A Rough 6 Weeks.!

The kids were here last weekend for Janelle's baby shower, and Darci had her 6 week appointment that following Monday. It's so much fun when they stay down here and we can play with Ainsley day and night. We missed them , and it had only been 2 LONG weeks. But then Darci called on Tuesday and said Ainsley had a temperature, so they got her in to the doctor. Her ears, nose, throat and ears looked good, so he wasn't sure where the fever was coming from. But he put her on some medicine and made them an appointment for 8:30 the next morning, regardless if the fever had gone or not. That night though, she just wasn't looking right, so they took her into the ER in Flag. To make a long story short (I always say that), after drawing her blood, doing a UA, and (gulp) doing a spinal tap on her, they STILL couldn't figure out what on earth was wrong. But they felt she was too sick (temp between 101 and 102, too high for a newborn) to go home, so she was in the hospital until Friday morning. They cultured her spinal tap fluid, and nothing grew in it, so they knew for sure it wasn't meningitis...THANK GOODNESS. This poor baby has been through so much, and she's only been here on this earth for 6 weeks. She (and her mom and dad) could use a break.! But we are VERY grateful after lots of prayers, that she is doing much, much better.

Backyard is ALL Done

Wooohoooo.! GRASS. No more nasty dirt (ok..a little, but it's for the garden and where our extended patio will be). It's very exicting. Jim and I went outside this morning to see if the grass had grown Ü The grandkids will love it. We love it.!

No More Ugly Backyard

After a year and a half, we're finally getting our backyard done. The HOA can't see our backyard, so we've been rebellious and haven't got it done. OK, that's only part of it. We were going to save money and do it ourselves....hahahah...yeah, in Jim's spare time. We got a quote that we couldn't pass up, so we are just going to DO IT. They came out yesterday and did the curbing. Tuesday we should have insta-yard. I can't WAIT.
Our biggest decision maker you ask? The grandkids. We'll have 4 walking by next year, and they need a place outside to play.! We'll have three times the amount of grass in the back, than we do in the front (which really doesn't say much for Arizona), so they'll have plenty of space to play in. Of course the swing set will be coming soon too. No sandboxes; I don't do poop-boxes.
More pictures next week when it's done....

A Fun Two and Half Weeks

It was a lot more fun though once we found out that Ainsley was OK. A few days after she was born, the kids found a large lump on the back of her neck. It was very worrisome. The pediatrician was quite concerned too. She had them go in for an ultrasound the day after she saw Ainsley. The radiologist suggested a CT from the looks of the ultrasound, so she was scheduled for a CT the following week. When you hear "cancer" and "baby" in the same sentence, it makes your stomach turn. There were a lot of prayers, fasting, and tears shed in that time. But, THANKFULLY, the pediatric surgeon felt like it is a hemangioma that hasn't surfaced, and it should go away on it's own. WOW..what a blessing.!
It was so much fun having the kids here with us. Waking up to a fresh baby every morning was great.! What was even better you ask? I could hand her back when she cried or pooped.! Ok..that's not entirely true, some how I got stuck with a lot of poop duty. But I can honestly say, I didn't mind. It was fun watching those "firsts". Her smile; her first bath after her belly button finally fell off; and just getting her dressed every day. (My favorite outfit in yellow below says, "What happens at grandmas, stays at grandmas). She is a smarty arty already, and totally alert. She also has A~T~T~I~T~U~D~E. Must get that from Josh's side of the family? Ü
It was really sad when they left. My eyes watered while they were packing, then I full fledged bawled when they left. That was on Thursday, then on Friday we were up in Flag for the weekend. We had fun unpacking and organizing their apartment. Flagstaff is absolutely gorgeous during the summer, they'll love it up there, but we sure miss them only being 10 minutes away.

Another Crazy Day at the Maxwells

While the kids were staying with us, we invited Janelle, Joel and the kids out so they could spend some time with Ainsley. As my dad said the last time they came out, and all of the kids were here "Boy, your house sure does get smaller fast doesn't it?". It sure does. We had such a fun time with all 3 of the granddaughters here together. That won't happen as often as I would like it to, so gotta grab the moments when you can.
P.S. Yes, McKenna does like the snake. Even grandma hasn't touched that thing.

Red, Earl, and Squeaker

OK, so I've given all of my grandkids nicknames. They all have meaning and purpose. McKenna is "Red". I think that one is kind of obvious. Hailee is "Earl". It has to do with a bumcrack and a plumber named Earl. It really is a long story, but we laugh when we think about it. Not wanting to leave Ainsley out, her name is appropriately named "Squeaker". She literally squeaks.
Here's a few pictures of Red and Earl when I went out to their house to watch them.
SIDE NOTE: I went out to watch the girls so Joel and Janelle could go to Joel's appointment with the Nephrologist. It was confirmed that he does have Polycystic Kidney Disease. He handled the news really well, but in the back of all of our minds, we knew it was the most likely outcome. The good news is, his kidneys are functioning at 95%, and he is fairly healthy. He does have high blood pressure (which is a symptom of PKD), so he is on blood pressure medication. The doctor also suggested a low protein diet. Since McKenna also has PKD, it will just be a whole family diet alteration. The doctor also told Joel at around 40 years old, he can expect his kidneys to start failing. His dad has taken a turn for the worst and is getting ready to start dialysis.
At the same time, Josh's dad is waiting to hear back if he will be put on the kidney transplant list, so please keep them in your prayers.

Girls Week Out

The week after Ainsley was born, my long time friend (we're talking from junior high here) flew out from California. This had been planned for over a month (possibly even two), but when the time came, I was a little nervous. I thought for sure Ainsley would have been born long before she was, but as it turned out MiShell got here just a few days after she was born. But really, the timing couldn't have been any better. Jim was gone all that week at scout camp, so I didn't have to feel bad that I was leaving him all day and all night.
To back up a bit, MiShell had told me that she had this great friend that she had met years ago in California, but she too had moved to Arizona, so all three of us would be getting together. MiShell kept telling me we would become fast friends. Little did she know just how fast.! Ranae (MiShell's friend) called me Monday night before MiShell was flying in, and the first questions she asks me is, "Do you live in Cortina?" Holy cow.! YES.! To make a long story short, she used to live just a few blocks away from me, and we have several of the same friends. To make another long story short, she knows some people that I know from Utah.! Small world.
We had the best time. We went to dinner every night; we went out looking at model homes (getting ideas for our own of course); Mamma Mia on the Friday it came out (talk about a true blue chick flick...so much fun) We had a GREAT time, and I reconnected with a good friend, and made a new one.!