No More Curry!

We had a great day at the beach and bought Matt two pairs of shoes and a lot of summer clothes. We had what could have been a wonderful lunch at Seaside Thai, except that in the middle of the meal, Garin hurled everywhere. Thank goodness I had a change of clothes still in his diaper bag from when he had his stomach bug last week! He ate a great breakfast, post-lunch meal and dinner and had no problems whatsoever, so it seems that curry does not agree with him, no matter how mild and minimal.

I have been inundated with requests for photos. We have been so busy enjoying our family time that I haven't taken many pictures, but we will get more in the next few days. For now, I hope this will do. I took them this afternoon after we returned from the beach.

P.S. Garin held onto Matt's finger for much of the ride to Rehoboth this afternoon....too sweet!

Passover Plans

It's been a good day! We got some things done that Matt has been needing and ran a few errands. We had salad for lunch and fajitas for supper and managed to somehow stick to our diets fairly well. Garin thinks his big brother is pretty cool, especially when he blows his train whistle. There is something he loves about whistles, and Matt won him over all over again the moment he blew it. Garin was laughing and playing with it. It is so neat to watch them together. Matt carried him around and pushed the stroller all afternoon on our errands, and he did all of the buckling in and unbuckling of the car seat, too.

Matt has requested that we observe the traditional Passover Seder on Tuesday night. We have friends in Illinois who do it every year and find it very meaningful, and we've often talked of doing it over the years. I have found a Passover Haggadah for Believers in Messiah that we will follow, as well as some traditional recipes. We will plan and go shopping for ingredients Sunday or Monday. I should say that we are not converting to Judaism or attempting to somehow please God by obedience to the Law. We were set free from the Law by of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. The Law, however, prepared the way for Jesus, and He was born to the Jews. We are very excited to experience in some small way a celebration observed by Christ our Savior and the faithful children of God throughout the Old Testament. I think it will bring special significance to Good Friday and Easter as we follow in the traditions that led up to the day of crucifixion. I would like to perhaps invite a couple of other families of believers to join us if possible.

It's Just...It's Just....Weird

Something just isn't right about a mother having to stand on her tiptoes to hug her "little boy." It's even stranger to kiss your son goodnight and have him lean over and kiss you on the forehead. It is, however, wonderful to have him here. Matt's plane arrived a few minutes early at 10:15 last night, and we made it home about 12:30 am. Garin has been exceedingly crabby, but otherwise everything about today is exceptionally pleasant. We're taking it slowly this morning and plan to do a little running this afternoon. Tomorrow we'll hit the outlet malls and the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach. The rest of our week together is still up in the air....to be determined.

Hope you're all enjoying your Friday!

Mind blowing week so far....

So I caught a cold and have been sick for three days, although I do seem to be a little better this evening. Garin had a stomach bug all day yesterday, which made for a lot of clothing and bedding changes when all I really wanted to do was go to bed, but I thought we were both better today. It got up in the 80's this afternoon, and Garin and I went out to sit in the grass and play after his nap. Soon, Kim drove by and saw us, so she stopped in and stayed almost two hours, sitting in the grass with us. Just after she sat down, Carla and her dog, Glory, came out and joined us. Then Jaclyn drove by and saw us, so she parked in her driveway and walked over. Next, Tammy walked down with her dog, Sophie, for a chat. She and Carla left to walk the dogs, and Stacey drove by and stopped to talk a while. It was a really fun time. Karl got home early, around 3:30, and Stacey needed someone to help her move her old TV out and hook up the fancy new one, so Karl grabbed his box of miscellaneous wires, and we drove down to help her. (Her hubby has been in Afghanistan since November.) We had a good visit with her, which opened a whole can of worms I'll talk about in a minute. We went to the mall afterward to pick up Karl's mess-dress shoes, which we had re-soled, and we had dinner. We had Japanese food and were eating with chopsticks, which Garin found hilarious. Every time Karl took a bite, Garin would laugh hysterically, throwing his head back and shaking. We had a blast! Well, just as we were finishing dinner, Garin's illness returned, overflowing his diaper, all over his clothes and in the high chair. We did a very impressive job of cleaning up the highchair and sneaking him out of the mall before laying him on plastic shopping bags in the back of the car, bagging up all of his clothes, cleaning him with wipes and taking him home in just a diaper. It was truly impressive and something we will reminisce about someday. He's bathed and asleep in bed now.

Back to Stacey.....As you know, I have been of the mindset that I would be open to God's calling with regard to how He wants me to serve Him through ministry. I have no preconceived ideas about how it will happen, or what I will be doing. I am committed to remaining open to His call as He leads me on this journey. Stacey is the worship leader for the contemporary worship service at the base chapel. She is responsible for planning the music and flow of the service. She also sings in the band, but (and this is a very important point) there is someone else who is responsible for the musical direction of the band. In other words, she plans and he executes. Stacey says that he is excellent and that he is a joy to work with. The chapel is looking for someone to fill her position starting this summer, as her husband is being reassigned. She has asked me to consider the job. It is a part-time, paid position, and other than one night a week in rehearsal, one Sunday morning service, and meetings now and then with the chaplain, it is a job she does from home. It would be a very mom-friendly position and is something I think I could do. It is definitely something I need to pray about and learn more about before making any decisions, though. It would mean declining the President position in the OSC, so I could still keep my commitment to school, but it would be something Karl and I could do together some, too. The base chapel understands the unpredictability of military life better than local churches, and Karl could serve more easily. (Plus, they could use another bass player!) So please pray with us as we seek God's will in this.

Tomorrow is bowling...yay! Karl has the day in crew rest....yay again!

The Birthday Boy and His Pooh-Bear

Karl turns 31 today! We came home from church and had leftovers for lunch, but Karl is craving Sonic for a birthday treat, so we're making the 30 mile drive to Seaford this afternoon for dinner.
Now everyone in the family has their own computer! A few weeks ago, Karl pulled his ancient laptop out of the attic for Garin, so he'll leave ours alone. Here he is, working on his latest "project". Honestly, he's made that computer do things neither of us knew it could!

Battle of Wills

Garin kept turning the TV on today after lunch, but he is not supposed to touch the buttons, so Karl kept saying no and moving him across the room. The child has a stubborn streak a mile long. He kept crawling back over to do it again. Eventually, he started shaking his head no as he crawled over, and instead of pushing the power button, he would touch all over the TV around the power button. When no one fussed, he'd then gently tap the power button, but not hard enough to turn it on. So Daddy would say no again and move him. Over and over and over again. Finally, Daddy blocked him with his body. Here are some photos of the battle.......I'm still laughing.

Our big fuzzwad, Harvey

Proud Mama...

Watching a child grow physically is awe-inspiring, but nothing could be more meaningful to a parent than to see them growing spiritually and becoming mature. Matthew and some friends from his track team started a Bible study between their early morning track practice and school on Friday. They asked a teacher whom they knew to be a believer if she would allow them to meet in her classroom, and she agreed. It is open to anyone, and they are having about 10 track kids and 10 others, plus there are two teachers who are sitting in on the study as well. It brings my soul such joy to know that Matt is growing in his faith and is bold in sharing it. He also mentioned that he had a cool experience this week when some troubled boys were taunting the runners at a track meet, and he chose to walk away without saying anything. When he walked past them again a few minutes later, they got nervous and were afraid that he had told someone in authority and that they were in trouble. They couldn't believe he hadn't done anything. Then that night, he was reading his chapters for the Bible study, and there were Paul's words about not repaying evil for evil, turning the other cheek and blessing those who curse you. He was very touched by those verses, and I just think that is cool! He has become so responsible and accountable for himself, and I am amazed that this young man is my baby.

Garin is so cute these days. He is trying so hard to talk. He imitates what we say, and he is even trying to sing with his music videos now! Today, he kept humming along and trying to make his mouth do the words. It was precious! He also was standing beside me tonight as I cooked dinner and reached up and pulled something off of the kitchen cabinet!!! When did he get so tall??? He says hi and waves at everyone he meets, and he loves to flirt. He is becoming more pleasant everyday; there is much less whining and fussing and much more laughter in our home. When Susan was here, he was watching Sesame Street and starting laughing hysterically at a skit where Ruth Buzzy was making a 'recipe' for the number 6 and chunking things into a huge pot (6 sticks of butter, 6 spoons of sour cream, six handfuls of salt and 6 whole onions). Every time she chunked something in there, he laughed. Eventually he was laughing so hard he was snorting. Thanks to DVR, we saved it and continue to watch it whenever we want to hear that sweet laughter. I wish you all could see him; he's changed so much!

Catching Up!

New York was fabulous!!! I loved Times Square, the restaurants, the shopping, and seeing all of those landmarks and famous places that I've seen all my life on TV and in movies. My favorite part by far, though, was Broadway! We saw Les Miserables, and I was amazed by the talent of the actors and the power of the show to completely enthrall. I am hooked and have told Karl that as long as we live on the East Coast, I want all of my birthday, Christmas and Mother's Day gifts to be tickets to a Broadway show. There are so many I want to see while I have the chance to take day trips into NYC.

Susan (my mom-in-law) arrived Sunday and left this morning. We had a wonderful visit, and I truly hated to see her leave. We got to do some fun girly stuff, like a trip to Wilmington yesterday to the ULTA store to purchase the latest craze in makeup, bareminerals. I'm loving it so far. I'm still using my Mary Kay skincare, of course, but this makeup is all powder. It isn't normal powder, but crushed minerals. Somehow it actually provides the coverage of a liquid or creme foundation without the heaviness. It almost feels like no makeup at all, and it makes the skin glow! I'll let you know how I like it after I've used it awhile. Susan also got a great hairstyle at the salon there.

Monday, I took Susan to Byler's (the Amish market) to get orange slices (one of my two favorite candies...I didn't buy any, if you can believe it!), snacks, etc. Tuesday we all took a trip to Rehoboth Beach to walk on the sand and listen to the waves. Susan got some homemade salt-water taffy (my other favorite candy) on the boardwalk; somehow I resisted the temptation. I am learning that she and I have very similar tastes in food! We all watched Karl play volleyball Monday night, and last night we all went to his game. They only had five guys show up, so I ended up running home and changing really fast so they would have a full team and get to play. I was pretty rusty, but it was fun anyway. Garin has figured out that you are supposed to clap and yell when you watch volleyball, and he did so with great gusto!!! We took Karl out to La Fontana last night for an early birthday dinner and had a delicious Italian meal, accompanied by a very talented classical guitarist. Then we came home and had homemade cheesecake with fresh strawberries and raspberries. I did not even try to resist that temptation!!!

By the way, Susan is a wonderful lady in her early 50's who has a full life. She has everything she wants or needs except a great man to share it with, so if any of you knows a good-hearted, faithful, honest, Christian man who deserves someone special, please let me know!!!


Now we're back to life as usual, and I have laundry to do, so I guess I'll run. Have a great day!

Disclaimer

Okay, so I'm looking at these pictures I just posted and noticing an ear wax issue. Just thought I'd mention that he had just finished a bath, and I always clean out his ears as best I can when I bathe him. I just can't reach down that far into his squirmy little head, and I'm a little nervous about jabbing a Q-tip in there, as he isn't known for being exceptionally still and cautious. Suggestions are appreciated.

Also, yes, I know he needs a haircut. Again, the whole wiggle-worm issue. To be fair, his hair is still wet in the pics, so it looks worse than normal. Last time I cut it is wasn't exactly straight, and I shudder to think of what he would do in a barber's chair. Karl isn't loving the long locks, so I assume we'll make another effort to trim it soon.

Equal Opportunity Endorsements

Before I offend any Aggies out there, let me just state that the policy of the Heinrich family is to show no preferential treatment to the athletic program or alumni of any university attended by members of our extended family. Clothing from all qualified schools (t-sips do not qualify) is welcomed and will receive equal wear-time. Now....on with the show!

Grammy Su sent Garin an OSU t-shirt for Christmas. It is finally warm enough for shortsleeves, so I tried to get a few pictures of him in it for his Grammy to see. He really just wanted to 'repair' the closet, but here are a few mediocre shots for you all.

I'm just getting things done around the house today, and we have a family squadron get-together tonight at the bowling alley. Tomorrow, I'll be packing for NYC and cleaning, I imagine. Have a great day!

Karl's Job

We got some good news yesterday! It looks like Karl will soon be back to the squadron! While the Wing job has been a great learning opportunity and career-building experience for him, it has kept him so busy that he hasn't flown enough. It has also taken a huge bite out of family time. He got word yesterday that they are looking for his replacement. (Wing jobs that use "borrowed" people like this usually only last one year, and Karl's hits the year mark in May.) They have wisely decided to use a non-flyer in this position until they can hire a civilian to fill it. Karl has repeatedly told him that this is not a job for a flyer unless there is an assistant who is in the office full-time. It is nearly impossible for him to go on missions because the job demands daily attention. We are looking forward to him settling back into a squadron desk job and flying more, so he can get his Instructor Pilot rating before we leave Dover!

Garin and I are headed to Rehoboth Beach today to do a little outlet-mall shopping. They have three big Tanger Outlet Malls there; I'm sure we won't have time to hit them all, unfortunately. I know which stores I most want to see, so we'll start there.

Guess What We Had For Dinner!!!

It was a mess, and I believe that Garin may be permanently stained (as in green-food-dye-in-Mom's-makeup-will-make-a-great-ghost-face-for-the-kids type of stain), but we had fun! We were slow getting started this morning and ended up attending the 11:00 service at church. We grabbed Applebee's for lunch and headed home. Most of the drive was spent singing and clapping loudly to the DVD Garin was watching in an almost futile effort to keep him awake until we got home for a nap. His eyes were rolling back in his head toward the end, but we did make it home before he conked out. He took a nice, long nap, and I washed both cars and cleaned the inside of the SUV. Karl cleaned the inside of his car and straightened up our outdoor storage. I made spaghetti while Karl went through some of his things to decide what can go to Goodwill, and then we had supper. Tonight will be vacuuming for me, cleaning doggie-doo out of the backyard for Karl, and hopefully some rest for all of us on the couch before bedtime!

The very best news of the day, though, is that Eli got to go home today!!!!!

Windy Day in Dover....

.....Of course most days are, but it was 65 degrees here today. We couldn't pass up the chance to take a walk after several days in the teens-thirties. Here are a few photos of our fun. We made the whole round of base housing and stopped at one of the playgrounds to let Garin swing and slide for the first time. If you look at the photo of him on the swings, his face says it all. There is little point in purchasing a tree swing for this child. From the moment it started swinging, he looked like he was nauseous, and he was none too reluctant when we pulled him back out. On the other hand, the round-and-round slide, as my sister and I used to call them when we were kids, was a huge hit! I took him up and slid down with him. Then Daddy took him down. Then he wanted to climb back up, so Daddy followed him, and I grabbed him at the top. He didn't want to be held; he just wanted to GO! He ended up going down several times by himself, with me at the top to get him flat on his back and let him go, and Daddy at the bottom to catch him. He loved it!!!

Great News!

Eli got the tube out of his stomach this morning and has been more alert and talkative today. The doctor stopped by this afternoon and told him that he could have a popsicle, juice and jello for dinner. This will be the first food or drink he's had since Monday. He is being moved out of ICU and into his own room later tonight!!! Also, his and Sandra's birth family is driving down tonight to visit him this weekend. I think his grandma, Maria; aunts, Rachel and Debbie; birthmother, Natalia; biological siblings, Rachel, Joseph and Genevie; and several cousins are all coming! It should be a crazy weekend, but I think it will be so good for Eli to know that they care enough to make the trip down from Dallas to be there for him. And may I say again how proud I am of my sister and brother (in law) for being the kind of parents who are willing to not only allow contact with the birth family but also to embrace them, love them and show such compassion and forgiveness to the birth mother. I'm sure it is a tough road to travel for adoptive parents sometimes, but it is truly unconditional love for your children that leads you down it, and the rewards for those children, and the entire family, are immeasurable. How wonderful to know that you are loved by the parents who gave birth to you even though they couldn't care for you and also by the parents who chose you.

Improvement

Thanks to everyone for your concern for Eli. I'm trying to cover it all on the blog rather than clogging inboxes. Last night, he got up and watched a movie in his chair. He also read a magazine. They got the pathology report this morning, and there was nothing of concern. There was some blood and tissue which caused the blockage, but they are uncertain as to whether the blockage caused the telescoping or vice versa. It was a very good thing that the surgeon opted to go ahead and remove the appendix while he was in there. It looked fine on the outside, but the inside was showing signs of infection, which may have been caused by the intussusception. The doctor said that if the surgeon had left it, they'd have been right back in the hospital in a few weeks for an appendectomy. Eli got up this morning for awhile to sit, but he had some pain medicine afterward and is sleeping now. He is afraid every time he feels any pain that it's going to get bad again like it was before the surgery, so they have to keep reassuring him that there will be some pain as he heals but nothing like what he was experiencing Monday. The doctor said they would give them 24-hour notice before moving him to a room, so it will probably not be tomorrow. Marci said his NG tube (the one through his nose into his stomach) is bringing out clearer fluid, less green and bilious. Once it runs clear, they'll know things are working again, she said. I guess that's kind of the determiner for when he leaves ICU....well, that and flatulence. His fever finally broke in the night. Greg stayed with him overnight. He asked one of them to stay; now that he's alert, he wants to know they're there, of course.

The Latest

Eli is more alert today. They took out his catheter and got him up to the bathroom. He still has the bile tube from his stomach, though. The doctor is hearing bowel sounds, which is great. The nurse snuck him a little ice because his throat was so dry. He's trying to be tough and not asking for pain medicine, and after Monday, the pain doesn't seem so bad. The nurse had to explain to him that he had to ask for pain medicine because he breathes shallowly when he's hurting, and he needs to breathe deeply to avoid fluid in his lungs. He was upset this morning, and Marci told them that she knew all the tubes and pain were scary, but that he is fixed and is getting better. He was asking about schoolwork, and she told him not to worry about it. (That's the only time he'll hear that from her!) He was confused about the day, and she told him it was Wednesday and that he had surgery on Monday. He asked her which Monday; he had no idea how long he'd been out. She told him two days ago Monday. He's upset and didn't want to talk about why because he was afraid he'd cry and make it hurt. I'm sure this experience is very scary for him; please pray that he will be peaceful in spirit.

It's snowing here today! Has been since early this morning. I am SO ready for spring! Monday and Tuesday were pretty, but Garin and I stuck around the house. I had nothing on the calendar, and he had a fever, which is now gone. I got some studying done and had plenty of time to pray. Today was bowling. I did okay...not fabulous, but over my average. This afternoon I am making dinner for a friend who is having knee surgery today. Also, a couple of friends that were in our squadron in Illinois just got here, and they need some help unloading some furniture, so we're going to get a small crew of guys together and head over to say hello and help them out. Hope you're all having a great day!

Eli's Recovery

Thank you all for you prayers and kind emails about Eli. I'll try to sum up the situation briefly. He came out of surgery last night around 1 am and is in ICU until at least Thursday, but he is doing well under the circumstances. The affected area of the small intestine had begun to turn black and was leaking blood into the abdomen. The surgeon had to remove one foot of the intestine and repair it. He said that if they had waited until morning, it might have been too late. Eli had a high pulse rate and high blood pressure today because he had lost so much blood through the intestine prior to the surgery. Because the red blood cell count was low, his circulatory system was having to work extra hard to get oxygen to the body. After a blood transfusion this afternoon, his heart rate and blood pressure were back down. They sat him up in a chair this afternoon for about 15 minutes to get him into a new position for awhile. He's very groggy, thanks to the pain medicine, but he is giving short responses to some questions. My parents went down this morning to help with the girls, and numerous friends and neighbors have come through for them. Marci called Eli's birth family, and they are going down to see him this weekend. It's amazing to think how so many people had to make the right decisions about Eli's care for him to be alive right now. God's handprints are just all over it. Even the surgeon said that when Eli's doctor called him last night about Eli, he just "coincidentally" was reading up on the very condition Eli had, even though he knew nothing of Eli or the possibility of doing the surgery that very night. You'll never convince me that this was a coincidence!!! Thanks for your prayers, and please keep praying for him as he recovers.

Update on Eli

Eli has been diagnosed with intussusception, which means the intestine telescopes into itself and creates a bowel obstruction. He is having emergency surgery tonight to try to correct it. My sister, brother-in-law and the kids are all really scared. Please keep them in your prayers tonight.

They also said he has horshoe kidneys, which will need to be discussed once he's out of the woods with this problem. Don't know what that means yet.

Our Nephew

Eli, my 11-year-old nephew (some of you will remember him as the ring bearer in our wedding), went to the hospital today with terrible abdominal pain. He had been vomiting since sometime in the night. The doctor thought the symptoms were similar to appendicitis, but she was puzzled by the lack of fever. He had an ultrasound this afternoon, and the technician said there was a large mass that looked like an eggplant. He said that he wasn't sure what he was looking at and that if it was the appendix, it was huge. They did a CT scan to get a better look at it, but we still haven't heard the results. Eli finally got some pain medication a little while ago (I can't imagine why they waited so long!). The poor little guy is just miserable. Please keep him, my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces in your prayers tonight. They are worried about whether he'll need surgery tonight or if the mass could be something else that would be even scarier.

It's Been a While...

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write. It's been a busy week, and I keep thinking I'll get to it "tomorrow." Karl got home late Wednesday night and has been in crew rest since then. He'll go back to work Monday. Thursday, I had an OSC board meeting in the morning. We went bowling (for practice) Thursday afternoon, and then I went for a hair appointment. I made stuffed peppers and collard greens for dinner, and we watched the American Idol results show. Yesterday was my quarterly appointment with the rheumatologist in Lewes, so Karl and Garin went with me, and we spent a beautiful afternoon (no coats!) at the outlet malls in Rehoboth Beach. Today was a 9-pin bowling tournament. I totally tanked, but it was fun anyway! We walked down the street to Carl and Mel's house and sat by their fire pit with them, the Weigners, and Carla. It was a nice way to spend Saturday evening, but we headed home early because Garin was so tired and crabby. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going shopping in Newark with Kim. We're looking for something cute to wear on our girls' weekend to NYC on St. Patrick's Day. There are 10 of us going, and we have rooms at the Marriott in Times Square on Saturday night. I can hardly wait! We're going to see a Broadway show, take a trip to Little Italy, and see some of the sites around the city. And my mother-in-law is coming that weekend too and staying a few days, so it promises to be a really good week! Guess that's life in a nutshell for now. G'night, and I'll try to write again soon!