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)