Wesley's birthday cheesecake

 Wes (and Levi) explaining electric cars with a toy model at Explore UT

 Ice Cream!

My dad returned home on Wednesday with strict instructions to do nothing but rest for two weeks. After that he can go to work for a few hours a day. Since he saves his sick days and vacation days for normal stuff, he has time. Additionally, I think all of Utah and Idaho court systems have told him not to think about work for a while. People understand a heart attack. That’s a blessing of this situation: my parents have a lot less to attempt to explain about my dad’s health. I’ve been in semi shock and denial all week. The whole thing has been hard for me to believe since we’re far away. I almost didn’t have him on earth. I waver somewhere between shock and denial and awe, grateful and a little overwhelmed that we have more time, amazed by the plan that is truly full of happiness.

We attended the funeral of my visiting teaching friend on Wednesday. She and her husband are opera people. A colleague of her husband’s sang “I Know that My Redeemer Liveth” from The Messiah. Gorgeous. The boys sat almost completely still; the funeral was over two hours. There were only 5 kids there total. Bless them. We did have an issue when Levi pushed Lincoln off of the pew while I was out feeding Keller…bless Wesley. Levi has been running and biking with added devotion. “I exercise so my heart won’t break!” He’s been quite concerned about Pop Corrie and heart issues in general. With good reason.

It’s our celebration week. We tried to make a bang out of Tuesday with cheesecake and lots of song. The boys treated us by sleeping in until 6:30! I gave Wes a silly joke book which—much to my surprise—he enjoys. They seem to be on par with the elephant jokes. I’m so glad he married me. One of the benefits of waking up during the night is that I get to see him more, listen to his cute grunts, and see the way he shifts (he sleeps with his arms behind his head when he’s totally out of it. Way cute.). So even when I can’t sleep, I can pray about how grateful I am to have him. Each day increases my thankfulness. He is clear-headed, intelligent, generous, tender, soft-spoken, kind, goofy, willing to listen and talk. He loves the Lord and our family. How can anyone really articulate the specific love we can have? I look at him and feel a little weak-kneed and strong all at once.

For my birthday, Wesley and the boys took me to various stores to look at plants. After much back-and-forth, I settled on a bundle of hyacinths. Love them. The boys love them. Since I counted the cheesecake as my own, Wes surprised me with a tub of Blue Bell Rocky Mountain Road ice cream. Oh man. He must really love me. He put the candles in the tub and we made a lot of joyful noise. The boys picked up the toy room and tried not to scream so much.  Last night I gave myself the gift of sitting on the couch to read, not multitasking, just reading. I meant to go for 15 minutes but when I looked up at the clock it had been an hour. I love words.

Yesterday morning we attended part of Explore UT—which is basically a campus open house. Wes volunteered to show energy toys. The boys loved it, but tuckered out quickly. Next year, we hope to make it to liberal arts side of the world.

Last night Wesley refilled the sugar canister. He went to refill the flour, but he put it on top of the sugar. He made super sweet biscuits from the borderline stuff. Haha! Poor guy hasn’t caught up on sleep since…we were married probably. Keller has improved significantly. He wakes up and wails once or twice a night, but usually he goes to sleep soon afterward. We are making progress! He went without eating for 11 hours one night. Whoa! The unfortunate part of this is that he refuses a binky now and refuses naps. He is happy when directly spoken to (he giggled all through church today, especially in Relief Society), but hates being put down. We’ll figure it out.

We’ve had some funny language moments this week. I held Lincoln on my lap to swing, saying, “Ohh! I have butterflies in my tummy!” He got off my lap, lifted up my jacket, and said, “See butterflies, Mommy! See them! Butterflies are?” Perhaps he wanted to know because he’s laying claim on everything. Lincoln’s house, Lincoln’s van, Lincoln’s library, Lincoln’s Amy (one of my friends). Additionally, Lincoln acquired two new phrases: “Uuuumm. YEAH!” and “WhY, Mommy?” to echo his big brother. I need to study some more, I can’t answer all of their questions. When we finally reach the inevitable, “I don’t know!” both sound the chorus, “Why, Mommy?” I asked Levi to “put himself together” after using the potty—meaning, finish up and pull up your pants. He looked at me, chuckled, responding, “Silly Mom! Heavenly Father and Jesus put me together already!”

I came down the stairs yesterday to find Levi kneeling, his little hands clasped fervently in front of him. I asked what he was doing. “I’m praying because I can’t find Lincoln’s fireman hat!” He had obviously tried searching for it as manifested by the upturned room. He finished praying and found it. There’s faith for you.

In between that, we’ve had a lot of screaming (primarily led by Lincoln), a lot of football (as dictated by Levi) and a new line of uniforms (the construction man, including the long-forgotten jeans!).

Wesley’s work continues to progress. Almost every day he comes home with how things came together in collaboration, how Dr. Edgar asked him to come to a meeting where things clicked or that enable him to go to another conference, or potential future opportunities. He’s often blessed to help others in their research. He’s been a little stuck on a problem for a while, but he’s learning. It’s cool to watch. The Young Men of the ward have accepted him easily; it just feels right for him to be there. We are blessed, blessed people.