Sunday update

Guest Post
*by Jenny*
I visited Becky's hospital room this afternoon.
(I know, NO VISITORS. This rule remains in effect~I'm a rebel rule-breaker, and I also brainwashed Becky to allow me to come, and bribed her with magic. This will not work generally, and I promise you, if you are not Steve or Ben, she is still not up to being seen or making conversation)

Her husband snuck over after sacrament meeting, and brought Ben with him. Ben said he didn't feel like staying for Sunday School if his mom wasn't there to rub his feet. He's insistent like that. But she did gaze at him lovingly from her bed. He brings happiness wherever he goes; it's his talent. And she fed off that. Which was good. Because she's not feeding off much else of substance. There's this yellow-colored vitamin water bag that's dripping into her tubing. Ben was healthier than vitamin water. It was sweet.
Steve brought his sunshine and good humor. Becky's chest and lung are giving her constant pain, so it hurt to laugh. But I know her soul was happy that he was there. (I did most of the laughing) She's due for more chest x-rays tomorrow. I'm praying that she'll be able to sleep for more than 15 minute stretches without needing to press her pain medication button tonight. On the up-side, she is not feeling nauseated. For now. And that's a HUGE blessing. She asked me to update--clearly she misses her blogging friends. Thanks for your love and support.

Out of Commission

**GUEST POST**
by Becky's sister Jenny

Back in the hospital.
This trip's for Becky.
She's making peace with her new condition...
She thought she'd have a summer.
A summer to play and be an activity planner for her kids.
A summer loaded with sunshine and day trips.
She imagined jogging behind that new stroller with Ben.
She pictured herself in her favorite spot on the beach.
You may (or may not) know how well her body handles pregnancy.
She's about eight weeks along.
Her experiences with not being able to tolerate smells, keep down liquids or stay hydrated have come rushing back. She is taking things one day at a time, but is not ready to talk about it. Please help by respecting her need to adjust.
She's happy!
Really.
Just feeling fragile, and not ready to chat about it.
Not ready for questions.
Not ready for visits; not ready for calls.She came to the hospital Friday to have a porta-cath surgically implanted in her chest. She needs to stay hydrated, and is allergic to pic lines. As a result of the procedure, she got a pneumothorax (her lung was punctured). They watched it for a day, but the hole continued to get bigger. So they had to insert a tube into her chest this afternoon, which allows the leaking air to be evacuated. The device on top is the catheter, the one underneath is the tube. She will be home soon.
And she misses you.

THIS BOY CAN HURDLE!

Who would've THUNK!You see...we grow 'em BIG in my family.

Big and stalky.

Look at their dad for crying out loud.

We're not exactly built for speed.

And I'm okay with that.

Kaleb begs to differ.

And I'm okay with that too.

He's not a big fan of the long distance runs.

(who can blame him?)

So he sticks with the sprints.

This year, he's found his LOVE.

The 100 meter hurdles.

The first time I saw him run...

I held my breath.

He's very competitive.

(I have NO idea where he gets that from.)

He doesn't like to lose.

I have to remind him that he's only a 6th grader.

He ran hard,

and placed first.

He's won every race since.

It's no easy task I tell you...

Just look at his face. :)

MY NEW ROOM

GOOD NEWS!

Did I tell you my bathroom is FINISHED?

(well, almost)

It still needs a few things done

and a good cleaning.

I'm EXCITED!

As a bonus...my husband painted our room.

It's a lighter shade of green.

He painted the ceiling the same color.

I like it better than white.

It came out really nice.

He changed all the brass fixtures to silver.

I LOVE IT!

Ben loves it too.

(thank you Steve)

(I'll post pictures of the bathroom

when it is completely done.)

BUBBY/PUGS

Our Pugs are FUNNY!

When they aren't driving us crazy,

we're LAUGHING at them.

Sue is on the right, Max is on the left.

Sue is like a BIG BABY!

He loves to be held.
Max is FEISTY.

He loves to romp and play.
Kaleb was feeding Max a bone,

and he was loving it.

I decided to get my camera because it was really cute.

I had to laugh when Max became camera shy.

As soon as he figured out what I was doing,

he kept pushing the bone away.

Apparently I was intruding upon his personal space.

My apologies Max!

KAYLA

Anyone who reads my blog knows that my daughter Kayla is a bit on the clumsy side. It makes her all the more loveable. She can't walk out to the mailbox without tripping on the grass. At meal times, she often falls off her stool, hitting the ground HARD. She always pops up with a smile and says "I'm all right!". It's hard not to laugh at her and I'm grateful that she's okay with that.

Yesterday at her track meet Kayla ran the 100m hurdles. First of all, this girl really does not like to run. She is not competitive in the least. Secondly, hurdles and Kayla just don't seem to go together. She's vertically challenged enough on her own, never mind having to get over actual obstacles. This was her first running race of the track season. She usually just participates in the throwing events due to her JRA. The girls line up for the 100m hurdles...and the gun goes off. 3 strides into the race, Kayla goes down...and HARD. What's funny is that she hadn't even reached the first hurdle yet. Being brave, she jumps back up and continues the race. Amazingly she placed second.

HOME AT LAST

Less blogging...

More sleeping.

Will catch up tomorrow.

zzzzzzzz........

(Ben and his oxygen)

THE FAT LADY....

...has SUNG!

Time to go home.

See how good he looks?

Just like new.

(we're being paroled in the morning)

A BLACK AND WHITE DAY

Stevie has been here at Dartmouth with Ben and I for the last four days. We've had a lot of fun being together. Yesterday we went for a hike around the trails at Dartmouth. We had fun exploring and seeing places that were new to us. One of the first places we visited was this playground that was donated to the Children's Hospital by a former classmate of Stevie's. His name is Nicholas Palisi. He died at the young age of 7 from a cancerous brain tumor. This playground was Nicholas' MAKE-A-WISH. Sadly, he never got to be able to enjoy it before passing away. His parents wanted to make sure lots and lots of children get to enjoy it.

This is the full view of his playground.
We visited the HELI-PAD. This is the very helicopter that has flown Ben more than once.
Swinging on the swings at DAVID'S HOUSE

Inside of DAVID'S HOUSE. This is a place for families to stay while waiting for their children to heal. We don't typically use David's House while at Dartmouth because we can stay right in Ben's room. We did however use it daily when Ben was in the Intensive Care Nursery.

Stevie played on the playground for awhile. (not to be mistaken with Nicholas' playground set that he donated above)

The full view of DAVID'S HOUSE...it's beautiful.

Checking out the local ponds around the hospital grounds.

Hiding among the daffodils.

Taking a break, enjoying the flowers.

Seeing if there are any interesting creatures below.

Climbing a HUGE rock. She was SO proud of herself because just a few years back, she couldn't get on top without help. Today she did it all by herself.

Posing with "THE BLUE LADY".

BOSTON AQUARIUM

We had a BLAST!

My kids have been watching "SHARK WEEK" on DVD.

They were excited to see "live" sharks.

We saw lots of sea creatures, one of our favorites?
The SEA TURTLE!

Stevie and Kayla loved the "touching pool"

Germs phobes like Kaleb and I just looked.
This is Kayla holding a "Star Fish"

Stevie is very much in her comfort zone

holding these sea creatures.
Kayla looking for anything unique to hold.
Stevie and her friendly "Sea Urchant".

She couldn't believe that she was

shorter than THIS creature!

Kaleb's couldn't WAIT to capture a SHARK on film.

This guy gives me the creeps.

Check out the bulging eye.

We ended our fun day with an IMAX FILM

and lunch at Quincy Market.