Happy Holidays!!!

Ok so it has been a while since I last wrote which I am kicking myself for that reason right now. It has been a whirl wind of a holiday season for our family.

First Nikole found some Christmas presents that were from "Santa" and got in big trouble. Next Rhett and Nikole found more "Santa" presents! Ok so we did a terrible job this Christmas hiding gifts but heck you would never see them if you weren't looking!!!

But Christmas day was just awesome! I reminded the kids that the reason we celebrate Christmas is to remember what the Savior Jesus did for us. And they knew exactly what I was talking about! :) Made me so proud!! I told that that we should be very grateful for everything that we have and remember to tell the Lord everyday. You know what it works, so far every day they are saying "Thank you" in their prayers more then they were before.

On Christmas Eve I had to take Dylan to get his Synagis for RSV and while I was there I took Rhett in and he ended up getting 2 breathing treatments and then a stress that we really need to see an allergy doctor that we are seeing on the 31st. Oh the joys!! My poor boys, Dylan gets 2 shots one in each leg and Rhett gets 2 breathing treatments and to top it all off is the fact that we were at the doctors for 2 HOURS!!! Holy cow that is way long!! Now Rhett is on Drugs out the nose and I am not sure if I am going to be sending him back to school even after the break if his breathing doesn't get better I might just have to keep him home. :( The reason for that would be because his portable concentrator only puts out 3 liters at a time and at home he is on 5 liters. But when I took him to the doctors on the 24th he was sating at 92%-93% on 3 liters!!! That is so bad it isn't even funny! He really hates it when doctors say take a deep breath. He looks at me like what do they think I am doing? Hello can't you see me breathing? LOL! He cracks me up! Then they get all crazy because he isn't breathing like he should be, well duh his lungs are really really really small! He tells me all the time that the breathing treatment don't help and that the oral steroids don't help and that the inhaled steroids don't help. Well then little boy what does help? He isn't sure... He hate the fact that he has to stay inside most of the time. He hate that his oxygen hose gets caught on everything and everyone. It is making him crazy! I wish I had a place for them to play that wouldn't be a danger to their health. He wants to play with Sara outside like Nikole but knows that he can't. Sara is too strong for him and pulls him down when he is holding her collar. Meet Sara!



He loves her so much that one day before she had gotten over her separation from her family he tried to comfort her by sleeping next to her crate.





She is under that blanket in her crate. I found if I cover her she doesn't bark too much unless she really really has to go outside. LOL She is a true girl and won't go the the bathroom outside unless she has a friend to hold her hand. :) Silly dog. I just hope we can keep her, my kids love her but Rhett might be allergic to her and Nikole's cat Rosa. Nikole loves both of these animals so very much and will be so hurt if we had to get rid of them, but the doctor thinks that he is allergic to the cat for sure and that is why he is having a hard time breathing.

This is how much she loves Rosa. This is the day that she got her for her birthday almost a year ago!



This is how much she loves Sara.



Picture of Nikole and Sara after they finished running around the backyard the 2nd day or 3rd day that we had Sara.



What would happen if we had to get rid of either of these animals? :( I would be so sad for Nikole's sake. The kids are working so hard to make sure the house is clean enough that they can play with Sara in the house since she is still a puppy and looks for food all over the place.

Gavin is having mood swing after mood swing but that has been so normal for him I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. He has missed a week of school and can't wait to start again. Oh crap I need to help him with poster that he has to do for school! Oh man I totally forgot! I guess I better get on that with him Wednesday since tomorrow is booked solid.

Dylan is just loving life and learning to run and dance and throw fits that are HUGE!!! I had to put him in his crib while me and my husband made dinner because he wouldn't stop screaming and wanting to be held, and since we were both cooking over hot items neither one of us could hold him but when I picked him up he kept hitting me over and over. Can we say lack of communication! That kids has got to start signing soon before it kills me! LOL! It gets very frustrating when no one understands what he is asking for and what he wants. He is such a cutie and I have a great picture to prove it.



Look at his golden locks! He is such a cutie!! I will have to post more pictures now that he has had his hair cut.



The funny face that he is trying to show me! What a sweetheart! Love him learning!

I love my kids! They are the world to me! I would do anything I could think of to help them if it was in their best interest. I will try ot post more pictures tomorrow.

WOW less than 1 month!

Dylan turns 2 in ONE MONTH EXACTLY!!!! How time flies! I feel like all my emotions are going crazy! I am jumping from one thing to another...

Rhett gave me a huge stress factor last night. He has been telling me that he doesn't feel good but couldn't tell me what was bothering him other than a headache. I told him to go to bed and it was like me telling him over and over again. He keeps telling me that he couldn't sleep. Yeah how many kids say they can't sleep in the month of December? lol Well between me and my husband we kept telling him that he needed to go to bed and put on his by-pap. Well he finally did and went to sleep. (On a side note a little about his by-pap it is a full mask that puts about 4 to 8 liters of air into his airway to keep it open. There is a little adapter that his oxygen is able to connect to that way he is never with out his oxygen. At this time he is on 1.5 to 1.75 liters of oxygen.) Well he slept most of the night and I was getting things done like my laundry. lol Well around 2:30am he came out of his room and told me that he was hot, well after feeling his head his belly and his arms I came to the conclusion that he was cool to the touch meaning he didn't have a fever. So I sent him back to bed and and told him to put his by-pap back on and so he did. As I was sitting here trying to figure out why he was not feeling good I decided to check his sats and found out that with his by-pap on and the oxygen his sats were at 92 and dropping. His heart rate was 130! Holy heck what is going on with his little boy?!?! Ok since his sats were dropping rather quickly I decide that I would raise his oxygen. I turned it from 1.5/1.75 liters to 5 liters, and for anyone that doesn't know that is A LOT of oxygen. So he was wearing his by-pap(blowing 4 to 8 liters) and his oxygen(blowing 5 liters). I am sure you can do that math but heck if you can't I will just inform you that that is so much air and oxygen that he was basically breathing straight oxygen. Ok so after I run back to check his machine and he was slowly starting to bring his sats up. After about 15 minutes his sats started to stabilize at 96! WHAT!! 96!! That is so not high enough since he is breathing that much oxygen. CRAP!! His heart rate was still quite high at 119. OK so a normal heart rate would be between 80 and 90, and an infant heart rate is 130. lol At least it has come down a little. I sat there thinking about everything that had happened in that 45 minutes, and almost broke down. How I wish I could cry and get something out of my system, but no if I do that then I am not sure if I could stop crying. I was sitting there thinking that if he dropped again I would have to call 911 since there is nothing more that I could do. I had to prop up his bed and everything. Finally he slept and was sating at 97 and his heart rate was finally at 87!!! YEAH!!! No 911 call unless he bottomed out again. I tried to get tired but all that adrenalin was still racing through my body and it took a while for it to all get out. I wasn't able to sleep until almost 4am! Oh man I have to get up at 6 to get everyone ready for the day. :( This really sucks! Well Nikole woke me up at 8 am that is the time school starts!! Oh crap!! Well since my husband didn't have to work, of course he didn't get up until he wanted to. So I threw a coat on and my boots and luck for me Nikole was already dressed so I raced her to school and then came back home to get all the other boys ready for the day. I told Rhett that there was no way he was going to school today because of his oxygen issues. He really didn't want to miss today just because it was a Christmas party day. Oh well health first! I called the doctors office right before the doctor would be there and let the nurse know what had happened and asked her to relay to the doctor everything that way they could tell me what he wanted me to do. Well the doctor told me that I needed to come in today and have Rhett checked out. Ok well I wasn't going to make an appointment and then wait all day that would be dumb! So I just took him about a hour after they called me and told me to bring him in, they just worked him in. LOL It is great having my kids because most of the time I can usually just walk in and they will work my kids in since the boys need to be seen when they need to been seen. Well he sounded fine according to the doctor and so he wanted to take an x-ray and that came out crystal clear. FINALLY!! The doctor is understanding that the PFT says that his lungs haven't grown in 3 years, and he is finally getting the info and realizing that not all of Rhett's breathing problems are asthma. YEAH!! I have been praying that someone would come out of denial soon, because I hate being the only one not in denial. Well he said that he would contact the pulmonologist and the cardiologist and have to have a meeting with all of them in the same room to determine what needs to be done for Rhett and the best things for him. Oh the drama!!! Now that doctor wants me to keep giving him breathing treatments even though Rhett looked at me this morning and said "You know mom, this doesn't help." surprise that he knows his body and knows that he is not having asthma problems. As always he and Dylan are medical mysteries.

Well Nikole went to school and had to sit out on fun Friday since she didn't behave very well the day before. She was not happy and told me she had a very bad day. Well of course you did but who's fault is that? lol She needs to learn to behave in class at all times, not just when she wants to. She has been crying often recently because kids in her class have been calling her names and making fun of her. Oh this is making me so mad! But when I talk to the teacher she told me that she would keep an eye on things and try to help remedy the problem but one thing is that Nikole still acts different and so the kids make fun of her. So I am trying to teach her that she has to change her actions that way the kids won't make fun of her for that reason. I feel bad and I wish there was more I can do to help her more. If things don't get better I just might go in an tell these kids that they had better knock it off. I can only take so much and I know that Nikole is going through a lot having to deal with things of this nature on a kid scale and I know that there are no other kids at that school having to deal with anything like what my family is going through. Thing have got to be so hard on Nikole, Rhett is like her best play mate ever!! I have pictures of them playing together and being the best siblings to each other. Before we moved into our house we lived at a duplex where there were no other kids to play with so they only had each other. Here is one that I love and will treasure forever!



They were watching Claymation Christmas, and enjoying each other. I really hope that she will be ok and I pray every day for my little girl, she is so very special to me! I am crying as I write because I know that she is having a hard time and there is NOTHING I can do to help her. :( Her and Rhett have almost always been buddies, through good times and bad. I love you Nikole!!

Gavin refused to take his antibiotics and hadn't completely recovered from strep so he didn't even go to school this whole week. Man how I wanted to just send him, but I was a good parent and kept him home when he was feeling sick, so that way no one else got sick. But he will be going back starting in January. He can't be sick for too much longer. lol I some times think that he wants to be but after staying home being bored he misses school, guess that shows him. :)

Dylan is a walking machine, and getting better everyday. Recently he has tried to run. LOL!! He is just so dang cute! I love the fact that he is so small and can be wearing about 6 month cloths and be walking around in them, it makes him look so cute since baby clothes are way cute anyway. He has also given a shot to jumping, that is so funny because he will move his body up but his feet stay planted on the floor. He will do it again and again because I think he thinks he is actually jumping and it is so funny to watch. We are still trying to get him to communicate with us and it can be so very hard at times. I sure hope he starts picking it up soon. It would be nice to be able to talk to him and have him talk to us. :)

As for myself and my husband we are still doing everything we can for our kids. Working on stuff here and there. Trying to figure out things before too late. Just living from day to day not knowing anything and that really sucks. It would be nice to not be the only one facing what we are facing head on but maybe this is the only way that he can keep going. I hope that he will be able to face it and know that it hurts but also know that the Lord is very aware of what is going on and will provide comfort when called upon.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays!! Don't forget the reason for the season.

What a weekend!

Well all things considering it has been a pretty crazy weekend. Let's see where to start...? Well Jaren's uncle passed away on the 4th and the funeral was on the 12th. well because our car is trying really hard to kill over we couldn't all go. Jaren got a ride with his parents and brother down to St. George and the kids and I stayed home. It went well and he came back home Saturday night.

While he was away we had a blast!

First the kids well Rhett and Nikole went to school while Gavin and Dylan was home with me. I had talked to a friend of mine to see if it would be ok to bring Rhett up to the pool he is in charge of to work on getting his Aquanaut for scouts. He told me that it would be great if we came up so we did that as soon as they were out of school. We got up there about 1:50pm and then we worked on that until about 3:00 and during that time one of my friends called me and told me that she had a surprise for my kids and I needed to drive to 2 different address one in West Point and one in Payson and it had to be that day. Well ok so I decided I would do that even though I told my parents that we would be going to their ward Christmas party. when I was headed to the first address the kids were doing great in the car! well we arrived to pick up the first item and it turned out to be a dog crate! Oh my the kids were getting excited. Well we were in Layton when my dad called and told me that they ran out of food at the Christmas party. Oh well then I find out that my sister's kids are sick and they are staying at my parents house over night Friday, so I was grateful that we didn't go. Well then we stopped home to use the bathroom and head to Payson. We got down to Payson before 8 pm and found the house. The kids were great with all the driving that we had done that day! Well what I found out was that my friend got us a cute little yellow lab puppy. When I say puppy I mean puppy. She is really small, but I know she will grow, like the kids they grow too. the kids have named her Sara.



The kids are loving her and they are helping keep the house clean and helping potty train her and make sure he is getting so much love. Nikole's cat is unsure, but is getting out a little more than when we first brought her home. So we did all that Friday. What a day that was! Ok then Saturday we needed to run somethings up to my parents house and we did that and then we went out to the Angel Hands Foundation Christmas party where we were there most of the day. The kids met Santa and had pizza and drinks and then Santa being such a great guy gave all the kids a HUGE candy bar. Can we talk about sugar rush? lol Oh well. The kids rode rides, played golf, and then we went to a movie. We saw The Princess and the Frog, it is a cute movie and the kids of course loved it. :) When we got done with that it was about 5 pm and non of the kids had had a nap so even before we got close to the road home I had 2 of them asleep. When we got home the kids were all getting ready for bed except for the 2 that were asleep and then Jaren came home. Then around 10 pm everyone was so tired that we all just went to bed. That was our running weekend. LOL We got so much done while Jaren was gone that it just makes me laugh. The kids are so proud of themselves. I love the kids so very much they are such great kids!!!

The week is over!

Yeah the week is over! I know most people would be so sad about that but for me I am way happy, I am not sure why at the moment but it will come to me I just know it. Oh yeah now I know!!! The stress of this week is over and a new week is going to start. Oh drat does that mean new stresses??? I sure hope not, I can only take so much! Well to start this last week off Dylan had a double ear infection and was just really clinging. The same day I was taking Dylan in to see the doctor which was I think Wednesday(I so can't remember since the Festival of Trees was this week) Gavin slept the whole day through Pre-K. I was lucky enough to be able to be taking Dylan in after I had picked up Gavin. Well we get there and Gavin throws up on the chair in the waiting room. Wasn't expecting that since he was acting healthy all morning while I saw him. So we were taken straight to a room since they didn't want anyone else getting what ever Gavin had. Turns out Gavin had a stomach bug that lasted all day and the next day it was Rhett's turn to have the stomach bug, but his didn't start until that night which would have been Thursday night. Rhett's lasted until Friday since he still wasn't eating much. Friday morning came and my throat hurt so bad I couldn't swallow! What the heck! Can't I get a break? I went to the doctor with all the boys since they were all home. Tested for strep, don't have the results yet but treating it like it is strep. The doctor thinks I might have caught it from Dylan's infection. Holy cow little boy cover you mouth when you cough and try to blow your nose instead of wiping it on mommy. LOL like I could get him to do that. Picked up Nikole as soon as I was finished at the doctor. Then we had to take a family trip to the school district to pay for pre-k and to talk with the person over special ed. Finally when we got him I was so happy since I couldn't even see straight. I asked Nikole to help Gavin make some food since I was getting close to blacking out. Not fun that is actually very scary! I feed Dylan some pears since I knew he would be able to eat them and not choke on them and I went to the couch since I was expecting Jaren at any time since he did tell me that he could come home early that day. Well 6 pm rolls around and he finally gets home. I was in and out of consciousness. As soon as he got home I took some meds then went to bed and prayed that he would take care of the kids. I didn't wake up until almost 10 pm then I tried to choke down some pears and more meds and went to bed for the night. Wow I haven't been that sick in a long time!! I am still recovering, my throat is still sore and it hurts to eat, drink, talk, swallow of any sort and yet I am up cleaning my house until I get dizzy enough that I might pass out that is when I lay down. But I figure if I don't do it who will? Let's just say that today and yesterday was like crap all rolled into one. Oh wait as I look at the clock and see that it isn't Saturday any more I guess to was Friday and Saturday if you need me to put it like that. I should really be sleeping but man what I wouldn't give in order to relax. When my house is in ruin it make it so my body and mind cannot rest so sleep does not come easy. I guess that is why I am still awake. May today be a much better day!

Festival of Trees

Wow! The tree is up and auction night is over. What a busy week! Our tree looks great!!! It was amazing to see all the people purchasing items in order to help kids get medical need that they cannot afford to get other wise. I will post pictures as soon as I find my camera I think it is in my car but I will have to go search in the morning.

Mr. Dylan helped out up the tree. He was in the play pen from 10 am until 4:30 and only one break but he really didn't scream or cry. All he did was play and eat some snacks. I am very grateful that he was such a good baby to do that, but man it would have been nice to have a babysitter. :) He did all that with a horrible ear infection. He has had the infection for a about 2 days. He has just been a momma's boy and hadn't even wanted daddy. I feel bad because he is in lots of pain and there is nothing I can do about it but what I am already doing. He keep waking up at night and I feel really bad because he is always tired and grumpy right now.

Gavin has been throwing fits and I am not sure what are triggering them. But within 30 minutes he is usually calm. Maybe it is because he is 4 and going through so much but maybe it is because he is picked on frequently by Nikole and Rhett. Gavin loves playing video games with daddy! It is like their bonding time. It is great to hear him retell the things that they did. :)

Nikole's hair is finally starting to grow out! How exciting and she is even excited for that. I know weird but heck I am all about it. She is coming home right away and doing homework then she knows she can play. It is getting hard when she can't play outside because the boys can't but I guess that is life. She love's animals and is so happy to play with almost any kind at any time. Even though she sometimes forgets to take care of Rosa and has to be reminded. We are trying to think of something that Jaren and Nikole can play together since Jaren dose scouts with Rhett and video games with Gavin he really need to be able to do something with Nikole too, but what?

Rhett got his own portable concentrator!!! It was just delivered today and it is the exact same as the older one so I hope it holds up, because if it breaks I will return it and get a different brand. They think this is that best one for him but I am liking the other one that they showed us the first time we went in. I guess it is only a matter of time to see if this one will last. Apparently Rhett likes signing, go figure. LOL!! As soon as I get him from school he starts signing and it is like hard work for him to talk. Am I the only one that gets this? Why am I the parent but am told that I know not very much about my child? Go figure! Stressed to the max for sure! Rhett is one of 29 students in his class and they won't even get a aid or nothing for him or the class, what is wrong with this picture?

Oh well such is the stories of our lives. I guess it makes that world go round. I am way excited there is some business meetings this week and I am grateful to get things together. I hope and pray that I am able to meet with people in my business this week and talk with them to see how it is that they can help me do better in my business. I think I will take it one day at a time. I will update as soon as I can with the pictures from the festival of trees.