February

I was looking through our pictures from last January and February in my attempt to catch up on blogging.  The biggest thing that happened last January that I can remember is that I had stomach/abdominal pain and discomfort that lead to a doctor's visit, followed by a trip to the ER a week later, where we found out that I had gallstones.  So about a week later (early February) I had surgery.  And then a few days later I went to the ER again because I was having difficulty breathing well.  Everything turned out alright, and that is the reader's digest version of what happened.  I was thankful for the learning that came from that experience that couldn't have come more easily, but I was also thankful that it wasn't worse.  It was fairly painful in the first two days after the surgery because of "referred diaphragm pain" related to the method of surgery, but as soon as that was gone and my breathing returned to normal it was not bad at all for my first surgery.  I was also grateful to for the added empathy for people who have to deal with health problems and time in the hospital.  And I found that the best part of the experience was that I felt loved.  It was so nice to have so many people let me know they were thinking of me and cared, including and especially to know that Heavenly Father was aware of me and watching over me.

Other than that, one day in February Hyrum showed interest in playing the piano so I taught him how to play Jingle Bells (his favorite song).  He picked up the first line of the chorus very quickly and a few days later I taught him the rest of the chorus.  He was very excited to show his new talent (so was I).  This is a video from the day I started teaching him.  He was actually using the written music to help him remember which finger to play (exciting!).

On Valentines Day, I took the kids to the park for a picnic, but the weather turned colder and windy (it had been nice).  We had some fun, but the picnic part didn't work too well.  We also made some melted crayon shaving hearts that you can see in the background of one of the pictures.  The next night Adam and I had a dinner for two at home while the kids were with grandparents (I can't remember for sure who was watching them now, but we appreciated it).

Also sometime around then, for my own future reference, Annie needed antibiotics for an ear infection (she had a few ear infections in several months, which made for some long, not very fun nights).  She got a rash and I took her to an after hours clinic where the doctor said not to worry and to continue the course.  I did too much reading about the antibiotics (specifically the possible side effects) and worried myself into a panic, but in the end it was a lesson for me in praying and moving forward with faith (deciding whether to go ahead with surgery for the gallstones was similar, but I think I learned the lesson better the second time around).