Ashlee's Surgery Pictures

Ash amazed us with her positive attitude after her surgery. Lexi begged Darrell and I to record her after she was given medication, she was almost obsessed with it. But Ashlee was a boring patient, nothing too crazy happened. Right before they took her out they gave her a sedative that made everything really funny to her, like she could not quit laughing at everything. They took her to surgery about a minute after that. Her surgery was to last about an hour and a half, but after almost 2 hours I was starting to get a little worried that something happened. Her doctor came out and told us she did great, but her hip was worse than he thought. We knew her hip and femur bones would need to be shaved down to the correct shape, and we knew her labrum muscle that is in the hip was most likely bruised and possibly torn. He said she had 2 major tears and that was why she has been in so much pain for so long, but he fixed them and she'd be great in a few months. He also told us she was having a hard time waking up which is why they hadn't gotten us yet. 

When Ash was 3 she had a herniated cyst in her belly button removed, and she would not wake up from the medication. It's almost scary to me how powerful anesthesia is!

We told them she had a hard time when she was 3 also, and it just seems she has a harder time coming out of it. When she did wake up she was shaky and emotional, and so confused why she kept crying.By this time Lexi had quit asking for funny videos and was actually quite scared that something was wrong since it took so long. It was sweet to see her show how much she was worried. In fact she asked me to send her a video of Ash so she could know she was ok. 

 She wanted a picture of our matching bracelets

 Every time she pointed her finger her thumb would be up, no idea why- but it was pretty funny.

 Her friends from church gave her a basket full of great things for her recovery, and her YW leaders came to visit her also. She had a giant brace with an ice pack that is hooked to a cooler. It's so awesome! You fill the cooler with ice water and it circulates the ice water through the pad on your skin so you don't have to worry about refreezing an ice pack. We learned the hard way to listen to what the nurses say- they told me to make sure when we got home I put something between her skin and the ice pad, but she was so bulky from the brace and bandages I thought she was fine. She was to keep the ice going for 24 hours, and she was numb so we didn't know until the next day that it had burned her skin. She had these little blisters from her skin freezing- I felt awful! Luckily they healed and left no scarring.

 She was completely stir crazy form being in the house for so long, so she came with me to the little girls school and ate lunch with them. They thought it was great to have her, and Ashlee was bombarded with a million questions from all the kids.

 The brace. The brace looks like some crazy bionic thing- and it's HUGE! She had to wear it constantly for 2 weeks, and couldn't put weight on her left leg for those 2 weeks. It's hard to not use one of your legs, but she got really good at it. When she got in the car I had to lift her legs for her, when she got in or out of bed I had to lift her legs for her. By the end of the 1st week she figured out how to use her brace straps to lift her leg by herself. She needed help with everything, so she was relieved to be able to start doing things on her own. I told her to call me when she needed help and soon the song by Charlie Puth- I'm Only One Call Away became my theme song to her. Every it comes on we still turn it up really loud!

 After 2 weeks of the brace she was thrilled to have it gone. She was nervous that she'd get hurt with out the protection though. By this point she was going to school for 3 hours a day, and alternating classes. Having the brace was embarrassing, she hated the crutches too- but the brace was even more noticeable.

The CPM was a life saver for her when she couldn't move her leg. This machine did it for her, and actually felt really good to her. She would have to do it 4 hours a day- and slept the best when her leg was in it.The picture doesn't do the size justice- it was about 4 ft long and heavy. We'd have to lift it in her bed to hook her up, then take it off her bed and replace it with pillows after. It was tiring for her and all of us getting through those first few weeks. 

She has decided to go ahead and do her other hip this summer. We knew it needed to be done but were hoping she'd get to play one season of soccer before the next surgery- but with her injured knee it has set her back even more. If she does the surgery in the summer she's hoping to be off her crutches before starting school- we are looking at scheduling her surgery for August. Bilateral hip impingement's are hereditary, and it's obvious it comes from my side of the family since one of my nephews has already had surgery for the same thing. You can have it and not know, but because of the sports Ashlee and my nephew played it made the pain unbearable. It's common for it to be in both sides of the hips, so Ashlee having surgery now will hopefully mean she can be pain free in her hips the rest of her life.

Carly's Gymnastics

Because I need to do a lot of catching up I figured every few nights I'd post about things I should have posted a long time ago. 

Carly was asked to join the East Ridge Xcel bronze/ silver team in August of 2015. She has done gymnastics since we moved here, but it was rec level and just once a week. She moved up as far as she could go with the rec team, and they had just formed this team at the High School. To say she was thrilled is an understatement, she was so nervous about her evaluations and couldn't even contain her excitement when she got her letter and award. 

She started going 3 days a week, 2 days were 3 hours and the 3rd day was 2 hours, it was a huge commitment for all of us. She missed a lot of time to hang out with friends, but she never ever complained. There were times we had her skip so she could go to a friends party or sometimes it just seemed like she could use a night off. Her team was brand new, her coaches were new, and they were starting from scratch. In October she started complaining of back pain, she had been working on her back walkover on the beam. I thought she must have tweaked it, but the pain was getting worse and after all the stuff with Ashlee I decided I better get her in to the doctor sooner rather than later. The doctor sent us to the children's hospital for x rays with a spine specialist. They were worried she had fractured her spine, but what they found is almost funny. She is missing a joint between 2 of her vertebrae, so her bones are hitting against each other doing the back walkover- there's not joint to help the spine bend and protect them. She had to quit doing all back walkovers for the rest of the season. Her coach had her do handstands on the beam instead for the competitions.

 Her first competition was December 18, a day after she turned 11- which put her competing in the 11 year old group. I was so incredibly nervous for her. It's a big change to go from doing a sport for fun, to doing it at a competition where they judge you. 

She was having so much fun and didn't care about her scores at all, until awards ceremony and she realized how good the others were. She ended up placing 6th over all in floor in her age group, and she was so excited. After that she decided she wanted to do better, now that she knew what to expect at the competitions. We were thrilled with how she did, with only 4 months to learn and prepare for this meet, we thought she did great. She also had just learned her round off back handspring on the floor the week before, so we were happy for her.

The next meets she progressively got better, and won more and more medals and ribbons. These next pictures are a combo of her next 3 meets.

 She placed 5th in every event except floor, and she also placed 5th over all in her age group at this meet.

She qualified for the State competition, and was super excited. She did well, but was a little bummed at some of her scores. It's hard to work so hard at something and forget to point your toe and get huge deductions for it- but she still did well enough to qualify for Regionals.

Carly was really nervous for Regionals, but again- she did great. She realized there is always more she can improve on and that she has a lot of tough people to compete against- but she loves it! She also got her personal best score on floor, which was huge because she has a hard time keeping straight elbows and knees on her round off back handspring.

I can't remember what she placed to get her medal (I know that's terrible), but there were over 100 girls in her age division, and her overall score put her in 19th place. 

We asked her if she wanted to take a break, we were worried she was a little burned out. She looked at Darrell and I like we were crazy- she did not want a break. She has become very close to her teammates, and her coaches. Her assistant coach Mur- who was very strict and made Carly cry many many times, just moved to California. Carly cried for many days- she said she didn't realize how much she liked her and liked how hard she pushed her. So, this summer she will go to gymnastics 4 days a week, for 3 hours a day. I am totally cringing at this because anything my kids are committed to means my time is committed also, but I know she will love it!

17 Years

Darrell and I have been married for 17 years- it so crazy! This last week I had a lot of things going through my mind, lot's of memories. 

Our dating was short, our engagement was short, but here we are at 17 years. Most people thought we were crazy, but we knew it was right so we didn't want to put it off longer than we needed to. 

I thought about all the things I have learned about marriage, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be- but in a good way. Anything in life that is hard helps us to grow and be better, and it's the same with marriage. Darrell and I have learned our differences make our marriage stronger and better, if we work as partners and listen to each other. When we don't listen is when it's hard. When we got married I had never lived anywhere but home or with family- I never learned to budget or pay attention to money. I never learned how to cook. I still hate money, but I can honestly say I have learned the importance of a budget, and planning where your money is going. I have learned how to cook a real meal. I used only make Hamburger Helper, then I got a little more brave and made a few Chicken Helper meals. That was our first couple years of marriage, and generally there weren't any fruits or vegatables because I didn't like them, so I didn't cook them. I remember being so excited one night because I baked chicken breasts and seasoned them- and they didn't burn. I called Darrell at work and told him I was actually going to cook, so he came home really excited for a big meal. I lit candles and set the table, and put the food on the plates while waiting for him to get home. He walked in and I'm sure he had a hard time not laughing because my meal consisted of a chicken breast- that was it. No salad, or anything- just a chicken breast and sauce to dip it in. He never complained, and always made me feel good about me learning in the kitchen.

Another memory I have been chuckling about this week was when he taught me how to mow the lawn. He would spend hours out in the yard and I wanted to learn to help. He was in school full time, working full time, and was busy with church callings. His time in the yard took away from time he and I had together- and our 2 girls time with their dad. I think it was for our 3rd anniversary I decided to surprise him with dinner (by this time I was doing better at cooking a side with the main dish), the yard mowed, and the kids asleep so we could have dinner alone. He usually got home around 8 pm, so I had all day to get everything done. I called a neighbor to see if she would keep an eye on my girls while I mowed the lawn- they were 1 and 2 at the time and I didn't want them to wander out and into trouble while I mowed. She was pregnant with her first baby, and her husband was deployed so she was happy to get out of her house. I went out and got the mower started, mowed a strip of grass- then I didn't know how to turn it with out it going in the dirt right by our yard. I turned the mower off and asked my friend if she knew, she gave me a few tips and I went back out to carry on. I moved the mower out of the grass to start it, but unfortunately I moved it on a big rock I didn't see. I started it and it made the worst sound ever, and the smell was just bad. I knew I did something very wrong. I couldn't get it restart again, it was dead- really dead. After a while I decided I better just get dinner done- I knew I could handle that. When he came home it was dark so he didn't notice the one patch of grass mowed, and I had to tell him that for our anniversary we needed to buy a new lawn mower. He laughed and went out to see the damage- and sure enough I had killed the mower. 

We have helped each other through grief, tragedy, anger, frustration- but we also have enjoyed happiness, fun, laughter, joy, and love together. Our marriage is perfect for us, we even each other out. We help each other to be better people, better friends, and better parents. I am so thankful for him, and our marriage. We have truly been blessed these 17 years!

Ashlee Got Braces

Ash has had to wait a long time for her braces, and was so happy to finally get them. We took her in for her consult almost a year ago, but with Darrell losing his job and insurance changes we didn't want to start braces. When we finally got our insurance figured out and Darrell was hired with Eco Lab, Ashlee needed surgery instead of braces. She wanted to be fully healed before getting braces because she knew the surgery would be tough for a while. 

She was miserable for about a week with the braces. I felt so bad because I didn't prepare and buy soft food for her. She is picky so any soft food we had she didn't like. She is used to them now that it's been almost a month. I love listening to her little lisp she has now, and love her cute puffy lips!

Lexi Goes To Prom

Lexi was asked a few months ago to Mormon Prom with her friend Caleb Erickson. Mormon Prom is a big dance our church puts on for all the kids in our region. Some girls don't get asked to their school prom, some boys don't want to go to their school prom, and sometimes there is not a good environment at the school prom- so Mormon Prom is a place that will have activities, clean fun music, and you don't have to have a date if you don't want to. 

I took Lexi shopping for a dress shortly after he asked her because I thought it would be really hard to find a modest dress that wasn't ugly. I was wrong. We went to David's Bridal and looked through their bridesmaid dresses and found quite a few that were really cute. 

Lex found the one she really liked, and even better was they had a 30% off sale on Prom Dresses and Bridesmaid dresses! 

Caleb was Lexi's first date and Lexi was Caleb's. They were both a little nervous about it being awkward, and about their moms taking too many pictures, but they survived the moms, and had a lot of fun. She was very nervous to stab him with the pin, she had a little help from both mom's, but was able to get it on him.

A limo was rented for all the kids going from our ward- there were 14 kids going. They are all really good friends which is a blessing. 

They ate dinner at Cossetta's in St. Paul, then went to the dance for a while. After they got dessert at Dairy Queen. They returned the limo, changed out of their formal clothes and hung out at the Harris' house for a few hours playing games. 

She came home tired, but had a great time.

She looked beautiful! It's so strange that a few weeks ago she couldn't drive on her own, couldn't date, and now just because she turned 16 she can. It's so weird- but honestly, it's a lot of fun!