Another Surgery!

Wow! Our family keeps several surgeons busy. This week, on Thursday, McKay had a spinal fusion. He had one last July, also, but he grew so much that he had to have another one. This is apparently quite unusual. We like to keep the doctors on their toes. He's recovering okay... there's a lot of pain, and he might be getting pneumonia, but overall things are fine. He's been sleeping a lot.

I was with him for a few nights and will go back tomorrow. Todd is with him now. It is very hard to have one in the hospital and feel like I need to be there but then I miss my kids at home so much! Hopefully, his stay won't be too long. The surgeon said 5-7 days. We try to handle these times gracefully and with faith.

Let's see if there's anything else to report. Abby went to her first school dance on Friday night. She said it was "lame." But her friend said that usually they are more fun. And her school had a students v. faculty Quidditch match on Friday, which was very fun. Abby and Alex and Todd went skiing on Saturday and had a good time, but it was very cold on the mountain, which was kind of miserable.

This week Abby's school had a series of fundraisers for Make-a-Wish, which was a happy coincidence for us since Alex declared his wish last week. So Abby had pancakes one morning and we all went to Chik-Fil-A for dinner one night. It's neat to see a school do so much service. They are trying to earn money to build a kid a playhouse. Pretty cool.

Well, I'm a bit tired and it's time for our Sunday evening movie party, when we watch something church related together.

Alexander's Wish

We spent weeks working on figuring out what Alex's wish is.  He seemed happy about a few different choices, and we weren't sure what his favorite was.  So Allison sat down with Alex and his iPad and talked about his choices.  Then she had him choose with his Yes/No buttons.  She asked him many different times to make sure she had it right.  And finally it was clear that Alex's wish was to go to Hawaii!

It seems like a great choice for Alex.  He loves swimming, especially when the water is warm.  It will be a relaxing and slow-paced vacation, which is more Alex's style.  He loves to be outside and see beautiful things.  And we're pretty sure he will be a big fan of the Polynesian Cultural Center.  His favorite thing at Disneyland is the Tiki Room, after all.

Thursday evening our family, along with my niece Megan, went up the the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Murray.  It is a beautiful building, and it is all set up as a special place for the kids.  They had a big sign out welcoming Alex, and the wish granters there were so nice.  They showed us around the building, and then we went upstairs for Alex to declare his wish.  To make it official, Alex had to use his special key to go into the Wishing Room.  There everybody said a wish that they had for Alex, and then Alex submitted his wish.  It was really cool.

If his wish gets approved by the board, then we will probably go to Hawaii in June.  I'm excited that we will get to spend a few days just focusing on Alex and making him feel special.  There could not be a more deserving boy.

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

So I went to Youth Conference this weekend. It was freezing.

But that's okay. We had great speakers and fun activities--sledding and ping pong and things like that. We also had a lot of good food, yay. It was fun.

Alex has the privilege to get a "wish" from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We've been trying to think of things he'd like. A big-screen TV, a trip to DisneyWorld, or a trip to Hawaii are just some of the things he's been considering.

Of course I've been suggesting rather creative and crazy wishes. Visiting the moon for example.

Hm. I don't have anything else to say.

Except you should watch this video. I'm a little obsessed.

That's all.