Sydney's Question.....

I took Sydney with me to the dry cleaner where they had a bowl of candy. She pulled out a tootsie roll and asked the clerk what it was. The gal told her it was a tootsie roll.....she had a little bit of an accent. Sydney asked her if the "toot"sie roll would make her toot. Hilarious!

Crazy Busy

Life has been crazy lately! Weekdays and weekends!

This past weekend we were in Silvana, WA at my mom's sides family reunion. We went up on Friday night and spent the night before. My cousin Joel and his family have a beautiful home on beautiful property up there and we intended on camping outdoors. Well it was really cold that night so we decided to set up camp in the dining room which worked perfectly. As is always the case withthe "Edmonds" family (my mom's maiden name coincidentally), it's all about the food. Well we always joke that the topics always hit are food, politics and religion. Hot topics! Anyway, the meal being served at 1pm the next day means that the briskets went on the smoker at midnight, the full pig at 3am and the brined turkeys at 9am. All this means that someone has to be up with the smoker starting at midnight.....so the fellas take shifts. Luckily Lyndon was the odd man out of taking a shift but my cousins all took turns staying up with the meat. We had my aunt and uncle in from NYC, aunts and uncles in from Portland and then from all over the puget sound area. My mom is one of 6 so there are a lot of us! It was a great day!

We spent that night at my mom's and the next day were able to spend some more QT with my relatives from NYC and others.....

I can't remember if I blogged about it earlier (probably have) but Lyndon is going to school to get his Bachelors. So proud of him (now remembering I've blogged about this before). Although completely worth it, it's made our lives just that much more crazy. He currently has class on Mondays and Wednesday nights from 5 to 8pm in Renton - so single mom nights! But of course it will be totally worth it.....those pieces of paper although so much work to obtain, can really pay off. At least that's what we're hoping!

Monday and Tuesday were relatively uneventful and here we are and it's Wednesday. Oddly enough I feel so stressed out with things to do but yet here I am. Interesting. Oh well.....tonight I taught Zumba which was fun - and my class has been growing during the summer which is superb!

Tonight was the start of busy/craziness with my life as a "single" mom and then tomorrow night I'm making the trek to Seattle for a good girlfriends baby shower (Annie) and Friday we are going to a fundraiser/gala for the Olympia Children's Museum and then we're having a BD party for Isaac on Saturday. Phew. Just thinking about the next few days makes my heart race and my blood pressure raise! Yet they are all fun events so I'm just managing the chaos and weathering the storm with a smile!

We discussed today where we were a year ago and remember the days - that seemed like years.....literally. I often describe the period of when Isaac came out of the coma to when he was discharged was like living the first two years of his life on fast forward. When he came out of his coma it was like he was an infant. He couldn't focus, didn't recognize our voices, had a very blank look, then started focusing, then started smiling, then a word, or two or three, then managing his balance, sitting up, being spoon fed, playing while sitting, trying to stand, then walking and talking. All this in less than two weeks. It was crazy!

We are doing well and just chugging along. Wanted to share what's been going on because it truly is always eventful! These pics are from a recent camping trip in Sunlakes with our dear friends The Carter's. It was so hot and so much fun. We love being boat owners! Here are some pics!

Another trip to the Fire Station!

No pictures this time but Lyndon and the kids went back to the fire station today because the medic yesterday said the other two paramedics who responded would be there.

Again, they totally remembered him. A gal and a guy. I wish I knew their names. Darn it....but we'll be back again soon. Isaac feels at home there.

But anyway, it was a similar visit to yesterdays - both paramedics remembered him. They remembered everything! We were told that Isaac remained in the ambulance for so long after we arrived at the Olympia airport because he was having continuous seizures. Apparently, after they put him in the ambulance, he would seize, then recover, then seize, then recover........and it continued......which makes a lot of sens of sense to me because when I was riding in the ambulance to the airport, I would hear Isaac cry and I would constantly cry out to him while he was crying. And then he would go quiet and I could hear them say "Isaac, Isaac, buddy, buddy, come on. Wake up. Stay with me". I'm sure it sounds silly to you but it is a vivid memory for me. At the time I had no idea what was happening but now I know.

Another amazing day.

And in other news.....Isaac is potty trained! Pre-3 - which is great! We're happy and he loves to pee and poop all over. Kidding. Kind of. He usually does it in the toilet but when we're in the great outdoors (camping)....it's game on!

A Year Later

Today marks one year since the horrific accident that almost took our son's life. And after we learned his life would be spared, we were prepared to have our hands full with a very mentally handicapped little boy. But here we are and we are so thankful.

Today was hard. Harder than I expected. I contemplated taking a mental health day but I am slammed at work so I decided I couldn't take the day off. But really I just wanted to hold my baby (who's not so much a baby anymore). As I read the first post and the ones after, I remembered how hard it was to not be able to hold Isaac for the first four days he was in the hospital. In fact at first they didn't want us to touch him - to keep the stimulation to a minimum. Man did it feel amazing when I was able to hold him again.

The feelings of a year ago kept coming back today as time ticked on. First the 9 o'clock hour rolled by - and I got the call from my friend somewhere in that first hour. Then in the 10 o'clock hour I had rushed to her house, hopped in the ambulance and made way to the Olympia airport. There, I waited and waited and waited for them to bring Isaac out and put him on the helicopter - just to give him a kiss before he got on. Then my friend drove me up to Mary Bridge where I met Lyndon and some friends, then my mom and Justin came but my dad was in Alaska already trying to hop a flight back. And then the news just got worse and worse. First the swollen brain, then the puncture lung, the fractures, the imminent brain damage. All between noon and about 3pm. Lyndon and I stepped out for a breath of fresh air in the stifling heat and we held our heads and cried. We didn't understand what had just happened or why. And today I remembered a complete stranger that approached us and asked if he could wrap his arms around us and we prayed. More friends kept pouring into offer their love and support that afternoon/evening. Wow....we are blessed.

So when I thought about mourning today, my friend pointed out it's a time to look forward and not back and that is how I picked myself up from the dumps I found myself in as the day wore on.

Lyndon picked Isaac up early from school today and took him to the park to play. Then when I got off work, we decided to head to the fire station that responded to the 911 call and see if any of the medics that responded were there. And one was! He remembered everything about that day. They were at the station when they got the call and he said that while they were working on him, he was seizing (I did not know this). He described some of what they were doing in the ambulance for so long. I had wondered all along if perhaps they had lost him for a bit in there but he said no. His heart had never stopped beating. They were so pleased we came by and showed him everything on that fire engine (the ambulance was gone). The kids both thoroughly enjoyed their time and I'm so glad we did it!

Here are a few pictures from the visit.

All in all, I'm glad this day is over and we will continue to look forward!

Memory Lane

It is the beginning of the week that Isaac was injured and we're trying to decide what to do to celebrate Isaac's life. The anxiety has been building as this day approaches. As we remember, here's a link to the first blog after Isaac's accident:

http://linvillefamilyfour.blogspot.com/2009/08/our-baby-boy.html

Dimples

The dimples on the left side of Isaac's face have started to appear. The one big dimple in his cheek is pretty much permanently there and around his mouth, there is some involuntary dimpling as well.

I called the doctor and they want to see him.....but can't get him in until October. Which really is OK. Hopefully there will be more happening! There is no sign that the muscle in his cheek is working yet but we are optimistic! At least this seems to be a sign that the graft worked. The muscle seems to be a separate issue.

I hate that I don't keep up with the blog much anymore. Life has been very busy for us. Lyndon is in school full time, works full time and commutes an hour each way (getting really old!) and between working, spending QT with the kids and trying to take care of myself, there seems to be little time left at the end of the day!