Christmas Memories

As I shop, wrap, bake, clean and fret over the things of the holidays, I have been reflecting on Christmases past, and what made them so special.
I think that my fondest memories were of running out on Christmas morning with my baby brother Greg to see the treasures left out by Santa. We were allowed to play with what was out and have the yummies from our stocking. We usually ran our stockings back to our mom's bed and dumped them out and oohhed and aahhed over it all.

I remember shopping for Christmas gifts with my little brother Greg. We went downtown on the bus together. I remember going from store to store to pick out something for my mom. We decided to pool our money and get a gift of a set of two little statues of a boy and a girl.
On one of our leanest Christmases, my brother A.J. was just a couple of months old. Mom and I and A.J. were cozy in our apartment, it was freezing cold outside. We went carolling with the missionaries, and had them over for Christmas Eve festivities. We only had a few gifts, but it was one of my most memorable Christmases.

I remember that even when we didn't have any money,we went downtown and each of us picked out a new ornament for our tree. It was such a fun memory; we went to so many stores. It was a lovely Christmas, even though the gifts were sparse, and to this day my mom still hangs up her cuckoo clock ornament on the tree (usually hidden because it no longer matches) and we remember that year.

I always remember Christmas Eve the most. My mom always made delicious scottish shortbread cookies. We had yummy egg nog. In later years we began having our Chrismtas Dinner on Christmas Eve. It was great because we would then stretch out that fun day, starting at about 3:00 in the afternoon, and ending with cookies and egg nog. (Another perk is that you can enjoy Christmas morning without having to cook, and you have delicious leftovers to nibble, or just have a yummy brunch and snug in and play all day long!)

My favorite gift that I remember receiving was the Dancerella Doll from my mom and dad. You would pump the knob on her tiara and she would kick her leg and spin.
I still remember the song from the commercial:

Dancerella, Dancerella, dancing ballet,
You can make her spin when violins begin to play,
Back kicks and front kicks, twirling on her toes,
Whirling away to a dance you compose,
Dancerella, Dancerella bows and then,
You can make her dance again!


What are your favorite Christmas Memories?

Reindeer Cookies

Here is one of our favorite family baking traditions. The reindeer cookie.

They are lots of fun to make, they look adorable and even the little ones can do it- with some slight variations to the theme, of course.

First you start with your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe.

Gather a few simple decorative toppings: tiny twist pretzels, chocolate chips and holiday M&Ms.

Roll dough into balls and then press flat as a usual PB cookie.
Then pinch slightly to create the 'reindeer' head shape.

Add a tiny twist pretzel for his antlers,

and chocolate chips for the eyes,

and finally an M&M for the nose!

Piece of cake! Well, cookie, actually.

Bake as called for in your PB recipe, but watch for the cracking of M&Ms-- may be a couple of minutes less.

Enjoy!

**special thanks to my hand-model, Maddy

My Last Birthday!

Well, it is official, I am not having anymore birthdays. (unless, of course some of my fabulous friends want to surprise me for my 40th!-- just kidding)

I just can't believe that this is my last "30-something"-- and by the way, none of the young bloggers out there probably even know that thirty-something was a crazy-popular show in the early 90's when I was a 20-something. I thought that 30-somethings were cool, but a bit 'old.' Ahem.

My day was very fun. I started with some great gifts from my family-- my camera had died in the morning... bummer.

We have a birthday tradition of breakfast in bed. It is great fun. We even do it when the kids are babies. The little kids learn early to help. The first jobs are usually wrapping the utensils in napkins, then they work their way up to mixing juice, unrolling sweet rolls and finally to actually cooking the breakfast. The pictures of these breakfasts, however, are reserved for our personal scrapbook albums, because while they are fun, they aren't always pretty! This year I got pancakes with strawberry and raspberry syrup (homemade), sweet rolls, sausage and orange juice. Yummy.


Then my sweet friend Kristy got some of my dear friends together for a fun lunch at Macaroni Grill. Yummy.

I loved it when the 'Baby Hunk' (I have to say that because I could be his mother!) sang, Happy Birthday to me in italian.

My Fab Friends

Looking around my table of friends, I was really touched by their never-ending friendship and support. Each and every one of these sweet girls either came to the hospital when Lilly was there, cooked for my family, brought us treats, remembered Lilly's birthday during her illness, visited us at home, brought Lilly gifts, or some or all of the above. It truly is a gift to have dear friends.


Johnny made me a super-yummy cake. This is not it. This is one of his other creations. It was a dense butter cake with strawberry-raspberry filling and frosting! Delicioso!

Finally, John and I went here:

And saw this:


It was a wonderful birthday.

Come Ye to Bethlehem Towne

Our Ward Christmas party was truly one to remember. It was probably the best one that I have been to. It was such a neat experience and totally brought the Spirit of Christmas to our family.

We did and Evening in Bethlehem. All were required to be dressed in period costume. It was really fun seeing everyone's interpretations.

and we had to 'be counted and taxed,' which meant that we brought canned goods for a food drive, and we also had to sign in at the census table.

After which we were given 'shekels' to spend in the Bethlehem Marketplace.

We could buy delicious foods: Chicken on pita, fruits, nuts, olives, vegetables, and baklava.

or we could spend it at the well (for our water) -- Maddy was one of the 'water girls.' Other young women ran the game booths or performed.

We could also spend our shekels to play games. There was a 'render unto Caesar' coin toss, and 'Pin the Tail on the Camel.'

The evening ended with a dramatization of the Christmas Story from the scriptures. John and I were asked to play Joseph and Mary. It was a neat experience for us, even though I was extraordinarily nervous!

The Bishopric were the Three Wise Men, some of the young women were angels, some of the young men were shepherds, and our Young Men's President was the best centurion ever! Rochelle has some great pictures of this activity.

All in all, a fun and special time was had by all.

Merry Christmas!

Lilly's Story

Here is our Thanksgiving Table from this year. Gratitude for Lilly's health was the most profound feeling of thanks that I have ever had. As a family we have much to be thankful for. We have our sweet Lilly.

This is the rest of the story.
{continuation of journal entry}

An IV was started to continue her hydration. After seeing her walk (with me holding her under her arms), the ER doctor was concerned that there was more at play than simple dehydration from a virus. She ordered a CT scan to look at her brain. Lilly did well; mostly because she was so lethargic she couldn't do otherwise. I was able to stand beside her and hold her hands. The CT scan came back 'normal.' Upon consulting with a neurologist, we started to prepare for an MRI with contrast dye. This was for a more conclusive picture of the brain.

Meanwhile back at the camp... I understand that Johnny and the kids broke camp in record time. In 30 minutes they were on the road.

Lilly went into the MRI at about 10:00AM. Johnny and the kids were due to be back in town at about 11:00 - 11:30. Because she had to stay completely still for 40 minutes, she had to be put under general anesthetic. It's always hard to see your child go under. Lilly has been our only child to do it, but she has been under three times. (actually it is 4 by the end of this experience, but I didn't know that then) I was very nervous because John hadn't arrived. My baby brother AJ and my sweet bishop gave Lilly a blessing-- the bishop blessed her that she would have 'good health.' He also blessed me through her blessing with the strength that I would need.
{end of this period of the journal entries}

This is where my journal entries end for a period of about 2 weeks. So much happened in that time that it is very difficult to remember all of the details, but I will try.

My mom stayed with me as they got Lilly ready for her MRI. I was so very glad to have her there for me. It was good for us.
The medical staff gave Lilly some medicine that made her a little dreamy before they put her under. During this time that she was falling asleep, they said to talk to her and keep my face in front of her because it would be the last thing that she remembered and then I needed to be in front of her when she woke up and it wouldn't seem like she was away from me.
It was very hard to see her fall asleep and hope that she wouldn't be one of the few that doesn't wake up. But... I had to remember the blessing that she received, and though I cried, I knew that I would see her in less than an hour. When they wheeled her little body down the hall, it truly ripped my heart out. There is a such a helpless feeling that you have when they take your child and you can't be there.
I do have to say that the people who work in this part of the hospital are the cream of the crop. They are truly angels. We were so well cared for and lovingly treated. I am so thankful.


Cooks Children's Medical Center, Fort Worth, TX

Next came about the longest hour of my life. That's all that I can say about that.

Lilly wakes up from anesthesia in a terribly ungraceful way. She kicks and fights. They say that it is not an extremely rare reaction, but definitely not common. Later we would find out that her sheer will and determination-- like awakening from anesthesia-- would come in handy as she fought for control over her body.
My sweet hubby arrived just as she was awakening. I was so glad to see his loving face. I collapsed into his arms and cried. Maddy and Stephie also came in to see Lilly. Everyone had tear-stained faces from their trip back to Fort Worth. I was so glad to have them back and to feel their support.

After quite some time-- I really don't know how long, we ended up back in the ER to await results. When they came, they were normal. There was no swelling of the brain. That was a good thing. Of course, this meant that our questions weren't answered, but negative results were a good thing. Lilly was still non-verbal. Did I mention that she never started talking that whole day since her early-morning admittance into the ER? She basically just looked at whomever was speaking to her and grabbed desperately for me whenever I moved the littlest bit away from her bedside or if I tried to put her down.

It was decided that Lilly should get hooked up to electrodes to monitor her brain activity, and be admitted into the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit for observation. This was a long process that neither Lilly nor I enjoyed.
We waited in the ER for a bed in the EMU for quite some time. John had taken the kids home to get everyone cleaned up and settled in for the night. As I followed Lilly's stretcher to the EMU, and just as we stepped foot on our floor, I met up with the sweet girls that I served with in Primary-- Heidi, Erica and Patty. I think that I collapsed into their arms, too.


In the EMU the patients are monitored with brain electrodes and there is also a camera in the room. Whenever unusual brain activity kicks in, they are watching the way they are physically responding also.


That night is a blur. Sweet Laura, my SIL also came by. She really lost it when she saw Lilly. I guess she was quite a sight, but I think that I was pretty numb and exhausted to realize the magnitude. The night was long. Lilly wanted to be held constantly. She was very agitated. Not a lot of sleep was had by me or John.

The next days just really run together. We had so many people come in to check on us. Meals were being brought in for my family at home. Stuffed animals were brought in by the armfuls. There were tons of balloons in the room.
Lilly was non-verbal for a total of almost two full days. She didn't have control over her hands, she lost potty control and had to return to diapers for several days, she couldn't walk or even stand in a stable way. Eye contact was difficult for her. Her eyes would go back and forth very quickly as she tried to focus on anything. She would bite very strongly on my shoulder if I was holding her, or on spoons, straws or her pacifier (that I had given to her in desperation as she kicked and screamed.) As she was screaming, she would grit her teeth and put her chin on her chest and pull her head sideways. Very scary.
And then there was the screaming. She would scream at the top of her lungs and claw and kick. It was frightening. She was covered in bruises all over her legs from kicks and hitting either the chair or the bed. During these episodes, which lasted anywhere from 30 - 90 minutes (at their height about 1 week later) her brainwaves actually were in more of a 'sleep pattern.' Very weird.
Sometimes she would just stare. The stares were intense and she communicated with her stares. Sometimes if we started doing the wrong things, she would ramp up and the screaming would start.



The one funny thing was that as we fed her, she had a voracious appetite. Normally, her appetite is very light, and she is practically a vegetarian, but in the hopsital when we spoon-fed her, she ate like a field-hand and loved her meat! They said that certain parts of the brain that affect appetite might have been aggravated and that was why. In any case, it was a good thing because she didn't end up losing any weight in the hospital.
Every test imaginable was given. Specialists in infectious disease came by to ask us myriads of questions. Each and every test came back negative. I was starting to get frustrated. The neurologist kept telling us that this was good, though, because we didn't want her to have any of the diseases or conditions that they were testing her for. Encephalitis is an illness diagnosed by elimination. This is what they assumed that she had, and the negative results on the other tests further confirmed that they were correct in their diagnosis.

Resting with Aunt Laura (who spent the night so that John could be home with our other kids-- Nicky had the same wicked stomach virus... he ended up in ER so we had two kids in here at one time.-- but, that's for another post!)


Hangin' with Sweet Stephanie

There were so many visitors, but I didn't take lots of pictures. I could only take pictures when she was calm... which wasn't that much, so some of our visitors saw this Lilly and some saw the wildcat Lilly.

Glimpses of Normalcy

Our Heavenly Father was very good to us. There were moments were we would be able to see that "our Lilly" was still in there. These are a few pictures that we were able to snap when she was having those moments. They were wonderful to hold on to. This whole ordeal lasted about 3 weeks for the big, bad stuff, and about 1 1/2 months to complete recovery.






Response and Smiles to Aunt Vivi

There is so much to this story that it really hurts my head to try to document it. I think that I will ramp this post down. The end of the story is that Lilly did indeed have Viral Encephalitis. It was caused by the stomach virus that she had. Sometimes viruses travel and affect the brain, and this is what it did. We were blessed that she never had brain swelling, hence no brain damage.

Here is a picture of Lilly and Nick right after her illness. Back to goofing around at home!