This is Home

Ten Years of Family

2010-12-16T10:08:00.000-06:00

Ten years!!

I can hardly believe it’s been ten whole years since I first held Brandon in my arms.

What an amazing feeling to be handed my first child in that airport from the ladies who escorted him from The Home of God’s Love in Taiwan into his mama’s waiting arms.

Happy Gotcha Day to my smart, funny, amazing son!

It's hard not to laugh

2010-12-13T22:25:00.000-06:00

Ethan always keeps me on my toes. Almost daily there are times I have to squelch a smile about something he says or does. The icky sick bug has hit at our house and Ethan has a very stuffy nose. Our conversation at bedtime Monday night went a little like this:

E: “So, Sinus’ are where my boogers life?”

Me: “yes”

E: “How medicine get up there?”

Me: “It goes down to your tummy then travels up to your sinus’ to help get rid of the boogers.”

E: “Its like a broom and sweep the boogers out?”

Me: “Uh . . . yeah”

E: “Drink water help get boogers out too?”

Me: “Yes, drinking a lot of water helps you get better and get the boogers out”

E: “Drink water flood the boogers out?”

Me: “Getting lots of sleep helps a whole lot, so let’s get you tucked in so you can sleep and feel better tomorrow.”

Sometimes you just have to change the subject a little so you don’t laugh out loud.

I’m am very thankful for two munchkins who keep me laughing as we work our way through life.

Lisa

Fun and Food Friday!!!

2010-12-11T09:36:00.000-06:00

We do most of our schooling Monday through Thursday with Fridays left for any catch up we might have to do from doctor appointments or other things that might change our schedule during the week. This year with homeschooling both of the munchkins I have instituted “Fun and Food Friday’s” where we do some sort of fun project, or a cooking activity. Munchkin #2 loves to help me in the kitchen and it is such a good learning activity for him that I love letting him help.

Today for “Fun and Food Friday” we dipped Oreo’s and pretzels.

Let me tell you . . .

A fun and messy time was had by all.

Lisa

Fun times at the Hopkins Picnic

2010-07-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

Ethan and Uncle Barry on the Merry Go Round

Ethan riding the motorcycles

Bumper Cars

Definately a favorite

Ethan's favorite game, the cork gun. His last time he impressed the guy running the game because he knocked over his two cans in his first two shots. Unfortunatly we're now the proud owner of a plastic ninja sword and a lightsaber, as well as several skee ball bears.

Waiting for a ride

Watching Brandon ride the scrambler with Uncle Barry

Riding the scrambler with Uncle Willard

Getting ready for the 102 Valley Bicycle Tour

After Brandon's first 8 mile bike tour.

Catch up

2010-07-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

It's time to play catch up. Since I've last blogged, we celebrated Brandon's 9th Gotcha Day, had Christmas, Ethan' had surgery on his legs and had his 3rd Gotcha Day, finished our first year of homeschooling with Brandon and now summer is half over and we're gearing up for birthdays.

Wow

I promise I'll try to update better.

Lisa

Trip to the police station

2009-12-09T22:22:00.000-06:00

Ethan's cub scout den had a trip to the police station this evening. Everyone had lots of fun.

the officer showing Ethan his collapsible club

checking out the police cars lights

The SWAT truck

Decorating the tree

2009-12-07T12:12:00.000-06:00

We had a fun time this weekend decorating the Christmas tree. Ethan had the most fun helping me take the ornaments out of their boxes.

Fun Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T12:48:00.000-06:00

We had a fun Thanksgiving at Grandma and Papa's house. We watched movies, Brandon got to practice his chess, play a multi-hour game of Monopoly with Daddy and it was nice enough to play lightsabers outside.

Add some very yummy turkey, dressing and sweet potatoes along with chocolate dream pie and it was a great Thanksgiving!

New pictures

2009-11-23T19:19:00.000-06:00

We took a walk down to the lake after school today so I could try and get some new pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-18T10:16:00.001-06:00

Biker Dudes for Jesus

2009-11-07T20:45:00.004-06:00

Brandon dressed up as a biker dude in his Harley stuff for Halloween at Grandma and Papa's house. They went to a few neighbors houses but I think he had more fun passing out candy to all the trick or treaters.

I hope these scary biker dudes are on my side if I meet them in a dark alley.

But then how scary can you be when this is your trick or treat bag.

Sometimes your kids do things that just make your heart smile.

pumpkin time

2009-10-31T19:16:00.003-05:00

You want me to touch what?

Okay, not so bad, I can pull out this stuff.

Ethan's pattern

Cutting out the eyes.

Popcorn break. You're doing a great job dad.

Which face is the real kid and which two are the Jack O'Lanterns.

Shoes

2009-10-31T19:04:00.003-05:00

For part of their homework in October ,the 1st graders had to learn to tie their shoes. This is something we haven't worked on since Ethan's shoes that fit over his braces are all Velcro. He was so excited to show off what he learned.

Yeah Ethan!

Fish

2009-10-06T21:51:00.002-05:00

We had another burial at sewer for the recently renamed fish "Flippy" He earned that name because about a month ago he started to swim with his body at a sideways angle and would sometimes start doing flips and somersaults in the water. This morning he was finally out of his misery. I told Brand he had flipped his last, and he replied "It's too bad he couldn't live to flip another day."

But all is not lost. Our 13 babies from a month ago are getting big, and I saw three more babies in the tank this morning. I knew that Mollies were life bearers and thought it would be neat if we could see them giving birth, but little did I know that they have the ability to remain pregnant and have more babies every month for five or six months. Can you believe it? this time I am not sticking the babies in the little mesh cage so they are protected. It's survival of the fittest in our tank now.

Another fish earned a new name last month. We now have "Big Mama" in our tank, I don't think anyone remembers the names of any of the other fish anymore. Brandon did suggest today we rename her "Baby Mama" but I think we'll stick with Big Mama.

Anybody want some fish? Our tank is getting too full.

Geology Night

2009-10-06T21:23:00.002-05:00

Fish fossil

Gold ore

Fools Gold

Gold Ore

Brandon had fun at geology night with the cub scouts at MU. He got to see a lot of neat rocks, fossils, and volcanic rocks. As soon as we got back to the van I asked what he thought. His response "hundreds of millions years old? Yeah right." I love that our science book is written from a biblical world view and we've been able to teach him about the truth of creation.

Painting on Monday

2009-10-05T18:49:00.000-05:00

Out of the mouths . . . part 6

2009-09-03T16:03:00.002-05:00

This afternoon when Ethan and I got home from school I saw he had a couple of books in his backpack and asked if he wanted to read them. No but I could . . . to myself. Then he decided I needed to wait and he'd get me different books to read by myself. He brought them out and said "Here you go. Read these. Be quiet, don't wake up Dad. Here Mufasa (Lion King) and Star Wars. Now be quiet." He started walking away then came back. "And don't be mean."

Art

2009-08-28T16:20:00.002-05:00

One subject that Brandon specifically asked me to teach him this year homeschooling was art. We're starting with a sculpture kit.

He started with a cog at the bottom with two wires bent into the basic shape then stuck in the cog. He filled the cog with foil to finish making the basic shape then covered it with the clay.

He then started adding clay where he needed for the facial features and taking clay away where needed.

Here is his finished product. Very good for his first try. He was so excited for this project that he did 4 lessons worth of art all this afternoon.

School

2009-08-26T10:08:00.003-05:00

When Brandon was little, we would pass the time in the car by me giving him three words and he would have to make up a story using those words. Now, I'm making that into some of his writing assignments. Here is his first short story using the words; purple, duck and tennis shoes.

Homeschooling is going great so far. I feel like we've both gotten into a good groove.

First day of school

2009-08-24T18:26:00.003-05:00

Ethan and Brandon on the first day of 1st grade and 4th grade.

Ethan in front of his school on his first day.

Brandon in front of his school on his first day. Yes, that is the front of our house. This year we are homeschooling Brandon. We're both very excited and after the first day, so far so good!

Ethan's favorite animal

2009-08-20T22:24:00.002-05:00

The one thing that Ethan wanted to see was a Jaguar.

As you can see, he was pretty excited! It even made it into our bedtime prayer, along with the stingrays and pizza for dinner tonight.

Petting the Stingrays

2009-08-20T21:53:00.004-05:00

One of the favorite parts of going to the zoo today was getting to pet the stingrays. If you held your hand down flat in the water they would come right up to you. The only thing to watch for was accidentally touching the tail or the edges of the 'wings' then they would splash you. Sometimes they'd just splash. Poor Ethan got a face full of salt water more than once.

Brandon's Huge Exciting Amazing Day

2009-08-09T16:22:00.004-05:00

This morning Brandon was baptized at the lake behind Columbia Christian Church by his Daddy. We are so proud of his decision. It is one that he's has thought about for a very long time.

Horse Show

2009-08-07T12:05:00.005-05:00

On the last day of each horseback riding session they have a "Horse Show" Where they get to show off what they can do. they use the reins to guide the horse, do a two point going over the 'jump' and trot. Everyone gets a ribbon at the end. Ethan's was for Best Trotting!!! This was his third session total, and the first this year. He really has learned a lot and done a great job.

Zoo trip

2009-08-06T09:18:00.002-05:00

We had a fun time at the zoo but need to go back, there just wasn't time to see it all, or enough camera battery to take pictures of it all so I can scrapbook it. ;o) Ethan was able to walk more of it than we expected, but having the wheelchair along was helpful when he was wearing out and getting tired. We ended up using the chair a lot more at the end because one of Ethan's braces actually broke and was starting to hurt his leg. That is tough plastic so I was very surprised it happened. They should be able to order another under warranty but right now it's duct taped together so it won't pinch him until we can get the replacement. Ethan wanted to see the jaguars but he was asleep at that point and they weren't out. They both loved dragging Mommy to see the snakes. Ick!

Ethan's 7th Birthday

2009-07-31T17:54:00.002-05:00

Gotta love trick candles.

Brandon's 9th Birthday

2009-07-31T17:49:00.002-05:00

Fun fun fun

2009-07-20T20:49:00.004-05:00

Mommy's first ride!!!

Brandon's first ride on Papa's motorcycle. He loved it and couldn't wait to go again.

Ethan's first ride.

Brandon

Ethan.

Birthday Dinner at Chevy's

2009-07-18T19:31:00.003-05:00

MU Quest science camp

2009-07-18T11:30:00.004-05:00

Brandon had a lot of fun at MU Quest science camp. They learned all about magnets. The last day we got to go and see them show their project that they designed.

Riding 7-9

2009-07-10T09:59:00.004-05:00

It was carnival day at horseback riding. Ethan did a good job hitting the target with the bean bags.

Leaning forward over the 'jump'

Talking with his favorite sidewalker Kathryn. He thinks she's pretty and plotted the whole way home how to capture her and make her his queen.

Hamming it up for the camera. Usually he is concentrating so hard that he won't smile. This week he must've relaxed a little, he gave me a huge grin every time he passed by.

Pet Show

2009-07-09T18:19:00.002-05:00

Brandon is visiting his grandparents for the Hopkins Picnic. Today was the pet show. Grandma helped him catch some baby toads and he won a first prize ribbon for smallest critters and three tickets for rides. I hope someone got a picture for me. Tonight is arm band night, he is very excited to go ride all the rides.

2009-07-08T08:11:00.002-05:00

I'm praying for these three super cool kids, their two older sisters, Mama and Papa. Papa is leaving today for his year deployment. This picture was taken the day of Ethan's surgery, my friend and her kiddos came to keep us company while we waited through surgery.

Thank you Doug for your service to our country, and Mary and family for sharing your husband and father with all of us.

My friends blog

2009-07-04T13:09:00.003-05:00

Even though we are not adopting right now, a friend of mine is. She is fundraising for their next adoption. She is raffling off a cute little girls handmade to fit outfit, and auctioning a Lia Sophie necklace and a Mary Kay compact. Even though I currently have the high bid on the necklace, I would love to see her raise more money. ;o)

http://adoptfund.blogspot.com/

Head on over and see if there is something you would be interested in.

Lisa

Fireworks

2009-07-04T11:01:00.003-05:00

Fireworks fun, and physical therapy all wrapped into one.

Waiting for our turn.

Hmmm, what should we light next.

Teamwork

Practicing his rich and famous paparazzi move.

Riding 7-2

2009-07-02T18:22:00.006-05:00

Katherine was Ethan's favorite side walker last year. He talked about her all winter and even has her picture on his bulletin board. She came over to see him today and he was either too shy to talk to her or concentrating too hard on his riding. Of course, as soon as he was off his horse he asked about her and wanted to see her. He talked the whole way home about how she was his "old friend from a long ago galaxy."

Riding

2009-07-02T18:15:00.004-05:00

This was from last week, I just realized I'd forgotten to post it before I put up some pictures from this week. Ethan had to lean over to see why Warrior stopped.

Swimming on Saturday

2009-06-27T20:53:00.004-05:00

We spent the first part of our time swimming with his arm floaties on then he wanted to be like his big brother without, so we went where he could reach and had a blast.

Brandon does a great job swimming underwater, but not quite as good on top, we're still working on that part.

Half boy, half fish

2009-06-26T14:26:00.002-05:00

I found a pair of arm floaties for Ethan and boy does he have fun.

Swimming

2009-06-23T17:54:00.005-05:00

Here is a little bit of Ethan at the pool after we'd been there for 2 1/2 hours. He was exhausted but still didn't want to leave.

Brandon doing some flips underwater.

2009-06-18T19:27:00.005-05:00

Ethan started his therapeutic horseback riding again today. He has been talking about it for a couple of months. When we got there he was ready. They got out the steps and he didn't want their help, he climbed up there and got on himself! Karen, the main lady there was just amazed at how how much he has changed since last year. I think a lot of those changes have been just since this recent surgery. He is concentrating quite a bit in the pictures. But he did try to smile at me every time he went by because I told him I was going to take some pictures to share with Daddy.

Karate and playing possum

2009-06-16T20:29:00.004-05:00

Ethan says that he he knows karate and kung fu from watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons. We just watched Scooby Doo and the Samurai sword so I guess he has been 'trained' by that as well. Here he is showing off his ninja skills. Notice that he's doing all this kicking and jumping without his braces on, and only falls once. He even squatted down a lot lower than he has in a very long time. After that he lays down to rest ie. playing possum, and I got some good tickling in. I love that laugh.

Swimming

2009-06-03T09:37:00.002-05:00

We went to the pool yesterday afternoon for the first time. Ethan loved it. He would use his arms to walk himself along, then get up for breath and go again. We only got to swim for about 45 minutes then the thunder started and we had to leave. I think he can't wait for the next warm sunny day.

Awards Assembly

2009-06-03T09:09:00.004-05:00

Ethan at his awards assembly at the last day of school.
Ethan got a Math Wizard award for learning his doubles up to 10!!! Great job Ethan!

Field trip to Runge

2009-06-03T08:56:00.003-05:00

Brandon and one of his best buddies checking out a frog on the side of the path.

Good thing it was just the skin and not the stink.

Videos

2009-05-25T18:01:00.003-05:00

2009-05-24T18:17:00.005-05:00

Whistling

Ethan asked me the other day to find him a wife. He has brought it up many more times adding things to his list of what he wants in a wife. I asked him to tell me again, while I taped it so I wouldn't forget.

I have more videos to load, but I've been having trouble getting them loaded, so I'll go ahead and post these and try to get the rest up soon.

Health lesson

2009-05-21T12:16:00.003-05:00

Horseback riding

2009-05-19T12:20:00.003-05:00

There is one thing that Ethan has been talking about that he wants to do again this summer. Therapeutic horseback riding. When I first called they had just filled their last slot but I got a call today and they had a cancellation. He gets to ride!!!!

This was Ethan's first time riding last spring. He didn't like it at all.

By the end of the session he loved it and wanted to do it by himself without the sidewalkers holding onto him. Here was his award for most improved.

Out of the mouths . . . marriage

2009-05-18T20:22:00.002-05:00

Ethan has been talking about marriage lately. First he wanted to marry me, after I explained that I was already married to Daddy and he'd have to find someone else he asked me to find him a good woman. First, I told him you have to graduate from high school and college first, might as well start those thoughts now. ;o) I asked him what kind of woman he wanted to marry. He listed that she's pretty, cook for him, help him play Wii, get the mail, drive him to school, take care of him. She could drive the van and she'd be the mommy and he'd be the daddy.

He wanted to know what her name is going to be, I tried to explain that we won't know that for a long time until he's an adult. He still wanted a name so he starting going through some names, first Miss Sheila his para, but decided he didn't want to marry her, then Miss Smith, another teacher at school, because she's pretty. After I explained that she's already engaged and planning to get married to someone else then he had to think a bit, then decided he'd marry Megan, a friend from his class last year, because she's pretty. He said that she could cook for him. I asked him if she cooked for him, what would he do for her. His response, whatever she tells me.

We might have to work on a few of the finer points of marriage over the next 20 years.

2009-05-17T20:55:00.006-05:00

Brandon's sculpture of our first President. George Washington and the background he made to display it at the school art show.

One of two bunnies Daddy and Brandon found this afternoon while out mowing. This one was the medium sized one, but still really small that was at the base of the oak tree.

A different view of the medium sized bunny.

The little bunny that was in the middle of the front yard. You can see how small he is in comparison to the clovers.

Ethan talking about the bunnies.

Brandon found a new place to relax.

Yep, on top of the shed.

Here he is climbing up.

Out of the mouths . . . part 5

2009-04-27T14:18:00.002-05:00

While watching a Superman cartoon when Superman was with his adoptive parents, Johnathan and Martha, Ethan was talking about being adopted. "Jesus help adopted me, my family."

He has a pretty good understanding of how God can form a family I think.

Blast from the past

2009-04-27T12:03:00.005-05:00

I just ran across these videos that we had of Ethan at the orphanage just a couple of weeks before we brought him home. We had sent a disposable video camera in a care package and they gave it back to us when we got Ethan. Here are a few of the videos that they took.

At then end they are having him say Baba (dad) and Mama (mom)

Here you can see the area around the orphanage as well as Ethan running and playing with his nannies.

Here we go Loopy Loo!

Sunday

2009-04-26T10:55:00.002-05:00

Ethan and I went to church this morning to a small church with not very many people which was good. He made it through most of service then was getting achy and ready to move around. We went for a little walk around and that seemed to help. It was nice to get out with him a little bit, but I do see why they don't want him at school, it wore him out, and he also got bumped on his back and that made quite a grimace.

We start physical therapy on Monday morning and go back for a follow up with the neurosurgeon on Wednesday. I have feeling PT will be really hard for him right now, but it is definitely needed to help him get walking better and help strengthen his core muscles to help him sit up straighter. He had been leaning a lot to the side before surgery, and now after moving around all those muscles in his back, he's very weak around his stomach and back.

It seemed to take him quite a while to start moving again, but now that he has, he's been doing so much better each day.

On the move

2009-04-24T15:19:00.003-05:00

I thought I had heard something coming from the other room. Guess who decided to practice walking on his own. Then he wanted me to take a picture(video) to show Daddy.

Here you go! It's so great to see him up and moving a bit. We start back to some PT on Monday to help get his strength back.

Thursday

2009-04-23T18:15:00.002-05:00

This morning Ethan had fun playing a shapes game on the computer.

This afternoon . . .

Drum roll please . . .

Ethan walked from the van to a chair in the family room ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!

Yeah!!!! He was pretty worn out afterwards, but so much better than he's done so far.

Wii

2009-04-21T18:18:00.002-05:00

Ethan's super cool teacher came over this afternoon to work with Ethan since he can't go back to school yet. After they were done he and Brandon wanted to play Wii.

He was pretty worn out so only a few minutes into the game he fell asleep, Wii remote in his hand.

Tuesday

2009-04-21T10:11:00.002-05:00

This morning Ethan woke up and after his morning "snuggle with mom" he wanted to walk to the living room instead of ride the wheelchair! He made it the whole way just holding my hands, then the last couple of feet he wanted to try by himself.

He wore himself out pretty well though and is taking a nap right now. He deserves it, he worked hard this morning.

Monday

2009-04-20T20:28:00.003-05:00

Up in the wheelchair, but he'd just been walking and was poohed out. Looks pretty pitiful doesn't he?

Daddy got him outside for a few minutes for a short walk and some fresh air.

He has taken a few steps on his own, and walked a couple yards at a time while holding onto our hands. I think he can do more, but he's scared, and his back does hurt after moving that much. We just need to get a little more every day so we can gain back our strength and endurance.

Saturday

2009-04-18T15:08:00.002-05:00

Ethan has been much more awake today. We've been watching movies and we even had PT come and teach us how to help him log roll to get on his side so we can help him sit up in a way that won't hurt the incision on his back. We also go into the wheelchair for a short time this morning, then this afternoon we helped him take a few steps on very wobbly and weak legs. After that, we had a nice stroll to the rooftop garden and the playroom. I forgot to bring my camera, so no pictures from our outing. We're supposed to get him up into the wheelchair again later around dinnertime to help him get used to sitting. Tomorrow PT will be here to work more on walking before they'll let him go home. There is a chance we'll go home tomorrow, depending on how well he can get back to walking and that his bowels will move. We'll see how things go. He's been pretty slow to get moving again after this surgery.

Friday

2009-04-17T20:45:00.001-05:00

The PT came in today and stretched his feet and ankles then got him up into the chair. He was very tired and sore after that. I watched as she stretched him, and it looked to me like he was able to flex better already. This is our loaner wheelchair that we can use as we recuperate for endurance.

Ethan got a couple of gifts today from people at Daddy's work, as well as a few email cards that had been sent to the hospital for him. I think tomorrow there will be lots more cards from what I've heard. We also had a visitor. Thanks for stopping by Julie, Jacob and Erin, and thanks for the gifts. Mom is sure excited for the doughnuts.

Tomorrow the goal is to get him up on his feet. I'm not sure how well that is going to go because he didn't sit up very much today.

Gotcha Day Video

2009-04-17T14:09:00.002-05:00

Gotcha Day

2009-04-17T08:25:00.002-05:00

Today is our second Gotcha Day. It's hard to believe it's been two whole years since we first had Ethan in our arms. I think I'll wait to put up some then and now pictures until after he has his sponge bath later.

Ethan is doing great. He started waking up during the night. Fine for him, yawn for mom. He's been drinking great and the IV fluids should be able to be gone later as long as he keeps drinking well this morning. He still hasn't eaten much, but maybe now that he's able to start sitting up a little more instead of flat on his back or side he might be more ready to eat something.

I'll give more updates as we go through today and have physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Sleeping, eating and . . . flowers?

2009-04-16T12:56:00.003-05:00

We're still sleeping quite a bit. Ethan has a couple of raw spots from the tape they had the tubes and mask held on with.

They raised the head of the bed just a little bit and that made it a little easier to eat. He only ate 4 bites of noodles from his chicken noodle soup and a little over one slice of canned peaches. But that's our best yet.

Ethan had a visitor today but he slept right through it. We had to take a picture so he'd believe me that he had a dog dressed up as a flower come to see him.

They took him off the last little bit of sedation medicine that he was getting. He was starting to have a few respiratory issues so they wanted to go ahead and get him off the sedation because it can cause the respiratory things as a side effect. he's still on all the pain meds though.

Regular room

2009-04-15T14:12:00.003-05:00

Snoozing in PICU
Snoozing in a regular room. Can you see the trend? Luckily they are keeping him enough sedated to sleep alot, which helps keep him laying flat so that the dura can heal and have no CSF leaks.

This is the view from our room

Day 2

2009-04-15T07:11:00.002-05:00

Ethan got a new DS from Grandma and Papa to help pass the time while in the hospital. It was a great distraction while we were waiting for surgery. We were delayed from the original 8:50 until they took him back at 10:30 and started the surgery at 11:15. Then it was a great distraction for mom to play while we waited through the 6 hour surgery. ;o)

My friend Mary and her kids came by to hang out while we waited as well. It was so nice to see them and be entertained. I somehow missed getting pics of the rest of the family though.

Ethan had a good night. They did have to raise his pain meds a bit during the night because he was in pain. His blood pressure was a little elevated they think because of the pain. He has a slight temp this morning so he's also had some Tylenol. They are moving him to a room on the floor today and starting to ween down the sedation meds slowly. Hopefully VERY SLOWLY. That was one of our biggest problems last time was when they tried to ween him off to much too soon and he thrashed around and tried to rip out the IVs and to sit up. He has to stay laying flat for at least another day before they will let him start elevating at all. Last time, at University, they kept him in PICU the whole time they had to have him sedated at all. Here they can keep the sedation going in a regular room as well. The PICU was nice, but a regular room might be nice as well, we are in a corner room so two hallways and a lot more light in the room all night here in PICU.

We haven't seen his NS yet but one that worked with him in the OR. He said that all the tethering was old and it didn't look like there was any new tethering. He also said that they removed a dermoid about the size of a walnut as well so his cord is now totally free floating the way it's supposed to be.

Thank you again to Mary for coming and keep us company.
Thanks Dick & Cheryl for the cute puppy dog. We showed Ethan last night but I'm not sure if he'll remember it because of the sedation.

done

2009-04-14T17:12:00.002-05:00

The surgeon just came in. He feels that this wasn't a new tethering but that he was still tethered from the last time. He said that there was only a small part of hte dura that they had detethered from last time and this time he did an aggressive detether from L2 to S1 and feels good that since this wasn't a new tethering that we shouldn't have to do this every 2 years!!!!!

We feel very good about things. I'm waiting for them to call be back to recovery to see him. They'll keep him on a pump with narcotics and sedation through tonight and probably tomorrow as well before they start to ween him off of anything.

Thank you again for your continued prayers.

Starting to close

2009-04-14T16:04:00.001-05:00

I just got the call at 4:00 pm that they are finished with the detether and starting to close. It takes an hour to close because they have to close it in layers starting with the the dura around the spinal cord then each layer around that.

Thank you for all your continued prayers.

Still in surgery

2009-04-14T14:58:00.002-05:00

The started around 11:15 and we just got an update just before 3pm that they are still working. He was significantly tethered. They will call us when they start to close him up and that should take about an hour to close.

I had a great visit from my friend Mary and her kiddos today to help pass the time.

Thanks Mary!!!!!

I did find out that there isn't WiFi in the ICU rooms so I might not get to update quite as often as I'd hoped, but I'll try to at least get an update out once a day.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Lisa

Easter

2009-04-13T10:45:00.004-05:00

Ethan continually asked when we could dye eggs. When it was time, he fell asleep before we could start. When he woke up, he still had plenty of time to dye his eggs.

The Easter bunny decided it would be easier, and probably cheaper to put quarters and dimes in the Easter eggs instead of candy. Better for all of us that way, I'm sure.

Another lost tooth

2009-04-09T16:30:00.003-05:00

Ethan is the king of wiggling his loose tooth until its ready to come out. I don't know how the tooth fairy is going to keep up! Hopefully this is it for a while.

Out of the mouths . . . part 4

2009-04-09T11:47:00.003-05:00

Ethan has another loose tooth. He can't seem to handle having it wiggle in his mouth so as soon as it just starts to wiggle he works on it and continually asks to pull it.

Today he asked his Para to pull his tooth, which she obviously can't do. She wouldn't even touch it and he told her "But it's clean. I brushed my teeth this morning."

Guess I'll get to pull another tooth tonight.

Surgery

2009-04-07T14:51:00.002-05:00

Ethan is schedule for another spinal cord detether surgery on April 14th at St Louis Children's Hospital. Shortly after we brought him home, on May 17, 2007 he had his first surgery since his adoption. //http://clineadoption.blogspot.com/2007/05/surgery-update.html This will be the same kind of surgery. We have seen a rapid deterioration of his orthopedic function in the past several months, along with increased pain and some urological symptoms. Not that we're excited that he has to have surgery, but we're very glad that we're able to get this done quickly in order to stop the progression of his symptoms.

We'll be at the hospital for around a week, with him in ICU for the first part, having to lay flat so that the dura around the spinal cord can heal properly. If you're in the St Louis area, we'd love a visit, if not you can send Ethan a card through the hospital's website http://www.stlouischildrens.org/content/SendaGiftorGreeting.htm and they will deliver it the next day to his room.

Ethan is actually dealing with having his 4th surgery since coming home very well. He was the most worried that he would have a button on the bottom of his foot like his orthopedic surgery. Once I assured him that this surgery he wouldn't have casts he was fine. I didn't tell him that sometime after he has recuperated from this surgery he will have another orthopedic surgery and will have casts on both legs. We'll save that information until that surgery is scheduled.

The hospital has WiFi so I should be able to keep everyone updated throughout our stay.

We would appreciate your prayers to guide the surgeons hands during surgery and that this will have a positive effect on Ethan's motor function.

Out of the mouths . . . part 3

2009-04-04T20:08:00.002-05:00

Tonight we watched the animated Ten Commandments movie. At one point when Ramses said that he was the only god, Ethan replied . . .

He not God. God in heaven. He not heaven. He not fly. Not have wings. (flapping arms like a bird)

Swinging

2009-04-01T09:20:00.004-05:00

This was Ethan's first time on the swing set. He figured things out pretty quickly. As you can see at the end of the video the neighbor dog came around and he wasn't to sure about her and repeated Daddy "Sheba go home."

Back in the beginning

2009-03-31T23:20:00.003-05:00

Here is another clip from the video that I had forgotten about. This was taken in those first few days that we were home and just a couple of weeks before his detether surgery. I am amazed at how well he was walking back then.

Ethan, the lost videos

2009-03-31T21:49:00.006-05:00

I remembered taking this video while we were in China, but with all the doctors and surgery when we came home I had forgotten about it. I looked tonight and finally found the tape! Now that we know about his narcolepsy and cataplexy we can look back and see that, along with the tethered spinal cord, was most of what we were seeing in China when the nannies and doctors were saying it was the hydrocephalus or other things. It has been almost 2 years since Ethan has been home and you can see how much he's grown and developed.

Check out that arm! We may have a pitcher on our hands.

Out of the mouths . . . part 2

2009-03-20T12:20:00.001-05:00

When you can't remember the name of something you figure out a way to describe it.

Itchy stick = back scratcher

Out of the mouths . . .

2009-03-19T14:58:00.003-05:00

Today Ethan's para shared a story about something that happened recently at school. Someone was talking with the kids about teeth braces and asked if anyone knew someone with braces. Ethan raised his hand up and said he had braces. When they said no, not hat kind of braces he was adamant that yes, he had braces, right there on his feet.

Can you tell he's a very black and white thinker? He knew that the braces on his feet were braces, why would you call anything else by that name.

Tooth Losing Machine

2009-03-11T16:29:00.002-05:00

Before

After

It was ready to come out this morning but we didn't have enough time before school. I think he played with it all day at school and as soon as we got home it was just a tiny little tug and it was out.

Big Muddy

2009-03-09T21:37:00.003-05:00

Brandon's cub scout den had a trip to a wildlife refuge by the Missouri river. We thought we would get rained out but it stopped long enough to go on our hike.

Frog they found as we hiked along what used to be a Missouri River Levee.

Turtle shells found near a scour hole where the levee used to be.

Looking at the scour made from the 1993 flood.

Name

2009-02-28T23:50:00.002-06:00

I've decided that this blog needs a new name. It may still chronicle the journey of our life, it isn't really an adoption journey.

Now I need to think of a catchy title. Any suggestions?

Brandon's creation

2009-02-28T23:39:00.002-06:00

Brandon worked very hard in art weaving this satchel like Indiana Jones. He couldn't wait to bring it home to show me.

Working with Papa

2009-02-28T23:33:00.004-06:00

Ethan had fun helping Papa work on the edging stones in front of the house. He is quite the worker.

Digging the hole.

Tossing the dirt out of the way.

Checking if it's deep enough.

"Bonkers"

2009-02-23T14:14:00.003-06:00

Ethan won a certificate for a huge, loud, very overstimulating indoor play place from the Read-A-Thon at school. I knew that it would be much more than he could handle so since he really had no idea what Bonkers really was, he now thinks that the indoor play place at Burger King is called Bonkers. It was a much better size for him and a lot less crowded and no one would complain that he has to keep his shoes on because of his braces.

Ethan took this one of Brandon after he had played for about 30 minutes and was worn out.

Reading

2009-02-20T16:59:00.001-06:00

Here is Ethan 'reading' a book from school. I tend to think it's a bit more memorized than read, but it was great to have him read to me either way.

Valentines

2009-02-13T16:55:00.002-06:00

Brandon with his Valentine box at his class party
Brandon's box

Ethan's Valentine Box

Ethan worked hard putting foam heart stickers on his box. Notice he put them about 8 deep on the sides.

Kindergarten holidy concert

2008-12-12T16:55:00.002-06:00

Today was the Kindergarten Holiday Open House. Ethan did a great job. The kids sang several songs then the parents joined in for a couple of carols before we got some cookies and punch.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T21:37:00.002-06:00

Ethan wished to loose his front tooth and Brandon wished for more strength in order to wrestle Uncle Barry. Brandon got the bigger half, but Ethan was the one who ended up getting his wish.

Basement update

2008-12-03T21:23:00.003-06:00

Wetbar before

Wet bar during. I have the sink installed and plumbing done, as well as a new outlet under the cabinet for the mini fridge, and under cabinet lights. Next stage, finish polyurethane on the doors and do a back splash.

Tooth Time

2008-11-02T23:06:00.003-06:00

Before.

It was held on by one tiny little part and he could wiggle it diagonally. A few screams and "It hurts," finally a sit on moms lap and Daddy got it out. Once he saw it he realized it hurt and cried some more.

After.

Later that day he told us it wasn't so bad. ;o) I wish I had that on tape to play back for him next time. And it won't be long. The other top front tooth is going to be ready to come out very soon.

Check out the paint!

2008-11-02T23:02:00.003-06:00

It looks even better in person. I'm very glad to have all the wall color on. It took 2, and in some places 3 coats of cutting in, and 2 coats with the roller. I have blisters from so much painting. Tomorrow I'll start work on the trim and doors. Daddy and the boys primed the doors for me today, so I'm ready to go.

Basement

2008-10-29T22:32:00.002-05:00

Operation basement remodel began. After waterproofing anything and everything in everyway we could think of we framed in the wall. Notice the shadow of the studs, you can tell how not straight the cement wall was.

We had to get creative on this wall. It was partially finished with drywall but what was already there hadn't been framed out enough for us to use traditional studs to frame it. So we got a 1/2 inch piece of plywood and made our own studs. The biggest problem was that the cement wall was so hard to drill into that we decided to just liquid nail the 'studs' on. Did you know that when you cut 1/2 inch ply it tends to warp a bit? After sitting there holding the wood against the wall so the liquid nails would dry for a while we finally rigged up a way to hold it until it was set.

Ta Da!!! Check out the new wall! I had fun learning how to hang drywall and mud it. Now I'm working on priming everything and getting it ready for paint!

Raingutter Regatta

2008-10-29T22:24:00.003-05:00

Brandon had his Raingutter Regatta this past Sunday. He did well, especially considering him and Daddy didn't get their boat made until the day before. Brandon won 3rd place in design and 2nd place in speed and qualifies to go to districts for both.

Riding bikes

2008-10-18T18:31:00.003-05:00

Ethan was up on his bike for the first time since his surgery!!!! It was great to see him back on the bike.

New Braces

2008-10-09T08:07:00.004-05:00

Ethan got his new braces this week and we're working on breaking them in. He wore them for 3 hours yesterday and we can keep adding about an hour a day until he can wear them all day. We're still working on endurance and stairs are still very hard but he has improved greatly! It will be nice to be able to run again and get exercise.

As you can see, he was very proud that he could run again.

Playing in the dirt

2008-10-07T20:57:00.003-05:00

We had a fun weekend playing in the dirt.

All the way down to the foundation.

A new layer of tar sprayed on to help with the waterproofing.

Thats a lot of dirt.

Skid loader driving lessons.
Add gravel.
Lots of gravel.

Ethan's turn to climb in the cat. He was very confused when we called it a caterpillar. He kept thinking it was a furry little bug that turns into a butterfly.

Guess what??? No more cast!

2008-09-17T17:37:00.003-05:00

This is what you do when you have to wait an hour for your appointment.

First stop, the cast room to take the cast off. The cast guru did a great job explaining things to Ethan and he was fascinated with the tool used to cut off the cast as well as the pliers type things that he used to pry the cast apart.

This is the button on the bottom of his foot. I had no idea what to expect.
You can tell the button was pulled fairly tight to hold the tendon in place. We can't wait for our first bath in 6 1/2 weeks!!!!

Instead of another cast, the surgeon got him a walking cast instead. Ethan is pretty sore and so far today he has stood on that foot for about 5 seconds then he was done, saying that it hurt. It might be a day or two before he's ready to get back up on there. Hopefully we'll be able to get better practice and get back into the swing of walking again very soon.

We then went across town to have molds made for his new braces. We got to pick this time and Ethan chose camo straps with green foam. We should have them in about two weeks.

Learning to walk

2008-09-13T15:02:00.003-05:00

It has taken quite a bit longer than we expected for Ethan to be able to get up and walk on his cast. When we first started getting him up with the cast boot on, it seemed like he couldn't even remember how to walk. He would hold on with both hands and try to lean back against me if I was right behind him and really concentrate on making his feet move. At first it was one a step at a time, then two or three steps, then finally yesterday he was able to start taking several steps, even a few by himself. He is still very wobbly as you can tell, and we need to make sure someone is near to help catch him if he falls, but a lot of improvement. If you notice, he will make his hands into fists to help him keep his balance when walking. He would do this quite a bit before, but a lot more right now.

We go back on Wednesday to take this cast off and the button on the bottom of his foot. After that they will make a mold of his foot in order to make a new brace, then another cast until the brace comes in. At this point he thinks he wants a red cast. We'll see what they have.

This is Home

Ten Years of Family

It's hard not to laugh

Fun and Food Friday!!!

Fun times at the Hopkins Picnic

Catch up

Trip to the police station

Decorating the tree

Fun Thanksgiving

New pictures

Wordless Wednesday

Biker Dudes for Jesus

pumpkin time

Shoes

Fish

Geology Night

Painting on Monday

Out of the mouths . . . part 6

Art

School

First day of school

Ethan's favorite animal

Petting the Stingrays

Brandon's Huge Exciting Amazing Day

Horse Show

Zoo trip

Ethan's 7th Birthday

Brandon's 9th Birthday

Fun fun fun

Birthday Dinner at Chevy's

MU Quest science camp

Riding 7-9

Pet Show

My friends blog

Fireworks

Riding 7-2

Riding

Swimming on Saturday

Half boy, half fish

Swimming

Karate and playing possum

Swimming

Awards Assembly

Field trip to Runge

Videos

Health lesson

Horseback riding

Out of the mouths . . . marriage

Out of the mouths . . . part 5

Blast from the past

Sunday

On the move

Thursday

Wii

Tuesday

Monday

Saturday

Friday

Gotcha Day Video

Gotcha Day

Sleeping, eating and . . . flowers?

Regular room

Day 2

done

Starting to close

Still in surgery

Easter

Another lost tooth

Out of the mouths . . . part 4

Surgery

Out of the mouths . . . part 3

More of the lost videos

Swinging

Back in the beginning

Ethan, the lost videos

Out of the mouths . . . part 2

Out of the mouths . . .

Tooth Losing Machine

Big Muddy

Name