Fishing Stories

Our friend April took these pictures in chapel the other day, when Matt spoke. He did a wonderful job, and the girls were feeling well enough that Chloe and I left the little gals in the nursery and went in to listen.

It is so exciting to be reminded what we have to look forward to. Though I know many more trials will come our way, all have been met with His faithfulness and protection. There is no substitute for the confidence He builds each time we're brought through the fire!

...Recovering...

Emmy had a belly ache for several days. Poor thing was waffling between being hungry and being nauseous. At one point she got frustrated and said, "But why can't I have any GOOD food??" as I offered her popsicles and sherbet... She meant healthy food. My find of girl ;)
The first few days were spent mostly just lying around, trying to keep the pain controlled... They faded in and out of sleep, but were in a lot of discomfort. Aside from the birthday party that first day and a couple of walks (rides) for Lanes, they were mostly in bed. We were So thankful for the mattresses on our floor, especially as we played "musical beds" all night long.
Chloe actually slept for two straight days. She was fighting off her fever, I think. She didn't even want to be read to! Laney was a monster-child. Emmy cried a lot and was pretty miserable most of the time, but we had some laughs... She had "The Buns" to keep her company. She did cry several times that she wanted Grammy, or she missed Grant or Mia, or she wanted to go to Mrs. Susan's house... or she wanted her "White Buns" (The original, well-loved, faded pink bunny we lost this summer) We read books, watched movies, and tried tons of soft snacks and cool drinks.
A dear friend sent this package, which distracted all of them for a good hour as soon as we got it. It really brightened our day. It came at a perfect time, because Chloe had finally woken up and they were starting to get really irritable and tired of being cooped up & feeling bad.
We were so thankful for all the friends who brought dinner, or sherbet/go-gurt/italian ice, were thoughtful enough to take me away from the trenches for a while, or brought by cards and let us know they were thinking of us. What an encouragement! It especially warmed my heart when, after an especially long night, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Mrs. Jena and the entire pre-school class, with this huge card and individually colored pictures from each kid! They were so excited , and it meant a lot especially to Emma, who slept with the card by her head that night ;)Chloe is still weeping about her ears hurting quite often, but she went back to school yesterday and did okay -- they just give her pain meds at lunch. I know she is glad to be back to her friends and teachers.
They all went to the Dr. for a checkup yesterday, and he said the little girls were healing well and the swelling has gone down quite a bit. They still sound like little chipmunks, but it's a lot better than it was!
Our biggest issue?? SLEEP. The big girls are only waking up once or twice a night, when the pain is really bad. Laney, on the other hand, has not slept more than ONE hour at a time since the surgery. (And my record at this point is three consecutive hours -- so it's been pretty tough!) We were really starting to worry about her. She gets up and wanders from place to place screaming at the top of her lungs. The Dr. assured us this is an effect of the anesthesia, and that it will go away with in the next two weeks or so. That seems like an incredibly long time!!! Nights are very stressful, and obviously days are pretty rough, too -- it's worse than having a newborn! We even tried Benadryl, as the Dr. suggested, to no avail. She will drape herself in some horribly uncomfortable position for a few seconds and then move onto the next, screaming, until she finally conks out until the next hour's performance... So we are still praying for Chloe's swelling to go down/ healing, for their pain to subside, and most of all for some rest!


Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Last week I took Laney for a vapor bath to help her feel a little better (She'd been running a 102-104* temp for several days). I couldn't help but notice how straight her gorgeous little eyes are! They still turn just slightly if she goes long without her glasses, but I am thankful to be reminded (especially right now!) how great it is that her eyes have been corrected and what a huge difference this will make in her ability to see. Hopefully the current surgeries will be just as successful with their hearing! (And sleeping, and breathing...) We are thankful to have the opportunity to get these things taken care of now. Certainly not fun -- but hopefully worth it!

I think we may have cleaned the hospital out of pospicles! They were so good to us. When the little girls, who had been getting small chunks on spoons, saw that Chloe got a whole one they started asking for "one on a stick!" They each had about 5... but I was really thankful later (when they were refusing them!) that they had gotten so many.
Emmy had to stay on the IV a bit longer and get some extra fluid to try to perk her up.
Chloe did pretty well and has now been sleeping for two solid days. She is running an elevated temp, but at this point the doctor is not too alarmed. I'm afraid she still has a touch of the flu we had last week.
While Emma was miserably denouncing the idea of tonsil removal, Chlo and Lanes snuggled, ate popsicles and watched cartoons.

Amazingly, the day didn't even drag -- with the constant whirlwind of nurses and girls being brought in and out, we stayed pretty busy! We spent a couple of hours after all the surgeries doling out popsicle chunks and snuggling while everyone rested a little. Not so bad!
Ems and Laney were united in mutual contempt toward the IV. At one point Laney tried to help free Emma from hers... What a helper!
"I have to cough and I can't!" Poor Emma... I really feel bad that they all have coughs, but she especially is having pain. She cries whenever she needs to yawn or cough.
The night ended up pretty horrible, complete with vomit and at least one girl waking up screaming every hour. Hopefully it will all be worth it and they will be better able to breathe and swallow soon!

Chloe wanted me to carry her to the surgery ward like I did with Laney -- but we convinced her to take the really cool opportunity to get wheeled around in a bed ;)
Laney had been brought back to us just before Chloe got taken... It was a little unnerving for Chloe. Laney kicked, screamed and writhed for a good 20-25 minutes in my arms.

...Then she nestled down in Matt's arms for the next couple of hours.

When Emma got back she was very quiet. I think she felt a little exploited -- she told me "I didn't even WANT to get my tonsils out! It sounded a little different, though. Her tongue is still swollen and she's not talking very well. It was pretty funny when she saw the gift one of her teachers had brought. She got all excited telling Laney what was in the bag, and none of us had any idea what she was saying!

Emmy and her ice necklace

I am glad to say that Emma is doing much better than she was. We were a little worried about her, since she was so listless and pale and kept complaining of pain and nausea. She is not bleeding and is doing as well as can be expected.

Even before she told me she hurt, Emma asked "Where's my Laney?" and "Where's my Chloe?"
They were happy to be unhappy together.

Pitiful as they were, it was really sweet to see them console each other even in their own pain!

"I need to get my tonsils putted back in!" Emma cried.

SURGERY UPDATES

We have had a long few days, but everything went well in the surgeries and at least we have them behind us now! Thanks for your prayers! Also, we have really appreciated the little encouragements -- cards, calls, balloons & treats. A friend even set up a dinner schedule, and friends have been so kind to bring dinner to Matt and me this week. What a blessing!

Here are the details and some pics for those who are interested:

We got to the hospital, where they were WONDERFUL to us, and we all stayed in one cozy room with bonus sunshine and construction going on right outside the window, so it was fun to watch the diggers and dump trucks. As you can see, the girls were a little apprehensive, but we mostly enjoyed the nurses and had some laughs together while they got them prepped.
Their biggest complaint was that they were HUNGRY! They couldn't eat or drink after midnight Sun., but their surgeries weren't until 10:30, 11:15, and 12:15. Pretty long wait for little girls who clamor for breakfast first thing every morning. It didn't help that while Laney was already crying for breakfast, Daddy broke out a bowl of cereal and ate it right in front of her... and then we got to the hospital and Rachel Ray was on in the waiting room! They made it, but barely ;)
The tech brought them each a little bunny. Emmy was especially pleased. She informed me that hers has the prettiest collar in all the world! It was a great distraction for the big girls while they waited through Laney's surgery.

Emmy had lots of questions and then had to reflect on the answers...

...And even when you're seven, it still helps to have your trusty friend at your side.
(Yep, that's Old Sammy... still well-loved!)

Technically, we had three beds -- two normal hospital beds and a crib, but that was just a formality ;) We got a lot of good cuddle time, since there were almost always two of us in a bed together at any given time! Here Chloe and Em cuddled after praying for Laney (who wasn't too happy about being taken in the "back room" alone). Luckily, they both thought it was really funny when, after taking the Silly Juice, Emmy's legs decided to take off on their own...

...Flopping this way...
...Flying that way......And that...They had a half hour of mutual giggles!

...Good thing Chloe is so serious and calm ;)


If the staff didn't think we were crazy for bringing in all our kids at once, they might have after this! (Actually, I was the only one questioning whether it was a good idea to do all this at one time... a lot of the nurses told me it was a smart idea, but I'm still not so sure!)

Conference Weekend

Most of you know we helped out with a conference -- we actually plan and put on a separate conference for the children. We did it last year and had a great time, so we were really looking forward to it this year, too. We missed the friends that we co-led with last year, but it still turned out really well. We told so many stories and we gave so many lessons and instructions that Matt was completely hoarse by the second day!

Our girls had friends to look forward to this year! As you can tell, Laney's pretty proud of her friends.

(Although not necessarily very attentive during story time!)

We broke up the lessons with games and crafts. Unfortunately for Emma, we stepped in a huge puddle on our way in and she had to go barefoot all night while her shoes and socks were drying. Once she got past the initial cold, it didn't phase her, but I had to laugh at
our little hillbilly :)

These little gals were champions in the three-legged race! They even held hands when it wasn't their turn -- pretty precious :)

Note Emma's game face below, though!

Chloe and her friends did a great job, too. Especially since they were "four-legged!"