Hippy Chicks...

A big thank you is owed to Joshua and Kellen for watching their sister so that Mike and I could be with Kaia for her surgery.  While we were gone, Jaelyn participated in the local 3 v 3 Rock On soccer tournament.  Two of her fellow "Chicks" were from her rec team, plus a couple others from opposing rec teams.  Looks like they had a lot of fun.  Meet the Hippy Chicks...

Darn Dog!

The good news is that we have been home from the hospital since Monday. The bad news is that once again, Cocoa has reeked havoc on our back yard!  While we were gone, she chewed our internet/cable wires to the house, so we had neither until yesterday afternoon, which is why I haven't posted. We were impressed with comcast though, as they came out and fixed it all at no charge.

So in just a few days, Kaia has gone from this....

to this....

Kaia actually went back to school today.  She has taken no pain medications for two days now. The biggest challenge is keeping her from being bored with the "Soft, no-chew" diet, and keeping enough calories in her. She has also asked to go jump on the trampoline. Um, No!  The worry is that if she bumps the mouth area at all, before the bone has been accepted, or if any infection settles in, then we have to do it all again. Five lonnnnnnggg weeks left!

Here's the photo of Kaia and Abe that I wanted to post earlier...

Now if we can only get Cocoa to be that calm.

Meet Abe....

Well I had planned to post a cute picture of Kaia and Abe, the friendly golden retriever who visited her hospital room yesterday, but that didn't go as planned.  What I do have is an update on the last 24 hours.

Yesterday when the doc made his afternoon rounds, he decided not to release her due to the fact that she had not peed all day, was not putting weight on her leg, and was still quite puffy. Since mike's back has been killing him, he headed home to get a good night's sleep before returning in the morning to bring us home.

So that WAS the plan.  Last night I noticed swelling under the chin. When the doc came in at seven this morning it had swelled even more, which he did not like. He thinks she had a blood clot in the tissue, which is not all that uncommon, but puts you at higher risk for infection. So we are starting antibiotics and here at least one more night. The good news is that she is getting around well on her leg, and is eating soft no chew food. She has been craving pizza, so for lunch she gobbled up puréed pizza!  Hopefully we head home tomorrow!

Still Here....

It's now nearing noon on Saturday, and we still have no idea when Kaia can go home. She is even puffier than yesterday, as the swelling has moved up into here eye. When awake, her left eye is barely open. She has been cleared to eat foods like pudding, milkshake, etc., but has touched very little. Still not walking yet, but we plan on wheeling her to the play room when she wakes up to see if we can motivate her to try some more. A change of setting will be good for us all too. The doctors have just said to wait and see, so for the meantime, we are not going anywhere....

My Little Chipmunk....

Sorry, no photos, as blogger and my ipad do not like one another. I can say that Kaia's surgery went very well yesterday. Her left cheek looks like a chipmunk storing for winter this morning, but pain is under control. She is hungry, but still on a clear liquid diet. Not sure yet whether or not we can go home today. She needs to be able to bear weight and walk on her own, but every time she has attempted just to get from the bed to the chair, there has been tears. So we wait and see.

Speaking of home, looks like we will need to find another route home, since the I5 bridge we normally travel over collapsed last night. Thankfully and amazingly no one died. We had just driven over it in the morning, and frequently do. Check out the article...
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/I-5-Skagit-River-bridge-collapse-caused-by-oversize-load-208813861.html?tab=video&c=y

Bone Graft...

Doesn't sound like fun, does it? Tomorrow, Thursday, is the day scheduled for Kaia's Alveolar Bone Graft.  The link has a good explanation of what the surgery is about. Surgery is scheduled for 3:00 pm and expected to take about 2.5 hours. We plan on posting from there, although I am not sure how successful I will be from my ipad.  Prayers appreciated.

Purple Prom Power...

Yesterday was Prom for Joshua, and boy, did he clean up nicely!  He and his date, along with another couple, took off in the early morning to spend the day at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.  When they got back, the girls went to our church, which was hosting Go Glam, where girls can get their hair and makeup done by professionals, all for a donation that goes towards Compassion First to help fight the world wide Sex Trade industry. It's the second year in a row that our church has sponsored it, and this year they had 35 girls come through.  Check it out....

Go Glam: Stop Traffic Video from Compassion First on Vimeo.

And see how adorable Rebecca and Josh looked in their purple prom power....

I love the flowers in my yard this time of year. The purples, pinks and reds made for a complementary background to the couple.

They then headed to Anacortes to meet up with their friends again for dinner. The marina made for some beautiful shots at sunset....

This momma stayed up until after midnight to prepare breakfast for the four, following the dance. By that time they were pretty worn out from a long day, as was I, since that was way past my bed time!

Speaking of bedtimes, Mike had gone to bed way earlier, as he needed to rest for his 12k run on Sunday. He ran in the Port Townsend Rhody Run and was very pleased with his finish. He made his goal and then some, and is only mildly complaining of being sore now! We are super proud of our him!  He is in good shape and continuing to train for this summer's Ultra Ragnar race again.

Kaia and I head to Seattle tomorrow for her pre-op appointment. We plan to shop our way home;)

Senior....Citizen

Today was an unofficial dress up day for seniors at Joshua's school. You see, it was "Senior Citizen Day!"  Here's what Josh will look like in another 70 years...

You can't tell very well in the photo, but he actually put flour in his hair. Mike said it was hilarious at school; kids coming into class using walkers, many shuffling into class late, and one even laying on the floor saying "Where's my lifeline?"  Oh seniors, just three more weeks until you have to grow up, so have fun!

Speaking of having fun, this week has been an eventful one, and I have failed to post. Let me bring everyone up to speed, starting back at Mother's Day.  The kids took me to brunch, then back home for some family time.

I have been feeling bad about losing the cross necklace my grandma gave me, only to find it scratched and bent from being ran over in the drive way, so Kellen thoughtfully bought me a new cross necklace.

And Josh made me a beautiful salad bowl in his pottery class...

And the girls gave me great handmade cards and bought me some summery clothes for HAWAII in ONE MONTH!

Three days later it was Jaelyn's Gotcha Day.  I won't bore you with pictures of our local Chinese Buffet restaurant that the girls always choose for their celebrations. Regardless, we had a good time together. They feel so grown up when they can help themselves, so we all make the best of it.  This year, for the first time, we came home and watched the DVD of the foster family that Jaelyn lived with in China.  We showed her it the first year we got it, when she was about three, but we haven't shown it to her since. She did get a little bored since it was all in Chinese, but it did trigger lots of questions, and it was fun to watch her view it.

Prom is coming up this weekend. Here is a sweet montage of Josh showing up at his girlfriend's house with a picnic lunch, asking her to be his date...

And one week from today is Kaia's surgery, so I will try and post more frequently these next two weeks.

Let the Events Begin!!!

Last night was the first of many "official" senior events leading up to graduation (not to mention the unofficial ones). Why this event is called the Senior Tea, I have no idea, because there was no tea served! However, they did have speakers, a slide show, and cake, so I think that does make it official. No tears fell from me, but I have a month to go until graduation to shed plenty of those! I think both Joshua and I have both been a bit melancholy lately though, as the reality of him leaving is setting in.

One of our good friends and Mike's cowoworker was selected by the students to speak.

Josh and Dakota have been buddies since middle school and are both going to be Cougs!