Our Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Christmas Eve at Mimi & Papa Milius' then Christmas Day at Mona and Coke Stefan's! It was a great holiday. Brielle and Dawson loved every minute of all the gifts and David and I enjoyed every minute of seeing them happy. We are so grateful for our children and the fact that Dawson is a miracle. This season seemed to mean more because of the past 5 months. We took time just to enjoy the kids excitement and treasure the moment. When I look back on the last five months I cannot help but get emotional. Things could have ended so differently, they could have ended so badly but instead we got a miracle :) We are thankful for everyday!

5 years and counting........

Well David and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on the 20th. We went to my favorite place, Olive Garden which was fantastic probably because I havent been able to eat in a 2 weeks! We also went and saw 007! A dinner and a movie, we are so spoiled :) I love my Bob! 5 years to eternity....

Death of a Mother!

Monday, I got my tonsils and adenoids removed. Plus had work done on my non working nose. I had a deviated septum fixed, palopes and laser removal of the glands. The doctor said my nose was way worse once he got in there and that his is not sure how I survived as long as I did with that nose.
Well I have always known that I have a high tolerance for medications, it takes a lot to knock me out and a lot to relieve pain so they had a hard time putting me to sleep. Then of course had a hard time waking me up! I woke up in recovery having an asthma attack, fun right! I was in pain plus I could not breath, great combo! After they got the attack under control they started giving me pain meds! Awwhh, much better! I felt so good I guess I forgot to breath and actually stopped. The nurses and whole staff were at my bedside freakin out, which is to be expected right!
No more pain meds! I was dying! They would not give me anymore because of the breathing issues. I kept forgetting to breathe! I think at one point I said I would rather be pain free and not breathe, they did not go for that!
The pain is horrendous but it is hard to pin point what hurts the worst! The nose, throat or face! The pain meds I'm on now are really strong and I had to cut back because again I would forget to breathe! My sister had to keep yelling at me to breathe in the middle of the night!
Of course, I had to have an allergic reaction to something and my tongue, uvula and face are so swollen! I cannot even talk which is the worst thing in the world for me, right! I have no control at all!
Now I have added 5 more pills to my daily drugs to help the allergic reaction, great!
Oh yea I have like plastic straws sewn into my nose to hold it open, help with swelling and to help it drain, yummy! They freakin hurt and so do the stitches! I do not want to get them removed though, scared!
I'm a whiner I know!
Oh yea if this post does not make sense, I am sorry I am so drugged I can barely see!
Thanks to all that have helped and brought dinners, much appreciated by the family because of course I cannot eat!

Good News---Down 9.5lbs! The whole reason for the surgery!!

Birthday Pictures and X-Mas Pictures!

Well this is a hard time of year because we have both the kids birthdays, our Anniversary, Christmas, then David's birthday, ahhhh!
I took the kiddos to get pictures taken today and they turned out great! The photographer got smiles every time!
I love pictures and I cannot believe my kids are really, 4 & 2, someone needs to have a baby really soon so I can hold it!
Dawson did good for being four days post op! It seems like he is having a harder time the last two days then he did right after surgery. He will not swallow his spit or anything for that matter and is pretty miserable. He just walks around drooling all over the place. In between each picture I had to have him spit in a baby wipe just so he could smile without spit dribbling all over himself, yuk!
Why didn't I just wait to take photos later you might ask? Well for the kids birthdays you get 2 free 8 x 10's and 20% off but you have to do it within 30 days of their birthday and I am sure I will not feel up to next week after my surgery so, today was it!
Let me know what you all think!

Thanksgiving!

I have not been super motivated to write about Thanksgiving because there is just so much to be grateful for this year. I could not even begin to list the important people or things in our life. I feel like it would take two full pages of posting to do an accurate job so lets just say we are more grateful than in the past for our family and the gospel and leave it at that!

Did not take great pics on Thanksgiving due to the fact that I was preparing food but you get the jest of our day. FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!

He did good!

Well the took Dawson in at 3:15pm and he was done by 4pm. That is what I call an efficient surgery! The gave him a drug in the play room that makes them feel drunk and it is hilarious! He woke up cranky but that's to be expected and he was on drugs all night.
The hospital was having problems with there heater and it was so hot I am not sure if he or I sleep all night! At midnight the nurses started distributing fans, that's how miserable it was. Then at 2am I almost left against doctors orders, it was by far the worst hospital stay ever, to date! Our bed did not work, the room was a cubicle and we were sweating!
Enough complaining, Dawson is doing good, surprising me but let's face it this kid is a tough cookie. He seems like his throat feels better than when he has strep. By that I mean he is eating and drinking better than when he has strep. Maybe it is the liquid Loritab :)
David is off tomorrow so that means I am off to work! Then Monday time for my tonsils to come out. I am clinging to the 10-15lbs. weight loss that is expected not the excruciating pain that I will be in! :(

Didn't get any pictures of Dawson after surgery to busy holding him. Oh yea I dyed my hair for those of you who have not seen me!

Off to Primary Children's We Go!

Well today is the day! Dawson is getting his tonsils out at 3:45pm and because of his history we are spending the night, yea! That means a wonderful chair for Mommy to sleep in and nurses coming in every 4 hours. :) I am really torn about doing this procedure, I mean I know he needs it done he has had strep throat for about 3 months straight but right now he is healthy. It is really hard to inflict pain on your child especially one that has been through so much!
Though here is the break down for the last 3 months:
6 strep throats
6 anti-biotics (including injections)
9 doctors visits (just for strep)
1 ER visit
20 days of fevers
two bottles of Motrin
3 months of sleep deprivation :(
The above statistics does not even include the broken foot which required 2 doctors visits, a casting, plus a cast removal!
(Disclaimer: The photo is of an Oreo cookie mouth!)

Happy 2nd Birthday Dawson!

Well my baby is not a baby anymore! Dawson turned 2 while we were in California but like always had strep throat so we did not celebrate it until we got home.
We got a "ball" cake and he was thrilled. He actually blew out the candle himself. He liked the cupcakes but not the mess, he is so OCD like his mother! Certainly not all boy.
He loved opening his gifts and was so excited about each of them. This is going to be such a fun X-mas!
We love this boy so much! He melts our heart when we look at him and he is progressing so rapidly now it is sad :(. He knows tons of sign language and is now learning so many new words. It is like our baby grew up in two months instead of gradually like most kids. So while he plays catch up on all of his milestones we try to savor each one!
We love you, Baby D.

Our Disneyland Trip!

Well David and I decided when Dawson first got sick that we would take the kids to Disneyland no matter what. We thought at the time if we were going to loose him then we wanted to have this memory as a family together. Of course Dawson is doing great!
Our trip was just what the doctor ordered! We feel revived and ready to start fresh. Brielle got to meet her favorite princesses and was ecstatic. Dawson liked Dumbo, and the carousel and that is about it. He liked all the characters from far away and that it where it ended. He did not want to meet any of them!
We stayed in a nice hotel and were able to walk back and forth to Disneyland, making nap time great! We were able to visit with a lot of family and friends but of course not everyone.
I am so thankful for this trip and the closeness we feel as a family because of it. We enjoyed every minute even when it was really hot!
I have to make a special thank you to a dear and wonderful friend, my college roommate! Without her this trip would have not been possible. See Mary sent us a $500 dollar gift card for Disneyland when she found out we were going! It went so far in our trip! It made the trip worry free! I love you Mary and you are an amazing person! Thank you.

DEXTER SCOTT WATTLES June 1, 2003 - November 18, 2005

As most of you know the only reason I knew what was going on with Dawson is that a family friend had gone through the same thing. If it were not for this little boy and what his family went through I am not sure Dawson would even be alive today. Dexter's first symptoms were flu like and the hospital kept telling his mother that it was the flu, yada yada but she knew something was wrong. He was sent home three times before they found out what was really going on.

I had this in my head playing over and over when Dawson got sick. I knew without a doubt what it was. In fact when we were admitted to Davis Hospital I told our Pediatrician immediately that I knew he had something going on in his head. I was told the odds of that were very low and that they were sure it was just the flu, ha! Mothers have a direct connection with their children doctors need to listen!

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of Dexter and say a little prayer for his family. I believe he was there with us whispering in my ear to not give up until they found Dawson's tumor.

One can never imagine what it feels like to hear the words, "We found a mass," they haunt my dreams and kept me up at night. They run through my brain daily and I wish no parent would ever have to hear those words.

Without the support of Dexter's Mommy I would probably still be a mess. She has helped me beyond words can describe. She knows how I feel, she has felt it! She has so much knowledge and has been a great resource. She is a great, friend and a wonderful Mother! I pray that my friend and Dexter's Mommy will have a good holiday during this difficult time of year and feel little Dexter's spirit with her. I know he is probably a leader in the highest kingdom of Heaven. How special he was!

(Please remember this wonderful family in your prayers this holiday season!)

I am THANKFUL for this family!