Chuck E Cheese and Other New and Fabulous Things ~

 Last Saturday we got off the mountain for some birthday fun!  Oriana, the birthday girl, chose Chuck E Cheese as the destination, so off we went to the land of bad animatronics, noise and chaos!

 I have to admit, this is not the Chuck E Cheese i knew 20 years ago...this one was really clean, had fun updated rides and games, and the staff was wonderful.  A far cry from the one i went to in LA, when i swore i would never set foot in one again :)   Ahhh...the things we do for our kids!

 So needless to say, we all had a great time!  The kids were given a large cup of tokens to play games, so they ran around trying out all of the fun.  Jordyn liked the horse, and rode it several times.  She also liked the photo booth, basketball hoops, climbing tube and monster truck ride....but most of all she had fun playing with all of her friends!  The only thing she didnt care for was the animatronic characters...she thought they were "kinda creepy"...and i had to agree :)  Thats my girl! 

 Over the last few weeks we have been redoing Jordyns room.  It was time for a big girl bed, and since we were at it, we decided to paint her room and get some accessories to match.  She chose the colors...pink and orange, so went for a peach and pink theme with black details.  Its sort of hard to tell in the photos, but you get the idea.

 She loves her new pink and black zebra rug and im also making her a new quilt to match her new room...

 These are the fabrics that i purchased to make the quilt, i just LOVE batiks!!!  The pink and white zebra flannel will be made into a few pillows for the bed...

 and here is the pattern i am using.  (photo from the keepsake quilting catalog).  It looks like a simple pattern, that should be fairly easy and quick to put together...so stay tuned.

 

Meanwhile...heres a fantastic update about Jen by my cousin Christy...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:35 PM, MST

written by Christine Wolfe
Blessings all around
What an amazing day Jennifer had today! With that ventilator out, she is making great progress. Jen's Mom Barb said after Chad visited with Jen this morning, he came out smiling from ear to ear and said, "she's back!" Brandy was able to talk to her, (yes, she is talking!!!) and ask her questions, Jen was responding very well. Jen knew the names of her girls, and indicated that Chad had been in to see her. Jen's talking is rough, its a very low raspy sound as having that vent in for a long period of time has made her throat very sore I am sure. She can't talk very loud so you really have to get in close to hear her. Her eyes were open, she was trying to look all around the room, she would see someone walk by her window and ask me, "who's that?". She could hear the machines making noise behind her and was trying to turn her head to look and see where the sound was coming from.

Jen is still a little confused, at first she called me Sarah, but once she got my name, she got it right the rest of the time I was in the room. She is working hard to put things together. She asked Brandy to take her home, she asked Kelly how Parker was, and she told me she was hungry! She said "Lets make biscuits" then after a minute said, "Lets make gravy" then she looked at me (her eyes open, her left eye a little more then the right) and asked me, "what are you going to make?", so I said "how about bacon?", Jen said, "ya, bacon". She also kept asking for water, when we would say, no sorry you can't have any now, she would think about it, and say "Iced tea?" we would say no again, she would think about it, then said, "Is there any milk?" :) After awhile the nurse came in and told Jennifer all the squirming around made the "pulse ox" come off her finger, to which Jen said, "I'm Sorry", then she lifted her left hand, and pointed her index finger so that the nurse could put it back on. The best news though, Barb that said with the help of two physical therapists Jennifer was able to walk a short distance and sit up in a chair.

While I was in with Jennifer today, a nurse named Peggy (who we love) came to visit her. Peggy has been there since the beginning, and has always been hopeful, positive, and optimistic for Jennifers recovery. Peggy really helped us to keep our hopes high for Jen. Peggy poked her head into the room today to check in on Jen, when she saw Jens eyes opened, and that she was talking she hugged me and said, "I knew she was right there, I knew she could do it, I'm so happy!" How awesome is that, Peggy was not Jen's nurse today, but came to see how she was doing, it was wonderful of her to still be thinking of Jen.

We were all very encouraged today, we know this road for Jennifer is going to be long and slow. She was not quite sitting up being the animated, talking with her hands, loud, crazy Jen we all know and love, but she is taking small steps back to us. Your prayers, love, and energy, are working, she is fighting to get better, she has a long way to go, but look how far she has come.

We are grateful for everyone one of you, and all the support, donations, prayers, and love you sending out to Jennifer, Chad, the girls, and our family right now.
Thank you so much!
Love~
Christy