I have been thinking about our blog  a lot lately. I am going to start making most post private. I am just not comfortable with the whole world seeing our family anymore. Our blog will still be public, so it should show on your own blogs when we update, but individual post will be private. A lot of you are already on an email I send with the passwords to posts. If you would like to be added to this email, comment or email me and let me know. I will keep things such as young women, baby showers, etc. open so people can share ides, and I will get our blog up to date, hopefully soon.

A quick update on our December….

We were out of town the last 2 weeks of November, and returned home, December 2nd. While out of town, I was called as Young Women’s president. December 4th, I had my gall bladder removed.

December 7th-12th, we had fun visitors.

December 11th, I had my tonsils removed.

December 14th, Molly endured getting her first tooth.

December 17th, Ella went to the doctor, found out she had croup. They gave her a steroid so she never had too bad of symptoms. we caught it early.

by December 22nd, we took Jameson to the doctor. Found out he had an ear infection so he is on amoxicillin.

December 23rd, took Ella in because she was showing signs of an ear infection. She was clear, but old she had a really bad cold.

December 25th, canceled our dinner plans.

December 26th, took Ella back to the doctor. She now had an ear infection and beginning to get pneumonia in her left lungs. She is now on amoxicillin that has an added boost to it for her.

December 28th, took Molly in for her well child check up that was already scheduled, but she has started coughing as well. Turns out, she now has an ear infection and bronchitis. So she too, is on amoxicillin and a breathing treatment.

So, between my surgeries and the kids being sick, I think we have lived at doctor’s offices for the month of December. Which, is partly why my blogging has been lacking. Hopefully, I can catch back up. Here’s to no one being sick by 2013!

I know I am way behind on actually updating our blog, but I need to interrupt those updates for my thoughts tonight. It has been a week of changes. I know my church calling is changing, because our Young Women’s president is moving. I found out, after a few doctor appointments, I will have my gall bladder out. Molly can now roll both ways, which opens up a whole new world. The elections were held today… while the results terrify me, the most important change has nothing to do with that. My baby brother packed up his belongings and headed to Utah to enter the MTC today. And while we have known this date was coming since June (he’s had his call for what seems forever), the realization hit me tonight while I was sitting in the quiet of my home after everyone was asleep, and I lost it.

This morning, the kids and I called for a final good bye. Jameson was all excited until Weston answered the phone. Then he burst into tears, and said, “I don’t want Uncle Weston to go on a mission, ” and ran to his room. That was not a response I was expecting. I had to hang up and go find him. We then had a discussion about how Uncle Weston will be back before he turns 7.

As I sit here tonight, papers are scattered everywhere as I try to organize myself, and I can’t help but cry. This is different. I remember taking my other brother Paul to the MTC. And while it was sad to say good-bye, he was so excited. A few tears were shed, but we made it though the day.

This time, though, this is different. I was able to go to his farewell talk last weekend. (I will blog about that when I finally catch up.) But this is a time where I absolutely hate living so far away from my family. We were not able to see him off. We were not able to give him that one last hug at the airport. When I left last weekend, I knew I would still talk with him this week. But not having the chance to give that one last hug at the airport… this is hard. I know two years are going to fly by. I know we only see him a few times a year as it is now, but I am sad that my kids are going to miss Uncle Weston. I am going to miss seeing the parties he was a DJ for, and all of his girl drama.

I think what hit me so hard tonight, was seeing pictures of him at the airport, and knowing I wasn’t there. As much as I want to be there for my family, I couldn’t. I know he is doing the right thing. He will be awesome in Australia. I was able to attend the temple this morning, and couldn’t help but think of  how grateful I am for this gospel and how he gets to share that with the world. So for now, know that we love you Weston, and you are truly going to be missed.

(Pictures with the kids were taken when he came to visit us a few weeks ago.)

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I’ve made a few more boards the past few days. One was for a girl I visit teach (as women in the church, we visit each other and check on each other) and the other is for the girls camp fundraiser for church. Yes, I know, I spelled Nauvoo wrong. That’s what happens when you’re trying to craft and your kids keep interrupting you. I knew it looked wrong, but it took someone else pointing out what was wrong to figure it out. I’ll fix it later.

These were done with partial color pictures. I’m still testing out different types of pictures, but I thought they still looked good.

So, remember how I said I would make you one? Loved your jokes. I used random generator and…

So, I just told you about how I made this…

I’m a little obsessed with them right now. I also love to see who looks at our little stories on here. So, I was thinking. How about I make you one? Then, you don’t have to rub your fingers raw trying to get that paper off. I’ll do it for you and send it to you. It can be along the same lines as the one above, or kept to an 8×10 and your picture will cover the entire board. You can have lettering or no lettering. Whatever makes you happy. Sound good?

How about I give you till Friday night (March 30th) at midnight to comment. Leave us a comment, thought, or funny joke. (We’re all about the jokes around here.) One of the lucky comments will be picked and then, a picture will be sent your way. Well, you’ll have to send me the picture you want on your board first, and then, I will send you your awesome new display. Hope to hear from you!

It’s streets lined like this that make living in the constant rain bearable. Fall is not an obvious season in Nevada. Depends on if you have trees other than pine trees or palm trees. Reno was better, but nothing compares to the leaves here. It’s weird how green it remains while being colorful. It’s beautiful.

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Today, as I look at msn.com, I can’t help but think of what happened on this day 10 years ago. One day, I will explain to my children my thoughts about this day. For now, I enjoy our freedom in this great country. We remember that freedom isn’t free, and give thanks to all those who serve and sacrifice for me every day. I watch, as my cousin moves as her husband trains in different parts of the country, with admiration. I hear about my other cousin who just returned home after a year of deployment, and am thankful for his safe return. We each have stories to tell, and I thank these people and their families for all they do. Just as I ask my grandparents about WWII and what they were doing, I will be asked one day about September 11th and what I was doing. I hope I can tell my feelings and give these heroes the glory they deserve for their acts of service that day.

So, thank you, for all you do to protect this country and our lives each day.

After 17 days in the hospital, Ella was able to come home. It’s the luck of the Irish. After all, Brazell is an Irish name. She was able to come home on March 17th, which also happened to be her original due date. After all the time those nurses spent with her, I wanted to do something back. So, I made a quick blanket and on Thursday, we headed up to the NICU.

Jameson was excited to see the fish, but sadly, they were no longer in the waiting area. We were buzzed in, and went to the front desk. I explained that it was our 1 year mark on leaving the NICU, and we had a blanket to give. I loved going in and seeing that the nurses had put cute blankets in her bassinet. The nurses were wonderful. In the first few days, she was under constant watch, in a room across from the nurses station. She would pull at her tubes, and the nurses would be right there. One night, the nurse sat in her room the entire night. She said she didn’t want to leave her, and that every time she did something would happen. So the next night she brought a book. She would sit in the chair next to Ella, and rest her hand on her to give comfort. It was things like that, that made it bearable to leave my child in another’s care.  She couldn’t wear clothes, so the blankets were the only thing that really distinguished she was a girl.

My letters to go with the blanket:

“I hope this blanket gives you the peace and comfort your baby needs during your stay in the NICU. Sincerely, A Graduated NICU Baby Girl”

My letter to the Doctors and Nurses:

“I just wanted to say Thank You for the care you gave our daughter. We are so grateful. Our stay was from 3.1 to 3.17. I wanted to donate this blanket, because it was such a comfort when the nurses had cute blankets in the bassinets. I’m grateful for the nurse that sat in her room all night to give her comfort. Also, the doctors who explained things to us multiple times with patience, and every other little thing to help us through that 17 days. Thank you again. The Brazell Family. Patient: Ella Brazell 3.1 to 3.17.2010”

We may not be able to do something every year, but hopefully, we have started a new tradition.

If you noticed, I have posted a private post. If you think you know us well enough to see our private posts, send me an email, or comment, and I’ll add you to the password email. Mostly, these are posts the whole world doesn’t need to know about us, but our friends and family might be interested in knowing.

This will be my 455 post. Kinda crazy considering this blog is only 3.5 years old. Or maybe to some of you that is nothing, but it is to me. This is the best I’ve done at keeping a journal my whole life. So, in honor of that, I have a proposition. Our tracker says that 65 people have checked in with our blog today. For one, we’re flattered. We didn’t think that many people thought we were so interesting. The bad part is, we have little knowledge of who these 65 people are.

So, I have a deal for you. If you leave a comment, saying that you’ve stopped by, I will send you something in the mail. We’ll pick a random winner. Once the winner is chosen, I will give you options of things to win. Because, let’s face it, a baby item might not be appropriate for all winners. If you’re close, it could be a dinner, or maybe we can mail you cookies, or we can get crafty. Between Kevin and I, we have lots of hobbies around this house. It will be something good.

There you go. That’s my proposition. Play along or not. I will give you 1 week, and then we will choose a winner. So, next Sunday, the 6th (my brother’s birthday) at midnight, the contest will close. We hope to find out some of you curious lookers.

So here’s the deal. Our blog is public. I’ve debated with going private on many occasions, because we do get random comments. I don’t know every person that personally looks at our blog, which doesn’t always make me the most comfortable. But, to me, the point of a blog is so people can check what’s going on in our oh so interesting lives. Also, it would take a lot of work to make our blog private, which I’m not against doing if I need to.

But, there are some things I really only want to share with family or close friends. On those occasions, I don’t usually blog them, because I don’t want the whole world knowing. Or, things like bathtub pictures or a really funny one of Jameson on the toilet. I usually edit the pictures so nothing is scene that shouldn’t be, but I still don’t want any problems. So, we have found a solution. We can now do password protected posts, or make them completely private. If you see a post that is password protected, and feel like you know me well enough to have access, just ask and I’ll tell you the password. Most likely, I will send an email out to family if there is a password protected post, but if I forget you, just let me know. I’m not trying to hide anything from our family and friends, but from everyone else that doesn’t need to see such personal stuff.

So that’s the deal.