Moving and Vacation!!!

Last week we moved into our new place. It was so exciting!!! Just 3 days later we headed on our little vacation to a place up in Odgen Canyon. It was a very busy week, but also

a lot of FUN!!! The world's BEST movers!!! Thank you everyone who helped us move!
Grandma Maureen and Laynie! She can always get Laynie to SMILE!!! I also celebrated my 25th Birthday. I can't believe I am a quarter of a century old!

We had such a BLAST on our vacation. My mom and Trevor's brother Jordan came with us. We swam, relaxed, shopped, and of course ate so much.

The weather was perfect and we hung out by the pool everyday!

My friend Whitney and her little family came up on Saturday and spent the night with us. Drake and Quinton had such a great time together. Of course I couldn't get a good picture of these two active kids, but they were so cute together!

Laynie was a complete ANGEL the whole time. She is such a fun little girl!

This slide brought us some major enjoyment. Drake had NO CLUE that he was going to land in water the first time he went down it. He went down all by himself and came flying out. He was so brave- it was really big! He finally started to get the hang of it and started putting his arms and legs out to slow himself down. One time he stopped half way through, clibed back up, and walked back down the stairs!
After many hillarious attempts, he finally started coming out looking like this!

Drake was in heaven with his Mamma Debbie there. He has the biggest crush on her and is completely obsessed with her. She was his best friend the whole time and he even got to sleep with her.

The Carson Crew also came up for a day. We had a great time seeing them and the kids had a blast together. Drake was suffering from pure exhaustion that day so he was kind of a stinker!

Thank you mom and Jordan for coming. You guys helped us so much so we could relax and have a good time too! Jordan got to know how crazy my family really is... I think we scared him a little bit! haha

We had a great time! Now it is back to the real world and time to work on getting our house put together!!!

Father's Day!!!

This is going to be short and sweet. Didn't take any pictures today. Happy Father's Day! I love all the father's in my life! I seriously have such amazing men in my life!!! Thanks for everything! I have the best husband that is the father of our house. Thanks for making me a mother. This might be the busiest week ever!

~A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.

Crazy Busy...

CrAzY bUsY is what we have been lately!!! Trying to pack, painting our new place, trying to rent the house we are living in, and appointments galore is what we have been up to!
What cute boys!

Little Miss Laynie is all ready for summer! I just love her rolls in her swimming suit. We have worked hard for those fat rolls and we like to show them off!!!! She has been on a sleeping strike lately and this momma is not loving it. She is back to having really back nights again! Poor thing! Maybe being tired is making our busy lives even crazier! Have I mentioned how much I dislike packing!?!?!?! It is horrible! I have learned a lot from having such a special child.

I have learned that children with special needs and certain challenges are much more SPECIAL than I even realized.

I have learned to be a mom, nurse, insurance fighter, respiratory therapist, and advocate for my child all at the same time.

I have learned to be so THANKFUL for my healthy body.

I have learned that I can't get through this challenge in life alone. There have been many times when I say, "Heavenly Father, I need help".

I have learned that this is my calling in life. I don't know if anyone else believes in that or not, but I strongly feel like my purpose in life (right now) is to care for my children and help Laynie through her many health challenges.

I have learned not to judge a horrible looking person you see at Walgreens because she may be a woman who has a baby in the PICU and was forced to leave from 7-8 for a nurse shift change and she hasn't showered in days and isn't wearing make-up.

I have also learned not to get offended by weird stares or odd comments. Most people are just curious and they aren't trying to be rude. I enjoy telling people about Laynie who actually care to listen.

I have learned that siblings of children with special needs are extra special too. I think Heavenly Father sends them to earth with extra patience, compasion, and love.

I have learned that Laynie is a million times stronger than I am. There are times I break down and think that I am so sick of not being able to take her everywhere with me and always being couped up in the house, I am sick of suctioning her 25 times a night, I am sick of dragging her oxygen tube around, I am sick of talking to doctors, nurses, and our insurance every day, and I am sick of all of her appointments. When I am being weak, all I have to do is look at her and she gives me the world's biggest smile and it makes everything better. SHE is the one that has to endure all of the pain and problems of her medically frail body, NOT ME! She is the one that stregthens me! She is AMAZING! Her strength is something that makes her more SPECIAL than words can describe.

She has had 3 appointments in the past 2 days. She had to wear this 24 hour Holter Monitor. She enjoyed playing with the cords at least. She saw her Cardiologist, got an EEG, and a chest x-ray. No results yet, but we are hoping and praying for the best!

Kids

Instead of packing, I took some pictures....
I love the way Laynie is looking at Drake. She loves him so much!

I have the cutest kids......................................................

Good thing our kids didn't turn out looking like our kids in The Gene Machine!!! We took these pictures before we were married. These 3 kids still make me laugh every time I see them.

This one is Drake...

Here is Laynie...

And I guess we have to have 1 more child and it will be a boy!

P.S. If you don't have kids yet, don't do The Gene Machine because you may not want to have them afterwards. Just kidding- I think all 5 of our children are beautiful!

P.S.S. I really need to start packing! Our house will be done really SOON!!!!

Personality...

I was looking back at vidoes and came across the first half of this video and it made me realize how much she has grown and how much her personality has grown. And I can't even believe how much louder her voice is now! The second half was taken before she got pneumonia, but it really shows how crazy and cute she is. She is feeling so much better, but she isn't quite back to her wild self. She is so cute. ENJOY!

Pneumonia...

We didn't have a very fun Memorial Day weekend. Laynie ended up getting sick on Friday morning. Saturday she was much worse. I was going to wait to take her into the doctor because I hate seeing a doctor that doesn't know her and all of her medical history. I thought I would give it one more day and then take her in on Sunday if she wasn't feeling better. Sunday she was so miserable and I knew she was super sick so we went to Community Care. They did a chest x-ray and said that she had pneumonia. I was so heartbroken for her. They said since we had a pulse oximeter and oxygen at home that we could take her home and keep her out of the hospital. Sunday night was horrible. I sat watching her every second. I watched the way she was breathing. I watched her oxygen level go up and down. I kept listening to her lungs. I seriously was a nervous wreck. I knew we had to take her to the hospital. I have never gotten such a strong feeling, it was basically a loud scream in my ear to take my little baby to the hospital to be better monitored. We got there and after many hours and pokes and screams she was nestled in her hospital bed. She got 2 IV antibiotics, they decreased her feedings because she kept vomiting and just kept a close eye on her. She stayed for Sunday and Monday night and we came home Tuesday evening. She is doing well, but is still pretty sick. Her doctor said that she will probably take a month to be better! That is a long time!!!

It was a different experience than being at Primary Children's. We really liked our nurses but none of them had ever seen a baby with a trach before. The protocol at Primary's with a trach patient is they have to have the patient in view at all times. They bring a desk and sit literally outside the door with the door open. They watch her like a hawk. It is almost annoying, but I like it! At the hospital here I was telling her nurse how far to suction her and she said, "Oh no, I don't suction". I was a little surprised, but I was fine doing it all the time if she didn't feel comfortable. She shut the door all the way and said, "Goodnight"! It was just a little different, but it was still okay! Nothing beats Primary Children's!

Now we are even more paranoid about germs and taking Laynie out. This is the reason why we don't want her getting sick. Just a normal cold turns into pneumonia for her. It is so sad and I feel so bad for her. I guess she still needs to be protected from the outside world.

I really missed Drake while I was taking care of Laynie. He had a blast with his grandparents and cousins though. He has said, "Mommy, Drake missed you" probably 75 times today. On top of saying that he hugged me every time. This seriously melted my heart and totally made my day. Thank you Drake for being so understanding and making your mommy feel so much better. I love you!

So, overall our weekend totally stunk... but our little girl continues to be so strong and fights so hard through all of her obstacles. She has changed me in so many little ways. I am forever grateful for her and what she has done for me. I never imagined that being a mother would include so much heartbreak, sadness, worry, and pain. I also never imagined how much these two little kids could totally own my heart and bring me so much JOY and HAPPINESS. I am so thankful these two little kids got sent to me. They make me the happiest mom in the world!

GET BETTER SOON LAYNIE!!! WE LOVE YOU!