Life in the Fast Lane

Here is trouble times three!

Elainea and Joe on the boat.

Our niece Megan hunting eggs.

Megan and Elainea waiting to fetch eggs.




This picture is just too cute.

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never; in a word to, like the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common.

William Ellery Channing

It has been a while since I have posted. So many things have occurred. We just found out today that Hayden will be born on Monday or Tuesday. I check into the hospital on Monday evening at 6:00 and they will induce labor. My blood pressure is not going down, but it has remained elevated. In the mean time I will be counting down the last six days.

Hannah's birthday is in 2 days and she will be a big 6-yr-old! I can not believe that she is growing up so fast. At least we know that Hayden will not be born on her birthday as well. She is doing really well in school and has expressed a great deal of interest in learning how to ice skate and to continue with her swimming lessons. Well I guess Mom had just better get on top of things.

We had Easter at our house and it was so much fun. I admit that I was unable to put much effort into the holiday and Joe did the majority of the work. I really appreciate him and all he has done for our family lately. I will post a couple of pictures that we have from Easter. My nephew and niece managed to catch ten snakes and transported them to Centerville. Hopefully if we keep moving them out we can eventually get rid of the snakes in our yard.

Christmas, New Years, Birthday and Gotcha Day!

Our Little China Doll.
The Rockwell Family

Well another month has flown by and I failed to post. Christmas was wonderful and we were able to spend time with friends and family. Elainea has now decided that she likes Santa Claus and will probably be excited for Christmas next year. The girls were so excited to get their handheld game systems. I was excited that I could still fit into a new pair of pajamas. I now weigh my pre-pregnancy weight. I guess that is the advantage of getting cryptosporidium when you are pregnant.

New Years was a fun celebration. We went to a party to compete for the Sequence tournament trophy. The girls had fun until we had to play the tie-breaking match after midnight. Hannah was begging to go night-night, but Elainea was content to just keep partying. We did not win back-to-back championships, but we gave it our best shot.

January was somewhat stressful. We went to give our depositions to the attorneys for the contractor and sub-contractor that built our home. Little did we know that the builder's insurance company would not cover his workmanship, but they do cover his legal expenses. Long story short this lawyer decided on the "I am gonna bury 'em tactic". In the deposition he announced his intention to depose every contractor that worked on our home as well as every doctor that Hannah has ever seen. This would put the cost of the builder's defense at over $150,000.00 which was three times what we were suing for. The attitude of the insurance company is that they would rather pay a lawyer whom they have a business agreement with than some unknown homeowner. Nice news for us! If we went to court and lost we could stand to lose our house. This is a social outrage! I can not believe that in the United States the average family can not afford justice. We decided that rather than risk the stress of trial on the baby and the risk of losing our house forced us to settle out of court for only a small fraction of the cost to repair our house. On the upside we still have our house and it has a brand new outfit and we are glad that we can make it our home.

Elainea celebrated her 3rd birthday quietly at home. We were at church and they asked if anyone had a birthday and we nominated her. The whole congregation sang happy birthday to her and she started screaming and crying in anger. She could not handle the attention. We decided to tone down the actual birthday celebration. We put three candles in a ding dong for her birthday cake, gave her a balloon on her chair and sang quietly as a family. She was much more acceptable of this approach. We gave her a Chinese doll to play with, and she threw it on the floor and expressed her displeasure with the doll. She ran to the toy room and started playing with Hannah's old dolls. So much for thinking you understand someone.

Gotcha Day proved to be another interesting day. She started off with a low-grade fever and a cough, which quickly progressed into labored breathing and a high fever by the end of the day. Today we took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with pneumonia. It is odd to see her laying down, totally lethargic and begging for medicine. She has been sick before, but even with a fever of 105 she was still running around. She is on medication and we expect that she will start feeling better tomorrow.

Hannah is doing really well. She is a straight A student and loves school. She and Elainea are starting to get along better. Hannah is funny and is a total delight to be around.

Elainea's speech has improved drastically in the last month. She is no longer considered with a disability. The speech therapists and social workers have been amazed with her progress since July. Except for speech she is advanced for her age. We are very proud of her.

Hayden is small for a baby at this stage, but our midwife says to not worry that he is not dangerously small. This makes us feel better, but we still are concerned and pray that he will be safe and born healthy.

If the past year has taught us anything it is this "As a family we can endure anything". We have been so blessed to have everything that we do, but most of all because we have each other.

What a Month!

Snow? Good reason for Elainea to ride her trike.
Elainea not looking too happy in the show.

Hannah our little Snow Princess!

The first fall of snow is not only an event, but it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment, then where is it to be found? J.B. Pristly

It is almost embarrassing that I have taken so long to post again. So many things have happened and I do not know where to begin.

First Snow: During our first snow of the season Joe took the girl's outside to build a snowfort. Hannah had a blast but as for Elainea, she tried to have a blast. Our poor little Island girl did not like the cold of snow. Her eyes would not stop watering and she clearly would rather be inside.

Thanksgiving: We celebrated Thanksgiving at Pam's sister's house. We celebrated with Pam's Mom, Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Arlen, LeAnn's Family, The Fuelner's and some of KayDawn's kids (KayDawn was sick). The day was wonderful from the food the the kid's behavior. The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins. I was finally recovered enough from the Crypto to eat myself stupid. The day was almost magical.

The Baby (a.k.a Hayden): Yes it is official! We had the big ultrasound and found out that we are having a boy! We are naming him Hayden Patrick Rockwell. Hayden is Joe's Dad's middle name, and Patrick is Joe's middle name. This way he is named after both of them without using the name Joe. Baby is doing really well. He is very active and can make Mom nauseated from moving around so much. His due date is still in April, but has been moved to the middle of April. The girls are very excited about getting a baby brother. Something tells me he will able to keep up with both of them. What a miracle we have in our unexpected child. God is good.

Hannah: Hannah is doing really well at school. She is getting more proficient with her reading every day. She is so excited to be able to be part of the world around her by being able to understand through reading. She was watching PBS kids the other day and read a word on the TV. She was so excited she started jumping up and down. She still likes everything fancy. She is more willing to wear pants (even jeans) now that the weather is cold. She dreams of growing up and become an engineer princess. I told her to "Go for it!". Her eyesight is becoming more of an issue now that she is in school. We will set an appointment to get her eyes checked again. I do not know what I would do without my precious Hannah. She is becoming such a special young lady. She is vibrant and fun to be around. I thank God for her everyday.

Elainea: Elainea has been going through a tough time lately. She has been down right defiant at times. This is a new side to her personality that we have never seen before. We are still working with Early Intervention on her speech and she is making some progress, but I do not know if that is the root of her defiance or not. She is being tested to see if she qualifies for the Head Start program for additional speech therapy after she turns 3. A speech therapist came to evaluate her and she was less than cooperative. I think when she left everyone was more than a little frustrated. The other day I told her she better be good because Santa was coming. She gave me her sign for scared. I asked her why she was scared of Santa. She replied "Love Mama, Stay Here". I believe she thought Santa was going to take her away! Poor thing. She processes so many things that we are not aware of. I assured her that she is part of our family and that this is her home and she belongs here. She gave me a big kiss and hug and gave her three of four back. What a precious gift we have been given.

Joe: Joe is really enjoying his new job with the State of Utah. He works four tens Tuesday through Friday. This makes the family schedule less hectic because Pam is able to work four days a week and can reduce her hours to eight each day. Joe enjoys his time with the girls on Mondays. He loves to take them sledding and staying active with them. They all look forward to Mondays each week. Joe is my rock. He is a strong, compassionate and loving. I can not imagine life without him.

Pam: I am the room Mom for Hannah's Kindergarten class. On Friday I hosted the Christmas Party. I have a new found respect for teacher's and the stress they go through before the Christmas break. The kids could not stay on task. Overall it was great fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. The Mom's in the area are awesome and are always willing to help in anyway with the festivities. The other Mom's brought snacks, drinks, stories and bingo. All I had to do was organize it and plan an art project. Elainea was able to sit next to her sister and she was trying to participate in all the activities with her sister. She felt like a big girl.

The Christmas Concert: Hannah and Elainea participated in a Christmas Program at their day care. The program is great fun. Hannah was excited to perform for everyone, while our little spitfire Elainea just retreated inside and cried. Having over two hundred people focused on her was a little too overwhelming for her. She eventually ran from the stage area and onto her daddy's lap. Santa was there to visit all of the kids. Hannah was so excited to tell him that she wants a billiards table. Yes, you heard that right, a billiards table. Where does she get this stuff? Elainea was not so happy about the prospect of sitting in his lap. She eventually sat long enough for us to get a picture by bribing her with a candy cane.

We look forward to Christmas and experiencing the magic of the season as a family. We wish all of you a wonderful Holiday Season and a New Year of prosperity.

Hannah's Next Milestone -- The first lost tooth!

Joy is the feeling of grinning on the inside.

Dr. Melba Colgroue

We are so proud of Hannah. In August she went to the dentist for a dental exam. She allowed them to clean her teeth and take some x-rays. The dentist then told me that she had two bottom teeth coming in and that she would soon lose her two bottom teeth. Well as of November 2nd 2007 she lost her first tooth! It had been loose for several weeks and she was scared that she was going swallow it. We were walking out to the car and she looked at me and said, "Mommy look how loose it is!". I looked over and the tooth was completely sideways and it fell out into the front of her mouth. She was very releived to know that most people do not swallow their teeth, and maybe now she will believe me!

She was equally excited to know that the tooth fairy is real and she does leave compensation for her teeth under her pillow. We are so proud of our big Hannah and look forward to the many more major milestones we get to share with her.

Happy Hauntings

Our Princess and Angel!

This angel doesn't like her halo.

Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!
Humbert Wolfe



What a fun holiday! Joe and I took the day off work so we could host and assist with the halloween parties for both of the girls classes. We had so much fun! We saw Hannah off on the bus and then went to Elainea's party. We helped get the kids in their costumes and then helped the teachers with the activities.
After we went straight to Hannah's school to work with her class. The kids were so much fun. It was nice to be able to see Hannah in her class and to see how she interacts with them. We had four activities planned and three parent volunteers to help. They were awesome. The party was so much fun. We were so busy that we did not have time to take pictures.

Joe took the kids trick or treating. Elainea did not understand the concept of doing more than dressing up until her big sister filled her in. Then Elainea started jumping around the house chanting "candy". Then they shuffled out the door and I stayed behing to hand out the candy. The kids were so cute this year.

I think I will look for some costumes for next year tomorrow. Hopefully they will still like them when it is time to wear them.

We hope all is well with you.... God Bless!

Looking For Pumpkins

Posing with Papa!
Mama loves her girls!

We were impressed with her determination to pull the wagon.

We caught her trying to sneak another one!

The air is crisp. The leaves are old. Rake them all - the red and gold. Scoop them up. The pile's so tall! Jump right in! I just love Fall!
S. Morrey

We went looking for pumpkins and had a blast. Elainea and Hannah were brimming with excitement over the idea of selecting a pumpkin. We went to a pumpkin patch up the street and the girls took turns pulling the wagon and picking out the pumpkins. We had so much fun! It was truly a miracle to see our girls working together. It gave me a sense of peace to know that they will always have each other.

Elainea continues to progress on her speech. She gets better and better all of the time. We are trying to set an appointment to get her hearing checked. She has been in the early intervention program, but when she turns three she will transition into head-start. Given the tough criteria for head-start I do not think she will qualify for the program. Part of me is excited, but part of me is scared at the thought that we will no longer have help for her.

The pregnancy is progressing well. We found out that we are having a boy. The baby now has a name, Hayden Patrick Rockwell. This way he will be named after his Grandpa and Dad. The name is a concatenation of both their middle names, so he will be named after them without having to name him Joe.

We continue to enjoy God's abundant blessings.

Life is Full of Surprises

A girl after her Daddy's heart!
Would she feel the same way if she were not floating on a sea of grass?

Elainea and her Mimzi.

Hannah at her first day of school.

I am ashamed when I look at how long it has been since I posted. So much has happened and every moment is worth sharing. Hannah started kindergarten and loves it. In fact she comes home in the afternoon and wants Mom to continue her school day. I really like the idea of all day kindergarten. She keeps telling me that she can not wait to start first grade so she can have more school in her day. What a difference from the scared and clingy little girl at kindergarten roundup in May.
She has an awesome teacher that we really like. I feel good that she is with Mrs. Shelley when she goes to school. The transition for me has been easier than I thought. I only cried once and that is when I put her on the school bus for the first time. Every protective Mom instinct came out and I had to force myself to let her on the bus. It felt strange to hand her over to people I did not know(the bus driver and assistant). Hannah had an adventure the first time she rode the bus home. She has a regular schedule, but she does not ride the bus home every day. On Mondays and Fridays either Joe or I are home and so she can ride the bus. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays she is picked up by her daycare. Well the first full day of Kindergarten was on a Wednesday, and they put her on the bus to come home. I was in Ogden with my Mom getting eye surgery and I get the phone call. One of the school secretaries ask me "Where would she go?" I felt the blood drain from my face. I pictured our daughter roaming the streets by herself crying and feeling abandoned. Luckily Hannah has memorized her parent's cell phone numbers. What a smart little girl we have. She was calm the whole time and requested the bus driver to call me. How grown up is that! Well when she called I was already on the phone with the secretary. Fortunately they felt they should take her back to the school where her daycare was waiting for her.
Elainea is doing well. We had her evaluated by early intervention because she is struggling with her speech. I see her get frustrated when she wants to have a conversation and she only can say certain sounds. She is making up signs to communicate words to us, but I can tell that she wants to express her thoughts and ideas. We were quite proud when she was evaluated on target or advanced for most areas, but her expressive language skills she falls short. They tell me she is on the level of a 14-month old. We start speech therapy this month and that should help her catch up.
Elainea is doing pretty well physically. She is only in the 25 percentile in height and in the 50 percentile in weight (she is totally American!) Her immunizations are finally caught up. The monthly trips to the clinic were starting to wear on me. Now for the interesting stuff. Utah has had a HUGE outbreak of a nasty parasite called Cryptosporidium. It is a fungal protozoa that is passed through fecal to mouth contact. Well these little parasites are in a protective hard cyst when you pass them through your system until someone swallows it. Then in your intestines it starts to break out of the cyst and make the poor victim sicker than sick. Well every public pool in Utah has been infected, and because they live in these little cysts, the normal water chlorination does not kill it. Needless to say we went swimming at our local pool and poor Elainea got infected first. This sickness is horrible as it gives you severe diarrhea and makes you throw up. Our poor daughter was so ill and so lethargic! It was strange to see her want to lay down instead of getting into mischief of one kind or another. She got so dehydrated that we took her to the doctor where they took a sample and verified that she had the parasite with a lab analysis. Joe was the next one to go down. Luckily he has a strong stomach so he was mostly just inconvenienced by the whole deal and had to cope with the cramping and eating near a bathroom.
I got a get-out-of-changing-the-stinky-diapers free card being that I was already fighting dehydration with my morning sickness. Yes you read that right. Joe and I are now part of that infamous statistic group where you adopt and then get pregnant. Despite our best efforts to avoid me getting it, I just came down with it. Boy is this awful! I had to go to the emergency room to get an IV because I could not even swallow without getting sick. We called my midwife who made an appointment for me to come in yesterday. Our midwife did an ultrasound and determined that the baby is no worse for the wear, but Mom is miserable. Baby is now due on April 6th. This would be fun because he or she would share a birthday with one of Joe's sisters.
My Mom did well with her surgery. The hole in her retina was surgically maintained and she has been positioning for two weeks now. Positioning involves holding your head down to the ground so the air bubble inserted into the eye settles over the hole letting it heal. This doesn't sound bad until you consider that you have to do it for 50 minutes of every hour! She has endured the trial remarkably well. We managed to borrow a massage table and put a flat screen TV underneath it. She has many friends and neighbors that brought in food. I had to keep a distance because of the outbreak at our house. My oldest sister stayed with her for the first three days and we are so grateful for her efforts. I call her daily and we are so fortunate that so many people love to help take care of her.
I have rambled on enough for one night. Take care and God Bless!