Wedding Bells

(left to right: Katie, Stephanie, Me, Andrea

Anna, Chloe, Voni, Angie, Lorraine, Karen, Kira)

I was fortunate enough to be able to rent a car and drive up to Provo, Utah (area) Thursday morning to attend a bridal shower that my Aunts were throwing for Angie and then help her look for wedding dresses on Friday. Yes, Matt VanDuren asked, and she said yes! She also said "yes" to the dress! (No peeking!)

The shower was great. I got there at the exact time it was starting. I thought I would have an hour to spare... forgot about the time change. Boy did I get lucky. Fantastic food! It was great to see Angie and to listen as she shared her experiences with Matt to Mom's sisters and some of our cousins. We all got teary eyed when she shared about our conviction that Mom helped them find each other.

Friday, while we shopped, Liz Williams, my dear friend, joined us for the searching. It was fun to have a quick visit with her as well. Saturday, it was back in the car for the lonely 5 hour car ride home. Glad I went. Glad to have been there for my baby sister. SOOO HAPPY FOR HER!

Dinner Guests

My mom's sister, Yvonne and her husband, Randy, along with Katie and Alyssa stopped by our house on that very busy Saturday night. I was worried about all the events of the day but thrilled with the visit we were able to have. We had an awesome taco salad for dinner and great conversation. The kids LOVED being with Katie and Alyssa, as well as playing with my Aunt Voni and Uncle Randy. It was fun to have Bill around with our guests too. They got a kick out of the funny stories he's already piling up with his job experiences. We love having company. Friends and family visiting us reminds us of how blessed we are.

Alyssa, Aaron, Aunt Voni

Alyssa was in a softball tournament for her college. The reason for their trip to Vegas.

Katie and Livi. They could've crafted all night.

Uncle Randy held Livi when she was only 1 month old. She slept on his chest for over an hour. Such a great big cuddly bear. LOVE HIM!

It's really fun to be around Mom's sisters. They all remind me of my mom in such different ways. The way my aunt Yvonne scrunches her nose and eyes when she laughs... ohh mom.

GO SEA SIDERS!

Aaron was able to get on a great soccer league through parks and rec. It's 6 weeks with 1 game and 1 practice per week. The coaches are parent volunteers and also double as the ref during the game. I really like this aspect of it because the coaches take the time to teach during the play of the game. We really lucked out by getting the coach we did. Mike Tighe loves the game and his intensity shows. It's somewhat comical to watch as you can see him reminding himself that they are 3 and 4 yrs of age and not the star athletes he has envisioned. They chose the name Sea Siders for the team. It's a nick name of a team from Britain. (The coach's wife is from England.) The games consist of 4 quarters of 6 minutes each. Welcome to the world of little league sports. We are THRILLED to be here.

In the first game we learned several things about our son. 1.) He needs bigger shorts. 2.) He needs shin guards. I didn't think it would be an issue at this age but every time he got in a group I was cringing. 3.) He's pretty darn good.

He had several breakaways where he took the ball all the way down the field with the rest of the players behind him. Coach was very excited about this, as were we. Going into the game Bill was making me promise not to be too loud. I, several times, had to remind Bill to keep it down. It was SUCH A BLAST! The score ended up being 2-2 with the other team scoring all 4 points. The other team was all hispanic and looked as if they had been playing soccer since birth. They could dribble very well and kicked the ball HARD! It made us laugh. At one point there was a lot of excitement that Aaron had scored a goal. He had brought the ball down field and then it went in, but no one could see. It turned out to be the other team, but we were excited for a while. Funny things are bound to happen with this age. One of the boys on Aaron's team is on the younger side of 3 and very timid. He did not want to be on the field. When his dad started calling to him, "Mikey, get the ball!" Mikey ran to the sidelines and picked out a nice shiny blue one amidst all the practice balls.

Of course the best part is the snacks!

Of course my camera skills need improvement. By the time I realized he was breaking away and got the camera filming things had changed.

3 in 3

I took Livi in for her regular chemo appointment on Monday, April 26th. It was her 4th from the last final chemo appt. and low and behold, her port was not working. The saline was ballooning in her armpit and making her cry out in pain. They sent us over to the hospital to do a line study and see if the line was broken or clogged. They say it happens quite regularly. So, off Livi and I walk to Sunrise Hospital, right across the street. Bill, of course had just flown out of town that morning to Iowa, and so Bill was set up to go to the Hulme's house after school. Michelle Hulme, and the whole family for that matter, SAINTS! The staff finally got Olivia back to x-ray and decided to bring in an "expert" to make sure the port was accessed correctly. This irritated me. I said, "You mean that you think the people who access these ports everyday all day don't know how to do it as good as your nurse?" "Well, blah blah blah blah blah..." The nurse comes in. I tell her that all the fluid is pooling in her armpit and it really hurts. She figures that since the saline is going in that it is accessed correctly and then proceeds to flush it again. She can't even figure out what to do. Remember, this is the "expert". I first have to show her how to take the red cap off the end of the line that is there to help keep the line clean, and then she can't get it to flush at all. The whole time I'm floored. I tell her, "You have to unclamp the line.!" ARGH! Then she starts to flush. I tell her to be careful, it's only going to pool and it hurts Livi when it does it. She pushes about 20cc's before I say, "Okay, that's enough. It's clearly not working and doing just what the doctor's office said. You're hurting my daughter. You need to stop!" UGH, I hate nurses and doctors who are too proud to admit they haven't done something before, or that they are still learning.

Enter in the x-ray tech and the doctor. Together they can not find the clot/bulge in the line. They are moving Livi all over the table and can't find it. I look at the screen and the big black spot and say, "Is that it right there?" "Oh yeah, there it is." UGH!!! To listen to him explain what happened with the line is somewhat comical. I know enough about her line by now to know what he is saying doesn't quite fly. We get back to the oncologists office and I share the wonderful experience... it makes for a good laugh. The real reason of why it wasn't working, and remember, ports stop working all the time, but of course, this is my daughter, and my daughter likes to be different. A sheath had formed over the end of Olivia's line. The sheath grew so large that it followed the line clear back to Livi's armpit. The fluid was being pushed through the line, out of it, into the sheath and following the line back to the end of the sheath(the armpit) and pooling. They had never seen this happen before. Of course, like I said, we like to be different. Surgery needed to happen. A new port needed to be placed for her 4 more rounds of treatment and the follow up checks that would happen til February 2011.

The surgery was supposed to be for Wednesday, so Bill, after going out for steak dinner Monday, flew home Tuesday before his first shift of work. (In essence, he flew to Iowa for a steak dinner all on the government's dime. Gotta love those tax payers!) The best part of all, Livi's surgery wasn't able to be scheduled 'til Friday.

3 surgeries in 3 years

Regardless of timing, it was a good thing Dad was there! Don't forget Misaroo II.

Waking up has never been easy for her.

Having the breathing tube really hurt this time. The popsicles offered some relief.

What a great little brother. Bill had gone to pick him up at the house while Livi was in surgery.We had to leave the house at 5:45 so our angelic neighbor Becky, after sending her daughter to seminary, came down to be with Aaron. She bathed him and got him ready for Bill. The boys went shopping to get Liv and new DS as hers had been taken from the doctors office after an appointment. We warranted a surgery as a pretty good excuse to replace her beloved Christmas present. Bill said that the whole time shopping for the game system, Aaron never once asked for one for himself. Only wanted to know how Livi was doing.

When they got to the hospital, Bill went back with Liv and I waited a short time with Aaron. He was so concerned for her. When they wheeled her out in the wheelchair he went running to her screaming her name.

Bill got the car, I carried Livi, and Aaron rode in the wheelchair. A trip down to the oncologist's office for the chemo they forgot to order for the hospital on the other side of town and then home. We all slept for a couple of hours. My visiting teachers brought dinner and I took Aaron to his first soccer practice. Livi threw up a couple of times, once while Dad was outside, she was all alone, poor thing. But had no problem getting to the toilet either time. (Kinda sad when a 6 year old knows that feeling so well.)

Saturday we all went to Aaron's first soccer game. Livi looked great. After soccer we went to Color-me-mine for a Make-a-Wish pottery painting and then from there Livi went to her friend's birthday party at the park. (Writing this now I can't believe she did all that. I can't believe we let her. It's amazing how strong kids are. It's amazing the determination you gain as a parent with an ill child to not let them miss out on life.)

Thank you Grandma for the flowers. They really did put a smile on her face.

GREAT JOB LIVI!

Stubby

As usual with things like this, the photos do not do it justice. And of course it happened when we were trying to get out the door. Sunday morning, crazy trying to get ready for 9am church, Bill's downstairs getting things in the car, I'm finishing up my makeup, kids are keeping themselves entertained... and that's when the problem starts. I hear Bill coming up the stairs and Livi harshly whispering, "Hurry, hurry, daddy's coming!" SLAM! "AAAHHHHHH!!!!!" (What the heck?) Bill pulls Aaron out of the dryer screaming in agony. Livi was coaxing him into a "cool" hiding place when things got rushed because "daddy was coming" and fingers didn't clear the door jam of the dryer when she decided to attempt to close the dryer door. His poor little finger got very large and purple and crooked. A couple nurses at church looked at it and thought it looked good. I splinted it for a couple hours after church and by the evening the swelling had gone down tremendously. Very tender though.

The following Saturday he had a soccer game in which he fell on it... that did NOT look good. I ended up going to an orthopedic for my knee the following Monday and they did an x-ray of his pinkie. They said you would really be able to know if it was broken or not because it was in the joint, but it seemed okay. He probably hurt the growth plate and so now will have a stubby pinkie. I guess there's worse things to have. Poor guy!