God is a God of Miracles

This last month has been a month of extreme emotions. If only I could verbalize the complexities of the events that have happened in the last two weeks.

On February 12th, I got to watch Sean baptize his mother.  The sister missionaries below began teaching her months ago. 

Sean's mom was absolutely beautiful and radiant.  The missionaries spoke and testified of the greatness of our Father in Heaven.  They spoke of His love for Verna, and their love for her sweet spirit.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  One sister missionary sang the hymn, "Lead Kindly Light" which happens to also be my favorite hymn. 

Sean carefully led her kindly down into the font.  After she was baptized, she came out of the water and gasped for air.  She trembled and cried as she and Sean stood hugging motionless in the water.  Minutes passed as the audience watched and felt the warmth of the Spirit flooding the room. Sean kissed her on the forehead and whispered words of love and led her back out of the font.  I was engulfed with love towards my mother in law.  She was beautiful, and her spirit beamed brighter than a lighthouse during a total eclipse.  The light had led her to the Church, and she was now a new member.  Her confirmation was gentle and sweet.  I will never forget that marvelous day. It was a miracle.

Babies and more babies. Everything is about babies. I was pleased to gain another nephew on the 15th of February. Koen is a chubby stud who has been struggling in the PICU since his arrival here on earth. My prayers are with him and his parents. But he is nonetheless, a miracle.

Then, on the 17th, Sean had surgery. Many have asked why. Sean was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. It is a condition that causes the airway to collapse while asleep. This causes brief moments when Sean stops breathing. As you can imagine, it is terrifying to watch Sean sleep. Often times I will shake Sean awake and yell at him to breathe. Well, Sean had "phase one" surgery to correct this condition. It consists of nasoplasty, adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy, and a  uvulaplatablepharngealplasty. They abbreviate it as a UPPP. Surgery went well, but Sean wouldn't wake up after the anesthesia and he required supplemental oxygen. We spent the night at the hospital and the following day, I took Sean to the doctor's office where he removed 1 inch splints out of Sean's nose.

His were the ones with the tube-looking things on the far right.

It looked painful. I was able to take several days off and care for my sick man. As of today, he still can't eat much, but the pain is dissipating, and he is sleeping better! He even went to church.  It has been a miracle.

Back to babies, and more showers, yes, I shower everyday but recently I have been invited to several of my sister's baby showers and friend's baby showers. Here, there, and everywhere a baby shower.

I volunteered to organize a baby shower for the girl I visit teach. It has been a blast! Yes, I Anne made and decorated over a hundred invites and have planned and coordinated a baby shower. I have been very pleased with myself. The shower is this Saturday, and I will post pics.



God is a God of miracles. However, there are many nights around the world with knees smashed against the earth's floor. Couples plead and cry for God to give them a baby of their own.  Why does a God of miracles allow babies to die? From abortion to congenital disorders, why does He take them away? Joseph Smith had first-hand experience, and from his heart as a grieving father he wrote, "the Lord takes many away, even in infancy that they may escape the envy of man and the sorrows and ills of this present world. They were to pure, to lovely to live on the earth. Therefore, I have rightly considered instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil and we shall soon have them again."

Although Joseph Smith's words ring true, the pain still settles at the base of the heart.  But, God is a God of miracles.  And when a window shuts, he opens a DOOR!

The most magnificent story of babies was the opportunity I had to find a baby for my sister. By God's will and being at the right place at the right time, I found a birth mom that wasn't prepared for parenthood. I told her about my sister who has burried two babies and had recently miscarried in August. I arranged a meeting with the birth parents and my sister and her husband.  We cheered and smiled as we saw the ultra sound of a long awaited miracle.  The parents exchanged information and began a month long process of lawyers, social workers, and anxious waiting.  My sister and brother in law took the birth mom to all her appointments and also took her to the hospital three different times with false alarms.  After a week past her due date, the doctor finally induced her.  On February 21st, my new nephew, Kody, was born.


The adoptive daddy and sister holding Kody's hand.

My sister got to hold him immediately after he was born. Tears scattered down her face as she held her third adopted child and her first living son.

Both Kody's sisters got to hold little him on the day of his birth.

After a twelve hour night shift and weeks of waiting, I also got to hold baby Kody

As of today, Paige and Sean (the birth parents) are the most selfless people I know in the world.

"A Birthmother puts the needs of her child above the wants of her heart"

In conclusion of my long post, I wanted to add a special tribute to Paige.  Michael Mclean wrote a song from a birth mother's point of view.  I heard the song as I drove to work yesterday evening and I cried as I thought of the miracle of adoption.

 

 God is a God of miracles.  Because of this month of miracles, I know that one day Sean and I will hold our own baby miracle.
But, as of right now, we just get this furry four-legged thing...

And the most miraculous miracle of all is that God gave me my man.

I'm buckled...thoughts of being a RN

"To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; is to be a nurse."

Well, to be buckled means "to prepare oneself or apply oneself."  Hence, I am buckling to write a post.  I have so much I want to write about but this blog is supposed to be about Sean and I's adventures and not my rants and thoughts.  However, Sean living with me has to be an adventure, cause I tell you what, I am...well past roommates, what am I?  Lol, I guess I shall call myself an adventure.  So life continues to continue whether I want it to continue or not.  During the "adventures of our love" we have to do something that is most adventurous-work. 

I'm sure all of you know I am a nurse.  In the last week I have been punched in the gut, clawed, pinched, and bled on....yes, someone bled on me because they pulled out their IV.  I suppose that is better than other weeks when I get to take home vomit and feces.  Seriously, being a nurse is tough stuff.  Tuesday, I cried and cried at the end of my shift.  At work.  Some days are just so extremely exhausting that I shut down and there is not a reset button.  Unfortunately, because of law, I am unable to post any details of my "bad days" which makes working as a nurse even harder.  Does anyone else struggle with their professions?  Well, today I am posting a little bit about what it is like to be a nurse through tidbits of quotes I have extracted.

"Bound by paperwork, short on hands, sleep, and energy... nurses are rarely short on caring."  ~Sharon Hudacek

So nursing is a lot of things, but it is hard. 

Here is a joke I like.

Question: What 's the difference between a nurse and a nun?
Answer:  A nun only serves one God.


The awful truth.  Some patients think they are gods and should be served like one.  The food must be five stars, the doctor must see them first, no pain is acceptable and to them, you are a peasant.  It doesn't matter that you haven't sat down for ten hours, they want their diet Coke now.  And it better be cold and on the rocks.  It is so ridiculous.  Patients like these are hard too please and are so demanding.  Everything is wrong, and everything is unacceptable.  12 hours with this patient feels like eternity. 

Mother Tersea said this,  "People are unrealistic; illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway."

I wish she would have left instructions on how.


Often times patients say, "what are you nurses good for anyway?"  If only they knew.  I'll tell you what, we are worth a lot more than we make.  The responsibilities we have, the training we go through, and the things we do are far more extensive then could ever be explained without being shown.  Ask a new nurse, they'll give you insight.

"When you are a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours."

However, there are also good days when being a nurse is wonderful.  On one such day, I had a patient who was so entirely sweet and giggly.  Yes, she would laugh and giggle about everything.  The pains and aches were part of the roller coaster of her disease.  Each bump made her laugh, and each drop made her smile.  Not because she was dying, but because of the life she lived.  Past ninety years old, this woman still said please and thank-you.  She always had a smile on her face, even when her pain was at its worst.  After 24 hours spent with this patient she invited me to her surprise birthday party.  It was a surprise because it would be a "surprise" if she was still alive.  She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek before I left on my week vacation.  I knew she still had days of treatments left, and I knew she may not make it another day.  She looked me in the eyes and said, "Anne, I love you."  You know that watery stuff that fills the eyes during certain moments?  Well, my eyes were full of that watery stuff.  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I drove away from the hospital that day.  I was not crying because I was sad.  I cried because I was grateful to be her nurse.

Which leads me too another quote..

She also said, "It's not how much we do, but how much love we put into doing."


This is something I am really trying to learn. 


Sean is my greatest example of a good nurse.  If there was another definition of caring, it would be Sean Cristian Willardson.  After working ten hours himself, he will come home, make dinner, start a warm bath, make the bed and have it all done before I return from work.  He is never asked to do it, but he does it anyway.  When I am sick, he will treat me like an ICU patient, catering to my every last whim and loving me all the while.  He never complains.  He loves doing it.  


This is a pic taken in 2008 of Sean stretching my legs after I had returned from a nursing clinical. 
Sean still stretches my legs today.





So ending my post I'd like to share a quote from one of the greatest nurses of all times, Florence Nightingale.

"Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts." ~Florence Nightingale