Out of Surgery

I just got word that Papaw is now off the heart/lung machine and is doing fine so far. They are closing him up now and will take him to ICU. Thanks for your prayers!

My Papaw

My Papaw is scheduled for open heart surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 CST. He is having an aortic valve replacement. Obviously, this always a risky surgery, and even more so because he is 87 years old. He is in good health, though, otherwise, and should recover well. Please keep him, my grandmother, my mom and aunt in your prayers tomorrow. Thanks.

Weekend fun

Last Friday when I went in to wake Garin from his nap, I couldn't find him. I finally discovered him on the floor, under the crib, against the wall. I guess he was protesting that his pillow case was in the wash, or maybe he was tired of having the head of his bed elevated to alleviate his congestion.

Garin loves all things soft and fuzzy. This morning, he was "helping" me fold laundry and found a pair of my house socks, which he promptly put on his own feet. He has become very particular about his clothes and how they fit. He wants everything long and loose. If it's not, he pulls and tugs at it all day.

It's been a busy and very enjoyable few days! We had praise team rehearsal Thursday night, a meeting at church on Friday night, Angel Food Network pick-up at church on Saturday, and we sang all three services on Sunday. Lots of church, which is wonderful! The 45-minute drive to church, however, got a bit tiring, but it's well worth it.

We got our final medical stuff done for the dossier on Friday. We continue to pray that accreditation comes through very soon, so that we can continue moving forward to get our kids home!

We have decided to host a Super Bowl party on Sunday and invite our friends from our church's Southern Campus Launch Team and probably praise team too. It will be nice and casual and an opportunity to enjoy the fact that we live off-base and can finally have civilian friends over without putting them through the wringer!

A major step behind us!

We got our letter in the mail today from the Department of Homeland Security, approving us to adopt the kids! We had been told the application would take three months to process, but it took less than six weeks. What a wonderful surprise!!! This is a very big step for us. Now we are waiting for Russia to complete the accreditation process for our agency, so our dossier can be registered in Russia. Then the Russian government will extend an invitation for us to travel to see our kids! Keep praying!!!!

Improvement!

Garin woke up from his nap today acting normally, playing and talking in his room. It's a wonderful sound after the past few days of him waking up gasping, coughing and crying! I think he's really on the mend. Thanks to all who have kept him in your prayers and checked up on him.

Now I can get back to blogging about happier things....the adoption, my boys, God's grace and goodness!

Media in Politics

"Gender or race: Black women voters face tough choices in S.C."
(http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/21/blackwomen.voters/index.html)

This was the headline on a story that appeared yesterday, the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on CNN.com.

Does anyone else find this offensive and insulting to the American people and particularly to African-American women?!

The article made mention of issues in passing, but the article primarily addressed the idea that black women have two choices for president: black or woman. If we follow that logic for the whole of America, that means that all white women will vote for Hillary. (I can promise you that this will not happen, as I am a white woman who would refuse to vote before casting a vote for the only white woman running.) It also means that all black men will vote for Obama. White men, like black women, will have a multitude of choices. How will they ever decide? Perhaps they should just draw a name out of a hat?

According to a CNN article this morning, "CNN readers respond angrily to 'race or gender' story" (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/21/emails.race.gender/index.html), I was not alone in my irritation. Throughout this campaign, it seems as if the media has taken the welcome diversity of our presidential candidates and exploited it for their own purposes, pitting black against white, man against woman. And have we forgotten that there are Republican candidates? I would be interested to hear any of your opinions or thoughts about this.

I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and made the following comment on the AC360 blog (http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2008/01/race-or-gender-how-would-you-decide.html):

"Every voting American has a tough choice, certainly, but not because of race or gender. The African-American woman deserves more credit than that. She is wise enough to vote for the person whose views and convictions best align with her own. Why reduce her options to "black" or "female"? I find it interesting that this article should appear on the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He lived and died working to put an end to such limits and stereotypes."

Frustration

After a fairly decent day with Garin, the evening has gone downhill a bit. He added a stuffy nose to the mix this evening, and he is still having a lot of chest congestion, coughing and gasping. He seemed to feel better today even though his symptoms were not much improved, but he woke up about an hour ago with fever back to 102.5, vomiting and struggling to breathe. A dose of Motrin has the temperature back under control, and after some snuggling he has gone back to sleep.

As all parents know, it is so hard to see your kids go through something like this. He's had colds before, and those don't bother me so much, but this is scary. He isn't able to tell us what he feels, and we aren't able to help him. I am increasingly frustrated with the lack of assistance from the medical community. There was a time when there was a multitude of medications for any given illness, and doctors handed them out like candy. I do think it's good that they are more cautious about filling our kids with chemicals these days, but there are times when some medicinal help is warranted. This is one of those times. The medical professionals we've seen in Garin's almost-two years all say to wait it out, as if it were no big deal at all. Up until now, we have been able to do that successfully. This time I'm just mad. They have been dismissive of his discomfort and anguish, and it seems as if they really don't care that neither of us has slept for three days, and that we sit up crying together: Garin because he's suffering and I because I can do nothing but hold him. I realize that they probably do care and may be as frustrated as I am that there isn't a good, safe decongestant out there for the little ones, but I didn't see much compassion during our middle-of-the-night ER visit. He needs something to loosen up his chest, so he can breathe.

Please forgive my ranting. I am tired and worried. I will take him to his regular pediatrician tomorrow (if I can get an appointment) and beg and plead for something, anything, to help him. In the meantime, I'll keep praying for his healing and a chance for some decent sleep.

Another Sleepless Night...

We had another scare with Garin's breathing yesterday. He awoke from his nap gasping for air, wheezing and coughing. After sitting in a steamy bathroom for awhile, we decided to go visit our friend, Kim, to have her check his lungs for us. We didn't want to spend another night in the ER for no reason, but it is hard to tell where the wheezing and crackling is coming from without a stethoscope. She took a listen and said that his lungs sounded tight but that they didn't have any fluid in them. She checked his throat and said that it was very swollen, and that it was probably causing him to have to work so hard to breathe. She was such a blessing to us last night, and we are so thankful for her. Without a stethoscope or oxygen monitor, it is so hard to know. Thank you, Kim.

We spent the night battling a high fever. I alternated between sitting up and holding him so that he could sleep and breathe easier and laying him down for awhile, propped on pillows, when he didn't want to be held. I think he was so hot with fever that being held was uncomfortable at times, and he just wanted to lie down.

Sometime around mid-morning, his fever seems to have broken (fingers crossed). He has lost his voice and is still coughing and having difficulty breathing, but he does seem to feel at least a bit better. Please pray for quick healing. He is just miserable.

Long Night...

We spent much of last night in the emergency room at DuPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington. Garin developed a really bad cough and high fever yesterday afternoon. We were quite worried about it and called the doctor, who told us to go to the emergency room if we couldn't get the fever under control or if he started wheezing. About 10:00 last night, he woke up struggling for air and wheezing, so off we went. They did a lung x-ray because the doctor thought it might be pneumonia, but thankfully it was not. We got home about 3:15 this morning with instructions to do exactly what we were already doing anyway. I'm still uncomfortable with the way that he is laboring for breath this morning, but at least we know his lungs are clear. Needless to say, we're all rather tired this morning, and (as always) I am next in line for the virus. I woke up this morning with a sinus headache, sore throat and congestion. Ugh.

Elmo

The Elmo obsession continues. We took Garin to Waldenbooks Friday to spend his Christmas gift card from Aunt Betty and Uncle Jimmy. The moment we turned the corner onto the little kids' aisle, his eyes landed on this Elmo puppet book, and it was all over. Karl can do Elmo's voice amazingly well, and he had Garin convinced he was talking to Elmo! They were having conversations, and Garin gave Elmo lots of kisses. It was so cute!
We also were able to get Garin three really good books to help him learn colors, animals and important words. He likes those, too, but Elmo trumps all.

Backyard Wildlife

I have enjoyed watching the critters in our backyard since we moved into this house. One of me daily visitors is the fattest little squirrel I have ever seen. He comes up on the deck and watches the going-on in our house while digging through my flowerpots and flowerbeds to find and eat nuts and acorns. I took this picture of him a couple of days ago, although it doesn't accentuate the monstrous belly on him. I hope our neighborhood hawk (below) doesn't get after him; I don't think he could run fast enough to get away! There is a pretty hawk perched on the power pole beside the church. Hopefully, you can see him. Yesterday, he sat there while searching for lunch, swooping down to the field once in a while. I enjoyed watching him.

Little Bear

My dad took this video of Garin a couple of weeks ago when we were home. Garin's favorite book is called "Little Bear." My Aunt Pat and Uncle Harry gave it to my niece, Sandra, when she became part of our family, and she passed it along to Garin. He wants to hear it several times a day, and he has it memorized, as do I. Here, we were sharing it with the rest of the family after dinner one night.

Maybe it's just me, being Mama and all, but I think it is just too cute the way he answers the questions. He speaks with so much expression and inflection in his voice, and it always cracks me up.

A Night to Remember

This is what happens when already severely sleep-deprived people try to stay up to ring in the New Year: (Video courtesy of my brother-in-law and starring my sister, my niece and me)

Oh, to be a cat...

What a life poor Harvey leads! He is fed promptly and lavished with all of the attention he will tolerate, and his idea of a busy evening is chasing his feathered toy around the house and lounging on the love seat, snuggling with the cushions. He is spoiled rotten and more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

We've had a rather lazy weekend ourselves, too. Karl played bass for all three services yesterday. Garin and I went for the 11:00 service, but other than that, we've all been pretty laid back. We got more dossier stuff sent off to be apostilled on Friday, hit the grocery store and bought an office chair for the desk (a purchase that's been a long time coming!). That's about the extent of our excitement.

Today, Karl has a training exercise he's in charge of, and I'm preparing for tomorrow's board meeting and trying to get registered for a class or two this semester. I have been trying to do it online, but I keep getting error messages, so I've left a message with the counselor who helped me before. Hopefully I'll hear back from her later this morning. I took the fall semester off because we were so busy with the adoption paperwork, home study, moving, Karl's return from deployment, craft show.....and so on. I had another good excuse in the works for this semester, since we're expecting to make two trips to Russia this spring, but God has made it clear that He doesn't think much of my excuses. If something has to give, it isn't fulfilling the goals that He has set for me. It will have to be some of my own ideas that go.

Ewwww.....I smell a dirty diaper, and that is DEFINITELY a priority.....air pollution! Have a great day!

Happy New Year!

A photo of us with the Boles family, taken yesterday at DFW airport. l to r: Margo, Mitch, Becky, Charles (my dad), me, Garin, Karl, McGuire (sp?), Matt

We have been enjoying a belated Christmas and a Happy New Year celebration in Texas for the past several days! We arrived home late last night and are being complete slugs around the house today.

We had a jam-packed several days. After flight delays for Karl, Garin and me and a missed and rescheduled flight for Matt, we finally all made it to Dallas and got back to my parents' house about midnight Friday night. After a big breakfast with my parents, grandparents, my sister's family and my cousin, we exchanged Christmas presents before the guys (Greg, Eli, Dad, Matt and Karl) all left for San Antonio to attend the Alamo Bowl (Texas A&M vs. Penn State). Eli got tickets for Christmas, as he is a die-hard Aggie fan! The girls did some heavy shopping and had a great time too.

New Years Eve was a blast! We played a 4-hour-long game of Phase 10 (I won!) and then rang in the new year in the traditional fashion. We made the wonderful discovery that the horns work well when played through the nose as well as by mouth, and Greg got some lovely video of my sister, my niece and me making beautiful nose music. It wasn't pretty, but it made for lots of laughter! If I get that clip from him, I'll post it here for all to enjoy!

Yesterday, we had the privilege of meeting the family that hosted D and K two years ago when they spent the summer in Texas with the Angels from Abroad program! Reggie, the dad, had to work and was unable to be there, but we hope to meet him soon. Becky and their three wonderful kids met us at the airport and gave us an album full of photos of their time with them that will be treasured by our entire family . They are precious people, and we feel so fortunate to know that they have been part of D and K's lives and will continue to be part of all of our lives.