Challis Power

Beginning Saturday, I am on "leave of absence" from the mission to hold babies.  Elder Challis will keep working at the library, although he gets baby time on p-days, too, since the twins are close in Pleasant Grove.  The third little one was born February 5 in Olathe:  Seeley Duncan.  We appreciated her daddy, Michael, sharing pictures with us almost the moment she was born.  Seeley is a family name.  Welcome to the family, Seeley!  My leave of absence also gives me permission to fly to Kansas to meet her the end of the month. Both twins are home now, with Elle just a day and a half behind Luke.  They are both on oxygen and a monitor so they are pretty much confined to their room--and so are we when we feed and change them.  It is much better than driving to and from the hospital twice a day, though. Pretty cute picture seeing the two tiny ones side by side in the bassinet. In other family news, our granddaughter, Challis Debenham, is returning from her mission in Moscow

Luke is a blonde Elle is a brunette Carrot cake is good for 70-year-old eyes.   It’s Sunday night.   I am tired and facing an early Monday morning, so this will be short.               First of all, the baby report:   Luke and Elle are making progress in the NICU.   It was a big moment today at one feeding when they both drank their prescribed ounces of milk. Up until now, they’ve been receiving some by feeding tubes because they haven’t had the stamina to drain a bottle.   Lindsey has shown a lot of stamina herself –pretty big hill she’s had to climb with the c-section, mastitis, pumping every two hours day and night, grotesquely swollen legs and feet, being with the babies from 7am-noon, and again from 4pm until 9pm.     I was with her on Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday, and I am tired so you’ll have to come up with another word to describe Lindsey—I’m too tired.   Still, you can say that she is “grateful.”   We are all grateful for these two little ones and