"This is the Greatest Day of My Life!"

That's the second thing that Zoë told me right after she got baptized. The first was that she felt "special" and really good.

We had a wonderful day with lots of friends and family. We were particularly glad that Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Becky and Nana and Grandma Winkie were able to come to Indiana for this occasion. We were also glad to have lots of friends from church, and even a neighbor come.

It was really an amazing day, as all baptism days should be. I love feeling the Spirit testify of the truth of things, and the peace and Joy I feel even more strongly on a day that I know brings joy to our Father. I am so grateful for my Savior and my Father in Heaven, that I have this Forever Family, and I'm grateful to feel the Holy Spirit and know that this Church is true, that we have the fullness of the Gospel, which gospel allows us to work to return to our Eternal Family with our Father in Heaven.

It's amazing to see my daughter grow in her own testimony, and see the strength and love she has and shares with others.

Zoë, thank you for this Greatest Day!

**Pictures coming**

Google Me!

I'm so excited that, even though I should be rushing out the door to my Seminary class, I am instead typing this post.

Remember my diaper change kits? Well, I thought, "Hey, what the heck. Let me google them to see if I can find them on the web."

Guess what!?? They're THERE! I typed with quotes, "diaper change kit" and Munchkin diaper change kits pops up with the first 7 or so entries. But on the first page, there towards the bottom (but not at the bottom) is my Etsy link with "Brown Microsuede Diaper Change Kit". SO COOL!

So, if you can't remember my Etsy site, you can now google me, and find my kits.

Oh No! *gasp*

I knew I needed to clean out my inbox and organize my emails, deleting many of them. I just hadn't anticipated doing such a thorough and complete job. I didn't just clean out my inbox; I erased my email account from my computer. This means I have lost ALL of my contacts and email addresses and all the saved emails (including addresses and photographs, recommendations of certain things, links to different blogs, websites suggested by friends).*sigh*

Travis said I was handling it well.

I think I'm just in shock. I'm still sad that I don't have the addresses, some of the special emails from family, and all the great and kind things people said when Veronica was born (yes, I was planning to print those off and put them in her scrapbook; I just hadn't gotten around to it, yet... 18 months later).

The upshot of all this is that I can't reach you. I might have your telephone number (if it isn't less than 3 years old). But, if you ever want to hear from me by email again, please send me an email so I can (re)add you to my contact list.

I think this time I will print off my contacts in case of future catastrophes...

Irony or Serendipity?

I was burrowed under my wool comforter (I'm allergic to down) when my phone rang. "uhhh- hmmm. Hello?"

...moaaan, "I'm really sick" is what I almost make out over the phone line.

My little sister was calling me, and she sounded HORRIBLE. I'd just gotten back from getting my throat gouged, I mean swabbed, at the lab cuz I thought I might have strep. Hearing my sister, it reminded me how BAD Strep Throat is and sounds! After asking her a few pertinent questions (fever? check. sore throat? check. Spots on your tonsils? check. Pain so bad you would rather spit than swallow? check. Chills? check. Tender lymph nodes in your neck under your jaw? check. Feel like you'd rather go to the hospital than do anything else because you feel so absolutely rotten? check. Have child(ren) in school/preschool? check.*), I deduced that she had a VERY high likelihood of strep throat, and that she should really be going to the doctor to get it swabbed. Oh, and after hearing this recommendation from my friend, when I talked to my sister I said, "ASK FOR A SHOT!" The last thing a person wants to do when they don't even want to swallow spit is to swallow a giant HORSE pill! I didn't want to swallow ibuprofen that I knew would help, let alone a giant pill that took tons of painful gulps to get down my raw throat. I didn't even think I'd be able to get it down the first couple of doses.


I then thought, Huh, maybe I don't have strep... I have been mostly functional, haven't had fever or chills. But, I DO have a sore throat and NO other symptoms. *shrug* Well, the rapidstrep test was negative (as it was the last time I'd had strep, so I don't put much money in that for me), and I knew that the doc's office would call the next day if it were positive.

Fast forward a day.

Phone rings as I'm playing chase with my girls and I hear a cough, and then a scratchy voice in almost tears, but maybe it's jubilation, "Heeehhhhllo? I have strep!" Yay! I mean, relief! Her horrible illness can be treated with some antibiotics, and she'll feel SO much better in 24 hours!
No phone call for me, and my throat was hurting some, but, come on, I was running around on the floor and laughing with my girls! (and maybe so you don't think I'm all that great, I should mention that only an hour earlier I'd been screaming about [literally] spilled milk). So, no strep for me, it's just a virus and it'll work through my system and I might have a sore throat for a week, but then I'll be good, right?

Uh, wait. There's a message on my phone, and there's that phone call from my doctor's office saying, "Yes, well, the culture did grow strep, and we've called you in a prescription."

So, I load up all 4 girls, driving into the onset of a blizzard we're facing in the next 24 hours, to go get my drugs so I can also feel like a new woman once the Blizzard has passed.

So, is it ironic that my sister and I got the SAME illness the same time? Or just serendipitous.

Is it ironic that I seem to accomplish more housework when I'm sick, and play more with my kids? or is that just my perception... although I'm nearly caught up on the laundry...

Oh, nope. I didn't get the shot. But I can swallow horse pills right now... maybe my immune system is better cuz it's seen this brand of infection before. Maybe I'm getting enough sleep. Whatever the reason, I'm VERY grateful I don't feel like my sister, and I'm praying she recovers quickly!

* Don't use this checklist to self-diagnose. If you think you or your kid has strep, go check it out with your doctor. People often have different manifestations. I only had chills and throat pain with tender nodes. My sister had EVERYTHING. Strep needs to be treated because it can go on to Scarlet Fever and can cause heart damage, or worse, if untreated. It's a rather serous infection. Thankfully, it's usually easily treatable (unless you are allergic to penicillins).