What in the world? I guess they were bored...

I opened my email this weekend to get some very interesting communications from my kids: 

How r u. I just feel like emailing something random. Gimme the money or all of the gummy bears and curios on planet wershbenshirer die. But if they don't die i will send them to Disney World. Does that sound threatening If it does than monkeys look like Miley hopentuffy. After they dance on the moon I will use a spoon to put pudding in there bellybutton. Then all the gummy bears will get a tuba and be told to poke a poka. Then the koalas and panda bears eat salads like chipmunks. And the cupcakes explode and end the human race. Once it explodes I will rule the animals cuz somehow they survived and the whales will say bloop-leibsvx-meigevjs. Because they like popcorn and kangaroo. Then a trumpet will stand and say" don't u know anything about trigonometry and the twelve seatrees While unicorns drive UFOs. Because when a stroodle explodes a poodle is born on wells. " and of course when somebody says that I say" well, when that poodle is old and has gray fur a star will come down and pass a note of sorrow to the poodle he will read it and say" my liver is burning in the stove!" So there for the gummy bears are gone and I have to go give a peacock a bath.

Sent from me! (Alyssa)


Ode to Chinchillas
Once when I was a lad I said to my mama" do we have any butter to sweeten my camel?" And she said " but all the spinach is drowning in lava flavored petunias and peanuts!" And that is big thing our country because that pollen in the red soup devours goats because giraffes talk in a British accents. Of course the teddy bear doctors can use CPR to revive the Oreos, but don't lose hope. The superman frogs will revenge us. Because when their pinky turns pink it turns into a butterfly, so I can't retrieve the milk from the chicken and the egg from cows. That is why dogs and purses are at war. The butterflies must help the frogs to save all banks before hot dogs try to take over the world. That means the dog are on fire and hold Twinkie's. So never give a cacti spaghetti and gas masks. To conclude this frightful essay I must say your pockets are filled with celery and beans. Do not get a tummy ache from turtles and hobos. Good bye you excellent domesticated cat.

Sent from me! (Alyssa)

Well, Alyssa, you forgot to mention the couches who were on strike against the snake dogs constitution. Also the rootbeer platypuses ( it is not platypi) will declare war saying that their mudflats and spatulas were better than the common colds. And, when lightbulbs are scared they play baseball better than Keisha "the fence" Post. Don't underestimate the roofs. They make you so mad that you implode, explode, implode, explode, until your internal organs are made of JELLO PUDDING. So just For your information, beware the mushroom caps that create see-saws out of thin tree bark. 

Thank you for your time you wicker love-seat.  

Thanks,
            Chayse Thompson


R.I.P Therapist
When my grape said" don't eat my kidney bean or else you will burp rainbows. " it changed my life forever. Because my therapist told me to stay calm when a pear makes fun of my button nose hair. I couldn't pick a pair of pickled peppers. I couldn't find little Bow peeps sheep. So of course when you can't do those things you move to Chicago. When you move to Chicago you have to say the oath: when the hippos rise again I will do the hokey pokey and turn my self around, that's what it's all about. That's the end. So Ned gave me a metal saying: peace out rabbits. It was so touching. But then I got an owl from my therapist saying: I DIED! I was so sad that I cried mustered. But I said don't be baby with braces. So I devoted my life to peanuts and puppy's. 

Sent from me! (Alyssa)

Duke of Potatoes
One October I remember that one Halloween that made my appendix shiver. I was eating an oatmeal orange ice cream while listening to a band of monkey toads, a man with a purple eyebrow said" do you what a cart of jelly beans with hot sauce and pickled toes. " and I said " would you like my salamander crockpot and potato in return of your cart of filthy ness. "   "yes"he replied. And we traded our stuff. Little did I know he was a sick slick silk soil snake of Sally's supper saucey soup of scarecrows. And a eating earl elephant epilogue of Easter excluding eggs. Echhhh! That yodeling yelling yucky yoke Yorky yak. And blabbering blueberry bubbling Brooke of bruised busted Bulgars.  That little leach loose losing lucky lurky library. Any way, he stole my wobbly wagon of its really weird rear wheels.  And never returned it. Don't you see his crime. Take your curtain and toothpaste and run to the land of glop. Because you will suffer the fluffy bunnies sickness.
       Yours regretfully,
                           Duke of potatoes

Sent from me! (Alyssa)

Poker Hose
Me and me jolly good pickles, like to dance all day long. While me pickles dance, I sing a rowing song. But when me pickles stop dancing I feel so very blue. So I pick up a kazoo. As I start humming away, me pickles start plunking away on a keyboard that has a great tune. Then in walks a baboon! He starts the hokey- pokey. A fish walked in and did the worm. A hippo, the robot.  A frog, the tango. We are a crazy bunch of bananas but we all love the kazoo!

Sent from me! (Alyssa)

HALLOGA!

Have you ever thought about bleach on top of giraffes? Or peanut butter on bologna with color coated beans? Well you can't find that anywhere else then HALLOGA DALLOGA! It is the place you will find anything that doesn't make sense! We have fish on trampolines, and goats with diabetes, and crocodiles filled up with goo! So please contact us at our phone number: 123-456-7890 or at our address: Weird lane E. Crazy lane N. or our email address: HALLOGADALLOGA.com.

  

Yours awesomely, Alyssa 

A half a year of humor.

Brady came home from school with a headache.  When I sympathized and asked why he said, "The mean Jackson was talking so loud he made one of my brain cells hurt."  (12.10.12)

We've all been hooked on playing Draw Something.  Someone had drawn the word "rattle" for Brady and he was having a hard time guessing it.  We were surprised and said, "Really?  You can't tell what that is?"  "No," he said, "it looks like a baby holding a maraca."  (12.11.12)

The kids were playing together and making evil laughs.  Brady got annoyed with it and said, "Will you guys stop mwah-ha-hawing?"  (12.16.12)

We were on the way down to Delta for the Henke Christmas party when Chayse and his cousin Bridger began commentary on some noises they were making. Their descriptions were almost funnier than the actual noises as they tried to out-do each others' descriptions. "Mine sounded like a cat giving birth." "Well mine sounded like a hippo dying while giving birth to a cat that was dying." (12.22.12)

Alyssa just told me that she has a new year revolution.  I think I'd better watch out!  (1.4.13)

Brady's idea of fast does not match mine.  One dinnertime he was moving slowly, as usual and I made a frustrated comment about his lack of speed.  Bryce said, "He moves at the speed of Brady, which is between the speed of cold tar and the speed of a glacier."  We laughed about that, then laughed even more as Brady showed us just what that speed looked like, in slow-mo, and with sound effects. (1.20.13) 

The kids were jamming out to some of their favorite songs.  Chayse played "I'm a Believer" which is one of Brady's favorites.  On the next song, Brady said, "What's the name of my 3rd favorite song?  The one you were just playing?  Oh, yeah.  I'm a Bit Evil."  We all got a chuckle out of that as we realized the song he was referring to and wondered if that was why it was one of his favorites.  And of course the kids had to play the song again and sing it with the new lyrics.

 

I guess my true character came out as I was preparing dinner one evening.  We decided to do a build your own pizza night and as I finished up the crust and was rounding everyone up to come put their toppings of choice on I said, "Okay, come decorate your pizza!"  For some reason Bryce thought that was very funny.  I though it made sense.  (1.26.13)

The kids all climb in our bed one morning and snuggled down. I started making fun of their exaggerated comfort.  Chayse sighed and said, "Your bed is always the most comfortable."  And Brady added his unexpected qualification of our room's greatness: "And it has the most wi-fi."  Well duh.  That's what makes the room tops for me too...

Chayse has taken to repeating conversations and imitating how he thinks we say things.  I don't think his imitations are very accurate. *wink, wink*  We were 'discussing' this fact but I couldn't remember the correct word I was going for so I said, "You're just trying to intimidate us!" (2.1.13)

Brady had a fun filled and educational day when he went snowshoeing at a nature center for a school field trip.  He said they saw some animals and learned some cool things.  I didn't realize how educational it was until the next day when he smelled an unpleasant odor and said, "Eww, that smells like scat!" (2.15.13)

We were in the grocery store and Brady kept taking things off the shelf to show me.  He's a good little reader, but still in that stage where a word stumps him now and then.  He grabbed some crackers and I couldn't help but laugh out loud as he said, "Look at these ones, they're tom a too flavor."  Most people would pronounce it tomato. (2.16.13) 

We were in Park City driving up the mountains to see the view and check out the Olympic venues.  Alyssa had been telling us all day that she really didn't like heights.  They make her feel nervous and sick.  She tried to explain it this way: "It's weird because I love miniature things but I don't like being far away from big things."  (2.16.13)

 

We were having an etiquette dinner for an FHE activity. We were discussing manners and being proper and gave examples of what it would be like in a fancy restaurant.  Brady gave us several chuckles throughout the experience.  A few minutes into the meal he asked, "Is it noisy at a delicate restaurant?"   We learned that you shouldn't just bite into your bread or roll.  To have good etiquette you should tear off little pieces of bread to put in your mouth.  Brady asked, "Will they kick you out if you don't?"   Then near the end of dinner he was getting a drink from his goblet while trying to hold up his pinkie.   I told him it was okay, he didn't need to do that to have manners and he said, "I know, that's for girls."  (2.25.13) 

Brady and I stopped to pick up Cafe Rio for dinner one night.  We were waiting in line for our turn when he turned to me with a look of "I've just had a revelation!" on his face.  He excitedly said, "I want to work at Cafe Rio when I grow up. I want to be the guy that puts the meat on."  We might need to work on his ambitions over the next couple of years. (3.2.13) 

 

Today was a crazy hair day at school.  As I was doing Alyssa's hair it was so funny to me how with each new step in the process she was getting giddier and giddier.  As I ratted and teased her hair she couldn't contain her bursts of excitement with laughter and funny little noises.  I did two puffs on the top of her head and put a headband behind each and she blurted out.  "Now I don't look like Elvis so much. Maybe more like Katie Perry."  I didn't follow her thought process so well even though I found it amusing.  But we finished the job and I did understand her final analysis, "Now I'm like Medusa. This is awesome!"  (3.12.13)

Brady said, "My teacher paid me a compliment today.  She said I had a loud voice so she moved me to the quiet group."  We were pretty confused about this 'compliment' until he explained that it was his music teacher.  (3.12.13)

We were playing a ball game in Brady's room and he kept tooting when he jumped up to block the ball.  A few minutes later as he gather up the stray balls he mused, "I wonder if professional basketball players fart when they play a game?"  (3.13.13)

Alyssa had been complaining of her chest hurting for a few days.  She mentioned it again this morning and I tried to mentally prep her for a big maturation talk we were going to have soon by saying, "I have a book I want to read with you about all those girl things."  She looked thoughtful then said, "Is it about unicorns and all that stuff?"  I think the book will be very eye opening for her.  (3.14.13)

After scriptures one morning we were all lounging and still trying to wake up.  All of a sudden Brady hops up and said, "Peace out!" and walked away.  It was so out of the blue and bizarre we thought it was so funny. (3.18.13)  He did it again several weeks later when he had been in our room talking with Bryce and I.  But this time he said, "Peace out, parents." (4.7.13)

Brady: "Mom will you come tell me a folk tale.  About yourself." (3.26.13)   

We were talking about our bucket lists at dinnertime. Most of us had a few adventurous or obscure things to mention.  Brady, of course, kept us laughing as he ended his reasonable list with "take a nap."

Brady: "Mom, do people put food coloring drops in their eyes if they want to change their eye color? (4.13.13)

Brady: "Mom, are band aids so you don't have to see the grossness?" (5.1.13)

The kids were running through the sprinklers having a blast. They were trying different ways to get through and Brady found one he liked. He told Alyssa to take the psycho path. That's what he called his path.  (5.14.13)

We went to dinner with most of the Thompson siblings to celebrate Mom and Dad Thompson's mission homecoming.  We brought our kids and they sat with Paula and Alan's kids at a table near us.  Soon we hear gales of laughter as they are giving each other 'Indian' names.  For some reason they were all comparing hand sizes and Chayse's hands were even smaller than Alyssa and Lydia's, so Alyssa dubbed him Puny Palms.

I was trying to explain to Bryce how Chayse had told me a story of when he was at scouts and one of the boys called "shotgun!" as they were hurrying to their rides. So Chayse ran without even thinking about it and said his leg felt normal and good. (A big deal!)  It was a great thing, but I flubbed up the story as I tried to recall the right words and hesitantly said, "They called.....sling shot?  No....butt shot?  What was it, oh yeah, 'Shot gun!'"  Bryce hadn't laughed that hard for a long time.

Bryce was looking through some old family photos of my family and complimented me.  He said, "How did I get so lucky to marry the prettiest daughter?"  I smiled and replied, "I actually had a very similar thought this week, but my thought said, 'How did I get so lucky to get the best looking son?"  Brady overhearing us and with his all too quick wit said, "Are you talking about me or Chayse?"  (5.19.13)

 

At the Four Corners monument we were browsing shops of jewelry, collectibles and handmade items.  Brady was in love with all of the arrowheads we were seeing and trying to choose between and satisfactorily stated, "This place is made for me." We bought the kids a stuffed animal souvenir while at Mesa Verde.  The kids hate the tags that come on stuffed animals so they always want them cut off so the animal looks more realistic.  Because of that I was surprised when Chayse put a sticker on the rams behind, but it made sense to them because it was an "air freshener."

While on that trip we were having a conversation about what we would do if we had to hold our own church meeting.  The kids were coming up with scenarios when Brady piped up, "If we had to do that, mom, you could be the primary teacher.....or the bishop."

Brady had a weird rash on our trip and as we tried various things to ease or help heal the bumps he complained, "I think my sores are having babies." (5.26.13)

 

I complimented Brady on being good at puzzles. He took the compliment in stride. "Yeah, that's what I do." (6.2.13)

 

Brady found a stick on our walk to school and started pretending it was a bow and arrow.  His eyes lit up with an idea and said, "If I had arrowheads I would use them as heads on my arrows."  The statement was so obvious and yet an enlightenment to him that it was just so cute.  (6.2.13)

Another time walking to school we passed a big chunk of cement and dirt in the middle of the sidewalk that wasn't there on previous walks. Gotta love a little boys perspective as he asked, "Is that a meteor or an asteroid?" (6.3.13)

 

Chayse's latest obsession has been the atlatl.  He loved learning about them at Mesa Verde (and before in school apparently) and says it is "officially the coolest weapon ever!" and is determined to build one. (He actually did build several that worked!) (6.4.13)

 

At bedtime Brady never wants to let me go. He always wants a "mommy hug" and will hang onto my neck forever before I can slip out or convince him to let go.  It is cute, but can be annoying and frustrating at times when I am ready to go to bed as well and he won't let go.  One night he reminded to be more patient with his loves when he said in the sweetest way, "My most favorite thing in the whole world is to be with you. And every time I see you I never want you to leave."  Melted my heart.

It was 1st grade graduation so I was doing Brady's hair (not a typical everyday go to school activity for us).  I slicked it down, Sunday like and he looked in the mirror and said, "I look good!  My hair molds nicely... (6.5.13)

Alyssa gave the lunch prayer and said, "Please bless Chayse that he won't be so annoying," which of course elicited giggles through the rest of the prayer.  But it also came with clapping and cheers of "Great prayer!" from Brady after the amen.  Lunch became a food fight that included a dill pickled plopped in a green smoothie and cheese sticks up the nose.  What in the world has happened to my children!?!  And this was only the first day of summer for us!!  Apparently it has brought out the craziness here.  I thought we had moved on from the absurdness and then I hear a yell from outside, "Mom, come quick!"  So I go out to find my two boys trying to kill a snake with some spears.  I repeat...what in the world has happened to my children?  I am so not used to this wild behavior!  Brady also ended lunchtime with, "I'm going to tell my children about this day..." (6.10.13)

 

Brady: "Mom, what do you call a vegetarian that eats bacon?" (6.11.13)

We were heading into Yellowstone and were going to stop to gas up. Bryce told Chayse and Bridger that they had a duty to perform when we stopped....to wash the windows so we could see out better to watch for animals. They good naturedly agreed to the task then Chayse, very suddenly super excited asked,  "Oh, do they have squeegees?!"  We said yes, and he said in a low, gristly still very excited voice, "I love squeegees!" It was hilarious and even more so when a few minutes later the excitement hadn't passed he added, "I'm so excited to squeegee!!!" (6.17.13)

 

I was helping Brady with Legos and we kept having to improvise pieces because we couldn't find the specific ones he was looking for.  At one point he was going to use a one stud in a certain place but just couldn't bring himself to do it because it was "too uncomfortable."

Alyssa: "When I get married I want pudding and cake at my wedding. My husband will NOT be allergic to pudding."

 

As I was trying to understand Alyssa's specific desires for the backpack she wanted for school she explained it this way: "I want a simple, cute, sophisticated, 6th grader backpack. I like little pockets but they're not good for me cuz I put junk in them. (6.21.13) 

 

Alyssa wasn't feeling well. She said she felt like dying. Dad said he didn't like her saying that so she said, "How 'bout a long nap in the dirt?" (6.23.13) 

On a summer outing with the Jepsen's we went to the top of the church office building to see the areal view of temple square.  Marilee pointed it out to the kids and Brady made us smile as he muttered, "That doesn't look like much of a square to me."  (6.25.13)

Having breakfast, Brady sighed heavily and said, "Mom, why do you have to make such good jam..." (6.28.13)

Chayse's Leg Surgery

Chayse had tibial rotation surgery on his left leg on Dec. 4, 2012 at Primary Children's Hospital with a pediatric orthopedics doctor, Stephanie Holmes.  It was a surgery done by choice in hopes of correcting his leg that was turned in the most.  After several broken bones, years of tripping and falling, knee pain, ankle pain and injuries, we decided to look into the options and were told that now would be a good time to do it.  Things sort of fell into place financially and with an opening in the surgery schedule and the more we thought it through, felt like it was an ideal time to do it (he could recover partially during the winter break from school and have time to heal before summer activities and camps were here).  We left the final decision up to Chayse, because it is, after all  his body.  After much prayer, fasting and thought, he decided to do it.  It was a hard decision (perhaps hardest for me, being an emotional woman and a mom and all), but he is a realistic, analytical and tough kid.  He knows how to recover from broken bones :), and we were hopeful the pain would be more controlled with the surgery.  We are all hopeful for a higher quality of life for him as well as some self confidence in doing physical things.  We had lots of family and friend support as we asked for fasting and prayers on his behalf, which we truly appreciated.  It really helped.

Here is some of the experience in Chayse's words from an email he sent to his friends:

Being here is fun but hard.  I get unlimited room service, I have ordered mozzarella cheese sticks with sauce, pizza, an Oreo shake, really good beef jerky, a giant soft pretzel, and a veggie tray.

I can't feel my leg. I have an IV in my hand and they pump fluid and medicine so they don't have to give me any shots. They gave me some one size fits all pants, gown thing, and socks. They put me on a rolling bed after the operation and rolled me into room 2012. I will never forget that number. :) I walked to the OR (operating room) with the anesthesiologist a little after 1:30. He took me to the freaky OR. There are like 10 doctors in there and 2 spotlights right on my "special" bed. I lied down and the anesthesiologist gave me an oxygen mask with strawberry "flavored" air that was supposed to put me to sleep. It smelled funny but like strawberries. It went over my mouth and nose and I was just supposed to breath. I could tell that it was denser than normal air. I start to breathe and it felt weird. I was thinking I don't feel anything and then my eyes closed and I jumped and thought to myself this stuff really works within two more breaths I was out. Next thing I know I am in the recovery room at 5:00 and felt like I had a good nights sleep. He gave me a rootbeer slushie and got my mom. My eyes were very heavy I wasn't tired but my eves were heavy. Then he calls a guy to take me to my room. He rolls my bed through the room monitoring my vitals like a dingo watches a human baby.  Every couple of minutes the monitor goes "beep beep beep beep!" Very loudly. He yells take deep breaths so I start breathing hard until I hear the beeping go away. He rolls me into my room where I have a tv, a reclining bed, and an Xbox! Oh yeah!  After the nurse is done checking me I ask for some games. 

The nurse brings me really good grape juice a lot and gave me a cool mug.  I got a get well package from my cousins in Wisconsin.  They gave me a Chicago bears hat and 4 candy bars.  They also gave me get well cards. 

Now here comes the shocking news.  Dun dun dun!  I will not be on crutches at school!  I will be in a wheelchair!  I almost passed out because I had it in my head that I was going to be on crutches but I will be in a wheelchair for 6 weeks!  They have me in a splint right now.  They also told me that I shouldn't go to school until I have a cast a week from Friday.  Reply and tell me what color I should get!  I am sending this email at 1:50 in the morning because I am not tired.  I have like 10 pillows and blankets so I am very comfortable.  I still can't feel my lower leg so it feels weird.  There are like 10 different wires going out and into me some on my toes some in my leg there are a few on my upper body and the one on my hand.  I will send some pictures tomorrow.  Good bye. :) 
Chayse Thompson

The surgery was two hours with another hour for him to wake up.  They said everything went well and looked good.  I spent the night with Chayse at the hospital.  Bryce came back the following day and we spent a few hours there waiting to get checked out.  While we waited Chayse played bingo with the hospital staff.  They have a live channel and play the game with any patients that want to participate.  They were having people call in jokes, so Chayse called one in and he made everyone laugh.  We got a kick out of it because the guy on camera really started laughing and he'd only given chuckles to the previous jokes.  :)  "Why was the snowman kicked out of the grocery store?  Because he was picking his nose."

It's true, the wheelchair news was a shock to me too. Nobody bothered to explain that part of the recovery to us during our pre-op visit. And I even thought I was asking the right questions...  I've been slightly frustrated with the way doctors communicate and DON'T communicate during this whole process.  But we have worked through the kinks and made it work. By the end of the first week, Chayse was getting antsy and tired of being stuck upstairs in bed so I took him to basketball with me Friday morning.  We ended up not playing because all the buildings were in use for Christmas party preparations. So instead we went for a walk with my good friend, Marilee.  It was chilly, but really nice to be outside and moving.  We both really enjoyed that.

It's certainly been a challenge.  The first week was full of medication schedules and trying to help him be comfortable and keep his foot elevated.  He had a continuous nerve block catheter placed just above his knee that numbed his whole lower leg for about three days.  That was nice in a way, but it was also nice once we could remove it.  We had to figure out a creative way to shower him without getting his leg wet and so he could sit.  We found a good routine with putting a lawn chair in our shower with the handheld shower.  We both looked forward to not having to do that anymore.  :)  

The wheelchair thing was hard.  The first day at school it was all 'fun' and novel.  He got a key to use the elevators at school and figured out which friends could push him to which classes.  But the fun didn't last long and kids can be awfully mean. It's been disappointing and frustrating how often his obvious need for help getting through doors has been ignored by masses of people standing around at school.  It's very nice when students will actually open the door or ask if they can help.  Such a simple thing, but it really makes a difference.  He's also run into difficult issues with kids just shoving him randomly away when he's having a conversation with someone, or they jump on the back of the wheelchair and try to roll the wheels with their feet, or they just call him mean names.  Yes, kids can be mean.  It's definitely heightened our appreciation for mobility and also heightened our compassion for those who don't have the hope of being done with the wheelchair in six weeks.  Especially with all the snow we've had this winter, it makes life in a wheelchair all the more challenging.  He did have a few kind friends bring him some cookies while he was laid up and he thought that was pretty great and lifted his spirits!

  

He got his cast on about a week after the surgery.  He went for red this time.  We tried to use duct tape and make it a candy cane for the holidays, but it didn't work so well.  So he did the traditional covered in signatures look.  Having the cast was nice in a way because it was lighter and more rigid than the split, but he still couldn't put any weight on it at all for 6 weeks.  After he got his cast on his entire leg broke out in a horrible, raised, itchy rash.  It appears he had an allergic reaction to chloraprep, which was used to scrub his leg down before the surgery.  The doctor said it is very rare, of course.  They apparently switched from an iodine based cleanser to this one because lots of people were having reactions to iodine stuff.  Yay for Chayse.  It was awful for him.  It itched like crazy for weeks and his leg is now riddled with sores from all the scratching. 

We had to stop at Target on the way home so he could legitimately use the scooter carts, of course!

He got the cast off on Jan. 18, 2013.  Here are his x-rays with the plate and screws.

We were excited for that step and looked forward to the added mobility using a walking boot and crutches would offer, even though it was still difficult for him to get around school, it was better than the wheelchair.  He was supposed to start physical therapy then but when they cut the cast off they found that part of the incision site was open and there was an infection.  Super bad news.  Who knows how long the infection had been there...and if it got down in the bone via the screws it would mean surgery again.  Since then he's been on two rounds of heavy antibiotics given around the clock.  It's been about three months since it was discovered and it is still not healed.  It has been extremely frustrating.  We've been back to the surgeon several times and gotten very little help or information.  I finally took him into a wound care specialist and had high hopes for that visit.  But left it feeling very frustrated and discouraged as well.  It's a long story that I won't go into other than to say that I'm very frustrated with medical professionals at the moment.  We've been doing our best to treat it the way they said to, combining what knowledge we did receive from both doctors.  It is finally getting smaller, but it's still not all the way healed.  At least he doesn't have as big a gaping hole in his leg anymore, and we were FINALLY able to start the physical therapy last week.  They wouldn't let us before because the movement would aggravate the wound, so Chayse was stuck in the boot for an extra 6-8 weeks.  It was very frustrating for him.  

Chayse has been a trooper.  He's definitely had a few emotional and discouraged days.  But he has plugged along and made the most of a difficult situation.  I really am so proud of him.  It has not been easy. He's had a lot pain, discomfort, inconveniences, doubts and emotional struggles.  For one thing, his scout troop has done mostly physical things these past 4 months that he can't participate in.  He is having a hard time wanting to go to scouts right now.  But he was really excited to be able to pass the sacrament again when he got to start wearing the walking boot.  It was awesome to see his recognition of something valuable in his life.  In fact, one Sunday he started back up with collecting fast offerings.  So here was Chayse in his walking boot and he was paired with his friend Lincoln who was borrowing Chayse's crutches for a sprained ankle.  They were quite the pair tromping slowly around the neighborhood collecting the fast offerings.  Our neighbor even mentioned them in her testimony that Sunday about how their dedication was a testimony builder to her.  It was sweet.  When he puts his mind to it, he can make good things happen.  And it's nice when he can put a positive spin on things, like recognizing each new improvement such as noticing when his foot faces forward...

or making a cool graphic on the computer to memorialize his experience...

There have been a few times when I was also discouraged, felt so sorry for him, and worried that we'd made the wrong choice.  We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this infection (that one doctor says isn't really an infection?, so confusing...) has really thrown us for a loop and we are still in the midst of this weird waiting game that is not a fun game at all.  I do have high hopes for the physical therapy.  He needs to regain balance, strength and mobility and I'm feeling positive that the exercises will certainly help.  He basically needs to retrain his brain how to walk with the different configuration of his leg and foot.  They say it could take 6 months to a year before it feels 'normal.'  It's been quite the process and journey going through the experience, that is for sure.  We are glad to be on this end of it.   

A visit from the EaST's.

We were excited to learn that our holiday break would include a visit from Ernie and Stacie's family.  They spent three days with us and we really enjoyed their visit.  The kids had a grand time with their cousins.  We ate lots of good food, played games and had time to visit.  Stacie and I both had some serious stress and drama going on with our callings, so it was nice to share perspectives and experiences.  And Ernie and Bryce always seem to enjoy being together.  They did a lot of work on our video library storage.

We had to, of course, have oreos and milk one night.  It's becoming a tradition whenever we get together with them.  The kids got to use their new mugs.  They were pretty excited.

Since we weren't able to fit gingerbread house decorating into our busy holiday schedule (a favorite tradition that the kids sorely missed!) I made some big gingerbread cookies and let the kids decorate them together.

 I think they enjoyed it.

On Saturday, the Ward's joined us for lunch...

 ...and a rousing card game.

Emalee really enjoyed the gingerbread cookies. 

The girls had a ball playing 'mormon' barbies.  Don't ask.  All I can tell you is they were modest and held church services.  At one point they came down asking for bread and water.  It was a good opportunity to teach about how we need to keep some things sacred and not imitate them.

We invited the rest of the Thompson clan to join us for dinner so they could have some time with Ernie and Stacie's family as well.  We had a big pot of clam chowder and one of chili.  It was yummy and fun to have a full house for the evening.

Ernie and Stacie's family stayed with us for Sunday as well and we enjoyed that they could come to church with us.  We had a great Sunday dinner.  (Food always seems to taste better at family gatherings for some reason.)  They had to drive back to St. George that night so we headed to Salt Lake with them and visited the Temple Square lights.  It had been years since we went and was something they were hoping to do, so we were glad we could do it together.  It was FREEZING that night, but we weathered it long enough to enjoy some beautiful sights.

We were sad to see them go.  We had a great time with them and were very glad they took the time to stay with us.  It made our holidays more fun and memorable for sure!

Christmas Eve & Day

Christmas Eve finally came and we were ready and excited.  After dinner we read the Christmas story by candlelight.  It was lovely.

There truly is something magical about sitting under the twinkle of the tree lights.

We let the kids open their Christmas Eve gifts, which, according to tradition, are pajamas.  The kids were not happy or excited about what they thought would be their presents.  But it was so fun to see their joy when they opened them and realized they really were happy with them.  Chayse and Alyssa got robes sinces they had outgrown theirs and Brady got some MUCH needed footie pj's (his favorite!) since he had really outgrown his as well. (Which, by the way, I thought were just camouflage but really turned out to be dinosaurs.  Funny thing.)  I've never seen kids so happy about pj's and bathrobes! They were thrilled...especially the zebra girl! They literally tackled me with thankful love. So fun. I'm so grateful to have such good kids.

Funny story about the gifts.  I'd already purchased them and all three kids had mentioned to me at some point before Christmas what they wanted, and I was pretty excited because what they wanted was exactly what I had gotten.  Brady mentioned wanting new zipper pajamas because he was noticing the sleeves on his getting shorter and shorter and the slippers being tighter and tighter.  Chayse wanted a robe that helped absorbed water. And I was shopping with Alyssa one day and she saw a robe with animal ears and freaked out! Then out of the blue she said, "Mom, my tastes have changed.  I really like funky things...like zebra stripes!  I love zebra!"  Little did they know that exactly what they wanted was already waiting for them. It made me excited for Christmas.

 

 

We were enjoying the evening when a knock came at the door and Bishop Berlin stuck his head in to drop off a little treat for our family.  I saw him a few Sunday's later and he warmed my heart so much when he stopped to tell me what a special, touching treat it was for him to get a peek into our home that night.  He is a man I greatly admire so that meant a lot to me.

 

When all was said and done and it really was time to go to bed there was much debate about when the kids could wake us up in the morning.  They, of course, wanted it much earlier than we did, but a compromise was reached that was early but not too early.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of them as they sat at the top of the stairs after family prayer on Christmas morning, eagerly awaiting our okay to head down.  I so remember doing the same thing with my siblings growing up.

 

Santa gifts and stockings are always fun. 

There were several surprises that really tickled the kids like Webkinz animals, paintable birdhouses, pink ties, magnetic earrings, scented notebooks, fuzzy slippers, stylus' and cashews.

This was the beginning of a morning of screams from Alyssa.  She was sooooo excited about many gifts.  She would let her jaw drop and couldn't contain her happiness and excitement.

The best part was that her sheer joy was from the simplest of things: a box of colorful gel pens, a cupcake calendar, and peanut butter to name a few things!

 

 

There were three identical, cubed shaped presents under the tree that Chayse was absolutely convinced he knew what they contained.  I knew there was no way he could know what they were, especially since they were a last minute, very much on a whim gift.  He and I had quite the arguement about it, but he could not be swayed that he was not all knowing.  He got a scale and a ruler and would mysteriously research something on the computer.  With all of his precision research he was even more convinced he was right so he wanted to prove it to us.  He wrote his prediction down on a piece of paper, put tape over it to 'laminate it, emptied a raw egg and slipped the paper inside.  He turned it into an ornament and hung it on the tree for us to crack open before they opened the boxes to prove that he knew. 

I was quite perplexed by this adamant behavior, but he was convinced.  So we cracked open his egg....and he was wrong.  :)

They were personalized mugs with pictures of the kids as babies, preschoolers and then this year.  It was quite hilarious because, coincidentally, the boxes were the exact dimensions and weight as Lego Mindcraft boxes.  He wasn't disappointed though and as time had progressed he became less sure of his conviction.  The kids all really actually like their mugs.  When we went to Wisconsin they wanted to adopt Ernie and Stacie's tradition of everyone having their own mug to eat oreo's and milk.

 

Everyone was very thoughtful this year.  This kids all budgeted and spent their own money for gifts. It is so, so fun to see our kids be excited (and worried and anxious) about making other people happy.  It was very sweet because they were all very concerned that they chose the right gifts for everyone.  And they all did great!  Chayse surprised the kids with transformers and peanut butter.

 

 

Brady even found some great little treasures at DI that fit his budget so he could buy his gifts all by himself. Alyssa found some cool soaps & body scrubbers for the boys. 

 

The kids were so please and grateful for all they got. Alyssa loved her dance bag, scripture bag, dressy boots, and Sister's Grimm books. Chayse was very happy with his Case-It binder/bag for school, a surprise transformer of his own, a diablo yo-yo and a new Utah sweatshirt. Brady was excited for 2 new Lego video games, a treasure chest and shrinky-dinks. (Boy did we have fun with those shrinky dinks!!  Especially making earrings for Alyssa's new hoop clip ons.)

 

Dad surprised the family with a Halo edition of Xbox 360.  Chayse started screaming like Alyssa had been all morning.

Dad was full of surprises this year because he also surprised Alyssa with a glass heart necklace that she'd been oogling on our trip to North Dakota

And he really surprised me with a Blentec blender and some Zumba CD's.  I was not expecting it at all!  In fact I'd talked him out of both several times in the last few years. But with my recent recommittment to and love of green smoothies, the blender has been used...a ton...and been so worth it. (He knew I would eventually say, "You're right.  I'm so glad you bought this.") The kids surprised me with jewelry and chocolate. Happiness!

I also had some surprises up my sleeve for Bryce with a clock for his newly painted garage and a terrycloth bathrobe. He was happy and surprised!



I'm sure we won't remember everything we got this year, but I honestly hope to never forget the wonderful feeling of the day.  My heart was full of love at the thoughtfulness and kindesses that were show, for the joyful reactions and words of thanks, and for all of the hugs that were given and received with open hearts.  We created a mess that morning but also built some beautiful memories along the way.