Dear Family and Friends,

One week down and 2 weeks and 2 days left to go before Taylor can move his legs again.  To celebrate he decided to move past passive resistance to his abductor pillow that his legs are strapped to and go on a full offensive.  This involves spending any waking moment trying very hard to get his legs free so he can curl into a fetal position (I have been told that groin wounds tend to make a guy want to do that).  So last night he tried so hard that he rocked himself out of bed, over all his pillows we use to change his position to prevent bed sores and fell to the floor.  He was quite proud of himself.  We were just worried he injured something.  But besides needing a 6 hour nap today, he seems OK.  He is sleeping on his floor mattress from now on.  (My parents for his birthday gave him a mattress that we can move around so he doesn't have to stay in his bed).


It was great to come home last week and be with our family.  Taylor seemed quite happy.  He was a bit up and down during the week.  Some days he was asleep almost the whole day, refusing to eat or drink and just miserable.  Other days he would be up for longer periods and be quite alert.  We are starting the process of weaning him off of narcotics and that actually seems like it has helped.  We are getting used to moving him and giving him bed baths etc.  The pill schedule since one set of pills are every 4 hours and one set in every 6 hours is a bit much.  But it should only be like that for another week or so and then we move to every 6 hours.

My parents stayed here till Saturday morning.  It was literally a miracle to have them here.  They did more than any grandparent should be asked to do.  Made it possible for me to take a nap every day, loved our kids and helped me with taking care of Taylor.  Doing diaper changes right now or getting him dressed is super tough as you can't lift his legs or hips.  Think about the process for a moment.  Plus I swear that my parents decided my list of spring jobs we needed to do was a challenge to be met.  It seemed like every day my dad checked out our honey do list to see what was left to cross off.  Spencer pointed out you could tell Grandma and Grandpa have been there as everything looks better.  To celebrate their last night with us the sun came out, we ate outside and my parents took everyone out for milk shakes.  Could not have asked for a better end to their stay - unless they had decided to stay longer.

Jeremy saw the ENT this week.  No tubes, just different medication.  One ear is looking much better.  The other ear is slightly better but has a long way to go.  Hopefully something will work soon as it is not much fun for him.

Spencer had a court of honor this week and received 4 merit badges.  He finished up the requirement of one of those badges tonight for an early FHE and taught us some Primary songs.  He did a great job.  Early today I took the three mobile kids on a walk on a nearby trail.  Spencer was a pill the whole way.  Somedays you just shake your head and think of how far each kid has to go to be the person they can be.  And other times you just beam with pride.  I think every parent feels that way.  Sometimes I wonder though if it is even more so with a bi-polar child.

One of our Family picture is done.  I think this needs to go up on our dresser, as it just makes me smile.

Planted our vegetables this week.  Watched my parents do a ton of yard work and fix everything that has been broken.  And took care of Taylor.  Really that summed up my week.  And it was a good week.
Love, Heather

I love my girls!