The Harris Family: September 2015

Hiking

Our family concurred another hiking trip. We went to Logan Canyon to hike 3.5 miles up a mountain to the Wind Caves. We are very impressed with Connor that he hiked the whole thing without being carried. This was a difficult hike since the trail was very narrow and when crossing another hiker you would have to stop and get off the trail on the side to let them go by. At one point I slipped and almost fell down the mountain. This was especially scary since I had Eli strapped to me. We love the beauty of nature. This was our last hike of the season and can't wait for next season.

Eli 3 months

He still cries a ton, but we love him anyways (good thing he is cute). He is starting to hold his head up on his own and is drooling everywhere. He has discovered his two fingers and is constantly sucking on them. Eli LOVES Connor and loves to watch him run around. Still doesn't like to sleep and likes to be held constantly. I'm so thankful Connor isn't jealous of all the attention that I have to give to Eli.

Logan Update:

Logan officially is now working as a Civil Service. He is still doing the same job but is no longer a contractor. We are excited for him to have a secure career.

Logan also was released from his calling of being a young men advisor and venture scout leader. He has been asked to teach the Gospel Doctrine course every other Sunday.

Georgia Trip

This month, I was diagnosed with Postpartum Depression (PPD). I haven't talked to many people about how I have been feeling. The last thing on my mind has been myself, instead it has been trying to figure out what is wrong with my baby. According to my midwife, difficult pregnancy, lack of sleep, limited family and friends support, difficult baby, and a rambunctious 3 year old increased my odds of developing postpartum depression. I was shocked when she mentioned that it was postpartum depression I thought it was normal to feel overwhelmed with adding a new member to the family. Dad and Mary had been concerned with me when they had visited and spoke with me on the phone. When I told them what the doctor said, they wanted to help and the only way they could would be for me to come out to Georgia. So going to Georgia was about getting me and Eli healthy.

We are given trials so that Heavenly Father can refine us into what he wants us to become. Sometimes, however, it is easy for me to get lost in my current situation and think I have to muscle my way through trials. I have to stop and remind myself, however, that I know the Lord is mindful of what we are going through. In this situation I was reminded of that principle through this little miracle he gave me. Unknown to my parents and I, when we arranged for me to visit Georgia, Heavenly Father had planned for Mary to be in-between jobs; she had been hired onto the WRAFB among their civil service (which was also a miracle). This miracle allowed us the ability to spend so much time together. My Dad was also able to get off work early a lot of days as well. This was such a blessing to help with my postpartum because it seemed like I was never alone and always around family.

My Dad was the one to figure out how to conquer Eli's screaming issue. By the time I arrived in Georgia, I was overwhelmed with so much information that I had read on Google. I just figured Eli was a colicky baby and it was just something I was going to have to deal with. My Dad felt a real strong connection with Eli because he was a cockily baby. He believes the strained relationship he currently has with his mother, Meme, probably stems from him being such a difficult baby. To compound Meme's struggle, she did not have any family close by to help. He feels like this never allowed them the opportunity to form a strong bond. Dad did not want that to happen for me and Eli so he was also reading as much information as possible to figure out how to help Eli. He read dairy can cause problems in babies digestion systems. So for a week I agreed to cut out dairy; but was not convinced that it would really make that big of a difference. Within a few days Eli was a new baby! He was no longer screaming in pain, and he seemed calmer. One evening, I experimented with having a little ice cream. Within 24 hours Eli was back to screaming. Dad solved the mystery! What is so hard, however, is to actually avoid dairy because it is in so much of our food.

The Twins

Also while I was visiting, I got to meet my new identical twin nephews. John Paul Hildebrand who was born at 11:55pm on September 11th weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces, 19 3/4 inches long. Joseph Thomas Hildebrand was born 12:05am on September 12th weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces, 19 3/4 inches long. The twins names came from my grandpa, dad, and brother who's names are John Joseph Hildebrand (Sr, Jr, III). I have never held babies that little before. They felt like a feather compared to holding our big guy, Eli.

They match! (not planned)

Margaret can't believe how heavy Eli is!

101 years old
I am so thankful that I got to celebrate another year of Meme getting older. A bunch of the family got together and had a birthday dinner at Meme's house. I can not believe she is now 101!

Connor climbed up on Meme's lap to snuggle while watching cartoons!

Visiting Mercer University & Our First Apartment

The University that I graduated from had renovated the campus. So Dad, the boys, and I went to take a look. While we were up there we noticed that the apartment Logan and I lived in, when we were first married, was being remodeled. The workers allowed me to look around at our old apartment. The worker explained that he could not believe we lived their! The place was infested with mice, roaches, and fleas. The installation under the flooring was installed upside down. Meaning that instead of the paper side being installed upwards, they put the padding side up and it did not attach properly to the flooring. Instead, it became perfect little hammock-like beds for the mice. I can not believe how far we have come in 6 years, since moving from their.

I remember when we lived their how bad the fleas were. They would attack Logan! He would walk into the house and immediately have at least 30 fleas on his legs that he would pick off. We bombed the house with flea bombs, but could never get rid of the fleas. Makes since that we couldn't get rid of them since the mice were under the floors and would constantly bring more.

Even though the fleas were bad, the worst were the roaches. They were everywhere! The worst instances were when we found one in our bed, or if one would fall of the ceiling on to your face while sleeping. Logan made a game out of it and would shoot them with his air soft gun; resulting in roach guts being plastered to the walls. That place was so gross (!!!) but we were young, in love, and super poor! Whenever we get down about our current struggles, we think back to the time spent their and know it could always be worse! We then count the many blessings we have.