Photoshoot

A couple days ago Eden and I had a completely free morning schedule so I thought it might be fun to try out my new camera and hopefully get some cute pictures of Eden. Though she didn't want to cooperate long, I definitely think I succeeded in my mission to get some frame worthy shots without even having to do any editing...












I love my new camera and I especially love my little model!

Kissing this Frog didn't result in her Prince!

As much as I wouldn't prefer to be holding a toad, I don't want Eden to be afraid of them so when we saw one by my parents pond the other day I grabbed a hold of that thing and brought Eden over to take a look. At first she was very hesitant about it and only looked and laughed at it from a distance, all while signing "frog".



I kept saying, "come touch it Eden" and she wouldn't come, but all of a sudden she just walked up with determination, and before I knew what was happening, she was giving the toad a kiss!


Then, I guess once she decided kissing it wasn't so bad, she tried holding it. As soon as it moved a tiny bit though she very quickly threw it into the pond with a very nervous look on her face.


That poor toad got lots of love that day... not just from Eden! It provided quite a bit of entertainment for all involved.

The Ice Cream Man

Eden absolutely loves music so a couple months ago we were outside playing and she heard the music playing from the ice cream truck. She immediately starting siging "music" and "star" because I guess she thought it sounded like it was playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" which is one of her favorites. We explained to her that it was the ice cream truck, and Brad took her to look over the wall to see if they could see the truck go by, but it never actually came into our neighborhood. Many days since then as we have heard it outside she gets so excited and signs "star truck" and she always wants to go look over the wall for it. The problem is that she has become quite obsessed with it and is constantly wanting to go outside to hear the "star truck" and look for it even when it's not there. She kept asking where it was, so then we told her maybe he was home in bed. Now she signs "star truck" and then when we don't hear it she signs "bed".

So a couple days ago we were in the house and she was asking for the "star truck" so Brad took her outside to see if they could hear it. Well as luck would have it, they could hear it and it was actually inside our neighborhood just a street over. So they listened to it on their usual spot on the wall and when it got close Brad flagged them down. Eden quickly discovered that the "star truck" has absolutely nothing to do with stars but that it actually has ice cream and popsicles which she is somewhat a fan of. Despite discovering it was a van full of treats though, she still continues to ask for the "star truck" everyday when we go outside. :)

Tennessee Adventures

A couple weeks ago we were able to spend an awesome week in Tennessee with all of Brad's family. This was the first time the whole family has been together since our wedding almost 6 years ago so this "family reunion" was well overdue. The family has also grown quite a bit in 6 years so it was a large party! Brad's parents bought a beautiful house just down the road from Brad's sister's house so it was so convenient for everyone to have their own rooms, but close enough to hang out together each day.

While we were there we celebrated the 4th of July with some awesome fireworks! Brad and his brothers put on a pretty amazing show for the family which included tons of fireworks that are definitely illegal in NM. Brad now thinks it may be best to go to TN every year over the 4th so he can really celebrate. :)

We also had a family baseball tournament, complete with "Justice League" t-shirts. Everyone's baseball number was the year they were born.

It was so much fun, but unfortnately the game got cut a little short due to a lightning storm that was very quickly approaching. We had such a blast though. Everyone except for Eden that is. The poor girl got sunscreen in her eye right when we got there, so she was pretty miserable throughout the game.








That night Grandpa hosted an awards ceremony to present all the baseball players with a trophy. It was so cute to watch the kids go get their personalized trophies. They were so excited about it! Eden just kept giving her trophy kisses.





We also celebrated Grandpa's 70th birthday that week. He wasn't so thrilled, but we were excited to be there to celebrate for him!


Grandpa and Grandma's new house has a pretty good sized front yard, complete with the perfect slip-n-slide hill. Brad went out to Walmart and bought painters plastic and created quite a hit with all the kids. Grandpa wasn't quite as thrilled with the nice trails it was leaving in his grass, but he let the play continue!



There is a beautiful (and warm!) lake within a short drive of their houses, so several days were spent at the lake. Brad and I had to split our trips so one could stay home with Eden, so unfortunately we didn't have anyone get a picture of him out there, but here's one of me getting ready to wakeboard. It's amazing how quickly my muscles get sore doing this, but it is so fun and so worth it!


We walked around downtown McMinneville which has a fun, old fashioned, small town feel. It was so incredibly hot though that we probably spent the majority of our time inside the sweets shop eating our ice cream and enjoying the air conditioning.


We went to the State Park where they have hiking trails and beautiful waterfalls. Everyone had a blast out in the water. It was so beautiful there and so extremely green!









And in between all these fun adventures, we just had a blast hanging out, playing games, and enjoying spending time together. Eden absolutely LOVED being surrounded by her cousins all the time, as long as they weren't trying to pick her up. She especially grew fond of Ella and would only let Ella carry her around. Her cousins also loved to get Eden to show them her sign language. Everytime they were together, I always overheard them telling her to sign something, and she would always do it. It was pretty cute to watch.







Overall it was such a fun vacation! It was our first time to go to Tennessee and we definitley weren't disappointed! We were able to do so many fun things, and there's still so much to explore for future trips. Thanks Justice family for an awesome vacation and we look forward to our next one!

Gratitude

I learned a great lesson from my husband this week during one of our "pillow talk" sessions. To summarize our discussion into one sentence, he basically said, "the separate feelings of gratitude and negativity can't both exist at the same time." The point is so simple, but I've just never thought of it that way. In the two years since Eden was born, I have felt definite extremes of emotions, some positive and some very negative, and many times I just felt like my emotional reaction to situations wasn't necessarily something I could control. However, since our discussion, as I've pondered that thought I'm beginning to see that though feelings of negativity and sadness are completely appropriate and normal with some situations, I can control how quickly I bring myself out of the "funk" by focusing on being grateful.

Gratitude and negativity can't both be felt at the same time.... I've pondered this thought so much just in regards to the events of this week alone.

Monday after Eden's cardiology visit I was definitely feeling so much gratitude and happiness over the good news that the hole in her heart had closed, and that she would not need any surgical intervention. I was definitely on an emotional "high" until Thursday after Eden's eye exam... let me explain.

Back in January at her annual check up, the doctor saw that both optic nerves were extremely swollen and this began the chain of events that lead to the brain shunt. We went back in for a follow up visit about a month after getting the shunt and the eye doctor said the swelling had gone way down, but it still needed a little more time. Thursday we went in for another follow-up and the eye doctor said the swelling is much worse than it was last time and that we needed to get Eden in to see the neurologist again.

The shunt itself has a couple different settings to control the drainage of cerebral spinal fluid. Apparently the original setting was working because the optic nerves were getting better, but now that the nerves are swollen again, they most likely will just adjust the shunt setting and then check her eyes again in 3 weeks to see if it's helping. The appointment with the neurologist is set for Tuesday of next week and then we will see the eye doctor again Aug. 8th.

Our course with Eden has been so up and down that I wasn't surprised that the emotional "high" was quickly stopped by another complication. As soon as I start to feel frustrated and sad though, I remember that thought from Brad and try to fill my thoughts with gratitude instead. With Eden it seems like we have had one complication after the next, but we have had way more blessings and miracles in her short life than I ever felt deserving of. She is such an amazing little girl, and she fills our home with so much joy and happiness each and every day.

So to sum it all up, I'm tired of complaining, and I don't want to feel sad. I know things could be so much worse and that we have avoided so many obstacles. So today, and hopefully everyday, I will try to keep my thoughts focused on all the things I have to be grateful for, because there are many!


"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable."Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Live in Thanksgiving Daily," Ensign, Sept. 2001, 8
Topics: Gratitude

Medical Update

At the end of June we flew out to Denver for our stint follow-up with the ENT. Fortunately this time Eden didn't have to go under anesthesia, but she definitely wasn't happy about being held down while he put the camera scope through her nose and down into her airway. Fortunately, it went fast and he was able to see what he needed to see rather quickly and get that thing back out. Everything looked good with no granulation tissue growing over the stint so all is well. Next up will be a trip back to Denver in September to get the stint removed. At that point we will begin the regular visits again to see whether or not this is going to work.

In other medical news, Eden was back at the cardiologist yesterday to check the hole in her heart. As we left it last year, the doctor said the hole was there but wasn't big enough that it needed to be fixed right away. However, he said he would check her annually and if it was still there by her 3rd or 4th birthday that she would need surgery to close the hole. So needless to say, I was a bit nervous going into the appointment because I was hoping the hole would be closed, but was also prepared for any bad news we might receive.

After looking over the images, the cardiologist came in and said, "well with most situations you've faced with Eden, there's good news and bad news." Immediately my heart sunk, but fortunately he didn't leave me hanging long and said, "the bad news is for me because I am officially discharging Eden and no longer scheduling visits to see her because her heart looks perfect." I was so happy at that moment I wanted to hug him, but I controlled the urge knowing that might make things really awkward. :)

I left that appointment feeling so happy and light because I felt like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I didn't realize until it went away that always having a possible heart surgery looming over us was really weighing me down. Now that I know her heart looks great, I can completely put that behind us. I feel so good knowing we are that much closer to being on a healthy path for Eden.

This Thursday we are back at the hospital for another follow-up eye exam to make sure her optic nerves look ok. I'm very hopeful that we will be receiving some good news there too.

Now we just have to get this airway fixed and we are good to go! I like knowing I can just worry about that area and not several all at once. As the problems are slowly fixed one by one, I am feeling a stronger determination to face what we have left with a positive outlook.