Zoo & Hail Storm

I'm interrupting my normal chronological writing to just write about what happened yesterday.

Eating breakfast Monday morning, I realized I didn't need to do any shopping or laundry...so we could go on a field trip! I asked the kids if they wanted to go to Garden of the Gods or the Zoo or find something new, but the screaming that ensued at the Zoo suggestion spoke for itself. We got all ready, did chores, chalked our hair, packed lunch and snacks, grabbed the new FM transmitter I bought for listening to audiobooks in the van, and hit the road.

Chalked hair! Can't see some of it well, but we need to get leave-in conditioner.

{Thora, Sam, Tommy, Katie, Dancy}

The kids loved that I chalked my hair, too.

We prioritized the monkey houses because we missed those the last time we were at the zoo. The gibbons put on a great show!

At the big monkey house, the kids enjoyed up close experiences with the gorillas while I talked with a lady who teaches Mandarin Chinese at a high school here. Then we went inside and watched the momma and baby orangutan play. Dancy was concerned about the baby climbing a strap all the way up to the ceiling, but he got down safely. Then the momma went and wrapped up in a blanket on the floor and the baby tried to get her out.

Tommy enjoyed watching the construction on the orangutans' outdoor habitat. The rest of the zoo-goers and I smirked that we were watching humans where apes usually are.

Samson decided he was ready to push the stroller instead of riding, so Dancy was happy to jump in!

Katie brought Lindsey and Tommy took pictures. It's fun to see eye-level pictures of the kids instead of a higher camera angle.

"K, now a crazy face!"

"Now a silly face."

I watched a thunderstorm roll in for about an hour, thinking nothing of it. In fact, I told the kids that even if it rained, we could just walk around until rain started and then head in to a building. So we just went with that and stayed outside as long as we could.

They had so much fun playing in "My Big Backyard!"

We found this new part we'd never seen before.

And then thunder started, so we made our way to The Loft, where they have a bunch of terrarium animals. Part way there, it started to rain, so we ran the rest of the way...pushing a double stroller uphill. I was going to leave the stroller outside like we're supposed to, but another lady suggested bringing it in so it didn't get soaked. We got inside and not even 5 minutes later, the hail started, ranging from golf-ball size to softball size, and lasting for 10 minutes.

Water gushed down the street.

Katie noticed that water was dripping from the ceiling, which was traced back to a severely cracked sky light.

Peacock walking down the road after the hail stopped. Still raining steadily.

Of four sky lights in the building, two were destroyed. Turns out we were lucky because other sky lights throughout the zoo were completely shattered out.

Trying to manage the leaking sky light.

When the rain let up, the kids and I left The Loft to head to the van, thinking we'd be able to go home. This is not the only felled tree I saw.

This is not the biggest hail stone, either. 

Tree debris everywhere.

All of the above came from this one tree.

And then we made it to the parking lot and I realized before we even got to our van that we weren't getting home so easily. Every car looked like this.

When we got to our van, Tom and Katie broke out in sobs.

Rearview mirror knocked down.

Glass fibers EVERYWHERE!

So, after first comforting my kids in their trauma, I called my friend Aly. Then called Shad. Then called State Farm, who didn't answer. I figured I'd walk back to the gift shop since there was nothing I could do at the van and at least we'd get inside. But the gift shop was roped off for EMS to use as a staging area for people who got injured by the hail. We crowded in with all the other people under the roof outside, just seeking refuge. There was glass on the ground from broken sky lights. We saw people in stretchers wheeled out with blankets covering them, probably so the crowd wouldn't react to seeing the injuries. A lady limped in barefoot (how the heck are you barefoot?) with cuts on her feet. After getting confirmation that Aly's husband, Hiram, was on his way, the kids and I decided to go out to the van and get what we needed out of it. I had the silly thought that we'd at least be able to sit inside and turn the heat on. That's when we saw all the damage pictured above. I couldn't let the kids in the van because of all the glass. Not just chunks, but tiny fibers. I turned on the engine and plugged my phone in to charge because it was on 2% battery. Then I got the snow brush, brushed the glass fibers off with my shirt, and set to work brushing the kids' seats off so we could remove them from the van when Hiram arrived. I found my reusable grocery bags (most of which I would not use anymore due to all the glass) and started filling one with all the important stuff we wouldn't want left behind--cleared out the glove box, DVDs and CDs (yes, we still use those), books, Shad's frisbees, my volleyball. Then I figured we'd just wait until Hiram got to us. 

But then that's when someone walked by and told me the road was closed coming into the zoo and that the zoo made arrangements for city buses to come shuttle us to Cheyenne Mountain High School where we could be picked up. So that meant that now I had 5 kids, 4 car seats, a double stroller, and all our stuff to haul on my own. And then rain was back. And the elastic on Thora's shorts was shot, so they kept falling down and she kept crying. Dancy was worried about if Shad was dead, so I had him send me a picture for proof of life. A couple EMS workers came by and helped me in with the kids and car seats. They got us in to the gift shop which still was not open to everyone, but just a few people with kids who needed to warm up. Two different people gave us blankets and then disappeared, so we still have those blankets. We warmed up a bit in the gift shop, then when the rain stopped again around 4:30, I took the kids back out to the front because we couldn't get on a bus if we weren't out there. At this point, my phone was drained completely, so I had no more contact with Shad or Hiram. I got out to the front and we watched a batch of 3 buses drive away. Turnaround time was an estimated 20 minutes. Sam fell asleep. The rest of us just stood huddled together and waited. The people around me noticed that I was on my own with all those kids and all that gear. One lady called a firefighter's attention to me to see if we could hurry and get me out of there when the buses came back. He said yes, but then when the buses came back he told me no one gets priority, we're all miserable. Yes, but some are having more difficulty than others! We found another firefighter who got me on a bus. Thora perked up and was laughing and singing and 'wee-ing' the whole ride to the school. We left the zoo at 5:20.

Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about finding Hiram without the use of my phone because when we arrived, he was standing at the top of the school stairs waiting for us. Some of these kids are funny...Dancy said he looked familiar like she knew him. I guess she still doesn't know Hiram and Aly by name, only by Hailey's dad and mom! When I told her that suddenly it all made sense to her that we weren't just getting picked up by some random Mexican for hire. We were able to fit all the kids, car seats, and gear in the SUV and strapped the collapsed stroller on top. We arrived home at 6:15 and Shad had Thai green curry and Pad Thai ready for us, along with the hot chocolate I promised the kids we'd soothe ourselves with. We ended the night with a cuddle movie night watching Alice in Wonderland under loads of fleece blankets. I fell asleep around 8:30 and woke up a little after 10 to find Shad and Tommy asleep on the couch and everyone else in bed. I tried to go back to sleep in bed, but it started to rain and instead of being a relaxing sound to fall asleep to, it was anxiety-inducing for me. I went back to retrieve Shad who would not be woken when I tried before.

We all slept in this morning and after breakfast I finally got in touch with State Farm. I've been in and out of phone calls all day. Shad took the day off work so he could be the parent while I deal with all the business. He took Tommy to speech therapy. We're still waiting on a rental car because Hertz, who State Farm partners with for rentals, is sold out and will call me later today when they get more cars. Our van should be towed to us tonight...7 pm was the soonest time available. And that was after I called State Farm back and told them the van couldn't just sit in the zoo parking lot for days until the weather catastrophe inspection team arrived. So it's all been fun, it's been a bit shocking and draining, but I've felt really calm and laidback about everything. I'm just feeling very "go with the flow" about the whole situation, like Master Oogway in Kung Fu Panda said, there is no good or bad, just news and we need to let go of the illusion of control. I'm definitely not always there in my life, but I am right now. We're alive and unharmed. We were protected in the building and none of the sky lights were fully smashed in. Had we just walked to the car at the point we were deciding to leave or wait it out, we'd have been caught out in the street and pelted with hail. Had we made it to the van...well, you saw the pictures. We have insurance and savings, and friends who rescued us. We have a second car to still get us places. 

Everything will be as it should be.

Samson's Allergies

My milk supply dried up early with Dancy and Thora, so I wasn't surprised when it did the same with Samson. I started supplementing with formula in July, and quit breastfeeding in August. Since then, I've struggled to keep up with his eczema. It started on his legs, then spread to his lower back, face, arms, hands, upper back, belly and chest. In that order of progression. 

I've been through every can of formula on the shelf...Similac advance, infant, gentle, sensitive, soy; cow's milk, soymilk, almond milk, coconut milk. Our doctor recognized that it was an allergy, but kept telling me to just keep trying different things and use a steroid cream. Okay, well I didn't use the cream because I didn't want to just hide the problem, I wanted to find the problem and eliminate it. I finally demanded a referral to an allergist.

This was Samson on Saturday. I had worked so hard, reading labels of everything, going to the grocery store just to read labels to find things that were soy and milk free (which means no crackers or bread. Homemade, all the time). His chest and arms were clear, his legs were almost clear, his face still a mess due to teething drool.

And then he broke out from the soap. Dang it.

We went to the allergist in Hays yesterday and I had a babysitter lined up for the other 4 kids. Samson and I enjoyed our date (1.5 hrs of driving one way). He did not enjoy the stethoscope or the blood draw (back at the Norton clinic because Hays won't draw on kids younger than 2). After the blood draw, he was given a bright orange little bear. He promptly stopped crying and waved the bear at the phlebotomists, growling, and then woofing. Anyway, I think I have a little love-hate relationship with the allergist. She was great at helping, but seems to be the kind of doctor who doesn't like anything outside of mainstream Western medicine and pharmacies. She didn't like my use of homemade coconut oil lotion, or essential oils. *pursed lips* One day I'll have a witch doctor holistic doctor.

ANYWAY, we got the blood draw done and should have results in a week. In the meantime and until further notice, I am supposed to:

*give Samson half a vitamin and half a probiotic daily

*give him 2 prescription medications that I don't know what they do

*give Samson Alimentum, a $25-40 12 oz can of formula that tastes bitter nasty

*feed Samson only fruits, veggies (no tomato), rice, oats, chicken and turkey. Salt is allowed, seasonings are not

*use only Cetaphil soap and Aveeno lotion

*try not to go completely insane

Samson Wiggin Kendell

Not having time to write this post has been driving me nuts for nearly a week. My baby deserves his literary debut! But with my physical healing time, cuddling a new baby time, mothering 4 other children time, and homework time, there hasn't been writing time. And there still isn't. But I'm taking it anyway.

FIRST OF ALL, let me clarify that Samson did NOT come early--I lied about my due date. Don't take it personally, but that last month of pregnancy is eternally long and uncomfortable and emotionally tumultuous without having people asking you daily, "Where's that baby?!" "Why hasn't he come yet?" "How much longer?"

Thank you, Mr. Wonka and the creator of this meme. You speak the thoughts of pregnant women everywhere.

So then, the real due date was February 20, not March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). Samson was born an agonizing four days late on February 24, at 10:43 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz, and was 20.75 inches long. Standard Kendell body type--long and skinny.

And if Thora's birth was my easiest one, Samson's was by far the most difficult. I was already so physically exhausted, I just didn't have the strength or willpower. Shad also pointed out that in all my other pregnancies I was able to be physically active, which definitely plays a part in the ease of delivery. However, this pregnancy I was barely able to move.

Recovery has been pretty smooth and easy. Lavender oil, again, deserves a lot of credit. Rubbing that on my belly and back for 2 days was enough to take away the after-birth cramps and pains, and soothe my back muscles from the intense back labor I get. Samson is doing well. He's a good sleeper, as long as he's not bothered by mass amounts of poop. We had one night where I had to stay up with him for 2 hours because he just kept pooping! But he sleeps well at night otherwise. He does have a lip-tie, so Shad and I will hopefully be cutting that today so that we can be successful with breastfeeding.

Words can never express the joy and love a mother has with her new baby; but this time for me, that statement is just as truly applied to how I feel about not being pregnant anymore. Shad has commented to me several times that I look happier than he's seen me be in 8 months. I am so unbelievably happy and grateful to be done with that torture session I had to endure. And I love this baby and his adorable, cuddly face. 

Writing Therapy: Sometimes Life Falls Apart For a Week

Friday night we had fun playing games at Paul and Mallory's house...until around 9:45 when we heard strange, distant, unidentifiable echo sounds. At 10, Paul and Mallory began getting texts notifying them that there had been a shooting, and the shooter was on the loose. We were to stay inside and make sure all doors and windows were locked. Paul got his handgun and we continued playing our game. Then he got a call that one of his youth (he's the youth minister at the Christian church) was really freaking out and his parents weren't home. Paul went to go get him, and Shad went with him, taking the gun with them. On their way out of the neighborhood, they were stopped at gunpoint by a policeman, and the van was searched. They were let out, but notified that they wouldn't be let back in because the area was under lock down as the shooter was pursued. It wasn't until midnight (when the shooter was being pursued in the town 30 miles west of us) that law enforcement started to allow people to travel again and Shad and Paul were able to come back with the teens. Shad and I packed up our family and went home, not able to sleep until 2 am. We did get a text from Jeremy, the theater manager, around 1 saying the suspect had been apprehended. Jeremy has a police scanner, so I had been in contact with him during the night.

The following morning, rumors that had started the previous night were confirmed: Joe Sweet, Shad's friend and coworker, had been killed. *Edited: I haven't heard exactly why the shooter did this, but rumors are that he got high on method, and went to confront a woman he was having an affair with, and her husband. When he didn't find them, he went tromping around town with his shotgun. Joe stepped out on his porch for a smoke and called the cops to come talk to the guy. When police arrived, the man opened fire on them. Joe was shot in the process. No one else was hit. The man opened fire on police one more time in town before they lost him in a creek bed. He stole a truck and lead a high-speed chase down the highway at 100+ mph to Oberlin, the next town west. The policeman chasing him almost had him caught when a semi cut the shooter off, but then the cop car ran out of gas. So catching the shooter was a bit of a difficulty.

 Joe was a 6 foot, 300 pound biker with a long pony tail, moustache and beard, and arm tattoos. He was one of those big teddy bear people. Seeing him just made us smile. He'd sit at the picnic table outside Natoma in the summer when we'd visit Shad for lunch. Tom and Katie always got excited to see Big Joe. Katie loved talking about his motorcycles with him. Joe always held Biker Bash charity fundraisers, and we'd go support without even needing to know what they were fundraising. For me, if Big Joe supported it, that was good enough for me. Typically, it was for Children's Hospital in Denver since his 3 year old granddaughter died from cancer. Last summer, he commented to me that I should watch out for Katie, because her attraction to motorcycles would lead her to the wrong boys. I said I wasn't too worried because not all motorcyclists are the wrong type, and that I'm drawn to motorcycles, myself. When that shocked him, I remembered that my great-grandfather had owned a Harley-Davidson shop in Ohio, and my grandmother had her first set of "wheels" when she was 7, and that it must be in the genes. He took interest in my grandma and her dad, and asked if I had any pictures. I said I could do better, and provide my grandma's childhood memoir photo book, and my great-grandpa's biography. He was happy that I'd share those with him, and enjoyed reading them. A couple months ago, Joe approached Shad and asked if he knew of any good Joseph Smith biographies. Shad bought the one by Smith's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, and lent it to Joe. After Joe had read it, it crossed my mind that Joe could relate to Porter Rockwell and understand him as a person, so Shad lent him the biography of Rockwell that we own. Joe read it in 2 days, and came back to Shad with a question: Why are Mormons so persecuted? So far as he could tell, we're just normal Christians, and, living in America, we have as much right to our own way of worship as anyone else does. Oh, how I loved Joe for saying that! Not many people think that way. In fact, where we live there's a lot of prejudice. But Joe was different.  He said that to understand why we're persecuted, he'd just have to read the Book of Mormon for himself, and asked Shad for a copy. Two days later, Joe reported to Shad that he was starting to feel the persecution. Coworkers would notice and ask why he was reading THAT?! Joe's response was simple: "Why not?" His wife, Kelly, commented, "You're reading the Book of Mormon? That's a big one." Joe shrugged and said, "The Bible's bigger." He genuinely accepted, loved, forgave, and definitely spoke his mind.

Emotional distress from the shooting experience and Joe's death, wake and funeral, lead Shad and I into a melancholy state, and disturbed sleep. Add on top of that, daylight saving's time, which Ben Franklin somehow managed to convince people was a good idea, so the kids' sleeping has been off too. I haven't been waking up to my alarm before the kids get up, because I haven't been sleeping well. Not getting up before the kids means that I haven't had my exercise and scripture study time. Add on top of that, kids throwing up for unexplained reasons. Katie threw up Tuesday morning, Dancy shortly after. They were both fine afterward, but Dancy threw up again Wednesday morning, twice Friday afternoon, and this morning at 2:30 and 5:00 am. She's had no other symptoms. No forewarning of odd behavior before she vomits. It just happens and then is done. Which leads be to believe that she's not sick, but that there's something wrong. I haven't noticed any common food that may have caused this, either.

Then this Friday there was another violent incident. A stabbing by the practice football field. That one I still haven't heard any news about, but sounds like it was an altercation between some high school students.

I think that about sums it up. I read a while ago that writing is healing. That it helps to process pain, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. Writing thoughts and feelings allows you to release them and move on. It wasn't a new concept to me, just interesting to hear some science behind what I already knew to be true. Thus I'm starting a new "Writing Therapy" part to my blog.