Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!















A rare picture of all 5 of us!!!!















Updates:

• Luke is having his tonsils and adenoids out this coming Tuesday.  We're getting ready ... stocking up on library books, Gatorade, popsicles, and other soft foods.
• Kenzi is doing great in speech therapy.  She is saying all kinds of things now ..... hi, bye-bye-, uh-oh, hat, hot and signing more, milk, all done, and help!  She is getting more and more comfortable around other people and she even stayed with Aaron's parents for a few hours!

Funny How Things Work Out .....

We were so disappointed that the girls didn't get to go to the Cleft Clinic yesterday.  Kenzi would have had her palate repaired in early May and Jacinda may also need another surgery around the same time.  Now, we are looking at July for those surgeries.

Luke saw an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor today for his recurrent strep infections.  The ENT wants the tonsils out ASAP.  So on April 17th, Luke will have his tonsils and adenoids removed.  He will miss school for possibly 2 weeks, but he's ahead in a lot of things in school right now, so it will be fine.  We'll get his work beforehand and he'll have things to work on while he's recovering.

So now we can get Luke well and then focus on the girls over the summer.  The surgeries for the girls are not affecting their health, and Luke's is, so his is more important to get done quickly.  So I'm glad we've been sick and had to cancel the Cleft Clinic for yesterday.  God sees the big picture and everything works out the way it's supposed to.

Speaking of being sick, we're all starting to feel better.  Of course, we had to finish it all off with Aaron going to Urgent Care last night with a pretty painful ear infection.  No one has had a fever today!  Thank goodness!!!!  We're back to our routine, although I'm still pretty tired, so I need to balance getting better with getting back into our groove.

Change of Plans

We were so looking forward to the Cleft Clinic appointment for both girls on Tuesday.  Kenzi was to get her palate repair surgery scheduled.  Jacinda was to get a scope done.

Unfortunately, both girls are sick, so we have had to reschedule for May 15 :(  I was so hoping that everyone would wake up this morning refreshed and feeling better.  Instead, both girls were feeling worse, so off to the doctor we went.  Jacinda tested positive for Strep.  Kenzi was negative for strep, but there's still a chance she has it since she has the exact same symptoms as Jacinda.

So May 15 is the day.  I'm disappointed, but I also know that things work out exactly as they are supposed to.  It will all be fine.

Luke has an appointment this Wednesday with an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor.  I'm hoping they will be open to a tonsillectomy.  I also think he has some seasonal allergies, so we need to get those under control, too.

Updates, Updates ....

Once again, I know it's been a while since I've updated.  Here's what's been going on since the last post.

• We have all been sick.  I have a spreadsheet with everyone's fevers and medications!  It's hard to keep track of for 5 people.
• On that note, Luke has still been having a low-grade fever, although his latest strep tests have been negative.  Yesterday, he had bloodwork done and a sinus x-ray to check for a lingering sinus infection.  The x-ray was normal and so was the bloodwork.  Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for the results.  He has an appointment with his Cardiologist next week just to check and make sure his heart murmur isn't causing any problems.
• Kenzi was supposed to start speech therapy 2 weeks ago, but someone in the house has been sick since then, so we've had to cancel twice.
• Tuesday, March 20 - both girls have appointments at the cleft clinic.  I'm really hoping they are both over their sicknesses by then.  Jacinda will have (hopefully) a procedure done that day that will tell us about her speech delay.  I hear the procedure is not pleasant.  I keep joking I'm going to have to bribe her with a pony!
• On St. Patrick's Day, Luke ran a race called the Operation Smile Final Mile.  It's part of the Shamrock Marathon weekend, which is huge in our area.  The kids run 25.2 miles during the school year, and they do their final mile during the event.  They also raise money for Operation Smile.  Of course, this organization has a special place in our hearts.  Luke can explain that our health insurance paid for surgeries for his sisters, but not all kids have that.  So the doctors can help those kids get surgeries just like his sisters.  He did a GREAT job in the race.  He ran almost the entire way!  He was thrilled that hubby's parents and brother were there to cheer him on.
• Tonight, we were watching a movie and he started screaming in pain saying that his ear hurt. He had just been at the pediatrician's office yesterday and his ears were "perfect".  Hubby took him straight to Urgent Care and sure enough, ear infections on both sides.  Crazy that it can come on so quickly.  The doctor he saw said that his tonsils were enlarged and she recommended heading to the ENT after his history.

A couple of pics for you ..........

Luke after his race!

Silly girls!

This girl LOVES to swing!!!!

Showing off her new haircut

It's Been a While .......

I know, I know, it's been a while since I posted an update.  Things have been good, but super busy.  Here's what's been happening.

• Kenzi's lip looks great.  These surgeons are just amazing.  We feel so blessed that we get to work with some of the best cleft surgeons in this country.  She had a followup with ENT a few days ago and her ear tubes look great.
• She had her evaluation with Early Intervention and they raved about how advanced all her motor skills are.  She is really catching up and I am so happy that she was not further behind due to being in an orphanage for 18 months.  She does qualify for speech therapy for an expressive speech delay. I'm waiting to hear from her therapist, and we will get started with that soon.
• Her palate repair surgery will be in May, hopefully.  She sees the cleft team March 20 and we will schedule surgery at that point.  Her surgeon may also do a revision on her nose.  The nose is typically the toughest part.  Our surgeon explained that it's because it's hard to make the nostril bigger.
• Luke had strep again last week.  This is his third since the beginning of the year and fifth since the beginning of September.  With the next one, we will be referred to ENT.  I have a feeling he will end up having his tonsils taken out this summer.  I'm hoping to avoid that, but he can't keep having strep.  All these antibiotics aren't good, and his symptoms are very mild, so he could have it for a while and we don't know.  Untreated strep can damage his heart and he already has a mild heart murmur.  I'm also investigating some natural things to supplement the medical things.  At this point, I'm willing to try almost anything.
• Luke has really found his groove with school.  It took him a while to adjust.  He is doing so well now.  His last report card was excellent ... he met grade level expectations in all areas, and exceeded them in Math.  Of course, I like that because I'm a Math teacher and Aaron is a Computer Programmer.  Luke is really enjoying Math and he's having a lot of fun with it.
• Jacinda continues to have a hard time adjusting to having Kenzi home.  I think it's a lot of factors ..... new sister who is also sharing her room, J's speech delay, sharing all her toys, etc.
• We signed Jacinda up for Preschool starting in the Fall.  She will go Monday-Thursday mornings.  It's a pretty academic program, but I think she will really enjoy it.  She's a pretty smart kid and I think it will be so good for her.  The class sizes are small (max. of 12), and they have 2 teachers, so it will be good for her to get some extra attention.
• Jacinda also sees the cleft team on March 20.  We're hoping she will allow them to do a scope down her nose to see what's going on at the back of her palate.  I say "allow" because they do this procedure without anesthesia, so Jacinda will really need to cooperate with the doctors.  This procedure could give us the answers we need about her speech delay.  Depending on the outcome of that procedure, there are surgeries that could help, or specific speech therapy techniques.  The surgeries are ..... debatable.  We haven't done much research on those surgeries until we know if they are even an option.

OK, the girls are being too quiet in the other room, so I'd better go see what they're up to!  Here are a few recent pics!!!

Update on Kenzi's Surgery

Kenzi has healed SO well after her cleft lip and nose surgery.  We saw the surgeon today for a follow-up and he was very pleased.  It amazes me that these surgeons can do this.  Here's a picture only 9 days after surgery:

Other updates:

Kenzi - She'll see the cleft team in March and then we'll schedule her palate repair for probably May.

Jacinda - We are currently deciding where to send her for preschool next year.  We're looking at a few places that offer 3 mornings a week.  She will also see the cleft team in March and the focus will be on determining if her palate is contributing to her speech issues.

Luke - He is doing great in Kindergarten.  It took him a while to adjust, but in December, he seemed to finally hit his stride.  He's doing great, and he is working above Kindergarten level in Math.  He does seem to be getting a bit bored ..... they do a lot of repetition and once he learns something once, he doesn't need that repetition.  So at home, we're doing a little "after schooling", which is basically supplementing school with some homeschooling.  I'm letting him choose the subjects he wants to learn about and then I find activities that are appropriate for him.  Last week, he wanted to learn about dinosaurs and next week, he wants to learn about space.  I'm hoping this will help counteract a little of his boredom at school.

Also on that note, we've instituted an afternoon routine at home.  He gets him at 11:45, so this is our routine:

Lunch
Homework - both big kids
Computer time for Luke and Leapster time for Jacinda
Outside Play Time
Quiet Play Time in their rooms
Snack time
Afterschooling time

Kenzi pretty much follows along with the routine and she usually fits a nap in somewhere in there.

As far as our family goes, we're still adjusting, but we're starting to settle into our new normal.  We're hanging in there and things get better every week!

Cleft Lip and Nose Surgery Update

Kenzi had her first surgery today.  First, she had ear tubes placed.  A few weeks ago, the ENT with the cleft team saw fluid in both ears, which is common for a cleft kid.  The ENT surgeon today saw lots of infected fluid in both ears, so tubes went in.  A double ear infection could explain why she's been really fussy and "off" for the past few days.

Then the cleft surgeon repaired her nose and lip.  It is truly stunning what these surgeons can do.  I just can't believe it.  Here's a picture of her about 1 hour after surgery.  Of course, there is a lot of swelling and bruising, and it will get worse over the next few days.  Isn't the transformation amazing?

She woke up from the anesthesia and cried just for a minute.  She drank a ton of Pedialyte and we went home about 2 1/2 hours after surgery.  She did great on the way home .... she was still pretty dazed and she fell asleep when we were almost home.  True to form, she woke up when Aaron came home with food!  She ate some Jell-o and applesauce.

I'm sure the recovery period will be full of ups and downs and it won't all be as easy as today was.  I'm very thankful that friends are bringing us dinner tomorrow night and Monday.  We'll be working hard to control her pain, keep her fingers away from her lip, and keep the big kids from being too rough with her!

Thank you to everyone who has said prayers and sent good thoughts and kind words to us.  We are so lucky to have this gorgeous little girl in our family.  As hard as this adoption stuff is, this is what our family is supposed to do and we couldn't be happier.  We love all 3 of these little miracles and it takes my breath away that God gave them to us to take care of.  We surely don't deserve these 3 precious children and they all came to us by way of a miracle .... Luke through infertility treatments and the girls through complicated birth family situations.  I'm so glad that God can take bad situations and create good things.  People tell us all the time that the girls are so lucky to be in our family, but the fact is that we are the lucky ones.