Collage Wall

Back in November, I posted this picture on Facebook asking for help on what to do with this wall:

These photos aren't the best quality being snapped with my phone rather than a camera and in not the best lighting, but you get the idea. We have a long rectangular family room and a big wall that I wanted to decorate somehow with some family pictures, but didn't really know what I wanted. I searched Pinterest for a lot of ideas and just thought about it for a few months. I decided I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it and would make most of the frames and such myself. I wanted a large D (for Dart of course!) and fun colors. I bought some mdf, free handed a D on it and cut it out with a jigsaw. It was my first time ever using my jigsaw and it was very rough and needed a bit of sanding. It isn't perfect, but I made it and I like it. I bought some spray paint in fun colors and decided it would be yellow:)

FYI, spray paint doesn't stick so well to raw edges of mdf. I used a whole can of spray paint trying to get it all yellow. After that didn't work, I bought a can of spray primer (and another can of yellow). One coat of primer and two coats of yellow it looked even and covered and was just what I had envisioned.

I had thought I would make a variety of frame types and sizes and sort of make a random display. I was going to use some leftover bead-board and wood scraps to make at least 4 frames for my kids photos. I also REALLY wanted to make some chunky frames in interesting shapes. I didn't really have the confidence that I could make them look like they did in my head though:) Last week I was blessed by a friend and had 1 hour to myself with no children and so I stopped into Hobby Lobby to browse. I was so super excited to find some chunky frames in interesting shapes, but they looked this:

The 8x10 frames were originally priced $29.99, but you can often purchase things at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. These frames had been marked down so many times, they were almost giving them away at $3. They were in great condition, just not the prettiest floral print on them. I bought the entire stock. I didn't know still what I wanted to do with them exactly, but with the cost of wood to make all the frames, plus drawing out shapes, cutting, sanding, etc. It seemed too good to pass up.  

On our recent vacation, we had a professional photographer take family pictures of us and we had a bunch of 8x10 prints from our session that I decided to use. I also purchased 11x14 frames that were clearanced to $4. I had several Pinterest pins waiting to be created and displayed in my home, so I decided to use those for the 11x14 frames.

I measured my wall and in the basement, I laid out the frames, re-arranging until I decided what I liked the best.

Then I drew a sketch of what photos I wanted in each frames and used crayons to decide which frame needed to be what color. I am so glad I had this sketch, I referred to it often as I painted the frames and designed some of the images to go inside the frames.

Lastly, I spray painted all the frames in their colors and let them dry well. I used Sams Club to print the 11x14 prints and I bought dollar store frames to use the glass and the backing of the frame. I wanted to be able to easily switch out photos as we get new ones or my taste changes:) My dollar store even had the 11x14 frames with full glass panes in them for $1. I hung them all up with command strips so that my wall wasn't completely filled with nail holes and in case I decide to change the layout at some point. I hang almost everything now with command strips.

Here is the new wall!

I downloaded this from HERE

 I created this from the idea HERE

 

I created this from the idea HERE

It says: The Dates Our Lives Were Changed Forever

 

 Instead of creating something like this, I purchased it from HERE

It is so colorful and fun and everyone likes walking into the room and just staring at the photos:)

A Sweet Moment To Remember

Getting back to actually posting on our family blog is something I have been wanting to do all year. I guess I have been too busy living life rather than documenting it. One of the reasons I used to love blogging was to remember the sweet moments of raising my children. Yesterday one happened that I wanted to document.

I drove up to the school to pick the girls up early to take them to a doctor appointment. We were meeting our new pediatrician and they needed well checks, plus we had a few questions. Taking 4 kids anywhere at all usually proves to be a stressful experience. The doctors office seems to be even more so. Tiny rooms with only two chairs, hard floors and sick kid germs everywhere . . . 

Anyway, I planned ahead and left early as to prevent myself from rushing my kids and worrying about the time. However, the second I parked at the school, the van made a little bump bump and I knew we were almost out of gas. Our gauge has been acting funny, one moment it will say we have a full tank, the next empty and everywhere in between. So I really had no idea we were so close to being out of gas. I called Greg whose office is only about 10 minutes away or less, but of course he was at a meeting 1/2 hour away. I acted all casual and checked the girls out, got everyone buckled in the car and asked everyone to say a prayer that we could make it to a gas station safely. Did I mention it was raining?

The school sits at the top of a hill, so I coasted down the hill and had to wait at a stoplight, urging it to turn green before I ran out of gas. It finally did and I was able to turn safely and got into the right lane just in case. I got up to about 30 mph and then the car went dead. The road there is on the slightest slant. I knew that there was no way I was going to make it to the gas station up ahead, but decided to get as far as I could. I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and put my hazards on and coasted. Would you believe that there is a gas station on the corner across the street that I turn to take the girls to school every day and I have never noticed it before? I wouldn't have made it to the ones further ahead that I was planning on filling up at. The pumps were open for the brief moment long enough for me to pull into place. My power steering was dead, so it took some muscle to maneuver in, but we filled up and made it to our appointment ON TIME! The pure joy on the kids faces that our prayers had been answered was priceless. Blessings come in the most unexpected ways sometimes.

2012

 I decided to give up trying to catch up the blog and just start fresh. This is the only family recordkeeping/scrapbook that I do right now so I do want to keep it up if I can. Here is the Christmas note we put on Facebook this year that will review 2012.

What a year for us! I seriously am so exhausted from it that I decided to save myself some stress and do Facebook cards this year. We have had a lot of trials and a lot to be grateful for and this may be a little long. Fair warning!

We started 2012 off with a bang with Kenai Dennis Dart being born on January 4. The Sanpete Valley Hospital is so small that although it was the 4th, he was the New Year's baby! We received all sorts of goodies and had our picture in the paper. His delivery went very smoothly and I remember laying in bed with him our first morning at home feeling that life was pure bliss. Then it got rough for a couple weeks. Kenai was jaundice and had to be put on bililites. On the way home from one of our bilirubin checks, I started feeling very ill. Within an hour I felt like I had been run over by a bus (not that I have experienced that and know what it feels like). Luckily my Mom was visiting and I rested most of the day, took a bath, but still continued to get worse and when I started a fever, I had Greg take me to the ER. Turns out I had an infection in my uterus. Luckily I went in soon enough that I did not have to be hospitalized and the antibiotics had me feeling much better by the next morning. It definitely delayed my recovery, but I was so grateful that it hadn't been worse. Next we began to worry about Kenai. He had a couple meconium poopy diapers in the hospital, but did not have one at all after bringing him home. He also had very small amounts of urine and was not gaining weight, but was eating all the time. He had x-rays done but was not constipated. He simply was not creating waste and went more than a day without urinating and at 10 days old, still had not returned to his birth-weight.  The doctor recommended I start supplementing formula. I was to breastfeed first, offer a bottle and then pump and do that every two hours. Yikes! After much worry, he was 2 weeks old and had not had a bowel movement and so we gave him a blessing. A couple hours later, he pooped! A couple hours later after that, he pooped again!! Once he started, he didn't stop and we couldn't be more excited about it. It turns out that with my infection and the antibiotics I was not producing much milk. He was getting enough food to survive but not thrive. I felt like the worst Mom in the world for starving my baby and guilty for not being able to breast feed. As he quickly began to gain weight and thrive, I got over it.

We had another very special day in January when Alexis chose to be baptized and we also blessed Kenai at her baptism. We had a special program for them in Orem with lots of family and friends in attendance and it was so wonderful. Kenai is the happiest baby I have ever met and has a very sweet spirit. We are overwhelmed with our blessings.

In March, Greg had to present at a conference in San Francisco and Kenai and I were lucky enough to tag along. Mark and Karen watched the other 3 kids and had lots of fun with them while we were away. We visited Alcatraz, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, rode the cable cars. The conference hotel was gorgeous and had a great view right at the top of a very steep hill. Kenai was a great little traveler. Also during this time, some drama occurred for Greg at work that I won't go into details about. I will just say that it really tested our character and caused me much stress. I am so thankful for close friends that I was able to cling onto during that time.

As Spring sprung, we began to look forward to the Fall which Greg was planning to start a Doctorate program. We both were very busy planning and organizing Ephraim's Scandinavian Festival, running our businesses, volunteering on the PTA, church callings, Greg's more than full time job, raising 4 kids, etc. We both felt a little deflated and as we started to think about how we would pay for graduate school and where would we find the time to add it to our schedules, we decided it might be good to make some changes. Greg started actively applying for jobs all over the country and we were overwhelmed with the response. (I can brag, cause he is my husband!) He ended up with 5 very good job offers, 4 that were out of state. All of the jobs were about the same pay range (quite a bit more than he was currently making) and we decided that a short move, still close to family and the job at USU Eastern in Price was the best fit for us. I also applied for a job as an Assistant Hall Director which we were blessed to get, because it meant free housing which would ease the stress of selling our house.

Then came the tears. I loved living in Ephraim. I loved the elementary school, I loved our house, I loved our neighborhood, we have Badger blood (Snow College's mascot). Moving was very bittersweet. It probably was the hardest for Alexis as she is the oldest and had lots of friends at school. Did I mention how much I loved our house and neighborhood? We literally sold half our stuff, best yard sale ever! We put our house up for sale and at the end of June we made the move to Price Utah.

Although we have missed Ephraim, there are things we have really enjoyed about living in Price. Our apartment is much smaller than our home was, but it is big enough for us and comfortable. It is right across the street from Greg's office, the city's awesome wave pool and a perfect playground for the kids to play in. Denali started Kindergarten and Alexis 3rd grade and we all really love their new school and their teachers. Both girls are really doing well and are so smart. Paxton also started preschool this year at the program on campus. It happens to be right next to us also and he loves it and has made good friends there. Just like at Snow, we feel very grateful for Greg's co-workers and blessed to have them in our lives. With the housing position I have, I work 5 hours a week in the housing office and help assist the Resident Advisors in their duties.

I have dealt with postpartum depression before and after we got to Price and things started to settle down I began to feel very depressed. I know this is probably really personal to share in a Christmas letter, but I have learned that talking about it helps me and can sometimes help others feeling the same way.Shortly I began feeling very lonely and darkness seemed to be consuming me so much. It was affecting my ability to parent my children and I felt like I was literally suffocating. I kept thinking that if I exercised, took my vitamins and got enough rest, that I could find my balance and wouldn't feel this way anymore. I started getting headaches and my heart was racing all the time it seemed and on a few occasions I experienced chest pains. I finally decided it was time to see a doctor. Why I didn't see one sooner can only be explained by the fact I was not in the right mind. Turns out that my heart rate was extremely high. The chest pains and headaches were being caused by extreme anxiety and my body being so tense. My doctor prescribed medication for depression and for anxiety. The anxiety medication helped me right away, although it made me very sleepy at first.

Shortly after I started the medication, Greg's travel season was in full swing. He actually has traveled less this year than ever before, but October is always a busy travel month for him and this year was no different. The first week he was gone went pretty well. But when the second week started my anxiety was increasing and I was grasping to stay afloat and be a good parent to my kids. One frustrating morning I could not get Denali moving and we were going to be late for the bus. I threw on some flip flops and we started to run for the bus. My toe caught the edge of a raised section of sidewalk and BAM! I was flattened to the concrete before I even fully realized what happened. Immediately I knew I had broken my hand and the girls looked at me with shock and worry. I told them I loved them and that I really needed them to go get on the bus. As I walked back to the apartment I was thinking, "Really God? All that I have been going through and now a broken hand while my husband is out of town and won't be home for another 6 days???" He said, "Yes really, but I have put amazing people in your life who are going to bless and help you through this time." And that is what happened. A friend took me to the ER along with my boys and her own 2 children and she ran a bunch of errands with me that I needed to do and then she brought us dinner. The ER doctor while asking me if I have any allergies snatched my dislocated fingers and jerked them back into place. I gasped with a shocked look on my face as I tried to hold back tears. He says, "You probably want to cuss at me right now, but I promise it is longer and more painful if you know it is coming." Turns out jerking dislocated fingers back into place costs almost $500. No joke. I had broken two of my fingers near the main knuckles and needed surgery a week later for them to reset my fingers so the bones would heal correctly. My hand was extremely painful and swollen and bruised. You don't really appreciate what you have until it is gone and that was so true with my hand. The most basic daily tasks take much longer and are much more difficult one handed.

So on one of Greg's recruiting trips, he met a counselor from Hawaii and she told him that he should make a trip there and told him what schools and fairs to visit. He looked into it and decided it might be a trip worth taking. His cousin lives there, so he had a place to stay and plane tickets happened to be abnormally low. As I was sitting in the ER, he texted me that plane tickets had dropped significantly and did I want to go to Hawaii with him. Yes please! So two weeks later we were on a plane to Hawaii. We brought Kenai with us and Greg's parents watched the other three, again. I am so grateful for my in-laws! So while Greg was visiting schools and college fairs every day, I was hanging out with his sweet cousin Amy and her daughter Dia. We slept in, talked, walked to the beach. It really was so great for me to relax, cuddle my angel baby and strengthen my friendship with Amy. Her husband is in the Navy and we got a personal tour of his submarine that he works on. My appreciation for our military and the sacrifices their families make intensified immensely  On our last day before we flew out we were about to go take pictures of the Hawaii Temple and visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was lovely and I loved that everyone in Hawaii calls you their cousins. The feeling there is a little bit like Disneyland. Everyone is just so excited to see you and have you there. At the end of November we were able to close on the sale of our house in Ephraim which was a huge answer to prayers. We are completely debt free and have the money saved to get through graduate school. So grateful for both those things!

The first week of December came and we were so excited. We had been planning a Carnival Cruise to the Mexican Riviera for months and were so excited to take the kids on a vacation. Other than the kids not liking the long drive, we had a really wonderful trip. We loved the service and food that the employees provide. The kids went swimming every chance they got and fully enjoyed the Camp Carnival program. It even allowed Greg and I to eat a few dinners with only one child. Our first day at Cabo we spent 3 hours at the beach, soaking in the sun, swimming and building sand castles. I did get in the ocean, but I could not swim much as I still had the cast on my hand. The 2nd day at Cabo Greg took Alexis snorkeling as I slept in with the other kids and they went swimming on the ship. In Puerrto Vallarta we went to a water park  Greg and Alexis were able to swim with dolphins there. It was a really hot day and the kids loved the water slides and playing in the cool water. Alexis loves dolphins, can tell you all about them and it has been her dream for several years to swim with dolphins. She literally swam with them too, I will post the pictures to Facebook . . . someday. One of my favorite things about going on a cruise is that we are completely unplugged. No TV, not internet, no phones ringing. Just quality family time spent doing whatever we feel like doing at the moment. Kenai was a little sick on the boat, but we don't think it had anything to do with sea sickness. We enjoyed our trip so much that we booked our next vacation while we were on the boat!

When we got back to where our car was parked, we realized we had a flat tire. A tire that had been flat and replaced brand new only a few months earlier. Finding a place that was open on Sunday proved to be difficult. When we did find a place, the man told us it would be about 15 minutes. Greg and I both gave a look to each other that meant, "Yeah right." But it did! They had us all fixed up and ready to go so fast, we were so grateful. On the way home I started to get a sore throat and we had to drive 11 hours straight to get home that day. We were so ready to go to bed that night. I was really excited for the next day though, because I was finally able to get my cast off. Before my appointment Paxton started to get a really high fever so Greg stayed home with the kids while I went. Underneath my cast was a little scary. My fingers were so hard and stiff that I couldn't even move them. They were still bruised and swollen and I was fearing I may not have full use out of them ever again. I also was pretty worried to not have the protective cast to keep my healing fingers safe from active children, but at the same time I was so grateful to have it off. That night we were up all night with Denali as she was throwing up and Paxton's fever was still high. By Tuesday Greg and Kenai were both not feeling well and it appeared that Alexis had an infection. Wednesday we took all the kids to the doctor and they all were out on antibiotics. Thursday Greg and I went to the doctor and I had been so worried about Kenai's labored breathing that I stepped into their doctor's office which is right next door and just asked if the P.A. we had seen the day before would listen to him. She gladly did and sent us straight to the ER. After a steroid shot, he seemed to be doing o.k. and they were about to send us home, but he had another episode of very labored breathing and they administered a breathing treatment right away. A couple hours later they were able to send us home. He had another really rough night that night and I was taking him for walks and we slept with the window open all night long. We never have all been sick at once. I have never seen Greg so sick as he has been this week. We both still had fevers last night. Yuck!

So today I sit here writing this letter and am worn out mentally, physically and emotionally. But I am also overwhelmed with gratitude for my family, friends, numerous blessings and for my Savior, Jesus Christ. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!

Love,

Greg, Dawn, Alexis (8), Denali (6), Paxton (3), and Kenai (11 months) Dart

December 2012