Owl Rescue

On our drive back to Logan on 31 December, April spotted a great horned owl sitting in the snow on the side of the highway in Sardine Canyon. We thought it was odd the owl was out during the early afternoon. Kevin guessed it had been hit by a car and had a broken wing. He then decided to rescue it and took Erin's blanket, threw it over the head, and caught it. We were amazed by the gorgeous yellow eyes--they were so beautiful! It was a magnificent creature. We were also surprised how calm the bird was, but perhaps it was in a state of shock. We drove it home (with the children fearing that the police were going to pull us over and give us a citation for having an illegal bird of prey in our possession), put it in a small dog crate, and tried to feed it some mice (which it refused to eat). We thought it was worth taking to the Raptor Recovery provided by Mountain View Veterinary Clinic, but unfortunately the left wing was badly shattered and they were not able to repair it.

Sledding!

We were able to go sledding several times due to the great snowfall SLC received and due to our proximity to good parks with hills. Aunt Janell already gave a fun account of one of our sledding trips (which is good because we didn't take our camera that day). Here are some photos from a different day at Sugarhouse Park.

After going down the hill once and getting snow in her face, Erin decided it was more fun to sit in the snow and eat it.

We probably shouldn't mention the time that Kevin took the children through the hole in the backyard fence to go sledding in the Country Club Golf Course (Kevin's childhood haunt). They stayed until dusk when a security guard came by and suggested that it was time to head home.

Holiday Catch Up

As you already know, the best part about the holidays was having Grandpa Young with us.

We spent almost the entire month of December helping out in SLC and adding to the chaos. Here is Ian showing off some ginger snaps he and Mom made especially for Grandpa. (Ian had to taste a sample before going out to play in the snow.)

Grandma Young and all the grandchildren posing by the Christmas tree before going to church

On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner at the Young's, complete with roast beef, baked potatoes, yam casserole, and authentic figgy pudding.

Cousin Carrie spent hours making the figgy pudding. Look what a work of art:

(Our contribution to this lovely dinner was cleaning the house, setting the tables, scrubbing the potatoes, and helping consume it.)

On Christmas morning, Megan and Ian woke everyone bright and early at 7:00 a.m. Even Scotty wasn't up quite yet (he'd partied hard the previous night at the Sutherland family party). They waited while Scotty ate his oatmeal and Grandpa also got some food, then it was present time!

Round two occurred later at Grandma Tsukamoto's house. Uncle Tim surprised everyone by flying in the day before.

Dinner was at Aunt Nancy's place with more food, fun, and games. Both Megan and Ian performed their recital pieces for the traditional family musical program and we attempted singing a few carols.

We also had time to visit with Great-Grandma Young a couple of times. Megan and Ian serenaded her one evening playing the piano for her, which she really really enjoyed. Every time Megan would finish a piece, Great Grandma would say, "Play another one! Keep playing!"

Cousin Dagny returned from her mission to Brazil on 29 December, and we heard her report the following morning. Dagny is pictured on the far left, her older sister Emmy is in the center, and a random friend of theirs whom we do not know is on the right.

Family Time

In spite of the struggles and emotional trauma of Grandpa Young's heart emergency, once the initial crisis subsided, we had some nice time together with family who had traveled all the way from the East Coast. We did tell Grandpa that next time he wants the family to get together he can just ask, rather than put himself in the hospital.

Quality Time with Aunts and Uncle

Uncle Matt, Aunt Karrie, and Aunt Janell took Megan and Ian for one day and spoiled them--oops, we mean bonded with them. They started off by going to see the movie Enchanted, in a real movie theater, complete with eating real movie popcorn. Next they stopped and got some cookies and ice cream before dropping off Janell who had to attend to cousin Scotty. Then they visited Grandpa at the hospital. Later, Matt and Karrie took them out to eat dinner at the Training Table. Ian called in the order over the phone and apparently did an outstanding job reading the list.

Uncle Tyler's 30th Birthday

All the family except for Grandpa (who was still confined to the hospital) went to Bombay House to celebrate Tyler's birthday. The food was delicious (almost as good as Logan's Indian Oven), and we tried a variety of different dishes--the advantage of going with a large group. (Unfortunately the food didn't sit well with Karrie who lost it all around 3:00 am and was sick for the entire next day.) Here is Tyler proudly holding his new cordless drill from his wife Andrea--hmmm...what future projects does she have in mind?

Playing with Scotty

The children had a great time playing with their 20-month-old cousin. Erin taught Scotty some of her less-than-desirable behaviors (which we won't mention since we don't want to tarnish her online reputation), and in turn he encouraged her to revert to younger characteristics, like clinging to a parent and insisting on being held more. It was highly amusing how they constantly imitated each other and had to have the same things (i.e. Scotty had applesauce so Erin had to have applesauce too; Scotty saw Erin drinking juice and had to have juice too, etc.). Scotty's perfect sleeping habits may even be rubbing off on Erin because she is doing a lot better going to sleep these days. She has yet to remain in her bed all night, however. They are both 30 pounds and wear size 7 shoes even though Erin is 1 1/2 years older.

Lights on Temple Square

Another night, Matt and Karrie took Megan, Ian, and April to see the lights on Temple Square. For some reason, orange was a popular color this year, although it made us think more of Halloween than Christmas. We walked around looking at the various nativities, stopped and listened to the Christmas story at the main nativity, then rode the elevator up to the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Building to see the lights from above.

Fun in the Snow!

Salt Lake City received a good amount of snow during the time we were there. A good amount means enough to build objects--such as a snowman, fort, and donkey--and enough to go sledding.

Grandma's Christmas Tree

Grandma Young gave the children their Christmas clothes at Thanksgiving time so that they could wear them during December. Thanks, Grandma!

Back Home in Logan for Kevin's Birthday

We got this idea for a snake cake when we were planning Erin's Nemo cake way back in October. The cake is our traditional homemade applesauce cake (Kevin's favorite) decorated to resemble a California king snake or the Australian Bandy Bandy (note to our avid herp friends: we know there should be white on the head for either species--it's not meant to be a perfect rendition). After spending about 2 hours doing the frosting job and developing carpal tunnel syndrome, April decided that she's not going to repeat this feat anytime in the near future. Ian will just have to choose something else for his cake in 2 months. Kevin enjoyed the cake, however, and he received nice cards from the children and the traditional socks and underwear gifts (the problem with having a practical wife).

Miracles

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37

We are most humbled by the numerous miracles we witnessed which spared the life of this great man, Randy Young. Statistically speaking, he should not be alive right now. When the diagnosis of his aortic dissection was made, his chance of survival was less than 10% (for more details, see his blog).

Miracle #1: He remained at a job site in Clinton an hour longer than planned or else he would have been in his truck driving to his next job in Park City (about 60 miles away) when this happened.

Miracle #2: Steve, one of his electricians, was in the room when he started having chest pains and insisted on calling 911.

Miracle #3: The ambulance arrived within 5 minutes, transported him to Davis Hospital within 15 minutes, and his condition was diagnosed within the hour.

Miracle #4: He survived the flight to the University of Utah Hospital although he had 2 heart attacks during the flight and was in full cardiac arrest upon arrival.

Miracle #5: The anesthesiologist was able to quickly and safely cool down his body to 45 degrees to slow down brain activity in preparation for the surgery.

Miracle #6: He had a highly skilled heart surgeon who replaced his aortic valve, 6 inches of aorta, and reattached the coronary arteries which had pulled away.

Miracle #7: He survived the 6-hour surgery. (A nurse told us the surgical team cheered when he left the operating table alive.)

Miracle #8: He survived the next 24 hours and showed signs of brain activity about 6 hours post-surgery by moving all 4 limbs and by responding to family members (even though he was full of major pain medications).

Miracle #9: He continued to improve over the next several days, eventually coming fully out of the anesthetic and being coherent. Initially we had been told to expect possible extensive brain damage.

Miracle #10: He was released from the hospital 11 days after open heart surgery and returned to his home for recovery and physical therapy sessions.

Other miracles we witnessed included the outpouring of love and support from family and friends. We thank all of you who fasted and prayed for his well-being, for those who helped care for our children while we spent the first few days at the hospital, for those who brought in meals and visited, for those who helped look after our home in Logan and cover for the responsibilities we left behind, and for all your kind thoughts and concerns for us.

At this Christmas time, we are particularly aware of the blessings of family, friends, and church. For several hours we thought that we would be planning a funeral for our beloved father and grandfather, but even in the darkest moments we were full of gratitude for the life and mission of Jesus Christ and the eternal nature of families.

Updates on Randy Young's Condition

As most of you already have heard, Kevin's father Randy suffered an aortic dissection Thursday afternoon while on a job in Clinton. Tyler and Andrea have set up a family blog site to keep everyone updated. He is still hanging on, and we're still feeling hopeful about the outcome. Thank you again to everyone for your prayers--it means so much to us to have such great support from everyone at this time.