Moving Time

Annalise is getting so strong and big! She has just started holding up her head. It is amazing to see the small developments and milestones that she passes each day. Before we know it she will be getting into things all over the house.



It is moving time! The best part about moving for the kids are all the boxed that they get to play with. We will be moving to Electric Ave (isn't there a song about that street??) in Alhambra, CA which is about 6 miles from USC and nearby a beautiful park with tennis courts so I can still get beat by grandpa once in awhile. The place is a large 2 bed room with a garage (1500sq feet). Best part is the private swimming pool is 20 feet from our front door and I can just about jump off our balcony into the pool (hope our boys don't get any crazy ideas like that!) Siobhan has been quite busy packing with every free moment she gets.


David and Annalise had a fun time playing together, all smiles! Yoda even wanted to join in.


All this work moving tires some of us out. Sure is nice seeing Annalise resting peacfully leg roles and all!

Pink and White

We had an easter breakfast at our appartments this weekend and Annalise saw her first Easter Bunny. Well I don't think she saw him/her since her eyes were closed the whole time. Baby's sure do sleep a lot!

The boys enjoyed the bunny but even more they loved the pancake breakfast that was served afterwards!

I thought we would pose with our bunny teeth since David may not have his next year for Easter. All is well and we are all in good health. It is a real treat to have Anna home with us and doing well. Thank you all so much again for your prayers, they were heard and answered by a God who is ever present in our lives.

My Joy is Full

We were blessed to bring Annalise home on the eve of St. Patricks day. A neat family connection is that Dennis' middle name is Patrick, so he is part of this special day even though he is at home holding down the fort alone since he has so graceously loaned us his wife to help us out.

Here she is in the carseat for the first time, not a peep out of her on the way home. Who wouldn't love to have the power to "sleep like a baby."

We are now a complete family, however the boys still outnumber the girls! I am so thankful for all that the Lord has blessed us with, especially for the miracle of Annalise. While reading scriptures with the family tonight we came across a verse that really hit home for me:

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will
rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men?Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. (Alma 26:16)

How do you think David feels about a new baby sister?

Annalise Improvement

Annalise continues to improve although she is not out of the woods yet. She only has her nose feeding tube and a PICC line in her left arm other than that she is tube free! She is up to 26cc now per feeding, and she is nursing off of mother! She still needs all of our prayers to bring her home safely and soon. My program has graciously changed my schedule so that I can work at Loma Linda (where Annalise is) for the next 3 months. Every chance I get at some down time I sneak off to visit her, and sometimes take a power nap with her. She is beautiful to look at and a real blessing from heaven!

We were admiring her features and realized that neither Siobhan or I have her ears and wondered who the culprit might be. Fess up family . . . who gave her elf ears!?

Logan had his ENT and audiology appointment this week they said that his right ear has completely normal hearing, yeah! His left ear has some conductive hearing loss and they recommend that we put another set of tubes in his ear since the last ones fell out. This will be his third time, hopefully the adage "third times a charm" holds true for him here. Siobhan is worried about him as Logan is her baby and she hates to see him go through an operation no mater how small.

On a happier note David is excited to have his first loose tooth. I decided to get one last full mouth grin of his babies before they all fall out. Logan overheard him and said that he also has loose teeth and that they are falling out. He truly does follow in his brother footsteps and desires so much to be just like him, even if it means loosing teeth.

Miracle Baby

Annalise has been improving at an accelerated rate. She is our proof that modern day miracles do occur in our lives. She is now brething completely on her own and is tolerating being off the ventilator exceptionaly well. Most importantly, Siobhan got to hold her baby for the first time yesterday. It was so special to see mother and baby enjoying each others touch.

Our last hurdle for her to overcome is being able to nurse and take in enough nutrition. She is still getting 80% of her feeds through IV. She is currently 6 lbs 6 oz and loves to suck on that pacifier!

It was Grandmas birthday on March 6th, a day after they changed hospital NICU visiting policy to allow grandparents to see the babies (but still no touching). So we suprised Valerie in her birthday card saying she can go see Annalise, it was special for us all.

One of my favorite moments was the two men looking at the newest princess in our lives. She will deffinately be spoiled! Most importantly it is our combined priesthood power that will be giving her blessings of healing and comfort throughout her life. I felt that she was completely protected while we were both present.

Out of the grandparents, Nana won the Jackpot when a Nurse asked her to hold the baby against the rules later on tonight durring Siobhans midnight visit. It all depends on which security guard is at the gate to who gets let in. We are praying that soon all can hold her, including her two eager older brothers.

Awake and Active

Today durring our visit Annalise was wide awake. She was looking at us and would turn towards me when I made a funny sound. She continues to be stable today and has gone up slightly on the amount of milk she is drinking, now taking 3 cc! Today she is a week and a day old. You can tell at some moments she is crying but no sound comes out since she is intubated still. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

The Victory goes to the Tortoise

Annalise has been improving slowly. She tolerated having her chest tube out and has been going down on her iNO requirements. She also was given 1cc of mommy's breast milk. I learned today that 1 oz of breast milk has 20 calories. For comparisson an ounce of Sprite is about 12 calories, so yummy nutrition! Check out her recent video. She was much more alert and responsive today than we have seen her previously. We thank the Lord each day for her improvement and pray that she may soon be in our arms.

Comfort in Time of Trial

I want to share with you all some of the thoughts that have given us comfort in this time of trial for our little newborn girl. First of all, your many prayers and your comments of concern have been a tremendous help for us. Remember that all of your prayers are heard and they do help.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." - James 5:16


Her name has also been placed on the temple altar at Redlands and she will be prayed for there over the next two weeks which gives me immense comfort.

Lastly Siobhan and I read a wonderful talk by President Kimball on priesthood blessings and the Lords power of healing. I gained from that article complete faith that the Lord has power to bring our little girl home. We realize that God is the one that performs the healing while the doctors do the most they can to provide a positive environment for her. We will continue to post updates about her condition and especially photographs of mommy holding her precious child once she is able to! Thank you all again for your prayers. May the Lords will be done.

Birth of Annalise Truly Abel

Siobhan underwent scheduled cesection early in the morning and gave birth to a beautiful 5lb 12 oz little girl. She had a healthy cry and color and I was able to hold her for the first few minutes of her life. Unfortunately she began to have difficulties breathing and was sent to the NICU. It has been a long road and she is still requiring intensive care, but good news is she has been progressing a little each day.

Here is a pic of Siobhan all scrubed up with Annalise's life support machines behind her. Far left is the inhaled nitric oxide which helps reduce her pulmonary hypertension. The doctors have been able to come down on it a little but she is still dependant on this gas. The next one to the right is her regular ventilator, followed by her Jet ventilator which has her breathing at 360 breaths per minute. Other small improvements she has made include her being stable with her chest tube clamped which means it will come out tonight and that her pneumothorax is likely healed. She also is no longer requiring pressors for blood pressure support which shows slightly resolving pulmonary hypertension. Slowly but surely she is healing and getting closer each day to comming home with us.