(August 25th)

Remember how we celebrated our anniversary earlier in the month? We went to breakfast and a ward party. Awesome, right? Well, the breakfast was awesome, and we had fun at the picnic, but our big celebration was to go to Les Miserables. It was our first time going to the 5th Avenue Theater, and it was gorgeous. These are pictures of the ceiling. The chandelier hung from the dragon’s mouth.

It was also Kevin’s first time to a musical. He did start out with a pretty good one. It was awesome. The actor playing Jean Valjean made his debut playing the same part 25 years ago when the show debuted. How cool is that?

I told Kevin before hand about the story line, and he thought I was giving spoilers. But, he was grateful once it started to have an idea what was going on. We will be going back to the 5th Avenue Theater sometime soon. It’s too much fun, not to.

This year, we celebrated 6 years together by going out for breakfast.

Our day started with some delicious breakfast. I found a breakfast restaurant, and when we pulled up, there were a ton of people outside. That had to be a good sign right? We waited for about 45 minutes, but it was worth it. We got home, and had a ward party that afternoon. The kids played while we chatted, and that night we settled in with a movie. Nothing extreme, but a nice day. I wouldn’t want to spend it with anyone else! I love you!

After 17 days in the hospital, Ella was able to come home. It’s the luck of the Irish. After all, Brazell is an Irish name. She was able to come home on March 17th, which also happened to be her original due date. After all the time those nurses spent with her, I wanted to do something back. So, I made a quick blanket and on Thursday, we headed up to the NICU.

Jameson was excited to see the fish, but sadly, they were no longer in the waiting area. We were buzzed in, and went to the front desk. I explained that it was our 1 year mark on leaving the NICU, and we had a blanket to give. I loved going in and seeing that the nurses had put cute blankets in her bassinet. The nurses were wonderful. In the first few days, she was under constant watch, in a room across from the nurses station. She would pull at her tubes, and the nurses would be right there. One night, the nurse sat in her room the entire night. She said she didn’t want to leave her, and that every time she did something would happen. So the next night she brought a book. She would sit in the chair next to Ella, and rest her hand on her to give comfort. It was things like that, that made it bearable to leave my child in another’s care.  She couldn’t wear clothes, so the blankets were the only thing that really distinguished she was a girl.

My letters to go with the blanket:

“I hope this blanket gives you the peace and comfort your baby needs during your stay in the NICU. Sincerely, A Graduated NICU Baby Girl”

My letter to the Doctors and Nurses:

“I just wanted to say Thank You for the care you gave our daughter. We are so grateful. Our stay was from 3.1 to 3.17. I wanted to donate this blanket, because it was such a comfort when the nurses had cute blankets in the bassinets. I’m grateful for the nurse that sat in her room all night to give her comfort. Also, the doctors who explained things to us multiple times with patience, and every other little thing to help us through that 17 days. Thank you again. The Brazell Family. Patient: Ella Brazell 3.1 to 3.17.2010”

We may not be able to do something every year, but hopefully, we have started a new tradition.

August 13th was our anniversary. Kevin got us tickets for Teatro ZinZanni. It’s a dinner show complete with circus acts, improv, and cabaret artist along with a five course meal. It is in a tent known as a spiegeltent which is dutch for “mirror tent.”  It’s decorated with mirrors and stained glass. The tent was incredible. I think they told us on our way in the tent was an 100 years old this year. We sat at a table with 5 other guest, all happened to be women. I was glad we were in a booth and not on the floor. I would not have wanted to be one of the guests they pick from the audience to be part of their acts. It was really fun, and the food was really good. Surprising since they are preparing about 300 meals all at the same time.

(They gave us the boa’s to wear. The idea is to dress extreme.)

In the last 5 years we have…

• Had 4 homes
• Lived in 2 states
• Finished two BS degrees
• Completed 5 certification
• Received two lovable kids
• Had 10 different cars… holy crap that’s a lot (didn’t realize till I stopped and counted)
• Had 4 motorcycles
• been able to visit family every year in 3 different states
• faced many trials which we hope we have learned from
• grown closer as husband and wife
• Had many, many fun times (some documented on our blog)

A few weeks ago Kevin and I were up till like 3 am just talking in bed. It felt like we were dating again, when you stayed up till all hours not caring. It didn’t feel like it 2 hours later when I had to get up to feed a baby, and then 3 hours later when a 2 year old woke me up, but I loved it. I’m so glad we can still talk about nothing and learn about each other. Kevin told a friend of ours he was up late just talking the night before. His response was, “You guys still do that?”  Yes we do! Hopefully this next year won’t have as many trials as this year did. I would really prefer a “smooth sailing” year. I do love him, though, and I’m so glad he is so patient.