Closure, in more ways than one....

So it's been fun around here!

After our first snow and the kids were out from school for-ev-er. The next week followed up with 1 and 1/2 days of school and then we got another 8 inches of snow and more time off school. There is another winter storm warning for this week! 

Our view from his hospital window.

Emil had his PFO closed on January 31st, after the second storm. 

This is a pic of the device they used. It's called a PFO Occluder. They went in through a vein in his leg and snaked it all the way up into his heart. 

PFO Occluder

 Placing it in his heart like shown in the pic below. He was awake and watching the entire procedure! Being a science major he thought it was great. He was given a numbing agent so he wouldn't feel any pain but he said he could see the entire thing on a screen they used in the operating room. When I said it would have made me pass out he explained that it was like watching an x-ray. (Ummmm. Yes- still would've passed out.)

How the device closes the hole.

He describes it to looking like he has a UFO in his heart. I guess it kinda does. He was a great patient and we spent the night there without and problem.

 They released us the next day and we were home by the afternoon. It is nice to finally have that done. I feel that I can rest a little bit easier knowing that it's taken care of. 

My niece, Madeline, Mark & Melissa's daughter, sent Emil this adorable card the other day. How sweet is that?

In other news, Kirstin celebrated her 18th birthday on February 4th. 

Holy Moly! Where did the time go?? 

Something fun we did was to get 18 helium balloons and write a note on each one. I put them in her room before she woke up for seminary (I had to wake up at 5am - we are talking dedication here!) so she'd discover them when she opened her eyes.

Let me just say that getting them home from the store was a challenge in the Miata. Since it was a school night we went to dinner with some friends but this past Sunday we were able to have our family dinner.

Grandmom Moster always cooks Pancit on the kids birthdays since the long noodles give you good luck for a long life! Cara Rose helping Kirstin blow out the candles.

Cara loves her Noah. During dinner she would say "Noah?" he'd respond "Cara?"

then she'd say "What are you doing?" and laugh. She did this about 3-4 times. Any excuse is a good one to talk to Noah I guess. It's pretty heartwarming to see the two of them together. He's really good with her and she adores him. 

I'm finishing up projects here at home. The last big home project for me is to sand down and paint my kitchen benches and end chairs. 

I'm re-using them for the dining room table I made and needed to have them white to match. It has been quite the project with the cold but Emil set up a heater in the garage to help me get it done. Yesterday I spent 4 hours sanding the last little nooks and cranies then I started painting them using a white wash. 

I've actually already done one bench and one chair so this is the other half. After I'm done we'll sell the table and get a smaller one with a leaf, to put in the kitchen. 

The cafe is suppose to open sometime next week and I got a new calling in church a few weeks ago so this is part of me trying to get my house in order so I don't feel crazy going back to work after 18 years of being a stay at home Mom. I can't believe it's been that long!

I'm excited to start this new chapter. Working at the cafe will only be as much as I want to bake and my hours are flexible so thats good. Plus my new calling as Relief Society President (for those not LDS is like the person in charge of the Women's Ministry) it'll keep me grounded and help me to remember where my priorities are. Sometimes I feel like my life is all changes but that's not a bad thing. It keeps me on my toes and adaptable, just no more snow!