Ethan

Just wanted to let you know that Ethan is quite sick. Basically, it seems that he has been sick for the entire month of March, one thing right after another. He's cutting at least 3 teeth, so that has probably lowered his immunities. Yesterday, the dr. diagnosed him with pneumonia and a double ear infection. Poor guy! He's pretty miserable, but we have seen a slight improvement since he started the nebulizer treatments and the antibiotic. We heard his first non-crying sounds ("talking") last night, the first time in days as Bob pointed out. I'm hoping we'll see great improvements tomorrow.

Bounce House

Tonight was a lot of fun. We had a family night at church. There was a bounce house to keep the kids occupied while the parents heard a speaker. Afterwards, I went in the bounce house. It was great!!! I think that part of the reason that it was so much fun is that it was hard for me to keep my balance (kind of like when I was a kid). It was an EXCELLENT workout for my hip, and I had so much fun bouncing and falling with Anderson and Lyndsey. Ethan even played with us in there a little bit (and Bob too). I think that Lyndsey enjoyed playing in there with me the most; we held hands and bounced and fell...giggle, giggle, giggle. It was a great time and one I'll always treasure in the "great memories" section of my brain. It's kind of neat to see that my hip replacement helped me to actually have MORE fun than the average adult. Go figure!!

One year ago...

Well, today is the anniversary of my hip surgery to remove the cancer. I cannot believe that a year has passed. I find myself thinking a lot about all the things that I'm thankful for that people gave, said, did over the last year. God went above and beyond through so many different people; I am still amazed.

Have we returned to "normal life" yet? Sort of, I guess. Things are very busy, especially with my 5 days/week of appts related to physical recovery. That is taking its toll, especially on the kids, but we will persevere. It definitely is helping me physically. I'm again running up and down the stairs to get out the door "sort of" on time. I can lift Ethan off the floor with ease and carry him around the house. I've even wrestled a bit with Anderson and given Lyndsey a piggy back ride. I don't have hip pain, although all my muscles are usually sore due to all the "new" use and regeneration that is happening. My limp is still there but definitely improving. I also have arm muscles again (small, but they are there)! I'm building up endurance (cardio-wise) and my balance has improved tremendously. My hair is growing well...I actually had my first haircut today! It's been over a year since I've had my hair done, and boy, was that nice! Even though my hair is very short, I felt quite girly, which is something I've struggled with. It has been very helpful having eyelashes and eyebrows again. I won't take it for granted being able to wear mascara!

I really need to get to bed. If you think of it, pray for the kids. I think that things are starting to catch up with them, and my leaving for appointments usually leads to tears for them. It's hard.

Ethan turned 1!!

I can't believe it! My precious preemie is 1 year old, and there isn't anything preemie about him. He's actually more "sturdy" in his physique than either of the other kids. He's walking with coaxing, determining that he has eating/drinking preferences (drinks can't be too cold, doesn't care for carrots, won't eat what he is given when he sees something on the table that he prefers), using sign language, expresses frustration with Lyndsey (sort of like a cry for help from Mumma), claps, jumps on the trampoline, etc. We had a "friends" birthday last Thursday (Winnie the Pooh cake - photo below), and we'll have his "family" party this Saturday (Tigger cake). He definitely loves cake!

Crazy storm

Amazingly, we didn't lose power at all. The wind here was INCREDIBLE, but we'd had Dad cut the dead/dying trees last year. So, we fared wonderful well. I'm so thankful as many people lost power for quite a while. Mom and Dad, Jason and Dawn, and Beth Anne were all without power for days.
Ethan had trouble sleeping during the storm. I think that the wind kept waking him up (it sounded like a freight train!), and then he'd cry and cry. Finally, after a few tries of putting him back to sleep, we realized that maybe he was a bit scared too. So, we put him in bed with me while Bob was working on my closet. (Woohoo!) Ethan can't sleep all cuddled up, so I just leaned my head against his. That seemed to do the trick as he fell soundly asleep. Hours later, Bob put Ethan back in his own bed and reclaimed his side of our bed.