happy halloween!!

halloween pictures and captions can be found here!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26383&l=4d0c2&id=599646345

MIL

so mother-in-law is gone... not gone, gone.... but just transferred to medicine hat hospital. this means FIL won't be staying with us anymore. tonight is our first night without houseguests since early october! it actually is nice.... i can fart out loud if i want! (OMG did i just say that?!?!?!!) i am kidding.... but really... just makes it more comfortable when it's just our family here.

MIL was flown to medicine hat hospital... and it was her VERY FIRST time flying. she was terrified to fly her whole life, but today she did it. and her comments afterwards, "it was great! it was so smooth!" too funny. FIL still hasn't ever flown, and says he never will.

so back to the grind tomorrow.... the dayhome is really wearing me out lately. i plan to scale down things soon ish... by jan 1st. that date won't come soon enough though!

photography is picking up again. had a bit of a lull for a week or so there, but had 2 sessions this weekend. one went well, one not as well. oh well....

tomorrow morning is emerson's first gymboree class. i wonder how she will do.... could be interesting! she'll go every monday until mid-januray. the older kids are still in gymnastics and loving it! i'm hoping to get them into swimming lessons in the new year.

tuesday i have an appointment for hallie and emerson at the doctor. hallie needs a yearly checkup, and emerson just needs a follow up for a few issues -- the main one being her ears. she has had 2 hearing tests since the spring/summer and both showed fluid in the ears. nothing has been done about the fluid, sort of got put on the back burner and then forgotten about. now that she's 2yrs old and still having speech delays, they want this looked into further. she is on the wait list for early intervention as well, although i'm not sure if we'll go through with it or not. i am not entirely sure about the whole program and if it will be beneficial for her/us.

ok... enough blabbing! there was a quick update! off to bed now.... well maybe not yet, first some laundry to fold, then bed.

good night!

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update on MIL

she is doing much better.... she came out of sedation 2 days ago.... in the middle of the night i guess she pulled her own feeding tube out. the nurse told her she couldn't do that... but she did! then they took out her breathing tube. that morning when kipp's dad and sister walked in, she smiled and said, "hi" and they both just about fell over! how's that for a determined woman?!?! she is still very very tired, she can't really even move her body or head. the dialysis is done and the 15 or so IV meds are down to only 4. WOW. she truly has surprised ALL of the doctors and us too. at first they were saying she'd be there for 4 months, if she even made it, and now she's awake and even pulling together enough energy to giggle. (it sounds soooo strained and tired, but it's still a giggle) wow.... truly a miracle, thank you for all of the prayers. she will still be there for quite a while as she has zero strength. she'll have to get physio. her feet are also in rough shape, i guess due to no circulation for so long. she is still in ICU but there is talk of her moving to a regular ward soon ish. thanks for the get well vibes, they must have worked!

as for me, i thought it was my turn to die last night. i was so so sick, sicker than i've been since before having kids i think. some kind of tummy bug but seriously.... moms aren't supposed to get sick! i can usually handle a cold, a really bad cold, bronchiolitis... strep throat even.... i haven't had to take a day off from my dayhome due to sickness EVER! (once due to kai being sick) so today... i took the day off. much needed. i also shipped my own kids out to my mom & sister so i could really rest. i am finally starting to feel better....

take care!

my mother-in-law

i haven't posted about this but some of you already know.... my mother-in-law is in the u of a hospital, in ICU. last week she went into the grey nuns because she wasn't feeling well. sounded like a flu or some kind of reaction. MIL and FIL don't live here, they were here visiting (camping). so they admitted her right away and realized, after many tests, that she has septic shock. i did some googling and found this info for those interested:

http://www.xigris.com/pdf/friend-and-family-brochure.pdf

it came out of nowhere. it's an infection that has taken over her entire body via her blood. she is in the worst phase of it, high risk of death. she's in ICU, intubated, on 16 or more medications via IV (into her neck & arms), continuous dialysis, and they have medically paralyzed her so that she can't fight the intubation and so that she can rest. it has been very tough on kipp's dad, he went home last week to sort out work and to take their dogs & tailer home, and now he is back and living with us until further notice. his sister is also here, on and off, as much as possible. (dad and sister are both from medicine hat) same with his brother. (brother from vancouver) kipp seems to be doing alright, but he is a guy and sometimes i think guys don't show those emotions like they need to.

so there is a high risk of death, but also a chance she will pull through. the doctor yesterday said she is slowly, very slowly, improving, but she is not out of the woods yet. (doctor's words)

this is all just so surreal.... and so tough to see someone like this. she doesn't even look like herself. they say she can hear us, she is paralyzed though so she can't open her eyes, can't squeeze our hands, can't talk or move at all. so all we can do is talk. to her. around her. and hope she is hearing.

please say a prayer for her. for her family. this is a real tough time for them all right now. she is only in her 50's too. one day she's fine... out shopping with me... the next day she's on life support.

fooling around...

party time

these pics are from back in sept, at matthew's 3rd birthday party!

kai being a goof

mommy (jen) & birthday boy
kai checking out the pinata
the kids watching the magician
the magician in action!
emerson watching the candles on the cake!

hallie digging for dinos!

birthday boy!
the dino dig in the plaster, it was a big hit!

around the fire...

back a few weeks ago we had a friendly fire at our neighbor's back yard fire pit. colleen had a few too many and ended up throwing some things into the fire she shouldn't have! but still, it was a great night. i'm thankful for such great neighbors around here! it was so fun! we didn't get inside to bed until 2am!

Fall Walk

Kai's playschool went on a fall walk this morning. it was FREEZING out but we bundled up in many layers! here are some pics!

someone's baby -- so cute i had to snap a pic
juanita's daughter, erin!

Turkey Trot

hallie's school had a turkey trot race today! the fastest boy and girl in each grade would receive a chicken. hallie thought it would be a chocolate chicken. i thought it would be a live chicken (he he!) but in the end it was a frozen chicken - ready to eat! and guess who won? Hallie!!!!! we mentally prepared for the event, carefully planned out our wardrobe (RUNNING shoes, no skirt today, no jeans... but sweat pants!)



i am so proud of her! ha ha! very kewl.

emerson's party!

see, these pics are on facebook already so i feel silly posting them here too! we celebrated emerson's 2nd birthday last friday. she doesn't actually turn 2yrs until tomorrow (oct 6th) but i figured people might be away for the long weekend! 2 yrs ago on thanksgiving weekend, we had a new baby girl home with us. we had a great thanksgiving dinner and lots of family time. i remember going in to my parents' bedroom to nurse her in the middle of thanksgiving dinner -- she kept choking while i fed her and eventually she just gave up trying to eat. it's not fun when you just choke on the milk the whole time. she just gave up and went to sleep. she was so good. she just slept, barely ate.... but by sunday evening i realized something wasn't right. she needed to be eating more.... and the choking, definately wasn't getting better, only worse. so i took her into the stollery ER and had quite the journey! but look at her now.... 2 years later and doing just awesome!

happy birthday princess emmy!!

admiring her new gifts!
craft time!

i want my cake!!!!

dancing!

new blog!

i have a new business blog -- this blog will still exist as well and i need to get my butt in gear and start writing in it! i think only 1 person checks it anyway.... sara!

new blog: http://lyonslens.blogspot.com

and this one will still be here too! i've also noticed everyone else's blogs are quiet these days too.... so it's not just me sara!

from hope

hope took these a couple of weekend's ago while we were all at fort edmonton park.... and i stole them because.... i love them :)