Gratitude!

Have you ever had something happen so traumatic that whenever you think of it your stomach just comes to your mouth and you find it hard to breathe?  Then after a little while you realize that remembering and recording is a way that you can honor the miracle and the gratitude that you feel. 

This is a post to honor our miracle.

Two days after Kai's 3rd birthday he wanted to go swimming- so off we went.  He had just gotten this new life jacket and wanted to use it.

We had also just bought this new floaty for Elaina which he wanted to try out when we got to the pool.  These are really easy to tip over in- so I watched him self-correct himself in it for a while- and he was doing great.  Kai then wanted to go into the big pool with it.  He did and was fine.  Over the next hour the pool filled up with more and more people.  Lots of kids, lots of smiles, lots of laughing.  Lots of neighbors to visit with.  Usually Kai has on his life jacket and is pretty good at swimming with it so we haven't worried much about him.  After a bit- Brigham looked over at the pool and saw this kid floating on his back.  (My chest feels so tight just writing this- a month later. Ahh!)  He thought- That boy looks like Kai- but it can't be him cause Kai can't float like that.  He searched for the yellow floaty tube and sure enough it was empty.  He ran over there and grabbed Kai's arm and pulled him out.  I watched him do all this not knowing what was going on.  I started to run over there just as Brigham pulled him out and I noticed that his body was completely limp.  I, of course, screamed a few times- until Brigham told me to stop it- saying that Kai was fine.  Well I could see that he was not fine.  He was purple, limp, unconscious, and not breathing.  (Later I was telling a neighbor how embarrassed I was at screaming and she so kindly said, "Are you kidding- you were calling out to God saying- Hear me!  Help me!"  I thought that fit my mental state just about right.)  Brigham remained so calm the whole time- I asked him later how he was able to and he said that he just felt calm and knew that he would be alright.  Well, a neighbor came over to help Brigham and they gave him some rescue breaths and miracle of miracles he started to spit up water and to breathe.  I cannot adequately put into words the utter, to the marrow of my bones- relief that I felt.  As he started to come to he began screaming and his eyes were bulging.  The pressure in his lungs from all the water must have been soooo painful.  Eventually, he threw up about half a gallon of water.  I still can't figure out why he was floating on his back- it's almost as if angels were holding him up.  He spent the night in the hospital on a pulse ox.  Apparently, people who have near drownings will sometimes die in the night because they think everything is okay- but they actually still have a lot of water in their lungs and then they suffocate.  Scary- so we didn't want to take any chances.  They came home the next morning (Sunday).  I had run back to the house to get something I had forgotten for my lesson and I found Brigham and Kai getting ready for church.  Kai was bouncing off the walls as usual doing some Tarzan chest thumping and I just dropped to my knees once again in gratitude that he has been spared.  He is also completely normal in his mental capacity- he is a smart little whipper snapper.  Surely our God is a God of Miracles!

I believe if you handle any situation correctly it can be a blessing.  Here is the blessing I received.  Kai is a very loud, very fun kiddo.  Sometimes too loud.  Over the next week- I rejoiced in every noise that came from his mouth- I was just so grateful to still be hearing him.  I loved all of his singing and bouncing and zest for life.  Sometimes his loudness was really hard to bear- but not that week.  I was so patient with him......I was just so grateful.  So in reflecting on that after a week I realized that when I do get frustrated or upset- it is because I am not being grateful.   For two weeks after this incident Elaina was sick.  Very lethargic and fever-ish.  I was nearly incapacitated as long as she was awake.  I just had to sit and hold her.  It was rough and whenever I started to feel frustrated the Spirit would whisper to me, "Be Grateful"!  Then I would look at this little angel in my arms and feel so so grateful that I was holding her and she was alive and all frustration would just melt away.  I have been so blessed to have continual reminders from the Spirit as I handle the many interactions with my children and husband.  My heart is full of gratitude and my trials are much much easier to endure. What a blessing!

“A happy home is but an earlier heaven. President George Albert Smith asked, ‘Do we want our homes to be happy? If we do, let them be the abiding place of prayer, thanksgiving and gratitude’