I'm Back!

I have realized how sad I am that I haven't posted on this blog for almost a year. I loved seeing all the fun things we did and watching my family grow. Plus it is way faster and cheaper than scrapbooking! It is a journal/memoir for me and my family... so the journey continues. I am going to try to update at least weekly and not just the big events, but the every day happenings too. So welcome us back to the blogger world.

Halloween 2008

The update continues...

What do you get when you have an Angel, the Devil, Superman, an a Ladybug?

The cutest family that I love the most!



We had such a great halloween! We went Trick-or-Treating at Nate's work and Michael scored a lot of candy (for me, since he can't eat most of it! Don't worry though, he has enough candy that he can eat to last him until next Halloween!) On the way home from Nate's work we stopped by my cousins house and went Trick-or-Treating with her kids. Michael just loves and adores his cousin Sam and was so happy to be with him. He ran with Sam to all the houses and we were left in the dust!



Michael loves superman (don't ask me how, he's never seen it, but he knows exactly who he is and points out superman toys at the store) so that is what he chose to be.



Madison's costume was a tough choice. It was a toss-up between the cute lady bug costume and Snow White. (Snow White might make an appearance in the years to come.)It rained on us by the time we took any pictures so if you look closely you'll notice that one of Madison's "antenae" has lost it's umph. She was still the cutest ladybug ever though!

She was pleased as could be that people kept giving her candy. The only problem was that she tried to eat each piece every time it was handed to her (no concept of delayed gratification) and she wasn't thrilled when we took anything away!



Nate was the hit of the night! He was so dedicated that he shaved his head (I mean totally bicced!) for his costume. He was painted completely red and used his creative talent to make shadows on his face and his horns look so real! I thought the kids would be so scared of him when they saw him, but they weren't even phased. Not even a double take. (What is that saying Nate???)



He knew what he was going to be and wanted me to join him, but I said no way, so he brought me home angel wings and a halo and and our costumes were set!



We ended the night Trick-or-Treating at a few houses in our neighborhood and then going home to divy up candy. Two piles, Michael "friendly" and non-Michael "friendly" (or in other words, Michael's pile and Mom's pile!)

Happy Halloween!

Alright, alright, I'm getting to it...

I have been so busy lately and any time I get to spend on the computer is usually spent posting my cards on ebay or trying to keep up my website... but balance in all things right. I can't neglect my poor cute little family. (besides, if I don't blog now I might not get around to it until Madison's second birthday!) Also, this doubles as a great journal and when I get around to scrapbooking these pictures and have forgotten when they were taken I can just come here and check right! Thanks for you patience and your diligence to keep checking to see if I've blogged. And, without further explantion...

Quick Recap:
Madison's birthday was a hit! She had a great time. I made cupcakes for the kids there to frost and decorate. They didn't have any milk or nuts so Michael could have them too! That is a big plus in our family.







We loved having Austin visit! Here are some pictures of his and Nate's "knife" fight with markers and golfing.





Michael is now in preschool and he loves it! (I think I love it more though!) He gets to learn and play and I get 2 1/2 wonderful hours to get things done with only one child at my heels. He loves his backpack and he love to ride the bus. Watching him get on and off the bus each time makes me realize he is so big! Here are some pictures of his first day at school.









Don't you just love the finger up his nose?! It's a nice touch right.


Michael's Birthday was great! We had a lot of kids there and it was fun having them run around. Michael loved opening his gifts and loves the toys that he got!





Thanks for everyone encouraging me to post. I'll do some more updates later. What... I will.

Happy Happy Birthday Madison Dear!!!

Madison is ONE today! I cannot believe it. She is so tiny that she still fits into 3-6 mo. size clothes! She is such a joy and we love her so much. She is one of the cutest, happiest, smiliest babies I have ver seen. She is a mommy and daddy's girl, she gets shy around others, and she has a smile that melts your heart (and a scream that bursts your eardrums!) She is a doll. I am looking forward to celebrating with her today! Here is her wake up picture with me and Austin and Michael singing Happy Birthday to her this morning. Happy Birthday Madison!

We've Had a Busy Week!!!

Monday morning me and the kids traveled to the airport to pick up my niece Britney who stayed with us for four days. Monday we went to Temple Sqaure and walked around the gardens and looked at all the water pools, then we met my brother Brandon for lunch in SLC, after that we headed home and as soon as Nate got home from work we went to the water park.
Tuesday we went shopping at the mall and Wednesday we went to the zoo. Madison had never been to the zoo before and Michael was a baby the last time he went. We all loved the bird show and getting to have them fly right over us. We also saw two bears get into a big fight, and a new baby giraffe. Michael's favorite was the Gorilla's and the train ride and the enormous metal elephant (We had to keep going back to it several times!). Even though it was blistering HOT we all had a great time!












Britney kept asking me if we could make cards, so we did. We spent a day making handmade cards and Britney LOVED IT! She made a stack to take home with her to give to her friends!



On Thursday night Nate and I & the kids went out to eat at Ottavio's which is a super yummy Italian restaurant that Brandon introduced us to a few years back (thanks Brandon!) When we ate there Brandon ordered the Penne Pesto and I had a taste of it. It was so delicious that it is all I have ordered every time that we have gone back!

On Friday we had a great fourth of July! We went over to Nate's parents house for lunch and had a fun time playing the signs game. We got to meet his sister's boyfriend and then they came over to our house later and we played Ticket to Ride. After that his brother and sister-in-law came over and we played Guillotine (For anyone who knows me I LOVE to play games, so this was wonderful for me!) They stayed while we lit off a bunch of fireworks. The kids loved it! Madison was mesmorized and Michael was a great help and got very excited for all of them. It was such a fun good day and is definately one of my favorite holidays!

On Saturday we were driving up to Ogden to be with my family. Brandon and Nate were planning on golfing that evening. We stopped at the Living Aquarium in SLC and took the kids through. Even though it is small Michael LOVED it!





While on the way to Ogden Brandon called and said he and Nate should postpone golfing. Little did we know that it was because my sister-in-law Whitney who was 8 1/2 months pregnant was in pain so they were taking her to the hospital to hopefully get some pain medicine and get checked out. We got a call about 1 1/2 hours later with great some scary news... Whitney was going in for an emergency C-section even though she still had three weeks left in her pragnancy! We were very anxious until we heard the news... Beautiful EMERY ELIZABETH PIERCE was born July 5th 2008 at 7:26pm. She weighs 5 lbs 6 oz and is 17 in, and she is absolutely beautiful and perfect!

After giving them some time and hanging out with some of my old friends in Ogden we headed to the hospital to see her. Whitney was doing well. I think both she and Brandon were still in shock from the whole experience. I loved holding sweet little Emery and I am so happy that both she and Whitney are doing great! I know that they are going to be and already are such great parents.






Sunday we went back to the hospital for more snuggle time with Emery and to check on Whitney and visit with her and Brandon. Then we headed to my parents house to make cupcakes and get ready for Madison's birthday party! We had my parents and the Croyle's there (Brandon & Whitney were kinda busy!). Madison loved her cupcake and cried when it was time to clean up. Michael even got to enjoy because the cupcakes were MILK & NUT FREE!!! He also ate about 3 popsicles.











We stopped by the hospital again before we headed home to give Whitney and Brandon and Emery one last hug! We brought my nephew Austin with us and he'll stay with us until Wednesday. It has been such a busy, exciting, wonderful week. We are glad that Emery is here and that she and Whitney are doing well, we are glad that Britney is here and that we get to visit and spend time with her, and we look forward to my sister Natalie coming out to Utah in just a few days and bringing her three adorable girls (Including Greta whom we have yet to meet, having made her arrival only a short time ago!)

We are grateful for life's blessings and all of the joy it brings! And we love our family!

Allergies are SCARY!!!

So Michael got two new toys yesterday. One from the Paramedics/Firefighters that had to come to our house, and the other from the doctor in the ER. Yesterday morning we were all enjoying hanging out outside (Nate doesn't work until noon on Wednesdays). Nate was drinking a protein drink and Michael came over and asked for some. Nate gave him a couple of sips and then pulled it away remembering that it had milk in it. We watched Michael and within a minute or two he began throwing up and rashing all over his face.

This wasn't uncommon for us because it is usually what happens when Michael comes in contact with milk or peanuts. We quickly gave him some Benadryl which usually stops the swelling and then he is fine.

However, this time the swelling didn't stop and neither did the throwing up. (Meaning that the Benadryl we gave him was useless.) I looked at the ingredients for Nate's drink powder to see exactly what was in it and on the label it said "For Adults Only: Not for children under 12" "must mix with at least 8 oz. of water per scoop or may cause choking." Even though there was more than enough water in the drink I figured I'd better call Poison Control to see if this was why he was having a more difficult reaction.

I didn't have Poison Controls number handy, but we have had to call them once before (another story) and my sister who is a police officer had told me just to call 911 tell them it wasn't an emergency, but that you need poison control right away. So I did it again this time. The 911 operator asked some questions and said that she would like to stay on the line while I spoke to Poison Control.

After explaining the situation to Poison Control both she and the 911 operator felt that they should send help right away, so they did. Michael and I waited outside for the ambulance to come. It is a really scary experience to hear the sirens and know that they are coming for your child. We quickly got him into the ambulence just as the fire truck pulled up. They checked all his vitals and his swelling. They said that his vitals and breathing were good, but that the swelling was still a concern. Both eyes were very swollen, one even looked like it might swell shut. They told us that they could take him in (to the ER) if we wanted them to, or that we could keep him and just watch him closely, make sure he didn't sleep, and make sure he didn't quit breathing. They also said to give him more Benadryl and that if the swelling didn't go down then to take him in.

We decided to keep him with us and to watch him. We took him inside and gave him more Benadryl (which he threw up again). I took him and held on the couch and he was alseep within minutes. I tried to wake him up but he was out. I figured he could sleep as long as I was holding him because then I would know if he stopped breathing.

We had our neighbor come over and he and Nate gave Michael a blessing. I tell you right now that I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I was pouring my heart out in silent prayer as well that Michael would be okay.

He finally woke up a little bit just to throw up some more. His poor little body would shake and he would cry and it was absolutely miserable for us all. While holding him he had sweat so much that he had literaly soaked my shirt and I had to go change, yet he would shiver occaisionally and kept pulling a towel (handy for the throw-up) over him as a blanket.

The Poison Control operator called us back to check on him. When I told her his condition she told us that he needed to go to the ER right away and be seen. She said he had been swollen too long and that if we waited for him to stop breathing we wouldn't make it. Nate and I said a prayer and then went off to the hospital.

The ER was a typical frustrating ER visit. We were there for well over 5 minutes before anyone even came out to see how they could help us. (Which, when you are worried feels like an eternity.) Then it was more time in the waiting room. Although at this point it was kind of nice because they had a large fish tank with lots of cool fish and Michael kind of came back alive at this point and climbed out of my lap to go check them out. It was a huge turning point in how he had been acting and from then on he seemed to start getting better (wouldn't that be the case when you're already registered at the ER).

A nurse checked out Michael and then they "fast tracked" us because of Michael's condition. After that we spent more time in a cubicle waiting for the doctor. (At this point I thought "WOW, I am glad we brought him in when we did because if we had waited until he stopped breathing he would have died while in the ER waiting for help!") The doctor arrived and she was fabulous with Michael. She checked him all out and then she gave us a prescription for his swelling. She said just to watch him, but that the swelling seemed to be going down finally and that he was looking better.

We left the ER and made a trip to the pharmacy to pick up his prescription and two Epi Pens so that if he reacts this badly again we will be ready.

This is by far the worst reaction he has had. Even the night before we were eating with some friends and Michael snagged a Dorito and... nothing. He was totally fine. He didn't even throw up. This has happened occaisionally, but we were told that whether he reacts or not, each time he is exposed to anything that he is allergic to, the next time he does react will get worse and worse.

We are relieved that he is okay, but I am very scared for the future. It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that you could possibly have your child die at anytime from something so simple as taking a drink. It is hard to come to terms with something like this and yet not live in fear of it or let it rule your lives.

Yesterday was very scary but Michael is doing lots better. He still has some swelling around his eyes, but his face swelling, rash, and throwing up has stopped.

By the end of the day he was already laughing about the day like it was some great adventure. He would pretend to throw up, then make siren sounds, and then say "they help, they help" (because that is what I was saying to him in the ambulence when they were trying to check him and he was freaking out... "They are here to help you Michael." over and over) Then he would laugh. All in a days work for him I guess.

I would have taken pictures, but when you are nervous that your son might quit breathing at some point you don't run and get the camera. Here are some pictures of how he looked this morning eating breakfast. Lots better.




I am sure it probably won't be our last ER visit with with him (too bad too cause it just so happens to cost a small fortune).

(Good thing we got our plane tickets for Hawaii two days before, otherwise I think Hawaii would have been cancelled for not being able to afford it.)

Thanks for your concern and love and prayers. We are grateful for our blessings and for Michael's health and all the help he received yesterday to make sure he was okay.

Family Home Evening

For FHE we made bird feeders so that we can lure some birds into our yard. Michael loves watching the birds, he loves chasing them away even more, but always gets sad when they go.