Game night

We spent a few days at mike and Mary's house.... Celebrated summer birthdays, helped them on their house....

Helping....

Summer birthdays

Offer.

We officially submitted the offer on the house we chose in Idaho. All 21 pages of it are sent.... And our realtor informed us that its in the hands of the listing agent..... Now we wait. And pray while we wait..... Oh, and we keep praying about the moving company we chose.... They made a mistake on our bid..... A HUGE mistake..... Like 3,000 dollar mistake..... So we are trying to figure out if we can hold them to the quote they already have given us...... Seems like the pages long bid should bind them to the price they gave..... Hope so, cause we are getting very concerned on how to get the stuff in our apartment back to Idaho....... Praying for all the details of this move..... Praying for wisdom on financing it all..... And the house we chose. It's getting real folks! Less than 40 days away...... We are looking to close escrow on August 1st...... Anyone have a moving truck that will get us moved???? Wow, wouldn't that be cool...... Buying a home and financing a big move isn't a good combo. We've worked so hard and come this far. We are on the home stretch now.... :) just these last few big things.

Nana and papas house

Mike and Mary went to lake mead for a few days and we spent a couple of days house sitting, dog sitting and taking care of their chickens. Eric also worked hard two long days on their addition, laying all the joists. The day we got there Riley had the stomach flu.... Then a day later, I got it. Worst flu I've ever had!!!! All day yesterday and most of today, and I'm just now feeling like I'm starting to get better.... Been a hard few days. We came
Home late last night and I'm hoping Eric doesn't get it next. We've all had it.... :(

Photos from caelans hospital stay

one more thing.....

oh, and during our hospital stay today with Caelan, eric got a call.... we let so many calls go to voicemail.... when we got things situated with caelan we began making calls and checking voicemails.... one was from our bank....  we are all pre-approved for a home.... we found a home, and our realtor has been in contact with us for the last 2 weeks on this home... eric saw the home when he was up in idaho last month....

anyhow, got the all clear to put an offer on.... so we will be drafting up the offer and presenting it to the sellers....

we will keep everyone posted on that journey.... hoping this is it! we really feel good about this home. its an exciting new chapter for us to be buying a home again....

unexpected things....

We swam most of the day yesterday. It was 79 and beautiful out.... it was a normal day..... we all went to bed earlier than usual, well, except for Eric, he is always up late. :)
At about midnight, Caelan woke up throwing up.... Eric was up already and just took care of her through out the night, without me knowing what was happening.... he let me sleep. i had been super tired out.....
this Morning, Caelan seemed better! she ate toast, drank water, glasses of ice cold tea.... she was doing great! we went on with the day.... watched TV and laid low this morning.... then we thought we would go to lunch for my birthday.... yep, my birthday is today, woot-woot. :)
i was all ready to go, so i proceeded to get the girls ready....
like any other day, I was doing the girls' hair.... got the flat iron out and was curling Caelans hair, like we always do.....
i looked in the mirror as i was watching what i was doing, so i could see where her ponytail was going to be situated, and she looked a little off.... i said, "you OK?" she said, yeah, why?

i proceeded to do her hair, starting to comb it and curl it..... she then started to go limp..... i shouted, "caelan, you OK??? Caelan, can you stand up?"

she laid on the ground limp.... then her eyes rolled back..... then she started to tremble..... and shake, uncontrollable.... i yelled for Eric!

then her eyes opened but they were huge eyes, popping out, dilated, and HUGE.... i cant describe it.... it was the most frightening thing.... as her eyes got big, she stiffened her body..... she was so stiff. i thought, oh gosh, shes having a seizure..... i tried to turn her head, because i read that somewhere.... i couldn't budge her neck, she was stiff.... and her eyes were still huge, and she wasn't blinking at all..... i couldn't get her to speak..... Eric then put her on the bed...... she turned green, and started to throw up, heaving more or less..... she then turned gray, a deep gray color..... Eric said, her eyes were making him concerned..... they were still huge.... we started to call 9-1-1. but realized in our panic that we live next to the hospital..... he carried her to the car, i grabbed my purse and keys and yelled for Riley to throw on flip flops....
we drove next door to the ER.... i parked the car while Eric carried her into the ER..... they took her back right away.... Riley and i got to the room she was in, and they began tests right away..... neurological tests first...... hooked her up to machines..... checked her oxygen levels which were setting off alarms like crazy..... her respiratory functions also, set off alarms......

her oxygen was jumping into the 60's.... they wanted it above 70..... her respiratory functions were showing 6-10..... awfully low, scary low...... they did her temp, which was OK..... but then again, she rarely runs a temp.... they did a urine test, showed dehydration! odd because she had been drinking a lot, yes, she was sick with throwing up, but she was drinking..... she was severely sick with the flu i guess, even though she wasn't showing signs of it being too severe, her body was in shock.....

Doctor then ordered a chest x-ray...... that came back OK...... they then ordered a blood panel...... ordered more in her IV fluids, gave her zofran since they were very concerned about her dehydration they needed to keep her from throwing up anymore..... she hadn't thrown up all morning, but they were concerned about her staying hydrated.....

so, chest x-ray done, fluids going, blood tests, oh, and an EKG..... they did an EKG as well, and that was fine..... just her o2 levels and respiratory functions were low...... then they ordered a CT of her brain, they said seizure are common with dehydration.....

we waited and waited and doc came in and said CT looks OK..... no lesions, or anything abnormal.....

so she concluded, that for certain, shes dehydrated..... and she said she had syncope...... and it was brought on my hair grooming syncope..... the nerve endings in the neck, triggered the brain, and set it into a tail spin and shocked her system..... she said two weeks ago she saw a kid, ER visit, same situation, sick, dehydrated, and having hair brushed..... she said to google it.... i haven't yet..... our Realtors sister has had it 3 times! it can repeat..... they are doing studies on kids, mainly young girls that have these sensitivities in nerves, with the artery in the neck..... so bizarre.....

so, anyhow...... scariest day ever..... she is now home after a very long day in the hospital.... she was very disoriented, even upon discharging her, she thought we had just got there.... she didn't know where we were or how we got there..... she wondered when we would have lunch..... she had no recollection of anything all day..... she is still disoriented..... we are going to keep her drinking fluids and resting.... doctor said to see how she is the morning..... if she is still disoriented then bring her back in.....

please pray for her continued healing..... so thankful for Gods protection, that we live next to the hospital, for insurance, wow, so thankful for insurance...... this day was expensive, and so glad we have just a co-pay, although that isn't cheap its nothing compared to the thousands spent today caring for our girl......

so, June 20, its my birthday.... best birthday gift ever is having our girl home, and doing better. i look back at the moment she fell to the floor. i cannot express the pain i felt in my heart. i literally cried out, "Lord, help me, help her. Lord...." i was so scared.

these girls are a gift, i love them deeply, they are my world. love them more than words could ever describe and in that moment of uncertainty, i was so shaken, to my core, that something could take her away in an instant......
 tonight, i lay beside her with a new perspective.... life is short, and yes, she lay next to me, but life is fragile.... i never ever want to lose sight of how precious time is..... this life, with my girls, is a gift. gonna cherish every moment.... and reflect on today....

today was a gift, a gift of perspective. rocked to my core, i realized, that life is a gift. these kids, and eric are a gift, i need nothing else in this world but to spend time enjoying each moment, making the most of time on this earth.....

we never know, when in an instant, it can change....

Visit to rockin

Here are a few photos from Eric's phone from our trip to see my dad and Kathy. It was a busy full few days. We saw my grandpa and aunt shirley, which was super important to us.... my grandpas health isn't great :( it was so neat seeing him. He was so confused at first.... He said, "you look just like my granddaughter" I said, grandpa, it's me! He started laughing. It was priceless. He didn't know we were up here and I just walked up to him at the ball game. LOL.

Anyhow, as far as being with my dad, We just kinda went up and did life with them a few days. It was nice to get to know Kathy a little more. We did yard work together, helped wash and detail cars, moved some furniture around, sat in the yard and got to know each other a little more.... We went to her sons house and swam and had dinner with them.... Just learning to create a new normal having blended families now. Small steps, but important steps. We are now headed to John, Lori, Brooke and Avery's for a visit with friends that love close by my dads.

Clowns

These two are quite a pair. My dad and Riley are quite funny. :)

Part 2 of photos

River cats baseball game

The girls' first baseball game! There were 14 of us I think..... Grandpa Stenson and Aunt Shirley and Kathy's family. It was a super hot day!

Pictures from our trip

We made stir fry last night! I loved cooking with my dad. It had been so long since I've cooked along side him.... It was delicious and fun. ;) loved it. We detailed my car this morning and washed Kathy's....
Guys golfed on their new green in the backyard, Riley did cart wheel after cart wheel.... Caelan read and watched TV....
Relaxing and productive day all at the same time ;) happy Saturday!

Friday drive up to my dad and Kathy's

Here are some photos from Friday when we drove up to my dad and Kathy's ;)

Future.

Looking ahead..... Today is the last day of school. I told the girls we must hold on to the good parts of this year and let go of the bad, tough parts.....
We have had a lot of amazing times here this year....
No it wasn't perfect, in fact many moments seems impossible to deal with, but there were amazing times shared here.....
The girls are finishing school at LaVeta today. Met some fun friends and were challenged to their core academically.....
Finished strong. We are so proud of them and for the strength they grew in character..... So many words jumbled in my head for today, that I'm having a hard time writing today..... So many things going through my head...... Life is busy with moving and life is busy looking ahead..... I will not fear,
Our God is there, help is on the way..... :) love those lyrics.
Happy last days of school, everyone. May we look forward to the things that lie ahead. :)

More!!!!

Wow, more awards!

> Caelan came home with a metal tag for her reading counts lanyard....
> She also came home with a medal for reading counts points! She also came home with a ribbon, for reading over 2 million words! Whew! This girl is a busy reader! She never leaves home without a book in hand,
> And these awards have shown that! ;) proud of her!

Traditions

Each year I make the girls a tank top with their year on it....
All set for this year! So glad I did them early this year, especially with moving and the chaos that brings :)

Sewing day.

School is out in two more days, so I needed to get to sewing the girls' birthday tanks so I could hide them till their birthdays. I've been making these tanks for them for years..... So glad I got them done early this time.... And last years, I never got their picture in them. I'll have to make sure this time I snap their picture. ;) Claire wore the number 5 one last weekend to a birthday party she had with her dads side of the family. She is getting use of all our hand-me-downs! ;)

Enjoying the pool time.

We are soaking up the pool time as much as possible! We have swam multiple times per week since moving in this last August..... We are soaking up this even more so now, since we will
Be moving out August 10.....
Time is ticking...... My sister came over and swam a bit and took these pictures.