I am going to get lasik surgery done later today. I am so excited, nervous too. Its funny because I have always loved medical everything. I have never been scared to go to the doctor, get surgery, have kids or anything. I haven't even been afraid to die, or be paralyzed or any of these things that can happen when you have babies. But for some reason I have this fear that I am going to be blind. I know, its silly, but I am still scared. So this morning I am looking at each of my kids and memorizing their faces. I am going to look through all our pictures too.
I know I don't need to be scared and everything should go smoothly, but what if it doesn't. What if I never get to look at my kids faces again. I would never get to see any of our pictures again, or see my kids play with their toys, or play sports, or go to dances or school, or read them books. I guess my eyes have really been opened to what blind people miss out on. I think a lot about how hard it would be being in a wheel chair and be a mom. My kids can all sense when I am sitting down and they don't like it. I also think about other things that would be hard, like only having one hand.
Ok enough rambling and worrying. I'm sure things will be fine. I'm just excited to have it done so I don't have to worry any more.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Happy Anniversary!
We have been married 7 years and Blake still loves me!!! He must be a pretty amazing guy. He is such a good husband and father. We have enjoyed so many fun things during our marriage. He was just laughing yesterday how we have only been married 7 years and have 4 kids.
Some of the reasons I love him are...
He has taught me to see things differently than I did before we were married. I have always loved nature and being outside, but now I actually notice things I didn't before, like the birds in the trees, the nests, deer in the fields and things like this. I can even identify lots of birds because he has taught me and is teaching the kids. We have so much fun going on walks and hikes and learning about nature from him.
Blake has such a strong testimony, which is one of the main things that attracted me to him. He was just off his mission when we first started dating and I loved that he still had that mindset of doing what is right and serving others. He is still like that. He loves to do things for other people and especially go out with the missionaries. I have always heard that women are so good at noticing what the people around them need, but Blake is the one in our relationship who is good at this. He can sit in sacrament meeting and look at different people and know who he should call, or visit or do something for. This is something I need to learn from him.
Blake is also still so good with kids. He is always wrestling with them, tickling them and teasing them. He also teaches them. I love sitting down for Family Home Evening and listen to him teach whatever he comes up with that week. He makes it fun for them. He also teaches them about fishing, hunting, sports and anything else they want to learn about. It is fun to go do things as a family and watch him teach the kids about whatever we are doing.
I love that he is so responsible. He is good with money and understands debt and savings and what the church teaches about them. I love that throughout our whole marriage it has never been a question of if we will pay our tithing or not, or if we should pay fast offerings. I always know we will do it and I don't have to try to talk Blake into it. It isn't ever an issue. It is the same with going to church. It is never a question on Sunday mornings if we will go to church or not. He also takes care of us financially. He has done so well in school and I am so grateful he was so willing to work so hard so he can support our family.
We just watched our wedding video today and he looked so young when we got married. We were so much in love and I can say we are just as much or more in love now than we were then . We have had our ups and downs but still love each other. I love knowing that we are married forever and hope I can be someone my family wants to be with forever!
Some of the reasons I love him are...
He has taught me to see things differently than I did before we were married. I have always loved nature and being outside, but now I actually notice things I didn't before, like the birds in the trees, the nests, deer in the fields and things like this. I can even identify lots of birds because he has taught me and is teaching the kids. We have so much fun going on walks and hikes and learning about nature from him.
Blake has such a strong testimony, which is one of the main things that attracted me to him. He was just off his mission when we first started dating and I loved that he still had that mindset of doing what is right and serving others. He is still like that. He loves to do things for other people and especially go out with the missionaries. I have always heard that women are so good at noticing what the people around them need, but Blake is the one in our relationship who is good at this. He can sit in sacrament meeting and look at different people and know who he should call, or visit or do something for. This is something I need to learn from him.
Blake is also still so good with kids. He is always wrestling with them, tickling them and teasing them. He also teaches them. I love sitting down for Family Home Evening and listen to him teach whatever he comes up with that week. He makes it fun for them. He also teaches them about fishing, hunting, sports and anything else they want to learn about. It is fun to go do things as a family and watch him teach the kids about whatever we are doing.
I love that he is so responsible. He is good with money and understands debt and savings and what the church teaches about them. I love that throughout our whole marriage it has never been a question of if we will pay our tithing or not, or if we should pay fast offerings. I always know we will do it and I don't have to try to talk Blake into it. It isn't ever an issue. It is the same with going to church. It is never a question on Sunday mornings if we will go to church or not. He also takes care of us financially. He has done so well in school and I am so grateful he was so willing to work so hard so he can support our family.
My Birthday
I almost forgot. I turned another year older on Friday the 13th. It was a pretty uneventful day, which is how I like it. I woke up when Remi, Broden and Alissa came in bed and cuddled with me for a little while before we got up to get Remi ready for school.
For lunch Lauren watched all the kids while I went out to lunch with Blake. There was a big going away lunch for one of the Doctors in the Clinic who is moving, so there were like 50 people at the restaurant and I felt like Blake should be there, so I just went with him.
That night we had French Dip sandwiches for dinner and then had Ingersoll's over for ice cream. Pretty low key, just the way I like it. Saturday morning Blake brought home my birthday/anniversary present. It is a super nice waffle maker. The kind they have at hotels that you flip over. It makes 2 Belgian waffles at a time! We used it Saturday night and I love it. He also wants to get me lasik eye surgery, so I am going to a consult for that on Wednesday. My family spoils me.
For lunch Lauren watched all the kids while I went out to lunch with Blake. There was a big going away lunch for one of the Doctors in the Clinic who is moving, so there were like 50 people at the restaurant and I felt like Blake should be there, so I just went with him.
That night we had French Dip sandwiches for dinner and then had Ingersoll's over for ice cream. Pretty low key, just the way I like it. Saturday morning Blake brought home my birthday/anniversary present. It is a super nice waffle maker. The kind they have at hotels that you flip over. It makes 2 Belgian waffles at a time! We used it Saturday night and I love it. He also wants to get me lasik eye surgery, so I am going to a consult for that on Wednesday. My family spoils me.
Soccer
Broden has also been playing a lot of soccer. He isn't on a team, but he gets on his soccer clothes every time Remi has a game or practice. Then he goes to the field and just runs around kicking the ball. He is really good and loves it!
First Food
Parker is such an easy going baby. Other than when he got his shots and teeth in the same week he has been very calm and happy. He loves when anyone talks to him and will give anyone who gives him attention huge smiles. He uses his whole body to smile. Hard to describe. You know how when people really smile it reaches their eyes. When he really smiles it reaches his eyes, arms and legs. If he has really smiled at you, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Parker does really good at night usually. He'll have weeks where he will only wake up once at night. Then for a few nights he'll sleep through the night and I'll think he is going to do that from now on. But then he goes backwards and he'll wake up a couple times a night for a few nights. So I wouldn't say he is consistently sleeping through the night. He has been so good otherwise though I can't complain. We all love his little personality and all the kids love having a little brother. Speaking of, all the kids are yelling to me right now that Parker is awake and wants more milk to drink. He is super duper hungry!
Happy 29th Blake!!!
Singing Happy Birthday! It was 96 degrees, so the kids had been swimming.
Opening Grandma and Grandpa's present!
Scavenger hunt
The "twins" at their party. Blake and Fran
Amber entertaining all the kids. They were attached to her all night and still ask for her.
Lauren and Chrissy playing with Parker. Livi loves Parker and is always taking care of him.
Chrissy and Parker
Kenz coming up the stairs.
Me and Parker
Kenz and Benjamin at the work bench.
Blake celebrated his 29th Birthday on Tuesday. Alissa, Broden and I joined him at work for lunch, then when he got home we ate some tator tot casserole and cantaloupe. Not really his favorite, but he likes it and it was nice to have no arguments from the kids. After dinner he opened the present from his parents then went on a scavenger hut to find his present from us. I had Remi, Broden, Avery, Drew, and Alissa draw the pictures for the scavenger hunt. It was entertaining to watch Blake find each of the clues. We got him 10 tickets to the College World Series that is here in Omaha every year. He also got a really nice fishing shirt from his parents. Then we sang him happy birthday and had dessert. He doesn't LOVE cake, but we had something called Up In the Night Brownie Cake. It is more like brownies with real caramel in the middle. It is amazing!
Thursday night we celebrated his birthday and one of his coworkers here at our house. We had a barbecue, cake and home made ice cream. The weather the night before had been TERRIBLE. Storm watch's and warnings and Tornado watch's and even a tornado warning. So when the weather forecast for Thursday said severe storms we prepared to have everything inside. But Thursday night came and the weather was perfect! We had so much fun. All 9 residents came, along with spouses and children. We had 13 adults and 9 children. It was so much fun to see the kids interact with the residents who don't have kids yet. They had so much fun together.
It was a perfect night with fun company and very relaxing. I didn't really feel like I had to entertain anyone. We are all so comfortable together so it makes it easy having that many people over.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Mother's Day
All the kiddos wanted me to open my presents before church, so when they were all ready I opened my presents. Blake took the kids to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick out my gifts and they did awesome! I got bread pans and a salad spinner. Also 2 bottles of smelly soap.
Church was great! I even got to listen during sacrament meeting. I spent most of Sunday School in the halls, then taught Relief Society. The lesson was teaching the Doctrine of the Family. It was a good lesson. I never really know how I do teaching, but I enjoyed teaching this lesson. It talked a lot about how important it is to teach our children that the most important part of the gospel is Family. It is the whole point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to be Eternal Families.
After church we relaxed, made homemade ice cream, ate yummy grilled chicken sandwiches, went for a walk, then had friends over to eat the ice cream. After ice cream we played tag. It was such a nice relaxing family day.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
She's 6!!! I didn't forget.
Happy 6th birthday Remi Louise!!!
Just before her program at school
Remi and her best Friend, Avery
Her birthday breakfast
Breakfast in bed!
I let her do her own hair for her birthday. She wore a cute jean jacket over her dress too!
Notice the rainbow of clips in her hair!
The cupcakes I took to her class. They have a chocolate covered pretzel on top.
Ice Cream birthday Party!
The invitations looked like the ice cream cones. You pulled out the Ice cream and in it, it said Here's the scoop...then all the party details!
We did an ice cream bar. We would dish the ice cream into a bowl and let the kids choose their toppings. They loved it!
Remi is such a fun 6 year old. She gets along so well with other kids and loves school. She is definitely my little helper. Whenever I travel I talk to her about how I am going to need so much help from her and she is always so willing to help. She is such a good big sister to Alissa and loves taking care of her.
When she isn't playing with her friends she loves playing with Broden. They still are very close and can play for hours in the back yard or basement. Although she is good helping when we go on trips she still doesn't love cleaning. Who does? Every time I ask her to clean something she gets mad and says, "but cleaning is NOT fun!" I agree with her, but we are working on learning to clean anyway.
Remi loves going to church and earning points for Jesus. Our chart for doing what is right and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. She sits so good during Sacrament Meeting and often times will draw pictures of what the speaker is talking about. She knows that Sunday is a day for family activities. So instead of asking if she can go to her friends, or have her friends over she asks if we can go to Avery's as a family. Or if Avery's family can come over. We do get together a lot with the Ingersoll's because they are like our family away from home. Remi couldn't be happier that they are going to England with us.
The rest of the week
While we were in Arizona Blake was busily working on everything we needed to do to get to England. He got everything organized so we knew what all we needed to do when we got home. He had all the passport papers filled out for each of the kids and their birth certificated ready. Monday morning he took Alissa, Remi and Broden to get their pictures. I waited for Parker to wake up, fed him then we all met at the courthouse. We turned in all the pictures, papers and birth certificates, raised right hands and said everything on the papers was true, then signed them and paid $80 for each of them and another $25 processing fee! It was nice to get that done though.
That night we got all the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. Blake and I were just laying down and Parker woke up screaming. I tried doing a breathing treatment, but he was screaming too much and wouldn't stop. Eventually he calmed down a little bit, so I counted his breathing and it was fast again. I called the nurse advice line and they said to take him to the ER. GREAT! While I was on the phone with the nurse I got a text from my brother saying my Grandpa(papa) was being taken in an ambulance to the hospital because they thought he had a stroke. I talked to my little sister on my way to the hospital and we said we would keep eachother updated.
As soon as I walked into the hospital and gave them my info and said what was going on I knew I didn't need to be there, but once you give them your info I don't think you can just leave. Parker was alert and smiling at everyone. His color was good and his breathing was back to normal. They still got us back right away. His temperature was fine and his oxygen was 100%. Sooo, we waited and waited for the doctor to come release us. They didn't even leave the machine hooked up that kept track of the oxygen saturation. The doctor came in and talked to us and said we could go home. He told me to bring him if he got lethargic or a fever. I did notice while we were waiting for the doctor that Parker's first tooth had come in. That explains the fussiness in Arizona and that night. While I was at the hospital I got at text from Blake saying as soon as I left Broden started throwing up. Poor Blake had to clean it up. He is one of those people who also gets sick when he smells it. I think he handled it pretty good though.
So we headed home and kept in touch with my family throughout the night getting texts about Papa. He was doing ok. They did a cat scan I think and discovered he had a perforated bowel that would require a surgery to fix. Papa had in his medical paperwork stated that he didn't want any life saving procedures and the doctor didn't know if he was strong enough to handle the surgery. So They would keep him on pain medicine and keep him as comfortable as possible until he left this life. I was sad and torn. I knew it was good for Papa. My sweet mom did everything for him, but he just wasn't able to have the quality of life he once had. He was ready to be with his sweet wife again in the next life. I wanted so bad to go home and be with my family during this time, but things just wouldn't work out. Parker was still doing breathing treatments and coughing(a good thing) Remi had school and I didn't know if I could make the drive without any other adults. Blake was supportive and said I could just go with Parker, but my family reassured me I didn't need to come. Papa wasn't really conscious anymore and there wasn't going to be a funeral. So I didn't go.
Tuesday Blake got an email saying we needed to go to the base passport office and get no-fee passports for free:) What about the passports we just paid $500 for? They are for traveling, not for living in a country, so they wouldn't work. We tried to get them stopped, or changed into the other passport, but no luck. I guess we will just have to travel a lot to get our money's worth out of them. We are just accepting the fact that the military does things a little backwards sometimes. As soon as we found out we were going to England EVERYONE said we needed to get our passports. So we were right on top of it. Too bad they didn't send that email until almost 2 weeks later saying where to go and what kind to get. Maybe most people just know what kind to get. Oh well.
Thursday night Papa passed from this life. He was surrounded by his children and some of his grandchildren. I was sad and happy at the same time. I had explained to Remi and Broden that papa was very sick and was going to die. They were very accepting of this. When they would pray throughout the week it would make me cry almost every time. These are some of the things they would say in their prayers.
-Help Parker get better
-Help Alissa get better
-Help Broden get better
-Help Drew's throat get better(he got his tonsils out)
-Help Baby Gibson get better so he can go home with his mommy and daddy
-Help Papa that he can be healthy and live with Jesus and be resurrected
It was so cute and comforting to know that they knew that Papa would be resurrected. Friday morning I told Remi that papa had died she said so he is healthy again. I explained that he was. He could walk again and he was with his wife Booma. Remi remembered me going to see Booma in Arizona with Alissa when we found out Booma had a tumor in her lungs and would be passing from this life. I was surprised Remi remembered. I am so happy that we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our life to give our children this foundation of eternal families. I love knowing that I will be with my family forever and the peace it gives me to be able to explain death to my children in a way that isn't sad, but hopeful.
Throughout the rest of the week we spent a lot of time on the phone with passport people trying to get our money back or something. Because we had sent in all the birth certificates to get the travel passports we didn't have extras for Remi and Broden to get our no fee passports. So I had to special order and rush delivery on passports from Idaho and Ohio. The Idaho one said a 1-2 day processing period then they would air mail it. So we got that one the same week. The Ohio one said a 15-30 day processing period. So if it took 30 days, then we had to do passport papers and wait 6-8 weeks for our passports, then another week for our visas, it looked like Blake would be going to England without us. I said lots of prayers that week and something worked because we got Broden's birth certificate Monday, after only 5 days!
That night we got all the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. Blake and I were just laying down and Parker woke up screaming. I tried doing a breathing treatment, but he was screaming too much and wouldn't stop. Eventually he calmed down a little bit, so I counted his breathing and it was fast again. I called the nurse advice line and they said to take him to the ER. GREAT! While I was on the phone with the nurse I got a text from my brother saying my Grandpa(papa) was being taken in an ambulance to the hospital because they thought he had a stroke. I talked to my little sister on my way to the hospital and we said we would keep eachother updated.
As soon as I walked into the hospital and gave them my info and said what was going on I knew I didn't need to be there, but once you give them your info I don't think you can just leave. Parker was alert and smiling at everyone. His color was good and his breathing was back to normal. They still got us back right away. His temperature was fine and his oxygen was 100%. Sooo, we waited and waited for the doctor to come release us. They didn't even leave the machine hooked up that kept track of the oxygen saturation. The doctor came in and talked to us and said we could go home. He told me to bring him if he got lethargic or a fever. I did notice while we were waiting for the doctor that Parker's first tooth had come in. That explains the fussiness in Arizona and that night. While I was at the hospital I got at text from Blake saying as soon as I left Broden started throwing up. Poor Blake had to clean it up. He is one of those people who also gets sick when he smells it. I think he handled it pretty good though.
So we headed home and kept in touch with my family throughout the night getting texts about Papa. He was doing ok. They did a cat scan I think and discovered he had a perforated bowel that would require a surgery to fix. Papa had in his medical paperwork stated that he didn't want any life saving procedures and the doctor didn't know if he was strong enough to handle the surgery. So They would keep him on pain medicine and keep him as comfortable as possible until he left this life. I was sad and torn. I knew it was good for Papa. My sweet mom did everything for him, but he just wasn't able to have the quality of life he once had. He was ready to be with his sweet wife again in the next life. I wanted so bad to go home and be with my family during this time, but things just wouldn't work out. Parker was still doing breathing treatments and coughing(a good thing) Remi had school and I didn't know if I could make the drive without any other adults. Blake was supportive and said I could just go with Parker, but my family reassured me I didn't need to come. Papa wasn't really conscious anymore and there wasn't going to be a funeral. So I didn't go.
Tuesday Blake got an email saying we needed to go to the base passport office and get no-fee passports for free:) What about the passports we just paid $500 for? They are for traveling, not for living in a country, so they wouldn't work. We tried to get them stopped, or changed into the other passport, but no luck. I guess we will just have to travel a lot to get our money's worth out of them. We are just accepting the fact that the military does things a little backwards sometimes. As soon as we found out we were going to England EVERYONE said we needed to get our passports. So we were right on top of it. Too bad they didn't send that email until almost 2 weeks later saying where to go and what kind to get. Maybe most people just know what kind to get. Oh well.
Thursday night Papa passed from this life. He was surrounded by his children and some of his grandchildren. I was sad and happy at the same time. I had explained to Remi and Broden that papa was very sick and was going to die. They were very accepting of this. When they would pray throughout the week it would make me cry almost every time. These are some of the things they would say in their prayers.
-Help Parker get better
-Help Alissa get better
-Help Broden get better
-Help Drew's throat get better(he got his tonsils out)
-Help Baby Gibson get better so he can go home with his mommy and daddy
-Help Papa that he can be healthy and live with Jesus and be resurrected
It was so cute and comforting to know that they knew that Papa would be resurrected. Friday morning I told Remi that papa had died she said so he is healthy again. I explained that he was. He could walk again and he was with his wife Booma. Remi remembered me going to see Booma in Arizona with Alissa when we found out Booma had a tumor in her lungs and would be passing from this life. I was surprised Remi remembered. I am so happy that we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our life to give our children this foundation of eternal families. I love knowing that I will be with my family forever and the peace it gives me to be able to explain death to my children in a way that isn't sad, but hopeful.
Throughout the rest of the week we spent a lot of time on the phone with passport people trying to get our money back or something. Because we had sent in all the birth certificates to get the travel passports we didn't have extras for Remi and Broden to get our no fee passports. So I had to special order and rush delivery on passports from Idaho and Ohio. The Idaho one said a 1-2 day processing period then they would air mail it. So we got that one the same week. The Ohio one said a 15-30 day processing period. So if it took 30 days, then we had to do passport papers and wait 6-8 weeks for our passports, then another week for our visas, it looked like Blake would be going to England without us. I said lots of prayers that week and something worked because we got Broden's birth certificate Monday, after only 5 days!
Saturday, or Sunday, wasn't quite sure....
We got to the hospital around 11:00 pm. I am starting to learn through my many hospital trips that what you have wrong makes all the difference in the world. If you take in an infant and say they are having breathing problems they get you in immediately. So, Parker was seen immediately. They took his vitals and his Oxygen was at 93% and his breathing was really fast. They did a breathing treatment, tested him for RSV and did an xray to see if he had pneumonia. They came in to check his vitals again, and after being seen by a Respiratory therapist and the doctor they came and told me they were going to admit him. REALLY? We were supposed to fly out Sunday at 3:00pm. I told the nurses and doctors this and they all seemed doubtful that he would be released in time to make the flight.
I had not told Blake yet. It was 1:00am his time when we went to the emergency room and I just figured they would do a breathing treatment and send him home. So when they said they were admitting him I figured I better call Blake. As soon as they got us to another room to wait for the long term room I started to brake down a little bit. I cried a little and felt completely exhausted and like everything was moving in slow motion. I felt bad calling Blake, I think he was scared to death. I didn't worry too much about Parker. I somehow knew he was going to be ok. At this point things didn't seem too serious. He wasn't even on Oxygen. I climbed in the bed with Parker in my arms and just held him. We slept a little bit, then they moved us to a room upstairs. They wheeled the whole bed up with me in it holding Parker. When we got up there they put him in the hospital crib and showed me how The couch folded into a bed. The nurse brought Parker a hand made blanket someone had donated so he could take it home. I talked with the nurse about the fact that we were wanting out as fast as possible and she talked about everything they needed to watch. I also talked to the pediatrician on the floor who said it was up to the doctor in the morning and depended on how he did through the night. They had to suction out his nose every few hours, before I could feed him so he didn't choke on all the mucus and get it into his lungs. They were just using a little suction hose, but if they had to stick it up his nose and down his throat then he couldn't be released for a while. Also if they had to put him on oxygen then he couldn't be released for 24 hours AFTER breathing on his own. If his oxygen levels dropped below 88 they would have to put him on Oxygen. So I thought we would be there for a while. After she left I said by to Grandpa Jones and he headed back to the hotel to get some sleep and said he would come in early with someone so they could give Parker a blessing.
After everyone left I rearranged Parker's Monitor so I could watch his Oxygen levels from where I was sleeping. As I watched it would slowly drop from 94, to 93 then 90, and then it went to 87. I kind of held my breath watching it at 87 for a couple minutes praying it would go back up on its own. it did. Then it went between 89 and 88 for quite a while. No alarms went off when it was at 87, so none of the nurses knew. At about 6 the respiratory therapist came in and did another breathing treatment and Chest Physical Therapy(CPT's) Basically she took a little padded thing and pounded on his chest in the front and back to break up the mucus so he could breath better. Then she listened to him breath. The CPT's helped his Oxygen levels go up. They said they would do them every 2-4 hours. The respiratory therapist seemed doubtful that he would be released in time to make the flight.
After the respiratory therapist left I called Blake and we talked about flight options. He had called the airline and they basically told him we were kind of out of luck. We would have to buy all new tickets and might be able to be reimbursed for the ones we weren't using, but it would take a couple weeks. I got off the phone with him and tried looking into tickets too. I was starting to get desperate. I had so many thoughts rushing through my head. I called the airline and asked about tickets. Basically we had to pay full price for everything. They only fly on Sunday's and Thursdays and there was only 1 ticket available on Thursday. I couldn't leave Parker, because I needed to feed him. Maybe we could fly my mom down from Idaho to fly home with the kids. Or maybe Grandma Jones could fly home with them. Then I could fly home later with Parker. Any way we did it it was going to cost hundreds, close to a couple thousand dollars. I had to keep reminding myself that it was worth it if it was what Parker needed. My gut feeling though was that Parker was going to be fine. It was more just the hospital following the rules and playing it safe. So Basically if he didn't get released from the hospital we would have to wait at least until the next Sunday to go home. I was so ready to just go home and see Blake.
Every time someone came in the room I explained our situation to them. They were all very sympathetic and willing to help get him out as fast as possible. His condition wasn't too serious, but could get serious fast and he was there to get monitored, so he could have what he needed if it got any worse. The doctor came a little while later and she was very nice. She said as long as he kept his vitals where they were he could be released around noon. Blake called when she was in there and she talked to him. She told him she would release Parker if his vitals were still good at noon, as long as we promised to take him to the hospital immediately if he was having ANY breathing problems.
Grandpa Jones came back to the hospital with a man from one of the wards near the hospital and they gave a Parker a priesthood blessing. It a blessing for Parker, but also very comforting to me to hear what his Heavenly Father wanted to bless him with. He was told that he would make a quick recovery and be able to return home. Also, that this hospital was the right place for him to be and that the nurses and doctors knew what they were doing and would take good care of him. It helped me feel so much better after they left. I still wasn't 100% sure we were going to make it to the airport, but I knew Parker would be ok and that is what was important. I am so grateful that Grandpa Jones is an honorable Priesthood holder. It is also such a blessing that there are members of the church wherever we go who are ready and willing to give priesthood blessings if we need them. I don't remember the man's name who came, but I am so grateful he was willing to come. Especially on Easter morning. Grandpa visited for a while, then went back to the hotel to help entertain the other 3 kids. They went swimming and to Mcdonalds. I must say I think the ox was in the mire that Sunday. There was only 1 car and things were so crazy. I felt so bad that we didn't get to go to church, especially on Easter Sunday, but I honestly think Our Father in Heaven understood this time why we couldn't go.
After Grandpa left I was in the bathroom using some of the toiletries Grandma had suggested Grandpa bring to me(THANK YOU). I heard someone knock. I went out and there was a big Easter basket sitting on Parker's table. I looked out in the hall and there was a lady with the someone dressed as the Easter Bunny. They were delivering Easter baskets to all the children on the floor. I asked if he could come in and I could get his picture with Parker. They were hesitant because there was a sign on the door about breathing problems. The bunny came in, but was told not to touch anything. He stood next to the bed and I took a picture. It was so cute. Although Parker wasn't old enough to realize what was going on it brought tears to my eyes thinking about all the other kids on the floor who may have been in the hospital for days, weeks or months. They must have been so excited!
At 11:30 I started paging the nurse wondering if she was doing the paperwork. They couldn't get a hold of her. The Respiratory Therapist came in and did CPT's again. She seemed nervous about the fact that they were going to let Parker go home. She explained everything to watch for and showed me how to to CPT's. Parker actually really liked having this done. It would put him to sleep.
After she left I asked for the nurse again. Finally about 12:30pm she came in with the paperwork to sign so he could be released. I signed it then called Grandma and Grandpa to come get us! They came and we drove straight to the airport. At this point I was so glad we were actually going to make our flight. I was trying not to care what other people thought of us. We had to pull all of our stuff out on the curb and pretty much re pack it to fit in all the extra stuff we accumulated at the hospital. Luckily Alegiant Airports are small and the people are nice. They let me check all our bags again and let Chris come through security with us.
We waited for our plane then said bye to Grandma. It was a sad good bye. We don't know when we will see her again. The flight home was uneventful. Parker fell asleep, Remi colored and Alissa and Broden watched a movie. When we were about to land there was some commotion going on at the front of the plane. They were getting out an oxygen tank and talking about medical stuff. Then when we landed they said everyone needed to stay seated so the Medical Personnel could come aboard the plane. I knew Blake would be panicked. So I borrowed someone's phone(mine was dead) to call him. He had already been out to the ambulance to see if they were there for a baby. They assured him they were there for an older lady. They ended up having to bring 2 ambulances and 2 stretchers onto the plane because there were 2 people that needed them. So we had to wait like 15 minutes before anyone could leave the plane. They finally let people leave through the back, but it was steep stairs and I didn't know how I would get 4 kids, a car seat and 3 bags down the stairs. After being the only ones on the plane besides the sick people one of the flight attenants helped us get off the plane. We grabbed our stroller and headed inside. We were all SOOOO excited to see dad and he was excited to see us!
We stopped and grabbed some dinner and headed home. Parker was crying and I felt bad for him, so I did a no no and held him on the way home. He just slept in my arms and I fell asleep. When we got home everyone went straight to bed. I was SOOO tired. I think I only got 3-4 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours so I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
While Parker was in the hospital he was such a good baby. It was almost sad though. He was just too lethargic to cry and because his breathing was so bad he wouldn't cry. He would just whimper a little bit when he got hungry. Other than that he would just lay in his bed and look around for a while, then go to sleep. I think the only perk of the whole hospital thing was that I was nursing. At the beginning they told me that they might have to do an IV to get nutrients in him because he could only have clear fluids. But, my milk counted as a clear liquid, formula doesn't. So because I was his "IV" I got a meal plan and could eat whatever I wanted. It was like room service. They had a huge menu so I could order food and they would bring it to me. It didn't quite make the hospital stay worth it though. We were just glad Parker got better fast.
I had not told Blake yet. It was 1:00am his time when we went to the emergency room and I just figured they would do a breathing treatment and send him home. So when they said they were admitting him I figured I better call Blake. As soon as they got us to another room to wait for the long term room I started to brake down a little bit. I cried a little and felt completely exhausted and like everything was moving in slow motion. I felt bad calling Blake, I think he was scared to death. I didn't worry too much about Parker. I somehow knew he was going to be ok. At this point things didn't seem too serious. He wasn't even on Oxygen. I climbed in the bed with Parker in my arms and just held him. We slept a little bit, then they moved us to a room upstairs. They wheeled the whole bed up with me in it holding Parker. When we got up there they put him in the hospital crib and showed me how The couch folded into a bed. The nurse brought Parker a hand made blanket someone had donated so he could take it home. I talked with the nurse about the fact that we were wanting out as fast as possible and she talked about everything they needed to watch. I also talked to the pediatrician on the floor who said it was up to the doctor in the morning and depended on how he did through the night. They had to suction out his nose every few hours, before I could feed him so he didn't choke on all the mucus and get it into his lungs. They were just using a little suction hose, but if they had to stick it up his nose and down his throat then he couldn't be released for a while. Also if they had to put him on oxygen then he couldn't be released for 24 hours AFTER breathing on his own. If his oxygen levels dropped below 88 they would have to put him on Oxygen. So I thought we would be there for a while. After she left I said by to Grandpa Jones and he headed back to the hotel to get some sleep and said he would come in early with someone so they could give Parker a blessing.
After everyone left I rearranged Parker's Monitor so I could watch his Oxygen levels from where I was sleeping. As I watched it would slowly drop from 94, to 93 then 90, and then it went to 87. I kind of held my breath watching it at 87 for a couple minutes praying it would go back up on its own. it did. Then it went between 89 and 88 for quite a while. No alarms went off when it was at 87, so none of the nurses knew. At about 6 the respiratory therapist came in and did another breathing treatment and Chest Physical Therapy(CPT's) Basically she took a little padded thing and pounded on his chest in the front and back to break up the mucus so he could breath better. Then she listened to him breath. The CPT's helped his Oxygen levels go up. They said they would do them every 2-4 hours. The respiratory therapist seemed doubtful that he would be released in time to make the flight.
After the respiratory therapist left I called Blake and we talked about flight options. He had called the airline and they basically told him we were kind of out of luck. We would have to buy all new tickets and might be able to be reimbursed for the ones we weren't using, but it would take a couple weeks. I got off the phone with him and tried looking into tickets too. I was starting to get desperate. I had so many thoughts rushing through my head. I called the airline and asked about tickets. Basically we had to pay full price for everything. They only fly on Sunday's and Thursdays and there was only 1 ticket available on Thursday. I couldn't leave Parker, because I needed to feed him. Maybe we could fly my mom down from Idaho to fly home with the kids. Or maybe Grandma Jones could fly home with them. Then I could fly home later with Parker. Any way we did it it was going to cost hundreds, close to a couple thousand dollars. I had to keep reminding myself that it was worth it if it was what Parker needed. My gut feeling though was that Parker was going to be fine. It was more just the hospital following the rules and playing it safe. So Basically if he didn't get released from the hospital we would have to wait at least until the next Sunday to go home. I was so ready to just go home and see Blake.
Every time someone came in the room I explained our situation to them. They were all very sympathetic and willing to help get him out as fast as possible. His condition wasn't too serious, but could get serious fast and he was there to get monitored, so he could have what he needed if it got any worse. The doctor came a little while later and she was very nice. She said as long as he kept his vitals where they were he could be released around noon. Blake called when she was in there and she talked to him. She told him she would release Parker if his vitals were still good at noon, as long as we promised to take him to the hospital immediately if he was having ANY breathing problems.
Grandpa Jones came back to the hospital with a man from one of the wards near the hospital and they gave a Parker a priesthood blessing. It a blessing for Parker, but also very comforting to me to hear what his Heavenly Father wanted to bless him with. He was told that he would make a quick recovery and be able to return home. Also, that this hospital was the right place for him to be and that the nurses and doctors knew what they were doing and would take good care of him. It helped me feel so much better after they left. I still wasn't 100% sure we were going to make it to the airport, but I knew Parker would be ok and that is what was important. I am so grateful that Grandpa Jones is an honorable Priesthood holder. It is also such a blessing that there are members of the church wherever we go who are ready and willing to give priesthood blessings if we need them. I don't remember the man's name who came, but I am so grateful he was willing to come. Especially on Easter morning. Grandpa visited for a while, then went back to the hotel to help entertain the other 3 kids. They went swimming and to Mcdonalds. I must say I think the ox was in the mire that Sunday. There was only 1 car and things were so crazy. I felt so bad that we didn't get to go to church, especially on Easter Sunday, but I honestly think Our Father in Heaven understood this time why we couldn't go.
After Grandpa left I was in the bathroom using some of the toiletries Grandma had suggested Grandpa bring to me(THANK YOU). I heard someone knock. I went out and there was a big Easter basket sitting on Parker's table. I looked out in the hall and there was a lady with the someone dressed as the Easter Bunny. They were delivering Easter baskets to all the children on the floor. I asked if he could come in and I could get his picture with Parker. They were hesitant because there was a sign on the door about breathing problems. The bunny came in, but was told not to touch anything. He stood next to the bed and I took a picture. It was so cute. Although Parker wasn't old enough to realize what was going on it brought tears to my eyes thinking about all the other kids on the floor who may have been in the hospital for days, weeks or months. They must have been so excited!
At 11:30 I started paging the nurse wondering if she was doing the paperwork. They couldn't get a hold of her. The Respiratory Therapist came in and did CPT's again. She seemed nervous about the fact that they were going to let Parker go home. She explained everything to watch for and showed me how to to CPT's. Parker actually really liked having this done. It would put him to sleep.
After she left I asked for the nurse again. Finally about 12:30pm she came in with the paperwork to sign so he could be released. I signed it then called Grandma and Grandpa to come get us! They came and we drove straight to the airport. At this point I was so glad we were actually going to make our flight. I was trying not to care what other people thought of us. We had to pull all of our stuff out on the curb and pretty much re pack it to fit in all the extra stuff we accumulated at the hospital. Luckily Alegiant Airports are small and the people are nice. They let me check all our bags again and let Chris come through security with us.
We waited for our plane then said bye to Grandma. It was a sad good bye. We don't know when we will see her again. The flight home was uneventful. Parker fell asleep, Remi colored and Alissa and Broden watched a movie. When we were about to land there was some commotion going on at the front of the plane. They were getting out an oxygen tank and talking about medical stuff. Then when we landed they said everyone needed to stay seated so the Medical Personnel could come aboard the plane. I knew Blake would be panicked. So I borrowed someone's phone(mine was dead) to call him. He had already been out to the ambulance to see if they were there for a baby. They assured him they were there for an older lady. They ended up having to bring 2 ambulances and 2 stretchers onto the plane because there were 2 people that needed them. So we had to wait like 15 minutes before anyone could leave the plane. They finally let people leave through the back, but it was steep stairs and I didn't know how I would get 4 kids, a car seat and 3 bags down the stairs. After being the only ones on the plane besides the sick people one of the flight attenants helped us get off the plane. We grabbed our stroller and headed inside. We were all SOOOO excited to see dad and he was excited to see us!
We stopped and grabbed some dinner and headed home. Parker was crying and I felt bad for him, so I did a no no and held him on the way home. He just slept in my arms and I fell asleep. When we got home everyone went straight to bed. I was SOOO tired. I think I only got 3-4 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours so I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
While Parker was in the hospital he was such a good baby. It was almost sad though. He was just too lethargic to cry and because his breathing was so bad he wouldn't cry. He would just whimper a little bit when he got hungry. Other than that he would just lay in his bed and look around for a while, then go to sleep. I think the only perk of the whole hospital thing was that I was nursing. At the beginning they told me that they might have to do an IV to get nutrients in him because he could only have clear fluids. But, my milk counted as a clear liquid, formula doesn't. So because I was his "IV" I got a meal plan and could eat whatever I wanted. It was like room service. They had a huge menu so I could order food and they would bring it to me. It didn't quite make the hospital stay worth it though. We were just glad Parker got better fast.
Arizona continued...Saturday
We ate lunch then said bye to Grandma and Grandpa's house and headed to Mesa. On the way we stopped at the funnest place. It was an Ostrich Farm, but had lots to do. First we paid for all of us. It was only 54 dollars and we got to do tons. They gave us 3 bowls full of pellets. We went to the deer and got to feed the deer right out of our hands. Then we fed the ostriches. They bite, but have no teeth. So it was a little scary feeding them. We would drop the pelletts into little trays then the ostriches would eat them. We were on a little platform, so we were level with their heads.
Next we fed the goats. Alissa loved hugging them! The kids though it was so funny to let the goats eat out of their hands and tried to make sure each goat got some.
After the goats we fed the donkeys. There was one donkey that I am pretty sure was pregnant. It was HUGE. Parker even liked the donkeys. He was grabbing their hair and trying to eat it. Next to the donkeys was this little contraption where you put some pellets into a little bowl connected to a belt. Then you turn a handle to make the belt spin and take the food up to some goats at the top on a platform. Broden thought that was great!
Then we went to the bird aviary. They gave us 3 cups of nectar and we got to feed the Lorikeets. The birds flew right down and would land on our heads, arms, wherever they could to get to the food. It was awesome!
Next came the Monster Truck ride! It was really a huge truck and we rode out into the desert while our tour guide told us all about ostrich's and how they breed them, what they use them for and everything else you ever wanted to know about an ostrich. Then she told us about the desert plants and a lot about the Saguaro cactus. After the informational part she took us around a little race track thing with lots of hills and bumps and the kids thought it was the best thing ever! They laughed and laughed at all the people in the back of the truck as they flew out of their seats. Then our guide took us Ostrich fishing. We put pieces of grapefruit on a string attached to a stick and held it off a platform and let the ostrich's eat it. It was pretty funny to watch.
We left the Ostrich farm and drove to Tucson, checked into the hotel, grabbed some dinner and headed to the temple. We got there about two hours before the pageant and enjoyed eating our dinner and seeing different cast members walking around in costume. The kids got some pictures with them and also found a lady who had some tiny kittens, only 2 weeks old that she was bottle feeding.
The pageant was awesome! Remi and Broden both fell asleep and Alissa only watched some of it, but I really enjoyed it. Alissa liked the scene with the 10 virgins. They had pretty costumes and danced and held their lamps. She didn't just watch it, she danced through the whole song in her chair. She is a good little dancer.
After the Pageant we went back to the hotel. Parker was getting kind of lethargic and his breathing was pretty fast. He had also developed a fever. So when we got to the hotel Grandma gave him a breathing treatment while I got the other kids to bed. About an hour after the treatment he was still breathing really fast and he had retractions, so I called the nurse advice line in Omaha. They said take him to the ER. So we looked up the closest hospital which happened to be a Children's Hospital. Grandpa, Parker and I headed over while Grandma stayed with the kids.
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