Nurses' Week

In the past I'm sure I heard about National Nurses' Week but I've never thought much of it.  I've always appreciated nurses and everything they do for so many people but I never had a personal reason to pay much attention to this week.  Boy is that different now!  I vividly remember Nurses Week last year.  (Random fact: I'm 99% sure one of their gifts was a computer bag or something.  I'm not sure why that stuck with me.) It would be very remiss of me not to give a quick thank you to the many nurses that affected our lives in such a positive way.

Even though we were in the hospital for a long time there were quite a few nurses that we only had once or twice yet they were still so wonderful to us and I remember them well.  For those of you that have never stayed in a hospital for an extended period of time, a nurse can easily make or break your day.   There were very few occasions that the latter happened to us the entire time we were there and let's be honest, I was a crazy mom who probably caused most of those problems anyway.  To those nurses that we had a couple times but we haven't seen since, please know how much we appreciate everything you did for us and still do every single day!

Because we had such a long stay and didn't allow visitors, many nurses became like family to us.  Often times the only reason I made it through the day was because we had such a wonderful nurse taking care of us.  Down in the PICU Eli had a primary care nurse that took care of him every shift she worked.  Simply put: she was a Godsend.  From a medical standpoint, she was the only person that new Eli better than me and Logan and I loved that.  It was such a comfort having her walk through the door each morning knowing we were in such good hands.  The weeks she worked 3 shifts in a row were a miracle but then 4 days off felt like an eternity!  She may or may not have heard me complain about that one too many times.  Thank you, my friend, for being so wonderful to us.  Miss you like crazy!

I realize the nurses I'm talking about probably don't read this blog or even know it exists but it makes me feel better knowing those things are in writing. There will never be a Nurses' Week that goes by that my heart doesn't go out to the nurses that worked tirelessly on my little family' s behalf.  I will forever feel in their debt!

I've shared this picture before but it's too good not share again.  This can give you a small glimpse into how wonderful the nurses and staff and PCH truly are.

 

On another note...I couldn't help but share this picture of our beautiful nephew Stir Fry!  2 1/2 months old and cuter than ever!

Easter

What a wonderful weekend!  Easter has always been a favorite holiday of mine because of the warm weather, bright colors and adorable kids in their Easter outfits.  However, given that this was the first Easter we celebrated without our little bunny, I have to admit that I looked at things with an entirely different perspective.  As always, I loved the baskets and egg hunts but I had never spent so much time genuinely reflecting on the atonement and what it truly means for each one of us.  It's often said that we go through trials because we have something to learn and boy did I (and still do!) have a lot to learn. 

I have absolutely loved the church's Easter campaign 'Because of Him'.  I'm sure just about everyone has watched the short video at least once, but if you haven't, you can watch it HERE.  I promise it will be worth your time.  Because of our Savior, Logan and I will get to be with Eli again and raise him as the baby he once was.  We won't miss out on the experiences that were cut short in this life and that brings us such peace and happiness.  

As for yesterday, we had a wonderful time with both of our families!  We attended our new ward for the first time and met some wonderful people already.  I'm excited to get more involved!  After church we ran over to Logan's parents' for a quick brunch and then to their ward to hear them speak.  Well done, Keith and DeAnne!  After listening to Logan's parents we went home and exchanged baskets with each other.  I'm pretty sure Logan forgot the Easter Bunny was supposed to come because it looked like I had been visited by Santa Clause!  I was absolutely spoiled.  I hope you enjoyed your basket full of candy, dear!  Dinner was spent with my family and we had a great time!  The grand kids looked adorable and had a blast with the Easter egg hunt and crafts.  Many thanks to my parents for making yesterday so special!

Love this boy

Aren't they the cutest?!
Klara (6) Amelia (almost 2) Ben (4) Mady (8)

Checking for money!

Slightly blurry but SO excited!

Sweet Lil

 

He was more excited about the "treasure chest" egg than the money--Haha

As some of you may recall, I recently flew to New York and made a road trip back to Salt Lake.  A dear friend of mine lives near Albany and is going to school at BYU-I.  I jumped all over the opportunity to accompany her and her mom on their journey out West.  Most people thought I was crazy for going but we had a great time!  What's better than spending three straight days with two fantastic people?!  The only downside: They were stuck with me that long.  Where are the pictures, you're wondering?  I didn't take one.  Not a single picture.  I was enjoying myself way too much to worry about taking pictures.  I'm sure you can imagine the beautiful scenery we had as we drove through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and into Utah... ;)  We actually had plans to stop and do some sight seeing throughout the trip but were unfortunately met by some nasty weather so we ended up having to drive straight through.  I'm sure I'll get another chance to check out everything we missed along the way.  Many thanks to Rachel and her parents for such a fun trip!

Finals start for Logan this week and finish up on the 30th.  He will then have a week and a half off before the Summer semester begins on the 12th.  We will definitely get as much playing in as possible during those 10 days to make up for his lack of a break.  We've spent the last couple weeks making all sorts of changes to our new little home and love what's been done so far!  As soon as we get the painting finished next week we'll be able to decorate and then I'll post pictures :)

We hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Moving

After nearly 3 years, Logan and I have moved for the first time!  We are very excited about the adventures ahead but sad because of what we will leave behind.  My sweet grandpa, who lives in the Holladay area, allows the grandkids to live in his basement and we in turn help him take care of his house and yard.  We can't wait!

As Logan and I anticipated this move, we discussed all of the good yet difficult things that will come with it.  Most importantly: We have LOVED where we are living!  We truly couldn't have asked for a better newlywed home.  Our landlady has been a dear neighbor and friend and took such good care of us when we needed it most.  We have felt so spoiled by our circumstances and couldn't have asked for anything more!

Just as important: The ward we have been in has been nothing short of a miracle.  Everyone from the sweet nursery kids on up have had a greater impact on us than they will ever know.  We were welcomed with open arms since day one, we were treated like everyone's family members during our days in the hospital and we have received the support we've needed since then without having to ask for it.  Both Logan and I have developed many friendships in this ward and I know we will cherish them forever.  There's no doubt in my mind we were supposed to be surrounded by this ward family and we will feel forever in their debt for everything that has been done on our behalf.  Please, please, please continue to invite us to baby blessings, farewells, homecomings and any other exciting events!  We will miss all of you so much!

Other random things we have been so grateful for and will undoubtedly miss: Living 90 seconds away from both of our families (especially when I had to haul all of our laundry to my parents' every week!), living in the same stake we were both raised in (it's SO weird to imagine being somewhere else!), living 5 minutes away from my work, and this sounds so lame but living minutes from a freeway entrance in any direction!

Going from our above-ground mother-in-law apartment with tons of natural light and vaulted ceilings to a basement with basically no natural light will be quite a change but well worth it, I'm sure!  We have heard wonderful things about the ward (my parents' dear friend is the bishop), Logan will have a short drive to work, we will live closer to some great friends and we will have a bit more space.  Above all else: It will be something different and different is what we need!

With all of that begin said, we couldn't be more thrilled for this opportunity to start a new chapter of our lives.  We definitely aren't closing the book, we have learned too many wonderful things and grown way too much to want to do that, but we are ready to take what we've learned with us and continue on.  When we moved into our first place as a newly wed couple, we had all of our dreams planned out.  It is difficult knowing we once had Eli's nursery all set up in our old apartment and realizing it won't be coming with us but we know he will be.  We feel him with us more than I ever imagined possible and I can't describe the amount of strength it gives to us.

Farewell, Crown Pointe!  Thanks for the memories!

The Twin Cities

I have always had a special place in my heart for Minnesota because my grandma was born there and I have quite a few relatives that still live there but my true love for the Twin Cities developed once Paul and Cheryl moved out there.  I have lost count of the number of times I've visited but each time I go it's as good as the last.  My absolute favorite time to be in MN is during the Fall--it is gorgeous!  My least favorite time to be there?  You guessed it!  Winter!  I hope we never have to live somewhere that is so cold for so long.  Opening the door for a mere few seconds makes the whole house freezing and walking outside only happened for me when it was an absolute must.  Thank goodness our primary purpose for the trip was to see that new little baby so we could just stay cuddled up by the fire most days!

I brought my good camera and for some reason never took it out of its case the entire time I was there.  I was too into all of my boys!  The only pictures I have were taken with my phone so forgive the poor quality.

Happy 1 month baby Stir Fry!

Sterling LOVES Will!  My mom calls Will the baby whisperer and it couldn't be more fitting.  Aside from his mom, Will has the easiest time calming Sterling down when he walks around with him like this :)

Lovin Frozen just like everybody else!

Love this boy!  None of these pictures show it but his eyes are quite blue!

We have a thumb sucker already!

 Aside from kissing on the boys as much as I could, we had a busy week full of fun!  My Aunt Deb (who is technically my mom's cousin) was able to come over for a visit and it was so good to see her!  She has been so wonderful to us the past year and donated much of what ended up on Eli's tree.  Love you, Deb!

Adam turned 4 the day before I got there and Tanner's 8th birthday is this week so they had a combined birthday party.  Around Christmas time the boys entered a drawing at Home Depot for a private party and they recently got a call saying they had won!  Home Depot has a craft/project event for kids every Saturday but this was their very own party.  We were so impressed with the setup and how well they took care of us we asked how much it would cost to do something like this again.  We were told they don't offer private parties as a rule so you just have to be fortunate enough to win.  The kids had a great time building, opening presents and eating cake.

Cooper, T, Alex and Max

Reagan, Lucas, Adam and Elizabeth (If only I could say those names in Adam's accent it would be 10x better!)

I have to give a quick shout out to my Tan Man!  To those of you that are lucky enough to know him: he is doing so well!  He has made SO much progress in every way!  Socially and academically he is leaps and bounds ahead of where he has been, it was so fun to see.  Thank goodness for the fantastic Minnesota school system!

Paul and Cheryl hired a babysitter one night which allowed the 4 of us to go out to dinner and enjoy a few kid free hours.  I unfortunately didn't take a single picture but I promise we had a wonderful time!  Our final evening was spent with some dear friends who recently joined the church and have become like parents to Paul and Cheryl and grandparents to their boys.  It was so good to see you, Jan and Duane!

Our trip went way too fast and I miss all of you already!  I'm already counting down the days until I get to visit again!

IVF & Baby Sterling

First things first:  My apologies to those of you that read the title of my last post and thought it was a pregnancy announcement from me and Logan.  That was definitely not my intention!  Another baby for us is so far off my radar right now that it didn't even cross my mind when I wrote that but afterwards many people told me that's what they thought it was about.  I love using this blog as a journal and am so grateful for the support we receive through it but I would never do something like that just to get more people to read what I write.  I'll be much more careful in the future!

With that being said, I'll share a quick IVF update so everyone has a better idea of where we truly are in that journey.  We received the happy news just last week that our insurance has approved the pre-authorization request for coverage of the PGD portion of IVF.  This will take care of a large chunk of the overall cost so we are very pleased!  Now that we have the okay from our insurance company, in the next couple weeks we will be sending the lab what they need to get the probes made for the test--our blood, Eli's blood (stored at PCH), and our parents' saliva.  Sending the lab all of that will allow them to create the most accurate test possible.  The test will take a couple months to create but it will be a great feeling knowing it's ready so that when we are ready to begin a cycle the test will be ready to go as well.  We are slowly but surely getting there!

On February 20th Paul and Cheryl welcomed boy #5 to their family!  It has been so crappy living away from them during all of the excitement.  I have never been more grateful for FaceTime!  Sterling Elijah, named after my grandpa and brother and of course our little Eli, is a healthy, big boy!  He was 9lb 2oz when he was born and has already surpassed his birth weight.  At his first doctor appointment he was in the 98th percential for height, 90th for weight and 90th in head circumfrence.  My mom and I are going to visit in a couple weeks and I can't wait!  I'm sure he'll be huge by the time we see him, especially compared to the 5 pound peanuts our family is used to lately.  Welcome to the Rowley clan, baby Sterling!

 

Logan has Spring Break next week which I am very excited for!  We don't have any big plans and he'll probably just end up working a lot more but it means that warmer weather is on its way!  Yahoo! 

Valentine's Day and More Babies!

Logan and I had a great Valentine's Day week!  We promised each other we'd make up for not being able to celebrate last year and I feel like we definitely did that by doing fun things all week rather than just on Friday.  On Monday we went to dinner with a group of fantastic friends from our ward.  We love these couples!

Don't mind the fuzzy picture quality

During lunch on Friday I ran over to Logan's work and filled his car with pink and red balloons. It wasn't anything too exciting but I wanted him to know I had been thinking about him throughout the day.  He totally blew me out of the water when he came home with flowers and some biking apparel that I can't wait to use!  This warmer weather the past few days has made me so excited to get back on my bike!

We headed over to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner--Asian Star!  Put sushi in front of us and we're always in heaven!

On Saturday afternoon we went with some other dear friends to their cabin in Midway.  We planned this little getaway a few weeks ago and have been so excited for it!  For some lame reason I didn't take a group picture but I'm sure that's because we were having so much fun!  We went sledding, ate dinner, played games, watched a movie and laughed a lot!  The highlight of the night came when we gave our boys a little V-Day gift.  It was nothing big but I think they appreciated it!

Once again, sorry for the fuzzy cell phone picture!

Thanks to our wonderful friends and my amazing husband we had a great week!  Thank you for making it so special, babe!

Happy news!  For those of you that didn't see the announcement on Facebook:

Blake and Staci are expecting baby #2 this summer!  This little boy means grand kids numbers 11, 12 and 13 are joining the Rowley family this year!  There aren't many things that are better than being an aunt so I can't wait to meet these little men and watch them become best buds!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

A Year of Travels

Logan and I love to travel and have made it a priority to go on at least one trip together each year as long as our circumstances allow it.  We've had 3 amazing trips with just the two of us including Hawaii, a cruise to Mexico and Jamaica.  We are going big this year and just booked the tickets for the trip we've been fantasizing about for 3 years now--Europe!   Logan and two of our close guy friends all served missions in Germany so the three guys and two of us wives are heading back to visit together!  We are still working on the details but we do know one thing: August can't come soon enough!

Aside from our European adventures, I have a couple other getaways I'm pretty excited about.  My oldest brother's wife is delivering their FIFTH boy at the end of February so my mom and I are heading to Minnesota in March to kiss on that sweet baby as well as the other four rascals!  I can't wait!

A good friend of mine lives in New York and in April will be driving back this way for school so I'm going to tag along with her and her mom!  Details of this trip are yet to be finalized as well but we will probably take a few days to make the drive and we are determined to have a blast along the way!

Yesterday we planned what we thought was going to be a fun Super Bowl party at my parents'.  Don't get me wrong, being with my family and eating way too much food was fantastic but you all know how lame the game was.  I'm a Niner fan so I didn't care too much who won but along with everyone else, I was definitely hoping for something a bit more competitive!  This picture just about sums up how we were feeling/reacting the entire game:
 

It has been a few weeks since I've posted but not much is going on.  Let's face it--January is boring!  It feels so much better being out of that yucky month and into February!  Logan continues to enjoy work and school and I am very grateful for the job I have working for my dad.  Valentine's Day is just a couple weeks away and Logan and I are determined to make it fun!  Last year Eli was admitted to the hospital on the 13th so we never really got to celebrate.  We'll make up for it this year!