or treat the different rooms in the house. 

mommer and papa did long distance trick or treating via the computer:)

cope posed in his first cousin couch picture.

 holidays are so much better with kiddos.

catch up

one week in one post:

cope's first visit to temple square. the happiness of that place rubbed off on him.

 sittin up for the first time alone in the bumbo. no big deal mom.

 

tangled up asleep. 

 and lastly, a halloween preview.

we missed this holiday last year. but we sure have made up for it this year. i like halloween.

 hope yours is spooky.

3 months is my favorite age yet.

cope smiles on a regular basis now. is slowly lengthening his sleep patterns. clasps his hands and chews on his fingers. finally passed 12 pounds after a month of plateau-ing. fits into newborn clothes still. blows out his diaper almost every morning. still dislikes tummy time. is a more efficient eater. can sit in his bumbo. snorts a lot. does his very best to hold up his large noggin. loves outside. usually is caught with expressive eyebrows going on. has less gas and spit up problems. follows our faces around the room. coos repeatedly right before he falls asleep in the car seat. loves his mobile. can almost hold a binki in on his own for longer than 30 seconds. loves being bounced around and nuzzled. started displaying the most endearing legitimate frown. grows nails like weeds.

i love everything about this age. he is still so small yet getting so big.