Weekend Trip

This last month we decided to make a quick trip to CA to Ronny's parents house to restock our meat supply, get our fill of Papa's orchard, and see his sister Liz. She and her cute kids had come from New Jersey and we hadn't seen her in several years. Her oldest son is the closest cousin in age to our children. Her son and Sam are only a month apart and the last time they were together they were great playmates.

We left late Thursday afternoon and drove until the sun went down and the kids were done in the car. We made it all the way to Winnamucca, NV. We even found a hotel with 3 queen beds, real beds, not a sofa bed. This is pretty amazing considering how small this town is.

We made it into Turlock about 5:00 Pacific time the following day and were welcomed by all the cousins minus Aaron's family. Our kids were thrilled. They quickly found the water and were drenched in seconds. Anjanette drove up to from So Cal with Jackson and Deborah and Eric came over from the coast with their three so the house was packed. Thankfully a friend of the Bjarnason's offered for us to stay at her home while we were there. We jumped at the chance knowing this would alleviate the stress of so many using one bathroom and allowing us all the sleep in a bed as opposed to the floor, it was great! She also happened to have a pool which our children made good use of while we were there.

Saturday morning was cousin time and then we headed out to Livermore for Jon's 30th birthday party. We didn't quite realize how big the event was going to be and didn't anticipate spending so much time there but we had a great time. The house the party was at had a pool with a water slide from the back hill feeding into it. The kids had a blast. They were tired and worn out by the time we left, unfortunately we couldn't convince any of them to sleep on the way back.

We left right after Sacrament meeting the next day and arrived home about midnight Sunday night. It was a quick trip, really quick! (We spent more time in the car than we did in CA). We made it home with 3 coolers of meat and one large box of the best fruit you'll ever have! It was worth every minute of it!

Joseph's Finger

This last week we headed to Joseph's surgeon's office in Salt Lake for his final visit. Hooray! Joseph had his stitches removed and had his final exam before the doctor declared him healed.

After about a week and a half of sitting around Joseph had enough of the "no physical activity" clause the doctor imposed. I quickly realized that enforcing this rule was useless and had to come up with other "rules" that would at least keep the finger safe in the event of a fall. Such as: "When running, Joseph you may not have anything in your left hand so that if you fall at least you have one hand to stop you before the right hand hits", and "No rock climbing activities", and "when climbing on playground equipment don't use your bad hand to hold on use your left!", and "swimming is out but water guns are alright as long as your splint and ace bandage are on!". Joseph managed to make it through the 6 weeks without having the stitches and skin graphs redone. Truly it was a miracle!

The doctor said his fingernail may take a few years to grow "normally" like his others, although it may be crooked and will probably grow over the top of what is left. It looks as if its already growing but we will have to watch it. Joseph fussed a little while the surgeon was removing the stitches and cutting off scar tissue. This is a good sign as it looks as if his nerves are already coming back. We were worried he wouldn't get the feeling back on the tip but that doesn't look like it will be a problem. The doctor also told him not to do any real rock climbing for at least a year to allow the tissue and nerves to continue to heal completely.

Sponge Bob has officially been retired and now has a place on Joseph's shelves. Hopefully he stays in retirement and never comes out! As soon as we got home from SLC we put our swimsuits on and headed to the pool! We have all been waiting for his stitches to come out. Our goal is to go swimming everyday we can!

Milestone

The day after we returned from Oregon we met with our Realtor at the title company to sign the papers for our first house. We have hoped, worked, saved (had a little help from my sister), and prayed for this day for the last 11+ years. We are sooooo excited and so are our children. The day after signing we received the keys and started planning on where to put things. I took the kids to Home Depot and let them pick out colors for their rooms (with a veto or two). We set the date to move on June 23rd just a week and half away and wanted to get at least the base coat on before we put any furniture in the house. We set to work immediately on taping, prepping, and finally painting. For family night the following Monday we let the kids get their hands dirty (literally) with painting their rooms. That lasted for about 30 minutes until they were done and then we headed to a park just down the road to finish up the night. Here are a few pictures of the kids rooms and the some of the house now that we have a few pictures hung and the front sod is finally finished.

I promise to post pictures as soon as I find where I put my camera!

Sam's "Graduation"

Sam's class at school has been working on an animal unit in science. While we were in OR their class took a trip to the zoo. We knew we would miss this so we went while they were off track in May. At the end of the unit their class had a project to come up with a "mixed" animal and had to come dressed to school like their made up animal and be prepared to tell three things about this animal. Sam chose to be a "dogen". He was half dog and half chicken. His facts were that dogs were mammals, mammals had live births, and chickens were birds. He had a great time.
At the end of the presentation the teacher stood up and said the kids had officially graduated from kindergarten and began presenting the kids with their certificates of advancement. I had no idea that this was happening and was glad I made it there that day! I was also happy to have had my camera in my purse!

The week before this presentation Sam had his yearly special ed testing. At three years old Sam was diagnosed with ADHD. This automatically qualified him for special ed in the public school system. Before we left OR last year he had all his initial testing and IEP completed so we would have it when he started school here. He has made amazing progress in the last 3 years. So much so that when he was tested this time around he did so well that he was officially kicked out of special ed services. His tests also came back showing that he is "gifted" according to this districts standards. Way to go Sam! He is looking forward to starting 1st grade at the end of this month.

Rocky Finish

Saturday Night after all our adventures with graduation and time with friends and family we finally quieted the kids down for the night. Shortly after midnight Charley stumbled over to the foot of our bed and told us she was not feeling well. Then she puked all over the carpet. About an hour later Ben started. By the time dawn broke Ronny and I were feeling terrible also. We had plans to go to church and spend the afternoon with friends. Those all changed as we hunkered down for a long day.

In the mid-morning I gathered the boys up, headed to the store and bought laundry soap and went back over to Camas Commons to wash some things as pretty much everything we had at that point was dirty due to so many clothes changes. While I was gone Ronny contacted the front desk about our situation and they moved us to a new room so that our previous room could be cleaned. By the time I returned I was really not feeling good. Having so many sick in a small hotel room with one bathroom is not ideal!

Unfortunately we missed seeing many friends and headed out of town the next day as soon as we felt we could manage it. We made it to Boise that night just in time for Joseph to start his puking. Blahhh! We were happy when we finally made it home!

OSU Graduation

Dr. Ronny's OSU Graduation

Here is a picture of just some of the 2010 graduates. Picture 2 more sections like the ones on the left and you'll get a better idea of how many there were. OSU is one of the few universities who actually hand out the actual diplomas at graduation. Can you imagine the logistical nightmare this might be????

Ronny is at the very top left being hooded by one of his major professors Dr. Tadepalli.

Ronny on the jumbo tron walking across the stage and shaking hands with the Pres. of OSU.

Ronny and his good friend Jared who received his Phd in Physics. Jared and Stacey are some of the great friends we made while in OR. They have 4 boys were match up just about perfectly in ages to our own. We had lots of fun playing cars, trucks, trains, dinosaurs, soccer, and countless other activities with them. Congrats to you Jared and Stacey!

After the university wide graduation we headed back over to where we lived the last few years while in Corvallis. Some amazing friends we have there threw us a big barbecue and invited all our friends so we could catch up and see lots of those who made our time in OR unforgettable. These are two of their boys who we feel are family. Our children spent countless hours together. Thanks Heather and Evertt! We truly made lifelong friends while there and learned so much from their true Christlike examples.

This is at the college of EE-CS graduation. This graduation is put on by the students of the two colleges and something that Ronny has helped put together for the last several years. It was great to be apart of those graduating this time around!

Go Beavers!
The end of a very long day of events! We went to the bookstore earlier so the kids could pick out new OSU gear to wear to dad's graduation. The boys and I had terrible allergies while we were there and felt like we were drinking Benadryl as if it was soda trying to just be able to breathe!

Dr. Ronald Vance Bjarnason Jr. and Dr. Ronald Vance Bjarnason Sr.
I love this picture! We are so grateful to Papa Ron and Nana Stephanie for making the trip and celebrating with Ronny. They have lead by great example the importance of education! All three their boys are now Drs. in their own fields of study.

Ronny and Dr. Tadepalli one of his major professors. The other is Dr. Fern however I don't know what happened to the picture I took of him. Sorry.

Ronny and his good friend Neville. We love Neville, our kids especially! Neville was a rockstar on the side of being a grad student. He even found time to teach Joseph a few guitar lessons. Neville is one of the many friends Ronny made in his lab while at OSU.

We did our best to feed these guys as often as we could and our children came to love them all. Many times we would surprise Dad at this office and completely disrupt any work being done by these guys. They were always so kind to stop what they were doing and play with the kids for a few minutes. We even conned a few of them into babysitting a couple times. We did our best to provide a family setting for them while away from their own homes. Many times they were our extended family during holidays when we were so far from our own. We hope as they travel to conferences and on vacations they will stop in and keep in touch!

Dinner with Nana and Papa

In June we traveled back to Corvallis, OR for Ronny's graduation. Ronny's parents were kind enough to join us in the celebration. We decided to show them a few of the fun things we liked to do while we were there. We started with dinner at the Japenese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. Ironically our chef spoke Spanish which I think made Ron Sr. feel right at home. The kids loved the "show" and the food except for Ben. He was not too fond of the fire! The waitress would stop and chat every time she walked near us. She was totally floored with our 4 children and how much they all looked alike. Since moving to UT we have forgotten how "odd" a family of six is to some. I can't tell you how many comments we received while living there about our family size. Mostly for the positive which helped shadow those that were not so much. After dinner we walked over to Franchesco's for our favorite gelato. We sure miss that place (Denise especially!).

Our whole trip we laughed as people would circle Joseph and just stare at "Sponge Bob". Every once in a while someone would gather up enough courage and ask what happened to his arm. Joseph would sheepishly tell them he had cut part of his finger off and we would all laugh at the look of horror that would come over their faces. Then we would explain what happened and they would all just shake their heads. Everyone we spoke to wished him well and a few added their names to the growing list scattered all over the sponge.

Hike to Stewart Falls

The first Saturday in June Ronny took the kids minus Joseph hiking with my sister's and their families. J and I stayed home and packed boxes and hung out as he wasn't up for too much activity after his mishap with the blinds. Here are a few pictures of the adventure.

Catch Up

Ok, we took the month of June off from here as our lives were extremely crazy! Now its time to catch up. Be prepared for lots of posts coming in the next couple days!

Sleep, it's a wonderful thing!

Ronny volunteered to take a 1/2 day off of work today so that he could do the night shift last night with Joseph so that I could get some sleep. Joseph went down within minutes last night and finally slept. I woke him up to take his antibiotics at 2:30 and he went right back down. Hooray! Things went so well that Ronny went to work at the normal time this morning. Joseph seems to be doing well this morning. Today I have decided to give him pain meds only when he asks for them. We'll see how well he does. We've pretty much given up on the sling as its too hard for him to keep his arm upright so he walks around with "Sponge Bob" on all the time. Its pretty funny.

My sister, her husband and children and my mom all came for a visit last night. Joseph really loves having visitors. It helps him laugh and keeps his mind off his finger. Sometimes we have to remind him to slow down and be careful when they are here. Uncle Mike brought over an assortment of flavored milks for Joseph. He is in heaven with those.

Today Joseph asked for help getting dressed. He apparently has decided that he is done living in his pajamas. This is a good sign! I told him he has to have a bath first and that we would have to cover his arm with a trash bag before getting in, he thinks this is going to be cool. We'll see. He is also going to start practicing writing with his left hand today in preparation for returning back to school next week. He is not so jazzed about that.

Long Nights Part 2

After returning home Joseph was feeling pretty good. The morphine and lidocaine shots worked longer than I had anticipated. Ronny surprised Joseph with IN N OUT for dinner that night. (This is Joseph's favorite!) Our great neighbor across the street kept the kids entertained all day and sent home some food with us when I picked them up. We are truly blessed to have her next door!

When it came time for bed, Joseph surprisingly went right to sleep. Unfortunately we had to wake him up only a couple hours later to give him his medication. At that point he really felt the pain! He cried and fussed for a good two hours not being able to be consoled anymore. At that point I just crawled into bed with him and held him. We had Ronny set up the laptop on top of his dresser and we watched Star Wars the rest of the night. Sadly he would finally fall asleep and then have to be woken up shortly there after for his antibiotics. I think be both only managed about 2 hours of sleep that first night.

Yesterday was better than we hoped. The other kids were able to distract him most of the day. I couldn't seem to convince him to take a nap though. I took him to karate for a few minutes to watch the new moves he would need for his test when he gets his splint off. He managed about 20 minutes before asking to go home. His sensei is great and is missing a couple fingers and his left leg so he totally understands what Joseph is feeling.

After dinner Uncle Aaron and Aunt Meghan came over for a visit. Joseph loves Aaron! (probably because Joseph is a carbon copy of him in personality). Aaron had him laughing hysterically which was good to see. We took them over to the new house and gave them a tour. We were pleasantly surprised to find the house complete aside from the new carpet and landscaping. (I think we may close sooner than expected!)

When we finally got him in to bed he was hurting again. I think the nights are harder because there are no distractions from the pain. He and I ended up watching more Star Wars but did manage about 4 hours of good sleep. An improvement which we hope continues.

The kids go back to school next Tuesday. Joseph is very worried. He knows that the end of the year tests start as soon as they go back. We are not sure how this will work as he can't write with his right hand. We plan to practice with his left one in the next couple days. For a kid who gets out of work anyway he can, he is surprisingly concerned about these tests. It will work out, I'm sure Joseph is not the only kid who breaks an arm or hand right before tests.

Trauma Part 1

Joseph with his foam support. We affectionately call it "Sponge Bob"

Joseph after getting home from a long day in the ER. We both were there in our pajamas as we didn't have time to change before heading over.

Yesterday morning I was sitting at the computer when I heard Joseph scream, "Mom there is so much blood!" I hate those words, they are never good! He came running up the stairs holding his finger out. The tip was covered in blood and dripping profusely. I jumped up carried him downstairs, grabbed a clean cloth, and shouted to Charley. I really didn't look too closely at his finger as it was apparent he needed the ER right away. She came running, I told her I was taking Joseph to the ER. She didn't even bat an eye. She just said no problem Mom. (Its pretty sad when she thinks this is just another normal day!). I called Ronny who had just left for work and told him to turn around and come home as Joseph had just seriously cut his finger and he needed to come home to be with the other kids while we were at the hospital. On the way I asked him what had happened. He had been wrapping the cord of the blinds in Sam's room around his finger and pulling his finger out. He said usually the cord just loosened up and his finger came out. This time though the cord took his finger right off.

Thankfully the hospital is only 5 minutes away and happens to be a new Primary Children's endorsed hospital. We walked in and were greeted by the sign in lady and an older women who immediately came over and tried to soothe Joseph while I checked him in. We were immediately taken to triage where I got my first real look at his finger. The nurse looked at me and asked if I had brought the missing portion in as well. The top 1/2 inch of his finger was gone and the white portion sticking out that I originally thought was his finger nail was actually his bone sticking out. I grabbed my phone and called Ronny and told him to find the missing piece, wrap it and bring it to the hospital ASAP. I also told him to take the kids next door while I prayed our neighbor was home and could take them indefinitely. At this point, knowing how bad this was I wasn't sure if they were going to transport Joseph to Salt Lake or be able to take care of him there.

Ronny arrived at the hospital just as the doctor came in and he cleaned and prepped the missing portion of his finger and cleaned and dressed his finger. Up to this point Joseph was upset and terrified but still able to be consoled. The doctor then said they would need to give him an IV and Joseph freaked out! It took Ronny and I and another nurse to hold him down. Once the IV was in they pushed morphine and an anti nausea medicine. The nurse looked at me and asked if she should go get some more for me. I was doing great up until this point. Thankfully Ronny was there so that I could pull myself together. It took me a few minutes but I didn't pass out or lose my stomach. (Quite an achievement after seeing his finger I assure you!) They then took him to x-ray to confirm the bone was still intact, it was.

The doctor came back and told us he was calling in a specialist from Salt Lake who would come and reattach Joseph's finger. We said great but didn't realize it was going to take him 3 hours to get there. GRRRRRRR! When the doctor arrived and examined Joseph's finger he told us there were a few problems. The way the finger was severed it exposed the bone and killed the blood vessels that provided blood supply to the top of that bone. This left us with 3 options. To save that portion of the bone he could connect his finger to his abdomen for the next month while more tissue grew to cover the bone that could provide blood supply, 2. Fuse his first and second finger together with the first at an arc to do the same thing, 3. File off the bone until enough tissue that was left could be skin grafted to cover the bone and provide the blood supply. Knowing how active Joseph is and knowing he is a 7 year old boy the first two options would probably result in him tearing more tissue and bringing us back to the third option eventually so we opted for option three which turns out to be the most recommended and chosen option.

At this point the surgeon asked if we would like to put Joseph in a papoose board. I have had experience with this and knew this would traumatize him more than just holding him still. They pushed in more morphine before starting and I calmly gave Joseph the choice. He could hold really still while the doctor gave him the lidocaine shots and worked on his finger, or they could tie him to a board to keep him still. He tried to negotiate for just putting him to sleep. I explained he would have to go to the OR for that and would probably end up staying the night and Mom and Dad couldn't come with him if that was what he wanted. He chose to have me hold him and lay still. Joseph did a GREAT job! He laid perfectly still although being totally terrified (that made two of us!). I held a sheet between the doctor and his face and the two of just hunkered down while the surgeon and nurses did their thing. Ronny joined us when they started the shots but watched most of the procedure.

When the surgeon said file his bone, he really meant cut his bone. He ended up taking about 1/3 of an inch to 1/2 an inch off the top of his finger. Then he removed all the inner tissue of the tip of his finger and reattached it to what was left of his finger. His finger will be about 1/2 inch shorter than it was before but he will have a nail bed that will probably grow a little crooked. In the end Joseph really did amazing. He didn't move an inch. After that they gave him antibiotics through his IV and then proceeded to splint his arm. The splint goes from under his elbow up and over his arm and hand and then back down and around the elbow again. His arm is completely immobilized for the next month. He is prohibited from any physical activity that would jostle his hand. To this little boy, that is pretty much everything!

The doctor informed us that once the morphine and other drugs Joseph was given wear off, Joseph would have a really tough time with pain. He cautioned the next 24-48 hours would be the worst of it. We are seeing that now!

WHAT!?!?!?

This morning (May 24th) we woke up to this!

So the boys are doing this!

House Pictures

Front of the house, they will start to lay the cement for the stairs tomorrow.

Side of the house: Those white doors go to a built in storage shed.

Living Room from the front door; blue carpet to be replaced soon.

Another angle of the living room and stairs.

Kitchen, we went with quartz counters as none of the granite matched the cabinets. Stainless steel appliances were already ordered to go in so our fridge will match.

Kitchen and dining area. All this is tiled and we have recessed lighting in here.

Master bath and shower. This was done before we bought the house, we love the tile!

Master Vanity

Half the walk in closet (apparently I forgot to take a picture of the master bedroom). Picture large room with lots of windows and blue carpet for now.

Laundry Room (its upstairs, Yahoo!)

Kids bathroom

Two of the three kids room. At the right is a large linen closet.

Hallway to half bath and stairs to basement.

Stairs to basement

Family Room in basement, through that door is the unfinished portion. We will eventually finish another bathroom, bedroom/office, and storage closets.

Back of the house, everything not concrete will have sod. Eventually we will put in a fence.

From the driveway; view of the path to the park and church.

House Update

This last Friday night the kids and I headed over to the house to see what had been done this last week. Some good friends of ours came along to check things out as well. We discovered the carpet installers were just finishing up laying the carpet as we came in. Unfortunately they were just finishing putting in the WRONG carpet! The carpet chosen for this house before we purchased it was midnight blue, not really up my alley! We went to the design center 3 weeks ago and changed to a dusty brown color called Harvest Sable. Apparently someone didn't get the paperwork for the change. I picked up a scrap of the carpet and asked the installer what color this was. He told me black! I told him he had just laid the wrong carpet. I don't think he spoke much English so I'm not sure he understood me. So on Saturday we went into the sales office to pick up something and see the builder's realtor. We told her about the carpet and she immediately apologized and confirmed we had picked out a brown/beige carpet. She told us she would call the design office first thing Monday morning and we told her would do the same. She assured us they would fix this. Hopefully this won't push our completion date back too far.

On a happy note, the formica counter tops that were originally installed have been removed and the quartz counters we picked out have been installed. They look great. I need to remember to take a camera next time so that I can post the progress.

Completion Date

The builder of our house finally set a completion date, June 10th. We have been waiting for this the last two weeks. Now we have an idea of when we'll be needing to be packed up and ready to move. Ironically its the same day we are heading back to Oregon for graduation so we will see when we'll actually close with delays and travel plans. At least we now have an idea. I started the packing process yesterday. I'm sure it will pick up now that we know what to expect.

SOLD

So after lots of frustration and multiple offers on other houses that fell through for one reason or another we have finally bought a home. Phewww!!!
We spent all day yesterday looking at homes trying to take notes on each one so we could make sure we remembered which was which. Our realtor called a builder here in our community to find out what they already had built and those that would be finished in the next two months. We took a detour in the late morning to check out what they had. We had a hard time keeping everything straight. We liked a few but had lots of questions. We then looked at what was left on our list and broke for lunch. After a series of phone calls back and forth between our realtor and the realtor for the builder about different things the their realtor called us back and told us there was one more home that she forgot to show us. We headed on over and met her at a new home that was probably about 80% finished. We walked in the front door and I knew this was the house. We walked through it and the feeling just got stronger. (Thank goodness Ronny was feeling the same way!) We asked about how much it would cost to finish the family room in the basement and to add granite counter tops, and how much they were willing to negotiate on the price.
After everything we went home and prayed about it. We both felt that this was the house for us. So we headed over to the sales office and were pleasantly surprised when their lender was offering 8,000 in closing costs and gave our realtor a raise on his commission as well. Our realtor called us this morning and told us our offer was accepted by the builder and that everything would be finished up between now and June 30 so we qualify for the federal tax credit as well yippee! We are scheduled to pick out paint, carpet, and granite colors on Monday.

Oh and yes, those are snowflakes in the picture. Utah weather!!!! Snow on April 29th, spring where are you????

Charley's New Retreat

I have been wanting to update Charley's furniture for the last few years but finances have never been what I needed them to be to be able to provide new digs for her. A few weeks ago my mom mentioned to me that she had a dresser that her husband was needing to be moved out of his house in order to get ready to rent or sell. Ben's dresser has been held together with staples the last few months so I jumped at it. I jokingly told her if there was any other furniture they needed gone I would be happy to take it off their hands. It was then she told me her hubby had an entire bedroom set for Charley if we wanted it. I thought she was kidding at first and then told her that this was something that I was really looking for.So... last night Ronny and I borrowed my Dad's truck, took the seats out our van, and headed for the Avenues in Salt Lake. When we arrived we were shown the room and my mouth dropped. This furniture was so cute and exactly what I wanted for Charley! Not only that, but there were two dressers a night stand and two bookcases that came along as well. Charley now has the nicest furniture in the house. THANK YOU DEX !!!! A big thank you to his daughters too who were willing to pass along their furniture.

Unfortunately I do not have sheets to fit the bed. That will be something we will have to go shopping for soon.

Early Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!! I know its a little bit early but Ronny will be out of town which means I will not have time to blog then. So to all the Mom's, soon to be Mom's, and women wishing they were Mom's, here's to you and all your faith, time, and talents!

Usually Ronny takes great excitement in taking the kids to the store and helping them pick out presents for me. Its always a treat to see what the kids have chosen and what guidance their dad gave them.
A couple weeks ago I was at Costco picking up some things for our primary class conference party and came upon this booth selling these pictures. My sister has one hanging in her home and I have always wanted one myself. When I saw them I jumped and squealed like my kids on Christmas morning and went searching for the San Diego Temple. They had one in the smaller size but the frame was bigger than the print so I decided to go to the bigger one. The price was only $20 different so it was definitely worth it. They unfortunately did not have it there but they were offering free shipping. SOLD!I called Ronny at work and told him about the purchase and told him he was off the hook for Mother's Day. We have been trying to save up money for a down payment for a home but I just couldn't pass this up. I love it! They had several other pictures that I really liked too but I wouldn't look at their catalog in fear of wanting others. They will just have to wait until we can save up for decorating after we purchase a house. I can be patient (at least sometimes.....).