LUNDEBERG LINES

Playing catch up!

2011-04-20T09:45:00.000-06:00

Hello, again! It's been awhile, I know. So, we'll catch y'all up! : ) Here is what we've been up to the past few months:

Nope, that's not snow out our window. That was a hail storm we experienced in late February!

We went to the Living Planet Aquarium with Aunt Gabby and had a blast!

Joshua enjoyed splashing with the Stingrays!

The new Penguin Encounter exhibit was lots of fun!

We discovered that Matthew is almost as tall as an Emperor Penguin!

Matthew said to me, "Mom, I've always wanted to ride a frog!" So, he did. : ) It also happens to be the only *good* picture I got with Kennedy in it.

We got to enjoy Uncle Ethan's futsal game! Holy, fast paced game, Batman! Ethan's team won!

It finally got warm enough to melt the snow and let us get out and ride the bikes the kids got for Christmas!

Joshua got a series of injuries, including a concusion (complete with a trip to the ER) and {the very next night!} fell and cut his eyelid on the corner of a bookshelf. It probably could've used a stitch, but it wasn't all the way through and I wasn't going back the the hospital! He had some swelling and bruising and green-bugery eyes for a few days, but has made a full recovery.

Insert the pictures of Joshua and his 2nd birthday party here. I went to take pictures, but the batteries in the camera were dead. So, they're not here. But our little guy did turn 2 on April 7! We cannot believe it has been 2 whole years since our boy made his harrowing debut! We are grateful everyday that he is so healthy and happy! You'd never know that we almost lost him! He is such a joy to have in our home! He is so loved by (and so loves!) his brother and sister! He loves to be the center of attention and has become quite a funny boy! {He even knows a joke!} We literally just watch him and laugh! He's so stinkin' cute! We celebrated his birthday by going to the Mayan with the kids! They had a blast--didn't eat very much, but had fun watching the cliff divers! A few days later we had a family party the Shop. It was so fun to have everybody there!

Kennedy went on her first field trip with her Pre-K class to Wheeler Farm! I was fortunate to find a sitter (thanks, Mom!) so I could go with her and her class! They had a great time! Again, no pictures. I didn't want to be carrying around a camera.

Finally, last weekend, Jenny and I took the kiddos to the annual easter egg hunt at Grandpa Wayne's house! The kids, of course, had a great time and made out like bandits! By the way, Joshua and Kayson were with us, but didn't find it necessary to stand still long enough to get a picture with the Easter Bunny, whom they were a bit leery of in the first place.

It has been a fun couple of months! Hopefully, we will have warm weather to play in (and not too much flooding!) soon! Thanks for catching up wtih us! : )

The Tooth Fairy's comin' to our house!

2011-02-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Kennedy lost her first tooth! Doesn't she just look so darn cute?! (Pardon the chocolate smudges all over her face!) She was so excited! Literally, beside herself! She just ran around all day saying, "This is the best day ever!" and, "This is my special day!" It was adorable! She had to call her dad and grandmas first thing to tell them and ran into school and straight to her teacher to show off! She carefully put her tooth under her pillow and couldn't get to sleep for over an hour. She woke up at 3:30 IN THE MORNING!!! to see if the Tooth Fairy had come! (I thought it was like 6, but, no, it was insanely earlier than that!) And then she threw a fit 'cause she didn't want to go back to sleep! Oh, well. How many times do you lose your first tooth? : )

Beautiful Message

2011-01-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

Found this message on a friend's blog. It touched me deeply, so I'm saving it so I can watch it again. Hope you find something in it, too.

A little black and white love...

2011-01-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's no surprise that I love glass things and anything black and white. It just makes me so. very. happy! I've gotten a few new things that I'm pretty giddy about (like I walk in the room and just smile 'cause I love it so much!) so I'm sharing the happiness and beauty! (Just indulge me...)

The first is a footed bowl I found on clearance at Gardner Village about a year ago ($12, I think?) The next is an apron I received from my mother-in-law for Christmas this year (all the sister-in-laws got one, too! Fun, huh?) The third is a cassarole dish that I also found on clearance ($8!) and got with a gift certificate I also received for Christmas, and the last (be still my heart!) I found on the same shopping trip. It was $10 and it's huge! Aren't they pretty? I'm pretty much in love. Now you can be, too! : )

We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2010-12-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

     We had an absolutely fabulous Christmas and hope each of you did too!
    It’s been another great year for us! We’ve all been healthy (that’s right, no major medical for us this year!) and have been so incredibly blessed! Kennedy began pre-K at the elementary school, where she is thriving! She has made lots of friends and is doing incredibly well! Matthew is attending a local preschool and is also doing exceptionally well! He is making his own friends and being a bit more outgoing! Joshua, lovingly referred to as “the terror” around these parts, is the cutest, busiest guy! This year, he leaned how to walk (run, really) and climb and is slowly learning to talk! In May, Kris graduated (finally!) from the University of Utah with his Master of Social Work degree and passed his boards in June—a huge accomplishment! Rachael has made the transition to a “school mom” and is amazed at the time required to just take kids to and from school! Let alone maintain nap and lunch schedules between the two different schools! But she wouldn’t have it any other way!
     We’ve seen an outpouring of love and support this year, for which we are incredibly grateful! The Lord is truly mindful of us. How blessed we are to live at such a time and be surrounded by such wonderful people!! May the Spirit of the Lord whose birth we celebrate be with you this Christmas season and always!

Check it out!

2010-12-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

It's a recipe blog! It's just getting started and we need lots more recipes! (There are already some great ones there, though!) Go to http://www.notjustjello.blogspot.com/ to check it out and/or submit recipes of your own!

FAREWELL, ELDER DEAN!

2010-12-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today, Elder Zach Dean entered the MTC to serve a full-time mission in Jackson, Mississippi! We are so excited for him and so proud of him! He will be a stellar missionary! We are a little sad and will miss him, too. Yesterday, as I was prepping the kids on what would happen (we went to be with him when he was set apart and to say good-bye), Matthew suddenly burst into tears and just sobbed! It was so sad/cute! They love their Uncle Zach! We all do! But we know he is where he needs to be and happy about the work that he will do! He received an incredible blessing from his stake president last night! There are no worries about our missionary! He'll knock 'em dead! : ) God speed, Elder! We love you! (I know he can't read it, but I'm saying it anyway!) Here's to the next two years!

(By the way, I'm making a cute missionary countdown. I'll probably post it when I'm done 'cause it's cute, so watch out!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

2010-12-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

     I know, I know. I'm late again. Guess you'll just have to deal with it! : ) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! (And we hope each of you did, too!) We made plans to go spend our Thanksgiving weekend in Escalante (southern Utah) with Kris' grandparents and family. (Except Kent and Justi who weren't able to make it because of work. : ( We missed you guys!) Anyway, we wanted to go Thursday morning with the rest of the family, but Kennedy had been very sick for several days and wasn't quite ready to travel yet. So we got to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my grandparents house, too! Thanks for letting us crash your Thanksgiving and for feeding 5 more people! : ) Kennedy was doing better by that evening, so we decided to leave at 4:00 Friday morning and drive as far as we could while the kiddos slept. We did great! No one was on the roads and we made great time! Well, we were about 45 minutes to an hour away from Escalante when the "check guages" light came on in the car. (This is at about 8:15 in the morning and it's 6--yep, 6--degrees outside!) Kris checks the guages as instructed, but doesn't see anything amiss. Then we start hearing a kind of ticking sound. Obviously, we pull over. When Kris opens the hood, steam and smoke come pouring out! The car had overheated! (Though neither the indicator nor the guage had shown any problem.) There was coolant everywhere! Luckily, we had passed a gas station about a mile before, so we turned around and slowly limped the car back. We bought some anti-freeze and filled it up. When the car was cool, we started it again. And again we heard the ticking. After looking at the engine, we found that the whole fan module at the front of the engine was loose and wobbling. (That was the ticking sound: the fan blades hitting a bolt as they went around.)  Not good. We called a tow truck and our family to come get us. In the end, we found that the ball bearing that connects the fan's pulley system to the water pump had failed and damaged the water pump and it needed to be replaced. How grateful we our for our circumstances! If we had been--literally--anywhere else, we could have been in real trouble; we were in the middle of nowhere, early in the morning the day after a major holiday. (Glad that it didn't go out about 45 minutes earlier as we passed through Panguich where it was -14 degrees!) If we had been around town, it would likely have been just me and the kids! We ended up being relatively close to a mechanic that was open, had a large enough tow truck to fit us all in, and was big enough that they could get the part in for us that weekend, instead of making us wait an extra 2-3 days! Our kids were fantastic, despite the circumstances. Our family responded quickly and was able to get us and take care of our transportation for the next few days until the car was done.   And we didn't even miss Thanksgiving dinner!
     The next day we all went out and cut down our own Christmas trees! It was a blast! The kids loved trekking through the snow with their cousins and finding our tree!  (Did I take a single picture of any of the weekend? Nope. Dropped the ball. Again. Sorry! Just trust us; it was fun!) Afterward, we got to enjoy a quiet house while all 6 kids took naps and watch the BYU-Utah game. That was the only downer. Ugh! Oh, well. We can ~~accept~~ be happy about Utah's win. : ) On Sunday, we attended church with "Grandpa and Grandma Great"--where Grandma and Grandpa and Kamille had been invited to speak! It was a wonderful meeting! We headed home after that. And drove about 8 hours (on a trip that usually takes only 5 or so) through a snowstorm. But we all made it home safely! Yay! We even had a whole foot of new snow at our house when we got here! The kids were so excited!
     We are grateful for the opportunity to remember, perhaps a bit more, the blessings in our lives! We are so thankful for our incredible families! You all make our lives so much better! We love that everyone lives close so we can see them often! We are grateful for our knowledge of our Savior's plan and our membership in His church. We are grateful for the opportunities that are ours to share it! (Shout out to Elder Dean who leaves in just a week to do it full-time!) We are grateful for our callings that bring us closer to Him.  We are grateful to live in this beautiful country and to enjoy the freedoms we do. We are grateful for a home and food and not only one, but two running cars! We are grateful for our educations and that our children are able to receive one as well! We are grateful for our three beautiful children, for our marriage, and for the eternity that we get to share with one another! We are so blessed! Really, can't complain!
     So, a Happy Thanksgiving (a week late...yeah, yeah, yeah) to each of you! I'm grateful that you tune in to our rather ordinary lives! Please know that you are considered a blessing as well!

Happy birthday, Miss Kennedy!

2010-11-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our girl turned 5 today! Oh, my gosh, that went fast! We are so delighted that she is a part of our family! She is such a good helper with her little brothers and such a sweetheart! She is also an incredible story-teller! They can go on forever! She is definately "all girl;" delighting in make up, clothes, dolls, shoes, shopping, going to lunch, talking on the phone... She has some amazing insights for a five-year-old, and is adored by her parents, extended family, teachers and classmates, alike! And though she can throw a whopper of a tantrum (picture every movie tantrum you've ever seen--kicking, screaming, flopping, rolling around on the floor, etc.--got it? That's how it is; it usually lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half!), they are thankfully not very often--though we are getting the attitude! We are so blessed to have her (I am especially grateful to have a girl!--don't get me wrong, I adore my boys, too, but they're not so big on dresses and the like! : ) )! Happy birthday, Sweetie! We hope you know how much we love you and have a great year!

(She's already making her list for what she wants for her 6th, 7th and 8th birthdays! Where does she get this stuff? Hehe!)

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T17:21:00.000-06:00

Our three little Trick or Treaters! How adorable are they! My mom made Kennedy and Matthew's costumes (thanks, Mimi!) and as you can see, they are amazing! We think they're just about the cutest little trick or treaters ever! : )

Prince Naveen and his Princess--who's posing and acting a little strange.

Kennedy as Princess Tiana! She knows she's beautiful! And she sure acted the part!

Matthew...er, Prince Naveen! Doesn't he look AWESOME!?! He sure loved that sword!

Proof that Joshua did, in fact, wear the dinosaur head for 30 seconds at some point! He roars really well, too!

Happy birthday, Matthew!!

2010-10-13T14:11:00.000-06:00

After rearranging all the DVDs into "kids movies" and "mom and dads movies" piles. Not quite as efficient as the alphabetical system I use (and have since reinstated!), but he's so proud of himself! I really did let it stay for a few days, by the way! : )

At the Gateway (one of his favorite places!) watching the Circus Elephant Parade with his cousins and little brother. Look at that face!

Yesterday our Matthew turned 4!!! I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone! He is such a complete joy and we are so grateful he is a part of our family! We are so often amazed at the abilities and mind this kid has--he is remarkable! It is funny how sweet and cuddly he can be one minute and how stubborn and obstinate he can be the next! But that's our Matthew! And he's just about one of the cutest little guys (okay, he's already bigger than Kennedy and, for him, turning 4 has totally changed his world--he is so BIG and can do ANYTHING!) with the sweetest little dimple, greatest smile and perfect laugh (our Mr. GQ!) ! And even when he looks at you with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, you can't help but smile! Oh, how we love him and can't wait to see what great things he will do in his life! Happy birthday, big guy! Enjoy being 4! : )

Seven Wonderful Years!...

2010-09-18T11:24:00.000-06:00

Exactly seven years ago today, I married my best friend and the man of my dreams! And in those seven years, I've learned that reality is definitely better! It is truly an honor to be his wife (albeit a little hard to believe sometimes still!) How grateful I am for the life we've had together! For the ups and downs alike! For the three incredibly beautiful children who enrich our lives so much and make me love him more each day! For the listening ear and supportive shoulder, strong hands and incredible heart! For the testimony and example he lives each day! For the years we have to look forward to and live together and all of eternity beyond that! Though the day may pass without much pomp or celebration, I am so thankful to have the day at all and to tell my Sweetheart that I love him more than anything. I don't really need anything as long as he is by my side! I love you, Darlin'! oxoxox

Matthew starts school!

2010-09-07T21:15:00.000-06:00

Goodness! Where has the time gone?! Today, Matthew started pre-school at Mrs. Harden's Preschool in the neighborhood! (It's the same place he and Kennedy went last year.) He goes to school every Tuesday and Thursday morning. He was so excited that he gets to go to school too! And he LOVES Mrs. Harden! He raves about her all the time! I think this will be a really great opportunity for him to be without Kennedy for awhile as he learns and grows! He is such a smart little cookie! (But he tends to take a backseat to Kennedy when they learn something together.) It's great to see him so stoked for school! I am so excited to watch him grow this year!

Kennedy's first day of school!

2010-08-31T12:33:00.000-06:00

Today, Kennedy officially started Pre-K at Newman Elementary School! She was SOOOOO excited! (She couldn't finish her lunch and had her backpack and jacket on a full 15 minutes before we had to leave!) Her teachers are Mrs. Kerilynn and Miss Katie. She insisted that she not have ponytails (what I wanted) today so her teachers could see her "pretty hair." I must admit, even though it's not Kindergarten (here, K is all day), it is 4 afternoons a week and it feels weird taking her every day to school and picking her up so much! I guess I've officailly begun the "school mom" phase of my life. But I am so happy for her and proud of her! I cannot believe how big my little girl has gotten! And though I'm certain I will miss her terribly (as will Matthew!), I can't wait to see what fun things she will learn this year!

Our New Home Accessories...

2010-08-17T10:18:00.000-06:00

Beee-autiful, isn't it? Alas, Joshua has discovered the JOY of turning the TV on and off. We are all really enjoying this new stage. No really. Especially Kennedy and Matthew. There's no yelling, "He did it again!" all. the. feaking. time. It's great. Well, I found this tupperware set that we got for our wedding that I haven't been using (I got A LOT of tupperware) in the top of the pantry the other day (seriously, what good timing is that?) and it had a bunch of little tiny tupperwares in it (I remember thinking, when would I ever use something so small???) and it's awesome! I'm not sure this is what the manufacturer had in mind, but it works! : ) When he found that he could no longer turn off the TV and couldn't get the cover off, he yelled at me (of course) and tried the DVD player! He turned it off. A lot. Until it froze and we had to unplug it to reset it and get it to work again. So I had to cover that power button, too. He's really happy about it. Now, he just opens the door and gets the DVD out completely. Then manually pushes the door in (instead of using the 'Close' button). I wonder how long this player will last? Currently, he's "washing" the toilet with the toilet wand (another favorite toy). This boy keeps me on my toes! : ) Gotta love him!!

Moon Lake 2010!

2010-07-28T22:53:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I don't need any comments from the peanut gallery (Kourtni!) on how long it's been since I've posted! hehe! : ) I would actually update more, but our hard drive crashed; of course, with all our pictures from the 4th of July! Which, just incase you're wondering, was a BLAST! Anyway, when we see if we can get our stuff recovered, I'll backtrack a bit, but in the meantime...

Every year, we get to go to Moon Lake in the high Uintas with my family! It is always so much fun! We love the time to get away and enjoy our awesome family and the great outdoors! Here are some photos of our fun-filled few days!

Welcome to Moon Lake Lodge!

Moon Lake! Isn't it beautiful?!

Upon arriving at the lake, Kennedy immediately let us know of her concern about the local wildlife. When she was asked not to yell, she asked, "Why? Will the mean squirrels come and kill us?" Do NOT ask me where she got that! : ) Kris made her this praying mantis monster to protect our cabin!

One of our squirrel visitors. This one didn't seem too intent on doing us harm. Apparently, we were being quiet enough!

Getting ready to go out on the boat to take those who wanted to out to "the Rock" to do some cliff diving! (Don't worry, Kennedy and Matthew were just along for the ride!) Matthew was excited that Papa let him help drive! On a later trip (to pick up said cliff divers), Joshua was allowed to "help" too, but soon took over and had to be moved because he didn't want Papa to help him anymore--he could do it himself!

Kennedy and Matthew playing at the beach! They loved getting in the water (despite it being quite chilly!) and making mud pots!

Joshua thoroughly enjoyed running through the trees and playing! And he loved running from the terrifying Ken!

After a long afternoon of playing in the water and sun, Joshua crashed with Mimi for a few hours!

Roastin' some Starbursts (if you haven't tried it, you HAVE to! Yummy!!) and some GINORMOUS 'mallows for some 'smores!

Joshua LOVED the fire-roasted Starbursts! They were so good, he ate them right off the stick!

Matthew Breaks an Arm...

2010-06-26T22:41:00.000-06:00

Goodness! Apparently, this child takes after his parents--but mostly his father! Almost 3 weeks to the day after getting stitches (well, glue, really) in his head, Matthew fell off a swingset at my parents house (actually, he was climbing a rope latter to the slide on the swingset and fell through--about 4 feet) and broke his little left arm. Kris was out of town with our ward for Youth Conference, so the kids and I had spent the day at my parents house. It took us about 45 minutes to get him calmed down, but he eventually did and was letting us touch his arm, was moving it and even putting a bit of pressure on it. We decided that it probably just jammed and going to be sore for a few days, but likely fine. Well, he had a really rough night (very unusual for Matthew; he's our best sleeper!) and was still quite whiny and irritable and wouldn't eat breakfast the next morning, so I decided a trip to Primary's ER was in order. My mom took Kennedy and Joshua (thank you!!) for the day and Matthew and I headed to the hospital. Once there, my little shy-guy wouldn't give anyone there the time of day, let alone answer any questions! He allowed 4--count 'em: 4!--different people touch and manipulate (gently, of course) his sore arm. He was certainly sore but was again turning it and putting light pressure on it. The ER doctor finally concluded that he likely had a small buckle fracture in his wrist, where he wouldn't feel as much pain when touched (she explained that forearm fractures usually caused a great deal more pain and kids were much more protective of them). X-rays were taken and low and behold, there was, in fact, a buckle fracture--in his arm! Right where each person had touched!

See it? Right there. Just to the right of the 2. Yeah, there. See the "buckle"? Pretty cool, eh?

They put him in a splint and sling and sent us home. On Wednesday, he got his real cast ("Thomas" blue, of course)! This one is so much better! Not so heavy or hot! And it allows his arm to be much more mobile, as the splint had gone behind his elbow, immobilizing that, too. He gets it off in 3 weeks. Hopefully, no more trips to the ER for awhile! Poor guy! Love you, bud! (He's been very brave!)

Father's Day!

2010-06-26T22:15:00.001-06:00

I'm a little late (shocking, I know) getting this on here... : ) But regardless, a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! to all the incredible father's in my life! Of course, to my incredible husband for all he is and does! I love watching you with our kids; I see how much they love you and it makes me love you that much more! You are awesome!! Thanks for sharing your life with me! To my amazing Dad, for all you have taught and shared with me over the years. I am so lucky to have such a friend and person in my life! To my wonderful 2nd father (my father-in-law), for being such a great example and friend to me. I appreciate your love, endless acceptance and support! To my brothers-in-law for being such wonderful friends and fathers to our beautiful niece and nephews! I love you all!

For Kris' father's day gift this year, I made Kris a little book from the kids (easy, personal and low budget! All right!) Anyway, here are a few pages from it:

Congratulations--it's graduation!

2010-06-13T12:52:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to all the grads out there! Especially my little brother, Zach, who graduated from Westlake High School! Way to go! We are so proud of you and your HUGE accomplishment! We cannot believe that you are already so old!
*Also, a shout out to the 4 kids in my Sunday School class who graduated from West High School!*

(These are the cards I made for each of the grads!

This one is Zach's--done in Westlake's colors, the others are red/black--West High's colors.)

A New Nephew!...

2010-06-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, May 30, a new nephew was born! Karl and Jenny's third son, Chase Hunter Lundeberg, was born at 11:31 am after after a very fast, but somewhat traumatic birth! He weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz., and was 21 inches long. He has had some difficulty and will remain in the NICU for a week to get some antibiotics and to make sure he is okay! Our love goes out to Karl and Jenny and their family; we know this is a difficult time. How grateful we are for this sweet baby boy and his wonderful family! We are glad he will be okay and will be extra glad--as I'm sure they will be!--to have this week over! Welcome to the world, Baby Chase! We love you!

Matthew and the Superglue Stitches...

2010-05-29T13:58:00.000-06:00

On friday night, our family went to Lone Rock (about 50 miles west of us, near Dugway) to have dinner with some families from our ward who were camping there. There was a threat of rain and we had decided that staying overnight with the three kiddos while it rained didn't sound like much fun! After dinner, we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave. Just a few minutes before we were ready to go, Matthew tripped and fell. Several kids had fallen while we were there, so I originally didn't think much of it--thought he had just scraped his head a bit. Then I noticed it was actually running blood, so I walked over to the car where I could see it better in the light. Sure enough, there was a gash (about a half and inch long and quite deep) in his forehead above his right eye. I asked a friend there (who had had some nursing training) if she thought we needed stitches--thank you, Becky! She agreed that he probably did, so we headed off to the hospital in Tooele. They were wonderful! We were in and out in just over an hour, Matthew was treated so well and got a new teddy bear (sporting a cute t-shirt with the hospitals name on it!) and a coloring book and crayons. They were able to numb him with a gel and then clean the gash out and "superglue" it shut! No needles or trauma at any time! Yay! *Thank you, Dermabond! You made our lives so much better!* He is doing great! He'll have a little scar, but he walked away from the experience almost happy about it all! Here are a few pictures of the event (sorry, didn't get any before we got to the hospital, I guess I was a bit more concerned about stopping the bleeding, calming him down and getting him stitched up!)

Playing Catch Up...(a word of caution: it's kinda long!)

2010-05-26T16:40:00.000-06:00

Oh, my goodness, has it really been so long since I've done anything on here?! So much for my 'be better about blogging' goal, eh? Okay, then, I'm going to go with the 'busy mom' excuse for this one! : )

For Joshua's first birthday (way back in April!) we decided to enjoy the days becoming warmer and celebrate with all of our fun family at Liberty Park! The kids had a great time! And it was nice to be outside for a while after a long winter!
*These were the invitations to Joshua's party! Simple, but cute I think! (I also decided that I want to keep a copy of the little things I make, so you'll probably be seeing more of this! Sorry!)

This is the only picture I took at all that whole party, though: Joshua chillin' with Papa!

As we were leaving the park after the party, who walked right past us? (The guy in the white shirt! He was there with his daughter!) Memo Okur of the Utah Jazz!!! It was sooo cool! This was just a few days before his season ending Achilles injury.

We got to go with a friend and her cute kids to the Discovery Museum (a museum designed specifically for children) at the Gateway! It was our first time there and it was a blast! Seriously, a huge hit for my children! There was so much for them to do! There's a whole "Wee Town" where everything is their size, a huge ball pit thing where they can send their balls through a series of tubes using air, a class we attended that taught them about cooking and then let them decorate and eat their own sugar cookie, magnetics, wind tunnels.... I think we'll be getting season passes to this in the future! Thanks for inviting us Jo, Lindsey and Christopher!

On the roof of the museum is a real Life-flight chopper for the kids to climb in and learn about all the different jobs of the people who use it! I must admit, it was much more fun watching Joshua be able to play in it!

Kennedy was in her element "shopping" at the grocery store and then going "home" to put it all away! Matthew enjoyed using the trucks and tractors to move big blocks around in the "construction" area and donning the postal worker uniform to deliver everyone's mail!

And the boys filled up on gas before cruising around town.

The kids and I were going a little stir crazy one day and decided to take a trip to Wheeler farm for some lunch. We fed the ducks--who weren't very hungry!--but not the horses--who, apparently were, 'cause one tried to eat Kennedy's shirt!--and saw all the cute new baby animals.
It was windy, though, so we didn't stay long, but Matthew couldn't leave without seeing the "big tractors"!

Then we got to go to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point--better known as, "Kelsey's work", around here! --with Mimi and Aunt Kelsey! The goats were a definite favorite! The kids got to ride the ponies, and I gotta say, Joshua is a natural! He was hillarious! When I sat him up there, I didn't think he would go for it, but he pushed my hands away (as much as I'd let him, obviously) and giggled the whole time! We got us a natural cowboy, y'all!

Mother's Day was a beautiful day for me! I have such a wonderful family! Kris, despite having to be at meetings all day, made sure to get me some doughnuts for breakfast (one of my all time favorite breakfasts!) and then got home in time to make me a delicious grilled ham steak dinner--yes, grilled. It was divine!! If you haven't tried it, you so should! Thanks for such a special day, Sweetheart! We then got to go see our own beautiful mothers! (How grateful I am for both of them--the woman who gave me life and raised me and is one of my best friends and the woman who did the same for my other half and is also a dear friend! I love you both loads! I'm such a lucky girl! Happy mother's day to my wonderful sister-in-law moms, too!) Of course, I was having so much fun, I completely failed to take even a single picture of the entire day! : )

FINALLY, graduation day arrived! On May 6, 2010, Kris officially became an MSW!!! He has worked so long and hard to get this and is so amazing at it! I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished! It was so fun to sit surrounded by our phenomenal families an watch him recieve that diploma (okay, it wasn't really in there, we got it a couple weeks later, but we have it now!) We are so grateful to each of you and express our sincere appreciation to you for your support these last 2 years! I know it probably sounds trite, but we really could not have done it without you!

In June we will officially get to welcome a new sister-in-law to the Lundeberg family (though, she already is!) and we couldn't be happier! Jenny, Justi and I were privileged to be able to throw a bridal shower for her! These were the invitations to it! (I have way too much fun doing this stuff! Maybe someday, I'll have a room to dedicate completely to my paper crafts!...) We love you, Gabs!

Yesterday, Kris turned 29! (He is sooo old! Ha ha! Just kidding!) To celebrate, he left for work early in order to go get his driver's license renewed. When he got home, we had a "party"--that Maggie interrupted by rolling around in poop while she was outside and requiring an impromptu bath and brush! Ick!--in which we ate dinner (Ham Fried Rice) and sang "Happy Birthday" over Chocolate Raspberry Tarts with candles in them! He then left to go to Bishopric Meeting. Sorry it wasn't such a fun day, Darlin', but we love you lots! Here's to many more years of celebrating birthdays!

I think that's it! All caught up! (Everybody now: "Whew!") Thanks for staying with us! : )

Random photos of late...

2010-04-08T10:54:00.003-06:00

We went to South Towne Mall to visit the Easter Bunny with Mimi, Aunts Kelsey and Kylee, and discovered a train that goes all the way around the bottom level of the mall! Of course, we HAD to ride it! So fun! Thanks, guys!

Easter morning. The Easter Bunny brought WAY too much candy! (Don't know how that happened...haha) My apologies, this picture isn't very good!

The Easter Bunny brought Kennedy a new Cinderella dress (her last one was practically shredded!) She was very excited! It has been worn for several hours every day since. : )

Matthew got a James (with coal tender!) train and Annie and Claribel coaches for his wooden train set from the Easter Bunny! He loves his, "Easter trains," but has not let the fact that he still needs Henry and Gordon slip past us! **FYI: Joshua got new sandals and a ball (he LOVES them!), but the picture is extrememly blurry, so I'm not posting it!**

The kids in their Easter clothes! Unfortunately, Joshua did not want to be photographed that day (he would have rather eaten the camera!), so this is the best of all three of them we got. Trust me, there were lots more attempts, though! : )

Mimi and Papa did an easter egg scavenger hunt at their house this year! The kids had a blast finding all the eggs! At the end, the egg in the bird's food dish (yes, inside the cage--the kids thought it was great!) told them they had to give Mimi a hug to get their easter treats from her!

Joshua enjoying his ball--and Matthew's sidewalk chalk! I think something interesting is also on TV.

Joshua got this adorable talking dog for his birthday! He loves it!! So do Matthew and Kennedy. Here, they are "showing him how it works." He wasn't terribly impressed with them. But they sure are cute an all ready for this cake! (It's a dragon. It even has "guts"! )

Happy 1st birthday, Joshua!

2010-04-07T22:48:00.001-06:00

Today is our sweet baby Joshua's birthday! We cannot believe he is already a year old! He is such a wonderful baby, so easy-going and happy. We feel incredibly blessed that he is a part of our family! It is hard to believe how far he has come from what was a year ago, today. Not only did he live, he is perfectly healthy, with no long-term side effects from the numerous diseases he battled in the first two weeks of his life. Just a few things we love about this boy:
1 - He is such a happy boy! He always has a smile for everyone (he's a bit of a flirt!).
2 - He loves his big brother and sister so much! (And they love him!) Nobody can make Joshua laugh like Matthew, and especially Kennedy, can. His full out giggle is ADORABLE!
3 - He loves his mommy! Okay, so sometimes, I admit, it's a bit of a pain, but most of the time, I relish it! It is so fun to watch him light up and crawl across the room for me! He gives daddy the same response when he gets home from school or work each day, too!
4 - He gives the best hugs (he even pats our backs!) and kisses!
5 - When he kneels down to play. It is the cutest thing!
6 - He loves to throw balls! In fact, it's one of the two words he says, the other, of course, being "ma!" : )
7 - He is an excellent Godzilla! Much to Kennedy and Matthew's dismay! He can destroy a train track, and block towers faster than anything!
8 - He loves to wake up Matthew and Kennedy, crawling to their bedsides and banging on them while yelling!
9 - He knows what he wants! If you are not in compliance, you will know it--trust me!
10 - His own unique, "Uhhhhh!" to say hello, good-bye, I want that, give it to me now...
Happy birthday, to our beautiful baby! We are so grateful you are in our family!

Yay for warm weather!

2010-03-18T11:23:00.000-06:00

We have so enjoyed having warm weather around here again! We've been walking to school again, gone to the zoo, gotten some yard work done, been out to ride bikes and scooters and write on the sidewalk with chalk and just loved spending time in the sunshine! We also got a new camera (the old one decided to stop working) so we will have pictures again!

Kris and I also had the opportunity to attend a benefit gala to celebrate the 25th anniversary of heart transplants in Utah! He was able to go because of his work as an intern on the heart transplant team at the VA Hospital. It was such an amazing experience for us! We feel so blessed at the health of our family and those that we love. It was neat to be able to meet some of the surgeons and transplant recipients (we even got to see the first person to recieve a heart in Utah!) Did you know that Utah has one of the premier heart transplant programs in the country? They are doing amazing work and in the 25 years have successfully transplanted nearly 1000 hearts! Of course, it was lots of fun to be able to dress up and attend a "fancy" event!

Kennedy got a "prayer rock" in primary last week. Every night, she tucks herself in bed (we've been informed that she no longer needs us) and gets all settled, tucks the rock under her pillow, then lays down on it. She then sits up and exclaims, "Oh! I forgot to say my prayers!" (not kidding; it's the exact same every night!) She will get out of bed, kneel down and say prayers, then climb back in bed and go to sleep! How cute is that! Thank you to primary teachers! Apparently, even though we've taught her that her whole life, it takes a primary teacher to really make it stick! : )

Matthew, as we all know, loves to sing and does so all the time! (every meal, to brush teeth, playing, walking to school...) The other night, he was jumping on our bed (so against the rules!) singing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" completely ignoring us as we told him to stop. He would actually stop for a brief time, then start again. He sang, "One fell off..." then fell off the bed himself, hitting his head on the nightstand! I know this probably makes me a terrible mother, but I started laughing so hard! He came up with a big red mark on his face, whimpering and saying, "It's not funny, guys!" But it was! : ) No worries, he's okay!

Joshua has officially been weened (and I've got to say, I'm so glad!) and is doing well with it; even sleeping through the night! (Thank you, Jenny!) He is getting closer and closer to walking but doesn't seem too gung ho about it yet, so he just does it when he wants. Got lots of time, though! He is hillarious when he eats, grunting and "mmmm"ing throughout the entire meal. He has also learned how to growl. His favorite time to do this is during sacrament meeting, either at his dad on the stand or at the people across the isle! He turns your face when he wants you to look and him and says his own unique version of, "Hi." Much to Matthew's dismay, he is also an excellent Godzilla! (it's pretty funny!)

All in all, life is good! Here's to many more happy (and sunny!) days!

Feeling better...

2010-03-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

That's right! We have been illness free for a week or so! (I was afraid if I posted earlier, I'd jinx it!) Now if I can just get this house in order... It was so nice to finally be back at church after a 3 week hiatus! Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy, 'cause spring is almost here and we could sure use some outdoor activity time!
This past week we got the results of Kris' follow-up CT scan. The clot is 90% gone! Yay! We also learned how big the clot had actually been in the first place. It had completely filled 2 of the 3 sinuses in the back of his head and partially filled the 3rd as well all the connecting veins and was starting to fill the draining vein (the one that leads directly to his heart.) I think I'm glad I didn't know how bad it actually was at the time! No wonder it would have killed him! Thank heaven for the tender mercies of the Lord! We have been incredibly blessed! They are still going to watch him, and there are a few questions about why it happened in the first place that they are running tests to try and determine, but we are grateful for this significant good news! Hopefully, we find the other answers we're looking for and we can move on from there!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's five days late. So what? : ) In the midst of the sick-fest at our house, Valentine's day came! Thankfully, everyone was feeling pretty good that day! I love the opportunity to focus on loved ones! We certainly don't use it as the only day to express our love, but it's sure fun having a day completely dedicated it! Kennedy and Matthew enjoyed a Valentine's party at school and thought exchanging Valentine's with their friends there was the greatest fun! (Candy!) They also helped make and decorate sugar cookies for their party and loved that, as well! It was our stake conference weekend, too, so all 3 kids got to spend friday afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa while Kris and I were able to attend the temple (LOVE the remodel! It's gorgeous!). Of course, they had a blast! Saturday was spent with Mimi and Papa so we could go to dinner and the adult session. Loved it there, too! Thanks to the wonderful grandparents for watching the kids so we could do these things! These kiddos sure love you all! Thanks for the candy, too--you know they loved that! : ) We topped off the day with pink waffles cut in the shape of a heart topped
with red raspberry jam and bacon! (Okay, so maybe not very heart-healthy, but it did our hearts good!)

I love this beautiful family and am so grateful for each member of it, as well as all the extended family that provide such a strong support to us! Most of all, I love my sweet husband--my best friend. I love you more each day! Here's to many more Valentine's days and, even better, eternity!

New goal:

2010-02-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

To be a better blogger! I don't know that what happens here in the Lundeberg house is all that interesting, but it is something I would like to be more consistant about doing!

This past month has been lots of fun! We've spent time with each other and with our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! The kids (well, Kennedy and Matthew at least) had a blast at sleepovers at grandma and grandpa's house--with Riser!--and then Mimi and Papa's the next weekend! They got to go to a train show (very exciting!), too! We had a blast having Riser and Kayson over for a playdate where we made pizza pockets and painted picture frames to put pictures of them in! What a mess...I mean blast! (pictures to come!) They got to come back a few days later while everyone else helped move Karl and Jenny into their new house! Yay! (Congratulations, guys!) Unfortunately, since then, we've been living in a sick house. Blah! Thought the kids just had bad colds--with horrible coughs! I thought I was gonna go crazy over here!--so kept them home from school and church, but Matthew was getting worse and Kennedy developed a red, itchy, gunky eye. We decided it was time to hit the doctor's office. Turns out, not Pink Eye as I had feared! Strep! In the throat and in the eyes! Just getting the Strep test swab was great! Matthew clamped down and would not open! We finally pinned him down on the table and waited until he coughed to get in! The nurses comment? "I've never had anyone clamp down so hard!" How fun is that? My dear Matthew is horrible at taking medicine, however, and now we have a problem, 'cause he definately needs it! The kid is incredibly strong and it is a major battle to even get anything in his mouth (obviously), let alone get him to swallow it or keep it down if you do! Therefore, medication a couple times of day for 10 days is pretty much out of the question. So he had to get the nasty shot. It was pretty bad, but it's over now and we can start getting better! Here's hoping it doesn't spread any more than it has! (Everyone else has a cold, and Kennedy had the goopy eyes, but so far no other Strep!) In other news, Kris was made the 1st counselor in the bishopric (he was 2nd, so no big deal), and I was made ward newsletter editor (oh, my gosh, so much fun!). I also got to teach a part of RS Enrichment the other night and had a blast! I didn't remember how much I enjoyed teaching in that kind of setting! Sunday school is still a blast, but it is a sunday school class with 5 boys, so not quite the same. I was definately grateful for the new opportunity!

Okay, all caught up! Think I can be better from here on out? Here's hoping! : )

December...(and a little January)

2010-01-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Joshua learned to crawl. He also learned that by crawling, he can get into lots of stuff!

On December 16, we welcomed our first niece! This is Rees Justi Lundeberg (born to Kent and Justi)! She was 7 pounds even, and 19 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful! She was a bit of a stinker for her mom in trying to get here (she turned breech!), but a successful C-section got her here just fine. We are grateful for such a beautiful new addiditon to our family! Congrats, guys! : )

We went on an outing with Aunt Jenny and Riser and Kayson to Gardner Village to find all the elves (left). I think the moms had a tiny bit more fun than the kiddos (it was cold, there was no climbing on the elves or store furnature allowed...) but it was still a successful outing I think! (The cookies and milk at the bakery at the end ensured that!)

I think we wore everyone out! (right)

Christmas Eve day is always marked with a yummy breakfast at Custom Floors with friends and family. Kennedy, Matthew, Riser and Kayson found that climbing up the carpet roles was the highlight of the morning!

That night, we spent with Grandma and Grandpa at their house (after a yummy dinner at Tio's!)

These are new jammies and toys!

We also found out we are expecting another nephew in May and will be getting a new sister-in-law, Gabby (she's engaged to Kevin and absolutely adorable!--perfect for him), in June! Welcome to the family! We are very excited for both upcoming events!

Christmas Day was tons of fun, too! We opened presents at our house (Santa brought an art easel for Kennedy, a wooden train track and Thomas and Percy for Matthew and a little train and ball toy for Joshua) then headed off to Mimi and Papas house for waffles with vanilla ice cream and raspberries for breakfast! Yummy! We had a nice, relaxing day enjoying all our great presents and wonderful family! It was wonderful! Unfortunately, I neglected to take even a single picture the entire day (oops!), so if you have one, will you please pass it on to this often forgetful mother? : )

Playing in the December snow! Kennedy and Matthew (and Maggie) loved it! This is their "Frosty" snowman; they danced around him and sang the song and everything! : ) It can be noted also that that this is actually the second snowman built that day. The first was a more child-sized version, but Matthew decided the head was more suitable as a snowball to throw at Mom. The rest was just fun to push over and make snow angels in!

In January, we got to see my cousin, Heather--who came up from Arizona--and meet her cute family: her husband, Josh, and beautiful 3 month old daughter, Claire! It was so fun to see them! It's been too long!

Updates coming...

2010-01-08T11:13:00.002-07:00

I have been lax in keeping this thing updated lately--sorry! I promise updates are coming in the next few days!

It the holiday season!

2009-12-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that Christmas is finally upon us! The sights, sounds and smells all add to the sense of peace and joy that comes with the season. The house is decorated and the shopping is mostly done! I love it! Of course, though I love everything about Christmas, from the crowds to the lights to the food, without our Savior, it wouldn't mean anything. How grateful I am for His birth and what it means to the world. I think it's wonderful that you can find Christmas in every aspect of the holiday if you look for it. Yes, there is the commercialism that dominates so much of our society (and getting caught up in that makes you a modern-day Scrooge, in my opinion), but behind that there is the spirit of the season and a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday. So bring on Santa and his perpetual cheer and his love of giving; bring on the shopping and finding something special for those who mean the most to you; bring on the giving to those with less than us in the hopes that their lives might be better because we gave a little bit of ourselves; bring on the trees and the tinsel and the lights and all that they represent; bring on the food and the thanksgiving that we have it and can share it. Christ is in every part of Christmas, if we will only find Him there. We wish a very Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Birthday, Kennedy!!!

2009-11-12T10:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Kennedy's birthday! She if now 4 years old! When did that happen? She is such a wonderful little girl! I am so glad to have her for a daughter! A few things about my girl:
1. I love how fun you are! You tell the best stories (even if I don't get what exactly happened!)
2. You have such a great imagination! I love to watch you pretend and do all the different things "grown-ups" do! I love when you tell me and show me what you will do when you're a mom!
3. I love how much you love your little brothers! It is so fun to watch you play with and mother them both. They love you so much! You are such a good big sister!
4. I love watching you learn the gospel! You are so good at learning all the songs in primary and singing them loudly! I am so proud of the way you are learning the Articles of Faith and loving the scriptures!
5. I love it when you help me cook whatever it is I'm making! I love sharing that time with you and watching you get it! Someday, I look forward to enjoying your own creations!
6. I love your love of life! You get so excited about the world around you and it makes me so happy! Rain, snow, sun, wind, leaves, bells, flags, birds, bugs, animals, friends, Taylor Swift...everything is fascinating and wonderful!
I sure love you, sweetheart! You are such a special part of our lives! Hope you had a wonderful birthday, Darlin'!

Matthew's birthday party!

2009-11-01T14:29:00.002-07:00

For Matthew's third birthday party we did a train excursion! We rode FrontRunner to Ogden where we took a tour of the train museum and got to play on the big old steam engine, ate Thomas the train birthday cake and rode FrontRunner back home! We sure had a lot of fun! When we got to the train station, Matthew was so excited about his party he would ask of each person going in that general direction if they were going to his birthday party! So cute! Once we were on the train, he thought it was quite rude that it didn't go immediately! He was ready and it was his party!... At every station, he would yell: "Mom! The Station!!" It was so fun to see his excitement! Thanks to everyone who was able to come!! Hope you had a good birthday, Sweetheart!

Happy Halloween 2009!

2009-11-01T14:21:00.004-07:00

The three cutest trick-or-treaters this year: Taylor Swift (yes, she chose it herself), Willy Wonka (yep, him, too!) and a skunk (okay, I chose his!)! Are they not the most adorable children on the planet? Kennedy and Matthew had a blast at our family trick-or-treat party at Grandpa Wayne's and going and getting candy and seeing all their friends dressed up too! Happy Halloween, kiddos! : )

Happy Birthday, Matthew!!!

2009-10-14T19:23:00.003-06:00

On Monday, October 12, (yes, I realize I'm a few days late!) our sweet Matthew turned three! He and Kennedy think it's a lot of fun that they are the same age and ask each other about it constantly! I cannot believe how quickly the last 3 years have gone! He has gotten so big and it has truly been a joy to watch his personality emerge and evolve. Here are a just a few of the things I love about Mr. Matthew:

1. You love life! You are so laid back and happy most of the time! You are content with yourself already, and I am in awe.

2. I love how you can sit and watch your new train (thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Dean!), or do any other activity you enjoy, for that matter, for hours!

3. You are obstinately stubborn! (Though, I do hope we are able to channel this into more useful applications than defiance at some point!)

4. You are such a good brother to Kennedy and Joshua and such a big helper to Mommy and Daddy!

5. You are so smart! I am so impressed at your abilities (like identifying each letter in the alphabet and almost every sound!) You obviously love to read and learn and it gives me such joy to watch you! You already know so much about the gospel--I love it!

6. You are my little GQ-man! So handsome! How I love your beautiful smile and bright blue eyes! You melt my heart!

In all, I sure love this boy! You bring so much joy to our lives and we are so grateful you are a part of our family! Happy birthday, buddy!

A time of reflection...

2009-10-06T14:10:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I attended the funeral of my great uncle who passed away suddenly at the age of 68. Funerals do tend to lend themselves to personal reflection, and I found myself doing just that. As I sat listening to his family telling stories and remembering him and his life and his impact on the world, I pondered what I would want my family and friends to remember about me. What kind of memories and impressions am I leaving with those I love? It also made me consider what I would say if--heaven forbid!--I were asked to share my memories and thoughts about someone in my life. What would I remember and want to pass on? And then I realized: why am I not noticing and remembering and appreciating those things today? while that person is a part of my life? Why am I not making an effort to take the time to notice the positive and forget the negative? And so, today I am making a resolution to do better and be better; with hopes that in the distant future I'll be able to say that I have no regrets and have only happy memories.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-09-21T11:20:00.004-06:00

Happy Anniversary, to the love of my life! (a few days late.) On friday, September 18, Kris and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary! It has been the best 6 years of my life. To my sweetheart: thank you for your hard work and patience, your humor and sensitivity, your love and example. Thank you for 3 beautiful children, who love you so much. Every day I find that I love you even more. I look forward to the rest of eternity with you by my side. I love you!!

Kris' new calling...

2009-09-09T23:04:00.001-06:00

Kris has been saying he's ready to be released as Elders Quorum President. He got his wish! He was just put in as the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric! Fun stuff! We thought he was busy before! He'll do a great job! : )

Preschool starts!

2009-09-09T22:42:00.008-06:00

My two little cuties started preschool this week! (A lady in the neighborhood is just starting a new one.) They were so excited to go! When it came down to actually going, Matthew fell apart and cried the whole way there, but was okay once we got there and came out running and excited and happy! Yay! They had a great time and are can't wait to go again! They are so cute! (Even the toothy smile and the girl who insists on posing for every picture!)

Sewer Main Woes

2009-09-09T22:38:00.002-06:00

As everyone knows by now, we have had sewer main woes at our house the last few weeks. We are grateful to be home again now! Here is a brief synopsis of the past 2 1/2 weeks: friday, toilet explodes (okay, not literally, but "stuff" did come forcefully out of the toilet!--as a service, I did not take any photos! LOL!) and I called a friend who does plumbing to come check it out for us; it's not good. Main is clogged and requires an auger. We decided to stay that night at a hotel so they could get it taken care of. Saturday, it didn't work; they need a bigger auger. Bonus: they can't find the sewer clean-out cap that should be right in front of the house. This requires that a 4 ft. x 4 ft. x 4 ft. hole be dug to put one in! (Thanks, Kris' running buddies!) This reveals that the main is clogged with roots and a portion has even colapsed! Bring in the back-hoe! We have to wait several days for Blue Stakes to notify necessary utilities to come mark the front yard, then get a big trench (roughly 30 ft. long x 3 ft. wide x 6 ft. deep!). 25 ft. of old clay main is replaced and we get to come home! Thanks, again, to running buddies for getting a bobcat to fill it all back in! We have been greatly blessed! The bathroom remodel is underway (when it's done, I'll upload 'before' and 'after' photos!), and--most exciting--the toilet flushes!!! Here is the process in photos:

He's home!!!

2009-08-17T23:47:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been a harrowing weekend for our family! On friday morning, Kris woke up with a mild headache. A bit unusual as he only gets headaches once a year or so, but he took some Ibuprofen and got in the shower. Suddenly, he got a massive headache that went up his neck and into the back of his head. He got out and laid down on the bed. He couldn't even hold still, he was in so much pain! He threw up 4 times in 45 minutes. Having migraines myself, I began to ask the typical questions but found that he had no sensitivity to light, sound or smell, nor was the pain on one side of the head. He was speaking quite slow and sounded like he had a thick tongue. I called my mom and my mother-in-law (thank you both so much for talking me through it and helping me!) who both agreed we should get him to the hospital. Then, 45 minutes after it had begun, it was over just as suddenly. Good...but bad. I called Kris' doctor to see what I should do and they told us to get into the ER. So we did. At first, there wasn't too much concern and we were told that the chances of someone under the age of 30 in good health (as, until 4 weeks ago, Kris is) having a stroke is only 2-3%. Regardless, they began running tests. The CT was normal, no bleeding! Yeah! Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap): some blood evident in fluid, though results deemed inconclusive since they had to do it twice when the first one was in the wrong spot, possibly nicking a small vein in his spine. Then they did a CT-A, a CAT scan with dye injected into the veins. Low and behold: a blood clot in the transverse sinus vein at the base of his head. We then spent another hour and a half waiting to see if they were going to do surgery or not. In the end they decided not to (yeah!), but he was admitted to the Neuro Acute Care unit at 12:30 in the morning, a full 12 hours after we had arrived. He was on Heparin to get his blood thinned as well as all the heart monitors and compression boots. The neurologist told us that he was "at very high risk for a massive stroke that would have been debilitating or possibly fatal." Thank heavens we went to the hospital! He likely would have had that stroke a day or two later. And--never thought we'd say this!--thank heavens for that accident 4 weeks ago! If not for the accident, he'd never have broken his arm, and if not for the immobility of his arm, he'd never have had any clots in it, and if not for those clots, we'd never have questioned the headache and taken him to the hospital. There is a family history of clots and we are convinced that if not for the events of the past month, we would never have known the potentiality for something so serious. In the end, that accident very well may have saved his life, whether now or in the coming years. But now we are aware of it and it can be taken care of and managed. His blood is now thin enough that his doctors let him come home Sunday! A total surprise for both of us, as we'd been told just the night before that he wouldn't come home until Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest! Wow! We couldn't be happier! It is scary to think just how close I came to losing him. They never could explain what had caused that headache. We know that it was the Lord letting us know that something was wrong and we needed to get help.

Anyway, thank you to our Father in Heaven and His infinite plan and for the knowledge that there is a bigger picture and He understands all things; thanks to our incredible families, who took kids at a moments notice and spent hours with us at the hospital; thanks to those kids who got shuffled off without any explanation and were good and happy to be on their own little vacation, and the one who was a trooper to wait out the entire 12 hours with us, even sleeping in his car seat! Thanks for the many prayers and fasts and calls and visitors! It helped us both more than you know! We are so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends!

Kiddies Update...

2009-08-12T09:52:00.002-06:00

Since I haven't updated in awhile (been a hectic few weeks!), I thought I'd catch the world up on my beautiful kiddos. : ) Kennedy is getting to be such a big girl! No longer is she a toddler! She is such a good big sister to her two little brothers! She loves to cook, get herself dressed, hold Joshua and learn! We've recently begun reading "Charlotte's Web" before bed each night and she loves it! Matthew, likewise, loves to learn and read books! He has recently become a "Why?" man. So fun! Ha-ha! He is obsessed with trains (anything in a line is a train!). When we all hold hands to cross a street, his first inclination is to shout, "Choo-choo!" at the top of his lungs! It's adorable! He also loves the alphabet and spells every word he sees! Joshua just turned four months old and passed his well-child exam with flying colors! He is now 13 pounds, 12 ounces and 25 1/2 inches long! I cannot believe how big he has gotten! He is simply the best baby. He loves to smile at every one and every thing. He has no use for sitting up on a shoulder as he cannot see as well, or, really, for sitting at all, he prefers to stand. This last weekend we were able to begin feeding him some solid foods! Rice cereal: not a fan at all! Bananas: loves them! He's even cutting his first tooth already!

They are beautiful kids and so good. They have been such troopers through the past few weeks. I am so grateful to have them! I haven't taken pictures the lately, but will get some and post them soon, promise! : )

Can't catch a break!

2009-08-12T09:29:00.003-06:00

Kris has certainly had a rough go of it lately! On July 20, he was in a car/scooter (he was the scooter!) accident. He broke his left elbow and had numerous "road burn" abrasions on his face, arms and leg. We are so grateful he was wearing a helmet!!! It literally saved his life! Things could have been so much worse. A week later, they found (another) blood clot in his right arm. Thankfully, it is only a superficial clot from the IV he got at the hospital the week before. The next week, he had a massive abscess on his tooth and had to go have that tooth pulled! Yesterday, they found two more blood clots--in his left arm this time! Again, these two new ones are superficial, but one of them is very close to a deep vein, so they are watching it closely. Fingers crossed that nothing else happens!

Dinosaurs and Big Cats!

2009-07-10T14:42:00.006-06:00

On Wednesday, the kids and I joined Mimi, Kelsey, Maddie and Ethan for a fun day at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was the museum's birthday and they were throwing a party! We had a blast! In addition to the regular fun, the kids got to decorate birthday hats (embellished with dinosaur cutouts, of course!), get their faces painted, go "fly fishing" for candy, and get dinosaur balloons! What fun! Thursday was "Members Stay Late" night at the zoo. I tell ya, the evening is when you want to head up to see the big cats! The Lynx was rather irratated that people were still there and kept pacing. The tiger was beautiful and wide awake, even drinking from the misters in his enclosure before lying down. He kept yawning and grunting--what a cool and unique sound! Kennedy and Matthew were thrilled! The animals were beautiful! We always enjoy the zoo!

Lots of FUN!

2009-07-06T09:13:00.006-06:00

- We started our busy but fun week with a carnival at Grandpa Wayne's. We had a yummy dinner of BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs and played lots of fun games where Kennedy and Matthew won enough tickets to "buy" stick ponies and named them "Kennedy" (very original) and "Seven", respectively. But the hit of the evening was this blow-up slide! It was hard to get them off! Thanks, Grandpa Wayne, for inviting us! It was lots of fun!

- On Tuesday, we met Aunt Jenny and Riser and Kayson at the zoo! We had a blast looking at all the animals and even all got new zoo hats to wear! We were excited to learn that a new baby elephant should be born in August and look forward to seeing him/her. Popsicles topped off the outing before going home for naps!

-Kris' truck has had some issues that are just not worth fixing (the cost to do so is more than the truck is worth), so we found a great deal online and bought him a scooter! We're already loving the 80 miles or so a gallon! It has already proven to be lots of fun and the kids love to take rides!

-Riser and Kayson came to play at our house for a few hours on Friday. Kennedy and Matthew sure loved having them here!

At 3 months, Joshua was proud to hold the flag high (with a little help from Grandma Kelly).

Kennedy has discovered she loves to pose for pictures. This is her "gangsta".

My favorite is Matthew's face. : )

Having lots of fun eating donuts and bagels with Aunt Millie!

-We ended the week with a fun-filled 4th of July! The day began with our annual Lundeberg family Murray parade and breakfast! (With five grandkids now--four of them being very active and mobile--we opted for bagels and donuts on the lawn waiting for the parade to start rather than the usual IHOP.) We had a great time! The kids made out like bandits, getting lots of candy. Next, we met up with Kris' friend, Ben, and his wife, Amy, and daughter, Hailey (whom we haven't seen since she was like 3 months old and is now 16 months and so big and cute!), at Murray park. We caught up a bit and let the kids jump in the big, blow-up bouncing...thing--had a blast. (Sorry, forgot to take pictures.) Then it was off to the Dean's for swimming (Kennedy and Matthew would have stayed all day at the pool if we let them!), BBQ and fireworks (Matthew is a HUGE fan. His favorites being the "spinning ones" and the "loud ones!") Sorry, but again, I forgot to take pictures. Thanks, everybody, for such a fun day! Happy Birthday, America!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T14:10:00.002-06:00

I cannot let this day pass without wishing the wonderful fathers in my life a very happy Father's Day!

Kris, I am so grateful to you for all you do for me and our family. I don't know how you manage to do all that you do (and do it all so well!) and still have time for us and make us feel so loved and taken care of. You are such an incredible example to me. You make me want to be better. You are so much more than just my husband, you are my best friend and eternal companion and I love you more each day. I cannot believe it has been almost six years since we started this journey together! In a way, so much has changed, and yet nothing really has. I love to watch you with our little huckleberries and see how much they adore you and you, them; I love to watch you work; I love to see the love and respect you show to those around you and to see that returned to you because of who you are. Thank you for loving me and our children. Happy Father's Day!

Dad, thank you for being such an incredible dad. I love all the fun things we have in common that we can talk about (airplanes, thrill rides, maybe someday we'll take that trip out to Ohio...)
I feel so grateful that I can also call you my friend. You make me laugh, and I love that. Thanks for showing me what to look for and find in a husband. Happy Father's Day!

Kraig, thank you for accepting me so wholeheartedly into your wonderful family! It means so much to me to be a part of it! You are every bit as much my family now as my own. Thank you for raising such an incredible son and for being such a good example. Happy Father's Day!

And a happy Father's Day to my amazing Grandpa and Grandpas-in-law (Clem and Wayne) and to my brothers-in-law, Karl and Kent! I hope you all have a wonderful day and know how much we love you!

Upcoming Car and Hobby Show

2009-06-15T22:28:00.004-06:00

Hello, everybody! Just wanted to let everyone know about the upcoming car show that I've organized again this year. Last year was really fun and we're looking forward to an even bigger better show this year! Of course, refreshments will be provided. We hope if you want to come you'll be able to make it! (And if you want to be part of it or know anyone that does, great! Let me know!)

Rev up your engines...

...for the 2nd annual

Car and Hobby Show!

Saturday, June 27, 2009
Rose Park North Stake Center
1155 N. 1200 W. (Boy Scout Dr.)

Shows begin at 10:00 am

Registration for cars / motorcycles
and hobbies / crafts for display
begins at 8:30 am

Questions or comments and pre-registration
may be directed to
the Rose Park 6th Ward:

Rachael Lundeberg 363-3457

Joshua at 2 months old

2009-06-12T14:52:00.002-06:00

Joshua had his 2 month check-up this last Tuesday! He is still perfect! Doing well and getting so big! He even did really well with his shots (Matthew was horrible, so I was worried!) and thought the Rotovirus vaccine tasted great! : )

Here's the scoop on this handsome boy:

weight: 9 pounds, 8 ounces (10-15th percentile)
head circumference: 15.1 inches (20th percentile)
height: 24 inches (90th percentile)
He's tall and skinny!

Fun at our house! Ha!

2009-06-08T14:36:00.003-06:00

See that red line? Kris has had pain in his leg for a little over a week now and went to an urgent care last Tuesday to have it checked out thinking it was possibly a blood clot (at the time, the red line was only three to four inches long). They did not have the necessary equipment to check for that so they marked the red area, told him to watch it and go to the ER if it got any bigger, and sent him home. On Wednesday, he went to the ER because it had spread some. They did an ultrasound, but found nothing. It continued to get worse and by Friday, it had spread up his leg to about mid-thigh (now about twelve inches long). So he went to a different ER. They believed it was a blood clot, but did not have an ultrasound tech available at that time to check it (it was late at night), so they sent him home and asked him to come back the next morning. He did, and he does, indeed, have a blood clot! It is a little more than a foot long, but is only in a surface vein (that's good!) and not a deeper, more dangerous vein. Later that evening, at Joshua's blessing BBQ, I suddenly got the chills that quickly increased until apparently I was quite pale and my lips were blue. I got really light-headed and fuzzy. My sweet husband got me inside and everyone lent me their extra blankets (thank you!) where I was able to warm up a bit. Don't really know how long we were in there or what was happening outside, but I was miserable! Thankfully, my sister-in-law, Jenny, recognized the symptoms as Mastitis! Ugh! I do NOT recommend it. I have not felt so horrible in so short a time in my life! What a nasty bug! We called my doctor's office to call me in a perscription, my parents took the two kids, and Joshua and his invalid parents went home to rest. Thankfully, I was well enough that we could still bless Joshua as planned. And it was a beautiful blessing! Thanks to everyone who came (many making the trip twice)! We sure appreciate all your love and support! Hopefully, this week will bring a bit less drama!

"Water" lot of fun!

2009-06-08T13:13:00.002-06:00

So, Friday I'm finishing up doing dishes when I realize just how quiet it is...not a good thing, usually. Sure enough, I come around the corner and see a trail of water from the bathroom to Kennedy's room. Every single item from her kitchen center that could hold water, was. In the bathroom, Matthew was giving "Blue Bear" a bath in the sink--soap and all! The receiving blanket was a towel today. There was also water in the living room where they had taken their "picnic". It is amazing what two toddlers can accomplish in a mere five minutes! You can't see it too well in the picture, but thy are both pretty water-logged. I guess two- and three-year-olds aren't really concerned with leaving behind evidence.

Many thanks!!

2009-06-02T13:06:00.002-06:00

We have to express thanks to all who have prayed and fasted for our little Joshua, brought in food so we could be at the hospital with him, called to check on us, watched Kennedy and Matthew while we were gone and have just been so supportive. And, of course, a shout out to Jen and my mom for setting up and maintaining the blog to keep everyone updated. We could not have made it through such a difficult time without it all and we thank you with all our hearts.

We are happy to report that he is still doing incredibly well. He is 8 weeks old today and still beautiful and strong. We hope to see a smile any day now (he's trying!). Kennedy and Matthew love having him home and rush to his aid if ever he even so much as whimpers. They are the best big sister and big brother ever! : )

We have also decided to maintain this blog (yes, I caved!) due to the numerous requests that we do so. We're not really that exciting, but okay! : ) (Alright, I'll admit that now that I've committed to it, I'm happy about it, too. This counts as doing family history, right?)

Last, I am so a blog-stalker! So if you have blogs, please let me know, so I can follow your families! I don't have many of your e-mail addresses either, so send them along, too!

Many firsts for baby Joshua

2009-04-23T17:50:00.000-06:00

Thursday - April 23rd

Today was many firsts in 14 day old Joshua's life!
It was his first trip to the doctor (where the doctors didn't come to him!).
They treated him like a regular 2 week old baby there for his 2 week checkup...and I (Mimi) was feeling like...excuse me...this baby has just gone through 2 weeks of hell, and he has had to fight very hard for his life, and he had so many things wrong with him, and shouldn't we be overly concerned with him? , and so forth... But truthfully, Rachael has a great Dr. and staff that were very kind and good to him, and Dr. Buchannan reassured both mommy and grandma that Joshy should do just fine now, with no ill effects in the future. All I could think of was...WOW!
By the way. He came in at 7 lbs. even today! 20 1/2 inches long!

Joshua also came to his Mimi's house for the first time today! Yay! And he met his uncle Zach for the first time too! Uncle Zach has been sick and was not ever able to see him in the hospital.
So it was kind of exhausting today...he wanted to sleep most of the day away...but I am sure he will make up for it tonight...right mommy?

Miracle of Miracles!!

2009-04-21T22:47:00.000-06:00

Tuesday - April 21

The boy is 2 weeks old today... and to celebrate, he went home! I still can't

believe it!

About 5:00 this evening they drove up to their house with their baby boy...just like they thought it would have been about 12 days ago. What a happy day! Kennedy and Matthew finally were believing there WAS a baby Joshua (they have never really seen him other than a few minutes that first day)...and that just maybe he WOULD come live at their home!

It was a pretty quiet occasion for the first little while when he made it into his home. His big brother and sister checked him out, and then held him for the first time. He stretched and moaned and squeaked like newborns do...which the older kids took to mean "he's tired", "he's hungry", "he wants in his swing", and "he wants me!" There were many instructions called out as to what to do for him, especially by Kennedy, who within minutes had taken on the roll of #2 mother and I am sure she will be instructing her parents AND her 2 little brothers on many things over the next several years! It was a memorable place to be. I couldn't stop watching them interact.

Joshua came home at a whopping 6 lbs. 15 oz. ... 3 oz. bigger than he was at birth! Not bad for what he has been through! His newborn clothes are huge, but he wont need preemies like the other kids. He is doing amazingly well, and is extremely beautiful. What a story we will have to tell him some day! What a road he traveled in his first hours, days, and weeks of life! We will someday share with him the love and prayers, and fasts, and worries so many people had for him. He truly is a special baby boy. And as I have said before, he must have a remarkable life in front of him!

I will update for a while if everyone still wants me to. But I just want to say thank you to all who read and comment on this blog. Jen, thanks for making me do it...I never thought I would blog...but it has been a blessing to many. I love you all. Thanks again. Until a few more days pass, Kim (Mimi)

THE BEST NEWS TODAY!

2009-04-20T19:28:00.000-06:00

Monday - - April 20th

Like there hasn't been enough good news the last couple of days.... Rachael called me crying a little while ago (and of course my brain starts to wonder what BAD has happened!!), to tell me the Dr. has ordered Joshua's last meds to be given early on Tuesday to finish this course of antibiotics...so his parents can TAKE HIM HOME on Tuesday evening!! Unbelievable!! I am so thrilled for them!!

His labs on the jaundice came back as a tiny bit lower, so they are going to trust Joshua to continue to bring those numbers down as he gets better... at HOME! The staff says he really is remarkably better and feeling so much better. He is going to be okay. Absolute truth- - whenever the "team" tells a new resident/nurse/etc. during rounds about all that Joshy had wrong with him, every time they answer the same - - "All at once?" I think that about says it. He is a miracle. He probably shouldn't be alive going by the textbooks. The nurses pass on to Rachael that even 20 years ago he wouldn't have lived more than a few hours. But he has much to do. Wow.

He comes home tomorrow night! No oxygen, no feeding tubes, nothing.

Way to go Joshua!

Look ma, no face tubes!!!

2009-04-19T18:58:00.000-06:00

Sunday....April 19th

The little fighter strikes again... Wasn't it just 2 days ago that he went to room air? Today Rachael called to tell me that our Joshua was doing so well nursing (though it still exhausts him), that they decided to take his feeding tube (NG) out of his nose to make him more comfortable. I believe that leaves him with a couple of monitors, a pic line IV in his arm, and a reg. IV in his foot! You can almost tell there is a baby under all the wires! It's incredible!

Dr. Chan, the Neonatologist, stopped by in the evening and told Joshy's daddy that he will be going home in a few days after he is done with his meningitis medication...depending on the bilirubin results on Monday morning. The bilirubin test HAD been quite a bit higher today (and now the nurses call him umpa-loompa), and they will retake it in the morning. Joshua's poor little feet. He is so sick of being poked there! The Dr. also said to bring in his car seat on Monday for a check on how he breathes sitting up, etc. It is getting closer....this boy going home! Finally some real excitement!

One more tidbit - - Late tonight the nurses said that they are going to move him to the regular NICU! He is officially off the respiratory care list! Can you believe it? 12 days after double pneumonia, strep b, sepsis, meningitis, and jaundice....and he is being downgraded to regular NICU. He will probably go home from there. There are not enough words to express our gratitude to Heavenly Father. He watches out for these little ones, doesn't he?

PICTURES ARE COMING!

BREATHING ON HIS OWN !!

2009-04-17T09:39:00.000-06:00

FRIDAY - - April 17th

What a wonderful day! Joshua is now breathing on his own....room air....and doing fairly well with it. His oxygen saturation goes down sometimes, especially while nursing, but he brings it back to where it needs to be! This is so great, and we are so proud of him!! Medically, this little boy has accomplished more milestones in 4 days than they thought he could do in 10 or more! We are grateful for such blessings. He has truly been blessed by our Heavenly Father and we know that angels are around him constantly....comforting him and urging him to keep fighting! It is a difficult road, to always fight to breathe, but Joshy is strong and WILL make it!

This has been a wonderful day for Joshua's Mimi too! I FINALLY got to hold him!! He is absolutely precious. I know I am just a grandma, but it felt so good to have him in my arms for a few moments. Look at the picture of us....ok, I'm sorry you have to see me, but...look how he looks so deeply at me! He does this to everyone perhaps, but I felt such a connection with him. A spiritual one perhaps... I am so grateful to have this little warrior for a grandson.

One last note...as you look at the pictures and wonder if that green blanket is making him look yellow...well it doesn't help, but Joshua's bilirubin IS back up! Yes, he is jaundiced. But the nurses are going to see if he can get rid of it himself, and he is not going back on the lights for now.

2009-04-16T12:51:00.000-06:00

April 16 - - Thursday

Still going strong today, but as the Dr. warned, there is always small steps backwards as well. Joshua really cried for the first time today! He officially does not like his diaper changed! That is more like a healthy newborn! Yay! He still is very tired and nursing was even more exhausting today...but he and mommy keep with it...it will be worth it in the end.

His skin is looking a little yellow again...so they are going to have to prick his heel tomorrow morning and check his bilirubin again! Darn. He sure likes looking around now, and would not appreciate his eyes covered up all over again. We will know tomorrow.

But the nurses are all in love with him, and say he is just the best baby! We all have to agree....

Stronger Every Day...

2009-04-15T12:36:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, April 15th

Joshy is stayin stable and calm today. He is having a "Lab Holiday" today,

so he is pretty excited! He thinks the crib is okay too... the 2 other

babies in his room are 2 pounders in incubators....so he is feeling rather mature.

Joshua also got to nurse for the first time today! He got tired very quickly though, so they fed the rest of his 1 1/2 oz. down the NG tube in his nose. That will be the trend now...nursing for a few minutes, then finishing off with the tube. Nursing is a lot of work for this little guy, he is still pretty sick. But as you can see, they are getting him a little dressed (IV's in hand and foot make those appendages impossible) and covered with blankets! Every little step....

Happy One Week Birthday Joshua!

2009-04-14T22:02:00.000-06:00

As Joshua's mom said today, it has been the longest week - and yet the week has flown by! That statement doesn't seem to make sense.....but it really does to those who have had sick children in the hospital

Once again, today, Joshy seems to be taking in the world around him. He tries hard to stay awake, but his illnesses still take so much out of him. His mommy held him for a full 2 hours today, where he slept completely content. It wasn't until his mom had to lay him in bed to leave that he woke up (probably thinking, hey! I was comfy!). He decided once again to astound everyone around him, and by late morning the nurses switched him off of the HFNC to a regular, run of the mill, normal flow oxygen cannula! Can you believe it?! They also decided that he wasn't sick enough (hahaha) to have the open infant bed, and moved him into a tiny little crib! He also is up to 2 1/2 tsps. of milk every 3 hours instead of 4 hours. So much progress this baby makes!

I've decided that this little one must have something very important to do on this earth to fight so hard and win these terrible illnesses that came to him so quickly. I cannot wait to see what he does with his life!

Should we re-name him Rocky?

2009-04-13T21:12:00.000-06:00

Monday morning - April 13th

Joshua's mommy was chomping at the bit to get to the hospital this morning so she could hold the boy. She found him awake and alert and she took every moment of the morning that she could to cuddle him. He stared at her for a long time like he was trying to take in what he had missed for 6 days! The nurses said he is the sweetest baby, and at night when he wakes up, he just looks around quietly until someone comes to talk to him. He hasn't really cried yet. Perhaps he doesn't have the strength for that yet, though...but he definitely can fight off 4 major diseases/illnesses at once!

So, this got me thinking....should we re-name him Rocky Balboa? or maybe...Muhammad Ali?? or maybe some other great fighter? My dad always loved Gene Fullmer!! I am kidding, of course! But wow, this boy is up there with them! He will not go down!!! and we are forever GRATEFUL!

As Rachael was visiting this morning, the "Team" was on rounds, like every morning. As all the residents, resp. therapists, nurses, etc. were giving the Neonatologist their reports on Joshua, the Dr. just smiled (I believe he was very proud of his work!). He then turned to Rachael and said..."We are gonna have a 100% recovery here, mom". As Rachael reacted excitedly to that...he went on to say..."but he is STILL a very sick little boy! And we are still on track with the 14 day program!!" Of course, she said okay....but that was the first time HE had actually SAID that Joshy was going to be fine. What a wonderful day!!

As the day progressed, the nurses were able to turn down his HFNC a few times. He seems to be on the fast track now and is off a couple more monitors, off the lights for jaundice (Yay), and tolerating more milk at feedings! The kid is amazing! By afternoon, they moved him OUT of the Critical Care NICU and into the Respitory Care NICU! He is in a smaller room with lower lighting and less monitors! It is fantastic!

Our Easter Miracle!

2009-04-12T17:29:00.000-06:00

EASTER

On this same day that our Savior rose again, we have seen miracle upon miracle in little Joshua's short life.... He is going to make it!! Our hearts are so full of love and gratitude that the words can scarcely be spoken.

The nurses and the respiratory therapist keep turning down Joshua's C-pap. He struggles for a short while, usually with his respiration's going up high and his little lungs start retracting, but then he all of a sudden will be okay. It is remarkable! Joshy has been at an 8 on the C-pap. The numbers go from 1 to 9 (with 9 meaning they must put him back on the ventilator). He has stayed at an 8 the for the last few days, as they just didn't want him to go back to that ventilator. As of last night, he went to a 6...as of this afternoon, he went down to a 4. The Dr. decided to just keep pushing him to see if he could get off of it (Joshua hates it so much). Now they say that if he can come down a little bit more, they will take him off of the C-pap and put him on the High Flow Nasal Cannula.... and the cool thing about that is, then his parents will be allowed to hold him for the first time since he was born!

Small Glimmers of Hope!

2009-04-11T19:24:00.000-06:00

SATURDAY , April 11th, 2009

However small...we are seeing glimmers of hope that Joshua will make it out of this! It is a fabulous feeling!!

He is more alert and active today as they are trying not to sedate him quite as much. He is tolerating his feedings and getting those vital nutrients from mommy's milk. His oxygen levels are FINALLY doing good - -and while I was visiting, the nurse began a small decline of oxygen from the C-pap!! Hallelujah! They also weighed him...and he gained 2 oz. - go Joshua!!

I watched as he was getting a bit agitated today. His respiration's rise and his oxygen saturation levels decrease immediately. But for the first time...I watched his mom talk softly to him and rub his leg gently and within seconds he calmed. It was a wonderful thing! He is responding!! All his levels went back to where they were suppose to be. I love small miracles. I know there will be more.

Time Stands Still in the Hospital...

2009-04-10T18:51:00.000-06:00

FRIDAY - - April 10th

Joshua's bilirubin came back higher this morning. He was diagnosed with jaundice yesterday, but with everything else, it seems so insignificant...but it's not.

The new jaundice lights in this hospital are very cool. No more blue lights! Its more of a "desk lamp" look...and very bright white! Cool!

Joshua still does not appreciate the C-pap, so the sedation continues (though it helps him through the pain as well). The nurses have found that Joshy keeps opening his mouth and letting all of the oxygen OUT that is going IN through the C-pap. So they have a little hat on his head that covers the eyes for the jaundice therapy, and then they have a soft strap (of sorts) that attaches to the hat and goes under his chin...which keeps his mouth closed! Poor baby! There is not even much showing on his face anymore!

I have not been to the hospital these last 2 days as I had a small sore throat...but Joshua's mommy keeps me up to date every few hours...for which I am very grateful. She added to me on this day that his face had swollen up quite a bit from the C-pap and it was very sad to see.

But a moment of good news came today!!!!! Yay! Dr. Chan (the Neonatologist) has told the nurses that Joshua can not have any food for a while yet. But.....he changed his plans in the evening and if he can handle it.....Joshy can have 1 tsp. of breast milk every 4 hours. He is doing well with it - and it is going to make him stronger!

HE IS SUCH A LITTLE FIGHTER!

Answers just bring new questions

2009-04-09T18:18:00.000-06:00

Early Thursday morning, at just 1 1/2 days old, Joshua was diagnosed with what was really wrong with him...

Pneumonia, Strep B (which had gone septic), and Meningitis

The pneumonia they believe was created by swallowing that large amount of fluid. With his head down low in birthing position for so long...the ultrasound showed only small amount of amniotic fluid near his head. But he had plenty behind his head and around his body. He may have swallowed it as he came out, or he may have had it forced in his lungs during a contraction. We will never know...but the pneumonia came on almost instantly.

The Strep B is a horrible bacterial infection for a newborn. Dr.s always test a mothers blood weeks before delivery....and that is what had been done with Rachael just 2 weeks before delivery. She had been negative. But at sometime just before Joshy was born, she had contracted it and no one knew. He contracted the Strep B as he came through the birth canal.

The meningitis is the meanest bacterial infection as well. Joshua contracted this from the Strep B. They say that when a baby is brand new, the blood and the spinal cord fluid can flow nearly together...and that is what happened. He hurts very badly from this, and so they try to keep him sedated while he heals. There are many problems that can occur from this disease...but we are all hopeful because the medical staff had started on some heavy duty drugs even before he was diagnosed!

Joshua had a pretty rough day this day too. He began having some signs of Pulmonary Hypertension. That meant new monitors on and more test run. Joshy has chest x-rays taken every 12 hours in Critical Care...and the news was...that his lungs looked like they were premature! They weren't...and he had had steroids...but they weren't doing very good. I'm pretty sure it was from the infection.

And just to keep the baby on his toes, they decided to take him off the ventilator early in the morning and change him to an HFNC (High Flow Nasal Cannula). He hated it and got very stressed! They sedated him heavily...and after many hours of his numbers going the wrong way...they changed him to the C-pap. I didn't make too much of a difference, but the Dr. was trying very hard to NOT put him back on the ventilator.

From bad to worse...

2009-04-08T17:56:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, April 8th brought more and more worries for Joshy's family. He had been placed in Critical Care NICU. He seemed to need more and more oxygen. His lab work brought scowls to the Dr.'s face. He was not responding well at all, and he hurt to be touched. They were still getting fluid from his lungs...

By evening his carbon dioxide levels were worse, and his resperations were going up. His little body was very stressed... The team in charge of Joshua (including the Neonatologist, the Neo. nurse practitioner, the pharmacist, the resident on his case, the head nurse, and his respiratory therapist) all ordered new cultures for blood and the junk in his lungs, and, sadly, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). The team believed they might know what was going on if the test all came back positive.

I got to spend the day with Joshua's big brother and sister though... They are very sad that their brother is sick, and tell me often that he NEEDS to get better! I wish that they could see him, but that would be a VERY BAD idea with all of his tubes and wires...they would be scared to death! But I took them today to "Build a Bear" in the mall, and they each made a new teddy bear for themselves, and then picked one out together for their baby brother. it was really cute and the girl that helped us there let each of us pick out our own stuffed heart and put all of them in Joshua's teddy bear. She told the kids that he would have all of their love nearby if we gave him the bear at the hospital. We did that....it sits up above one of the monitors...and we hope it does just that.

THE 3:15 WAKE UP CALL

2009-04-08T17:00:00.000-06:00

Joshua's mommy, Rachael, had been sleeping a couple of hours. It had been late at night when she had finally been allowed to move to the post-partum ward, which was closer to her baby. She had not seen him since delivery, and was anxious to hold him. The nurses were kind enough to get her the room directly across from the Level 2 nursery, where Joshua was in the first bed. She had been wheeled in and watched him for quite some time before they allowed her to cuddle him for 20 minutes....then he was too stressed and they had her get some sleep.

And then at 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday, nurse Beckie came into Rachael's room and told her that there was a problem.... Joshua was now on 3 liters of oxygen, his respiration's were extremely high, and he seemed to be worsening by the moment. She had already called for Life-Flight to come and fly him to the University of Utah NICU. (Primary Childrens is just as good, but their NICU was full...It turned out to be a great thing for this type of illness...they specialize in it) (also, the 2 hospitals are connected by a huge tube, so they share many doctors) The nurse had called in Joshua's pediatrician as well....and she (nurse Beckie), and the pulmonary specialist had sat by his bed for those hours trying to help him and keep him close to his mommy. They were very sad, but they knew he was way too sick to stay at the regular hospital!

IF THEY ONLY KNEW HOW RIGHT THEY WERE...

Soon after the Life-Flight team arrived they set out to put Joshy on a ventilator. It proved to be a daunting task. Joshua, who in utero, layed peacefully at the bottom of the womb for the entire pregnancy....turned out to be a real tough cookie. It took them several tries and an incredible amount of pain medicine and sedation to get it done! The nurses were exausted! He is a fighter! They also had to take another hour and put in a central line through his umbilical cord.

By the time he left Jordan Valley Medical Center at 6:30 a.m.

Joshua had 3 IV's (1 was a central line to his heart),

heart monitors, 2 blood oxygen sensors, a CO2 monitor on his head,

blood pressure monitors, a resperation monitor,

and a ventilator breathing for him at 530 breaths a minute.

It was the saddest thing I have ever seen.

But they were wonderful to him. They even let me (Mimi) follow them every step to the helicopter and film the whole "event" to remember through his life. Joshua's mommy was not yet able to walk that far, and his daddy was already waiting for his arrival at the U Of U, and I knew someday the video would mean something to them....so I have it all ready. I will try to upload it tomorrow.

The Calm Before the Storm

2009-04-07T22:45:00.000-06:00

Two hours after his birth, Joshua was still having some major difficulties breathing. His breaths were VERY labored. Each breath held the sound of grunting still. His resperations were very fast. He had to be put on oxygen....quickly. They started him out on 1 liter through a nasal cannula.

He still was having a difficult time waking up...and they decided a first bath might be in order to get his lungs working. The nurse had seen me at the window forever, and came to ask if I was grandma (it's Mimi around here) and would I like to scrub up and come in to take pictures during this time. She didn't have to ask me twice...and I jumped at the chance. It was my first time touching the little guy, and I treasure every moment. The bath, unfortunately, didn't work for his lungs....but he was clean! And it gave his dad a moment to hold him, so that was cool.

By late evening on the night he was born, Joshua had an IV in his arm (after several painful pokes) and was now on 2 liters of oxygen. He seemed to be getting sicker and sicker by the minute. An x-ray was taken, and they found pneumonia in the middle of his right lung. Antibiotics were started and his nurse, Beckie, stayed at his side every moment.

No time for introductions...

2009-04-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

I sensed that something was wrong when Joshy's daddy came down the hallway and told us to wait there and we could see Joshua as he passed us on the way to the Level 2 nursery....

We did see his tiny form wrapped in blankets as the nurse hurried him by us. She said she was sorry but there was no time for introductions....

We then all gathered round the nursery window to catch another glimpse....but it was sometimes difficult to watch. He was pounded hard again and again. Then they would gently grab his hands in one of theirs, and his feet in their other hand, and flip him over like a baby calf. I think I "oh'd" every time! We must have taken 50 pictures through that horrible blurry glass, but we were all desperate to know if he was okay. I think everyone there thought that the nurses would come out and tell us he was fine....any minute. But they never did.

Happy Birthday Joshua!

2009-04-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

April 7th 2009 started off great for the birth of Joshua Lundeberg!

Mommy went in to be induced at 7:30 a.m. (as the Dr. could not trust

her to make it to the hospital in time if she started labor on her own!)

After 6 1/2 months of contractions, 2 months of bed rest, and baby Joshy down in the birth canal for over 2 months....it was time! The incubator had done her duty!

At 4:47 p.m. Joshua was born. He got a 9 on his Apgar score and he laid squirming on his mommy's chest for a moment or two.....until Dr. Moreland lifted her head up and listened to him breathing......she then asked him nicely to stop "grunting" with every breath. He couldn't. At that point the Dr. had to take him over to the baby care area of the room, and several people began working on him. There was much pounding on the back, turning him over and over, and tubes going down Joshua's throat to get out fluid. He had swallowed a large amount of amniotic fluid, and with each moment that went by, it became harder for him to breathe.

They did take a moment to weigh and measure him though!

JOSHUA SHELDON LUNDEBERG

6 lbs. 12 oz.

19 inches

He is beautiful!