Being mom again; Easter weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend.

It was a time of great satisfaction for me; I actually felt like a real mom again.

I am feeling great, and that allowed me to do what I love as a mom:

Uphold traditions.

So here are the photos of all the Easter traditions that I share every year here on JandA&Co.

Only, everyone is just one year older. 

..and a little bit cuter.  I think they get cuter and cuter every day.

…but that’s just my opinion.

Easter Traditions/Swenson Style:

Buying 5 dozen eggs

To color:

and dye:

A traditional hunt with Candy and a few surprises(like dates with mom and dad):

Our 3rd annual Glow in the Dark hunt:

…and at last but not least the Easter attire:

We hope your Easter was a wonderful time spent with family and loved ones.

It was for me.  It was a wonderful reminder of why I love being a mom.

Lessons learned from my hospital bed part 2:

I came to understand compassion more fully as I was laying in my hospital bed.

One particular morning,

my to-do list was:

EAT JELLO

SIT IN A CHAIR FOR 30 MINUTES

TAKE A SHORT WALK DOWN THE HALL

and amazingly enough, I didn’t even know if I could do those 3 things.

At this point, I realized that I never truly understood how hard physical trials could be. 

I asked myself, “Have I been compassionate enough when others are going through tough times?”

I didn’t ask myself this because I didn’t receive compassion.  In fact, it was the complete opposite.  It was others compassion that reminded me that I could be better in this capacity.

I also found myself laying in that hospital bed feeling so discouraged while watching an hour of television.  In that one hour, there was more food commercials then I could name.  I started to feel so sorry for myself because at the time all I could eat was ice chips, apple juice, and Jell-O. 

Then wouldn’t you know a commercial for Disneyland showed up on the screen. I couldn’t even fathom being able to walk around Disneyland.  I realized that even though I was sitting in a hospital bed unable to eat or walk well; others lives were still going on around me. 

I asked myself again, “Have I been compassionate enough to those whose lives immediately change, while my life goes on around them?”

Once again, I have to tell you that I did not begin to think about compassion because it wasn’t shown to me.  In fact, I was given so much love that I was taught by others example.

The Savior was the greatest example of compassion to others.  With Easter weekend just past, I can’t help but think about how he was always showing so much love to others.  Although He was almost never shown the same in return.  Many did not show Him compassion at all, and yet; he never stopped loving.  I know that it is because of Him and His great compassion; that He was willing to die for me.  It’s because of Him that I get to live with Him again.

It’s because of Him and His great example that I know I have a lot of work to do in many capacities.

You might enjoy watching this film Because of Him.

One thing I will take away from all I have been through is to show more love and compassion to others.

The other day my kids had the movie soul surfer going.  Just after this young surfer lost her arm by a shark, she took a trip to Thailand to help others affected by the Tsunami in 2004.  She realized while on her trip that surfing didn’t matter as much as she thought it did.  Yes, she had lost her arm, but she realized that the people of Thailand had lost much also. Her compassion for the people of Thailand changed her, and she said this about compassion:

“Compassion can move us to do amazing things.”

I hope that as I strive to have greater compassion for others, I find myself doing amazing things.  Amazing things that aren’t about myself.

I am doing my best to think more of others; to become more like him.

While I was sleeping… my house changed colors.

During the time that I was resting either while I was sick or recovering from surgery…  we had exciting things going on in our house.

It was time to take down the wallpaper…

and have the house painted a new fresh color.

In the beginning of January, I painted color swatches all over the walls. My plan was to paint my house during the cold winter months when going outside wasn’t something I looked forward to.  Projects during the winter are always a good thought. Much to my dismay my winter plans didn’t go like I thought they would. 

I had planned on painting the majority of the house on my own with the exception of the great room; which was much to tall for me to tackle without scaffolding and some tall ladders.

Once the painter for the great room was hired, my health went down hill. 

Just days after picking paint colors, I had my appendectomy.

The rooms I had previously determined to paint on my own have since all been done by the painter, or will be in the near future. 

Paint is such a wonderful way to change your house because paint is so inexpensive, and it is something you can do yourself.  Although, this time I am handing over my paintbrush while I regain my health.

It brought me so much happiness while I was sick to be seeing such fun progress going on in the house.

It is amazing how much of a difference paint can make. 

I thought you might enjoy seeing the change:

I think the greatest change is our fireplace.  If you remember the previous owner had wallpapered our fireplace.  Although the wallpaper was modern and unique it just wasn’t my style or taste.  I wanted something much cleaner and brighter.

Fireplace before:

Fireplace After:

As you can see, we brightened up the house with this fun gray color.  The previous color was a warm beige. 

I knew I wanted a cool gray color.

before:

It was pretty easy to decide on the color. 

after:

Grey’s always have an undertone, typically; brown, green, blue or purple. 

I knew I wanted it to be a cool blue gray color; and I chose the cool because I have so much white trim and the turquoise accents.

I chose Sherwin Williams Stonington Gray.

It took a lot of work to reach such high ceilings.

before:

 

I’m glad it wasn’t me with the paintbrush and I hate heights.

after:

I loved how great my piano looks against the paint.

before:

 

I feel like it blends right in with the wall, and looks so sleek.

after:

 

If you remember, I also had the some wallpaper in my kitchen:

Here it is without the paper and a fresh coat of paint.  What a nice change:

I still have more rooms that I am currently waiting to have painted. 

We have hired someone who paints our house after hours and when he is available.

It has saved us so much money, but has also made the process slower.  It has been so helpful since I can’t paint it myself right now.

While I was taking pictures of the new paint job, Tess just had to pose for some pictures.  She made me smile.

You can tell her mom often has a camera around her neck.

Here are a few more examples of how the paint changed the house.  Because of course if you change one thing, you end up changing other things.  You may notice I have moved some things around:

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

Thanks for coming by.

Lessons learned from my hospital bed–Tender Mercies

I have learned so many lessons over the last few months.  Today I want to share with you one of the greatest lessons I remembered.  It is remembered because I didn’t just learn this lesson; because I already knew it.  I was just simply reminded of it.  I was reminded of God’s love for each us.  I was reminded of how he shows us his love.

One of the ways God shows his love for us is through what has been called Tender Mercies.  Tender Mercies are small evidences of God’s love for us.  John 14:18 says, “ I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”  One of the ways that he comforts us is through those small evidences.  One might say that they are mere coincidences, I like to think of them as the Lord’s assurance that he loves me and will never leave me comfortless.  Our lives are directed in a way to move and bend through different paths that we may comfort one another.  The Lord uses each of us to be the comforter at times.

One moment in our life when I recognized the tender mercies of the Lord happened to be when I had our little baby Stella Grace.

 

I was pregnant with her during a time of great change and transition for our family.  We moved to the Caribbean when I was 5 months pregnant with her.  With 6 weeks left in my pregnancy, I boarded a small airplane bound for Utah with Jex’s 18 month old chubby hand in mine.  I watched my husband out the window of that small plane.  I watched as he got smaller and smaller.  Along with that little island he was standing on; they both became a small speck in the middle of the ocean. Leaving him for 6 weeks was one of the hardest things I had to do.

We both had high hopes that my pregnancy would hold out until he came home to Utah for his semester break.

God had other plans in mind.  At 3:15 one August morning, I had our baby girl, while my husband was on the phone listening miles and miles away.

Jonathan met our sweet angel in the SLC airport for the first time when she was one week old.

During this time, I saw God’s love for me; even when I wanted to shout this isn’t fair.

 

Stella’s birth was complicated and scary.  Had she waited until her daddy was home she may not have survived.

This one singular event sent a chain reaction of many more difficulties; but the blessings that followed far outweighed the trying times.

This time in particular I could see the many paths of others cross my life that were sent as reminders of God’s love; he would not leave me or Jonathan comfortless.

…And then this March I lay in a hospital bed almost 10 years later with the same loving reminder; he would not leave me comfortless. 

Just days before I landed myself back at the hospital, I lay in bed trying to recover from gall bladder surgery.  The pain was intense, little did I know that the pain was not from the surgery at all, but from a complication as a result of the surgery.  My stomach was literally filling up with poison as I lay in my bed.  I would soon come to realize I had over a liter of bile in my abdomen. 

It was while I lay at home in agony, that my dad suggested I read a talk given by one of the leaders of our church.  The talk was titled, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord, by Elder Bednar”  You can read it here if you like.  I had read it many times before, but decided to give it a read again.

Just 3 hours after reading the talk, and pleading with the Lord that he take away my pain, I felt a small prompting enter my mind:

“Andrea, the tender mercy is that your parents are here.  They can stay with your children.  It is time to go back to the hospital.”

I knew at that moment I should no longer stay at home.  That whatever was going on with me required immediate medical attention. 

A few moments after arriving at the hospital, my bro-in-law and sis-in-law came to see me in the ER.  It was then I discovered that my bro-in-law Wes, was the anesthesiologist on call that night. 

That soon proved to be another evidence of God’s love for me. 

There was a time in the ER that I was so scared.  The pain increased and I knew that I needed a major surgery.  Wes was able to help calm my fears through the magic of modern medicine and my IV.

Wes proved to be the aid who helped with my pain over next few days as he helped me through the surgery and then the following day by giving me an epidural to help numb the pain I had.

I know that he was not on-call that weekend by some minor coincidence.  He was the tool the Lord used to show me his love for me.  Wes was sent on the Lord’s errand as the comforter.

The other amazing blessing was the fact this happened on a Saturday night.  Jonathan has Monday’s off so that allowed him to be with me for 2 1/2 days without worrying about his job.  He slept near me, helped me, comforted me, and brought a smile to my face.

I also can’t help but think what a tremendous blessing it was that we were living in Utah near family when this happened.  We have been away for nearly 10 years.  I was certainly being looked out for when just after 7 short months of being here this happened.  Having family around to comfort not only me, but Jonathan and my children during this time proved to be an amazing source of strength.

I am thankful that I took the time to read the talk from Elder Bednar.  It helped my keep such a focused perspective while I was in the hospital.

The reminder that he would not leave me comfortless helped me to draw on his strength over and over through the course of the following days and weeks.

It helped me smile each time a visitor came by; a constant reminder that he loves me.  I knew he sent friends and family to send HIS love.

This love also came through kind texts and phone calls.

…and as the weeks and a whole month has gone by since leaving the hospital, his love still continues to pour down upon me with the many friends, meals and help that has been sent my way.

I know that we are watched over by the many people who surround us.

God certainly puts us on certain paths to bend and weave around each other that we may remind one another of his sweet love and tender mercies.

(Stella’s blessing day September 2004)

Life is not one giant coincidence.  Life is a tangled web of friendship, kindness, comfort, and mercy.

I have felt God’s love for me each and every day since this trial began.

His Tender Mercies really are over all his works.