The latest... and greatest

So sorry for not updating the blog. we have been busy having fun with family and friends this summer.... and the not so fun doctor stuff.
Audrey is doing awesome things! She is officially CRAWLING! wow how time flies. She is also determined to get what she wants.. although I'm not too surprised because she is a girl...and already using her jedi girl ways to get it! Boy are we in trouble. Her language is coming along too. She now can say: mama! (finally), papa, ah oh, baba, and nana ( think that one's suppose to be night night but not sure yet) she loves things that shake and of course the phones (real or fake). again a girl thing.

first rainstorm we played in this year...

and she loved it.

Love those eyelashes!!!

the grass MUST taste good because she eats it all the time.

Garrett is being himself. sweet, helpful, energetic, and LOVES when he can play with his cousins. He asks everyday if he can play with one of them. Of course the answer is usually no and he wants to know why. The excuse most days and not far from the truth is "they are helping their moms do stuff around the house like us" :) He's still my extra pair of eyes at home with Audrey. He's quick to spot a seizure and runs to tell me. Also lets me know that he has to call someone and let them know she's having one so they can come over and 'help' (play with him after she's done is the real motive I think). Smart kiddo. He also LOVES to play in the water.... his excuse is he needs to water all my plants, multiple times a day. I'm surprised they aren't dead yet.

We have been to Park City two weeks ago and had a blast with Jordan's family. We did the Alpine Slide, where Garrett screamed the who way down and then wanted to do it again. He also loved the ski jumpers at the Olympic Park. He's into doing flips and jumps now.

We also went down to Milford, Ut. where my grandma lives and had a family reunion. It was great to see all my family, it's been way too long. :) and we had tons of pinnacle tournaments. Cheating is required at that house. which makes for all the more fun! ;)

Jordan and I have been doing yard work and we also bought a house... which now we are looking into buying a lot and all the other fun things associated with that whole process. SO, I get to really spring clean my house and am starting to de-junk it all. I can't believe how much stuff you can collect in such little time! WOW. I hope we have room for it all in the new place. When we get things finalized... we'll let you know where we end up! :) what and adventure!!! (and a welcome distraction some days)

Now for the not so fun stuff. Audrey had been on new medication (phenobarbatol) for the last month. Her seizures have shortened but she is having more... Last weekend she had 5 from Thurs-Sun. it was crazy and in my opinion it was a combination of all the different kinds she's ever had. we were nuts! In our efforts to find out what is causing these... she had a spinal tap on Friday which 2 of the 5 have come back and they were normal. the other 3 we will have to wait about 2-4 weeks since they send them out. The reason for these were because we needed to rule out some Metabolic Disorders that can cause seizures. However, when talking to the DR. about it he's kind of leaning towards a physical abnormality that we just did catch in her MRI, or has gotten bigger or is the same density as brain matter... etc, because with the Metabolic disorders, she would for sure have some developmental delays by this age, which she doesn't.
Now, we get to move on to the next step, which is a long term EEG. This will most likely be for 2-3 days where we will stay at the hospital, and she will be monitored 24-7. She will also be on 1/2 her meds so that she will have a couple of seizure so they can determine if they are coming from a specific location or not. If it is from a specific location she could be a candidate for brain surgery. We'll be going in sometime the week of    July 8.



i'm so grateful that the doctors have started paying attention to what has been going on, and that we are able to move quickly in order to catch something, if there is something to catch early, and to finally find out what is behind these seizures and all our craziness these last couple of months. Only time will tell and I know that I'm suppose to be working on my 'patience' skill. I do know that I(we) have learned some valuable things these last months. here are just a couple:
        - to live in the moment: we do go by day to day because otherwise you just get too overwhelmed. we've been a little more 'go with the flow' because we have to be. It's not super easy to have a productive day planned and then at noon it changes into a 'get nothing done day' due to seizures. But we make the best of it.
         -not freaking out: this one is all mine. Jordan is always reminding me to keep my cool and not freak out about the unknown. I usually start with one what if and then spiral down to the 'abyss of doom' and I call it. I still think about the worse case scenario, but always remember that we're not there yet and to live in the moment.
          -to rely on the lord: We have been so blessed with so much in our lives. as I think over the last couple of months and the tender mercies that we have had happen. I'm so grateful the Lord has blessed us with the experiences we have had. Last week our A/C quit on us while away from home and after Audrey's procedure. One of the things that children with seizures have a hard time with is temperature changes, and especially the heat. We proceeded to the Walmart and tried to recharge it, but to no avail, it didn't fix it. As I sat in the Walmart to keep Audrey cool while Jordan tried to fix it, an experience from a friend came to mind. Her little girl prayed in the middle of the isle that they would be able to get popsicles that day at the store. I knew then that I needed to say my own prayer. As I prayed I knew and felt the spirit which conveyed to me that all would be well. As Jordan came back in, he shared the news that it wasn't going to work. Confused mentally, I still had that same feeling that we would be ok. we started driving home, with all the windows down, I still was trying to figure out why this happened now of all times. I soon put my doubts aside and decided I'd just try to make the best of it. A few minutes later Jordan rolled the windows up and tried the A/C one more time. to our relief, and amazement it started working, not the greatest, but just enough that we could be comfortable and Audrey would be ok. She slept almost the whole way home. We still had some other problems down the road but we made it home in time for the party and Audrey was ok, no seizures as a result of our predicaments. Prayers are answered, and the Lord does bless us when we need it most. I am so grateful and words can not express how much.

So in light of it all... we are all doing great and Audrey is still doing her thing. I will try to keep you updated as new information comes along. Thank you for all your prayers and concern for our little girl and family. We love you all.

mischief in those eyes.