Case Life: Grateful Monday

Monday, March 30, 2009

Grateful Monday

I have the feeling that it is time for me to express my gratitude for some things. I am thankful for the power of prayer. Yesterday I was running a few minutes late for church (as usual) and Dan was in Midway for a guys night out. My MIL, Sue, took Bailee with her to church so they could be on time and then I was just going to take Afton when I was ready. I got ready by 8:57 (church is at 9) and went to grab my keys and be on my way. Well, the keys were not in any of the 5 places they usually are and I did not know what to do. Oh yeah, Bailee was asked to give the scripture in primary and I really wanted to be there for that so staying home was not an option. I looked outside and it was just really windy, so I bundled Afton up in a scarf, coat and blanket and put her in the stroller and started walking. I am grateful to have a church within walking distance of me, but it was VERY cold and the wind was even colder. I was about halfway to church when I said a little prayer to calm the wind at least until I turned the corner and so it would blow from behind and not onto Afton's and my face. Well a few seconds later, a red SUV pulled up and this nice lady asked through her window if she could give me a ride. I said that would be great and I was just going to the church on the next street. She was not LDS, but was heading to her own church in SLC and said she saw me and Afton and the Lord told her to stop and give us a ride. I am so grateful that there are people out there that listen to the spirit. I wonder if I would have done that for anyone else - especially if I didn't know them. It definitely helped us.. I am also grateful for my family's health. I don't usually do this on my blog, but I have seen it done and so I will try it out. My neice is having surgery today. Please include her and my sister's family in your prayers. She has struggled with so many health problems during the 3 years of her life and Tiff and Phil have done so great to avoid too many hospital stays. They have tried to do the least intrusive option every time and have included the Lord in every decision made. Well, it has come to the point for Abby to have surgery. She needs an ileostomy and they are going to give her a colostomy bag. I think this is the best decision so Abby will not be so uncomfortable all the time. No one really knows how she will respond to the anesthetic and obviously this surgery will change her and her family's way of life. I believe that if any family can and will still give their child the best and most normal quality of life, it is my sister and her husband, but they could still use as many prayers as they can get. i am grateful for all my friends and family and the support they are to me. I want to be better because of their examples in my life. Well I didn't mean for this entry to be so long.. but that always happens with my posts, so I guess I'm not that surprised! I am excited to maybe see some of you before I move for the summer!

3 comments:

Angie said...: What a neat experience, Janelle - It's nice to be reminded that we are being watched over. I hope Abby's surgery goes well.; March 31, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Tricia said...: Thanks for the great story. I love to hear things like that. Tell Tiff that I wish her little Abby the best. Thanks for letting me know about Misty's homecoming. I think we're going to try and make it if we can find out the time. Hope to see you guys soon!; April 1, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Travis and Cristan said...: Lookie who I found! I went to Misty's Homecoming today-(missed you) and we got to talking about blogs. I just started one and Trish said you all have one! I am so excited to find yours! I love being able to keep up with eachother's families.
I hope everything went well with your niece's surgery. Its not fair that little ones have to go through so much. I will pray for them.
If you want to catch up with us my blog is - travisstoryfamily.blogspot.com; April 12, 2009 at 10:34 PM

Bailee-isms

12/20/08 We were at the annual Case Christmas party. Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dwayne were nice enough to buy us Sizzler lunch and then had a program at their home. Before I tell the story, I need to clarify that Grandma Betty is from England and still has her accent - which I love! Bailee wanted to ride in Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dwayne's car from Sizzler but we told her no since her car seat was already in ours. Bailee: "I just want to go with them because I love them so much." Grandma Sue : " I know, and they love you, too." Bailee: "But Grandma Betty says it weiood" (wierd without the "r" sound)
11/10/08 We were "puppy sitting" for Dave and Sue overnight so they could spend a night in Midway. Part of Bailee's bedtime routine is that she gets to have "snuggle-wuggles" right before bed every night. Snuggle wuggles started as being a Backyardigans show but has evolved to being a choice between playing make believe with toys, a show, or something else she really wants to do before bed. Well this particular night I gave her the choice between Dragon Tales or going to the store with me and she chose the show. When it was over and I said it was time to brush teeth and go to bed, she started to cry and throw one of her tantrums. She said she wanted to go to the store with me, I then reminded her that she chose the show over going to the store. She replied very seriously that when she chose the show, she was just teasing me. Very smart response.. it didn't fly and she was not a happy girl going to bed that night
11/12/08 We were driving home from Dave and Sue's and Bailee said "What does 'age' mean?" Dan and I weren't quite sure what she said, so we asked her to repeat it and she did. We still weren't sure if she said "H" or "age." Usually she can explain what she is saying by thinking of another word or saying it in a sentence. We asked her to say it in a sentence or tell us when and how she heard it. She stammered a little, then said "You know, like my feet are big." Dan and I tried very hard not to laugh and she finally said "Like I am a big girl." So then I said.. "Okay, you mean 'age'. That is like how old you are, so your age would be 3. When someone asks you what your age is, you would say 3." So Dan said "Yeah. It is like someone asking you how old you are. What are you going to say when someone asks you what your age is?" and Bailee said, "That I am a big girl!" Maybe you had to be there or it was pretty late, but it was very funny.
Grandma Sue bought a doctors kit for the grandkids. It came with a couple of cards that showed what to do with the "tools" - kind of like directions. When we were cleaning up all the parts to it, Bai couldn't find the cards and she was saying over and over.. "where are the indirections? " I think she was mixing up the words "instructions" and "directions." It is very cute that her vocabulary is growing so fast that she just has a ton of information to sort through. I am biased, but I definitely think she is a smartie!
Bailee was trying to get Dan to fill up her aqua-doodle pen with water so she could color on her mat, but apparently Dan wasn't jumping on the task. He continued to get ready for work and gather his things when Bailee said very demandingly "Dad, when you are all done with this world stuff, will you please fill this up with water?!" It definitely got his attention and he filled it up with water and she went on her way.
Bailee was talking with her cousin, Aliyah, and her grandma Packer about places they have been and things they have seen. My mom brought up that Aliyah was in a whale's mouth at Storybook land and Bai was in a shark's mouth in Disneyworld. They were laughing about that and my mom said, "Weren't you scared in the mouth?" and Bailee looked at my mom with her index finger pointed at her and said, " Remember grandma, those things are just PRETEND!" My mom thought it was very cute how Bailee was trying to comfort her on the scary pretend things that are out there.
Bailee is pretty much a vegetarian and refuses to eat meat - except for chicken nuggets and taco soup). In colorado, they took out a lunchable jr. and she wouldn't eat the meat. Well, someone told her that the meat would make her jump higher. She had a couple bites of the meat and walked away. Sue asked "Did you like it?" and Bai said "yeah, I am going to see if I can jump higher now, though." She jumped and everyone cheered - Maybe she will continue to eat meat and end up in the olympics!
Bailee was riding home from a dinner in the back seat of papa Dave and grandma Sue's car. Her uncle Andy was sitting next to her talking to her when the sun came shining into the car all of a sudden and her grandparents both burst into song "Here Comes the Sun, do do do do.." Uncle Andy then whispered to Bai "Grandma and Grandpa are getting old." and bailee replied, "Grandma's not old, but Papa is."
Being the great English buff that he is, Bailee's uncle Jason was trying to enhance Bailee's vocabulary by teaching her some new words. One of the words was "plump." He told her about having a nice, big, juicy, plump apple. Then he went on to explain that it meant "big." Bailee then was able to catch on and said, "Like you, uncle Jason?"
When Bailee says prayers, she really lets Heavenly Father into her heart. She has said things like, "please bless that I can watch a movie tomorrow. Please bless that I can get tinkerbell makeup at the store. Please bless I can sleep the whole night in my bed. Please bless we will grow up healthy and go to heaven."
Bai was helping grandma Sue wrap some baptism gifts and asked her what they were for. Sue said that they were for her primary kids who were going to be baptized and when Bailee turned 8, she would also be baptized. Bai looked at grandma like she was out in the night and said " Oh, no, grandma, I am going to be a doctor when I grow up!"
We were leaving grandma Sue and papa Dave's so Bai went and hugged grandma and said "I love you, grandma." Dan told her to go and tell grandpa the same thing so she went and hugged grandpa and said " Papa, I love grandma."
Bailee thought her pee would be pink after she drank her strawberry milk. After I told her it would still be yellow or clear, she still had her hopes up. When we got home, she ran to the bathroom to go potty and we heard her disappointed voice come from the bathroom saying "Yep, it's still yellow."