Christmas Time!

Merry Christmas Everyone! Us Gifford's love Christmas Time. We put up the Tree the day after Thanksgiving. Here is Brooklyn being Vanna and showing it off. She is holding her favorite ornament (a pine cone covered in glitter from preschool). I thought I would post a couple of pics of us during the holiday season and some fun things we like to do. Decorating the tree was lots of fun and we are constantly trying to keeping Chandler from take the "balls" and throwing them.

Here is Shad and Brooklyn making Christmas Sugar Cookies! YUMMY!!

Brooklyn testing out our handiwork. Looks delicious!

Chandler wouldn't really decorate anything. He was too busy eating. It was hard to convince him that one cookie was more than enough for a boy his size. He sometimes eats as much as me or Shad at dinner!

Here is Brooklyn mailing her letter to Santa. This is her "excited Santa" face. She wrote and asked for a Ballerina Barbie, and a Pink Barbie Car. Santa of course wrote back and said he saw those exact items in his workshop. He also thankfully reminded her to be nice to her little brother Chandler. She can pretty much quote the letter word for word. Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you have enjoyed the holidays as much as we have.

Brooklyn's Surgery

So overall Brooklyn's Surgery went quite well. The surgeon was running behind, so instead of getting her in at 1:00PM it was 2:45PM. It was a LONG wait. The surgery went about 3 hours and 45 min. So that was another LONG wait for Shad and I. The surgeon told us that there may be another surgery sometime, but for now we just hope for the best. She has another stent in her ureter so that will have to be removed surgically probably in February. That surgery will be outpatient, and should only take about 30 min to remove. The pic above is me and Brooklyn getting ready for surgery. She looks happy enough to wear the Koala PJ's (she loves those things).

This is Brooklyn right after the surgery. As you can see she has some major pain killers, and the anesthesia is still wearing off. She was on a morphine drip, but as of a couple of days ago, she hasn't even needed LoraTab.

This is the Utah Grizzley Hockey team. They came and visited us. They let Brooklyn say "Hi" to the Bear and they gave her a stuffed Eeyore. She loved it. She is doing well, we will try and keep everyone posted on her progress.

Christmas Tag

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags

Santa Clause doesn't wrap presents at our house. It is exciting for all the kids to see the gifts and wonder which ones are theirs. We wrap the ones we give to other people so I guess wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial?

Artificial. Saves money in the long run.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Thanksgiving weekend...it's a tradition.

4. When do you take the tree down?

After New Year's Day

5. Do you like eggnog?

Can't stand the stuff...looks like baby puke

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I would say the Nintendo 64 since we begged my parents ever year for a system and finally they gave in

7. Hardest person to buy for?

Brittany...she's a woman need I say more?

8. Easiest person to buy for?

Chandler...he is only 22 months old so he cares more about the paper than the gift

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes we have a couple of them

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?

I am all about email

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

I can't really think of one that was bad...i was the most grateful kid every parent wishes they had a child like me

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation by far

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

December 26th and we are usually done soon...I worked black friday for 4 years and I refuse to go shopping that day

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Maybe?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Cheeseball and crackers, also homemade toffee

16. Favorite Christmas tradition?

Decoration Gingerbread house and eating fondue

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Manheim Steamroller stuff...pretty much anything but "Santa Baby"

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?

Stay at home...it is nice to sleep in my own bed and wake up in my own house

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?

Yes, you mean right now?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Angel...even though I hate the one we have now

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Christmas Eve pj's and the rest in the morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

When it doesn't snow and we don't have a white Christmas

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

We eat funeral potatoes and ham Yummy!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?

My two front teeth!

25. How many days left until Christmas?

14 and counting!

Scattergories. . .Tag from my Friend Sarah

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Brittany
BOY NAME: Boston (My nephew's name that will be born in January!)
GIRL NAME: Brooklyn (My beautiful daughter)
OCCUPATION: Blacksmith (do they still have these?)
COLOR: Baby Blue (Double points!!)
SOMETHING YOU WEAR: Boots
BEVERAGE: Banana Milk Shake
FOOD: Berries (all kinds, strawberries, raspberries, bluberries etc.)
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Bath tub
A PLACE: Brittany, France (yes it really is a place!!)
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Beauty Sleep
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: BE QUIET!!

Now I Tag..Brittany Whipple, Cajsa Whipple, and Jacks!

Brooklyn's Kidney Update

This pic has nothing to do with her kidneys it is just a silly picture of Brooklyn with Shad's deer antlers on her head. But I thought I would update everyone that was curious about her kidneys. On Nov. 20th I took her to get an ultrasound of her kidneys to see if the stent helped her blocked ureter. We got some bad news. Our urologist at Primary Children's said that there was just as much fluid in her right kidney as before the stent was put in, so he recommended that she have major surgery on her ureters to fix it. It will be on Dec. 15th at Primary Children's. It will be a 3 hour surgery and she will have to spend at least one night in the hospital. So we ask that all our friends and family keep her in your prayers that she will be healthy enough to have surgery so that we can get it done this year since we have already met our deductible for the year. Thanks for all your continuing love and support!

Happy Halloween

The kids had a blast this year with Halloween. Shad was relieved that Brooklyn decided to be something other than a princess this year. She chose to be an angel instead. Chandler didn't really have a choice and we dressed him in a Batman costume. Chandler didn't last too long. He tried to climb out of the stroller before Shad got to him and figured out that gravity hurts sometimes as he bonked his head on the sidewalk. That ended his night. He went back to Grandma's house and helped her hand out the candy to all the other kids and really enjoyed doing that. Shad stayed out with Brooklyn for quite a while. She had so much candy in her pumpkin that Shad had to carry a bunch for her because it was too heavy. They were sure fun to watch.By the look on her face I think she is pretty excited to get started. Yes that is a HUGE Candy bar!
We went to a Murder Mystery Dinner (Thank you Mike and Alisa!) and Shad was dressed as John Wayne and I was Gloria Swenson (whoever she is). It was fun to go and be among friends without the kids. John Wayne was a suspect but in the end it was Jimmie Hendrix that was convicted of the murder.

Brooklyn's Surgery

Brooklyn had to have her surgery early. On October 24th they took the stent out of her ureter. She was just in so much pain everyday so instead of Nov. 20th they took it out on Oct. 24th. Everything went really smooth. We have to go back to Primary Childrens this month for more tests to make sure everything is still good, so we will have our fingers crossed.


This is Brooklyn before surgery, right after she put on the hospital pajamas. She was REALLY excited to put these on, she loves them!

This is Brooklyn on the car ride home from the hospital. With her "Hospital Buddy". Before surgery they get to put the mask on the doll that Brooklyn made and look at pictures of the operating room so they aren't so scared.

Shad's Deer Hunting Trip

I finally got my first deer. I didn't get the luxury of doing this when I was a kid so I have started going with my in-laws. Last year was my first attempt but because of the poor weather we walked away empty handed. This year the weather was beautiful. I shot this guy perfect and dropped him with one shot. I had him before 8am and we were off the mountain by noon. He was a pretty big two-point and was a heavy one to drag down the mountain.

Family Pictures

So on Monday we got our Family Picture taken. Our last one that we had done, Brooklyn was two and I was 3 months pregnant with Chandler. I think we were a little overdo. Last time I actually enjoyed taking pictures, we had a good time, but this time I have to admit, was an awful experience. My Dad once compared getting family pictures taken to getting a root canal. I just may have to agree. It was late, the lighting was getting bad, Chandler was crying almost the entire time, it was cold, we were arguing, and no one was having any fun. We only took 4 shots of the entire family, and thank our lucky stars we got this one. We took some other shots of the kids, and Shad and me that I will post later after Shad does some editing. Needless to say, some of our smiles were a little forced & we don't have one picture of Chandler smiling!

Canning Season

Last week, My Mom, My Dad, My Sister Sharae, and I canned peaches and pears. It is a lot of work, but totally worth it. They taste WAY better than store bought. I took a couple of pictures of all the work we did. We canned 46 quarts total for me. We canned probably 90 quarts for my Mom, and for my sister we did about 46 quarts too.WHEW! It took 3 days, all day to do it. These pics are just of my quarts.

Farewell to a Good ol' Friend

I realize that most of you thought somebody I knew died, but that is not the case. After Sunday's game we have to say good bye to Yankee Stadium. I am very sad but hope for the best in the new stadium. I can say; however, that the feeling you get when you walk out of the subway and BOOM! Yankee Stadium is right in front of you. I got to go there when I was 16 to see the Yankees play the Angels. What a great feeling to be part of a legendary edifice. If I could ask for a moment of silence please..........................................................Thanks.

Tag....Your It!

Shad's answers are in Black, Brittany's are in Purple
A- Attached or single? Attached for Eternity :) Definitely Attached
B-Best friend? Brittany Shad
C-Cake or Pie? Pie!! (unless we are talking about Costco's cheesecake) PIE (Cake is gross)
D-Day of choice? Saturday. The day i get to spend the most time watching football! Saturday cause Shad is home Hopefully not watching football
E-Essential Item? DVR Flushing Toilets
F- Favorite color? Blue (Go BYU!) RED (but I still like BYU better)
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms for sure! WORMS
H- Hometown? Boise, ID. Sandy UT
I- Indulgence? Can this be an outdoor activity or just a food? Anything Chocolate
J- January or July? Both January for Skiing, July for Camping and the outdoors July because it's my B-day
K-Kids? 2 2
L-Life isn't complete without? My family! My Husband and kids
M- Marriage Date? Let me check the inside of my ring...January 25th, 2003 Same
N-Number or brothers and sisters! 2sisters 3 bros and 2 sis
O- Oranges or apples? Apple but can I add gouda cheese to it? Oranges
P- Phobias? heights (its a long story) Claustraphobia (scary small places!!)
Q- Quotes? "I am going to make this pencil disappear" Don't Worry Be Happy
R- Reasons to smile? BYU beat UCLA 59-0 When my kids laugh and giggle
S- Season? Fall Summertime
T- Tag........ all of your are it! Whoever wants to!
U-Unknown fact about me. I switched my major 3 times I did ballet for 14 years
V-Vegetables? Corn on the cob Corn Broccolli Beans, I love veggies!
W-Worst habit?-Biting my nails I bite my nails too
X- X-Ray Or Ultrasound? I have had neither thank goodness Ultrasounds because you get to see the little baby!
Y- Your favorite food! Steak and Potatoes (I am from Idaho) Spaghetti and all Italian Food
Z- Zodiac sign? Libra Leo

Go COUGARS!

Shad and I went to the BYU vs. UCLA football game yesterday. What a blast!! We cheered, got major sunburn, and sang the cougar fight song! We had so much fun! The cougars pretty much stomped all over UCLA the score was 59 to 0! What a game! We went with my brother Skyler and my brother in law Brady (I was the only girl!) FUN TIMES!

Buddies!

I love that my kids seem to like one another. It is great to see them give each other a hug and kiss. How rewarding! I love to hear them playing together and have a good time. Now don't get the wrong idea here, they do fight too (Chandler likes to shut Brooklyn in the pantry, and sometimes he bites!) but overall it is fun to see them together!

Labor Day Camping

So over Labor day we went camping with my Family! We had a great time even though it rained and even hailed!! But thanks to my parents tent trailer we all stayed pretty dry. Here are some pics! We had a great time !


Here are Shad and Chandler hanging out!

Chandler Loved swinging in Shad's Hammock! He had a blast, and got really dirty!

Chandler and that bucket, and anything else that will fit on his head, crazy kid!

My Brother Tommy and my awesome Dad starting coals for dinner!

This is Chandler sitting in the car right before we left because it started to hail.

Brooklyn and Chandler eating Pop Tarts!

Brooklyn and her Uncle Skyler playing the guitar.

Brooklyn Update

They did some more testing on Brooklyn yesterday to see how the flow of urine was from her kidney to her bladder and it looked pretty good. They still felt that there was a blockage at the top of the ureter where is connects with the kidney so they put a stent in yesterday. This should open up the ureter to allow the fluid to drain even better (i guess its a similar concept to tubes in the ears?). Anyways, the surgery went well and she came out of sedation fine this time. She will have to have the stent for a couple of weeks and then they will have to surgically remove it. They will test her again and see if it made a difference and then decide what to do from there. The doctor said "we are either going to be friends for a really long time or a really short time". I hope its a short time but thats just me!

Brooklyn in the Hospital

Brooklyn (4 years old) had to have emergency surgery on Wednesday of last week on her kidney. It was supposed to be a 45 minute outpatient surgery and up to 2 hour recovery from the sedation. When they were conducting the surgery they found that the infection was a lot worse than they anticipated and it got “stirred up” inside her. This spiked her fever to over 105, dropped her blood pressure to 66/over something and she went into shock and was in and out of consciousness. Needless to say they rushed her into a resuscitation room of the ER and it took about 30-40 minutes (but seemed like an eternity while I was watching) to get her stabilized. We thought we were going to lose her.

So what was supposed to be an ordeal of a couple of hours turned out to be 4 days at Primary Children’s. She is stable now and at home. She has a tube come out of her kidney that is draining the fluid into a bag that she has called her “juice bag”. After the infection is cleared up we will need to do some more testing to determine the cause of all of this. Worst case scenario would be removing her kidney. I hope that this isn’t the case but looks like more surgeries are to follow depending on the results of the tests they will perform. My wife is taking her on Thursday to have a test done so hopefully we will know something then.

Birthday's

I thought I would update one all about the Giffords getting older. Brookln turned four on July 18th , I can't believe I have a four year old. CRAZY! My birthday was on July 29th and I am now 25 years old. For Brooklyn's birthday we had a "Princess Party", my parents came to our house for cake and ice cream, we had it really low key. Brooklyn got a "BIG GIRL" bike and a barbie. It was Fun.

For my birthday Shad and I went to Lagoon and spent the night at the Sheraton, and then saw "Dark Knight". We had a blast! Shad even did the Sky Coaster, (I would never be caught doing something like that). Thanks to my Mom, we had 2 days without the kids (what a great present!). Here are some pics from Brooklyn's party! Enjoy!

Brooklyn's Princess Cake!

Brooklyn's Big Girl Bike, and Chanlder picking his nose! (Gross)

My Dad, Brooklyn, and Chandler.

The Japanese Office

So I am a huge fan of the Office and somebody at work forwarded this little skit from SNL to me and I had to share it with everyone because I laughed so hard!

We're Back from Texas!

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico!! Here we are at the Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns. After Shad's sister got married, the following week we packed up and drove 3 and half hours to New Mexico. We camped in the blistering heat. Thank goodness for Air Conditioned Cabins, and the pool! We loved the caves. We hiked in for about an 1 hour and half, and then hiked inside for another hour. This cave makes Timpanogos Cave seem ridiculous.


Here is Shad and the kids inside the Cave. The Cave is 750Ft. Deep and to get out you take an elevator Straight up!



Here is the whole Family! Chandler does not look too excited in ANY of these pics. He was the lucky one that got carried the whole time! The next day on the 4th of July, we came back the caverns and although there were not any fireworks, we got to see 350,000 bats fly out the cave to get a delicious dinner of bugs! It was really neat to see them fly out. It took over 30 min to see them all leave the cave!


This is Brooklyn with the the Tye-Dye shirt she made. The KOA that we stayed at had some activities for the kids. So we helped both Brooklyn and Chandler make a shirt.

This is Brooklyn and Chandler in our cabin getting ready to go Swimming. It was REALLY hot in New Mexico so we went Swimming everyday!

And we are off to Texas!

Tomorrow I leave for Texas! My sister ManDee is tying the knot and we are going there to celebrate her big day. Brittany has been there since Tuesday helping my mom bake cookies and goodies for the reception since catering is ridiculously expensive. I stuck around and worked so I didn't have to take so much time off. I enjoyed a little time to myself but now I am ready to see my kids once again. I will post more upon return!

Youth Conference "Book of Mormon"

Brittany and I just got back from a 3 day Youth Conference where we were able to be "tribe leaders" of a little family of 7. We really enjoyed our time together with our 7 teenagers as we tried to help them feel the Spirit of the Book of Mormon. We had some powerful experiences together. We would do it again in a heart beat. Enjoy some of the pictures below.





This was the first day of Youth Conference where we were able to meet our family and do a service project together before we departed to the camp





This is our humble famliy "The Army of Helaman". We had to construct a tower like the one that King Benjamin spoke from in the Book of Mormon times.

I Think we make a pretty good looking Nephite Couple!

Brittany tried to hunt like Nephi in the Wilderness. She actually had one of the highest scores of the group.

This was our Journey to the Promised Land. Our city was named Shazer. We had to find it with a map and compass.