California McMillans

We had a statewide conference that really impacted me. It was about California, but I think is applicable to so much more. It was about seeking Zion, the 'pure in heart', wherever we are. We have seen people leaving California in search for a better place to live; cheaper, more conservative, more youth, etc. While these are good to seek, I got the message that they can be found wherever you are. The "grass is greener sydrome" is a hard outlook to have. If I lived there, if I had this job, if my kid was more, if I was... This attitude isn't always the key to true happiness. I am privledged to know people who would be happy wherever they are, whatever they are asked to endure or do and whomever they are surrounded by. They find the positives, they seek after purity, they surround themselves with good and they radiate happiness. Here are a few of them... My Sister - Anyone who knows Heather knows that she finds the positive. She is a great new mom! Roman ranks up the

So you can see we didn't plan on going swimming.  It was a gorgeous day and Scott couldn't resist the water.  Next time I will bring a swim suit.  In the meantime Thomas underwear did the job.  Scott had a GREAT time.  It was so fun to see him so happy.  He truly loves the water.

We had a great day in the City the other day.  I met my girlfriend, Kim, and we headed to the San Francisco Science Musuem.  Scott was finally able to meet the albino gator who now has 4 toes instead of 5 due to the other gator getting hungry.  All he wanted to do was stay there and watch him but with some coaxing we managed to find our favorite Nemo fishies, the penguins and play in the kid zone which is perfect for Scott and Tyker's age.  It was way to crowded due to spring break but we still had a great time!  Thanks Kim. It worked out perfectly to go on a Thursday since that's Danny's teacher day.  We picked him up for a fun night at Taxis, the cable cars that were down, the beach which Scott loved and of course Danny's favorite, Ghiradelli!!  What a fun Thursday. 

Doctor Scott loves to give shots and bandaids.  He makes sure to check your heart, blood pressure and give you medicine.  He also undoubtedly calls nurse ann (Tyler's nurse) on his fake doctor phone for advice.   Profession #2 - Hairstylists.  At least we have an excuse if Tyler has a bad haircut.  This should be an infomercial for how anyone can cut hair.  Tyler looks scared, don't you think?

As many of you know I am writing a book entitled Children of Hope. It is about how disabilities, illness, infertility or accident can often lead a family from devastation and heartache to hope, love and ultimately peace in Christ, the true Child of Hope. I want this to bring hope and peace to parents and families facing a similar struggles. The book will be divided into small chapters representing each child of hope. If you are an adult and would like to contribute your story that would also be great!! I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to pass this onto anyone who has been a testament of hope to you!! Thanks for your help. I have heard from some amazing people and excited to continue hearing from others. If you have questions or comments contact me at childofhope1@gmail.com . Here are two examples that I wrote about my children to give you an idea of the book: Tyler Anthony McMillan, HLHS, September 4, 2007 From adolescence, I dreamed of someday being a mother and blessi

We got a free pass for spring break to marine world so headed out to Thomas Town for the day. It was a lot of fun. Scott concentrates so much on certain rides to have the ride go up and down. Here he is on flying Dumbo. We explored a huge jungle gym. His favorite part was to climb this huge tunnel made of that blue mesh. All the big kids thought he looked cool and immediatly followed his lead. How often do you see an 8 year old follow a 3 year old? Pretty funny. I imagine Danny was the same climbing dare devil that Scott is. We went up inthe air on the hot air balloon. They were like tea-cups and Scott had them going way faster than I would have liked. Made me sick. We saw a great sealion and killer whale show. Here we are at the sea lion show. Great day. What other place has little kid rides, thomas town, killer whale shows, animal kingdoms and giant roller-coasters?

The advisory board was very interesting last night. There are about 15 people on the board and the architects' plans were so impressive. This firm specializes in building hospitals. This one is going to be so nice, peaceful and wonderful for patients, doctors and families. The next step is taking it to the state which they said is about a 1.5 year speed-project. All the rooms are private, there are playrooms, activity rooms, and teen rooms galore. Every room has a huge media center and sleep area for parents. We now sleep in the ICU and step-down on a pull out chair which I felt so privledged about. UCSF became a family friendly hospital a couple years ago which has benefited all. It is easier for the kids to have parents present, since they are able to do a lot of the minor care and soothing and can gauge their childrens demeanor for doctors. There are three garden terraces off the floors for the kids to roam. It will be so nice. The families have been working on integrating a lo

Meet our newest nephew, Turin Olson. What a cute little guy. They name their kids after cities. First one to guess where Turin is wins a prize. If there was one sibling who would have similar looking kids to us it was Michelle. I think she looks the most like Danny yet our kids look completley different. Michelle and Jared are such great parents and Turin is one lucky little man. Now we just need to talk them into moving to California or they need to talk us into moving to Utah so the cousins can play.

What better way to start your morning than go to the temple?  My temple attendance has not been great since I had Tyler.  I am with the kids in the day and work at night which is no excuse, but I needed to find a time tht works for me.  I decided to try out the 5:30AM session this morning and LOVED it!  It got me up and I was back before 8 to be mom.  I think Danny and I are going to trade off weeks for this hidden treasured time. We would love company if you want to join us.  Plus it only took me about 20 minutes to get there.  Last night I mentioned to Danny I was going to go to the temple so of course during FHE Scott kept asking about Temples.  We referred to the temple as the Lord's house, looked at pictures and said how we learn about and are close to Jesus there.  This morning as soon as I returned home Scott kept asking me something.  I was talking to Danny and not really listening to Scott.  After about the fifth time I realized Scott was saying, "Mommy, did you see J

I am excited and humbled to become a member of UCSF Children's Hospital Advisory Board. I was asked to help represent cardiac families. The advisory board was started two years ago to help facilitate UCSF with plans for their new children's hospital. It consists of doctors, hospital workers, families, community members and architects. UCSF children's hospital is building a 289-bed, integrated hospital complex to serve children, women and cancer patients near its existing biomedical campus at Mission Bay. The first phase should be completed by 2014 with a budget of $1.686 billion. It is one of the largest building projects in the western United States which is greatly needed for our economy right now. What an exciting time for the future of children's healthcare ! So many will be blessed by this project. My family has been so blessed by UCSF and I know the doctors, surgeons and research will continue to bless countless lives. I feel humbled to live in a nation and area

Tyler gets these little welts/hives on his hands, face, feet, sometimes entire body sporadically. My concern was if it was a blood pressure/heart issue. I know it isn't logical, but sometimes things aren't logical. In the ER I tried to explain the bumps to the doctors and Tyler suddenly got some a couple and it was concluded he has an allergy. His cardiologist laughed at the things this child encounters. So the narrowing down begins which I am not very good at. We were at the beach and after he had a pb&j sandwich they appeared on his neck and face. I have yet to exclusively give him peanut butter again, but am leaning towards that. Wish me luck on my allergy detective skills. I am too laid back to figure this stuff out. Update: I just gave him a little bit of a yummy peanut butter chocolate candy and a welt appeared. Problem solved. I'll call his nurse and see what she wants us to do.

This age is so fun. Tylers personality really comes through. Tyler is a sensitive little man, loves his mommy and daddy and at times a little rascal that is busy busy busy. He loves doing anything his brother does. Danny gave me a call last night as I was signing the lease to our condo (that's right, we rented our condo to a great family...YIPEE!!) He said he was bringing Tyler to the ER because he was having a hard time breathing from being in pain over something. He was kind of grunting to breathe which is sometimes a sign of heart failure. I got there a little earlier and said we were coming and they were so great. They brought us right in and had the ER doctor and pediatric in-house doctor waiting. His cardiologist came in to do an echo. The EKG, Echo and chest x-ray showed that his heart looks the same as his baseline which is GREAT news. We know his heart is doing well and wont need another echo for a while. We will get a lung scan done in July to see if he needs another ca

Heidi Go S C O T T S D A L E!! Scottsdale Invitational, Age 4

How can you not LOVE these adorable faces...