Spring Break!

This week is spring break. I am so happy to have Kinnison home with us. We really miss her when she is in school. I can't believe that she will be graduating from Kindergarten in a couple months!

Monday Kanyon turned 9 months old. He is pulling himself up and getting into everything. He'll be walking soon.

Sunday we drove to Deer, Arkansas. We rented a cabin there for two nights. It was absolutely beautiful. On Sunday we hiked the Lost Valley Trail. We chose the difficult path on the way in. It was very steep with lots of narrow spots and there was a lot of people on the trial. I was a nervous wreck. I had Kanyon in a carrier. He is over 20 lbs, so I had my hands full, which left Luke with both girls. They did great though. When we got to Cob Cave I decided I shouldn't even attempt to go in with Kanyon. There was a lot of people in the cave and it was really slick so Luke decided to take the girls one at a time. He took Kimber in first and Kinnison decided she didn't want to go. We followed the trail by the water on the way out. It was beautiful and much easier!

Monday we planned to hike to the Glory Hole. We weren't sure how far our cabin was from the trail and Luke forgot his map, so we started driving. We drove about 25 miles in a huge circle. The trail was about 15 miles from our cabin. :) The drive was beautiful though. And, if we didn't take the detour I would have never seen the Arkansas Grand Canyon. We had to hurry on the hike because it was sprinkling. We got to see the Glory Hole and it was absolutely beautiful. As soon as we took our picture it started storming. We hiked out as fast as we could, but we were completely soaked by the time we got to the car. We took baths when we got back to the cabin. We cooked supper and then played some board games and watched some movies.

Sunday and Monday evening we drove around looking for elk. We saw a lot of them! It was a great getaway. We had a lot of fun and made some great memories. We will definitely be going back soon!

Tomorrow Mom and I are taking the kids to Oklahoma City. We are going to do some shopping and hopefully get to swim!

And The Cycle Continues...

Kinnison has strep. UGH. I feel like it is never going to end! Thursday night Kinnison told me her throat hurt. I thought it was drainage because she has had congestion for a couple weeks. Her temp was 99.5 in one ear and nothing in the other. Friday morning I gave her some Mucinex hoping it would help. I volunteered to the field trip with her class. She was fine all day. On the way home she fell asleep, but I figured she was tired from the trip. When we got home she started crying and said she didn't feel well. I took her temp and it was 100.6. I made an appointment at the Pediatric Clinic. The doctor also thought it was drainage, but decided to do a strep test just to make sure. It was positive! She is feeling better this morning.

I'm not sure if Kanyon slept through the night or I slept through him crying, but I got 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Mark that down. I can't remember the last time that happened.

Grandpa went to the lung doctor last week. He was diagnosed with COPD. He got a new inhaler. I really hope it helps. I saw him on Thursday after his appointment and he looked better than he has in months...maybe even a year. Hopefully he will be as good as new!

Another Update.

We had Kimber's party on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. We are so thankful for the friends and family that were able to celebrate with us.

Here are some of the pictures.

Friday night Kanyon started coughing and we didn't get much sleep. I decided to take him to the doctor on Saturday morning. I told the doctor that I thought he had croup. Right after I said that Kanyon coughed and the doctor said that I was correct. He also had fluid on his left ear. So, we started another round of antibiotics and steroids. Saturday evening I decided to bake Kimber's cake. I wanted to get it done so I would have plenty of time to decorate it on Sunday. While I was baking Charity called to tell me that they were taking Grandpa back to the hospital in an ambulance. As soon as Luke got home I headed to the hospital. Grandpa's hemoglobin level was a 6. It is supposed to be above 11. They decided to admit him and do an endoscopy Sunday morning. They found the source of his internal bleeding and cauterized it. They cauterized a few red spots just to be safe. They said that his blood thinner could cause anything to bleed. We are cautiously optimistic. If this was the source and they fixed it he will no longer need to see the oncologist for iron transfusions! YAY! He still has to see the lung specialist on Friday. He is boycotting the sleep study and we are going to let him. He has been through so much! Thanks for all of the prayers!

Sunday before the party my mom called to tell me that my cousin Nathan was in the ER. He had an accident a couple weeks ago that resulted in a shoulder injury. He knew he was going to have to have surgery, but it wasn't an emergency. Saturday night he started having trouble breathing. Early Sunday morning it got worse and he decided he needed to go the hospital. They ran a battery of tests and found blood clots on his lungs. They are keeping him for a week to thin his blood. He might have to be on blood thinner when he leaves the hospital. They are running tests to see if there is a reason he developed the blood clots or if they were caused by the accident. He is 28. Please say some prayers that he recovers quickly!

Thanks!

Love,

Happy Birthday Kimber!

Kimber is 4! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? I can't believe how much she has changed in the past year. She talks non-stop. She has a very fun personality. She loves to do silly things to make you laugh.

She is in Florida with my parents this week. Gammy and Pappy took her on the trip that Ty and Kinnison got to take last year. She was really sick over the weekend and we thought she might not get to go. Thursday night she started running a fever. Luke took her to the pediatric clinic. She was diagnosed with a UTI. They gave us a prescription, but it was too late to fill it anywhere. Thursday night she got a lot worse. Her fever got to 103.6, so I decided to take her back to the doctor. We went to the clinic in town and saw the nurse practitioner, Lindsay. We really like her. She confirmed it was a UTI, but said that Kimber had some swelling in her tonsils and lymph nodes, so she prescribed a different antibiotic that would cover everything. Every time I gave her Tylenol or Motrin she would throw it up. Her fever got to 104.3, so I called the and left Lindsay a message. I gave Kimber another bath and got her fever down enough to give her some medicine. Lindsay called in Zithromax for her to take with her Cephalexin. When I called lastnight I could tell she was feeling better. She was bouncing off the walls. Gammy said she was talking non-stop. They are on their way to Disney today. She is going to have so much fun! I am sure this will be her best birthday ever. We sure do miss her though. My house has been very quiet without her! I can't wait until she gets home and we get to celebrate her birthday as a family!

Here is her video.

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Click here to see her previous videos.

We have all taken turns being sick and I am ready for it to stop! I hate when my babies are sick!

Perfect.

I was reading an article about Michele Duggar. You can read it here. She talked about the importance of grieving after a miscarriage and talked about a song that she liked to listen to. I listened to the song and it is absolutely perfect.

I Will Carry You

by Selah

from the album "You Deliver Me"

Lyrics:

There were photographs I wanted to take

Things I wanted to show you

Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes

Who could love you like this?

People say that I am brave but I'm not

Truth is I'm barely hanging on

But there's a greater story

Written long before me

Because He loves you like this

[Chorus]

I will carry you

While your heart beats here

Long beyond the empty cradle

Through the coming years

I will carry you

All my life

And I will praise the One Who's chosen me

To carry you

Such a short time

Such a long road

All this madness

But I know

That the silence

Has brought me to His voice

And He says ...

I've shown her photographs of time beginning

Walked her through the parted seas

Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes

Who could love her like this?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Luke bought me a present and showed it to the girls. They were supposed to keep it a secret. So, I showed them what I got Luke. I also told them that Daddy and I had a surprise for them. I said, "We all have secrets, don't we?" Kimber said, "Ya, rings, earrings". It was so funny! Needless to say, we exchanged our gifts early. Luke surprised me with diamond earrings on our first anniversary. Last fall I noticed that one of my backs was missing. Luckily I didn't lose the earring. The backs and posts were stripped out. We got an estimate to fix them and it was going to be over $100. I decided I would wait until gold prices went down. When Luke gave me my new ones I told him I didn't need another pair of earrings because I already had some that just needed to be fixed. But, when I compared my new ones to my old ones I decided to keep them! I got Luke a Timex Watch, Almond Joys and Reeses Ice Cream. He was happy. Here is a picture of my earrings. I love them!

I had a busy day today preparing for Kinnison's class party. I am very glad I am done with those for the year! Here are some pictures of my adorable kiddos.

Today is our baby's 5th Birthday with Jesus. Happy Birthday Sweetie! We love you and miss you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,

Random.

Kinnison had her last Upward game on Saturday. Charity and I were the coaches. It was a fun season, but I am glad it is over. Luke works on Saturdays, which left me in charge of getting all the kids ready and to the game. I do it every morning for school, but it is exhausting! By Saturday I am pretty worn out. Gammy and Pappy watched the kids while I coached. I couldn't have done it without them! We had a great team. Our kiddos were terrific!

Saturday night Kinnison and Luke had a Daddy Daughter Dance at school. Kinnison got a chocolate rose at school inviting her to attend. She ate it. LOL She is very much her mother's daughter. We snapped a few pictures at the park even though it was freezing! Her daddy (me) surprised her with a corsage. She was very excited. They had a lot of fun and she looked absolutely beautiful! She is growing up too fast!

Grandpa seems to be doing well. He has two doctor appointments this week. Hopefully he gets back to his old self before it is time to plant the garden. He likes to tell us how to do it! :)

Update.

Grandpa is home! He is still on oxygen. He has to follow up with the cardiologist, lung doctor, blood doctor and possibly have a sleep study done. The poor guy doesn't sleep at all. Please continue to pray for him and my grandma. They mean the world to me.

Kanyon is officially a crawler! He goes a few feet and falls, but if he wants to go somewhere he can get there! He now has 2 teeth on bottom and four teeth on top. He is going to be 8 months old this month. Where does the time go?

Crazy.

One week ago today Grandpa was admitted to the hospital for what was supposed to be a three day stay to adjust medications. Today he *might* get to come home. Friday they did the EP study to test his heart. Saturday they gave him a pacemaker. Once he is discharged they are going to have to try to figure out why his hemoglobin levels are so low. If he has to stay on the blood thinner (most likely because of Atriral Fibrillation) he will have to go to the Oncology Clinic for iron transfusions. We have a long road ahead. Please say some prayers for him.

Things have been crazy and I am exhausted, but I am so thankful that I am staying at home. I have been at the hospital every day. I love being able to help out and getting to spend precious time with my grandparents.

I want to say how proud I am of Kinnison! She was awarded Tiger of the Month. She got a certificate, free kids meal at Dennys, a shirt and her picture will be in the paper. She is such a sweet, smart, fun little girl. She is doing so well with reading and writing. We are very, very proud.

I had Kanyon's pictures taken two weeks ago. They turned out really well. He is so handsome!

Kimber is going to be four this month. How is that possible?

Prayers Please.

Where do I begin?

Grandpa hasn't been feeling well for a long time, but Friday he started getting worse. He has been short of breath because of fluid on his lungs. He has been to the doctor many times. They have tried medications and inhalers, but nothing helped. The last resort was to put him in the hospital to see if they could change any medications. He had a terrible weekend, so he went to the hospital on Monday morning. Once they started testing him they figured out that he had a low heart rate, low hemoglobin level, internal bleeding, and many other things wrong with him. Lastnight his heart rate dropped way too low. They did two blood transfusions last night and gave him some medicine to help with the fluid. Today they gave him an iron transfusion. His breathing and color were much better today! Once they get his blood where it needs to be they are going to start working on the heart. He is going to need to go through some tests and will probably get a pacemaker at the end of this week. After his heart rate stabilizes they are talking about doing another test to find out where the internal bleeding is. He will be 84 in April. I know that IT is going to happen, but I am not ready. Not now. He has a bad heart, bad lungs, prostate cancer, skin cancers....the list goes on, but he is one of the strongest people I know! He is the heart and soul of our family! Please remember him (and us) in your prayers.

Luke's Uncle Rod passed away tonight. He was at Washington Regional in the CCU. He was on a ventilator and they took him off of it tonight. He was diagnosed with liver failure a few months ago. Everyone knew it was coming, but it has been really hard on them all. Please remember them in your prayers as well.

Finally, I found out today that I have another ovarian cyst. It is small and should resolve on its own. Pray that it does because I need to focus on my family.

Thank you!

Love,