The Sampert Space

Recently...

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:30:22 GMT

On Friday, we had a surprise b-day party for Ronny...he turned 26! It was a BLAST. About 30 people showed up and it couldn't have been better. The funny thing is, because of miscalculations on my part, I ended up having to have to lie to Ronny and said that it was a surprise party for someone else...which he totally bought and was helping us keep the other people he thought the party was for, away! LOL Don't want to bore you with the details, but it was loads of fun.

Jaiden is now 12ibs 23in.! (5kg) Incredible. The drs. say that he's about a 2month old in develpment and as far as what he does, (motor skills) so that's great news. He's just about two months corrected age anyway. From the Drs. telling us that he'd be nothing more than vegetable, this is GREAT news. He's been smiling A LOT lately, as you all can see in our pictures. He's a fighter, but a sweet heart. He's starting to sleep through most of the night, so HALELUAH!

Kai got his VERY FIRST fever over the weekend! It was so heartbreaking to see him sick! He's never ever in his almost two years of life gotten sick, so this was a "first"! Glda he's better now. :) He's learned the word "no", but SINGS it, so I don't think he's really understood what it means! lol "no no no no, no no no..." (his little "no" song)

Ronny and I'm excited for all the friends we've been able to make here. There are so many, but the Tricaricos, Sherrards, and the Lowmans have especially become great friends of ours. (don't say otherwise, you all! lol) We love and appreciate all they have done for us. AND, we're VERY excited to be able to go to Arizona next month!! We plan to see mainly our family and good close friends.

Monika

Cerina comes to visit us in Texas!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:28:47 GMT

Cerina has come to visit us in Texas! I'm so happy! We've had her a week now, and it's been really fun. We talk, do things with the boys and play cards. Oh ya, and laugh our heads off with the stupidest things! :) It's been so great to have her here! Yay for sisters! We've also been enjoying lots of Japanese food together, all of which we grew up with. It's sooo nice to be able to eat foods with those who appreciate it as much as I do!

Jaiden went to his G.I. check up, and he weighed 10ibs. 1oz!!! And measured 20in! WOW! Everyone was so blown away to learn that he is a 22-weeker! :O The Drs tried to chart his growth on the growth chart to see where he was with his growth (duh) and came back into the room apologizing...saying that THEY DIDN'T HAVE A GROWTH CHART THAT WENT DOWN TO 22WEEKS! Their charts only went down to the 28WEEKS!!! No one has really experienced a micro-premie who has survived at 22weeks, so well, we don't really know where Jaiden is with his growth! We just know that he is growing! His eyes on the other hand, are getting worse. He had to get another Avastin injection in his eyes because the ROP disease was back in his Right eye...he has been wearing contact lenses now, and though they seem to help him see and have dramatically stopped his eyes from crossing, they are still getting worse. (He can't see anything without the contacts) I'm just grateful that there was a Dr. here in Houston who is specialized in the ROP and could provide contacts for him!!!

Kai is in LOVE with his Aunty Cerina! All day he spends with her, and he has so much fun. He's been more and more talkative lately, so we're hoping that he starts saying more words! :)

As for us, Ronny and myself, we are sure staying busy. The most exiciting thing is that I've officially started to tranlate Jenny Phillip's LDS music into Japanese!!! I'm very excited to be a part of all of this! Jenny has entrusted me with her new song, to be released in 2009 and I hope I can live up to her standards and expand my goal to tranlate her music into Japanese! We are currently looking for a good Japanese singer, or someone who can sing well in Japanese! :) As soon as I translate it, we hope to record it! :)

Oh, the other exciting thing is that Ronny and I spent our 3rd anniversary on the 17th! It was SO romantic and nice! Cerina gracefully offered to babysit both the boys so that we could go out! Ronny researched and found a NICE restaurant that he kept a secret from me until we got there. We ate and experienced new flavors and tastes at this FINE restaurant and it was sooo nice! We could even carry a nice conversation without worrying about who's getting fussy! lol I love you Ronny!

well, that's about it for now, until next time!

Monika

Life is super busy for us right now!!

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:02:53 GMT

I can't believe how busy we have been! Sobre todo, we've been enjoying being together, no question about it!

Ronny's playing softball with the boys in the ward, but he's been more cranky because they never win! lol I am just glad that he can have that time to get out and hit some things! lol He's been hard at work and been getting 'qualified' at work. He's been given some extra tasks at work, and although I'm not really sure what they are, I just know that he's had to study hard to pass a few exams and is now working on getting qualified as an "E-5"...more qualifications=more money! I'm so proud of him for progressing at his work! He's been working more with the illegal intervention side, detaining and sending back immigrants...he doens't like doing it, but has to do it. He's also going to be starting back up at Univ. of Phoenix as a full time student, so that will add to the busy-ness. He's currently serving in the presidency of the EQ, so no doubt he's got lots to do there too!

I am also a full time student at the University of Phoenix online program, I'm only taking two classes, but it's sure hard to find time to do my assignments! My day starts at around...errr...there's really no 'start', because there's really no 'end'! I never really stop! Jaiden still wakes up about 2-3 times during the night...

I have a new calling as the secretary of the Relief Society and I am loving it. I don't know what I'm supposed to do yet, but I love it! I love serving in the church! I get to play the piano sometimes at church, and of course I finally get to Visit Teach and help others do thier visiting teachings too! The boys keep me the most busy though...it's amazing how these little things can keep me SOOO busy all day! They have soo much energy and have so much need of me! Why!? But Kai's getting so big though and he can help me with lots of stuff.

I've also started to step forward with my life time goal to help the church music be translated into Japanese! I've contacted Jenny Phillips, the LDS song writer and I don't know when we will start, but we'll start translating and recording her music into Japanese, so that my people in Japan will be able to listen to and enjoy the spirit that comes from listening to church music! I love music and I love the spirit that I always feel from it, so I had decided a while ago that I was going to help the music be translated and help int that way. I really don't know that I have the time to do it, but I know that when the time is right, the Lord will help me. Other wise, I really don't get why I had to learn 3 languages!! Anyway, I love the church, music and Japanese so much, that this is the only thing I could think of to help in the church, using my talents! :) Let's go!

Kai's a BUSY BODY. omg. He wakes up at around 6-7am, but will stay quiet for me until I come get him, sometimes close to 9am!! He just sits and entertains himself in his crib! What a great baby! Then b-fast, then play time, then one nap during the day, and then bed by 7pm...it's a long day. But man oh man do I ever have so much fun with him! There's not a single day that I don't laugh my guts out for the things he does! He's been working on his words. I hear that kids who are biligual take their time in starting to talk, and he communicates just fine with his hands (signs), so I'm really not worried, but we are getting some help from the Speech Therapists. He's in the 79% with his height, and 16 with his weight. What does that mean? He's SUPER tall! Ronny's really excited about that, says that Kai must have gotten the 'tall' genes from the 'Richan' side! lol Thanks Stucchan! lol

Kai LOVES having a little brother! Every morning when I get him out of bed, the first thing he does is go find Jaiden. Then, whether I want him to or not, (cuz he might wake Jay up!) he will go give him kisses. Then the day can begin. Kai will watch out for his little brother all day long, and make sure he has enough toys and blankets. The toys go between his head and the bed...(uncomfortable for Jay!!) and the blankets go over his face and head...(suffocation!!) lol Kai loves oreos...so he will be eating some and the other day, he just HAD to give Jaiden kisses...so Jaiden had black spots all over his little head! lol Kai is the best older brother I could ask for...Jaiden is so blessed to have him as an older brother! Oh, and Kai LOVES LOVES LOVES to cook with me. He LOVES to stand on his little stool and be right next to me in the kitchen. He will help me mix things in, pour things, and whatever I ask him to do. Tasting the food is his absolute favorite, of course :)

Jaiden: he's growing! Last we checked, he was 8ibs. 8oz and growing...he still sqeals like a pig all day long, but he's sure cute. He's a very good baby also. Kai and Jaiden both are very good and easy babies. Jaiden is going to all 5 of his Drs. and is doing well. He finally got some contacts in his eyes and has been looking at us when we speak! How fun! He's legally blind and his eyes are only getting worse, but with the help of these contacts, he can see somethings! (I say 'somethings' bc I really don't know how much he can see!) The Drs. are confident that the ROP has been stopped at least in one eye, and are following up with his other eye. We think that Jaiden has Monika's skin complexion and also her black hair! We'll see...

Anyway, LIFE has been VERY busy for us. Dr's appts., two boys, the house, callings, school work, work, and of course the BLOG~! lol

We're hoping that my sister Cerina can come on Tues! Then Lundy (my comp) comes in July, so we're soooo excited! Cerina! Come!!!!

Thanks for the Visit Tom, Mitzi and Sophie

Mon, 26 May 2008 02:30:25 GMT

Well it sure was nice having the Kastner Family visit us in Houston and we had a real fun weekend eating out at a steak restaurant, bowling with Sophie, eating ice cream, watching the boys, going shopping, the armand bayou adventure where we saw our first "resident" alligator....what else?... oh yeah! Mexican food and sushi...we had a great time and are so glad they came to visit us and they we so eager to see the boys and helped take care of them so monika and ronny could go out on a date. enjoy the pictures, ronny goes to work monday so no memorial day celebration... :-(

A look into the Sampert home and daily life

Mon, 19 May 2008 01:41:16 GMT

It's been more than great to be together as a family again! We've been having a blast everyday. Never a dull moment in our home!! Here's an update for those who care!

Ronny: He's loving work! He was recently (today) called to be the 2nd counselor in the EQ in our ward! He enjoys playing croquet with his co-workers and softball on Tuesdays with the men from the ward, and of course his XBOX 360 in his free time!

Monika: Just finished two more University classes online! YIPEE! I'm getting the hang of having two boyz in the house. Nothing to it! It gets a little crazy with the 5 different Dr's appts. that Jaiden has, but we survive. OH YA, and I just got a rockin' new hair cut, (first time in 3 years!) and I LOVE IT! It's so crazy and not like me, but I love it! I sooo needed a change and to feel like a woman again! Thanks, Ronny! :)

Kai: He's a funny little man! He's such a character now! I love him to death! We're working on him talking these days...he loves to point and just sign...gotta work on that...but hey, that means we'll have peace and quiet in our homes longer, right? :) I'm not worried!

Jaiden: He's growing like CRAZY. He's a porker!! A week after we got home, he had gained a whopping POUND!! GEez! All he wants to do is eat...but every 4 hours, so I guess that's not too bad. His eyes aren't doing so well though...he had to get an injection in his eye ball the other day to stop the growth of ROP...something he had gotten surgery for TWICE up in WA! It was back (the ROP disease) like cancer, so we're trying to work on that...there's new treatment that the only eye Dr. here who will work on Jaiden (for the severity of his condition, no one wants to work with him!) and she's in on this new (not yet FDA approved kind of "new"!) treatment (injetion in the eye balls), so as another "trial baby", Jaiden got a dose of this shot last Monday...we're to go back in tomorrow to see the results...he will soon (like, in a couple of weeks, if not tomorrow) have to be wearing glasses or contacts, and although I know that it could have been worse, I can't help but feel for him... can't say that he won't be cute in his coke bottle glasses though...but man! :(

So that's the update on our family. :)

Monika

Home together, at last!

Sat, 10 May 2008 20:22:20 GMT

Oh my goodness, we're finally all together and home!!! Didn't ever think that this day would come! Well, Ronny's back to work, I'm BUSY with the two boys, house chores and homework, Kai's busy being busy, and Jaiden is eating up a storm, but we're all so very happy to be together! We couldn't ask for anything better...for those who don't know, home to us is Webster, Texas now. We are excited to have some visitors soon! My mom and her family are coming soon, and then my favorite companion Lundy will be visiting me in July, and hopefully my sister Cerina sometime soon too! In the mean time, we're trying to figure out what our routine is!!!

Jaiden is HOME!!!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:14:46 GMT

well, the day finally came and sooner than we really thought! we have been praying for this day to come...and before we knew it this morning we got the call. the call came saying that Jaiden was ready to go! we packed up and checked out of the Ronald Mcdonald House got to the hospital to see if this was true. sure enough the doctor said he was ready to be discharged and it was only a matter of packing his things and putting him in his car-seat. it was a short car drive to mom and dad's place where they had a warm welcome for jay. So far he seems to love the attention...so much that he does not want to sleep and insists on staying up to see what is going on around him. we are still looking forward to seeing kai and the jeppsons this saturday. we are still planning on our flight out of here on monday and hope all goes smoothly!

It's Ronny!

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:02:24 GMT

Well I thought it was about time that I wrote in our blog; since Monika has been so good about keeping us up to date on Jaiden I will give her a break. I am however at a disadvantage being 2195.46 miles away from where the rest of my family is. Currently though Kai is staying with my sister in Pocatello and I as well as Monika will be eternally grateful to her and her family for taking care of him during this difficult time while Jaiden is still in the hospital. As I said I am not there, I am in Houston trying to focus on my new job and get my qualifications so that I may contribute to the sector of Houston-Galveston. Work is great, so much better than what I was getting use to in San Juan and though there is no going out on boats for me, I work with great people and it makes the biggest difference. Having a strong church influence here is also a great blessing. I say strong but it may not compare to Utah or some parts in Idaho but the members of our ward family are great and very helpful, bringing me dinner occasionally and offering a should to lean on if I stand in need of it. I would like to thank all those who are praying for us, but especially for the prayers directed at Jaiden. He is our little miracle and continues to do well in the hospital, though we always want him to do more, we can't expect more than what he is already doing. He is above 4lbs 12oz last I heard from Monika, I bet I got that wrong and she will correct me that it may be more. He is in an open crib which means he can keep his body temp up on his own with no help from the incubator. The doctors will perform surgery next Wednesday, most likely another Lasik on his eyes and surgery on his hernia. They said the magic sentence just this week saying that he could be out by the end of this month. I have told my Chief and expect to fly up there the 28th of this month, hopefully to bring my family home. While I wait though I am keeping busy with work and at home I have my online classes I am taking too. I was spending time with the XBOX 360 until I received the dreaded THREE RED RINGS OF DEATH, I ended up shipping it off to Microsoft to be repaired...so here I sit now, writing in the blog! Anyway I hope that the time goes fast and I can have my family together again, it has been heart wrenching and I hope none of you reading this ever have to experience it.

４IBS!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:14:43 GMT

Jaiden is a "teaspoon" short of being 4ibs! He will definitely be 4 tomorrow! Acording to the Drs, that's the "magical" weight, when babies suddenly start holding their own body temperature, feeding more, and over all, do better! W shall see! I've been up here at Ronald McDonald now for about a month, and it hasn't been all that easy...no discharge date has been given yet, but we keep hoping that it will come to an end soon...It's been too long, since our family had to split in all directions since October of last year...sometimes I wonder why things have to happen a certain way...don't we all. At least Jaiden is doing well..but sometimes I think I might have the right to complain just a little. Basically, in order for Jaiden to graduate the NICU, he has to 1. not forget to breath (no apneas) 2. be able to feed all 6 times/day on his own and not through a tube, and 3. Hold his body temperature up. Simple enough things, things we assume that babies can automatically do, but Jaiden has sure come a long ways. He is now 38 weeks (gestational) and 3.5 months old. Good grief, it's time to get out of here! I sure do miss Ronny and Kai!

Thanks to all of you, who write me emails and call, take meals to Ronny or invite him over, and especially to Jen and Jappy and the girls who have taken Kai in for us.

Monika

Easter Sunday

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:07:30 GMT

We'll never foget this easter!

Ron, Carolyn and grandma Gordon came up to have dinner with me at the Ronald McDonald House! Volunteer people came to prepare us an Easter dinner...So nice! Then we went to the hospital to see Jaiden...Everyone got to hold him...poor grandma Gordon though, she only got to hold him enough time to take a few pictures of her and Jay before the nurse suggested that we put him back! :( SO sad! lol

Next time...This time, I got Carolyn picture of her holding Jay, so no more yelling at me, Cathy! lol jk

Happy Easter!

pS. Cathy, the pic. of Grandma eating is on there for you! She hated it and told me to delete it, but I figured she'll never get on the blog, so it's a shout out to ya! Enjoy! ;-) LOL I'm so mean!

Jaiden's laser eye surgery

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:27:51 GMT

Jaiden had his laser surgery today. The DR. was confident that all went well. She will re-check his eyes in one week. What she hopes to see are some scars on his tissue. She says that results and improvements will most likely not be seen until at least 2 weeks later. Hopefully this was the last of his surgeries!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Jaiden is on pain medication for a while, and is pretty heavily sedated still. I'm eager for him to start waking up and being himself again!

Monika

Laser surgery for Jaiden tomorrow

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:24:35 GMT

Today, Ron and Carolyn came up to see Jaiden at the hospital. They were amazed at his growth in just one week that they hadn't been up! Also, it was very fun that they both got to hold Jaiden for the first time since he was born in December! Very nice. Sorry Carolyn, I didn't get any pictures of you holding him! :( Next time!

Tomorrow at 9:30am, Jaiden will be getting his laser surgery for his eyes. Easy enough procedure, but somewhat of a set back to how well he has been doing. Back on the ventilator, back at feeding through the tubes, but hey, if his eyes can be corrected and prevented from becoming blind, what's the little tubes going down his body, right!? We're grateful that they caught this in time...

Monika

Mojo's scrap pages

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:16:21 GMT

So I just had to put all my scrap pages up for some of my friends and family to skim through! Sorry there's so many pages, but Ronny, Cathy, Carolyn, Erika, I think you should be proud of me for getting them done! Maybe even some of my scrapper friends like Jen N. Alicia B. would enjoy them too!? All of you are in them! :)

My favorites are of course the ones of Kai and Jaiden. These were all done from Oct. 2007-March 2008---all from the time Ronny went to A-school, till now...our family hasn't ALL been back together in all this time! :( Soon enough. Anyway, hope you enjoy

Mojo

Ronald McDonald Housing

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:03:16 GMT

I'm at Ronald McDonald Housing near the hospital! It's been a huge blessing to have this facility close to the hospital, as it allows me to walk a few times a day to visit Jaiden. As you can see, the room is huge and I've been enjoying the time I get to myself. I don't have to worry about anything but going to see Jaiden everyday! I miss my family very much, but am trying to enjoy this time that I have to myself! I've been scrapping, reading, sleeping in (!), and will soon be starting online classes again.

Jaiden is doing well. He's up to 3ibs. and 3oz now. He's handling his feeds well, and we are trying to get him ready to eat from a bottle and gradually to breast feeding. He's a fisty one! He barks at the nurses whenever they prasctically "pry" him away from me when and after I get to hold him. lol He sure does smile A LOT. He has the cutest dimples like his daddy and big brother Kai. His eyes are concerning the Drs right now though, and he might have to get lasik surgery come next week, so we are praying that all goes well.

I am especially grateful to my sister in law and family for taking Kai in, and allowing me to be here, focused 100% on getting Jaiden out of here. Thanks!

Monika

Reunited with Jaiden!!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:31:30 GMT

Well, it's been a while since we got to see Jaiden. I about had a heart attack when I saw him on the 5th of March after a month and a half of being in Texas! Jaiden was just like a "normal" baby! His skin was beautiful and he was "HUGE" compared to what he was when I left him!! He has hit the 3ibs. mark yesterday, is now 15 and 3/4inches long, and is doing so well. We had a DR. come up to us today to apologize that she had to have said "scary" things to us (i.e. that Jay was never going to survive) when Jaiden was born, but that he has beaten the odds. She added, that in all her 20+years as a Dr., she has NEVER seen a baby so young (not small in size, but they go by how old they are) survive. Jaiden is now 35 weeks and is "out of the woods", as far as surviving goes. We couldn't be happier!

We have come to a point now where we can touch his skin without any gloves and we are even allowed to hold him once a day. He still gets stressed out with too much activity and interaction, so we're not able to do too much yet, but little by little we get to do small things with him. We are trying to get him interested in "sucking", so that he will be able to breast feed soon. Right now, he needs to work on 1. being able to eat and gain weight, 2. not have apnea (fogetting to breath), and being able to hold his own body temperature up. When all these things are accomplished by him, he will be closer to getting out! I am now staying at Ronald McDonalds, about 5 min. from the Deaconess hospital where I walk to and from the hospital everyday at "changing times", where I go in and get to change Jaiden's diapers...that's about all I get to do right now, (plus hold him once a day) but soon enough, there will be more for me to do, so I'm excited. Ronny's back in Texas now, and Kai is being taken care by my sister in law and her family (so great!) in Pocatello. It's a VERY hard time for our family, this time having to have to ALL be seperated, but we are trying to be strong. We try to keep in mind that when this is all over, we will get to finally be together as a family. Since last October, we have not been able to all be together as a family. That's a whole 7 months!! We are very excited for that day. I think we have learned very much NOT to take the time we get to be together for granted. Please enjoy your families and loved ones.

Love,

Monika

Hot cheetos!

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:19:04 GMT

I love hot cheetos!!! Those who know me definitely can attest to that! One of my bad hibits is to eat them with my breakfast...I just can't eat something sweet in the morning or drink nasty milk without my hot cheetos! Believe it or not, that's what I ate all throughout both my pregnancies (and my growing up years and on my mission too)! I would crave them so much...And now Kai has been begging me to give him some...I hesitated giving them to him, but gave in a few days ago and he's been the happiest little boy ever since I introduced him to them! lol Well, actually I believe that he throughouly enjoyed them in my tummy all along! HA HA...For those of my good friends whom I have converted to become lovers too, AREN'T THEY THE GREATEST?! We go back a long ways! :D lol

If you've never had them and don't mind spicy things, ENJOY! what more can I say?

Monika

ps. Jaiden is now 1059g!! :D (2ib. 5oz??) I will be up there in a week!

Life

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:05:42 GMT

今日はお弁当を作ったよ！焼き鳥、豚のしょうが焼き、もちろんおにぎり、それからほうれん草の和え物と、オレンジのお弁当！おいしかった！：）海君と一緒にピクニックに行ったんだ。海君はオレンジしか食べなかったけどね！（笑）（涙）みんな元気？ジェイダンも元気で体重増やしてます。今はやっと生まれたときの二倍の体重で、１０２０ｇです！みんなの応援に感謝してます！もにか

Today Kai and I went on a little picnic by the pool. He's such a good boy. I love him to death and it kills me to think that we have to leave him soon...I'm really excited to be with Jaiden finally, but at the same time it kills me to know that I can't be with Kai...I wished that this time would be over with already. It's been over half a year since our family has been able to be together in one place...It's getting old...　：（

After all I complain though, what is there left for me to do but to just go on?　So I will、 I guess.　Things could be worse. ：）

I'll ｓａｖｅ my complaining for when things get worse! :)　

Hola mis amigos!　Gracias a Dios Jaiden esta mucho mucho mejor. Ahora esta creciendo y esta luchando cada dia.　Yo estoy bien pero triste porque ya voy a poder　Estar con Jaiden ya pronto pero a la vez voy a tener que dejar a Kai con la hna. de Ronny.　Nooooooo!!!!　No quiero pero pues, no hay otra opcion asi que que voy a hacer?　Tengo que estar agradecida no mas por lo que si tengo y no pensar en las cosas que no tengo　Y que no puedo hacer. Como estan mis amigos?　Ha sido un ano bien dificil para mi, ya he tenido a algunos de mis Conocidos fallacer...Espero que han sido un ano poco mejor para uds.　Les amo mucho, siempre les tengo en mi corazonsito :)

Dejame saber como estan.

Richan

2ibs!

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:20:30 GMT

Jaiden's at 2ibs. finally! Actually, 2Ibs., 1oz! :D (940g)

Our Household Goods finally arrive!!!

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:08:59 GMT

Hello! Our house hold goods finally arrived from PR! Now we have a bed and couches to sit on! YAY! No more plastic and paper silverware and plates!!!! As soon as we got our stuff, I chucked all plastic utencils into the trash! lol

Jaiden's doing super! He didn't even backtrack after his heart surgery like the Drs anticipated! He's IV free and doing real well on his feeds (breast milk) so all he needs to do now is GROOOOW! He's now 1ib. 14oz (860g) We are soo happy!

I will be going back to Washington to be with Jaiden until he gets out and I can't wait to see him. These past few months have been trying, but I feel that the Lord has been by my/ourside every step of the way. Today in RS (Relief Society at church) class, the teacher shared a scriptures that i have read many times...but today it sunk deep within me and I realized why I have been able to stick it through this far...many of you have asked me how I am able to go throgh such a thing as this...how I can be so positive and put on a smile (trust me, I have my days) and I often wondered that myself. Actually, all my life I never really looked at my so called life "trials" as "trials"...I look back at them and always wonder how I wasn't "destroyed" by some of the things I've been through, or given up...the scripture reads: (the Lord is speaking)"... And I will also ease the ^burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as ^witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their ^afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did ^strengthenthem that they could bear up their ^burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord..." (Mosiah 24: 14-15) Many people blame their past for the way they turned out. I can't stand that. Get up and do something good! Stand a little taller, as Pte. Hinckley would say! Be better because of your past! There is just no excuses for blaming how you are on your past. Anyway, what I wanted to get to is that I thank the Lord for always being with me. I realize that many times, He lets us go through hard times so that we will realize our nothingness and from where the help comes...it's truly humbling. There is a great being out there and I know He lives, I know Him personally. I am eternally indebted to Him, and I love him. I thank Him for everything I have, and never will I deny any of this.

Thank you all for your prayers and your positive influence in my life. I am the person I am (good or bad) because of each one of you who have been in my life at some point.

Monika

From Dr. Cathy Sampert's blog about Jaiden

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:46:05 GMT

Hello everyone...I have plagerized a whole blog entry from my sister in law's blog site! She's a Dr. in Washington and has been a huge help to us while we try to understand what Jaiden's Drs are talking about! She's basically our interpreter! lol It's so great to have a Dr. in the family :-) Just thought it'd be fun to have someone else's perspective about Jaiden on here. Enjoy

Cathy says: "...The biggest news, is that just as we were packing up and preparing to fly out we heard that our new nephew had been born! Jaiden Orion Sampert was born at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, ID on Dec 20th (also his Grandpa Sampert's birthday) at 4am so that was of course very exciting, but also very concerning, because he wasn't due until April. He weighed 1lb and 2 oz at birth and Monika was only 21-22 weeks along in her pregnancy when he was born! He is a fighter though and is 1 week old now and still doing well! He was transported by helicopter to Deaconness (a hospital in Spokane, WA with a Level III NICU) at about 2 hours of life where he's staying now. What's amazing is that at KMC, a regional hospital completely unprepared for /not expecting such a tiny premie, they were able to successfully intubate him immediately and stabilized him so quickly.... they also got his UVC in prior to transport which is huge.... a UVC is an umbilical venous catheter, which is essentially an IV that goes through the vein in his umbilical cord so they can give him medicine and draw blood for labs without poking him. These are very common in premies but can be difficult to place so the team at KMC really did a great job for baby Jaiden. We were able to visit him several times while we were home which was really nice to be able to meet him! He's tinier than you can imagine... his parents' wedding bands fit on his wrist! You're pinky is thicker than his thighs... I can't fully explain the scale of Jaiden but he's really a miracle and especially during the Christmas season it was such a strong reminder of the miracle of life and God's power.... Statistically, Jaiden's odds were not at all good, but he's still with us and doing so well, that you can't help but acknowledge that Heavenly Father must be playing a huge role here... The doctors and nurses all call him the miracle baby. He's not out of the woods yet, but we're all so grateful he's doing so well! When Bob and I saw him yesterday before we left he was flailing all around in his incubator, waving his arms and legs at us, scratching an itch, and just being a very active guy like his big brother Kai! The added bonus of Jaiden making an extremely early appearance was that his dad, Ronny, Bob's brother, was able to fly up from Puerto Rico and spend Christmas with everyone. He'd been in Virginia doing A-school for the Coast Guard, then flew back to Puerto Rico where he was preparing all their stuff to move to Houston where they'll be stationed next, but was able to get a flight out immediately after hearing that his son had been born. (Monika and Kai had been staying with Bob's folks in Coeur d'Alene while Ronny was in Virginia) Anyway, we were glad to see Ronny too and he was of course grateful to be able to spend the holidays with his wife and sons! The Coast Guard is giving him 2 weeks of leave from the time he was supposed to start in Houston, so he will be able to stay until mid-January or so which is a huge blessing..."

Photo Album: The Coast Guard Astro's Game Aug 2008

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:36:55 GMT

The Coast Guard Astro's Game Aug 2008

Jaiden has his leg up while sleeping

isn't he getting so cute?!

And getting so big

hard to believe he was only a pound when he was born...

chrsita is taping her face...had to do it, according to the OFFICE game

Tadaaaa! beautiful

Playing the Office board game

Friends over

Who doesn't love the Office?!

The Benac gang

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Photo Album: A trip to the zoo!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:49:18 GMT

A trip to the zoo!

Kai's playing with the vacuum part and something he jammed in there

talking about life

I love you brother

he he he. we're in mommy and daddy's bed!

nooo more pictures!!!

let's play hide and go seek!

boo! I found you!

My nose

the new look

ready for the summer!

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Photo Album: Cerina's visit to TX June 2008

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:38:01 GMT

Cerina's visit to TX June 2008

Kai loves to crawl into things

and under and in between

Kai loves his brother Jaiden

helping J with his pacifier

June 2008 006

June 2008 008

June 2008 011

June 2008 014

CURRY UDON (noodles)

Kai LOVES Cerina and has to be RIGHT next to her

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Photo Album: July 23

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:14:24 GMT

July 23

Kai loves Jaiden so much

always together

Kai has a fit when he can't be near Jaiden

Kisses as always

Smiles by J Jul 2008 018

My x-companion from the mission who Kai just adored

can you tell? lol

Smiles by J Jul 2008 027

EYE...

nooo moree!!!

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Photo Album: Jay smiles and Ronny's party Jul

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:47:41 GMT

Jay smiles and Ronny's party Jul

Ready to smile

smile #1

Jaiden is starting to smile

he likes to be talked to

Smiles by J Jul 2008 007

Smiles by J Jul 2008 008

Smiles by J Jul 2008 009

Smiles by J Jul 2008 013

Kai eats daddy's star cookie he got from work

and so does mommy lol

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Photo Album: Updates

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:02:11 GMT

Updates

ronny holding J

Anniversary flowers :)

Jaiden is working on lifting that heavy head!

BOYS JUNE 2008 008

Kai loves his daddy

The boys on a walk

Cerina on a walk with Jaiden

Cuddles with Jaiden

Fast asleep...

he's an angel WHEN he sleeps! lol

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Photo Album: Misc of the Sampert life

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:56:39 GMT

Misc of the Sampert life

Daddy and Kai plays with bubbles

My boyz

picking at the bubbles

more?

My littls buddy

suffocating him?

pretty flowers from my jiji, baba and chibi! lol

SHOW ME YOUR MUSCLES BUDDY!!

NNNN!!!

MUSCLES!!!

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Photo Album: More of Jaiden for grandma Sampert :)

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:31:16 GMT

More of Jaiden for grandma Sampert :)

Can u c what J has next to his face?

yup, toy animals!! guess who put them there?

Big brother wanted to share :)

J and his "super J" slippers from grandma Erika :)

Hi abuelita Erika!

Looking cute in his new slippers

hugs

my baby

mom gets to sleep on the couch sometimes to let Ronny sleep...

Jaiden napping in our bed

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Photo Album: The Family Reunion

Fri, 30 May 2008 18:11:51 GMT

The Family Reunion

Jaiden is home

so sleepy

jay's crib

Jaiden makes it in the press

Ronny's idea of hanging the slinky over his crib

At chief Sampert's fire station

Cathy and Bob

DSCN5178

Dr. Cathy playing Pac-man

shy baby

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