BLESSINGS!!!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a few days. Jon’s dad flew in for the weekend and stayed with Jon and I was off spending time with our kiddos. We went to the day care of the gym I go to (it was my day to volunteer). It worked out perfect because it was the perfect excuse to spend time with the girls. Then we came to see Daddy, it was a very short visit, they were kind of out of control. That night we went swimming at the Roy Aquatic Center. It was nice to be able to spend the whole day with the kids after only seeing them an hour here and there for over a week. We slept at home on Saturday night and went to our ward on Sunday, came to visit Jon, and then went to my parents for Father’s Day Dinner--unfortunately, without their daddy.


I don’t think much happened while his dad was here. They did an ultrasound on his arm to check for infection in his arm. They also started Jon on insulin—one of the medications has caused him to be diabetic. Most likely it will be a short term thing, but you never know. A healthy diet change has never hurt anyone. Yesterday morning, Dr. McDonald came in to talk to us. He said that he had all the discharge papers filled out and was ready to send Jon home as long as the blood results were okay. Well, the culture for the infection came back positive. That means more IV antibiotics, which means Jon doesn’t go home yet. He is also going back for an echocardiogram again this morning. Just to make sure everything is still good. Also, James blood will probably not be ready until the end of the week. It doesn’t mean Jon will need to stay that long, we just are unsure about when he will get to go home and stay home.

Now that you all are updated, to the good stuff. I know that what Jon is going through is awful. I have seen him experience so much pain and be unable to move. It has been hard for him. But, at the same time, I have learned that focusing on the bad stuff makes it worse. I have found myself counting my blessings more and more each day. When Faye was diagnosed with leukemia, I was talking to Stacey and I said, “I am sorry you have had to go through all that you’ve been through.” Her response amazed me, she said, “Ya, it’s awful what Faye has to go through, but I can’t help but think of how blessed we have been through all of this. We were in the right place, Nick got his job and insurance, we had Nixon before this all started, and she went on and on about all her blessings.” People on the outside look in and think how awful it must be, but she taught me a lesson that things could always be worse and you just got to look at the positive.

So, I have to list all the good things! We are blessed that Jon graduated college before all this started. We are blessed that while our property has had some flooding, no water has even touched the house. We are blessed that so many ward members and neighbors have dropped what they are doing to come help us out, they have helped sandbag, pulled out a stuck car, checked in to make sure everything is okay. I have actually been amazed, because when we really needed people, we would have people show up and say, “I felt like I needed to come over,” or “I was just calling to make sure everything is okay.” When all of these people were coming and calling, none of them had any idea that Jon was sick. We didn’t tell anyone until the week that he ended up hospitalized. We also have been blessed that my mom is around and she quit her job last month so that she can watch our kids while I am with Jon. My parents have been the biggest help to us. We have been blessed with great doctors, who show us that they actually care. I know that people complain about doctors and say that they don’t trust doctors, Jon and I have put our faith and trust in these doctors and they have been great and have worked so hard for Jon. We are blessed that they found the problem fairly quickly (once we got with the right doctors). We are blessed with a great hospital staff. Each and every staff member that has entered his room have been awesome! They show their concern and dedication in making sure Jon is taken care of. They have stayed late hours for treatments for Jon; they have made us feel comforted with the situation. We are blessed that Jon has a good job with good insurance and that his boss and co-workers have been so supportive. We have been blessed with our relationship. We had a good relationship before this, but we were so busy in life that we didn’t take time for each other. Spending several days with the two of us has been great! We have been able to talk about things without being interrupted by the kids, or go on walks in the hospital without having to carry or chase kids—we do love our kid’s lots, but it is nice to have 1-on-1 time without them! We have been blessed with good friends, family, and ward members who have visited, called; let us know they are thinking of us, and offering their help, and for those that haven’t even hesitated to do things for us like mow our lawn, take care of our fish and chickens, come to give priesthood blessings, and just letting us know they are there for us. The outpouring of love and support has been amazing! We are also blessed because of our family members who are selflessly serving missions right now—Jon’s parents, and my brother and sister, Troy and Annie. I could go on and on, the blessings are far greater than the problems for sure! Jon will get through this, he will be healthy and strong again, and I know that without a doubt. Our faith is getting us through this. We are all going to have trials through life, which is what life is about. Our Heavenly Father is right by our side through this. I strongly do believe that he doesn’t give us trials we can’t handle, and the trials that he gives us, he helps us through. There is a reason for everything. If you don’t look at the positive of things, life is just going to be miserable! I am also thankful for the power of the priesthood. I know some of you don’t share our beliefs, and that is fine, but we need to all stand up for what we believe in. I challenge everyone to count their blessings and not focus on the negative in life--- it definitely is not worth it. Thank you for the love and support, we appreciate it!