A Fresh Start

Many of you may have already seen my post from Facebook, but for those of you that haven't, yesterday was an exciting day for us!  My wonderful husband went back to school after taking the last several months off and he started a new job!  I couldn't let him walk out the door without taking his first-day-of-school picture!

He's such a good sport!

When Eli was admitted to the hospital Logan was about a month into the semester and he knew right away he wanted to devote as much of his time as possible to being with Eli so he dropped his classes but continued to work.  We both knew he'd have a difficult time focusing in school and I definitely didn't want him to have that extra stress on top of everything else.  I didn't doubt for one second that he would go back to school when things settled down.  Logan typically takes a full summer as well but wasn't able to take any classes during the summer either so I know he was pretty excited to get back into it this semester.  I'm so proud of him for keeping such a positive attitude despite having to push things back a whole year.  

The other half of the news is probably the most exciting!  After working in the auto industry for several years, Logan found a job in the medical field.  This is a huge blessing for us for several reasons.  #1, he wants to go to PA school so he finally has a job in that field.  #2, he was sure he'd have to work weekends and holidays but this family practice is a clinic so he works Monday-Friday and no holidays.  Happy day!  Logan has worked on the weekend since high school so he couldn't be more excited to have a Monday-Friday, 8-5 job doing something he loves.  He will be working part time as an MA and already loved his first day!

I can't believe it's already the end of August!  I love the summer heat so much but can't help but be excited about September approaching for many reasons.  Football season is right around the corner, basketball season is right after that, and of course, the holidays.  Who doesn't love the holidays?  Before we get into all of that, Logan and I are taking one last little getaway down to Sand Hollow with some friends over Labor Day weekend.  It should be a good time!

I have to give a quick shout out to one of my wonderful sister-in-laws.  I mentioned to her that I wanted to use a wall in our apartment for a collage of some pictures of Eli so she came over that night and put it all together, including the "E"!

Thank you, Krystal, for being so talented!  It turned out better than I hoped for!

**For those of you that read my post about the hero party that Logan and I went to, you may remember that KSL was there.  Check out THIS blog for the KSL story that aired on Sunday as well as another really neat video they put together of the balloon launch.  This family is incredible and has taught Logan and I so much.**  

Newport

Mine and Logan's summer travels took another stop this past week.  My family, all 21 of us, went to Newport Beach and had a great time!  It doesn't happen often that we all get together at the same time, especially with one of my brothers and his family living in Minnesota.  We went on this same trip a couple years ago and had a ton of fun so we've been looking forward to going again for quite a while.  We spent a couple days in Disneyland/California Adventure and the rest of the week hanging out at the pool and on the beach.  Rather than bore you with too many words, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We love the condos we stay in!  They are right by the beach, a short drive to Disneyland and offer this fantastic view from our balcony:

For those of you that aren't familiar with Big Thunder Ranch in Disneyland, it's an all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant that most of us tried for the first time.  Prepare to be messy when you're finished eating!

Goofy's Kitchen is always a good time, especially for the kiddos!  The 7:00am reservation is a bit early but is definitely worth it!  Unfortunately 3 people weren't able to make it for the picture.

I could take pictures of this little peanut all day long!

There aren't many better ways to entertain the kids than spending the day at the beach!

Logan practically lived in the ice-cold water boogie boarding!  He talked me into joining him for a mere few minutes each day.

We love Crystal Cove Beach!  (And most importantly, the Shake Shack!)

Two of our favorite rides!
(I promise I wasn't really that scared on Splash Mountain)

Hangin' out by the fire

We had such a fun week and are so sad it's over!  Many thanks to my parents for such a fabulous vacation!

A Hero Party!

One of the fabulous families we met while in the hospital had a hero party for their son this morning and Logan and I were lucky enough to be a part of it!  His parents promised him a party because he was so brave when he donated his bone marrow to his older sister.  This party was a great way to honor Lisy and Tyler's true super hero as well as an opportunity to raise awareness for bone marrow donors and recipients.  

A bobble head of the Fish's son was created and attached to a giant weather balloon along with 4 GoPro cameras and a GPS.  The balloon was let go and sometime later today will land shortly after exploding once it reaches a certain height in the atmosphere.  KSL was there to cover the story and spotlight this amazing family that has done so much for the bone marrow and SCID communities.  

I love that the bobble head is wearing the same shirt as the real-life super hero in the picture below.

Each person in this picture has somehow been impacted by SCID and/or a bone marrow transplant or donation.  This is such a neat group of people we're blessed to know!

The amazing Fish family who put on this awesome party
(The two kiddos in front are the bone marrow donor and recipient and the little gal in the pink cape has also had a bone marrow transplant)

Getting ready for lift off!

Thank you, Lisy and Tyler, for letting us join in the festivities!

For those of you not already on the Bone Marrow Registry, take a look at THIS website (www.bethematch.org) for more information and consider joining.  A small sacrifice on our part could be such a blessing and miracle in someone else's life!

My New Escape

For quite some time I have wanted to invest in a new road bike but it never happened because we had more important matters to focus on.  As life started to settle down a bit I brought it up to Logan again and he was all in.  We began doing our homework a few weeks ago and finally found the one!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to cycling but I sure have loved learning!  We were inactive for so long it feels great to get out and finally get back in shape.  The heat has been brutal but we are definitely taking advantage being able to be outside.  Any tips you care to share are absoultely welcome!

Life is treating us well!  We are working here and there, Logan is liking his clinicals for the class he took this summer and we're definitely enjoying the summer!

This picture made me smile today:

I love the tube-free face!

Finally...a random shout out to the Primary's staff for making life in the hospital much more fun than you'd think by doing things like this!

Montego Bay, Jamaica!

Logan and I returned home a couple days ago from our fabulous vacation to Jamaica.  It was so good to get away with just the two of us and have some time to relax with nothing to worry about (for the most part).  We booked this trip 6ish weeks ago and had been counting down the days ever since.  It's hard to believe it has already come and gone!  

I love the beach but am a big wuss when it comes to cold water and rarely get in if it's not semi warm so I know Logan couldn't wait to get to the Caribbean where the water was perfect and I would actually do more than lay out all day.  It makes perfect sense then that the day after we got to Jamaica and were swimming in the ocean for the first time I would get stung by a jelly fish.  I felt something wrap around my arm and thought it was just seaweed or but when I shook my arm to get it off that's when it stung me.  When I pulled my arm out of the water it was already gone but I had a big welt across my forearm.  I told Logan I would be just fine and we kept swimming.  A couple minutes later my arm was quickly getting bright red and swollen but I still wanted to hold out for a bit.  Logan was insistent on getting it looked at because he didn't want it to: "ruin our vacation" so we went to the clinic at the resort and after one quick look at my arm they said I needed to go right to the hospital.  Fantastic.  One of the worst things I've ever been told is that I need medical care while in Jamaica.  The nurse was worried that I was going to go into shock and wanted me to be taken in an ambulance but I insisted that that wasn't necessary at all so fortunately we were able to sign some papers allowing us to go in a taxi.  Considering how much the taxi charged us, it probably wouldn't have been that much more expensive to take the ambulance after all!

I was seen by a doctor fairly quick and given a steroid injection that worked pretty fast.  They gave me an antibiotic and we were on our way!  I was perfectly fine after that and it never became an issue the rest of the trip.  God must have known we really missed the hospital or something...too bad that wasn't the hospital I had in mind!

Believe it or not, our hospital adventure wasn't the only exciting thing we were able to do!  Our week was filled with sail boating, hiking a beautiful waterfall, shopping, parasailing and of course tons of hours spent laying on the beach!

Although we didn't spend much time indoors, our room was amazing!

Pictures really don't do the view from our balcony justice.  It was beautiful.

We don't have a bathtub at home but I know Logan would love one.  Proof:

He was in heaven!

The view from where we ate lunch every day

Dunn's River Falls

Sail boating--Love him!

We unfortunately don't have any pictures from when we went parasailing because you have to purchase their million dollar ones but it was way fun!  I told Logan I wanted to do it and he was hesitant because he watches way too much YouTube but when I told him I was doing it whether he came or not he gave in :)

There were several weddings while we were there including this one on our last night.  They had many unwanted guests watching them tie the knot.  I'm fairly certain they had amazing pictures at least!

Logan skipping rocks on our last night there

Enjoying the sunset and trying to slow down time as much as possible before we went home the next day!

We reluctantly packed our bags after 8 wonderful days and can't wait to go back!  See you (hopefully) soon, Jamaica!

The Best Two Years

Time is an odd thing.  It has now been just over a month since we've had our little Eli with us.  In some ways it feels like the longest month of my life and in other ways it feels like the quickest.  Despite only living for a short four and a half months, we are fortunate to have a million memories with our little guy.  I love that I can say I vividly remember taking every single one of these pictures: 

Many events and expressions are captured in these pictures all the way from the day Eli was born to his first bath at home to celebrating Superbowl Sunday to the day his rash started showing up to some of his final days in the ICU.  I love the pictures that don't mark any big event but that he's simply smiling in because that truly shows how he was for the majority of his life--happy!  Several people have asked me since Eli passed away if he was miserable most of the time and I am quick to tell them: "No!" The last 6 weeks, while he was in the ICU, were undoubtedly hard on him but before that, Eli was a happy, thriving baby and I will always cherish every moment we had with him!

Because of the incredible power of the spirit, Logan and I are doing pretty well.  As expected, some days are much tougher than others but because of the amount of support we have continued to receive as well as the joy of what we believe in, we have found an immeasurable amount of peace in our lives.  

We have had the luxury of settling back into life at our own pace and haven't had to rush into anything which has been a huge blessing.  Logan has been getting ready to go back to school this fall and is also working here and there while I have been working a little bit and helping out with the Murray basketball team as well.  Before the end of the summer we have a few vacations to look forward to and can't wait to soak up some sun!

I'm a few days premature but Sunday will be mine and Logan's two year anniversary!  We have definitely experienced some bumps in the road but I would feel very ungrateful if I failed to mention what an amazing two years it has been.  I knew a long time ago that I wanted to marry Logan and to this day I am amazed that I have been blessed with such an incredible husband, best friend and father to my children.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for placing Logan by my side to experience both the happy and hard times in life.  I hope you know how much I love you, Rico!!  I can't wait to celebrate on the beach!!

All Natural

Logan and I had the opportunity to babysit my brother's little Lily a few days ago when they went to the USA vs. Honduras game.  As soon as they dropped her off Logan took right over and was so cute with her.  She loved watching Baby Einstein with her Uncle Logan and if he wasn't holding her, she would sit on the ground and watch his every move, including whenever he left the room.  It made me so happy to see Logan have so much fun with her.  He is definitely a natural when it comes to the kiddos!

We have received two incredible personalized drawings since Eli passed away that are honestly too amazing to describe.  I attempted to take a picture of them so everyone else can get an idea of how wonderful they are but the quality isn't great.  The first one has such a neat story to go along with it.  The woman who drew this picture saw Eli's obituary in the newspaper one day and felt impressed to draw him according to what she thought he'd look like as a little boy.  She said she felt his spirit so strong while she was drawing it that she had to stop because she was crying so hard.  She drew him in a white shirt and tie because missionary work is likely one of his biggest focuses right now.  I was speechless when I saw it because it truly does look just like him even though we never saw him that old.  I know she was inspired while she drew this picture because I see Eli all the way in it.  She drew this picture, wrote us a letter and dropped it off at the cemetery and asked them to give it to us without leaving any contact information.  I hope one day I will be able to personally thank whoever gave us this incredible gift.

The second drawing came from the sister of some wonderful friends of ours.  Once again, the artist's ability to capture Eli so perfectly completely amazed me.  It may be difficult to see in this picture but his face in this drawing is almost identical to what he really looked like.  The mouth, hair and cheeks look exactly like our baby boy.  I think my favorite part of this drawing is Eli holding Jesus' finger.  I can practically feel the love coming from this picture!

Earlier this week I went to lunch with several of the SCID moms that live in the area.  Talk about an amazing group of women!  They are all such insightful people.  I had such a fun time visiting with these ladies and can't wait to do it again soon! **Beginning July 1st (I'm pretty sure that's the date) Utah will officially have a newborn screening for SCID!  This is fantastic news considering it greatly increases the baby's chance of survival if it's caught early on.  Many thanks to all of those that have made this happen--including some of those women that were at lunch with us on Tuesday.  Thank you, thank you!**

For those of you that weren't able to make it to Eli's viewing or Funeral, I am uploading the following video for you to see.  A friend of ours made it for us and did a fantastic job capturing many of the memories we have with our little guy.