When Life Throws You Lemons...

Life has taken and interesting turn for our family recently. I am not going to say that it is a turn for the worst just yet, as I really think that somewhere amidst the chaos of what's going on, there is a blessing just waiting to reveal itself.

Last Friday, Jake lost his job. It didn't really come as a surprise because it is the 3rd time this year that his company has let people go, but it is still a shock to the system nonetheless.
The compensation he received isn't very good, and we have also lost our medical insurance, so things aren't great right now, but we are doing ok considering.

Jake has already applied for a few positions, both in Michigan and in Utah, and we are hopeful that something will come up soon.

Oddly enough, I am not feeling overwhelmingly worried yet... perhaps its because the severity of the situation hasn't fully sunk in yet, but I think it's more because somewhere in my gut I know that things will be ok, and that at the end of the tunnel, we are going to see a great blessing that has come from this all.

The timing in some ways is already a blessing. The company laid off people in Feb and April too, and I just keep thinking what a disaster that would have been, because we really needed our medical insurance then as I was very pregnant.
I also thought about the timing that Luke made... Jake and I were only planning on trying for children around the start of this year... but, Luke had other ideas, and decided he wanted to come sooner, so instead I got pregnant in August last year... as a result, he was born 7.5 weeks before Jake lost his job, and when we still had great insurance that covered my prenatal care and most importantly the very expensive delivery.

We are anxious, and feeling very unsure of the future right now, but I just keep trying to keep the attitude, " When life throws you lemons... make lemonade"... and I know that when this trial is over, we will be tasting some very sweet lemonade!

Father and Son... A Bond Like No Other

This morning, Jake decided to take Luke into the shower with him. It was the first time he had been in the shower, so we weren't sure how it would go, but we thought we would try, because he needed a bath anyway.

Luke absolutely loved it, so I couldn't resist getting a picture...

I never imagined I would catch the most perfect moment on camera...

This has become my absolute favourite picture. It just shows the proudest daddy, and his sweet son looking at him with love and admiration.
I just love the two 'boys' in my life...what more could I ask for.

LUKES 1 MONTH+ HIGHLIGHTS

Luke has grown so much. He turned 1 month old on the 6th... I can't believe more than 5 weeks have already passed.

The highlights of the last little while are

1) Luke is slowly learning to smile. He hasn't quite got it yet, but you can see the little smile starting to crack sometimes.


2) He seems to love bathing... though he prefers the kitchen sink to his bath chair in the big bath, so we are bathing in the kitchen for now. He also doesn't mind being 'showered down' under the running tap, which makes getting all the soap suds off of him really easy.



3) Today we bought him his first toy... well the first that we have bought (he already has 2 rattle toys from him grandma)... we got him an activity mat, that plays music and has a polar bear with a light up nose. Well, he seems to love it... we thought it was time to get him something entertaining, because while in Utah, he loved the activity center at Jakes friends house. I guess now that he is 5 and a half weeks old, he is better able to focus and to enjoy things like the flashing polar bear nose and the music.

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4) He has just gotten so darn big... and so freaking cute.

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LUKES FIRST TRIP... A FAMILY GATHERING

Well, this past week, Jake and I took Luke to Utah to meet his grandma and grandpa, and to be there for the last family gathering before JT left for his mission to the Philippines.

We were very skeptical about how things would go, because Luke had been so cranky in the past couple of weeks, but to our complete joy and surprise, our little stinker was a perfect little angel.
The flights there and back were a breeze with him... he slept the whole way. Unfortunately they weren't so breezy for his mommy and daddy who didn't manage to sleep through the awful turbulence... Jake was pasty white and feeling quite ill by the time we landed in Utah.

Our trip was filled with events. On Saturday morning, we attended the Logan temple as a family. Kim and Spence were able to have all 7 of their children as well as their 5 in-laws in a session. It was a first, and I am sure something that won't happen again for many years, so it was very special.

Saturday afternoon, we took some great family photo's. We won't be able to take a full Geddes family photo again, until JT gets back from his mission. Jake and I also had our first family picture with Luke taken, which came out really great. Luke was 1 month old on Saturday.


On Sunday, baby Hunter and baby Luke were blessed in the Cove ward... they both looked so adorable in their little blessing outfits, and they were little darlings through the blessings. We were so proud of our little Luke for being such an angel.
After the blessings, we enjoyed a lunch, at the Nielsens home (Cory's parents)

LUKES BLESSING CLOTHES

It was great for the family to be able to spend some time with Luke while he is still so little. He is growing and changing so fast, so things will be very different the next time we are in Utah.

JT was set apart as a missionary on Tuesday night. It was very special for all of us to be there for that. He entered the MTC on Wednesday.

Our trip was busy busy busy, but a lot of special and important things happened, and it was great.

LITTLE STINKER

Things over the past couple weeks have gotten interesting in our home.
Luke has picked his personality... and it's a challenging one. Our little boy has become quite high maintenance and oh so demanding. Jake and I have started saying 'good thing he is so darn cute' a lot lately... as some days I think that's the only reason that we all survive.

THE CUTE FACE THAT KEEPS US SANE

His latest thing is that we are not allowed to put him down during the day... if we do, we encounter the wrath of Luke, which isn't pretty. He gets himself so worked up into complete hysterics, and aside from being completely frustrating, it breaks my heart to see him so upset.

THE WRATH OF LUKE

So, the last few days in particular, have been interesting. I have spent most of each day, holding him PERMANENTLY... when he eats and when he sleeps, and when he is awake.

THE CLOSEST THING TO PUTTING HIM DOWN... THIS IS HOW MOMMY RESTS!

Some days I don't get anything done, not even getting dressed, because I haven't got a minute where he isn't in my arms, and other days, I get a very odd and random opportunity that in desperation I put to full use. This morning, one of those random opportunities presented itself.
I took Luke into the nursery to change him. By the time I was done changing him, he was lying contently on his change pad, just looking up and talking in his cute baby talk. I didn't dare pick him up while he was so happy, or I wouldn't get this lucky chance again. Sooo.... I decided to pick up the entire change pad, with Luke lying on it, and walk to my room, where I put the change pad onto my dresser, and proceeded to start blow drying my hair... the hair dryer then put him to sleep, so I was able to do my make-up too. LOL.

DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES


A FUNNY STORY... 'Baby Brain'

Today, I dropped Luke off at a friend for a few hours, (his first time with a sitter) so that I could get the packing done for our trip to Utah tomorrow. On the way home, I decided to stop at Kroger, to buy some juice while it was on sale. I walk into the store, grab a cart and fill it with juice bottles and a box of eggs. I headed to the self serve check out, where I scanned the first bottle of juice, only to realise that I needed to scan my Kroger card, in order to get the sale price. So I start looking for my wallet, but I can't find it. So embarrassingly, I push my cart to the staff lady, and ask her to keep it while I go to the car to find my wallet. I search the car high and low... no wallet. So I call Michelle, who is baby sitting Luke and ask her to check the diaper bag (I usually keep it in there when I am out)... no wallet. So I head back into the shop, to tell the lady holding my stuff that I can't pay for it because I can't find my wallet. She procedes to tell me that my wallet is in the cart. So with a blushing face I head back to the scanner and start again. Now, I open my wallet to get out my Kroger card... no Kroger card... then I realise that my key chain Kroger card is on my keys... which are IN THE CAR... so I head back to the staff lady to tell her that I need to go find my Kroger card, and can she please keep my groceries again... she felt sorry for me, so just scanned her card. PHEW... finally, I am making my purchases... then, I bump over my shopping bag, which drops to the floor, and there go all my juice bottles, flying across the floor... so I gather up my stuff again and head out the door. I am heading to the car when I decide to call Jake and tell him about my Kroger mishaps, so I am on the phone with him while loading my grocery bags into the car.. then I look in my hand and see that I only have my wallet and my car keys in my hand, so my heart drops as I begin to tell Jake that after all that drama, I now can't find my cellphone... only to then realise that my cellphone is glued to my ear, while I am speaking to him on it...

WHAT A DAY... needless to say, I am now heading to my room, for a nap, because I quite obviously am sleep deprived.