Esther's surgery is tomorrow morning. We will walk her to the OR at 7:15 am. We will get updates periodically during the surgery, and we should be able to see here again around noon.
Today my sister came to visit, and then headed towards my sister's house, stopping to do some shopping. She had some severe abdominal pain, and ended up driving herself to the hospital and is still undergoing tests to find out what is causing this pain.
Tomorrow is my uncle's funeral as well.
Please pray for all these needs, and for peace for me through this difficult night.
I'll probably blog later if I can't sleep, but for now, I'm cherishing Esther!
Thanks1
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
While we wait...
we cherish. I'm enjoying some great times with Esther. Almost each day she does something new. Starting yesterday she was sucking on her upper lip so loudly you could hear it out in the hall if the door was open! She's also been fascinated with her tongue, licking her lips, or just pining it between her lips like this:
Today she laughed twice. I just can not get enough of her smiles! She's reportedly the cutie on the floor - nurses come in and say they heard rumors that there was a really cute baby around here, and they all say the same thing..."she's so cute" or "you are so cute" if they are talking to her! Here's some photos I took today of her:
First, here she is seriously talking to here daddy:
And here she is during a smile fest with me this evening:
Hope you enjoy these photos as much as we've enjoyed seeing Esther bloom and grow!
Today she laughed twice. I just can not get enough of her smiles! She's reportedly the cutie on the floor - nurses come in and say they heard rumors that there was a really cute baby around here, and they all say the same thing..."she's so cute" or "you are so cute" if they are talking to her! Here's some photos I took today of her:
First, here she is seriously talking to here daddy:
And here she is during a smile fest with me this evening:
Hope you enjoy these photos as much as we've enjoyed seeing Esther bloom and grow!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas Everyone!
This will be short and sweet. Very little happened today. We all had breakfast together at The House, and then we tidied the room, and then I left with Jessica for a quiet morning with Esther. Then my breakfast attacked me, and I took some pepsid and a long nap. My stomach was better, but not good. Then Jessica swapped places with Daryl, and we had lunch together. To be nice to my stomach, my lunch was not the Christmas dinner, but vanilla yogurt, toast with butter, and vanilla pudding. Boring, but nice to my sore stomach.
We spent the afternoon quietly watching TV while I cuddled with Esther. Then Santa stopped by, and we got a cute stuffed puppy and a photo with Santa - it's actually a really cute photo as Esther is really staring at Santa! It's a poloroid, so I can't share it, sorry.
Then Esther was sucking on her lips so much and with such energy, we decided to let her do some binky training - she loved it! They had 10 ccs (1/3 oz) in the first syringe, and when that was done, she got really ticked - and she took in all but .5 ccs of the second syringe and then was very satified - you know, the little grunting breaths that babies do when their tummy's full (daddies have been known to do this after Christmas dinner too!).
Then we to take her to dinner with us, and back to her room. She fell asleep when we were almost to her room and is now resting peacefully!
Merry Christmas!
God Bless Us, every One!
We spent the afternoon quietly watching TV while I cuddled with Esther. Then Santa stopped by, and we got a cute stuffed puppy and a photo with Santa - it's actually a really cute photo as Esther is really staring at Santa! It's a poloroid, so I can't share it, sorry.
Then Esther was sucking on her lips so much and with such energy, we decided to let her do some binky training - she loved it! They had 10 ccs (1/3 oz) in the first syringe, and when that was done, she got really ticked - and she took in all but .5 ccs of the second syringe and then was very satified - you know, the little grunting breaths that babies do when their tummy's full (daddies have been known to do this after Christmas dinner too!).
Then we to take her to dinner with us, and back to her room. She fell asleep when we were almost to her room and is now resting peacefully!
Merry Christmas!
God Bless Us, every One!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Esther's surgery has been moved to Monday
Due to her ear infection, they have moved her surgery to Monday. Mixed emotions that's for sure. While it will give more opportunities for her relatives that have come home to be able to see Esther before her surgery, the delays definitely make things more complicated for our family.
We have the hotel until Saturday, and Daryl has more vacation time left, and we have a friend of the family and a neighbor working together to keep out animals alive and well, but it's so hard to decide what to do.  Should we try to get the hotel to extend our accomodations, or send some of the kids home. I guess we'll have to talk with the kids and see what they want to do, and weigh that with our options. Also, Daryl has a paycheck waiting at work that we need to get into our bank account, but how do we get it there?
Daryl just showed up over here - he woke up early as usual and came over here and we'll be hanging out here until the kids wake up. A breakfast is being served at The House at 8:30, so we'll be heading over there soon.
Anyway, I just thought I'd post about the change in plans, as I know many are praying for her! So more days of praying for her to stay healthy!
We have the hotel until Saturday, and Daryl has more vacation time left, and we have a friend of the family and a neighbor working together to keep out animals alive and well, but it's so hard to decide what to do.  Should we try to get the hotel to extend our accomodations, or send some of the kids home. I guess we'll have to talk with the kids and see what they want to do, and weigh that with our options. Also, Daryl has a paycheck waiting at work that we need to get into our bank account, but how do we get it there?
Daryl just showed up over here - he woke up early as usual and came over here and we'll be hanging out here until the kids wake up. A breakfast is being served at The House at 8:30, so we'll be heading over there soon.
Anyway, I just thought I'd post about the change in plans, as I know many are praying for her! So more days of praying for her to stay healthy!
Christmas morning, and all is well
I woke up at 5 am on Christmas morning when Esther was crying because she had scratched herself on the forehead, and found my clothes neatly folded on top of my laptop and gifts for Esther in her crib!
The security guy reviewed the tapes and figured out who had taken my clothes. It turns out it was just a mis-understanding. There is a bin under the counter that is "free for the taking" - un-matched socks and small items. This mom thought that the clothes on the counter were also free - someone had needed the dryer and had put my clothes on the counter - this is common and happens all the time. So the security guy contacted her and I guess she felt horrible (made me feel bad, but I did need my clothes!), and even re-washed them and then they made their way into my room after that!
So all's well that ends well! Again, this just goes to show that over-reacting to situations just doesn't pay. I was really tired last night, and it was quite upsetting to find my clothes missing. My initial reaction was being very upset, but I prayed about it and talked myself into trusting God for the outcome, as well as getting my emotions under control. God is good, and I was able to sleep during the night, unconcerned about my clothes.
Psalm 4:8 - In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
The security guy reviewed the tapes and figured out who had taken my clothes. It turns out it was just a mis-understanding. There is a bin under the counter that is "free for the taking" - un-matched socks and small items. This mom thought that the clothes on the counter were also free - someone had needed the dryer and had put my clothes on the counter - this is common and happens all the time. So the security guy contacted her and I guess she felt horrible (made me feel bad, but I did need my clothes!), and even re-washed them and then they made their way into my room after that!
So all's well that ends well! Again, this just goes to show that over-reacting to situations just doesn't pay. I was really tired last night, and it was quite upsetting to find my clothes missing. My initial reaction was being very upset, but I prayed about it and talked myself into trusting God for the outcome, as well as getting my emotions under control. God is good, and I was able to sleep during the night, unconcerned about my clothes.
Psalm 4:8 - In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
That was weird!
Ok, so it's late, I blogged for too long. So I'm going to get ready for bed, but I realize I did not retreive my laundry from the laundry room when I got back this evening. That means I wouldn't have any clean pants for tomorrow (I have a few more shirts than pants in order to pack light). So I head on up to get it, and their I find an empty dryer, my socks and underwear on the counter, but no clothes! I look through all the washers and dryers, but there is nothing. I look through the basket underneith the counter...nothing.
I take my underwear and socks and head back to my room, but decide to tell the nurses in case the write over the security tapes every 12 hours, as I put the load in around 2 am.
So instead of going to bed around 11 pm, I have to wait to talk with the security guard. He is very kind and compassionate and lets me know he will review the security tapes and let me know as son as he knows anything. I tell him that I really need some sleep and that I can wait for morning to hear if he found anything.
So, I have clean underwear and a clean shirt, but how in the world am I going to wash my now, one and only pair of pants? I'd have to wear my pajamas while it washes, and the laundry facilities are on the other end of the building! And jeans won't usually dry overnight hanging in the bathroom either!
It might be a simple mistake, but how in the world did all my underwear and socks get left behind and all my clothes are gone when they were washed all together so I wouldn't hog the machines???? If I see some woman wearing my clothes tomorrow, what do I do???? LOL = "hey, those are my clothes, give them to me right now!" LOL.. This is just so weird!
(heavy sigh)
Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good night!
I take my underwear and socks and head back to my room, but decide to tell the nurses in case the write over the security tapes every 12 hours, as I put the load in around 2 am.
So instead of going to bed around 11 pm, I have to wait to talk with the security guard. He is very kind and compassionate and lets me know he will review the security tapes and let me know as son as he knows anything. I tell him that I really need some sleep and that I can wait for morning to hear if he found anything.
So, I have clean underwear and a clean shirt, but how in the world am I going to wash my now, one and only pair of pants? I'd have to wear my pajamas while it washes, and the laundry facilities are on the other end of the building! And jeans won't usually dry overnight hanging in the bathroom either!
It might be a simple mistake, but how in the world did all my underwear and socks get left behind and all my clothes are gone when they were washed all together so I wouldn't hog the machines???? If I see some woman wearing my clothes tomorrow, what do I do???? LOL = "hey, those are my clothes, give them to me right now!" LOL.. This is just so weird!
(heavy sigh)
Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good night!
Christmas Eve in Seattle
Today started out with a breakfast in Esther's hospital room, and getting this sweet picture of Esther:
then getting picked up by Daryl and going to The House to get the goodie bags ready. Jessica had been working hard all week to make new, personalized goody bags for her. I helped a little this morning so she could get her breakfast, but here she is sewing away:
Then we packed them with their presents, and called them up from the basement playroom where they had been impatiently waiting - here's the before photo:
And here's once the mayhem had begun:
And here's the resulting chaos:
Here's Elizabeth with her first set of twins:
The kids surprised Daryl and I by putting together a goody bag for us too! There was chocolates for us to share and bath items and hair pretties for me! Cool eh?
Then Daryl and I took Elizabeth with us to visit with Esther, and we found out that they were going to remove and replace Esther's feeding tube, and that if we could all get together, we could get a family photo while it was out!
So Daryl went and brought all the kids to Esther's room and this is the great photo we got!
I must say that sitting in the hospital this much hasn't been kind to me, and we aren't in our usual spit-shined condition we usually try to achieve for family photos, but I'm sure you'll all look past our every-day look and see the spirit behind this get-together! In spite of all we've gone through and are going through, doesn't everyone look marvelous???
Then we also got a super cute photo of Esther without her feeding tube and in her cutest outfit:
Notice her nice IV still has the ribbon in it! Too bad I didn't have pink ribbon to match her outfit!
Then we ended up waiting in the room for a while - longer than was comfortable anyway, so I took this photo of the kids and Daryl trying to be patient and sharing the seating for fewer people than were in the room:
So then the kids went back to The House for some activities, and Daryl and I had lunch with Esther. Then I took a much needed nap while Daryl watched Esther (well watched the Speed channel and checked Ebay for Chevelles ;) while fielding phone calls and nurses questions/information). Then it was time to go to the House for the big Christmas Eve Dinner, sponsored by the Seattle Police Department. While we were eating the dinner, "Santa's Helpers" were putting gifts in the rooms for all the families staying at The House - here's what we came in to find:
It was awesome! And here's the resulting happy Kaos, once again only on a bigger scale than before!
Then is was time for me to go back to Esther, and I spent the evening cuddling her and watching several episodes of "17 and counting", a TV show about a family with 17 kids and one on the way! Makes my family look small in comparison! They are an amazing family and we share many of their values. It was amazing to see Christianity portrait in a positive light on TV, as well as Biblical principles lived out in their lives and those of their children!
Esther showed us this morning what all that illness was really about - an ear infection! She sported blood and puss from her right ear this morning! So she's not on antibiotics, and we are unsure of her surgery at this point. Last rumor was that it was moved to Monday, but we can not get any information from cardiology as to day or time yet! I'm hoping we'll find out tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath as weekends and holidays are notorious for not seeing doctors unless it's an emergency! At least this ear thing is not new - she was in pain the last two days and we just couldn't figure out why - and she does not have a fever now either. The discharge is just her bodies way of releasing the pressure at the end of the infection, and the antibiotics are "just in case" she has any infection left.
Please pray for patience as we continue to play the waiting game, and that Esther will continue to recover from the ear infection and not get anything else so her surgery can go ahead soon!
I hope you all have a very Blessed Christmas!
then getting picked up by Daryl and going to The House to get the goodie bags ready. Jessica had been working hard all week to make new, personalized goody bags for her. I helped a little this morning so she could get her breakfast, but here she is sewing away:
Then we packed them with their presents, and called them up from the basement playroom where they had been impatiently waiting - here's the before photo:
And here's once the mayhem had begun:
And here's the resulting chaos:
Here's Elizabeth with her first set of twins:
The kids surprised Daryl and I by putting together a goody bag for us too! There was chocolates for us to share and bath items and hair pretties for me! Cool eh?
Then Daryl and I took Elizabeth with us to visit with Esther, and we found out that they were going to remove and replace Esther's feeding tube, and that if we could all get together, we could get a family photo while it was out!
So Daryl went and brought all the kids to Esther's room and this is the great photo we got!
I must say that sitting in the hospital this much hasn't been kind to me, and we aren't in our usual spit-shined condition we usually try to achieve for family photos, but I'm sure you'll all look past our every-day look and see the spirit behind this get-together! In spite of all we've gone through and are going through, doesn't everyone look marvelous???
Then we also got a super cute photo of Esther without her feeding tube and in her cutest outfit:
Notice her nice IV still has the ribbon in it! Too bad I didn't have pink ribbon to match her outfit!
Then we ended up waiting in the room for a while - longer than was comfortable anyway, so I took this photo of the kids and Daryl trying to be patient and sharing the seating for fewer people than were in the room:
So then the kids went back to The House for some activities, and Daryl and I had lunch with Esther. Then I took a much needed nap while Daryl watched Esther (well watched the Speed channel and checked Ebay for Chevelles ;) while fielding phone calls and nurses questions/information). Then it was time to go to the House for the big Christmas Eve Dinner, sponsored by the Seattle Police Department. While we were eating the dinner, "Santa's Helpers" were putting gifts in the rooms for all the families staying at The House - here's what we came in to find:
It was awesome! And here's the resulting happy Kaos, once again only on a bigger scale than before!
Then is was time for me to go back to Esther, and I spent the evening cuddling her and watching several episodes of "17 and counting", a TV show about a family with 17 kids and one on the way! Makes my family look small in comparison! They are an amazing family and we share many of their values. It was amazing to see Christianity portrait in a positive light on TV, as well as Biblical principles lived out in their lives and those of their children!
Esther showed us this morning what all that illness was really about - an ear infection! She sported blood and puss from her right ear this morning! So she's not on antibiotics, and we are unsure of her surgery at this point. Last rumor was that it was moved to Monday, but we can not get any information from cardiology as to day or time yet! I'm hoping we'll find out tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath as weekends and holidays are notorious for not seeing doctors unless it's an emergency! At least this ear thing is not new - she was in pain the last two days and we just couldn't figure out why - and she does not have a fever now either. The discharge is just her bodies way of releasing the pressure at the end of the infection, and the antibiotics are "just in case" she has any infection left.
Please pray for patience as we continue to play the waiting game, and that Esther will continue to recover from the ear infection and not get anything else so her surgery can go ahead soon!
I hope you all have a very Blessed Christmas!
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