We're Home!

Paul Daniel had his follow-up appt with Dr. Kirschner on Monday. The camera/film crew were there once again to get footage of Paul. He was quite the entertainer. Dr. Kirschner was pleased with the way Paul's mouth looked but emphasized how incredibly important it is that we protect those stitches for the next 3 weeks. They are very fragile and with Paul so active, there are about a billion ways he could damage them. He does have arm braces on that lock his arms straight. They certainly keep his fingers out of his mouth, but the certainly don't keep him from falling face first...and I can't tell you how many times he has already done that but somehow managed to catch himself in such a way as not to hit his mouth!

Monday night we spent packing, doing laundry, cleaning our room, doing our chores, cleaning out the fridge and pantry at the RMH. There is definitely work involved in staying at the RMH but we can't say enough good things about that place. It was an absolutely wonderful experience and we will be staying there again in February for Paul's second surgery.

Carl and I were up at 4:15 am on Tuesday to get loaded up and checked out at RMH. We were on the way to the airport by 5am for our 7am flight. We dropped off the rental car and were at the counter checking our bags by 6am. We had two seats lined up on the bulkhead row...Carl asked if we could get a third. No problem! Then the lady at the counter asked us for the letter from our doctor saying Paul Daniel is well enough to fly. We would not be able to get on the plane without that letter. Carl pulled out our envelope from the nurse with all our records. We had requested this letter, so it should be in there. Well, you know where this is going. It was NOT in there! So the lady says, no problem, I can get you on a 1:15 or a 6pm flight while you go back to the hospital to get a letter. Are you kidding? We asked can we get a letter faxed from the hospital? Sure, she said. And she gave us the fax number and went ahead and checked our bags but put us in the system in such a way that we were not allowed to board the plane without this fax. So Carl called the hospital immediately (yea for me for memorizing the hospital phone number). He got transferred twice but the person he spoke to last said he would call Dr. Kirschner on his personal number. They reach Dr. Kirschner (still in bed). He calls us back. He says he can't get a fax to us for another hour but he could talk to someone directly or he could send an email. The lady at the gate said they could accept an email. So Dr. Kirschner saves the day and we got to board the plane at 6:40am. We love Dr. Kirschner and NATIONWIDE!!! They are so awesome!

Unfortunately I had to terrify Paul Daniel again by changing his diaper in the airplane bathroom but it was a stinky one so I couldn't do it on the floor. We still haven't figured out what scares him so bad about the airplane bath but it is terrible and I hated to do it. But I knew he wouldn't sleep if we didn't get him changed. Thankfully when I got him back to his seat, Carl traded places with me and he sang Paul Daniel to sleep. He slept the whole flight.

Thank you to the Winn's for picking us up at the airport. Paul was thrilled to be back home! He went right to his playdoh table in the garage and got to work.

Mother arrived on time Tuesday evening at 7pm. We met her at the airport and then went to Cracker Barrel for supper.

Paul Daniel has been sleeping with us since surgery and will have to continue to sleep with us until the arm braces come off. He is a fitful sleeper anyway, and his tossing and turning means he gets his arms stuck behind him or underneath him when he rolls around. Without going into detail, let's just say our first night home meant very little sleep for all of us.

On Wednesday, Mother got started on helping us catch up on laundry. Carl and I got completely unpacked. Mother, Paul Daniel and I went out for a little while to give Carl sometime to do some work. We went grocery shopping and I actually enjoyed the Thanksgiving crowd! Mother and I made chili for supper and then about 7pm I was done. My body just gave out. Carl said he would sleep with Paul by himself and I could go upstairs to sleep. This is the hard part. There is perpetual guilt when you so desperately need sleep and so does everyone else. But you know you can't keep going without it!! Well, Carl came up with the great idea of taking the chairs from the living room and putting their backs up to one side of the bed to keep Paul from rolling out. It was perfect. I've been up for over an hour now and Paul and Carl are still sleeping soundly. I hope they had a good night. Tonight will be my turn to sleep with him and Carl will sleep upstairs.

Well, that's the report. Sorry I don't have a whole lot of humor to throw into each entry, but I don't have the energy these days! I will say this, God is GOOD. Once again he has blessed us more than we deserve. We had a wonderful trip to Columbus...no issues whatsoever. We have new friends. We have a son who now has one surgery behind him and is doing so well. We have one of the BEST surgeon's in this country taking care of Paul and we have an army of Christians supporting us at every turn. There is much to give thanks for today.

Trip to Cleveland yesterday/Follow-up Appt Today

Since we've discovered that Paul gets his best sleep in the car, we decided to stop driving around in circles in Columbus (although driving circles in Columbus has been fun!). We decided to drive to Cleveland to see my cousins, Bernie and Kim, and my great Aunt Mary. It was a 2 1/2 trip and Paul Daniel slept the ENTIRE trip! It was great for him! We made it to Bernie's house by Noon. We ate at a local meat and three restaurant, Sammy's. Then Bernie took us down to Lake Erie so Paul could see it. The weather was gorgeous - in the lower 60s. We came back to Bernie's and Paul Daniel got some running around time. He got to see his first Christmas tree at Bernie's house. He loved it...of course. We had a nice visit before Paul was tuckered out and ready to go. We left Bernie's at 4:30. (By the way, he LOVED Bernie and Kim! He even let them hold him!) Anyway, Paul was asleep before we made it to the interstate. Wanted to go by and see my grandmother's old house but it would have been too much for Paul Daniel (and probably for me, too). So we headed back to Columbus. We stopped an hour outside of Columbus for CRACKER BARREL! Yea for Cracker Barrel!!! Paul is starting to get his appetite back - ate some meatloaf, green beans and carrots (mashed). Paul slept every time we cranked the engine. Last night we rotated sleep. Carl held him until about 2am or so, then it was my turn. Guess what! He slept beside me the whole night. Every now and then he would need me to help him get his arms adjusted...but other than that he slept soundly!)

Today we have to clean the room and bath. Our follow-up with Dr. Kirschner is at 2pm.

Tomorrow we head back to Dallas - our flight is at 7am.

Funny Story...

Well, today has gotten off to a rough start. It's Saturday morning. Carl stayed up all night so that I could sleep. Paul Daniel slept in his arms the whole night, but it was a fitful sleep. Daddy tried to feed him this morning but nothing would make him happy. "More." "All done." "More." "All done." Carl brought Paul back to the room...we gave him a bath in the rubbermaid tub Carl bought. He endured it. We did the ear drops and got him dressed. Carl went back to the kitchen to eat his breakfast while I got ready. Paul was playing pretty good when I heard some rustling outside our window. I raised the shade and standing outside our window was a group of men with ladders hanging Christmas lights. "Great!" I thought. This will give something for Paul Daniel to watch. So I stood him up on the windowsill and he loved it. Well, here comes a camera crew! ABC Channel 6 was here covering the Christmas lights going up at Ronald McDonald House. They immediately spotted Paul Daniel in the window...so they filmed him watching the Christmas light crew. Then they came over and asked if it would be okay if they showed him on TV. So tonight at 5 or 6pm, we might see our little man on the nightly news. Oh me. We're going to have a lot of great stories for Paul when he grows up...

Here's one more photo for you (taken BEFORE Paul's surgery). It's Paul Daniel in the makeshift tub we bought for him...

Back at RMH

Update by Carl

We were released from the hospital today and are back at the RMH. After leaving the hospital, we went to the store to get some clothes for Paul that do not have to be pulled over his face. We drove around a little while both he and Wendi napped, then we picked up lunch and brought it back here to eat. As luck would have it, the RMH was having a huge bake sale so there was tons of food here, but since we had not been here for a couple of days we didn't know. We did sample some cookies baked by Amish ladies that were very good. There were some firemen here making chili that smelled great...but oh well.

We will stay here through the weekend and see Dr. Kirschner for a follow up exam on Monday. If all is well then we will fly home on Tuesday morning as scheduled.

Paul Daniel is feeling much better today, and is he ever wound up. Since we have been back at the house, he has only slept for about 30 minutes. The rest of the time has been playing and eating. He has started drinking really well today, so that is a good sign. Wendi is trying to put him to bed now, but he is resisting. Hopefully, he will sleep in his crib tonight and let mom get some rest.

Since the surgery, we have seen some of the anxious behavior that we saw right after picking him up from the orphanage. Most of that had started to fade away in the six weeks he was at home. Hopefully, after he gets back home and the memory of the surgery fades, he will settle down and start to relax again.

The Weiler Family

We thank God for the Weiler family and their hospitality to us...complete strangers. Their love and example are firmly etched in our hearts. I hope their kindness has influenced you to reach out to strangers as they have reached out to us. They have certainly influenced us. And without a doubt, they have been one of our greatest blessings on this trip.

We have not yet been able to get a photo of Steve, but here are photos of Mary (mother), Claire and Grace. There is also a photo Grace and one of their adorable pooches. Paul Daniel loved those dogs!!! They are precious!

One day after surgery

Starting to feel much better. The day after surgery, we got to disconnect the IV and take a stroller ride around the hospital. That was a lot of fun.

The first photo clearly shows the result of the lip surgery. The skin under Paul's right nostril that was completely open is now fused together, creating a partial cleft similar to his left side. The plastic piece in his nostrils is a nasal conformer that will remain in place until the next surgery to help shape the cartilage. In about 12 weeks, he will have another surgery to completely close both sides of his lip. That one should be much easier for him to endure.

Post-surgery

Immediately after surgery. We thought we were prepared for what we would see, but I guess you can't really be prepared for this.

Everyone at the hospital was wonderful and took great care of Paul Daniel (and us!) after he was out of surgery and in his room. Still, he looked for protection if the nurses got too close!

Pre-Surgery

Clowning around before surgery. He has no idea what is about to hit him.

Pictures from Photoshoot

Here are some pictures we took during the photoshoot for the newspaper ad and hospital materials. It took him a few minutes to warm up, but after that he put on a real show.

In addition to the newspaper ad and TV commercial, the hospital is also documenting Paul's surgery to use in educational materials for other cleft palate patients.

We will get copies of the photos taken by the photographers at a later date.

He's a tough little dude!

Oh me. Well, nothing could have prepared me for the way he looked after surgery. Before he came out of OR, Carl and I both rehearsed the expressions on our face and the words we would use when Paul Daniel sees us for the first time. I don't think either of us followed through. The poor little guy was quite swollen, bloody and exhausted. My only real wish is that we somehow could have prepared him for the idea of surgery. He has been up here having a blast with mommy and daddy with no idea what was about to hit him. Anyway, the nurses have been great. They have kept him on regular pain medication and have really been so understanding of his fussiness. Paul refused to sleep in his bed, so I held him all night last night. I found myself drifting to sleep only to jerk myself awake and of course, jerk Paul awake at the same time. Carl and I are hoping we can coax him into sleeping in his hospital crib tonight. Today Paul ate yogurt, apple sauce, some chicken sticks and a little milk. Dr. Kirschner dropped in this evening and feels pretty confident that Paul will be released tomorrow morning. Our friend, Steve, came by to visit Paul Daniel today. Instead of borrowing a stroller for us, he went out and bought us one! Unbelievable. We are going to leave it with the Ronald McDonald House so other familes can use it between our trips back to Columbus. Carl and I are rotating sleep tonight. It is now my shift to sleep...so I must run. Thanks to everyone who has posted comments and sent us emails. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Post Surgery Update

Note: Update by Carl

Wendi asked me to post a quick update while I came back to the house for some extra clothes and food. Paul Daniel is doing fine after his surgery - although he might not say so himself. He is a little fussy, and he looks a little rough, but I got a brief look inside his mouth and I can already see a world of difference. Right now, nothing will do except for him to be held by his mom, so that is just what Wendi is doing. Since he has been asleep most of the day, this may be a long night, but we are prepared for it. The nurse said that we may stay an extra day in the hospital - not because anything is wrong, but just because of the extent of the surgery and to be cautious - and we are fine with that. We plan to be here through the weekend anyway.

Thanks to everyone for all the acts of kindness, encouraging words, and prayers - they mean more than you could know. We will try to update during his recovery as we are able.

Surgery is done

Paul's surgery is complete and he is now in recovery. We will get to see him in about an hour when they take him to his room. We spoke to both surgeons and they were both very pleased with the outcome.

We will try to update again later tonight after we find out, in Dr. Kirschner's words, "how mad he is at us". :)

Surgery update

We just received a call from the nurse in the OR - Paul's surgery is going great so far. Dr. Kirschner has completed the lip portion of the procedure and is currently working on the palate. The ear tubes come after that, so he will be in for a while yet.

The nurse said he has been great through the whole thing - he put on a little show for the camera crew before going to sleep, and showed off his toys that he took in with him. He cried a little when it was time to go to sleep, but not too bad.

We will try to post updates as we get them, and as soon as we can after he is out of recovery.

In Surgery...

Just wanted to let everyone know that Paul is now in surgery. We got here at 9:50...he went into surgery at 12:45. He will be in surgery about 4 hours.

The film crew has been here all morning and will be here throughout the day to document Paul. Everyone has been so good to us. Both photographers said they would give us a disk of the photos they take of Paul - we are thrilled! Even the photos of Paul in surgery! We are happy Paul will be able to look back and see all of this in such great detail!

We'll try to keep you posted.

Evaluation complete

Today was a full-day of evaluations from a team of doctors - ENT, audiologist, speech therapist, dentist and our surgeon, Dr. Kirschner. Paul Daniel was a trooper. The worst part of the day took place with our first evaluation. The ENT needed to clean Paul Daniel's ears to get a better look at his ear drums. It took two of us to hold him down so the doctor to could insert the instruments in his ear. I looked at the things the doctor pulled from Paul Daniel's ears...one thing in particular - I said, "Is this a raisin?" He said, "no, that's just the accumulation of ear wax that he had in his ears." So, on the one hand, I was surprised by this because our pediatrician looked at Paul Daniel's ears and said they looked really good. I'm wondering now why he didn't tell us or notice he had this build-up in his ears. On the other hand, I'm not surprised by the build-up because the orphanage director was pretty clear that Paul Daniel's ears have been virtually untreated in the orphanage. Paul's hearing test revealed that he has mild to moderate hearing loss because of fluid in his ears and the ENT recommended tubes. He will have the tubes put in his ears tomorrow as well.

We have to be at the hospital at 10am and surgery begins at Noon.

We are thrilled with Paul Daniel's surgeon. He is a very down-to-earth, personable man who has an impeccable record. Everyone that knows him here has sung his praises. We are so thankful to Greg and Lisa Burleson for connecting us with Dr. Kirschner...we are truly indebted to you. The surgeon will close the palate tomorrow - but not completely. There will be a hole left in the palate that will be repaired on our second surgery. The lip will also not be completely repaired. This is the first stage of lip repair...the second repair will come at the end of February. Yes, there will be more surgeries after that...and Lord willing, we will have them all done here in Columbus.

Following our day of evaluations, Steve invited us back to his home to visit and relax. We talked a bit and then he took us to the third floor where there is a playroom. Paul found plenty to play with, but his favorite were the ping pong balls. I think we'll get him some ping pong balls when we get back to TX. Carl and I played a little ping pong and then I took a quick nap. We stayed at their house for about an hour and a half to two hours. Paul was so happy. He loved every minute. This was certainly the highlight of our day and so, so appreciated.

After we left Steve and Mary's, we headed out to eat and then back to RMH.

I vacuumed the hallway tonight, Carl is doing laundry. We're going to TRY to get Paul Daniel into bed early, but we'll see.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for the balloon and stuffed puppy. Paul has been boxing the balloon tonight, taking out his frustrations I'm sure.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Paul and for your continued prayers for him tomorrow and through his recovery. The love you all have poured onto us through Paul's adoption and treatment has been overwhelming. Thank you for keeping our spirits lifted and for showing us such kindness and concern. We truly thank you.

Commercial...check!

Today was another wonderful day. Our whole day was centered around this commercial. We got up early - well, around 8am, I guess. Carl ironed our clothes for today while I attempted to give Paul a shower. There's no tub in our room, only a walk-in. Oh my. Paul was terrified of the nozzle! I thought I could get him warmed up to it, but no. He was scared to death. So I scrubbed him down with a wet wash cloth again. We had breakfast and then drove around a little before getting an early lunch at a little deli near the hospital.

Just to keep things short, the photo shoot with Paul was just about perfect. We spent 45 minutes with the first camera crew - they were responsible for the tv commercial and website photos. I had to do a lot of tricks to get Paul to laugh, including a LOT of crawling around on the floor...but the cameraman and the public relations team said this was one of the easiest photoshoots they had ever done. Paul, despite having a room full of people watching his every move, had a really good time. Then another cameraman showed up. He is doing a documentary on Paul for the hospital - including photos of the surgery and photos following the surgery. He spent another 45 minutes or so taking photos of Carl, me and Paul all playing and reading together. Then we took a break for about 20 minutes. We got Paul a snack and changed his diaper. Now it was time for the interview of Carl and me. I stammered through every question but CARL WAS AWESOME! It was as if he were born for interviews!! He was so good they offered him a job in media relations! I'm telling you, he was great and I am so proud of him! I guess the interview was 45 minutes - and then it was time to film us playing with Paul. Paul did absolutely fantastic. Everyone was marveling how well he was doing and so was I!!! The poor guy had not had a nap! We wrapped up around 3:30...so we went back to the room, Carl changed clothes and we hopped in the car so Paul could finally get his nap. We drove around for about an hour while Paul slept and then we went back to Schmitz's for supper. Paul is playing with Daddy in the lobby and I'm about to join them.

Everything is going just fine. We are making the most of this trip - driving around a lot to see the city. I LOVE German Village. I've had the radio playing every since we've been here because some radio station has started playing Christmas music. I told Carl feel free to turn it off if/when he gets sick of it, but so far he is enduring it quite well. Paul and I love it. :) I'm now feeling very festive having spent so much time driving around the tree-lined, brick streets of German Village looking at all the old houses and peeking inside windows. Can't wait to get home with Paul to begin making Christmas memories together. I'm so thankful Carl could be off work to be here during Paul's surgery. There's a lot of bonding going on with all of us.

Grandmother, I hope you feel better and get out of the hospital soon!!! We are praying for YOU!

God keeps blessing us...

This morning we went to the RMH kitchen to eat our breakfast. There is a fridge for us in the kitchen where we are keeping yogurt, milk and such. In one section of the kitchen there were about 5 teenage girls and 5 adults baking cookies and cupcakes. I couldn't help watching them work... they seemed to be having so much fun together. I wondered who they were - I couldn't help admiring them. I assumed they were volunteers. I was wishing I knew more about them.

After about 15-20 mins, one of the men in the group came over and introduced himself to us. His name is Steve. His daughter and some of her classmates had come to RMH to bake cookies and cupcakes for the RMH residents as a service project with her class. Steve was intently focused on Paul Daniel...well, it turns out, Steve was born with a cleft lip and palate himself. He had all his surgeries done at Nationwide and he was so excited that Paul was having his surgery there. Steve has been on missions with Operation Smile to assist in surgeries in the Honduras and Peru. It is no wonder my eyes were drawn to this group. Steve just blew us away with his kindness. He gave us all his contact information and insisted that we call him if we needed anything. He even offered to let us borrow a car if we needed one. He asked us if it would be okay if he visited Paul in the hospital. And THEN...he asked us if we would like to come home with him for the afternoon!! We were amazed. We said, sure! So we rushed to the room to get Paul out of his pajamas into regular clothes and then we followed Steve to his BEAUTIFUL house in a beautiful neighborhood. He called a neighbor and asked if he could borrow a stroller for us. I visited with his wife Mary while he and Carl threw a football. Then Steve's sister, Wendy, came by. We got to visit with her a little bit. Then we took the stroller out for a walk through their neighborhood. Paul had a blast. He loved being outside...there is NO place he likes better. Paul couldn't be happier. Steve and Mary had another daughter, Grace, that we got to meet. And Paul loved their two Golden Doodles or whatever you call that mix. Anyway, we were there for 3 hours or so...and then it was about 2pm, and we were all getting hungry. So Mary told us about the restaurants close by. We ate at a place they recommended - The Rusty Bucket. Then we drove around Bexley and German Village as Paul slept. (Bernie, we drove by your old house. sniff. sniff.) We stopped by Kroger and then came back to RMH. I did our assigned chore - vacuumed the west hall and then did laundry. Now it is approaching bedtime.

In short, we had an absolutely wonderful day. Paul was so happy all day long. And we attribute that to God - and Steve, Mary, Claire and Grace. What a beautiful example of the compassion Jesus had towards others. We were so moved by their kindness towards us and we have been challenged now to be more hospitable ourselves.

We are so thankful.

Now in Columbus...

Shirley arrived to pick us up this morning right on schedule. We left the house a little after 9am. Our flight was at Noon. We managed to get bulkhead seats once again. This trip we decided to bring Paul's carseat onto the plane. Great plan and Carl gets credit once again! Paul loved sitting in his carseat and he was great the entire flight!!! Okay, I'll take a little credit. I bought him a brand spanking new toy from Target - a toy cell phone. He loved it. Every time you flip it closed it rings. At one point an airline attendant came walking down the aisle scanning seats...she was looking for the person with the cell phone. She was wondering how in the world we were receiving calls in the air! Ha.

As soon as we sat down in the rental car, Paul fell asleep. He got a total of 15 mins napping as we drove to the restaurant for supper. We ate in German Village at Schmitz's. (Thanks to Bernie for introducing us to this restaurant several years ago.) There was a chocolate shop across the street so I went over and bought a few handmade pieces. Carl doesn't eat chocolate (well, rarely), Paul doesn't yet know chocolate exists...so guess who is going to be eating them. :)

We checked into the Ronald McDonald House between 5 and 6pm. Carl went to the grocery store to pick up some food for tomorrow's breakfast. I stretched out on the bed while Paul played with his toys. (Thank you, Walton's, for the nifty little Paul-size backpack. It has been perfect for this trip.) Anyway, there's no TV in the room, so I turned on the alarm clock radio. The station that came on was playing Christmas music. And that made me think of my grandmother. We're only 2 hours from Cleveland. The cold weather and Columbus landscape make me think of our annual trips to Cleveland each year to be with Grandmother and Papa. Every year we drove 12 hours from Moulton, AL to Cleveland - there was no such thing as DVD players in the car. We did something really strange. We looked out the windows. Anyway, we made that trek for 17 some odd years - and when you do it that long, you began to memorize everything. So Dad, as we drove I-71 through Columbus...I got misty-eyed. I called Grandmother tonight and talked to her and started to get her misty-eyed too, so I quit talking about it. Please don't read her this part of the blog...I don't want to make her sad. Anyway, where am I going with all this. Well, as I'm sitting there talking to Grandmother, listening to Christmas music and watching Paul play, I think it is now MY turn to make beautiful Christmas memories with our son. Pressure!

Thank you, Dad, for making that trip to OH all those years...I KNOW it wasn't easy.

Carl is watching the FL/SC game in the RMH lobby and Paul is playing at his feet.

All is well. Thank you for all your prayers. I'll do my best to keep you posted every day.

Fly to Columbus tomorrow...

I needed Misty Cawthon today. She has held my hand before every major step in our adoption and she was not here today. I miss you, Misty. I'm glad we got to talk on the phone. Texas will NEVER be the same without you here.

Well, I'm nervous again. All these firsts. First major surgery with Paul next week. I made a mistake today...felt like I ought to do something really special with Paul since he's about to have a rough week. I gave him half a cupcake from Sprinkles bakery. You know where the other half went. Well, now I know what Paul is like on sugar.

I've been busy packing. Carl got a haircut for his television debut. I bought some new mascara. Paul will be wearing overalls. This TV commercial must be a big ol' deal because we have received 5 phone calls and 3 emails about it. It will take 5 hours from start to finish. Paul's surgeon, Dr. Kirschner, will be interviewed after our part is complete...so hopefully we'll get to meet him that day.

Everything is going as it should, I guess. Please pray for us.

Helen is gone...:(

Having Helen here this past week was wonderful. I was smart...I took her to the Farmer's Market and the grocery store her 2nd day in town...we stocked up on enough food for the week and she cooked and cooked. Yes, I helped. I got her to make her world-famous baked apples (or fried apples, as some would say). They are......................I have no words. Delicious does not do it justice. My mouth starts watering just typing about them. Anyway, I got her to make two batches! She enjoyed Paul Daniel...and he enjoyed her! The weather was great almost every day. The one day it wasn't that great was the day that I had to take Paul to get vaccinations. It was nice having her to help me load and unload in the rain. It felt like old times having Helen here to talk to. Well, I'm getting sad writing about Helen, so I'll move on.

We leave Saturday, November 13 for surgery. The filming for the commercial takes place on Monday, November 15. Evaluation on the 16th. Surgery on the 17th. If all goes well, he'll be released on the 18th. Our follow-up appt is the following Monday and we go home on Tuesday, Nov 23. We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House. Thank you to the Giesecke's for once again taking us to the airport and the Winn's for picking us up. Thanks to all the neighbors for watching our house, watering our plants and getting the mail! We appreciate it so much.

Well, just as we are new to parenthood, we are new at taking a child to have a cleft lip and cleft palate repaired. I really have no clue. I don't know how long it will take to recover, how much pain, how much work to feed him...I'm totally relying on our doctor and hospital for this. And at this point, I totally trust they will guide us the whole way. My heart does break for our little guy - he has no idea what awaits him next week and there's no way to prepare him. Carl's a little worried about the plane rides...I told him I can most certainly handle him for 2 hours. If I have to stand the whole way, hop on one foot, rub my belly and pat my head at the same time, whatever...I'll do it.

Please do continue to go to God on our behalf - for our safety in our travels and no complications in surgery.

Thank you for all your encouragement. We are so blessed.