Tue. Morning Update

Kate did well overnight. Her swelling has gone down because she is draining fluid like crazy, so they are putting more back in to keep her blood pressure stable. It's still bouncing around a bit, but they said this happens sometimes.

She looks a bit more relaxed this morning, although she keeps trying to turn over onto her tummy. She normally sleeps on her tummy.

Last night someone put her hair in pigtails and she looks adorable. I can't say enough about the staff here. They are awesome! Dr. Bove came this morning, but I wasn't here yet. He is an amazing doctor--so incredibly humble for being so famous. He is known around the world but you'd never know it by talking to him. He is totally down to earth and has told us several times that he just doesn't know the answer to our questions.

One of those was: since she has one ventricle, and no pumping action in her heart, how does the blood get to her lungs?

He said he didn't know! He said they don't know how it works except to say that it ends up being a pulling action, rather than a pumping ac tion. So, it's more of a suction type of thing--her heart contracts (push) and when it relaxes, it PULLS the blood through the lungs. You would think this would be most inefficent, but it works. The doctor said none of them know WHY it works...they just know that it does.

Jeff just called and said that his mom and sister are going to fly here tomorrow to take care of our kids at home. I am beyond grateful!!!!! It will take a huge load off my mind.

I have been battling a sore throat the past few days, so if you wouldn't mind praying that I would not succomb to the cold that the kids had last week, I would be grateful. :)

I will update if there is any change. I think today will mostly be just trying to slowly wean Kate off of the equipment she is hooked up to. She is currently on a pacemaker because her heart is too swollen to beat normally (this is normal). Her machines and tubes are doing their job and we are very thankful.

Thank you for standing with us. It means more than you could know.

Memorial Box Monday

Hopefully I am still coherant enough to type this story. ha.

My mom is in nursing school. I think that it pretty cool that she has decided to do that 'at her age.' :) School is very intense and she can't miss a day or she will get behind and not be able to catch up. She was very bummed that she couldn't be at Kate's surgery today because she had to be in class all day.

Shortly after my dad and sister arrived, he got a call. My mom's instructor didn't show up. This instructor has NEVER missed a day and runs a tight ship. Some of the other girls in the class tease my mom about being a Christian, but they knew she was missing Kate's surgery today. When the word came that there would be no class, my mom said, 'Oh! Now I can go to the hospital for Kate's surgery!" One of the girls who teases my mom said, "Wow! That was God!"

So my mom was able to be here today, for which I was happy (because we all just want our Mama's at a time like this).

L-R, my sister, Jeff, my dad, my SIL Meredith, and my mom

Update at 10PM

PINK TOES!!!! PINK TOES!!!! Wow...what a great thing to see! There is a little bruise on Kate's big toe, but her toenails are PINK, PINK, PINK! We are praising God to see those cute little toes looking so healthy!

She is off the ventilator!!! Woohoo! That means that she was able to have her breathing tube removed. She was quite unhappy about having it down her throat, so it was a relief when they finally felt she could have it removed around 9PM.

She is such a fighter! She was arching her back and trying to pull out the tube. The last hour before it was removed, Jeff and I had to stand on each side of the bed and hold her hands so she couldn't pull it out.

She had a bit of trouble with bleeding from one of her tubes and from her central line after she got restless. They were going to add a special blood product to thicken her blood, but ended up not needing it.

Her blood pressure is better now that the breathing tube is out. They told me that the first 24 hours after surgery, 'anything can happen,' so she isn't quite out of the woods. She is doing SO WELL, though!

Before they pulled the tube, she couldn't make a sound but when asked a question, she would shake her head yes or no. It was so pitiful and precious. After the tube came out, she could make sounds but of course, they are very soft. She sounds like a baby when she cries. The only thing she has said is, "Mama, Mama," which makes my heart turn over. She tries to tell me that she wants something but I can't quite make out what she's saying.

I'm pretty tired, so I'm heading to bed. They gave me a pager in case she takes a turn for the worse, so I could just run down the hall if necessary.

Thank you all for praying and for your encouraging emails and comments on the blog. I was able to read all of them today and although I haven't had a chance to write everyone back, please know, I LOVED reading them!! You have no idea how encouraging it is to log into my email and see your notes. THANK YOU!!!

Looking and feeling so much better now that the breathing tube is gone!

Update @ 4:40PM

Please keep praying! Kate is doing pretty well but they are struggling to keep her blood pressure up. They have to sedate her pretty heavily because of her tendency to wake up and not stay sedated. When they sedate her so much, it causes her blood pressure to go too low.


She woke up slightly and started thrashing around and shaking her head no. That is what she always does when she doesn't like a medical procedure. It was a 'smile' moment for Jeff and I as we saw a glimpse of our little fighter. If I was as heavily sedated as she is, I would be out cold for a week! ha.

Surgery is over

I was premature in saying Kate's surgery was done...it was only at the closing up stage. They had wired her chest closed but then one of the stitches in her pulmonary patch broke and she began to bleed profusely. The surgeon said that it was "very bad" for awhile but they were able to get it under control. They had to put her back on the heart/lunch machine and go back in. They had to administer a lot of medications and fluid during the bleeding and it was hard on her lungs. That will cause her to have a bit more difficult time recovering, but she should still be okay.

My heart just about stopped when he told us about the bleeding and even though I know she's okay now, I am still shaking.

We are so thankful that she is stable and we will hopefully be able to go into PICU and see her in about an hour. The doctor said that her prognosis is a bit unknown since they have only been doing the Fontan procedure for about 25 years. He thinks that in the next 20-30 years, she will have to have something else done because her heart won't last longer than that. Hopefully, there will be some new technology that will help her. If not, she would probably need a heart transplant. We aren't going to worry about that right now!! We are just going to enjoy each day and are so thankful that she made it through the surgery.

With the single ventricle surgery, she will still be able to have a good quality of life, for which we praise God! He put her here, with one of the best pediatric heart surgeons in the world and we know that the very best has been done for her. He was the one who pioneered the full repair procedure, so we know that if it was possible, he would have done it. We can rest in the knowledge that she has had the surgery that was the best for her.

Thank you for praying! She still has a ways to go before she's totally out of the woods, so if you could please keep praying, we would be so grateful.

Surgery is DONE!

Kate is doing well and is done with her surgery! She is off the heart-lung bypass machine and her heart is beating on its own. PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We won't be able to see her for another hour or so, and will also be able to speak to her doctor a bit later.

Thank you for praying and I will keep updating as I get news.

Update number 2 @10:20AM

The nurse just came out. When Dr. Bove got inside, he decided it was going to be too complicated to do the full repair. He is switching to the Fontan, and so far Kate is doing well.

First Update

Having fun last night with the backpack from her care package

They have taken Kate for surgery and we are waiting in the PICU waiting area. Dr. Bove, her surgeon, met with us this morning and I am so impressed with him. He is quite famous and is considered one of the best in the world, but he was totally down to earth. He told us that he is not 'married to either procedure,' meaning the single ventricle repair or the full repair. He said he can't be sure until he opens her chest, which would be the best route to go. He explained all the reasons, which I won't go into here. He again told us of the risks...that she could die, have brain or kidney damage, etc.

Kate was doing very well, although subdued and not her smiley self. Then the anesthesiologist came in, wearing her surgical clothes and Kate freaked out. It took quite awhile to get her calmed down but they let me give her a syringe of Versed and it made her a bit loopy.

We had a lot of snuggle time this morning because she was so tired from being awakened early, and I relished the chance to hold her. I did start to lose it toward the end, when I knew they would be coming for her. They came in a little red wagon, and I put her in, kissed her and off they went. I just want them to bring her back.





Thank you for praying...the surgery should be getting underway soon. They said it would take an hour for them to get her lines put in, and it has been about that long now. I will continue to post when we get updates from the nurse.

Happy Easter/ At the Hospital

Thank you, Jesus, for suffering in our place on the cross...for taking my place...and adopting me into Your family. Thank you, God, for sending Your only Son to be treated so horribly. I am soooo glad that He is RISEN!!

We are safely ensconced in our hotel at Mott's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. It is so wonderful that they have a hotel INSIDE the hospital for families with children in ICU.

So far, Kate has stayed healthy. I am giving her lots of herbal remedies (none that have any blood thinning qualities). I know that the God who raised His Son from the grave, can also keep Kate healthy for tomorrow.

We went to my parents' church this morning and were so moved when they prayed over Kate after the service. It was very touching that so many people told us they were praying. We are so blessed!!

A sweet family from my parents' church gave us a huge care package for Mommy and Kate. Their son had heart surgery here, so they have been telling us what to expect. We are overwhelmed at their thoughtful gifts (that Kate has been having a blast with, tonight!). Thank you, Holly!!

Jeff got Kate and I checked into the hotel and then went home to be with the kids tonight. He will come back to the hospital bright and early. I have to check Kate in at 6:15AM, and Jeff will come shortly after. They are supposed to come and get her about 7:30 to start her surgery. I dread the moment when she is wheeled away. My heart starts thumping with dread at the thought of it. I want you all to know, though, that God is sustaining us!! I have been stressed this week, but not in a total panic. My poor family has had to put up with my edginess and grumpiness, but they have been very forgiving when I've had to apologize. They are so wonderful!

I wasn't able to get all the kids together for an Easter picture because some of them went to Grandma and Grandpa's for the day while some of us came home to pack and get ready to go. I did get a few pictures of Kate and Zoey today, though.


This was a spontaneous moment--Kate just reached up and hugged and kissed Zoey.

We also celebrated Zoey's birthday last night. Her birthday is actually next week, but since Kate will be in the hospital, we celebrated early. She was quite happy to see her presents and cake and didn't know that she wasn't getting the normal birthday bash.


Lastly, I want to thank so many of you who have left comments on the blog, or emailed us to let us know you are praying for us. I can't tell you how comforting and touching it is to read what you have written. I plan to print all the messages out for Kate and put them in her baby book. We are so thankful to have you walking this journey with us and standing with us in prayer.

Kate is sitting on my lap as I type, jabbering and occasionally praying for Mama, Dada, and Zoey. It is precious. She is precious...and I am so grateful to be her Mom.

I'm not going to answer any email tonight as I just want to spend time with Kate--but I will get back to you as soon as I can. I will post every time the nurse comes out to tell us what is happening during surgery. Again...thank you for praying.

Sick Kids!

Arrrgggghhhhhh. Several of the kids have colds--Jake is dripping snot everywhere. We are trying to keep him away from Kate--which is pretty much a losing battle. I am very stressed. Please pray that God will miraculously intervene and keep Kate healthy.

Kate's Pre-Op Visit

"Dr. Kate" listens to her panda's heart.

Kate was an amazing trouper today! We were worried that she would freak out the minute she got to the hospital, but she only wimpered a bit and got tears in her eyes. I think that made my heart ache worse than if she had gone into screaming meltdown mode.

"Please tell me I am having a bad dream and I'm not REALLY at the hospital again!"

We were there from 10AM until 3PM, so it was a long day for her. They are so thorough--I am very impressed. She had an EKG, echocardiogram, chest x-ray, health exam (three different times!), and blood work. Thankfully, the blood work was last on the agenda.

"This EKG is a piece of cake, especially with my panda beside me!"

Two different cardiologists talked to me, explaining things about the surgery. Both of them had been at the conference on Monday where her case was discussed, so they were fully aware of the details of her heart condition and surgery. Again...impressive to have doctors who hadn't just read a chart before they walked into the room and who FULLY understood her.

We had good news and not-so-good news, but most of it was good.
The Good:
-Her heart cath showed that she was a good case for a full repair
-People come from all over the world to have her heart surgeon operate on their children
-The procedures he is doing on Kate are his specialty
-She might not have to spend 3 weeks in the hospital--it might be more like 10 days if everything goes perfect
-Our hotel bill will be $40 per night--not $70
-8 out of 10 children come through this surgery very well

The Not-So-Good News
-One of the cardiologists very frankly told me that this surgery 'is a huge deal.'
-One in ten children die from complications of this surgery (This is the biggest on the not-do-good news for me. Despite the fact that 8 out 10 children come through the surgery well, my mama's heart fell to my toes when he said this. I know 10% is a low risk, but....)

They have given us a link to a video of what to expect her to look like after her surgery, which was very helpful. She will have three chest tubes draining fluid from her lungs and (I think) the area around her heart. She will be on a respirator for probably two days, so will have a tube down her throat, helping her breathe. One cardiologist told us that he wasn't sure if her chest would be closed up or if it would need to remain open for a few days. He assured us that there would be something covering it so that we wouldn't be looking down into her open chest cavity.

As long as we can keep her healthy until Monday, we are good to go for surgery. We are able to have our laptops with us in the waiting room, so I will be able to post to the blog every time they come out and tell us how the surgery is going.

***Note: I know most of you read this blog when it comes to you via email subscription. The subscription service only sends email to you once every 24 hours. If you want to read the updates as they are happening, you will need to go to the blog and read it there. If you wait for the email, it will probably not come to you until Tuesday morning. The blog address is: www.jacobsjourneyhome.blogspot.com . You can click on it from this post here, or scroll to the bottom of the email posts and click on the blue 'Treasures from Afar."***


All tuckered out on the ride home. She was playing with her sticker and fell asleep with it on her mouth.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:
-melting snow and these flowers blooming in my yard

-God's comfort and encouragement
-doctors who stay in school long enough to be heart surgeons
-friends and family who tell me that they are praying for Kate
-good medical care
-friends and family who have offered to help with babysitting and meals
-clean hospitals
-that God even let me be a mom! :)
-that these little toe nails will be pink instead of blue by this time next week

Sisters

Although Zoey and Kate had not met each other prior to "Gotcha Day," they are making up for lost time. They giggle and talk to each other in their beds at night and I catch them holding hands sometimes. The other day, they were walking in the yard and I snapped a few photos of them. Please pray for little Zoey as she stays home and wonders where Kate is next week.

Memorial Box Monday

Since Kate's surgery is less than a week away, I decided to tell more of her story for this week's Memorial Box Monday.

We have been piecing her story together over the past few months and I think we have most of it figured out. God has led us to numerous people who have been able to fill it in with bits and pieces. He is so amazing!

As you know, I knew of Kate for almost three years. I even saw her when we visited Hope Foster Home in 2006! She had only been at Hope for about two months and still looked pretty frail.


Her story is one of deep sadness but also the miraculous hand of God. She was with her birth family until she was six months old. She was abandoned at a hospital, presumably when her birth family realized the extent of her medical needs and could not pay for the surgeries she would need. We have a photo of her shortly after intake at her orphanage and she looked well-cared for. From there, we think the orphanage sent her to a hospital for a few weeks. We cannot figure out what happened, but she went from looking very good, to stage three malnutrition with horrible bed sores. She has many scars from these sores, and several portions of her scalp that are bald from them. We can only assume that the hospital thought she wouldn't live and didn't try very hard to keep her alive.


Meanwhile, God was at work! Love Without Boundaries had been alerted to a 'very blue baby' by a visiting Ex-pat from Shanghai! They arranged for Kate to be sent to a heart surgeon in a different part of China. When she arrived there, the staff was appalled at her condition and said that she would not survive a surgery due to the bedsores. The surgeon said she needed a minimum of three months of care for the sores and then he would consider trying to repair her heart.

She was immediately sent to Hope. Once there, they dressed her wounds and the attempt to save her life began in earnest. This is one of the first photos that LWB has of her.

Her bedsores were septic (infected) and there were many anxious moments that it was thought she would not make it. Her little body, so emaciated, was fighting to stay alive as well as fight off the infected sores. She slowly began to heal.

Within a few weeks, though, she was hospitalized with bronchiolitis. She managed to survive that and continued to grow and improve.

A month later, she got sick again, running a 105 fever. At the hospital, she tested postive for a highly resistant strain of E. Coli and endocarditis (a valve infection).

She was treated with a six-week course of IV antibiotics at Hope but her blood cultures continued to show sepsis.

There was great angst among the staff at Hope and the staff at LWB as to what would be the best treatment for Kate. If they waited until she was completely 'infection free,' her heart might deteriorate past the point of no-return. If they went ahead with the surgery, the risk of death was much higher, due to the infection in her heart valve.

The decision was to move ahead with the surgery. Within two weeks, she was back at Hope and doing well. AMAZING!! She was on oxygen and many medications, but she was alive! She is a fighter, but if not for God's hand of healing, she surely wouldn't have survived. She has been through so much in her short three years. We are very thankful for the many people God used to help her along the way and we continue to trust Him to take her through her surgery on Monday. She is in His hands and so are we.

Post surgery

Kate's Surgery Information

We now have more information about Kate's surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for Monday, April 13th at 7:30 AM. We will be heading up to the hospital the night before (Easter Sunday), so we can be there bright and early.

She goes for Pre-Op on Friday, the 10th, where they will do another Echocardiogram and a chest x-ray, among other things. We are praying that she will not flip out when she gets there. She has become terrified of doctors.

This coming Monday, April 6th, there will be a committee meeting of approximately 20 cardiologists and throrasic surgeons to go over Kate's heart cath and previous echo, to make sure that the full repair is the best option for her. Her cardiologist told me that she still thinks it's "a struggle to know which surgery would be best." Currently, the surgeon is planning to do a full repair, but if that changes after the committee meets, her cardiologist will call us.

They gave me the names of the two procedures that they are planning to do on Kate. One is called the Rastelli , which, all by itself is a very complicated surgery. This is where the surgeon will attempt to close the huge hole in Kate's heart and build a conduit to attach one side of her heart to the other. For patients having ONLY this procedure, they are normally in the hospital for at least two weeks afterwards, barring all complications.

The second procedure is the Senning . This is a procedure that reverses the flow of the blood in the upper chamber of the heart. Complications from this include possible need for a pacemaker, among other things.

The surgery is expected to last 6 to 7 hours, with another 1-2 hours to get her stabilized before we can see her. The surgery is further complicated by the fact that Kate's heart is not only on the wrong side of her body, but it is turned totally backwards. It just makes hooking things up all that more difficult.

They provided us with a video of what to expect afterwards when Kate is in the Pedicatric Intensive Care unit (PICU). It was very helpful--and forwarned us of the many tubes that will be coming out of her body.

Please pray that she will do well, that the surgeon will do a wonderful job and that there will be no complications. Also, please pray that we will keep her healthy until surgery, that Jeff and I will stay healthy, as well as the surgeon, Dr. Bove. We believe it is no coincidence that he is considered the best pediatric thorasic surgeon in the COUNTRY, and that God brought Kate to our family so that she could have her surgery at U of M. Also, please pray for Zoey. She shares a room with Kate and I know she will not understand that Kate is away temporarily. In the orphanage, she watched children leave to be adopted and they never came back. We don't want her to think Kate left to go to another family and that Zoey will be in 'danger' of doing the same. She is bonding so well, and we don't want that to be harmed. We WILL be allowed to let her visit Kate, even in PICU, so we plan to do that.

Please pray that we will be a blessing to the staff and to the other families in the hospital. We want to be a light of the HOPE we have in Jesus even in hard situations.

Yesterday as I asked God for comfort, He reminded me of the first verses He gave me about Katelyn Joy.
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great JOY..." Luke 2:10

"Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid..." Matthew 15:27

"Then He placed His right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid..." Revelation 1:17

Great News for SaraGrace!

We were given great news about SaraGrace today! The condition of her heart valve and conduit is unchanged from last year, so she will not need surgery this year. Hooray!

Taylor was home babysitting the kids. They seemed to be in the mood for some body art and took some poetic liberties while Taylor was 'otherwise occupied' in the bathroom. Since he knows my penchant for photographing everything they do, he took these pictures for me. The kids all look bummed to have been busted by big brother.


"I'm soooo sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."


"What? I didn't do it! I have no idea why everyone is mad!"


"Who me? I don't know what you're talking about!"


"I'm so miserable to know that I've let you down."

I would have guessed the culprit to be Jake, but no....it was Zoey!! For the life of me, I can't figure out why Jordan let Zoey color his face with a marker?!?!

Another Week in the Shoe

Yesterday SaraGrace came rushing downstairs to tell me, 'Zoey is stuck! She is stuck in the block table!" I went upstairs and discovered that Zoey had apparently climbed on top of the table, slid down into the hole in the middle, and couldn't get out. Not sure why she was wearing her winter coat! She was perfectly happy and not in the least concerned about being stuck.


Today, I heard a loud crunching sound and turned to see Jake doing this...

He was pretending to be a dog. I smelled his breath and sure enough, he had eaten some dog food. GROSS!! What in the world possesses kids to do that?!

Thursday morning I am taking Miss SaraGrace to U of M for her annual heart check-up. We had originally been told that her heart valve would need to be replaced around age 5 or 6. She is five, so another open heart surgery could be looming in the near future. She is excited about spending the morning with Mommy and getting 'jelly on my tummy.' She will be getting an echo, which is an ultrasound of her heart. Our cardiologist is trying to get us in to see Kate's surgeon while we are there, but I haven't heard yet if it will work out. Part of me wants to know every detail about what will be done to Kate (because I am facinated by medical stuff) and the other part of me doesn't want to know anything until it's over.


I am so very thankful for the skill of doctors and nurses that have saved the lives of my sweet SaraGrace and Kate.

That's our Sweet Katie-bug...

...in the March LWB Newsletter. Click here and go to page THREE to read her story in the "Where are they now?" section!

Memorial Box Monday

A friend of mine started "Memorial Box Monday" as a way to remember and share ways that God had worked in their lives. She has a Memorial Box and she puts a small item in the box to represent each story. I have really enjoyed reading her posts and I told her I would try to remember to do this on Monday's. Of course, I forgot--and just noticed that she had posted one on her blog. Some are current stories, some are from years ago. So, here is my Memorial Box Monday post--on Tuesday. :)

A little over two years ago, God whispered a name to me...Joy. I knew it was a name that He wanted us to use for a daughter someday. A month or so later, I came across a logo in Chinese and English that said, "Pure Joy." I printed it out and saved it, thinking it would be so cool to have a little girl whose name meant
'pure joy.'

For 18 months, I looked for 'Joy' and wondered where she was. I looked at many different countries but there was never a little one that God seemed to be pointing out to me. Then, as you know, this summer we heard about Kate. God moved mountains to get her home to us.

While we waited to hear if we would be allowed to adopt her, we started to think about a first name that would go with the middle name, "Joy." Several in our family loved the name, Katelyn. I got out the baby name book to see the meaning of the name, Katelyn.

It meant, 'pure.'


"Pure Joy"

I Heart Faces

While looking around on the Internet for advice on photography, I stumbled upon this fun blog. Each week they have a photo contest. I normally plan to just get inspired from the other entries (since many are professional and I am, uh...NOT). This week's contest, though, was a 'pouty kid face.' SaraGrace is so great at posing for the camera that I wanted to try to get a photo to enter in the contest. At first, she would try to pout and then crack up laughing, but after awhile she started to get annoyed that I was making her sit in the chair and I got a few shots of a real pout. Too funny! This is my entry for this week:

Trouble x Two

I was cooking dinner tonight when I realized with growing dread that Kate and Jake were no longer playing with the rest of the kids in the family room. I dropped everything and went to find them. Calling their names brought no response, which was a bad sign because it meant they were upstairs. There is nothing for them to do up there but get in trouble.

As I reached the top of the stairs, Jake came running out of my room to meet me with a cheesy I'm-so-cute-that-I'm-sure-you-don't-want-to-get-me-in-trouble smile. I turned him around to retrace his steps into the bathroom. Kate, who has not yet realized that you can try to schmooze your parents out of getting in trouble, was standing frozen at the scene of the crime. Scattered all over the floor were various items from the drawers and countertop. None of it was Jeff's. What's up with that? I smothered giggles when I saw some capsules that looked like one of the herbs I take sometimes. Kate was standing there with yellow powder all over her cheek and was wimpering. She had a look on her face that said, "I have the most vile taste in my mouth and I can't get rid of it!" The herb Kate had in her mouth was valerian. If you have ever smelled valerian, you would die laughing that she had it in her mouth. It is the foulest smelling stuff EVER! I can't imagine how bad it must have tasted. A fit punishment for getting into mommy's jewelry and hair stuff. I tried to get a picture of her, although she had kind of lost her grimace by the time I finished cleaning up the mess and meting out their punishment. You can still see some of the yellow junk on her face. I'm guessing she won't get into that again.

Neither one of them has ever done anything like that before. They are always stuck to me like glue. I guess I will have to baby proof my bathroom up to a higher level than it is currently.

On to other things, I was playing with Picnik the other night and it let me add some cool effects to my photos. Just thought I'd tell you in case you need to do any photo editing. It's free and easy to use. Here is a picture of Kate, first one is straight out of the camera, and second one is edited. We thought that Kate looked like this little doll of Jillian's so I took a picture of Kate holding it.

Check out this God story!

My friends, Bill and Lynsay in China, just updated their blog with a way cool God story! Click here to read it!

Can you help?

My dear friends, Bill and Lynsay Lewis need our help! They live in China and have been asked to take in nine orphaned babies with special needs. They are excited to do this, but as you can imagine, they need many things. Please go check out their blog, Morning Star Project .

They have found a place to live that is big enough for all the babies, but they can only stay there for three months. They need to start renovating a building, which of course takes funding.

No donation is too small, so please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to make a difference in the lives of these precious ones.

Jeff and Jillian's 'Major Award"

If you know Jeff and I very well, you will know that we love to quote movie lines all the time. One of our favorite movies is "The Christmas Story." It has such great lines to quote. Every time someone in our family wins anything (however small and insignificant), we proclaim "____ has won a major award," in our best dad-in-that-movie voice.

Last night was the annual Awana Grand Prix pinewood derby race. Awana Club is a Wednesday night activity at church. Last year, Jillian's car didn't win but this year....drum roll please....she came in second place! Her design was a watermelon. Dad painted it red and Jillian put the finishing details on it.

Bummer about the blurry picture, but this is the only one I took of her car.

The trophies were on backorder, so no picture of the MAJOR AWARD. I think it's safe to say it won't be a leg lamp, though.

Conversations

Jake was sitting here in time-out, screaming his head off, and looked so comical in his Spongebob hat, that I grabbed the camera. When he saw it, he immediately stopped crying, wiped his tears, and flashed me a big, cheesy smile! The kid cracks me up!

Some people have asked how I have time to blog and I tell them that it's a matter of survival. First, I love to write, and second, I have to complete a few sentences in the course of a day. Completing sentences is an important skill to maintain when you are surrounded by toddlers all day. Jake and Zoey are in the habit of repeating everything we say to them, so having a 'conversation' with them goes like this:

Me: We need to get your socks.
Z or J: My thocks?
Me: Yes, your socks. And your shoes.
Z or J: My sthoes?
Me: Yes. And we need to change your diaper.
Z or J: dange my diapuh?
Me: Yes, you smell stinky.
Z or J: I tinky?
Me: Yes, you reek.
Z or J: I week?
Me: (Getting tired of repeating myself, I get a glint in my eye and decide to use words they can't pronounce, so that I can have something to laugh about) Yes, you smell disgusting.
Z or J: I mell dith-uh--thust--ttting?
Me: Yes, it's replusive.
Z or J: Ith poll - umm--thif
This is where I laugh my head off and think they are so adorably cute that I can't be annoyed with them.

Zoey and Kate have been picking up English words a lot quicker lately. They LOVE to pray and it's so cute! They HAVE to pray before they eat and before they go to bed--even for naps. They sound like this,

"DEAR GOD (loudly, with MUCH drama)
akf;sklfjadfkjadfskafkdf;kfjdkhadlgs;kdfafhdkjgdf (that's gobbly-gook that only God can understand)
AMEN!!! (with a flourish and a huge smile)"

They like to sing the first line of "Jesus Loves Me," and "Deep and Wide," which can be heard quite often when they are trying to fall asleep at night. They sing so sweetly and if noticed, will break into a huge grin. Last night, they were supposed to be asleep and I heard them giggling and laughing, so I went to check on them. They had their legs hanging out of their cribs, talking and playing with each other, so I turned the light on and took their picture.

Say it ain't so....

Please.

A few weeks ago, a note came home from school. Someone in Molly's class had lice. I didn't think much of it, although I checked her head. A week or so ago, another ominous note arrived. Another child had lice.

You know where I'm going with this, don't you?

Molly started complaining of an itchy head and upon checking it, discovered some unwelcome guests feasting off her scalp.

ARGH!!! Just shoot me now!

My brain--albiet quite mathematically challenged--began adding up the loads of laundry. All bedding. All clothing. All winter hats. All coats, winter and spring + 12 people = a really tired Mommy.

I then realized that the girls all use the same hair brush. Every day. And hair bows, barrettes, and headbands.

We put the hair brush in a boiling pot of water and thankfully, no little lice corpses rose to the top. We then checked all the girls' hair and they are all louse-free, even Jillian who sleeps in a double bed with Molly. I treated Jillian anyway, though.

I spent four hours this afternoon nit-picking. Yeah...I'm sure ya'll know that the lice eggs are called nits, and when you strain your eyes trying to see their tiny white deposits, you are nit-picking.

While Molly was lying on my lap getting nit-picked she said, "Mom, you are going on an egg hunt. You just get to do it before Easter!" That cracked me up--but I much prefer the egg hunts that end in chocolate.

On the upside, I DID get to spend four hours with my precious Molly lying on my lap and listening to her chatter. She told me several times that I was the best Mommy in the world and she was so happy that we adopted her. I love that girl! Another sweet moment was when Ryan found out that Molly had lice. He came over and rubbed his head on hers and said, "Molly, don't worry. If you have to get your head shaved, I'll shave mine, too." Molly glowed and didn't even notice the reference to getting her head shaved. ha.

Yes, I'll be checking his head, too.

Corrected Blog Link

It was brought to my attention that the blog link I gave you previously wasn't working. SORRY! Here is IS: and I will also post the actual address in case the link doesn't work. http://www.bakerssweets.blogspot.com/

Our Mountain-moving God

I am so amazed and excited! Do you remember the little girl who was supposed to get adopted when we got Zoey and Kate? The one whose 'parents' decided not to adopt her? Well....God had been writing a wonderful story!

A friend emailed me the link to the blog of that little girl's new family!! You just have to go and read the story!

Kate has a surgery date

Kate's doctor called today with a surgery date of April 13 and a decision on the type of surgery that will be performed.

The surgeon has decided to go with a full repair, rather than the single ventricle repair. Kate's heart is on the wrong side of her body, so a single-ventricle repair would not have been straight forward. The full repair still carries a slightly higher risk, but not enough to outweigh the benefit of it.

The doctor told me that she is 'very nervous about either surgery,' because Kate's heart condition is so complicated. However, she says that Kate's surgeon is very talented and she has confidence in his ability. Because Kate's case is so difficult, they are going to call a conference with the other 20 surgeons and cardiologists, to go over Kate's test results. They will discuss her case and give their recommendations to be sure that a full repair is the best way to go.

We are still waiting for the hospital staff to call back with all the details, but for now we have a date and will start working toward getting things set up for our family to cope with Kate being in the hospital for three weeks.