Paddleton tournament

Josh is entered to play in a city-wide paddleton tournament next weekend. You are probably asking yourself the same question I asked myself when he asked if he could sign up... "Paddle-what?" So after he told me about it, I decided to look it up and find out why I'd never heard of it.

Here's the official website. http://www.carterpaddleton.com/

Turns out it's a game invented by a man from Midland. I guess that's why we have these tournaments and the kids play this in gym class. Now we can be "Midland: City of Modern Explorers and Paddleton Pros".

Wish Josh luck!

Deanna

Swim class

Meghan and Lauren started swim class this morning. Meghan is in class with Allison, her cousin, and Lauren is supposed to be in class with Zachary, also a cousin (and Allison's brother). I say "supposed to be" because, while she started out there, she didn't stay there. Lauren cried and cried for a while at the beginning of class. A different teacher, who seemed to have the job of helping the criers and trying to get them to calm down, took Lauren for the rest of the class. Not too long after that, Lauren calmed down and then she was fine the rest of the time. Lauren promised the teacher that she'd "leave her tears at home next time". I hope she holds to that! On a good note, Meghan, Allison and Zachary did really well and had a lot of fun. :)

Blood draw results

Total bilirubin: .9
Direct bilirubin (bad stuff): .6
AST: 236
ALT: 332

In other words, her liver enzymes are still high (but she has a pretty bad cold so I'm sure that's why) but her bilirubin levels are phenomenal. Yay!!!

So... on to Ann Arbor next week to see what this all means.

Deanna

Blood draw for Claire today

Today's the day. It seems weird because she's had a month between her last draw and this one. It's been a nice break. I'm hoping and praying that all is well today.

The phlebotomist today will be the one who's drawn her blood every time in Midland but that one miserable time. I called her on Wednesday to see if she was working today and what time she'd be able to draw Claire. She was going to be off today but she's coming in solely to draw Claire's blood (she's the phlebotomy team leader - I guess she can do that). When I called her, she said she was very relieved to hear from us, as she's been thinking about and worried about Claire. I'm so grateful for such a caring person to be taking care of my baby.

A week from today, we'll be in Ann Arbor for an appointment with the GI. I don't know what to expect and I'm a bit nervous. I'm really hoping it's great news.

I'll update when I have news.

Deanna

Good kids

I've been reminded lately that we have truly good kids. Two nights ago, I took the three girls shopping by myself. We hit two stores and were out quite a while. I had no trouble with them at all. Last night, I took all four kids to the library by myself. Again, they behaved perfectly (even Claire). Both times, people stopped me to tell me how well behaved my kids were and how they were surprised that I would take them all out by myself... the whole "you sure have your hands full!" thing. Last night someone told me that I am a "brave, good woman". Here's the thing... I don't see myself that way. I never question whether or not to take any of them with me anywhere. They are good kids and I know it. :)

Deanna

Party after party (by Josh)

Last Friday, I had a party at 4:00 for my friend Trenton. After that, I had my friend Matthew spend the night at my house. The next day I got to go to Chuck E. Cheese for another party. It was for my friend Dylan. I gave him a lot of Pokemon stuff, including a Pokemon Yahtzee game.

It was a really fun weekend.

PTJ

The dress

So today we finally got to celebrate Claire. Yes, we do celebrate her every day. But today was special. Since we didn't get to have the traditional post-baptism dinner, we took our families to brunch today to celebrate Claire. Well, that also means she got to wear "the dress". This dress was made from Brian's grandmother's wedding dress. It was made in time for Meghan's baptism. So Meghan, Allison (Brian's sister's daughter), Lauren and Claire have now all worn this dress.

I don't have a picture of Allison in the dress, but here are our three girls in it for you to enjoy.



Meghan


Lauren


Claire





Here are the four girls today who have worn the dress.



This is Mimi Lee - the grandmother whose wedding dress was used to make this dress.

The Words of Meghanese (by Meghan)

margra - Charter
margro - friend
moy - I love you
may - what
uah - family
hway - bye
fway - hello
kwah - How are you doing?
kwock - teacher
noy - baby
sayway - sister
bayway - brother

More to come some other time. :)

The Rules of Meghanese (by Meghan)

Meghanese is Meghan's language. It has rules. Here they are.

1. No hitting, kicking, pinching or biting.
2. You have to have a boyfriend at least when you're 9 or 10.
3. If you see your boyfriend, you always kiss him.
4. If he runs away from you, you blow him a kiss.
5. If he's running away from you, he rather has to go to see his other girlfriend or have a date with his mom.
6. If you find a penny, you are extra lucky.
7. If it's a really shiny penny, you give it to your mom and dad and they'll trade it in so it can be a necklace.
8. If you have a beautiful outfit, you are really lucky.

That's all the rules.

Book Review - "Born an Angel"

So... my good friend Bettina (Tina) Walsh wrote a book. And it was published while I was pregnant with Claire. The book is about miscarriage, something that unfortunately both Tina and I have had to go through. Those of you who know me know how much I love to read. And when my friend becomes a published author, you know I wanted to inhale it the day she I bought it. But it's about miscarriage. And I was pregnant. So both Tina and my friend Naomi, the editor of the book, told me to wait until after the baby was born to read it. I didn't want to wait but I figured they were telling me this for a reason and I needed to trust them.

I read it last night.

Born an Angel is the only book I've found that truly, honestly, heart-wrenchingly addresses just about everything you deal with when you lose a baby before he/she is born. It addresses how the mother feels, emotionally and physically, it addresses how differently people cope and grieve, how older siblings deal with the loss of their baby brother/sister, it addresses the awkward and hurtful comments people sometimes make (even with the best of intentions), and it addresses how those who love you and care about you want to help but don't always know how they can. It covers several medical scenarios. I cried and cried in parts and smiled with joy in others. I don't want to give any of the book away so I can't say much. I'll just say that it's a raw, honest story that I'm glad I waited to read but am even more glad to read at all.

Like Tina, when I had my miscarriage, I searched and searched for knowledge, compassion and answers. I am a reader. I dug through the library and the internet and really didn't find anything very helpful. Tina's book really relates. I'm very sad that she had to endure the pain of a miscarriage too but I'm glad that she chose to write a book as one of her outlets. It reaffirmed to me last night that I am not alone in the pain I went through 12 years ago or the pain I still feel at times about losing our first-born.

If you want to read the book or buy it as a gift for someone you know who's going through the loss of their baby, you can buy a copy here: http://bettinawalsh.com/

Or you can borrow my copy. Just be sure to give it back... it's signed by the author and it's mine, all mine. :)

Deanna

Proud mama

I just got Meghan's progress report from her teacher. Meghan is doing really well. The comment from her teacher at the end of it just makes me smile and makes me proud.

"Meghan is reading and comprehending at a 2nd grade level. She has blossomed as a writer and artist. She independently adds interesting words and details in her work. In the story 'Rollercoaster Snake' she wrote: 'The rollercoaster zooms around like a zooming airplane. I scream like a gorilla. I go up a hill zooming fast. Them I go down a big slide, zooming fast! Then I feel scared and the inside of my stomach goes up.' In mathematics, she is working on the sums and differences to 10. The class will continue to review math facts to 10 and will be working on sums and differences to 20. Meghan continues to be a kind friend and very intelligent and very hard working student. She certainly lives up to her middle name... JOY!"

I'm so proud of my girl. :)

Deanna

Star of the Week (by Meghan)

Beginning after Valentine's Day, on February 15, I will be the Star of the Week in my class. I am excited because when everybody tells Mrs. Howay, my teacher, what they want to write about me, I will write about something that nobody else wrote about. The special things I get to do that are bring in pictures to hang on the board, tell the stories that go with the pictures, answer questions from my friends, have someone come read to my class and get a special paper that says "You Shine!".

I can't wait for February 15!

Meghan

Valentine's Day (by Meghan)

Valentine's Day is fun because you get Valentines from all different kinds of people. And sometimes they might come to your house. I made my cards out of construction paper and just regular paper and stickers.

I love Valentine's Day and I love you.

Meghan

No snow day :(

Josh wishes today were a snow day. He just needs a day off of school, he says. I feel bad that he has to go. However... maybe the thought that we'll be in Florida in just over a month will help him feel a bit better.

Or maybe the fact that Matthew is staying the next weekend will make him smile. :)

2 month well visit

Claire had her two-month well visit at her pediatrician's office yesterday. She weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. and is 22 inches tall. She had shots but did well with them. All is good in Claire world right now. :) Our next appointment in Ann Arbor is March 5 and her next blood draw is in about 2 weeks.

Our pediatrician is in Haiti

I just learned that the kids' pediatrician, Dr. Brian Mauch, is in Haiti right now. He traveled there with several other doctors and nurses from Midland to help in a makeshift clinic set up by a young woman from Midland. Here is more info on their journey:

http://www.ourmidland.com/articles/2010/02/01/local_news/2392502.txt

It looks like this is one of a series of stories to be printed about them. It will be interesting to follow their story.

Please keep them in your prayers.

Deanna

A month until Claire's next blood draw!

I got a call back from the nurse at Dr. Bhatt's office. Dr. Bhatt said Claire doesn't need another draw until the end of the month unless we see signs of jaundice before then. I'm so excited for Claire. :)

The whites of her eyes, as of last Friday, are truly white now. And while there have been days that we've seen a little yellow on her neck or her earlobes, she's been peach and pink and perfect for several days now.

We're on the right path. Double yay!

Dr. Meghan Luther King, Jr.

When asked in school to complete the phrase "I have a dream...", Meghan's reply was "that one day everyone will believe in God and go to church".

This was after a discussion the previous Sunday about why we go to church, why not everybody goes to church and why the school bus (the local Baptist church's bus) was picking up the neighbor kid in the morning.

The sweet innocence of a six year old.