Snow Much Fun!!

A while back we got to go visit Grandma Ilene for a few days and had planned a fun trip to the ZOO... Well, Mother nature must have missed our nice weather request because we woke up to a foot of SNOW!! Luckily the girls had so much FUN in the snow they forgot all about our Zoo plans!

Brinley had so much fun, and looked so CUTE all bundled up! (I think in this picture she was finally starting to get cold)

What's a fun day in the snow withought a SNOW ANGEL (or two)!?!

The girls even convinced Grandma to come help with the snoman, Robe and all (~She's going to love me for posting this picture! Sorry Mom it was too classic!!)

*Sadly Frosty tipped over before I could get a pic ~but his memory lives in our hearts! I'm sure next time we visit Grandma there will be plenty of snow for more FROSTY"S!!

Tinkerbell's week of Fun

*PUMPKIN CARVING*
We had such a great Halloween, it felt like the festivities lasted all week long! For FHE Monday night we carved pumpkins, Brinley wasn't crazy about the gooey guts (she takes after her mom too much) so she just watched and cheered her daddy on...

Shane Multi-tasking

Here is our finished products, a friendly ghost and my pumpkin version of a "Princess" at Brinley's request...

*PRESCHOOL PARTY *


Brinley has preschool twice a week with her cousin Mattie, & they were so excited to be able to wear their costumes to school Thursday for a Halloween Party

*Trunk or Treat*

We just love our ward & had lots of fun with all our good friends at the annual Trunk or Treat

The whole fam!

We spent alot of time at the cake walk. Brinley could've cared less about the cup cakes, she just loved skipping around the numbers until the music stopped.

A tuckered out Tinker Bell from all the Trick (Trunk) or Treating

and finally...

*Happy Halloween*

Halloween night we stopped by lots of friends and family's houses to show off our cute little TinkerBell & then met up with some friends for some Trick or Treating. I think this is the first year we've actually gone to a nieghborhood to trick or treat. We all had lots of fun & it was cute to see Brinley run from house to house with all the kids.

"Tink" ready to hit the town!!

Looks like all that hard work paid off, Here's Brinley admiring (& eating) her "Stash"!!

Ultrasound Day!

Today was an exciting day for us, we got to take a peek at our growing baby BOY! Yup that's right, IT'S A BOY!!! We took Brinley with us to the appointment and she was so excited to see her baby on the screen,Unfortunately the little guy would not cooperate (had his legs crossed) so even though the tech thought she saw boy parts in there she didn't feel sure enough & had me come back later for another peek. Luckily he gave her a nice shot & she said she was 100% sure it was a boy! She also said that he looked very healthy which is always great news!!

So what does this news mean for us... For Shane it means his dreams of having a Basketball star are that much closer to being fulfilled, and also that the Estrogen/Testosterone ratio in our house is even again! For me it means I get to do some serious shopping(since everything we have is pink) and I get to start on my blue & brown nursery!! For Brinley it means no little sister, every time we ask her if she wants a brother or a sister she says "no bruder, I want a sister" I think she'll just be happy to have a baby in the house. but MOSTLY it means we are just thrilled and can't wait for our little boy to join our family!!

Our family is growing... (by ten little toes!)

That's right, baby #2 is on the way!!

The day before we took Brinley to the Hospital I took a pregnancy test that came up negative, we were so hoping to be pregnant that It was definitely a disappointment. A week later I took another one just sure (Hoping) that the first was a mistake & couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the 2 little lines appear!! after 3 more tests (all of which were positive) it was confirmed, we were having another baby!!! Although my first trimesters of pregnancy are very hard and I've already been pretty sick, we are just so excited!!

Co-Op Valley

We spent last weekend Camping & 4 Wheeling in Co-op Valley with Shane's family & had so much fun!! It was our first overnight outing since we found out Brinley had Diabetes, so needless to say I was a little worried about how it would go over. We brought tons of sugar-free snacks and her blood sugar stayed in a good range all weekend! This trip helped us see that we can still live our "normal" active lives (just with a few more bags, and a few more precautions)!!

Brinley and her cousin Mattie spent the entire weekend side by side. They are so cute together!!

The Hughes Boys!
Me & the girls watching a movie in the Camper (We were really "roughing it", I know)!!

Fun with the Cousins...

Our Fearless Brinley actually WANTED to go down the Zip Line like all the big kids!! I wasn't crazy about the idea, but felt a little better since Shane ran with her, holding the rope the whole way! She loved every minute of it!!! She really has no fear (which of course scares me to death)!!

We had a great time, & there is something so Peaceful about being in the Mountains I just love it... but only for so long, One of the highlights for me was being able to come home & take a Shower!! It definitely makes me grateful for modern day luxuries!

Catching Up...

Here are some pics of our San Diego trip we took the end of May (which I have been meaning to post since then). I can't believe it is already JULY! Where does the time go?

We had so much fun going to Sea World, the beach, and the San Diego Zoo, We even spent a few hours at Chuck-E-Cheese! San Diego is so beautiful & we picked a great weekend, the weather was Perfect!!

A Very Long Week...

(And a very long post...)

Day 1: THE DIAGNOSIS
The last little while Brinley just hadn't been herself, she was tired and awnry All the time, wanted to drink everything in sight, and because of all the water she was drinking I could barely keep up with keeping her in a dry diaper! For the first few weeks I figured it was just the hot Mesquite Summer's making her want to drink more water, but as all these symptoms seemed to worsen by the day we started to get a little worried. Tuesday night I told Shane I thought we should take her to the Dr, that something just didn't seem right. First thing Wednesday I called to make an appointment and felt a little foolish when they asked what they were seeing her for and my reply was "because she's drinking and Peeing too much" I started to wonder if I was being too paranoid, but I still kept the apt.

A few hours later I was telling a girl at work about the situation and she mentioned that those things were all signs of Diabetes, DIABETES!! Even though I joked with her about thinking the worst, something in me knew, I don't know how, but I KNEW that's what it was! I immediately looked up the symptoms for children with Diabetes and one of the site's had a list... drinking more than usual, frequent urination, tired, moodiness, weightloss (she had also lost weight) she had every single one of the symptoms!My heart sank!

That Afternoon we went to the Dr and this time I told them I was there to get her tested for Diabetes. They drew her blood and took a Urine Sample, the dr hadn't said much by this point, but I could see the worry in her face. I called Shane and asked him to please come down, he did and as they ran some tests they had us wait... and wait. After what seemed like forever the Dr called us back into the room and with that same worried look, told us that Brinley's blood sugar was at 1,000 (It should be between 70 and 110)She never did say that it for sure was Diabetes, but we new it was serious when she asked us to go home and pack a bag for 2-3 days and then go straight to the Emergency Room at Summerlin Hospital in Vegas. She said there was a specialist(Endocrinologist)that would be waiting for us. With tears in our eyes we followed her directions and arrived at the Emergency Room @ 7 pm. We sat in the ER waiting room for quit a while, there was some confusion and they thought we were coming by Ambulance and didn't realize we were the ones they were waiting for. We finally were seen @ 10:30 pm and they immediately put an IV in her little hand, and that was just the beginning next came the blood draws,shots, and finger pricks none of which Brinley was too happy about. After a few hours the results came back and it was confirmed that Our little girl indeed had Type 1 Diabetes. At 2 am we were admitted to the Pediatrics ICU where we would spend the next few days.

Day 2: THE TESTS
Through out the day Brinley received several insulin injections, had blood drawn at least 5 times, and her finger pricked every hour on the hour, all of which consisted of her being held down by 2 or more nurses while she screamed and cried. On top of all of this they wouldn't let her eat ANYTHING because they were trying to figure out her insulin levels & didn't want any sugar from the foods affecting it. She would say "mommy eat" or "I want Fishies" (The fish Crackers she knew we had with us). This was not only a hard day for Brinley, but for Shane & I as well. We all shed quit a few tears!



The Dr finally said it was okay for her to eat dinner and the Nurse brought her some spaghetti. Brinley cleaned her entire plate, green beans and all within minutes!! Later that night they took the IV's out of her arm, said they didn't have to draw any more blood, and even let us take her to the play room down the hall. It didn't take long and she was Smiling again. They also let her eat all the sugar free Jello she could ever want!

Day 3: DIABETES 101
Even though Brinley was stabilized they weren't ready to send us home yet... We met with a dietitian, to help us better understand the things Brinley could and couldn't eat, basically sugars & Carbs bad, protein good. Okay,so there's is a little more to it than that. They had us practice giving each other injections and taking each others blood sugars, & by the end of the day Shane & I were the one's giving her the shots and pricking her finger for her blood sugar. They wanted to make sure we understood everything we needed to know before we were on our own & were so great about answering all of our questions, and concerns.

That night Brinlye's Grandma & Grandpa, and Aunt & Uncle came to visit, Brinley was so happy to see them all!
Day 4: GOING HOME
After our 3rd night of Shane & I sharing a twin bed, (yes that's right, my head at one end and his at the other, our feet were in each other's face the whole night, but we were just too exhausted to care) we were so relieved when we heard we finally got to GO HOME!
Here's Brinley wearing her darling dress and holding some of the stuffed animals that were given to her by Family & friends!

It's going to take awhile to adjust to this new way of life, especially for Brinley. We know that it could be a lot worse & we know that we are so blessed to have this sweet little Angel in our lives! Thanks for all your phone calls, visits, and especially your prayers that helped us get through this trying time in our lives!

Happy 26th!!

With Shane's Birthday the day before Father's Day he hit the Jackpot! It was 2 whole days of non stop Royal Treatment, It started saturday morning with Breakfast at Falcon Ridge, he spent the rest of the morning golfing, then we had a little party for him at the Pool! Sunday Brinley and I made him Breakfast in bed (although he got out of bed before we could get it to him) and he spent before and after church watching sports!! I would say he was a happy man! Happy BiRthday and Father's Day Shane!! Thanks for being the best Husband,Father,& Friend a girl could ever ask for!!!

Here goes...

I am new to this blogging world, and am still trying to learn the ropes, so bear with me!! I have enjoyed all of your blogs so much, I decided it's high time I start one of my own! So here goes...