Smiling all the way to the O.R. ...

Brynlee had to get her tonsils out because she got strep throat about 4 times within a year. She got to the point where she wouldn't even tell me when her throat hurt, because she HATED to get her throat swabbed! Plus, it would always show up on fun days... like Halloween ... and field trip days at school, etc... Those things HAD to come out and she was happy about it. I told her that the actual surgery wouldn't hurt because she would be asleep, but that afterwards for several days she would be in a lot of pain. I also told her that hopefully she wouldn't get strep throat anymore. She was sold on that.

Does she look nervous? She sure didn't seem like it!

The nurses said she smiled all the way to the Operating Room.

She is my hero!

Even smiling after we made it home! Although, the days following were NO PICNIC! For about 7 days all she wanted was chips and pizza...but all she could have was pudding, applesauce, and ice cream (which she wanted nothing to do with after the first day)!

At least she had some great company to help her feel better!

Glad she never has to go through that again!

Moo? ...

I had an interesting conversation the other day with 2 of my children.

...It went a little something like this:

KAM: Everyone drinks cow's milk, even Alivia.

ME: Huh? Alivia drinks mommy milk.

KAM: No, hers is cow's milk too.

ME: How does she get cow milk from me?...

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GAVIN: Because you have Cow Boobs.

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Side Note: Kambria would also like to know if one side is regular milk and if the other side could possibly be chocolate milk. :)

A Name and a Blessing...

...and a Beautiful dress! On June 6, 2010, Alivia Joy was blessed by her daddy. This day was a very special day, it also happened to be Grandma and Grandpa Kenworthy's 41st Anniversary! Grandma K made Alivia's Beautiful dress. It was completely handmade, I know that she put an incredible amount of time into it! We were so honored that she would put so much time and love into making something so extraordinary for this special event.

(Grandpa K with Alivia and cousin Audrey, only 2 weeks apart in age)

Alivia is such a sweet addition in our home. She is so incredibly loved. I have a strong feeling that she named herself. When I was pregnant with Brynlee, Brian mentioned this name as a possibility for her. I thought it was really pretty, but it just didn't feel right to me. Two kids later at the beginning and throughout this pregnancy, this is the name that kept coming to me. I didn't want to commit to anything, but I just felt so strongly that she needed a beautiful and feminine name. I started a list, but Brian and I are just so picky and we weren't sure that anything felt right. We had narrowed a list to about 2-3 names that we took to the hospital. We were so torn on naming her that it took us until 2 days after she was born to commit to her name. We just wanted to get it right. As soon as we named her, it felt So right! Everyone that sees her says her name fits her perfectly. This was confirmed to me as Brian stood and blessed her. A lot of what he said focused on how she will both have and be such a strength and joy throughout her life. He didn't even realize at the time, but this is the meaning of her name.

Joy is my Grandmother's middle name, I also share that middle name. I love my Grandma P.J.! She has told me several times that she is so incredibly honored to share this name with our sweet baby. In fact, she called me the day that she got Alivia's birth announcement. She told me that she had just gotten home from the Fred Meyer store where she showed every person (mostly strangers) in the store the picture of her beautiful new great-grandbaby that was named after her. Did I mention that I love that lady??? I do!

Brian and I feel so honored to be blessed to love and care for FOUR of our Heavenly Father's choice spirits. We are grateful and look forward to the adventures this sweet baby will bring into our lives. So far, so good. :)

MY Boy...

...is THREE!May 24th was a special day, we celebrated our Favorite little guy!
(Lunch at Tucanos is always a Must for Birthdays!)

It was more like a Birthday-week really, we celebrated him on Memorial Day with family as well.

(Below): Brynlee, Myla, Kambria, Gavin, Kyson, Bret

I am SO in love with this kid!

*...and I like him too.

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*This is something Gavin tells me ALL of the time (like at least 10 times a day)! He says: "Mommy, I love you so much... and I like you too!"

My excuse for June's absence?...

I've been booked Solid.

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*Found my calendar like this one day. I left it that way for the whole month, I think everyone should have a calendar with this kind of schedule. Will be working on updates, have a huge list to work from!

Stay tuned...

Some of Bryn's first words were...

..."Higher!" and "Faster!" ...That's why I'm not too surprised that she LOVES gymnastics! She had her first recital last weekend and did a Great job!

A lot of people would probably describe Brynlee as quiet. But she is not shy (there is a difference), and she LOVED performing in front of a crowd! The best part of it for me was her SMILE! It didn't leave her face the whole time.


I didn't get a lot of pictures of her actually performing because I was video-taping the whole time. We do however, have plenty of her afterwards posing with her trophie, she is very excited about it and has cleaned it several times in the last couple of days.

Bryn asked me how many years I competed in gymnastics. I told her I thought it was about 8 years. Her response to that was "Then I am going to do it at least 10 years!"

As long as she keeps that smile, she can do it as long as she wants! I'll be right there on the front row cheering her on.

Finding Humor...

Doing well here. Alivia is 1 month old today, I can't believe it! Things (house, kids...) feel so much out of my control right now with a newborn . I have had to just laugh at things that happen, mostly when I have dozed off on the couch while feeding Livi.

#1 --This was a bit of a surprise when I came-to:

...but there is not much surprise to me that it was still there on day 2:

#2 -- Another time I dozed off feeding the baby on the couch in the front room. When I awoke, I saw that the front door was WIDE open and baby sound asleep in my lap with me TOTALLY exposed! Hoping no salesman (or even worse, neighbors!), were caught by surprise by stopping by. (Sorry, no pictures!) :)

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#3 -- The good news about this laundry pile, is that if my kids have gotten cold in the last 3-4 DAYS, they could just cuddle into the same heaping mountain of instant warmth! They also think it is fun to climb to the top of the pile and pretend they are "King of the world!" So cool.

#4 -- As hard as I have tried, I can find nothing funny about having a kidney stone and kidney infection 2 weeks after giving birth! Maybe in 10 years it will be funny. Maybe.

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The kids just adore their new little sister! She is a MAGNET for them. There is a CONSTANT: "Can I hold her," "I just want to kiss her," and "Pleeeease can I take her outside down the slide and on the trampoline..." A few days ago, I was SO frustrated that they wouldn't just let her sleep peacefully for a few minutes. I felt like I was going to EXPLODE in frustration (like the Incredible Hulk or something cool like that)! I looked up at Kam and Gavin who were on each side of me 2 inches from my (and Livi's) face...I did explode!... Only it was laughter! I don't know where it came from but I just couldn't stop laughing!!! By the end we were all rolling on the floor.
Someday I will be back in control of things. Someday.

With what was a rough journey (for the both of us)...

...ended up a beautiful destination!

We are so happy to have our sweet little girl with us safe and sound. She is such a Joy! April 7th they tested her lungs and came to the conclusion that she was NOT ready to be born yet. I was Devastated! Thank goodness for a wonderful, supportive husband who just let me cry on him most of the day, and an incredible mom who took over the motherly duties to my other 3 kids!
April 14th we had an appointment to have an external version of the baby (try to turn her because she was Breech). After an ultrasound the Dr. informed me that the amniotic fluid was too low to even attempt the procedure. I was upset about it, but the thing that really got to me was that they were going to send me home to come back in a couple of days for a c-section. I was NOT ready to go home empty-handed, I had come to the hospital with my bags packed and ready to have a baby that day. If I was going to have to have a c-section anyways, I didn't want to go home and sit and worry about it for a few more days.
Thank goodness I had a couple of Doctors that were very compassionate and decided just to do it that evening. Although I was nervous about surgery, it was overshadowed by the knowledge that we would have our sweet baby in our arms that evening!

...she wasn't exactly in our arms that evening. Surgery went well and the baby came out wailing, but they soon found out that she had fluid in her lungs and they were worried about infection. They admitted her into Special Care on IVs and antibiotics.

I ended up nauseous and throwing up the WHOLE night, so I didn't get to hold her (or even see her again) until the next morning. It was hard to see her up close for the first time with so many tubes and machines hooked up to her. I couldn't even see her tiny hands, they were all hooked up and bandaged, and instead of a bow on her head, there was also a bandage.

Brian stayed with me in the hospital for the first 2 nights, it was wonderful to have him there. On the 3rd night Brynlee begged me to be able to be the one to stay the night with me. All I can say about that is that EVERY new mom needs a sweet 7 year old little girl helper, she was INCREDIBLE! She helped me get in and out of bed, get my water and food within reach, helped me get dressed...and on and on... All of the nurses thought she was so sweet and they decided that they wanted their own little girls with them the next time they had a baby themselves.

On the 3rd day, we were informed that Alivia was doing great and would be able to come home with us that day! We were so happy and the kids were especially happy because they hadn't been able to really even see her yet (except through the window of Special Care).

...and now her REAL journey begins...

We couldn't be happier.

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***BIG THANK YOU our beautiful Mothers who took such good care of our family the last few weeks, I know it wasn't easy! I have been able to get some wonderful R & R, and now I am hoping that THEY can get some R & R... they sure deserve it!!!

Yup, They're ALL mine...

...and PROUD of it!

I LOOK like I have a really mean cat...

... Really. Mean. The truth is that there is no cat. I have to blame the damage on my very own fingernails.

My liver condition I have referred to in the past is called Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy. Basically, Bile Acids accumulate in the bloodstream because the liver is failing to do it's job of regulating those acids. Those acids cause INTENSE itching!!! This is not an itch that anyone can understand unless they have experienced it. It is NOT a skin condition or rash or any sort. The itch is in the BLOODSTREAM, so no lotions or anti-histamines can even TOUCH the discomfort! Another few strange things about this is that although the itching is all over, the most intense itching displays itself in the hands (including palms) and feet (including soles), and the worst episodes of it show up in the middle of the night. This means not much sleep (if any!), just A LOT of frustration and tears! The only thing that brings me any relief at all is a bucket full of ice water and plunging my hands and feet in for as long as I can stand it (until pain takes over most of the itching).

Unfortunately, there is not much known about how to treat my condition. Basically, monitor the baby really closely until their lungs are mature enough, and then deliver immediately since the high levels of acids can cause a perfectly healthy baby to unexpectedly die. This bit of information does not help the sleep issues.That being said...
I have actually been able to get some rest a few nights this week! This is really Miraculous since it has been weeks since I have had much relief! I was becoming Very desperate and I am going to attribute this miracle to prayer. Any sleep I can get is a tender mercy for me. I know I am not out of the woods, but it is amazing what a couple of good nights of sleep can do for a person (both mentally and physically)!

April 7th is the day that I will have an amniocentesis done (checking baby's lungs). If her lungs are mature enough, they will deliver her immediately. I will be 36 weeks and 5 days at that point. If she is not ready then they will just deliver her at 38 weeks (April 16th). Only 2-3 weeks left! We love this baby so much already, even if she still has no name! Brian thinks we still have "Plenty of time" to come up with something. Hmm...

Pneumonia...

We have had a rough couple of months in our home (as far as sickness goes). Every weekend for the last 7 weekends with the exception of one, at least 1 of our 3 kids have been fevering or coughing, or something along those lines. It has not been fun. Jan. and Feb. are NOT my favorite months! Gavin had been coughing for a little over a week or so and it didn't seem like a big deal until he started fevering this week. I took him to the Dr. on Thursday and I was told that he has pneumonia. It broke my heart. The funny thing about Gavin is that he is the happiest sick-person I know. Whenever he is fevering he just smiles and says "I Lub you Momma" over and over again.

Thursday was a hard day. The Dr. said he wasn't going to admit Gavin into the hospital because Gavin was still eating a little, thank goodness. They gave him a heavy-duty shot and sent us home with a prescription which was a one-time-dose medication which stays in their system for 10 days. The only problem was that Gavin is really stubborn about taking meds. REALLY. It was also a HUGE dose for all at once and had to be taken on an empty stomach (so no sneaking it into food), and he did NOT want it. I tried reasoning with him ALL DAY, but he would have NOTHING to do with it. When Brian got home, we wrestled him down and got a little into him only to have him gag and immediately throw it all up! After the medication has been mixed it expires after 12 hours. I tried for 12 hours and he threw it up 9 times. We will be going back to the Dr. tomorrow for "Plan B"... Hopefully "Plan B" is NOT a refill!

32 weeks and 3 days (but who's counting?)...

...I am, that's who.Doing pretty good right now. Depends on the day. My liver-issues are definitely becoming more prominent, but I am dealing. I know that there are a lot of prayers going for this baby (and me). I feel like it is really helping. I have a few appointments this week and I think I will know a little more after meeting with the specialist on Wednesday. So far so good. I am trying not to get my hopes up for this baby's lungs being ready for delivery at 36 weeks (April 2nd) since Gavin's lungs were not ready at that point. But to be honest, it will probably be really hard on me mentally if she's not ready.

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In the meantime, I am getting used to these non-stress tests (of the baby) at the hospital a couple of times a week. I think I need to invest in a good book...
...any suggestions?

3 "Men" in a Tub...

Grandma K got these pictures of these 3 little stinkers. I stole the pics...they were just too cute to pass up. These boys had fun at a little family get-together the other night. Unfortunately they got a little(lot) sticky with suckers (which they LOVED by the way), and everyone decided that the best thing to do was to strip 'em down and stick them in the tub.

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She also got a picture of their dad's relaxing (coincidentally in the same order as their sons). She named this one: "3 Men Not in a Tub" I happen to be very partial to the one in the middle. :)