Spring Break!

Spring Break is here! Dan & Mari & Elsa & Jonas are relaxing on spring break. Mari celebrated her birthday this past week and we all enjoyed some egg-cellent cupcakes in her honor courtesy of Grandma Jeanne.

Jonas and Elsa visited with some newborn sheep this past week. They have been baa-ing the rest of the week.

We are looking forward to some rest and play this upcoming week!

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

The new car!

Greetings!

A neighbor with some older kids stopped by last week with a couple of toys she thought our kids might like. One of them was a battery operated jeep. Needless to say, this was a huge hit and Jonas and Elsa had been pointing at it from time to time this past week wondering when they could play with it. Dan spent some time dusting off a cobweb or two and the jeep was ready for its maiden voyage this weekend. Jonas and Elsa couldn't wait to sit in it! After about 30 seconds, Elsa was "all done, all done" and Jonas kept saying "Elwa sit here...Elwa sit here (in the passenger seat). It was a hoot and we caught a little bit on the video below.

Elsa and Jonas also visited with their good friend Joshua who shares their birth date. The three of them had a good time playing while Mari got to spend some time with her friend Jen (who is expecting a new baby in the upcoming months.

Jonas and Elsa also experienced a little March Madness this week and watched some basketball with mom and dad!

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

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Gymnastics Part II

Greetings!

Our second trip to gymnastics was so much fun! We caught a couple of pictures and movies of Jonas and Elsa in action. Enjoy!

We had an uneventful week! This is great!

We were asked to write a letter of support for MultiCare's efforts to expand the NICU in Tacoma by about a 1/3. The call came early this week and basically said we had been recommended as a family that might be able to share the family experience of being in the NICU and having children transported by the NICU team.

God Bless,

Dan & Mari & Jonas & Elsa

A copy of our letter is below:

To....:

Our family is writing to you in support of the efforts of MultiCare to expand the capacity for premature babies at Tacoma General Hospital. We will be forever blessed by our experiences at Tacoma General because of the compassion and skill of the doctors and nurses in the NICU and ICN.

Our twins, Elsa and Jonas, arrived quite suddenly and unexpectedly in December, 2008. At twenty-four weeks gestation, they were four months early and each weighed close to one pound. We can not fully describe the fear, anxiety, and worry we experienced as our babies were born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington. The transportation squad of NICU nurses from Tacoma General arrived about fifteen minutes after our twins were born and there was an immediate calm in the room. The nurses were experts and knew exactly what needed to be done to save our children’s lives. They spent several hours stabilizing our children for transportation, explained to us what has happening, and whisked our babies off to safety at Tacoma General. It was amazing.

The next five months we watched in constant awe at the miracles of modern medicine and compassion that the doctors and nurses have at the Tacoma General NICU. On the milestone days, our children were strong enough to be removed from a ventilator or started receiving food via a feeding tube, the nurses and doctors shared our joy. On the hard days, our son had multiple surgeries and our daughter had a level four brain bleed, the doctors and nurses extended a compassion that goes beyond any job description. We never knew what to expect each day with our babies’ health but we knew that the staff would support us and prepare us for each step along the way of the marathon.

Two years removed from the NICU and ICN, our children are doing amazingly well. Our daughter and son are healthy, happy, and developmentally on track. Being one pound each at birth they would not have survived without the resources and people at Tacoma General NICU. We hope that you will be able to support MultiCare in their work to enhance their services. They are an irreplaceable asset to our community and Western Washington.

Thank you for your consideration of our letter. Please feel free to contact us if we can provide any additional information.

Sincerely,

Dan, Mari, Jonas & Elsa Lysne

1 2 3 4 (couldn't wait until Sunday)

Greetings!

We have a quick early week update. Jonas and Elsa have been practicing their counting and we caught Jonas in the act! We also had a basketball game in the living room yesterday that was quite a bit of fun! Enjoy!

God Bless,

Elsa & Jonas & Mari & Dan

Silver

Greetings!

Elsa and Dan are writing this quick update. Elsa says hi to everyone!

Jonas had a long week. Earlier this week he had some major dental work done. Preemies sometimes have weakened enamel because it didn't have enough time to develop. Jonas needed to have four fillings, one or two root canals (lost track), and one crown to help with his teeth. The dentist had him sleep during the work and I don't blame him one bit. Jonas woke up and was not a happy camper for much of the rest of the day. He is still getting use to his new bling and has been a little hesitant to chomp or chew with much vigor. But we are hopeful that his eating will rebound in the near future. He can proudly point to his crown and say "silver". What a champ

Elsa and Jonas took their first gymnastics class this past weekend. They had a hoot bouncing, rolling, jumping, running, and crawling all over the place. Mari and Dan had a great time chasing them. At the end of the session, Elsa and Jonas were the only kids on the inflatable tumbling mat...kind of like a bouncy castle...Elsa ran with wild abandon and would throw herself off the end in to our arms. Jonas had a great time bouncing up and down! We followed this up with watching their cousin's basketball game and then had ice cream. What a great weekend!

Elsa is telling me that we are "all done". Have a wonderful weekend. God Bless!

Elsa & Dan & Jonas & Mari