Madison's Burns

Last night our baby fell into a fire. Let me start with our gratitude that the burns were less significant than they could have been and that she rolled off the fire quickly. Unfortunately there were still burns. We were up Farmington Canyon camping with my family at the time. My brother in law saw her fall, my sisters cry for help to me was terrifying. I knew something bad had happened listening to her shout. I was close enough to grab Madison right after landing on the ground.

Madisons cries indicated that this would need an ER visit so I doused her with water (I was panicked and so probably too much dousing). Then Will jumped in the drivers seat and I next to her in the car seat and we headed down the mountain. With no reception it gave us time to decide what to do next- we realized there were too many unknowns about the burns and we didn't know which hospital to go to. I called 911 and the operator had an ambulance meet us at the mouth of Farmington Canyon and then the crazy started. Lots of fire engines, and EMTs (I had no idea how many people you could fit into the back of an ambulance).

Because of the burns on her face - so close to her mouth they called life flight to ensure there would be no breathing issues. During the time we waited for life flight the emts tried unsuccessfully four times to get an IV in her. After that they just gave up. At first they told me I couldn't ride with her in the helicopter than luckily the life flight nurse decided differently.

The life flight trip was short. The only vivid memory I have of the flight was seeing the Bountiful Temple- very much a symbol of hope for me in these moments. Madison cried on and off through it all- still no pain medication, even by the time we got to the U of U hospital, the hospital choosen for the job because of their burn unit.

She sat on my lap while nurses again failed miserably at getting an IV in her. Finally they gave her pain medication by mouth. I have to say I'm surprised I could be on a life flight and etc... and we never once saw a doctor(the entire night). They sent a burn unit nurse down to asses and she decided she would not need to be admitted to the burn unit! My heart soared as she told us the wounds were manageable and she believed the burns on Madison's face would not leave a scar.

Our little baby does have a few third degree burns, which will be assessed on Monday and then again in a week to see if we will need to do any skin grafts (which would include an overnight stay in the hospital). The other burns were first and second degree.
 

Will and I have the task of dressing her wounds everyday at home- and right now we are praying that we will have the wisdom to know how best to do this well enough that she does not get any infection.

We love our baby with everything we are. I can't begin to tell you how blessed we feel that she did not have to be admitted to the hospital and the burns were not more severe. She was given a blessing by her uncle Ike and by William in the ER. I'm grateful for Ike and Amber- they rode with Will up to the hospital and were there for us when we needed that support. Of course I'm grateful for my family for keeping our boys overnight and for helping out in those first few moments. Gratitude goes out to the nurses and emergency responders. I'm grateful for modern medicine. Where would we be without these medicines and medical personal!

Right now we don't know the cost of this all... but are grateful Will has great insurance and that because he works at the U and the life flight was from the U and we were treated at the U hospital we hope these factors will play in our favor.

We appreciate your prays on behalf of our little angel and glad we got to sleep in our own beds last night!

Love you all,

Summer Blackhurst

Stopping by to say Hi!

I should be brushing my teeth and sending myself off to bed. But then I thought-- My kids my kids what if they don't remember all the cute things they said and did, so I sat down to this blog and will try to be brief...

Ben for example-- when he wants something to last longer he will tell me to wait twice 11 mins. After those 22 mins he assumes he will be done playing with his friends or watching a show. I have no idea where he gets his mathematic equations!

James never stops smiling and teases and teases and teases. Its' happening we officially have our family clown. Even when I am punishing him - he is laughing and running away. He kills ME!  My mom tells me I was the smiling and silly one of all my siblings growing up - so perhaps I will find out what it was like to raise me :)

Madison is talking up a STORM!  She said words like princess and doggy and cat and dark and light and will pretty much repeat anything I ask her to say. She has officially transitioned to a toddler bed and is starting to skip 78 percent of her naps. She is 2 1/2 years old and she is the cutest blue eyed blondie I've ever set my eyes on. I fall in love with her more every minute. She keeps Ben and James in check and whenever she can sneak in and climb to my perfume/lotion and smell good shelf she does. She climbs more than my boys ever did. She pushes the chairs to the tables and stands on my kitchen counter and tries to get at things that scare me to death. She has had far more bruises and scratches on her face than my boys ever did!  My baby is determined!

As for Will and I - I love him with everything I am. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. I count down the days til Friday-- he is gone a lot week nights studying and I am a total BABY when I go too long without seeing him! I have to get myself a hobby before I make him crazy!

Any who that is the long short of as the Blackhurst world turns. Tune in for twice 11 mins until our next entry!

Love,

Summer

Ps we Got a different dog! Pearl was sweet but she didn't really love kids So we switched her out for Skips - who is a PERFECT fit for our family!!!

Petri

I'm going to lead with James this time! He is talking up a storm and he says the cutest things!! So lets name a few... he calls our dog Pearl = "Purr low." He was trying to tell us something the other day "Pee Tree" Pee Tree" we couldn't figure it out until we looked out the window and saw his pee on the tree outside on the tree - where did he get that from! I have be doing a bunch of planting lately to get ready for spring and James is always right there by my side watering the plants with his bucket of water and then proclaiming "They are happy now!" Of course Will and I melt everytime he says "Thank you mommy" or "Thank you daddy" without prompting. One of his favorite phrases "He's not sharing" whenever someone has a treat or toy and James is convinced that it is whoever's responsibility to share with him, he has pointed out random kids he barely knows and tells on them in this manner. He is so so cute!

Ben is raring up for kindergarten he spends half of his time nervous about it and half the time excited. Ben is getting to be quite a responsible older brother he cleans his room with a little prompting and holds the Madison and James down in stores when they try to run off. I have been pleasantly surprised that instead of terrorizing our new dog he is becoming a little buddy to Pearl. I mean he still does some terrorizing but mostly they are a little team that runs around the neighborhood and Ben feeds her and scratches her little tummy. His new habit is to go around to all the neighbors houses to tell them the latest and greatest about his life. He does this all without telling me. The other day he snuck out of the house and went trick or treating to the neighbors-- the stinker took James and they both came home with a sucker!

Madison is smarter than a whip. She is very perceptive and puts us in our place when she doesn't get what she wants. Today Will chastised her and she wouldn't stop crying until he apologized and then after that she would be consoled. Maddy is tough, she doesn't shy away from jumping on the trampoline with her two rambunctious brothers and she doesn't complain when they topple on top of her. Madison also loves her mom she is a little more reserved than I am used to. James and Ben both have very few boundaries but Madison stays at my side with her hand in mine until she feels comfortable in new situations. Maddy loves the dog and the dog loves her-- mostly because Maddy is short enough to grab just about any food out of her hand with very little effort. And it doesn't help that Maddy will sneak food to the dog when I am not looking. Finally she was my best sleeper the first year of her life and now she is my hardest to get to go to sleep the second year of her life... totally opposite of the boys. Its like she has to decide when she will go to bed or she won't do it. She has been known to cry for five hours straight in the middle of the night if I don't come to her aid!

As for my William- I have not seen a lot of him lately and I miss him like crazy. He is studying every free moment he has to pass a very difficult accounting class he is enrolled in. My kids put me in looney town every other day and often by the time Will does come home I hand them off and go hide in my bedroom until I regain some semblance of sanity.   As for house projects since the bathroom remodel is pretty much done (except a few touch ups here and there) we have turned our focus to the garden. Will has cut sod out of our yard, built four garden boxes and brought in truck loads of dirt rock and sand. Meanwhile I have put together a rock path to our shed and Will is halfway done with a sandbox he is making for the kids....

Before garden picture

 Halfway done garden picture

The boys "helping" with the garden remodel

Halfway done sandbox

Things are going well in Blackhurst town. We are in love with our little family and with one another. Will and I went to the symphony a couple weeks back and I was reminded of the first time we held hands leaving the symphony about a decade ago Will reached down and held my hand for the first time! I was thrilled!

Hope alls well - keep with us on our journey!

Love,

Summer

Home Remodel and Pearl

From start to finish- Our master bath remodel January 2016- February 2016

Before

 The tear down

 The plans

 The framing

 The sheetrock 

 Shower bench

 Tiling

Walk in Closet

Vanity and Toilet

 Barn Door

 Shower

Pearl- 5 year old dog

The construction took two months and we only hired out the tiling and rough plumbing. With tons of help from family and friends we worked all day Saturdays straight and often into the night (poor William). We are thrilled to have the master bath almost completed- We still have to have the shower door installed and the medicine cabinet put in. 

The previous owner of the home came over and could not believe we were able to fit so much into such a small space. We could have never done that without my close friend's husband Brad!  We are so blessed to have so many good people in our lives. Thank you all for your help!!!!

As for the dog- I wanted one for me to keep me company while I work and everyone sleeps and Ben wanted one too so we got Pearl. At first Will was not too keen on the idea but he has since fallen for our cutie patootie Pearl dog. We adopted her from Hearts 4 Paws and she is 5 years old. 

Christmas and the New Year

It's journaling time again. Times are good. We have been blessed more than we could say with the generosity of family helping us update our home and with children who are growing and are pretty much our everything. Christmas was crazy busy. I am determined to start my christmas preparations in July this year so I can actually enjoy my holiday instead of rush too much. The new year has been full of tearing down walls in our bedroom and building back up a bathroom and closet--- more pics to come in our next blog post. So lets move on the kiddies:

Ben, Ben, Ben - what is one to say, I still wonder what he will grow up to be. He is so determined and very strong. He rarely cries and often can articulate the most complicated of topics. He is highly intuitive and very energetic. Needless to say sometimes I feel like a total failure raising such a spirited boy and some days I feel like a lucky mom- that I just get to sit back and watch greatness unfold.

James is adorable! He started primary this year and he is so friendly! He loves the friends in the class and he loves being called on to stand in front of the primary and participate. He has made the transition from nursery without a hitch. He is still right on his game with potty training. Rarely having an accident and he takes initiative to go himself now! He and Ben share a bed and James has proven to be the ultimate tease!!!! He is always giggling and always teasing and it makes Ben crazy sometimes!

Madison is a champion. She just switched from her crib to her toddler bed without a blink of an eye. I was so surprised. We lay her down and she goes right to sleep nap time or nightime!!! Totally the opposite of Ben who was weeks screaming behind his door before he taught himself to get in bed and stay in bed. Another thing about my little girl- I swear someone is going to report me to child protections services some day-- she ALWAYS has bruises on her face. She is classic for falling off of chairs. She loves to stand on them and doesn't really have the keeping both feet on the ground piece yet.

Will and I are a happy couple- we are watching as the life we have dreamed for is coming together. A beautiful home and beautiful children. We have worked hard and continue to work hard to see these promises fulfilled, we couldn't be more pleased with the blessings!

Well it's time to bid you adieu until another time. Keep the Faith and Love with all of your heart!

Love,

Summer

 The boys love harassing Maddy. 

Here she is with tape they put on her head and a kiss me sign on her back..