6 months

Yesterday marked six months since we were granted guardianship of the girls. What a whirlwind! It is such an honor to get to be momma and daddy to these little ones. I was reminded of this again in the hospital as Gracie would wake up in pain and call out to me for comfort. I'm saddened for the women who are missing this. Humbled at the responsibility to raise their daughters for them.

How to keep a 2 year old down.

Some of you remember a few years back when our 1 year old border collie ate rat poison and was confined to her crate for 2 weeks- not allowed to run or play or get bumped because it may cause internal bleeding- by the fourth day she was vibrating, and by the end of the two weeks we thought the pent up energy just may cause her to explode- well now, the docs have ordered Gracie's feet to be elevated for around 2 weeks, and then no standing or walking until the end of August- already feels like we are living the rat poison days over again.
I have begun experimenting with duct tape and concrete blocks.
In other words, Gracie is starting to feel better.

Yesterday my youngest son Josh turned 7. Happy Birthday Josh!

Gracie is home!

Gracie and Jude finally made it home at about 1 pm. Gracie is doped up pretty good, the pharmacist was hesitant to fill it as prescribed because it is a pretty heavy dose of painkillers for a little girl. She had a good lunch, good nap, and is now playing. Doctor's orders call for keeping her on her back, no crawling or standing until the end of August- that should be interesting.
Thanks for prayers- next step, for everyone to get some sleep.

Surgery is finished

The surgery started about 8:30 am and finished up about 3:00 pm- a very long day for Gracie and her 3 surgeons. Dr. Forness is very pleased with how everything came together. Gracie drank some juice by 4pm, and is quite happy with the jello, pudding and mac-n-cheese she is getting tonight. Judy called a little while ago and said she had just fallen asleep. Thanks for all your prayers, calls, emails and visits throughout the day.
The "epidural" they gave her is starting to wear off, and she is on some pretty major pain meds right now. Recovery will take at least a couple of days until she can handle the pain with just oral meds. Jude is in the hospital with her tonight, unfortunately no private rooms available- so the hope is that her and Gracie get some rest.

Waiting

Only a 6 hour surgery today- have had our first phone call from the operating room for the 2 hour update- everything is going fine so far. By the way- the Kent County Circuit court has accepted our petition for adoption, so we are well on our way to adopting them for the second time......

Grace

We got the official word. Surgery is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Please pray for her as this surgery is quite extensive. She will be in surgery for over 4 hours and has to spend at least one night at the hospital.

We're back!!!

The HIS HOME 300 is over for 2010, we currently stand at over 52,000 raised for HIS HOME! Right now we are in Chicago and today we will bury Judy's father, who died late last Wed. evening. In 5 months and 9 days our family has welcomed Daphna and Gracie into our family and have said good bye to Mom and Dad- what a whirlwind this has been. Next Wed, July 21 Gracie will have her first major surgery on her feet, where they will release all her bones, then pin everything together in the right place. This is the first big step in getting her all lined up to walk properly, and boy, is she ready to go. Your prayers, as always, are coveted.