Surgery Completed

Hi Folks,

A few weeks have passed since my last post so thought it was time to give an update. Yesterday was Julianna's palate surgery. We left the house bright and early at 6:30am to be there for 8:00am. We arrived on time and received our paperwork and then sat in the waiting for the appointed time. 10:10am. At 9:40am they called to say they we are their way down to take her upstairs only to call back 2 minutes later to say there was a delay. Finally at 10:40am they came and we went up to another waiting room outside surgery to wait again. We talked to the surgeon and to the anesthesiologist before actually going into the OR at about 11:30am (I got to go in with her)where they proceeded to try to get in an IV, to no avail. So they used the mask to get her off to sleep. When we saw her later they had tried in both hands and it ended up in her foot. Amazingly enough not 24 hours she was released and is doing great here at home. Her mouth doesn't seem to be causing her any great discomfort and she is eating just fine. Stephen stayed the night with her and was kicked out of his bed at about midnight because they needed it for another little girl. We are so thankful she is on the mend so quickly. She is quite the little trooper.

ROCK BAND DRESS UP

Well folks, it has been awhile. I thought it was time to share a few new pictures of a rock band dress up day. Julianna had a blast and was quite in character. Jacob tells me not to post any of him but they really are fun to look at. A good time was had by all!!!

Julianna also dressed up in a ladybug costume and liked it so much she wouldn't take it off for quite awhile.

And lastly a prim and proper Julianna dressed for church.

INFO ON ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE CLAN

It has been an extremely busy month. In some ways too busy with lots of activities and new developments. Stephen got laid off a couple of weeks ago so has been around home working on some of the many projects to finish off after the reno. We have also been making up for lost time and have made quite a few trips to the ski hill before the season comes to end this Sunday. We are all a little disappointed to see it come to an end. Mitchell started basketball this week and that committment will continue for the next 6 weeks. Jacob is busy with guitar lessons. As I mentioned in the last post Zachary has been extremely busy this year with both theatre and music and I thought I might share a few pictures of his many antics. It all started in November when he played William Friendly III in a play called Hotel Hollywood. William was a crazy accident prone nerdy inventor.

A nerdy inventor has to have a few explosions of course.

He also has a hard time making committments and has been dating the same girl for 8 years.

Who knows why she would wait that long, I mean look at the clothes.

The next charactor was Two Gun Tommy, a gangster in a play called Lucky Lucky Hudson.




Two Gun Tommy and his wife Petty Larceny Jane.

Then in February he took part in the Alberta Junior High Honor Band which after 2 1/2 days of practice as an assemble of 120 played at the Winspear in Edmonton. They even played 2 numbers with the Edmonton Wind Symphonia. That made about 160 on the stage at one time.


If that weren't enough he is now taking part in a large Easter production called Love According to John which has been performed in Edmonton for the last 30 plus years. They have 5 performances the week of Easter. He is also one of a small group working on a spoof of Snow White here in town. As you can tell he isn't shy. Its lots of fun and he meets lots of nice people.

And people think homeschool kids don't get out.

Julianna is doing great! We had a checkup yesterday with Dr. Baxter the pediatrician and also saw the occupational therapist. Things continue to move forward and they both feel she is doing really well. Her gross motor skills have improved and we will continue to work on the fine motor. Everyone always notices how happy she is and she really is like that all the time. We are very blessed.

Hope you all have a great day!!!!

NEW PICTURES

Hi everyone,

Well, it is a cold windy day here! Many school buses weren't running but not Wetaskiwin. Oh no, we go regardless of the weather just like the postal service. Stephen returned to Fort McMurray last night and said it wasn't a very nice drive, lots of blowing snow causing very bad visibility. He was home for the week and got to be here for a big band event Zachary took part in which I will go into more detail in another post and Julianna's appointment with the surgeon. The surgeon said the sooner the surgery on her palate can be done the better so it could be anytime in the next month or 2. She probably won't be in the hospital for more than a day or 2, which is GREAT NEWS! Thought I would post a few of the many pictures I continue to take. My digital cameras are wonderful. Hope you enjoy!

JULIANNA HAS BEEN HOME 2 MONTHS ALREADY

It is hard to believe but Julianna has been home a little over 2 months already and has done so many new things. We have been to 2 important doctor's appointments already, one on Jan.13th and the other on the 9th of February. We have had no surprises so far and the next appointment which is March 2nd will be with the surgeon so we will have a little better idea when Julianna's palate can be repaired. Julianna has tried tobaggoning, which she really liked. We also tried skiing and boy did she look cute but she doesn't have enough leg strength to keep the skiis in the right spot so we will wait on that until next year. She did enjoy it but it was just too hard on Mommy and Daddy's backs trying to keep her up. Last weekend we went to a bird and rabbit show. She thought that was pretty cool except the turkey was a little too loud and scared her. As well she continues to thrive around her three big brothers. Her new kitchen is getting lots of use and we eat lots of pretend food.

Kitchen hockey is alive and well. The joys of an older kitchen where you don't have to worry about scarring the cupboards.

Our first attempt at pig tails. Zachary felt they were a bit lopsided but boy wasn't she cute.

Tobogganing with brother Jacob.

See I told you she looked cute.
She loves to pretend to talk on the phone. This is Stephen's old cell phone which when not in use Julianna places beside my cell phone on the counter.

And of course the traditional sitting in the laundry basket picture. She did that all on her own.

Last of the Trip Pictures

Well, here they are the last pictures from the trip. Sorry it has taken me so long. Mitchell hasn't felt well the last couple of weeks and there just hasn't been guilt free time to sit at the computer. These are pictures of Tinnamen and the Forbidden City. The next pics you see will be very recent.

Chairman Mao Zedong Mausoleum

Arrow Tower in front of the Great Hall of Peoples

Museum of Revolutionary Chinese History

One of the numerous gates throughout the city.

One of the many rooms with a throne in them.

Large courtyard inside the Forbidden City. If you look really closely you can see the old bricks with the grass growing up between them off to the left of the picture.

Happy girl in the hotel in Beijing.

THE GREAT WALL

Here are some of the pictures from our day at the Great Wall! This day was definitely a highlight! We all enjoyed being outside and appreciated both the beautiful countryside and the

structure of the Great Wall itself! It really is something to be seen in person.