Future Farmers

These pictures are from September, but I am really behind in my normal blog posts. Every fall when my Dad starts combining the boys like to go out and ride in the combines and in the big grain cart. Davis could ride for hours, Marcus not so much. Davis says that he likes to ride in the Grain Cart better because the guy who drives it goes faster, and he lets him drive the tractor. This year when we went out they were combining south of Kimball by the river. We went out on a very beautiful day. It was so cool to see the combines right in front of the mountains.

While the boys were having their rides, my Dad took me down by the river to look for bears. Luckily we didn't see any because it was too hot that day. Dad was disappointed, but I was only slightly disappointed. He kept telling me that where we were that day is his favorite spots to combine. He also told me that he loves how pretty the land is around the river. I had to agree. I really did grow up in a beautiful part of the country.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

This is Drew.

This is the first time I have had a chance to look at this blog and I am blown away by your support.

As Marty mentioned we are now home and I am slowly on the mend. Unfortunately it will be weeks before I get back to "normal", but I am so happy to be back with my family. I had not seen my boys for about 3 weeks so yesterday was a very emotional one. I am still in a fair bit of pain and hence must keep myself drugged up. I get tired just walking around the house and am already feeling guilty for my inability to help out (I cannot pick up my kids, drive, or do much of anything). But I am working at it and hope to improve quickly.

I am feeling a little self conscious right now as I have lost over 15 pounds over the past 3 weeks, and as you know I really did not have 15 pounds to lose. When I look at myself in the mirror I hardly recognize myself.

I would just like to take a minute to express my infinite gratitude for all those who have helped me over the past 3 weeks:

(1) My dear wife. Marty was by my side nearly every second, and I know I would not have made it without her. She continues to be a great help to her "invalid" husband. I am blown away by her strength.

(2) My parents. They basically put their lives on hold to be by my side in the hospital. And I am confident they often felt the same pain and anguish I did.

(3) Marty's parents. Delton & Brenda watched our boys while we were in Calgary. I cannot express how grateful I am for their help and support.

(4) All of the rest of my family for their support and help. They have done so much to help Marty and I keep our home and life on track. There are truly too many of you to list.

(5) All those who included me in their prayer and fasting. In the hospital I often felt guilty as I was feeling sorry for myself when there are so many others who have been (and are enduring) so much worse then me. But as never having dealt with something like this it felt pretty hard at the time, and I am confident that it was your faith, prayers & fasting that got me through.

(6) My fellow teachers at Lethbridge College. This came up so suddenly I was forced to desert my classes basically overnight. I am incredibly grateful for those teachers who covered (and continue to cover) my classes. This was such a huge weight off of me.

(7) All those who have brought my family meals. It may seem like a small thing but it just one less thing to worry about.

There are so many others I could thank but I think you know who you are and I will leave it there, and just say again thank you and I love you! I pray that I will have the opportunity to pay all of you back in some small way someday.

Friday November 13

The best sentence ever...We're home.

Thursday November 12

We had lots of good things happen again today. Drew got his final chest tube out (YAY), and he got his IV pole taken away. It is a lot easier to go for walks without having to unplug a million things and not have to lug around a that ridiculous pole. They also started giving his antibiotics and pain meds orally. So that means we are a few steps closer to going home. At lunch time, Drew was so sick of being in his room and eating hospital food that he had ate take-out in the cafeteria. He also is eating my dinner left-overs. The crap part of our day was that he got moved to the over-flow room. They said he isn't sick enough to be in a real room. That last bit is good, but the over-flow room is incredibly crappy. Hopefully, it is just for a day or two.

Tuesday November 11

Happy Remembrance Day. Drew's roomate LeRoy is a vetran from World War 2, and he had his picture in the Calgary Sun today from when he was in the army. So of course he had to show us and the nurses, and I told him what a handsome 16 year old he was. Drew made some more progress. He got his second chest tube out, all 33 of his staples out, and he hasn't used any oxygen since yesterday. So, I really hope that he continues on the right path. We went for a really long walk today. We went down the elevator and to the cafeteria and around his unit twice. At the time, he had tons of energy and wanted to keep going, but by the time we got back he was pretty wiped. So, tomorrow's plan is to take out the last chest tube, and after that take him off the PCA, and onto oral meds. I can't wait to go home.

Tuesday November 10

We keep seeing a bit more progress every day, and it is wonderful!! Today Drew got one of his chest tubes out, was on oxygen just in the morning (I kept checking his levels and they were great, just to make sure (mine were 98, I had to check mine too)). We also went for a ton of walks today. We even ventured out with Drew in a wheelchair to another floor. It was a bit of a gong show, but he was so happy to get out of his unit. One of the great parts of my day was that my friends Erin and Shay came and took me out for a really, really yummy lunch at some swanky restaurant. Drew's surgen, Dr. McFadden said that they are going to pull a tube every day, then take him off the PCA, and give him meds orally. If all that goes well, he could be home by early next week. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed, and praying really hard.

Monday November 9

I thought that I would give an update on how we are doing in the big city of Calgary. Let me just say that our GPS is my new best friend, and I will never go anywhere without it. Drew had a good day today. He had an x-ray this morning, which the doctors were happy about the way it looked. The chest tubes are in the right place and they are doing what they are supossed to be doing. The suction on them was also reduced to just when he is in bed. The next phase is to reduce them to gravity, and then to no chest tubes, which may happen as early as tomorrow. Drew and I also went for some good walks around the halls. We had a really long one in the morning, and then our afternoon one was without oxygen. It tired him out, but he worked so hard. I was so proud. Also, his oxygen is down to 1 L, only when he needs it. He has been working really hard at doing all the things the doctors ask, at his breathing and bed exercises. As for me, I am so glad that he is out of isolation. I spent the day hooking and un-hooking him up, reading, and watching "Heroes" on Drew's IPod. Drew is a little bit frustrated with how slow his recovery is, but he really is making huge progress. I want to especially thank Bart and Lindsey Jensen for so graciously opening up their home to me. Also, thank you so much Nikki for taking me out for dinner last night. It was so good to see you!!

Update Monday Nov. 9

Things are continuing to move in the right direction. They took X-Rays this morning and the doctor said they looked good! He is down to 1 liter of oxygen and he only uses it when he feels it's necessary. He is now able to get up and walk a little bit They are decreasing his pain meds, which he is a little nervous about. By decreasing his pain meds this should help improve his breathing and increase his appetite and energy level. We are praying that we will continue to have good news to report! Thank you all for your prayers!

Saturday November 7

Today was a fairly good day. Drew's oxygen is down to 1.5 L, and he had it off for a bit, he walked down the hall, his pain meds are reduced, and he got his pee tube taken out. Plus, he had lots of visitors to keep him company (Mandy, Robyn, Nicki, Grandma Wolsey and Brett Barfuss). His sisters were nice enough to take me to the mall for a bit of a break, and I am home for the night to get my car and to see my boys for a few hours. Drew is starting to get better, but he is frustrated that it is such a slow process, and that the nurses on his floor aren't quite as wonderful as the ICU nurses. The doctors are saying that he might be able to come home (home and not back to the Lethbridge Hospital) in a week, and off isolation on Monday. I can't wait.

Updated as of Nov 6th 12:00pm

Hello, I talked to mom today and she said that Drew will be moving to a surgical floor where the surgeon who preformed his surgery will be looking after him. He is now on 3liters of oxygen which is down from the 6-7 liters he was on before. The pain pump will be moving with him. Drew is still in isolation for the time being. He still has the 3 chest tubes in that where put in during the surgery. They are still monitoring for infection. He is on some pretty heavy duty anti biotic right now, so they are hoping that will combat any possible infections.

Thursday Night

Hello Everyone, this is Marty. I just want to start off by thanking everyone for everything. I really do appreciate all the comments that you have left, all the prayers, all the...there are too many things to manage. Especially, thanks to Drew's sisters for keeping you all updated. As of tonight, Drew is doing well. He was able to get the ventilator taken out this afternoon, and he is loving not having it in. He was quite frustrated not being able to communicate with us. Our incredible nurse, Sandy, said that because he doesn't smoke (yes Chris, this is a hint) and he is very active, it was able to come out so soon. They also gave him a pain pump to better manage his pain. He is no longer feeling any pain from his lungs, but just his incision, which is massive. He just needs to remember to practice deep breathing. He has even moved his oxygen level down from a 6 to a 3 (since I am not a medical person at all, not entirely sure what that means, but whatever). The doctors even think that he might be out of ICU by tomorrow, and out of isolation by the weekend, so we are hoping he keeps up the good work. Once, again. We can not thank everyone enough for all the prayers and well wishes. I know that I sometimes live in a bubble, and take for granted all the wonderful people that I have in my life. This has been a life changing experience for us.

Update as of Nov 5 th 5:00 pm

We got a call from mom saying that the breathing tube is now out and they have set Drew up with a pain pump to help manage his pain. Other than that we are still going on no new is good news.

updated as of 1:00pm Nov, 5, 2009

Hello everyone, I just talked to my mom a few minutes ago and she says Drew is awake and aware for the most part. They have him on some pretty heavy pain meds right now so they are trying to keep him awake as much as possible. The breathing tube is still in but they hope to be taking it out this afternoon. They only had to put it in for the surgery so they are thinking he will manage OK without it. The Doctors expect him to be in a significant amount of pain due to the long surgery and are planning to try some different pain medications after the breathing tube comes out. During the surgery they where able to clear out the left lung of any fluid and blood and where also able to inflate it, so now it will be up to Drew to start breathing with it now. The Doctor are now just monitoring him closely for infections that could come about due to the surgery. Drew has a full time nurse monitoring him at all times and seems like he is in really good hands there in Calgary. We are all trying to be optimistic at this point and the more time that goes by without incident the better. We will update again when there is more news.

update nov 5 9:00am

We just talked to mum and she just called up to the hospital and they said that Drew had a good night. He is still intubated(not sure if that's how it's spelled) but they will hopefully be removing the breathing tube sometime today after doing some tests. They will continue to carefully monitor him as he still isn't out of the woods yet but we are feeling very optimistic that the surgery went so well and that he has been stable throughout the night.

update as of 11:45pm Nov. 4, 2009

Well we just got news that Drew is now out of surgery and it went well. The doctor is saying he is optimistic because Drew did so well during the surgery. He will be monitored closely over the next 12 to 24 hours to make sure he is recovering from this part of his ailment properly. There will be more in depth to follow, but we figured we should let people know this for now anyways! He still has a long road ahead of him, but this is a good step, thanks for keeping him in your prayers!

After reading some of the comments on facebook it seems that some people are unsure about what got Drew to this point. Just to clear it up. Drew was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday with pneumonia as a result of having H1N1. The pneumonia has continued to worsen and they have been trying for a week now to figure out how to help him. That is of course the condensed version.

updated as of 7:15pm

We just got a call and Drew is now getting prepped for surgery. We will keep updating as we hear how the surgery it going.

update as of 6:40pm Nov 4, 2009

Hey... Just wanted to give the latest update on Drew, He arrived safely in Calgary via STARS and is situated at the Foothills. His surgeon met with him, Marty and all and explained the procedures that would be taken in his surgery as well as the risks involved, he said normally this type of surgery is around an hour to an hour and a half, but could take as long as 4 hours depending on what they find. The main focus of the surgery will be to remove as much of the blood around the lung as possible, as well as looking for any other complications that may have arose from the previous nick etc. The Surgery is supposed to be taking place tonight by 8:00pm. We will update as soon as he goes into surgery as well as after he is out!

Updates on Drew

For those of you that don't know, Drew was taken by STARS to Calgary Foothills Hospital today. Marty has gone there with Drew's parents and it may be difficult to get a hold of her. So, we will be updating her blog for her with any news on Drew.

So as of today this is where he is at...

Yesterday they attempted to put in a second chest tube to drain a pocket of fluid that the first chest tube could not get. During the procedure they nicked something which caused bleeding into the lung. He was then moved into the ICU and was stabilized. They thought the nick would most likely heal itself and there main priority was to keep him stable through out the night. They took him in for another CT Scan this morning and discovered a large pool of blood around his left lung and the lung had collapsed. The doctors decided to send him to Foothills to have surgery. Dr. McFadden a Thoracic surgeon who is supposed to be the best in the province will be performing the surgery. This is supposed to be a fairly simple surgery, but given Drew's current state it is quite risky to put him under. He was airlifted around 1:00 today, and we are still waiting to here when he will go in for surgery.

We will continue to update the blog as things change in an effort to help relieve Marty from all the phone calls. She is very appreciative of all the support she has received thus far and welcomes you to leave your comments and encouraging words for Drew.

Thank you so much for all the prayers and keep them coming!

Happy Anniversary!!

This year Drew and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary. We aren't able to go out on our actual anniversary, which is on Tuesday October 6, so we celebrated a little early. We had a fantastic date, we went to Streatside, which is our favorite restaurant. I had a Chicken McMerle, sweet potato fries and of course Turtle Cheesecake. Then we went to a movie. Drew told me this year not to get him a present, because he got "us" something. I was so curious to what it could be, a new stove, a new comforter for our bed. Secretly, I was hoping it was a new camera, because I've wanted one forever. So, after we got home, I opened the box that came earlier that day. When I saw what it was I started to hyperventalate becasue I was so excited!! It was not only a camera, but it was a better one than the one that I've been dreaming about. He got us the Nikon D3000. I immediatly took it out of the box and charged the battery so that I could try it out. This morning, I had to test it, and of course I had to share my excitement on my blog. I have the best husband ever!! Seriously, he is the best. I can't really even put into words how much I love him. He is such a hard worker, and is so driven. I love that he is such a great Dad to our little boys, and I love that he is so talented and has such a strong testimony. I love him so very much, and I appreciate everything that he does for me.

Davis in his "fort" with his animals.

Naked Phoenix.

I caught Marcus in his room looking for his Chocolate Monkey.

Davis is now officially a Quader

My Mom and Dad have a mini-quad that they bought when my nephew Patrick was younger (I can't believe he is 15!!).  Davis said that when he was 6 he was going to ride it.  When we were at Mom and Dad's house on the weekend (I'll post the rest of the pictures when I find my disk), my niece Lexie, decided that it was time that Davis learned how to drive the Quad by himself.  She said that she learned by sitting in front of someone, so they were practising like that.  My Mom and I were doing dishes after dinner one night, and the kids and Dad were out riding the quads.  We looked out the window, and we saw Dad and Lexie in the backyard, but the quad was still running.  Sure enough, Lexie taught Davis how to drive the Quad.  He was getting really good at it too, and they had fun riding through the field.  He was even spinning out, and doing little speed-demon tricks like she does.  That boy is just like his Dad. 

Davis' First Day of Kindergarten

It was with much excitment, on Davis' part, and with much trepidation, on my part, that Davis started his first day of Kindergarten. He is in Mrs. Morton's afternoon class at Mike Mountain Horse School, and so far, he loved it. I asked him if it was better than Pre-school, but he said it was about the same.

Yesterday, I dutifully packed his bag with crayons, markers, pencils, glue sticks, a binder, headphones, indoor shoes, and other school related stuff, into his new football backpack. Marcus was excited to get Davis' old Lightning McQueen backpack, and I even put a new box of markers in his bag.

He was so excited to go, and talked the whole way into the school and into his class. So, I got him settled, and while I was leaving I could tell he was a bit nervous, but he was okay.

One of the most exciting things, is that we live far away enough from the school that Davis can ride the bus home. He wanted to ride it home today, so we said he could, but there was a bit of a mix-up. We were told that the drop-off spot was across the street from us, but the bus people decided that it would be better off in a different spot. To make a long story short, Davis got a long bus ride. I of course was panicked, but he wasn't even fussed at all. Next week, we hopefully will both be in the right place at the right time.

The Clark Family Waterton Extravaganza

Drew's Aunt and Uncle, Karen and Scott MacLennan invited the Clark Clan to the MacLennan Family Cabin, for a weekend of fun and food. Since there were going to be thousands of people there, we asked my Dad very nicely if he would bring his spiffy new-last-year fifth wheel. We got to Waterton on Thursday night, and had dinner with Mom and Dad. Friday Drew, his Dad and I rode our bikes from Cameron Lake to the townsite, then the family met up at Pass Creek for a bonfire. Saturday we hiked to Bertha Falls, and everyone but us Drew's parents left on Sunday. We were lucky to stay until Tuesday morning. The boys didn't want to come home. They loved camping (I know...I know...does it really count in a trailer?). When we got home Marcus kept saying "Not Home!!"

The boys roasting marshmallows on the "fire." Dad bought this propane fire because Mom is so Asthmatic. It takes forever to cook anything, but they taste good when they are done, and you don't have to worry about getting ash on your food.

On our last day we hiked in the creek in Red Rock Canyon. The water is really low this year, so we were able to make it quite far up the creek. This was the first time I hiked into the canyon. Whenever I've been before, I've been an ultra-cautious-prego.

We also rented a two-seater bike. The boys loved it!! Davis wanted to never give it back and to take it home. He told Drew that I could drive the truck home, and he could drive the bike. He kept saying "Wouldn't it be cool if we had a bike like this?"

Katie and I on the hike. We did it!! Just kidding. Bertha Falls is an easy hike.

Davis hiked with us. I was really proud of how well he did. He didn't complain about it at all. He did say it was hard, and he did have to take a few breaks, but he did so good. We even had a team cheer. It was "Yay, Mountain Goats!!" Because Mountain Goats walk on Mountains.

Current reading

This is what I have read lately. I feel like I am forgetting one...am I?

"The Secret Life of Bees" is a re-read. I had to read it for my book club. I read it about 6 years ago, and I found that I liked it alot more this time around. Maybe I had too much going on then...I dunno.

"The Time Traveller's Wife" was...good...most of it. I really liked the beginning, the middle, and the last few pages. The rest was fairly depressing, and I just struggled through it. I am excited to go and see the movie. From the preview I've seen it does look like some changes were made. The first time I saw the preview I was about a third into it, and I almost shouted "I am reading this book!!". I wanted to go home and keep reading.

I am becoming slightly obsessed with Julia Child. I am reading "My life in France", and I really, really want "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", even though I don't want to Master the Art of French cooking. I went and saw the movie of "Julie and Julia" with my sister and really enjoyed it. The book...not so much. It is just about Julie Powell, and has some fictional things about Julia Child. I found Julie whiney, obnoxious, and not at all likeable.

This is another book club selection, that I read awhile ago. If you are looking for a quick-touchy-feely-read, then this one is just up your alley. It does have a few surprises, but it is quick and touchy-feely.

Sewing!!

Lately I have found that I like to sew!! Even though Home Ec was torture in Junior high. I was using my Grammy's old and very well loved Kenmore, and I loved to use it just because it was hers and it was something that she used a lot. But, sadly it was breaking down on me, and I had my Mom take a look at it, but she broke it even more (just kidding Mom), so I decided that it was time to get a new one. So, with my Birthday money that I got (I love getting money!!), I went and bought myself a new Brother computerized sewing machine. It is fairly basic and inexpensive, but it is exactly what I need. Eventually I will buy something fancy, but this will do for now. For my very first project I whipped up a very cute hooded towel for my very cute baby. I got the pattern from a Relief Society Enrichment Fab Friday, and I have used the pattern alot.

What we did ALL summer

This is what happens when Drew feeds Phoenix Cheerios. Actually, I have been known to entertain my kids during church by sticking Fruit Loops to their noses.

Drew played another exciting season of Ball Hockey.

We love being outside. Phoenix is stuck in his stroller alot.

Davis had swimming lessons everyday for two weeks, so to get Marcus to sit nicely we went to the spray park after. This was their favorite place to have a snack.

My cousin, Katie and I decided it would be fun to make fancy cupcakes, so for our first attempt we made these butterfly ones.

When Davis and I were out watering our pathetic garden, we saw that something was actually growing!! We were so excited!! Davis ate the peas as soon as I shelled them.

We have had a lot of rainy, miserable days that we had to spend inside instead of in the pool. Here is Davis cutting up paper to make a Pinata. We only got one coat on it, then luckily it turned nice out so we didn't finish it.

One year older and wiser too?

Another year has come and gone, and I am now in the last year of my twenties. I really had a great birthday this year. We started our day with a session at the temple, had lunch in the cafeteria, browsed through the books at the LDS Bookstore, and went to the wedding for Ryan and Courtney Clark (who are the cutest couple ever!!). After we pursuaded the boys to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house, we got home just in time to pick up our baby sitter. Then Drew and I went out for dinner to Ric's Grill, had dessert at our favorite restaruant, Streatside, and then we saw a movie. It was so nice to spend some time with Drew. The next day we invited my family over for dinner and a very delicious white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, with raspberries from our backyard. My Mom's birthday is the day after mine, so we had our usual joint celebration. I am so lucky to share my birthday with my Mom.

Echo Lake

We had a lot of fun down at Echo Lake this year.  We were there July 4-11 and stayed at Dahl and Sharon Quinton's cabin.  We spent our time out on the lake whenever it was sunny, eating lots and playing games (our favorite was Sorry Sliders).  What a great way to spend a week!! I absolutly love to be at Echo lake, and by Kalispell.  Since we spent so much time down there when I was a kid, it feels like a second home to me.  I can't wait to go again. 

My Dad bought this tube for the kids to ride this year.  Even Marcus was brave enough to ride it.  He always sat in the middle, and kept telling us over and over about the middle.  I am proud to say that I even rode it twice, considering that I am the biggest wimp ever!!

There's nothing like a relaxing bath in the sink, surrounded by dirty dishes.

Phoenix down at the beach.

Davis riding the "yellow board".  He didn't stand up on it, but it was cute to watch him do "tricks" on it. 

Here I am helping him get onto the board.  We had some rain when we first got there, so the water was quite cold.  When I first jumped in it took my breath away. 

Here is Drew on the tube.  My Dad and brother-in-law Dave, successfully dumped him numerous times.

Davis and his cousin Lexie hanging out on the dock.

The boys trying to get their cousin Patrick wet. 

We ate a ton of Auntie Lynn's famous pancakes. 

Logan Pass

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to go to Kalispell and to drive over Logan Pass.  It is so incredibly beautiful.  I love to open the window and smell the wonderful mountain air.  The highlights on the drive always include, seeing the Mountain Goat at the Summit, trying not to get wet under The Weeping Wall, and honking the horn in the tunnels.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by one of Heavenly Father's greatest creations, just hours from my front door. 

On the way to Kalispell, Phoenix and I rode with my sister Jo, and her daughter Lexie.  As you can tell it was a beautiful sunny day. 

This is on the way home.  We had to make a few pit stops.  This picture is taken at The Loop. 

Our Life...

Here are some pictures from our daily life...

The boys raiding the pantry.  Luckily they are small enough that they can fit right in it.

Marcus helping Drew move dirt around our new fence. 

This year we attempted to plant a garden.  There were some unloved planter boxes in back, so Davis and I added new dirt, and we planted rubarb, tomatoes (actually Nives planted them), beans, peas, pumpkins, zucchini, onions, corn and carrots.  I am happy to report that most of what we planted is growing.  So are the weeds. 

Scotland or Bust 2011!!

Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 men in a (pink) tub.

Davis had Hawaiian day at school, so Marcus needed to dress up as well.  Marcus wore his outfit all day.  We even went to the doctor and the Grocery store. 

Davis played outdoor soccer this year with his cousin Jack.  He is getting to be a good little soccer player.  We are very proud of him, and I am proud that he inherited his Dad's athletic ability and not mine. 

What a handsome boy!!