The Dawn Of A New Decade

Believe it or not, I left my 20's behind me on March 2nd and turned 30!  I never thought I'd be anxious about growing older.  My mother had me at 29, and then had 5 more kids after me!  My older sister is 11 years older than me, so has been in her 30's for ten years and she never seemed old in any respect.  But over the last year, as I've watched my hair get more and more gray and my body more and more achy and droopy, I've realized that I'm settling into adulthood.  I'm not a young newly wed with a kid or two.  I'm a mother of four children!  I've been married 6 1/2 wonderful years, and we have two cars and a mortgage.  Yup.  I'm definitely grown up!

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year.  Way before Luke got sick, Danny had talked about using a free night we had with Marriott for a birthday get-away for me.  We weren't sure how that would work when Luke got sick, but it just so happened that my birthday fell on the weekend of Luke's preparatory regimen for his bone marrow transplant.  He was still feeling really good, so Papa stayed in the hospital with Luke on the night before my birthday...Friday night.  My Mom was kind enough to have a sleep-over with the older three.  That left Danny and I care-free for the night!

Danny booked a room at the City Creek Marriott downtown, so we decided to spend the evening checking out City Creek.  We hadn't been yet.  It was a beautiful evening, and we very much enjoyed walking the mall and holding hands.  We had no one to pay attention to or worry about but each other, and it was fantastic!  Our first stop was to the Apple Store.  Danny told me on our way in that he really wanted me to buy me an iPad Mini for my birthday, but he was worried about pulling the trigger.  So we were just going to look. :)  Yeah, I walked out with my very own iPad!  I was so thrilled!  I had played with my first one just a couple weeks earlier at a Best Buy, and I was surprised by how much I like it.  The best part for me was how happy it made Danny to buy it for me.  It was adorable.  I have the best husband ever. :)

After walking around for a bit, we had a yummy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  To be honest, Danny and I can't figure out what all the fuss is about.  It was a good dinner, but probably not worth the price...in our opinion.  But it was fun, and it really is a beautiful restaurant!  We decided to take our Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake to-go, and headed back to our room.  Once there, we changed into our swimsuits and made our way to the hot tub.  This was kind of a big deal for me!  I haven't been able to enjoy hot tubs much since we got married, since I'm usually pregnant or with a newborn.  It was so relaxing to just sit there with my sweetheart.  When we were sufficiently wrinkly, we went back to our room and ate our cheesecake in bed while watching Duck Dynasty.  It was absolutely perfect!  We called and checked up on Luke before sleeping a gloriously uninterrupted 9 or so hours.  Words cannot express how wonderful it felt to wake up next to each other after a good night's rest.  It's been a while!

We had some time in the morning before heading back to the hospital to see Luke, so we decided on a delicious breakfast at Kneaders.  It was also the perfect time to try out the camera on my new iPad!  We both enjoyed a delicious breakfast sandwich and a fruit tart.  Divine.

It was such a perfect night.  I certainly didn't feel 30!  The day of my birthday was probably the youngest and most energetic I had felt in a long time! :)  Danny did such a perfect job of making my day (and the night before) wonderful.  Thank you, Sweetheart!  You're the best!

After breakfast, we were anxious to get back to our little guy.  With the way the day was going to work out, I was only going to get the chance to see Luke in the morning before heading home to our other kids.  Definitely one of the highlights of my day was seeing my Luke doing so well!

I love my Mr. Smiles so much.  Looking back, it was a tender mercy that my birthday came right before his transplant...and the hardest 3 weeks of our lives.  Luke's smiles and kisses made me feel like a million bucks!   I remember right as I walked in, he got excited and wanted me to pick him up.  And then he didn't want to go to Danny!  That was the best present of all. :)

As is the nature of the hospital shuffle, the time came too quickly that we had to leave our Luke and head home.  Papa promised to have a fun day with him, and we knew Luke would be fine.  Claire, Sophie, and Johnny were so excited to see me when we got to Grandma Candy's!  We had left a car at Grandma Candy's the night before, so Danny took the kids and did a little birthday shopping with them while I headed home to enjoy some peace and quiet in our lovely home.  When Danny and the kids got home, it was time for presents!  Danny helped the kids pick out the perfect present.  A cover for my iPad!! :)

Now, you'll have to forgive my fuzzy memory...I am getting old now. :)  I think we just spend some time hanging out together, and then we made our way to an early dinner at Red Robin.  We were having a family/ward fast for Luke the next morning, so that was even more reason for a filling meal!  It was perfect...except that we were missing our Luke-Son.  

I enjoyed the rest of my day with Claire, Sophie, and Johnny and it continued to be wonderful.  The kids were good for me, and good to me.  I missed Danny and Luke, but tried to enjoy some time after the kids went to bed just being by myself.  I slept good that night, officially one year older.

Sunday, March 3, was Fast Sunday.  When Bishop Streuling heard that Luke was heading into transplant, he asked if it would be okay to hold a ward fast.  We were, of course, humbled and happy to accept.  The ward was made aware of Luke's situation, and reminded for the weeks leading up to Fast Sunday to fast for his successful transplant.  That day's meeting was especially tender for me.  The Spirit was strong, and I was again reminded of the many blessings Luke had received that blessed him to recover from his illness.  I had been so worried about the possible side effects to his radiation, but as the day progressed I felt more and more at peace that he would not suffer any side effects from that procedure.  After the block of meetings was over, the ward met back in the chapel.  There was a song and an opening prayer, and then the Bishop gave a short lesson to the Primary children and youth about what was happening, and the power behind fasting.  He then invited everyone that could to kneel where they were, and he prayed in behalf of our infant son.  It was one of the most powerful and tender moments of my life.  Here was a room full of faithful Saints, and friends who still feel like strangers, that were fasting and praying for my little boy.  It was overwhelming, and it strengthened my spirit in ways words cannot express.  I will never forget the heavenly feeling in that room.  I think I know a little more of what Zion will feel like.  I want to be more worthy of it.

We came home after we broke our fast with the ward, and officially broke our family fast.  I can't remember what we ate, which only goes to show that I am getting older!  But I do remember that Grandma Candy came over for cake and ice cream!  In this case, they were one in the same.  Grandma Candy treated me to a Chocolate Xtreme Ice Cream Cake from Dairy Queen!  It. Was. Incredible!  Officially my favorite cake, hands down.

The kids helped me blow out my candles, and I made my wish.  Because the time has already passed, I can tell you what my wish was.  It was kind of obvious.  I wished for Luke's transplant to be successful, and for him to be home for his 1st birthday.  And for him to be home for every one of my birthdays after this one.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting my wish. :)

And with that, my birthday weekend was complete.  I might not be as young as I used to be.  I might have gray hairs and a completely different body than I used to have.  But I'm happy.  And I'm excited to see what the next decade holds for me and my sweet family.  I have been blessed in my life, time and time again, with more than I am worthy to receive.  I am grateful for all I have experienced in my life so far...every up and every down.  They have made me who I am today, and they have brought me to the place I am now.  I am grateful to see the Lord's hand in my life, and hope always to follow the path He has set for me.  Here's to another decade of health and happiness!