Looks Like Fall

Here are a few pictures of Hudson this fall. Sorry it's taken so long to get them up. Enjoy!

World's Cutest Scarecrow

How's that for the cutest scarecrow ever? Hudson begged me out of my gloves so he could play in the corn. I can't help but laugh when I see him wearing them around. He thinks he is so grown up. Little does he realize how big the gloves are on his little hands.

I Am THANKFUL Each Day

I bought Hudson a new book by the afore mentioned title. I feel thankful. Today was a beautiful autumn day. The sun was warm and the wind was still. The leaves on my trees are starting to give up and gently fall to the ground. Hudson and I decided we had better enjoy being outside before we are driven inside by winter. We played in the sandbox and cleaned up my flower beds. We watched as they thrashed the corn field directly west of our house. It looks and feels like fall.

I talked to Mom this afternoon. She sounded good. She has been getting up and walking around the nurse's station now that they have removed her IV's. She is still in the ICU, but they're going to sneak her into the women nurse's locker room for a shower tonight. I think that will make her thankful too. They have been cutting her back on morphine, but she isn't in as much pain. She is still tired, but that is probably a good thing. Instead of going crazy, she just wants to sleep.

The Phone Call

I was in my pajamas, ready to head to bed when I got a phone call from Dad. He told me how mom and him went in to watch Tameka perform at half time with the marching band when Mom got violently ill. He rushed her to to ER. They discovered that she had blood on her brain and was life flighted to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake. That was all the information I got. After a phone call to Nik we packed, ripped Hudson out of his crib and were on our way to SLC. After the initial shock and scare of the phone call I didn't spend much time considering all of the possible what ifs. Instead I had a peaceful feeling like everything would be alright.

We rolled into SLC around 2:30 a.m. Mom was still having tests ran, so we went with the Stephens to Crystal Inn for a few hours of sleep. That morning we learned that the bleeding had stopped. Dad, Nik, and I went to visit Mom that morning. She was still in pain and very tired. They had her in the shock and trauma ICU so that they could continue to monitor her. The doctor is being very cautious as complications are still a possibility. The brain will be able to get rid of the blood (since it makes 2 cups of fluid a day that is drained through the ventricles into the spinal cord where it is absorbed into the body.) They are just worried that any clots from the blood could cause a blockage. Mom will have to stay in the ICU for awhile longer while they continue to monitor her but we are all very optimistic. Despite being very tired and her painful headache, she is doing well.

It's amazing how a single phone call can realign all of your priorities in a hurry. All of our family was together for the weekend to support Mom. Of course, we can't all be together without having a little fun. We celebrated Tameka's 18th birthday (a day late) at Hire's Big H. Saturday night we (Dad, Nikkala, Chod, Bentley, Deidra, Chris, Tameka, Brent, Hudson and I) all spent the night in one motel room. You counted right, ten people in a 2 queen room. None of us really knew what the day would bring, so we hung out in Dad and Tameka's room which conveniently turned into OUR room. I was quite impressed with our ingenuity. Chris and Deidra had brought their air mattress. Tameka found the stash of cots and "jacked" 2 for Dad and her. The little boys slept in the pac n' plays provided and the Stephens and Hillmans took the beds. We all slept well. Bentley occassionally reminded us that he was still there but there wasn't even much snoring. I enjoyed the time we were all able to spend together.

I feel very blessed for Mom to be recovering and doing so well. The entire incident reminds me that life is fragile. Tomorrow might be too late to say "I'm sorry" or "I love you." I thank God for life-- my family's lives, my friends' lives, and my life. I hope not to ever take life for granted.

Hudson the Helper

Lately Hudson has been a big fan of Bob the Builder, so much so that I'm making him be Bob for Halloween. As soon as he hears the music, "Can we fix it?" he starts into his hilarious dance moves (thank you Uncle Chris.) He has a little tool belt and some plastic tools. The other night he was down under his crib trying to tighten some bolts and realign the railing with whacks of his hammer. He walks around the house looking for things he can tighten with his screw driver. Most of his toys have been worked over as well.

The other day, Brent was under the header of the chopper making some repairs when Hudson walks up. He squats down so he can peek under to get a better idea of what's going on. Before long he's handing Brent some wrenches (but onl y after he's done his share of tampering with any visible nuts or bolts) and pounding on things with the hammer. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. He's also been obsessed with gloves lately. While we've been cleaning up our garden, he insists on wearing gloves like me. It doesn't matter that they're way too big, he still tries to pick things up while he's wearing them. So of course, the entire time he's helping Brent, he's wearing the gloves he took from Brent- must run in the family because Brent got the gloves from me.

Yesterday before we left to go over to Grandma's to play with the Western kids, Hudson insisted that he have some gloves before we walked out of the door. (He now has a little pair of terry cloth gloves that Grandma gave him.) It's a good thing he had them on because they were all cleaning up leaves and working in the yard. Without hesitation, Hudson runs over and starts pitching in. He handed Dalton branches so he could put them in the burning barrel. Hudson also drug a leaf rake around for a good part of the day.

The highlight of his day was being able to ride with Daddy in the tractor when he went to bale. Hudson had been begging to get in the tractor all day. It's fun to see him be so excited about helping out. He really is Hudson the helper. Can he fix it-- YES he can!

Big Sigh

We are finished chopping corn!! Well . . . almost. Brent agreed to do 3o acres for this guy but then we should done. What's another 30 acres after 1400 acres? Corn harvest turned into being a full time job that demanded lots of overtime. We worked a lot of 12-14 hour days. In the past I haven't noticed the long hours, but it was really hard for me this year. I think it's because I didn't take Hudson in the truck with me (it would have been torture for both of us.) Many nights I'd pick him up from Nikkala's or Grandma's after he'd already gone to sleep and return him shortly after I'd wake him up in the morning. I don't know how working moms do it. You get home from a long day of work and come home hungry to a filthy house. There were days that my only goal once I got home was to make sure Brent and I both had clean pants for the next day.
It's too bad that farm work is all or nothing. I thought I might get away with working part time this year. . . HA! It's not the truck driving, getting dirty, or even the bathroom break in the corn field that I mind. It the long hours that prevent me from being a mom and a wife. During harvest Brent has added pressure and is always stressed out trying to manage the business from his seat in the chopper. Add to the mix a tired Karisa who doesn't get to be a mom and you've got a recipe for disaster. I've informed Brent that I will be the lunch lady next year. I can't think of a better job. When you're in the truck, any warm food that you haven't packed around in your lunch box all day is a godsend.
Now if we can just finish up this high moisture corn and get all of 4th crop put up and we will be in good shape. Maybe Brent will be able to eat dinner with us one of these days.

Lawnmower Naps

From the time that Hudson was tiny, I'd have him ride with me while I mowed the lawn. I remember bundling him up in his Snugli and zipping my jacket over him. He still likes to ride with me for the hour and a half it takes me to mow the lawn. For the most part he's pretty good about riding the entire time. Once and awhile he wants off to go and play in his sandbox. Today he came running as soon as he heard the mower. I put him on my lap. Pretty soon he was standing in front of me and steering. That only lasted a minute before he wanted back on my lap. Then he wanted to turn around. Before long he started to get heavy and his head started to bobble all over. Sure enough, he had managed to fall asleep. The first time he ever fell asleep on the mower, I tried taking him in to his crib because it's pretty hard to hold on to a sleeping baby and steer at the same time. No use, he just woke up screaming. I tried again another day with the same outcome. So today I just pulled him closer and enjoyed the warmth of the fall sun. All too soon he'll be too big to sit on my lap and won't want anything to do with mowing the lawn.