Emma's (and Sera's) Accident

On Saturday both Emma and I had a near death experience. That afternoon, Dad and I had decided to take the younger kids out on the jet ski's. (I had even brought my camera in hopes that I could get some pictures and post them on the blog.) I was pushing off the dock with Emma in front of me and had just turned the ignition on when suddenly, Emma grabbed hold of the accelerator and floored it. It didn't take longer than ten seconds, but it sure felt like the longest ten seconds of my life. Before I realized what was happening, we were headed right for a tree. It was like I was paralyzed.. I didn't know what to do. All I could do was look straight ahead and watch the tree come closer and closer. We hit a cypress tree head on going close to 40 MPH. Miraculously, Emma and I were thrown off to the side of the jet ski and we landed on a bed of weeds. It all happened so fast and all I could think about was the fact that were laying in the weeds and that's where the snakes are!! Emma was screaming and there was blood all over her face. I grabbed her and myself and pulled us back onto the jet ski where I could survey the damage. One look into Emma's mouth and I knew we would be visiting the emergency room. There was a ton of blood, but I could already see that two of her front teeth were completely bent backwards.

Meanwhile, my dad was on the other jet ski and he didn't see anything happen. Ian saw us hit the tree and told Dad that we "crashed." I don't think he realized the severity of the situation until I had handed Emma over to him and he had brought her to the dock and saw what her teeth looked like. It sure wasn't pretty! While he took her back to the house, I was still on the jet ski, which was stuck in a bunch of weeds. As much as I hated it, I climbed down into the two foot deep mud (and probably stood right next to a bunch of snakes!!) and was able to pull the jet ski out and make it back to the dock.

Two hours later, two teeth out.. and twelve stitches later, all was fine. Emma was a champ through the whole thing. (We had called our dentist and arranged to meet them since this was kind of an emergency!) Emma sat on the table and didn't cry at all when they numbed her or pulled the teeth out. She ended up with stitches inside her gum, her upper lip and outside her mouth.

Once we were home, she was back to normal. She ran around the house with Esther like a nutcase! For dinner we had Chinese since it's her favorite and then we took a trip to Twistee Treat for the ice cream we promised her!

Looking back, it's a miracle that our accident wasn't any worse than it was. Hitting that tree head on and with the speed we were going, both Emma and I should have flown forward and hit the tree. It's amazing that we were almost *gently* thrown to the side instead of going forward.

I'm fine- I came away with a sore neck and back and a bunch of bruises.. but I'm lucky compared to poor Emma!

Of course we've learned our lesson. Emma knows that she's never allowed to touch the handlebars and it looks like she'll be riding on the back from now on! I don't think it will scare her from ever wanting to ride again though.

Saturday: Enjoying some ice cream at Twistee Treat.

Sunday Morning: Emma and her new Barbie doll

Sunday Morning: A closeup of the lip. (It was very swollen!)

Monday: Less swelling, more bruising.

Beginning-Mid July Recap

I apologize for my lack of blogging lately..
I've had some computer problems and haven't been able to load any pictures.
But they've been resolved (at least I hope so!!)

So.. here's a July Re-cap

4th of July.. I took absolutely NO pictures! I know.. I can't believe I didn't. But I do have an excuse- we had a party and 76 people over at our house. So.. there really wasn't any time for me to take pictures. I'll try to get a good picture of the girls dressed up in their 4th of July Cuteness sometime this weekend.




5th of July.. or Dad's Birthday.. I took the younger four kiddo's down to his office and we surprised him with a birthday luncheon and cake! We were joined by some of his office staff, including our friend Sally. I've known Sally since I was probably seven or eight. She used to work as a nurse at the hospital and when I would come to work with Dad, she and I would have the greatest time! Now, she's working for my Dad as his Nurse Practitioner. It was great to see her and all of his staff.. most of them had never met Esther and Emma before.




6th and 7th of July..Beach Weekend.. I took three of the younger four kiddo's back to the beach and we stayed the night at the condo. My friend Catie and her sister Caroline joined us for the day on Friday and we had a blast!! Elena had to work, so she wasn't able to make it. And poor Esther was at the doctor's! Catie and me

Catie.. and Emmy hamming it up for the camera

My siblings.. Ian's not looking & Emmy's in a cheesy mood

Ian and Emmy

The whole crew- Sera, Ian, Catie, Caroline, Emma & Kayla
(Ian doesn't seem to mind that he's the only boy!)

Emma had so much fun playing with Caroline

Me & Catie

Here's an example of a photo that's too good to pass up-I just love the expression on Emma's face!!

Saturday morning at the beach

Playing in the waves

Such a beautiful day...

Emmy playing in the sand- she had a blast at the beach.. but I think she was really starting to miss Esther!

Emmy and I enjoyed basking in the sun

Ian was such a good brother carrying Emma through the rough waves

Before we left, Ian and Emma had fun with a bubble bath (and destroying the bathroom!!)

More 6th of July.. Esther's Palate Evaluation..

A few months ago, Esther had her evaluation with the cleft clinic and the doctor's discovered that she might be having trouble with the movement of her palate. It was a little scary because all of a sudden we were having to contemplate surgery and the possibility of having her palate completely redone!
When we talk, our palate's normally move, but it's different with a child who is cleft affected. The doctors were concerned that when her palate was repaired in China it was just to fix the hole.. not the defect. Left untreated, Esther could face speech problems for the rest of her life. So, we had an appointment for a radiographic (that's probably not spelled right) study of her palate. (Also the reason why she couldn't come with us to the beach! =( ) But.. the good news is that her palate is indeed moving and the doctor was very impressed with how well she is talking!! WHEW!! What a huge relief and an answer to prayer. The Cleft Team will continue to monitor her and make the decisions for future surgeries when the time is appropriate. But for now we can rest easy!

And that's just a recap of what's happening during July. I've been a little lazy and haven't taken many pictures, but I'll try to get some of the kids and add them this weekend! Of course the big news for our family is that we received our LOA for Asher's adoption on 7/7/07! So now we're literally just *weeks* away from leaving for China!! Be sure to check Asher's blog for more details. (Click on the sidebar)