Funny Story

I have to tell the story behind the picture below. It is just too good of a story to pass up.

Once upon a time-just kidding. In the '80's we had this elder that served his mission in Phoenix. He became really close to our family, partly because my oldest brother Ben was on his mission at the same time. Elder Greenwood was a good substitute for a little while. When he went home he did the normal thing and got engaged. Well, my mom had to go to his wedding. So she decides that Suzi and I should go with her. We packed up my dads little Toyota station wagon and made our way to Utah. Oh, but don't think that it was an easy trip, oh no. There was adventure and danger.

When we got to Kanab, the car started to have some problems. It was overheating and my mom didn't think that we would make it to Provo. She was right. I don't remember exactly where we were, but in the middle of the night the car broke down. We were able to coast into this abandoned store parking lot and park next to the store. Remember-two women and a girl, alone, in a parked, broken down car at night before cell phones had even been a common thing.

There was a payphone near by so my mom went and called my dad to let him know what had happened and she also called her friend in Utah who we were going to be staying with. Well the friend said she was coming to get us so stay put. No problem. As we are sitting in a dark, broken down car another strange car keeps passing by us. It went by a couple of times. Then it pulled into the parking lot. My mom said to me "hand me the iron." I hand her a curling iron. She tells me "that's not the iron I want, I want the iron for clothes." I couldn't find it, so she said give me the iron. At this point the man in the car has turned around and pulled up next to our car and asked my mom if we needed any help. My mom said no, we were waiting for a friend.

Okay, it doesn't sound so scary, but if you were there you would have been scared. My moms friend did come and pick us up. We made it to the wedding and reception the next day and even enjoyed our stay. My dad and brother drove our van to pick us up and on our way back we picked up the Toyota and towed it home.

This is just one of many vacation adventures. I have so many more I could tell.

Happy Birthday Suzi

(This picture is in 1988, we are in Utah at a wedding- Don't you love our hair!)

Yesterday, was my sister Suzi's birthday. She turned _?_ years old. (I know how old she is, I just don't know if she wants me tell) I have a great sister. She is an amazing person, so I am going to list off just a few things that make her great.
She:
has an amazing heart
has raised two wonderful kids
always giving of her time
always willing to do anything to help her family or friends
very intelligent
the most patient of all the siblings (and that's not an easy thing in this family)
a voice for you when you don't know what to say
a comforter
a great Aunt
A great sister
an advocate for her kids
is her kids biggest fan
is a hard worker
is funny and fun to be around

My sister has been such a huge rock for me the last few weeks. When I went into labor, I knew my parents were at my grandma's house and it would take them some time to get to the hospital. I told Justin to call my sister. I didn't know if she would be able to come, I didn't even know if they would answer the phone. Luckily, Terry, my brother in law, is in the National Guards and will wake to any noise and he answered the phone. When they brought me back to my room after the c-section I opened my eyes and my sister was standing by my bed. It was such a comfort to know that she was there. She stayed with me each day I was in the hospital so Justin could be with Duncan. So when I list off just these few things about my sister, she really is all of them. She is a great and wonderful person and I hope she had a great birthday.

Comforting thought

I went to the hospital today to see Duncan and he was doing much better. He has an infection in his lungs, but they have him on antibiotics and in about 7 days it should clear up.

I had this really great feeling today. As I was sitting by his bed looking at him and just feeling so helpless, I thought "Why do the lungs have to be the last thing to develop?" and this is what came to me: Because the lungs continue to develop and the lungs can be fixed, the brain can not. The heart would be difficult to fix, but the lungs can be helped with machines. And then this was the great feeling I had, that he will be okay. He will have hard days, but you have to be patient and know that he will be okay.

I know that Heavenly Father is watching over him. I know that the Dr.'s and nurses are watching over him and doing every thing they can do for him. It is a day by day process. Each day brings challenge or comfort. I just believe that I have to be patient which is very hard for me because I want to see instant results and it doesn't work that way. Please keep praying for Duncan and his Dr.'s and nurses that care for him.

A little Bump

The roller coaster ride is on a down side right now. Duncan had a really rough day. (This picture is from a few days ago). His little lungs just don't want to cooperate. The Dr. thinks that he has an infection now. It is so hard to sit by and see him struggling. I just feel so helpless and I am so emotional when I see all this happening. The Dr. today was actually very nice. She told me what was going on, they had the oxygen on the highest settings that she felt comfortable with and decided that they needed to go on the oscillator. She said it is much better for his lungs and is much more gentle. She said that infections can be fixed, and she was almost positive it was an infection, and that we have to keep going back to those two brain scans that came back with no bleeds. She said what is going on is fixable, the brain can't be fixed, so we have to be grateful for that. I am so extremely grateful for that. They took him off his feedings until they get this situation under control, so he will loose some weight. They also did an Eco to check and make sure that the hole in his heart didn't open back up. If it did, we will go another round with the medicine and then he may have to have the surgery to close it. The Dr. said that will be a later discussion. Justin and I have to put our trust in the Dr.'s and nurses and most importantly our Heavenly Father. It is so hard though.

I was sitting watching the tech. do the Eco on Duncan today and I had no idea what he was looking at and measuring. I could tell it was the heart, but it was much more complicated than that. It seriously made me realize how grateful I am for Doctors, nurses and techs. who spend thousands of dollars and go to years of school to go into the medical field. I pray for Duncan's nurses and Dr.'s that they will know what to do for him. It is so hard to put your trust in someone who is after all only human.

Thank you for all your prayers, please, please keep praying for him and his lungs and heart.

2 pounds!!

Duncan's got a watch cat. Justin and I got that for him and the way it is in his bed it looks like it is watching over him.

HE DID IT!!! He has hit the 2lb mark. We are so excited. We just hope that he holds that weight and gains from here. When we went to see him today, I kept looking at him and thinking he looked a little bigger. Even his head and length look bigger. He loves his tummy still. The nurses keep saying that he is the boss and they do what he wants. The only thing is that they have to put him on his side and back for a little bit each shift so his head doesn't get flat.

Sleepy baby

Justin and I went to see Duncan this evening and he is doing good. They have given him a medicine to help dry the liquid in his lungs. They are hoping it works and that his breathing improves so they can go down on the settings on the breathing machine. He did loose a couple of ounces yesterday and is at 1lb. 13oz. but they think the medicine they gave him did that. It will continue to happen, his weight will go up and down. He is doing really well on his feedings. He is now at 3 cc's every 3 hours. He looks like he is filling out. We hope to see some growth in the next couple of weeks. They only measure them on Sundays.

Justin and I appreciate all the prayers and kind thoughts that everyone sends us. Keep praying for Duncan that his lungs will mature and that the hole in his heart will stay closed. I really feel that Heavenly Father is watching out for him and blessing him in so many ways.

Little Blondie

Duncan is two weeks old and the last few days have been good for him. They have been keeping him on his tummy and just turning his head so it doesn't get flat on one side. Today he is 1lb. 15 oz!! He is close to 2lb!! He is doing well with his feedings and likes to have his binky as he is fed. Today at noon a developmental specialist was watching him as the nurse did her rounds. She was checking to see how he reacted to touch and what he did as he was fed. He opened his eyes and was looking at me and Nana. He smiled a little too. She said he was doing all the things that he was supposed to be doing. They also look to see if they are too tired and what the nurses need to do to make sure he doesn't get too tired.

Justin and I went back this evening just in time for another feeding. He was so squirmy. He likes to move a lot. Earlier he had rolled off the little blanket roll they have him laying on, he was quickly put back on and secured a little more.

He was happy to hear his daddy's voice and even smiled for him a little too. He likes to keep his hands close to his face, and he will even suck on his fingers, like he is doing in the picture. And look at all that blonde hair!! Justin isn't convinced Duncan is his because he doesn't look anything like him. Every time there is a new nurse they look at him and me and say, "So that's where all the blonde hair comes from." One even asked me if I was a natural blonde. I wanted to ask her if her gray hairs were her natural hair color. Yes, it is my natural color. A lot of people think he looks like my dad, and he does, but he also looks a lot like my grandpa Cothrun.
He is just so cute. And he loves his Nana, Papa and Aunt Suzi. I think he is starting to recognize their voices. He loves his cousin Aubree too and he will open his eyes for her one day soon. :)