Sami's World

Saturday was a super fun day. We woke up late (well, the kids did). We did a “big” breakfast; eggs, pancakes, sausage and juice. Then we showered and dressed everyone and headed to the park. We went to the city sponsered Kids-n-kites festival. It was really fun. About 20 booths set up giving away free stuff in attempts to get you to buy stuff. They had 4 bounce houses set up and one slide, all free and they had a stage set up where there were magic shows, bands and Jaime’s dance Class. If you ask Jaime is was the scariest thing she has ever done. She said ‘dancing in front of the whole City of Fremont was way scary!!’ She did a great job though and so did all the other girls. We got some free kites and were going to fly them after Jaime’s performance, but Scott was too wore out and so we came home. He took a nap and I took the kids to the nearby park and we flew the kites. It was fun. After we got home, a cute couple from our ward showed up with dinner. Chinese food, yummmy!! After a late dinner and some aloe (we all got a little sunburned) we put the kids to bed.

We got up nice and early Sunday morning. The missionaries had called us and asked us to pick up an investigater and her young daughter. Since we had to leave a little earlier we got up earlier. We got to her home and she said the little girl had been up all night with fevers and such. She said I couldn’t do anything for her, but I told her I’d pick her up for Enrichment on Wednesday. She seemed excited about that, I hope she makes it. Scott decided he’d go to church all three hours. He teaches a Sunday school class and so he went prepared to do that. We got to church and the place was PACKED. A young man from our ward was having his going away. Not only did his whole extended family come, but half the stake. They have lived here for 25 years and know most everyone. It was an awesome meeting filled with the spirit. Scott was pretty uncomfortable through the whole thing but did well. After church Scott was pretty wore out and came home and slept for 2 hours. I went out and did my visiting teaching and then took the girls to a baptism. Katie Grant got baptised (she is the only girl Jaime’s age in the ward). Jaime was very excited for her friend to get baptised. Once we got home we ate left over Chinese food and put the kids to bed.

Monday was low key. Scott really wanted a bbq, but with everything else going on, I just didn’t have the energy to do that. He was a good sport about it and I promised him a bbq really soon. We spent the whole morning doing our Saturday chores. The kids worked really well and really fast. After that, the little ones went down for naps and I did school with Jaime and Alix. When everyone woke up we went to Great-Grandpa Sutherland’s grave. It was nice to take the kids and give them a little talk about memorial day. Unfortunatly the little kids get mixed up about which grandpa we are visiting and I’m pretty sure they think Grandpa Thompson is dead. After that we had dinner and put Milo to bed, he was pretty tired. The girls and I went down the street to visit with one of the new neighbors we have met. They have two little girls ages 4 and 2. It was fun to play with them a little bit and get to know them better. Then it was off to bed.

Tuesday, today, was a busy morning. Scott had physical therapy so I loaded the kids’ bikes in the car and, after dropping Scott off, took them to Lake Elizabeth. We walked around the lake. It is about 2 miles and it took us an hour. It wouldn’t take so long but Niah is slow but steady. She doesn’t stop too often but doesn’t find it necessary to go to fast either. So I stay with her. The bigger kids go ahead and then stop and wait for us. It’s not much exercise for me, but it’s great exercise for the kids. That’s a good thing too, it helps to wear them out. We did our family home evening tonight since it was crazy last night. We did a lesson on proper phone skills. The girls love to answer the phone but don’t always do it correctly. So we got play phones out and did role playing. I think they enjoyed it. I hope the lesson sticks!

Scott is doing really well. He is trying to get into work tomorrow for a couple of hours. He needs to get a new computer and new blackberry (his phone got trashed during the accident and who knows what happened to the computer). Someone was going to give him a ride in and then I was going to go pick him up, but his ride got called out of town. Anyway, if I can swing it I’ll take him to the shuttle tomorrow, if not then he’ll have to go in on Friday instead. He is doing well with his arm. We are still trying to get someone to look at his back and say wether or not he needs any therapy for that. His spirits are still high and he ran out of his pain medication. It’s been 24 hours since his last dose. He seems to be handling the pain quite well. He still uses Tylenol and a muscle relaxer, but those too are going to run out soon (we can always buy more Tylenol I suppose). He is getting a lot of reading done and catching up on some old movies.

The kids are doing well too. They seem to be adjusting to this new lifestyle. They are getting along better, less fighting. They seem to be enjoying life more, they seem less stressed now. However, the first thing Niah says to anyone, stranger or not ‘Know what? My daddy got smooshed by a car’. Then the person always looks to me and I have to say yes and go through the story. It’s ok though, she’s so cute! Niah went almost 48 hours without an accident. She had one tonight. I had gone upstairs to help Jaime and Alix brush teeth and Scott just isn’t able yet. By the time I got down the stairs it was too late. She is trying though and is such a champ about it. Afton is doing well too. She refuses to nurse. She seemed to get right back into it after me being at the hospital all day, but then one day she wouldn’t nurse. She didn’t nurse for three days. Finally I just gave up and went to the bottle. It took her another two days to decide that she wanted it and now she is fine. She has three bottles a day and eats like a champ otherwise. She is still not crawling but it seems like it will happen soon. She just has two many willing hands to pick her up and love her. She got another tooth about a week ago. She now has four top and two bottom. She has the cutes toothy smile.

I guess that is the news. Long and detailed, I hope you all don’t mind. We love the Savior and are happy that we have the gospel in our lives. What a blessing! Much love to all.

Tuesday was by far our busiest day, but very fun. I reported on the morning already, so here is the afternoon. The bug guy came early (that’s a surprise). So he had to wait a few minutes while we all got oursleves together and out of the house. My great friend Denita moved to Colorado last year and when she heard about Scott she knew she couldn’t make us dinner so she sent us a gift card to Red Robin. So we decided to use that card for dinner since we were out and the kids were hungry. It was an AWESOME resturant and we got TONS of food and the kids had a great time. It wasn’t very busy when we got there and so we got a nice seat and the waitress was nice and spent extra time on us. After that we jetted off to the San Jose Tech museum. It was an evening of free fun. It was hosted by Jaime’s charter school and so we had the whole museum to ourselves. There was maybe 200 people in the three story museum. It was awesome. We didn’t have to wait in line or worry about where the kids were. We stayed about 2 hours. The kids got to design a roller coaster and then try it out. They got to ride a tobogan and see how good they stayed on track. They got to try and do an open heart surgery using a camera on the end of an surgical tool. They watched a robot spell thier names with blocks. Afton got a portrait drawn by a robot. There were a ton of other things but those were the highlights. We got home about 9 pm and the kids all ate their leftovers and headed off to bed.

Wednesday was low key. The morning was spent doing chores and school and other “fun” stuff. We did erands in the afternoon and then spent the evening getting the kids to bed on time.

Thursday was an early morning. Scott had an early morning P.T. appointment and so I got the kids up and ready too and we walked around Lake Elizabeth while Scott was at his appointment. That was fun for the kids and I. I met my friend Laura there with her two boys. It was nice to be out and getting fresh air and talking with a friend. That afternoon was Jaime’s dance class. Then home and dinner. Then I had some erands to do and so the kids had another late night. But they all ended up sleeping in this morning (very nice).

Today has been very low key. We went to the park this morning to meet the girls. Scott decided he wanted to go too. Afterward, he said he wore himself out. He’s been sleeping ever since we got home. Poor guy. He tries so hard. I hope he doesn’t hinder progress by trying to do too much.

Scott is getting better. He is walking well. His hand and arm therapy is going well. We can see progress daily. He is getting a little antsy to do something more than sit around. He toyed with the idea of returning to work late next week, but workman’s comp said he can’t return till a doctor releases him. Guess he’ll have to wait a little while.

Each day we try to get life more normal and get the kids on a better schedule. But it doesn’t seem to be working too well. Since we’ll be doing some traveling this summer, I’ve decided I’ll work on the schedule thing again in September……

Well, life is back in full swing. Last week was a bit slow still. We did the “normal” stuff. We did chores and school and the kids still did their activities, but I had other people pick them up (I still wasn’t confident leaving Scott alone). Well this week is back to even more normal.

Yesterday was the low key day. We did school, chores and family night. It was great.

Today we got up and dressed and out the door by 8:20 am. Scott had his first physical therapy appointment (this is an outpatient facility to get his hand and arm back to “normal”). He had to be there by 8:45 for a 9 am appointment. After filling out the paperwork for him, I left so I could take Milo to an appointment. He needed to get a blood test. The two appointments were about 20 minutes apart (speaking of distance, the appointment times were an hour apart). After Milo’s appointment I stopped by the bank, got gas and dropped off library books, all before picking up Scott again. Scott was close to a book store, so after his therapy he went to the bookstore. He was fine with being left for an hour after his appointment was over, he LOVES bookstores.

We are home now. We did lunch, we are going to do naps and then a bug guy is coming. Having a bug service is EXPENSIVE. But when all your kids wake up every morning with a new spider bite, your 8 month old has spiders crawling her her while she is playing on the floor, and your house is an ant farm, money is no object!! We’ve tried everything we know of, the only thing left is the professionals. He is doing a thorough inside and out spray today and so we have to leave the house for two hours. It works out perfect because Jaime has a school field trip to the San Jose Tech museum tonight. So, once the guy is done it will be perfect timing for going to the field trip.

Some new and exciting things:

Niah only had one accident yesterday and the day before. So far today she has been asking to go potty on the toilet and making it without accident. She even told me in the car on the way to pick up Scott that she had to go to the bathroom. I asked her to hold it while I found a place to stop. It took a good 5 minutes to find a place. She made it. Good job Niah. Yesterday Niah took off on the little red trike we have. That little red trike has now safely carried four of our children. I have no doubt it will carry all five of them.

Afton has been pretty cranky for a few days, lucky us, she has another tooth. She now has four top and two bottom. She is trying so hard to crawl. She gets up on hands and knees and then just plops right down. She is pretty good about rolling and pivoting and stretching to get what she wants. She can go from her tummy to sitting now.

Jaime got a letter yesterday from her charter school. She won a blue ribbon in the science fair. She was judged against all the other 2 graders in the region. Good job Jaime.

With the breaking of the dishwasher, we have had to hand wash all dishes. I for one was not looking forward to the task. However, Jaime and Alix have taken the bull by the horns. Everytime I ask them to do the dishes they say sure and happily go in and start. They do a great job. The other day, Alix was doing something else, so Jaime and I did them together. I actually really enjoyed it. We washed and talked and watched a robin in the backyard gather supplies for his nest. It was a wonderful experience. So much so that we are not in a rush to get a new one.

Here’s a good one for you. Sunday morning we are all cruis’n along getting ready to leave for church. We were right on schedule. Scott was even going to go to Sacrament meeting. We had about 20 minutes before we were suppose to leave. I went into Alix’s room with Jaime to help the girls finish getting tights and shoes on. The door was shut for privacy. Well, as I’m sure you can guess, we got stuck in the room. Alix’s door handle doesn’t always want to turn and we have had some difficulty with it. Scott tried to turn it from his end, no luck. So he slipped me a knife under the door and I removed the door handle. We still couldn’t get the door to budge. While we were trying to get the mechanism to turn, we broke it. So Scott slipped me a screw driver through the whole where the handle should be and I removed the pins that hold the door on the hinges. We still couldn’t pull it open. We finally had to kick the door down. It was a very “exciting” experience. Needless to say, we were a bit later for church than we had orginally planned. What fun!!

Scott did great at church. He was very uncomfortable, but survived and was glad he went. When he got home he took a three hour nap. It wore the poor guy out! Now he is sleeping this afternoon. It’s amazing how the littlest things just wear him out.

Guess this entry is long enough. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying life. It is getting warm here and it is fun to play outside. The kids are enjoying popcicles and dreaming about the upcoming Utah trip. We are all very excited to see everyone and catch up and play. Lots of love.

Oh ya, if you want to see the pictures of Milo go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter SAMI THOMPSON access code:LTPP0590101803JCP

Interested in some photo’s of Scott’s injuries and recovery? Check out http://www.unboundpotential.com/scottsaccident Keep in mind that none of the photo’s taken are in the E.R. By the time we got the first photo’s he had already been cleaned up quite a bit.

Things here have been improving. We had our first Saturday clean since we moved in!! We usually do Saturday chores till noon every Saturday. We hadn’t quite gotten back into the habit before the accident so we implimented it today. The kids were a little rusty but we managed to get most of the list done. It took much longer than noon, but the kids were good and even earned an afternoon break!

Scott went to the doctor on Friday, May 18, 2007. It was a check up for his arm. The x-rays show that everything is healing nicely. He has new bone growth and a whole lot of metal. He is suppose to start physical therapy next week. The doctor said Scott may not get full range of motion back in his arm. Scott says his goal is to prove him wrong! He is full of life and getting “board” with this whole recovery thing. The doctor also said that it will be about 4 more weeks till Scott can really start doing “normal” things. Even then it will be a gradual return to his normal routine. He is hoping to start some kind of part time work here at home by the begining of June. We shall see. He may not last that long. He might start next week!!

The kids are doing well. I think they are ready for a “normal” schedule. No matter how much I try, having dad home all day and not able to do much makes the days a little harder. But we are enjoying his company and bright smile. He always comes up with some funny antic to make the kids (and me) fall to the floor in laughter.

Niah is doing ok with her second round of potty training. We shall see what the next few weeks bring. Afton has been pretty cranky for two days, I think she is getting a tooth. Milo is getting inpatient waiting for a good wrestling match with dad. Milo has tried to start one a couple of times, unfortunatly they have all ended in Scott screaming out in pain!! Jaime and Alix have become quite the dishwashers. Our dishwasher gave out and while we await a new one, Jaime and Alix have been put on dish duty. They actually do quite a good job and still think it’s fun. No complaints when I tell them it’s dish time!

Guess that is news. Much love from Fremont. We do love you all and hope that this summer finds us visiting most of you. We will be in Utah for a few weeks. I’d love to see you all.

With Scott on the mend, I figure I can report “normal” news.

While Cathy and her daughter Brittany were here, we got TONS done! Cathy and I got the garden planted, the lawns mowed, tree’s trimmed, the garage cleaned and organized, the kids’ clothes switched and put away correctly and organized my food storage. Plus all the day to day stuff. I also scheduled all my appointments while she was here. Scott had an eye appointment (his glasses didn’t make it through the accident) and a regular check up appointment. Milo finally got to spend his birthday money and get his birthday pictures taken. The van got it’s first oil change (with us as owners). Jaime and I went to Target to spend her gift card and went to dance class. Alix had a dermatology appointment to determine that, yes, she has toenail fungus and is on Lamisil for the next 12 weeks. We had a pest control guy come and tell us it was going to be very expensive to employ him and Scott’s physical therapist came. The primary presidency came over and helped Jaime better understand baptism and gave us a packet to go over in preparation for her baptism. It was a busy week!! But very fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Since Cathy has been gone, the only thing we have accomplished is messing up this house!! :0) Actually it hasn’t been too bad. I was a little afraid to go at it alone, but it’s been doable. I went out in the yard today and trimmed more trees. Our neighbors on two sides have TONS of trees. They hang over into our yard and its the section of yard designated for the garden. Cathy and I trimmed them up pretty good, but I noticed that if I trimmed them up more, the garden would get more sun. I filled the green can in about an hour (it’s a BIG can!!). I will trim more next week. A couple more branches need to go so that our tomatoes and peas get more sun. It will be very useful to have fresh fruits and vegies this summer. We planted corn, zuccinii squash, yellow crocked neck squash, spaghetti squash, grape tomatoes, big tomatoes, watermellon, cantalope, peas and started a new strawberry patch. We shall see what actually produces.

On Sunday I took the kids to church alone. It actually went quite well. We were only five minutes late and the kids were very well behaved during sacrament. All the kids had a part in closing excersises for Primary. Next year the Thompson’s will dominate closing excersises (they try to do it by family so that parents only have to go up to priamary once).

Anyway, that is the end of new stuff. There is some old news below. Enjoy and I hope I only have “normal” news to report from now on!!

Jaime had STAR testing for two days (state mandated tests). She seemed to do well and she got a $5 gift card to Target at the end of the tests. She thought that was pretty cool.

Milo had his first dentist appointment. What a champ. They took x-rays, examined and cleaned his teeth and even took some pictures and he just smiled through it all. He never once showed signs of being nervous and cooperated like a champ. The dentist and his assistant were very impressed by his demeaner. He has no cavities and they are looking into some possible early intervention so that he will have less problems in the future.

I finally got to talk with Alix’s doctor about her colonoscopy. She has been diagnosed with an uncommon syndrome called juvenile polyposis syndrome. Basically what this means is that she has to see her G.I. doctor once a year and every two years has to have a colonoscopy (including the upper G.I.). If the symptoms occur sooner they will do the colonoscopy sooner. At these visits they will remove all the polyps that have formed and test them. This time all the polyps came back as benign (sp?). Each time she has polyps removed and tested there is a 1% chance that they will be pre cancerous. But here is the interesting part of this whole thing. The doctor was 99% sure that the genes in which this syndrome appears on are the same genes that Pfeiffer syndrom (the syndrome Milo has) appears on. Interesting stuff. Anyway, we will be having an appointment with a genetisist soon to determine if the two are related and what further testing we should do.

Scott’s accident, according to Sami:

Wednesday April 18, 2007 started out as any normal day would for me. I was pretty busy that morning. I was making food for the homeless shelter while trying to get my children dressed and ready for a day in Brentwood. My friend, Erika, had just had a baby and we went to visit with her and see the baby. Because of the visit to Brentwood, Scott had decided he’d work late. Our visit in Brentwood went great. We had just finished dinner and I was getting ready to load the kids in the car. I was trying to call Scott to see what he was doing and where he was and what time he thought he’d be home. I had just talked to Scott about 15 minutes before and so when he didn’t answer, I found that very strange. It was a little after 7 pm. I tried calling his cell number many times. I tried his desk phone and even the house phone. Finally the cell phone was answered. I was listening to back ground noise, no one was talking to me. There were sirens and people talking. I was sure I had heard Scott’s voice, but it sounded like the scene of an accident. I gave the phone to Erika and asked her to listen. She said that she thought it sounded like a scene to an accident too. But she said it sounded like Scott was helping someone else out and I should call again in a few minutes. So I did. No answer. 5 more tries. The phone picks up again. More of the same noises, but this time I could make out more of the conversation. Someone asked ‘Do you know your name?’ answer, ‘Scott Thompson’; ‘Do you know where you live?’, answer, ‘No.’. I panicked. I called the highway patrol. They said there hadn’t been a report of an accident and no one by that name had been admitted to any hospital in the area. Kris, Erika’s husband, tried calling the main Google number. I prayed in my heart all would be ok. I tried the cell phone again. 5 more times and I heard Scott’s voice. He said hello then handed the phone over to a doctor. The doctor tried to talk to me but I was unable to hear or understand. Kris took the phone and talked to the doctor and then the police.

What happened? According to the police report…..Scott was walking across the street. A 2004 black VW Jetta entered the intersection and did not see Scott. The passenger of the vehicle yelled ‘Watch out’. The driver thought she was talking about another car and swerved. This maneuver put the car directly heading for Scott. Once Scott realized what was going on, he tried to turn and run. He was not fast enough. The car hit him at about 35 mph. He was thrown on the hood and took out the windshield. Once the car came to a complete stop, Scott was thrown to the ground and skidded some 15 feet, where his body finally stopped. The driver of the car got out. There was one witness besides the people in the car. The driver had a valid driver’s license and registration and insurance. He was 18 years old and driving his dad’s car. He was very sorry and felt really bad. The car had to be towed because of the damage to the windshield. 911 was called and Scott was rushed to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto. The accident happened about 7:15 pm. I did not find out till 8 pm.

If you ask Scott what happened, he’ll tell you this…..’I was walking in the cross walk with dinner heading back to my desk to finish up some work. The next thing I know I woke up at Stanford’.

As soon as I found out, I went into shock. I could not think. It was a great relief to have my friends there to support me. Finally I was able to think of people I knew in Fremont. I made arrangements for the kids to be dropped off at the Grant’s house and Kris would drive me, I was not in any state to make a 2 hour drive that night. Because of all the confusion and shock, it took us another hour to leave the house. I didn’t get to the hospital till 11:30pm. When I walked in the door, my bishop was standing there. Bishop Fisher did not want me to go in there till I had been briefed, he thought it would make things easier. Actually I was super frightened to see him waiting for me. He told me that Scott looked bloody but that all was fine and things would be ok. After that I went into the waiting room. Chris, Scott’s boss, Kris and 3 other men from the Elder’s Quorum were there. It was nice to know that Scott was not alone, even though I couldn’t be there right away. It took some convincing but finally I was able to get back and see Scott (since Stanford is a trauma hospital, visitors are very limited due to privacy issues). He looked awful I was almost mad that everyone tried to tell me he was fine. He didn’t look fine. I wanted to wash him up. They wouldn’t let me, but sent in a nurse to do it. I wanted to talk to a doctor and find out what was going on, they couldn’t find his chart. I was confused and upset, but at the same time felt very peaceful and full of the knowledge that all would be ok. I went back out to the waiting room for a few minutes while they were cleaning him up to let the guys know that they were transferring him up to a room and that they could go home. None of them wanted to go, they were all so supportive. Kris went home to be with his wife and new baby. Chris and two of the Elders from church left to get Scott’s car and take it home to Fremont. Kevin, an Elder from church, stayed till Scott got to his room. He took some pictures (I know it seems random, but it’s amazing to look at them now. I’m grateful that he did that).

Once Scott was in his room a doctor came in and cleaned him up some more, stitched up his eyelid and glued some places on his head. It was after 1 am by the time they left and we were alone. Scott insisted that I call his mom and dad. So I did. It was an amazing thing. His mom picked up on the first ring. She was very calm while I told her all I knew at that time. After I was done, I asked her if she already knew what happened. She seemed as if she did. She said ‘No, but I knew all day that someone was going to call and tell me something terrible had happened. I’ve just been up waiting for the call.’. It was an amazing conversation She said they would leave in the morning right after dad taught seminary.

I spent the night in the hospital just wanting to touch and hold Scott but the very brush of a hand would just send pain through his poor beat up body. His injuries were, three broken ribs, a cracked sternum, the L2 vertebrae broken, both bones in his right arm VERY broken, bruising from the middle of his back to almost the bottom of his bum and road rash on his head and back(the sores on his back blistered and popped, leaving open wounds, ouch!!). His legs were untouched, aside from some minor bruising. He was told at least three times that he is lucky to even be alive.

The next morning started early. He was scheduled to have surgery on his arm. He was suppose to go in at about 1 pm. They came in and told us that at 7 am. I decided I needed a drink of water and a little air. I was gone maybe 10 minutes and when I got back he was gone. They had taken him to surgery. I was very upset, I didn’t want him to feel as if he were abandoned or alone. I went down to surgery and they let me see him for about 2 minutes before they wheeled him away. During that time though, the anesthesiologist talked to me about how they were going to put him under. Because he had a small hole in his lung (most likely caused by the broken ribs) they did not want to do regular anesthesia. So they basically put an epidural in his shoulder and then they would give him enough pain medication to put him to sleep. That way, he would be able to breath on his own, he would not have to have a breathing machine.

Scott was suppose to be in surgery for 3 hours. I went out to the car and said my morning prayer a much needed time of solace I called a few people to let them know what was going on. I checked in on the kids. I gave the ok for a few friends to “break” into my house and get things for the kids. I killed all of the three hours it was suppose to take. I went back and he still wasn’t done. I needed a breast pump (I’m still a nursing mother and now it had been 16 hours since I had nursed). One of my friends reminded me that a member of our stake works at the hospital. I asked at a volunteer desk if they could contact Evelyn Naylor. They were able to get her on the line in a few minutes and we met up 30 minutes later. She found me a pump, a quiet room and even sat with me and talked. It was a refreshing break from the stress of the day.

I went back to the nurses station again to check on Scott. He was still not done. I started to get worried. The three hour surgery was now 5 hours. About 30 minutes later, I got the all clear, he was in recovery. The doctors came out to talk to me about the surgery and give me the details. They said he was fine. They were able to get the work done and it took longer than they thought. He has two plates, one 6 hole and one 9 hole (the hole’s refer to how many screws it takes to put the plate on). He did fine with the method of pain management that was used and he didn’t need a blood transfusion.

He was to be in recovery for a few hours and then back up to his room. I was going to go out and get some fresh air again and bumped into Holly, my Relief Society president. It was nice to see her. She took me down to the cafeteria and we ate and talked. It again was nice to have some conversation to take my mind off the immediate situation. She said all was good with the kids, they were enjoying the time at the Grants and were not asking about us at all. After our wonderful conversation, my in-laws arrived. It was nice to see them and talk to them. We finally got back up to Scott’s room and his parents brought a smile to his face. He was pretty much out of it due to the surgery, but tried hard to be sociable.

Around 9 pm it was decided that dad would stay with Scott that night and I would go home and shower and sleep (it had been almost 48 hours of no sleep). I was very reluctant, but went. I left the kids at the Grants one more night so that I could actually get some sleep. I was afraid that I would not be able to sleep. I kept thinking awful thoughts about Scott having trouble in the night and I wouldn’t be there to help him. However, the Lord blessed me once again and I was able to sleep quite well.

The next few days were touch and go. They were mostly spent catering to Scott’s every need all day and catering to the kids’ needs all night. Scott’s dad stayed at the hospital at night and Scott’s mom took care of the kids in the day. Dad had to leave after 4 days and so Scott had to spend the nights alone after that.

Scott was in the hospital for 2 weeks. It was a long two weeks, but we had TONS of help. When my friends “broke” into the house, they cleaned it and stocked it with food. It was so nice to come home to that. My mother in law kept the house clean and the kids happy. Ward members picked up the kids for play dates and took them to their various activities. My sister in law, Torry, came to help for a week with the kids. She was a God send. She was able to help get the kids back onto some kind of schedule.

Scott got home on May 1. It was nice to have him home but everyone had to be super careful with dad. The kids have done a great job. Once Torry had to leave, my friend Cathy and her daughter Brittany came and helped for a week. It was amazing to have them here. It was like having three adults. Cathy and I accomplished a ton with finishing the moving in, organizing and we even planted the garden. Brittany took care of the kids and cleaned the house over and over.

So here we are. Three and a half weeks later. Scott is doing SO WELL. He is getting around really good. He has a physical therapist that has come to the home a few times. He had a week of physical therapy while in the hospital and he does tons of self exercises here at home He is trying really hard to kick this thing without getting depressed or discouraged. He has endured this well. I am so pleased with him.

The kids seem to be handling it well too. They have their moments of acting out and ask tons of questions, but for the most part have been angles. I am so pleased with their maturity in all of this. I love them very much. Scott is suppose to be out of work 6-8 weeks. After that he will be on light duty for a few more weeks. Right now he is pretty good at doing most things on his own. I do have to help him up and down the stairs, help him in and out of bed, and help him in and out of the shower. He is not suppose to lift, push or pull more than 5 pounds, that makes life interesting. But he does all he can. He tries to read the kids books. They take turns taking dad for a walk. Jaime is his official shocks and shoes puter oner. All in all we have been very blessed through this whole thing. We have been given many things that would never have been had this never happened, and we have grown closer to the Lord and to each other I love the Lord. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He lives. What a blessing this life is. May I one day be worthy to kneel at Christ’s feet and thank him for all he has done for my family and I. May God be with you and bless you as he has so abundantly blessed me. Love to you all.

**WARNING:   this is a long one**

This last week has been an interesting one for us.   Scott stayed home on Monday because he was sick.   That saved me from finding a babysitter.   Alix had her pre-op physical (in preparation for her colonoscopy on Friday) in the afternoon and so Scott and the other kids watched movies till I got back.

Tuesday was an at home day filled with cleaning, organizing and school.   It was a very productive day that was much needed.

Wednesday was a busy day.   More cleaning in the morning.   Then Jaime had a friend, Maranda, come over.   In the afternoon Jaime and Maranda went to her house.   My friend Camille came over and watched the other kids while I went to our old house to do the final walk through with the owners.   It was a pleasant meeting.   They were very pleased with the condition and cleanliness of the home.   At one point we were checking out the blinds and in the back bedroom, two of the slats on the blinds were bent slightly.   I told them that it was a rule not to touch the blinds but with kids it’s hard sometimes.   The owner looked at me and said ‘I have a hard time believing any kids lived here, let alone 4’.   It was at that point that I broke the news about our 5th child to her.   She looked even more amazed and just laughed.   That was a nice compliment.   There were three things that needed to be fixed in order “pass”.   We went that night and were only able to accomplish one of them.   We will return tomorrow morning and finish the rest.   After coming home I put the little ones down to nap and cleaned up a bit.   At 4 a little boy came over and I watched him for a couple of hours while his mom went to the dentist.   Since Alix was going to be having her last meal we asked her what she wanted.   She said she wanted three peices of peperoni pizza.   We had already decided to take the kids to chuckie-cheese as a thank you for being so wonderful during the move.   So we just combined the two.   We got there at 7:30 and left at 9 pm.   The kids had a ton of fun and were super exhausted.   We enjoyed watching them have so much fun and were grateful for the time spent as a family.

Thursday was “the day”.   Alix had to drink the goo that cleans out her bowels.   I kept the day totally open with the anticipation that she would be mostly sitting on the toilet and watching movies.   Grandma Thompson called that morning and asked Alix what she would be doing that day.   Alix answered ‘sitting on the toilet and going poo!!’   I was to give her her fist dose at 10 am.   She took it with no problem and went right on playing and laughing and running and having a great time.   By 1 pm I started to get worried.   What if it wasn’t working?   I called the doctor.   He said not to worry about it.   Give the second dose and see what happens.   If I have to, give her a third dose.   So at 3 pm I gave her the 2nd dose.   Within minutes she ran to the toilet.   She was in there a good 30 minutes.   We migrated upstairs so she could sit and watch a movie.   After we moved upstairs she threw up, poo’d another 30 minutes and then was done for the day.   She was happy go lucky, ran around, tormented her siblings and was just fine.   Scott and another brother from church gave her a blessing and she slipped off to slumber land with peace and contentment.

Jaime had a busy Thursday.   She missed doing school most of this week so we did a catch up day.   Her friend Maranda wanted her to come play again so she had to get her stuff done before she could go (that was a huge motivating factor).   We did school from 10 till 3.   Maranda came at 3 and they were off.   They went to the mall to a place called Bounce-a-Rama.   It has tons of those blow up bounce houses and mazes and such.   Then they went window shopping.   Then they got ice cream.   Then they went and rented a movie and went back to Maranda’s house.   They played for a while, watched the movie, ate dinner and then played some more.   Jaime got home about 9 pm.   Jaime and Maranda get along really well, but Maranda is a very busy 8 year old and doesn’t get to have playdates during school time.   Since this is her spring break she wanted to spend everyday with Jaime.   Jaime has loved every minute of it!

Today I was up at 6.   I got ready and was out the door with Alix by 6:35 am.   We arrived at the   hospital and did all the registration stuff and lots of waiting.   We talked with lots of doctors and nurses and things seemed to progress pretty good.   We talked with the anestheseologist (sp??) and he was concerned about my problems with anesthesia when I was a baby and so he decided to change his desired method of putting Alix out.   Instead of using the mask he thought it better to put all her medication through an IV.   That would mean Alix would be awake during the insertion of the needle.   That didn’t bother Alix one bit.   She has never cried when she has gotten a shot or her blood drawn.   We were about 1 1/2 hours late getting called in but that was fine.   We got to read this book about dinosaurs that we were both enjoying quite a bit.

The doctor reported that he found 5 polyps.   3 in the rectum   (each about 1-1 1/2 cm), one at the base of the colon (about the same size) and one further up the colon on the right side (this one was big, about 3 1/2 cm).   He was able to remove all of them and is going to get them biopsied.   He said the big one fell off his scope and he was not able to get it out of her.   He said that should not matter, they will all show the same results when biopsied.   So what does all this mean?   Nothing right now.   It just means she had some polyps, that caused bleeding and they may or may not reaccur.   He will have more accurate and concrete information next week when the lab results are in.   After talking with the doctor, I got to go back and see Alix.   She was alert and attentive and eating a popcicle.   She was smiling and asking when she could go home.   She said she felt fine.   After an hour they discharged us.   She slept all the way home and another two hours.   Then she was up and playing and eating dinner with us.   She is totally fine.   She has no stomach ache, no hurt bum and no gas.   She is an amazing girl that was watched over very carefully by a loving Heavenly Father.   We are truely blessed and thankful for that.

The other kids had a fun day too.   Jaime had a skating party to go to today so my friend Jen (her boys were going to the party too) picked her up and took her.   They skated and had fun.   They went out to Mc Donald’s after skating and then back to Jen’s house till I came.   Milo, Niah and Afton stayed home with my friend Carrie and just played and had a good time.   I am thankful for such good friends that I can rely on and that are so good to my children.   It’s nice.

I guess that is all for now.   We are grateful for good health and good doctors.   We love you all.

It was decided that we would go and spend Easter with Grandma Ackerman and Auntie Sara.   Scott decided to get sick on Wednesday of last week.   He stayed home from work Thursday and Friday.   He wasn’t sure if he was going to make it Fresno or not, but was a saint and went anyway.

Friday night was a busy one for me.   With Scott sick I did not prepare as I should have for our Fresno trip, so I did it all Friday night.   I finally got to bed around 12:30 am.   I woke up at 4:30 am, showered, dressed and loaded the car.   Scott helped get the kids in the car.   As soon as we departed everyone fell back to sleep (even me!!:0)   It seemed as though it would be an uneventful trip in a van with lots of power, but boy were we wrong.   I guess, I don’t know because I’ve never been car sick, ridding in the back of a really big van can intensify the feeling of car sickness.   Niah threw up once and Milo twice.   We got to grandma’s about 9 am.

It was a fun visit.   Scott installed an air conditioner in grandma’s bedroom window to help her be more comfortable.   He did a great job and I think grandma will be more comfortable.   I spent the time trying to take care of the kids and their messes and prepare for our bar-b-que and egg hunt.   The kids ran Auntie Sara ragged and the dog too.   They went from one activity to the next.   The kids dyed eggs with the other old people at the place and had to fight a blue bird during the egg hunt (it was the most amazing thing.   The bird went after the eggs and either picked up the whole thing and flew away or just opened it and ate the candy inside.)   We left about 7 pm and got home in enough time to put the VERY tired kids and parents to bed.

The next morning Scott decided to stay home from church.   The kids and I dressed and headed off to church.   Things were going well till Afton decided she needed to eat.   While I was trying to coax Niah to come with me, she started a lovely temper tantrum.   Complete with screaming and hitting me in the face.   I was holding Afton too so I couldn’t do much about the tantrum.   By the time I was out of the Chapel, I was holding Afton by the neck and Niah was screaming and kicking and hitting and just a mess.   As I was considering all the things I should do to her once alone, I realized that I was being followed, boy was Niah saved!!   :0)

Really, the whole of church was great.   That was the only incident and no one gave me a hard time about it, so that was nice.   We came home and put everyone for naps, even Scott and I.   After naps we cleaned up a bit and I cooked dinner.   The missionaries came over and enjoyed dinner with us.   After they left I put the kids and Scott to bed.   I stayed up another hour to do a few things then retired myself.

I’ve been waiting for a night when all the kids would just sleep through the night so that I could to.   Well, I got it last night.   Not one kid came and disturbed my sleep, however, I was up every two hours!!   I guess it’s just habit now, I dunno.   I was up constantly, for no reason at all!

Scott went off to the doctor this morning, he’ll have to report on that.   That’s all for now.   We do love all of you and love to hear how your lives are going too.