Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Here are a few photos to mark the occasion with Nate. We'll have to get a few fireworks for next year, but that takes some planning ahead on our part.

We ordered some Chinese carry-out tonight. Nate's request was to have some rice. He made us laugh when he insisted on using the "training" device that we have for the chopsticks. We also read a book about the Chinese New Year tonight. Surprisingly when we asked him to teach us how to say it correctly, he looked at us like we had 4 heads, as though he didn't know what we were talking about. Still not sure if he really has forgotten so much Mandarin so quickly, but I think he is being truthful. Absolutely amazing!!!

On a side note to this post: Nate had his follow-up appt today with the Interventional Radiologist. Dr. Mitchell was surprised that he is still so swollen, but she thinks that means that they did some good work on the inside killing off the enlarged blood sacs. He is ready to move on to physical therapy to strengthen the muscle and increase his mobility. Will keep you posted.

Nate's Thoughts

Nate would like everyone to know about the "Communication Board" in his room.

There is a place on it that says Three Things We Need to Know about Your Child:

Mommy wrote....1. likes to ride his bike 2. is cute! 3. thinks this hospital is better than the China hospital.

He wants you to know that he likes what Mommy wrote on it.

Here are some of the ways that it is different from the Chinese Hospital-
-it has a TV
-the rooms in China had 4 people to a room, could be a mix of adults/kids
-you don't have to bring own food with you to eat

How to pass the Good Hospital Test!

Our day started yesterday with a 9am arrival here at Johns Hopkins, with a scheduled procedure time of 11am. Of course as seasoned hospital going parents we didn’t actually expect perfect timing. Okay…we did…there is only so much you can do when sitting in a 6x8 room with a 6 year old. Finally at 12:15pm we walked Nate back to the operating room and watched him fall asleep.

Starving we headed down to the cafeteria area excited about the endless food choices set before us. A simple pleasure for us weary parents passing through. After we filled our bellies with some really yummy pork BBQ, we found a comfy spot to relax. One of us found that spot so relaxing he napped for an hour. While Chris napped the nurse called us at 1:45pm and told me that they were getting ready to start in 5 minutes. WHAT????!!!??? I thought we were an hour in to the operation, only to find out that my 2 hours of waiting hadn’t even begun yet. It was about 3:15 when Dr. Mitchell called us to tell us everything had gone well. We headed up to Recovery for an hour or so before we were moved down to the 3rd floor.

After getting ourselves situated in a room, we found out that we were going to move down the hall to a new room…drum roll please….a private room. Not sure how much remembers from the day, it passed him by with out much involvement from him. He would wake up for 5 mins and fall back to sleep. The pain meds he was using were keeping him pretty groggy. He had an in-room ultrasound last night that revealed the possibility of a clot, so on top of all the other meds he was given he had to get another shot to help with the thrombosis.

The most beautiful part of the day came when I put on my pj pants, grabbed my Doritos and watched American Idol in the silence of the room. Poor Chris was in the thick of it as he was picking the boys up from AWANA, making lunches and straightening up from the day. My fantasy world came crashing down as I pulled out my lounge chair to create a bed. If you like to sleep on beds with 6 in gaps and feel like you are sleeping down hill do I know a good place for you to rest tonight!

I snuggled up with my book only to roll over and see Nate staring at me looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The foggy eyes from the past 6 hours were gone. Oh man! I was so tired, the bad mommy side of me told Nate that I was happy he was awake but I just spent the whole day watching him sleep so he could watch me sleep now. Yes, I said it as nicely as possible, but the good mommy side won out and we chatted for a bit and ate popsicles. Things were progressing nicely, got out some coloring work (maybe that will tire him out…you know how exhausting coloring can be) and drank some juice. As Nurse Theresa and I were talking we saw Nate cover his mouth. Must be getting tired, and how polite, covering a yawn, I thought. No foolish tired lady: that is the international sign for child is trying to hold his vomit in his mouth. So 11:15pm finds Nate leaving a liquid bath of orange Popsicle and water all over the floor and himself. Just lovely! A nice side effect of the whole episode is that Nate was tired again.

We woke up at 6:30am after a night of pseudo sleep.

This morning we found out that Nate is going to have a Venagram to look a little closer at his veins; Dr Mitchell doesn’t think that there is a clot after all, but just an area that is hard to see on the regular ultrasound. Having a Venagram means that we have to wait 8 hours (because he had just eaten); we are in wait –and –see mode. At this point we are pretty sure that we are spending the night again.

We will keep you updated as things progress.


The answer to the title question is according to Nate: your own TV, a popsicle, and a ginger ale all before 8am. It doesn't get any better than that !

Front Row Seats

Hi All!

Time for a few updates after the hustle and bustle of December and Christmas preparations. We truly had a blessed Christmas. One of the many side bennies of bringing Nate into our family is the "front row seats" we have to all of his new experiences. The anticipation in our house built throughout December...

One thing we've learned about Nate is that if you're not sure you want the "real" answer, don't ask. We're gluttons for punishment anyway. Nate was asked many times in the weeks leading up to the 25th - "Are you excited about Christmas?" This was often met with a shrug of the shoulders and a lackadaisical "I don't know." Sigh...

As he began to let his guard down a little bit, he confided in Susanne that he had never been given a present before. While we know this to not be technically true, we smiled inwardly, knowing that he was in for something special.

Despite his cautious answers, it was a joy to watch Nate get swept up in the preparations for our Savior's birth. Buying presents for Mom and Dad at the school holiday store, singing Christmas Carols with his AWANA buddies at the local retirement community, and decorating the family tree (despite Dad almost dropping him from 7 feet up as I tried to get him to put the angel at the top).

I will always remember taking Nate and Kit on an errand to Wal Mart a few days before Christmas. They were both wowed by the shiny new bikes hanging from the ceiling. With zero prompting (I promise!), they went on to gush about how much they wanted a new bike to replace the banged up, balding tires, rusty hand me downs they currently zoomed around the neighborhood on. Nate told me, "Daddy, those bikes are cool. I really want one." I played that game that we all get to play - "Oh, Nate. That's the first time you've said that. We'll see what we can do. You're birthday is in February, you know." On the inside, I couldn't wait to get home and tell Susanne!

I can only imagine what was running through his mind as our four arrows all gathered on Mom and Dad's bed on Christmas morning to read Luke 2 together. We had a great day together, first at our house, then at Mimi and Dada's, and the next day at Mama and Pop's. His face lit up many times with genuine thanks, but if you ask Nate what he got for Christmas, he will give you a smile - "a bike."

Thank you, Jesus, for these front row seats!

*We are especially thankful to the ladies at the Bowley's Quarters Curves where Susanne works out. Their very generous gift allowed us to buy Nate's bike!