Bootheel Holiday

We hit the highways once again on Christmas Eve to visit family for the holiday season. Evelyn was completely spoiled by Grandma and Pop and delighted in all the attention showered upon her. She was allowed to open a present or two on Christmas Eve, which came from her Great Aunt Gwindel, Grandma and Pop. Then, on Christmas morning, she awoke to presents under the tree from Santa. Her favorite items seemed to be the purse (which Pop quickly filled with dollar bills--she is so spoiled) and a pink cell phone. She carried both around for the entire time we were there. Later that morning, we headed to Aunt Kathy's for lunch and of course, more presents! It was so good to be with all of our family. Though we were glad to head for home on Saturday, a big part of us hated to say good-bye to them.

Christmas at Home

This morning we celebrated Christmas at home before heading out to visit family this holiday season. We began with Mindy opening her stocking from Santa Dog. Next, it was Evelyn's turn to see what was in her stocking. Then, it was time for presents! Evelyn gleefully opened her presents from Santa, family, and friends. Santa brought her some snow suit clothing, books, and Little People Learn About Town. One of Mommy's students, Jack, gave her a present--a Princess tea set for four. Evelyn LOVED it! Once her presents were opened, she began to help Mommy and Daddy open theirs. It was such fun! We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Seizures

On Friday, Dec. 12th, Evelyn became very ill. She had a low-grade fever and tummy troubles so Mommy stayed home with her. Mommy called the pediatrician and they felt that Evelyn had a virus that has been going around and told me to monitor her. Around noon, she layed down for a nap. That is when I heard her making an unusual noise. When I went in to her room, her eyes were fixated on the ceiling, she did not respond to my voice, and was slightly shaking. I grabbed her and rushed to a nearby Urgent Care. They took her temp. and vital signs. Her temp. had skyrocketed to 103, which is why she was reacting the way that I found her, and they gave her some Tylenol to bring it down. They also discovered that she had an ear infection. After her temp. began to drop, they gave us an antibiotic and sent us home. All was well until bath time. At 7:00 p.m., Daddy was giving her a bath and I was in the kitchen getting her next dose of Tylenol ready and some milk. That is when Rob yelled for me and rushed to the bathroom to find her shaking violently with her eyes rolled in the back of her head. We immediately realized she was having a seizure. I called our neighbor who is a nurse and she rushed over. I started the car while Rob wrapped up Evelyn and we rushed to the ER. They did some chest xrays and blood tests. They determined that she had an ear infection, influenza A, and pneumonia. They told us that she is in the 1% of children who suffer from febrile seizures when her temperature rises. The good news is that most children grow out of them by age
6. She is on an antibiotic and Termaflu along with Motrin and Tylenol every 3-6 hrs. Mommy keeps wondering why I didn't see any signs, but if you know my daughter, then you know that she never shows symptoms of not feeling well. Our hearts are broken over this news, but we appreciate all the love and support our friends and neighbors have shown us during this time. If you are wondering what you can do to help, we simply ask for prayers.