Smithfield Scoop

Well, I didn't want to get to February (on Sunday) and only have one post for January, so here I am posting on Tuesday...
First of all, I must say what delight we experience when we read your posts and view your photos! They lift our spirits and warm our hearts and cause us to laugh and feel grateful! It's a blessing indeed. Thanks for contributing!

It's been a bit of an adventure around here since our last update. Two amazing births have occurred, one super quick and my assistant didn't make it, even though she lives closer to the mom than I do. All was well. The other was a little anxiety-laden. This was another midwife's client that I was assisting with. We didn't know exactly how far along this mom was. She didn't have an accurate date, but by her assessment, and ours, she was due toward the end of February. Well, she began having signs on the 18th so I went to check on her since the other midwife lives in Ogden. Yep. She was having consistent, though not close contractions, and had some other signs, including a dilating cervix (sorry for such graphic language on our blog!). So, after consulting with the other midwife, I  had to take her to the hospital at 2 a.m. because our best guess was that she was somewhere between 32 and 35 weeks. Long story short, they gave her an IV and did an ultrasound and bloodwork. The fluids stopped her contractions (she was a bit dehydrated), the labs all came back normal and the radiologist who read the ultrasound estimated that the baby was over 6 pounds and 36.6 weeks. So, all was well and she went home at 5:30 a.m. However, the next night she called again, having contractions 10 minutes apart. I arrived at 11:30 p.m. (the other midwife had been called to another birth when she was halfway to Logan) and baby arrived on 01/20/2020 at 2:01. She weighed 7# 5 oz and was robust and healthy, nursed right away like a champ. My assessment was 39 weeks. All the stress was for naught - but we were glad for the trip to the hospital which alleviated our fears and allowed mom to have the calm delivery experience at home that she so wanted.

That experience happened while Lauren and Nick and their boys were here. But we did get to have some fun time together. Wesley and Chet had their first sledding experience on the little hill down the road from our house. It was Chet's nap time and he wasn't very impressed with the whole idea of going down a hill and getting snow sprayed up into his face, but Wesley loved it - after the first time. Instead of starting at the top, Nick took him from the mid-point and that was more comfortable for Wesley. Before long, he was dragging his sled up the hill and going down all by himself! We also did puzzles, played ping pong, danced while Lauren played the piano, chatted and talked and conversed, did a wonderful Come Follow Me lesson, and had a lovely time together. The weather was sublime and the company delightful. We do hope they'll return again soon!

Our lovely family cookbook has been beckoning to me and I've decided to prepare every recipe in it, except for maybe all of the desserts. I have shied away from making desserts for the last while, but we may try a few. Anyway, it has been a very delicious endeavor! May I wholeheartedly recommend Lori's Wild Rice and Chicken Soup?!!! We prepared it tonight and it is heavenly! Dad couldn't get enough and Emma even had seconds (we've worried about her eating like a bird lately!) and I relished every bite. No strange ingredients - except that our silly grocery stores here don't carry wild rice. We ended getting a combination wild/brown rice mix after trying unsuccessfully to find plain wild rice. It was delicious regardless. I can also recommend Grant's yummy nachos recipe - quick and tasty - and Lauren's Frittata recipe, absolutely delicioso!!! We are excited to try all of the other recipes.

In order to feed my soul, I am reading an interesting book by Tad Callister about the Book of Mormon (and reading the Book of Mormon, too). I really liked your insight, Jenn. Getting to the Tree takes effort, but it also takes effort to get yourself into the Large and Spacious Building, especially since you'll have to fly to get there since it's in the air! And, in order to feed my sanity I am reading, of all things, Carl Belliston's autobiography of his first 25 years of life. I don't think I've laughed so hard for a very long time! It is hilarious! It is quite invigorating and very refreshing to laugh. And I've loved getting some insights into a very unique and amazing person. I highly recommend it. I am planning to check with Carl and see if he has another copy we can have as a loaner. So good.

We are LOVING being ordinance workers at the temple, even though we have to get up at 4:00 on Wednesday mornings. It is an uplifting, inspiring experience each week. The sweetest experiences I've had are in the initiatory when a blind sister has come through and is so grateful to be there, and when I helped a young handicapped gal at the veil who is unable to speak quietly. She also speaks very slowly and with great effort. Apparently, as a young girl, she was hit by a car and not expected to survive. When she did, her parents were warned that she likely would never be functional. She is completely functional, just does everything very slowly and deliberately. She regularly comes to the temple on our shift. Last week a sweet, older lady with a thick foreign accent, came when I was at the new name area. She said she felt impressed to tell my why she was there - that she has an appointment with the Lord every day, at 6:40 in the chapel at the temple. On Sunday and Monday she keeps that appointment in her house. She said, "da Lord speaks to me and tells me vhat I should do. He vill tell you, too. You must keep your appointment vit da Lord." It was quite powerful for me.

Love you all! If you want to party with Jenn and the babies while they're here - come on over!!!