Merry Christmas

Santa came to Miss Swendy's school today. He brought her a PURPLE crayon bank. She couldn't have been happier.

A letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

My name is Maddy Bishop.

I am two.

I have been a very good girl this year.

I would like a bead toy like Emma's for Christmas please.

And a Woody doll too, please.

Thanks.

Maddy

Heels

Already, Maddy loves heels. Quite often I find her in this tutu/skirt and her heels. The addition of the necklace, bell, and egg slicer tell me that she's going to grow up to not only be stylish but also musical and a culinary genius!

". . . I'm Going There Someday"

Maddy's babysitter took this pictures of her at the doors of the temple. I ADORE it. I'm thinking that it and a picture of the temple need to hang together in her room.

Jury Duty!

We have a system in the united states that Allows people with an argument to bring their claims of injury or hurt to trial and an unbiased jury will hear both sides weigh the evidence and decided whether the claims are true or false and whether they deserved to be compensated for their injuries.

In an post here the author Brent Adams sums up my thoughts:

If we are all to be afforded a right to trial by jury when important issues arise, then we, as citizens, must take our turn to serve as jurors when others are involved in important issues which must be decided by a jury.

The desire to ensure the right to trial by jury for all citizens is one of the major reasons our great country was founded. Our forefathers established from the outset that as free people, we would all have the right to trial by jury on all important issues concerning our personal liberties and freedoms and in matters involving disputes between and among citizens.

In the United States, we don’t leave it up to the lawyers and the judges to make decisions on these issues; instead, we select juries at random from members of the community at large to sit together and make these important decisions. As jurors, you have perhaps more power than you will ever have. You have the power to right a wrong and to ensure that our judicial system works properly. If we do not have wise and thoughtful jurors to decide issues fairly and accurately and in accordance with the law, it doesn’t matter how good our judicial system looks on paper or how well the laws are written.

The next time you are chosen to sit on a jury, consider the privilege you have as a citizen and perhaps your jury service will not seem so burdensome.

I had the privilege to be a part of this process this past month. I mean that sincerely and not sarcastically believe it or not. I believe it is our responsibility, our duty, and our privilege to serve jury duty so when I got my questionnaire in the mail I had a desire to be chosen- and I was. On Monday the 7th I appeared at the Matheson courthouse for jury duty. After answering a series of questions over 3 hours, the jury panel of approximately 45 was whittled down to 8 jurors and an alternate. I happened to be the 23rd person in line and was juror number 8.

For the next 6 and a half days we learned everything we ever wanted to know about Anoxic Brain Injuries, hypoxic and esceimc events, Thorasic Outlet Syndrome, tetanic contractions, myochardial infarctions, ejection fraction, troponin levels, the effects of epinephrine, somatization disorder, and the civil litigation process in general. Oh it was interesting!

I could talk for hours about all that transpired (ask mom or hubby or co-workers) but the short version is this. In January 2007 a 20 year old woman had an allergic reaction to Tylenol with Codine and came to St. Mark's ER where she was given epinephrine by IV rather than the prescribed subcutaneous route. Her experts said she had a heart attack which lead to both a contraction in her back which has caused lasting back and neck problems, and also lack of oxygen to the brain which has led to brain damage to her frontal lobes and she will no longer be able to have competitive employment, attend college, or make normal, logical decisions. We were asked to award damages for lost past and future wages and benefits, for medical expenses past and future and for loss of enjoyment of life - all adding up to $5,700,000 and change.

The defense brought experts who showed us normal test after normal test. They showed that this woman had a history of complaints of pain- bad enough to take her to the doc and complain of 11 out of 10 on the pain scale. She has been on prescribed narcotics since high school. And so on and so on.

When it came time to deliberate, we found that there was no evidence that the epinephren accident at the hospital caused the injuries she was claiming. As foreman I had to speak to the judge when we went back to the courtroom and even though I know we followed the law and gave the right decision, I still felt horrible. There were those niggling thoughts of "what if we were wrong?" "What would the judge have decided- he's more experienced?" "Who are we to make this kind of a decision? We're not doctors!" However, it is the plaintiff's lawyer's responsibility to prove injury and he didn't so I feel that we did our job.

Though we awarded her no money, I do feel really terrible for this girl. She's 24 (we never met her since she didn't testify or come to court) but for the past 4 years she's been told that she has brain damage and that the hospital has caused all her pain and that she won't be able to function in life going forward without a personal assistant and constant supervision. She believed that she would get a settlement that would set her for life, and according to testimony, she has NOT BEEN TREATED in 4 years for her substance abuse problems or her mental issues!!! I'm angry with her parents who spent more time on the litigation than on caring for their daughter. I truly hope that they will now move forward and get her help and therapy and that this whole process won't be self-fulfilling for her and she will turn out to be unable to function in life ever.

I have to admit, I've been wanting to serve on a jury ever since a co-worker of mine in some situation was talking about what an honor and privilege it is to be a part of this legal system. I wanted to be a part of the process and I truly do feel that it was a pleasure and a priviledge to serve. Our jury of 8 plus an alternate consisted of 7 of the nicest women and 1 of the most gentlemenly men I've met. They were a pleasure to get to know. When you spend time with a group of people for 6 days but can't talk about what you are gathered together for, you end up learning a lot about each other's history and lives and jobs and families. I actually find myself thinking of these 8 people I met wondering if they are thinking of ths trial still and how it has changed their outlook on life - if at all. I'm wondering if Tina and her husband have received a mission call. And I'm wondering how Donna's ornaments turned out as wonderfully as she hoped (her school class was making ornaments for the national tree in Washington!).

Two final observations: I'd like to be an expert witness- they make around $1200 per hour! And Judge Anthony Quinn sounds just like Kevin Costner -also my OB is named Quinn- I wonder if they are related.

And PS - mom got a yellow postcard just like mine. She has to call in this Friday to see if she needs to appear. Wouldn't it just be a conicidence if she was actually on a sitting jury this close to my experience? When will she get her Christmas shopping done???

fairy

Got Maddy this nice costume for Halloween but did she wear it? No.

So I made her put it on so I could take her picture in it anyway.

I didn't pose her this way, she did it all herself. Maybe I have a ballerina in my house.

a few new posts

There are a few new posts down below - I started them before my "put down the phone" post and so they show up prior to it. So, in case your tracking shows the latest post only, I wanted to direct your attention to two posts full of good pictures below.

put down the device

The other day I was in Maddy's room writing emails on my BlackBerry while she was playing. She didn't want me to ignore her so she took away my phone put it in this container and screwed on the lid. I was laughing so hard. I ran to get my camera and then I ignored my phone and played the marble game with her!

white stuff

Our first real snow of the season was a few weeks ago. Maddy and I ran out to play in it that Saturday morning before it could melt away. I do think she had the opportunity to play in the snow last year a few times but as far as she remembers, this is her first time in the white stuff. I was impressed how long she lasted before getting cold. I didn't think she'd want to play long so I didn't put on snow pants so it was going down her back. That didn't deter her much.

Every kid instinctively knows to eat snow. Why's that?

We couldn't get the snow to stick in order to make big snowmen. We stuck with tiny snowmen instead

Maddy's snow angel

  

Bear Lake

Late in October we were invited to visit the Peterson's cabin at Bear Lake. Scott grew up going to the cabin all summer long with his childhood friends. When he ran into one of the Peterson boys they got to talking about dirt bikes and how each of them needed a friend to ride with. They planned this trip to the cabin primarily so the boys could get one last ride in before it got too cold in the mountains. We had a nice time though Maddy, I learned, it a little bit posessive about her toys. There was another girl there 2 months younger than Maddy and her older brother and sister. All of them wanted to play with Maddy's baby and stroller but Maddy really didn't want to share. We had lots of talks about how nice it is to share. But, all the while I was telling her this, I wanted to tell the other kids "Maddy brought that toy, it's hers, you should have brought your own!". So, it was a good time to have a learning experience and my phone didn't receive emails and it was beautiful fall foliage time so a nice weekend.

Baby took a swing or two but kept faling off the seat. Luckily her plastic wipes up well

The "Tee Totter"

We spent way more time than I expected throwing rocks at this sign

Maddyism

Maddy while eating popcorn in the car on the way to grandma's for Thanksgiving

"my tummy's getting bigger. Like Mommy. And Like daddy".

Did she just call us fat?

sleeping

I wish I could take a picture of my baby sleeping but I fear the flash would wake her up. There just is a peace and calm on her face as she sleeps. Her muscles are relaxed, her mouth slightly open, her eyes gently closed with eye lashes splayed on her cheeks. It is times like this that I wish I were a poet to better describe the feelings that fill my mind and heart as I contemplate her. She is beautiful. She is an angel. And then she wakes up!

on posting more

Oh my. I have got to write a new post, or two, or three. Because everytime I scroll down to look through my list of bloggy friends, I see that halloween picture of the "sister wives" and it creeps me out a little bit every time I see myself. Got to do a post that has a lot of pictures so I can push that Halloween post a bit farther down - or maybe to a previous page!

peeves

I HATE when I'm driving down the street and the commercial on the radio features squealing tires or a honking horn or a crash! Seriously, it makes me jump every time - do they want to make me crash my car?

Happy Halloween



Maddy the monkey came to the office for trick-or-treating. For dinner we had meatloaf, bone breadsticks,  and spooky poison drinks.



I'm not usually one to go with a scary costume for Halloween but this one certain fits the bill. 



 It's not Halloween until you get to have the Tax Department wish you a happy season. So, from our family to yours . . .

 Happy Halloween from the Tax Department!

first day of "school"

Today I dropped Maddy off at her first day of "school". She is now attending Miss Swendy's Day School (I'll post on that later) and when I drove away, I felt that tightness in my throat like I just might loose it. It was like the first day I left her with Katie when she was 6 weeks old. Seems silly that after dropping her at a sitter basically every day for 2 years this would affect me. Maybe it's a little bit that she's growing up and moving on. Perhaps it is that I'm feeling those empathy feelings of being scared - I'm worried about her feeling scared and alone . . .  Silly. I know that she will have a great time today. In fact, I'm jealous that Scott gets to pick her up from school and hear her first comments and feelings about her day.

The Cast is off!

As you may recall, just over a month ago my Maddy had to go to the Emergency Room for an X-Ray

Check out those stickers! You can tell how she is motivated!

We waited here for a loooooooooooooooooong time for them to come and put a splint on it. A splint because it was Thursday and they only did casts during the fracture clinic which was on Wednesday.

Almost a week later, we were back at the hospital this time for a wonderful orange cast.

Fast forward 4 weeks and here we are again



This handsome fellow came along with us.



After kind of a scary moment, the cast is gone. Maddy was very brave and her leg stunk like a foot that had been in a gym cleat for - well - a month!

The doc warned us that she might walk on it in the short term but it's likely that she could stop walking on it later in the evening - "don't freak out! it's normal". He also warned us that she may walk funny for up to 3 weeks becuase she has to redevelop those muscles and again "don't worry, it's normal!". We came straight home and to a long hour bath (well, not we - Maddy did). She smelled so nice. I'm so glad to not have to bathe her in the sink after encasing her cast in plastic (now why in the world did I not take a picture of that!???!!! 

We put her cast together in the boot one last time and Maddy had the pleasure of knocking it in the the trash and saying "bye bye" to her orange cast. It served her well.