It has been awhile...

It has been SO long since I have posted! At least pictures anyway. This is a picture of Preston during Greenacres Vs. Liberty Lake Basketball game. He and Porter participated in the entertainment. Andy missed Porter's performance trying to juggle kids while I was at the E.R. with Conner( I will explain more below). Greenacres won the game and the spirit contest! It really turned out great and was a lot of fun for the kids to see teachers and their bus driver play. They had funny nick names like. Mr. Porter was Harry Porter. Their bus driver was player #91, their bus number. Preston is in the middle with the pink flag. They did the Cha Cha Slide.
I think you are a little big for the helmet son...I think my kids must get their photogenicness from Andy and I. I know that is not a word but it sounded like a good one to me! Andy and I got to go on a date to the Stake Valentines dance. Conner slept the whole time, and we did not get any calls from the kids it was great!! We had lots of fun dancing. We even remembered some of the Cha Cha we had been learning awhile back. They had chocolate fountains,it was a dream...You have got to blow this one up it is hilarious of Andy...that's my man!Andy was so sweet and made me and the kids go on a treasure hunt to find the story of how we became "The Finch's" If you don't know our story this is the "sweet and condensed" version. Ya I know that was clever wasn't it! :)




I think Porter feels special don't you...
Valentines weekend we went to Grandma and Grandpa Chips house. The kids had a ball...
Now that is a gun for a boy whose daddy must be prepping him to be a fierce hunter!! (Quian's gun)
Ping
PongConner wanted Teancum to share Grandma's pickle with him. Andy admitted today that he is addicted. Aaron came up with a recipe that keeps them crisp. They are to die for!
Enjoying the sunshine. We borrowed Grandpa's hat. The kids had so much fun getting dirty and playing with cousins. Whitley and Lana had fun riding rip sticks. They even had an obstacle course set up that a ripstick,bike,razor,and walker went on. Raeli and Mason. Best buddies. Poor Mas banged up his cheek out in Grandpa's shop.
Tanner making Cinnamon rolls with Grandma. He had enjoyed them the last time he was there and would not leave poor Grandma alone about making them again. I fear he is going to think we get them every time we go to Grandma's now. I don't mind, they were tasty. :)


Conner had a ball exploring in the walker. Kristie's whole bottom floor is in tile so he got to go all over the place.

These are just some random pictures of him enjoying life. He is a happy little guy despite all the bumps in the road.
He loves Spaghetti!
Katie said she had never seen a picture of him with his toothy smile...here ya go. He saw the boys out playing football and had to get his hands on it himself.
Grandma and Grandpa came to visit the day we got NeW BunNies!



Meeting Gus Gus


Grandma taking them for a ride in the wagon. It was such a beautiful day. I think everyone was outside nearly the whole day.
Meet lightning...
Mason is so cute with them... he carries them around like little babies. They were only 6 weeks old, 8 weeks now. They are very tame. Gus Gus is sweet and mellow and loves to cuddle while lightning received his name for two reasons. He has a black streak down his back and he is a fast one. We already had him named before we found out the name truly did fit in more ways than one. Before we bought them Porter was saying he wanted to name one slasher and the other rip Jaw. :) That's a boy for ya! I think I would have been scared to hold them if we would have named them that. I will be honest I am not a huge animal person but...man these little rabbits are so sweet! I really do love to hold them. They love my robe and snuggle right in.
Andy made the rabbit hutch last fall. We didn't realize there were no baby bunnies available until spring time. The kids were happy with the stuffed rabbit they put in there as they patiently waited. O.K. so maybe not always patiently but waited they did and they sure were glad when they finally received the "real deal".
Whitley was so excited...she loves animals! She got to ride horses with her friend Saige a few weeks ago and wants one so bad! I think we will see how the rabbits go....
She has been staying busy enjoying gymnastics and playing the piano and trumpet.
So the reason Mr. Conner was in the E.R. He has had an issue with his lungs since we came home from his last surgery in November. He has required oxygen while sleeping. A couple weeks ago Conner got sick with a cough and so I took him in to the Doctor to check him out. He had something like pnemonia going on in his left lung. He was treated and was on oxygen 24/7 for about 4 days. A few days after the meds were done he was looking a little blue in the lips so I checked his Sats with the pulsox and he was between 75-85. The Doc told me to go ahead and take him in to the E.R. The cold was gone but his lungs had some fluid so they started him on lasix, a diaretic. The next day I took him in to my Doctor and they went ahead and did another X-ray to see how the lasix was working. They said it looked like it was pnemonia. We are now treating him again and he was on oxygen for a few days but is now off. I am excited because the diaretic seemed to help alot. He normally sats in the low 90's while he is awake and today he has been 95-96.

Conner has had a few tests done this month. One test is a GERD test to see if his stomach is emptying at a normal rate. We found that is empties too slow and that he has significant reflux because of it. We suspected he had reflux so he had already been on one medication to reduce the acid. What is coming up is not neccessarily burning his throat but the problem is that they think he has been aspirating some of it into his lungs. We starteed another medication to tighten the muscle at the top of the stomach so that it does not escape. If this helps he should continue to do better with his Sats and then maybe he will be off the oxygen. We are crossing our fingers! He also had a Swallow study done and they found that he is aspirating a micro amount so they have his liquids a little bit thicker than before.

Conner is also going to have another Bronch done and tubes put in his ears on the 22nd. He has had frequent ear infections the last few months. The last few weeks though he has been doing well. Definitely a blessing as we have had to wait 4-6 weeks to get in for the tube placement. The reason they are doing the Bronch is because he has strider and they think that may also be playing into the oxygen issue. At first they thought scar tissue was the reason for the strider but then when one Doctor looked she saw a stenosing of the larnyx. She also thinks the left vocal chord is paralized. His voice has been very soft since his last surgery. We thought it would improve within a couple weeks but it never did. The nerve goes deep into the chest so it could have easily been damaged during surgery. They will get a better look at exactly what is going on and then we can go from there.

He has been doing a great job with play and speech therapy, physical therapy and he is now going to start therapy to catch him up cognitively. We have some great ladies working with him. He is starting to crawl a bit and is pulling himself up to the couch and will even coast a few steps. He is getting stronger and has great determination! I have a feeling he is going to make up for lost time! :)
Random cute pictures...
Tanner has a sugar mustache...I bet Grandpa Finch is jealous. :)
Preston with his teacher Miss Parker. He has really enjoyed her. The 2nd grade put on an Italian dinner and concert to raise money for a field trip. Pasta Pasta I love Pasta it's a wonderful thing! They had some really cute songs and he had tons of fun. I loved hearing him practice all the time around the house.
Grandma and Grandpa Rogers came to visit in March. My Dad had some meetings in Montana which was just a few hours away so My Mom came for the week and he came over for a few days after the meetings. We had a great time!

The boys had fun wrestling with Grandpa and I enjoyed a nice long walk/talk with him like old times. He doesn't remember much about the walk/talks but I sure enjoyed the visits as a teenager. Tanner says when he grows up he is going to wear shirts with a pocket on the front so he can put a pen inside like Grandpa.

Conner really enjoyed my Mom, it was sweet to watch him snuggle up to her. We had some girl time and went to dinner and a movie. We had alot of fun! I always enjoy having my Mom around...we always need our Momma don't we, no matter the age.

Mason has lost two teeth now. I think he really likes what the tooth fairy leaves him...

Weezer came back to visit for a day before Brady, my brother Kaelsy's best friend came to pick him up to live with him and his family. We really enjoyed loving on him and playing frisbee again.
Tanner says it all with this last picture...life is good!!