The Butt-Scoot

18 months!

Laurie is officially 18 months old! She is growing up so quickly. Her latest skill she has mastered is the butt-scoot! I am going to post a video of her in action soon. She LOVES being able to move around. Laurie had a cardiology check up on Wednesday. Dr. Cowley heard a heart murmur this time (in March he couldn't hear one). He said that her pulmonary valve isn't really working very well - but that's to be expected because of the valvuloplasty. He told me that kids can really tolerate it for quite some time. Her chest x-rays and EKG were perfect. Dr. Cowley was amazed with how well she was doing! We'll go back in June. Laurie acts like a healthy little girl, so sometimes I forget that her heart is less than perfect. We're grateful that she's doing as well as she is.

A couple of days ago my good friend, Laurie B., came to visit me! She is from Australia and was an exchange student at my high school. She is also a reason we chose the name Laurie for our daughter. Kevin will get to go to Australia in the next few years for work - so I'm looking forward to tagging along to visit Laurie B. in Sydney!

The two Lauries!

My friend, Sarah H. and I. Sarah was my workout buddy all last year and lives in the valley. We met in college and she is one of the reasons I did so well in my 20th century music course! We sure had fun studying until 4 am in the music building. Thank heavens for yummy Chinese food!

Now that Little Laurie can sit up all by herself, she sometimes refuses to take her naps! The other day she had been crying for about 15 minutes (it's unusual for her to cry at all when I put her down for a nap or at night) so I went to go check on her. This is how I found her! She ended up getting out of her nap because she just looked so sad!

We've recently been hammered with quite a bit of snow. Haili loves to help shovel our driveway. It's one of the few times we can get her into pants, instead of the usual princess dress.

The other morning I woke up to Laurie laughing in her crib. I went in to see what was going on and saw her peeking out of her crib. It was priceless! Honestly, could she get any cuter?

Really?

Haili has been waking up at 5:00 am for the last two days. Bleh. I usually work out from 5:30 to 6:30. Then I quickly shower and get ready because the girls are usually up by about 6:30 or 7. I'm considering getting Haili an alarm clock and setting it for 7 am. My hope is that we can make a rule that Haili can't come out of her room until the alarm goes off... I'm really hoping this works! Any suggestions on handling super early risers?

Grateful

I am grateful for...

family,
health,
good books,
scriptures,
prayer,
dress-ups,
naptime,
giggles,
story time,
family home evening,
charades,
Christmas music,
my cello,
Kevin's job,
the internet,
hand sanitizer,
our car (210 K miles and still going strong!),
temples,
diversity,
sewing machines,
apple pie,
Kevin's sourdough bread,
girls' nights,
good friends,
late-night talks with Kevin,
sunshine,
snowflakes,
sledding,
mountains,
family vacations,
camping trips,
Dad's sweet and sour pork,
sushi,
soy sauce (only Kikkoman),
Christmas lights,
exercising,
spider traps,
our home,
good night kisses,
computers,
crayons,
princess coloring books...

And so much more! Most importantly I think I am grateful for life. I'm grateful that everyone in my family has good health. I'm grateful that sweet Laurie is alive and thriving. What a blessing this life is!

Winter and other happenings

It was a nice day, and then this...

You can't tell from the photo, but the snow is actually blowing horizontally. We're in for a big storm! I'm just glad I'm not driving in it...

Sorry to keep so many of you in suspense with regards to Laurie's condition. Laurie was only in the hospital for 3 days. The main reason she was hospitalized was to get her breathing under control and to get her to eat. She wasn't too happy being stuck in a hospital room...



We just got word that she was approved for synagis shots again (the RSV vaccine) and we're just waiting for the final go ahead from our insurance company. I'm really excited that she qualifies for these shots - as it will only help keep her healthy this winter.

We've officially entered "seclusion mode" in our household. Call me crazy, but it hasn't been nearly as hard as last year. Perhaps it's because we have a bit more room in our new house, or that Laurie isn't on oxygen or a feeding tube. I won't lie - last year I was depressed a lot of the time. It was very lonely and difficult! I mean - I didn't leave the house during the day unless it was to go to a doctor appointment. I ran errands in the evenings when Kevin was home to watch the girls. No one could come over. I especially appreciated all the phone calls. But even then... it was an extremely lonely and difficult time! Not so this time. Not sure why... I have a lot of projects to keep me busy, I'm getting up early to exercise, I have some fantastic friends in our new neighborhood...it feels like our family has been given a fresh start.

I have a brother who lives in town and attends the local university. James and his fiance come over every week to laundry and have dinner with us (when they are healthy, of course). It's been really fun to have them over and we look forward to it as a highlight of the week.


The other night we had a birthday celebration for Stephanie. She's a great person! All of my brother's have found EXCELLENT spouses. Seriously. They are amazing! Don't James and Steph look like a happy couple?


My youngest brother, Spencer, recently returned from an LDS mission to Thailand. The day after Spencer came home, my brother Jacob (pictured with Spencer above) was sealed to his wife in the Logan LDS Temple. It was a great weekend full of memorable experiences!

Kevin has been bitten by the cooking bug! Kev has always made us sourdough bread. Lately, he's been reading every cookbook and website on sourdough to try different recipes and techniques. His bread is DELICIOUS! He made 5 loaves of zucchini sourdough bread yesterday and today made these 3 loaves of apples sourdough bread. Yum! This morning he made us cinnamon and ginger sourdough waffles.

That's what we've been up to lately! Have you updated your blog recently?

In the hospital

Well, some of you may be wondering where I went... Unfortunately I wasn't able to meet my goal of 30 days of blogging. However, I think I have a good excuse... On Thursday evening Laurie came down with a little cough. I decided to take her in to see her pediatrician on Friday morning. She had pneumonia! We started her on an antibiotic and nebulizer breathing treatments. She was doing a lot worse on Friday night, so I took her to the ER. They did more breathing treatments and kept an eye on her for about 3 hours then let us go home. She was fine on Saturday and Sunday - but on Monday night, she took a turn for the worst. I brought her in to the ER early this morning and she was promptly admitted to the pediatric unit.

She's on an i.v. - getting steroids and antibiotics - and she's on oxygen. Laurie gets a breathing treatment every 2 hours. She's pretty tired and so is mommy. We're not sure when we'll be going home, but I'm optimistic that it will be soon!

Libraryden.com

My uncle recently started a new website: Libraryden.com. The site basically provides a way for you to catalog your books, dvds, cds, sheet music, etc. online. You can also track items loaned out (great for music teachers!), join or create book clubs, join your friends libraries and much more. I think your first 200 books/items are free. Check it out! It's a pretty awesome site from an even more awesome uncle!

Family Picture time!

Kevin's mom took these family pictures for us... enjoy!

If you think it's hard to get your kids to smile...

My 3-year-old is not fond of photo sessions.

Suckers! Grandma came prepared!

Sugar does wonders!

Date Night

Kevin and I went on a date (yay!) tonight. Kevin's mom watched the girls and told us that we could stay out as late as we wanted. That doesn't happen often for us... so we were so excited! We decided to go see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. All you HP fans know that after reading the books, the movies just don't cut it. The best part of the entire movie was Kevin trying to scare me. Whenever there was a remotely intense part - Kevin would gasp, jump in his seat, etc. just trying to get me to be scared. It had the opposite effect and we ended up laughing through a good portion of the film! We had so much fun. I love date nights with Kevin!

Normal

We just got all of Laurie's blood test results back. And the results are.... normal! Sheesh. I hate it when I worry over nothing. Now I have to decide if I really want to take her to the GI doctor. My pediatrician thinks it would be a good idea. I'm actually more inclined to think that the reason she's not gaining a whole bunch is because she was a micropreemie and she is Laurie. She doesn't go by the book. Hmmm.... I think we'll just wait and see...

A Big Bang

If you live in Utah and watch the news, you probably heard about a house that exploded today. I was in my room when all of a sudden I heard a loud "boom" and the light fixtures started to shake. At first I thought that my mom (who is visiting for a week) had fallen down the stairs. I ran down the stairs only to find my mom and Haili watching a movie. Mom hadn't heard or felt anything unusual. My next thought was that we had experienced a small earthquake. As I went back upstairs I heard several ambulances and fire engines drive down the road towards our church. I looked out the window and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising in the sky. It turns out that a house had a propane leak and exploded. No one was killed, but 2 people were injured. I'm not sure if they are in my ward, but their house is about a block from my church building. What a tragedy. I can't imagine losing everything in a matter of seconds. To view the entire story, click here http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8404288.

A big thank you for all of your great ideas and thoughts with regards to Laurie and her weight gain issue. I really do appreciate it. This morning Laurie had physical therapy and her therapist couldn't believe how well she is progressing! This was the very first session that Laurie actually wanted to play! There are so many more activities and games that we can do now to help with her development.

After physical therapy I took her to the hospital to have her blood drawn and a sweat test completed. We were there for over two hours! Let's just say Laurie has had better days. The sweat test is for cystic fibrosis. It lasted about 40 minutes. That wasn't too bad. The blood draw however... They stuck one hand and it didn't work. Two different phlebotomists tried to locate a good vein but had no luck. They finally called a NICU nurse. She found a GREAT vein... in Laurie's scalp. Yeah, poor Laurie screamed for probably 20 minutes straight as they were drawing blood. It took quite a long time, but they got everything they needed.

I just read a post by Paul Cardall that really hit home for me. If you have a moment, please visit his blog: http://mytricuspidatresia.blogspot.com/2009/10/bike-and-answers-to-prayer.html. Paul recently received a heart transplant. A few months prior to his transplant, his younger brother was tragically killed. The following is an excerpt from his blog describing his feelings with losing his brother:

"Why Brian? Why not me? I’m the sick one. He’s thriving. He’s amazing. He has plenty of time to do many many great things.” I carried this with me until the day the call came a heart had become available. In the quiet moment of night, prior to my life-threatening surgery, came the tender impression from our Father in Heaven, which said to me, “I need him.” Comfort filled the room and my body experienced a powerful sense of peace and solace. My old heart burned and felt empowered. Then I felt another impression say to me, “I need you here.”

Ever since little Laurie was born, we have seen so many precious babies lose their battle here on earth. We became such good friends with their parents. We prayed for these sweet babies with as much faith as we did with our own Laurie. But Heavenly Father had different plans for these sweet ones. I have struggled with a type of "survivor's guilt" for some time now. It's been so hard to visit or call my friends who have lost a child. I have just felt so guilty that we have Laurie when they had to say goodbye to their perfect angel. I have often asked, "Why was Laurie's life spared? Why do so many of my friends have to go through the pain of losing their baby? It's just not fair." I hadn't received an answer until today when I read Paul's post. It brought peace to my heart. Though my heart will always ache for my friends' loss...it helped me realize that God's ways are not our ways. We don't understand everything, but He does.

Help, please!

Laurie has always struggled to gain weight... She will normally only drink 4 oz. of formula at a time. It is extremely rare for her to drink more than that. Extremely rare. We had an appointment with our pediatrician today just to follow-up with her weight gain. Here's the scoop: Laurie has gained two pounds in five months. Yes - that's right. Two pounds. Five months. Well, actually I'm rounding up. It's more like 1 lb. 13 oz. Hmmm... She's not staying on her weight gain curve - which has our ped. concerned. She gets 30 cal formula and then some (I usually make them generous scoops) and she loves to eat solids. And yet, she's in a slump. Currently she weighs 15 lbs. 1/2 oz. And I had just fed her a bottle right before she was weighed! (Is that cheating?) We're taking her to get her blood drawn to check for a myriad of potential problems... We are also going to take her to a GI specialist to figure out if she has something going on in her gut. Boy... just when you think everything is going great... I hope that this is just another case of a doctor being overly concerned... I guess we'll see soon.

Has anyone ever dealt with a similar problem with their children? Any ideas on how to help Laurie gain weight? Has anyone had to go see a GI doctor because of weight gain issues? Any input would be great!

Salmon

Yesterday my future sister-in-law came over and cooked us some Alaskan salmon! She is from Alaska and when she came back to school she brought some salmon that she caught herself. Yum! She's going to send me the recipe and I'll be sure to post it on my blog. It was the best salmon I have ever had... Thanks Steph!

5 brothers and one sister

For those of you who don't know... I grew up with 5 little brothers and one older sister. My mother had 7 kids (and one miscarriage) in nine years! Bless her heart. We grew up in a small, and therefore crowded, house. While we all lived under the same roof we didn't fully appreciate having a large family. We didn't always get along. I found it annoying that I could never have a moment to myself. What would it be like to actually have a quiet house?

We all played a musical instrument. My mother was a violinist and my father did percussion. I followed in my mother's footsteps and played the cello. All my other siblings took to band instruments: flute, oboe, trombone, clarinet, french horn, baritone, and tuba! One of my favorite family musical memories is when we all performed together one of my brother's eagle court of honors. My siblings and I performed Pachabel's Canon in D. We just improvised - but it was so much fun!

My parents taught us the value of getting an education. Growing up my father would require all of us to take summer school from him every morning. He was an educator and would teach us math in our den. He'd give us homework and everything! I didn't like it much then, but looking back I know that it helped me out. And I LOVE math now! I took took calculus with Kevin when we were first married and I loved it. Thanks Dad!

My sister is now an assistant attorney general for the state of Utah. She double majored in history and english and received her law degree. I graduated in music education and taught school for a couple of years. Brother #1 is on track to graduate with degrees in mechanical engineering and biology (I think). He also probably has a few minors as well. Brother #2 is an electrical engineer. Brother #3 is majoring in business education and is a wrestling coach at a local high school. He and his wife are also getting sealed in the Logan Temple in less than a month! Brother #4 just got engaged! He is majoring in art history and is a member of the National Guard. After graduation, he'll get his masters degree to become a museum curator. Brother #5 will return home from his mission in Bangkok, Thailand next month! He's majoring in electrical engineering.

I think my parents did a great job in raising us kids. Thanks Mom and Dad! I heard a quote in church yesterday that really struck a chord:

"May our lives always be an answer to our parents' prayers."

Dang it!

I really wanted to do 30 days in a row... but alas, I missed yesterday! Kevin is on another trip and I've had company here with me since he left. A friend of mine came and stayed with me for a few days with her 4 kids. It was so much fun to have the company! My mom is currently here and is going to stay for an entire week. Tonight we are having a Mary Poppins party (Haili's idea). We're having a great time so far!

Physical Therapy

Laurie had physical therapy today. Wow - she is just progressing so quickly... it's hard to keep up! Today our therapist supported Laurie while she was in the crawling position. Laurie didn't scream or throw a fit for the very first time ever! She even was able to maintain the crawling position for a couple of seconds on her own. Wow. I didn't even see that coming! Now we have lots of pre-crawling exercises to work on along with the normal sitting up stuff. Life is great!

Sitting Up!

Laurie sat up all by herself for over two minutes today! Time to celebrate! She's been making great progress lately. She sees a physical therapist about twice a month and it really seems to be making a difference. Laurie is starting to put weight on her legs more often and is even starting to immitate walking. We're excited to see her meeting these small, yet important, milestones!

Some house pics

Here are a few pictures of our house. More to come soon!

The Living Room...

Master bedroom... red - my favorite color

The Kitchen

Thought for the day

"Never suppress a generous thought."
- Camilla Kimball

If you are sick...

I normally do not use this blog to complain... however, today I am writing one such post. Kevin decided to stay home from church because he had a pretty bad cold and wasn't feeling that great during the night. Laurie stayed home with him so she could take her morning nap and we figure that if one of us stays home, it's probably a good idea to keep Laurie home - the less she's around a lot of people, the better.

Haili and I sat behind a lady who was obviously sick. She could not stop coughing. I decided to count how many times she coughed during the service. After ONE-HUNDRED coughs (yes, you read that right!) I decided it wasn't worth it any more and decided to switch seats. I am still extremely nervous being around people who may have a contagious illness!

I know that it's difficult for parents to stay home when they are sick, especially when they have children. HOWEVER, please think about the risks involved when you do go to work, school, or church when you are sick. You are giving your illness to others! Please remember that there are people (adults and children alike) who have weakened immune systems. They can't recover as easily as the normal person. If you have to go out, consider wearing a mask... that will at least offer some protection.

In short, if you are sick... please stay home if at all possible!

There's my spill for the day. I don't mean to offend anyone - just wanted to offer some words of wisdom from a heart mommy.

Babysitting Blues

OK... so for the very first time, we hired a babysitter to watch the girls while Kevin and I went on a date! I suffered some serious anxiety the entire time. We were gone for 3 hours (to a university Indian cultural night that included dinner and dancing!) but it felt like forever. I was just so nervous. The girls did well and I survived! Kevin and I are already planning our next date...I just hope it gets easier to leave our cute girls. We won't be able to go out often because of RSV season - so we're trying to get in as many dates as we can!

Cute kiddos

Our trip to the zoo

I met a friend at the local zoo the other day and our girls had so much fun! Since Laurie is getting better at sitting up, I put her in the stroller facing forward for the first time. She LOVED being able to see all the animals. Whenever she would see any animal, she would scream and laugh! Too bad I forgot my camera... Haili's favorite were the monkeys. I have to admit, they were pretty dang cute.

Kevin informed me that he is going on another trip in the near future. Hopefully this will be his last one for a while. Bleh. However, on a good note - Kevin is changing his schedule around so that starting in a couple of weeks, he'll get Fridays off! Sweet. I'm excited for that!

Green Tomato Pie

My friend gave me this amazing pie recipe. It's delicious! Give it a try and you won't regret it, I promise!

Love Apple Pie

5 c hard green tomatoes, sliced
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch salt
2 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Choose hard green tomatoes that are very dark - no hint of yellow. Slice thinly as with apples for apple pie. Mix the slices well with the other ingredients. Place mixture in an unbaked pie crust. Cover with a top crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until lightly brown and bubbly.

We made this pie yesterday and it was a HUGE success. One of my favorites! Instead of a top crust, I tried this topping:

3/4 c butter
1 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Just spread it over the pie and bake!

Every day for a month!

Brace yourself! I am going to post daily for the next 30 days! I have really been slacking in the blogging department lately. Wish me luck.

Kevin recently returned from a 3-week business trip, his second one since he started his job at the end of May. I really can't complain, because Kevin LOVES his job and we feel blessed to have a stable income. We're just not fans of these long trips! They wanted him to stay for an entire month... thank heavens he was able to come home early! I think I would have gone crazy. Of course, I have a cousin whose husband is in the navy... when he goes "out of town" it's for months, not weeks. I honestly don't know how she does it!

Laurie is almost 16 months old! She is almost sitting up by herself. She is starting to put some weight on her legs, which is a good sign. I doubt that she'll be walking by her second birthday... but I have hope that she'll be crawling by then! I have a feeling that once she becomes mobile, there'll be no stopping her!

Haili is as cute as ever. We are going to be getting her a cello in the next month or so. She loves to sit on my lap as I play and she loves to dance to all the Suzuki Book 1 pieces. I also have a mini bow that she loves to do bow exercises with. Since we'll be in semi-seclusion this winter, we thought it would be a good idea to get Haili a cello. We'll have plenty of time to practice while we strive to keep Laurie healthy by staying home most of the time!

Here's to a hopefully uneventful RSV season!

An Overdue Update

Hello Everyone!

I know, I know. I haven't posted an update in over a month! Guilty as charged. We've had quite a busy summer. Here's what we've been up to:

1. We closed on our house on August 20th.
2. We painted our house (3 bedrooms, hallway, kitchen, and half the living room)
3. We moved in!
4. We moved OUT (and cleaned) our rental house...we're glad that's over!
5. We've packed and unpacked - I guess that technically goes along with moving, but I just had to throw that in.
6. Haili had the flu (not swine, thank goodness)
7. She gave it to me (that wasn't fun)
8. We've had 2 recent trips to Primary's for Laurie - both of which were uneventful (yay!)
9. We bought 2 koi to put in our 120 gallon fish tank in the basement. Our goal is to one day have a koi pond in our back yard - as these koi can grow to be two feet long! We named the white fish "Yoda" and the orange and white one was named "Nemo" by Haili. We bought them from Utah Koi in West Jordan. If you ever have the chance to stop by - it is the COOLEST place. This lady has this amazing pond in her back yard. You can feed the fish by hand. It's awesome.

That's basically what we've been up to the last little while. I have promised some friends that I would post pictures of the house... those will come soon! I just need to unpack the box with all of my camera equipment... wish me luck!

Our Very First ER Trip!

Well, it's official... we had to go to the ER for the very first time! Ironically, it did not involve little Laurie. This time Haili stole the show! On Tuesday night Haili was throwing a bit of a tantrum because she DID NOT want to go to bed. She was laying on the floor screaming. So I grabbed her hands and pulled her up to standing and then carried her to her bedroom. Nothing unusual. Well, she kept screaming and screaming. Finally after several minutes, I was able to calm her down and I started to read her books. Usually Haili loves to sit on my lap as I read. This time she just wanted to lay on the bed. She kept saying that she had an "owie" on her arm. Hmmmm... I tried to trick her into sitting up or at least to move that arm. No luck. When I tried to touch her arm, she would howl. My brother, James, was visiting and made her a sling. Shortly thereafter, Haili and I set off to the ER!

Haili was really a great girl through all this. I explained where we were going and she actually perked up a little. She knows that hospitals help babies and that they were going help fix her "owie". The doctor came in to examine her arm and not 30 seconds into the examination, he pulled on her left elbow and popped it into place! Haili started screaming and the doctor said he'd come back in 10-15 minutes... when she's stopped crying. Haili cried for probably about 5 minutes and then it was like an "ah-ha!" moment for her. She looked at her elbow and started to move her arm. "Mom! The doctor fixed my owie! My owie is all gone! I don't even need a band-aid!" She immediately turned into her normal, bouncy, happy self.

The doc did educate me on lifting kids by using their hands. Apparently your elbows do not fully develop until you are 4 to 5 years old. He told me it's not a good idea to ever use a child's hands to lift them up. It's also not a good idea to swing your kids using their hands. OK...I felt bad before, but now I felt even worse. It was completely my fault. But at least I've learned my lesson and I'm just grateful that they were able to fix everything quickly.

That was it. A relatively painless ER visit. One dislocated elbow and an important lesson learned by mom.

(By the way, Laurie is in the video in my last post. She shows up at about minute 6.)

Congenital Heart Disease Awareness

Please take a few minutes to watch this touching video. Little Laurie has a heart defect called Pulmonary Stenosis. At birth it was severe, but because of her surgery, it's now mild. Having a child with a heart defect has given us a new perspective on life. Many of our heart friends have inspired us with their faith and love of life. Some of the bravest people I know are these CHD children who have endured so much at such a young age. A special thanks to Paul Cardall for putting this video together and for inspiring so many of us "heart moms".

If the video doesn't work please click here
to visit's Paul's website and view the video.

8 ounces!

NEWS FLASH!

Laurie actually drank eight - yes, EIGHT - ounces of formula this morning! This has NEVER occurred before. It is normally a stretch to get her to drink a four ounce bottle. I am amazed! Just thought I'd share this fantastic news with everyone. Go Laurie!

House Pictures!

Here are some photos we took today during our outing to the house. The girls love playing there... Haili particularly loves all the dirt! Kevin finally finished the tile and he did a fantastic job, don't you think? He's relieved that he was able to finish everything before his upcoming business trip. Although I don't think he can move a muscle without experiencing some kind of pain... No pain, no gain... right?

Anniversary, Baby Blessing, and Pneumonia

Kevin and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on July 2nd! I wish I could say that we had a nice relaxing, romantic evening... but alas, it was not to be! I played with the American Festival Choir and Orchestra in a concert that night. We accompanied Maureen McGovern, Daniel Beck, and Jessie Clark Funk.

We did have a nice dinner from the Tandoori Oven that we had to eat in about 20 minutes... but it was nice, nonetheless. Kevin didn't even get to come to the concert because he was working on sanding and texturing our home! The girls spent time with my aunt in Springville. They took care of Laurie and Haili for a few days so I could go on tour to Idaho with the choir and orchestra.

On Sunday, July 5th, little Laurie was blessed! We appreciated all the family and friends who were able to come and support us. The blessing was beautiful. Get this - there were FIVE baby blessings with THREE more next Sunday because they couldn't fit them all in! Yes, we live in a young ward!


Because of all the house craziness lately: drywalling, texturing, tiling, etc. we have had the girls with several babysitters lately. Kevin has been working on the house at least 50 hours a week in addition to his full-time job. I've been putting in about 30 hours a week to help in when I can. Laurie picked up a bug somewhere and Sunday night she had, well, a REALLY bad night. I took her to the pediatrician on Monday and yes, she had pneumonia. Her oxygen saturation levels were in the 70s and would occasionally pop up to the low 80s. So back came the oxygen. She started looking a little better as soon as we put the oxygen on. She's on an antibiotic and albuterol. She is also TEETHING. Sheesh.

Laurie's doing better - but she's a pretty sick little girl. I'm just thankful that she's not bad enough to require hospitalization.

That's all of our news... I'll post pictures of the house soon!

The Best Daddy Ever!

Happy Father's Day! Kevin is really the best husband and daddy in the world. Kevin is just incredible. He can fix anything, he can make me laugh (even when I don't want to!), he has fun in any situation, he works so hard, he's great with our girls, he's much more patient than I am (with the girls... and myself), and he makes the best sourdough bread (yes, he makes bread every week!).

We just started doing our sweat equity stuff on the house. By saying "we" I really mean Kevin. He started taping on Friday evening. He didn't come home and worked ALL NIGHT! By about 8 pm on Saturday he couldn't physically do any more - so he packed up and came home. Kevin went to bed at about 10:30 pm and didn't wake up until 3 in the afternoon today! I went by the house this afternoon to check out his work and I was so impressed. Like I said, Kevin is amazing! We love you!

Happy Birthday Laurie

Today is little Laurie's first birthday! One year ago today, Laurie came into the world at a whopping 1 lb. 11 oz. I remember being terrified when they told me that they would have to do an emergency C-section. My water broke 3 weeks earlier, and I was hoping to make it as close to my September 30th due date as possible. Laurie couldn't wait.

After she was born, Kevin went with her to the U of U NICU. After they stitched me up, they wheeled me in to see her before they took her to Primary's. The NICU neonatalogist told us that he didn't think she was stable enough to transport to Primary's, even though it is just a 5 minute walk. Thankfully, after talking with the doctors at Primary's, he decided to give the OK to transport.


As they wheeled her off, I thought I was saying goodbye to my little Laurie. I honestly didn't know if I would see her again in this life. Kevin and some of our family members followed her to Primary's and waited there for the next 6 hours (until 3 am). We called all our family members and many came to the hospital. We wanted our families to be there, in case she passed away.

She pulled through that first night. I was able to see her again at about 8 the next morning. Her tummy was starting to turn purple, she was on the oscillator, she had lines and monitors everywhere, she was beautiful. All 13 inches of her was gorgeous. Being born on Father's Day, she was destined to look like her daddy. She had reddish-blonde hair and fair skin. Anyone who knows me knows why I would be excited about this, as I'm half-Japanese!



Laurie defied all the odds time and time again. Laurie has a congenital heart defect called pulmonary stenosis. At birth, her heart condition was so severe that it was decided she needed a catheter procedure to save her life. So at 9 days old, and 1 lb. 7 oz. - she went to the cath lab. She was the smallest baby ever to undergo this heart procedure at Primary Children's Medical Center. We knew the risks were incredibly great. But our only hope for little Laurie was for her to have this surgery. Dr. Gray and Dr. Cowley performed a miracle that day. I have never prayed so fervently and sincerely as I did on June 24, 2008.

We made so many lasting friendships while at the hospital. The doctors, nurses, and medical staff became some of our best friends. I met countless other parents and saw so many miracles happen. Whenever I walk into that hospital, I feel the presence of angels. I loved attending church services there. Not only because they were only 30 minutes long :) but because of the incredible spirit that was there every Sunday without fail.

Happy Birthday sweet Laurie! She is currently just over 13 lbs. She's about 24 inches long and is as cute as ever. She loves to blow raspberries and she loves to be entertained by her big sister, Haili.


We let her have a taste of her cake and ice cream... boy, did her eyes pop! Gotta love that sugar...

Angel

Today was beautiful Piper's funeral. I can recall a few times in my life when I have truly felt the presence of heavenly beings. One was at my wedding. The feeling of peace and love completely overwhelmed me on that special day. Another was when my little Laurie came into this world. I knew there were angels there, watching over her. The latest experience was this morning during Piper's funeral. Pure love was in that room. Love radiated from Steve and Teresa, their families, and all the friends who came to celebrate the beautiful life of this precious baby girl. Angels were there - I know it. I felt it! I'm sure little Piper came, too - mainly to show her love to her sweet parents.

The experience has touched me forever. Little Piper and little Laurie shared so many similar experiences. I envisioned having many reunions in the years to come as our girls grew up. How my heart aches for Steve and Teresa - especially since Piper was taken so suddenly and unexpectedly. She had endured so much. She was truly a miracle baby. Teresa is a wonderful example to me on how to accentuate the positive, how to endure with patience and faith, and how to love.

Give your children extra hugs tonight, give a little more time to your loved ones. Cherish every moment you have with those you love the most.

Sweet Piper

Today we learned that our dear friend, Piper, went to live with our Father in Heaven. She was Laurie's roommate at Primary Children's Medical Center. Kevin and I became good friends with Piper's parents, Steve and Teresa. Ironically, I was hoping to get together with Teresa and Piper this week, as we are staying with my cousins who live in the same town.

I can't imagine the heartache parents must feel when they lose a sweet child. My heart is heavy as I think about what my dear friend Teresa is going through and what so many other mothers and fathers must endure. It reminds me to love my children more. Give more kisses, take more time... love more. What faith it must take to say goodbye to a child. To be separated from those you love, even if you know you will see them again. Teresa is such a dedicated mother. Piper required so much care and sacrifice. Teresa almost lost her own life to give the gift of life to her precious daughter Piper. Please remember my friend Teresa and her family in you prayers tonight.

Laurie on Channel 5

Hello everyone! This weekend Primary Children's Medical Center is having a fundraiser telethon on KSL Channel 5. We were asked to do an interview on Saturday night that will be shown sometime between 9:00-9:30 pm.

Kevin started his new job and is enduring a week and a half of orientation meetings. I'm staying with the girls at my aunt's house to help watch my cousins while she's in China. Of course, my cousins are a BIG help with Haili and Laurie - so it really feels like they're taking care of me.

Our house is coming along. They told us to plan on closing around July 8th... I'm nervous about packing... I HATE moving. I really don't get motivated to pack until we're insanely close to the actual moving date. Perhaps seeing the house getting finished will give me that extra push to start packing...

Our House!

Who ever heard of a builder actually being on time? And who has ever heard of a builder actually running a month AHEAD of schedule???

That's what's happening with us! We met with our builder and he told us we are roughly one month from finishing the house! Our scheduled closing date wasn't until July 31st... but they are running ahead of schedule. Amazing.

This picture is about 2 weeks old. The house is completely framed up. The plumbers came today and the electrician comes next week. Sheet rock will go up at the end of next week and Kevin will start taping and texturing after that.

Little Laurie waiting patiently for us as we check out the house. What a trooper!

This retention pond is behind our property. Haili had fun throwing rocks in it. We had to drag her away kicking and screaming when it was time to go!

Kevin took me on my very first long bike ride for my birthday! We did a 24-mile loop. It was so much fun! I never thought I'd say this, but biking is actually quite addicting!

Playing for Change

Check out this video!

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Graduation, Helmet, Etc.

Am I really graduating?

Kevin and my brother, Everett

At Kevin's graduation I ran into a former cello student of mine! I started teaching Kristina cello when she was in 4th grade until last year. She graduated with her associate's degree! I'm getting old.

This is a picture taken the night after all the graduation festivities. I had to take a picture, as this is what Haili normally looks like when she finally falls asleep most nights. Before she can fall asleep, she has to have her shoes on, stuffed animals on every side, and blankets and dress-ups all around. Even if her room and bed is completely clean when we put her in bed, by morning, everything is back in utter chaos. We love you, Haili!

This is Laurie with her new helmet. The guy who made it has never had to do one quite like this before - as Laurie's head shape is quite unique. The helmet is actually in 2 pieces. This was done so that we can actually get it on Laurie's head! The normal way consists of just one piece, I suppose. Laurie doesn't like it much, but she'll have to get used to it - as she'll be wearing it for the next several months!