Medical Update

Both boys are ready to go on to their next surgery!

Hurray!!!  (insert jump and click heels together here)

Samuel will have a full lip repair ~ meaning that his lip muscles will be attached in the correct place and doc will make his lip look symmetrical with minimal scarring. Unfortunately, it seems that the fistula in his hard palate is a big one as far as holes-in-the-palate go, and there isn't much on the tooth side to attach the palate to. We might just let him grow, and look at getting him an obturator. An obturator is a prosthetic device that closes off the hole in the hard palate, and is helpful for speech. We are so excited that he will have his lip repaired.

David is ready to go with his hard palate repair. Yay! If you remember, he was the one we weren't sure about ~ the parts of his palate that he does have needed to grow more before he could have surgery. I guess what the doc did inside his mouth during the last surgery has helped to pull tissues so they would expand and grow. Doc thinks he could get David's hard palate closed in one surgery... maybe, maybe... You never know what will happen, but that would be such a blessing!

Our curveball is that the hospital our doc uses (and where we were for the last surgery) is closing their pediatric unit. Our doc found out very recently that this was happening, so he is working on getting privileges at the children's hospital up the road. We should know in a week or two if privileges will be expedited, and if we can have surgery sooner than later. If privileges are not expedited, then we can expect about a three month wait until our doc has privileges at the children's hospital. The good news is that our good friends' daughter has had surgeries at this children's hospital and they have been so happy with the hospital overall. So we will have that to look forward to :o)

We are praying that these surgeries can be scheduled very soon. While there is no harm in waiting for surgery and no medical urgency, sooner would be a blessing for a couple reasons. The most important is that, at 4 years old, David is really old to have a palate repair. He is losing precious time to learn to speak clearly. And Samuel's lips can't close properly to help him speak clearly. So time is ticking away ~ the longer they go without the ability to speak clearly, the harder it is to undo the bad habits and relearn how to talk intelligibly. It is also important socially for the boys to look more like their friends and to talk more like their friends.

Our doc said he should know within two weeks after our appointment whether privileges will be expedited or not...

Two weeks is today on my calendar.

I'll be calling the doc this morning :o)

(((hugs))),
chris


We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.  Proverbs 16:1

The Cuteness

Wearing their birthday crowns ~ you can't practice singing Happy Birthday too many times!

Big bro flying a kite ~ the winds weren't quite hurricane-force that day

Loooooove the pouty face

D loves animals

At least this random picture that showed up on our computer didn't contain guns...
I have been informed that Lego-Jai is holding a scythe... 

Have a happy Monday!
(((hugs))),
chris



So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I
have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another
will prove to the world that you are my disciples.  John 13:34-35

Go Ahead, Stare... I Dare Ya

This week has been kinda rough for me in one particular area...

I am worn. Down. By. The. Staring. And. Mean. People.

I am not talking about the double-takes that people do when they see Sammy's or David's face. I get that. I am talking about the kids and adults who out-loud-*gasp* in horror. The children who point-at-my-child-while-covering-mouth-with-other-hand-and-saying-EEWWWW. I am even talking about the adults who "try" to be polite by not turning their head while their eyes are glued to and track my son's face as we walk by.

This week, I did not handle the gang of children who gathered and stared and pointed at Sammy very well.

It kind of goes like this every time we walk up to get Josh from school. One or two or three of Josh's classmates who we know come up first to say hi. (He really has some sweet classmates ~ especially two little girls who love our little boys :o)  Then a couple more gather to one side, talking among themselves and staring. Then one more gathers with those two. Then two or three more gather around, staring at Samuel. As more and more gather, the pointing and EEWWWW's start. I think this is what you call "gang mentality" ~ mobbing and harassment in our case. In the meantime, the friendly-folk are still there talking to us and trying to make Sammy & David laugh and smile.

It makes me hurt for all three of my sons. I hurt because the other kids are so mean.

I don't know if the munchkins know they are being stared at because they look different. I don't want them to know that.

Up to this point, I tried to catch some of the EEWWWW'ers eyes and smile and ask if they have questions and try to engage them in an educational type conversation. For the kids who I have "caught" and spoken with and educated, this has gone well and those kids are now more accepting and friendly ~ they are free to ask questions and I am happy to answer them.  I say Sammy was born like that and the doctor will fix his lip with some stitches in a couple months, then he will look more like David with a little scar on his lip. I tell them that Sammy has lots of teeth, not just the one in front, and that he's two years old and talks and likes chocolate and jumping on the trampoline.

He's just a regular kid, not a freak show.

But this week, I did not handle the Meanie-McMeansters with grace and love. Outside school at pick-up time we had 10-12 kids gathering around us and the comments and pointing commenced. So with other parents and teachers and students around, I loudly and with a sharp tone said, "Do you know that it is mean to stare and point like that? Didn't your parents teach you better manners than that?" and I called out several kids who were doing that and looked them in the eye and told them to walk. Away. From. Us. Now.

Then I got in the car with the boys and as we were driving away I started crying. The radio was blah-blah-blahing so I reached to change it to music, when I heard something like, "...if you do feel bitter, just ask God for the grace to forgive."

BLAM!

I hear you, Lord. This is hard. I am trying.

Then I pulled over the car because I was crying so hard that I couldn't see.

After this week, I am trying to remember that we will most likely always be stared at because we are a mixed race family.

Just please don't make my boys feel bad.

Go ahead and stare at Sammy's mouth. Here you go:

I think he's very kissable :o)

I need to work on handling the Meanie-McMeansters with grace, forgiving them for their ignorance and loving them like Jesus loves me when I have been a Meanie-McMeanster.

(((hugs))),
chris


People with understanding control their anger; 
      a hot temper shows great foolishness.  Proverbs 14:29

Dreaming of Gardening...

When we moved into our current house three years ago, we said goodbye to our big beautiful cheaper than a therapist vegetable garden. Our new house came with beautiful landscaping in the front, a big deck in the back with a pergola, a pond & waterfall, but there was this funky piece of lawn on the west side of the house. It sat between two six-foot privacy wing fences - one from the front wall of our house to the edge of the property, and the other from the back wall of our house to the edge of the property. It was sort of a head-scratcher as to what the purpose of this little manicured, landscaped area was for. We decided to make the back wing fence into a picket fence (*poof*) and turn the green lawn into a vegetable garden (*blam*). So this is how it looks in the winter:

The sleeping garden

Jason with his magical *poof* and *blam* abilities built the raised beds and the picket fence and set up the sprinkler system, and even moved rocks (I haaaaaate moving rocks) to make a compost pile and a couple extra small growing areas. I call those the crop circles hehe. I wasn't sure what to use for mulch in between the beds. Rocks or wood chips would wash down the slope in the rain... I decided we should use green indoor/outdoor carpet in between the beds. It does look a little weird did take some getting used to aesthetically, but it does the job of suppressing weeds and doesn't slide around at all. I expect it will hold up for it's third season this year just fine. Not bad for a $30 investment, eh?

As soon as the holidays are over the seed companies have the most perfect timing by keeping our mailbox full of seed catalogs so I can start dreaming of next season's garden. In the meantime I feed the critters in the yard.

One of our well-fed fat squirrels

Check out this Coopers' Hawk ~ probably waiting for a little bird to come to that feeder...

So our plan this year is to grow the following:

• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Peppers - bell & hot
• Bush beans
• Garlic
• Onions
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Kale
• Dry beans (first time trying this) - both pole & bush varieties
• Zucchini
• Snap peas
• Cucumbers
• Raspberries (I want to add more - shhh don't tell my hubby)
• Melons
• Th-th-that's all folks

I usually grow lots of winter squash like spaghetti and acorn and butternut but decided this year to skip a year to rotate squash out of the garden so we don't get squash-loving bugs. I'll have the melons and cucs (those are squash cousins) and zucchini in another area of our yard.

We also have two pear trees and two apple trees. For the first two years, we grew lots of apples but the bugs and the squirrels got them. The first year we saw no fruit on the pear trees. The people who owned the house before us told us that the other two trees were peach trees, so imagine our surprise when a handful of pears grew the second year! Surprise! Late frosts must have killed the pear flower buds in those first two years. Last year we got smart and sprayed for bugs, and got a huge crop of pears. Some of you may remember my post that included the munchkins eating pears. For some reason we didn't get any apples last year, but I learned that skipping a year can happen in fruit-world. We'll spray again this year for sure, and wait and see if it is a pear-year or an apple-year at our house.

I'm heading outside to cut back the perennials now. Feeling the need to get my hands dirty :o)

(((hugs))),
chris


For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:13

Sam & Dave

This looks nothing like our Sam & Dave...

I am just in a strange sort of mood today  :o)

(((hugs))),

chris

Our Snow Day and more...

I forgot to mention that we had our second snow day of the year ~ it was fun! In the morning Jason went to work, so of course first I shoveled the driveway. It was a little too cold to play outside anyway at 7am. I shoveled almost half our driveway, when suddenly....

(~cue the angels singing~)

our neighbor came out with his mega-snowblower and finished our driveway AND sidewalk! Yahoo!!! When I came back inside 30 minutes later, the munchkins had wiped their little noses with the four boxes of tissues that they collected from all parts of our house. The previously empty kitchen garbage was now full with the tissues, and the empty boxes were all over the kitchen counters... they crack me up :o)

In their defense, their noses were runny :o)

We also started a painting that I had planned on them making for some time. They painted it all except the tree trunks. Here is the finished product:

In the afternoon when Jason was home... we played in the backyard! Here is what we did:

The start of a snow castle, but it wasn't quite exciting enough, so...

Daddy says, How about a snow CAVE?

My firstborn inside this snow cave before it was enlarged to fit two. Is this thing structurally sound???

David and Mama built a skinny snowman

And that was our fun-filled snow day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are more pictures I found on our camera:

Me and my boys (plus a friend) at another friend's birthday party ~ too fun!

The random pictures I find on our computer... welcome to my world...

Josh playing basketball (he's in the silver uniform furthest left)

David reading a magazine just like Baba

Sammy has to be right near his Mama all the time ~ even on the kitchen floor!

Have a beautiful day!

(((hugs))),

chris

Shout to the LORD, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!      ~ Psalm 98:4

Blissful Boringness...

As mentioned in my Healing post... boringness is beautiful :o)

No holidays.

No guests staying at our house.

No vacations.

No special anything.

Just every day like every other day.

Blissful = full of supreme happiness, utter joy or contentment

Boringness = dullness, tedious repetition

Praise God!!!

We so needed this. Space to breathe. Finding our rhythm. Growing closer as a family. Settling in. We are getting there, but bring on another five weeks of this before spring break. Sounds great to me!

I love that life feels like it is starting to get back to normal. It feels good.

Here are the books I have been reading lately:

Great book - puts the bible in chronological order and reads like a novel

Given to me by a sweet friend

An absolutely-positively-must-read for adoptive parents like me who are struggling

This one is next up... I bet I will love it

I usually fall asleep on them at night...

I have also been tempted to go back to my volunteering gig at the wildlife rehabilitation center... (oh, man, I do miss the critters...) but thought it would be best to first spend time at the boys' schools. I have finally started volunteering in Josh's class, and have helped out again in David's class at his school. That's always a hoot ~ I love getting to know the kids in their classes and the teachers.

By the way, blissful boringness does NOT include sitting on the couch eating bon bons ;o)

For example, this morning I was up at 5am marking items for a consignment sale (bye-bye maternity clothes sniff sniff), first child was up at 5:20am, other 2 were up at 6am, TV-babysitter for 30 min so I could finish marking items, breakfast for everyone but me, dress everyone and make them look presentable, leave at 7:40am to drive #1 to school, trip to the grocery store that included three stops in the bathroom, drop off #2 at his school by 8:55am, pick up prescription, home to unload groceries and give #3 a snack before his speech therapist arrived at 9:45am... and the whole day went just like that until right now when I decided to pick up the computer instead of starting dinner :o)  The munchkins didn't even have an opportunity to take a nap.

And I am so grateful for the ability to do all the things I did today.

You stay home with your kids? Aren't you bored? What do you DO all day?

I laugh in the face of those sorta questions...   BWAHAHAHAHA

Bring on the mundane, repetitiousness (is that a word?) of our family's world right now. Yahoo!!!

(((hugs))),
chris

1 Corinthians 10:31   So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.




P.S. Appointment with the surgeon is in two weeks... We'll find out about the next set of surgeries then... and then we're hopping' back on the roller coaster ride...

Random Things I Forgot to Mention...

Aunt Shel driving a minivan

David in his preschool performance~~see him in the red striped shirt clapping his hands
(and this was after only 4 days of school)

David taking 73 pictures with Jason's phone

David rode a horse with his Baba

Sammy snuggling his Baba

Our visit to the zoo (yes, this is the best picture of the three of them)

Josh with his obnoxious pile of Legos

Like Sammy's new 'do?

And then there was peace among the natives...

Playing the guitar with Brian

The view as you walk out of David's preschool classroom ~~ Hi Longs Peak!

(((hugs))),
chris


For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  James 1:3


...ain't that the truth. Thank you, Lord, for the difficult times so that I may grow closer to you.