RHETT'S JOURNEY

Hellllooooo World!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:10:00 +0000

Wow...it's been a while, and then some.

I am so excited to make Rhett's blog public again. We are finished with our settlement with the hospital and I know that both Andy and I are super excited to close that chapter in our lives and move on.

This hasn't been a path that I would choose for my worst enemy, but yet I wouldn't change a thing about it. There has been many many days that I have asked why me, why us, why Rhett? But when it all comes down to it, it's our life. It's my life. I am so happy that Rhett chose me to be his mom. That he chose us for his family.

As I said this has been a hard road. The kids and I have moved in with my mom, and Andy is living with his grandpa. It's been an adjustment to say the least. Hunter and Chloee are sleeping in bunk beds in my sister's room, and Hunters clothes are all downstairs in Dakota's room, and I got the luck of having my bed put in the living room.

Talk about NO privacy.......however, I do have the cutest little 4 yr old roommate on the planet, and I'm thinking that he is really enjoying that out of hardship, he HAS to sleep in the same bed with me. Cuz you know, there is really no other option.

I'm pretty sure we are gonna make it though. We're survivors.

Rhett is going to preschool, and he is loving it. I think that he loves the bus more than actually going to school though. He loves watching for it out the big window each day. He gets a note sent home each day telling us how his day went, how much he ate of his lunch and what he did at school. I can honestly say that he has never once had a bad day. Every day it is checked that he had a good day.

Which I kinda find hard to believe, since he constantly is being possessed by little deamon men who make him flush my iTouch down the toilet, dump out my mom's plants, put fruit snacks in the dogs hair, and stuff lettuce up his nose....just to name a few.

It's a good thing that he is insanely adorable and says, "I yuh you, mommy" so cute. Otherwise him and I would have words.

Dakota, Hunter and Chloee are all doing well. Dakota and Hunter are hitting that pre-teen/teen stage. Oh my do they fight. Like not arguing, but knock down drag out punches and kicks.

I just send them outside till one of them gets hurt. Then they come in boobing, and I get to say "I told you so." Muwahahahahaha!! I is an evil mommy.

Chloee is growing up so much. She has so many friends, and I have never seen a child that gets so many gifts given to her. When we moved she had 3 of her classmates give her cute little cards and gifts given to her. The whole class had a going away party for her the day she left. Then on her birthday, after not being in the class for 3 weeks her new friends all had a little party for her at recess complete with cards and gifts again. I love the way she just loves everyone.

I am doing well...given all of the circumstances. I have been battling some serious health issues, and am often left rundown and not able to do all of the things that I want to. I'll have 2 good days and 3 or 4 bad days. Such is life.

I look forward to blogging and catching up on our lives.

I leave you with the picture of Rhett that Andy drew of him. I am so impressed with Andy's work and the way he captured Rhett's features......

Wow It's been a while.......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:12:00 +0000

Things seem to be moving forward in our settlement. We have sent pictures to our attorney, and now we are compiling a list of all of Rhett's medical providers as well as friends and family who are close to the situation.

I think I speak for both Andy and I when I say that we are so ready to have some closure to this, and that it can't come soon enough.

My heart aches everytime I think about how close we came to loosing Rhett. I know I need to be grateful that he is here and focus on the good, but the fact of the matter is, is that it will never go away and we will always remember that awful day.

There is alot going on in our lives, and if you don't have the address to our family blog you can visit it here.

Private Update....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:32:00 +0000

I know I said this would go private Monday night, but I decided to give it a little more time. Like the end of the week.

In the mean time I am updating over here.

New Blog Link.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:39:00 +0000

Okay, so when this blog goes private, we are going to have a new blog. Here is the link to our new family blog that will stay public.

THE BIRD FLOCK

Also, I can only have 100 people to invite, and I must admit that I didn't know how many people out there read Rhett's blog.

So here's the deal. If you have been a lurker, and we don't "Know" you then please don't feel bad if you don't get an invite. The whole reason we are doing this is so that only people we don't "know" aren't reading the blog for the next few months.

But, here's the thing. With the new BIRD FLOCKblog I will be updating it more than this one anyways.

HAVE NO FEAR.....You will still get Rhett fixes. I promise. I will still update on his health and our trails and everything else in between.

So will you please update your link lists that go to Rhett's Journey so that people can find us? Even if you keep the title Rhett's Journey and just change it so it links to THE BIRD FLOCK I would appreciate it. I will leave this blog open until Monday night and it will then go private.

Also leave me a comment on our new blog HERE

Thanks a Million!!

Going Private.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:29:00 +0000

I want to get this out there for the next few days so that if you are a regular blog reader you can continue.

Due to circumstances regarding Rhett's incident, we are going to go private for a while until things are completely finalized.

It should only be for a few months, and I will start a new family blog that just will continue to keep those of you whom we don't know updated. It will be public, and I will still discuss Rhett and all things Down syndrome, and I still will be posting here as well. Just not for the world to see.

SO, anyhow if you would like to keep reading, please send me an email so that I can add you.

I will post our family link blog here as soon as I get it up and running.

Thank you so much for supporting us in this journey. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends. I look forward to the future when I can make this a public blog again.

Cheese????

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Rhett loves to pull faces for the camera these days. I can't get a good smile out of him for the life of me. Yup, he's three.....and a total boy.

I love that he's just like any other little boy his age--just with a little extra chromosome that is filled with lots of extra love.

No matter what life throws at us we are always going to be the luckiest people on the planet because we all have each other.....and a little munchkin of a love muffin to make us laugh.

Oh, and remember the Jaw Breakers from when we were kids that were the size of a Baseball? I totally found them in the grocery store last night.

This is what Chloee looked like after licking off the first three or four layers..

Yup, life is good.

One last thing as a side note, we are getting rid of a million of Chloee's toys. Is there anyone out there who could use some really cute like new toys? Some games, some stuffed animals. I will take picts and you can email me if you would like the picts of them. If you live out of state I just ask that you help with the cost of shipping.

I also have some toys of Rhett's that we are getting rid of. I would love them to go to a fellow blog reader who is struggling.

Email is mom2rhett@hotmail.com

Happy New Year!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:39:00 +0000

We are closing a huge chapter in our lives right now.

Weare going to loose our home for the second time in a year and a half.

We are looking at moving into a 3 bedroom condo, but I think this is a good thing. The price for rent is right, and we won't have to worry about keeping up on home repairs that we don't have the money for, nor will we have to worry about a yard that neither Andy nor I have the time to work on.

I wish our credit was good enough to just refinance, but we have so many medical bills that went into collections over the years, it's just not going to happen. We are the type of people that always pay our rent and utilities first, and then medical bills. With our house payment ballooning to 2300.00 a month, well, I don't know anyone who can pay that type of a payment. I HATE adjustable rates. The bank has been so good to us, and they have tried to help us, but I know this is out of their hands as well as ours. It's okay though. I know we are not the only ones who are going through tough times.

We are hoping that by doing this, we will be able to build up a nest egg again. It is so frightening to me not to be able to have any type of money to fall back on when we have an emergency.

Yes this means our dogs and cat will go to new homes, but they will still be in the family. As far as Andy's reptiles, well we are super close to getting Rhett's Pet's off the ground. They will all have temporary homes until we get our store front going.

Some more good news is that my house is finally clean from the Christmas Explosion as I like to call it. I mean it's not like it was a total disaster. It's just that the kids presents were everywhere. Chloee had opened all of her barbies and just left the boxes in the sitting room, and it was driving me insane.

So that's what 2009 has in store for us. We are finally getting the settlement, and we will be back on our feet. How awesome is that?

Also, in February, I am going to be starting my photography, so if anyone is interested in having a photo shoot let me know. For the first few people I will only charge for the prints that are made up.

Eventually I would like to give back by going into homes and taking photos of families who have chronically ill children who can't take them to portrait studios to have their pictures done. But I need to get my business up and going first.

I have a dream though, and my I know that my dream will become a reality. It will just take time.

Thank you so much for those of you who have supported us through 2008. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and so many prayer warriors for Rhett. I can't imagine our lives without you.

It's Okay to Cry....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Today has gone from bad to worse. It's just been stupid things, but sometimes I feel like I handle the major things so well that when the little ones start building up I loose it over something stupid.

I started out this morning with Rhett needing a bath due to his poopie issues. Now I'm not going to complain to much about the poopies, because all around he is feeling much better. We even snuck into the mall for about a half an hour this afternoon.

Anyhow after I got him bathed I came down and stepped in a rather large puddle. The dog had peed all over the kitchen floor. See she got pregnant by the neighborhood pimp that roams the neighborhood. Somehow he got into our backyard and did his duties with our dog. I wish I knew who this dog belonged to because if I did his owners would be getting these puppies as soon as they are weaned from mommy. Long story short she is a hound that is bigger than Rhett and she lives in the Kitchen during the winter and when she pees she makes big puddles. She doesn't pee very often, but she is the size of a house and due any day now so I can only imagine her need to urinate.

Did I ever tell you about the time I peed on Andy when I was 9 months pregnant with Hunter? Yeah, funny story there......

So then after I mopped up the pee, and changed my pants, (because you know, I am super short and ALL of my pant legs drag on the floor, especially if I don't have shoes on), I went up to do my hair and make up only to find that SOMEONE had thrown my brush and foundation into the toilet.

Okay, problem fixed, just throw a hat on and who gives a crap if the world sees all of my zits. I am beyond trying ot impress anyone.

THEN after getting everyone dressed and ready to head out the door, Rhett poops again. So I hurry and change him, during which he decides to kick his shoes into his poop, and I end up having to clean up those as well as his butt.

So I load Chloee and Rhett into the truck and start to pull out. I realize that neighborhood pimpy dog is behind my truck and will not move. I have to get out, grab him by his collar and pull him up onto our lawn. This dog is a husky, and is as big as our hound if not bigger. I tell him to move his ass or I'm sending him to the dog food factory. Chloee is screaming at me, "No mommy!! Don't do it!!"

Sigh.

So I hop back in the truck and by now I have just enough time to get up to the hospital for Rhett's swallow study. Remember the hospital is over an hour away on a good day with no traffic.

I get up past the point of the mountain, which puts me at the halfway point and traffic just stops. I sit in traffic for 25 min and only move maybe a mile if that. I can see that I am not going anywhere fast. So I call radiology and ask them if I can still come up or if we are going to have to reschedule. Of course since the speech therapists have to be involved we have to reschedule.

I get off on the next exit that I can. Then a light kicks in in my brain. Hey I am really close to the Mayan. Which is a fabulous restaurant where men in loincloths jump off of cliffs into a pool, and (lest you all think I am a sicko that takes my kids to pornographic restaurants), it's fun for the kids too because it's like a jungle theme.

I pull in thinking the day is already shaping up, (I mean, who doesn't want to see guys with six packs walking around in loincloths?) so I get Rhett out put him in his chair, haul Chloee out and walk up to the door. They are now closed for lunch.

AAAHHHHHHH!!!

So we ended up driving back to Orem and eating at the Spaghetti Factory. It was the only place I could think of that had Macaroni and Cheese besides the Mayan, and Rhett kept asking for "oodles" which means Mac N Cheese.

We walked around the mall for a little bit and threw pennies in the fountain. Rhett loves to do that,

Then we got home and I took one look at my house and started to bawl. See I have been home for over a week now. Then only time I have gone anywhere was yesterday when I ran to Wal-mart for a few things. I didn't realize how trashed my house is.
I have so much to do, and so much to get rid of, and I don't have the time or the energy to do it on my own.

Rhett looked at me, and put his chubby little hand on my face and said, "Mommy. Cry. OKAY!!!" So I guess he was telling me it's okay to cry.

I feel alot better now, and maybe just maybe, I can tackle what I need to. Or at least some of it.

Feelin' Fine.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:11:00 +0000

Today Rhett is feeling much better. After we got through the hacking up a lung first thing this morning and trying to yack up the mucous that was in the back of his throat it's actually shaped up to be a splendid day.

Rhett was bored while he was getting his afternoon feed so we had a photo shoot.

These are the results....

See, we are out of our jammies today!!

This is my way of procrastinating on cleaning and organizing the house after the Christmas mess. We are having a huge poker night on New Year's Eve, and my house looks like a war zone.

I am ready so ready to take down Christmas. Generally I try to leave it up until New Years, but I just don't see my tree handling another Rhett incident. I can hear it begging for me to put it away back into it's cozy tote, and not to be taken out again until Rhett turns twenty.

I am also super sad that the kids go back to school next week. They have been so good at helping me while Rhett has been sick. It's so nice to have 6 extra hands to help with those nasty diapers, and the suctioning.

But alas.....Life goes on......

Bestest Friends......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:35:00 +0000

Rhett likes his comfort things when he doesn't feel good. I think Signing Time is one of his biggest comforts, besides sleeping on top of me all night of course.....

He also likes to hang out in my recliner, prop up his feet and head up on the arms of the chair, and chill while he watches Signing Time. He cherishes each case and is very protective of them. Last night while I was tending to the other kids who need mommy too, he fell asleep while telling Rachel stories.

How sweet is this?

He's doing much better today. It's just the nights that kick our butts.

Faces Of The Season....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 01:35:00 +0000

This was Hunter Christmas night after being up since 4 am Christmas morning....The kid needed some serious shut eye.......

Here is Rhett just before Christmas dinner. I told him he only got steak for dinner....(He LOATHES meats)

Here is Boo, as sweet as ever, showing off her new High School Musical outfit she got. She eats sleeps and breathes HSM.....

As always, Dakota ran from the camera....he really isn't all into having his picture taken.

This is Rhett today. He has croup and I think he may be on the verge of a sinus infection too. We are doing lots of suctioning and diaper changes as well since he **still** has the poopies. He was feverish in this picture this afternoon....

We are all running on empty here, but life goes on. What I wouldn't give to take this little guy out into the 2 feet of snow that is outside of our house right now. I know he would just love it....if only he felt better.

Just A Quick Update...

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:33:00 +0000

We are battling throw ups, croup, and strep. It's been a crazy weekend, but we are all hanging in there. We did have a wonderful Christmas and just want to thank from the bottom of our hearts those who helped us, those who we know, and those who chose to do it anonymously.

Our hearts are so full right now, and we feel so extremely blessed.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and may your New Year be filled with Peace, Love, and Joy. I know ours will be!

Lots of Love,

The Bird Flock...

Sleep Deprived.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Yes, those are some nasty black circles under my eyes. I need some serious sleep and an elf to take care of Christmas for me.

That's it. Night All

Home....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:57:00 +0000

We got to come home but with an IV. We go in to the Dr tomorrow for more zofran through it and a bolus of fluids. We should do this tomorrow and Wednesday, and hopefully after Wednesday they can pull it.

He has a no no board and it's all wrapped up in PINK coban with PURPLE hearts. It's all they had, but Rhett's secure enough with his masculinity that it doesn't bother him any. :)

It's gonna be a long few days BUT I am so happy to be home and so glad that we don't have to spend Christmas in the hospital.

I think my tears of, "Please let me try to do this at home" worked.

His labs were actually pretty darn good all things considered. I have done a good job at keeping him hydrated...<----Pats self on back......

Anyhow, I am glad that I am home because I am not anywhere NEAR being ready for Christmas.

Thanks for the prayers....It's all of them that made it so we could come HOME!!!

HOORAY FOR HOME!!

~Oh, and Amy....we did get a chest xray and he hasn't re-herniated. YAY!! You can quit worrying now. ;)

That's totally my biggest fear too. Those hernias are SUPER scary stuff, and I have an even bigger fear of them since it was that particular surgery that he got that near fatal overdose.....YIPE~~

Heading to Hospital.......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:11:00 +0000

It's been a long morning. Needless to say we are headed to the hospital. Hoping for just a short admit, hoping to be home in time for Christmas.

It's snowing something fierce out there, and we are expected to get 8-12 inches. I have an hour drive ahead of me....and that's on a day when the roads are clear.

But the doctor says Rhett needs IV fluids and his intestines and stomach need a break. Tomorrow it will be a week since all of this started and he still can't tolerate any type of solid food....or even diluted formula for that matter.

Rhett slept over 15 hours last night. He is just tuckered out. His stoma is needing dressing changes 3-4x a day because he is leaking so much, and it's green bile from his stomach.

The hardest thing about this is that he would have days where he was okay and then he would have really bad days.

Anyhow. Merry Christmas to us.

Worried......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:13:00 +0000

That pretty much describes it.

Rhett has had this stomach bug going on almost 5 days now. He was fine last night and this morning and then today when we tried to start him on his feeds again he started retching and trying to throw up again.

It is so sad to sit there and watch him try to throw up, knowing that he can't. I can only imagine how bad it's got to hurt. I would so much rather throw up then sit there and gag and retch for 3-5 min. His little eyes just water and his face turns bright red.

So I am back to giving him pedialite, and the bad thing is that right now he will only tolerate 10 ml's every 20-30 min. I don't know if its a bug at this point or if there is something else going on. I mean really there are so many possibilities. His patch from his hernia in his diapragham could have popped and he could have a small blockage, he could have a really bad case of C-diff flare up, or it could be rotavirus again, who knows. It's just weird that he was okay for two days. Maybe he re-caught it?

I don't know. I just don't know of many stomach bugs that last for 5 days.

Most of the stomach bugs that he has had have landed him in the hospital. It seems that he can't get over these things unless he gets a good 3 days of IV fluids to give his intestines a break and to keep him hydrated. I was hoping that this time was different, especially given that we are heading into the week of Christmas.

I just don't know what to do. He doesn't seem too dehydrated, but he has been sleeping alot, and will not eat any type of food nor tolerate his feeds with the formula.

I know we just switched the formula from the PediaSure to the EleCare, but my personal thought is that it's not the formula. Before when he has had an intolerance to food he has had really bad stomach cramps and he just screams.

So anyhow that's where we are at. Keeping our fingers crossed that we are NOT in the hospital for Chirstmas.

I also have had a lot of people ask about the pediasure and the fact that it doesn't have lactose in it to cause his allergy. Rhett does not have a lactose allergy. It is the actual protein in milk that he is allergic to, it doesn't cause stomach issues, he is breaking out in hives and a rash all over his body when he gets anything with the milk protein in it. He is also allergic to Soy which PediaSure has soy in it as well.

I am so thankful for the fact that we are still home and hope that we can continue treating Rhett here.

Super Duper Exciting!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Guess who's kids finally, (Finally, FINALLY!!) have insurance?

We are UBER excited here!!

Just in time too. We just found out that Rhett is allergic to dairy products, hence the eczema all over his body. I swear the kid would make GREAT sand paper for someone. Anyone need any for Christmas? I'm sure he could get the job done. ;)

He is now on EleCare. So if anyone in UT needs some PediaSure, let me know and I'll find a way to get it to you. We just ordered our months supply and then they changed it today. So we have some extra to share.

Rhett also has lost quite a bit of weight so we are increasing his feeds at night.

We are also going in for ANOTHER swallow study on the 30th. Sigh. My kid is going to be radioactive soon.

Now we can get Chloee's MRI done, and her tonsils out, and Rhett can get his helmet, and Dakota can go back to his therapist, and well, Andy and I still don't have insurance so I guess my gallbladder issues will have to wait. Food has become my worst enemy the last few weeks. I hate to eat for fear of the pain that is going to come afterwards.

In other news, we may have to take all oral foods away from Rhett depending on what this swallow study shows. Again, he had fluid on his lungs consistent w/aspiration pneumonia, and we can't figure out why he keeps doing this. He is getting dark circles around his eyes, and it's been about a month since he was in the hospital with the IV antibiotics. I am just praying that IF he does go downhill again it's after Christmas.

He's had a stomach bug the last few days, and I have been buried up to my ears in poo. We are hoping that w/the food change it might help his back end issues. I thought he was okay today, but tonight the poopies have hit him again. I swear there is a green cloud sitting over our house.

I have really enjoyed all of your Christmas Tradition comments. Keep them coming!! We have some GREAT ideas for next year.

Today I am thankful for insurance. Soooo thankful for insurance!!

Traditions......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:37:00 +0000

I really do love this time of year. I love watching the magic in our kids eyes as they enjoy the activities that we do each year. I love watching Chloee play with the Nativity set. This year Rhett has taken to playing with it as well. It melts my heart to watch them sit on the floor and listen to Chloee explain every piece to him. He sits there so intent, hanging on her every word. Generally with a Wise-man in one hand and a sheep in the other.

This year we have found a website that my kids and I both love to go to. It's called Welcome to the North Pole. Santa himself even answers your questions!! Click here to go there. My kids visit at least once a day and read the forum. It's been so fun to have them talk about how Santa is their friend.

I love watching Christmas movies that I enjoyed as a kid, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Garfield Christmas special, Christmas Story, Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

I love the excitement as I watch our kids whoop and holler at the first snow of the season. It's all they can do to contain themselves as they run out and do snow angels.

We have many traditions that we do this time of year. The kids each get a new ornament to hang on the tree. Some years we buy them some years we make them. It just depends. This year they made snowflakes to hang.

Then we make our gingerbread houses. The kids always look forward to it, and my sister and I get to be kids again too.

The week of Christmas we go out and look at Christmas lights. We have our favorite houses that we look at each year.

On Christmas Eve my mom and sister come over and we pig out on all sorts of meats, cheeses, crackers and cheese balls, and my favorite, Ham rolls with cream cheese wrapped around a sweet pickle. My mom buys a Honey Baked Ham for us. I love Honey Baked Ham. We also make cookies to leave out for Santa.

Then on Christmas morning my mom and sister come over again, as well as Andy's mom, his brother, his uncle, and his grandpa. We cook a big breakfast....(Andy's favorite thing to do) and we just get to be together as a family. Christmas night we play every game you can imagine, and Kristie,(My sister) and I kick everyone's butt at the Disney Scene It games.

We don't do anything fancy, it's not a big show of how everything has to be perfect for dinner, and the house has to be immaculate. That's not who we are. Christmas is a time for food to be laid out in every crevice of the house and for us to stuff ourselves so much that we don't have to eat again until New Year's when we do it all again.

Everyone gets to be lazy and do absoutley nothing. The kids get to play, and graze all day on snacks. I don't have to worry about cooking, and trying to scarf my food down before I make the kids plates so I have a warm meal.

This year we have added a few things in our traditions as a way to give back. I think this year has been our very best holiday season yet. I love that we have been able to do some things, even if they were small, to make someone else have a happy holiday season.

We have learned that you don't have to have a big pocket book, (or one at all for that matter), to share in the joys of giving and Christmas Spirit.

Now it's your turn, what are some of your holiday traditions? What are some of your favorite holiday recipes?

We would love to hear from you. We are always looking for great ideas on new things to do with the family.

May you and yours have the very best Holiday Season ever this year.

As I type this the doorbell rings, and there is a gift for our family left on the front porch. It says to The Bird Family from Santa's Elves. I know that we have said it before, but we are truly blessed to have people who care about us. I can't think of a better life for us. Yes we have trials, and yes we have had some bad blows. But as long as we have each other, we can make it through anything.

All Our Love,
The Bird Flock

What A Week......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:13:00 +0000

We had such a great time this week together as a family. Wednesday we went on the Polar Express, and Saturday the kids got to go shopping with the Utah Jazz Bear. The best part was that we got to go together as a family.

I haven't felt good, I am having issues with my gall bladder, and Chloee had the stomach flu yesterday, so I have kind of slacked in the picture department. Here are some long overdue pictures...

Polar Express Train Ride with KBER 101 and Make-A-Wish. Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Chloee showing off her cute little haircut....

Daddy and Rhett hanging out together on the train and on the bus.....

We had lunch at McDonald's in Heber City before boarding the train.....

Showing off their tickets to board the Polar Express.....

YAY!! Finally on the train!!

Chloee helping read the story of the Polar Express on the way to the North Pole....

Here are the kids sitting on Santa's lap.....

We all had a great time and are so thankful to everyone who sponsored this event. It was so nice to get on a train and forget all of our worries for a day. The kids each got a present from Santa. Rhett got an Indiana Jones Potato head. It was the perfect gift. He loves his tato heads. It was an amazing day.

Beary Merry Christmas with the Utah Jazz Bear Saturday, December 13th

Yesterday we were invited to have the kids go shopping with the Utah Jazz Bear and some of the fire fighters from Salt Lake. They each got partnered with two volunteers and were able to go to Wal-Mart and go shopping.

The best part about this though is that Andy and I got to help once we got to Wal-Mart. They didn't have enough volunteers to work at the registers so Andy and I got to help put stuff in bags as the kids came up with their things. It was so fun watching kids of all ages come up with their items. The cutest thing was the little boys that had gotten their mommies something. No matter how many kids came through those ones always got to me. Many of them would tell us that it was just them and their mom's that lived together.

It made me realize how fortunate I am to have Andy. He supports me so much, and although we don't see each other as much as I would like to, when we are together we have a blast, and no matter what, if I need any type of support he is always just a phone call away. I know there are many women out there who don't have that support and they are raising their kids on their own.

I know what it feels like. I have been down that road. There was a time when it was just me and Dakota. I consider myself extremely blessed to have such an amazing husband and father to our children.

Anyhow, here are some pictures from Saturday.....

Chloee and Andy Dancing.......

There is something about the bond between a daddy and a little girl that is just amazing........

He is her hero......

Hunter and Rhett hanging out....Best Buds......

Hey...Whazup.....

Daddy and Rhett......They're pretty tight too.......

This was the only shot that I could get of Dakota. We had to be up at 4 am to be in Salt Lake by 6:30 am so he was a bit on the sleepy and grumpy side. We're so not morning people around here........

This is the family that took Rhett shopping. They were so cute with him. AND, they even knew some sign language. How cool is that? Apparently they were on the news with him as well, but I totally missed it. This time it was on KSL channel 5 on SportsBeat Saturday. I am hoping they will run it again tonight so we can see it. I emailed the station and asked them if they would post a link on their website as well, so far I haven't seen anything though........

This is Rhett with former Utah Jazz player Mark Eaton, he is 7 ft 4" tall. He just dwarfs Rhett in this picture, but he really is the nicest guy ever.....

Here is Rhett with the Utah Jazz Bear...They were pretty tight that day too......

And here is Rhett with Santa. Apparently Rhett said "Santa!!" on the news. Man I really want to see that!! We actually "know" this Santa. One of his kids draws with Andy at the art studio. Rhett LOVES Santa this year.......

We had an amazing week, it was so much fun and it was good for Andy and I to be able to help. It is so hard and so humbling to sit there and watch your family get help, and wanting to be the person giving the help rather than receiving it. Does that make sense? This way we were able to give back even if it was in a small way, and we also got to hang out with some of the dancers from High School Musical. Chloee has met these guys twice now, and so she is "officially" friends with them.

We are so thankful for the joy of being together as a family this season, and for Andy having a job where they are willing to let him switch his days around so that he is able to go with us. Life is full of joy this year, and we don't have to have money to experience the joy.

Super Stars.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:27:00 +0000

How many little and big Birds can you see in this news clip?

Click HERE

Optimus Rhett

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:49:00 +0000

This kid cracks me up. He is ALL boy.....And to think 90% of women who find out prenatally that their child has Down syndrome abort. Look at what they are missing. Is he really that different than a "typical" child?

Nope. He is just like any other three year old.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dear Santa.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:27:00 +0000

All I want for Christmas is a new vacuum.

Mine died today. I use it 2-3 times a day with Mr. Destructo, and I can't live without it.

Really, I can't.

Please Santa? Pretty Please?

In the last month all of our small appliances seem to be going out on us. I'm beginning to wonder if the gremlins are tearing things apart. First the camera, then the blender, the crock pot, and now the vacuum. It's a small appliance from hell nightmare around here. All of them except the camera started smoking.

The vacuum had it's death tonight. My house stinks now, Santa. It smells like burnt rubber, dust bunnies, and hair. It's not pleasant. It makes me want to hurl. I took it apart, the belt is fine, there is nothing caught....(BIG surprise).....and it has a high pitched squeal. I think it lost a bearing.

I know if we don't get some relief soon, I am going to loose my bearings too.

Thanks Big Guy.

Mommy Bird

She Totally Gets It.......

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:25:00 +0000

Listen Carefully to the very first thing that Chloee says on this little video. She got up to help Mick from KBER 101 read the story of the Polar Express on our way to the North Pole. I missed the question, but Mick had asked her what she wants for Christmas. In case you can't hear her, Mick repeats her answer right after she says it.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

.....She totally gets it. My 6 year old knows what Christmas is all about. She doesn't care about the toys and the commercialism of it all. She knows what's important. We have already told the kids that Christmas will be very small this year because Santa needs to help so many other families with things that are needed due to mommies and daddies loosing their jobs. So this is what Chloee came up with for her Christmas wish. Forget all of the expensive things. She just wants her family to have the best Christmas ever. She even wrote it down for Santa while she waited in line to see him. I am amazed at her little spirit, and how much she knows. She is the most incredible little girl I know.

Oh and here is a picture of the new me, yes I really did whack all of my hair off. But 5 min vs 1 hr to blow dry my hair was soooo worth it, and my hair went to Locks of Love. So it was totally worth it.

As I said in my previous post, Chloee and Andy made the news, which I have yet to find a link to...(Boo!!), and Rhett made the Deseret News Newspaper....(YAY!!), and I did find a link to that. Click here to see it. When you get to the page look over to your right and click on the photo gallery link. That will take you to Rhett's picture. We had an awesome time, and I am so thankful we had the opportunity to go on this ride.

I will post the rest of the pictures tomorrow. Blogger is apparently having issues downloading things tonight and I just don't have the patience.

Night All...

Memo To Me:

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:40:00 +0000

When your son has a funky smell all day long and you can't figure out what it is....check the dressing around his G-tube site.....Lesson learned. He is fighting this infection around it, and I changed it last night, but didn't get to it this morning before we left. Generally he can go that long because it isn't leaking, and I KNOW that when I dressed him this morning it wasn't all icky because I checked it. But booooyyyyyyyyyy did he get stinky!!

We all had a wonderful time today on the Polar Express. Even with a funky smelling little boy. We left before sunrise and didn't get back home until close to 10 pm. Chloee and Andy were on the news (Fox 13) Andy was wearing his big cowboy hat, and Chloee was in her red jammies with snowflakes on them.

Did anyone see them?

If they post it on their website I'll link to it. Rhett had a blast and I have cute videos of him. Even Hunter and Dakota had fun. KBER 101 did an awesome job putting it all together. It will be a day we will never forget.

Sorry I don't have any pictures today, I am too tired to download them, but I will get them up tomorrow. I still need to post picts of me and my new do since Chloee and I both whacked all of our hair off. :)

I donated mine to Locks of Love.

Anyhow, I can't keep my eyeballs open anymore. They feel like they are on fire. Until tomorrow...Night All.......

All Aboard!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pam) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Tomorrow we are heading to the North Pole to see Santa on the Polar Express.

Can.I.just.tell.you.how.excited.my.kids.are?

We are going with Make-A-Wish. KBER is sponsoring it, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Pictures? Would I ever NOT take pictures? You can bet come tomorrow night you will have more pictures than you ever dreamed. I mean after all, how many chances do you get to ride the Polar Express?!?!?