69 days

Ben and I were so grateful to find out that we would be expecting our second little one in December. A little boy!

Throughout this pregnancy we have experienced a lot of changes in our world. In December of 2013 we started an addition on our house that was supposed to be completed in April of 2014...it is August and it still isn't done...just a couple of more weeks...or at least that is what I keep hearing.

Hailey and I moved out and live with Scott and Carri. We took Rachelle too. For six months (1/4 of Hailey's life) she has lived without her daddy and not in her home.

I have experienced bleeding throughout this pregnancy. Ultrasounds found that the placenta was very low and that was the most likely reason for the bleeding. On Tuesday, August 26th I didn't think much of it when I started to bleed again. The following day I had an appointment with my doctor and she did an office ultrasound. I was very grateful to see the fluttering heart of our little man and to hear his heart beat so strong. My doctor sent me for an ultrasound just to check things out and they discovered that the previous days bleeding was actually my water breaking at 24.3 weeks.

So much changed in that instant, hearing that news and knowing I was hardly far enough along to have this sweet little man survive sent me into an emotional tail spin. The doctor explained the concerns with having my water break so early and having a baby this soon. The doctor completed more tests and ultimately talked to my OB. In the end I was sent to Labor and Delivery and told to check into the hospital and that I wouldn't leave until I delivered this baby.

In Labor and Delivery more tests were completed and gratefully found that I was not in labor and had not dilated. They hooked me up to monitors and started pumping drugs to help me and the baby. Steroids for his lungs, magnesium for his brain and antibiotics to fight infection.

The next 24 hours raced by talking to doctors. If the baby is born tonight there is a 70% chance of survival and a 50/50 chance of significant problems that will affect the rest of his life; blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, bleeding on the brain. Gratefully, 24 hours passed and my body did not go into labor and I am still pregnant.

Ben and Nate were able to give me a Priesthood blessing that night and my testimony was strengthened. I am so grateful for the power of the Priesthood and a knowledge that the words are coming from our Heavenly Father. I know that our Heavenly Father puts nothing in our paths that he will not help us accomplish. I know that no matter what happens for the remainder of this pregnancy that it is in our Heavenly Father's hands and this is His will.

My goal is to stay pregnant until 34 weeks. 69 days from the time I checked into the hospital. Each and every day I am grateful to say that I am still pregnant. Although it will be a long road in this hospital room I know that this is the best place to be to give this little man the best chance of survival and the best possible healthy future.

Happy Birthday Hailey!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday! We were so blessed to have so many (over 50) of our family and friends gather together to celebrate Hailey's first birthday.

 

 
 
 
As part of the decorations, we hung a picture of Hailey for each day of Hailey's little life from day one to day 30 and then a picture a month until she was one year old.















Hailey's favorite part was the presents...

 

Hailey loves both of her babies! The morning after her party she woke up crying. When Ben went to check on her she was reaching for her baby doll...that is all she wanted.

 

I love those fingers.

Happy birthday baby girl. We love you! We are so grateful that you are part of our family and we love the laughter and joy you bring to us.



Lil' H is one year old

I cannot believe how fast time can go...Hailey is one year old. This past year has been the best we have ever experienced...of course it hasn't passed too easily. We have learned what it means to love a child, what (involuntary) sleepless nights feel like, the panic of a sick girl in the ER, how a smile can change the world, what two little hands feel and sound like...the list goes on and on, but my favorite thing that I have learned is how one tiny soul can have my whole heart.

As I ponder the experiences we have had with our sweet Hailey there are things I hope to never forget. I never want to forget what it feels like to hold my baby in my arms, to have her lay her head on my shoulder and fall asleep, to feel her soft breath on my neck and hold her body against mine. I never want to forget the sound of her voice as she "talks" in the morning trying to get mommy and daddy out of bed to come and get her. I never want to forget the smile we are rewarded with when she sees  us open her door and we rescue her from her crib or how she pats our backs for hugs. I never want to forget how her hair hangs in her eyes. I never want to forget how independent she already wants to be. I never want to forget her facial expressions; Hailey has a beautiful smile but she can pout her lips and wrinkle her nose. I never want to forget the feeling of Hailey blowing raspberries on my bare skin and the giggle that follows or how she "gets" mommy and daddy. I never want to forget the sound of her laugh as she giggles with delight to be tickled or playing with her favorite toy. I never want to forget the sounds she makes when she eats; when she takes a bite of food she gets a growl in her throat and says MMM or when she wants a toy and finally gets it she say ha, ha. I never want to forget how happy she is and how she waves to everyone. I never want to forget how it sounds to hear her say mama, mama and knock on my door while I work.

7 months old

Christmas Tree 2011

On December 1, 2011, Davis County was hit by a big wind storm. We had wind gusts from 92 -100 MPH. Ben and I drove around to see the damage. There were downed power lines, fences, blown down Christmas decorations, lights, picnic tables and of course uprooted trees and concrete.

The first two years we were together, we cut pine trees out of the yard for Christmas trees; unfortunatley, last year, our Christmas tree came from the Home Depot. This year, we knew, we needed another great Christmas tree and a story to go along with it.

Setting the damage aside, we decided to capatilize on the poor pine trees. As we drove around Bountiful and Centerville, we ended up at Ben's work.

We found this beautiful pine tree. We were lucky enough to be able to have the property management team cut off the top few feet so Ben could bring it home for our Christmas tree. Lucky us!!

Welcome to our OWN Grizwald Family Christmas!!

We cut about a foot off the bottom. When we had it outside, it looked so small. But while we were getting it in the house and set-up...we realized, that Clark isn't joking when he is in bed and everything sticks to his hands.

Fallen Tree

January 2009: One Sunday night, Ben and I were sitting in the front room and we heard a crash. Ben thought someone had hit the light post in the front yard and I thought it sounded like someone was walking on the roof.

The snow was falling fast and heavy. The tree was old and should have come down a long time ago...luckily for us the snow knocked it down for us. As it crashed it it pulled the roots out of the ground, a branch hit the roof and scrapped down the side of the house. We were lucky that it didn't hit the front window.

The tree hit an old phone line and pulled it out of the house...luckily, it wasn't a line we were using.

Ben and I decided that we wouldn't cut down the tree until Spring. We had many people offer to help cut it down...we even had a complete stranger stop by our house and leave a note with his phone number stating we could pay him to cut it down. In the end, AWESOME Tim came over and used his new chainsaw and chopped it down for us.

Too many shoes...

Well, Ben has finally decided that I can move into the house; I finally get to move in from the garage. Actually, we have been so busy doing everything else, that I never moved all my stuff in from the garage. I think that Ben was really surprised when he saw everything that I had to fit into his little house.

The thing that surprised him the most...the amount of shoes that one girl could have. I tried to tell him that this is normal; he didn't believe me. It was a very sad day, I had to end up giving about half of them away.

Maui 2009

January 2009: Maui, Hawaii



January 9 -16, 2009 Ben and I had a chance to go to Hawaii with Dad, Mom, Dave, Connie, Kyler, Kaylee, Jake, Kohl, Kenzie, Sue, Steve, Big Ben, Tanner and Amy.





We had nothing planned and really looked forward to spending time with our family, hanging out on the beach, and enjoying the sun (it was still snowing in Utah).

We stayed at a condo about 5 minutes from mom and dad's hotel. We were so close to the beach, the weather was BEAUTIFUL and so was the food, activities and sun!!

One day, we played on the beach with the family and Kenzie buried me (with Ben's help). It was fun, but Kenzie didn't realize that every time she moved she flipped sand up...she is doll and we had fun.


Ben liked that I was stuck in the sand...

Surfing

Another fun thing to do in Hawaii...surfing!!

I have been a couple of times but this was Ben's first experience. We both LOVED it.



Surfing is such a fun experience and an easy hobby to pick-up. It takes some practice learning how to push off the surf board into a standing position and not end up face first sucking sea water.

Surfing was a family event...Dave, Connie, Kyler, Kaylee, Jake, Kohl, Amy, Ben and me. Kenzie sat with Grandma Craig on the beach watching us all catch waves.

Whale Watching

One of my favorite adventures while in Hawaii is Whale watching!

On a cloudy rainy day Amy, Connie's and Sue's families as well as Ben and I ventured to Buzz's Wharf to embark on a whale watching tour...what a blast.



Our tour was through the Pacific Whale Watching Foundation; on board was a marine biologist who was very knowledgeable and shared so much information. I loved it. I love to hear all about the whales, the way they eat, migrate and take care of their young.

This plaque shows just a bit of what the whale does...amazing.

While out on the water our boat was treated to some amazing whales. We saw whales head slap, tail slap, head raises, fin slap and best of all breach!

To see a whale propel 2/3 (or more) of their body out of the water is AMAZING! It is indescribable. The event happens so quickly and it has everyone who sees it pointing and yelling...one of the most amazing things to witness. The splash that accompanies the breach is also amazing. Like I mentioned before...a whale watching trip is indescribable...I would strongly encourage you to go whale watching if ever given the opportunity.

In the picture below you can see a tail and fin...sorry it isn't closer...my camera doesn't zoom too well.

Old Lahaina Luau

Traditional Hula & Feast


The Old Lahaina Luau is one of the best on the island of Maui. Of course the food, the dancing, and the ambiance is amazing.

Below is a picture of the sun setting over the ocean just behind the stage of the Luau. The other picture is a view of the city of Lahaina.

We went to the Luau with Dave, Connie, Ky, Kaylee, Jake, Kohl, Kenzie, Steve, Sue, Tanner, Big Ben and Amy. These are just a couple of the pictures of the family. For some reason I didn't get any pictures of Sue and her family...?

I like this Luau because it is all you can drink tropical drinks, you get this awesome fresh flower lei, the dancer as cool and the food is awesome. I am not sure what I was thinking but I didn't get a single picture of them taking the pig out of the ground, any of the dancers or pictures of the area...Real Cool Paizier

IAO Valley State Park

IAO Valley State Park: This was the first time I have visited IAO Valley State Park. Ben and I were trying to decide what we should do one Sunday afternoon; we looked at our map and decided it didn't look too far to drive...so off we went. It was beautiful. We went from the seashore with the palm trees and beach to the rigid mountains and beautiful green vegetation. In the picture above you can see the main attraction at the park. Soldiers used to climb to the top of the hill and watch for enemy attacks. It looked like a huge climb.

Down below the IAO point there was this cute little garden. It had this awesome hut; beautiful plants and trees and awesome hiking trails.

This is what we found on the hikes...a small river that flowed down through the lava rocks and cascaded into a stream. It was so beautiful.

I have such a hard time describing how we felt from what we saw. Beauty that cannot be described or caught in pictures.

The Road to Hana…

The Road to Hana is pretty dangerous. There are approximately 600 hairpin turns and 54 bridges and many narrow one-lane roads. Often times you come to a yield sign because the road is simply to narrow for two cars to pass. The Road to Hana is filled with constant traffic, distracting views, beautiful waterfalls, amazing vegetation, and steep cliffs.

It is hard to put the appropriate words to the experiences we had along the Road to Hana.

These are some of the amazing things to see along the road...

As we drove along the road to Hana we listened to a CD that told us all about the surrounding area. It gave tips of when to pull off the road to experience and exquisite sight or visit a historic landmark. In this case we found a small beach that was amazing. It was in a cove surrounded by huge hills that were green with vegetation.

One of my favorite things in life is waterfalls. I don't know why I love them so much, but I do. As we drove along we could see breaks in the cliffs and watch the cascading water as it fell to the pools below. One thing that we found so beautiful was the vegetation that surrounded the falls. Of course it was wild and it framed the falls so beautifully.

Just past the city of Hana is a national park called Oheo Gulch. It is where you can find the Seven Pools. A lot of people know them as the Sacred Pools. I recently learned that there is nothing sacred about them. Tour bus drivers used to make up stories about the pools.

It was a beautiful place. There were two hikes a person could take that lead to waterfalls. Unfortunately, Ben and I were too close to dark to be able to hike. We did spend some time at the Seven Pools. It was a beautiful sight...the pools started at the top and water cascaded down to the next pool, eventually it lead to the ocean below. People were swimming and jumping from cliffs.

As Ben and I were hiking to the pools we stopped to read sings about the park and surrounding areas...it strongly urged you to stay out of the Ocean because of the infestation of Hammerhead Sharks...you didn't have to tell Ben and I twice.



Ben and I had two choices to make...go back the way we came (which is what all of the maps and signs told us to do) or go on around the island where there were washed out roads. It mentioned on the map that if you drive between certain points it violates car rental agreements. Ben and I discussed it and even asked the park rangers...we decided to go along the other side of the island. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I can't describe beauty and cameras can't capture it. You just have to go experience it...

This road was a lot more scary than the road to Hana. There were few signs, it was very narrow, no lights, and a lot of the time we were driving on a dirt road. But it was amazing. The beautiful tall green hills to the right and steep cliffs that lead to the sharp volcanic rock with waves crashing against it to the left.

Close to sunset Ben and I came across a beach and decided to pull off. There were huge pot holes leading into the beach (I was scared we were going to get stuck...Ben wasn't). There was only one other group on the beach. We watched the sunset here. It was so beautiful. We walked along the black rock beach and had so much fun.

The trip took about 9 hours and I did get a little car sick but it was worth it. If we ever go back we will do it again...except this time we will leave early and take all the side trips.