Ariel's hospital stay in October

Ok, so I missed out on blogging about Ariel's hospital stay this past October. Ariel spent much of October sick, and missing much school. She'd run a fever for a couple of days, and then feel a lot better and go to school. Then, she'd be sick, coughing and running a fever again. We must have been to the doctor's office 4 or 5 times that month!
We finally saw her CF doctor, and he did a lung function test on her. Her lung function was down to 76%...this is not good...generally, her lung function (even having asthma & CF) has been 97-99%. He asked if I thought she should be in the hospital...well...seeing as Don was out of town that week, and not due back until the following night, I was hopeful we could either avoid a hospital stay or post pone it a bit. He gave her a new medication and we went home. Unfortunately, the next morning she was in considerable pain every time she inhaled, and had a fever (again). I got the other 3 kids off to school and called back the CF doctor. He told us to head over to the hospital and he'd have the admissions paperwork there for us. Thus began a 7-day stay at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in South Bend (yes, South Bend is where Notre Dame University is...for those sports fans out there).
Ariel's fever was 103.4 when she had her vitals done once we got to her room. She'd lost around 10 pounds in the course of the month (huh...and why couldn't I be the one losing those?), and she was dehydrated. In goes the IV...but, she was admitted on the pediatric unit as she's under 18, so she had the BEST nurses (ones used to 'sticking' small children and not letting it hurt much) for the 1st needle pokes of this stay! Thank Heavens for small miracles!

*Ariel's IV*

*A shot she took of some of the equipment in the room.*
Before we even got settled in, they had to move her to another room due to the high number of smaller kids who were being admitted. She ended up down the hall and around the corner from Peds...in the Oncology unit (that's cancer for you non-medical people). She was put in the only open room at that time...and it was a HUGE corner room! I mean, I've been in hotel rooms that were smaller than this room! There was a great recliner for me to sleep in, and a fold-out couch as a 2nd option (it was NOT comfy, nor long enough for me!). Well, I got someone to stay at the house until Don got there from after school time, and Don stopped by the hospital on his way home after his trip. I went home twice, Don visited 2 or 3 times, and Ariel's friend, Shawn (yeah, you kind of do see his name pop up frequently along side her name in our blog here) visited her 3 times. He was the only friend who was allowed to visit as he is the only friend she has who is over age 18, and the hospital wasn't allowing visitors under 18 due to the H1N1 flu problems. Can you say, 'Boring!'?


*Recliner I covered with a sheet and used for my bed*
Anyway, it took 2 or 3 days before Ariel started to feel better. We were so incredibly touched to find out that the Young Women in our Ward held a special fast for Ariel the Sunday after she was admitted (she went in on the 30th, and missed out on Halloween!). Coincidentally enough, it was Sunday that she began to take a turn for the better. When she was discharged, her lung function was about 94%, but it was good enough, and she'd been improving enough, that the doctor said she could go home.
She got to go home on the 1st day of the school play, but she did not attend that evening. It was kind of rough because she had a small speaking part in the school play before she went into the hospital. She missed a lot of practices, but the director was SO great about trying so hard to keep her in the play. It was very sweet of him. However, the hospital stay finally fixed it that she just wouldn't be able to do it. So, on the last night of the play (before she even went back to school), I took Ariel in to be with the cast (we took cookies for them too) before and during the performance. They were all SO sweet about welcoming her back and wishing her well!
It took a full week for Ariel to work up the stamina to stay for a full day of school, but she did a great job trying to get caught up on the work and back into the swing of things. Her attendance record, when she returned to school, was 56% attendance. I don't think she's missed a day since!

*Self-portrait in the hospital*

*Flowers from mom & dad and from Don's office*
Now that she has medications that were actually meant for Cystic Fibrosis patients, she's doing very well. I drive her to and from school simply to avoid the school bus atmosphere & germs. I can't imagine that the drivers have the time (nor desire, I know I wouldn't!) to disinfect the buses between every run, and kids come to/go home from school sick more often than I care to think about.
All is well now, and Ariel landed a supporting part (ok, chorus) in the Spring Musical!! I think they are a bit 'gun-shy' about giving her anything too big right now for fear she'll get sick over the winter. We're hoping we can prove that theory wrong so that she can take on more next year! Now...just to keep the rest of the house from getting sick and thus getting Ariel sick again! (as I type this, I'm listening to DJ coughing too much in his bed tonight...Clorox wipes anyone!?)

Cub Day Camp for DJ

Ok, so I had the toughest time dealing with the fact that DJ was actually old enough for Cub Day Camp this year! Granted, if you join Cub Scouts outside of our Church, you start around age 6 (I think), but within our Church, you start at age 8 (DJ actually went the week before his birthday since it was so close, and there were other boys who were in his grade going from our Ward...besides, he's sort of taller than the average 9 year old at this point anyway!).
I stayed at camp one day as a 'walker' for our group. They were a really good group of kids, and I had a lot of fun...not nearly as much fun as they had though! It was a 'Wild West' theme, and some of the activities were just wonderful!
1st photo: DJ ready to go (and wondering why we're wasting time taking pictures!).
2nd photo: Trying out the lasso he just made from the rope he made (read, twisted bailing twine) at one of the stations. The boys had tons of fun with this activity and we rarely had to tell them not to lasso each other even!

3rd photo: they had an archery range that DJ really loved (I missed most of this one as it was the closest station to a 'real' bathroom, and I took advantage!). They each got 2 turns with 4 or 5 arrows, he did pretty well, for it being the 1st time he's even held a bow & arrow!

4th & 5th photos: Then, they had the 'bucking bronco' station. If I knew how to upload video here, I'd put up one that I got of DJ! He rode like a pro, and took some of the harshest 'bucking' the leaders dealt out to our group! After 4 or 5 turns each, DJ finally landed on his face, and ended up with a slight bloody nose and some scratches on his face...he took it like a pro! I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of the entire week! I don't think having to leave early and go to his friend's house for me to pick him up due to a tornado watch was any more exciting! That storm was pretty scary looking, let me tell you! Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing more than a really nasty thunder/lightening storm.

He can't wait to do this again next year! Maybe I'll be 'better' about him going off all day long all week long next year!

Back To School, 2009

Ok, so things aren't going to be chronological much for a while, but I'm trying to get some pictures and basic info in here before I forget what happened this past year!

Back to school: Ariel's a Junior now (can you even believe it!), Tori's a Freshman (again...yikes!), DJ's in 3rd grade and Jr's in 1st grade. They grow up SO incredibly fast! Just looking at these pictures makes me realize how much Tori's hair has grown out, and that Jr's hair has been cut since this picture (and is growing out again...she's decided, again, that she wants it long).

The 1st picture of DJ & Jr is my favorite one for over-all photogenic qualities, but the 2nd one is a better picture of Jr as far as 'seeing' her.

Now, my 'fashionable' teens had to be slightly more creative in their posing, so you'll see more personality in these pictures.

Here's hoping I get more things posted on my blog with the coming year. I'm not making it a 'New Year's Resolution', as I've yet to keep one of those for more than a month or two. I'm just trying to put it more in the fore-front of my mind in my list of organizing my time.

An attempt to get back into the swing of blogging

Ok, so I'm not very good at this blogging thing, but at least I've come back to it for all to check out!

Last year, during the summer (this is 2008), Don got in touch with the mother of a child he fathered many years ago. He never expected to hear from this girl again as he knows he was not at a point in his life where he could have made a go at being a husband/father, and apparently the girl knew it too. Don saw the baby girl a few days after she was born, but never again. Over the years, we've both wondered about this baby girl, and Don had done some searching on the internet but was unable to find anything. Anyway...contact was made and this 'little girl' found out that her biological father was in touch with her mom. For all the awkwardness you can imagine in the beginning of e-mailing, things went really well. Jodi (the 'little girl' who, by the way, was 20 by the time Don was in contact) is an incredible young woman! Her mom did such a wonderful job raising her! Don was very grateful to find out that there were no hard feelings over how things ended, and that Jodi was very interested in knowing about her biological father and his family. We all enjoyed a wonderful week + visit in April with Jodi. She really seems to fit right in with our 4 kids (even has the freckles like DJ!). Ariel & Tori have had a great time texting with her and getting to know her. As it's been about 18 months since 'introductions' were made, contact is much easier and fun. We are planning a get-together every year with Jodi, as her schedule with work and school will allow.

Some pictures from our trip to Chicago's Lincoln Zoo, Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Natural Hisotry.

We thought some activities that didn't require constant conversation, or sitting around 'staring' at each other would help break the ice a bit...we had a great time!

Cross your fingers now, and I might get another post up before the end of the year!

PROM 2009

The long awaited, highly anticipated, repeatedly requested PROM pictures!


 

                                Ok, this is my favorite of them all.
 

Ariel with mom & dad.              Shawn with mom & dad.

And, perhaps the BEST prom picture in the history of prom pictures...

Ariel's 'Prom Escort'!

For those of you not aware, Ariel is not yet 16 (almost 2 months to go), and therefore is not allowed to go out on 'dates'. However, Ariel was THE one that Shawn wanted to take to his Jr. Prom (he's 17, dating isn't an issue for him). So, to make it as 'un-date-like' as we could, Don and I joined them...in a sense. We took them to Steak & Shake for dinner (one of their favorite places to eat, and not the typical 'prom dinner' place, trust me), and then they followed us over to where the prom was being held. Don and I took the motorcycle as the weather was SO beautiful! We went to the bookstore, and then sat down to have something to eat and read until prom was over...then we went back over and they followed us back to the house. Ariel has expressed more than once, in more than one way, and in perhaps more than one octive, that this was the BEST night of her WHOLE LIFE!! Too bad we don't have pictures from other kids at the prom! If I get my hands on some, I'll be sure to post them (also, we are exchanging pics with Shawn's parents, and I still have to get the pics off of Ariel & Tori's cameras).

Jr's 6th B-day

March 24, 2009: Jr turns 6 years old! We just had some family members over for cake and ice cream as it's not one of our 'big' birthday years (8, 10, 12 & 16 get 'big' parties around here). I made a small castle cake that Jr loved (not my very best work, but pretty ok). I actually bought store-made cupcakes to take in for her class at school...they were a HUGE hit! 

Can you even believe how big she's getting!?

 

Oh wow!

Hey there! WOW! I hadn't realized how much I've neglected my blogging! I doubt I'll be able to 'catch up' everything, but I'll try to hit some highlights from the first 4 months of 2009 at least!

In January (that IS the beginning of the year after all), Don took a trip to Utah on his own. This trip kind of started last summer when he began e-mailing his daughter from a previous relationship for the first time. Her name is Jodi, and she's 21 years old. Don and Jodi had never met, or been in contact before, so this was a huge thing. Don went out for a few days and spent some time getting to know her, and helping his mom out as well. 

February was Don's 40th birthday, so I put together a small party. We had some friends over, and I made a power point presentation (my very first one ever!) to 'document' his life for the past 40 years. Here are a few of the slides:

 

 

His BIG gift this year was a 1989 Goldwing Motorcycle (ok, so it's not exactly 'from me', but it still counts that I was on board for it!). It came with a matching trailer, and it's SO nice! We both really enjoy it, and the kids get a kick out of occasional rides (it hasn't been 'motorcycle weather' very much so far this year). Here are some pictures:

 

In February, there was a Stake Youth Valentine's dance, and it was a formal dance. This was Tori's very first formal dance (and only her 2nd dance since turning 14!). Here are some pics:

  What a lucky guy, huh? 3 beautiful girls to take to a dance! From left to right: Tori, Ariel, Shawn and Katie.

In March, we celebrated our 17th anniversary (hard to believe it's been that long, doesn't seem so!). Then, we celebrated Jr turning 6! My little baby girl is SIX!! How fast they grow up, it's absolutely amazing. This is Jr on the 100th day of school. The kids were suppose to dress up as though they were 100 years old (I thought she was TOTALLY cute!).

 

April was rather busy with some business trips for Don, and Spring trying to make it's way here (snow in April is NOT my idea of a 'happy Spring' surprise!). 

We are now looking forward to next week because Jodi is coming out here to visit the entire family and meet everyone. We're planning some fun family activities while she's here ('cuz it's kind of awkward sitting around the house and staring at each other all day...gets very boring (anybody know the movie reference there?). 

At the beginning of June (after school is out for the summer), Don and I are going to drive the Banta's truck out to Utah for them as they are moving there at the end of May. It will be sad to see them go, and we wish them the very best of luck! We'll be loading the motorcycle into the truck so that we have transportation back home, and we plan to enjoy our first 'road trip' on the motorcycle! With any luck, we'll see old friends and family in Utah (we'll only be there for about 24-36 hours!), and stop in Colorado to see Leslie and her family. We'll do some site seeing along the way, and camp out to save on hotels (please, everyone, pray for no rain!!). 

I'll really try harder to be better at my blogging, I promise!