Christmas Day

Christmas Eve we went to Grandma's for awhile and then mom & I came home and basically had a normal evening for us. I really don't comprehend what presents are, Santa, etc., so this Christmas for me was about the lights and getting better from surgery. As you can see in the pictures I really was kind of backward to the whole idea. I didn't unwrap my presents. Mom helped me. The church was generous to us. The Relief Society ward members got me new blanket sleepers, socks, tights, boots and a warm hat to wear. The young women also took us on as a "project" and got me some new clothes, filled a stocking with stuff for me and for mom. We both got bath and body works good smelly stuff. Mom feels funny about accepting charity, but also realized how fun it must of been for the young women to pick out things for me and getting me a toy, etc. They also got mom a pink (pink tends to be our color) bathrobe, which shows in the picture of us Christmas morning.

We had Christmas dinner at Grandma's and grandpa's. I saw all my siblings and nieces and nephew, except Jeana's family.

The bestest gift of all, however, was my brand new niece, Jeana & Kurt's baby, Harlyn Marie, born at 3:15 Christmas morning. Mom called it. She told Jeana she'd be born Christmas day, and she was. Mom, also, was the only one who thought she was a girl before they found out. Of course, I knew all this, but I can't tell anyone. Ha..ha...

It was kind of a quiet uneventful day otherwise. When the sun started setting I got anxious and wanted to be home watching Monsters or the Grinch. Mommy struggled a few times and I saw a tear in her eye, something to do about not being a complete family. She is very thankful to have me in her life. She calls me her angel, her mini-savior, and the light of her life, but she doesn't feel complete I can tell. I hope someday she gets the secret desires of her heart and finds a good man who will love her and make her feel special, because she is ya know, but she doesn't feel it. I don't mind so much not having what others call a "daddy" probably cuz I don't have an understanding of what one is, but I do know I have an awesome grandpa, brother and brother-in-laws, and I do know that Heavenly Father & Jesus think I'm someone special indeed. I'm so loved.

Me & mom thinks, Jeana & Kurt got the best gift of all, their own little angel to love and cherish. The greatest gift of all, the gift of life.

My First Experience with Snow

This is my favorite sitting position, usually with my blanky between my legs and my binky in my mouth as well. I'm just so stink'n cute. I'm truly loved <3





Mom was a little excited about me experiencing snow for the first time this year (not because she likes it all that much). It's been kind of my year for a lot of firsts. Last year I was still on continuous oxygen, not walking, etc.

Mom got me a taboggan she thought would be nice to take me down the hill in to grandpa's and back. Well, this cute little tabboggan was like a mini snowplow and we dragged 3 feet of snow all the way to grandma and grandpa's. Mom got her workout both downhill and up, and that has been my first and only experience in the snow this year. I won't walk in my boots, I hate mittens, hats and coats; all are just too restrictive (and mom can't argue that one because she won't wear them either).
So, the pictures are nice, and will be the last of them this winter!! However, I do find it fascinating to watch the snow flakes fall from the sky.

December ~ Surgery

On December 19th Mom got me out of bed at 3:00 a.m. and drove us to Salt Lake to Primary Children's hospital, where I underwent 3 surgeries. Dr. Dries put a J tube in my left tear duct, but the right one was too occluded to pass the tube, so he repeated the balloon procedure he did last year on both eyes, that failed. He stitched the tube in place with absorbable sutures and will remove the tube in January, and hopefully this will keep the tear duct open. If the right eye balloon procedure fails again, then there is a more complicated surgery that can be done, bypassing the tear duct and draining into the nasal passage, but that would require another specialist for this procedure. Dr. Dries also did a complete eye exam while I was asleep and says I have excellent vision :)

Dr. Parks took out my tympanostomy tubes he put in last year. We thought I lost the one in my right ear because it couldn't be seen anymore, but he found it in my ear buried in scar tissue and buildup. He had to do some scraping of both ears to insert new tubes in both ears, but got it done. He also did a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy on me. My tonsils and adenoids were quite enlarged and obstructing my airway, making it harder on my pulmonary hypertension/respiratory system and heart. With these out of my airway hopefully I will do better.

They told mom I'd be in the hospital 3-5 days, the first night being in PICCU. However, I did so well in PICCU (and they needed the beds) I was moved onto the floor the same day of my surgery. We drove to Salt Lake just ahead of a big snow storm, and came home in another one, the day after surgery. I'm so stubborn and did so well they released me early. I let mom know a few times that I blamed her for my pain and agony, turning my back on her and ignoring her, glancing at her occassionaly just to make sure she knew it too!! If looks could kill...lol

However, my nurses were awesome. They found my favorite Video, Monsters, Inc. and let me watch it all I wanted. Because I wouldn't lie down, and kept head banging, fighting the sleepiness of the pain meds, they got me 6 pillows and surrounded me by them so when I finally dropped I wouldn't get hurt. I soon became known as "the princess".

To convince them I wanted to go home and was ready after my early afternoon nap the day after surgery, I stood up in my crib for the first time since before surgery, yelled "luh-luh" at mom. She unhooked the monitors and I took off running the halls of the hospital with my leads hanging from my bare chest, kissing my shaddow on the hospital floor, waving and saying "luh-luh" to everyone. Suddenly very active and ready to cause trouble.

They soon released me to go home. In Salt Lake it looked like a perfect break in the storms and the sun was out, so mom thought we would get home in no time. Well our 1.5 hour drive turned into 4 hours. It started snowing before Clearfield, a 30 car pile-up accident happened on the Freeway near Willard and they closed the freeway and diverted both directions of traffic through the old highway. We rolled along under 5 mph for miles and miles, got to the mouth of the canyon and noticed it was snow packed as well, and we got home on my wings and mom's prayers, literally. My pain medicine was wearing off, but I still slept through my moans.

Grandpa was worried about us and had called the highway patrol, who told him they recommended chains on all cars through Sardine Canyon. Mom took it slow and steady. By now it was dark and mom's vision is horrible at night, that with the snow packed roads, stupid drivers, etc., her hands had to be nearly pried from the steering wheel when we pulled into Grandma and Grandpa's that night. Mom doesn't remember slipping or sliding much, but since then she has gotten stuck 2x in the driveway, spun her wheels on the icy roads and has had to make a run at them to get up our hill home. The tires are wearing on the Barney Mobile, and she knows we were being watched over on our trecherous drive home on the 20th. Our home teacher, Brother Woodward, with a partner came by on the 18th and gave me a blessing that all would go well, and it has. I have healed fast and well, and we got to and from Salt Lake safely in some awful road conditions.

All on my Wings and lots of peoples prayers.

Mom is very thankful for the protectors who were watching over us.