Making Cookies

Hannah came over one day while the kids were at school and we made cookies. I remember making cookies with my dear grandmother. I hope Hannah will someday remember me with love. It's special to see the next generation of my family and to pass down family traditions.

Follow Up Rescheduled

Well, our appointment with the neurosurgeon has been rescheduled twice due to the doctor being sick. This has caused a backlog for him, bless his heart. The appointment secretary said she'll call me as soon as he is back at work to reschedule. Right now the first opening he has is 1/9. I want to get Weilong in much sooner than that. So, I'm waiting for her to try to work us in somehow. Weilong wants to go out and play at recess and of course he cannot until he gets that all important release from the doctor.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The boys ate more cornbread dressing than I thought was humanly possible. And we had so much to be thankful for this year. Justin took the kids to see the Praiarie Lights, it was cold and rainy but they had a wonderful time.

Holidays are fun this year because the boys can remember from last year and they know what to expect. They eagerly look forward to every event. We have these upcoming events for December.

Hannah's 4th birthday
Shannon's birthday
Church Christmas Play
Live Manger Scene visit
Church Christmas Party
School out for Holidays
Julia's 11th birthday
Putting up or Christmas tree and manger scene at home
Candle Light Service on Christmas Eve (our favorite thing of the season)
Jesus' birthday
Weilong's birthday

What a very busy month. My goal is not to gain any weight with all those birthdays and holiday meals.

I'm keeping the stress down by doing my Christmas shopping on-line. No crowds at the mall for me!

Notice how Weilong sleeps, under just a quilt, with his sock under his head, and his clothes under his pillow. He wore those clothes to school today and he will insist on wearing them tomorrow. He says they are not dirty and he can wear them at least twice before washing them. Must have gotten this in China because I have TONS of laundry every day from the rest of the family. Sometimes they just try something on and then throw it into the dirty clothes without actually wearing it.

Update

Weilong and I had a talk last night. I started it by asking him how he feels since the surgery is behind us. He said "I feel good". I asked him to please elaborate. Well, I was so shocked at the difference in how he feels. He is not and never has been a child to complain so I wasn't aware of some of the symptoms. Here are the things he told me, hope I don't leave any out.

1) His head no longer hurts "all the time". He says it hurts zero now!
2) He no longer has trouble swallowing, doesn't choke all the time like he did before.
3) He is not sick to his stomach nearly every day like he was before. And doesn't vomit frequently like before.
4) He no longer has blurred vision and no longer sees double. Also his vision has not gone "black" since the surgery. And his eyes do not ache like they did before.
5) His hands and feet do not tingle like pins and needles or go numb like they used to. This used to keep him awake at night.
6) He feels better, doesn't feel tired all the time. (I could have told you that, he's all energy now.)
7) He still has leg pain, but he says it is not as bad as before. This seems to be his one remaining symptom. We're praying that it will go away as the syrinx shrinks.

I was so happy to hear all this that I almost cried. I had to make him repeat it all for me just because I loved hearing it! God is so good.

A Promise Kept

As promised to Weilong, we celebrated the healing of his incision by a special trip to his favorite place. The kids had a wonderful time, and the parents are exhausted! 5 kids in the van for 5 and a half hours at a stretch is tough. Thank God for those little tv thingies you can watch dvd's on. Also, the older ones worked on school work and that helped pass the time.

Have you ever tried to get a bunch of kids still enough to get a picture when the waves are crashing just a few feet away? It's impossible to do. But you can see what a good time they were having on this short trip. They all want to go back for a longer one this summer. Don't know if I can survive it, but guess we'll see because they can be pretty demanding when they all speak with one voice. "Please, Mom, Please. We promise we'll be good." And they were very very good this time just to prove it.

Lost Tooth

Weilong lost another tooth! The boys are so brave about pulling teeth. They yank them out and proudly parade around showing them off with blood dripping from their mouths. So different from the girls.

Everyone has had a pretty bad cold. I have been busy with cough syrup and cold medicine and of course Julia's nebulizer had to make a reappearance. Weilong has been wearing a white smear of desitin under his nose because it is so sore from wiping it.

I made a promise to Weilong before surgery, and we're going to keep it this weekend. I'm afraid this will be the last weekend warm enough before next spring, so it's now or never. It will mean missing a day of school for all the kids, and I really hate that, but this is important to all of them, especially Weilong.

We're celebrating the healing of Weilong's surgical scar by a quick trip and a quick dip in some salty water. I'll post pictures when we get back. And no outing would be the same without our little Hannah. So this old mom and dad are loading all 5 kids up in the van on Friday morning and hitting the road. Please pray that we can retain our sanity!