Tonight.

We Danced.

As a family. In the kitchen. Like nobody would ever know about it. And it was one of the greatest moments in my life.

Law School Sucks

Really, though. I try to be optimistic about it, but SERIOUSLY! Let me tell you what a normal day is like.
5:30am Drew's alarm goes off. I wake up, he sleeps through it because he's so exhausted from the late night before.
6:30am Drew's alarm goes off again. I've been awake all of this time because I can never go back to sleep after the 5:30 alarm. He jumps out of bed and showers quickly to catch the 6:45 bus. Yes, he takes the bus because I'm just not driving him to school that early every day.

Around 2 or 3 he calls to "check in" then runs back to studying. He comes home at 6 or 6:30, eats a quick dinner, and puts Grace to bed at 7. Around 11, on a good night, he finally crawls into bed.

If you calculated right that is 15 HOURS of schooling per day. He's only in class for 3 hours. When my Dad told us that law school would be 3 years of hell, he wasn't kidding.

Grace and I are home most days, but we try to get out of the house once a day to keep our sanity. We live in a neighborhood that's not the safest, and our neighbors are kind of scary. I don't like being home without Drew, and yes, I always carry a gun. Don't mess with this momma. Once or twice a month we go to the law school to have lunch with Drew, so that's a good break. Not to mention we are poor...........so, so poor.

 Honestly, we've been so blessed though. Somehow we haven't touched a cent of the money we've taken out of our loans for living. We've lived frugally off of our savings. We've had random income EVERY month that has helped buy diapers, pay bills, etc. How does that even logically happen? It's not logical, it's just blessings from Heavenly Father.

I'm not writing this to complain, because we have a wonderful life, but it's not perfect. When you don't see your spouse, it's hard to have a relationship. We go days without having a real conversation. I'm just glad I have someone out there sacrificing so that my family can eventually have a comfortable life. I'm all about paying my dues, but dang, this is hard! I'll probably feel this way until we get out of school and that is okay! I'm letting myself feel this way because it's normal to feel this way.

IS IT OVER YET?!

MRSA

Remember how much Grace loved swimming on the cruise ship?

Ya, BIG mistake. 

I feel so bad she's dealing with this infection. MRSA is a staph infection that is very difficult to treat. In most cases antibiotics will not entirely get rid of the infection. She is on antibiotics and hopefully she will be the small percentage that they help. Poor little thing. We have to do ointment and BLEACH baths as well. Yes, BLEACH. It's so sad to see your little baby in pain. Get better, Grace!

Christmas in the Caribbean.

We started our break by going through the Temple with Jacob. He will be serving his mission in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Her favorite part of the whole trip; swimming on the boat.

Our family Christmas picture.

Dunns River Falls, Jamaica.

We never got to see Santa. Sad day.

We flew down to Vegas and spent a few days there before leaving on our cruise. My parents moved out to Summerlin in Las Vegas. Their new house is beautiful. Then all 11 of us flew to Florida where we went out of Fort Lauderdale. First we went to Key West, Florida. Then, we stopped in Cayman Islands, where we swam with the stingrays and snorkeled. It was so fun. Our final stop was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. This was everyones favorite stop! We went on the Jamaican bobsleds and hiked Dunns River Falls. Seriously amazing. Merry Christmas everyone!

Pillow Talk.

I think it's the best medicine. Last night Drew and I stayed up talking and laughing in the dark. We talked about when we fell in love. We talked about our first date. Things were so simple back then. And now I miss my long hair.

Last Night....

Drew and I sat in bed watching the results of the US Presidential Election. When they announced that Barack Obama would continue to be our President for the next 4 years my heart dropped. Drew and I looked at each other and said, "What are we going to do?" These past 4 years have been hard for the United States. We are experiencing some of the worst economic hardships ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of people are on welfare who shouldn't be. They are legalizing abortion, marijuana, and gay marriage. We live in the last days. I needed to record my feelings now, because I want my children to understand the feelings that I have had over this Presidency. Mitt Romney is a wonderful man: one who deserves much credit. The Lord is preparing His children for the destruction that will surely come. It is our chance to prepare and be ready.

Sacrifice for a Cookie.

A few nights ago I had a strange feeling before going to sleep. I just felt like something was off and couldn't put my finger on it. I kept hearing a little voice telling me to go and check on Grace. Drew and I were watching a movie so I just brushed it off. I heard it again, "Kayla, go check on Grace." I really didn't want to wake her up because she had a hard time falling asleep. Again the voice came, this time louder, "Kayla, you need to go check on Grace." I quietly crept out of bed and started to open her door when it started to squeak. I stopped in my tracks and continued quietly in to check on her. I looked into her crib and she was sound asleep, snoring even. I went and jumped back into bed and fell asleep. 2 hours later Grace started screaming. I jumped out of bed, went and picked her up and realized she was wet. I went and gave her to Drew, went back in the room and turned the lights on to find throw up. Everywhere. It was disgusting. I warned Drew that she was covered in throw up and to take her to the bathroom and clean her up. Anyways, I started laundry at midnight and didn't finish until the next afternoon. I assumed she had the stomach flu so Drew made me a bed right next to her crib. I "slept" there all night. Really I just layed awake most of the time to hear her sleep talking and laughing. She never threw up again. The next morning it dawned on me..... Grace got a free sugar cookie from the deli at Fred Meyer. Why didn't I assume there was milk in that? I guess I just though since it was a sugar cookie it wouldn't be a problem. I was wrong. Grace is severly allergic to milk. I learned a lot about sacrifice that night. Is it really worth it to have that sugary treat for a full night of reprecussion? Not a single chance. Being a mom is a sacrifice, and a big one at that.