On a rainy Saturday morning...

Abigail managed to go GROCERY SHOPPING,

DRIVE a car,

Go CAMPING,

Visit the THREE BEARS and ARTHUR,


Eat BEIGNETS with Grandma,

and RIDE A WHALE.

No wonder this girl is out of energy. Oh wait. She's NEVER out of energy. This was all at the Children's Museum at the Seattle Center. It was perfect for a little girl who can't be climbing, swinging, etc. And yes, that was my mom. She's here to help me cope with the toddler and babe. Huzzah for moms!

This next pic is at the Redmond Town Centre outdoor mall. It's a just a little fountain set, but Abbs played in it with her friends Taylie and Kylie and had a blast. It's actually hot enough now to need the fountain. And A/C... which we don't have...

CHUNKY BABY LOVE. She's such a cutie. And so is the toddler that the hand belongs to on Claire's foot. I love her too.

Yay for Washington! I'm so glad my mom is here. It's been awesome and I don't think I can let her go. Abby is doing well. We've super appreciated the gifts from people to help her stay calm. It's been interesting trying to keep her entertained so the gifts have been awesome! We love you all. :) More pictures hopefully to come.

We're home!

Hey friends and fam--

I know you're all anxious to know how Abigail is doing. Thank you so SO much for your prayers, your love, and your concern. I believe with all my heart that Abigail is doing so well as a direct result of your prayers. So thank you.

We came home last night around 7:00 p.m. It was super difficult for both Abby and me to have to enter the apartment again, but the nightmare is slowly fading. Hopefully we'll hit a point that the window doesn't scare me to death to even look at. But for now... I'm going to have Jesse duct tape it shut. Hey, I need peace of mind!

Abby does her best to stay happy, but definitely has her moments when the pain is more intense than others. She landed on her left side and the muscles are sore enough that she can't stand or walk yet. She tries, but she crumbles pretty quickly so she's mostly just camped out on the couch. It's a little difficult juggling a newborn and carrying a toddler to wherever she wants to be.
But we discovered that Claire is our magic medicine. Whenever Abigail is upset or in lots of pain, we let her hold Claire and it immediately brightens her up. Abigail is a wonderful big sister.

We're so blessed that we're only dealing with a skull fracture and a spleen contusion. And she did so well in the hospital that we got to leave within 48 hours. It's all an absolute miracle. Abigail was definitely watched over. At this point, we just need Abby to heal, and Jesse and I need the energy to help her heal. Again, thank you so so much for your prayers.

And for YOUR peace of mind, I've included pictures so you know that Abby doesn't look super beat up. In fact, you can't see any of her injuries. She just looks dirty. Oh, and her hand is wrapped only to keep the IV in her hand. She ripped out the IV on her other hand so they had to super wrap this one.

Not the whales. Sorry.

I know I promised a post about the whales---and it's coming. Eventually. But for now.... we have a little more pressing story. It's grim. If you have a weak stomach, skip to the end.

Yesterday at 4:30 p.m. Abigail fell out of the window of our three-story apartment building.
Don't ask me to recount details. I had to do it a million times in the ER and the ICU and if I have to do it one more time, I may check into a psych facility. I saw it happen. But I was too slow. And the nightmare has haunted me since.

We are currently in Pediatric ICU of the Harbor View Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Abigail sustained a skull fracture in the parietal region and a contusion of her spleen. Miraculously, that was all. Can you believe it? She fell 30 feet and that was it. Okay, you have permission to throw up.

This morning the neurology surgical team confirmed that her skull fracture was not threatening and they would no longer need to follow that. So we're still here for the spleen. I don't even know what the spleen does. Anyway, they're monitoring internal bleeding. She's dropped in her hematocrit count and she has to be stabilized before she can be released. So we're praying to be home tomorrow night.

Abigail is in pain and is incredibly sore, but if you know Abigail, you know that she's still trying to smile and still being a goofball. We laughed through Bambi tonight at the silly old owl and Thumper's nose as he says "bird." And with wide eyes and a goofy grin she announced to me every time she got a blueberry in her blueberry yogurt. Except the last one. It was only part of a blueberry. She still says, "Oh, Claire, you're so beautiful" every time she sees her baby sister.

But unfortunately she gets scared of remembering what happened too.

So pray. Pray for Abigail that she can heal--not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. This experience is going to haunt her for a long time.

And if you can spare some, please pray for me. I don't know if I can ever wipe the images from my mind. I now understand the definition of traumatic and I think the Atonement is going to play a huge role in my recovery...

Just pray for us.

We love you and we're incredibly grateful for your prayers. Seriously, there's no way we could have survived this alone without them.

The Larsens come for a visit

I am so far behind on my blog!

Some of Jesse's family came to visit us in the first week of June. The plan was that Jesse's Grandma Sherlene and his sister Mikenzie were going to visit, but when they got here we were SHOCKED to find his mom, Cathy, was with them as well! She had just come across the country from Alabama with Sherlene and then jumped into the car to drive to Washington. WAY too much driving, but we were so glad that they all came!!

Another view of the Seattle temple. Cathy commented on the many different colored plants in the corner and I thought it was worth a picture. So there you go.

Abby would not leave Mikenzie alone the whole time they were here. This was Kenzi pushing/pulling Abby around the temple parking lot on her princess scooter.

Jesse and his beautiful madre, Cathy, at the Seattle Temple.

Hooray for Seattle! We tried to drive in to visit Pike's Market, but it was CRAZY. It took us like an hour to even find parking and then... yeah. It was a Saturday, what did I expect?
So this is Abby and mom scuba diving at the Seattle Aquarium.


Dad and Abby overlooking the seals and sea lions--which were hiding in the corners and boring. I am so spoiled... bring me the wild! (that's my next post)

But you have to admit, Seattle is beautiful... :)

Grandma Sherlene and Mikenzie!
We were hanging out on the pier attempting to feed the seagulls. Abby wasn't too thrilled with them though.

Claire is usually found in her sling these days... maybe now that vacations are over she can go back to sleeping in her crib.

The girlies!

It was awesome to have company and so nice to see family! We hadn't seen Jesse's mom and sister since... when was it? Thanksgiving? So yeah, it was way fun to have them here. We didn't do a lot of crazy awesome things, but sometimes it's more fun to just sit around and talk. At least for me. But we did drag them to Red Mill Burger and made them go swimming with Abby. It was awesome and we look forward to seeing them again SOON. (crossing my fingers...)

Love you fam! Thanks for DRIVING a million miles away to see us! :)

Next post: THE WHALES. Oh, be excited for this one.

Week 2: Friends

My family is concerned that we've died. I'm sorry! It's not that easy to get two girls to sleep at the same time so I can blog! So here are some pictures from the last week and a half in Redmond, WA.

I left Abby with Claire in the living room for a few moments to grab something from the bedroom. When I came back, Abby was sitting next to her with the book open. She said, "I'm reading to Claire-bear so she can go to sleep." And it's amazing how much of the story Abby actually told her. Aw, how cute! ;)

Side note: Claire is acquiring many nicknames: Claire-bear, Clairy-beary, Clairezy, and baby bear.

These next pictures are of my lifesaver and her family. I told you about all the activities we were invited to the first week we were here, yeah? Well, this girl is the one who did it all. Brittany M. She is AWESOME. She has three girls and we LOVE to play with them. Abby and I are currently experiencing Brittany and co. withdrawals. Can you believe it? They're in Utah for 2 1/2 weeks. Actually everyone here has ties to Utah.... it's almost funny. So every week our ward combines with another ward for playgroup. We meet at Idylwood Beach on Mondays and on Thursdays we rotate parks. Seriously, Washington has done an incredible job with their park system. So these pics were taken one day at Perrigo Park at a play date.

Brittany M. and her baby Lilah, age 10 months

Taylie, age 4. She did NOT want a picture taken.

Kylie, age 3. She's pretty quiet, but Abigail LOVES to hang out with her. Doesn't hurt that they're the same age. :)

I have no idea what this face is, but it frequents our camera. The girls are digging in the sand volleyball courts. Digging in the sand is a favorite past time of Washington toddlers, I've learned.

I love the people I'm meeting in Redmond. The church is such an incredible strength and support out here and the women are amazing! I really wish I had a pocket version of each friend I've made to take home with me. They're such awesome examples of friendship. I love them to death. If we do get to come back, I pray we can live in this area again.

So here's a post for today! I have a billion more photos to post, but you don't need them all at once, right? It's just good to know we're alive and we have friends.
Loves!!