Every moment is a blessing

I've been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I am. I know I lose my patience a lot (as most "normal" moms do, in my opinion), but as Jimmy nears the start of Kindergarten, I keep thinking about how different his life would be if things had gone a little differently on that April morning five yrs ago. Not everyone knows this, but I came close to missing out on seeing Jimmy grow into the amazing little boy he is today. During childbirth, my (his?) placenta ruptured and I bled profusely for a few hours after delivery. My obstetrician took me into surgery to remove the remains of the placenta and stopped the excessive blood flow. I am truly blessed that we were in a hospital in a developed country when I gave birth to Jimmy. I know that is kind of a strange thing to say as an American... we take for granted the qualified physicians and hospitals that we have in every town. But we were living overseas, and when we considered an international move, the health care of the destination country was not a deciding factor (as a couple of twenty-somethings with no kids).
So for the past few days I have been able to laugh a lot more, and smile easier, and even keep my voice calm and loving (compared to the norm), thinking that had God not guided our decisions back then, I would not be here to enjoy this time with Jimmy. It would be a nanny or daycare worker making his lunch (this was my thought as I used a half-loaf of bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich because I kept burning them), searching for his Transformer's leg (at the VERY bottom of the overflowing toy chest), or reading "just one more" Curious George book. And the saddest thought is that the world would be short of thousands of giggles every day if Jimmy wasn't a big brother... just ask Susie and Gabe... if you can catch them at a serious moment.

Not that I'm making excuses for neglecting our blog, BUT... I really want to enjoy the last few days of the summer. I know that once Jimmy is out of my constant supervision he will mature so much, and I really want to soak up all of the innocence and sweetness I can. Check back for updates after September 2nd (Jimmy's first day), and until I get that free minute, remember to cherish every moment; even the bad times should make you appreciate the good times that much more.

Ahem, remember me?

This is a post I started about a month ago, and never got around to finishing... hope it still makes some sense. :) Gabe is almost 7 months now, Susie just turned 3, and summer is almost over (and it was shorter than usual, from what I've been told).

"Well, Little Gabe is almost 6 months old now, and Susie is almost 3 yrs. Jimmy turned 5 since my last update, and we've been to Denver twice. Some of the biggest things that have happened are

-Sam finished his first semester since transfering to UNL (online) for his MBA... after this semester he will be caught up to where he was when he left USC. Dang it that they don't transfer all of your credit hours!

- Jimmy turned 5. YEA!

- Jimmy was diagnosed with a spermadic cord hydrocele and had it repaired at Presbyterian St Luke's Hospital in Denver. This was basically the same surgery as a hernia repair. We were really worried because the local radiologist described it as a complex cystic structure and said he had never seen anything like this in a child before. Turns out they are fairly common, and it wasn't that big of a deal to fix it. It did require general anesthesia, but it was same-day surgery and Jimmy was back to normal in 24 hrs.

- Sam and our neighbor built a fence around our backyards, so now the kids can play safely and we can enjoy a meal outdoors without people spying us through the empty lot behind our house.

- I joined a book club, and met some really great ladies through the club (I had met a few before, but got to know them a little better now).

I still feel like I'm waiting for summer to start, since it just hasn't gotten that hot here in Big Sky Country yet, but I'm hopeful. "

I'll post pictures at a later date...