Update

The update on Baby Blake! He got to come home today.. YEAH! Last night they took him out of the ICU and he had a normal heart rhythm AND rate for over 12 hours. This morning they decided he could come home on medication to keep his heart rate down. Jen has to monitor him (good thing she's a nurse) and when he is old enough he will have surgery to fix the problem. Thank you all so much for your fasts and prayers, we know they all helped get him to the point he is.

Blake... Being Thankful

On Tuesday my 2 month old nephew Blake went to his 2 month Dr appointment. At his appointment the Dr told them he was a healthy baby boy, but his heart rate was a little high. They let him calm down and then took his heart rate again and it was still high. Long story short... the Dr rushed them up to Primary Children's Hospital. When they got there his heart rate was 240 which is really high (a 2 month old should have a heart rate between 120-160). He was in what's called SVT. (You can google SVT and get more info, but it is pretty much an extra electrical current in the heart that goes in a circle and causes the heart to beat twice as fast and doesn't give the heart the chance to fill all the way up with blood before it pumps again) He was admitted to the ICU. Since Tuesday they have tried several medicines and other methods to try and get his heart to reset and go back to a normal rhythm, but so far that has not happened. His heart rate has improved, but not to what they want it to be. It is currently hanging out in the 180s-190s. He was on 3 medications as of this morning, but after drawing blood they discovered his potassium was high and had to take him off the medication that lowers his heart rate. The Dr told John and Jen that they think with the case of SVT he has, that his rhythm will most likely not go back to normal on its own and they may have to be satisfied to get his heart rate back to normal and stable until he weighs enough to have surgery to fix the problem, which is about 30 pounds.
He has shown a couple of good signs. Randomly throughout the day his heart rate will drop to normal, but then go right back to where it was. Last night his heart rate dropped to normal for 45 minutes (the longest it has been normal so far) while he was sleeping, but as soon as they woke him up to feed him it went right back up. He is so happy and funny... when he wakes up, he smiles at you and laughs and you would never know there was something wrong with him.
The Dr.s say they are lucky they found it when they did (the symptoms are nothing you would be able to tell in a baby: dizziness, light headed, nausea, lethargic) and that most likely he had only been this way for a couple days. Normally by the time they catch something like this in an infant, they have been in it for so long that they have heart failure and have to have a heart transplant. They caught Blake's early enough that as long as they can get his heart rate down with the right medication his heart should fully recover until he can have surgery to burn or freeze the extra current he has in his heart that is causing the fast beat and abnormal rhythm. The reason for this long story and explanation, besides to update everyone even though it should be Jen doing this, is for me to express being thankful. Although I've always loved and cared for my family, this week family has meant more to me than ever. Seeing my sister, brother in law, and nephew go through what they've had to the last few days has made me so thankful for the strong sister I have and the amazing family I have. I could never sit by and watch my baby go through what she has and still have a positive attitude. Jen has been nothing but positive and strong. They spend almost every minute they have, including spending nights there, at their baby's side. I watch the love and support she has from family and friends and it reminds me how lucky we are to have good family's and good friends who are willing to give up time to help out and who truly care. I have relieved John and Jen a couple times for them to go home and take a shower and eat some food that is not from the cafeteria and although they are the ones telling me thank you for helping out, I am thankful and happy I am able to help out and that they trust me with their cute baby. I would do anything for them as well as for all of my family or friends. I am thankful my sister is a nurse, and although I wouldn't wish this on anyone, she knows enough that she is capable of taking care of her baby during this rough time and Blake is very lucky to have her as a mom. I am thankful for the understanding boss I have who let me leave early on Friday to go help my sister out. I am thankful for a loving husband who understands why I may come home late every night because I am with my sister or helping them out. I am thankful for my health and for my family's health. I am thankful for the roof over my head and the jobs my husband and I have to provide for us. I have so many blessings in my life and things to be thankful for, family being just one of them. Maybe this is a good time of year with it being Thanksgiving for me to realize what I am thankful for.
We love you Blake, John and Jen and I pray for that cute baby constantly throughout the day. I know he is a fighter and strong enough to get through this.

Some Pictures

I couldn't help myself, I had to post some pictures! I will post the rest when the house is put together!


This is our bedroom

The 2nd bedroom (we are going to leave her vinyl on the wall for now... the other bedrooms are on the list of things to fix up, but one thing at a time!)

Our kitchen

Home Sweet Home

As most of you know, Bart and I have been looking for a house on and off for about a year now. In July we found this listing, we have no idea what made us go look at it because the listing said 3 bed 2 bath barely 2000 sq ft, unfinished basement was in West Jordan and I didn't want to live in West Jordan and was not at all what we were looking for. We showed up and walked inside the house and right away I turned to Bart and said "This is our house!" As we walked around and toured the house, we realized the listing was completely wrong. 3 beds 2 baths and unfinished basement turned into 5 bedrooms 3 and 1/2 baths and a full finished walk out basement with a huge nice yard and RV parking! WOW! We went straight to our realtor's office and made an offer. The house was a short sale so we knew it would take a while to hear back. Two months later, we started losing hope on that house because we still hadn't heard anything and the other realtor said it would take a month, so we started looking at other options. At the end of September we went looking for houses again. We decided that would be our last time if we couldn't find anything until Bart was done with school. We went way out west in West Jordan and decided it would be fun to build a house. We got plots, floor plans etc... on our way home we got a phone call saying our offer had been accepted on this house from July and did we still want it. We were put in a tough situation! We loved the house, but the thought of building a new house sounded fun and exciting. We debated the next couple days, weighed our options and decided we would be stupid to not go with the house we originally LOVED and wanted to be ours right away. So long story short.... last Friday Bart and I bought our first home! We love it! We finally moved in today after some deep cleaning and tiling we did in the bathrooms, with the help of my awesome bro in law John and many others (thanks!). We love our new home and couldn't be happier! I would take a bunch of pictures and post them, but with boxes all over the house I can assure you it doesn't look that great yet! As soon as we get things put away and in order I will take some pictures and post them! We can't wait to get to know our neighbors and ward knowing we aren't here temporarily!

Hawaii

We just got back from Hawaii!! It was AWESOME! It was the first time either of us have been there and was a great way to celebrate our one year anniversary. We can't wait to go back! We went with my mom and dad, sister Jeana, her friend Aubrey, and my Aunt Donna, who was pretty much the tour guide since she lived in Hawaii and served her mission there. The first day we flew into Honolulu and went to the PCC. It was a good start to our Hawaii experience. We watched a guy climb to the top of a very high coconut tree! And of course we did the luau which was good too.

The next day we went to Pearl Harbor.

Then after Pearl Harbor we flew to Big Island and stayed in Kona. I think this was probably my favorite island, if not a close second to Maui. We went to church which is right next to the temple so we took some pictures before we left. It was very pretty with all the palm trees.

Monday we went on a snorkel cruise, which after Donna and the crew pulling my arm, turned into a scuba diving cruise for me and Donna! I am certified but I have never actually gone besides in a pool or little lake, so it was nice to go, but I was pretty scared. We saw some fish and an octopus which the diving instructor actually brought to the surface for all the snorkelers to see and touch. But no sharks, luckily... I probably would have passed out at the bottom of the ocean!

We caught some awesome sunsets while we were there!

As well as sunrises! On Maui, Bart and Aubrey thought it would be fun to go to the crater and watch the sun rise one morning. We had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and drive about two hours to watch the sun rise. And it was probably 30 degrees outside BRRR. It was pretty though.

We also went on a sunset cruise one night while we were on Maui which was fun and they had excellent food.

Bart and my dad went on a helicopter ride one day which they said was pretty cool!

And this is Jeana and Aubrey dead asleep on the floor at the airport at 5 AM on our layover in LA on our way home! Haha! So funny!

We really did have a great time and will be going again one day and hopefully one day isn't 10 years from now! I am already ready to go back after it started snowing yesterday :(

Cousin Wedding

Alyssa and KC got married Thursday October 1st in the Draper Temple. She looks so beautiful and we are so proud of them! And Bart is thrilled he has someone to talk sports with now!

Beautiful Mother of the Bride!

Sailors Blessing

Sailor had a beautiful baby blessing last Sunday. It was all done so well. Brother did such a good job with her blessing, I'm proud of him!

The sibling picture And look at those smiles!
we love her to pieces

Blake John Brown

As most of you know, Jen and John had their baby last Sunday morning. Jen was amazing... after being in labor for 15 hours and pushing for 5, we finally got to meet little peanut. They named him Blake John Brown. He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long. He's so cute I just had to post some pictures of him.

The proud Daddy's (my brother Jason with his 3 week old baby and my brother-in-law John with his brand new baby)

The babies yawning together, aren't they the cutest things ever!

Baby Blake with his FAVORITE Aunt!

San Diego

Last weekend Bart and I went to San Diego for a work trip for Bart. It was so much fun to spend time with my wonderful husband in the same place we came to on our honeymoon. We went to Petco Stadium to watch the Padres play the Cardinals. It was really cool. We had like 38th row seats which was pretty exciting for our first Major League game! We drove by the beautiful San Diego Temple (which is my favorite temple)

We went to the beach and enjoyed watching all the boats and jet skis go by and wished we were on them too.

We went to another beach, that we have decided next time we come we are for sure hanging out here for a couple days. It was way warm and we watched people surf and swim.

Overall, it was a great weekend getaway and I am so glad my husband and the wonderful idea of taking me with him! Thanks babe!

Meet Sailor Dawsyn Best

Jason and Nikki had their baby on Friday. She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long and is the most beautiful baby. Her name is Sailor Dawsyn Best. I was so happy to finally meet her. It was so much fun to see how cute Destri and Bentley were with her.

I have to admit she gets cuter and cuter everyday, which at first, I didn't think was possible, but she proved me wrong.

We love her so much and are so glad she is finally here.

We're so happy for you Jason and Nikki! Thank you for sharing your special day and beautiful baby with us, we love you all so much! Congrats!

Bear Lake

We went to Bear Lake this last weekend for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun. Kaitlyn and Kensie dug a huge hole with the help of John and a little boy Thomas who was playing next to us.

This is Kensie and Thomas digging

Me and my sisters

Jen, John, Kaitlyn and Kensie getting back from a jet ski ride.


Kensie with Aunt Jeana

And the three studly Wake Boarders!

They did such a good job in the freezing cold water! We listened to them all scream as they got in the water to wake board and then swim as fast as they could towards the boat when it was over!

Aubrey (pretty much my sister)

Bart (my cute husband)

Jeana

(my very cute little sister, do you think she looks like me?)

We all had so much fun and came home FRIED! But it was worth it! Jason, Nikki and Bentley came up and went swimming with us on the 4th and lit some fireworks. It was lost of fun and we enjoyed them coming up!