Last month our family attended IHH's 3rd birthday party/Halloween party. At that party they went over some business matters with the group. One item they discussed was the upcoming board elections. All of those currently serving in board positions have done so for the entire three years the group has existed. With the end of 2010 approaching, so does their tenure. Because of this, they announced that from then until midnight on October 31 they would be accepting nominations for board positions (essentially saying if you want to help by serving in one of the positions, send in an email stating so and which position you would be willing to hold). As they were listing the board positions, Russ kept nudging me. Later, as we were leaving, Carolyn Quigley, the current president, asked me if I'm thinking about one of the positions because they need good people.
I thought about it for a couple of days and decided to go ahead and submit my nomination. I stated that I was thinking of secretary or if more wanted that position, vice-chair. A few days ago I received a phone call asking me if I really was fine with vice-chair. They had one other person who had stated they would be interested in the secretary position. Including my nomination, they had 5 nominations. Five nominations for 5 positions. Technically there were 6 positions but 5 works.
The announcement that went out to everyone in the group after the party stated that the elections would take place for the week of November 7 until November 13 with the final results posted the first week of December after background checks have been completed. Sure enough, when I looked at the forum tonight there was a post with the voting polls up and my name on the list.
I will admit, I am a bit nervous (also a little excited) about this position I will have, assuming it's confirmed by the other members. The current board, like I've said, has done an excellent job. I've said before that I'd hate to follow them because of how well they've done. Yet here I am. Hopefully I won't mess things up too badly.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Reality Check
I subscribe to the newspaper. Which makes me think of the Mark Twain saying, "If you don't read the newspaper you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper you're misinformed." But I digress. In this morning's paper there was an obituary of a man who is the same age as Russ. The obituary stated that this man was the oldest survivor of Truncus Arteriosus type IV. I will admit that I had just kind of skimmed over the obituaries this morning until after my mom mentioned it by asking what type Dylan has. (He has type II.) I think Russ would have been happier had I not mentioned the obituary to him.
As a parent of a child with Truncus Arteriosus, reading an obit of a young man who had it isn't always a pleasant thing to read. Dylan is doing well enough that it's easy to forget that problems can (and do) arise in children and adults with CHD's. When I was changing my calendar over to November, I thought how had Dylan's cardiologist wanted him back in 6 months from his last echo instead of 9 that he would be going back this month. And how nice it is to not have to go back for another three more months. Mostly because it's nice to go longer without having that worry that this time the doctor will say that it looks like he'll need more surgery. It was a nice relief after his MRI to be told that everything looked good and he wouldn't need the cath like they thought he did.
I have read about a few babies with Truncus recently where things haven't gone so well. Makes me realize more how things could have gone wrong with Dylan's surgery and recovery. I think of his surgeon telling us that with his Coarctation of the Aorta in addition to his Truncus that the chances of him surviving that initial surgery was between 70 and 80%. What I mostly heard there was the 20-30% chance of not surviving it. I feel very blessed and lucky with how smoothly things went. I sometimes think of how one nurse said to us, "You will soon realize that you will be out of here a lot sooner than some of the others in here." And it was true.
I guess in the end, all I can really do is hope and pray and have faith that Dylan will continue to do well and that his next surgery (hopefully long in the future) will go even more smoothly than the first. And also pray for other children and adults going through the same things, as I hope others do the same for us.
As a parent of a child with Truncus Arteriosus, reading an obit of a young man who had it isn't always a pleasant thing to read. Dylan is doing well enough that it's easy to forget that problems can (and do) arise in children and adults with CHD's. When I was changing my calendar over to November, I thought how had Dylan's cardiologist wanted him back in 6 months from his last echo instead of 9 that he would be going back this month. And how nice it is to not have to go back for another three more months. Mostly because it's nice to go longer without having that worry that this time the doctor will say that it looks like he'll need more surgery. It was a nice relief after his MRI to be told that everything looked good and he wouldn't need the cath like they thought he did.
I have read about a few babies with Truncus recently where things haven't gone so well. Makes me realize more how things could have gone wrong with Dylan's surgery and recovery. I think of his surgeon telling us that with his Coarctation of the Aorta in addition to his Truncus that the chances of him surviving that initial surgery was between 70 and 80%. What I mostly heard there was the 20-30% chance of not surviving it. I feel very blessed and lucky with how smoothly things went. I sometimes think of how one nurse said to us, "You will soon realize that you will be out of here a lot sooner than some of the others in here." And it was true.
I guess in the end, all I can really do is hope and pray and have faith that Dylan will continue to do well and that his next surgery (hopefully long in the future) will go even more smoothly than the first. And also pray for other children and adults going through the same things, as I hope others do the same for us.
Random, Catching up and Pictures
I realize I haven't posted a lot lately. I blame Facebook. Not that I really post much there, but it makes me realize how little I have to say. Even when I may have things to say if I were to blog more often. Like how Russ was recently called as 1st Counselor in the Elder's Quorum in our ward. (Which I found to be hilarious because he was serving before as the 11 year old scout leader and the first time he was in the Elder's Quorum presidency he had been serving as the 11 year old scout leader. Let me know if you don't follow that and I'll try to explain more clearly.)
People have asked me what it's like having 6 kids now. I always respond, "Not much different than having five." And having six kids really doesn't seem like a lot when they're yours. Except for those moments of temporary insanity when you decide to go to the store with all six. Funny part is the looks people give you as you parade through the store. Which, honestly are not quite as funny as going to the store pregnant with your sixth and taking the other five plus the youngest four of a sister.
Anyway, before I ramble even more, here are the promised pictures:
This was taken tonight of Lys and Rachel. Rachel is 7 weeks old today. Crazy.
Dylan told me to take his picture here. Then covered his face.
This is what I got after trying again and telling him to keep his hand down.
Emma, Molly, Lys and Russ carving pumpkins. Dylan decided he was done and went to find Jimmy.
Dylan and Rachel.
People have asked me what it's like having 6 kids now. I always respond, "Not much different than having five." And having six kids really doesn't seem like a lot when they're yours. Except for those moments of temporary insanity when you decide to go to the store with all six. Funny part is the looks people give you as you parade through the store. Which, honestly are not quite as funny as going to the store pregnant with your sixth and taking the other five plus the youngest four of a sister.
Anyway, before I ramble even more, here are the promised pictures:
This was taken tonight of Lys and Rachel. Rachel is 7 weeks old today. Crazy.
Dylan told me to take his picture here. Then covered his face. 
This is what I got after trying again and telling him to keep his hand down.
Emma, Molly, Lys and Russ carving pumpkins. Dylan decided he was done and went to find Jimmy.
Dylan and Rachel.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Stitches for Dylan
A few weeks ago Jimmy took Dylan in the kitchen to help him make some cookies. They were just the store bought kind that you put the dough on the cookie sheet and bake. Well, the cookies didn't get made that day. Dylan slipped and hit the back of his head on a chair. After I picked him up, Jimmy noticed that he was bleeding. A lot. At which point Jimmy panicked. I kept telling him that head wounds bleed a lot, but can understand why it would scare him.
Russ ended up taking Dylan in to the doctor where they put in three stitches. Dylan had to be held down for it. When Russ called me to say they were on their way home, I could hear Dylan crying that he wanted his mom. Poor kid.
While Russ was gone with him, I got a call from his parents. Jimmy had called and left a message telling them about Dylan. Which they couldn't understand because he was so upset. All they understood was, "sob...sob...sob...Dylan...sob sob...It's all my fault." So they imagined the worst. I'm sure I would have too. Still find it somewhat funny though.
When it was time for the stitches to come out, we waited for him to fall asleep and took them out ourselves so he wouldn't have to get upset about it again. He refused to let anyone look at his cut and stitches so figured it would also be easier. I was surprised that they only put in three stitches when I saw it. It was sore for a while after. I'm sure it was bruised. Here's a picture right after we took out the stitches.
Russ ended up taking Dylan in to the doctor where they put in three stitches. Dylan had to be held down for it. When Russ called me to say they were on their way home, I could hear Dylan crying that he wanted his mom. Poor kid.
While Russ was gone with him, I got a call from his parents. Jimmy had called and left a message telling them about Dylan. Which they couldn't understand because he was so upset. All they understood was, "sob...sob...sob...Dylan...sob sob...It's all my fault." So they imagined the worst. I'm sure I would have too. Still find it somewhat funny though.
When it was time for the stitches to come out, we waited for him to fall asleep and took them out ourselves so he wouldn't have to get upset about it again. He refused to let anyone look at his cut and stitches so figured it would also be easier. I was surprised that they only put in three stitches when I saw it. It was sore for a while after. I'm sure it was bruised. Here's a picture right after we took out the stitches.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Russ!
Happy birthday to Russ today! He's getting his wish that he stressed to me quite often of no gifts today. Mostly because of Rachel's birth. Haven't been able to get him any gifts. Although I would guess just having had her before his birthday was a gift for him. He was starting to get worried she was going to be born on his birthday.I chose this picture of Russ with Rachel (taken with my cell phone camera shortly after she was born) partially because it was the most recent picture I have of him and partially because it reminds me of what a good father he is.
Hope you have a great birthday today, Russ! The kids and I love you very much!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Welcome Home Rachel!
Early Wednesday morning our newest daughter, Rachel, was born. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Wednesday was actually her due date. I had never gone to the due date before so this was new for us. The closest I had gone to the due date before Rachel was 5 days before the due date.I don't know if it would have been as hard as it was going to the due date if I hadn't been having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions the entire week leading up to the due date. Had them fairly regularly every day but they would eventually stop. None of them were strong enough so I knew they would stop and knew they weren't likely to develop into active labor. I did find it interesting though that the two days before the due date the Braxton-Hicks contractions slowed down and never really got as regular as they had been.
I pretty much knew right away when actual labor started. Those contractions hurt. The Braxton-Hicks ones were uncomfortable but not really painful. They quickly got close and regular so we didn't wait long before heading to the hospital. Labor with Rachel was probably my shortest labor at about 4 1/2 hours. When we got to the hospital the contractions were quite regular at 2 minutes apart. Yes, I opted for the epidural. Yes, it was very very nice to have.
We came home from the hospital Thursday evening. The kids were all very excited to have her home. Even a couple of neighbor kids greeted us when we got home. I was worried how Dylan would be with a baby since he's such a mama's boy. He hasn't seemed jealous at all and even tonight when I asked Russ to take the baby so I could cuddle with Dylan for a minute Dylan got upset and said he wanted me to hold the baby and cuddle with both of them. He sometimes gets upset that I'm not holding the baby. Wonder how long it will last.
We are all glad to have Rachel as part of our family. She is a good baby and seems pretty laid-back most of the time. The only exception so far has been when the chocolate I decided to eat caused her to have some gas and such. Guess that means no more chocolate for me for a while. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for such a sweet and beautiful baby.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Molly's Birthday
Today is Molly's 7th birthday. Funny how quickly children grow up. We celebrated her birthday last night, partially to make things easier for getting stuff done that we need to today and partially because it's possible that I could go into labor at any time and we didn't want her to have to miss celebrating her birthday. I was actually due with Molly two days earlier in the month than I am due with this baby. Molly has kind of been hoping the baby would be born on her birthday, but at this point in the day, I don't think that's going to happen.
Anyway, I had talked to Molly earlier about what to do for her birthday since we didn't know what would happen and with my doctor giving me a 50/50 chance of making it to my next doctor appointment. We decided that we would just invite a few friends and have cake, a pinata (since we almost always do a pinata) and then go see Toy Story 3 since we hadn't seen it yet and it was one that the kids have been wanting to see. I asked Molly if she wanted me to buy a cake or make one (really hoping she would say buy one because this much pregnant I wasn't really feeling like making anything). She said she wanted a cat cake and wanted me to buy it if they had one. Make it if they didn't. Luckily, when I stopped by the store to look at their cakes one of the workers asked me if I needed to order a cake. I told her how Molly wanted a cat cake. She thought for a minute then showed me a picture of a small cake they make to look like a cat. I thought it was perfect. She said it would only feed about 4 so I also ordered a quarter sheet cake to go along with it. Molly loved her cake.
Two of the four girls Molly invited made it for the party. They all seemed to have fun. We had to kind of rush through the cake and pinata in order to get to the movie in time. I chuckled at the way the girls basically danced to the car on the way out.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the night. I took a picture of just Molly with her cake but apparently it didn't turn out. I'm thinking I'm going to need to break down and get a new camera one of these days. The first is of all of the kids just before singing to Molly for her birthday (which reminds me that I laughed to myself watching Toy Story 3 when they had a short segment of celebrating Andy's sister's birthday and said, "Happy birthday Molly!"). The next is a picture of the cakes for Molly.
In addition to it being Molly's birthday, we are dog-sitting my sister's poodle, Maygun for the long weekend. I think Dylan and Alyssa are going to drive me nuts with the dog by the end of the weekend. They won't leave the poor thing alone. Which is funny considering how Dylan is typically afraid of dogs. He was scared for a few minutes but quickly got over it when he realized that this dog wasn't going to jump up on him or really pay any attention to him. Alyssa keeps trying to carry Maygun around. Let's just say the dog pretty much stays right next to me. Can't really say as I blame her.
Anyway, I had talked to Molly earlier about what to do for her birthday since we didn't know what would happen and with my doctor giving me a 50/50 chance of making it to my next doctor appointment. We decided that we would just invite a few friends and have cake, a pinata (since we almost always do a pinata) and then go see Toy Story 3 since we hadn't seen it yet and it was one that the kids have been wanting to see. I asked Molly if she wanted me to buy a cake or make one (really hoping she would say buy one because this much pregnant I wasn't really feeling like making anything). She said she wanted a cat cake and wanted me to buy it if they had one. Make it if they didn't. Luckily, when I stopped by the store to look at their cakes one of the workers asked me if I needed to order a cake. I told her how Molly wanted a cat cake. She thought for a minute then showed me a picture of a small cake they make to look like a cat. I thought it was perfect. She said it would only feed about 4 so I also ordered a quarter sheet cake to go along with it. Molly loved her cake.
Two of the four girls Molly invited made it for the party. They all seemed to have fun. We had to kind of rush through the cake and pinata in order to get to the movie in time. I chuckled at the way the girls basically danced to the car on the way out.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the night. I took a picture of just Molly with her cake but apparently it didn't turn out. I'm thinking I'm going to need to break down and get a new camera one of these days. The first is of all of the kids just before singing to Molly for her birthday (which reminds me that I laughed to myself watching Toy Story 3 when they had a short segment of celebrating Andy's sister's birthday and said, "Happy birthday Molly!"). The next is a picture of the cakes for Molly.
In addition to it being Molly's birthday, we are dog-sitting my sister's poodle, Maygun for the long weekend. I think Dylan and Alyssa are going to drive me nuts with the dog by the end of the weekend. They won't leave the poor thing alone. Which is funny considering how Dylan is typically afraid of dogs. He was scared for a few minutes but quickly got over it when he realized that this dog wasn't going to jump up on him or really pay any attention to him. Alyssa keeps trying to carry Maygun around. Let's just say the dog pretty much stays right next to me. Can't really say as I blame her.
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