Surgery Day

Enjoying a Popsicle after surgery

Hannah's surgery has come and gone and I'm here to report (a little late) that she did great. We had to be to the hospital at 6:00 am (thank goodness we live only 10 minutes from the hospital) so my mother-in-law offered to take the day off work and stay with the other kids. She arrived late the night before the surgery and we spent some time talking about nothing and just enjoying her company. We went to bed at a reasonable time (about 10:45) but neither Kenny nor I got much sleep that night. There was just something about what was happening the next day that made us a little antsy.

Hannah woke up on her own around 5:30 and came to see if she could get in bed with us. It was perfect timing and we let her sleep in our bed while we got everything ready. It was nice that we didn't have to risk waking Gracie up when we went to get her. Once she was up and in the car she was ready for the day (despite the early hour.) I was impressed with the speed of the hospital. Normally it takes forever at hospitals, but we sat for maybe 3 minutes before they were weighing her, taking her temp, and making sure she was ready for surgery. They took us to our own little curtain room and gave her some clothes to change into. The nurse said if she didn't want to change until right before the surgery it would be OK. Well, the shirt looked like a dress to Hannah so she was more than willing to change. She even had to leave her room and go show Daddy who was filling out paper work. After that it was a short 30-45 minute wait while we answered questions and met with the anesthesiologist.

Pretending to talk on the phone (the channel changer and nurse call thing) in her hospital clothes before surgery.

Right before they took us to the surgery waiting room they gave Hannah some drugs too make her relax a little. It's suppose to help with separation from the parents and with the other things they're awake for. They took us back the the waiting area where I wondered if the drugs were going to work before she had to leave us. Luckily less than 5 minutes before they came to get her the drugs REALLY started working. She started getting loopy, silly and would stay on the same laugh for an abnormal amount of time. It was very cute to watch and I'm glad the drugs started working before they took her away. I don't think she would have been OK leaving without being a little out of it.

This is one of her prolonged laughs. She was being sooo silly.

Looking a little out of it.

After that they sent us to wait for her to wake up. I was not real happy with the idea that she had to wake up without us, but there was nothing I could do about that. Dr. Hanks came in and told us she had a significant amount of water in both ears and it was good we got them cleared out. He said the tonsillectomy also went well and that we could head upstairs to see her. What a relief! I wasn't really worried that anything was going to go wrong, it was just nice to hear that nothing had. Dr. Hanks said that because she was only 2 they may decide to keep her overnight so they transferred her to the pediatric ward just, in case.

We hurried upstairs to find out she wasn't there yet. The 10 minute wait seemed like FOREVER and then we heard her crying in the hall. She was not happy at all. Apparently the funny drugs from earlier don't make for happy kids when they wake up. She didn't want to be awake, she didn't know where she was, she didn't want anyone touching her, she was just plain miserable. This was the hardest part of the day. I had never seen her, or any of my kids, act this way. She was so lost and in so much pain and still drugged that she just wasn't even close to herself. They had me sit in the rocking chair and hold her while they tried to take her vitals. She wasn't into this at all. They decided she was crying so she was obviously breathing and that would do until she calmed down and went to sleep. I held her for a while, until she fell asleep, and then we put her in the bed. She slept for a little over an hour and when she woke up she was a totally different kid.

Enjoying some Green Jello

The rest went really well. Hannah enjoyed numerous popsicles and lots of different kinds of jello. She drank a lot of apple juice and surprised her nurse with how happy she was, how willing to eat she was, and how willing to take her medicine she was. Every time the nurse came in to take her vitals, Hannah stuck the thing on her toe and helped with the blood pressure. She was very pleasant and you never would have guessed she had just had surgery.

We hung out with her for a few hours and then Kenny went to get the kids at the house. We were so grateful to Grandma for being willing to come and take care of the others. It was so nice to be together at the hospital. She reported that the kids did great without us which is always good to know. After Sarah got home from school Kenny brought the kids and Grandma to the hospital to see Hannah. By this point Hannah was getting antsy. She didn't want to be in her little hospital room anymore so we went on a walk around the hall. The kids enjoyed this and Hannah loved getting out and moving around. They stayed for awhile and then Grandma had to go back home so Kenny took them all home. This was not OK with Hannah. She did not want to stay while everyone else left. Luckily Daddy had brought her favorite movie and that helped calm her down.

Roaming the halls with Daddy, Gracie, and Grandma

Hanging out in her bed with her siblings.

Lucky for us she had done so well all day that the doctor said if she ate a good dinner we could go home. She did really well and ate all her jello, some of her chicken broth (that stuff was gross, I don't blame her for not eating it) and drank some apple juice. Even with all that eating she was still hungry. Dr. Hanks said he wanted her to try some more solid food to see if she could keep it down. They brought us a bowl of Macaroni and Cheese (one of Hannah's favorite foods) and told me to try and get her to take at least a couple bites. When they came to check on her she had eaten the entire thing. The nurses were amazed and when she didn't throw it up they said we could go home. It was such a relief to me and such a relief to her. I don't think she would have done well staying the night.

It was a long day, but a successful day. Hannah did better than expected and we were so proud of her. While waiting to be discharged Hannah didn't want to be in her room anymore. The two of us roamed the hall for at least an hour. Luckily for me Hannah's nurse told me of a wagon they kept for the kids. This way I didn't have to carry her for the entire hour. The nursing staff was great. Ashely, our nurse, thought Hannah was a doll and was very sweet. They fed me dinner even though I wasn't a patient, sometimes it pays to be pregnant, and they took real good care of Hannah. I'm glad it's over, I'm glad it went well, and I'm excited to see what comes of all of this.

Goodbye January Thaw, Hello Sprained Wrist

The week before Hannah's surgery was a pleasant week here in Idaho Falls. The snow had pretty much all melted or blown away, the streets were clear, and the temperatures reached the mid to upper 30's. We were in heaven. I had decided to take advantage of the weather and let the kids play outside a little more. They road their bikes and scooters and I even took them to the playground one day. The playground was still mostly surrounded by snow, but it was outside and helped release some energy so it was OK.

Ben and Sarah swinging.

Hannah enjoying the swings.

The day I took the kids to the park we enjoyed a little swinging time, a little playing time, and a little crashing and almost breaking our wrist time. The kids were having a lot of fun, but it was starting to get real cold again so I told them we needed to go. They could each do one more thing. Ben wanted to climb on the outside of the big tube slide. This isn't unusual for him so I went ahead and let him while I tried to get my ever growing pregnant body in the tubes to drag out Gracie. I didn't see him fall, but I hear it. The lady 50 feet away heard it, it was that loud.

Gracie loves climbing in the tubes and going down the slides.

Ben climbing the outside of the slide he fell off of.

I think he fell flat on his back with his arm under him funny. When I got to him the first thing out of his mouth was, "Mom, I think I need to go to the doctors." As a mom, I of course panicked, but as time went on and he felt better quickly I realized he had probably just gotten the wind knocked out of him and he'd probably never felt that before. He did land funny with his wrist underneath him and it was hurting him, I could tell by the way he was holding it. I checked to make sure he could move it and then scooped him up and took him home.

When we got home Kenny checked his wrist as well. He could move it in all different directions and when we'd push on it and ask him if it hurt he'd say, "Well kind of, I think." We were pretty confident it wasn't broken, just sprained so we wrapped it up and had him take it easy for the rest of the day. I told Kenny I knew it was a minor incident, but I didn't like it at all. I've decided my kids are NEVER allowed to get really hurt, because I don't think I could handle it. No broken bones, no stitches, no car accidents, nothing. I think that's a reasonable request don't you?


The January thaw didn't last too long and a few days later we got a huge snow storm dumping around 6 inches of snow overnight. We've been enjoying a different kind of weather now, taking the kids sledding, building snowmen at friends houses, watching it snow most days of the week, and helping Mommy scrap the driveway. It's been wonderful except for Tuesday, the day before Hannah's surgery, when the temperature only made it to 2 degrees. That was a little cold and not much fun for playing in. Oh well! It's an Idaho winter and we'll take it.

It's Surgery For Hannah

After nearly 18 months and countless doctors and therapist we think we may have narrowed down why Hannah can't speak correctly. It's wonderful news if only we could bypass the surgery that comes with it. I took Hannah to get a hearing test last Friday and they discovered she has a significant amount of water in her ears. This alone causes many kids to have a hard time hearing and thus speaking correctly, but when you couple it with what was determined at the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors on Tuesday you get a child that talks like this. . .
















At the ENT's on Tuesday he told us that Hannah did indeed have a significant amount of water in her ears (why did no one catch this before?) and that the negative pressure was so sever that they didn't want to wait to put the tubes in. It was also determined that her tonsils are too big. This was suggested by her speech therapist and confirmed by the ENT. They believe that her large tonsils are making it so the pallet that covers the airway to your nose when you talk cannot do it's job. Those big tonsils keep getting in the way. So out come the tonsils and in go the tubes. It's a double whammy for Hannah, but hopefully it will make a world of difference.

She goes in on Wednesday the 28th for both surgeries. I feel so bad for her and what she has to go through, but I'm hopeful that in the long run it will help her speak and be less frustrated. She's such an amazing kid and despite her inability to speak she very rarely throws tantrums and is generally such a sweetheart. I'm grateful she's mine and I look forward to more communicative Hannah in the future.

Making Bread

My friend Amy and her boys came over on Monday to show me how to make bread. Amy is a master bread maker and when she taught our ward in Virginia I was on the cruise and had to miss it. I've been wanting to learn and she agreed to show me. How nice of her. The kids did wonderful playing downstairs together and Amy and I enjoyed baking and talking. It's nice to have her nearby and though I'm glad her husband comes home from Iraq in March, I will miss them when they move back to Virginia.

Sarah Kate and Isaac. She is all into the boys. I think we may be in trouble when she gets older. :)

The bread making was very easy. We mixed it and kneaded it by hand which I've decided is more than I want to do right now. It tires me out too quickly. I think I'll try my mixer next time. The bread was delicious and I think maybe I could even make some on my own. What a homemaker I'm turning out to be.

These boys live on a farm and spend so much time with animals, but they've never seen a gerbil. They loved them.

Here's Sarah showing Noah her Snowflake.

Walking With Dinosaurs and Other Fun

For Christmas my in-laws gave everyone in the family tickets to the show Walking With Dinosaurs. It's a show traveling the world that has recently come to Salt Lake. It hosts life sized dinosaurs that move around the stage as a narrator explains what life was like during the age of the dinosaurs. It was very impressive. We were high enough up that you couldn't tell just how big the dinosaurs were, but that was just fine. It kind of freaked the kids out as it was so higher seats were great. Everyone enjoyed the show and we were way impressed with the dinosaurs.

After the dinosaur show we went to my sister-in-laws house for lunch. We enjoyed some time together as the kids played with Savannah and her toys. After lunch we all headed over to April's, my other sister-in-law, house. On the 20th my sister-in-law, Sarah, turned 30 so April had planned a surprise party for her complete with karaoke and cake. Sarah never expected it and everyone, especially the kids, loved surprising her.

Kenny and April goofing of with the microphone. Hannah obviously approved.

Hannah taking her turn.

Aunt Sarah got to sing the first song. It was slow so she asked everyone to dance along.

Then the party really started. What a bunch of drunk singer. Aunt Nancy, Helen, and Sarah drunk on Rootbeer.

That rootbeer was so good Aunt Nancy had to share. Funny looking picture hu!

This is Zacky my nephew. He reminds me so much of my little Ben. What a cutie.

I love watching men with babies. Way to go Grandpa.

The big 30 year old. Man is she old. :) Happy Birthday Sarah.

The kids eating cake. What could be better.

Jolie's Wedding

The only picture I got of the newlyweds.

Kenny's cousin Jolene got married in Delaware on the 19th of December. Lucky for us her husband, Rob is from Shelly, Idaho which is not too far from our house. They had a reception there on the 2nd of January. We were so happy to be able to go and and be able to host some for Kenny's family that day and even into the night.

Our first guest were Bruce and Nancy. They're the parents of the bride and they were our east coast family while we lived in Virginia. It was nice to have them over and to see them again. They couldn't stay long, but we enjoyed their visit.

Next Kenny's Aunt Janet, Uncle Jim, cousin Shannon and her husband Wayne came for a visit. They stayed for a few hours talking and playing with the kids. While they were here my Mother-in-law arrive and was able to visit as well. We had a nice pizza dinner before we all got ready to head to the reception.

The reception was very nice. Jolene looked beautiful and she and Rob are obviously happy. Hannah LOVED Jolie's dress and would run up to the line all throughout the evening just to touch it. It was so fun to see so many of Kenny's family. Many of them we haven't seen since the cruise in May.

Jolene and Aunt Nancy

Hannah with Jolene one of the many times she snuck up there to see Jolie's dress.

Gracie loved the cookies, can you tell!

Hannah with Great Grandma Holderness

Ben being Ben

Sarah Kate wanted a picture with Jolene, but not with that boy. For some reason she was afraid of Rob. How funny.

After the reception we came home and welcomed Kenny's mom and his Uncle Kevin and Aunt Pam for the night. Michael and Sarah also came over and stayed until everyone went to bed. It was so fun to have company over. We have wanted people to come visit us and this was a great day for that. We stayed up late talking and then woke up to a french toast and bacon dinner cooked by Kenny. Thanks to everyone who came to visit. It really made our day.

New Years Day

We had a very relaxing New Year's Day. In my opinion that is how New Year's should be, very relaxing. We woke up and had a wonderful breakfast of German Pancakes made by my sister-in-law Sarah. After that everyone just kind of hung out for awhile. The kids played, the women did a puzzle, Kenny helped his dad with their computer, and Michael watched the kids and the guys. After awhile we knew it was time to do something with the kids so we got them all bundled up to go outside.

Gracie loves sitting in the snow, eating the snow, and crawling around in the snow. It's not much, but it's about all she can do.

Climbing on Grandpa's ladder back up the hill.

Hannah being thrown in the air by Daddy. She loved this game until the one time she landed on her face and this happened . . .

She was not happy at all.

Sarah taking a rest in the snow.

Ben going sledding with Uncle Michael's sled.

It looks like fun until you realize it's a sharp, short drop that with pile of snow at the bottom.

This is what happens when you go head first into the snow at the bottom of the sledding drop.

I'm not able to do much of anything in the snow now that I'm 3 months pregnant so I was very grateful to Kenny who was willing to entertain our kids. He and Michael played with the kids letting them go sledding, play in the snow, and even building a snow fort with Kenny. Ben and Sarah stayed out a lot longer than anyone and longer I thought they would. I even had to
MAKE Sarah come in. Despite the cold, I guess they were having a lot of fun.

After sledding we came in and had a nice ham dinner prepared by Grandma. It was delicious and my kids even ate it which says a lot. After that we put Hannah and Trent done for naps (along with their dad's). Travis, Ben and Sarah helped Grandma make some rice crispy treats. It was so fun for them to dress up in Grandma's holiday aprons and do some real cooking with Grandma.

The 3 cooks.

Travis, Ben, and Sarah

Travis and Ben measured and stirred the cereal.

Sarah helped Grandma with the marshmallows.

Everyone was so happy with the final product.

It was a great New Year's holiday and we were so happy to spend it with family. We headed home around 5:00. Just in time to put the kids in bed and get ready for the next day.

New Years Eve

This year we decided to spend New Years at my in-laws. We invited ourselves and the rest of Kenny's siblings to spend a fun fill few days in Grace. Luckily my in-laws were excited about it and did mind we invited ourselves. (OK we asked first, but we did kind of invite ourselves.) It had been a Gass Christmas so we hadn't seen Kenny's family for the holidays and we were hoping his siblings could make it. We were a little dissapointed when only Michael and Sarah were in attendance. It wasn't as many people as we had hoped, but it was still a lot of fun.

Michael and Sarah

Kenny and I

Grandma and Grandpa

Our sleeping kids at midnight.

We arrived early evening on New Years Eve. The kids played nicely together and the adults were able to talk. Helen made some yummy clam chowder (I normally hate clam chowder, but this was good) and we all just spent time hanging out. After awhile we put a movie on for the kids and played hand and foot. Soon the kids were ready for bed and I was ready to put them to bed. We rang in the New Year with many games of hand and foot, some talking, and some sparkling drinks (I'd say sparkling cider, but we had 8 bottles in all with many different varieties.) It was great and we were a little tired, but I was proud of us oldies for staying up until midnight.

It looks like Michael barely made it to Midnight! Does he look a little drunk on sparkling cider?

December's Done

I'm finally done with December blogging. I can't tell you how happy it makes me. Now I can concentrate on something else. Enjoy what's there if you care and I'll try to keep up on my blog better from now on.

I Cheated

So I cheated a little. I wanted all my blogs that happened in 2008 to be recorded as posted in 2008 despite the fact that I've been lazy/busy and haven't written them. So on New Years I wrote the title to all the blogs left I had to write and left them unpublished until I could get back to them. This wouldn't be a problem, but if my blog is attached to someone elses blog my new posts would show up as being posted 5 days ago and people may not no I've updated. So, I'm writing this so Blogger registers that I have blogged today. That way people know I have new blogs. I still have Christmas to blog about, but that will probably be done in the next few days. Until then enjoy our 4 new pre-Christmas adventures and don't think I'm too weird.