Our new addition

Last night we picked up the newest addition to our family...a 2005 Chevy Silverado. I guess there have been a few good things that have come out of this accident and a nice new (to us) truck is probably close to the top of the list. We got a great deal and Keeper is really excited to have a truck. It seats 6 so even after we have the baby, if we need to get everyone in the truck we can. We are so excited!

The accident...

Now that things are somewhat back to normal I guess I should blog about the recent trauma in my life. I'm not the best at journal writing so I kinda use this as my family journal. The last few weeks have been really tough on me and pretty hard on the family too. I thought I should document all the happenings.
On April 20th I was on my way to mutual. The road we take to the church has a ton of potholes on it, especially after it rains. Recently it had rain and so they were of course really bad. Anyway, I was driving along, excited as can be to going to mutual and I was planning on taking some pictures of the fun activity that night. In front of me there was a black car coming straight at me in my lane!!! (She said she was swerving around a pothole.) She was about 4 car lengths ahead of me and what did I do? I slammed on the brakes. When I did the car skid to the left and went in her lane where she corrected and met me pretty much head on. The airbag deployed although I don't remember it hitting me. The only thing I remember was the girl jumping out of her car on her phone screaming into it and me not able to breathe. I was 26 weeks pregnant and where the seat belt was hurt like no other! I looked up at the car and saw smoke pouring out of it. I opened the door and tried to get out of the car. There were a ton of people who had stopped by then and they kept telling me to stay seated. There was no way I was staying in that car! When I got out I realized that my left knee was killing me but I got away from the car and someone on a house close by brought me a chair to sit in until I was ready to leave. By this time I was shaking and having a hard time concentrating.
The cops showed up and didn't take a statement from me because I was loaded into the ambulance. (My first ride in an ambulance!) They cut off my clothes immediately to access the damage. My legs were both already bruising, especially my left knee, and I was bruised all along my seat belt. I think I was starting to have contractions at this point but I don't know because my stomach just hurt constantly.
I didn't have my phone. It was still in the car and when Keeper found in a couple days later it was stuck between the wheel and the frame of the car. Anyway, one of the people on their way to mutual stopped and called him for me. They also went over to our house so that he could go to the hospital.
Keeper beat the ambulance to the hospital so that worried him a little but it ended up being okay. They took me into the ER and started accessing me and the baby. Once they realized the amount of trauma/bruising they decided that their hospital wasn't equipped for that so we waited about 5 minutes for the helicopter and I was loaded into the helicopter. (My first helicopter ride and I had a stinking neck brace on and I was on a stretcher so I couldn't even look out the windows.) Keeper said later that he was trying hard not to point out things out the window so I wouldn't feel like I was missing out.
We made it to University Hospital (the trauma center for San Antonio) and they took me in and immediately started checking me out there. Rod Davis, a lifelong family friend who works at that hospital, came in then and was able to see me and relate the things that were going on to Keeper and my mom. Having him there also put me at ease too.
They checked me out and then took me back to get a CT scan to check for breaks and internal bleeding, I believe. Everything checked out okay except they wanted Otho. to check out my knee and ob. to check out the baby and the contractions I was having.
I was moved into a room where they monitored me and the baby and started me on magnesium. That stuff is horrible! It made me feel totally gross! Over the next 24 hours we had pediatricians, anesthesiologists, orthopedic surgeons, obstetricians, and a ton of other people in and out of my room preparing me for the worst. It was really scary!
The magnesium stopped the contractions and I checked out okay with everyone. There was one trauma doc that looked me right in the eye and told me I was so lucky. He pointed to my collarbone and said that should have broke, my knee should be totally trashed and the baby could've been here. I agree, I was so lucky!
After three days in the hospital I was finally cleared to go home. Hooray! It was hard to deal with the kids because they are used to being able to touch me and it hurt me when they did. My mom helped a ton with them and so did a few people in the ward and my sister-in-law. I really felt how loved I am because of all the stuff that was brought into us and all the sympathy I got.
Now, 2 weeks later, I am still sore but it's all turned out okay. My chest hurts sometimes when I breathe deep, cough or especially when I sneeze. My knee is still pretty tight but it doesn't really hurt, and my belly has a pretty bad hemotoma on it where the seat belt was and that is still really tender.
Everyday I am overwhelmed with how everything turned out. I am so blessed! I could've had so many worse injuries, I could've had a kid with me or I could be healing from a c-section while making daily hospital visits to see a tiny, 2 lb. baby. I am so blessed and I know that things turned out this way for a reason. I am grateful for the time I have with my kids everyday. It still wears on me sometimes, especially since I am still sore, but I am grateful for them and the fun I am able to have because of them. I am so grateful for Keeper and how understanding and helpful he has been through this all. Seeing the concern in his eyes through it all was pretty hard because although he wasn't going through it all physically, I knew he was hurting as much as I was. I am so grateful that this little baby gets to be a part of our family and that she is able to still have a chance of maturing more before she is born. Because I have already gone into labor, I am at a higher risk for it to happen again but the longer she is in the better. Last but not least I am grateful for all the love I've felt throughout this all. Love from family and friends and especially from my Savior. I have felt so much love Him and I know that I am still here for a reason. I know that I can get through all that this accident entails because of the love I feel from Him. I am so blessed!
The pictures of the car are on my phone and I can't get them downloaded onto the computer but there is my knee 10 day after the accident and the scene on the accident (the infamous potholes even though the city has already filled them in.)

bluebonnets

There are so many people that aren't happy in San Antonio. I agree it is hot and humid but really what can you do about that? Yes, I grew up here and I've always known what to expect while living here, but I believe that you can find the good and the bad anywhere. Keeper has always told me that I judge a place by the people not the weather or landscape. I think that is probably true. I love San Antonio because of the people. They are truly unique and, although some wouldn't agree with me, genuinely nice. Sure I have been looked down upon for having 3, almost 4 kids 5 and under. I've been glared at and made plenty of people exasperated. That comes with having kids. But there are always those who smile and give a helping hand or a smile that lets me know that it's okay and they know that I am doing my best! Yesterday at the zoo there was a lady who was in her 40's and she was watching my kids pretty close and laughing at everything they did. I heard her later repeat something Camy said to her son and laugh and then say that she couldn't wait to be a grandma. That made me feel so good! Also, the other day we were at Sea World and it was WAY past naps and I pushed them and me too far so I was heading out of the park as fast as I could. On the way out I ran into a display of Shamu stuffed animals and knocked a few off. As I bent over to pick them up a guy did the same and reassured me that he got it and I didn't need to worry about it. I thanked him and noticed he was wearing a BYU hat. That made me smile and helped me lug my 3 tired kids through the parking lot. I love the culture and the crazy parties that they have. I love that my kids expect pinatas and know what confetti eggs are. Parker has grown up on beans and pretty much anywhere we go to eat there are always some for him. I love it here!
Anyway, now I will step off my soapbox and just say that this spring has been beautiful. My favorite season here is Spring and I love that where ever we are driving we are surrounded by gorgeous flowers. The kids have really enjoyed it too. They are constantly staring out the window telling me what different colors of flowers they see.
We took bluebonnet pictures on Sunday and even though the family one didn't turn out because it was on a timer and the kids were pretty much done, the other are really fun! I love my kids! Enjoy!

Easter

This year was so much fun! The boys really got into Easter and Parker really seemed to understand why we celebrated it. When asked Carson and Camy would say Jesus but Parker would talk about the resurection. It's so fun seeing him grow up and make us proud.
Parker was also really into Conference this year. (Well as into it as a 5 year old can be.) He loved to listen to the music and listened to the speakers more than I thought he would. He even tried to keep Carson and Camy entertained so that I could enjoy it. My big helper!
Here are some Easter morning pictures.








After Easter morning and conference we went over to my Aunt's house where we ate lots of yummy food and celebrated together. We had an Easter egg hunt for the little ones and played a little baseball which Parker and Carson both loved! Camy enjoyed searching everyone else's baskets and playing with roley poly's.

Girls!

I absolutely love having a little girl! Camy is my little helper and she wants to do everything like me. She's always unloading the dishwasher for me, picking out bows to put in her hair, trying on shoes, etc... She is such a girl! I am so excited that we are having another one to join the mix. It will be a lot of fun for these two little girls to learn from each other and play together.

Everyday happenings...

With the weather so nice lately, we have spent quite a bit of time outside. We have even gotten out the slip-n-slide and the hose and played in the water a bit. It's still a little cold but the kids don't seem to mind. Here are some random pictures of the last couple of weeks.

As close as Camy got to the slip-n-slide. She loved watching the boys though.


Parker was a whimp too but Carson loved it!


Snow cones! Parker got a snow cone maker for his birthday and the kids love it! It is so fun to get out and make a special treat.


Some of our best friends moved to the North side of town so it's pretty rare to see them now. The other day I was asked to watch their boys for a little while and the kids were ecstatic! It was so fun to see them play together. It's really sad that we don't see each other as much but at least they are still in San Antonio. (This is only one of the boys. The other didn't want to get in pictures.)


What could be more fun than using a sling shot to shoot water baloons over the back fence. They thought this was SO COOL!!!



A water baloon+a popcicle face=pure bliss (look at that face)

Carson loved squirting water out of the baloons before I tied them. He thought it was so funny!