My hero...Dr William Hutson

I love this man! I get teary-eyed just looking at this picture of him. No, I am not talking about Nick (although I am in love with him). I'm talking about the man in the middle of us. Dr William Hutson (aka Fabio)--the man who said to me "there is no way in h***, I'm going to let a thirty year old stud die of liver failure"! When I first met Dr Hutson, he was approaching me in Nick's hospital room after Nick's liver biopsy/internal bleeding started.  He explained the biopsy of Nick's liver showed so much inflammation (hence the internal bleeding) that he needed a liver transplant. This moment was huge to me. Not only was I watching doctor's rush into the room because Nick's blood pressure and heart rate was dropping and they were running him to the ICU, but Dr Hutson is telling me Nick needs a liver transplant.  Until that moment, I still had hope that they could figure out what was going on with his liver and give him a special medication to make it better instead of putting him through major surgery.  Suddenly, my hope was smashed. That was a Wednesday. On Thursday, doctor's were telling me the next 6-12 hours were crucial because Nick had lost a lot of blood and they weren't sure about his brain function. On Friday, came the above statement from Dr Hutson as he explained Nick was being put on the Liver Transplant list as a Status One, which meant he was first to receive the next liver available in the surrounding five states. Dr Hutson was the one who called me the next morning (16 hours later) and told me that they had a liver for Nick. Dr Hutson was the one that managed his medication and liver function numbers after his transplant.  Dr Hutson was the main one we saw when Nick went in for follow up appointments after being released the hospital.  He would walk into the exam room and give Nick a wet willie! He would put his arm around me and ask how I was doing. He would cuss like crazy, but it was never offensive to me...it just made him personable and sincere. He was encouraging and funny.  He was extremely smart and humble.
Fast forward three years.  Nick received a letter inviting him to join the University of Utah's celebration of the first 100 transplants.  So we invited Nick's parents to come down with us to eat dinner and listen to their presentation.  We didn't realize until about halfway through their program that not only was this a celebration of their program's first 100 liver transplants, but also a goodbye/thank-you program for Dr Hutson.  He was leaving the U to move back east to be closer to his daughter. I almost burst out in tears! He got choked up himself when he got up to speak about leaving the U.  He had been there since 2006, he had started the liver transplant program as the lone hepatologist, and he personally knew each one of the 102 liver recipients. He knew each one of their stories. He had been the only hepatologist on-call for these liver recipients every day for at least 2-3 years.  But now he needed to be close to his daughter.  After the presentation there was a big line to go and talk with him. Nick had a follow-up appointment scheduled for two weeks away, but Dr Hutson was going to be gone by then. So, we went and said our good-bye's.  I really did get teary-eyed. I will miss seeing him and hearing about him.  This amazing doctor saved my husband's life and he will be missed tremendously.

Fieldtrips

The last field trip for Brielle this year was to the Ogden Nature Center.  The excitement started of early as we walked in and immediately saw three turkeys walking around the gift shop. When the kids tried to get near them, they would gobble like crazy and the kids thought it was hilarious! First, the kids made binoculars so they could spot the birds around the Nature Center. Then, we walked around the trails, went to some lookout points and also went through the "mouse hole". It was a lot of walking for the kids, but they thought it was fun. I think we'll have to go back this summer!
Emma's field trip this spring was to the Environmental Center. Nick was one of the lucky parents that got to go! (They honestly had to have a drawing in Emma's class to see which six of the 19 parents would get to go--we were on pins and needles all day!) Anyway, Nick traveled on the bus with them first thing in the morning. When they reached the Environmental Center, they divided into groups and Nick was in charge of five 2nd graders. They did four rotations that included a treasure hunt, archery, a hike and looking at things through a magnifying glass.  There was one mishap when Emma ran into a tree during the hike which Nick said was kind of funny, but he didn't tell Emma that.  She was just so excited that Nick got to go with them and I know he had a fun time helping them with their activities!

Easter Excitement 2012

Easter surprised me this year.  It was right after Spring Break at school and the Saturday before was really busy with other events.  We did not even get a chance to color Easter eggs! I guess it will have to count that they helped me fill eggs for my countdown/Easter sharing time lesson.  They also participated in multiple egg hunts at grandma/grandpa's, preschool, the city, and at home.  They left a note and a snack for the Easter bunny who brought them their own sunglasses, flip-flops, hula-hoops, a temple picture and lots of candy. I think it worked out just fine!

Emma's baptism

Emma...our "copper-penny"- haired daughter! What a surprise that red-hair was when she was born!I've heard a lot of comments about red-heads since she was born.  For example, they have a low-pain tolerance (true), they will eventually fade out of society (not true), they have a fiery-temper (some days) and they burn easily (very true). The special thing about her baptism day was that it was her great-grandmother's birthday who passed along the red hair! Since she died when Emma was a baby, I brought out a Grandmother's Remembrance book she made and Emma and I read it together. It was funny to see what things they had in common. Emma's baptismal program went really well. Since it was just Emma getting baptized, all of our family got to help. Emma's grandma's gave the talks, her grandpa's were the witnesses, and her uncles said the prayers.  She also played "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" on the piano. Nick performed the ordinances and I just sat back and cried! I couldn't believe that Emma was already getting baptized! She is such a great daughter! She is smart and always works hard in school.  She loves to read and I know she stays up late reading. She is a good older sister to Brielle and it is so nice when they play all day together. Emma is usually pretty competitive, but on the soccer field she is still a little timid.  She loves soccer, though.  She's very sensitive sometimes and we've had a few discussions this year about friends/friendship.  She loves to be outside riding her scooter or bike and she is wants a dog so bad that she offers to play catch with all of the neighbor's dogs. I can't believe she'll be in 3rd grade this fall, but she has already started practicing cursive and multiplication!  We love her so much! She is a wonderful, fun, cute, and imaginative girl!

Great to be Eight

Wow! Emma is now 8! That went way too fast! We had a great weekend with her birthday and baptism, too! Her birthday was on Friday and then she was able to get baptized the next day! So on Friday, we took cupcakes to her school class, went out to eat at Applebees, and had family over for cake and ice cream.  There were a lot of surprise presents this year because she didn't give us many ideas. So, we got her a new bike, a soccer ball, a game, a movie, clothes and a set of scriptures which she got the next day. She was also really excited about the caterpillars and butterfly net she got from her grandma. We watched and took care of those for the rest of the month (more pictures and details to come). The next day, after her baptism we took her to see the Lorax. Since Emma's birthday is also Dr Seuss day, she loves anything with Dr Seuss and it was a pretty cute show. By Saturday night we were beat but it was a fun, exciting weekend! Happy Birthday Emma!

Brielle is Five!

My sweet Brielle. I can't believe she is five and going to Kindergarten this fall! Her birthday weekend included her friend party, going to Texas Roadhouse, bowling, and a family party with cake and ice cream! Her birthday is always really easy to do because I can buy more for her at Christmas time and save half for her birthday in January or wait to see what goes on sale after Christmas and get some really great deals for her birthday! This year she really wanted a Polly Pocket Rock Star Stage and a Littlest Pet Shop Tree house. Luckily, Santa got her the stage and we got her the tree house. She also loves clothes and can go through several outfits a day.  Her other birthday wish was a pair of cupcake slippers that she wears all over the house! Brielle is the funniest girl! She is always talking and can either drive me crazy with her demands or make me laugh so hard with the words that she uses. She memorizes songs and movie lines by just hearing them once, so when you listed to her, she is either singing or quoting a movie.  She plays really well by herself, but she also likes to have play dates every day.  She loves to read and because Emma reads chapter books, this is what Brielle thinks she needs to borrow from the library, too!  Often I will find her reading to her stuffed animals or making decorations to her room or toys.  She has no fear when it comes to trying new things.  She loves Fridays when she is home with Nick and can talk him into doing absolutely nothing, but on occasion she will help him with dishes! We love her so much! We are so happy that she is a part of our family! Happy Birthday Brielle!

Princess Pajama Party

Brielle has been dying to have a friend party for her birthday, so we planned a "Princess Pajama Party" for the Saturday before her birthday.  Her friends came over early for breakfast that included muffins, fruit, milk, chocolate milk and orange juice.  First, we played "pin the crown on the princess", then musical chairs with princess music and finally they smashed a castle pinata.  For the cake, Brielle wanted donuts, so we made a tower of donuts for her to blow out! It was such a fun party!  I thought it was a nice change to do breakfast food, and have everyone in their pajamas, and have it all done by 11:00am! ha ha!