Counting Our Blessings

Yesterday we had a "Last Day of School" celebration for Kevin. He took his last final yesterday afternoon! His graduation is tomorrow and I am so proud of my hubby. He's worked harder than hard to earn his degree. He did not do well in school as a boy and he even had a high school math teacher who wrote him off as a "lost cause". Kevin has taken over 13 math courses in his college career - including, but not limited to: calculus 1 &2, linear algebra and differential equations, and multivariable calculus! He also found out that his senior electrical engineering project was a finalist in the school's design competition!

Kevin and I have also been on a wellness journey this past semester. We decided to get with it and start exercising a whole lot more and eating healthy choices. Kevin has reached his weight loss goal this semester... He has lost exactly 40 lbs.! I have lost 28 lbs. We feel great and we are both training to do a sprint triathlon this summer. Here are some before and after photos...

Christmas 2008

April 30, 2009

Halloween 2008

April 30, 2009

One of my "bed rest buddies" that I met while on bed rest after my water broke is in need of prayers this weekend. One of her twin baby girls is a heart baby and has an important echocardiogram coming up next week. The results will determine if she is well enough to be a candidate for a life-saving surgery she needs. Please visit her blog at: http://splatninjamom.blogspot.com/.

Kevin had a horrible morning. This afternoon from 1-4 pm, all the senior electrical engineering students are presenting their senior projects in front of judges, professors, and peers. 2 days ago, Kevin had been testing his solar electrolysis tracking system, when the analog chip (a really important part that makes the whole motor work) fried. He ordered another chip and it came yesterday. When Kevin and my brother (who is Kevin's partner in the project) got ready to put everything together to take up to the university, they realized that Texas Instruments had sent the WRONG CHIP!

This is a pictures of the circuit board they designed... the chip is part of this somehow...



We spent all morning frantically calling every engineering, automation and controls systems, robotics, and electronics company within a 2 hour radius and NO ONE had this specific chip they needed for their project. Kevin has been devastated. One of their professors had said that their project was one of the best he'd seen.

They still went to the presentation. Luckily, they do have video footage of their project working. They are just bummed that they will not be able to show their project after the COUNTLESS hours of working and planning. I'm taking Haili to go see all the senior projects in just a couple of minutes. She's excited to see Daddy's school!

We love you, Kevin!

Whew

Yesterday was quite the day... Laurie and I spent about 5 hours at the hospital. However, we are pleased to report only good news! The extra-axial fluid in Laurie's head is benign! Basically it's just extra fluid outside the brain that isn't causing any problems or damage. Dr. Walker (the neurosurgeon) said that it is common in preemies and it should resolve itself by the time she's 18 months to 2 years old. The extra fluid also causes a 2-month developmental delay. We don't mind that at all. Dr. Walker said that by the time she's 2 she should have a normal sized forehead and should be caught up developmentally from a neurology standpoint.

Because all is well with her brain, we are starting the process to get her a helmet to help her plagiocephaly. She currently has a prominent flat spot on the back of her head. She'll wear a helmet for a few months that will help shape her head into a normal head shape.

Driving home yesterday was like walking into a winter wonderland! It was POURING rain for the first hour drive and then once I entered the canyon, it was a blizzard! Spring, hurry up - PLEASE!

My Cute Girls!

I think I have the cutest daughters in the world! This is our Easter girls picture. Aren't they adorable?


Last Tuesday was beautiful weather. To celebrate, Haili and I went outside and played during Laurie's nap. We played outside again right before dinner. Afterward, as I was making dinner, Haili fell asleep on the couch! She NEVER does that... I just had to take a picture!

Tomorrow is the big neurosurgery appointment... We're crossing our fingers that Laurie won't need a shunt. I'll post an update when we find out what's happening!

Adoption is Love - PLEASE READ!

This post is dedicated to the best friend I had growing up, Amy. We lived across the street from each other since we were born until we grew up and moved away for school. She is one of those golden people, of which you only meet a handful during your lifetime. We had so many wonderful adventures while growing up. I won't name them, as I am sworn to absolute secrecy... but every day was exciting and crazy with my best friend Amy!


Amy and her husband Steve have been trying to have children for years. They have recently decided to become parents through adoption. When you have a moment, please go to their website: Adoption is Love


Many times someone who knows the couple is able to connect them with a birth parent who would like to place their baby for adoption. I'm trying to help spread the word for my dear friend. If you know of anyone who is considering placing their baby for adoption, please remember Amy and Steve. Also, please help spread the word (either on your blog or by keeping a watch out). If you would like to get in contact with Amy and Steve, you can go to their blog or contact me and I can get you their information. Thanks so much for your help!

Lots of news!

We have a lot going on in our neck of the woods. But before we get the all the details, enjoy these cute pictures of our girls!

Little Laurie is all smiles these days. In just the last couple of weeks, she has increased her physical strength in leaps and bounds! She can hold her head up straight and she is even putting weight on her legs when you hold her upright.

Our bedtime ritual of reading stories on Haili's bed. Laurie loves to look at the books with us.

Haili loves to sit and play the piano and sing. She will do this for a solid half hour at a time - which I think is pretty amazing for a 2 1/2 year old. She will play a note on the piano and then match the pitch with her voice... she's even managed to hit a high G!

Since Laurie has been put on Miralax, she has tolerated solids much better. She loves her oatmeal and is sleeping better at nights because of her yummy oatmeal dinners!

Now for the news:

One of the perks of not posting often is that when I do finally write a new post, there is a lot to tell! First off, Kevin will be graduating on May 2^nd! We are extremely excited for him to be getting his electrical engineering degree. He’s worked incredibly hard and we’re so proud of him. We also feel blessed that Kevin has a job lined up after graduation. He’ll start work about 3 weeks after he graduates. We feel fortunate that he was able to find a job so quickly given the difficult employment situation that so many are currently facing.

Right after Laurie was born, she was extremely sick. Not only was she 16 weeks premature, but her severe pulmonary stenosis made her situation even more bleak. We were told several times that she wouldn’t make it and before they took her to the children’s hospital they wheeled me into the room so that I could tell her "goodbye". Kevin overheard some of the nurses saying that there was no way Laurie would survive. When she had her valvuloplasty procedure done on her pulmonary valve, the odds were not in little Laurie’s favor – as the smallest baby they had ever performed it on was over 3 lbs. and Laurie was only 1 lb. 7 oz.

During the course of our 3 month hospital stay last summer, I asked Kevin several times if we should bless and name little Laurie at the hospital. Kevin has unwavering faith. I admire him so much for it! He kept telling me that Laurie would be coming home and she would be OK. We didn’t bless her at the hospital and we decided we wanted to wait until our family and friends could be there to share this occasion with her.

We are planning on blessing her on Sunday, June 7^th. This could change, however, depending on if the neurosurgeon wants to put in a shunt to drain the excess fluid in her brain. We’ll keep you posted.

Our other big news…we are building a house! Yikes! Yes, it’s true. With all the recent government incentives on purchasing a home ($8000 from the federal government and $6000 if you buy a new home) we have been seriously considering buying a home for a while. We came across a builder here in town who is willing to give us the home at a GREAT price and will let us do some sweat equity! Kevin is going to be taping and texturing, painting, and tiling. We can use the equity to either lower the purchase price of the home or get upgrades. It was too good of a deal to pass up, so we put in an offer and he accepted! The home is 2800 square feet and on a third of an acre. It’s here in the valley, so Kevin’s planning to take the vanpool to work every day – which is about a 45-50 minute commute. The great part is that it doesn’t cost anything and he doesn’t have to drive it! They should start construction within a week – as long as the weather cooperates. The home should be done by the end of July if everything goes as planned!

That is our family news! Hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks again for all your continued love and support!

Haili got a new "do"! We took her to Dollar Cuts on Monday morning... it was mainly out of my frustration, as she REFUSED to let me even brush her hair out. I decided she needed a hairdo (is that how you spell it?) that didn't require a lot of brushing and pulling. Haili did pretty well during the haircut, all things considered. Here's a pic of her new "do" (she wasn't really happy to be getting her picture taken - sorry!)

Kevin also broke his glasses in his badmitton class on Monday. His new glasses wouldn't be ready until this afternoon and he's pretty much blind without them. So yes, he used ductape to fix them!


Laurie's MRI was on Friday and basically it came back as abnormal. Her ventricles are enlarged and it did appear that there is extra fluid as well. However, there isn't an increased pressure from the extra fluid. I'm pretty frustrated that we can't get in to see a neurosurgeon for 3 weeks (that was the soonest they could "squeeze" us in). Laurie will need a helmet (for her head shape) but only after the neurologist says that it's safe for her brain. So in a nut shell, there is something going on in her brain... but we won't know for 3 weeks what the game plan is. AHHH! I hate waiting. But better late than never, I suppose!