Straight from the horse's mouth

I laughed out loud at this conversation today.

Daddy: Ellen, you're cute. Did you know that?

Ellen smiles.

Daddy: Jack Jack, you're cute, too.

Jack Jack: No, I'm not.

Ellen: Only girls are cute!

Daddy: What are boys?

Ellen: Boys are nasty!

Jack Jack: I'm nasty.

There you have it.

Moving right along

Ellen, Jack Jack, and Rose have been living it up at Nana and Pa's house since we got here Wednesday night.

I have re-learned a few things in the past couple of weeks:

1. I have amazing friends, my sister-in-law and cousin's wife especially included.

2. There is no end to the usefulness of Magic erasers and vinegar.

3. Packing up all my possessions makes it easier to get rid of things I don't need but have been holding on to for years.

4. It is possible to drive by myself for 10 hours with three relatively calm kids in a minivan.

5. My husband is a very hard worker and is very organized.

6. There are still locations in the USA where no cell phone service is available, and I now live there.

7. Everything happens for a reason, even if I don't know what that reason is.

I never thought I would say it, but there are things I will miss about Lubbock, Texas:

1. Big skies

2. Mostly cool, dry weather

3. Relative lack of bugs

4. Snow

5. The 58th Street LDS Church building

6. Proximity to a Temple

7. Parks

8. Ranch Day

9. Spanish Storytime

10. Market Street

Most of all, I will miss the friends I've made over the past four years, some of whom have already moved on themselves, and some of whom always stay behind. Playgroup, Book group, Mothering meetings, Sage Preschool, Peanuts friends, and Primary, thank you for the fun and friendship, love and lessons you've taught me and my children. Thank you especially for your help, hugs, and encouraging words in the past days and weeks. You are amazing.

Jack Jack is thankful.

When Daddy started looking for a job several months ago, I talked to the kids about praying that Daddy would get a good job. That didn't seem very important to them, and Ellen was even a little disturbed when I mentioned moving to a different house. Then we talked about what that would mean, and that maybe we could live closer to Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Pa. Every prayer the kids have said since that conversation has included a petition that Daddy get a job so we can live closer to their grandparents.

"Please bless Daddy to get a job in Waco so we can live by Grandma and Grandpa." -Ellen

"Thank you for this day, thank you for the food, and I want to live by Nana and Pa." - Jack

I'm just praying that Jack will find enough work to keep us afloat.

Since my sweet children were praying for two different locations, I was amused and interested to see how it would all turn out.

When we started talking about moving and began packing up boxes, Jack Jack's prayer one day became, "Thank you for the food, and we get to live by Nana and Pa!" He was really excited to inform Heavenly Father of that fact. I don't know if we discussed it or he heard it somewhere else, or realized it on his own, but the next day and every day since, his prayer has been modified more.

"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, thank you for the food, thank you that we get to live with Nana and Pa, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Ellen, Rose, Jack, and I are thankful, too.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

I realize that writing a blog post is a very impersonal way to communicate very personal information, and I apologize for not being able to speak in person with all of you who read this. That said, I would still like to use our blog as a way to keep family and friends updated on some recent and ongoing events in our life.

A couple of weeks ago, Jack and I went to a routine ultrasound to find out if we were having a baby boy or a baby girl this coming November. We found out it's a boy! And we also found out that he has a serious heart defect and were referred to a pediatric cardiologist.

The cardiologist confirmed the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome and discussed treatment possibilities with us, all of which require surgery almost immediately after our baby is born. A prenatal diagnosis is an advantage for us and our child, because the doctors and surgeon can have a better idea of what to expect and begin to make plans now for the necessary procedures.

After several weeks of research, discussion, consulting with family, meeting with doctors, attending the temple and lots of prayer, Jack and I have decided that the best course of action for our entire family is to move closer to our immediate family so that Ellen, Jack Jack, and Rose will have the stability they will need when life gets crazy in November.

We will be moving to live with Jack's parents, Jack and Cheryl (or Nana and Pa) Starks, in Gilmer, Texas, east of Dallas. Upon moving to Gilmer, we will meet with a pediatric cardiologist and other doctors based in Dallas and associated with a children's hospital there.

Answers to few questions you may have at this point:

I will have a relatively uneventful, but highly monitored pregnancy. The baby is completely safe while I am still carrying him, but ultrasounds and echos can give doctors the information they need to plan for the right type of surgery.

I will most likely have a C-section. Due to the particular abnormalities associated with the syndrome our baby demonstrates, he may need surgery immediately after birth.

I am okay. I am married to a healthy survivor of a different congenital heart defect who holds the priesthood and understands the miracle of modern medicine. I also know that Heavenly Father loves us and knows us. His plan is the best one of all. I have had experiences in the past several months that I feel have prepared me to understand and know that this particular "trial" can be a blessing to me and my family if I will stay close to the Lord and trust him. I have experienced an entire range of emotions that I am sure will repeat over the next year. For now, I feel peace.

Feel free to call, write, comment, ask questions, or offer suggestions. We will miss our Lubbock friends greatly and hope to stay in touch with as many of you as possible.

Wahoooo!

Jack Jack has reached a major milestone. After several months of discussion, instruction, explanation, and demonstration, Jack Jack finally has shown some interest in becoming more self-sufficient in personal hygiene. I would have preferred just talking about it for awhile longer, but he was begging me to let him put on his Lightning McQueen underwear every morning.

So we've been spending the last two weeks in a concentrated effort on "potty classes." When I say "we," I mean Ellen, Rose, Daddy, and Mommy. Oh yes, and Jack Jack, too. On one of the first days, Ellen was more excited for Jack to run to the bathroom than he was every time the reminder buzzer buzzed. As she accompanied him to the bathroom, she informed him that she had saved her potty seat just for him to use, because she is a big girl and doesn't need it anymore. Someday when he is a big boy he won't need the potty seat anymore either. Then she gave him detailed instructions on where to place his hands so he wouldn't "fall in." I was trying not to laugh throughout the completely serious training being received by an equally serious trainee. By the next day Jack Jack was an expert at not falling in, and hasn't given the potty seat a look since.

Since I'm a wimp, I put a diaper on Jack whenever we needed to go anywhere, which was almost every afternoon, or whenever he had more accidents than I could handle. But I knew there was no turning back the morning he came to wake me up at 6:30 to tell me that he had woken up, gone to the bathroom, taken off his diaper, peed in the toilet, and put on underwear. "Can I have a treat, Mom?" !!! (Can I have a party, Jack?)

Yesterday was the first day Jack Jack left the house with underwear on. It was a successful experience since I actually had enough brain cells to tell him to go to the bathroom before we left, and took him to go once while we were out. Today while we were at a friend's house, he came running out of the bathroom completely dressed to tell me he had just taken care of business. All. by. himself.

Also almost overnight, Jack Jack has learned how to pedal a tricycle, climb every climbing structure on the playground, and put on his own shirt, pants, and socks. What the heck? He's exploding developmentally. He'll be 3 1/2 at the end of August. He's not such a little boy anymore. Sniff.