2012... Glad it's Over!

  “There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing.” ~ Sister Marjorie P Hinckley

2012 started out great. Mike and I were participating in a Biggest Loser contest. Which he would eventually win.(Not fair!) I was in the best shape of my life. Loving my work out routine and feeling overall great. My 30th birthday came and I  felt really optimistic about reaching and loving my 30's. Everything was  running smoothly. Mike and I decided to add to our family so the excitement of that was in the air. 

One Sunday night after talking to my youngest sister, Whitney about some of her struggles and hearing of her impending separation from her husband we felt very strong that we should ask her to live with us.  We hashed out the details and within a few weeks all my girls were in 1 bedroom, Whitney and her kids were in the other bedroom, and rapid construction of 2 additional rooms was happening downstairs. 

 Trying to assimilate 3 adults & 6 kids proved to be very difficult. I knew that Heavenly Father wanted our family to make the sacrifice but the actual "doing" it stretched us all. Unfortunatley just "knowing" something is good doesn't always mean it now becomes easier. Bummer! Looking back I can see how we were being prepared for this as a family. I am grateful we had/have a strong conviction of what we want our home to feel like and the habits in place to help us achieve those results. Those habits became crucial to the balance in our home as the chaos began. 

The beginning of March we found out we were expecting another baby. We were excited! I was feeling  nauseous but not exhausted. The beauty of having 6 kids to take care of is you literally do not have time to be sick. Survival mode kicks in as well as a prescription for Zofran. At this point I knew my sister, Whitney was struggling but not sure why and what if anything there was for us to do about it. Our annual girls weekend in St. George rolled around and hints of what was going on surfaced.

After we returned home from St. George I knew I needed to confront Whitney about a drug addiction. Not a conversation I was excited about. She denied and was upset but in my heart I knew there was a problem. After working with her doctor and eventually dispersing her meds, things progressively got worse. No need to go into much detail here. Watching someone you love fall deeper into the walls of addiction is horrible and not worth recalling. 

Finally we got to the point of giving Whitney two ultimatums for everyone's sake. Get out or get serious help. Thankfully she chose to enter rehab and eventually did move all of her things out. The kids stayed with us and life became somewhat predictable again.

There was light at the end of the tunnel! Or so I thought :) At my 12 week appointment the beginning of May we learned that I had a blighted ovum miscarriage. We were shocked and extremely sad. The emptiness that follows news like that is overwhelming. I am grateful for sensitive and fabulous friends& family that helped me/us through a difficult time.

Here we'll enter assimilation attempt #2. This time with 6 kids and just 2 adults. The first step- buying a 12 passenger van! Trust me when I say that I have never-ever wanted to drive a bus. But this purchase proved to be the best thing for our blended family. It began the mantra of the MoMo's. No longer the Monsen and the Morrills we were  the MoMo's. 

 After struggling some McKenna shared with me that instead of thinking as her cousins living with her she was just going to pretend that Jerick and Kennedy were her siblings. She was excited about having a brother!  In some ways we have all made that transition.  Now the 8 of us living under one roof has become the norm and we are happy being the MoMo's.  

Eventually life slowed down for us. Sadly one of my best friends and sister Haley and her family moved to Kentucky. That's right K_E_N_T_U_C_K_Y!! (still don't approve of that inspiration ;) We have missed them alot! We made our first MoMo road trip to Kentucky for Thanksgiving. The much missed Paxman clan from Virginia came as well. We have missed the fun and support of having all of our family close by.

This holiday season was a perfect way to end a tough year. Generous and thoughtful individuals made the Christmas of 2012 one of the very best!

Although this has been a tough year personally and as a family I know that just as Sister Hinckley points out,  "these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing.”

 Here's to 2013. I think I'm ready!