A VERY Scary Halloween.....

This has been our scariest Halloween yet! Jordan's foot just kept getting worse and worse so on Friday our doctor said he needed to be admitted to the hospital. This was not the news we were hoping for when we went to his appointment, but it had to be done if we wanted to get him healthy again and prevent him from losing his toe or possibly his whole foot!

While in the hospital Jordan underwent a surgery where they removed the infection and cleaned everything out. The surgery went very well and he was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Thank goodness! Five whole days of him being in there is just unbelievable to me. It feels like he has been gone forever & it's SO nice to finally have him home!

We're not quite in the clear yet of having all of this resolved. Before Jordan was able to come home they had to insert a TAC line into his chest so that he can hook himself up to an I.V. from home two times per day. They have him set up on a schedule of 7:00 am & 7:00 pm. The medicine takes approximately 1-2 hours to run into his system. Nurses will need to come to our house 2 times per week to change the dressing as well as draw blood and check to make sure he is doing okay. We will have to take these measures for the next 6 weeks! Crazy huh? It's crazy for us because we have been so blessed with our health. Both of us have never had any major injuries so to see Jord with tubes coming out of his chest and hooking up to an I.V. in our home is so weird. He is doing great though! What a trooper!

Thank you EVERYONE for all of your thoughts and prayers! All of you have been so thoughtful and caring for our little family during this tough time and we appreciate it more than you will ever know! We are so thankful for each and everyone of you!

Taylor with her Daddy - she missed him so much! We went to the hospital every night so that he could kiss his girls goodnight!

This is the medicine that they will deliver to our house once per week!

Jordan hooking up to his at home I.V. for the first time. We actually couldn't stop laughing because we couldn't believe everything that was going on. He had to sit at our kitchen table just like that for 2 hours! Poor guy!

Flowers and Chocolates from people that love Jordan! Thank you Rick & Summer and to the Manutai's - You guys are awesome!

Me & the girls got these for our special guy! These strawberries were SO good! I think Taylor & I helped Jordan a little too much with eating them!

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So here are a few things that I have learned this past week:

1.) I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY FAMILY!

2.) A hot shower can cure just about anything!

3.) Nap time is the greatest especially when you actually get to sleep!

4.) It's okay to ask for help

5.) We are stronger than we think!

6.) Life is not always going to be a walk in the park, but every step we take is well worth it!

My Poor husband........

Life is crazy.........So we have had a very interesting month of October! We now have 2 children, which has proven to be an adjustment to say the least and my big, strong, brave husband has been unable to walk for the past week. Let me just start out by saying that in the five years that I have known Jordan I have never even heard him mention that he was in pain. After all the bumps & bruises from playing college football he always said, "Oh, I'm just fine." Nope, he decided to wait until we had a 2 year old and a 2 week old baby to have a major injury! And I feel SO bad for him!

Last Tuesday I noticed him messing around with his foot like something was bothering him and when I asked what was going on I got the same old response that I always get from him. "Oh, I'm just fine." Thursday approached us and he was going out of town for the weekend up to Salt Lake for a football tryout and to Idaho the rest of the time to be with family. That morning is when he mentioned to me that his toe was really hurting for some reason. I called the doctor trying to get him an appointment before he left for his tryout. Unfortunately, we were unable to get him in before his plane left and he had to head to his combine hoping for the best. Well, he made it through ( I have no idea how) and by Saturday he was in Urgent Care up in Pocatello trying to figure out what was wrong with his swollen, oozing toe! They put him on a medication, but by the time he flew home on Sunday night we had to go straight to the emergency room because it had gotten so much worse! Watching the news, we have heard about several cases of serious staph infections, so we didn't want to take any chances - especially since his entire foot was swollen now. The hospital got him on an I.V. of antibiotics, ran a few tests and prescribed a few more medications to take at home & then we were on our way. We needed to have a follow up appointment with our doctor within 48 - 72 hours.

Yesterday we went to the doctor for a follow up and he was stunned that the hospital hadn't taken an even more aggressive approach to the situation because it was VERY SERIOUS! He was concerned that Jordan might lose his toe or possibly his whole foot. WHAT? I was shocked to hear that! We even had to get ex-rays to see if the infection has reached the bone. Hopefully we can hear back on these results soon so we can figure out what needs to be done. I just want to get my husband healthy again!

I have to mention this because it really was one of the funniest things I have even witnessed & if you can't have a sense of humor in situations like this how are you ever going to get through them? Another method that our doctor felt was necessary to take to help cure the problem was to give Jord a few shots. A few meaning two in the butt - one in each cheek! I got to watch my husband pull down his pants and bend over right there in the doctor's office! I can't explain why that was so funny to me, but it was! Poor guy!

Now we are just waiting to see if it will start getting better before we have to head to the hospital again to take further action. Even though he has THE GROSSEST foot I have ever seen in my entire life, I love him SO much! He is my hero, my everything & definitely one tough cookie!

We made Jordan a Welcome Home sign because we missed him like crazy!

Jord just getting home from the airport on Sunday night - we sure missed him

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The following is VERY disgusting so I apologize to those of you who have weak stomachs, but this is what my poor husband has been going through & believe it or not the pictures don't even do justice to how serious this infection is.

I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE......

Last night we went to the Mesa temple as a family to take pictures of our girls for Bentley's birth announcement and since we have zero green grass at our house - we figured it would be much nicer over there! I love the feeling that I get every single time we walk on the temple grounds! I instantly become overwhelmed with such a peaceful & comforting feeling! It is just so beautiful there!

The photo session went next to horrible - Taylor was more interested in picking all the beautiful flowers (which I really don't think you are supposed to do, but try explaining that to a determined 2 year old) than having anything to do with her baby sister. When we finally got her attention to hold Bentley "softly" she would push her away " not so softly." Poor Bentley even did a face plant into the grass! I felt SO bad, but I guess she will need to get used to it because she will always be the little sister to Taylor.

Oh well, we only needed a few good pictures and these turned out alright. I won't even show all the ones that didn't. Hopefully someday Taylor will be a little more interested in spending time with Bentley! Even though we were so frustrated with her we still loved the opportunity we had to spend time together as a family at the temple!

Taylor absolutely loved the water! I really think she would have done anything to be able to jump in! I had to tell her a 100 times to back up a little bit!

My love holding our little Bentley! He is such an amazing father!

Nice shot, mom! This is my little flower head!

Taylor just playing with the flowers! I didn't even realize she had picked yet another one!

Our girls!!!!

How miserable does Taylor look in this picture?

Pretty in purple!

WOW! Taylor was actually smiling & looking at the camera at the same time! Lucky us!

I love my little Bentley!

2 Weeks Already!!!

Bentley has already been a part of our family for two weeks!!!! What a blessing it is to have her! It's amazing how 2 weeks can just fly by in the blink of an eye! We had her doctor's appointment on Thursday last week and she had gained a whole pound! WOW! I wasn't expecting that, but we were happy to hear that she had gained weight since birth! Taylor is such a skinny little thing that it would be kind of fun to have a chubby baby! GO Bentley!

We have definitely already experienced a small taste of what parenting is all about & I can't wait for what is ahead for us in the future! It's scary to think of everything we are going to go through with our children, but it is even more rewarding to think about the joy they bring to our lives! I've decided that some days are going to be more than I can handle & the rest of the time will be so much fun that someday I will only wish that I could have those days back! Basically I plan to just take everything one day at a time!

I'm also VERY lucky to have such an incredible husband that supports me and gives me so much help that I truly don't know that I would do without him! That makes the whole experience of parenthood that much more worth it!

Bentley Reese - 2 weeks old

Believe it or not - I actually made this bow! What an angel!

Bentley's 1st ride in her swing!

SISTERS ARE THE BEST OF FRIENDS ..................

These pictures say it all - Taylor LOVES her little sister, Bentley! Maybe a little too much sometimes!

BEAUTIFUL PROFILES .........

I just love these profile pictures! They have the sweetest little faces!

First family Walk.....

Over the weekend we went on our first family of four (plus Trigger) walk around the neighborhood. It was so beautiful outside & it felt so good to be outdoors all together! Arizona is finally starting to cool down, thank goodness because it was a HOT summer! We love the fact that it is finally fall and even though we don't get to see the leaves changing colors we love the month of October down here in the desert!

Bentley all bundled up and ready to go for her very first walk.

What a sweetie!

Taylor was so excited - she just didn't realize that she was NOT riding in the stroller. I need to invest in a double stroller now!

Tay was even more trilled that she got to sit in her very own wagon. We couldn't wipe the grin off of her face the entire walk!

My sexy man with the boy & Taylor

Taylor just cruising along

Me & my girls!!!

2006 - 2007 Home Videos....

I found a few videos of Taylor when she was younger and I can't believe just how much she has grown up! It's crazy to even remember that she was once Bentley's size! She makes me laugh and smile everyday (and yell quite a bit too, but that's okay). It will be interesting to see Bentley grow and how she compares to Taylor. Watching these old videos makes me appreciate being a mom and reminds me just how much I love my life!

TAYLOR - 16 MONTHS

Taylor has always loved dancing & spinning in circles! Once she started walking it seems like she learned to run the very next day! She's a very active child!

TAYLOR - 13 MONTHS

This video is hilarious to me! We went to Hawaii for Christmas last year for Jord's bowl game & we went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch before the big game. My mom was "trying" to take a picture of me & my sister and it was taking forever. It turns out she had the camera on video mode and this is what she captured......

TAYLOR - 11 MONTHS

She just started walking! That was a fun stage!

Recent Family Videos........

I finally figured out how to post videos - probably easier than I made it, but here are a few recent videos of our little girl, Taylor - She is growing up way too fast! What a fun & challenging age it is to be almost two! We love the outgoing, energetic & tender spirit that she brings into our home! Our lives would definitely not be the same without her! It seems that she can just do it all now including being such a wonderful Big Sister to Bentley! And boy can this kid JUMP! I can't get her to stop! She will even jump off the couch and land on her giant polar bear of a dog, Trigger - poor guy! She'll just laugh and get right back up and do it again! I think we have our hands full with this little miss! I really need to get her enrolled in gymnastics or something because she absolutely LOVES bouncing and hanging on things! Hopefully by Christmas or a little after! What can I say - I LOVE MY GIRLS!

TAYLOR - 22 1/2 MONTHS

Taylor loves to jump & dance & play! Grandma Hill just bought her The Jungle Book and Taylor thinks it is SO FUNNY!

TAYLOR - 21 MONTHS

Tay playing & exlporing in her backyard - She LOVES her princess castle!

We Welcome with Love.....

BENTLEY REESE HILL

Our little angel is finally here! Bentley was born on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 1:23 pm at Banner Gateway Medical Center! We couldn't be more excited and thrilled to have her here in our lives! She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long! We were expecting her to be bigger than her sister, Taylor since she was almost a week late, but surprise surprise - she is a tiny little thing! We just love her! It has definitely been worth the wait! We are officially a family of four!

Bentley Reese Hill - her first moments of life!

She is SO precious!

Her little bed in the hospital - they made her the cutest name tag! Just seeing her name makes us smile the biggest smile!

Look at those beautiful eyes!

Bentley taking a look at her new world!

Bentley & Mommy - meeting for the first time!

The Proud Daddy!

Taylor & Bentley - Taylor was so excited to meet her baby sister!

Grandma Hill holding her 2nd granddaughter for the 1st time!

Grandma Hill & her two beautiful granddaughters!

Daddy & his two little princesses - He LOVES his girls!

Taylor came and visited us in the hospital and was so darling! Of course she had to do some exploring around the hospital room and she found a little cave to hide in!

Me & my girls! I can't believe it!

Bentley sure is loved already!

Jord, Me & Bentley in the hospital - We are so happy to be holding her in our arms!

Grandma Great holding her 2nd Great Granddaughter!

Norm & Cara & Bentley - They came and visited us in the hospital!

Spending time with Daddy!

Getting ready to leave the hospital and head home with our new addition!

She was so tiny in her big carseat!

Bentley's 1st car ride!

Taylor & Bentley just hanging out as sisters! We can't believe how big Taylor is!

Taylor just smiles & giggles when Bentley moves her hands and feet! She thinks they are so tiny & cute!

Bentley wide awake!

Bentley sleeping - already making herself at home!

What a beautiful little girl! We are overjoyed to have her in our lives!