five steps back! A little less then a month ago (it may have even been on the day of my last post) I was feeling so far behind and a little frustrated that I could not seem to get caught up. John said something to the effect of two steps forward and one step back. I said that no, it was more like one step forward and five steps back. I was feeling tired and rather overwhelmed...to put it mildly.
However, since the play that John and our two respite workers were involved in had just finished and my sister had come to visit and help with my dad as he came home from the hospital, I was encouraged and had hope that life would calm down just a bit and I would be able to get a little break. I was also looking forward to a week's vacation with my extended family at our biennial family reunion that was coming up soon.
Well, I'd love to tell you that those 5 steps have condensed to one, however, one month later I must say that those five steps back seem to have moved into leaps. Shortly after I made that comment above, Bryce, Annalise, and I all ended up sick with a couple of random viruses. After visits to the pediatrician and multiple tests, we found that Bryce had Herpetic Stomatitis, Annalise had Parvovirus (Fifth's Disease), and since we all ended up with a bad chest cold/cough which is not associated with either of these viruses they figure that we also had the Summer flu or some other random virus all mixed in. All together that lasted a couple of weeks. We are all still coughing and Annalise is definitely dealing with some neurological side effects of being sick, but otherwise we seem to have recovered. We are very thankful for the meals that were brought in and the many well wishes and prayers for our family during our "sick days". We have such wonderful family and friends!
It was a crazy quick trip and really not too relaxing, but it was fantastic to spend a little time with my parents, brothers and sisters (including those who joined the crazy Stephens family through marriage), nieces and nephews, and my Mom's brother Uncle Mike. We drove home Friday afternoon. A very quick trip!
Thankfully the van worked great the entire trip for us! For those of you who have followed our road trips in the past, you know that this is kind of a miracle for our family. Everything was good with our home when we returned except that our large fridge had quit working. It has now been cleaned out and we are hoping and praying that it can be fixed without costing us an arm and a leg. Two of the suitcases are still waiting to finish being cleaned out and put away.
The Monday after we arrived home, William and John left for Scout Camp. I got a call Tuesday morning from John letting me know that he and Dave Klein were on the way to the Show Low hospital with William. He had fallen out of a tree while climbing it to get a pocket knife that some boys had been throwing and had gotten stuck in that tree. William figures he was about 10 feet up when the branch he grabbed for broke and he came crashing to the ground breaking him left arm in two places and busing his face and right arm up a bit. We are so thankful that his fall was not worse and that it happened on one of the days that John was there at camp. Since he starts school in two weeks, we are also thankful that it is not his right arm that is broken.
So looking ahead, do I see peace and calm and time to get caught up in our near future? Not exactly. In addition to the 5 "regular" appointment and the therapies that are scheduled between now and the end of the month, I will be taking William in to have his arm casted tomorrow (luckily I don't have to drive to Glendale for that like I originally thought would be the case). Then Tuesday, Bryce and I will be flying to Utah to spend the day at Shriner's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We will be taking a 6 am flight Tuesday morning and retuning about that same time that night.
Our older boys head back to school on the first of August, so we will also be doing some back to school shopping in the next week or so. I seriously can't believe they are going back to school already. Summer break just isn't long enough anymore.
So, if you don't hear from me for the next couple of weeks, don't worry. I am still alive and I will resurface again one of these days. :) I seriously apologize to everyone who has called, emailed, or tried to contact me that I have not gotten back to. I am not avoiding you. I would love to chat with you. I love you all and you are in my thoughts and prayers, but I just don't seem to be able to keep up with everything right now. I feel like I am failing miserably in multiple areas of my life at the moment and am trying hard not to get down about it. Hopefully I will still have friends by the time life settles down a bit. :)
Mom and Dad Clayton, you are in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I hope that Mom is feeling better and that Dad is out of the hospital soon and you both can continue on that wonderful journey you are on in South Africa as missionaries for the Lord. You are such a great example to our children. We love you!
Keep the faith. Life is good and we are so blessed. Even during these crazy times...maybe especially during these crazy times...I see so many miracles and receive so many tender mercies on a daily basis. Many are personal and others can be seen and witnessed by those around us as well as by us. I am so thankful that we have a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior who know us and are there to lift us up. I am very grateful as well for the Holy Ghost that can guide our steps every day. Heaven knows I couldn't be doing this alone! That would be absolutely impossible! Whether I am 5 steps behind or 2 steps ahead, I am much further along than I ever could be without the non-stop help from above that we receive every minute of every day.
However, since the play that John and our two respite workers were involved in had just finished and my sister had come to visit and help with my dad as he came home from the hospital, I was encouraged and had hope that life would calm down just a bit and I would be able to get a little break. I was also looking forward to a week's vacation with my extended family at our biennial family reunion that was coming up soon.
Well, I'd love to tell you that those 5 steps have condensed to one, however, one month later I must say that those five steps back seem to have moved into leaps. Shortly after I made that comment above, Bryce, Annalise, and I all ended up sick with a couple of random viruses. After visits to the pediatrician and multiple tests, we found that Bryce had Herpetic Stomatitis, Annalise had Parvovirus (Fifth's Disease), and since we all ended up with a bad chest cold/cough which is not associated with either of these viruses they figure that we also had the Summer flu or some other random virus all mixed in. All together that lasted a couple of weeks. We are all still coughing and Annalise is definitely dealing with some neurological side effects of being sick, but otherwise we seem to have recovered. We are very thankful for the meals that were brought in and the many well wishes and prayers for our family during our "sick days". We have such wonderful family and friends!
Luckily we were able to make a quick trip to Vegas to see my family. We drove up Tuesday night, arriving about 2 AM Wed. morning.
It was a crazy quick trip and really not too relaxing, but it was fantastic to spend a little time with my parents, brothers and sisters (including those who joined the crazy Stephens family through marriage), nieces and nephews, and my Mom's brother Uncle Mike. We drove home Friday afternoon. A very quick trip!
Thankfully the van worked great the entire trip for us! For those of you who have followed our road trips in the past, you know that this is kind of a miracle for our family. Everything was good with our home when we returned except that our large fridge had quit working. It has now been cleaned out and we are hoping and praying that it can be fixed without costing us an arm and a leg. Two of the suitcases are still waiting to finish being cleaned out and put away.
The Monday after we arrived home, William and John left for Scout Camp. I got a call Tuesday morning from John letting me know that he and Dave Klein were on the way to the Show Low hospital with William. He had fallen out of a tree while climbing it to get a pocket knife that some boys had been throwing and had gotten stuck in that tree. William figures he was about 10 feet up when the branch he grabbed for broke and he came crashing to the ground breaking him left arm in two places and busing his face and right arm up a bit. We are so thankful that his fall was not worse and that it happened on one of the days that John was there at camp. Since he starts school in two weeks, we are also thankful that it is not his right arm that is broken.
So looking ahead, do I see peace and calm and time to get caught up in our near future? Not exactly. In addition to the 5 "regular" appointment and the therapies that are scheduled between now and the end of the month, I will be taking William in to have his arm casted tomorrow (luckily I don't have to drive to Glendale for that like I originally thought would be the case). Then Tuesday, Bryce and I will be flying to Utah to spend the day at Shriner's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We will be taking a 6 am flight Tuesday morning and retuning about that same time that night.
Our older boys head back to school on the first of August, so we will also be doing some back to school shopping in the next week or so. I seriously can't believe they are going back to school already. Summer break just isn't long enough anymore.
So, if you don't hear from me for the next couple of weeks, don't worry. I am still alive and I will resurface again one of these days. :) I seriously apologize to everyone who has called, emailed, or tried to contact me that I have not gotten back to. I am not avoiding you. I would love to chat with you. I love you all and you are in my thoughts and prayers, but I just don't seem to be able to keep up with everything right now. I feel like I am failing miserably in multiple areas of my life at the moment and am trying hard not to get down about it. Hopefully I will still have friends by the time life settles down a bit. :)
Mom and Dad Clayton, you are in my thoughts and prayers constantly. I hope that Mom is feeling better and that Dad is out of the hospital soon and you both can continue on that wonderful journey you are on in South Africa as missionaries for the Lord. You are such a great example to our children. We love you!
Keep the faith. Life is good and we are so blessed. Even during these crazy times...maybe especially during these crazy times...I see so many miracles and receive so many tender mercies on a daily basis. Many are personal and others can be seen and witnessed by those around us as well as by us. I am so thankful that we have a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior who know us and are there to lift us up. I am very grateful as well for the Holy Ghost that can guide our steps every day. Heaven knows I couldn't be doing this alone! That would be absolutely impossible! Whether I am 5 steps behind or 2 steps ahead, I am much further along than I ever could be without the non-stop help from above that we receive every minute of every day.
