Sunday, 12 August, 2001

Mom and Dad returned to Utah on July 28–this time to help me out and for Alicia’s baby blessing.  Normally we wouldn’t bless her quite so soon, but since all of our family is here we wanted to take advantage of that. Mom stayed with us from July 31st to August 3rd and was a real help.  Dad stayed up in Salt Lake with Brad and continued to help Brad and Dallin out at their new practice.  It was certainly a sacrifice for them to come again, and I certainly appreciated it.  Amy did as well.  She got to spend a lot of one on one time with her grandma.  That freed me up to get the rest I needed and to spend time taking care of Alicia.  In the evenings she would send Chris and I off together for dinner or just time away and watch both the girls for us.  We had the cell phone if she needed us, but we knew that it would be the last time we would be out alone in a long time, so we took advantage of her generosity.  We went shopping at a couple of stores during the week, mostly in the morning when I had the most energy.  Having Mom there was also great for Chris because Mom diverted Amy’s attention away from him as he was back to work.  Amy had such a hard time understanding that he was not available to her, especially since he had the two weeks off after Alicia’s birth and spent almost all of that time caring for Amy.

Just a side note about your dad.  There is something about having a baby that brings out the best in him and makes me love him even more.  He is so kind and good and patient, and I am amazed at the wonderful man and father that he is.  As I just wrote, he spent most of his two weeks off with Amy–when I was in the hospital and then when I came home.  I was not able to lift Amy and he did all of it–even to change dirty diapers.  I hope that someday both of my girls will find a man to marry who is as good Christopher, who will treat you as a queen, and love the children that you bring into your family.

Soon after Mom left on Friday, Larry Kline flew in.  He arrived on Sunday morning for Alicia’s baby blessing and stayed until Monday morning.  He is not an active member of the church, and we know that these kinds of functions are not his favorite thing to do, but we sure do appreciate that he makes the effort for us.  Plus, he thinks the world of his granddaughters and shows your pictures off wherever he travels.

He took us out to breakfast on Monday morning before he left at IHOP (International House of Pancakes).  While there, Grandma Ball arrived with a friend from Washington, Sara, who is now married and living in Orem (she and Kevin were an “item” for a while).  Grandpa Kline had them join us for breakfast and even paid for theirs.

We blessed Alicia on August 5.  All but Shane and Mitch were there from both sides of our families.  It was a little tense for awhile as the freeway was at a standstill and Brad, Mom, and Dad were trying to get to Provo.  They arrived late, but we just moved the blessing from before the sacrament to after the sacrament.  It was a beautiful blessing and Alicia was darling.  She wore the same dress that Amy was blessed in.  If memory serves, they both looked like angels in it.

After the blessing and church, we all got together at the clubhouse for a family dinner.  I had to feed Alicia so I was a little late getting there but it was great for family to mingle together.  The kids loved playing out on the toys and only wished that they could go swimming.  Everyone helped out with the food and we had plenty.  We just had sandwiches with cold meats, raw veggies, fruit, jello salad, and pasta salad.  For dessert we had ice cream and brownies.  It was nice to be together.

I asked Amy what her sister’s name was and she answered by saying “Lesha”.  It was so cute.  She still calls her that though sometimes it comes out sounding like “Sasha”.

Larry Ball had a flight back to Washington that same evening so he and Grandma Ball had to leave about 7ish.  She came back later that night, but Chris and his dad were out for a walk.  Not to worry, since she was with us the whole next week.  (Having family was great but it got to be too much after awhile, especially as we were getting ready to move).

It was frustrating for me when Amy came down with a cold on Wednesday.  She just wouldn’t keep away from Alicia and as much as we all tried to wash her hands, Alicia got a snuffy nose on Thursday.  I give Amy “purple stuff” so that her nose doesn’t bother her too much, but there’s nothing that they recommend giving to babies who are so small.  Alicia just had to suffer, consequently her mommy felt awful.  Chris and Kevin gave Alicia a blessing on the 9th and she was better within a day.  How grateful I am for the priesthood.

We wanted to have a BBQ with family and some of our friends that we would miss by moving away.  Unfortunately, not many people came, though family was really supportive.  We had a BBQ over at the clubhouse and had people bring food to share.  For all of those who did come, there was plenty to eat and lots of fun.