SURPRISE!

So it's not so much of a surprise considering I'm posting this nearly 4 months late, but pretend it's June/July with me.

The week after my family reunion, I solidified my decision to go back to school. I needed to finish my bachelor degree, and I figured if I started now, then we could try for another baby in December and I would have a decent amount of time to finish before another baby was born. Sounded like a plan, right? Right. So I paid my tuition. Two days later I decided to take a pregnancy test. It was positive. So positive the control line barely showed. Huh? This wasn't supposed to be possible, yet here we were, looking at a positive pregnancy test WITHOUT IVF. So what did I do? I took two more tests, of course. When both of those were positive, I kinda freaked out. Aurora had just turned 1. I just paid tuition to go back to school. My mom was dying. After I was done freaking out for the day, I called my mom. She immediately started crying and I couldn't understand her for a minute. Two of my sisters almost started crying, too. All of our siblings were surprised (not as surprised as me and Greg!) and all of them so excited for us.

As excited as we were, I was terrified I might miscarry so we only told immediate family members and a few friends. While still in North Carolina for my mom's funeral, I took advantage of my radiologist brother-in-law and his ultrasound tech co-workers to have an ultrasound. We saw the heartbeat and I immediately relaxed and started telling people. Which was probably necessary because, for those who remember my last pregnancy, I was very sick shortly thereafter and have remained pretty sick since.

So here I am, 22 weeks pregnant with a......

BOY!

Greg and I are so excited, and I'm sure Aurora would be just as excited if she had any clue what was happening. I'm due February 25, 2012, but, honestly, I'm hoping he'll wait a few days and be born in March. Then our birth months will be March, April, May, and June. :)

My Mother

As fun as the family reunion was, it was sobering as many of us realized my mother's condition was deteriorating. I haven't mentioned specifics on this blog, but she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer in September 2010, even though we knew there was some type of cancer since April 2010. After initial chemo, the cancer appeared to be eradicated, but then follow up tests to confirm it showed the cancer had mutated and spread very aggressively. By June, she was weak and, for those of us who lived far away, we knew it was probably the last time we would see her alive in this life. She had experienced horrible side effects of the latest treatments of chemo and about two weeks after our reunion, she decided to stop treatments. We all knew it was the right decision as scans showed the chemo wasn't even helping much. We went to work trying to keep her comfortable, contacting friends and family members, and making sure we were all staying informed.

My sister and I talked at the end of the reunion about things to say to your mother before she dies. Things like how she influenced you, how she taught you to be a good mother, how you're grateful for everything she did for you. And yet, when I knew the end was coming, I didn't feel the need to say those things. I don't regret it now, either. I told her I loved her, told her that we would be okay, that she had taught us well and prepared us. I think a large part of me not going into specifics was that I had already told her some of those things, but mostly I just felt that she would know those things when she died. And so I focused on making sure I was doing everything I could to help her and my family while being far away, even though that didn't include flying out to see her. She died July 15, 2011. It also happened to be Greg and I's 6th wedding anniversary. We flew out a few days later for the funeral, only staying a few days before needing to come home. The funeral was beautiful and heart-wrenching at the same time. I was touched at how many of her friends came, even those who hadn't seen her for a while.

I'm incredibly grateful to my family and her friends that helped with everything in her final weeks and in the weeks after. I cannot express how much I already miss her, or how deeply I grieve for my children who will never know either of their biological grandmothers in this life. I am so grateful to have had her for a mother, and I know that we will be together again. I'm grateful for the knowledge and testimony we have of Jesus Christ and His atonement for us, for the sealing power of the priesthood, and for the close family my parents created as we now have each other to lean on.

I love you, Mom.

Greenland Family Reunion

Over the fourth of July weekend, Greg's siblings got together for a family reunion, too. Even though it was just three days, it was so fun seeing everyone and seeing the kids play together. We tie-dyed t-shirts, the kids did crafts, played Minute to Win It games, set off fireworks, took family pictures at beautiful Memorial Grove, hiked Ensign Peak, ate lots of yummy food and generally caught up with each other. It was perfect weather and so much fun. Sadly, I only have possession of pictures after we hiked Ensign Peak, and they aren't exactly the most flattering of everyone, so I'll spare my in-laws and leave them off this blog. If any of my in-laws have flattering pictures, please send them my way and I'll upload a few here. Suffice it to say that despite the lack of photo evidence (or perhaps the lack of photos is proof we were having too much fun), it was tons of fun to see everyone and we're definitely looking forward to having another reunion!

Harbertson Family Reunion

I know I could just skip the rest of the summer and fill you in on current items, but there were significant events that occurred this summer that I don't want to skip. So take a stroll with me back to June, where our blog left off.

June 11-18 was our first Harbertson Family Reunion, and it was a huge success. We rented a beach house in Corolla, NC (the Outer Banks) for a week. My entire family--my parents, their 6 kids and spouses, and 13 grandchildren ranging from 5 months to 7 years old, were in the same house. It was a GREAT beach house as each couple/family had their own bathroom and everyone had a place to sleep. Plus a great kitchen, common room, pool, outdoor shower, balconies, grill, pool table, multiple washers and dryers, sand pit with horseshoes and 3 minutes from the beach. We spent the week catching up with each other, completing puzzles, playing Minute to Win It games, chasing kids, playing on the beach or pool, taking day trips to sand dunes, the Wright Brothers Museum and a light house, playing Words with Friends (in the same room), celebrating Rory's birthday, watching our kids enjoy playing with their cousins as well as an unforgettable walk on the beach at night with the older kids. It was so much fun and we're all very much looking forward to another one in two years.

Puzzle time!

Of course the kids were watching TV while the adults talked. We also had two portable DVD players set up for the little kids to watch whatever we had when we needed them to be distracted.

Playing Minute to Win It games with the oldest grandkids. They were much better at some of the games than the adults were.

Rory loved playing in the sand and finding sea shells--until the sand got in her eyes.

She ventured into the water a little bit but it was COLD.

One of the Outer Banks lighthouses. It was a long walk to the top, so Greg and I stayed behind with Aurora and took pictures when everyone else got to the top.

There were crabs EVERYWHERE. Ranging from little ones that looked like spiders to ones this size. My brother found this one and it got quite mad when he picked it up. It hung on to this tube for a long time. Most of the crabs could fit in the palm of a kid's hand and the kids loved searching for them at the beach.

A rare smile now that she's out of the sun. It absolutely exhausted her. She's just not used to be outside for such long lengths of time.

Quite possibly Aurora's favorite part was having cousins around. She was still perfecting walking at this stage and her cousin Lonna was willing to help her walk whenever Aurora wanted.

The monster sand dunes we visited. After a very long climb to the top, all the kids raced or rolled down the hill several times.

This picture of my brother, sister and their kids is more for you to see the background. See the giant hill? That's the sand dune everyone went down.

A replica of an early airplane at the Wright Brothers Museum.

The older kids and some of the adults went on a walk on the beach the last night we were there. First the kids got decked out in glow sticks, so most of the pictures are just blurs of light. This is my niece and nephew Lonna and Ethan showing off their glow sticks. As we started walking, we realized that the crabs we found during the day were minimal compared to the thousands of crabs on the beach at night. It was amazing but a little creepy to accidentally step on some. I always had a flashlight and was walking very carefully.

We had a professional photo shoot done and at the end, all the kids got to run through the water.

Aurora wasn't too keen on having her picture taken, or smiling, or staying still when there was much more fun to be had with the shells and sand. Still, I think we got a few pictures that are as good as it gets with a one year old.

All the grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa Harbertson.