Crazy! Busy! Scary!

We have had a few very crazy weeks. CRAZY, BUSY, SCARY!

CRAZY: One day when we were here working and painting and repairing holes in the walls, Benjamin and Alexander were playing by the front door and then we heard a crash and a scream. Alexander was playing inside the house and Benjamin was playing outside. They were making faces at each other through the glass/screen door and the top part came crashing down on Alexander's thumb. He was bleeding pretty badly by the nail bed and then on the back side of his thumb. I thought that maybe the window had cut his thumb all the way through so I took him to Instacare. They examined it and did some xrays. The nail was still in the nail bed and the bone was not broken so they stitched it up and bandaged it and sent us home. It was not fun but he is doing better.

The window that we now know does not stay up.

The sweet, little, inocent boy who had a run in with the window above.

Alexander's finger after it was stitched and bandaged.


BUSY: We have finally "moved" in to our house. We are far from being settled but at least we sleep here now. We still have a lot of work before the house is done but it is starting to come together nicely. Everytime we turn around something else has gone wrong but we get it fixed quickly and move on.

We have finished all the bedrooms upstairs and so we moved in up there while we finish the rest of the house. Benjamin's wanted his room to be blue so that is how we did it. The chair rail and floor boards were all cut with a hand saw and mounted with nails...we work like the pioneers! Alexander's room is a pale green (can be converted into a nursery for any gender we have next.) The hole in the closet was fixed very nicely and you can hardly tell it was even there! Grandma's room (the guest room) is a pale yellow and looks much better than the blue that was EVERYWHERE! The glow in the dark stars have been removed and the walls and ceiling have been painted. This is the room we are sleeping in until we can finish the master suite in the basement.

Benjamin and Alexander in Benjamin's Room

Benjamin's Room and "The Choo-Choo Bed"

Benjamin helping me paint the guest room (a.k.a. Grandma's Room)

The Closet in Alexander's Room

What Hole??

Alexander's Room

SCARY: Last Sunday evening we were just piddling around putting things away and caring for Alexander (he had been throwing up everything...including water...for 2 days) and Taun was holding him while they played with the tape measure. Taun would pull the tape up and then let it go and Alex would giggle. They had been doing it for several minutes when Alex screamed once. I went to see what had happened and noticed that he was NOT BREATHING! He then started to turn blue and stiffen up. We could not get him to breathe even after trying CPR (on a stiff body.) I called 911 and cried, screamed, yelled, freaked out until the first officer showed up and the 911 dispatcher hung up. We were able to get him to breathe but he still was unconscious. A volunteer firefighter (who is also the custodian at my school) showed up next and they got a pulse machine hooked up to his toe and an oxygen mask on him.

I remembered that Benjamin was still in the bathtub so Taun went to get him dressed in case we needed to go to the hospital. (Our neighbor came over shortly after and took Benjamin to her house until JeriDawn, Taun's sister, went and got him.) The paramedics came and we decided it would be best to have him checked out at the hospital so Alex was strapped into his carseat in the back of the ambulance and I rode up front. There were 2 ambulances, 2 fire trucks, and 3-4 police cars outside. They kept saying it was a seisure but that he would be fine. I was just freaking out the whole time and so was Taun. They did not turn on the lights or the sirens on the way to the hospital, they just followed all the traffic laws while I was panicing and praying for my son's life. Just when we were pulling into the ER parking, the paramedics said "He's having another seisure!" They had put in an IV and it triggered the same reaction.

We got him into the hospital and they began doing all the tests and procedures to figure out what the problem was. One of the ER staff said "There's people out here to give him a blessing." I did not care who it was so I said' "Please let them come in." I just wanted a blessing for him no matter who gave it. Taun walked in just before them and they gave him a blessing. It was the neighbor and a member of the bishopbric. (We have lived in the house less than 3 weeks and they were already coming to help us out. We have felt such an outpouring of love and service...we know we have moved into a great ward and neighborhood.) The bishopbric member annointed and Taun gave him a blessing. It was a relief to get that done and I knew everything would be okay. I am so grateful for the priesthood and for the fact that my husband is worthy of it.

They ended up doing some blood tests, a urine test, chest xray, and a CT scan. Gratefully everything came back normal except for the white blood count indicating an ear infection. They admitted him to the pediatric floor for the night and said they would do tests again in the morning. He was given Rosefin (sp?) through his IV for the ear infection and lots of fluids to hydrate him again. He slept through the night except for when they came to poke and prod him. He ate breakfast at the hospital and was able to keep it down so they said we could go home after one more dose of the antibiotic. He ate lunch just before we left and was able to keep it down so we came home at about 1:30 p.m. He has been doing just fine since and the ear infection is gone.

While at the hospital, they allowed us to take Alexander for walks in the wagon...we could not carry him. He loved the wagon and it was very hard to get him out of it. They also gave him a teddy bear and he just cuddles with it. It is so cute!

The three doctors have classified it as ALTE (A Life Threatening Event) and really have no more answers for us. We are just glad that he is okay and alive. The experience was way scarier than I can explain in words and I am glad it is over. Thank you all for your thought and prayers in Alexander's behalf.