My Dear Sweet Pops!!

These past two weeks have been the most difficult days of my life, and it's been a while since I have blogged, and have been trying to think of the right words to say for this entry. About six years ago, my dad was diagnosed with diabetes and has always been able to control it with pills, with the exception of the past couple of months. Right after Christmas he got sick a couple of times and we just thought it was the stomach flu, and maybe because his sugar levels kept going up. On Monday, February 9th, he woke up extremely jaundice and yellow, and my mom rushed him to the Dr. Two days later they did a catscan, and discovered that the reason he was so jaundice is because he has a tumor the size of a tennis ball that is blocking his bile ducts and not allowing the bile to drain. The Dr. called my parents and told them that he needed to see them right away. He was diagnosed with pancreas cancer, and said that he wanted my dad to see an oncologist (cancer specialist) immediately. On Friday, the 13th, me, my mom, my dad, and Kevin went to "Utah Cancer Specialists" where we met with the most AMAZING Dr. that I have ever met. He was encouraging, fun, and optimistic that a surgeon might be able to remove the tumor and start Chemotherapy. It's been an extremely exhausting and overwhelming process meeting with G.I. Dr.'s, radiologists, surgeons, and all sorts of other specialists. He was hospitalized over the weekend after a procedure to put an external drain in to start helping with his jaundice. He is home now and feeling pretty good. He has been extremely positive and continues to comfort us with his amazing attitude. We are trying desperately to bring his sugar levels down so that the radiologists can perform a "petscan" test, which will show if there is cancer anywhere else. The catscan shows that the cancer has spread into his large blood vessels near his pancreas. Dr. Frame (oncologist) is going to start the Chemotherapy treatments on Friday in hopes that it will shrink the tumor, and possibly do surgery in three months. As my family continues to be faced with these trials, we continue to feel the love of our Heavenly Father, and now more than ever are relying upon Him for a miracle. We have to have faith that the Lord will bless us and trust that we are strong enough to make it through this. It seems like I am always asking for everybody to pray for us, but am hoping once again that it's o.k. to ask!! We love you all and feel so blessed to be surrounded by such loving, caring, and supportive friends and family. I will continue to keep you posted and have even thought of creating a seperate blog just to show his progress. Thanks again!!

My sweet little nephew!!

Marshall - 2 mos. old

As many of you know, Marshall has been home now for over a week and is doing GREAT!! He is on the highest dose of medication that the Dr.'s have ever seen, but they feel like as long as it is helping him they will continue to keep him on it. He continues to grow and LOVES his food. I had the wonderful opportunity of spending the day with him and Kevin and Marcy yesterday and had a total blast. He is so special and has such a beautiful spirit about him. He is a very happy and content baby and always has a smile on his face. I just sat and held him the whole time and didn't want to let him go. I can't wait for he and Caleb to become best little buddies and play and laugh together. We are so grateful for his ongoing progress and for the love that he has brought to our family. We love you baby!!

More Hawaii pics.

Beautiful sunset on the Sheraton beachNapali Coast

The Napali Coast - BREATHTAKING!! It was so beautiful!

The famous Kauai lighthouse

Opeaka (sp.) Waterfalls

Hawaii Cont....

Syd. playing on Lydgate BeachGrandpa and Grandma cruising around in their convertible

Poipu Beach - Our favorite

There are roosters everywhere you go in Kauai

Beautiful Kauai - Jan. 2009

These two Hawaiian Monk Seals played right on the beach while everybody looked on. Braden looking for whales

The kids had SO much fun snorkeling and saw so many different kinds of fish

Syd. with the sea turtle in the background. It was amazing to see all of this sealife!!

It's very clear me to now why Kauai is called one of the most beautiful places to visit!! It was so lush and green everywhere we went. We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed spending time with our SWEET little children!! (Accept for when they were fighting, arguing, teasing, complaining because we were going to see another waterfall, mad that they HAD to go back to the beach, sick of riding in the car, trying to get each other into trouble, tattling, the list goes on and on!!) The beautiful sunshine and 82 degree weather helped take all of the craziness away!!

Traveling husband = some perks!!

So, we are off to Kauai!! Yes, my children are spoiled, but I do have to say that it helps that the trip is covered by "frequent flier miles" and "Hilton points". We are SOOOOOO excited and can't wait to share all of our pics. and adventures!! Wish me luck....I've never traveled with a one-year old before!! (Kerrian, I miss you and DESPERATELY and need your advice!!) Here goes!! ALOHA!!

Marshall Update!!

Marshall has made amazing progress over the past two days. It has been quite a tough road for this little guy but he continues to show us just how tough he really is. The wheeziness that he has been experiencing been a concern to the doctors, but due to the many S.V.T. episodes that he was having they were hesitant to scope his little throat. So, finally yesterday morning the E.N.T. team was able to go in and see that 90% of his airway was being blocked by old scar tissue from the ventilator. Miraculously he has been breathing through a space the size of a pin hole. The Dr. was shocked, and said that it was completely unexpected. They were able to fix most of the blockage, and hoping for the rest of the swelling to go down. He is sooooo beautiful and doing GREAT!! We are so blessed and want to thank you again for your thoughts and prayers!! It truly is the reason why is healing so well!! We love you all!

What a cutie!!

Such a proud Grandma!!

Just a quick update on Marshall....

Marshall was admitted to the hospital on Monday and was given additional medication to help keep his heartbeat normal. At 2:00 a.m. this morning, he went back into S.V.T. and had to be re-admitted into the P.I.C.U. (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). The Dr.'s started one more medication and are hoping this will help. We are so grateful for all of your love and support and cannot tell you how much your thoughts, prayers, and concern mean to our family. We will keep you posted!!

Please pray for Baby Marshall, Kevin, and Marcy

For all of my dear, sweet family and friends reading this, I just wanted to give you a quick update on baby Marshall. He has had a great week home with the exception of a little wheeziness. On Friday, he had a check-up, and the Dr. said that he was probably experiencing some irritation due to the ventilator, but that his lungs were clear, and all was well. Throughout the weekend, Kev. and Marc. continued to monitor his breathing and decided to take him to the Dr. this morning. Unfortunately, his heart had gone back into S.V.T. (which means that it was beating above normal). They are on their way back up to Primary's E.R. right as we speak, to see if he has to be re-admitted. We are so grateful for all of the prayers that have been given on his behalf and ask that you will continue to pray for baby Marshall, Kevin, and Marcy. We know that their is great power in prayer, and we thank you all for continuing to pray for their family.

BACKING UP......

Happy New Year to all of you!! I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. With the business of the holiday season, my blog has been severely neglected, and I haven't been very dilligent in posting our latest happenings, so I decided that I would try to catch up and back up just a little bit. Bear with me it's been a crazy past couple of mos.

Christmas was so special this year with our dear, sweet little Caleb, and our other children, but difficult all at the same time. I became very sick with the stomach flu on the 23rd of Dec., and was down in bed through Christmas Eve night. I sat and cried as I watched my little family drive off to G-ma and G-pa's without me. Fortunately, I started feeling better that night and woke up Christmas morning to lots of fun and tons of excitement! We couldn't believe when we looked outside that a major blizzard had truly given us a white Christmas. I was devastated knowing that my mom and dad wouldn't be able to drive in such dangerous, snowy weather, from Grantsville. I called my mom and had to hold back the tears (AGAIN) as I knew this would be the first Christmas that I wouldn't be spending with my parents or the rest of my family as well. I tried to stay positive, and focus on my own little family. Then, Shaun looked at me and said he felt like he was going to throw up.....one right after the other, it came....Austin, then Braden, and on and on!! I felt like Cinderella, scrubbing, washing, bleaching, all on Christmas Day. Syd. and I finally sat down and played a quick game and ate our Christmas Dinner all by ourselves. By the end of the night, I was exhausted and wanted everybody to just get better really fast. Then at 2:00 A.M., poor little Syd. came upstairs and had thrown up all over her bedroom. She was sick throughout the rest of the night, and for the next day. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We had to wait for several days before we could celebrate with our family's just because we didn't want to pass germs. When we were finally able to go out to Grantsville, and celebrate with my family, my camera batteries were dead, and I don't even have ONE pic. of my wonderful parents or family with my kids. So sad!! (For those of you that know me, I never leave home without a camera, and feel completely lost when my batteries die!!). Well, everybody's better and we are excited to embark on a new year and carry on with all of the many adventures that are out there waiting for us!!

KEVIN, MARCY, AND BABY MARSHALL

On Dec. 18th, Marshall went in for his routine 2-week check-up where his pediatrician became very concerned about his heartbeat. It was supposed to be beating between 150 -200 bpm, and was beating at 250 bpm. He sent them to the Primary Children's ER, and was quickly seen by a cardiologist, and administered medication to bring his heartbeat down. Unfortunately, the med. did not work and he was admitted into the P.I.C.U. the following morning. It was unimaginable to me that my own brother and his dear, sweet wife were going through the VERY same experience that Shaun and I had just gone through one year prior. I couldn't believe it, and was shocked and saddened all at the same time. The days that followed were extremely difficult, and it seemed like none of the medications were working to bring his little heartbeat down. Miraculously, after their ward and our family fast and many prayers and priesthood blessings, he started to respond to the medication that he was given and was just barely released from the hosp. two days ago. He truly is a miracle, and a very special baby. We love them so very much, and want to thank all of you for your concern, thoughts, and prayers. It has meant the world to Kevin and Marcy and to our family.

OUR VERY SPECIAL SERVICE PROJECT!

While Caleb was in the hospital during Christmas last year, we felt so blessed and loved by complete strangers who had donated beautiful homemade quilts, blankets, bibs, burpcloths, special stuffed animals, and so many other generous gifts. Shaun and I had discussed that we wanted to do something special to give back to those parents who would be spending their holidays in the hosp. this year. We sat down with the kids during Family Home Evening, and talked about how much these gifts meant to us, and asked if they could donate some money, and ideas for what our family could do for these babies. We were so proud of them when they each willingly gave $5 of their own money. We decided to buy 44 (that's how many NICU cribs there are) stuffed giraffes and penguins with a special note attached. It was truly a beautiful experience, and a tradition that we will hopefull carry on for years to come.

Syd. and I had the great privlege of delivering these stuffed animals and the darling stockings that our "Activity Days" group designed and created for the NICU babies as well. (Thanks Em. for all of your help and supporting me in this big, crazy project! I love you!)

Syd. LOVES dressing Caleb up in anything that she can find. You name it--her overgrown, huge sweatshirts, hats, scarves, the list goes on and on!!

ANNUAL NOWERS CHRISTMAS PARTY

Thanks Nat for hosting such a wonderful party. We had a wonderful time!! The kids had a blast trying to hit open the pinata, opening presents, and just hangin' out!!

Friends Christmas Party - I think we need to work on our "funny faces." (It was getting late) I miss these beautiful girls so much, and LOVE when I get to spend time with them. They are such wonderful friends, and are such amazing examples to me!! I love you girls!! (We missed you Angie and Teri, and can't wait to plan our next G.N.O.) Happy 14th anniversary to my beautiful Shaun!! I feel SO blessed to be married to my very best friend. Thanks for always making me feel so special, cheering me up when I'm feeling down, always giving me GREAT advice, and for being the BEST husband and father in the world. I love you more than words can say!! XOXO
Caleb's 1st official haircut -- This little guy is such an angel baby. He just sat there so still, and was easily entertained with squirt bottles and combs. Let's just hope he stays that way, RIGHT??!!

Happy 6th Birthday Braden!! Braden brings so much love and joy to our family. He is quite the little jokester, and rarely cracks a smile when he's trying to be funny. He LOVES spending time with his buddies, and most especially, his cousin Dallin!!

Thanksgiving 2008 - Every year we trade off with our families and this year we went to the Koos family. We had a wonderful dinner, and lots of fun with all of Shaun's cousins. We sure did miss the Tullis'-my kids were counting down the hours until they got there.

Yes, we were some of the crazy girls that went to the midnight showing of "Twilight!" We had a total blast, and couldn't believe all of the devoted fans all decked out for the night!

Priesthood Preview -- It's hard to believe that Austin will be 12 in June, and will be ready to hold the Aaronic priesthood. Shaun did a great job giving a talk on the importance of holding the priesthood. I am so grateful for the gospel in our lives. We are so proud of Austin, and love him so very much.


Austin's final game - Unfortunately, Austin's team didn't make it to the play-off's this year, but had a great time trying to get there. Can't wait until next football season!! Go Bingham!