Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The End of Another Year

Another year, come and gone.
It's been a pretty big year for all of us.

We moved back to Austin this summer.
Billy and I both started "new" jobs.
Emily graduated pre-K and started Kindergarten, not to mention losing 5-6 teeth.
Weston had a bumpy fall with more test, blood transfusions, surgeries and an ambulance ride; but happily we were able to stop steroids and his hepatologist said overall he was in a better place now than a year ago. He also started a more enriching pre-preschool and we have seen a marked improvement in his speech.

It's been a rough last week of December.
Unfortunately, the Houston BA group is mourning the loss of a precious baby girl that passed as a result of multiple major complications before/during/after her transplant.
It has really upset us all.
Any loss like that is absolutely heartbreaking, but even more so because it hits so close, literally, to home. Please keep Madelyn's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Another baby also lost his battle with BA up on the East Coast shortly after Madelyn passed.
And, there was a really devastating situation that presented itself at work today.
Lots of prayers for that young patient and their family.
 
And not to mention, we almost lost our Max Cat yesterday from acute renal failure.
Billy found him lethargic and drooling and rushed him to the vet just in time for them to intervene. Evidently male cats can have problems with urinary blockage.
The people at the vet acted swiftly and though Max is still at the vet receiving treatment, he is doing better.

SO, even though 2013 has ended on a pretty sour note, maybe it is a sign for change in the New Year.
Many blessings to you and yours in 2014.


Sunday, December 29, 2013

Golden Christmas 2013


Merry Christmas from the Goldens!
Pictures and commentary, to follow:


Homemade almond cookies and chocolate milk for Santa.
Reindeer food for the reindeer.
I had to work till 7pm Christmas Eve, so I had planned ahead and had the cookie dough pre-made so all we had to do was bake and ice. Well, Emmy was not feeling well and wanted to go to bed early, so Santa's treats were faithfully set out by Mama...around midnight.



After a marathon evening of wrapping and preparing, we were ready for Christmas 2013:


Santa and his reindeer liked her treats


Precious expressions full of joy!



Santa brought scooters!










Weston and his GupB:
So, Weston had a rough night coughing and carrying on; thus he was not too interested in Christmas morning and true to Weston form, did not really give two thoughts to the presents.
But...when he opened his first present, the Octonauts' GupB (orange submarine) he was so excited. So much so, that he literally did not open the rest of his presents until a day or two later.
SERIOUSLY.













He even cuddled up with it!!
SO SWEET!

Ok, no rhyme or reason to the order of the following pictures. My computer is dying and it is way to tedious to move the pictures around on the post...looking at you blogspot developers.


Roaring dinosaur head light

Weston made a -erm, ornament at school
Emmy Christmas morning
Bubby singing! So cute!!

Oh em gee!! The Barbie Princess Dream Castle!!

Bubby and his dinosaurs

Monday, December 16, 2013

Houston, you always have problems

Our Liver Clinic Appt:

1. Ws labs are more elevated than the last go round. Bili is normal. Maybe from being sick with a cold?

2. Currently, they are thinking that his vein scarring procedure may have helped and hurt him. While he needed to have something done to keep him from bleeding into his intestine, now there is more compromised blood flow.

3. Compromised blood flow to any organ/tissue causes damage. (Think heart attack process) This is probably why his numbers are still high.

4. The great bile duct blow out of 2012 has nothing to do with this vein/blood flow thing that is currently playing out.

5. "Portal Hypertension" keeps getting used. I need to review some info on this before I explain further.

6. A very brief, very much un-welcomed mention of a possible re-transplant years down the line if they can't get this sorted out. Mom started to get bat-shit crazy, so I was reassured it was nothing he needed NOW and the convo was quickly steered elsewhere.

7. Next step is a MRI over the holidays to study blood flow to the liver.

While we are not in a crisis situation right now, I sure would appreciate prayers and positivity sent his way. We'll keep you updated. Thanks!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, November 30, 2013

November in Review


No updates in a month!
Here's what we've been up to:
 
DaddyDaddy:
Billy's first season of coaching Volleyball came to an end; rightfully boasting an impressive 8-1 record. Way to go, Coach!
Basketball season is already underway and they started his favorite sport off with an unprecedented 54-9!!
 
Mommy:
Work and call.
No joy, there.
Contemplating a career change.
Seriously.
Nursing, specifically OR nursing, blows.
 
 
Munchkins:
Emmy preparing food in her Cooking Class

Baby Picasso

Playing at school

Perusing the latest issues of Toys Illustrated

Show and Tell!!



Lovey Bug at her Thanksgiving Feast!

Sweet Pumpkin



Don't ALL cowboys wear dino footie PJs?

Self proclaimed "Queen of Eating Dinner" on Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving at Nana's. Turkey was great and it was "pants optional", thanks to Bubby.


 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Cooking Class

We signed Emily up for after school cooking classes once a week.
She loves it!
Check out our little Julia Child:


 Banana Stuffed French Toast:







Homemade Hash Browns:






Meringue Cookies:






Even though she is the only "little" kid, she loves it!  

Saturday, October 12, 2013

6th Annual Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch!!
It's one of my favorite holiday traditions with the kids.
I'm so glad to be back in Austin so we can make the short trip to Sweet Berry Farms.
The only thing is, it was friggin' hot today!! The middle of October and sweating like crazy.
I still dressed the kids in their long-sleeved Halloween shirts, because I am "that" mom.

The Goat Pen
(My theory is that they are an integral part of the fertilizing regimen)









Two precious baby goats. The closer one had a beautiful, wavy coat.



Emmy got to see baby goats drinking milk from their mama



I call this the family portrait.
Because this is usually how it looks when I sit down,
Emmy, Wes and Mommy goats


Pumpkin Patch Princess


No pumpkin pictures for the Bubby. He had about all he could handle before we even saw ONE pumpkin.

One of the activities they offer is flower picking.
They have rows and rows of beautiful zinnias and sunflowers that you can pick.
Needless to say, Emmy and I were all over that!








Arbors with gourds





Our bountiful harvest:








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