Magic in the air

I learned today in Sharing time that children love it when you bring a magic wand to Primary.  I made a really cool magic wand yesterday. Neil found some shiny silver tape to cover the end with that made it really cool.  I even performed a magic trick with it in Primary. I had all the children's attention and it was marvelous.  We  then talked about this quote from President Uchtdorf "Too often we notice the needs around us, hoping someone from far away will magically appear to meet those needs...When we do this, we deprive our neighbor of the service we could render, and we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to serve."    We talked about how we could like magic look for people who need help and then give service. We also talked about how many people give service to us all the time and we don't even notice it.  If we have eyes to see as the Savior does and hands to do His work, we will notice people who need service and people who give service.  We had thank you posters for people who serve our Primary, the teachers, the Bishopric, the pianist and music leader, and the brethren who set up the chairs each week. Each child signed the posters and we will give them out next week.  It was a great sharing time and I really enjoyed teaching about service. Next week, we are going to work on Thank you cards for others who served the children this week and work on memorizing Mosiah 2:17.  There was definitely magic in the air in our Primary today and the children were so reverent.

We had a busy week at our house.  I know I say that every week, but I guess that is part of life with 8 children at home.  Neil is teaching an evening class this semester and that makes everything feel busier than normal.  Our evenings look like this: Monday Family Home Evening, Tuesday Neil teaches, Wednesday Neil, Julia, Matthew and Emma have Young Men/Young Women's, Thursday Neil teaches, Friday date night or take the children to the Powell Football game, Saturday finally there is time to read as a family or do family things, Sunday movie and ice cream tradition.  I am so grateful for the time we do have together. I love those nights when everyone is home and we can spend time together. I am also grateful that Neil is willing to provide for our family even if it means he has to teach a night class. I am glad he doesn't always have to teach in the evening.

Wednesday Neil and I took Joshua to Billings to see Dr. Wiggins.  His sats looked good, 87%.  His echo looked good.  The nice young ladies from St. Vincent's Healthcare came and recorded some footage of Joshua with Dr. Wiggins and Melissa.  It will be fun to see what they put together for the video.  Last week we did an interview and they recorded Joshua outside playing with the children.  It is exciting that they are going to spotlight Joshua's story for their fundraiser in October.  I am not sure I said anything worth using when they interviewed us, but I am grateful for the opportunity.

Thursday Emma played in a volleyball match here in Powell.  I had clogging at the same time. I went to clogging for a little bit and then left to watch Emma. Neil watched the beginning of her match and then left to teach his class. Hopefully between the two of us someone was there most of the match to watch her.

Friday we went to the Ward Harvest dinner.  The food and company was good.  They had some friendly competitions after dinner. Dallin got the chance to try and keep 6 balloons up in the air with Melissa Kellett. They ended up with only one balloon, but so did the other team so it was a tie. Dallin was nervous, but he did great.  Matthew kept really hoping that Mom would get her name pulled out of the hat, but I was grateful I got to watch and not play.  It was  a fun night.

Saturday we watched a couple of boys for a few hours while their mom cleaned and packed their apartment so they could move.  We also had rain for most of the day. Joshua found the mud puddles and had a great time.  Joshua and Lydia found the same mud puddle this morning before church, not the idle time to play in the mud. Lydia came in saying her shoes were muddy right before it was time to leave for church.  We made it on time, with clean shoes.

Happy September!!

We kicked off the school year with a bang at our house.  Emma and David decided to go to school this year. Emma is in 7th grade at the middle school and David is in 5th grade at Parkside Elementary.  David has Mrs. Shorb and he seems to really like school.  We went to the Parkside Open house on Thursday.  It was fun to go back after being away for the last eight years.  A lot of the teachers remembered us and our older children.  Mr. Jones (the principal) remembered our family and told us how glad he was to have a Waite back at Parkside.  I think David's favorite part of the day is recess and hot lunch.  I am glad he is enjoying his school experience.  I have to admit that I shed  a few tears as I left him and Emma at school on the first morning. I will miss having them home to learn with and lunch time seems so quiet with Rebecca, Bethany, Emma and David gone.  I am glad that they have good schools to go to, and even though I miss them through the day I am glad they have this opportunity.

Emma had a rough couple of first days. She not only started school, but she also started volleyball practice after school. The first day of school was also pack meeting and Young Womens, so she didn't get home until after 9:00 that night.  She was one tired girl.  She has struggled with her locker, but she is a determined person and she is getting better each day.  She has good teachers and I think she will enjoy this school year once she gets past all the stress of starting school.

Julia is a Junior in Wyoming Connections Academy.  She enjoys going to seminary in Brother Shoopman's class.  School keeps her busy. She babysits Junior Zorad a time or two each week.

Matthew is a freshman this year in Wyoming Connections Academy. I thought he might choose to go to the High School, but he decided to stay home.  He is running on the varsity cross country team.  He had his second meet in Sheridan on Saturday.  This year the state meet is in Sheridan so most of the schools wanted to come and try out the course.  He ran it in just over 22 minutes.  He was the 7th runner to finish for Powell.  He enjoys the team dinner and disney movie the night before a meet, probably more than the actual running. 3.1 miles doesn't sound like fun to me, but he is a good runner and it is a good fit for him.

MaryAnne is in third grade in Wyoming Connections Academy.  I really like her teacher, Mrs.Aguirre.  We got a little behind last week, but we'll get caught up.  She likes school so that really helps.

Dallin is in first grade this year. I decided to let him give Wyoming Connections Academy a try this year. He is doing great!! Most days he works really hard in the morning and is done by lunch time.  It is a good fit for him because he loves to check off things he has gotten done.

Joshua and Lydia are good at keeping each other occupied and either out of mischief or into mischief together.  They sure keep me hoping. If it is quiet for too long I better go and find out what they are into.  I found them behind the couch quietly eating a 1 pound bag of M&Ms the other day.  I am not sure how they got it, but they were sure enjoying it.

Neil is in full swing at the college. He doesn't have any afternoon classes to teach this semester, but that doesn't mean he is home all afternoon. He is spending time getting things done at his office. He is teaching an evening class.  It makes it challenging to eat dinner together because he has to leave for his class before five and Matthew and Emma don't finish practice until 5:30. We just do the best we can and know it only lasts until December.

Hopefully the beautiful fall weather is on its way in Powell. Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather, and football.  We went to the Powell game on Friday but we only stayed until half time. Powell was way ahead of Riverton and then it started to rain.  We were sitting on the Riverton side and I was having to be a good neighbor and not cheer to loudly when Powell did well. Matthew thought it was funny to listen to the Riverton fans complain about the calls.

Saturday we listened to the BYU vs. Texas game. It was a good game and I really enjoyed listening to it.

Today I had Sharing time. We had four prophets come and visit Junior Primary. It was a fun sharing time to teach about how prophets have given us an example of service.  This afternoon we skyped with mom and dad.  It was the first time we had talked with them since July first when they left on their mission. It was so fun to see them and hear them. I loved it!! Neil told me I didn't even get too emotional. It was true. I miss them but I am so grateful they are serving a mission together.  What a  great example they are setting for our family.

I'll include a slideshow of some pictures from the happenings at our house lately. Hope you enjoy!!

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How to get wet in only 3 inches of water and BIG changes at our house this week

Have you ever wondered how to get completely soaked in only three inches of water? The other day the middle children were playing in the neighbors pool. Lydia really wanted to play, but I didn't want to take her over there. We got out our little pool and she had so much fun in her three inches of water.  She came in completely soaked. Here is how you can get soaked in three inches of water and have a great time doing it.

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I don't know why the video in the middle doesn't work. It was really cute of Lydia jumping rope and singing while jumping on the trampoline. I've tried to upload it a couple of times with no luck.  Sorry about that.


We had some big changes at our house this week.  On Monday we had a loss of wisdom. Bethany lost all 4 wisdom teeth. She is our first child to have this done. She did really well.  She even felt like doing a little shopping in the big city afterwards.  We took Julia and Emma with us to Billings to do some clothes shopping.  We had fun and they all found some good buys.  Neil made jello while we were gone so Bethany would have something cool and soft to eat.  Someone was caught redhanded in the jello. I'm pretty sure it was Joshua.

Another big change involved moving bedrooms.  Matthew has been living in his yert for awhile now. On Thursday we moved Bethany into the dorms here at Northwest.  On Saturday Matthew moved into Bethany's room.  It doesn't take long around here for your bedroom to get claimed.

Ready to begin this college adventure

Bethany's new domain

Matthew's new room

We also did a few home improvement projects, here are a few pictures.  I really like this idea for storing wrapping paper. It was really easy to do.  We took the carpet out of the boys room and put these foam tiles down. They like the checkerboard pattern.  We also put hooks in both halls for bath towels. I hope this will help with all the laundry around here.  Oh, and we bought a new top load high effiency washer on Thursday. My other washer was randomly ripping clothes. I had had enough and so we bought  a new one. I can fit so much in the tub!! It is so nice.

Storing wrapping paper behind the door

Each child has their own hook for their towel

New flooring in the boys room

We had the missionaries over for dinner on Saturday. Lydia got excited when we told her they were coming. She said, "Hooray! Grandma and Grandpa are coming today."  It was so cute. I was happy that she remembered Grandma and Grandpa are missionaries. She prays for them everyday!! We love you and are glad you are serving the Lord in Scotland.

A busy week at the Waite house

There has been so much happening this week. I'll try and give you a quick run down.

Sunday we took Joshua just to Sacrament meeting and then had Bethany bring him home when the YSA ward finished their meetings.  During Sacrament meeting Joshua discovered he could take his oxygen off and run free.  Several people in the ward had to smile as he pulled off his oxygen and took a run around the chapel.  I am sure they had to shake their heads that he just had heart surgery and was off running.

Some of the week's activities included signing Emma up for classes at the Middle School, Primary meetings, a free lunch downtown, swimming, playing with friends and a Snow cone stand.  Emma and her friends made $28 doing an afternoon snow cone/brownie stand.  I think I should go into the business if it pays that well.

This morning Neil, Matthew, Emma and Julia went to the temple to do baptisms.  They had to leave at 6:00. I stayed up and wrote the Primary Sacrament Meeting presentation. I was really happy with how it went.  Emma stayed in Billings and helped babysit for a few friends while they went to the temple.  This afternoon we went to the free day at the Powell pool.  Lydia, Dallin, and MaryAnne loved doing the obstacle course. Lydia was so determined that she wanted to try it.  Dallin started out so slow and careful, he really didn't want to fall. By the end he was getting much faster and braver. Bethany, Julia, and Matthew decided to stay home. Joshua would have loved going, but no water for 6 weeks after surgery. Emma came later when she got home.

Tonight all the children are tired and ready for bed. Sounds like an early bedtime is in order.

A slideshow of Joshua's fontan journey

Here is a slideshow I put together of the pictures of Joshua's hospital stay and the first day home.  Hope you enjoy seeing our little heart hero and his journey.

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Also just for fun here are a picture from the Glenn surgery when Joshua was 6 months old and the fontan surgery. It's amazing how much they are the same.

Home has been good for Joshua

Sorry I haven't posted since we came home.  It has been so good to be home!! It has been busy again, though. Getting back into the routine of having everyone together again and taking care of household things has kept us busy.  It was so good to come home and see the children again. Some of the children waited up for us and it was fun to be welcomed home.

Joshua has done amazing since being home. He has been so happy and enjoyed playing with the kids. We are trying to keep him doing quiet activities.  He is still on oxygen so he can't go too far or get into too much mischief.  He is sleeping upstairs, so I can check him several times a night.  It's really true, there's no place like home.  His rash has gotten much better. He is just doing amazing!! We feel so blessed. Thanks for all the prayers said for our family and Joshua.

 

 

At home watching a movie. He was just grinning from ear to ear, but I couldn't capture it on camera.

We went and saw Dr. Wiggins yesterday.  He said everything looks really good. We are going to keep Joshua on oxygen for the next month, just to help his lungs adjust to the new pressures in them.  Joshua had a bit of a fit when he was asked to put on a hospital gown for his chest xray. He wanted nothing to do with that.  He did let them take the xray without his shirt.  He was nervous at Dr. Wiggins office at first, but he warmed up before we left. I can't blame him for being nervous after all he has been through lately.  Dr. Wiggins took out the stitch left in where his chest tube was. Joshua was even brave through that. Joshua's SAT's were at about 90 without being on oxygen. We haven't seen him that high since he was about 6 months old. We were so glad to hear everything looks good, but I wasn't surprised because he acts like he is feeling better. 

Exciting news...We are heading HOME!!!!

Yesterday afternoon Joshua was having trouble keeping anything down, but today he is doing much better. When Dr. Burch and his amazing team rounded this morning they asked us how we would feel about going home today. I was so surprised!! HOME,TODAY!!!!  Joshua has been in great spirits today. We have walked the halls, gone to the Forever Young playroom, and been to Sacrament Meeting.  Yesterday we took Joshua to the playroom in his wheelchair and he really didn't have much interest. Today he asked if he could go there and played with everything. He is having a reaction to the tape so he has a rash, but he is looking good.

We are getting discharge things done, oxygen line up, prescriptions filled and heading home!!  Feeling so blessed right now!!  Thanks for your prayers for Joshua and our family.