Utah

We couldn't have been more excited for our trip home to Utah. We were able to plan a week in Utah and then a week in Newport Beach. The kids were great. And despite all of the things we had to bring with us in order to accommodate three young children, we made it safe and sound. 

Lucky for us, we arrived just in time for Paityn's 2nd birthday party. McCrae was in Heaven with all of his cousins, and it was so fun introducing the twins to everyone for the first time. Jon said that holding the twins was the highlight of his summer!

Grammy GG meeting the girls for the first time. 

Cam and Tiffany were kind enough to let us use their Suburban for the week. Julianne, Marissa and I ran some errands with the babies one day and we had quite the setup. It was so mice spending some quality time with my sisters again.

One evening while we were in Utah, we had a few friends over to swim at my parents pool. Our friends Jon and Lisa came, and before the party even really started, Jon found their daughter Norah at the bottom of the pool. Lisa asked me to write my thoughts and perspective of the situation in detail and this is what I remember.

I will never understand how it happened. There were six adults and six kids there. Everything seemed so under control. I just remember Jon saying Conner's name and I looked over to see him pulling Norah out of the water… lifeless. I ran over as quickly as I could and told Jon to lay her on the ground. I checked for a pulse. There was none. I freaked out for about half a second and then thought, "I have to do something!" I placed my hands on her chest to give compressions, but she just seemed too small for full compressions. So I wrapped my hands around her chest to give compressions with my thumbs and realized she was too big. I had had all the training I needed in order to help her and my mind was completely blank. I flipped her over and gave her a couple back blows. When I flipped her back over I remember being somewhat surprised to see that she was still unconscious. I remember Jon kneeling beside me, his hand shaking, and Lisa yelling, "bring my baby back!" Although I was pretty certain she was talking to God, and not me, I felt some serious pressure to do something quick. I decided to give her a couple breaths. The first breath was not successful. Her chest did not rise. "Get it together!" I thought to myself. I repositioned her head and gave two successful breaths. I will never know why I couldn't give appropriate compressions, but in the moment I decided to flip her over and give her a couple more back blows. And then I flipped her back over and gave her a couple more breaths. I think I may have done a couple more sets of black blows and breaths… Maybe only four or five rounds total… And she started to breathe on her own. I'm not really sure what happened, but it was awesome! I immediately knew she was going to be okay. I don't know if I was just telling myself this, but I was convinced. 

All of a sudden, the world came back into focus and I heard sirens. My initial thought was, "that was fast!" My next thought was, "this isn't happening...this doesn't happen in real life." I kept my hand on her chest feeling it rise and fall and her little heart pound. It was the best feeling knowing that her body was functioning again. I remember Lisa asking me if Norah would have brain damage and I didn't know what to tell her. I just prayed that she would make a full recovery. As soon as Norah started breathing again, I told Conner that he and Jon needed to give her a blessing right away. Conner ran up to get some oil and was back before we knew it. Conner anointed her head and Jon gave a simple, heartfelt blessing. 

The EMTs we're down in what seemed like seconds and put a pulse ox on her to check her oxygen level (which was in the high 90's-whoop whoop!) and as they were preparing to put a nasal cannula on her nose I took it from the guy's hands and put it on her as quickly as possible. "They aren't working fast enough!" I thought. Norah had still not regained consciousness. They whisked her up to the ambulance and took her and Lisa to Alta View hospital to be life flighted to Primary Childrens Hospital. "Why do they need to life flight her?" I thought. "She's going to be fine!" Maybe this is when I started wondering if she really was going to be okay… 

About four or five neighbors showed up to see what all the commotion was about, and policemen came to ask what had happened. I didn't feel like it was an interrogation, but it was crazy to think that it could have been. When everyone left, I think it took us about two hours to clean everything up. My mind just wasn't working. It seemed crazy to go about normal business when everyone's life had been forever changed. Kylee asked if I needed to break down and cry. "I really don't," I said, "I feel like everything is going to be fine."

Mary, Lisa's oldest daughter, stayed with us until Lisa's mom could come and pick her up. She was such a trooper. She was teary, but so brave. Conner had taken Jon to Primary Childrens' and when he returned, he said it was the longest drive of his life. However, he said he couldn't shake the thought that everything was going to be okay. I really feel like the Spirit was testifying to us that Heavenly Father was looking out for Norah and her family.

It was a while before we heard from Jon and Lisa. At least, it felt like a long while. But when Jon texted me, he told me that they were staying in the Rapid Treatment Unit for the night. This was such a relief. Patients only stay in the rapid treatment unit if they are not critical enough to be admitted, and really only need observation. I continued to pray that Norah would only continue to improve.
I think I maybe only slept an hour that night. At 4 o'clock in the morning, I remember feeding the twins with Conner. We were talking about what happened that day, and I started to think about how much worse things could have been. And I sobbed. What an incredible miracle it was that Norah was alive.

The next morning, I texted Lisa and said, "I know you are busy, but I need to see Norah. Please send me a video!" I was happy when she was quick to respond with two or three videos of Norah playing in the hospital room and asking for donuts. What a relief!

Once I knew that Norah was headed home, and that she was going to be okay, I was dying to tell my parents. I didn't want to call them on their mission and worry them when things were still unknown. I was finally able to reach them a couple days later, and as soon as I saw them I started sobbing. I frightened them to death, and Conner quickly told them that Norah was alive and well. I hadn't yet gotten to that part...both of them were very teary but so glad, of course, to hear that everything was okay. I just cried and thanked them for serving a mission. I know that there are angels watching over their home while they are away.
 
We made plans to meet up with Jon and Lisa a couple days later-I think we all needed to see each other and create a happy ending to the story. It was so good to see the entire Crosby family... especially little Norah! She was cuter than ever! I was so glad that she let me hold her. We chatted for a while and were forced to relive the experience... but it was so nice to note all of the miracles along the way. I remember Lisa said that she noticed when Conner and Jon placed their hands on Norah's head to give her a blessing, Norah spit out some water. I remember the same thing. It was the only voluntary thing she did during the whole event. I am convinced that this is when her spirit reentered her body. Crazy to think that Heavenly Father probably just held her for a time, and then lovingly sent her back to her earthly parents.

Although I will never forget how scary this experience was, I will also never forget the incredible testimony building experience it was either. I remember praying for miracle, but wondering if I was worthy to even ask for such a miracle. Was I living my life according to all of the gospel principles? I hadn't been good about reading my scriptures consistently in a really long time… And my prayers needed to be more heartfelt. And I needed to change my attitude about dragging my three young children to church. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least.

Jon and Lisa were and ARE such an example to me. Their beautiful family is so special, and I know that Heavenly Father loves them more than they will ever know. They are living a righteous life, and teaching their children to love their Savior Jesus Christ. They are so deserving of this miracle. I know that there are many more headed their way... And as for Norah, she is definitely here for a reason. That girl is going to do some amazing things in her life. I am so happy that all is well. And I will forever thank my Heavenly Father for the miraculous outcome.

We held our babies a little closer those next few days, and counted our many many blessings that they were alive and well. We didn't even mind that McCrae wanted to go to the park at 5 am. Here are Conner and McCrae using their "noculars" to see the whales in the ocean.

The 3 musketeers...together at last! It was sure fun to have these 3 cousins together-not to mention Paityn and McCrae. 

Nic and Heather invited us to go boating. We met them at Pineview Reservoir and Holli and Grammy graciously watched the twins while we were away. I think it was nice for McCrae to get a little one-on-one time. It was nice for me too!

We had a blast. Nic and Heather were so generous to take all of us beginners.

Grandma Egbert holding all three at once! Pretty impressive. We were so glad we had a chance to see her.

I was feeling especially grateful for my family this trip so I was happy we were able to snap a few family pictures while we were there. It was great to see everyone, and although it was hard to say goodbye, we were excited to be heading to Newport Beach with the Nielsen clan.

A few weeks after we returned home, Lisa posted this sweet picture and message on Instagram. I was blown away. We were truly a part of something special that day!