Fef and Funshine: August 2014

Everyday Emme tells me whether or not she has had a bad day or a good day. Sometimes she says "this has not been a very good day for me" and sometimes she says "this has been the best day ever!" I love this! She lives completely in the moment. Even when something bad has happened to her or something made her sad, she still has hope that the very next moment might make her day amazingly great.
I have never been able to think like that. If I am sad or angry or unhappy, I have a much more difficult time than Emme does, coming out of my funk. The last few months have been some of the most trying times that I have had and I have tried to follow Emme's lead and not dwell on the negatives.

When Gideon started having seizures, it was the first time in my life that I had been truly afraid. It was "a not very good day for me." But at the same time, I think it was the closest that I had ever felt to my Heavenly Father. I realized how much He loves Gideon and I knew that no matter what happened Gideon would be taken care of.
A few weeks later little Evelyn joined our family and it was very refreshing to feel so much joy. Just pure sweet joy and awe at the little miracle that Dustin and I had created and the sweet spirit that she is. Evelyn was the distraction we all needed. She has been the happiness and calm that I especially needed. Evelyn has been one of my "best days ever!"
In May, Dustin started to get severe allergic reactions that lasted for several weeks. The hives and swelling got severe enough that there were several visits to Urgent Care and a visit to the Emergency room. His poor face and lips were so swollen they made the "funny" allergic reactions in movies look like no big deal. And even though we joked about all of the things that could be causing the hives, we were both pretty worried. Dustin has never really been sick before and he does a very good job at remaining calm in stressful situations. But I could tell when he got uncomfortable enough that he started to get truly concerned, and that scared me. What would I do without him? "Not the best day." But finally after several weeks the hives got under control and although he does still carry around a EpiPen, I feel comfortable threatening that I will stab him with it as a weapon instead of actually thinking about having to use it on him for medical reasons.
Father's Day was also Evelyn's blessing day. I love baby blessings! They are my favorite. Hearing Dustin bless our little babies with such wonderful things and feeling so hopeful for their futures, and then seeing such strong men stand around them in a big circle of love...it is awesome. "Best day ever."
We have been able to start weaning Gideon off of his anti-seizure medicine. The lower his dosage gets the more we see our Giderman. "Best day ever!" He is so happy. I love being able to look in his eyes and see Gideon's light again. He gets more and more focused everyday. Seeing how much he has changed these last few weeks has made me less concerned about the seizures coming back, and more worried about possibly seeing those parts of Gideon go away again. Those thoughts can make for some "not best days." I tell myself that Gideon will be fine. I feel comforted that no matter what happens Gideon will be exactly who he is supposed to be.
And now we are moving to Iowa! We are leaving our home for the last five years. We are leaving the very comfortable little cocoon we have made here. I do not enjoy change. I hate meeting new people! :) "Not a very good day." But we are moving to Iowa! We are starting a new chapter. We will have new adventures and we will make new friends (ugh). We will get to live in the middle of a corn field (literally.) We will make a new comfortable little cocoon and we will make the new place we live our home. And we will be happy, after all there is a Hobby Lobby, Target and Costco nearby. We are looking forward to lots of new "best day evers."
I love Emme. She has a glowing inner happiness that I am so grateful she is willing to share with me. I truly think that she will cause every single one of my gray hairs. But jeez, it will be fun getting them with her. Emme will always make sure that the people around her have a "best day ever!"