👏🏻Happiest Birthday! 👏🏻 Oh Mason, we love you! For his birthday, will you share your favorite memory, encounter, story, etc. about Mason with us?

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Merry Christmas!🎁 Mason had a great Christmas and loved what he got. Twenty minutes later he had given every last one of his presents to his brother and sisters☺️. He’s so giving all the time and things don’t mean much to him—he’s rather make people happy than hold onto something. Always teaching us! #ohmason

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Merry Christmas from our perfect family to yours!! 😉 #ohmason

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“Mom, I want to do a podcast...” he pauses... “I need to tell people they need to look for Jesus. Jesus is all we need.” ☺️❤️ #hesstraightfromheaven #ohmason

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Prayer ❤️ I had an enlightening conversation with Brandon the other day. I was thinking about the miracles we’ve seen throughout Mason’s life and was in awe at the amount of people who have prayed in his behalf. I said to Brandon “it must have been why Mason was able to recover from all of this...” to which B replied, “No, that’s not how God works.” I scrunched my face like in a “what do you mean” kind of way... . B went on to say “Do think God would say ‘If you can get just 10 more people to pray—theeeeen I’ll work my magic...’ . No. We pray so that we can align our own will with God’s and no matter what happens, we (and each person praying) can have their own spiritual witness and experience that God is present and aware of each one of us.” Isn’t that such a beautiful description of WHY we pray-“to align our will with God’s”!! ❤️❤️ . I loved it so much that I wanted to share in case someone out there is struggling to know that even though we pray for what we’d like to have happen, that we are also praying that we are (and will be) okay with whatever God has in mind and showing we trust in His plan-because His way is the best way. #ohmason #nofilter

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Asleep with his buddies 💚. Glad he gets to visit them once in awhile. #sowedonthavetohavethem🤪 #ohmason

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On a recent trip to the ER for an unrelated reason, the doctor discovered Mason has mild Scoliosis. 😢 I was like, “ok, that’s not bad, we can work with that.” And then reading more about it, apparently this is only the START of it-meaning scoliosis starts showing up on the onset of puberty and needs to be carefully watched until 18 years old or whenever the child has reached his growth maximum. We won’t know the plan until we meet with the spine specialist but I told Mason it might mean some physical therapy and even wearing a brace 20 hours of the day depending how bad it gets. He said “oh, just a brace? That’s not too bad.” 💚 I have never seen anyone take every new thing thrown at him in stride. What a kid. #ohmason

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The Vandy Pet Shop is up and running! Here’s a pic of the finished product! He has gold, silver, and black in the bone design and this week we will be adding more options for other types of pets! We will let you know when they are up on the site! Anyone can order ANYTIME via the link in his bio (www.vandypetshop.com). Thanks again for your support of Mason. His little smile he kept cracking as he talked about his orders was the cutest. #ohmason @vandy_creations

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He told me not to post this but I had to! He wanted to make a “vlog” so bad so I caved and let him. I put the YouTube link in his bio. Maybe I’m just his mom but I thought it was pretty entertaining😁. #ohmason I love you @houseofjump

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🐰🐶Have a pet? 🐴🐱 . Go to www.vandypetshop.com to order a custom tag with your pet’s name, address and phone number! . Mason will personally help engrave and package your order and ship it FREE to your door! . Mason has been begging to start a business and with the help of @vandy_creations we were able to do just that! #ohmason

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☀️“We can hope, we should hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds...believe in spite of every reason not to believe. Why should we not hope that righteous desires and Christlike yearnings can still be marvelously, miraculously answered by the God of all hope? We all need to believe that what we desire in righteousness can someday, someway, somehow yet be ours.” ~Jeffrey R. Holland ☀️#ohmason

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My whole ♥️ in San Francisco. #ohmason

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💚This past year with Mason was a wild one, but honestly, it was so special. My heart bursts when I think of the kindness and love that was shown to both Mason and our family-as well as the reassurance that God is mindful of each and every one of us and our seemingly tiny needs. 💚 . ➖➖I wrote down in detail this past year’s experience if you’d like to read it. I titled it “Miracle Mason.” Link in his profile above 👆🏻.➖➖ . 🔸Happy Sunday! 🔸 . #miracleboy #ohmason

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❣️Happy 4th of July weekend! ❣️Mason made this all by himself and I found it on my phone and laughed my head off. 🤍 #ohmason #masonwashington🇺🇸 #4thofjuly #letfreedomring #patriotic #ilovehim #hesthebest

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Makes me happy in more ways than one...🏄🏻‍♂️ #surferdude #wetsuitwearin #onlywadedinthewater #butlookedreallylegit #oneill #hurley #ohmason

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One year ago... Started our journey back to healing... 2 major surgeries ✔️ 2 cardiac arrests✔️✔️ 1 respiratory failure ✔️ 1 life-flight✔️ 4 total months away from home✔️✔️✔️✔️ 3 billion prayers said✔️ =1 miracle boy!💓 #ohmason

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When he’s tired, he’s tired...😴 #prettymuchasleepinmidair #ohmason

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So far this week our Mason cutie ordered $500 worth of clothing at #underarmour because he needed new golf clothes 😎, tried to buy a dog online (seller called his Dad to confirm the sale from FLORIDA)🦮, backed my car into the driveway while sitting in the passenger seat (“I didn’t know that’s what reverse did?!”)🚙, and today he was entering my information on a site to buy a yacht so he could be in a Yacht Club 🛥. #keepingbusyinquarratine #ohmason

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❤️Throughout this whole stay, Mason has been really prayerful🙏🏻-“please bless my belly won’t hurt” “please bless my daddy will come” “please bless I won’t feel the IV going in” and most recently, “please bless the nurses will find me the wii (the one and only on the whole floor)” “please bless #DonovanMitchell will make that shot” and “please bless the #utahjazz will win” 🥰 Guess what?! ALL of his prayers were answered (mine, too!) He knows right where to go for help. He would catch the nurses off guard when he would fold his arms and bow his head quickly before every poke and prod and once it registered, their faces softened and they smiled. Mason has a way of instilling faith and being a true “influencer” in all the most important ways. #ohmason

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From an extended time in surgery, Rapid Response, time in the ICU, a virus, then a bacteria, a huge abscess, a drain, countless tests and scans, and horrible pain—you might be wondering if this is all worth it. After all, this surgery was technically elective and we didn’t necessarily have to get it done, except that we did. . Ever since last summer’s festivities we planned (and were told to plan) on getting his reversal done, giving his body adequate time to rest over the following 6 months. . The past 6 months have been nothing short of bliss with him. I’m not even kidding. We turned a huge corner in managing his meds that made the true, sweet, funny, angelic Mason come out. Brandon and I could not get enough of him. There was/is something heavenly that oozed from him and it has been so beautiful to witness. . Mason regained his strength and took everything in stride these last few months. Not one complaint out of his mouth! Never does. He embraced his stoma bag and it only caused him a little anxiety when it needed to be changed out or had some issue with it. It wasn’t terrible, but it was messy, unpredictable, and no way to live life forever when there were still better (although still tedious) options. . Brandon and I both felt good going into the surgery and knew it was the right thing to do and even according to God’s will. Mason’s life has never been not directed by a sweet, loving Heavenly Father who knows Mason more than I do. I’ve said before that my confidence and faith in God’s perfect plan for Mason has never waivered- even when death came knocking time and time again. . Heavenly Father knows I accept His plan, trust Him—and in turn blesses me with peace and strength when I don’t think my heart can see this boy of mine suffer through one more thing! ❤️#ohmason

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“When will this pain go away?” whispered Mason. 😭 He was not feeling good again yesterday and complained of more pain and didn’t want to move. I just knew there had to be something up but his fevers weren’t too elevated and his heart rate was fast but not crazy so I just held my breath and waited. Last night Mason presented a super high fever and heart rate and showed signs of going septic so the nurse rallied the troops and got a plan going. They needed a contrast CT scan but that meant Mason had to drink liquid medicine which he absolutely never tolerates (it always comes back up with his gag reflex). That scan was important so we prayed really hard that he could drink it and it would taste like the Gatorade it was in. Our prayers were answered!! He drank every drop that he was supposed to and the second I opened the door to celebrate and tell the nurse—-it came right back up. 😔 He had to drink 1000 oz of Gatorade with the stuff in it and it just filled him to the brim. The good part is that enough had gone in his body that they were able to get the scan! Miracles people! The scan showed a giant abscess and pool of infection/puss in his pelvis which was/should be the cause of most of his pain. They said they won’t have to open him up again (phew!) but they can insert a drain to get all that gunk out. It might set us back 1-2 weeks depending on how things go with everything else but I’m feeling optimistic about it all! The possibilities the medical staff initially presented were pretty serious (more so than this) and so we are feeling really lucky we got this outcome of the scan instead! 🙌🏻 #ohmason

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Sums up the day. 🤒 #ohmason

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How we do family time when our family is split 😍. Mason had a lot of pain yesterday and didn’t want to do anything. He was whimpering and curled up on his bed. The saddest! 😔 He felt better today but wore himself out by mid-afternoon. He is making improvements but they are tiny. It’s a process! Meanwhile, Brandon’s home rocking it as Super Dad and managing the kids and making sure Austin doesn’t hurt his neck more 🤓. Thanks to friends and neighbors helping us out! We couldn’t do this without you! Hoping to get home next week sometime (unless something crazy happens)! #ohmason

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❄️The sunrise and sunset out this window today was top notch! ❄️Nothing new to report today but doing a lot of resting! #nofilter #ohmason

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Well, today was a great day! Mason’s brother ended up in the ER today with a neck injury (that he got at the hospital visiting) and left in a brace (much better than originally presented to us—along the lines of surgery and/or traction😬). That’ll be a work in progress and news for another day. :) They looked at me weird when I pulled up my sleeve and already had a wristband on it. 😎 Meanwhile, though, his Dad was with Mason and said they were moving him out of the PICU and was now off the Bipap! 🙌🏻 He kicked it in gear today! I’m amazed and grateful. Mason’s making everyone eat their words as usual. #ohmason

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Brandon’s always up for some comic relief. Mason was slightly amused 🤗. Mason’s chest congestion is slightly better (but he does have a virus he’s now fighting), and is still rockin’ the bipap. Little improvements are big celebrations around here so we aren’t complain’! #ohmason 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

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Surgery went well with no complications...but now Mason’s respiratory system is fighting hard and landed us in the PICU. We feel safer here and are under the best care possible. He is stable and resting now on a Bipap machine. #ohmason

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Been awhile since we have been to the hospital so we thought we’d come back for an extended stay! 😃This time it’s voluntary as a necessary follow-up to our summer adventures. His resilient little body needed time to recover and heal before we could do anything more so that’s why we are here again a few months later. Good news is surgery went better than expected and now we get to hang out and heal for a few weeks!👌🏻🙏🏻 Hallelujah!❤️ #ohmason

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Mason: “I’m gonna eat all the bread...” Me: “No.” Mason: “Okay, I’ll just take one of the little cups and put it in my pocket...[voice fading off]...” 😂 Mason had his first day of official Deacon duties today and he did wonderfully and took it serious. It was a beautiful sight to behold! Elder Bennett of the First Quorum of the 70 who was visiting our ward made a special point after church to come and tell Mason “good job” on passing the sacrament. After he told Mason “good job” three times, Mason looked at him and told him “you don’t have to keep saying it.” 😂 All in all, we are proud parents today!! 😂❤️ #ohmason #andnohedidnottakeanybreadorcups #fortherecord #thatweknowof🤔

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