This year's Christmas Card

I am so excited for Christmas! I am actually more prepared this year than I have been in a looooong time! Today it snowed and it was so beautiful. I got up early and wrapped a few presents. The kids are so excited. Bring on the holiday!

Dusting off the blog.....

Wow! I'm back! Just thought I would jump in and dust off this old blog and see if I can get it up and going again! For the record I was determined to keep "regularly" well, I can't say I have been as diligent as I had once originally thought I would be, but who knew that this wonderful and challenging call of mothering would make it nearly impossible at times to pursue other interests that I would deem important, challenging and/or fun? (like keeping a blog, for instance!) Alas, (sigh), here I am!

It's almost 9pm. I am tired! I honestly cannot remember when I have had FULL nights sleep and to be quite honest, since I sat down to work on a few things and just spend a little time chatting with my wonderful hubby, I have had too many visits from people in my family 5 years and under to count! I keep reminding myself tonight that these years go so fast and that I WILL enjoy the moment! Of course, it's easier for me to tell myself  this when the visits are at 9pm and not 3am. Seriously, I love my kids and family so much. Well, I guess I better close for now because my older daughter just walked in. I promise to be back sooner..........

YIKES AND OUCH.....

OK what is it about teenage boys that they can think of the most unbelievably crazy activities all in the name of fun! My goal, as a mother, is to keep these boys SAFE and ALIVE!!!! Well, with that being said, I received a phone call Monday afternoon -

Spencer: Sister Croxford, Jesse just fell and he's hurt and freaking out!

Mary: I clarified with Spencer where he was and what happened and luckily Bryce was home so I quickly explained to him and left him with all the little ones playing in our backyard and headed a few blocks away.

I found poor Jesse laying on the parking strip grass in pain and pretty out of it. A few of our ward member (some were adults) were there thank goodness and we all tried to figure out what was wrong. I tried asking him what happened, what hurt (his shoulder and whole left side of his body, and his head. I asked what happened and he didn't remember. His eyes mostly remained closed with some quiet groans of pain! I tried to help him into my car but when I started to lift it was clear he was in too much pain. I needed my hubby to come and help me decide quickly what to do. Spencer and another friend Tiann, took off in the golf cart to our house to take over babysitting until Megan could get there (I had called her after arriving at the accident to see if she could come and she said yes) Bryce came as soon as Spencer and Tiann arrived at our house. Jesse asked me several times what had happened....

Jesse was on his rip stick holding onto a rope and being pulled by the golf cart (the latest and greatest trick) anyway, he wiped out! Unfortunately he wasn't wearing a helmet (which actually had been a topic we had discussed just a couple of nights before this happened) the neighbors had helped him off the road to the parking strip and that's right before I arrived. Bryce and I decided after trying once again to move him coupled with the idea that he was really pretty out of it still, to call for more help to get him to the hospital. Bryce and Brother Anderson gave Jesse a Priesthood blessing. An ambulance came and took him to American Fork Hospital Emergency.

They did some xrays, a cat scan and this is what we found out......

Jesse had fallen on his left side, broke his collar bone and had a bunch of road rash all down that side.

 

The bump on his head had caused a mild concussion as well as a brain contusion.

Poor Jesse! Dr. Glade decided to admit him for a 24 hour observation to make sure that the bruise on his brain would heal OK. He told us that first night would be really painful since they were unable to give him a strong pain killer because they didn't want the side effects of a drug like that masking what he would be feeling so they would be able to correctly assess his confusion level etc. He was given over the counter Tylenol!

That night was really awful. Bryce and I were up with him all night. He was extremely nauseated, his head hurt really badly,his shoulder, hip etc hurt, he didn't remember what happened at first wasn't sure where he was etc and was very sleepy. When he was moved to his room from the emergency room he woke up for a bit and was able to chat with the Dr. and some visitors, Spencer and his mother, Melinda, Jason and Jayden (they came in with balloons, treats and a cute card). He had also had a couple of visitors in the emergency room, Brother Lay and Brother Kendall. (we have an awesome ward) I ran home to get some stuff for the night and Megan gave me some pictures the little kids had made for Jesse.

As the night continued on, the nausea got really bad as well as the pain. Finally at 3 am they gave him a stronger pain medication. His nausea continued and they gave him some medicine for that. Finally at about 4:30 am. He fell asleep. Bryce and I shared a cot in his room and we all slept for about 2 1/2 hours. Fortunately, Megan and Weston stayed at our house with our children so we were able to stay with Jesse. Tiann had stayed all through the evening with Megan and helped her get the children to bed as well as helped clean up in my house. Oh, how I appreciated everyone who helped out! What a blessing!

Jesse was able to come home the next day in the early evening.

Bless his heart. Spencer had left balloons and goodies on his bed because he had left to go out of town. He had also gone over earlier that day and watched the kiddos for a couple of hours to help out Megan, Tiann stopped by and also brought him something. What thoughtful friends! We had many phone calls and stoppers to see how Jesse was doing. We were so amazed at the thoughtfulness extended!

Jesse is doing very well. The second night was much better than the first and each night and day continues to be better. A week has past now and he is amazing. I know it's because of the wonderful blessings of the priesthood, his faith and the great care he received from all who helped him. I am so grateful for his safety and once again counting the many blessings I am showered with.

So.....once again......All is well at the Croxfords.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS AND HELP!

Summer Fun!

We have had a very cold and wet spring! (In fact, my garden is only half in! Hopefully I will get to the rest of planting it this week!

I had so much fun the other day with my kids. We have a water pad near our house and I have a feeling we will be frequenting it this summer. The kids had so much fun and so did I. Melinda and Jayden were with us too. Here are some pictures.

Just a little ramblings....

Boy, is today really March 26? I'm gazing out the window and I see snow! Yes, it's snowing here right now! (Nathan will be delighted as he has been talking about more snow for the past couple of weeks) Yesterday was sunny, a bit windy (enough for a kite which we flew a bit), and plenty of outside play on bikes, cars, tramps, swings, and more! I love this time of year. Today is cool. A time to stay in more. A time to clean the house and wash clothes, plan meals & grocery lists, fine tune gardening plans and of course, plan Easter! The kids are weary! We have been very busy this week. Late nights, early mornings, hmm, we are still trying to adapt to daylight savings!

Jesse was out of school yesterday. He was feeling sick. He worked so hard to reach a goal he has set  for himself for this school quarter that just ended. I think the poor kid wore himself out - between school, basketball, scouts. lessons and friends! He did reach his goal - straight A's!! Hooray Jesse. I am so proud of you!

Poor little Abby has had another cold! She brings tissues to me to wipe her cute little puggy, red nose. She has the sweetest little smile. I hate seeing her under the weather! Luckily the rest of us are all well. We had the dentist look at her front tooth the other day. He told us that the front tooth and the tooth next to it was semi fused together. This is not all that uncommon and the permanent teeth will have individual roots so that will not be the case forever. Nothing serious.

Nathan pointed out his thumb to me this morning for the first time. He has a little scar tissue on it where the other side was removed when he was a baby. Nathan was born with a "double thumb tip" I told him about how his thumb was when he was a baby and how the Dr. had performed some surgery so he would have one tip instead of two. I reassured him that if the skin bothered him, the Dr. could probably do something with that too! He was satisfied and went on his merry way!

We celebrated Kolton's birthday on Tuesday. My little grandson is now 4 years old! Wow! He is a complete delight. He loves to help out right now and is a great little helper. The kids love having all the grand kids over! They never tire of each other's company. Little Jayden is getting old enough to be right there with them too! It's so cute seeing him sit up and giggle at them and of course, they love to show off and make him smile and laugh. Micah's favorite thing right now is the glider! He loves it and spends most of his time when we go out back, on the glider. We have an amazing neighborhood. No one around us has back yard fences and the kids have so much fun playing on each others yard toys. We love our neighbors and neighborhood.

Well, I am off to get started with my "chores"! Again, I am gazing out the window and the snow has stopped, the sky is still cloudy but now bright and it's just plain beautiful. I love spring!

PS  Here comes the sun now!

Guess what we did today?

You can't build a snowman without having a snowball fight!

Bryce always manages to get me by surprise!

Of course, I ALWAYS get even ;o)

Everyone got into the act!

Bryce nails me a good one here and Melinda is snapping this picture knowing full well that what Jesse is going

to do to me next! Of course, I haven't got a clue!

Jesse burried Josh!

Our finished product "Frosty Croxford"

These two little angels managed to nap through our whole outside fun!

From Sunshine to Snow!

YESTERDAY was beautiful. We spent all afternoon flying kites! Meg, Wes and the boys dropped by and we all had a great time. At first the wind was inconsistent and the kites swooped and dived but then it smoothed out and the kites were fine - that is until one kite "flew away"! The kite left was enough to keep the kiddos, busy, sharing and having a very fun time in the yard. Boy, I absolutely love days like this! What fun!

TODAY winter is back! That quick! That's how it is here in Utah! I have to say, the weather painted a beautiful picture outside. I just love it! I'm hoping that we will get enough snow and it will stick long enough to build that snowman I have been promising the kids! We'll see how it all comes out tomorrow!

Poor Jesse woke up feeling sick this morning. Fortunately, by early afternoon he felt well enough to hit part of school. He has tomorrow off because of teacher workday. We were hoping to head up to Bear Lake but I guess we will stick around home this weekend. See if we can get some family games going or something else fun!

A Wonderful Day....

It is so beautiful here today! The temperature probably reached near 60 degrees! I just wanted to be outside!

Bryce and I and the twins were able to go with Megan and Weston and the boys to her ultra sound appointment. How thrilling to see that tiny little baby! I could definately be an ultra sound technician. I never get tired of peeking at unborn babies! Of course, this one is especially cute! ;o)  Megan and Wes have decided to wait until its birth to find out its sex so I have to admit, the hardest part of the ultra sound was to keep my eyes from peeking at that especially revealing time! My integrity is protected as alas, I prevailed!

Melinda came over and stayed with the girls which was so nice. They would not have really understood what was going on and it would have been pretty hard to watch all four children.

It was so nice chatting with Julie. She is the most amazing woman. Her whole family is so brave and admirable. I love them all so much. What a blessing to have people like this in our lives. They continue to lift and inspire us and so many people around them. Sweet Michael will be back in the hospital tomorrow for a few days. He battled meningitis this past Christmas. WOW! He is truly a strong, and incredible boy.

I am so grateful for the health of my children. My heart continues to go out to those mothers who support and help their children with the health challenges they are facing. WOW! I have had the great blessing in my life of knowing many woman who are doing this very thing and their love, faith, courage, endurance, tenderness, etc etc continues to be an inspiration to me!

Primary Chorister told us this today....

1

Chorister in Primary to Josh (trying to get his attention) "I like your vest"

Josh: "Thank you, I like yours too. You have pretty buttons!"  I can be a helicopter (spreads arms and begins to spin!

Nathan: "I can be a helicopter too!" (becomes another helicopter)

Now we have 2 spinning helicopters in primary! The twins LOVE primary!!!!