Ferguson Grandchildren

Ashley, Jill and I got together with all of our kids and got their pictures taken a couple weeks ago. This is a surprise to Donna which she won't see until Mother's Day in May. She really wanted to get a picture of all of the grandkids in their matching shirts for Christmas but it just never happened. She then mentioned a couple weeks ago that she would still like one but for Mother's Day. Soon after my conversation with her I came across an ad of a Valentine's special going on and I knew that I needed to take advantage of this deal with Jill and Ashley. The main reason we needed to get it done now rather than later is because Hudson is a chunky little guy and he doesn't have much longer before his shirt will no longer fit him. Plus it was too good of a deal to ignore. Even though we won't be gifting this gift until later I needed to post it here now because Addie is ADORABLE! Seriously I love her little face in this picture. I know I might be biased because I'm her mother but goodness I love her expression here. She adores her cousins and was loving the fact that she got to sit right next to Jayden. I'm sure Donna is going to love this picture of her grandkids and I can't wait for her to see it.

Addie, Jayden, Jacob, Brooklyn, Georgia and Hudson

A Love So BIG . . .

About four weeks ago I came across this picture online and thought 'hey I wonder if I can do something like that'.

When I was pregnant with Hudson I had joined a mommy group of other pregnant ladies and I thought I would start there with asking total strangers if they'd be willing to send me some notes from their location just like the picture but written to Danny. I immediately found success and from there I joined some other groups but this time on Facebook to see if I can get some more requests done. I also went to family, friends and even joined a few yard sale groups of different states. Before I knew it I was getting pictures from not only states but from countries around the world. My phone was constantly buzzing from people messaging me back and forth and sending me pictures. Since I was up in the middle of the night anyway nursing Hudson I would use that time to connect with people who were in countries such as Finland, India, and Malaysia because of our different time zones. Within a few days I had all fifty states (plus duplicates) as well as over thirty countries sent to me. I went through almost 300 index cards and three sharpies sending pictures from Utah to others who wanted the same thing done. By that weekend Danny knew I was up to something but didn't know what. I hated being sneaky with him but I was also really excited for when I would be able to finally tell show him what I was doing. Was it hard? Yes! Worth it? YES! My plan was to make a book with all of these pictures I had collected but since I knew I wouldn't have enough time to have the book finished by today (Valentine's Day) I decided to make a video. By the end I received 286 pictures of notes from around the world, I couldn't put all of them in this video because it's already long enough. I still plan on doing a book for him but for now this is what I have and I love it. Better yet, he loves it. 

Happy Valentine's Day Danny!

I love you so BIG!

RSV

This winter we're in has brought me one of my greatest blessings, Hudson. But with that said this winter has also not been easy. The poor kid cannot catch a break. What he can catch is every cold out there. Addie has also not been able to escape the sicknesses but she's definitely handling it a lot better than her little brother. Both kids have caught colds after colds but the worst was when Hudson got both RSV and Bronchiolitis. Last week was rough to say the least. It was the night of Superbowl Sunday when we noticed that Hudson was having a particularly hard time breathing. He sounded very congested and we thought that a shower would help clear his airways. Danny was with him in the shower when we saw that his chest was sinking deeply inward with each breath he was taking. I told Danny this looked serious and called the pediatrics office to speak with a nurse. They told me to take him straight to the ER because Hudson's breathing wasn't normal. Hudson still had soap in his hair from his shower but we didn't care and took him quickly out so that I could get him dressed and in the car seat. It was late so Danny stayed at home to put Addie to bed while I went with Hudson to the hospital. He's been in the hospital before because of breathing issues so I was hoping that this trip was going to be the same as last time where we would be going home after Hudson was suctioned out. Nope. Hudson was suctioned out but still was having issues with his oxygen levels so the doctor ordered that he receive breathing treatments. After that was done he still wasn't doing well so the doctor told me that we would be staying the night there for monitoring. I was not planning on that. The thought of him staying there hadn't even crossed my mind or I would have grabbed an extra set of clothes to change into. Hudson was taken into a circus themed room which was cute but I was too distracted with Hudson to really pay much attention to all the drawings on the walls. Hudson was hooked up to a lot of wires which was sad to witness but I understood the reasoning behind it all. He was suctioned out two more times and after that was done he started to do well again. The nurses told me that he would have to stay additional nights if his oxygen levels dropped below 90 at any time throughout the night. I rocked him for a couple hours while watching the numbers on the screen go up and down. I did try to put him in their crib but I couldn't get him to sleep in it for more than ten minutes at a time so finally at 3am I just brought him into the bed with me and we slept until the morning. Hudson did well during the night and didn't need additional help. The doctor told me that he felt good about sending Hudson home because we only live five to ten minutes away from the hospital and that I could have the final say. I decided to take him home so that we could also be with Addie since Danny had to go to school. For the next few days I had to take Hudson back to the hospital so that he could be suctioned out but we were able to come back home each time. By Wednesday his oxygen levels were almost perfect and we haven't had to take him back since. He still has a horrible sounding cough and is still a little congested but he's definitely doing a whole lot better than that Sunday. These situations make me extra grateful for priesthood blessings and for the location of our home. I felt at peace being at home with him knowing that if I needed hospital help we were close by. The worst is over but I still can't wait for Spring to hurry and get here.

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