Rachel's Medical Scare

About a week ago, Rachel started having bad pains in her abdomen- sort of like really bad cramps. She kept putting them off because they went away when she took pain medication. On Sunday, the pain worsened and she started getting dizzy every time she sat up until she passed out for 30 seconds. Jon asked the neighbor to babysit the kids while he rushed Rachel to the emergency room. Within 3 hours they had diagnosed her with an ectopic pregnancy and had her in surgery. She lost about 1/3rd of her bodies total blood, but was able to avoid a blood transfusion (just barely). The doctor had to remove her left fallopian tube where the baby had been. There was a clot the size of a grapefruit in her uterus they had to remove. They also took out her IUD. Rachel had no idea that she was pregnant prior to this.

According to the doctor an ectopic pregnancy greatly increases the chances that you could have another one. However, if her IUD caused the ectopic pregnancy, then Rachel might not fall under that risk. It is a 1-6 in 1000 chance to get pregnant on an IUD. If you are one of those lucky 1-6 you have a 50/50 chance that the pregnancy will be ectopic. Because they only had to take out the left fallopian tube, Rachel can still have more children later.

Rachel is making a good recovery. She is really tired and cold all the time because of all the blood lose, but doing good as long as she keeps up on her pain meds. The ward has been a great help and has brought meals every night and helped watched the kids. The doctor said it will take at least 2 weeks before she can be alone with the kids again and start doing things around the house and up to two months to get all her blood back.

Jon is doing a great job helping Rachel out. He is overwhelmed with all that he has to do, but has been grateful for all the help from the ward, friends, and family. His teachers have been very good at working with him so he doesn't get behind in school.

The kids have been doing well. They have been very gentle to Rachel and good to all the babysitters. They like coming home and holding her hand telling her all about their day. Lightening started preschool this week, but has only been able to go once this week. He loves his class though and already likes to teach his brother and sister all the things he learns.

Thank you for all the prayers and love. They are greatly felt and appreciated.

Rachel brought Micky Mouse ear souvenirs from Downtown Disney for the kids. They had to try them on and get some pictures. Hopefully some day they can wear them at Disney Land.

Lady Bug Turns Two

Lady Bug turned two in August. She is pretty good most of the time but can be very moody at times. She loves having ribbons in her hair, playing Little Einsteins with her brothers (usually she is Annie), and tagging around with mom. She is getting very good at speaking. The other day Rachel asked her if she wanted a ribbon in her hair and she replied "no I want two ribbons in my hair."

Boxformers

We had to clean out our crawl space so the weatherization program could put some insulation down there. The kids found a pile of empty boxes and had fun for hours putting them on their heads and hitting into each other. It was so funny! Who needs fancy toys?

Florida Trip

Rachel went to Florida at the end of July to go to a Close to My Heart scrapbooking convention. She had a ton of fun taking a trip on her own and driving a small car instead of a mini van. She got to go to the Florida temple, sea world, the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, and the Kennedy Space Center. Some of her art got on and prestigious art board at convention. She is pointing to a layout she made of Lightening being mischievous. Her favorite thing to see was all the palm trees. We just don't have those here in Utah. She also liked how there were tons of trees by the side of the road everywhere you went. It made it feel like a small town, even though Orlando is way bigger then Orem.

Picture guide: Orlando Florida LDS Temple, Rachel pointing to her art on the art wall at convention, Shamu show at Sea World called Believe, Man feeding the alligators at the atrium at the convention center, Rachel touching real moon rock at the Kennedy Space Center, Rachel at Cocoa Beach

There is no need to fear

As we remember the terror attacks on the twin World Trade Center towers 7 years ago, there might be a tendency to look back with fear. Fear about what else might have happened, fear for loved ones who were involved in the tragedy, or even fear for loved ones who just were not close at hand at the time. This fear may be normal, but more than a little of it can be debilitating.
How can we face this increasingly hostile and ever changing world without fear, but with calm strength and firm hope? We can look to the source of all hope, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Christ has laid out a path, that if followed, leads to great joy and peace. There is no room for fear next to this kind of joy and peace. It all centers on His loving sacrifice on our behalf, "perfect love casteth out fear."(1 John 4:18) Because of His sacrifice, in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, we need not fear God. We can come to Him in humble repentance and receive mercy and forgiveness for our errors. We can also find guidance and answers to our questions, find strength to succeed, and find healing for our soul. There is no club or membership fee for these blessings, they are freely available to any and all who ask. Sadly, many do not ask. If we ask, He will take away our fear and replace it with love.
Some do not fear for themselves,but rather the idea of being separated from and loosing loved ones. There is no need to carry this burden of fear, however. A modern day prophet, like Moses of the Old Testament, has brought salvation from God. Just as Moses freed the ancient Israelites from the fear and bondage of the Egyptians, Joseph Smith has freed us from the fear of death and separation. This was done by restoring the priesthood authority to bind families together forever. Not only will we be resurrected and live again after death, but we can live with our families as a family and enjoy the associations we have enjoyed during this life even more. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ we need not fear being lonely.
All we must do to receive this peace that is promised through the gospel is to do what the gospel asks:

1. Have faith in Christ
2. Repent
3. Be baptized
4. Receive the Holy Ghost
5. Keep trying until the end

The Lord Himself said, "Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for ^aall things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church. For I will raise up unto myself a ^apure people, that will serve me in righteousness;

And all that ^acall upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved." (D&C 100:15-17)
So even when events of terrible hatred and malice occur, we can face it without fear because we have a sure, strong source of hope and guidance for the future. We can tap into that source at all times, and we should! As we do, we will find that fear is quickly driven away by unspeakable peace and assurance that God loves us, and will not leave us.