Happy Birthday Camryn!!!

Today is my baby's birthday (as she sits here screaming thru the house with enjoyment of her very cool mermaid bathtub toy from Grandma!!). My only girl is now 5 years old. I remember the exact moment she was born - 4:23 am. Half a push and she was out! I guess having 5 kids should allow me to have a last labor that only required half a push:) She was bald with just red fuzzies on her head and looked just like her 4 older brothers. My husband and I always laugh that couldn't one of them look the tiniest bit different at birth?? Of course, I think they all have their own unique look now but everyone says when they see them all together they know they are Rhotons.
She was taken from me about 3 hours after her birth as she was jaundiced and had to spend 5 days under the baking lamps to bring her levels back down to where they needed to be. I still have the little sunglasses they put on her and the nurses in the NICU were sweet enough to make her name and post it right above her bed. I still have her paper made name hanging up over her dresser. It was the worst feeling to come home without her and then leave the 4 boys every day to go feed her and hold her for the few minutes I was allowed to take her out of the baking lamps.
Now she is a fiesty, redheaded girl that is also so sweet and loving. I sign her up for kindergarten this Friday - bittersweet as I admit it will be nice to have all 5 children in school but will miss having someone at home during the day. Of course, that does mean that I will actually be able to take a real nap after working nights as a nurse!!
Happy Birthday baby girl:)

New Ward

I grew up in Ohio and Virginia and with being Mormon that meant that our stake and our ward boundaries were huge. In Virginia, I believe our stake boundaries were 50 miles (I could be off a mile or two:)) When I moved to Mesa, AZ almost 18 years ago I found out that I lived in a mini Utah. By that, I mean that ward and stake boundaries tend to be a lot more smaller and compact. Our family can actually walk to our ward building and it is not that far of a walk.
Our Stake was split 2 years ago and with that came changing ward boundaries and just plain old change. We thought that we would remain within the same boundaries for at least a few more years. To our surprise (and many others), our ward boundaries were realigned again a week ago. Our family (and our street) now belong to the brand new Lehi Crossing Ward. Our ward boundaries are the largest but probably contain the fewest homes. We also lost 2 housing developments that have lots of young families with younger kids and babies (which I love!). It was very strange to go to church on Sunday and not see those beloved faces. Our bishop remained the same and the best part is we got our 8:30 am starting time back. It was very interesting for those 2 weeks previous to figure out how to keep our 5 kids in the Sunday mode until 1 pm.
I have faith that it is going to be a great ward and that with time many new friendships will be made. It is always interesting for the first few weeks as callings are put forth and we all learn how to mesh as a new ward. I also forgot to mention that those who are no longer in my ward only live a few miles away, so it is not like I am never going to see them again (just feels that way right now!) I am amazed how the youth handled it. For my kids, it was all ok and it probably helps that they attend school with those who are no longer in our ward. Here is to hoping that these ward boundaries will stay the same for at least another 2 years!

Patient

I have decided, and it has been confirmed, that nurses make not so good patients.
We tend to think that we know best and that we can go what we want. Unfortunately, that is not too good to do on my part. Supposed to be in bed but I am blogging. Thank goodness my parents are here to help out and remind me to get my butt back in bed. Soon I will be recovered from this surgery and I can get out of bed without sneaking:)

Trashing Out the House

Where have we accumulated so much stuff (toys, clothes, etc) from? It is a good thing my parents are stopping in Sedona, AZ (one of the most beautiful places in AZ) before they come to stay here. I told myself I would spend each day on a separate room and then the house should look somewhat clean and dejunked by the time my folks arrive. I am hitting a snag in my plans though as it took 2 days to do the youngest kids rooms (and their room is not that bad).
I am afraid for Wednesday. That is the day I have told myself I am going into the middle 2 boys room. If I had any guts, I would take a picture and post it. But I don't want the blogging world to see just how bad their room is! I kept asking and pleading with them all of Christmas break to please start picking up their stuff and clean the room. They would make a little progress forward and then about 5 steps back! This morning I gave them the speech that if Mom is cleaning it, then you better not complain if you cannot find something or if something goes missing. My goal is to shock them tomorrow with how well their room can sparkle and how much better it really looks decluttered!
That is one of the best parts of having my parents come down is that the house gets thoroughly cleaned and dejunked. Now if I could just motivate myself to keep the kids helping with this on a weekly basis instead of yearly......

Goodbye Christmas Decorations

I finally did it. I took down the Christmas Decorations today. The house looks pretty bare without them but I seemed to have found more room!! Always a plus. My parents are on there way down from Sandy, Utah to sunny Mesa, AZ for a visit and to help take care of me after having lithotripsy (where they use a laser to blast your kidney stones into small fragments). This will be the 4th procedure in a year and a half and I am hoping that we can find out why I am producing so many kidney stones and what I can to do get healthy and remain there!! That is my New Year's Resolution - pretty simple I am hoping. It has been a nice quiet day here at the house so far as 4 of the 5 have returned to school. They were grumbling about going but I know that they will have had a great day (and yay for some peace and quiet at the house:))