Aspiration = Pneumonia

It's a long story but Lucy has had some pretty bad allergies that we've been able to contain with an extra treatment and keeping her mask on.  When she wears her mask a lot, she gets irritated and her sinuses can get dry. Well, I left for a couple of hours to spend some time with D and J and when I came home, Lucy had blood in her mask, I asked the nurse why she was bleeding... her nose bled for a few hours and because she is lying down, it runs to the back of her throat, we suctioned her a lot but she aspirated on some of the blood and her left lung collapsed.  No, we didn't get an x-ray, her entire left chest was more concave than usual.  Her stats were fine (if it had started with a cold or something it would've been much, much worse) so we just watched her closely, I sat with her on the couch the entire day doing treatments and keeping her comfortable and her lung inflated. I can now quote Barbie Diamond Castle and Strawberry Shortcake Jammin' with Cherry Jam.

She seemed to be doing better but for some reason, she just couldn't kick it and her lungs were sounding more "junky".  On Monday, her oxygen was lower and her heart rate was higher.  We knew she needed to be on antibiotics so we called the Dr. and of course, they want us to bring her in, go to the hospital, the whole works.  We assured them we would be okay for the night and if she got worse overnight, we would take her straight into the ER.  Well, she did fine so I took her in the next day...

She kept saying "Mom, Jocey is going to be so sad if I have to go to the hospital" (I thought it was mad but Lucy corrected me) and when she was lying on the x-ray table she hollered, "Mom, how do I look?"  Her lungs showed that she had pneumonia but I told them that I was comfortable taking care of her at home and that we would take her to the hospital if things became too much for us.  They called our pulmonologist and she agreed that home would be best.  Thank heavens!  Who wants to spend their 4th birthday in the hospital??

This picture is of Lucy asking us to put our finger in her ear.  Whenever she has an itch, she will ask us to itch her and we think the funniest places are her ear and her bum.:)

Lucy is doing much better and we are so glad!

Pumpkin Patch

Lucy had been begging to go to a pumpkin patch "to get two pumpkins" (she also asked me to put up some Halloween decorations - so I did) and we do whatever she wants...

We also let her pick out a pumpkin and Dallin and Jocey were literally dragging pumpkins so that she could pick one.  She said, "nope" about 100 times.  Jocey even lined several up on top of a straw bell and Lucy didn't want any of them!

 

Dallin and Jocey are good sports, they were determined to help Lucy find the pumpkin she wanted. They even let us tell Lucy that 2 out of the 3 pumpkins we got were just for her (because she wouldn't take less than two) so that she wouldn't throw a fit.  They are the best.

Chad had a birthday...

We celebrated on Sunday and he was lucky enough to watch the Giants beat game seven, sending them to the World Series on his actual birthday.  And I got to go to a lunch with him and his co-workers, which was fun.  Happy Birthday to the greatest guy I know!

Surprise!!!

My dad turns 60 today, actually, but we planned a surprise party this past weekend.  Two sisters were in CA with me so we flew to Idaho together.  We were supposed to arrive just before the big surprise but our flight was an hour late!  We hurried home and we were able to be the surprise after the surprise!  It was so fun to make my dad (and mom) feel so loved.  I just loved being home with my family, although, I missed Chad and the kids.  It's a good thing Chad is so baller, he can handle his responsibilities and mine like no big deal.

 The party was so much fun and the food was SO good but my favorite part was just relaxing with my family for the rest of the weekend (with no immediate responsibilities of my own).  Alisa and I played "pepper" just like we used to, I went for a long run on my old routes in the freezing (literally) cold, we toured my brothers new home (our apartment would fit perfectly inside of his garage) and stayed up way too late every night... 

 And this is how Chad handles things...

Now, back to reality and making dinner...

Independent

The city bus used to take D and J to school but they canceled our route this year.  We decided that besides making their own lunches this year, they could ride themselves to school too.  We are just trying to help them become independent adults...

We actually haven't let them go all by themselves, a friend usually keeps an eye on them to make sure they get home or if we have a nurse, I will ride with them and on this day, I forgot and I was at the store so I drove close to make sure they got home.

Oh, Dallin loves Calvin and Hobbs, I wish this picture had sound because his laugh is contagious.

Hot

My sister, Angela, is in town for the week and she brought her Arizona weather with her.  It has been SO hot!  90's here is brutal because we are used to perfect weather:).  I am kind of kidding but not really.  We picked Chad up from work and headed to Half Moon Bay and we felt so much better...

Primary Program

About a  month ago, the Primary President asked me if Lucy would like to be in the Primary Program.  I was thrilled and told her that Lucy would love it!  When I asked Lucy if she wanted to be in the program and talk in a microphone, she squealed "Ahhhhhhhhhh! I gotta go tell my chipmunks" (that is what she relates "speaking into a microphone" to -- Alvin and the Chipmunks...)  Anyway, Sunday was the big day and Lucy was clearly excited to be part of the program all of the children at church get to participate in.

We sat on the first pew with her power chair and she kept telling me that she wanted to talk into the mic at the podium that all of the other children were talking into.  I made her mic cool by telling her that she got her own mic, just like Britney.  Well, Lucy's Sunbeam class was up so she drove her power chair to the front of the chapel and when it was her turn I put the mic in front of her mouth and I don't remember every detail but it went something like this...

Me: (whisper) Okay, are you ready?
Lucy: ItrytobelikeJesus (she said it so fast)
Me:  I try to be like Jesus (I repeated so that everyone could understand what she was saying)
Lucy: I try to be like Jesus
Me: by
Lucy: by showing love
Me: to
Lucy: everyone.
Me: everyone.

I could barely finish the last word because I got emotional. I didn't think that I would but Lucy is the greatest example in my life of someone who shows Christ-like love to everyone, especially to me.  She tells me how wonderful and beautiful and strong I am everyday and how much she loves me and how much she loves me to take care of her - even though I am definitely not qualified to do most of the things that I do everyday, she acknowledges my efforts and makes me feel so good- that is something that I really appreciate.  I think that everyone needs a Lucy in their life, to feel that kind of love isn't ordinary, it is absolutely extraordinary.

*When we got back to our bench, she sat on Melanie and Angela's lap and she said, "Did you hear me?  How did I do?"

D and J update

Dallin has been reading everything he gets his hands on and his facts are beginning to make sense.  He is the type of kid that throws 1,000 facts at you in one minute (if anyone ever feels like being a listener, you are ALWAYS welcome into our home).  The thing is, the "fact" may or may not be true.  Well, lately, the facts he spits out are starting to make a lot more sense and I am starting to feel dumb when he and Chad start talking about the fact in detail because I thought the "fact" was, well, not a fact!  Maybe I should start reading too:)  

Jocey is still the best big sister in the world.  She and Lucy love to play together, the other day I laid her in Jocey's room and when I came back 10 minutes later, Lucy was laying on Jocey's bed.  I have no clue how she got there and I don't even want to think about how it may have happened but Lucy was pretty proud of her big sister.  Her bangs that she cut are starting to get longer but it isn't making them blend in at all (can you see them?).

I just love these two, they are such great kids and I wish they would stop growing up so fast.