I have updated the progress on our house.

www.ericsonjourney.blogspot.com

It's so fun to teach Brayden about the different holidays. I showed him a leprechaun and told him that leprechauns leave treats for good boys. Wow did that give him motivation to be a good boy all day! We found out from my friend, Kim, that Discovery Gateway was having a free day. So we both packed up the kids and headed downtown. Brayden and Garrett had so much fun playing together. It was the perfect holiday activity!

They gave each kid a pair of glasses. The kids were supposed to wear them to "see" the hidden leprechauns. Brayden didn't last long with the glasses, but we did find one of the leprechauns which he traded in for a prize.

The third Sunday each month is the only Sunday we don't have FHE with our families. This past Sunday we went on a walk and stopped at the school next door so Brayden could kick his ball around. It was a little chilly, but worth it. It's always fun to go on walks with Daddy!

We are very excited that we have officially bought a house! We closed on it March 2 and have already started working on it. Since there is a lot of work to be done, I have started a new blog to keep track of our progress. Each time I post something new, I will let you know here so you can check it out. The new blog is:

www.ericsonjourney.blogspot.com

I'm not sure why the text won't change color so you can see it better, but I am working on it!

So....what do you do when the power goes out and you want a snack..and not just any snack, you want chili with frito chips. We had left over chili in the fridge (and on top of that it was Nalley's chili!!)

Side note: so in Texas, they do not sell Nalleys chili anywhere! it is my favorate canned chili but for three years I have not had it at all. I had to find a new brand, Wolf, that is good but not as. Well the other day I was walking in the store and BAM Nalley's chili. They were giant cans only but I couldn't resist!!!

Ok, back to the story!! You may be wondering why the power was out. We don't know, we were just sitting watching American Idol results and it went dark! The power was out for about an hour. So, here I was in a candle lit room and with cold chili. My wonderful husband got an idea. We happen to have a cast iron skillet. He got it out, assembled some candles and glasses and set it up. The lighted picture was actually taken in the dark, Becca's camera happens to have a really bright flash!!

So, we let the chili warm for like twenty minutes and it was perfect!!! YUM!!

We are also thankful to grandma who sent us a wind up light lantern (though we forgot where we put it and it took ten minutes to find and get out of the box.....but it was nice to have. We played cards by lantern light until the power came on. It was great fun!!

I face painted at the South Town expo center from 11:00am to 6:pm and Friday, and from 10:00 am to 6:00pm on Saturday. Lots of fun. These are a few of the faces I did.

Any day that the weather is half way decent, we try to take advantage. I forgot how much quicker and easier the days are when we can go for our walks. On Tuesday it was pretty windy, but still quite warm so we ventured out. Since the kids sleep until 4-5, we didn't get out of the house until 5:30. The warm wind quickly turned cold so we headed home. I had promised Brayden we would stop at the grass, so we did so and he had a blast. For about 30 minutes he ran around kicking his ball while Brooklyn and I bundled up and watched. It was the first time Brooklyn has sat on grass. It was fun watching her discover it, pull it, and ultimately try and eat it.

Last Friday we went to the Kids Safety Fair at the expo center. I had no idea it would be so fun! We spent over 2 hours there and would've stayed longer if it wasn't nap time. Brooklyn did quite well. There was so much going on that she had plenty to look at. My mom was one of the face painters so it was fun to see her. Brayden was of course obsessed with all the different activities involving balls.
The Neighborhood Watch McGruff Dog was driving around everywhere. At one point he came right up to Brayden, blinked his eyes, and said hi. Brayden was a little nervous and hid behind my leg. He did, however, love to watch him from a distance.

Well for those of you who have not heard, our little family has had quite the week. Last week Paige started getting sick,it seemed just like a bad cold. After a visit to the doctor and some medication we thought things would be ok. But Thursday night she got worse. Paige started having diarehia and was vomiting. She could not keep anything down. By morning she started doing better, and then things would get bad again. After several visits to the doctor, and lots of blood work done, it was determined that she need more help than what we could give.

So we admitted her to the hospital on Sunday for dehydration. She had to get some liguids in her. We thought it would be a short process. Give her an IV wait a coupld hours and come home. Five hours after we arrived she still did not have an IV. They tried over and over and could not get one in her. It was tourture for Justin and I. She would be held done on the bed by 3 or 4 people while they tried to get the IV in. She was screaming the whole time. They tried her arms, her wrist, and her skull (I know, yuck!). After the fifth try in her head we could not take it anymore. We made them stop, and let her (and us) have a break. A couple hours later another nurse (I think it was the sixth one that tried) came in. After two try's and the most sincere prayer I have ever said, they finally got it in. It took a total of 10 attempts.

They put it in her arm and then had to wrap it up straight and tight so the IV would not come out. After that things got better. We all spent the night. Paige slowly became herself again, and soon was trying to crawl around everywhere with only an IV holding her back. About 26 hours after we arrived we came home. Now things are much better. Minus a severe diamper rash Paige is doing fine.

It has been one of the most trying weeks of our lives. But we are so thankful the power of the Priesthood. We know that that is why everything is fine and that our little girl is back home and healthy. We are thankful for the support of our families that helped us through everything. We pray that no one will have to go through something like this. But it sure makes you realize how much you love your kids!!

On Saturday we went to the Mayan for dinner with the Trimbles. Although the food still isn't the greatest, we had a lot of fun. Brayden and Jaxon loved watching the divers. We sat at the very top right in the middle and it was great. Claire and Brooklyn are starting to interact a lot more. It's fun to see them playing together.

After dinner the girls went back to our place and the boys all went to the Jazz game. Jaxon and Brayden did surprisingly well, although Brayden asked to go home at half time. But they made it! I love the picture with Jaxon and Brayden in their jerseys after the game. Jazz fans for life!