Renamed "Grateful"

First of all, for anyone who happens to be reading this that has contributed to Puzzle Them Home, I don't think there are words to express our gratitude.  Every donation is like magic to us-- I really can't tell you how it makes us feel.  The words "thank you" are not enough, but that's all I can say!  So, THANK YOU.

Now...tonight has us at Primary Children's-- again.  I really thought we were out of the woods with Xander's leg complications, but I guess it isn't so.  X had a fever Monday morning and complained of a sore throat.  I thought it was probably strep and meant to get him in to the doctor, but I ended up with a migraine that landed me in bed for most of the day and night.  Tuesday morning he still had a low fever, so I called the doctor, but he wasn't in that day.  I set up an appointment for Wednesday, but ended up canceling because he woke up feeling great that morning.  I sent him to school and even to a party that night.  Nothing seemed amiss until he woke up sobbing that his foot hurt at four in the morning.  Jeremy gave him some ibuprofen and sent him back to bed.  Later this morning as we were getting kids ready for school, I tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't get out of bed.  I felt his forehead and he was super hot, so I took his temp-- 104 degrees.  Ugh!  I took him to the doctor a little while later and they swabbed him for strep.  It was positive, which normally would have been an easy fix, but with him complaining that his foot/leg hurt, they were worried about infection.  Our doctor called X's surgeon, who instructed us to get him right up to the E.R.

For a million different reasons (the biggest of which was concern for Xander, but also for so many other reasons) this was harder than normal for me to digest.  We're obviously used to being here a lot, but this time it just really threw me off emotionally.  Sigh.

By the time we got to the E.R., the redness on his foot had spread to a big area of his leg.  His temp was still 104, and he was acting very, very sick.  They did a lot of blood work in the E.R and most of the results are back.  Everything is elevated, pointing to a pretty serious infection.  They are still trying to ascertain whether there are two separate infections going on or just one, and whether it has spread to his bloodstream.  Hopefully by tomorrow we will have a clearer picture of what is going on   and how long he'll be here.    

He did seem much better this evening and even ordered some food, but after two bites he was done.  I finally was able to sneak out and grab something for myself-- I was famished!  Right now he is watching t.v. and is semi-content.  Here's hoping for an uneventful night!  (Well, as uneventful as it can be when there are nurses and techs checking on him every couple of hours!)  I'm trying to think of things I am grateful for right now.  There are plenty, to be sure.  I don't know why I'm having such a hard time focusing on them!  Maybe if I actually write them out...

I am thankful for:  such a fabulous hospital, a husband who is capable of holding down the fort at home, a sister to visit with on the phone and cheer me up, the rave reviews that Jeremy said he heard about our kids at parent teacher conferences this afternoon, our laundry fairies, who apparently doubled as our dinner fairies tonight when they showed up with KFC, the incredible, wonderful, amazing, selfless people who have put Puzzle Them Home together for us and for all who have helped in any way, for mint M&M's, for this IPad so that I would have something to occupy me
here, for all of the rave reviews I read about Romney's debate performance last night, for a night without cooking or cleaning up dinner, for a messy house that is full of love, for this cute little guy lying next to me and a chance to have some one-on-one time with him-- honestly, I could go on all night... I'm not just saying that!  

And after reading Jer's last post, for my eyes and arms and mind.  There is nothing like having kids like ours to help us keep our trials in perspective.
       
Ok, I feel so much better already!!

"...Count your blessings, name them one by one.  Count your many blessings-- see what God has done!"




Christianne

Out of Surgery

Xander is out of surgery and everything went ok.  His surgeon came and spoke with us and showed us some pretty insane pictures of his leg completely opened and pretty much sitting in two pieces.  I would share the photos, but I'm sure most of you wouldn't be as fascinated by it as I was!  I quite like stuff that makes most people want to throw up.  (:

There are some potential issues that the surgeons are worried about, so we could still use some prayers.  It's anticipated that he will be here longer than originally planned-- probably about a week or so.  Not the best news ever, but we're glad he's ok.  Jeremy was just called to come back and see him, and I should be able to follow soon.

We'll keep posting...

Christianne

Ramblings from the waiting room...

We're sitting in the parents' waiting room here at Primary Children's Hospital.  Xander is in surgery right now to "debulk" his leg.   He will have an incision down the entire length of his calf, and the surgeons will be removing as much as the lymphatic tissue as possible, with a goal to make his right leg approximately the same size as his left.  We scheduled this surgery months ago, trying to pick the perfect time between vacations and school starting.  His surgeon estimates he will be here for 3-5 days, with an at-home recovery time of about a month.

Cute Xander is such a trooper.  He is so easy going and has been looking forward to this surgery for months so he "won't have to do any chores and can eat whatever he wants."  (:    Last night, he said, "I'm really going to miss my big leg!"  I told him that I would, too!  (And it's honestly hard for me that it's going to look different!)  Then I asked him why he would miss it, and he said, "Because everyone likes my big leg!"  I can't tell you how happy that made me!  Though he has been teased a few times, apparently the "cool" factor has prevailed, and I am so glad that his perception is that people like him exactly how he is.

Of course, we would love prayers in his behalf.  It will be a tough week for him, I'm sure.  We'll keep you posted on his recovery.  They are going to attempt an epidural to help him with his pain, and I'm really hoping that it works!  Graci had an epidural after her spinal cord surgery and it helped tremendously...

Speaking of Graci, she was off bright and early this morning to go to Oakcrest.  It's a special church camp for girls entering 8th and 9th grades, and it is supposedly just "awesome!"  I'm really excited for her, and really sad for me!  She is such a great help at home, and the younger kids are kind of lost when she is gone.  She'll get home on Friday, then is off two days later for a two-week long Chinese Immersion camp.  We are thrilled for her!  It will be held in Idaho, and they accepted 20 students, including Graci and her cousin, Alissa.  I don't know that I've ever seen Graci so excited about an event before.  Ok, maybe her Disney Cruise from Make-a-Wish, but this is a close second!!!

Taylor just came home from a week at scout camp.  Parker and Jeremy were able to join him for the last couple of days.  They had such a good time.  Taylor is really growing up lately.  Like, literally.  He is now taller than me.  I thought that was pretty cool until Jeremy decided that having Taylor taller than me made me seem short!  (;  Taylor was asked to give a talk in church yesterday about how the Scout Oath helps boys prepare to serve missions.  He put his talk together that morning before church and did such a good job.  I'm so proud of the young man he is and is becoming.  I really, truly couldn't ask for better young men than our Taylor and Parker.

Our community put on the play "Annie" a couple of weeks ago.  It was AMAZING.  I have never seen a more professional community play.  Such great talent!!  Our cute little neighbor, Kara, was in it and was easily the cutest orphan there!  We took most of the kids to see it.  Lexi loved it.  There's only one problem.  She has fallen in love with the song, "It's a Hard-Knock Life."  Cute song, until you hear your former-orphan daaughter singing it (think, "no one cares for you a smidge when you're in an orphanage.")  Luckily, Lexi doesn't know all of the words, so she just sings, "It's a hard-knock life for us" over and over and then just makes up the words to fit the rest of the melody.  Elli's starting to sing it now, too!  I've been trying as hard as I can to switch over to "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow," but it's just not sticking.   LOL

Jesi has turned into quite the mother lately.  Her new thing is getting breakfast every morning for Sophi and Lexi, often while I'm getting a bit of extra sleep!   Sometimes she even bathes and dresses them and does their hair.  She is also known to clean quite a bit without being asked.  After a couple weeks of doing this, she came up to Jeremy and said, "So, aren't you going to pay me for all this help?!"  We laughed and decided that she is indeed worth some money, and we have since been paying her a dollar a day for all of her morning help. She has earned $35 since this began.  Last night she told me, "Mom, so you know my birthday is coming in about a week, right?  So you better start shopping!"  I asked her what she wanted, and she reminded me that she wanted a car for her doll.  Then she said, "And if you don't want to spend your own money on me, I do have $35 that I can give you to buy the car!"  (:  

Well... X-Man's been in surgery for overtwo hours now.  Hoping to hear an update soon.  I'll try to post again tonight and let you know how it all went...

--Christianne

Best. News. Ever.

Most of you know a bit of Graci's health struggles. She has gone through a tremendous number of doctor appointments and surgeries in the last few years, mostly for her heart, but for other reasons as well. It was very hard news for her when after her last open heart surgery, she was put on oxygen at home. Many people didn't even know she was on oxygen because she didn't have to wear it while we were out and about or when she was at school. At home she often took it off when people came over or when we took pictures. All too often she didn't wear it all together because she hated it so much, and that has been a constant battle. She has however ALWAYS used it at night-- a must from her cardiologist. We even had to cart it on our trip to China, and on any other overnight trips.

We have been purposely vague about the extent of Graci's health issues and will continue to be, but I'm sure it is apparent that things were not good. She did, after all, get a wish from the Make-a-Wish foundation and has been in and out of the hospital many times. Every surgery she has had has gone better than expected, but her condition has still been very, very serious. When Graci was initially placed on oxygen, we were told it would be for the rest of her life, and that as things worsened (not if, but when), she would have to wear it at school as well.

Graci had none of that and says she always knew that she would be off oxygen one day, and Thursday, that day came! We were in for her routine ECHO and EKG, done every 4-6 months. Miraculously, her stats are on a big uphill trend. We knew after her surgery in November that things were looking good, but we didn't know that they were THIS good! (: Her cardiologist said that it is time to be cautiously optimistic about everything and TOOK HER OFF HER OXYGEN!

Insert cheers!!!!!!!!!! (: (: (:

I was shocked. I know I shouldn't have been, because the Lord can do anything. But it hadn't even crossed my mind that she would ever get off the oxygen. Her cardiologist was shocked himself. In fact, I think Graci was the only one not shocked. She just smiled like it was no big deal. (:

For all of those who have prayed and fasted for our Graci over the past few years, we thank you! We know without a doubt that God has heard those prayers. We know of His perfect love for Graci, and we knew that miracles could occur with her health, we just didn't know if they would. But they have! And we are overcome with gratitude for a loving Father in Heaven who made it so.

Graci, we love you. You are such a light in our home. We admire your strength and courage and pure, unwavering testimony of Christ. We are so, so blessed to have you in our eternal family. There are so many people all over the world who love you and need you HERE! We are looking forward to many more years for you to grace our lives with your sweet, quirky ways. (: Happy NO MORE OXYGEN Day, little Ling Ling!


He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. --Psalms 147:3

Taking her out to dinner to celebrate!

The Exciting News... (:

Ok, so I didn't mean to be a tease like that! I had expected to get a video up before we left on vacation, but it just didn't happen. I don't know how... I mean, we had so much time on our hands!!

Well, I still haven't made the video, and Jeremy happens to be at scout camp for the week. (I don't know how to upload our videos.) But since you asked, I'll go ahead and do it with pictures instead of a video. (:

Anyway... I hope this isn't anti-climactic. This is such a huge event in our lives, but probably doesn't seem all that significant to some. As you may remember reading here, we didn't know if Sophi would ever walk. This is due to her weak right leg, missing fibula, and significant leg length discrepancy. However, we have worked a lot with her. I didn't see how she could possibly ever learn to walk, and some doctors doubted it too, but eventually she did learn to stand. Her poor right leg would just shake, and she couldn't stand for more than a couple of seconds, but she could stand! And then, almost overnight, she did it-- she learned to walk!!! It is the sweetest, most endearing little walk ever. She LOVES it. She wants to walk everywhere now and takes such pride in it.

We are so happy for our little Sophi!! I am hoping to get her to Shriners again soon. Now that she has learned how to walk, I am wondering if some sort of brace could be made for her to help give her weak leg some more stability and height.

So, so proud of you, Soph!!!!!















PS I am going to assume, because of our past pattern, that some of you thought the exciting news had to do with a new addition. (: That would be amazing, for sure, but we very much have our hands and house full right now. HOWEVER... I can't resist telling you that there is the sweetest, most precious little two year old girl waiting for a family. She is breathtaking-- just exquisite. I am sure I am drawn to her because of her special need, which is vision loss. She does have limited vision, and I have no doubt that if she is to retain it and possibly even gain more vision, she needs a good doctor soon. If any of you reading this feels a tug at your heartstrings and want to know more, please email me at christi405@yahoo.com.

Let's find this princess a family!

Wheelchair!

With so many doctor appointments full of worry and wondering, I am soooo glad that the Lord threw in such a FUN one today!

SOPHI HAS HER WHEELCHAIR!

It is so cute. It has a little joystick that she works with her toes. She is still a bit nervous driving it, and hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet, but I'm sure a few days is all she needs. (: She looks so darling in it. I still can't believe that they make chairs for kiddos this young. I'm excited to decorate it and make it HER! It is a great chair, and it comes apart so we can transport it more easily. (Power chairs are very heavy, as I learned today breaking my back trying to lift it!)

And... it was free of charge. This because of the wonderful people at Shriner's Hospital. We feel so very blessed that she and Xander are both patients there.

For anyone new to this blog, besides missing her arms, Sophi has some unique challenges with her legs. There is a significant discrepancy in length and she is missing her fibula in her right leg. We're praying that someday she will learn to walk, but in the meantime, this wheelchair will give her the independence that she wants. I am so happy for her!

Unfortunately, our home is not built for a wheelchair, so this will be mostly used outdoors. Fortunately, it came at the perfect time-- we are finally getting some good weather for her to practice in!

HAPPY WHEELCHAIR DAY, SWEET SOPHI!!!


(Tomorrow I'll try to remember to snap some photos so you can join in on the fun-- in the meantime, here's Sophi after church yesterday.)

A peek inside my thoughts this morning

Jer and I just started a diet. Buh-bye, happiness.

Taylor’s at BYU for the state science fair today. He gets to skip school and hang out with his dad all day—not bad.

Yesterday I had Grace and Jes at Primary Children’s. Graci had an ECHO, chest x-ray and EKG. Things look mostly the same. Her cardiologist has told us to go ahead with her spinal cord surgery on her back. He’s been hesitant before, and still was, but thought it was the best decision. We’re still trying to decide how we feel about it. Jesi was in for blood work. Poor girl was so scared, but she did great. When she was done, we walked across the hospital to the cafeteria to get some lunch. She seemed great and was holding her tray, waiting for her food. All of a sudden, I looked over and saw her crouching toward the ground. I told her to stand up, and she looked up at me, white as a ghost. I realized what was happening and immediately put all the trays down and told her to put her head between her knees. She looked up again, and her eyes began to roll back. Now, on the bright side, if you’re going to pass out, a hospital is a good place to do it! A doctor immediately came over and barked at someone to get her orange juice. I guess her blood sugar had really dipped from getting her blood taken right before lunch. Within 10 minutes or so, and with several sips of juice, she was fine again. I was so grateful to have so many doctors around making sure she was ok. She told me that her neck and head had felt all tingly and that she couldn’t see me for a couple of seconds. I felt AWFUL for not having fed her all morning right before blood work. However, a corn dog, fries, giant pickle, and Swedish fish erased all sadness/sickness. (I know, not a healthy lunch—but at that point I was willing to let her eat anything she wanted.)

Baseball is starting this week. I’m trying to cope with the loss of any free time we’ve currently been enjoying.

Speaking of sports, our family is LOVING March Madness and that our favorite team and alma mater has finally made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Go cougs!

If you like key lime pie, you really should try Extra’s key lime pie gum. It’s soooo good!

Sophi still has my heart.

Xander’s birthday party is this Saturday. We finally got invitations out last night, but I have yet to plan the party. Any fun ideas for superhero party games? I’ll likely end up googling the night before and copying everyone else’s cute ideas.

We just got a 30% off coupon at Kohls. Trying to talk myself out of a shopping trip.

Our flowers began to bloom the other day, followed by snow the day after.

My neighbors/friends have been such a blessing in my life. They are spoiling me. I cannot even express how grateful I have been for their love and service. It’s almost embarrassing, all the help I’ve been given—and am still being given. They have taught me so much about Christlike love.

Elli, Elli, Elli…

Last night after the littles were in bed, I had G, T, and P climb in bed with me and told them it was time they learned about the “Brady Bunch.” We watched the first episode together on the computer. I think I have them hooked. (:

Jer and I still frequent our “Happy Place,” meaning the area that we would like to build on someday. We always go to “our lot” (which we don’t own) and visit “our house” (which we don’t own either.) “Our house” has been under construction for several months, and we always go and trespass and see how it’s coming along. It has this awesome, open floor plan and all kinds of space. We’ve assigned all the bedrooms out and everything. (: The best part about these outings is that they are free, they are close to home, they are a bit of an emotional escape for us, and best of all, we are totally happy coming back to our own cute home. Meaning, the outings don’t make us at all unhappy with what we have but are rather a fun way to spend time together and dream. (: I’m not sure what we’re going to do when “our house” is finished and people are actually living there. Guess we’ll have to pick a new one!

My stomach just growled. It hasn’t done that in a long time. I remember hearing that the sound of your stomach growling was the sound of all these little fat molecules evaporating. Sounds good to me.

Today is the first day in over two weeks that I didn’t wake up with a sore throat. Hallelujah.

I really should go and attend to my kiddos. Ready, set, stand up!

Almost funny...

... but not quite.

Toward the end of January, I was lamenting the fact that we already had over ten doctor appointments scheduled for February. I thought it sounded like a lot. And surely with all of the medical issues and special needs that are part of our daily lives, it couldn't get much more drama-filled, right?

Ha, ha.

As it turns out, February offered double the original appointments. Some routine, yes, and others completely unexpected. For instance, our sweet Taylor had an appointment with a pulmonologist to check up on his asthma. They did an ECHO and an X-ray while he was there. When the doctor called a couple of days later to discuss the findings, I almost tuned him out. I was in the middle of folding laundry and answering various questions from my kids (questions that always come up the second they see me on the phone.) I thought surely that everything would be normal. After all, Taylor is one of our TWO that we deem healthy. So I was taken off guard when the doctor started out by saying, "Well, we have a few things to discuss..."

Those "things" led us to a cardiologist and further tests. Without being too specific, it turns out that Parker stands alone as perfectly healthy.

Jessica has been going through something even more unexpected, which I won't discuss here for now.

And then, as if to put the icing on the cake, we believe Lexi had a seizure last night. We've been told if it happens again to go straight to the ER. We are now adding "neurologist" to our family doctors. Actually, now that I think about it, we aren't "adding" it-- Graci already sees one.

In fact, we have a neurologist, pediatrician, dentist, optometrist, orthodontist, opthalmologist, cardiologist (several), pulmonologist, ENT specialist, gastrointologist, orthopedist, vascular surgeon, geneticist-- those are just off the top of my head.

I am not complaining. I don't want to sound ungrateful. February has been full of blessings for our family. Two of our children, Xander and Sophi, are being treated at Shriner's Hospital, meaning we are not charged for their care. We have such good doctors and therapists who genuinely love our children. And I honestly feel like every time something hard happens, someone calls with an offer to bring dinner or something shows up on our front porch or someone offers to help with housework. These acts of service always come at just the right time, and without people even knowing what we are going through. We have been served to a humbling degree. We are very blessed in so many ways.

Still... as far as medical issues go, by the time we got to the seizure thing with Lexi, I'll admit I was left wondering, "Um... isn't it someone else's turn?"

ARGH.

Oh, and may I add that I had my purse stolen? Money, credit cards, drivers license, pictures, sunglasses, jewelry, my new watch, receipts, stuff from China-- all GONE. That's ok, because I have just tons of time to replace it all. The funny thing is, my purse was a fake Coach purse. Jeremy bought it for me in China for under $20 and I LOVED it. I had hardly even heard of a Coach purse, and was shocked to find out how much the real things cost. I never pay more than $20 for a purse. I googled how to tell if a Coach purse is real, and mine passed all of the tests except for one. So whoever stole my purse (we know it was stolen because the credit cards were used the following day) likely thought it was the real thing. I almost feel bad for them. In fact, I think I do.

Anyway... today is the LAST day of February. May March be easier on us... (:

--Christianne

Oh, and I haven't forgotten that I promised a Sophi post. It's coming. We've been so, so busy. And so tired at the end of the night. However, Jer and I had a discussion last night about how important it is to journal the sweet blessings in our lives and made a commitment to post every day in March. Whether we'll follow through is the million dollar question, but it's a good goal! (:

FYI...

Before we had to change insurances this year, we didn't have to think much about where we filled our prescriptions. We had great coverage. Now, we have to pay everything out of pocket, and we have found it pays to call around and ask different pharmacies what the cost would be. My doctor prescribed two meds for the shingles. I called three pharmacies, and these were the results:

Smiths: Valtrex-- $434
generic Valtrex-- $164
Gabapentin-- $36


Walgreens: Valtrex-- $428
generic Valtrex-- $334
Gabapentin-- $97


Costco: Valtrex-- $394
generic Valtrex-- $104
Gabapentin-- $14


Don't you feel for the poor person who has shingles and goes to Walgreens?! You can bet that I drove an extra 15 minutes to go to Costco! (And that I opted for generic Valtrex.) The crazy thing is that Costco isn't always the cheapest. Some meds we end up getting at Smith's and others at Walgreens. I'll never figure out why there is such a discrepancy is prices...

Also, I had to post Jesi's prayer tonight. It would not would be so unique if you didn't know that we don't usually address God as "God" when we pray. We always call him Heavenly Father, or our Father in Heaven. Not because calling Him God wouldn't be ok-- just because the other way feels more personal and describes our relationship with Him. So it just sounded funny to hear her pray tonight:

"Dear God in Heaven,
God, we are soooo thankful for this day. And God, please help us to have the Spirit with us so we will only have goodness in our hearts and not any badness. And please, God, bless Elli to have miracles. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."


Off to try an oatmeal bath-- ahhhhhhhhhh!

Elli and Graci update

I finally put a new post up on Elli's website: www.miraclesforelli.blogspot.com

Also, I promised to write about Graci's cardiology appointment. Her ECHO showed some improvement in one area, but mostly looked about the same. Her cardiologist consulted with other doctors on her "team" and they decided to start her on a new blood pressure medication. They were worried about some side effects and were struggling a bit as to whether the benefits outweighed the risks, but she began it today and seemed to tolerate it well. So that's good! She will go back in six weeks for another ECHO and EKG and he will decide whether or not to "allow" her to go to China. That's where we stand...

-Christianne

It's been a long week...

Well, I have made it through! I was beginning to wonder when after the fourth day post-surgery, I still felt like my face had been run over by a truck. It was not fun, to say the least. But now I am in a happy place where my nose is only tender to the touch vs. being in constant pain. I am anxiously awaiting the benefits of the surgery—I am still swollen and congested on the inside, so my breathing isn’t a whole lot better. However, I can now gently blow my nose, which feels wonderful, and I have even noticed my ear congestion clearing up because of it. (:

I’m sure you wanted to know all of that…

We had many doctor appointments this past week. We had FOUR on Thursday. One of them was an ECHO for Jesi—ordered by her geneticist. She was so cute during the whole thing and loved that they sent her home with a pink, polka-dotted, homemade blanket. So all of you out there that donate things to the hospital—they REALLY are appreciated!!! It made the whole thing so much easier on her!! We are still awaiting the results.

Graci had her stress test and did alright. I had a sobering talk with the cardiologist afterward. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Afterwards, she had her appointment with a neurosurgeon. A couple of months ago we had her go to an orthopedist because of her pigeon-toedness. They did an MRI on her back, which revealed cervical stenosis. This is why we were sent to the neurosurgeon. Well, as it turns out, the cervical stenosis is the least of our worries. She has scoliosis of the spine that is quite pronounced. Also, her spinal cord is being tethered down by some strange substance. It has been stretched down like taffy and ends much lower than it should. The neurosurgeon said it was really quite bizarre and found himself fascinated with it. This is the probable cause of her feet turning in, her toes curling inward, her awkward gait, etc. It can also cause other problems, and the neurosurgeon (the best in the state) wanted to do surgery to repair it. However, after further discussion about the seriousness of her heart issues, he and I decided to hold off, at least for the time being. If it begins causing her a lot of pain or loss of sensation, we will re-evaluate.

We are so thankful for the continued support and love we are getting from church friends, neighbors, and family. Thanks so very much for the help with kids and meals and mostly for your prayers. We love you!

Tonight we were doing our nightly scripture study. Sometimes we act out a scripture story, being as how we have an entire drama troupe here. (: After totally mutilating the story of Queen Esther (our king was doing disco, his servants were giggling nonstop, Mordecai was half asleep on the bed, etc) Jer bore his testimony about how we need to have faith in the Lord when He asks us to do hard things. I looked over at our Queen Esther, in her pajamas and wearing her oxygen, and was amazed at her beauty and grace in the midst of her trials. She certainly has enough faith to be healed, but I tend to think that the Lord is testing our family to see how we deal with her health issues—if we turn to Him, trust Him, and believe that He has a plan for her.

We know He does.

--Christianne

PS. This is Jeremy. When I tucked Graci in to bed tonight, she spontaneously kissed me on the cheek. You don't have any idea what a huge deal that is. Our relationship continues to grow:)

One down, one to go...

Xander had his surgery on Monday. He was sooo brave, and everything went well, but now he is in a lot of pain. So hard to watch your child hurt!!!

I have my surgery tomorrow. I am scared! I have gone through several surgeries with my kiddos, but never one for myself. They will be straightening my septum (I've been told by three different ENTs that it is among the worse they've seen), shrinking my turbonates, and cleaning out my sinuses. Sounds like fun, eh?

Keep me in your prayers. Actually, forget that. Keep JEREMY in your prayers, as he will be taking over the household and becoming my nurse and Xander's nurse all while trying to earn a living.

Yikes!!

--Christianne

FYI...

Doctor appointments scheduled for March:

Dentist: Christianne
Optometrist: Jer, Christi, Taylor, Parker, Graci, Jessica, Xander
Kindergarten physical: Xander
H1N1 booster: Parker, Jessica, Xander, Elli
Neurologist: Graci
Geneticist: Jesi
ENT Pre-surgery appointment: Christi
ENT surgery: Christi
ENT post-op: Christi
Cardiac exercise stress test: Graci
Physicals: Parker, Taylor, Graci, Jessica, Elli
Urology surgery: Xander

That’s a total of 21 doctor appointments, not counting the H1N1 shots (we’ll just walk in and do those all together). Seven of these will take place in the hospital. There is also a 99.9% chance that we’ll find ourselves in the office for something that will come up between now and the end of the month.

Health insurance, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and if you haven’t read the previous two posts by Jeremy, do so. I laughed out loud.

Christianne

PS: An update on Graci: We finally heard from Graci's cardiologist. She will be starting oxygen tomorrow. She will likely continue nighttime oxygen for the rest of her life. He also said it wouldn't be a bad idea to get her to use it during the day when we can. The surgery confirmed pulmonary hypertension and showed that oxygen somewhat lowered the pressure on her heart. It also showed that there was no "easy fix" as far as surgery goes. She'll be returning for a exercise/stress test to see if we need to be more aggressive than oxygen for now. At this point, we're still unsure about what her prognosis is as far as life expectancy, etc. Basically, we didn't hear anything we weren't already aware of. Thank-you for your continued prayers for her!!!!!!

Graci Kate

Graci is home. She has a really bad cough that seems to be getting worse. She also claims she can't breathe as well today. Not sure if it's from the cough or the surgery. Other than that, she is doing alright and we are glad to have her home. She was not happy after waking up from the four-hour surgery. It's so difficult when you are still under the effects of anesthesia, your mouth is dry, and you are very uncomfortable. She was pretty miserable at first, but cheered up significantly when she saw that her teachers had delivered her a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers-- thank-you, wonderful teachers!! She felt so special and wanted to carry them by herself last night as she was wheeled out to the car. (: My day in the hospital was actually very nice. It was good to have so much one-on-one with my Grace. Jeremy was only there for a short time, as he had to work and get Xander to his appointment with a vascular surgeon at the University of Utah hospital. Busy day, yes!

Just to clarify-- we do not know much about the results of her surgery. Her cardiologists are both out of town, and we are waiting for them to review the findings and give us their opinions on what she is facing and what to do next. So we will keep you updated...

-Christianne

PS-- Have I mentioned lately that Xander is about the cutest thing in the whole wide world?!!! Man, we love that little guy!

Graci Recovering

Hi Everyone:

Thanks for all of your concern about Graci. I just wanted to give you a quick update. She is out of surgery and is doing well in the recovery room. They anticipate that she will come home at about 8pm tonight. I saw her for a few minutes at the hospital. She was very thirsty, tired and needing mom! For now, all we know is that Graci will be on oxygen during the nights going forward. As we get more information, we will keep you updated. Thanks for the prayers. This is a special little girl who has had an amazing impact on the lives of many, many people here in America (let alone those she impacted in China). She is in the Lord's hands.

Jeremy

So thankful...

For all of you wonderful friends and family who are fasting and/or praying for Graci tomorrow, we want to say thank-you!! It means so much to us and to her. Grace acts all embarrassed when I tell people she is having surgery, but I can tell from her face that she is secretly LOVING all the attention. (:

The surgery itself is fairly minor. They will do it in the cath lab and will go through veins in her legs. She has had this done three times before, though it looks like this one will be a bit lengthier. She'll be admitted into the hospital at 9:00, with a surgery time of 10:30. Surgery should last anywhere from 2-4 hours. They have a room reserved for her to stay the night, but there is a great chance that she will come home tomorrow. Like I said, the surgery isn't very major. What is major is the outcome of the surgery. It will determine exactly what we are facing with her.

So, again-- a big giant thank-you. I will for sure keep you posted on how things go.

--Christianne

Heart Surgery Buddies

I am just realizing that I have not updated on Graci's progress. She is doing SO SO WELL!!! She has been off of oxygen for two weeks now, and is back in school. You would NEVER guess that she just had heart surgery-- it's been such a miracle. She was able to go with us up to Oregon to Jeremy's brother's wedding-- and danced as much as anyone at the reception! (Jenny, I would love if you would e-mail me wedding pics so I can post them!) We are so so grateful for everyone's prayers and never dreamed this all would have gone so smoothly.

Now, may I ask anyone who feels so inclined to include my dad in their prayers this week. He following in Graci's footsteps and having open heart surgery tomorrow. He is such an amazing dad, husband, and grandpa-- and we are sure that our Heavenly Father knows that we need him for many more years to come!!!!!

Modern day miracle

Just a quick note to say GRACI IS HOME!!! Can you even believe it? We are still a little shocked at how short her hospital stay was-- AMAZING. She is on a liter of oxygen (full time) and can't really be around anyone for awhile, but she looks GREAT and we are so happy to have her home. (:(:(:(: I know that this is due in large part to all of your prayers, so once again, a very heartfelt thank-you and we love you!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll try to post some pics tomorrow-- you won't believe how good she looks!

Random thoughts about my day that you really just don't need to know...

Graci is statting better, but they are still doing some additional testing in the morning to see if they can find out what was happening with her oxygen levels. Before the whole deal with the stats, we were told we would probably be going home tomorrow (can you believe that?)!!! After being told 2-4 weeks in the hospital, this is VERY GOOD NEWS!! So as long as they don't find anything too wrong tomorrow, we may be heading home. (:

My mom brought the kids up to visit Graci today. She was SO happy to see them, but not as happy as me!! I swear Jessica grew up a ton since Monday morning! She is so dang cute!! And the boys were so so sweet and lovey. Elli is still like oxygen to me-- I don't know how I survived without her these past few days. Her monkey screeches and cuddles just make my day.

We took the kids to the play zone here and they had a great time. There was a music class going on, and it was SO much fun. They had all kinds of interesting instruments for the kids to play with. Jessica was SO animated, and several times Elli just burst into giggles because she was so happy. They both love music. The boys were in heaven because they had a play station (we're probably the only family in the world that doesn't have one in some form or another).

After the kids left, Graci wanted to go back to the playroom. We did some crafts and I was actually enjoying myself until she asked me to play dollhouse with her. I'm just going to admit it-- I HATE to play dolls. Make-believe is just not my thing. I remember going over to Cindy Duncan's house growing up and pulling out the barbies. She had the most amazing imagination and I always felt rather stupid trying to create scenarios for the barbies. I like to dress them, but when it comes to the real make-believe part-- it's just not my thing.

Tonight I decided to give it a try-- for Graci's sake. You would think that being a former first-grade and preschool teacher I could conjure up some kind of make-believe storyline for the little dolls, but no. Graci kept looking at me to take the lead, "Come on, Mom, play dolls with me!" I fumbled my way through a pathetic story of mom and dad going out on a date and leaving the little kids with their grandparents. The grandma made donuts with the kids. The boy jumped on the couch. Grandpa told him to get down. The end. This got me through a whole 2 minutes with the dollhouse. Not going well. So I decided to take a new approach. "Let's rearrange the furniture, Graci." "I don't want to." "Oh, yes you do-- (as I'm dumping out every piece of furniture) it will be fun!" Rearranging furniture is something I can do. No imagination required. Luckily, by the time we got done with this, the playroom was closing. Phew. Are there any other moms out there that would choose to clean toilets rather than play dolls, or am I alone in my
make-belive woes?

After the playroom we went and got some dessert to watch a movie with. Graci chose a rainbow sprinkled cupcake, and I that fabulous mousse pie I have already raved about. Yes, I've probably averaged one slice of that heavenly chocolate every day since I came to the hospital. Graci, on the other hand, got settled into her bed and said, "I think I want to eat grapes for my dessert instead of the cupcake." This, friends, is why Graci can eat bacon for every meal-- and why my hips are no longer fitting into my jeans. I inhaled my pie while Graci delicately ate her grapes as we watched "My Little Pony." I was actually proud of myself for not eating that frosting-laden cupcake too-- is that pathetic or what?!

As we were settling down for bed, some elders from our church came around to visit with us and see if there was anything we needed. One was Polynesian and was wearing what my aunt Debbi has now told me is a "lava lava." It wraps around your waist like a skirt and looks so great with a shirt and tie. Debbi said that if you serve a mission in Samoa or Tonga, you don't have to bring a suit-- just white shirts, ties, and sandals to wear with your lava lava. Sounds comfy, huh? Anyway, Graci kept asking him, "Why you look like girl?" She was very troubled by the lava lava until he told her he was adopted too. That won her over. He also did magic tricks that had her bedazzled. The other elder brought up the fact that they attend the University of Utah. I told them they were no longer welcome in our room, and so began the battle of which team was better (BYU or the U). I handed him a box of tissues and told him to save it for the big game. This was mostly going on between me and the non-polynesian guy, who after five minutes or so decided to tell me that the polynesian elder actually PLAYS football for the U. Oops!!

I really liked Graci's nurse today. By the end of the day I felt like we were friends-- and she'll be here tomorrow, so I'm glad. We got talking about families, and how ours was big. Sometimes I have this complex about having so many kids. I remember looking at big families when I had maybe one or two kids and thinking, "how in the world can they possibly give enough attention to everyone?" Lately, it's really been hitting me that WE are one of those famlies! We're so, well-- BIG! Like the other night when I grabbed a box of granola bars to eat on our way to family pictures. I began passing them out and was literally shocked to realize that there weren't enough for all of us. We have more people in our family than granola bars in a standard box-- CRAZY. How did that happen?!!!! Seriously!!!! Or in the morning, when I'm making lunches and go through a WHOLE lOAF OF BREAD!!! What is that about?!!! I run the dishwasher twice a day, NEVER get on top of the laundry, have like a thousand toys floating around-- it's just nuts. And it's not really those things that get to me-- it's tucking one of them in at night and realizing I didn't read to him that day, or saying no to playing a game because I am doing homework with someone else.

As if to emphasize the point, a friend of mine recently told me that she knew she was DONE after two children. Why? Because she was one of five and said she never really felt like she had enough attention. That REALLY threw me for a loop.

So, back to the nurse-- it was very refreshing to hear she was from a family of NINE children and absolutely LOVED it!!! She said neither she or her siblings would change a thing. My friend, Heather, one of eight, just told me the same thing. I think I really need to hear those things right now!! Because I guess what it comes down to is that we KNOW each of these children are meant to be in our family. So really, it's got to work, right? Even though I cannot possibly give each of them the same one-on-one as I would if they were an only child, it can work. They can feel completely loved and completely, well-- complete, if we're willing to put forth the effort, right? Come on, folks-- I need some reassurance on this!

I'm probably feeling this way right now because I've been here at the hospital all week, leaving four of them at home. And I'm missing Jeremy terribly. Which is also probably the reason that I'm so long-winded in this entry. I need an adult to talk to. I love little Miss Graci Kate, and love one-on-one time with her, but I'm one of those parents that after kids get tucked in REALLY need some good adult conversation. So, thanks for listening to me ramble! Sorry this was so long-- I am now turning in!!

--Christianne
mother of MANY!!!!

Some concerns with stats...

Good morning! Graci had a good night, but this morning her oxygenation (sp?) stats were very low. They've had lots of nurses and technicians in here trying to figure out what's going on. They finally sent her down for a second x-ray, and we're waiting for results on that. Currently, the stats are back up again, but with higher oxygen than previously needed. So, we're interested to see what's going on... Her surgeon just now went to examine the x-rays.

I had a fun night last night-- I was on a friend's blog, and started linking to other blogs until I came across two of my dear high school friends! It was so much fun to see pics and read about their families. It's quite bizarre to realize how long it has been since I've seen them-- they are the kind of friends that you feel like you could start on right where you left off. By the way, Tiffany and Jessica, if you are reading this-- I would love to have your e-mails. Mine is christi405@yahoo.com

Also, I neglected to give a "Happy Birthday" to Jen and Mariah-- their birthdays are the same day as Jeremy's. Hope you had a great day!!!!!