Happy Halloween!

Well, another Halloween has come and gone!  It is really interesting to see how Halloween has changed over the years.  When I was young, we trick-or-treated, but I don't have any pictures of those times.  It seems like the holiday has gotten more "fashionable". It seems like everyone is always saying that Halloween is one of their favorite holidays.  It also seems like adults are waaay into it more than they used to be.  The most disturbing thing to me is that so many girls and women use Halloween as an excuse to not wear much clothing.  Anyway . . . I love the parts of Halloween that are cutesy and "Fall-ish".  It is a fun time if it is done right.

I go to help with Mr. Petrie's 4th Grade Halloween Party.  I was supposed to bring cupcakes.  I found a picture of mummy's online and decided to try them.  They were so fun to make and I think they turned out so cute.  I love them!

Taylor and Alex went to a few different parties and had a great time.  Taylor and Matt dressed as Arabs from some things that Aunt Susie got while she was in Saudi Arabia.  they were awesome costumes, but I guess got pretty hot after dancing for awhile!

Taylor, Diana & Alex . . . cowboy???

Ryan tried to carve a stick man into his pumpkin - because that was what he was going to be for Halloween.  It's hard to see in the light, but turns out better in the dark.  He did a good job!

 Great job Danny!

 Nice glasses Alex!

 Taylor and the Robot

 Ryan the Stickman - isn't it great!

 The Zombie (Quinn) and the Stickman 

 Danana???

 Sorting Candy

Dear Emily . . .

I miss you.  I miss you a LOT.  I don't like your new busier schedule.  I think it's time to come and live in Arizona now so that you are closer.  :)

Love, Mom

Fall Break 2011

I have been so bad at blogging lately.  I really love to have the record, and I enjoy doing it - it's just that it takes so much time and I am so behind on everything else already.  So, I just decided that I would do a post and then slowly try and go back and update things.

Last week we were lucky enough to have Fall Break.  Before the economic crash we were spoiled and we used our Fall Break's to go on really amazing trips.  Those were the weeks that we took the family and went to Hawaii, New York, and Washington D.C.  We were able to get those trips in before Emily left home.  We haven't been able to do trips like that for a few years now.  Sometimes I kind of get bummed out about it.  But, it turns out that we had a great little vacation right here close to home!

We haven't been able to go camping much as a family lately.  We were all disappointed that there wasn't a ward campout this year - so, a few families decided to take this last chance before it gets to cold and go camping.  We went up to Bear Canyon Lake, which is only about 2 1/2 hours away.  We found a nice spot and set up camp on Thursday.  Taylor and Alex joined us later that night.

Just had to take a picture of our tents because they went in the trash when we got home.  Totally falling apart.  But they served us well for a lot of years. :)

We didn't have anyone to watch Murphy because so many people were out of town.  So, we took him and found out that he really isn't a "camping" kind of dog!  He was so funny.  He was so cold and scared all of the time.  We really babied him the whole time.  Wyndi Curtis lost a dog up there last year and so we were afraid to let him wander.  It ended up working out fine - I just don't know if we'd ever take him again!

On Friday, we hiked down to the lake and it was sooooo beautiful.  The hike (even though it was steep and hard for me) and the time spent at that beautiful place was good for my soul.  The younger kids had a blast finding crawdads.  Ryan caught a couple and added them to the community bucket.  They then hiked back up to one of the camps and cooked and ate them!  Ryan said they forgot to clean them out (like shrimp) so it kind of grossed him out.  But he had a great time!

 Me, Wyndi Curtis, Janna Hassell, Teresa Lee & Heather (Wyndi's sister)

!Got a crawdad

 Dad, Danny, Taylor and Murphy enjoying the view

 Alex & Ryan

 Paige Lee "walking on the water"!

The "fam" minus Emily :(  I will post a better one when I get one from my friends.  One where Taylor is actually looking at the camera!

 Danny, Paige, Alex, Taylor and Kirk Lee went on a hike around the lake

It is so beautiful that it takes my breath away!  I want to go back :)

We had a community dinner that night and it was a lot of fun.  I FROZE my tootsies off that night!  On Saturday, we took down camp and drove back home.  Camping is just so much better when you can spend two nights!  It is more worth all the work.  What a great little vacation!

I came across this camping "Father and Son's" picture and had to add it.  I LOVE it!  (Dad, Danny and Alex)

Ryan's 4th Grade Program

Last year I wrote to the music teacher at Greenfield Elementary wondering why there was not a program for Ryan's grade.  She said that they only do them every 2 years.  So...this was the year and we were excited!  It was a 4th grade patriotic musical program.  They did great!

 Being led in by Mr. Petrie

 Blurry, but hey - I was far away!

Ryan was awesome!  He did so good and we were very proud of him. :)  The best thing was afterward when everyone clapped.  He ran toward us and said, "Wow - I feel like I'm famous!"  Love you Ryan :)

The Big "Five-O" . . . Really???

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday!!  He is 50 years old!!!  Wow, where did the time go?  The weird thing is that I am following close behind :)  Brad, you look great at 50! I love your graying hair - I truly do!  It makes you look distinguished and very handsome :)

We had a huge party for him on Saturday night and it was a blast!  Thanks to the boys and to the Lee family for helping us so much.  We missed Emily and are sad that she is so far away - but she is doing good things with her life. Tons of people came and it was so fun to see so many friends and family who care about him.  Thank you all of you for being in our lives.  And thank you for braving the huge rainstorm to come and wish Brad well.  We love all of you.

Brad, thank you so much for sharing the last 25 years of your life with me.  I am so very blessed and grateful that I get you for my eternal companion.  You truly are the best friend and husband a girl could ever have and I really don't know how I got so lucky to share my life with you.  Thank you for our beautiful family and for always taking care of us.  Thank you for honoring your priesthood and for serving God so diligently.  You are my love and my life and I love you more than I can express.

Happy Birthday!!

Mission Accomplished!

We proudly announce that Elder Taylor McBride has faithfully completed his missionary service and has been released by his Stake President. We are so proud of him and the mission that he served. While there is a bittersweet element to the way his mission was cut short, we are celebrating his success and dedication.

A dear friend of ours told us he looks at Taylor's return much as when a wounded soldier comes home from war. They are celebrated as heroes, given a Purple Heart, and discharged honorably. We feel the same way about Taylor. We know he served with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.

This afternoon he had the opportunity to visit on the phone with his Mission President, who thanked him for his hard work and dedication. Taylor's main concern was that someone should take care of the baptismal dates he had set up for the rest of the month.

Chrissie, and I were privileged to participate with Taylor and President Barker in a bedside mission report and testimony meeting yesterday afternoon. It was a sweet experience to hear Taylor's thoughts on his service, and his witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel. After we closed, President Barker told Taylor that he felt prompted to release Taylor from missionary service, and to begin looking forward to the next phase of his life.

Taylor does feel much sadness that he was unable to finish the way he had planned, and to say goodbye to the people he had served and loved. He left in such a hurry, all he brought home was a backpack with a few of his personal belongings.

We don't really know at this time what the recovery will be like. How long, how difficult, how restrictive. Eventually those things will be determined. Until then, we ask for your continued prayers and faith on Taylor's behalf. We know that through the power of the priesthood, and the prayers and faith of our friends and loved ones, miracles have already occurred. We have hope and great faith that Taylor will make a complete recovery. In fact, we expect it.

Taylor is happy to have visitors. He is still in the ICU, so please call first: Brad 602-418-3135, Chrissie 480-235-5325. (He would still love to get letters - 2869 E. Page Ct., Gilbert, AZ 85234 - or emails to taylormcbride18@gmail.com)

We are proud of our son, and are glad to have him back from the Lord's errand.

Inside Taylor's Head

We are finally understanding what is going on inside Taylor's head, and I wanted to take a minute to try and describe it as simply as I can.

If you look at the picture above, you will notice there are two different sets of stitches. The top set are from when his head hit the curb. The bottom set is from when the gate hit his head, and is the one we are worried about. It is right above the cerebellum. The cerebellum is Latin for the "mini-brain". It controls voluntary movement and balance, among other things.

(The red part is the cerebellum)

You might not be able to tell, but the lower injury is right on top of the cerebellum. When the gate hit his head, it caused two bad things to happen:

1) The skull was fractured and pushed down against the cerebellum.

2) The brain was injured resulting in swelling.

These two things combined are putting pressure on a vein that runs directly under the fracture. That vein's job is to take blood out of the brain, back into the body. The pressure is causing the vein to be partially "occluded" or pinched off. The vein was also cut a little bit, resulting in some bleeding.

So, the doctors are watching to see if the swelling of the cerebellum will go down to let that vein flow more freely.  If the swelling should get worse, then they would operate to relieve the pressure. This, however, is something they don't want to do, because it is delicate and risky.

Our hope is that the swelling quickly goes down, and the vein can flow freely. So, Taylor will be in the ICU for a few days so they can monitor him.

Waiting...waiting...

Sorry there hasn't been any new news posted - but there really hasn't been much news.

Elder McBride is doing well. He is awake more and communicating just fine. They have been running a lot of tests - MRI, EEG, etc. (The picture above is the EEG checking his brain function - happily they found one) He is getting to be an expert on touching his finger to his nose. Right now the main concern is whether or not the swelling in the cerebellum is going to get worse, or better. If it gets worse, all of the surgery-type options come back into play. We are getting closer to the end of the "window" where the swelling usually gets bad, so that's a plus.

Last night he ate his first solid food since he threw up on Monday: Mashed potatoes, mac n' cheese, and lemon jello.

He is still in the ICU, with no talk of moving him for now. But, he is up taking a walk with the nurse right this very moment. Last night his siblings came in and visited (Less Alex who will be here tomorrow), and he was very responsive and enjoyed it. He even had permission from the Stake President to watch the Maverick/Heat game. He is still a missionary, after all.

Today we should learn more about what is coming up, and I will pass the information on to you.

Beginning to Get Some Answers

 The bottom wound is where the gate actually hit Taylor on the head and where his skull is fractured so badly.  The top wound is where he fell and hit his head on the curb.  We are lucky that that one is not a fracture also.

We just met with the neurosurgeon. One of the top men in the world. He has decided to do nothing. He feels that there is more risk of going in and rearranging the bones than in letting them heal themselves. Apparently the depressed fracture is very close to a delicate area that could cause much bigger problems if they went in. Apparently there are some major blood vessels in the area near the fracture and he could bleed to death. So - it is better to leave it alone and let it heal.

The neurologist is pleased with Taylor's motor skills, memory, and brain function, so that part is working well.

The brain did suffer significant trauma (bruising) and it is going to take some time to recover. He will be on anti-seizure medicine for a few months, and he will need to take it easy and be really careful for the rest of the year. A lot of rest. No sports, running, basketball, snowboarding, and most importantly, no going back to the DR to finish the mission. And that is the saddest part of all.

Taylor has only three months left, and wanted to finish strong. Not only will he not be able to do that, his departure was so abrupt that there were no good byes, and plenty of unfinished business. It is really sad for him.

Thankfully, the good news is that the doctor expects him to make a complete recovery. But Taylor will have to be patient, because it will take a while.

For now, it looks like he will be spending a few more days in ICU as they watch for complications that would require more drastic procedures. They also want to do a lot more testing.  After that, it will be home to rest.

It seems that in a wide range of terrible outcomes, Taylor has managed to "thread the needle" and find the solitary option that will help him recover and return to normal the fastest and safest. We recognize how blessed he is, and recognize the Lord's hand throughout this process.

We love Taylor and feel for him. We are so proud of him and the wonderful mission that he served. We have no doubt in our minds that his offering is acceptable to the Lord.  He still needs your prayers.

(Thursday, 10:30am)

The Unexpected Homecoming

Elder McBride arrived in Phoenix Wednesday night about 10pm after a long day of travel. We were so glad to get him home. He was accompanied by a guardian angel disguised as a senior missionary named Elder Kilgore. He is the doctor that serves as the area medical advisor for the Church in the Caribbean. Taylor was tired, but able to talk and visit with us. His speech is good, he is sharp, but a little groggy.

We immediately took Taylor to St. Joesph's Hospital, home of Barrow's Neurological Institute and went through the normal intake procedure. We met with the ER physician, who looked at Taylor's MRI and immediately bumped his case to highest "Red" priority. (The doctor was incredibly helpful - an LDS man named Dr. Bishop - I know, but I'm too tired to make the joke)

In less than 2 hours Taylor had flown through ER, labs, radiology and was in his room in the ICU. The haste did add to our stress. We met with a couple of doctors so far, but are waiting to meet with the main neuro guys later this morning. Chrissie and I spent the night here with him.

So far, it is our understanding that the skull fracture is "significant" or "large", depending on the doctor. It is also quite low on the back of his head. Because of this, the depressed part of the skull is pushing on his cerebellum, which is a part of the brain that influences balance and coordination. There is some internal bleeding and swelling.

One of the neurologists expressed his surprise that Taylor was able to communicate so well and had good motor skills for someone with this type of injury. Apparently the doctor is not familiar with the power of the priesthood and the prayers of hundreds of faithful saints.

It is obvious that the right decision was made to bring him here, and we are grateful for the missionary department for getting him home to us.

We will know more about what the doctors' plan of attack is later this morning. Surgery is almost guaranteed, but we know very little a this point as to what that entails. Will post later today.

The good news: He is home, he is still Taylor, and the Lord is heavily involved.

(Thursday, 5:30am)

This is in the middle of the night after they got him to ICU.  They gave him lots of powerful medicines and he could finally relax and sleep.  I can't even begin to express my feelings that night.