So the surgery was yesterday, and we left the house at 5:30am with our 2 kids. So much fun! On the way down she started to get upset- the whole lip quiver and saying "no hospital" and "wanna go home". I felt terrible. We got down there around 7ish and by 8:30am they have me bring her in. She was sooo upset, not as tantrumish as normal- just really upset and scared… she knew what was coming. She remembers She’s older now.

ME got out of surgery around 11:30. She looked pretty good after surgery. She was sleepy and slept most of the day. Even when she woke up she was pretty groggy.

The Dr came and told us everything went well. They used the "new to us" sclerosing agent we’ll call "B" and they also used the old one, we’ll call "D". She used "D" for the deeper and larger pockets of cysts. And "B" for the smaller ones because it has been successful in getting some of the smaller ones. We’re hoping that it has some good results because that would be great. Always keep in your prayers that any side effects are non-exsistant.

As always they tell us results can be seen in 6-8 weeks. But with ME it’s always been more like 3 months to see the true final results. So we shall see in time.  

This was the first time her daddy didn’t stay over with us. She was sad not to have him but he couldn’t keep taking time off. The good thing was ME was in a big girl hospital bed. And since she’s a peanut, there was plenty of room in the bed- so she had mommy right by her side most of the time. She loved having me there, and it made her happy.

Morning came and she was feeling a lot better, more awake and aware. But a bit more swollen too. I’ve seen her swelling worse, but it’s still pretty bad. And once again it’s been hard for her not being able to talk or eat by mouth (due to her being so swollen). But she’s a trooper. She was very excited when we were discharged and walked with me right out of the hospital and down to the parking garage. We got out of there nice and early so we were home just before noon.

Since we’ve been home she’s been up and about the house- playing with her toys and whatnot. So she’s in pretty good spirits considering.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers- keep em coming… we hope to see great results.

At 5:30 am our little family will be heading down to the hospital for another surgery for Mary Elizabeth.  She will be getting Sclerotherapy/Injections done. This has always proved to be a hard surgery recuperation-wise with the swelling/discomfort and it interrupts her life for a bit since she’s swollen in her mouth area as well- so talking/eating become difficult.

They will be using a different sclerosing agent this time around and we’re praying for good results, less swelling etc. Please join us in prayer for her. As she gets older, she’s more and more aware so it’s all a bit more tough on her.

We will be back with any updates and information we have.

God Bless.

Our little man is 8 months today! He is now 18 lbs 2 oz and just about 26 inches in length. He’s so adorable and a lot of fun. He’s growing and learning everyday.

It seemed that as soon as he turned 7 months he started a whole new set of tricks and skills. He has also kept us very busy and hasn’t stopped since. You see, he started full blown crawling (no more of his own versions) and he took cruising to the next level as he wasn’t just standing or even inching his way anymore, he’s walking right along couches and other objects pretty fast now… just moving along like it’s no big deal. So yes we have a crawler & cruiser over here. Which means he’s into EVERYTHING. Every wire in the house, book, phone, remote control, LAPTOP, and even every one of ME’s toys.. he wants and grabs for… and if it’s food- you better really watch out! haha. He’s funny though and it’s cute to see him explore. It just keeps us on our toes.
Ya know with your first you are like awww and can’t wait for them to walk and stuff… but right now we’re thinking- hey you- stop doing that, just be a baby as long as you can!!

Along with that, he’s babbling up a storm. Around 7 1/2 months old he started waving and it’s gotten better and better since then. He’s got a great cute wave and will accompany it by saying hi… it comes out more like "h aaahhh" but I know he’s saying hi because he does it in the same fashion we do- tone wise and whatnot. It’s adorable when he does it! He has also been caught saying hi to some of ME’s cartoon characters on tv!
In addition to babbling though he still likes to scream here and there, and not just when upset, for fun! It makes us crazy at times though.

He’s always laughing and loves peek a boo as he has for a while. He loves to laugh with his sister. He likes when we come in his room after he’s had a nap and he peers over the bumper and then lifts himself up. He gives us a huge smile- so happy to see us.
Along with that, he doesn’t like to be left alone and will often cry if I leave the room now. Nothing traumatic though. Sometimes I play with him and make him crawl to come and get me and he’ll come and follow of course.

He’s so sweet, and rather cuddly too. I just can’t believe he’s growing up so fast… I should be used to this by now since my baby girl is already 3… I just want to slow time sometimes though! *Sigh*

So we’ve had a bit of ups and downs as any family does. We had a lot of ups a couple weeks back when we went on vacation with our families… but we returned and since then have been on a steep slope going down hill. Yikes!

 Here’s a recap:

"Ray" Mini-Vacation – We went to the Jersey Shore with my parents and siblings. We had beautiful weather and it was such an enjoyable time. We went to the beach and the kids weren’t loving the water.. true it was a good thing that ME didn’t like it- as she wasn’t allowed in it due to the trach, but I wouldn’t have minded walking along the shore line with her. But the water was too cold for her liking and it was intimidating. Same for Drew. So I guess that was a good thing really. They ended up liking the sand and ME loved making sand castles. Even made friends with some kids on the beach. Each night we went out for some fun… whether it was the park they had there with rides, or the ice cream shop that did a little show with singing/dancing, or walking to shops etc. We ate out as a family and had a grand ole’ time. It was great! Pictures shall be posted shortly!

"Raia" Mini-Vacation – We took the laid back and cheaper approach with staying at Andy’s sister’s house. The kids had fun. We took them to Six Flags in New England. They went on a lot of kiddie rides, saw two shows (the wiggles, and looney toons) and hung out in this little play ground with water sprinklers that they loved. We bbq’d for the 4th of July, did a little shopping, saw fireworks, and went to a Children’s Museum. It was a lot of fun for the kids and I know they enjoyed it. Pictures shall be posted shortly!

Then we got back and into the swing of things…. well sorta….

It was hectic because I went back to work of course and we also took ME to VBS every evening. Which she loved (we did too). VBS is vocation bible school at the church. They did such cute crafts, sang adorable children’s worship music, played and learned many things… oh but of course this was not without struggle as the 3 year old class was quite a handful! I stayed to help a bit here and there. It was cute indeed though and I can see she will love preschool in the fall.

So we were keeping busy, and…

ME’s NEXT SURGERY was scheduled, but not without a little struggle. They didn’t have any openings until September sometime. Well she’s starting preschool for the first time ever in September and I was not happy. I wanted her to be able to start school with a pleasant experience and not have to be in the middle of recuperation or jump right into a surgery. They were going to try to squeeze her in for sometime in August…. but then…. they had a cancellation and we took it. So ME is getting sclerotherapy/injections on July 30th.

Then Friday came and they called me into the office at my job at 11am and told me my position has been elimated. They were cutting back and now are dividing my work amongst others as the office. This is much more traumatic than people seem to realize. I worked mainly from home (hard to find LEGIT work at home jobs!!!) and not many people can care for Mary Elizabeth with her special needs. And I still need that full time salary.
We’ve been working out things since I got let go from my job and so far nothing seems to give. I keep having to call Andy with the most recent bad news. *sigh* Anywho – without getting into the nitty gritty- the income is now not going to cover what we need and to boot we got an extra bill thrown in the mix when we found out how much we NOW have to pay into for health insurance with the changes made. (Health insurance was previously held at my job). Anyway, It’s quite a hefty sum of money and I’m not sure where we will go from here. Just having faith that God has a greater/bigger plan for us.

There’s been a lot under the scenes but you got the gist of it all now I’m sure. Stress level is high right now and well- we’ll all take some prayer if you are willing!

….Taking some time from our vacation to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July!