Monday, October 20, 2008

Asher's Smile is Back =)

(Took this with my Blackberry while he was in recovery)

Sorry to leave you all hanging..

Asher pulled through his surgery like a champ!

We are now on Day 6 of his recovery and he is doing fantastic. So, great in fact, that he is back at school today!

(Smiley boy is back!)

His surgery last Tuesday last about three hours. Mom & Dad walked him back to the doors of the OR around 7:45 am and we finally got to see him again just before noon. I was able to make my 7:35 am class at school, jump in the car and speed.. er, carefully drive my way down to the hospital! =) The waiting was the worst part, especially since we were originally told surgery would be over around 10 am. But we were joined by our Pastor and close friend Tim Pent, so that helped pass the time.

When we first arrived back into the RIO (Rapid In & Out Recovery) Asher had just gotten there and was crying. It was so hard to see his sweet little body enduring so much pain. He was trying his best to be brave, but after waking up in a room where you don't know anyone, and you can't feel your mouth (plus your hip is killing you!) he sure had a reason to be upset. Mom and I did our best to soothe him until the nurse showed up with some relieving pain medicine. Within 20 minutes, he was back to his old self cracking jokes once again and his beautiful smile was back!

Due to both my parents' medical knowledge, Asher was able to be released that day and come home around four in the afternoon. Usually there is an overnight stay involved but the doctors agreed to let him go home as long as he was keeping down fluids and could stand. Asher had no problem doing that. =) He had all the nurses charmed, so they were a little sad to see him go. Actually, Asher LOVED the hospital and told Mom he wanted to stay! He had a nice comfy bed, a tv, and an exquisite view of the helicopter pad so he was pretty happy.

I am so glad I was able to pull some strings and be there at the hospital while he was recovering. I had talked to him the night before the surgery and Mom said all he could talk about was "Sera is coming." It was so sweet.. he even wore his Southeastern t-shirt to the hospital that morning. =)

The bone graft was a success and there is even a slight improvement in his speech! The doctor's didn't work on his upper lip, but that also looks better than before. The worst pain he has experienced has been with his hip and the doctor even warned that that would be the most painful. The first day he got around my hopping on one leg.. but by day three he was walking on both feet.. actually, it was more like running!

I was able to go home again this past weekend and he is doing great! You'd never know he just had surgery a few days ago. The hardest part for him right now is the soft food diet. He's got a pretty limited array of choices- ice cream, yogurt, pudding, jello and soups. Geez.. wish I could eat that! Asher loves food so this has been his biggest challenge so far. I think he has another week or two on soft foods and then we can start implementing regular food back into his diet.

Also, since he is SOO active, we have had to limit his ability to move for fear he will rip the stitches. He's not too crazy about that, especially since he missed a karate tournament over the weekend.

I took pictures at the hospital but haven't been able to update or upload because of my crazy mid-term ridden week. Then, I accidentally left my purse at home with my camera! So I'll have that back tomorrow and will add more, but for now I've added a few from my Blackberry.

Asher continues to amaze me with his strength and courage. If it was me going through this surgery, I would probably still be in bed at this point!

We are so glad this surgery is over and that he is doing so well.
Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go..


O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.


O light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.


O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.


O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.


Tomorrow morning at 7:30 am EST, is Asher's surgery.
Please be in prayer for him and the doctors..that God would guide their hands and allow this surgery to help in his proper development.

We're expecting the surgery to last about 2-3 hours, then recovery and even a possible same-day discharge depending on how well he does. Asher is such a strong little guy.. I know he will do well. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he does better than his own mother and older sister.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Emma's 4th Gotcha Day

I'm working on a special something to commemorate the four wonderful years we've had with this special little girl..
Until then hopefully this will help paint a picture of our 4th Gotcha Day Anniversary with
Miss Emma Grace YunNa..

We celebrate each Gotcha Day with a cake picked out, made
and decorated by that particular child.
The look of concentration

The Smile

Her cake!


And now for her Mini Photo Shoot:
(I've expressed before how hard it is to photograph Emma because of her constant-wiggly-worm-zero-attention-spanned-can't-sit-stillNESS.
However, this was her day because these turned out GREAT!




(My Favorite)


So Serious

And yet so silly!

I love you Emma Gracie-Poo!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Rainy Fay Day


What to do on a Rainy Fay Day..?
Why, go out and enjoy her "gifts" while it lasts......



Rainy Trampoline Fun


Elena has been working with Ian to successfully do a backflip..
Attempt 20: Spotting
(I say 20 because I didn't want to bore you with 20 of the same photo-these were the best)
Attempt 21: No hands! He did it! =)

Jump, jump, jump!


Yes, our dog jumps on the trampoline
Elly has ADHD, so she has to work off that energy somehow.
Sigh. Crazy dog.


Ohh, not impressed? She also jumps in the pool. But most of you have seen her do this before.



Even though she looks like a Dalmation with those spots, she's actually a full blooded white Boxer!


So much rain, the pool is overflowing onto our deck!



Our other Boxer, the loveable motherly, Ivy.

Wet children!




"Raindrops keep falling on my head.."

"..but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red,
Cryin's not for me,
Cuz I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin',
Because I'm free,
Nothin's worryin' me!"


Tadpoles






Remember the tadpoles that invaded our pool last month? Well we managed to have mercy and rescue a few to as a science experiment for the kids.

<--The picture on the left shows the tadpoles during the 1st week of August.



<--Here they are August 23rd.


It's been so neat to watch them grow over the last two weeks! Already they have doubled in size and started developing bodies looking more like frogs than fish.










We have unfortunately, lost a few.. but we have about 15 surviving right now!












To me, this furthers justifying the notation that life indeed begins at conception, whether it's a frog or human being. They may only look like little "blobs" now, but soon they'll be frogs. =)

Hurricane FAY

Although she was only a tropical storm, Fay left her mark here in our house!
We've been through many hurricanes during our 13 years here in Florida, yet this one did the most damage ever to our home!

Leaks along the back wall of our house

Towels are lining each of our windows/doors along the backside of the house.

Notice the air bubble?