DAVID COOK WINS!!!!!!

David Cook is our American Idol!!!!!! I was so sure that David Archuleta would win because every young girl in the country would vote on their cell phones until they went to couldn't stay awake any longer. I really like the kid but David Cook has been my favorite for a very long time and I am so happy for him!!!! I thought the finale show was awesome!!! My favorite parts would have to be the George Michael and ZZ Top performances. It was also so much fun to see so many of my favorite Idol contestants from the past in the audience! I am still a huge American Idol fan and will be on the edge of my seat next January when it starts all over again!!! No worries though, for tonight So You Think You Can Dance kicks off!!!! And the tradition continues......

My Date With Laurie!!!!!

My Dear, Sweet Friend Laurie called me yesterday and told me to mark off the 14th of July on my calendar because we are going on a date!!! It was supposed to be a secret but I have never been very patient so I started doing some research this morning. When she realized that I wasn't going to rest until I figured it out, she gave me a hint. WE ARE GOING TO THE AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!! Laurie doesn't even like American Idol so this is extremely special to me. I thought that maybe she was going to try to sway me into liking MCR, but this is all about me and I feel very loved!!! With everything that is going on in our lives I know that it is going to go fast but right now it seems so far away!!!!! Thank You so much Laurie Darling!!!! I love you babe!!!

We Are Home!!!

After almost two long weeks in the hospital, Seth and I came home yesterday. The team of Drs that have been so awesome, decided that if they didn't get him on the schedule by 10am yesterday that they were sending us home. Even though we were there for such a long time, waiting and wondering, I am glad that we are at least to the point that we are. We found out what was causing the trouble and did all the testing that we needed to do to get on with this. Seth is scheduled for surgery for his nissen and G-tube on the 30th of June. It would have been so much nicer to just have the surgerys while were already there but it will all be OK. The hardest thing will be that Kyler comes home from Brazil on the 28th, he reports and we will have a huge party at our house on the 29th, then Seth and I will slip away for a few days of rest and relaxation at our favorite vacation spot, Primarys! We are doing pretty well with the NJ tube here at home. My biggest worry is that it will get pulled out and we will have to go back to Primarys to put it back into place. We are going to be extremely careful!!! And we have to keep Seth well. It will all be good, right? no worries!!!

Update From Primarys

Seth and I are still hanging out at the big house on the hill. We have all our servants in order and things are going well. Seth is doing great! He is very healthy and his back is healing well. It seems that our biggest obstacles have been waiting for this person or that person to make a decision. When we first came back to the hospital, Seth had a fever and they were looking for an infection. As time went on they looked into aspiration, which he has never had a problem with before. Through many tests and long days waiting to talk to another Dr, they decided that he is aspirating and he also has reflux, so everything is going to change for us. I guess straightening out his back has caused all sorts of changes in his little body. He may never be able to drink from a bottle again, so my fight is over...he is going to get a G-tube. They are also going to do a nissen on his stomach to control the reflux problem. With all the setbacks and the long days in the hospital, he is finally getting the final test before surgery. Right now he is getting his nutrition through a NJtube which goes from his nose to his small intestine. Hopefully, and that is a HUGE hopefully, he will have his surgery tomorrow or thursday and we will get to go home saturday or sunday. Everybody cross all your fingers and toes that the rest of our stay will go smoothly. No more surprises!!!

PS David Cook Rules!!!

Seth's Setback

We had a big set back in Seth's recovery last night. Toward the late evening, Seth started to sound very congested and seemed to have a hard time breathing. We tried all our little tricks, propping him in bed, setting him in his wheelchair, turning him on his side and patting his chest to get him to cough. As it got later and he sounded worse and worse, it became apparant that we needed to go to the emergency room. By the time we got him in the van, I was pounding on his chest and shaking him a little all the way to the hospital because his breathing was very labored. I had called ahead but they still had us go through the motions at the desk before they would even see him. I made Bruce keep patting his chest but they just took their time. When they got him back, they checked his oxygen and it was way too low. All of the sudden there were 15 people, running all over his room with needles and tubes. They put a ventilator in, put an IV line on the other side of his neck (now he has a matched pair) and poked him in every possible area of his body. It was so scary to see your little boy in such a frenzy. Then we heard the words "life flight" and I lost it. They were sending him back to Primarys on life flight. Didn't we just skip that joint on Saturday? It was crazy and they had him so drugged he wouldn't even respond to our touch or our voices. They ran every test they could think of and started to get him ready to go. Everyone was so nice and the two sweet nurses that came with life flight were amazing. Of course I couldn't stop crying. I felt like such a failure. So they flew away with our boy and we rushed home to get some things together for a couple of days. Collin and Mason were awesome to help us. They had finished my cinnamon rolls and topped them with "green" frosting (yes, I was making cinnamon rolls at 10pm. The boys asked so nicely, what was I to do) and they had packed our bags, with a few extras like paint samples, oven mitts, a lucky sock, Miette's bubbles and anything else they could get their grubby hands on as a practical joke. They actually did a great job. I got down here with the basics. We rushed through the house and threw in a few extra essentials then rushed to Salt lake. He was all hooked up in PICU by the time we got here at about 3:30. Bruce told me I had to call my parents because my mom would be so mad if I didn't. They walked in just a few minutes after we did. I felt so bad but honestly, it was so nice to have them there (it was Dad's first day as a retired man). After a while, the nurse sent Bruce and I to a coat closet with a bed to catch a few winks because we were about to topple over. Mom and Dad stayed all morning with us. They are amazing! About 1pm they took the ventilator out. His fever was going down and he was more awake than he had been in days. They are pretty sure that he has an infection somewhere and that the meds they sent us home with were over dosing him and he was forgetting to clear his airways. Hence the junk in his lungs that we are dealing with now. We were most excited though when he started to smile and he even laughed at his Dad! What a special blessing for us. We are now out of ICU and now we wait for him to be 100%. I don't want to go home with him until he is perfect because I never want to go through that again!!!!! Ever!!!! Bruce has a theory though. He calls it his "Mater" theory. Seth just wanted to ride in one of them "fancy helicopters".

Look at Me!!!

Look at me sitting up so straight and tall!!! I am very intrigued by the fact that I am sitting right next to my mom and dad. I think that I might even be as tall as my mom now! I have been so brave and I should be coming home on saturday. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I'll see you all soon!!! Love, Seth