Bin of memories revealed

My parents, little sister, and my grandma key drove up to Utah this weekend to see baby Abbott. Update on him... He still is in critical condition and is fighting for his life. But he's a tough little guy. He had surgery last week due to a hole found in his intestine. They took an inch of his intestine out. The doctors didn't think the surgery would go so well, but luckily Abbott's surgery went better than planned. But a few days later, more problems came up. A couple days ago they found bleeding in his brain as well as a collapsed lung. Both of these are common in preemies, it all depends on how bad it is that will determine if the doctors can fix the problem completely. The bleeding in his brain, on a scale of 1 to 4, 1 being barely any blood to a 4 being very bad, is at a 3 right now. The doctors won't know what problems this can cause until later on in life, but the worse it is, the more likely Abbott could have cerebral palsy when he is older. So to help with that problem, they are going to do therapy sessions which will involve moving Abbott's arms and legs to get the muscles worked on. As for the collapsed lung, Abbott is on a breathing machine. I feel so bad for the little guy. I hope and pray he can hang in there and no other problems will come up. The doctors say that Abbott will for sure be in and out of the hospital for the first two years of his life. I'm glad they are talking long term, even if hospital visits become a regular outing.

Now that I have given an update on my two-week-old nephew, it is time to write about what I found in my mysterious bin I found at my grandma's house! There was mainly pictures from when I was 12 to 18. But there was also my 4-H ribbons, my very think high school portfolio that had awards, my best projects from high school, and a ton of other things, awards from my middle school days, my yearbooks, and the best find of all... my GPS that I never used! It's already installed in my car and I have used it a couple of times. Sure, it's a few years old, but it works and that's all that matters. I think I am so fascinated by this GPS because I don't know street names at all. I know my street I live on and that's pretty much it. No I'm not exaggerating! I am only good with directions if there are visual objects I can follow, not street names. Along with being given directions using visual objects as my guide, I have to give directions using visual objects as well. I remember one time during high school, it was a Saturday and I had a tennis match. The canal caper was also going on that day, which is basically a fun run along the canal. I had just arrived at the high school and was walking over to the tennis court to go practice. As I was walking, a man in a car yelled for me and needed directions on how to get to the canal caper, which literally was like half a mile away, and the canal is right above the tennis courts. But I had no idea how to tell him to get there even though it was only a few blocks away! I was so embarrassed. Luckily one of my tennis buddies tuned in on our conversation and was able to give them proper directions using street names, not colors of houses. That's just an example of one of the many "Kylie Moments" I have had to deal with in my life! But I am starting to learn street names, thanks to the GPS!

Since my family was gone, I took the opportunity to get some other bins out of the garage that contained a bunch of photos and other things from when I was a baby through my elementary days. I can't do this normally because my parents don't want me to clutter the house with all the random stuff I pull out. I spent a couple hours yesterday going through photos, scrapbooks, and so many other things that made me smile and remember some cherished memories. I love that my mom was so good at putting photos of me when I was a baby in books so I can look back at them for years to come.

I love memories. I loved my childhood. I can't wait until I am an old woman showing baby pictures of myself to my grandchildren surrounding me. I am glad I took this weekend to go through my childhood memories. It makes me remember how blessed I am to have the family I do, and be where I am in my life today!