lucky stars!

So, we just got back from camping and Sam and I got to sleep out under the stars. One night the stars were more brilliant and bright then I had ever seen. I guess becuase it has been winter and I'm always rushing to get out of the cold, I hadn't really seen the stars in months. It was wonderful just taking them in. There are so many, and I remembered being a little girl and being sure that if I had enough ambition I could count them all, but that night as I lay there looking at them I knew there was no way I could count them all. I began thinking of the events of just a week before. For those of you who don't know, Sam was in a serious accident just over a week ago. The stars definitely seem a little brighter after something like that. We've all heard the saying, 'I thank my lucky stars', and that is all we've been saying this past week is how lucky we are. (when i say lucky, i most definitely mean blessed) Looking at the stars that night and thinking of the lucky ones in my life especially the most recent ones, really made me want to at least try to count them. Like the stars I saw the other night, sometimes in your life it really seems like there are way too many to count, but like any little kid, it's some how important to try.

Lucky star #1: Sam, the number one most important person in my life, is alive!

Lucky star #2: Sam was wearing his seatbelt, he saw the car lose control on a curve ahead of him and gave him time to slow down and move to the side of the road before they lost control again and slammed into him head on.

Lucky star #3: He was in the middle of no where, but he was taking a couple guys out to a job in Navajo Mtn. so they were following him. They came up on the wreck and were able to be there for him when other help was an hour away. Most people that stopped just wanted to find a way around the wreckage without 'hurting their new tires' as they were looking at my husband trapped in the truck, or that that they were just going to a buddy's house and couldn't turn around and try to find a way to call 911. It gave me so much comfort to know that Josh, my cousin's husband, and his friend were there for Sam, when there was literally no one else.

Lucky star #4: Sam was driving his work truck and so he had tools and Josh was able to cut Sam out of the truck. He was stuck in there an hour as it was. If it weren't for Josh and those tools he would have been stuck for another hour at the very least.

Lucky star#5: I was out running around town with the girls in the bike trailer and didn't know anything that was going on. My cousin Ronnie is the boss of the 2 who were with Sam and so he heard about it right away. His wife Tammie had seen me running earlier and began to worry that I didn't know, so my cousin and his wife set out to find me. When they found me, Ronnie got out of the car and came over to me. They both looked pretty concerned and then Ronnie preceeded to tell me what had happened. He knew all the important details that I needed to know. If I had made it home and found out over the phone while I was alone, I would've definitely lost control. Something about the way he told me was very calming and reassuring. He told me he had been in an accident, but that he was walking and talking and that Josh was with him. He told me that he was going to be life flighted to Tuba City. My world definetly began to spin, but I still felt very grounded and comforted. They helped me get back home and did not leave me. Because of them and an unseen hand, I was able to stay stong and not lose it in front of the girls. It was so important to not scare the girls. I could not leave them like that.
Lucky star #6: Sam never takes the cell phone to work because there is no cell service in no mans land, but that day he had taken it. The minute I stepped in the door I called the cell phone. He didn't answer, but he called me right back. He sounded so good and strong. His voice wasn't shaky. That one phone call saved me. He told me a couple days later that it was all he could do to not lose it on the phone. I was so grateful that he was strong for me when I needed it the most. I had a four hour drive ahead of me just to get to the hospital they took him to. What was already going to be the longest 4 hrs of my life would have been even longer had he lost it on the phone.
Lucky star#7: Ronnie and Tammie's daughter Shayla, who is Josh's wife, absolutely saved the day. She stayed with my girls the whole time we were gone. I didn't have to juggle the girls from person to person. I tell you, that family was meant to be there for us. No body else could have just come to my house and stayed with them that long and she was so wonderful with them.
Lucky star#8: No hesitation what so ever, my mom got off work, picked me up and took me to Tuba City and we picked up my dad on the way. I'm so grateful my parents were there for me.

Lucky star#9: I am so lucky that Sam is so tough and was able to walk away after such an awful impact. I also know that he was protected by many. We always tease him about having such a hard head and it is that very hard head that saved him. On the way to Tuba City, I got a msg from Sam, telling us that they had found a skull fracture and wanted to transfer him to Flagstaff to be seen by a neurosurgeon. I was reassured that he was fine and that it was just a precaution. I was scared but was once again comforted that everything would be okay. This added another 75 miles to our journey but I was going to be able to make it to Tuba City before they transfered him.
Lucky star#10: Made it to Sam. Gave him a big hug and then we laughed and cried together.
Lucky star#11: A friend from Monticello just happened to be traveling through there, stopped at the hospital, and was able to help my dad give Sam a blessing. He also had a camera, so the hospital pictures are from him. I was really bummed that I had forgotten my camera.
Lucky star#12: Sam was taken care of by great doctors, nurses and EMT's. Sam had a lot of fun joking around with them all. I'm very grateful for the neurosurgeon who took care of him in Flagstaff. He was a lot of fun and I trusted him. It was really nice to have a surgeon sew up his head because he really knew what he was doing and it was a big comfort to me. The gash in his head was to the skull and required many different layers of different types of stiching. They kept him just for one night to make sure he was okay. He was diagnosed with an open skull fracture that runs from the top of his head down into the orbit of his eye. You can see why the word lucky has been used so many times in the last week and a half. I bought him a little white bear that we call the good luck bear and he sits on our bed as our little reminder.
Lucky star#13: Either he is just being tough or he's been blessed not to have significant pain. From the time of the wreck until now he has only taken a little motrin.
Lucky Star #14: Living in this community with so many close friends and family is very lucky! We received so many concerned phone calls and people offering meals left and right. We were well looked after. Sam also got an extremely thoughtful gift basket delivered to him by all of his family up north.
Lucky star #15: A week after the wreck we found out Sam had fracture in his knee. To me that is lucky because after seeing the truck and seeing how the dash was squished all the way into the seat, I was amazed that his legs weren't more seriously hurt.

I could truly, go on and on, but I'm sure I've gone on way too much already. I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude and really did want to 'thank my lucky stars'. It has been a very rough week for me but I too have been blessed with so many people looking after me. For the first few days everything scared me and worried me. Everytime I looked at him, it brought horrible flashes of an awful reality that could have been. I knew everything would be okay but I still struggled. Then there were little things like I was petrified for the first time he sneezed, worried that he'd crack his head open more. He is not suppose to blow his nose for a month, so a sneeze can't be good. I was afraid of every car on the road, thinking they would come in our lane. But through all that, I also knew that I couldn't live in fear. I already feel so much better thanks to the support of Sam and so many others. We learn and grow so much through every little and huge thing we go through. Thank you every one for letting me share!

justification process

So this new found love of taking pictures was very unexpected and out of character for me since i've never been known to be artistic. Ever since Lily was one year old, I've done my girls pictures. I hated going to JC Penney, half the time to go home because the baby wouldn't stop crying, and then when i did get pictures, only getting to pick one or two poses for way too much money. Doing it my self, I could do whatever I wanted with the pictures for almost nothing. I really want a digital SLR camera but they can cost up to $1000 for what I'm looking at, not to mention classes just to learn how to use one. Sam is so supportive and really wants me to have a hobby, but i really need to be sure before I dedicate that much money towards a "hobby". So, I just wanted to share some of the pictures T let me take of her beautiful kids. Seeing if I could really enjoy doing this is part of the justification process, so I am so glad she let me give this a try. I just used my old camera and photo shopped them like crazy. I ended up having a blast doing it. I've only ever done pictures for my own kids and the one infant ones i tried doing for my cousin. Anyway, I usually end up screaming at my kids before it is over. I figured I probably just wouldn't enjoy doing kid portraits, but I had a blast doing it for someone else's kids and they did such a good job. Thank you so much T for letting me give this a try. It got me one step closer to me justifying getting a new camera. If there is anyone else out there who would let me do an amatuer photo shoot for free and just to give me experience, please let me know!

New Shoes!!

Sam brought home our christmas gifts from his brother and kind of his sister. Nate had us for Christmas but Camillia wanted to pick out the gifts, especially for the girls. The shoes were a major hit. Lily just kept asking if she could were her new shoes everyday. I love my frames as well. No offense Nate, but I'm glad Camillia took over the picking out part. Guess Sam would've faired better if Nate picked the gifts, but if Sam's 3 girls are happy then he is happy. Thanks guys for the throughtful gifts!

Untitled from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

Just to further explain how much they loved their gifts. The next morning I found Marah in her crib in nothing but her diaper trying to put her boots on which Lily had given to her. She wouldn't come out of the crib until I put them on her.

This is how Lily came out of the bedroom. Both pairs of shoes were in the bedroom from the night before because they just had to have them close by while they were sleeping. Lily did pretty good getting herself dressed. The first thing she asked was if it was time to go to school yet cuz she was just way excited to show off her new shoes to her friends.


ballerina from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

I just loved these pictures of them playing dress up that same morning. It's a ballerina with big black boots!

cameras, cakes, blessings ....

Marah loves her $3 camera she got for being good on our last trip. This is her taking a picture of me taking her picture.

Last week we had YW at my house and made birthday cakes for the 2 girls leaving us. Lily was way serious about decorating her cake. She just loves to create things. Maybe she'll add some artist(ness) to our family. She did a great job!

Marah proved to me that she can not do without a nap. I've never seen her just fall asleep anywhere like that. There is just something about it when a kid falls asleep like that. Such a peaceful feeling or something?

Her hair is getting insanely long again. I mentioned cutting it while we were up north. Later that day in the bathroom she said emphatically that princess' have long hair mom! I love her long hair but it is pretty difficult to do. Guess we'll just trim it again. Maybe give a little of it to Marah.

Here are some pics of the baby blessing Lily and I missed for little max. Lily got really sick right before we were leaving, so Sam decided he'd still go and take Marah with him. Do I have an amazing husband or what! I don't think there are too many guys who would offer to take a crazy 2 year old like marah on a 3 day road trip. We were also hoping that Marah could stay away from the sickness that way. I'm surprised Sam was able to leave because as he was saying good-bye and lily was sitting on his lap she said the most heartbreaking thing. Her eyes were feverish, her voice was all but gone and it was all she could do to tell her dad: "it's better for us to be together as a family." How much sadder can you get. She was pretty upset about staying behind, but she got to do anything and everything that she wanted that weekend and so did I actually. Lily couldn't talk and Marah was gone, so it was a very relaxing weekend for me. Sam and Marah had a good time hanging out and I'm glad they had some good one on one time. Bad news is that Marah ended up getting the same sickness by Sunday. I really want to thank her aunts, grandma and great-grandma for being there for her when I couldn't. It broke my heart when I found out she was sick and she didn't have her mom but Sam told me how wonderful her 'other' mom's were at the blessing, so thank you all!

Maiden Voyage

Sam finally got 'Blue Ball' up and running. 'Blue Ball' is what Lily decided to call it. This picture is just for show, they didn't really ride it by themselves together.

Lily did amazing! She was never scared, she just took off with it.

I love this picture of Sam and Marah.

This is Sam giving Lily last minute instructions.

Sam drove it up to the parking lot where we tried it out. This picture really shows how small it is, or just how big Sam is :)

ridin' 4-wheeler from Roxy Long on Vimeo.
You always learn things after the fact. We kinda just let Lily go for it. Most of you parents out there are probably immediately thinking how stupid we are, don't worry I agree. It doesn't go very fast but we didn't consider centrifugal motion. The video shows how Lily would turn it too sharp which would make it whip around pretty fast, and then the poor little girl doesn't know to straighten it out or let off the gas. After I stopped recording, she tried it again and got going too fast on the turns, Sam tried to grab the 4-wheeler to stop her and she went flying off. She cried for just a second but wanted to get right back on. I'm way proud of Lily, but not so proud of us parents. We learned and stayed with her from then on. She loved it and was pretty disappointed when we headed for home.

4-wheeler from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

Marah also loved it! She just sat on it while Sam led it around. I'm still a little concerned about the whole thing but it sure was a hit with the girls. We'll have to be really careful with it, but I actually think they'll learn a lot of responsibility and confidence with it.

Christmas Break 2008!

We had an incredible Christmas and it's always sad when it's gone so quickly. Here are just some of the pictures of our fabulous time!

Uncle Jeremy came and the girls just loved his attention.

Mars-bars trying to be like her favorite Aunt Whits.

Following tradition, the girls get to open their new p.j. presents on Christmas Eve. I decided to let them open their presents from their Grandma L. because I knew they were blankets and thought they would like taking them to bed the night before Christmas. They were the cutest blankets ever and the girls absolutely loved them. Sam and I got one as well and the girls made sure we all wore them where ever we went that night and then on to the next morning. So, thanks grandma for the awesome gifts. The girls have slept with them every night since Christmas as well.



Christmas morn from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

You know.... I really thought Marah would like this wig for dress-ups....I was wrong.

This is a contraband gift from my mom that she got from the sherriff's office. It got a good laugh and I'm sure Sam will have fun using this guy as a target.

This picture is obviously leading up to the next.

Yep, it's what it looks like. The girls got a fourwheeler from grandma and grandpa!! It was a surprise for Sam as well because it is just as much a gift for him as it is for the girls. Mom is not so sure what she thinks but Sam is definitely excited. It needs work so we haven't tried it yet. Marah and lily both got helmets, gloves, and goggles, so stay tuned for their first ride.

bobble head from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

four wheeler from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

This is my all time favorite picture of the day. A picture of sisters holding pictures of sisters. These were the tear jerker gifts of the day as well. I guess when my dad saw this picture of his 'roxy' girl and his 'rock climber' girl climbing rocks together, he knew he had to do something with it. If you know my dad, you know his love for rocks and just how many meanings there are behind this gift for me. In fact, he always tells me the reason he named me roxy was because of this love. Anyway, the one on the left is a frame he actually made out of rock and they both say 'rock on'. I was amazed. It's gifts like these that you never forget. Thank you so much mom and dad for making such an awesome gift.

Little Marah just loved cuddling with Uncle Jeremy while he was here and I loved this picture.

Lily and her Aunt Sarah.

We went sledding at the school during the break and had lots of cheap fun.

snow jump from Roxy Long on Vimeo.

I was so proud of Lily for being brave enough to jump off. She is usually such a chicken.

Couple days later, Sam, me, and a couple friends ditched the kids and got to try out my awesome new snow shoes that Sam got for me (and him). We had a pic nic on this gorgeous spot and then had a blast sledding down some fun hills on the way back. I'm excited to get out and explore some more. We want to try to rig our bike trailer into a sled so we can take the girls along.
The following is just a slide show of a bunch of other pictures I liked.

Two Months in a Glimpse

This slideshow is just some of the pictures from the last two months since i've been so behind. It includes Mar's 2nd b-day, thanksgiving, christmas tree 'shopping', and the girl's showing off their amazing gingerbread houses. I was pretty impressed with how creative lily got with her house. Anyway, i'll try to stay more updated now that things are slowing back down.