FUN FUN FUN

Summer has been so much fun. We have had a lot to do. We have enjoyed swimming lessons, slip n slides, water balloons, kangaroo zoo, play dates with cousins, camp fires with lots of roasting of the marshmallows, Britton's birthday, Abby's birthday, hiking, homemade drive in, sprinkler fun on the trampoline, visits to the park, fishing, playing in the sand, card games, board games, wii, movies, treats, indoor hide and go seek, baking, and lots more fun. I love the summer and I love playing with my kids.

Parker's Life Jacket

On Saturday June 11th @ 4:30pm, we were invited to go to a surprise party for Ben. We were excited to get to have a fun time with family and swim for the first time this season. So the kids were excited to start to swim. The pool was heated and was 86 degrees, it was perfect. The kids were having a great time. Jumping off the diving board and playing with cousins. We decided it was time for dinner so we asked the kids to get out of the pool. We took our kids over to the grass and asked them to sit there while we made there plates. My sister told me she would watch the girls so we went to make some plates of food. We got in line I handed Dan five plates and started to place hot dog buns on the plates. When all of a sudden there was a some commotion in the water. People were saying that that little boy didn't look right. The next thing I saw was a boy being lifted out of the water. He wasn't responding and his eyes were rolled back, his lips were blue and was extremely pale. I started to yell call 911 and said give him to Dan he knows CPR. They handed him to Dan, as Dan turned him over we both realized for the first time that this child was Parker. Dan said his first thought was what is Parker doing in the water. Dan realized that Parker wasn't breathing but that he moved an arm slightly so rolled him over again and hit his back a few times and Parker coughed and them started to cry. Then he threw up twice and was more alert. We then took him to the emergency room and they listened to his lungs and did an x-ray. His lungs looked good and he was feeling a lot better. But we had to stay at the hospital for at least eight hours because after a lung injury, eight hours later the lungs can get inflamed and the child will stop breathing. Parker's lungs were great he had a good night and we were able to come home the next day. We asked Parker what happened and how he ended up in the pool. He said when he had sat down for dinner he decided to take off his life jacket because it wasn't his and he didn't want to get food on it. Britton and Bryson decided to jump in the pool one last time and Parker saw and said I want to jump in to. He said I forgot I took off my life jacket. Now Parker has had three years of swimming lessons but he just panicked. We realized that we are very blessed and that the Lord has a hand in our lives. We have had an amazing response from family, friends, ward members and neighbors. We realize that Parker is loved by so many. We are so grateful that Bruce, the man that noticed something wasn't quite right with Parker and Nick and Brandon for pulling him out of the water. There are angels among us.

School is out

I am so excited that school is out. I love the summertime fun. I love the sound of splashing water, and the giggling that immediately follows. I love the trips to the park. I love to go camping and sit by a fire snuggled with a kid on my lap. I love the time we spend with cousins. I love to work in the yard and enjoy the out doors. I love to play with the kids and create something new. I love summertime and everything about it.

NORMAL

Well Abby went to the doctor with week and all of her labs were in normal range. I am so grateful for Abby's team that she has been working with and for the consistencey they have had during this time. She doesn't have to go back to the doctor for three months now and we are so grateful for that. I feel that the Lord had his hand in this and I am grateful for the power of the priesthood and prayer. Thanks for all the prayers and calls. I think that it is amazing to run into people who I haven't seen in years and for someone to say how is your little girl and I ask how did you hear and usually the reply is I read your blog. Anyway life is good.

Family update

Britton - 9 yrs. old loves sports especially soccer, basketball and football. He loves to read. Loves being outside. He is gaining a huge knowledge of the scriptures. And is a big teaser.
Bryson - 7 yrs. old loves any video games, fighting cartoons, riding his bike and scooter. He loves math and reads awesome. He loves to be in his p.j.'s and wakes up before 7 every morning.
Parker - 5 yrs. old he is learning to ride a bike. Loves to play anything outside with Britton and Bryson. He is learning to read and doing great. He is taking speech at school and learning to say his sounds so much better. He is such a peace maker and tries so hard to do the right thing.
Abby - 3 yrs. old loves movies, playing dolls, coloring, doing stickers, play play doh, helping cook anything in the kitchen, playing dressup, going to dance with Miss Shaundee, play super heros and taking care of Brynlee.
Brynlee - 18 months loves playing with Strawberry shortcake(which she calls cake cake), playing with dolls, playing kitchen, singing, reading stories, pulling all the dvds out of the entertainment center, climbing on the chairs and table, taking baths and playing with her brothers and sisters.
Dan - still is the DARE officer, working a second job, taking extra sifts, playing dad, scouts, teaching elders quorum, working out, trying to fix problems at home and being my best friend.
Me - being a mom, wife, primary teacher, exercising, counting calories, cleaning house, organizing priorities. Trying to balance life in the right way. What is important and what isn't?

Great News!

Well, we had another visit to the doctor this week. Abby had another ultra sound and the liver is back to normal size. Hooray!!! Her pancreas is still a little swollen but it is smaller than the images before. Her labs were all almost back to normal. They have not been able to diagnose her with anything. All of the labs came back negative, for the viruses they thought it was and all of common liver diseases. So they are just saying that she had some unknown virus and we will probably never know what it was. They are going to keep a close watch on her. She doesn't have to go back to the doctor for two months and then six months and then a year and then they will probably watch her for three years after that. They said that they would just like to be sure it stays away for good. Which is extremely comforting to me.
It is so cute to hear her say her prayers and thank Heavenly Father for blessing her liver, and making it all better. I am grateful for all the support we have been given and the love and prayers.

Abby

Abby will not love this picture in a few years but this was the best picture we could take while she was in the hospital because the flash from the camera hurt her eyes. Anyway if you can tell she is yellow in the purple outfit. So this is for Julie and Megan she is happy and feeling really good.

A Picture of Abby!

For those that live away there's a picture of Abby. She is doing so good. We went to Primary's again this week for more labs and we had more good results. Her liver function GGT is almost back to normal, her AST and ALT labs were in the 50's and 60's which those were in the high 100's. We will get the results of the rest of the lab results on Friday.

This is a picture of her at her dance recital. She was so excited until we got there and then she wouldn't dance with her class. Hopefully next time she will be more willing. She loves dance and she loves Miss Shaundee.

More about Abby D!

Today we had another appointment for Abby. Her first appointment was with ultra sound. She was such a good girl she was very still and listened very well to the tech. The radiologist came in and He was happy with the pictures so he didn't have to do anymore which was good because Abby was ready to go. Next She had to go to the lab. She was fasting for the ultra sound and was starting to eat her breakfast on our way over the the lab. Once we got to the lab she was happy eating her bagel but as soon as she heard her name she knew where she was going and started to cry. She was so upset. They made three attempts and finally got some blood. She was so upset that she made herself puke all over the floor. She calmed down and got some prizes and then we went to the liver clinic. She did great there and her results from the labs and ultra sound were already posted. Her doctor said that her gall bladder is back to normal size and doesn't seem to be filled with fluid. Her pancreas is still swollen but, the ducts seem to be normal size. The liver is still enlarged but has decreased in size. The GGT which is the liver functioning lab was down to 34 and was at 465 a month ago. So a lot of progress is being made. But some of the liver labs have increased since her labs 4 weeks ago so the doctor has ordered more labs. We go back in 2 weeks and those labs will be more for the liver. She is feeling better. She looks and acts better. We are grateful for the power of prayer and fasting. We know that the Lord has a hand in all things and that He is watching out for our little girl. Please continue to pray for Abby. Thank you for your prayers we know she will get better over time.

A call from the teacher

Whenever I usually get a call from a teacher it isn't the best of news. But this time I was thrilled. Parker's teacher called the other day but we weren't home so she left a message and she said, Mrs. Gardner this is Mrs. Dallof, I just wanted to share a story with you about Parker that absolutely warmed my heart. So I called her back and she said I just want you to know that your Parker is the sweetest little thing. Monday at school was TOY DAY. Each kid got to bring one toy to school to share at show and tell. Then after show and tell they could play with there toys for a few minutes. All the kids were playing with the toys and Mrs. Dallof was wandering around the room visiting with the kids. She came up to Parker and he said, "You know Mrs. Dallof Christmas isn't about the presents and what we get from Santa it is about Baby Jesus being born. Its remembering His birth and the love and care that we share with others. She said that He was so sincere and that he really touched her.
We tried really hard this year to explain to the kids what Christmas is all about and not being so concerned about the presents that we get, but to try and think about our Savior and the miracles that have taken place. I was so happy to learn that Parker a 5 year old little boy could understand the true meaning of Christmas.