Home at Last!!

My parents came home from Peru last Saturday. What an awesome day it was. I wanted to post a bunch of pictures to remember the occasion.

We dressed our kids in red, white and blue to welcome them home. Ashley did an intricate hairdo on Grace, and when I pulled her out of the van, she had pulled them all out! Here is my aunt Vickie holding her:

Thier were two rubber bands left, so I scraped this look together:

Here is the gang...it was pretty hard to stay assembled for the 10-15 minute wait.

Carolina Jones holding a sign:

My parents got to meet baby Dougie for the first time:

We were missing Sam and Kyle, Ike and Linh, and Michael.

Jack, cheering up a grumpy Gracie:

Here they come!!!

I know my mom will hate these crying pictures...but I love them!

We are happy and relieved to have them home. So far they have made alot of trips to costco, and had fun with all of us.

Jack Turns Seven

So, we were down with the flu on Jack's birthday. So we had a party when we all got better. He wanted a camo cake, and to go the Nickelcade with his buddies. All the pictures are a bit blurry, but enjoy anyway!

Ash and I were totally grossed out by the Nickelcade...I felt like I wanted to bathe myself and the kids in antibacterial gel when we got home. It was hot and stinky, but the boys sure loved it!

Jack is a great kid. He has a quick wit, is super smart and funny. He is a very verbal person. We are working on his attitude, and he has made great strides on trying to only say nice things...or I guess, think before he speaks. He is such a joy to me. He helps me take care of Grace and has started to play nicely with Carolina too. He is best friends with his brother Ty. His enthusiasm and smile can light up a room. I feel honored to be his mom. We love you Jack!

Boo Hoo...It's the Swine Flu!

You may have wondered if we have fallen off the face of the Earth. We've been holed up in our house with the flu this week. This is how it happened.

I was supposed to go to Youth Conference this week for 3 days. Jack had a bad fever so I took him to instacare as a precaution. I didn't want to leave him with babysitters if he had anything bad. They did a strep test, which was negative. The doctor thought he probably had laryngitis, as he couldn't really talk. I insisted on the flu test to appease my paranoid husband, and just to make sure I wasn't leaving Joey with more than he could handle. To the doctors' great surprise...it came back positive! After 2 hours in the instacare I was pretty frazzled.


I was reeling...I had so much to do this week for my calling I wasn't sure what I should do. The doctor gave us Tamiflu for everyone "at risk" (kids under 5 and pregnant ladies!) and I drove home. When I told Joey about Jack he said "I knew it!"...and then proceeded to tell me he was feeling pretty achy too! I called the doctor and got some medicine for him too.


By 10:30 that night, I was finally back from the pharmacy and ready to crash. The next day I called the other leaders to let them know that I couldn't come to Youth Conference. It is so funny people's reaction to this flu...I might as well tell people we have leprosy, lice, and fleas over here. It is so embarrassing, and then I have to explain to them that it is pretty much like the normal flu...only super contagious because it is a new strain. The stigma of it is the WORST PART!


I was glad I stayed home, because ALL four of my kids, five if you count Joey, got this flu to some degree. I feel so blessed that I didn't get it, with being pregnant and all. So we basically have quarantined ourselves to the house for the week. Joey will be able to go back to work on Monday (don't worry people...he will be TOTALLY NON-CONTAGIOUS by then...we are being super cautious). It has been so strange to have him here all week...usually if he has time off we travel or have family in town. (Besides the horrible FLU part, I must admit...I LOVED it!)


The first couple of nights were tough, and ended up like a big Emig slumber party:

Even though they didn't feel good, they still smiled for the camera!

It was interesting to note the different sick "styles" my kids have...

Tyson wants me to be right by him the whole time. If I go to another room, or try to do the dishes he starts whining for me. He wants to be physically touching me. He even wants me there rubbing his back when he is throwing up! (This is so hard for me...but I try hard, because I know it means alot to him)

Jack, when REALLY sick, holds still and is quiet. He doesn't ask for much, and trys to sleep alot and just get better. He did look at me at one point this last week and whispered "Mom, am I going to die?" It about broke my heart, because he was not being dramatic!

Carolina...she talks the whole time!! I am not exaggerating...she uses this sick little voice and she says really adorable things, mostly pledging her love for me and the rest of the family. For example "Mom, I love you with all my heart...I am your sweet little girl and you are always going to protect me." She goes on and on. I just keep telling her, "that's right Carolina Jones...I love you and you are going to be better soon."

Grace is cuddly and sweet, and pats my head or face alot!

Anyway, we are finally on the mend. I didn't want to talk about it too much until it was over...but now I can safely say, we made it through the infamous swine flu and made some memories to boot! Jack's birthday was today, and I have assured him that we will have a great party next week. We have had some great picnics in our backyard, and watched a movie together in the theater and had alot of quality snuggle time as a family. Meanwhile I am so behind in my blogging...I have some things I want to document before I forget all about them....so stay tuned...oh, and a very special announcement: MY PARENTS ARE COMING HOME....NEXT SATURDAY! I can't stop smiling.