Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Debut of Regan Meabh Turner



Regan Meabh (pronounced REE-gan MAYVE) (Gaelic/Irish for "child of a king" and "intoxicating") was born August 18, 2009 at 11:24 a.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and is 19.5 inches long. She is a very happy, mild-mannered baby (so far). It feels as though she has always been a part of our family and she finally made it here! We are doting on her and the girls are showing her "the ropes" around our house.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

My Sidekick

Dear Bryn,

I already miss having you around everyday now that you're at school. Don't get me wrong, I do not miss the arguing with your sisters or the 20 repeats of everything funny said or done, the endless tormenting me with potty jokes. . .but I do miss you. I miss you making lunch for the girls which you always, er. . .usually did with a smile. I miss you following me everywhere and asking, "Whatcha doin?" I miss you telling me how bored you are and me getting to tell you I'm not the entertainment committee. I love that I got you addicted to the Anne of Green Gables books and that we could talk about it and then watch clips from the movie on YouTube. I asked so much of you and you amazed me with how responsible and dependable you are becoming. Thank you, Bryn, for giving me a more relaxing, quieter summer than the last few. I really enjoy your company and your amazing sense of humor!

All My Love,
Mom

First Day 2009-2010

This picture isn't very good but this is Scotty (2nd Grade) and Bryn (middle school) on their first day of school. Scotlyn was extremely excited and Bryn was extremely nervous. By the end of the day they both had a great time and were less worried. I'm so proud of them for being so brave!

Nashville Sounds


Nashville has a baseball team called The Nashville Sounds. Jared took the girls and Bryn's friend, Carly, to a game last week. They had a cool experience with a homerun ball landing right in front of them as they were in the parking lot getting ready to leave. They brought it to Coco for good luck!

Admittance, Ambulance, Asthma. . .and Flarp??

For journaling purposes let me re-live the account of our little Zion McKoy's journey to asthma. For months she had been struggling with her breathing and she was diagnosed with pneumonia about 3 times in the past year. We were always given the same drugs to relieve her but no one seemed to know the answer to why she kept getting sick. We knew something was awry when we were visiting Coco's best friend, Reagan, on July 30. Coco fell asleep with rapid, shallow, wheezing breathing and a very fast heartbeat. Once we got home I gave her something to take away her fever and gave her a nebulizer treatment that has always seemed to work in the past. It didn't this time. Jared took her to the hospital that night where she was admitted with pneumonia. After a few hours in her room there, the doctors were extremely worried because despite feeding her 100 percent oxygen her heartbeat refused to slow down and her fever was getting worse. Next stop--Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where she was transported via ambulance.

Once at Vanderbilt, she was admitted and they were better able to care for her and diagnosed her with asthma which is something we had only recently suspected. Now we know.

I should probably write a whole other post for this but I'll say it here since I don't have pictures. WOW! I am so impressed with my ward family. They really were there for us just as a family would be in a circumstance like this. Jill took Bryn and Scotlyn for the day to the zoo. Sally took me to the hospital (I would have never found it without her), Cristina, Gayle, Janet, and Urquia brought us wonderful meals. My visiting teacher, Gail, came over and weeded our front yard. The Bishop and his wife (Sally) came back again to the hospital to bring Coco gifts and see how she was doing and so many others called and wanted to help. I just can't thank everyone enough. I really understand what the meaning of a ward family is now and I want grow up to be just like my ward sisters!

When Sally came bearing gifts Coco got pretty excited about the pink bag and all that was in it. Her favorite thing in it, of course, was FLARP. The stuff is gooey and green and when you stick your fingers in it you hear the sound of toots. Coco thought this was the most hilarious thing ever. Whenever a doctor or nurse came in the room she hurried and grabbed it and did her business and laughed hysterically. It has been a big hit in our family ever since. I highly recommend this product!

Exhibit A. Flarping for personal enjoyment.
Exhibit B. Finger position when flarping.

Exhibit C. Demonstrating the loudest impact by putting your arm way up and then flarping.