BUSY BOY!!!

It is so hard to get good pictures of PORTER these days!!! He is so busy, and always running allover. Finally a couple of days ago, a miracle occured and Porter let me take a picture of his face! He even smiled. WOW! MORE THAN ONCE! I was amazed. Grandpa Mac summed it up best. After caring for the 3 big kids for 3 or 4 days, Grandpa said PORTER needs his own personal assistant!!! I am starting to worry about keeping this kid clothed. He is almost too tall for his 3T clothes and size 10 shoes an he is barely 2 and a half.

PORTER is so crazy, but such a fun boy. He is constantly carrying a ball or bat or whatever sports equipment he can find. He brings his balls every time we get in the car. He gets a thrill out of chasing Lainey around with his Little Tike bat, just to get a rise out of her. He does, however make sure to acutally hit her just enough to keep her scared of him!

Yesterday he had a pair of Nike slick pants and a Jordan jersey on. All day he kept pointing to his shirt and saying "see my baset-ball one"? I would tell him how cool it was. Bed time came and he would not let me change him. I decided it wasn't worth the battle. So when I went to get him out of his crib this morning, he said "mom, mom, see my baset-ball one"? I said yes and it was so cool. He found the little NIKE swoosh on the pant leg and said "see my high"? I told him yes, even though I had no idea what he meant. He knew I didn't get it, so he wouldn't let me get him up. After a couple minutes of hard thinking he said "mom, see my high? I wanna go Po-vo high, pay baset-ball wis daddy boys"!!! I started laughing and told him how cute he was!!! PORTER IS SO MUCH FUN AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!

SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY!

I absolutely adore Lainey!!! She is very sweet and loving. Especially with her brothers. Lainey is one of the smartest kids around. I am so glad that i have ONE daughter. She is fun and energetic, and so full of life. Her love for life is contagious.
I just want to share with all of you longing for a daughter some of the fun and exciting and often frustrating emotions that come with sugar and spice. There is also the "not so nice"! Lainey has a very hard time when she is tired. Sometimes it's hard to not upset the Princess no matter what you do! Especially when it comes to keeping her from her friends. Lainey is one of those kids who wouldn't care if you spanked her, she would turn to you and tell you it didn't hurt. (I have to admit I have tried) So, I am trying other methods these days! The latest was taking pictures to show her what the fit looked like. Thought I would share. I guess maybe I am the meanest mom around, but these are quickly becoming some treasured memories!
Here goes... NOT GETTING IN THE CAR BECAUSE YOU WON'T TAKE HER TO HER FRIEND'S HOUSE. (doesn't know I have the camera yet)

COVERING HER FACE AFTER SHE HEARD THE CAMERA CLICK!

"YOU ARE THE MEANEST MOM EVER"!!!

"PUT THAT CAMERA AWAY, RIGHT NOW"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD TAKE THESE PICTURES. I DON'T WANT THESE PICTURES. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY". (my point exactly)

"I WANNA BE GOOD MOM. DELETE THOSE PICTURES RIGHT NOW...PLEASE ".

GOOD TIMES!!!

Over the weekend we partied hard. Almost to the point that when we stopped, we were all about in tears!! We got to go to the scarecrow festival at Thanksgiving Point. We went with the Bertoches (triplet family) and had so much fun! The kids did a lot of walking, jumping, running, laughing and flat out playing!!! We were there for almost 5 hours. Here is some of the stuff that we got to do...

ALYSSA, LAINEY, TREY, KAITLYN, SHANTEL AND PORTER

THESE ARE THE ONLY 2 PICTURES THAT PORTER HELD STILL ENOUGH THAT WE GOT HIS FACE IN THE PICTURE! (notice he is either strapped in, or being held down!)
KAYDEN, SCOTT AND PORTER ON THE TRAIN
TREY DRIVING THE BIG PEDAL BIKE ON THE RACEWAY
JIM AND I ON THE TRAIN
LAINEY SHOWING US HER SUPER TROOPER MOVES ON THE BUNJEE TRAMP

TREY "FLYING LIKE SUPERMAN"! HE COULDN'T REALLY JUMP, SO I WOULD HOLD ON TO THE HARNESS AND PULL HIM DOWN AS FAR AS I COULD AND THEN "SLINGSHOT" HIM IN THE AIR. HE WENT SO HIGH AND WAS LAUGHING SO HARD HE HAD A HARD TIME HOLDING ON!!! LATER HE TOLD ME IT WAS A GOOD THING HE HAD A DIAPER ON BECAUSE HE PEED HIS PANTS!

MISS "BELLA"! GUESS SHE GOT BIT LAST NIGHT!
YES, GRAYSON WAS THERE! HE HAS LEARNED A NEW TRICK, CLAPPING. YAY!

PORTER, TOO BUSY TO GIVE ANYONE THE TIME OF DAY!
THERE WERE BIG BLOW-UP SLIDES EVERYWHERE!!
TREY AND LAINEY, LOOKIN' GOOD! TREY ABSOLUTELY ADORES LAINEY, SO THIS WAS HIS REACTION WHEN I SAID I WANTED A PICTURE OF JUST THOSE 2! SWEETEST GUY AND PRETTIEST GIRL ON THE PLANET!!!

CHRIS COLLINSWORTH

Okay, so we have had tons of people calling and asking us about Chris Collinsworth. For those of you who don't know, he is one of Jim's former players. He played at BYU last season (basketball). The Collinsworth family took Lainey and Trey every single day, all day when I was on bed rest with Porter. They took them to all of the basketball games and everything. The boys, Chris and Kyle took to Trey and would do exercises with him daily. They got Trey really moving. The family is amazing to say the least. For some reason they spit out these amazing athletes!!! Kyle is a Junior this year and is already being recruited by a lot of big-name teams.

Well, Chris is currently serving a mission in Australia. Last Tuesday he was attacked by a bunch of Muslim men on his mission. They think he may have been singled out because he is such a big person (6'9"ish). Chris was ready to get out working 2 days after the attack!!!(to which he was told NO!) What a tough guy!!!

So, if you will, pray for those 2 Elders and their families. They have all been through the ringer this last week. I feel bad for the moms who want to jump on a plane and go take care of their big boys, but know it is best if they leave them in the Lord's hands! (Chris was more upset he didn't get to tell Kyle himself, than he was about the actual attack! He later told Kyle to tell every girl that knew Chris, that he fought of 40 men and only got stabbed once!)

Here is a link to the spotlight featured on KSL if you want to watch!!!

LINK

I KNOW THAT THE LINK DIDN'T WORK, BUT IT DOES NOW!

ANOTHER PROVO MIRACLE!!!

Today was Grayson's big MRI. We have been waiting for this day for a long time. I have been wondering if any damage had been done to his brain, or would show up since his last MRI in March. Sometimes I would wonder how I could possibly take care of 2 sweet angels with bodies that don't work "normally". It is pretty common for 25 weekers to have significant damage and life-long issues. He is definitely more behind developmentally than he should be, so everyone has been a little bit worried.(most of all, me) I had a lot of mixed emotions.
Well, we had a rough start to the day because the sedation team couldn't place an IV. Grayson's veins are so scarred from having so many IVs in his life. He was so mad and we were 40 minutes late to the scanner because we needed the IV to sedate him so that he would hold still. After that, things went OH SO SMOOTH! He did so well. They brought him back to recover and wake up(after about a 45 minute scan) from the medicine, which took almost 2 hours. They tried to give us results before we left, but the computer system was down! Go figure. So I called our Pediatrician after lunch and they had already looked things up and were ready to call me. THE REPORT SAYS THAT GRAYSON HAS A "NORMAL" BRAIN!!! I couldn't believe it. I am so excited and relieved. WHAT A BLESSING. The chances of this, along with NO bleeding in his head when he was born are AMAZING. Those in the medical profession understand this, but those of you who aren't, I am telling you, that is like the chances of the Yankees winning the world series this year!!! We are so grateful for all that Grayson has made it through. A lot of that has to do with the amazing medical care he has been given, but I am convinced that our Father in Heaven has big plans for Grayson. He just continues to beat ALL odds. WE LOVE YOU GRAYSON!!! Thanks again for the continued love and support we receive each and every day. We have the best family and friends! THANKS!!!
Jim is finally almost back to GOOD! He has done great and not much will keep him down for long! He, of course was back in the GYM last Friday! That is dedication! I'm sure he needed a break from the madness at home! He might have gotten more rest if he had spent more time at the gym!!!
Also, our friend Reagan is going through some tough times, so PLEASE remember the McBride family in your prayers. We know God hears and answers!!! Grayson, sedated and heading to the scanner.
In the scanner. This tech took tons of Grayson's x-rays while he was in the NICU and couldn't believe how big he was!
Grayson's Nurse for today and the Nurse Practitioner who oversaw his well-being for the procedure.
As long as we let him sleep this is how he was, peaceful! Otherwise he was a BEAR! Not quite as cute as the bear in the next picture!!!
The sweetest BEAR in the world tonight. Back to "normal" and sweet as can be. I think we could be dealing with a LAZY EYE!!! This is boy who is now labeled "BABY ROGER" because everyone thinks he looks JUST like his Grandpa MAC!

Take a deep breath

Between appts. we stopped at the NICU. These are some of the wonderful people who took care of Grayson for so long. Dr. Gerday, Heather Harper (who took care of Porter, too. Soooo good) Kari Beardall (runs the adaptive sports program that we LOVE) and Allison Sholwalter(?) (one of the NNPs who is as big a basketball fan as the McEvoy boys)!! Grayson and Dr. Gerday. Not only did the good Dr. take care of Grayson, but he always made sure that I was doing ok. He is from France, and he is one AMAZING doc! He saved Grayson's life!

Grayson was so hungry, he kept sucking his thumb and would get really mad. He was trying to be happy until he could eat. It wasn't going so well.

HOLY COW!!! What a crazy day it has been. Let me say thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. Especially all of those who have fasted and prayed continually for the last year for our family. Grayson and I were able to receive priesthood blessings this morning before we started our day. I am so glad. I was able to keep myself composed (for the most part). Grayson was starving, but still at his grumpiest he would smile occasionally!!!

Today testing was crazy as most days are when you jam pack a lot of stuff into one day. But halleleuja we have once again our prayers have been answered. My biggest worry was the testing for Cystic Fibrosis, which came back normal! I couldn't bring myself to research anything until I got the end result, but now that I have I am so glad that trial is not ours. The other tests were for reflux and and to see how bad it was. It is definately there, but no need to rush to surgery in the next little bit. I am so relieved. So, once again, thanks to all for the love and support. OH HAPPY DAY!

"GIRLS DON'T PLAY SPORTS" (Lainey)

Lainey is so full of life and so pretty. Such a fun and cute person. I don't know a better word to describe Lainey than... GIRLY! Ever since she was a baby we put every kind of ball there was in her hand. We are very sports oriented around these parts, and we figured she would be tall, so we thought it would be the perfect combo. All I have to say about that is, BOY DID THAT BACKFIRE!!!
Lainey is bound and determined to be a cheerleader. If you ask her what she wants to be she will tell you a CHEERLEADER. She knows which outfit looks "JUST PERFECT" and which hair-do is PRETTIEST, and most of all what things are "TOTALLY HIDEOUS". We don't waste time on things that aren't quite up to par!!!

GO BULLDOGS. NUMBER ONE!!! (don't worry, Lainey makes sure to tell the bulldog just what kind of pose she wants in her picture)

THIS IS WHAT CHEERLEADERS DO, RIGHT?!!?

I GUESS WE WERE AT LEAST RIGHT ABOUT THE TALL PART!

AT THIS POINT JIM AND I HAVE DECIDED WE AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE HER MIND, SO WE WILL SEE IF SHE DOES SOMEDAY! UNTIL THEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO MANY MORE PROVO HIGH CHEER CAMPS AND A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY IN FEBRUARY COMPLETE WITH PROVO HIGH CHEERLEADERS AND ALL THINGS CHEER!!!

WE HOPE THE PROVO HIGH MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM TAKES STATE AGAIN THIS YEAR FOR 3 IN A ROW. THEN WE WILL ALL BE CHEERLEADERS! LAINEY IS 3RD FROM THE LEFT. When Lainey was 2 1/2 she won a dance off at half time with all of the moves the cheerleaders had taught her. She wasn't shy then, and even less now. We can't wait to see what the future holds!

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

SWEETEST BABY I HAVE EVER MET!!!

I have to admit I have been a little bit bummed. I took Grayson to the doctor yesterday because he hasn't been feeling very well. We think that he has reflux and that is causing him to aspirate formula into his lungs. He sounds like his lungs are full of junk all of the time. He has been so fussy and grumpy which is not like him at all. The doctor is a little bit concerned because we have him on as much medicine as we can give him, and he is getting worse. He has also started having these major cold sweats. He will soak all the way through his clothes. The GI doc can't see him until January, so we are a little bit stuck. The 2 doctors decided that they needed to run a bunch of tests to see if their diagnosis is really the right one. Today they set up quite a few tests for Monday. I had to stop listening to the tests that they were running because I was so upset by all of it. I sure am grateful that we have been able to have at least a few weeks that he has felt good.
Next Wednesday Grayson is also scheduled for his follow-up MRI to see if his brain has been damaged by all that his little body has been through. We go in at 9am Monday and the last test is scheduled for 12pm. His MRI is first thing Wed. morning. Hopefully we will be able to get some answers this week. Needless to say we are a little bit stressed around these parts. Grayson and I have spent most of the nights this week keeping eachother company. He has been so miserable. It looks like we will spend a good chunk of next week at our HOME AWAY FROM HOME! So now we are asking you to pretty please...
PRAY FOR GRAY(son)

THIS IS GRAYSON NORMALLY. SO HAPPY AND WILL SMILE AT ANYTHING AND EVEN NOTHING!!!

THIS IS HOW GRAYSON IS LOOKING THE PAST LITTLE BIT. YOU CAN TELL HE DOESN'T FEEL VERY GOOD. :(

A LITTLE R&R (yeah right)

SWEET LAINEY WITH HER PRETTY HAIR JUST THE WAY SHE LIKES IT!

JIM AND PORTER BEFORE JIM WENT TO SURGERY. OH, AND GRAYSON IS IN THE BACKGROUND!

Another day at the McEvoy house! We just seem to be as crazy as ever! Jim is recovering from surgery still. He is finally doing much better today. I think he is starting to go a little bit stir crazy. I am not sure how much healing is going on while he whatches the never-ending tornado in our house, occasionally being hit by it. (mostly Porter, who has to hit him in the tummy just because you tell him daddy has an owie there and to be sure dad isn't sleeping)!!

Well, I guess I threw a lot of people off with the "the twins have been delivered" text! I'll explain the story behind that. Jim finally got in to see the surgeon about 3 weeks after hernia symptoms occurred. I was anxious to hear what the doc said because I couldn't make the appointment with him. When he finally called he said "GOOD NEWS". I thought he was going to tell me that it wasn't really a hernia because there HAD been some discrepancy between doctors. I said "Oh good, what" Jim replied "It's twins". I almost died laughing. Well after the mass text I had people texting back all kinds of funny things. Somebody thought we were adopting twins. Another person thought Jim had a vasectomy. (not a bad idea) Some people had no idea he was having surgery. As well as a couple of other things!??! I guess it gave everybody a good laugh!

I felt bad because Lainey was pretty worried about her dad. She cried the night before surgery when I told her what was going on. She was worried about not being able to play with him. She asked my mom if he would ever get better. She also wanted to know if he was going to die. Lainey has been through too much with our family to not be worried when it comes to anything medical. Because of the time I spent at the Provo hospital with the boys and volunteering, she asked if he would have surgery at "my" hospital. I thought it was pretty sweet of her. Lainey is one perceptive 6 year old and she has a very good heart. She sure acts out a lot when she is worried about her family, so we will continue to work on that.

Here are some cool and crazy things that have happened the past couple of days.

*Reagan just came home yesterday from a hospital stay. They did studies while she was there and what a miracle, Reagan no longer needs the ventilator during the day. Congratulations Reagan. This is truly a blessing!

*Grayson FINALLY started to say MA MA! (da da has been around for a few weeks now) Is it a problem he only says MA MA when he is mad?!!?

*Trey beat his record of steps taken without falling, he is up to 37!!! Amazing, because 2 weeks ago it was 24.

*Porter decided to cut his own hair last night. I was standing in the kitchen where he was and didn't notice until about the 3rd wack! There was a big pile of blonde hair on the counter and floor.

*I took Lainey to dance today and then ran a couple of errands. I got back about 40 minutes after the hour to watch the end of class only to find out that I had dropped her off an hour early and she had been running crazy for the last 50 minutes! After which she informed me "I know you are tired mom. Maybe if you eat more vegetables you will remember better. Next week I will pay better attention to the clock so I can make sure you bring me at the right time"! THANKS FOR BEING RESPONSIBLE LAIN!!!

*Trey was not happy when the therapist and aide were stretching his legs. He was whining and complaining. He was saying things like he didn't like them, they weren't his friends any more, he was going to tell his mom on them and she would be mad. When none of those things worked, I guess he decided to surrender, but not happily. He started to "sing" in a very low, grumpy, growly tone "cawed to suv him hebenwy king of gwowy, chosen eh to witness foah his name" then at the top of his lungs "ONWAD EVAH ONWAD AS WE GWOWY IN HIS NAME. Now stop it wight now befoah I have to get weawy mad". What do you say to that?

BIG BOY TREY!

Trey strapped into the stander playing, you guessed it...Wii!!!

TREY WITH HIS THERAPIST, SERGIO. THIS IS THE FAMOUS SUIT. YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE BUNGEE CORDS.

Well, things in Provo are as crazy as ever. Trey started an intensive therapy program a week ago. We took him out of school for 3 weeks because that is how long his session lasts. He goes to therapy from 8am-12pm Monday through Friday for 3 whole weeks. We have truly been blessed to be able to send him to this place. It is called NOW I CAN. We have already seen big improvements. Trey is so much more confident. He tries to walk most of the time instead of crawl, which is HUGE! We are also seeing him be able to hold his balance longer, get up to a standing position by himself not holding onto anything, and not drag his left leg as much. We will for sure be taking one of his cruthces away when he is done, and we hope to be able to take them both away!!! Trey is having a hard time working so hard for 20 hours a week, but he is tolerating it. They let him play Wii everyday as part of therapy, so that keeps him going. That might actually be the only thing that gets him to the end of the day!

There are a couple of funny things that have happened with this whole ordeal. When I was first explaining to Trey where he was going to go and what they were going to do, he wasn't all that interested because it had to do with therapy. He has been to NOW I CAN for some maintenence therapy, but he doesn't remember. So I said to him "they put you in a suit and put bungee cords that help us strengthen your legs so you will be able to walk. In true trey fashion he says "um, mom I alweady CAN walk". I took a second to respond and then told him I meant walk without his sticks. He replies "wew, I don't know what kind of stwange people put udder people in a suit foah thewapy. Dat is so stwange. It's just weally wead (wierd). I don't know, but that is just stwange. I don't fink I'm gonna go deh". I had to stop talking about it because I was laughing so hard. We have been told by several doctors and other medical personnel that when your brain has defecits, it over-compensates in other areas. Trey shows us that. His vocabulary is going to surpass mine in no time!!! He is so smart.

He also informed the therapists at NOW I CAN the first day he wasn't going to follow the NO CRAWLING rule because "I actuwy cwal fastah dan I walk, so I'm gonna cwal." They weren't quite sure how to respond because a lot of the kids they see aren't so articulate. They finally just started laughing and told him how smart he was, but he would have to follow the rule at NOW I CAN! I will post pictures when I figure out how to download to the PC!! Until then PRAY FOR TREY. He has been so blessed and we hope it continues!!! Love to all, TIFF