Big News

Allen has accepted a job at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. We move to Utah on April 1. We are excited about the job and the opportunity to move forward with our plans, but also nervous about the big changes that are coming up. I better get back to packing and organizing. :)

$ 46,687.19 =

The amount of all my medical bills from December! (So far)

$ 1,460.95 =

The amount we've had to pay of that. Phew. Thank goodness for great insurance!

Our Sunbeam.

Hayden is a Sunbeam now at church. He loves it. His teacher was nice enough to take these pictures and email them to us. She also sends him cards in the mail for holidays, etc. He loves getting mail.

Well, I said I would write about Christmas. It's been over a month, so I'll just write a little (though, I still don't have pictures). We went to Idaho to spend the holidays with Allen's family. It was a lot of fun getting to see (almost) everyone. We missed those who couldn't make it because of missions, football, roads, etc. While we were there the grandkids acted out the nativity. Big Brother got to be a shepherd with his cousin Travis, and Allen and Uncle Danny were sheep. Uncle Shawn narrated, and when he got to the part where the shepherds "said one to another," Hayden, who was ever-so-slowly poking his uncle Danny with his broomstick to get his attention without causing a scene, whispered loudly, "You're not sheep! You're just guys. You're PEOPLE!" I guess he wasn't too fond of the baa-ing coming from them. LOL

Random Thoughts

You know you're out of touch with the world when you find yourself listening to The Backyardigans "Born to Play" in your car and you're actually enjoying it--without kids present.

This box of diapers next to me says, "IMPORTANT: Before disposing of dirty diapers, empty into toilet. Then wrap in the waterproof backing before discarding in waste receptacle. DO NOT FLUSH DIAPER." Does anyone actually DO any of that stuff? LOL

My camera is broken. I've only had it for a year. I guess that's what I get for trying to get the least expensive camera with the most features.

Big Brother

I know it's been a month since I've written anything. I don't really have the time or energy to type an update on Christmas (I'll get to that later). But I wanted to write this down before I forget about it.

The other day I went grocery shopping while Allen stayed with the boys. I got home and got all the groceries put away. Well, Little Brother got into the bags and pulled out a can of green beans, which ended up in the Living Room. Later Allen found it and asked "Where did this come from?" Big Brother answered, "From Mom's work." lol This made me laugh. All he knows is that every few weeks I disappear for a couple hours and come back with bags of groceries. I guess he thinks that's my work. :)

Just a quick update, since I should probably be sleeping.

This week has been a bit of a crazy one. The good news--I was able to finish all my Christmas shopping AND wrap everything!

The bad news--On Monday my hCG levels had gone up, so I had to have a shot of Methotrexate (which is basically a chemotherapy drug--No, I'm not bald). Thursday we found out that the shot was working, and my hormone levels were dropping. Yay! Ok, maybe not. Thursday night I had two pains/cramps that had me doubled over for about 10 minutes each time. I decided to go to the ER to make sure everything was ok. (Thanks, Mom, for going with me). Ultrasound showed that my tube had grown (almost doubled in size) despite my dropping hCG..

Dr. Channell didn't feel comfortable with sending me home because she didn't want to have to worry about my tube rupturing (and I felt the same way). So, I had two options--wait it out in the hospital until Sunday to see if any progress was made, or opt for surgery to remove my tube (and whatever tissue was left from the pregnancy). We decided on the surgery, so I went in at about 4 p.m. for another laparoscopy and tubal ligation. The doctor said that my tube was in pretty bad shape. Allen even got to see pictures of it--lucky dog. I am exhausted, but feel like there is an end in sight to all my worry & pain.

Thank you all so much for your love, calls, support, and prayers. Thank you Allen for putting up with my whining about the pain, and for hanging out in the hospital with me so many times the past week, and all the help you have been with the boys, meals, & cleaning. Thank you Mom for spending the night in the hospital with me--even when we got so tired that we were laughing hysterically at the "little tree stump". :) Thanks also for taking the boys a lot last week, so I could "recover" and for the yummy meals. Darci, thank you for sitting in the hospital with me after my first surgery last week. It was nice to get to spend time together--even if it was in a boring hospital. Thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE for everything. Sorry for the Grammy-like "acceptance speech". lol I'm pretty tired. But I truly do feel blessed beyond measure.

My Little "Adventure"

I guess I finally have something to write about. Though, I wish it were something happy. Last week I found out I was pregnant. Unfortunately, I had a lot of bleeding and spotting. I wasn't sure what to think at first since I also had a lot with Torrin, but it was more this time.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a persistent cramp in my left side. The pain was bad enough that I had to breathe through it. Luckily, Allen hadn't taken the bus to work, so I called him and had him come home. My Mom came over to watch the boys, and Allen accompanied me to the ER. While I was there the pain became worse, but I still had to wait a while to be seen. I was finally able to get in for an ultrasound, and they discovered the pregnancy in my left tube. (Which is what I expected, but the ER doc tried to convince me it was too early to be able to feel an ectopic). For those of you who have been through labor without an epidural, the pain was a lot like being "in transition," except that it was only on one side. It was probably the second time in my adult life I've cried from pain. (The first being while I was in labor with Torrin).

I'm SO glad they were able to see something on the ultrasound. My hCG levels were at 1300, and I was told that 1500 is the point where they are able to see something on an ultrasound. Thankfully, they did see the mass in my tube, and they didn't have to send me home with that terrible pain.

The pregnancy was too big to treat with a shot of methotrexate, so they got me into surgery within an hour or so. They did laparoscopic surgery to remove the pregnancy and were able to save my tube (and my life for that matter). I'm so glad I went with my instinct and went to the ER. I'm also very grateful that my prayers were answered and that they could get me into surgery sooner. If I would have had to wait 3 hours, like they originally thought, I'm almost sure my tube would have ruptured, and I would have bled to death (ok maybe not, but I would have at least lost my tube and a lot of blood). I have a wonderful OB, and she was on call yesterday, so she was able to operate on me, and everything went well. I just feel so blessed. Thank you, Dr. Channell!

Now Mom is taking the boys so I can get some rest. I came home last night, but was up every 15 minutes in the bathroom--I guess that's what happens when they flush you with fluids for 7 hours. The drugs are kicking in now. Time to go to sleep.