PCMC Christmas Eve

2:00 AM-Daphne was admitted to Primary Children's Hospital very early this morning. We had her two week check up yesterday afternoon and her pediatrician heard a loud heart murmur. She had lost a significant amount of weight and he said that the two factors made him very uncomfortable. His office tried to get us an appointment with a cardiologist but the soonest we could be seen was January 2nd. He sent us to the ER at Primary Children's. Daphne does have two small holes in her heart that should heal by themselves as she grows. The cardiologist does want to see Daphne when she is 2 months old just to reevaluate things. Darwin and I were very relieved to hear that news. However, since she weighs about a pound less than she should the doctors wanted her to be admitted so they could monitor her constantly. We have been told multiple things like we may able to go home for Christmas morning, she could be discharged this afternoon, and she'll be here until she gains weight. So right now we have no answers. They are also wondering if the lack of weight gain is caused by Celiac Disease, Cystic fibrosis, or high metabolism. Darwin and I really appreciate the prayers that have been said on Daphne's behalf.

 

 

 

8:00 PM-Thank you all for your prayers, kind words, and acts of service. Daphne was discharged a few hours ago. We are in Plain City at my parents' house. Daphne has an appointment with her pediatrician on Thursday. When we left the hospital Daphne weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces. So she gained weight while we were there. Our truck died as Darwin pulled into a parking spot at the hospital so he will be fixing that on Friday. Things didn't go as planned but there have been so many blessing come our way and we are so grateful for prayer. Merry Christmas to my family and friends. I am very blessed to know each and everyone one of you.

 

Family Pictures

Jensyn and Hurley's elementary school had a PTA fundraiser of family pictures. I think it is one of the best fund raising ideas I have heard of. (I just wish that I wasn't 7 months pregnant in the pictures....)

 

Our happy family!

The girls.

 



The boys.

 



 

The kids.

 

 

Cute Hurley.

 



Sweet Jensyn.

Funny Violet.

 

Jen and Darwin.

 

 

 



The family.

The kids.

Hurley



 

Vi

 

Jensyn

It was only a 30 minute session and it went pretty fast. The kids were very cooperative (except for Violet. She would smile and giggle but as soon as the photographer pointed the camera at Violet she would give the photographer a scowl.) I love my family!

Weekend at Jason's

For months our family has tried to coordinate a weekend that we could spend at my brother's house in Logan. We finally found a date that worked for both families, and I am so glad that we did!

We left Friday after Darwin got home from work. When we got to Jason's house the kids quickly forgot about us and went and played with their cousins. Jeri Dawn made pizza for everyone. Nikell has Celiac Disease and Hurley wanted to make sure that there was some Gluten Free pizza for Nikell so she could eat too. I thought it was cute that he wanted to make sure that there was something safe for her to eat. (Of course her mom had it all taken care of.) We ate, talked, tried to get the kids to watch a show so we could talk, and then tried to put the kids in bed. Of course we stayed up way too late and morning came too early. (I have NO make-up on, my hair is not done, and I am tired in all of the pictures below. Now you know what Darwin sees on a very regular basis.)

Darwin made breakfast burritos for breakfast and they turned out yummy like always. Jason bought a 12 passenger van and we thought we should take a tour of Logan. All of us were excited (except for Jason). I loved that we could all ride together and the kids loved that they got to watch a movie in the van. One of our stops was at Gossner Foods. Most of us went inside (Jason satyed in the van with Violet since she had fallen asleep.) The kids liked trying the different types of cheese. We bought squeeky cheese, medium cheese, pepperjack cheese, and flavored milk.

Hurley, Jensyn, and Jen

Jensyn, Nikell, and Aiddie
 

Aiddie and Jensyn

Darwin, Jen, and Kiella in the van.

 

 

Front: Sierra and Hurley

Back: Mialee, Jensyn, Nikell, and Aiddie

 

 

Violet

 

We also went to Kohls, the grocery store, dropped Sierra and Mialee off at their friends' house, and Jason took Darwin on a tour his work. By the time our outing was over it was time for lunch. We went back to Jason and Jeri Dawn's house. Jeri Dawn left for a baby shower and we talked some more, lots more.

 

Sierra and Mialee came back home and Jeri Dawn made dinner for the kis and then the adults went out on a double date! It was great! We left all of the kids behind and enjoyed more....TALKING! We ate at Cafe Sabors in Logan and it was really good food. I imagine that we will be eating there again. (Today I found out that there is one in Bear Lake.)

 

 



Jeri Dawn and Jason

 

 

Darwin and Jen

 

 

   

Here is my attempt at a group picture.

Left-Right: Hurley, Nikell, Kiella, Violet (on the table), Sierra, Jensyn, Mialee, and Aiddie

 

 

 These two cute babies are only 2.5 months apart. After being there over 24 hours Violet FINALLY warmed up to Kiella and stopped screaming at her whenever Kiella looked her way.

 

 

 

 

 As you can see I tried a lot to get pictures of them together. I struggled getting them to cooperate (at the same time). At least they were both happy!

 

 

Sorry for the blurry picture.

Darwin, Jen, Jeri Dawn, Jason, and Aiddie

 

 When it was time to go, Hurley kept asking if we could go through Ogden. I finally asked him why and he said, "I don't want to go through the woods. I don't want a bear to get me." I reassured him that a bear was not going to get him. It must have satisfied him because he fell asleep as soon as we started driving home.

 

We really had a great time. We are all tired because we stayed up late enjoying each other's company. I am looking forward to the next time! 

 

 

 

 

Much love, Lisa

I received the most amazing package in the mail. This made my day, week, month, and year (I'll probably still be smiling about this when I am 102 years old).

 

To my amazing, smart, kind friend Jen

 

 

 

There I was, eating my donut, thinking about what sort of a card I could sent to Jennifer

 

 

 

 

 

I thought maybe she'd like to see half-naked men, but I had no picture of Darwin....with his shirt off.

So I took some pictures of Brandon instead.

 

 

So I thought maybe she'd like to see words that describe her.

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention she has super, amazing hair?

And she is a great runner! And does stellar nails!

 

 

 

 

 

Our favorite things to do are gossip and run through waves at the beach together!

We'll be friends until we're 102 years old!

Even if we live 2,145 miles away from each other!

Thanks, for being my friend!

Much love, Lisa

 

 

This is the ONLY picture I have of me and Lisa (I think we need more pictures). Lisa is truly an amazing friend! About 6 years ago I was her visiting teacher. I think what solidified our friendship is her mad piano skills. She played the piano in Primary while I tried to lead the music. Because of Lisa I was not "boo'd" at. She easily covered up my mistakes. We would sit behind the piano and talk fast and quiet and we soon found out that we had a lot in common. Lisa and her husband are moving to Nebraska for graduate school. I know that I am going to get to know the road between Kemmerer and Lincoln.

 

Her husband is OK too.



Lots of time has passed

We have been in Kemmerer almost 5 months! We love it!! (Mostly, I hate the wind that never stops blowing, ever.) One nice thing about the wind, is we hardly have to shovel because of the snow in the front yard blows away. In the back yard though we have 5 foot snow drifts.

 At Fossil Butte

Jensyn loves school and she is excelling in lots of areas. She loves to read and loves to play that she is the teacher. Which is a huge help to me because she keeps Hurley and Violet entertained with books. She has been sick a lot though. I don't know if it is the "new" air or what. But once a month she misses school for throwing up or having a fever. Maybe it's just a fluke and once it warms up she will be back to normal.

Hurley has a new best friend, Noah. He lives right next door. The boys love to play at each other's house and they usually ask for each other first thing in the morning. Noah is a very good boy and I love his family. I am grateful to have such great neighbors.

Violet is growing so fast. She says a few words dad, mommy, Jensyn, drink, hi, and screams for everything else. She is almost 18 months old. In some ways it seems like she has been with us forever and at the same time I feel like she was just born and I think she should still be a newborn baby and not a little girl. She LOVES dolls and stuffed animals. She thinks she is bigger than she is and tries to keep up with Jensyn and Hurley.

Darwin LOVES his job! It is a good fit for him and I am so proud of him. About a month after we moved here Darwin's boss was arrested and fired. Of course, we were scared and unsure of the future and what it meant for Dawin and his job. For a few months Darwin was the only guy in the IT department in town. He really excelled and was able to handle some problems that normally would not be his responsibility. He now has a new boss (and so far he seems to obey the laws).