General Conference

I look forward to General Conference every six months. This is ironic because when I was a child, I dreaded General Conference. Rob and I have made an effort to make General Conference something that our kids enjoy and look forward to. Sometimes we are successful, and other times not so much. We always do a family home evening the Monday before Conference to discuss General Conferece, what it is, etc. We talk about King Benjamin and how the people had to come listen to their prophet speak from a tall tower and stay in tents. The kids think this is a great idea. We end with a matching game with the General Authorities. This is all in hopes that it helps prepared them for conference.

This past General Conference, we had a really fun time with the kids. It helped that the weather wasn't great outside so we were forced to stay inside on Saturday. That morning, I was trying to work on a poster for one of Cayden's teachers. Of course, I immediately had 4 "helpers" wanting to color on the posterboard, etc. It got very chaotic very quickly. And then I had a moment of sheer genious! (I can say that because trust me, it rarely happens!) I ran and got out roll of white butcher paper, grabbed the big box of crayons, and rolled out the paper. I told the kids they were going to make a general conference mural. Any time they heard a word or a topic that they could draw, they should draw it. I was amazed at how well this went over. They actually did this through all of the first session and well into the second! It was fun to see their artwork and interpretation of what they were hearing. For instance, when one of the speakers was talking about temptation, Ashlee started drawing these brown squares. We finally asked her what those were and she said, "That man is talking about temptation. So I am drawing chocolate...chocolate is temptation, you know!?" McKell followed suit with her temptation of bubble gum. Cayden thought he was quite clever by drawing a picture of me on my cell phone during church. Something that never happens, but he heard one of the speakers talking about it. We just kep unrolling more and more paper and they loved it. This will for sure be a new conference tradition.

Every conference, we do an ice cream sundae party at our house after Priesthood Conference. The girls usually just hang out and let the kids play and then when the men get there, we have ice cream, homemade hot fudge, etc. It is yummy and a fun tradition.

On Sunday, we followed our normal tradition and set up our "General Conference Tents" - just like the people of King Benjamin...although I doubt those people had Winnie the Pooh or My Little Pony on their tents like we do. I printed them off their conference bingo and they did a great job sitting in their tents listening to conference.

So we made it through another General Conference and I dare say that my kids actually listened and learned a few things this time around. Amazing.

OUCH!

So, I know it is common to have some pain after an accident, but WOW I didn't expect this. Rob felt his injuries immediately after his accident and is still recovering from those. I fully expected this because of the severity of his accident. But me, on the other hand, I didn't think I would be hurting much at all. It didn't appear that my accident was very severe and I was in my big Sequoia, so I didn't think much about it. Until the next day came and the next and the next etc. I have been in awful pain with my back and neck and I have literally had some form of a headache since last Wednesday. By Sunday it was so bad, I couldn't even look at any light and was throwing up and dizzy. (Sorry for the details). This doesn't even include the re-injury to my toe. AARGH! I am praying that it goes away, but I'm sure it isn't going to leave on its own so I am going to have to go to either a chiropractor or a physical therapist. My regular doctor has suggested a PT, but a lot of people have suggested a chiropractor. I would LOVE any insight, personal experience, advice, etc.

UNBELIEVABLE

This is really the only word I can use for today's events. Even Ashlee has been saying it all day...which is quite humerous. "Mom, this is just unbelievable, isn't it?"

So, get some popcorn, and sit down for the Peacock version of Grey's Anatomy...Rob will be taking the part of McDreamy, McSteamy, or McWhiplash, you choose. I don't even want to know what character I play in all of this.

So, this morning we awoke at 4:00 with Ashlee complaining of being sick and needing medicine. Rob got her back in bed just to have Sadie wake up for the day, also not feeling well. So, I wake up at my usual 6:30 and decide to let Rob and the girls sleep in, hoping they will all feel better after some rest. Ashlee awakes and complains of a very sore throat. Ashlee's tolerance for pain is very high, so when she says it hurts, it has to be bad...and it was. So Rob heads to work, and I get Cayden and McKell ready for school and schedule a doctor's appointment for Ashlee. We are almost to the school when I get "the" call.

"Hello, Mrs. Peacock?"

"Yes"

"This is the Bluffdale Fire Department. We are here with your husband. He has been in an accident and we are trasnporting him in the ambulance to the hospital."

I quickly realize that my initial urge to freak out cannot happen with 4 kids in the car, 2 of which are about to go to school for the day.

So I calmly ask if he is okay, and all I hear is that it isn't "life threatning". Oh great. That makes me feel so much better.

I drop Cayden and McKell off at school and try not to completely freak out imagining the worst possible scenario as I head to the hospital all the way across the valley. I hit 6200 S and realize that this is not a good route. There is bumper to bumper traffic due to construction and people are u-turning right and left to go a different route. I decide to follow suit, but opt for the legal way of turning into a subdivision to turn around. I put my signal on and start to turn into said subdivision when BAM! I am hit by a big white van that then pushes me into the car in front of me. The guy who was apparently in a big hurry, and on his cell phone, tried to pass me on the left and rammed into me.

Again, I try not to completely freak out as Ashlee is still with me. As the guy comes toward me, looking really irritated, I give him "the look" which I think communicated to him very well that I was NOT in the mood for him or his attitude. My front light was hanging by the wires, and there was a big dent where he hit me. I explained that I was on the way to the hospital to be with my husband so we exchanged insurance info etc. and off I went. This is when I realized that the damage was worse than I thought, both to me and the car. All sorts of lights were blinking, showing that my tire wasn't alining, etc. and it was making an awful sound. It is also at this moment that I realize that my toe, yes the already banged up toe, is killing me and I remember that when he hit me, I immediately tried to brace myself and smacked my foot right up at the front of the car. Ouch.

So I make it to the ER and there lies Rob on a backboard with a neck brace, all hooked up and looking miserable. He told me not to worry. And we spend the next while doing CT scans, Xrays, etc. I take the girls to my parents, the ever wonderful life savers that they are. The doctor finally came back in and said that no bones were broken and he had just a lot of strained muscles, soft tissue damage, whiplash, etc. (I label this doctor "McObnoxious and McClueless".) Rob was pretty funny because he looked at me after the doctor left and said, "Is THIS how YOU always feel when you come to the doctor and you know something is wrong, but they tell you that they can't see anything wrong!?" I had to laugh at that one. YUP. That's exactly the feeling I have had numerous times in my medical visiting life. It was kind of enlightning to see Rob fully comprehend that, and understand better why I have to be practically dying before heading to any ER.

So, to sum up what happened with Rob. He was on Bangerter on his way to work. The traffic had come to a complete stop and he was just waiting for it to move. He said he saw a "flash" in his rearview mirror and then felt the hit. Some girl in a big car or SUV slammed into him pretty much at full speed. Rob lost consciousness for a bit and when he came to, he was kind of slumped over to the side and in a lot of pain. Police and ambulance were called etc. and the rest is history.

I went to the tow yard to survey the damage on his car and it is awful. His poor little Honda is a mess. I'm sure it is totaled.

So we now have the "fun" task of dealing with not only ONE car accident with all of the rental car, liability, etc. crap. But TWO accidents. We have already been on the phone all day with insurance garbage. Really no fun at all.

Oh, to add more fun, I finally made it to the doctor with Ashlee who has strep.

I think I'll go to bed and try it all again tomorrow. Wish me luck.

We're goin' to the Zoo!

Not a life altering event, I know, but going to the Zoo is something we love doing. We have a season pass so we can go any time we want. The kids had school off on Friday, so I had a momentary lapse in sanity and told them I would take them. Any mom can attest that outings like this are never predictable, no matter how you prepare and plan. So, I prepared that we may see one animal and go home or we could stay for a while. Fortunately, the kids did great and we had a really fun day. I had never been to the zoo this late in the year or this late in the day (around 3:30) and it was perfect. We will definitely go back again this time next year. Here are a few pics of our zoo day.

The Invisible Mom

My cousin sent me this email with this story attached. It had me in tears and really helped me refocus on the important, although often time unseen and unappreciated, work that I do each day as a mom. This is dedicated to all of you "invisible moms" out there who do great work each and every day!

THE INVISIBLE MOM

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and askto be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner,because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible; 'The Invisible Mom.' Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30,please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, and she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why areyou spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will becovered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied,'Because God sees.' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in themorning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM! I hope you will share this with all the Invisible Moms you know....I just did. The Will ofGod will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. - Author Unknown

Ahhh...the fall TV season has begun

I do love fall. I love the leaves changing color, the change in weather, school starting etc. But I must admit that another thing I love about fall is that FINALLY there are new shows on TV. No more reruns. It is my small guilty pleasure and thank goodness for TIVO! Here are a few I can't wait to start. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. I want to know what your favorite shows are!

Autumn Time...

I love this time of year and I love decorating for Autmn and Halloween. Rob still marvels at all of the holiday decor, but secretly I know he enjoys it as well. The kids get so excited when I haul up the boxes with the decorations in them, especially the haunted house. Here's a few pics of the Peacock Home in the fall.