Jarom & Sarah Webster family

Homemade Tamales

2011-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday I am 38 weeks pregnant. I spent my late morning and afternoon making tamales. Jarom is so adorable and wonderful that even as uncomfortable as I can be at times I did this for him. He asked if I would be willing to make tamales about a year and a half ago. He has been so patient and it is a miracle that I agreed to try (as most of you know before getting married I did not cook at all and never thought I would). I just love making that boy happy!

The end of January I was at a friend's house (Jessica Wheeler) and she had made tamales and wanted me to try one. It was my first time and I liked it with sour cream. The corn flour called masa is more coarse than our flour (so texturally I need the sour cream). When I came home and told Jarom that I am committed to trying to make them before we have the baby he was so excited. So doing this for him has been on my list of "things to do before the baby comes" since then. Jessica told me to let her know if I needed any help.

Some of the recipe was in spanish and so I didn't realize that the masa it called for was already moistened (I had the dry flour). So instead of a nice light dough it was a dry crumble. I called Jessica and she came over to help, yeah! I knew it needed more chicken stock and/or water I just wasn't sure how much. I used fresh banana leaves and so they had to be washed and then softened in the oven. Jessica told me you can buy frozen ones that are ready to fold. On friday I prepared the pork in the crock pot. Yesterday I did the dough, guajillo chili sauce, assembly and steaming of the tamales. It was wonderful having Jessica to show me the best way to fold and Jarom was in the kitchen cheering us on (the recipe gave directions but to have someone show me is so much easier). Jarom was able to try one before he left at 3:30 to go on a long run with his Dad and he was a very happy and grateful boy. He was so proud of me. Because he is so encouraging and complimentary it makes me want to make them again (plus it was kind of a cool new cooking experience). It will probably be a couple months (once I have my head on straight from having this baby).

Hope you are all doing great and we'll let you know when our new addition is here!!!

Jarom in the hospital today

2011-02-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

February 2011

2011-02-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

So I know it's been a long time. Now that I can post I will do my best to do a better job!!! The above picture is at Halloween 2010. Loranna is almost 6yrs, Nathan is 4 1/2yrs, and Daniel is almost 2yrs. We had such a fun night. So here is an update on the people in the Webster family:

Jarom and his Dad at the beginning of his 3rd marathon in St. George Utah 10-2-10. This was the first time he ran a Marathon with someone and was so happy to have Dad with him. He beat his best time by almost 40 minutes.

Jarom is getting ready to run a half marathon with his dad in Salt Lake this April. Last year at this time he had a health exam at work and decided he needed to improve his health. His exam went much better this month. He has lost almost 60 pounds and is feeling great. I am so proud of him. He also is getting ready to start new MS medicine this month. No more nightly shots, YEAH!!! The new medicine will be a night capsale by mouth! Now we are praying that the new medicine will work for him.

Mom Webster, Sarah, Jarom and Loranna. This picture was taken 10-29-10 outside the Tabernacle at Temple Square. It's after a Relief Society Musical Festival I was blessed to sing in. Loranna was so excited to go and to get to stay up late.

Sarah is now 35 weeks pregnant with a little boy. We are all so excited to welcome him into our family. Almost every morning Nathan is the first one up and he comes in my room and wants to say good morning to his brother and he says he wishes he would come out. I enjoy going to the gym and getting in the water and working on my favoite cross training machine. I'm planning to make homeade Tamales next week for Jarom (that should be an adventure). I'll let ya know how and if that works!

I took this picture 12-1-10. Loranna did her hair all by herself. She is loving kindergarten, having playdates and is becoming quite the artist. Last week I picked her up from school and she ran to me and said "mama I'm in love." His name is Russel and he told her that day "your more beautiful than anything." She was glowing all day! When I told Jarom he said "if that's all it takes we are in trouble!" This year we finished a room downstairs for her and she loves having her own space. Loranna is such a light and she's the best helper!!!

Papa and Nana Blanchard with Nathan on 11-21-10. Nathan enjoys going to preschool 4 days a week and having playdates. I have such social kids. He has the most amazing imagination and loves to play. He is a very tender hearted boy. Four months ago had his tonsils and adnoid out and he is sleeping better. He is so ready for spring so he can get outside and ride his scooter (he is really fast and has great balance). When I drop him off at preschool I love to listen to him sing his abc's as he is soaping up his hands. Nathan is my little star and he keeps me on my toes!!!

Daniel looking at a book (one of his favorite things to do). He is talking quite a bit now. He counts up to 10 almost perfectly. He always leaves out seven. Just this morning he was counting some cards and Jarom said "say seven" and he grabbed a card instead and said "see fish." We are getting ready to move him into Nathan's room in the top bunk. He is excited to go into a big boy bed. He loves to stack3 or 4 blocks together and bring it to you singing happy birthday to you. Then I blow the pretend candle out and we eat. He is such a joy to have in our family!!!

Hello

2011-02-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

I am writing on our blog with my own account for the first time! I'll be able to write here from now on. Yay!

Physical therapist done seeing Nathan

2009-11-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

Nathan's physical therapist came for the last time today. She says he is doing great and needs no further visits. Great news! I think the occupational therapist will come once more and then the in-home therapy will be finished.

We had Loranna's and Nathan's first parent-teacher conference tonight. They are doing well and scored above average on several competencies.

Back from LA, everyone's doing well

2009-11-11T20:34:00.001-08:00

Sarah, Daniel, and I came back from LA last night. It was basically a long weekend for us--visiting Carrie and Mike on Saturday and Sunday and staying in downtown LA on Monday and Tuesday for a convention for my work. It was a nice break for us, but we were especially glad to be able to go now that Nathan is doing better.

My folks and a neighbor in our ward took care of Loranna and Nathan while we were gone. Nathan got an ear infection, which was uncomfortable deja vu for us since his symptoms started with a fever and coughing (sound familiar?). However, he had not trouble breathing, so we were reasonably certain that it wasn't a return of the pneumonia. The doctor diagnosed it as an ear infection, and he is on antibiotics now.

He is doing even better than when we left. He is speaking more evenly and running around more. He is especially excited that we are going to a second BYU game (v. Air Force) on the 21st!

Tonight, Loranna and Sarah are at Disney on Ice watching all the princesses. They haven't returned yet, so I'm sure they've been having a blast.

Pix of Nathan and short update

2009-10-30T19:42:00.001-07:00

Nathan is doing great. These were taken a couple of days ago. He is talking more and is getting better with his balance.

His speech therapist has come twice and will probably not come again since he is doing so well. Occupational and physical therapy come tomorrow. He is doing better and better and even ran a few steps tonight.

He is a fighter and we are so proud of him.

Nathan's going home!

2009-10-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Great news! The doctors cleared Nathan to come home today. He is almost back to normal and his rehabilitation therapy will continue on an in-home basis. He is no longer contagious with the flu and has not been for days. He still isn’t talking very much but everything else is going fine. The doctors advised us to have the other two kids get the swine flu vaccine as a precaution, but not because of anything to do with Nathan.

Sarah and I really appreciate your well wishes, love, and concern. Thank you very much.

Recent pix of Nathan

2009-10-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

Loranna and Daniel enjoyed their bath tonight.

Nana and Papa Blanchard together with Nathan on Saturday afternoon. Nathan has a car in his mouth, which he thought was pretty funny.

Shelly paid a visit to Nathan Saturday night as well. That was sure nice of her.

Day 15

2009-10-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Some more news: the nurses/doctors told us wrong. Nathan has encephalopathy, not encephalitis. Encephalopathy is basically an altered mental state, which we knew already. The MRI did not show that anything was wrong, nor did the lumbar puncture as Sarah previously reported. The plan for in-patient rehab is still the same. He had a good night last night and stood up today while holding onto Sarah’s hands. He is playing with toys and having some fun with Sarah this morning.

Nathan's doing well, not much changed since yesterday

2009-10-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Nathan is about the same today as yesterday. His last IV has been removed since he has finished the antibiotics for his staph infection. He is in good spirits but is still not talking very much. Sarah and I have both been with him this afternoon and evening, and we've had a lot of fun playing together.

Sarah was told today that his MRI showed encephalitis, or brain swelling. This might explain the neurological problems that he has been having. I did some research and found that four kids in Texas who had swine flu in July got encephalitis as well. They had similar neurological problems to the ones that Nathan has, but they all fully recovered. This seems to be a somewhat rare side effect of the swine flu, but it was good to read that they recovered! We have faith that Nathan will do so as well.

Day 13--N continues to improve

2009-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Some highlights since our last post:

Nathan slept really well last night
He is sitting unassisted now for minutes at a time
He has been upgraded to a "mechanical soft" diet, meaning that he can eat both soft and pureed foods
He paid attention when I read him stories and watched some Playhouse Disney shows this morning
He is talking less than last night, which the speech therapist said is normal (frequency goes up and down). However, he has said a few words today, like George, snake, and puppy (while I was reading him Curious George)
The pediatrician said that cases like his have been seen in Texas recently and have been attributed to lingering effects from swine flu
Starting Monday, he will begin in-patient rehabilitation here in the hospital. This will involve several hours per day of intensive speech, physical, and occupational therapy. I have no idea what occupational therapy means but I will ask.
He laughs when I tickle him and when I play dinosaurs with him.

-Jarom

Day 12 update:

2009-10-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

Jarom's mom is with Nathan at the hospital and we just called her . . . they have been playing peek a boo together and he has started smiling for the first time. He has also started to say more: Mickey and Minnie Mouse, my favorite color is green, dinosaur train etc. We are feeling such joy and gratitude. Jarom's Dad is sleeping at the hospital tonight so I can sleep in my own bed for the first time since Tuesday, what a blessing. My mom and dad are still with us and have been so much help so that I can spend as much time as possible at the hospital. Jarom and I are so blessed to have the four best parents in the world and the best family and friends too!!! We love all of you with all our hearts!

Love, Sarah

Day 12 update:

2009-10-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Nathan's team told me this morning that they are still looking for answers about how and why this has happened to him. But right now it is a mystery. We are going to start working with the rehab team of doctors and therapists so we can help Nathan to make the journey back to 100% recovery. Speech, occupational, and physical therapy are the main groups we will be working with.

Both OT and PT came this morning and did an assessment with Nathan so they will have a baseline. While PT was working with him he sat himself up and stayed in the position for about 10 seconds and he made eye contact with me, I said to him "good job Nathan, mommy is here" and then he lunged forward and let me snuggle him. We stayed that way for about 5 minutes but my knees started to hurt and the phone kept ringing so I finally had to move. Oh how it warmed this mommies heart to feel like my sweet Nathan knew who I was and wanted me. Between this and his comment from last night "my mommy here, mommy here," I am finally feeling like he knows who I am and it's the best feeling in the world!!! Yesterday Jarom held Nathan in his lap and read half a story to him before he started fidgeting. Today I was able to read 2 and 1/2 books with him on my lap before he started fidgeting. We are so happy that his attention span is increasing.

Lastly, I just went with him for his swallow test and he did awesome. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. They sat him in a chair and did an x-ray of his throat while the speech therapist fed him. His throat is looking wonderful and functioning perfectly now. I was able to watch the pureed food and drink on the x-ray move down and it was amazing. He was so hungry. So they don't have to replace the feeding tube that he pulled off last night, yeah! We are so excited for his improvements, feel that we are moving forward and pray that it will continue.

Love, Sarah

Day 12

2009-10-23T08:58:00.001-07:00

Just got some really good news from Sarah. Nathan got a really good night's sleep last night. While she was on the phone with Shelly Blanchard yesterday evening, she heard him say, "My mommy here. Mommy here." It was really good to hear him say that. He is also trying to follow commands by the nurse to turn over. The doctors were speaking with Sarah a short time ago and I will post what they told her once I hear it.

Day 11 continued

2009-10-23T07:06:00.001-07:00

I stopped by the hospital last night to see Nathan. He is thrashing around less and paid attention while I read him a story. He also drank chocolate milk through a straw and ate some pudding. He did pull his feeding tube out of his nose, which was a pain on the one hand for the nurses, but on the other hand it is good that he realizes that it is there and that he doesn't like it! I think it is only a matter of time before he starts to remember us and talk to us.

Day 11 Update:

2009-10-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

We have great news! The MRI came back clear so they don't think there is any brain damage. The Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap) is also clear (no signs of infections or bacteria). The medicine used to put him under has now worn off and he is showing signs of physical improvement. His pupils are dilating better and he is not clenching his mouth shut.

They did find out that his PICC line was growing bacteria and that is why they suspect that he has had a low grade fever for the last couple of days. They have removed it and put in an IV in his hand for liquids and blood draws. It took them 3 tries to successfully put the IV in, which was sad to watch. However, during the process he yelled out loud for the first time in 2 days and is being more responsive. He still doesn't seem to recognize family members. Speech therapy is coming to evaluate him today and he is still having respiratory treatments for his lungs.

We are grateful for the improvements. Suzanne, one of the doctors, told me that we will watch him overnight and his team will meet in the morning to discuss his changes. Thank you again for all your love and concern, we love you all!

Love, Sarah

Day 10 continued

2009-10-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Since his life is no longer in danger, Nathan was transferred from the ICU to a regular hospital room this afternoon. There's no change in his condition that we can see so far. It's possible that this state that he's in is due to the drugs in his system, but as a doctor put it, every hour that goes by without him improving makes that possibility look less likely.

The doctors ordered an EEG scan to check for seizures. The scan was negative--no seizures. He ate another popsicle tonight. His feeding tube is still in. He's off the of the supplemental oxygen. His lungs are clear, but he still has some stuff in his throat and chest that he's trying to clear out. He's still not talking either--he said "ouch" to one doctor who was poking him this afternoon and that was it.

Nathan was moving around a little more tonight. He got up on all fours briefly (twice) in the three hours that I was there tonight. He rolls around quite a bit, almost as though he was trying to get comfortable. He is still not sleeping much, though he was looking pretty tired when I left tonight.

The plan tomorrow is for him to have an MRI scan and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). The MRI is to check his brain for swelling and damage. The lumbar puncture is to check for infections that may have developed since the antibiotics were stopped.

Obviously we are in anguish over this turn of events. Please continue to pray for him.

Day 10 update

2009-10-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan is not progressing as quickly as we would like. He’s not talking, not sleeping much, and can’t sit up on his own yet. He doesn’t recognize Sarah or me yet either. A neurologist will probably examine him today and he may get a CT scan. The ICU doctors say that this is abnormal behavior.

We’re not out of the woods yet. Please continue to pray for him.

Pictures from day 9

2009-10-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

Nathan's still not recognizing us or talking yet. This is a somewhat common side effect from Versed, the sedative that he was on. It usually wears off after 24-48 hours. We got some pictures to post now that he looks a lot better. It was fun to see him eat a popsicle.

Nathan's awake, disoriented

2009-10-20T11:54:00.001-07:00

The drugs are taking a little while to wear off. He can't talk yet and doesn't really recognize Sarah at this point. He was on a paralytic and several other drugs for a number of days. They've removed his catheter, but his feeding tube and tube to get blood are still in him.

Day 9 update

2009-10-20T09:51:00.001-07:00

I just heard from Sarah that Nathan’s breathing tube is out! The doctors are decreasing his meds even further today, so hopefully all continues to go well. He is awake and watching some TV. He’s not talking yet, probably due to his sore throat, but maybe he will start talking a little later.

Day 8 update

2009-10-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today has been another day of progress for Nathan. His ventilator was turned down some, his doses of drugs were decreased, and he has been awake a little more. His pulse was down. While he was awake, he was able to nod and shake his head when his nurses and visitors asked him questions. A couple of problems that he faced today were diarrhea and air in his stomach--this may have been caused by a bacteria in his digestive tract; we're still waiting to hear about what it is (if there is one). They also stopped feeding him since his stomach was hurting him.

Before I left his room tonight, the nurse told me that the doctors may decide to remove his breathing tube tomorrow and continue to decrease his medications. We sure hope they do this since it will allow his throat to start healing and him to communicate verbally.

Hope you've all had a great night. Another update will show up tomorrow, hopefully with more good news! Again, thank you to all of you for your faith, prayers, and well wishes.

Day 7 update

2009-10-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Nathan continued to do well tonight. He has a slight fever, continues to pee out extra fluids (he's still somewhat swollen), and his other numbers look good. His day nurse said that in a best-case scenario, Nathan would be out of the ICU in three days and out of the hospital in seven. Both his day and night nurses strongly hinted that Sarah should sleep at home tonight. Two reasons for this--they're trying to have him sleep as much as possible tonight in preparation for a big day tomorrow, as the doctors will most likely try to start weaning him off the ventilator tomorrow. This will surely be hard on him and we hope that he performs up to expectations. The other reason is that Sarah will most likely want to be well-rested for when he's out of the ICU and doesn't have constant nurse attention, since she will be taking up some of that slack.

Several nurses said that we should expect him to recover fully from this ordeal, for which we are so happy and grateful to Heavenly Father. Please continue to keep him in your prayers for his big day tomorrow! We love you all and are so grateful for your continued support (prayers, fasting, well wishes, phone calls, and emails).

--Jarom and Sarah

Day 7 update

2009-10-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post. During Saturday night, Nathan's left lung collapsed, which required the doctors to switch him over to the more conventional ventilator. This was done while Sarah was present. His chest x-ray at the time looked really bad--tons of stuff in his lungs. All of the crap was in the left lung, while the right lung was mostly open. This imbalance caused the lung medicine to follow the path of least resistance (right lung). This is why the doctors went with the other ventilator--the oscillator ventilator was making things worse for Nathan's lungs. Sarah was right in the middle of the action as the doctors were discussing what to do and how to proceed.

Sunday morning has seen a big change for Nathan. He is resting comfortably, with all numbers looking good on the conventional ventilator. The left lung looks better than last night--a "night and day" difference according to Sarah, who looked at both chest films. He is now off of the paralytic medicine, which means that he is more aware of what is going on from time to time. It has been great for Sarah and me to be up here with him today. We're grateful to Mom and Dad, who took the other two kids to church and have been keeping an eye on them this afternoon.

Day 6 (cont.)

2009-10-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight Nathan's status has not changed much. They have turned his ventilator down a little since his carbon dioxide levels have dropped (this is a good thing). The next goal is for his lungs to get strong enough to switch to a different ventilator that allows for him to do more of his breathing on his own.

The nurses continue to suction his lungs. Nathan doesn't like this very much; sometimes he fidgets and grimaces since it makes him uncomfortable. The good thing is that he is improving and not getting worse. He has had two days and nights of not getting worse now. :) More tomorrow.

Nathan's hospital update, day 6

2009-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Sarah and I decided that we would start posting updates about Nathan's condition on our seldom-used blog. The blog is happy to get some use. :)

Today is Nathan's 6th day in the hospital. I (Jarom) spoke with his nurse a couple of hours ago. She said that his blood pH is still good and that he is still quite swollen. They have him on a diuretic to help with the swelling. Sometimes this diuretic raises blood pressure, so they had him on some blood pressure medicine for awhile. However, his BP has remained good, so he's off the BP medicine now.

They still have him on the "oscillator" ventilator, which is doing all of the breathing for him right now. The doctor's plan is to keep him on the oscillator for at least the rest of today--they tried to get him switched over to a different ventilator last night, but he didn't go for it. His oxygen saturation was good, but his lungs were not strong enough to help with the breathing like the doctors wanted. So we're in a holding pattern now, waiting for Nathan's lungs to regain enough strength to get switched over to the other ventilator.

Here are a couple of pictures. The first is Nathan with Jarom at his first BYU football game on October 2. The other one is how he looks in the ICU.

For those who haven't heard about Nathan's illness, here's the quick rundown:

Nathan developed a croupy cough on Sunday evening
Sarah took him to our local clinic Monday morning, where the doctor said his lungs were clear
Monday evening, Nathan had a fever and shortness of breath
Jarom took him to the ER Monday at about 10 pm where an x-ray showed pneumonia in his lungs
Things got more complicated when the nurses intubated him and triggered a gag reflex, which caused him to vomit. He aspirated the vomit/stomach acid into his lungs.
Nathan was then life-flighted to Primary Children's Medical Center at about 1 am on Tuesday morning. Further testing showed that the pneumonia was brought about by the H1N1 flu virus. The aspiration in his lungs caused bacterial pneumonia as well.
He got worse until Thursday night, when things seemed to level off and not get worse anymore.

Loranna is doing quite well--enjoying preschool, making new friends, and doing playdates with those new friends. Daniel is making lots of new sounds and moving around by scooting backwards. He says "Ge ge ge" when he's happy and "Baa baa baa" with a sad sound when he's sad.

Daniel at four months

2009-04-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

I thought you might enjoy seeing these new pictures of Daniel. He is really getting to be a big boy--18 1/2 pounds at 4 months!

2008-11-24T13:53:00.001-08:00

The rest of the first Daniel pix

2008-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Daniel Jarom Webster is here!

2008-11-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

Celebrate with us as we announce the arrival of Daniel Jarom Webster, who was born on November 23 2008 at 4:58 pm.

Vital stats:

9 pounds 5 ounces

20 3/4 inches long

14 1/2 inches head circumference

Sarah was in active labor for about five hours and pushed for about ten minutes. She was induced due to concern about Daniel's size (she didn't want the baby to be huge). Sarah and Daniel are both doing fine and are healthy.

Enjoy the pictures and I promise I will get more up on the blog soon.

Pre-Disney World update

2008-08-09T20:47:00.001-07:00

Hello friends and family.

Time is flying by as usual. We had a great vacation in Oregon last month. We camped in Molalla with Sarah's family, visited Seaside (Jarom's first time there), visited Tillamook Cheese Factory, went to "Carlton Fun Days" for the first time, and that was just while I was there! Sarah and the kids hung around for another ten days after I flew home to go back to work. All in all it was a great time. Loranna even started swimming lessons; she is a little fish.

Now we are preparing to go to Disney World with my folks and all my brothers and sisters and their families. Orlando in August will be hot and rainy, but we are expecting to have a great time. We'll be there for a week, then Sarah and the kids will come back to Magna while I spend five days in Wisconsin for the second residency of my master's degree. I'm hoping to keep the 4.0 GPA intact after my summer research class--fingers are crossed!

We were blessed to find a minivan that we could afford and liked. It is a '07 Kia Sedona; I wanted to buy a Toyota or a Honda but I just couldn't spend the money to do so. This car was a steal, so we couldn't pass it up even though we won't really need it until the third kid shows up in November. Sarah sure likes not having to drive me to work anymore!

Take care and we'll post some post-vacation pix later.

Webster's June update

2008-06-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Lots of things have been going on. We took an exciting vacation to Vernal Utah over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Sarah served five months of her mission in Vernal, so it was a pleasure for her to go back and visit. We had fun playing in the local pool, visiting a couple of families that Sarah knows, and going to the Utah Field House of Natural History. The kids liked the dinosaurs!

Schiff had Lagoon Day last week. Sarah and I left the kids behind and enjoyed an afternoon and evening together. Nathan had some pictures taken recently because he just turned 2. I've attached them below.

We're going to Oregon next week, and Sarah will spend much of July there (I'm flying back to SLC on 7/8). Take care everyone!

P.S. I was wrong in my previous post about not getting a 4.0. Somehow my professors gave me an A instead of an AB, so my 4.0 is still intact! Hurrah!

Family update

2008-05-16T21:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a blog slacker and will do better. OK, let's move on. :)

Item: We are pregnant! Baby is due at the end of November. We decided to be surprised this time and are very excited (of course).

Item: Nathan turns two tomorrow. He is a cute little boy whose vocabulary was late in starting but is growing every day. I know it's a cliche, but time really does fly!

Item: Sarah is enjoying her YW calling very much and is making some great connections with her Beehives. I get to go to certain YW activities since I am assisting the YW as part of my high council duties.

Item: My 4.0 GPA for my master's degree will be obliterated as of next week since I got an "AB" in one of my classes. Never mind that it was a 93%--it's still an AB! I got an A in the other class.

Item: Loranna is doing very well. She continues to amaze us with her vocabulary and understanding. She likes to run around outside and she loves her brother very much. She continually tells us that the new baby will be a girl.

Item: I was being recruited for a process technologist position for GlaxoSmithKline Mexico in Mexico City earlier this year. I had two phone interviews before GSK put a hiring freeze on technical personnel. The freeze could be over as soon as June or as late as September. Since they were looking to hire me for next year, it may just be a bump in the road, or my GSK possibilities may be over. Who knows!

We love you all and hope you are well!

Potentially exciting news for Jarom's career

2007-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

I have been invited for an interview with a medium-sized pharmaceutical company in Austin, Texas. It will be on October 30. I've been casually looking for the right opportunity through some recruiters, and they found this for me. I already had a short phone interview that went really well, and since they liked my engineering background and formulation experience, they invited me down! I'm pretty excited, though I'm not jumping to any conclusions.

As you may expect, Sarah is less than enthused about the prospect of moving to Texas. She understands that it's only a faint possibility at this point, though. We are excited about getting carpet put in the two basement rooms tomorrow! The kids will have some more room to run around down there, which is always good.

Sarah & kids at Hogle Zoo

2007-10-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

We visited Hogle Zoo together with Lana, her sister Tara and her husband Gary, and their sons today! We had lots of fun visiting the reptile and rodent exhibit. Loranna loved the snakes and the meerkat. Nathan loved the maras (rodent that looks like an oversized rabbit). He was talking to it. :) Some construction was going on (carousel and eatery being installed). The kids also loved feeding the ducks and swans in the pond.

We also have some pix of tired kids, including a progression of Loranna asleep, waking up, and fully alert! They are getting so huge. Loranna is now fully potty trained. Sarah has worked so hard to make that happen--props to her.

Jarom is in the middle of a high profile, high priority project at work that is consuming a lot of his time there. He is also super busy with his master's degree, his church calling, and following BYU football.

In Madison, Wisconsin: liberal haven

2007-08-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've been in Madison for the last 5 days attending the summer residency for my online master's of engineering degree. It's been raining on and off, and it's quite humid. It has been an enjoyable week. My class is a great bunch of people, and the program has been set up well. It's going to be a lot of work, though--20 hours per week is the bare minimum. We've had it pounded into our heads that "we get out of the program what we put in." So, along with the $40,000 tuition price tag, I have extra incentive to work hard.

Since it is dominated by the university and is the state capital, Madison is a haven for liberals and granola types. Recycling bins everywhere, official conservation signs everywhere, and the lesbian-gay-bi-transsexual student club headquarters are in the student union building. Couple that with bars and beer everywhere, and you can tell that it's about as different from BYU as you can imagine. I hung out with many of the guys in my class at one of the local bars for about 3 hours Monday night. Many of them offered to buy me a beer, but I politely declined, so they bought me a Sprite instead.

Sarah has recruited some help from my aunt Sharon to paint the 2 basement rooms that I recently finished. She hopes to have it finished by 9/1. She is considering switching from Gold's Gym to a local family center in West Valley. Nathan is walking all over the place now. He and Loranna are really keeping Sarah busy.

Hope you're all doing well.

Sarah's home, life returning to normal

2007-07-28T21:04:00.001-07:00

Sarah, Loranna, and Nathan arrived back home on Tuesday morning. I tucked her into bed and took the kids to the park and to run errands while she slept. We had a pleasant Pioneer Day together.

We had some excitement early Thursday morning when Sarah woke me up at 1:30 am complaining of severe stomach flu symptoms and violent chills. Since she was so scared, and because I really didn't know what else to do for her beyond trying to get her to drink fluids, I took her to the ER at the nearby hospital. They gave her an IV with fluids and drugs, which helped her system to calm down. I stayed home from work that day to tend the kids. :)

Jarom's still alone

2007-07-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

So Sarah and the kids are still in Oregon, and I've been alone for 11 days. Crazy! It's the longest I've ever been away from any of them. I'm hanging tough, though. Pretty much this is how my days have gone:

wake up
go to work
come home from work
eat some semblance of dinner that I make myself
work on the basement or homework
watch TV or movie
go to bed

Exciting, I know.