The month of January was pretty much all about Luke. The kids went back to school on the 2nd, and Luke went back to the hospital for his second round of chemo on the 3rd. As was detailed on his blog, Luke's second round of chemo was horrible for him. Luke got more sick than we had seen him yet, and it was hard on the whole family. Combine that with the insane winter weather for the first few weeks of January, and not a lot was happening. Danny and I spent a lot of time at the hospital, trying to get Luke better, and the kids spent a lot of time with their grandparents.
By the middle of January, Luke was doing much better. And with Luke doing better, we were able to start living life a little. After two stressful weeks of worrying over our little boy, Danny and I needed a break. Our parents initiated a Friday Night Protocol. Every Friday, Papa spends the night with Luke, and one of our mothers takes the other three kids for the night. This allows Danny and I a quick date on Friday night, and a whole night of uninterrupted sleep. On one of these Friday nights, Danny and I were feeling like getting something to eat before heading home, and we wanted to try something new. We stopped at the Gateway and decided on "Z Tejas". It was incredible! The food was amazing, the service was prompt, and the company was superb. :)
The kids had been amazing while their brother was sick, but after a while, the stress was bound to get to them. We noticed them starting to get fussier and clingier, and we decided it was time for an adventure. On a Saturday afternoon while I was at the hospital with Luke, Danny took the kids to the Planetarium. They enjoyed a movie in the dome theater, and like always played with the exhibits. We know the kids really appreciated their time with their Dad.
With the coming of the New Year, the girls advanced in Primary. Claire moved up to CTR 6, and Sophie moved up from Sunbeams and became a CTR 5! She was so excited to don her very first CTR ring!
As I mentioned, the winter weather was insane during January. But the weirdest day of all was Thursday the 24th. Utah had it's first ice storm in 30 years. I was fortunate to get caught in it during my early morning commute to the hospital. When I left the house, it wasn't even snowing. By the time I reached the freeway, there were slide-offs. And the rest of the drive was spent white-knuckled, traveling about 25 miles an hour at the fastest. It was more raining than snowing, but the rain would turn to ice as soon as it hit any surface. There was a sheet of ice on the windshield, and I've never seen such slick roads. It was awful! Fortunately, I made it to the hospital safe and sound, albeit a little jittery. Danny made it to work safe as well, but when he left work that day, the ice storm had left everyone's cars in a sheet of ice. It was the strangest thing he'd ever seen.
But even with the ice storm, there was a ray of sunshine by the end of the day. That evening, Danny's best friend Justin came to visit! He was in town interviewing at Primary Children's for his residency. He's studying to become a PICU doctor, and we know he'll be excellent. It had been over two years since the boys have seen each other. They were so excited! There was only one thing that would make it better. One of the first things Danny and Justin told me when we met was who they considered to be music royalty. They unequivocally crowned George Strait as king. Henceforth and forever, he has been known as King George. Well, King George is getting old, and this year is his farewell tour. Justin, Toshi, Danny, and I were able to see King George three summers earlier, and it was awesome. In an amazing set of circumstances, King George was playing in Salt Lake as a part of his farewell tour on the one night that Justin was here in town! There was no question...we had to go. Justin's parents are incredible people, and they decided to treat us with tickets. But not just any tickets. We were in Row 12, Center Stage! The only thing we didn't have was Justin's beautiful wife, Toshi. Poor thing was stuck at home in Florida with a sick baby. We missed her, but we did our best to soldier on without her! ;)
Even though I'm not a terribly huge country fan, I have to admit. King George put on a pretty good show.:)
But the funnest part for me was seeing Danny and Justin act just like they did when we were all just friends in the single's ward. I have always been in awe of their incredible friendship. I know without a doubt that they were best friends in the life before this, and I know that friendship will continue through eternity. Danny and I are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends! We hope against hope that their journey through medical school, residency, and fellowship will somehow put them close to us. We miss them like crazy! It was also fun to see Danny just like I did when I was falling in love with him, seven years ago. And I found myself falling in love with him all over again.
And what were our children doing while we were off acting like kids again? Sticking together, that's what! Claire, Sophie, and Johnny continue to amaze us. We are so glad they have each other. They are so young, but they seem to instinctively lean on one another. They are blessed to have each other, and we feel blessed that the Lord sent each of them to us when He did, whether we thought we were ready or not. :)
Because no amount of preparation could have possibly prepared us for these kids! I mean, Sophie alone has more spunk in her than I have in my little finger. And she wears it well! Literally. :)
January was a crazy month for us. But as we neared the end of the month, we started to get our footing again. Everyone was starting to feel a little more secure in this crazy life we have. And even though there was still foot upon foot of snow, and it was bitter cold, we were starting to see the promise of some better days ahead. And we were feeling strong enough to make it to those better days.
As long as we stick together, we can do anything.
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