2009

Wow - what a year it has been!! It seems like I say that every year, but this year really has been a big one!

We started the year on a bad note - I had a miscarriage followed quickly by developing a heart condition: Right Vetricular Outflow Tract Tachycardia. This condition left me unable to walk even 150ft without my heart rate skyrocketing to 190. I ended up in surgery which, despite being far worse than childbirth, worked really well. The surgery was 4 hours long and I was awake the entire time - they laced two catheters from my groin all the way up to my heart, induced me with adrenaline and then cauterized (burned off) the section of my heart that was producing all the extra heart beats. Oh - did I mention I didn't get any pain medications during the surgery? It was hands down the worst 4 hours of my life and I pray that I never have to go through it again, unfortunately there is the possibility that the condition can develop again - UGH! So 5 days after heart surgery I had ovarian cysts that ruptured and we had a difficult time sorting out if the excruciating pain was a complication from my insertion sites or something else - was misdiagnosed twice, but finally figured it out. So, the first 4 months of this year were tough - really, really, tough!!

On to better news - I got the clear from both my Cariologist and OBGYN at the beginning of April to get pregnant and while I was not intending to as quickly as I did, I was pregnant by the end of the month! So, I've spent the rest of the year being pregnant with baby boy #3 who is due to join our family January 20, 2010. I was really sick into the 18th week with this one and a few weeks ago ended up with Bronchitis. Feeling better now, just have a lot of sciatic pain, but getting through it! So, needless to say my body has been through ALOT this year!

Through it all I've been continuing to work at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle 4-5 days per week, but now am down to 3-4! I am looking forward to 4 months off after the baby is born!!

Delvin has been major supportive husband all year - picking up huge amounts of the workload at home and caring for the kids, that I have been unable to do. His two brothers, Junior (13 y/o) and Troy (7 y/o) spent 3 weeks with us this summer, which was a lot of fun!! We went to Wild Waves with them and had a blast!!! He and Aidan then drove them back and spent a couple of weeks with his parents and finished their unfinished basement for them. Later he got to go to Oklahoma to baptize his nephew, Justin. He entered a Pie Eating Contest at the fair- I think it may become an annual event for him!! He also coached Aidan's Flag Football team this fall, which was so much fun for them! He continued to work in construction - remodeling and plumbing various homes. He continues to be the Ward Mission Leader at church and very busy and active with the missionary work. Delvin loves wrestling and rough housing with his boys - they are the joy of his life!!!

The earthquakes and Tsunami in Samoa affected Delvin's fathers village. He lost 2 cousins and an aunt, but all others in his adopted and birth family are safe and accounted for. We took in donations of clothing and other supplies greatly needed to help out. We are so grateful to all of those who helped out with our efforts!!

Aidan finished 2nd grade and started 3rd grade - his teacher this year, Mrs. Jenkins, is super structured and organized and Aidan thrives on it! He really is enjoying school and learning a lot. He is currently in the midst of working on his first science project. It is titled "What are the most important ingredients in a chocolate chip cookie?" YUM YUM - there will be lots of cookies in our house over the winter break!! Aidan has found his passion this year- Football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The kid loves and breathes football!! He comes home from school, plays football in the back yard, watches it on tv every chance he gets and we've discovered he is quite the player too! We were really impressed with how well he plays and how well he understands the game - this was only his first year playing! He can't wait until spring season and summer football camp. . .oh boy!!! He just started basketball too, so we're interested to see if his passion for football spills over into other sports as well. Aidan was also involved in a Lego Robotics League this fall with his cousins and his Uncle David as the coach. It has been a lot of fun for him to learn to program the robot and design attachments to complete different challenges along the course. Their competition was the first Saturday of December and was a really fun day! They placed about middle of the run, which was great!! He is now a Bear in Cub Scouts and loves it - he has been very busy indeed this fall and doing great with it all!! Aidan is an excellent brother - he is super helpful and loves to play with Mason and build forts for him! Aidan has a new room. . .we've converted our 3rd bedroom from our office back into a bedroom and redecorated it for Aidan in an Army theme. It's a great space and more grown up!

Mason turned 2 in November and wow is this kid BUSY!!!!!! He's on the move all the time - thinks he has to keep up with his 9 year old brother. He comes really close too, which is amazing! He absolutely loves wrestling with his brother and Dad. He talks like crazy and can say anything!!! He is excited to now have his own room, well at least until we are ready to move the baby in with him. We just finished their Monkey themed room!! He's a picky eater, but loves his fruit and everyday asks for his "2", which are his vitamins. He had his first set of stitches - 5 of them in a tiny part of his ear. . .he fell just right - did I mention he's very BUSY? Mason makes us laugh constantly. . .here's a list of our favorite things Mason says and does:
-When he's really happy he throws his hands up in the air, jumps repeatedly and yells "Yes, Yes, Yes!!!"
-"Fire Truck, Fire Truck, woo woo" - usually has a police car in his hand!
-"Pirate Ship, Pirate Ship Arrrrgh!" while holding some round object and pretending he's steering the ship, often it's the Ojo my dad made.
-"Super Caillou!" Caillou is his favorite t.v. show

-"Daddy Too" - when he wants both mom and dad together he goes around saying this!!

-"blue one" everything is blue, he points to everything and says so!
-Whenever he accomplishes something is says "Ta Da!" I love that one!!!!

-He is learning to count and he loves saying "2, 5, 2, 5, 5, 2" but more recently it's "8, 9, 10, 7, 5".

It is so fun to watch Mason as he learns, grows and develops - I'm sure it was just as fun with Aidan, but the distance between them makes it hard to remember. I'm grateful for blogging to help me remember it all - I've been so much better at this than scrapbooking and I was never good a journaling!

Tama is our new puppy. . .we found him wandering around our house in October and brought him in because is was so cold. We searched for his owner, but all we found were some of what appeared to be his siblings. We soon realized the litter was dumped - they were not even 3 months old. Tama fits into our family perfectly!!! Mason is pretty rough with him, but is learning and getting better. Aidan loves having a dog and never complains about picking up the "unpleasantries" Tama sometimes leaves around the house. Tama loves to cuddle and is very mild mannered - I didn't think we would add a dog to our home for several more years and I especially never thought we'd have a small dog, but he is just the right fit for our family and I think he came into our lives for a reason!!

We feel very blessed this year. Dispite the trials we've had so many blessings!!! We are much anticipating the birth of our 3rd Boy and will send you all word. Please visit our family blog throughout the year if you wish to keep up. Love and best wishes to all of you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time of year!


-Love the Tapusoa's