Expect Miracles

back in business!

2010-02-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

Time sure flies when you are having fun! Life around these parts is absolutely insaine! Lots going on and certainly not enough time to do everything! Some pretty big mile stones are coming up this year and we will hit them with a bang!

Lainey is cheering tons! Cheer competitions and practices run every spare moment we thought we ever had! They asked her to compete on a second squad for the national competition in Anaheim in April, so that will keep us even busier! She is the star student in her class and is perfect! She has grown so much I might die! Wearing size 10 clothes and size 5 (in women) shoes! She is of course, still a little Diva and soo much fun!

Trey is sure doing great in Kindergarten! He is learning to read like a little champ. He is having some health issues and we are trying to figure him out! We are spending lots of time between Primary Children's and Shriners. Hopefully we will pin point our issues sooner than later. Lots of changes are in store for this little man this year, so lets pray we all tolerate them!!!

Porter has grown up so much. He is starting preschool in a couple of weeks and is so excited! He is potty trained (for the most part) YAY! and pretty much against his own will!!! It is much easier to go in a diaper! He dribbles a basketball for hours every day, and actually sits and watches his dad's team play! Porter has grown like a weed too! We just took the clothes Trey started to grow out of and handed them right down to Porter (size 5)!

Grayson is hilarious! He has to make sure that he gets enough attention, being the youngest! He is doing great developmentally. He is walking and talking like a pro. He insists on doing everything by himslef! A sure sign he is 2! HE has also grown like crazy! Now wearing size 3 and size 7 shoe! We still can't get him to stop sucking his thumb! He LOVES Woody and Buzz! He is sooo sweet and snuggly. Now if we can replace his favorite word "stupid" with something a little more charming.

Since basketball is full swing right now, life around these parts is pretty busy! My children eat out way too much! and going without sleep for many days and nights takes it's toll! But we sure have a lot of fun! I will post pics as soon as I find a minute to upload them!!! LOVE TO ALL

NO MORE BABIES :(

2009-12-13T02:09:00.000-08:00

My SWEET baby BOY is not a baby anymore! He is 2!!! Where has time gone? His over-protective mommy actually let him go trick or treating! He was sooo funny. He LOVED the candy, but hated his little turtle costume!
His over-protective mommy also let him go to McDonalds on his birthday! I know, CRAZY! And yes, he ended up sick! But he sure had a blast. He is such a happy little man. He loves his siblings and wants so bad to be BIG like them! He is ALWAYS smiling and happy. He LOVES french fries, and anything sweet! My only picky eater! He sucks his thumb till it might fall off, and has only ONE blanket that works for bed time and soothing. And when I wash it, he gets so mad when he puts it up to his face and it doesn't smell right! So funny!
Dad took all the boys to get their hair cut, and they butchered EVERYONE! Grayson barely had any hair! But I love his little toothy grin in this picture! Grayson is finally walking. YAY! He thinks it is the coolest thing ever!! He is constantly saying LOOK, WATCH, or screaming a high pitched scream so you will look his way!
Porter has helped his favorite word to be soo-pid. The more we said "NO" to him, the more he said it. We came up with the brilliant idea to say "I LOVE YOU GRAYSON, PLEASE USE NICE WORDS". So now for the past 3 days he gets mad and says: soo-pid, I wub ooo. All in a grumpy voice. I think all we did was make him think the latter part of the phrase was bad words too! OOPS.
Also, thanks to Porter, Grayson is ALMOST as obsessed with balls as Porter! That is ALL the 2 of them do. EVERYTHING turns into a bat or a hoop. The past couple of days they have managed to make bats out of the basting brush, toilet paper roll holder, the toilet brush, a tooth brush, the tv remote, a pillow, a shoe, and I am not kidding, ANYTHING they can pick up! When I had taken the most fun things away, Grayson simply uses one of his HUGE hands as the bat! They make me laugh! They will both stand with a ball on the tile and dribble for hours. NO JOKE. They LOVE it! Even at McDonalds, who cares about the slides when you can dribble a ball?!!?
Everyone still (and probably always will) babies Grayson. He is very well taken care of. Lainey is so good at understanding everything he says and being his second mom. Sometimes when Grayson gets up from his nap, Lainey is the ONLY one who can touch him! Grayson looks the most like Trey at this point (other than his twin, Grandpa Mac!)! They are so stinking cute!
Yes, he only got one candle. He was WAY too anxious to play with fire!
I love my sweet baby boy. He is such a fun, sweet, and full of life and attitude little guy. He is finally at the point where we aren't very worried about his physical delays. Boy is that nice. He is so happy and lovey! The past 2 years are a bit of a blur to me, but I am fully aware of the miracle that lies in this 25 pound boy! We have a long way to go, but no one who took care of this tiny, sick, sick baby can believe how amazing he is doing! He says so many words I can't even count! He loves to get his hair done (mostly cause it usually means he gets to leave the house!), he has to have my sunglasses at all times if they are in sight, and he almost never plays with anything that doesn't at least look like a ball!!! I love you buddy!

Number 2 (two months late)

2009-11-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

The man himself... and our AWESOME seats! I can't say enough good about Brad Paisley. First of all he had watched the music video they had made with the local kids before he met them. He came out and knew Trey's name before even talking to us. It went a little bit like this!

BRAD: Hey buddy! Is your name Trey?

Trey: Um, yeah. (with a bit of a flabbergasted look on his face)

BRAD: Hey Trey, I just want you to know how honored I feel to have you here and in my video tonight. You look like a pretty cool guy, Trey.

TREY: You ah a pwetty cool guy too. And I like ya song, ya know da one wewcom to da fewcha?
BRAD: (laugh) Yeah I like it too!

From that point on they were buddies! For some reason Brad really singled Trey out. He spent by far the most time with Trey, and he continued to come back to Trey over and over again. He was so sweet I could hardly believe that he is a celebrity!
Backstage and my FAVORITE picture!
They let the kids ask Brad questions if they wanted... This was Trey's: "Hey Bwad? What do YOU wanna be when you gwow up"?!!? To which everyone had to laugh! He was just so sweet and innocent.
WOW! What beautiful brown eyes you have, BRAD! This was NO zoom! I was sitting on my chair and this is how close he was to me!
Once again, Brad is taking care of Trey and made sure to keep him safe!
Trey LOVED every minute of this night!
The cutest little boy EVER!!! He wanted to mock everything Brad did in every picture. If Brad changed his "stance"...so did Trey!
Dinner at Pei Wei! We love it.
Lainey and Adi. The two cutest girls at the concert! They were so cute and funny!
This is the lady from the radio station! Trey fell in love with her! We spent a lot of time with her before meeting Brad. She took to Trey as well and was so sweet. Trey had to hold her hand while I carried him. He would kiss her hand and tell her he loved her! And it was all over... an iphone!
Lainey, Me, Adi, Jim, Trey and Kimmi, and our awesome shirts we got made!
This is kind of a long one...so hang in there. So Trey had told me a couple of weeks before the concert that he was going to be famous and I was going to have to be really nice to him. (see previous post) While Trey and I were backstage, the rest of our group were watching the opening acts. I guess Lainey was so excited to tell EVERYONE that her brother and her mom were backstage meeting Brad Paisley! When we came out there was people by us who asked Trey if he was Trey and if he had been backstage. He of course said yes and told them all about it. They were hysterical and telling him how famous he was now. To which he said "I KNOW". wow! So they of course proceeded to ask him to AUTOGRAPH things for them, water bottles, blankets and my fave, A HOODIE! He just thought it was normal, I guess! When he had signed several things, he had to ask "ya sha ya don't want me to sign anything ewse? Boy did that go to his head!
The radio station also had given us general admission seats, but then when we got there, they upgraded them! This pic was also taken from my seat with no zoom! It was amazing!
Lain and Trey...Best Buds
WOW!
Starting to get tired! He fell asleep the song before his famous video was on the ginormous screen. I woke him up and he was so mad at me! He finally got over it when he saw himself about 3 stories big!
What pretty little buddies!
And the end of it... the pins coming out of his elbow. It was finally all healed and he was allowed to start kindergarten 6 weeks late. He is making good progress now and we are even done with the wheelchair. YAY! He is a smart little man and is constantly reminding us that he doesn't need to go to school because he "ahwedy knows evwy fing day teach"!
I know, kind of gross, but he made me promise I would put this picture on to show Grandpa Mac and Taylor! He already has the CHICKS DIG SCARS thing down I guess!

bad luck & BRAD PAISLEY

2009-09-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

The bad news is our sweet Trey has had a bit of bad luck! He was jumping on the trampoline....yep we are going there! Somehow he managed a pretty severe break on his arm. It was Saturday night, August 22nd. He had eaten 15 minutes before the accident. I was at work and was able to meet Jim and Trey at the ER. It was VERY OBVIOUSLY broken. They took us back and sure enough, it was a "pretty good" break. His humourous (bone above the elbow) was snapped into a few pieces as well as the bone on the side of the elbow broken off and shoved up behind his humurous. HOW DO WE FIX THAT? S-U-R-G-E-R-Y! But because he had eaten so recently, they couldn't do surgery until his stomach emptied. They admitted to the hospital for pain control until they could do surgery on Sunday.
He had to have two rods placed, and the ends stick out of his skin. The doctor was not comfortable with Trey walking, because he is worried about re-fracturing or moving the rods out of place. He now has a wheelchair, and is not allowed to start kindergarten until his arm is ALL THE WAY healed. He has been a trooper and as you can see, is brave and STILL SMILING! I can't believe what a happy guy he is! Such a smart guy!
Trey IS a LADY'S MAN! In the middle of a bunch of girls is where he wants to be! It has been almost 3 weeks, and he is healing. We are doing kindergarten at home, which isn't going over that great! He is sure he knows more than I do, but loves coloring and cutting with scissors!
Now, the good news...BRAD PAISLEY is coming in concert to SLC on the 19th. I ADORE that man's music! He has a new song WELCOME TO THE FUTURE. (click here to watch the music video) It features children telling what they want to be when they grow up. The radio stations had a contest for local kids and they are making a SLC version of the music video that will be played at the concert. We decided we would enter Trey. When I asked him the night before what he wanted to be when he grew up the list was LONG...a dentist, a scientist, a cook, a dwivah, a stoah wuhkah, a doctah, an ahtist and a video game pwogwamah! WHAT? How does he even know what that is? Then next day we went and shot the video. I told him to choose ONE thing he wanted to be... A SCIENTIST! We submitted the video to the radio station and today at 2 o'clock today the radio station called to let us know Trey is one of the 5 first place winners! WOO HOO! We are so excited! His clip will be featured in the video, he gets 2 tickets to the concert, backstage passes, photos with BRAD PAISLEY, and he will be involved in a press conference with BRAD PAISLEY!!! I can't express how happy I am as his mom! This makes him feel like such a star! I love seeing my kids thrilled about things! CONGRATULAITIONS TREY, on being THE PERFECT TREY!!!

Trey is FABULOUS FIVE!

2009-09-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

My DEAR, SWEET Trey is 5! I can't even believe it! What a little man. I can't tell you enough about my little buddy! He is walking like a star, going to start kindergarten (we are sure!) and has a vocabulary that could exceed the average 20 year old! He loves Lainey and wants to do everything she does! He is a lady's man. If you ask him how many girlfriends he has, he will tell you "at weest five hundwed"! He is so tender hearted. He always says to Taylor "come and sit by me, Guhlfwend, so you can howd my hand"!!! One day he said he was going to take her on a date, she asked where...the reply...McDonalds! She asked how he was going to get money to pay for it, he said she was paying!!! Then he asked how he was going to drive her there, he said he wasn't! Siwy Taywah, you ah going to dwive! Boy do we have some teaching to do!

Last night I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up...he went through a list... a cook, a scientist, a stoah wukah, an ahtist, a dwivah, axuwy, foahget aw of dat. I guess I am going to be a video game pwogwamah!!! Where in the world he knows about that, I have no idea! What a funny boy.
Oh the excitement of video games! He tells me he has to practice all the time cause he is going to play Grandpa Mac and beat him when he comes home from his mission!
SPOILED!
Dad and Lainey made his most rainbowish cake! He was completely thrilled!
Self-portrait!
Houston, we could have a problem... VIDIOTS. aka too much game time!
The boys can't get enough of the GAMES!!! Aren't they cute?
Yeah, Grayson took a dive off of one of the rides! I picked him up and held him close while I loudly asked "Oh little boy! Are you ok? Where is your mommy?!!?" Made me feel better for a minute! Happy BIRTHDAY Mister TREY! WE LOVE YOU!

THe start of something new...blogging again

2009-09-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Trey Salli and Kenna. What a group of funny buddies!
This is the beginning of blog-catch-up 101! Hopefully I can get a bunch done in the next few days, cause heaven knows I just downloaded 500 pictures! This is our FABULOUS trip to BUHHHHH WAKE (Trey and Porter think it is FWEEZING!) with Jim's family. We had soooo much fun. We had wave runners and 4 wheelers and a TON of dirty, happy kids! We can't wait for Grandpa and Grandma to get back and come along with us!

Here is proof that my kids (Trey) spent a lot of time in the sun this year! They had to have a quick rinse in the lake before we went back to the camp site.

Grayson and daddy. Grayson enjoyed the sun and camping the least as the lake was cold and so were the nights. Luckily Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jill saved him and took him to their house one of the nights! THANKS SO MUCH!

Kenna, Lainey, Jake and Ethan. THe BIG kids!

Aren't they just the sweetest? These two have started to really love to play together. Porter is a big tease and knows how to push everyone's buttons, but usually Trey gets his feewings hut, and it is vewy sad! They sure are fun!

Jim and Salli (Twey's best buddy, no one ews's)

Our NUTTY little family! Of course Porter has to ham things up, and Grayson is sucking his thumb, Lainey is being a princess, and Trey is sure the camera is hooked to his toe!

My sweet baby is growing up. He finally gave in and decided to like the sand and water. It took a LONG time. He hates being exposed to new textures. I am so happy he was able to adapt!

Lainey LOVED being in the water and hardly ever took a break even to eat! She was so much fun to watch

Trey would get his life jacket on and not let anyone touch him for hours! By the time he would get out of the water his legs would hardly move!

Porter, Porter, Porter! I asked him what he was doing after I took this picture and he said "Dis says I LUV YOU MOM. Duh, Lainey awready showed me dis." As he rolled his eyes. PS-I do feed my children, this one just burns EVERY single calorie he eats!

My little buddy, my baby, my sugar. He is the most precious thing! (Except when he tells me Na NA Na Mommy. MINE, ME, DON'T) It makes me laugh, but here comes my sweet little baby into a toddler :( He is cruising around furniture and can stand by himself! Can we say MIRACLE!

Mac's summer of fun!

2009-08-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

HOLY COW!!! I has been way too long since I have done a post! Life has been so busy, I can't even believe how time flies. Here are some highlights of stuff that has been going on, more stuff and pics to follow...

*I started working at the NICU! Crazy, but I LOVE it! So many friends and I have been working way too much the past bit, so Jim has been playing Mr. mom and doing a great job! Jim has grown a garden with little help from me! But I sure love it!

*Lainey switched cheer gyms and is LOVING her new one. Her best little friend converted us, and we are so glad. Taylor's cheer coach at BYU coaches there and he is awesome. She loves the cheer outfits and new shoes and is learning a lot. She is such a fabulous girl! I love her! She helps me a ton with everything and I love it. She is ready to start the second grade and "get on with life"!!! She Porter and Trey LOVE the line dance from the Hannah Montana movie. She has taught them the song and part of the dance, and I get to be constantly entertained! It is hilarious! She is a great teacher.

*Trey turned 5! I know I can't believe it either. He has spent a bit of time at Dr. appts and such because he has one leg that is longer than the other and ever-changing issues with his body. We will have surgery to help at some point, but hopefully not for a couple of years! I finally gave in and registered him for kindergarten, and cried! I am not sure how I am going to let him go. The principal and teachers are working with us to make it as good as possible for him. HE is still obsessed with the nintendo DS and computer games...SURPRISE, SURPRISE. I can't believe how good he is. Uncle Eric gave him new exercises to do everyday, and he is getting stronger! Thanks, Eric!

*Porter is growing like a weed and is so funny. He is one tan little dude. I am not sure where that came from! He is Lainey's little shadow and is constantly looking for ways to get into trouble. When we were visiting Grandpa Steve, grandpa was being helpful and pouring cereal for breakfast. Porter chose his kind and when grandpa poured the last little bit into Porter's bowl, Porter didn't think it was enough. All he could say is "Ah you stinkin' kiddin' me?" I could only guess where he learned that! He eats constantly and there is no evidence of it! He is skin and bones! He of course only has one gear and it is TURBO! I sure try to keep up, but Jim does a much better job.

*Grayson is getting HUGE! He is crawling on all fours, up the stairs and bum scooting everywhere still. He is increasing his vocabulary all the time. I can't believe it, but he is pulling himself to stand and cruising around furniture. It will be no time at all that I feel like there is no baby left in him! He loves his Daddy, but Mom is a close second. All of Jim's family calls him baby Rog, after Jim's dad because he looks EXACTLY like him! We will take that!

*We can't get enough of the pool and being outside! We got to go to Bear Lake two weeks in a row, once for a family reunion with Jim's family, and it was a BLAST!!! We loved the dirt and sand, but most of all, the company!!!

*school and basketball will start shortly and we will be even crazier! We are livin' and lovin' life! MANY MANY pics and posts to come...PROMISE!!!

Princess Reagan

2009-06-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Since we constantly talk about the "Alabamans", many of you know who we mean, but for you who don't, meet Reagan. Without a doubt, the biggest miracle I have ever met. Reagan has some health issues, and by ALL medical laws shouldn't be alive. But, because our Father in Heaven has great plans for her, she is still here. Reagan has been going through a pretty hard time again and has, once again, narrowly escaped losing her life. She is a fighter. She is still pretty sick and having a tough time recovering from a perforated bowel surgery. We are asking that you all remember Reagan and her family in your prayers. We know there is a plan for Reagan, and ask for support for her family in whatever that may be.
Now, on to things I love about Reagan. I love how she closes her eyes and pretends you aren't there if she doesn't want to talk to you!
I LOVE just looking at her and you can't help but smile.
I love her family and the chance we have to be so close with them even when we are so far away.
I love that she is going to tell you like it is. If she doesn't want you near her, she tells you to GO AWAY! (luckily I never got the first part of "I don't like you")
Her big blue eyes and her funny looks she gives are the best. The way she sounds when she talks is THE cutest thing ever!
I love her pointing her finger and telling you what to do!
I love that Reagan introduced us to Alivin and the Chipmunks, the movie and the HILARIOUS stories that followed. (you know you got it made...) When they left to go home, they even left us a copy of the movie!
I love that instead of a blanket or stuffed animal, she wants a wet washcloth on her forehead!
I love that for months she looked forward to feeding baby Grayson his BLUE bottle! So when we finally got there, she did!
I love her big brother, Brennen and how sweet and gentle he is! He would always be so soft with Grayson and tell me " I am just used to taking care of Reagan and you have to be so soft with her because she has brittle bones". He takes such good care of her!
Quite possibly my favorite thing of all, is late night parties in Reagan's room, sometimes just her and I. Often until 2 am! She would have me read the book "Pinkalicious" over and over again. If I skipped a part, she would recite it from memory. We would laugh and laugh because she is so hilarious and would say the funniest things as she made me dance around her room! She would talk me into sneaking her "m and o's" (plain m&m's) in the middle of the night!!! She now calls me Tiff-a-no! If I told her I was going to go to bed, she would tell me I wasn't! We would watch princess movies over and over. Once I started to sing along with one of the songs and she told me to be quiet because she wanted to hear the movie! I would stay in her room until she was fast asleep and LOVE every second of it. I love you little sugar, and can't wait to see you again!

Random MAC events!

2009-05-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Trey's therapy organization had a 5k and 1 mile fun run that we all participated in. It was a lot of fun! We knew tons of people and laughed a lot. Trey loved that they had his picture blown up and on posters! He thought he was famous! He was such a funny boy the whole time. (not sure who was watching the missing children at this point! I hope they were close!!!)
Here is the crew at the starting line! Lainey and Porter rode scooters and Trey pushed the walker he had to bring! We kindly left it at the therapy center afterward so he didn't feel like he "needed" it again! Lainey was one of the first finishers and was so very proud!
This is how the boys feel about NEMO lately! I have to laugh when I see them all so interested in the same thing! Grayson tries to do the chant AH-ooh-WAH-HE-AH-HO-HO-HO. He yells it as he scoots around the floor as if he needs to be talking ALL the time! Who knows where he got that from?!!?
Lainey had her end of year program and it was SOOOO cute. I had so much fun watching it! She was one of about 10 kids who had a speaking part. She LOVED (that is probably an understatement) being the center of attention! She looked SO cute and was happy as could be.
Grayson and his favorite blankey! He couldn't live without it. HE sucks his thumb, but ONLY when he has the blue side of the blanket in the same hand. So SILLY! He scooted to the blanket which was on the floor and bent in half to lay his head down and suck his thumb. So yes, that is his foot! When Grayson is mad, he will also lay his head down on the floor and pout while in the same position.

Let's go G.N.O.!

2009-05-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Lucia, Lainey, Raygan and I got to have a GIRL'S NIGHT OUT! Taylor had her end of year concert for dance company, so we got tickets and went. It was pretty fun! First, it was lots of playing and then off to Subway for dinner. The concert went til about 9:30 so then of course it was SLEEPOVER CITY at our house! Taylor was in 10 dances that night, so we all loved it. The dance recital theme was "VIDEO GAMES" and honestly, it was the BEST HIGH SCHOOL DANCE CONCERT I have EVER been to! And, the ONLY one so far I would have recommended that the general public pay to see!
This is the normal height difference for Lainey and anyone else her age! She is so tall and pretty! Lucia and Lainey have been close friends since kindergarten!
She practices and practices and practices and practices!!! She is getting pretty darn close! Lainey loves Taylor to teach her dance things or show her the progress she has made! Lainey is sure is ALL GIRL!!!
The 3 cutest girls in the town! They, of course had to get on the stage when the concert was finished and preform for me! They were SO funny. This picture pretty much sums up how they were acting! We had such a great time. Bring on the next P-A-R-T-Y! I love you girls!

Spread the LOVE!

2009-05-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

I always said that I would adopt 2 "brown" kids, I was just sure they would be boys! Our family has had the pleasure of adding these 2 girls to our family! Not legally, but we love them as if they are ours! Their mom works hard and long hours to support them, so we get to have them with us a lot! They are great girls. I love having kandid conversations with Tay and I am sure that I know more about teenage life than I ever thought I would. I am grateful that I am getting some training in before Lainey is there!
For Debbie, the girls' mom, we went and took these pics for Mother's Day! We had so much fun. Raygan kept us laughing the entire time. She is so full of personality! Even though she won't admit it, she wants to be just like her big sister! Lainey is right behind Raygan with Tay as her idol as well! Tay is such a great example, I would love for them both to be just like her!
I love the late-night chats, extra bodies at the dinner table, extra homework, extra smiles, extra laughs, opportunities to learn how to help two stubborn girls solve problems (Lain and Ray), extra tumbling classes to watch, dancing to loud music in the kitchen, watching the boys cry when they leave(Trey is convinced she is HIS girlfriend, and hardly calls her her real name, just GIRLFRIEND!), having extra hands when we go places, being reminded that there is more good to your average teenager than bad, seeing two little girls want to spend ALL of their time together, and just sitting back and watching as they all make us laugh!
Thanks girls, and Debbie for letting us have you guys as part of our family! We love you!!!

To be the MAMA!

2009-05-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

People often say things to me like "How do you do it?" "I don't know how you manage things, I would be crazy!" "Where do you find time for everything?" "The Lord knows who can handle things like that (referring to my family situation) cause I could NEVER handle it."

Well, here is what I have to say...Today I have had a touching day! Until now I thought that Mother's Day should be a day of rest for the mom. I should be able to take a bath by myself (novel idea) or read a book, or do something I wanted to do. Today I was blessed to have the opportunity to have my eyes opened a little bit! While I still need the things I listed above on occasion, today there is no place I would rather be than with my sweet family! At church today, our new Bishop challenged Jim and I to do a couple of things, and from that conversation, I realized there are a lot of areas that I need to work on in my life! I most definetly have hard days. Doctor appointments and therapy appointments along with sick kids and extra curricular activities keep me busy and tired! But I don't want it any other way! I love my job! I want to be a better example to my sweet children. I LOVE that I get to spend the majority of my time with them. Maybe even in the world 15 years ago, we probably wouldn't have any, or maybe one surviving child. Also, last year on Mother's day I only got to spend about half an hour with my big kids because we were at PCMC with Grayson, fighting for his life. Today that makes me grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mom! I feel so blessed to be at the point in my life I am right now! Each day and possibly each hour brings challenges I frequently wonder if I can handle. But, I am telling you now, I am doing my best to make the best of them and be grateful for the things I learn. I pray I learn the majority of the lessons the first time so I don't need to re-do the trials! I love my sweet family, and feel lucky to have them! So, today I feel lucky to be me and have the opportunity to learn and grow. Today Mother's Day means a renewed sense of love and an opportunity to do better! I don't know how I get through some days, but we do! And with little faces like the picture, I ask this question...

HOW DO I NOT DO IT???

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY

CaN I StiLl cALL Him bABy gRAySon?

2009-05-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

GRAYSON JACK... OUR LITTLE MIRACLE

MY baby is 18 months old! I don't know where time has gone. From then...1lb 8oz LivINg at UVRMC, TiNY and sICk but a FiGHteR none the LEss.

Did I mention TINY?

To 6 months old, living at PCMC, graduated to LIttLe (not tiny) , still SicK, StIll fIgHTinG, wItH a SmILe that will MeLT anyone's HeARt! (with Brennen from Alabama. These 2 had an amazing bond! Grayson LOVED to see him all of the time and would smile the BIGGEST smile every time he saw him. So tender!)

One special moment! Since Jim and I split duties (me @PCMC and he home with the other kids and working) the time these two got to spend together was limited. Grayson loves his daddy! And might I add, he is a pretty good one at that!

Grayson turns one! Finally HoMe, now BiG, sTill HaPPy, stIll FighTinG (not nearly as hard), @ McDonald's for my first birthday! One of the only things he would eat by himself was french fries! I let him out of the house and took him to the big M to have a dilectable meal!!! Yes, he ended up sick, my bad!

Grayson NOW... 22 pOuNdS, size 18 month ClOTheS, PenEtRaTinG Blue eyes, BiGGesT smile, TeNdeR hEArt and CuRLy hAIr!

He is still sick a lot, but nothing we can't handle. I guess my kids feel like they need ALL of the attention on birthdays and holidays because that is when we are always at the hospital. Grayson carried on the tradition having croup and needing some medical attention yesterday!

He is starting to talk and says, ma-ma, da-da, ball, up, jump, nay nee(Lainey), Tay-tay(Trey, Trey), Puh-Da (Porter), go, num-num, pead (please), moah (more), saidee (just like that), hot dog and lights! He scoots on his bum instead of crawling and looks more like a baby monkey doing it than you might believe!

He LOVES his blankie and bottle, hates most food, unless it is candy, and ALWAYS wants to be outside! It scares him whenever anyone argues or raises their voice. He is the most precious little thing! We are so blessed to have him. I am grateful that my Father in Heaven trusted me to raise this sweet little boy in this life. I can't even imagine any other scenario. We love you, BABY GRAYSON!!! Sorry buddy, you will ALWAYS be my baby!

More spring break!

2009-04-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is how everyone felt by the end of each day! We had everyone still recovering from being sick as well as playing as hard as we could! Jim is such a good dad! He loves to play with the kids and plays just as hard as they do! I don't know where his energy comes from! I love him so much and we are all so blessed to have him take such great care of us!
We finally got to have a little bit of fun when everybody stopped running fevers and vomiting! (Lain on the train ride @ Hogle Zoo) We went out to eat, to the movie, spent a night at a hotel in SLC, swam and swam and swam, and finished the fun at Hogle Zoo! Not quite ALABAMA, but fun!
Sweet little Grayson! He finally got to fully participate in his first all family fun vacation!
One of my favorite pictures of the whole break! The boys loved each other and had so much fun! This is at the hotel in the bed they shared!!!
We started the PARTY by eating and playing at... you guessed it "old McDonald's" as my kids refer to it!
Then it was off to a very fun movie "Monsters vs. Aliens"! We went to an 8 o'clock showing which was past the kids' bed time, but yep, they all went and all loved it. Believe it or not, we had sooo much fun!
It was unanimous. Everyone's favorite character was BOB!
This is what you get when you take your ONE year old to the pool fully clothed when he has been there the night before and knows how much fun it is! He freaked out yelling and pointing to the water trying to jump out of my arms! I finally gave in and handed him to Jim completely naked! He thought he was in Heaven! That is until he had to get out! PS- Jim DOES HAVE a suit on!!!
Meet our 3 year old ham! He loves to make us laugh, and that he does! This is how he walked around for a good hour! The goggles kept sucking his eyeballs and he wouldn't let us touch them! The floaties were his "muscles"! The funniest... when he leaned over and kissed them! He spends way too much time around high school boys!
My baby really does have a suit... SEE? He would just rather not wear it!!!
Trey is so independent in the water! He loves it and so do I! He can get where he wants to go and has no fear! One time this trip I looked over to see him dive head-first off the side of the pool. I couldn't even say anything because he was so proud he didn't need ANY help!!!
Lainey is so funny! She wanted a picture of herself doing everything she could possibly think of! She had as many of herself as I did of the rest of the family combined! She really is cute, so who can blame me?!!? She is such a big helper to me, and especially on this trip!
ALL of my HANDSOME DUDES! What else can I say?
This one is for me! I know this is a picture most people don't want to see, but these are the fun things Grayson gets to endure having acid reflux. Poor guy pukes all day and night long. We are fighting having a surgical procedure to fix it because as his surgeon says... "I don't trust Grayson with his own life". So for now, lots of clothing changes and wet wipes!
2 minutes after the last picture! His new feddish is my sunglasses. We were at the Doc's office for reflux issues the other day and he had to wear them the ENTIRE appointment! Everytime I took them off he would cry! The staff were laughing so hard. They would ask him if they could have his glasses and he would shake his head NO!!!
My favorite part of the zoo! I am not sure why, but I love the giraffes! The only thing I can't figure out... rabbit size and shape poop!
Sweet little Trey... He told me "hey, mom, dat one is the mom, and dat means it's like you" "I guess so, if we are both moms I guess we are the same" to which he chimes in "wehw, yeah. And it wooks wike you"!!! THANKS TREY!
This is the first time Porter has been to the zoo and actually been old enough to understand it! He was a blast to watch! IT is so much fun to watch him appreciate things I take for granted.
The kids LOVED the new carousel ride! There are tons of different animals to sit on and they had so much fun choosing the perfect one!!!
Grayson did NOT want to get off of the ride. He ended up crying and kept looking back at it, putting his arms out and saying "uh, UH. Mom, uh". His surgeon would probably also say that he alone made the ride go around!!! But, we LOVE your ears little buddy!

SPRING BREAK & CHEER

2009-04-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS TAYLOR! Our amazing Taylor made the cheer squad at BYU! She is 5'10" and one tallented tumbler! 10 girls made the squad. We are so excited for her!!! I am sure that her sweet personality and good attitude helped her through her interview! WE LOVE YOU TAY!!!
This picture is before the kids all got sick! We took everyone to Logan Conference Weekend and had a relaxing and fun time!

Well I will say, NOT so SPRINGY and not such a BREAK. Our plane to Alabama left this morning at 8:25 without the McEvoy family aboard. With our kids still so sick, and now the added effect of Vomit, we decided we had to forgot our fun-filled Spring Break! Last night everyone was acting completely "normal" and no fevers or anything. Some miraculous recovery, I thought! I got everyone packed and decided that I would just make sure no one had a fever still. Go figure, Porter sat at about 102. Within an hour Porter and Trey were vomiting and feeling terrible. I guess that is what you get when you pray and ask for a clear-cut answer to weather or not you should stay home(all the while in the back of my mind thinking, Only vomit or high fevers will keep us home)! So, today here we sit in 3 inches of fresh snow and 35 degrees!!! But, we still plan on doing some fun things over the weekend. Maybe a hotel stay with Hogle Zoo and Lagoon included!!! Hopefully we won't infect anyone else by that point! LOTS of LOVE to the Alabamans who have a week of plans that didn't work out! Just wait until the summer, we will keep you busy for a week somewhere!!! Thanks, and sorry. We LOVE you guys!

Easter and More

2009-04-08T12:33:00.002-07:00

The only picture of Grayson I got yesterday. He just wanted to be held! Here he is with Trey's girlfriend! When Taylor came over she told Trey he looked nice, and he informed her that he had dressed up for her! What a crazy kid!
The NASTY rash that comes with Fifths Disease. The rest of the kids are just starting this phase.
Porter is so funny! He is very independant and will only take help after he has spent forever trying to figure things out on his own! He thought the eggs were better than the candy inside!
Trey, the sweetest thing ever! He insisted on doing the egg hunt without help! I did, however get to help him carry the basket for him at the end. He thanked me repeatedly for "hiding" the eggs and letting them do the hunt!
Lainey in her cute new summer dress! She had felt pretty rotten for a couple of days but was so excited to help fill the eggs and make our "fabulous" Easter dinner!

Well it has been soooo long since we have posted anything! We have had some pretty eventful times lately! Things have been quite busy and very exhausting.

We have finally moved and we absolutely LOVE it!!! All of us except Porter, that is. For some reason he is convinced that we are at Grandpa's house! At least once a day he asks me to "Mommy, can we pwease go home? I need a go to Poah-tah's house" So sad! I am sure that he will eventually figure things out. Things are VERY SLOWLY getting put together. Lainey is LOVING having her own room. I am sure that I love the new house the most! I feel like we finally have room to move around! The kids are breaking the new back yard in very nicely! We have met a couple of neighbors who are extremely nice. One family has a disabled son and 3 kids 4 and under, and believe it or not, we get along great!

The 3 big kids will ALL play t-ball or coach pitch starting soon! They are all very excited. Trey plays on an adaptive league that is soooo much fun. If you ever feel like some big smiles and a renewal of perspective, you should attend one of Trey's games! FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

This week is spring break, and we decided that we would be adventerous, so we bought plane tickets to Alabama! We are going for one whole week! There is only one slight problem... the kids have all had Fifths Virus. Let me tell you, that has been really fun! Go figure Grayson is the one who started with it. We will still fly if we are a little bit sick, but we might spend the first couple of days at a hotel. Oh, well. Reagan can't be getting this nasty virus! We are ALL so excited to get away! I am thrilled to be spending time with Jim with no outside interruptions for either of us! The kids are beyond extatic to fly... little do they know they are getting Dramamine and hopefully won't remember much of it!!!

I finally finished all of my CNA testing and certification. That has been a good thing to finally have done! I hope to start working at an IHC facility (so I can benefit from tuition reinbursement) soon and slowly start working on my nursing degree! I really hope to work part time and see how it all works!

Jim is doing golf and I am sure loving every minute of it! The girls love him and are constantly asking for his advise and input!

My funny little man!

2009-03-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Porter has decided that he loves socks! Just not on his feet! He wears them on his hands as often as he can! It doesn't matter whose socks they are, he will put them on! Often times at night he will rummage through everyone's drawers to find the perfect hand warmers!!! (why else would you want socks on your hands, right? We can't figure out where this feddish came from, but it sure is funny! If I thought I had a sock monster before, try finding matching socks now!!!
PORTER-ISMS: "I can't go a bed. I peed in my dipah, dat means I need some food, cause I hungwy."

Oh, Lainey. You are SOOO bootiful!

Mom, I needa go poddy in a poddy. Huwy fas. (me thinking: yeah right) "Ok, buddy let's go." Of course he has to stand. He is holding himself "aiming" so matter of fact. I giggle to myself. Why all of a sudden will you go near the potty, I think? As a stream of, you guessed it, gets me from the face all the way down to my knee! Guess that shows me!

(Every hour, literally) Come on mom, les go a basketball game. me: There aren't any games today, sorry buddy. Ok, les go a soccah ball game. (same reply) (growl) ah wat about hut-ball (foot ball) game? We'll have to see. (growl) I need a talk a my dad. Caw him wif a phone, please!!!

As I am in the shower "mom ah you in deh?" Yep, I am, but I think I hear your daddy calling you. Hurry and go see what he needs! (please) " 2 minutes pass and one little finger pulls the shower curtain back. "mom, ummmmm I see you penis... and you boodies!!! WOW! Let's just hope he stays oblivious for a while!!!

Mom, I shuah luv ya, somedays!

Mom, todays my bufday, so I'm goin a shucky sheese!!! (everyday)

Can we give Gwayson a Gwampa? He's gwumpy. (If that is the case, I wonder who he wants to give me to?!!)

TIME GOES BY SO...

2009-03-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

This week Jim and I celebrated our 8th anniversary! I know, amazing!!! It does not feel like it has been that long! I guess that is a good thing! Like every other couple, we have had our rough times, and I mean really rough! Especially with everything we have been through in the last 3 and a half years. Some of my feelings are pretty tender. I almost can't believe that we have been able to work through things. I will say that looking back, I don't wish some of the times we have been through on my worst enemy. I love Jim with all of my heart! He has been amazingly strong and loving. Even when things aren't great, he somehow finds the good. It is his personal goal to see me smile at least once a day! For those who know us well, it has been very obvious at times that we were struggling, and hard. Jim is one amazing man! He has helped me and loved me through some pretty rough times! I only hope that I can remember a lot of the lessons I have learned and make the next 8 years a little easier on us all! We are so blessed and I look forward to being with him for whatever lies ahead!

Here is what 8 years has brought us... 4 amazing MIRACLES * Strength beyond our dreams *Compassion * Heartache turned to happiness * LOVE * Hope * laughter (because sometimes if you don't laugh, you just cry!)* Humility * Many great friends * Tears, lots of em', some good, some not so good! * learning that our Father in Heaven truly does love us and has blessed us in more ways than anyone can imagine * a little understanding :) * LOADS of caffeine!!! * Happiness * Joy * Sympathy * Short term memory loss!!! *

Although I am leery to see what the next 8 years bring, I can say I am ready to face the next 8 head on and with Jim by my side, I know we can conquer ANYTHING!!! I love you, Jim!

FOR THE LOVE!!! (of the game of course)

2009-03-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

OUR FUNNY LITTLE MAN!!!
BROTHERLY LOVE!!! CAN'T YOU FEEL IT?!!?
I KNOW, YOU ARE ALL SHOCKED TO SEE ANOTHER CHEER PICTURE!!!

Well, when tough things happen I want to try and find the good things! Here are a few happenings from the last week...

Because the basketball team came up short of their 3rd state championship in a row by about 9 points, our weekend was exhausting and challenging! But, we got to be with a lot of friends that are as close to family as they get. We had some exciting games and experiences that some people NEVER get to have in a single life time! These guys are a blast to be around! We sure love them!

Even though Lainey was sick as they come, she refused to miss a game! She dressed up in her little cheer outfit and tried her hardest to cheer! We later found out she got strep throat and the flu at the same time! OOPS!

Grayson and Porter got to stay with Grandpa and Grandma and Kandy. They had a blast, and as of today, neither one caught the flu or strep! AMAZING!!! We are so glad they kept them an extra day to avoid the germs! THANKS GUYS!

Trey and I got to spend some good, quality, one on one time! We had some very interesting conversations that made me smile. Because he is now potty trained, (SO FABULOUS) everything seems to revolve around the potty and underwear. Some of the funny things were... "why do da basketball guys show deah undaweah" to which I say "I am not sure Trey, they ARE sillly" "Well mom, I guess you bettah figya it out. Deh moms should tell dem dat is NOT ok. I hope dey brought an extwa peh... you know, just in case"
SO, at the semi-final game, I hear AHHH and laughing almost hysterically. I look over and some little kid has his pants and underwear down. I start to laugh when I realize, oh my goodness, that is MY kid!!! AHHHHH I say as I pick him up and pull up his britches. Then I realize, why in the world am I taking his clothes off for him all of the time? Little booger, he CAN do it! Guess the crowd at that game got their money's worth!!!

We got to spend Sunday evening with Jim's family. Some of them we haven't seen since Christmas, so we loved it! Some of them got to come to some of the games, so that was also a blast. Sometimes it is hard to be away from all of our family!

This might sound harsh, but today, Saidee got a new (great) home! I can barely keep up with the kids sometimes, so to have a dog has been extra challenging. I couldn't give her the attention she deserved, and now I feel some sort of relief!!!

I guess Jim got his arm twisted (I am sure pretty hard!!!) so he decided to coach golf! I am sure he will be so thrilled to be on the golf course every day! I always feel bad for those poor suckers who have to do that!!!

AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, FINALLY we have a closing date for our house!!! We will close the 27th of this month and hopefully move in the 28th! SO ANYONE not busy, we would love the help!

2009-03-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

Lainey and her hero-Taylor, the most amazing cheerleader!!!

NOT cocky at all!!! Kyle Collinsworth

Kyle driving through the defense

Tanner Austin-He must have just made a 3!!!

WOW! IT is that time of year again... The state basketball playoffs!!! Lainey and Jim LIVE for this week! The rest of us, I am not so sure! Tonight our guys have once again, made it to the state championship game. We are so excited! It has been a very crazy week as tonight is the 4th game the guys have played since Tuesday, and nope, we don't miss one unless absolutely necessary! Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma and Kandyse for keeping Porter and Grayson so that their mommy might stay sane a little bit longer!!! Lainey came down with the wonderful flu at one of the games, so that has been great, but don't think she will miss because of it! She is very convincing that she is all better today! Well if the guys win against west tonight, they will be STATE CHAMPS 3 YEARS IN A ROW!!! WOW! That hasn't been done in the state before, but we could be the first. I am glad that our family has the chance to be part of this fun basketball program. Jim is an amazing coach and definitely makes many great contributions and sacrifices to earn his 5 cents an hour! I am proud to be married to such a great guy!!!

PS- Provo guys are on a 41 game win-streak. That in it's self is an amazing accomplishment! CONGRATS guys! WE SURE LOVE YOU!!!

ARTICLE 1 SOME NEWS PAPER ARTICLES FOR THOSE OF YOU

ARTICLE 2 WHO WANT TO READ THEM!

ARTICLE 3

ARTICLE 4

MY "LITTLE" PRINCESS!

2009-03-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

My sweet "little" Lainey is SEVEN! I can't believe it! Because we have RSV and croup running our house right now, Lainey and I went out on the town by ourselves! We had a blast! Lainey got to decide everything we did. First, she chose Panda Express for lunch. Then to my surprise, she showed me she knew how to eat with chop sticks! WOW! What a smart girl! I had NO idea. I am not sure where she learned, because neither Jim or I know how!
Our wonderful self-portrait @ Panda!
Then it was off to the MALL for LOTS of SHOPPING! I am not sure where she gets that from either! HAHA She chose the perfect little lamb to "MAKE" at Build-a-bear!
She stuffed it, cleaned it, dressed it, named it (Lizzy), put sound in it and gave her a home!
Here is Lainey and Lizzy! What you can't see is all of the bling Lizzy has! Her whole shirt, on her skirt, her sparkle shoes, her purse and her headband. Lizzy's shirt says FABULOUS, and that she is!!! Lainey made sure that the ladies at the store rang the bell and had everyone shout "Happy Birthday, LAINEY" I was just laughing! Such a cute girl.
Then it was off to get a hair cut. We tried to get into the Mall salon, but they were booked, so we chose a "different" one! Let's just say, we need a new hair cut! I hope her hair is to her sholulders by the time we are done. We are both a little bit upset, but we couldn't let it ruin our day!!!
Grayson and Lainey. She lights up his world! They are the best of buddies. When Lainey walks into the room, Grayson gets the most excited look on his face and kicks his legs just as fast as he can, like he is running. It is the funniest thing considering he does it sitting up! If she doesn't pay enough attention to him he will sit and scream until she does! They are so cute!!!
Trey had to "sneak" frosting! I guess he got caught!
The clan of sick boys! I was glad to have some time away! Many nights of no sleep= crazy mom!
Well, my cute little 7 year old wanted very few things for her birthday, but a boquet of roses was top of her list!!! I am not sure where her love of flowers comes from, but it is almost an obsession! And yes, it is specifically roses!
No birthday is complete without SPANKINGS!!!
We got to blow candles out several times because Porter would always get to them about a tenth of a second sooner than Lainey would!!!

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT LAINEY
*She is a sweet sister
*She works hard and is so smart
*She is kind and has a lot of friends
*She is beautiful inside and out
*She is into fashion! She loves clothes, shoes, anything BLING and being dolled up!
*She LIVES to be a cheerleader!
*She has a sixth sense when ANYONE is sad. She makes sure to cheer them up.
*She is my biggest helper, and heaven knows I NEED her!!!
*She is up for any challenge weather it is school, home, athletic, or anything as long as it doesn't include heights!
*She lets me know when I am not doing the right thing!
*She is VERY mature! Time is slipping away from me and I cherish everything about my little Princess, LAINEY!!! We think she is so special and we are so glad we get to have her in our family! WE LOVE YOU LAINEY!

We did this with Grayson, and I loved it so much I thought we would do it again! Lainey loves too hear things about herself (I know, you are shocked) so if you have a story that is funny or just something you remember about Lainey, PLEASE take a minute and leave her a birthday memory! Something she can treasure for years to come!!! THANKS

The Princess' Castle!!!

2009-02-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

So this is it! (we're pretty sure!) This is the house we offered on the first week of December! Last week we found out that the bank accepted our counter offer. The house is in pre-foreclosure so it has been quite the process to get things moving and going! Everyone will have their own room, which will be amazing! We should hear by tomorrow when the bank wants us to close! We never thought it would really happen! It has been 6 months of hard looking, wondering where to buy, stress and questions! I know things aren't over until the papers are signed, but I will keep positive until then!!! The yard is going to accomadate Porter very nicely! The neighborhood (in our same town) is mostly new. Our house will be just over a block from the kids' school. So, everyone keep your fingers crossed because the Macs might move away from 3 bedrooms!!!

3 years old and in charge!

2009-02-19T10:31:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Porter's 3rd birthday! We had so much fun all day long. He had chocolate for breakfast, went shopping for the perfect toy at "sa-get"(target!), played at McDonalds during lunch and pretended to eat! Then he came home for a big 3 year old nap!

All day I had been telling him he could do whatever he wanted because it was his birthday, so come nap time he told me "No, I don't hafa have a nap. I free (3). It's a my buhday." He said it just as serious as could be! So cute. So yes, I made my sweet little boy cry on his buhday!

After naps when Dad and Lain were home from school, it was off to CHUCK E. CHEESE! As soon as he got up in the morning, we started asking him where he wanted to go for dinner. Without a second of hesitation he said "CHUCK E. CHEESE"! While jumping up and down. It brings such a smile to my face to see him have such a great time. He actually got pretty good at ski ball! Go figure!

I love Porter so much! He brings so much fun into our house! He decided he likes trains a lot. They are giving balls a run, so we will see if it lasts! Porter is always going. He loves to drum on anything that makes noise. He loves his big sister and brother! (we are still working on Grayson)!

He is a Daddy's boy through and through. He wants to be snuggled every night at bed time! He loves to be outside. Just last week he played in the running water in the gutter. It was 30 degrees. I let him play for about 5 minutes until he was shivering so bad he couldn't move!!! Summer is going to be perfect for him!

Porter is so funny and crazy all of the time. He has absolutely NO desire be potty trained! He tells me "no, dat poddy is foah Dad and Shwey (Trey). I have a my dipah"!!!

He gets stressed out and worried if Lainey isn't happy and will stay by her side quizzing her about what is wrong until she is better! Most of the time she feels better because Porter will do something to make her laugh. Porter is so sweet and tender along with everything a boy should be! I am sure someday (too soon)I will be cleaning worms and other critters out of his pockets. WE LOVE YOU PORTER!!! You sure are special!

Ah you fat Daddy?

2009-02-10T16:01:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently Porter is taking lessons on being funny from Trey! When we were at Costco the other day, we bought a scale. We have never owned a scale in our married life, so why start? I guess just for the added humor! It sat in Jim's car for a bit, probably because we really didn't want to know what it would say! Finally Jim brought it in and put batteries in and had to test it out!!! All of the kids had been put to bed at this point, but do they ever stay there? NO! Porter came walking down the stairs and was very interested in what was going on. He was quizzing Jim all the way!
"Wha is it? Whas it say Dad? Wha you doin'? Wha is it? Hey Dad, whas it says? Dad, whas it say?" After ignoring him for a minute Jim finally answered "It says DADDY IS FAT"!!! Porter put his hand over his mouth and gasped! "Oh no, dat says you fat Dad! Huwy get off it"! Jim and I started just laughing so hard we were almost in tears. For the next 10 minutes that was ALL Porter could talk about, Daddy being fat! He was so worried. "Dat say you fat Dad? Dat say numbes, say you fat?" We finally get him calmed down from being egged on and get him to bed.

Fast forward to the fallowing morning... I am trying to get the kids ready for school. While Lainey is supposed to be brushing her teeth, she has found better things to do. I finally go up to the bathroom to try get her moving in the right direction. Porter comes from the other way and into the bathroom as well. We see Lainey standing on the scale proudly proclaiming she weighs 60 pounds!!! Porter gets a very worried look on his face and says "Mommy, Lain is on dat fing. Dat says Daddy is fat." I looked down and started laughing. I told him it was ok, Daddy isn't really fat and that the scale just tells us how big we are. "Yeah it says daddy is fat!" He doesn't like that we are laughing, so he turns to Lainey. "Lain huwy, get off dat. Dat says daddy's fat. Dats not nice. Dat wiw hut you fee-wings. Huwy get off!!!"

WOW, I guess if the media doesn't do it to them, we will!!! LOL because I sure did!!!

2009-02-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 5, 2009

8 THINGS ABOUT ME

My cousin Kacee tagged me this week, so here goes my first ever "tag blog"

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Grey's
3. American Idol
4. House
5. Biggest Loser
6. Bachelor
7. ER
8. Monk

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY

1. Got Trey to ride the bus to school even though he was screaming! :)
2. Got Lainey and friend Raygan to cheer camp 7 minutes early!
3. Took a shower
4. Took Grayson to the doctor
5. Took my husband lunch @ work
6. Stayed sane because I had 2 Diet Cokes!
7. Studied for my CNA test
8. Only yelled once!

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO

1. MOVING!!! someday...
2. My quiet time. Nap time and bed time.
3. Mornings with Porter when L and T are at school and Grayson is sleeping
4. March 7th-Basketball is OVER!
5. April 15th=Spring Break in Alabama
6. My car being clean
7. Trey walking independantly
8. Girls dates!

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS

1. Tepanyaki
2. PF Changs
3. Kneaders
4. Pei Wei
5. Zupas
6. Café Rio
7. Olive Garden

8 THINGS ON MY WISH-LIST

1. A new house
2. Organization
3. A whole 2 weeks with NO Doctor appointments
4. A coke fountain in my house!!!
5. A new house for Saidee
6. A whole night of uninterrupted sleep
7. To have a room big enough I can use my new bed!
8. A cleaning lady

8 PEOPLE I TAG

1. Heather Mc
2. Lori
3. Paige
4. Mo
5. Heather Harper
6. Jen
7. Mandy
8. Sommer

Out of the mouth of {TREY}

2009-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well my sister-in-law, Heather said it best "you could write a book about the things Trey says and it would be a best-seller"!!! Trey is constantly saying things that are so hilarious and way above his level (we think)!!!

Well this week has been no exception! I was watching The Bachelor (yes I am a sucker) TIVO-ed. Trey got out of bed and was just not going to sleep. I finally decided I would hold him and put bed time off a while. Most of the time he was playing with my hair or tracing my face with his finger! Well all of the sudden he says..."Mom we ah having ah awone time, huh"? I looked at him and just started laughing. He chimed in "and should a kiss happen natwa-wy, den dat is gweat"! OH, MY, GOODNESS!!! He was paying a lot more attention to the show than I thought! We had a good laugh and I sort of forgot the conversation until the next morning...

I was getting Lainey ready for school, in a hurry and pretty much none of my attention was going to the boys. OOPS! So after Trey had been trying to get me to hold him for about 10 minutes he crawled into the kitchen and started being SO spunky! He was huffing and puffing and doing Kung Fu on my legs (that is nothing new, thanks DREAM WORKS!). He finally yells at me "I am sick and ty-ed of fighting foah my awone time. Why do you NEVAH pay attention to me? Dis is just we-dick-u-ous"! Well, needless to say the boy knows how to get what he wants! As soon as I picked him up the spunk somehow flew from his body! He put his head on my shoulder and told me he loved me. Then kissed my cheek and said "dats aw you ah gettin'!!! I LOVE that Trey keeps things real! I guess I will have to wait for my shows until the kids are fast asleep!!

GREAT FRIENDS!!!

2009-01-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

These are 3 of my best friends from high school! We were able to get together and go to lunch over the Christmas break and it was so much fun! Mo, (top left) has 3 kids including a set of twin girls. Sonnet (bottom left) is a single third grade teacher in American Fork. Salli (bottom right) is Jim's younger sister! She has 4 kids all 2 and under including a set of twin girls! As many of you might understand, this was a thrilling break for all of us! We laughed very hard and had a blast! To make things even crazier, Salli and Mo are also sister-in-laws! They married brothers! I guess we all liked each other enough we had to be family! We don't get to do these things very often, so I appreciate it even more. I can't believe that we have been graduated for almost 10 years!!! Time sure does fly!

Jim and his other sister, Kim were kind enough to keep ALL ELEVEN of the kids! CRAZY!!! I sure am grateful for great friends (who happen to be family)!!! As all girls will understand, there have definitely been times of fighting and not talking, but lucky for us, we are all growing up now!!!

BUBBLEGUM WATERMELON

2009-01-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

(pictures coming soon...)

So yesterday was Trey's big surgery! He got his tonsils and adenoids out. Normally this is an outpatient surgery but... does the McEvoy family ever do anything "normally"??? NO, not in the least bit. So, here we sit in the hospital at least overnight and we will see how that goes and then keep planning if the need is there!:)

When we went back to the pre-op room before surgery, the anesthesiologist wanted to give Trey some medicine to help him be relaxed and forget the traumatic happenings of being put to sleep. The nurse came in with the oral medication and asked "OK buddy, can you tell me your first and last name"? Trey didn't answer but was sitting there smiling. She waited for a minute and then asked "Is it Trey"? Very quickly Trey replied, "No, my name is bubbagum wata mewon and I know dat medicin is foah Twey Mac-a-voy"!!! What in the world? All he knew is he didn't want to take the yucky stuff she was trying to give! I guess changing your name works, right?!!? I guess I should be grateful that he didn't say it was Sparkles or Lipstick like he usually does!!! When we got to his room the story had already been passed along. The nurse made sure to tell me they wouldn't ask him his name!

Trey had a very rough day and doesn't feel well at all. He was having some issues keeping his oxygen levels where they should be, but is finally starting to get a little bit better this morning. He felt so yucky right after surgery and was mad at everyone, so he managed to muster up the energy to tell the nurse and anesthesiologist that he "hated" them! I told them not to take it personally! I am just glad he can talk!!! This guy WILL catch a break one day... I am sure of it. He won't let me leave his side and I am eating up every minute of him letting me cuddle and hold him. He has been EXTRA sweet to me! He tries to eat ice cream but can't seem to get it past the tip of his tongue.

Lainey and Jim came last night and Lainey was excited to be back visiting the hospital. She asked Jim "Remember when we used to come here EVERY day?" Jim said yes and he was glad that was over. Lainey replied "well, I love it because we ALWAYS got FREE cookies and drinks"! Well, Trey's nurse made sure to hook her up! I am not sure why, but now both kids are hooked on the "FREE" thing...I LOVE that they have no clue!

Thanks to Grandma Jill, Bishop Welch, the Collinsworth's and aunt Kimmi for helping during yet another McEvoy hospital adventure!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

GRAYSON HAD ENOUGH BY 11, BUT THINGS WERE SO CHAOTIC THAT HE COULDN'T SLEEP. POOR DUDE!
WE RANG IN THE NEW YEAR WITH FRIENDS AND HAD A FUN NIGHT!!! THE KIDS LOVED THE SPARKLING CIDER AND SPECIAL GLASSES. PORTER WENT FOR A GOOD 5 MINUTES "TOASTING" EVERYONE. WE HAD TO LET HIM BARELY TOUCH OUR GLASS BECAUSE HE DOESN'T KNOW THE MEANING OF SOFT!!! HE WOULD TOAST AND SAY "HAPPY NEW YEAHS" WITH A HUGE GRIN! FUNNY BOY.
THE BIG HIT OF THE PARTY WAS DEFINITELY THE NEW KARAOKE MACHINE WE GOT THIS YEAR!!! WE ALL SANG OUR GUTS OUT FOR HOURS.
PORTER DIDN'T THINK HE GOT ENOUGH TURNS WITH THE MIC, SO HE GAVE ME SOME PRETTY GOOD CRUSTYS!
I THINK PORTER THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO EAT THE MIC!
TREY SANG JINGLE BELLS FOR EVERY TURN HE HAD. SO CUTE!
HERE WE ALL ARE IN OUR FIRST PICTURE OF 2009! I THINK IT WAS ALMOST 1AM BY THIS TIME, SO I FIND IT AMAZING WE WERE ALL IN THIS GOOD OF A MOOD!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE 2009 IS ALREADY HERE. I HOPE THAT I CAN BE A BETTER MOM AND WIFE, AND GET IN SHAPE THIS YEAR!!!

The big game!!!

2009-01-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

In order for tonight's big game we have only one thing to say...
ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!
JIM MAY FEEL DIFFERENTLY, BUT THE KIDS AND I COULD ONLY FIND CRIMSON AND WHITE APPAREL WITH THIS CUTE LITTLE ELEPHANT FOR TODAY!!!
THANKS TO OUR BAMA FRIENDS (ANGELA) FOR ALL OF OUR GREAT ATTIRE. WE LOVE IT!!!

Hawaiian Fever :)

2008-12-28T15:42:00.001-08:00

This is Kenny and Melissa Hardy. Kenny is the sophomore coach and Melissa was my saving grace this trip! She shared EVERYTHING with me!!! We had a blast together. They are so much fun!
This is the famous (in my book) Jeff and Alisa Collinsworth. They have adopted us and save my bacon all of the time. They are 2 of the most amazing people I know. This trip they spent a lot of time helping Melissa and I babysit our girls! We tried to keep them away from the boys as much as possible, so we went to the Collinsworth's AMAZING pool almost every day.

Well, we had a GREAT trip. We did a lot of just vegging by the beach or the pool. The girls and guys were pretty good, typical teenagers! They were actually really fun to be around for the most part. We had a couple of pretty memorable experiences, and I definitely want to go back. Especially after coming home to so much snow! I missed the kids, which was good!!! It is so much different to worry about someone else's kids! What a great experience. I feel so blessed to have been able to go.

I didn't get my luggage until Saturday night, so that was funny! I used EVERYTHING from Melissa, Kaylee and the girls, so that was nice! Then, I had one pair of underwear that I left on the bed one day after changing into my suit. Well,low and behold the cleaning ladies came and changed the sheets... and you guessed it!!! All I could say was bye, bye undies! The whole thing ended up being so comical! I really had too much fun to care!

Our 2 "STAR" players Kyle and Brandon. Brandon signed with BYU and Kyle is only a junior but being very heavily recruited by just about every major University.
We even made sure to have basketball on our minds while we were on the beach! We HAD to make sure we had the plays down in the sand!
One of my other favorite guys, Scottie. So much fun to chill with. It is fun to hear how 18 year old boys see life. Scott gave me good insight! I got to have some good conversations with some of the more mature guys. They are actually quite fun! Scott was always good for a great conversation mixed with a little comedy to make everyone smile! So great to be around.
Reality check... this is where we live! I think that Dorothy was wrong. Hawaii is as good as home to me!!!
This one is for Trey. We found this place and decided to take a Kung Fu picture for the obsessed boy! He asked me if I would put it in a frame for him!
We ate a lot! They guys (and girls) couldn't seem to get enough to eat! So, you know we HAD to eat with them! Between how much I ate and not packing my kids around, they wanted to charge me an extra $15 to get myself onto the plane!!! j/k
The funny basketball guys. They did win the tourney!!! They averaged winning by 30 points!
Oh so cute!!!
The new daughter Jim and I decided to adopt! One of the greatest girls EVER, Taylor.

Wanna know how many guys hit on us? NONE, I wonder why?
Everything was so pretty. We spent a lot of time on the beach which was soooo relaxing. It NEVER rained on us the entire time and it was only windy part of one afternoon. We saw whales and I snorkeled with a turtle almost the same size as I am! What can I say? Hawaii LOVES me!!!
The INSANE bunch of BOY CRAZY, NIGHT-SNEAKIN', BEGGING TO GO SKINNY DIPPIN', BASKETBALL-BOY KISSIN', 2 HOURS GETTIN' READY TO GO BEACH-GOIN', SOMETIMES MORE SPICE THAN SUGAR, FULL OF JUSTIFICATION, GIRLS WE LOVE!!! FUN FUN FUN! All minus Melissa and I, of course! I can say I am not sure what will happen when Lainey is this age!!! I'm already SCARED!

This is all lava rock from the volcano. I covers the everything you can see from the top of the mountain to the ocean.
I'm telling you these girls are trouble! They sure kept us busy, but we had a blast with them.
Kaylee Collinsworth and ME!
The guys (varsity players and coaches) bbq'd one night for me! HA HA Well, I can look at it that way cause I was the only girl! How lucky. Then because the kids knew that all of the adults were there, they ALL snuck to the beach with no chaperones! Turkeys! This is Coach Drury who posed this way for the picture! He tried to roast himself at the beach earlier that day!!!I think it's great to take self portraits for some reason. Aren't we so funny?

And so it begins!!!

2008-12-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

Porter is obsessed with the bulldog this year. When I was trying to take his picture all he would do was give me his best imitation! Here you go minus the growling!

Well, it begins. The kids not going to bed on time, sometimes 6 hours a day at the gym, driving all over Utah Valley mostly, occasionally to Tooele! Lots of late-nighters and fast food! A mom who needs more patience, kids who know which buttons to push. Mom can me and my friends have a dollar for a treat? 30 "big brothers" for my kids. Lainey who hates them because they tease her like big brothers. Don't worry, they tease me too! Lots of friends, cheering for great plays and SLAM-DUNKS, hugging sweaty boys, talking-a lot! Kids throwing things they shouldn't on to the court, begging other people for treats cause mom's are never as good! Oh shoot, there goes Porter onto the court during the middle of the game! Making new friends. Mom can I have a dollar for a treat? Porter yelling "DADDY, DADDY, I NEESHOU (need you)" at the top of his lungs while Jim is coaching. He won't stop until Jim ackoledges him, yes during the game. How much money do you have mom? Mom can I have a dollar for a treat? Grayson smiling thinking it is all so funny, clapping when ever he hears other people doing it. This is the stuff my kids live for!

CLASSIC FAMILY MEMORIES!!!

Grayson is ALWAYS this happy! Thank goodness the Collinsworths help me so much during the games. I wouldn't make it otherwise!

The cutest litte cheerleader in her new cheer outfit. I finally gave in this year and ordered her one. She had one years ago and has never stopped begging for a new one once she outgrew it. She is so cute. Most of the time you will find her cheering right next to the PHS cheerleaders!
Oh, yes um he must be calling a full timeout because boys don't cheer right? Trey want's to be just like Lainey. He loves pink and frilly! Now when they play pretend, his name has changed from "Sparkles" to "Lipstick"! I have given up on trying to change it. Lainey says "ok, that can be your name, but I will call you Dad"! He's ok with that, so more power to her!!! What a sweet guy Trey is.

P.S- as a side-note The Bulldogs are 4-0! They have played mostly 5A teams and have done very well. They are ranked #1 in the state for 4A, so we'll see what happens. One of their victories was against Lone Peak, the reigning 5A champs! GO BULLDOGS, we LOVE these
guys!!!

P.P.S.- Only 3 days to Hawaii with this group of CRAZIES! I am so excited!!!

What a day!!!

2008-12-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

So my little sister, Kandyse came and spent last night because she had an interview at a school for Dental Hygiene here in Provo. She came last night so that she would be sure to be on time and not have traffic or such issues to hold her up. She also wanted me to take her because she is not familiar with our turf. Well, leave it to me to ruin her plans!!!

We leave my house with all of the boys and plenty of time to spare. We get half way to where we need to be... when my car starts chugging. What the heck? Oh crap, the gas light came on yesterday. Are we really out of gas? NO NO NO. We get about 2 more blocks coasting before there is no more juice. I called Jim and was almost in tears because I know how stressed my poor sister is, and what a STUPID thing to do, run out of gas!! (I haven't done that since high school) Kandyse was a super good sport, but to make things better we hear from the back seat... "We have da fastest cah in histawy"!!! My sister and I look at each other and start laughing so hard. I look back at Trey to find he is totally serious and probably has no idea what just happened. I explain to him I let the car run out of gas and dad has to come get us. When Jim gets there to rescue us we are getting all of the kids in his car and Trey says, just as serious as the first time "Guess we don't have da fastest cah in histwy. You might wanna fink about getting a new one, mom"! All I can do is laugh and kiss him. I was so glad that he lightened the mood and helped me to not be grumpy about the situation. What a kid!

To make things better the dental hygiene school accepted Kandyse on her first interview! CONGRATULATIONS KANDY!!! Guess they didn't hold those 5 minutes against her!

The best pictures EVER!

2008-12-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, I just got to see our latest family pictures and I am soooo excited!!! They turned out a lot better than I thought that they would considering how much mayhem was going on with all of us crazies! I wanted to let you all see them if you want. They will only be on the web through Friday, so if you want-look fast!!! Here is how to get there

http://www.photographybykam.com/index2.php

click on portrait preview on the right-hand side. (it is small)

the password is mcevoy all lowercase. Hope you enjoy, I sure did!

Thanks Kam, for your amazing work. You rock!

BITE ME!!!

2008-11-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Edward, much hotter than I thought he would be! I was rather impressed. I never thought he would work for me, but he did!
I didn't think Jacob was so hot in the movie, but check out this hottie! (for a 16 year old kid, of course!)
Charlie was one of my favorite movie characters! He was great.
The Cullens were a bit of a let-down for me. They didn't quite live up to the "BEAUTIFUL" part. I think Dr. Cullen looks like Noah Wiley with blond hair.

Bella is exactly like I pictured her. She was good. The one character I liked better in the movie than the book. She was too whiny, needy, clingy, bratty in the book. The movie just a little bit awkward and backwards. Much more likable character in the movie to me.

Yes, I am a Twilight junkie. I have already seen the movie three times! Lots of friends who want to go! I had a blast all three times. So much cheering and screaming. There were also the men who never should have come because all they did was complain the entire time! My advise, read the book before you go if you haven't. The movie makes a lot more sense. We waited in line 2 hours before the Sat. morning showing! I got a sweet t-shirt from my cousin, Kacee! I love it. Girls dates are so much fun! Thanks to all of my fun friends for great times!

Good guy, great friend, NEW MEMBER!

2008-11-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

Paul and Sarah. Paul was baptized by his OPA. His maternal Grandfather who is very religious and so thrilled that Paul was baptized before he couldn't witness the event.
The Bertoch CLAN! Scott, Alyssa, Paul, Shantel, Sarah, Kaitlyn, and Kayden. The whole family is finally members!
My 2 handsome little men! They ARE friends, sometimes!!!
This room was so full. This picture was taken before a lot of people were there. I bet there were close to 100 people. AMAZING!

Before we left on a little trip last weekend, we got to see a pretty cool thing. Paul, the triplet's dad was baptized! We were all pretty excited. This is something that we have all been praying would happen for a long time. When I first met Paul 12 years ago, Paul did not even believe in a God. Paul was raised in an anti-mormon environment, so it has taken him a long time to be able to believe the teachings of the gospel. Sarah has been so loving and not pushy at all. She waited for Paul to take all of the steps himself. He asked for the missionaries to come about a year and a half ago. This summer he started to read the scriptures with his family every night. He chose to go to church and do the right things ALL ON HIS OWN! Such a cool thing.

The kids are all over 12, so this was a pretty big deal to them. They understand everything. Scott, the oldest, gave a talk on baptism at the actual event. It was the sweetest thing ever. He bore his testimony at the end and told his dad how much he looked up to him. He was crying and the spirit was so strong. Most everyone was crying. It was very sweet. The room was jam-packed with everyone from neighbors to non-member family to friends from Hyrum and also their new ward. We think this is so amazing. We love this family and are so glad they live close to us so we get to see them so much!

It has been so long since I have had time to post! Life is crazy as ever. Jim is in full swing Basketball, Go BULLDOGS. Our first game is on Wednesday. The game is against Orem at Utah Valley University! Nuts! By the way, I am extatic to be able to tell you, I am going to HAWAII with the team in December! I have never been on a trip with the team before, and Coach Drury might have a coronary letting us go, but we are sooo excited. One of the other coaches wives and I are going and spending the majority of the time on a "GIRLS' TRIP" We can't wait!!

We are still house hunting. I am a spoiled girl who is having a hard time deciding what I want. Surprise! Between houses, dance, doctor appts, therapy for 2 kids, nightly exercise with 2 boys (who hate it!), and trying to maintain the house mostly as a single parent, I seem to keep quite busy.

Jim and I were able to take the kids last weekend and go on a little trip. We stayed in a hotel, let the kids swim, shopped, saw Jim's brother Eric and his family, took fam. pics and had a lot of laughs. It was SO much FUN! The kids played marathon movies in the car, so Jim and I got to talk a lot. It was so nice.

To cook, or not to cook?

2008-11-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

So I decided to be good and make home-made chicken noodle soup with home-made noodles. I started when the kids were asleep and at school, but they were soon my big helpers! All except Trey. He has texture issues and wouldn't touch the dough. As he sat and watched us he asked" what ah you guys doin'"? I told him just making noodles. His reply "well why ah ya doin' dat, cause ya not weally a cook." I said, "oh really? Well if I'm not the cook then who is, Dad"? He stood there for a minute and said "no not you, not Dad, not Wainey oah

Poh-tah ...Guess I'm da own-wy cook awound heah"! I laughed because he is just so matter of fact all of the time. The way he says things you know he thinks that there is no way he is wrong! Such a funny guy. We had Jim's sister and brother-in-law in town, and also took dinner to some friends.

Fast forward 2 nights. I was making cookies at about 9pm. I started throwing the ingredients into the Bosh. Jim was correcting school papers but just happened to come to the kitchen. He saw what I was doing and said "you're making cookies, right"? I said yes "he sat pondering for a minute and said "well you know that is pancake batter right"? "Are you kidding"? I chimed back "because that is what I used to make egg noodles the other night". I dumped the ingredients out and started over. I guess Trey was right. I'm really not the cook! Sorry everyone who we fed! Needless to say no one complained, and even I ate and didn't think anything was wrong! I did however permanently mark the flour container!!!

Just a friendly reminder!

2008-11-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is for all of you readers (yes, including Blog Stockers and our medical family) who haven't given Grayson a birthday memory! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write something down for us in a comment section! Like I said before, I don't remember a lot about the last year, so will you please help a (brain-dead) sister out? We love you so much for doing this for us! TIFF & GRAYSON

NEW DAFOs and SHOES

2008-11-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

Well about once a year the time comes for sweet little Trey to get new DAFOs (Dah-foh), aka leg braces. Along with the DAFOs come new shoes because the braces are always a couple of sizes bigger than the last ones. The leg braces are made with casts of Treys legs, with which they make a mold to make the brace. One for each leg. The whole process takes at least 3 weeks and that is if there aren't any problems with insurance. The braces increase stabilization of Trey's leg and help to keep proper alignment. The difference is amazing with and without DAFOs. Trey thinks they are pretty cool. This time he chose a strap with flames and the rest black! He said that was so he could" be as fast as lightning"! To find shoes that will actually fit the braces is a joke. This time we spent 3 hours at the mall trying on shoes. We bought the first pair that fit! We are glad this is a once a year thing because these puppies run about $1,700!!!

One of my favorite stories about Trey is as follows. We were at the store one day and Trey insisted on walking. I got him out and got his sticks. He was walking allover and getting pretty tired after walking after maybe 10 minutes. I asked him if he wanted to get in the cart with the other boys to which he replied "I am NOT getting in da stinking caht. I am a big boy and I can walk just, wike, you." I was trying to be patient so I said ok. I saw a lady watching us from the corner of my eye. People "watch" Trey like crazy anywhere we go. After she followed us for a minute she looked at me and said "why can't he walk"? (a common question) to which I reply "his legs don't work quite right, so he gets 4 legs"! most people drop it at that. Trey piped right up and was talking loudly (okay, yelling) "I can too walk, see"? he said as he took the 5 steps it took to get in front of her. She replied "well, yes he CAN walk, but what's wrong with him"? I was frustrated because Trey was catching on and I didn't want him to feel bad. By then Trey was right in front of her and again said "I can too walk" as he picked up one of his sticks and hit her right in the shin!!! I had to keep from busting up. If I would have had my choice I might have done the same thing! I quickly apologized and told Trey that wasn't ok after we all but ran away. He said "well, it dwives me cwazy when she says dat. I AM a big boy now". I told him he was a big boy and we didn't need to worry about that lady because she didn't know how big he was. Then to my delight we were right next to a big display of candy. I told Trey to pick anything he wanted. Bubblegum was all it took to end the story!
Nike shocks were the lucky winner of "FAT SHOES". The ONLY pair we could find wide enough to work.
What a strapping young lad! Trey is hilarious and always has me laughing and smiling. I love you Trey! You are one special BIG BOY!!!

It's the most_______ time of the year!!!

2008-11-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

Where in the world is FALL? Oh, yeah in ALABAMA! We sure hope you are enjoying the eighties because here is is all out WINTER> ugh. Grandpa and Grandma in Russia, we feel your pain!!!
Well, Porter wanted to touch the snow when he saw it this morning, so out we went. He was so cute. He was scared to touch it at first, and then wouldn't come inside even when he was FREEZING COLD. I sure love the time Porter and I get to spend when the other kids are @ school. "pease don't go inside. I need see snow s'more"!

Porter thought throwing snow at me was so funny! (it actually was)

It took forever,but he did decide to taste the snow.

The pine trees are even covered!! By the time I made him come in I don't think there was a spot in the front yard he hadn't stepped on! He kept telling me "mom come ovah heah, see? it's snow" and "I yub da snow. So boo-ful" He sure is a funny little guy!

One year old?!!?

2008-11-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

So SMALL and FRAGILE. Eyes FUSED shut. As SMALL as my hand. HIS hand as big as the TIP of my finger. WEIGHING as much as 6 STICKS of BUTTER. Lungs too PREMATURE to work. Born with an INFECTION. So fragile he could only be touched with GLOVED HANDS. Diapers SMALLER than most cell phones. Many bouts with SEPSIS, HUNDREDS of IV's, almost 6 MONTHS of his life in the HOSPITAL. 1 PERFORATED bowel, 1 illiostomy. 2 IV burns, one HUGE scar on his foot. FUNGAL BALL in the heart? We'll never really know! 3 surgeries, 3 BIG scars on his CHEST and ABDOMEN. 1 major CARDIAC ARREST.

ONE HUGE MIRACLE

Where in the world did the last year go? I can't believe that Grayson is ONE! I have to admit that sadly, I don't remember a lot of details of the last year. Between sleep deprivation and stress I think blocking things out was one of my coping mechanisms. Grayson, by medical standards shouldn't be alive. He is such a MIRACLE! As I sat and held him in the middle of the night last night I just cried. I looked through some of his NICU pictures and didn't realize how raw those wounds still are. Look at the little BOOGER now! 18lb. 8oz. 28 inches long and finally on the "normal chart"! He is still very behind developmentally, so we will keep working with him! We love you GRAYSON. We have the happiest baby ever! What would we do without you?We are going to ask you to PLEASE leave a memory of Grayson's first year (good or bad, we want them all) in the comments. I want him to be able to hear from other people how things were! THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU!!!

Thanks to all of the medical personnel who treated Grayson (and me) so well. We wouldn't be doing so well without you guys! (in no particular order) Heather, Erika, Tammy, Margaret, Keri, Vicki, Dayna, Wendee, Darrin, Joel, Aletha, Mel, Katie, Jen X3, Lacy, Jayda, Suely, Jessica, Jonna, Carly, Becky Lisa X3, Lyn, Reggie, Don, Ron, Steve, Ryan, Fino, McKade, Janalynn, Dr. Gerday, Dr. Minton, Dr. Ogden, Dr, Stoddard, Susan, Jenny, Allison, I will continue to add to the list! Sorry if your name isn't here yet! I have few brain cells and need some reminding!

SICK, SICK, SICK

2008-11-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Any one of these (or a coctail) are usually how I cope with my day! Especially when everyone has strep or double ear infections and your 4 year old wakes up every night for a couple of hours (we think his legs really bother him right now). Generally caffeine is one of my best friends!

This is what the BID (twice daily) routine consists of at the McEvoy household right now. All 4 kids are on antibiotics. Then there is breathing treatments x2, ear drops, prevacid, singulair and lots and lots of motrin, oh and don't forget the poop juice! We are all much happier when we have that! How do I keep track of it, you ask? Well, see the paper on the right? That is my brain! As long as I remember to write it down, I can see when the last time each kid had medicine was!!! If in doubt, I just as Lainey. She usually knows!

HOLY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-11-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well, another Halloween has passed, but certainly not un-eventfully! Everyone has been sick, so that made for some fun times! I realized I did not take any pictures of Grayson because I didn't allow him to participate in any festivities. He had to stay home, in the warm and away from germs (that's funny) and be spoiled by Grandpa! He wore a pumpkin onsie and that was the extent of his costume!

Lainey was Princess Giselle from Disney's Enchanted! So beautiful. She made sure to twirl her dress for everyone and had enough sparkles coating her to light up a city!

It was hard to keep up with this Batman! He got a new set of batteries just before we left I think, so he literally RAN everywhere!

Trey was pretty limited because he has strep. Poor kid. He told me he was too sick to

wear his glasses!

Porter's face is classic.

It was 70 degrees when we went trunk-or-treating! Amazing because it usually rains or snows! The kids didn't even have to wear coats over their costumes!!!

BLACK BATMEN: FACE OFF Aren't they cute?

This is what Porter would do every time he saw another super hero. Then he would say "I Batman. Trey Batman." He is hilarious!

Trey managed to be a little bit lively for about a half hour. He was so excited to go on a stroller ride. Being sick takes every bit of energy he has, so I really carry him everywhere!

BUDDIES! Porter was supposed to be a monkey this year but... I put Trey in his costume before he got on the bus Thursday for his school party. Porter was hysterical because he wanted batman! I told him I would put his monkey costume on, but he informed me "I no want muh-ky. Dat stupid. I hade it". Trey had been gone for an hour and 15 minutes and Porter was still crying and wouldn't forget. I decided that I would just take him to good ol' Wal-Mart and buy him a costume. I tried to get him to buy Superman or Spiderman, but all he wanted was black Batman just like Trey, so that is what he got!

BUSY BOY!!!

2008-10-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-10-21T14:56:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-10-15T21:58:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-13T13:55:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-10-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-10-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

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

Sweet Home Alabama

2008-09-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

GRAYSON AND NANA (Jeri's mom) @ THE SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY.GRAYSON AND REAGAN AT THE AIRPORT BEFORE WE LEFT. WE HAD TO BE CAUTIOUS WHEN GRAYSON WAS NEXT TO REAGAN. SHE WOULD ALWAYS BE YELLING AT US SAYING "HE'S YANKIN' MY CHAIN. HEY! LISTEN. HE'S YANKIN' MY CHAIN". WHICH WAS EITHER HER BLUE VENT TUBE OR HER SATURATION MONITER CORD. I GUESS HE THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE TASTY. WE HAVE TO TEACH THAT BOY BETTER WAYS TO PICK UP ON THE GIRLS!!!

GRAYSON'S ADOPTIVE PARENTS, DOUG AND JESSI. (Jeri's sister and brother-in-law)

THE CUTEST GIRLS IN ALABAMA!!! THIS WAS @ MY B-DAY PARTY TOO.

THE DIRT BIKE BOYS! NEED I SAY MORE?!!?

GRAYSON AND I JUST CHILLIN' IN A-BANANA AS PORTER CALLS IT!

Wow! Time flies by so fast. Grayson and I have been back a couple of weeks and I am so behind on blogging. I have been waiting on a usb cord to imput pictures from my camera. Needless to say I still don't have it, so pictures will come later! I am just going to give you a brief account of our trip. We had so much fun. I got to learn how to do some cool things in the way of taking care of Reagan. I learned so much by watching, but I got my chance to have some hands-on experience. I learned so much cool trache stuff. It made me want to be a nurse even more. I got to hold Reagan which was so awesome. She is so fragile, so I was nervous for a second, but I got over it quick because it was amazing. Not many people hold her, and no one has really held her for the last 5months because of the halo. (by the way, she let me hold her more than once!) Reagan also had her first real bath since the halo while I was there, and her first big outing. She took baby Grayson and I to the airport! She is such a little angel.

Jeri and I had a lot of retail therapy to take care of, so we did. Almost every day we had a shopping trip. I had my first spa experience, and it was divine. We stayed up late, especially Reagan and I! And had tons of good food. I am sure the airline didn't want to let me board when they saw how much weight I had gained! I had a suprise birthday party, complete with every southern dish you can imagine! It was so much fun to get to meet people we had heard so much about. I tried fried catfish, which I ended up really liking!! Alan ended up watching Grayson a lot while I played. He got him hooked on dirt bikes and being held a lot! Grayson had to adjust to not getting held so much when we got home. Brennen is so much fun and loved Grayson. He is the teacher's favorite student! He is the sweetest, well mannered little guy around. I tried to pack him in my suitcase, but he wouldn't stop running long enough!! I was certainly spoiled by southern hospitality. We can't wait to go back with everyone and spend longer!!!!

Unanswered prayers

2008-09-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like God does not answer your prayers?

Many times when Grayson was at Primary Children's Medical center, I would sit and wonder why God would not heal him and make him better. It was heart-wrenching to sit and watch him suffer and not be able to do anything.

It was by chance that Grayson had surgery the morning of April 25th. He was scheduled for May 5th, but I was in a hurry to get his insides put back where they belong! I would frequently call the surgeon's office and ask if they had any cancellations and if they could move the surgery date up. Finally the answer was yes. They got him in a week earlier than planned. That was great by me. I couldn't wait for him to poop like a big boy!
Well,Grayson ended up having a much rougher time than anyone had imagined. We planned on staying days and ended up there for weeks. I felt like I was constantly hearing that we beat the odds the wrong way. The doctors could not figure out what was going on. They seemed to have less guesses than I did. We were eventually moved back to the PICU when things got really bad. After the second surgery, the doctors thought that they had finally figured out the problems and had them fixed. Two days later, Grayson had a major cardiac arrest and almost lost his life. Again I was upset and wondered why God would not heal him after he had come so far. The doctors could not figure things out and HOPED Grayson would live. I often thought perhaps it was my fault things hadn't gone smoothly because time after time God may have been trying to tell me it wasn't quite time for surgery, and I continued to push. I guess I will probably never know the answer to that or a lot of other questions I have!!! BUT, somethings I know for sure. Grayson did end up making it through all of that big ordeal and is now doing much better, thank goodness!

It was by chance that the only surgeon the McBride family could find to fuse 2 year old Reagan's neck, practiced at Primary Children's Hospital, 1,500 miles from their home in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Reagan was scheduled to have surgery on April 28th, but when she saw the surgeon for her pre-operation appointment, he felt Reagan needed surgery ASAP because her life was in a lot of danger. She ended up having surgery that same afternoon on April 25th. Things did not go as well as everyone hoped. After surgery, sometime that night, the hardware used to hold Reagan's brittle neck together had completely fallen apart. Doctors informed Jeri Ann and Alan that Reagan would require another major surgery to try and put things back where they should be and to put a metal device on her tiny body that would hold her head completely straight and still. But that second life-sustaining surgery would have to wait because Reagan was very unstable. She was fighting for her life. The doctors assured Alan and Jeri Ann that they would do everything they could to save her life, but things looked grim. If that wasn't enough, then came the news and devastation that sometime during these 2 awful days, Reagan sustained a spinal cord injury and was now paralyzed from the neck down. I know that during this time, Alan questioned the decision they had made to have the initial surgery done and blamed himself that Reagan may not live. When Reagan got more stable she now needed a third surgery to place a tracheostomy in her neck so she could be on a ventilator permanently. Reagan did make it through her second and third surgeries, and things did improve little by little. Reagan stayed in the hospital until July 14th. She is now home and doing so much better. She has even regained some movement, mostly in her hands and feet.

Here is what I know for sure. Reagan and Grayson ended up in the same 2 bed room in the PICU after they had both had surgery April 25th. Our families met under tremendous stress and heartache. Grayson was moved in and out of the PICU where Reagan remained her entire stay at PCMC, and he did not really start to improve until Reagan had been med flighted to a hospital in Burmingham. When he would start to show some improvement, things would go 10 steps back and he would end up back in the PICU closer to Reagan. The McEvoy and McBride families spent quite possibly 18 hours out of a day together. The staff got to the point where I know they broke rules giving either family information on the other family's child. Many people think Jeri and Tiff look like sisters. We became very very close in a very short period of time. I guess you can we can all think what we want, but I know that I never would have made it through that month as well as I did without them.

As I look back at what I had thought to be unanswered prayers, I wonder if maybe God had another plan in mind to really bless me if things were going to be that bad. I don't know who could truly relate to me and my situation unless they themselves had almost lost a child and been through an even harder situation than we had been through. I guess what the song says is true "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" because I am not sure what I would do without our unanswered prayers,the McBrides!!! We love love y'all!!!

2008-09-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! Well I have finally decided to follow the trend and be a blogger! We have so many people that we want to keep in touch with and it ends up being quite a challenge. We have finally started to settle down in life a little bit. We have been able to establish a little bit of normalcy over the summer. It has been so great to be back together as a family!!! Now Jim, Lainey and Trey are all back to school so that is interesting. I am able to see a side of Porter that I haven't really seen! It is so much fun. Porter can sing his ABC's thanks to the Leap Frog magnet on the fridge! He is talking up a storm and of course full of mischief.

Lainey is of course thriving in 1st grade. She is reading way above grade level and is having a great time. She is not thrilled about school lunch, so this week we will start taking home lunch! Her handwriting has improved so much since the first of the year! Probably her favorite thing so far this school year has been starting dance. Her classes are twice a week. They include hip hop (the most entertaining thing I have ever seen)as well as tap, jazz and ballet. Lainey comes home and teaches Trey her new "moves" which is hilarious and they jam out!

We are so glad that Trey is going to school willingly after he informed us all summer that he was "dwopping out of pwee school and staying home wif mom and pwaying kung fu panda on the WII all day"!!! His teacher is Miss Raquell. She loves Trey and requested that he be in her class. Trey is possibly the most high tech 4 year old around. He can hook up any game system he wants or get to any website that has games to play on the computer all by himself. I can't do half of the things he can. They always say your body compensates for any disability. Boy is that true! Trey is doing so well walking. Progress has been slow, but he can take about 20 steps unassisted! That is huge to our whole family.

Grayson is getting big and chubby! He weighed almost 16 pounds at his last appointment. He has started to laugh, which is the cutest thing I have ever seen! Of course no one can get him to laugh like Lainey can. As soon as we get his reflux under control he will be having his MRI and immune testing done. I worry a lot about those things, but we will continue to pray for good things. The Lord has answered so many prayers for us allready. We are truly blessed.

Jim is finally getting a little break from so much stress. With me having my head on half way straight again, Grayson's little life out of so much danger, and FINISHING HIS MASTER'S DEGREE, I think he might feel like a new man! School has been an easy adjustment for him. He will be back in the gym, where he loves to be starting in October.

As for me, I feel like I can take a breather and enjoy being a mom again. We have had a lot of fun spending time as a family lately, and I love it. Grayson and I are flying to Alabama on Tuesday to see the McBrides, some good friends of ours. We met the McBrides at Primary Children's when Reagan and Grayson kept the PICU staff hopping for a couple of weeks together. (poor guys) I am still volunteering at the Provo NICU, which I love and will continue to do until I start working someday! I hope to start working toward my nursing degree sometime in the near future!!