Sick Day

Saturday afternoon I got a sore on my right ear where the earlobe attaches. It got more sore as the night went on when one of my lymph nodes got swollen. The slit goes from the front to the back. This picture is after I'd put neosporin on it for two days straight and trying to wear bandaids on it - they should market bandaids for unusual places cause that was tricky. It looks better than it was and better than it feels.
Druing the night Saturday more lymphnodes were swollen and I couldn't sleep on that side, from radiating pain. Monday I made an appointment for the Dr. and saw her that evening after work.

She prescribed some antibiotics and an ointment - apparently this is just a dry crack that has gotten out of control. It doesn't usually happen in this area of the body, you're more likely to see them on the sides of peoples mouths when their comissures crack. But because I wear a mask every day and the strings pull on my ear it hasn't been able to heal.

Oh and surprise ending to the Dr. visit.... I got a tetanus shot. It actually wasn't bad at all, I didn't even know she'd done it and she was already capping the needle. HOWEVER the next day is another story....

This morning I woke up with an incredibly sore shoulder.... TETANUS SHOTS = LAME
I was warned to move my arm after the shot so it didn't get too sore. Well Alex and I did a good job moving it until I went to sleep.
To make the morning even more interesting. I took my antibiotic when I got to work and within 5 min. could feel that something was wrong. My chest started hurting, like there was something stuck on the way down, sweats, heart racing and the feeling of needing to vomit. My hands were shaky as I finished the first patient and then took my blood pressure. It was pretty low, but I knew there was something wrong. I went downstairs to our break room and called Alex. I immediatley got rid of everything I'd eaten that morning, including the antibiotic. I felt a little better but still had the urge to purge. My sweet husband hadn't left for work yet, so I had him come get me.
Here I sit on the couch with not much to do. My brother brought some gingerale, but I'm not up to putting anything in my system just yet, still having the urge. Just waiting for the Dr. office to call back with what I should do.....
Reactions to medications = EVEN LAMER!!!

Babysitting

Recently Alex I have been doing a little bit of babysitting.
I don't personally remember the last time that I did and Alex had never done it by himself, until last week!
Friday I was asked to watch my visiting teaching companion's daughter for a few hours. Of course i said, "YES!" This little girl Emerson is everything that baby Gerber stands for. She is 15 months old now and although she can't form complete words, she gets her point across while roaming the house endlessly.
I was nervous at first thinking, "Do I know how to watch a 15 month old, what do I do with her the whole time? 2 1/2 hours is a long time, and do I remember how to change a diaper?" It's amazing what can leave your mind if you don't practice it. So as her mom was leaving me with all the instructions I started to feel ..... she does this on a daily basis, I can do it. I'm a woman - it's inherently built within me to have the capabilities to handle this.
Her mom shut the door and Emerson was off. I followed her around picking up things, putting them back, keeping certain cupboards closed, trying to get her to drink milk, and actually feeling sorry when she started to cry because all her food was gone. I never had to change a diaper, but at the time didn't care if I would've had to. I was so surprised by how little she needed to be "watched" and was actually entertained by her most of the time. My how the time flies when you're having fun. I was worn out and very impressed when her mom returned.... she does this on a daily basis - and she survives with a smile and positive attitude.
Bless you Riki!
The second opportunity came a few days later when Riki again mentioned she needed a babysitter for Tuesday night while we had our Relief Society dinner - I volunteered Alex :)
He went over right after work, and I met him after our dinner. Apparently Emerson's parents were going out after the dinner and so Alex and I finished the night off babysitting together. I was very impressed to see Emerson with clean diaper (changed previously by Alex) and a bucket on her head! Come to find out, he didn't feel the need to hover over her as much as I had. He was totally relaxed and completely in control..... until it was bedtime. We both tried different tactics for a few min. and then we just left her in the crib. 45 min. later when I had to leave she was still sitting up talking to herself. Determination of a 15 month old is amazing.
I was so proud of Alex for doing this on his own.... he will be a great dad some day. Especially if his kids like to play video games with him ;)
Believe it or not, we had had years without babysitting and our THIRD opportunity came only 2 short days later. Alex's brother Ryan and his wife had a party to go to Thursday and asked us to watch their 3 girls. I thought for sure this would be a piece of cake after Emerson.... and seriously it was. I have learned that if kids have each other to play with, babysitting is a breeze.
Their girls were so much fun.... we were laughing at everything they did whether it was really funny or not, kids just make us laugh. They are so impressed with the simplest things in life. We should try to be more like them. Thank you Jenny for giving us that chance, you have done an amazing job with them!

It's been an interesting week but we've had a lot of fun and we're learning a lot so that in the DISTANT future we'll know a little more, and be slightly more prepared to take on the joyous challenge of raising children :)

You all are heroes!!

PorSha's Decision

My neice PorSha made quite a big decision on Saturday when she was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by her Grandpa Hoffmann. She is quite the spirit sent from heaven. Born into circumstances that are not ideal, she has the strength to make it better.
Throughout the whole baptism there wasn't a time when someone wasn't crying. You could definitely feel the spirit of Heavenly Father all around as this precious daughter of God was receiving this wonderful gift.

I don't know why Alex posed like this and even though we took another picture, I had to post this one cause he just has a "booty"
We were so excited to share this day with PorSha. Alex was a witness and in the confirmation circle, and I cried through an invocation.
She is definitely her daddy's little girl. I don't know if he'll ever be able to let her grow up.

As aunts and uncles we decided to give PorSha her very own set of scriptures with her name on them! We went after her baptism to surprise her. She was so excited to pick out her own color and decide how she wanted her name printed on them.

She's already been marking off each page as she "reads" it.

Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann let her pick out her own scripture case. I think she did a great job.She only turned 8 in August, and yet she's so grown up. I can't believe it's been over 8 years since this little monkey came into our lives. I asked PorSha what her favorite part of the day was and she said, "The baptism. I felt all warm."
Isn't it amazing how simple it can be, their young spirits just get it.
She was so worn out from the excitement of the day, that she crashed on the way to her dad's house..... precious!!!
That night, Jacob and Elaina and Alex and I went to the Delta Center (I refuse to call it by it's "new name") to see BYU play San Francisco. Mom got us free tickets from a lady at her work that couldn't use them.

Although we didn't know until we got there that the pairs of tickets weren't next to each other. Jacob and Elaina sat on the same row, just around the corner from us.

They wiped the floor with San Fran.

Self Portrait

Overall it was an amazing day! Full of the Spirit and fun. I couldn't believe it actually snowed, but PorSha said that it was good luck to snow on a baptism... so I'll believe her.