Christmas Outing

Just like last year, Daddy won tickets to see the Singing Christmas Tree. Last year's show was actually better, but Mommy and Daddy enjoyed it so much more this year because the kids were very well-behaved and they enjoyed the production so much more.



We used gift certificates (Daddy previously won) to the Macaroni Grill and had a nice dinner before the show. It was a nice evening out to start out the Christmas Season.

Christmas Craft

Since the cold and wet weather has settled in for good around here, I'm breaking out the indoor activities to keep the kiddies busy and me sane. We made an easy Christmas craft today that requires no more than paper and scissors. If you want to decorate the trees, stickers and glitter glue worked well for us (the tree is actually decorated, though it doesn't show much in the picture)!

Snow!

Since we live at less than 100 feet above sea level, I was very surprised to see snow falling yesterday. It was too warm for it to stick, but it was beautiful to watch falling. Ryan and Abby were very excited too, and while Abby was napping, I let Ryan go outside to enjoy it for a few minutes. He tried catching some in his mouth, but finally just licked it off his sleeve...yuck! When we woke up today there was some snow on the ground that had fallen in the night, and the foothills were gorgeous. I had to laugh when our neighbor called to invite us over for a playdate because her daughter's morning Kindergarten had been canceled due to snow and ice. I don't think people around here are used to this!

Operation Christmas Child

We do shoeboxes each year for Operation Christmas Child, and this year was really fun because Ryan is starting to "get it." As we were packing the items in the shoeboxes, he ran to his room to get some of his Hot Wheels that he wanted to give. I was blessed that he wanted to be so giving! He was disappointed that he wouldn't be allowed to give his toys (they don't accept used toys), but I promised I will try to find another way he can give some of his used toys. It's proving to be a difficult assignment since no one except thrift stores seems to accept used toys, even in excellent condition, to pass on to others who may be in need. Any ideas, anyone?

Rescuing Abby

Ryan was drawing pictures today, and he made this one for me. I asked him about the picture, and he pointed out everyone and said he was the green person, Daddy was the blue person, Mommy was the pink person, and Abby is the brown one up in the tree. When I asked why she was up in the tree, he said that she kept jumping around and she jumped really high and got stuck up there so we had to call someone to get her down. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. It seems he's figured out how his little sister operates!

Cars watching Cars

I don't know what happened to Flo and Sally
...maybe they were out for a cruise together!

Daddy got the Cars DVD for his birthday, and I honestly can't remember the last time I saw Ryan so excited as when he saw what Daddy got! We sat down to watch it as a family, and Ryan lined up all his Cars McDonald Happy Meal toys in a row so they could watch too, which cracked me up. After they went to bed, I just had to snap a picture of his friends all lined up on the couch.

The Big One

Ryan wearing Daddy's fishing hat.

Our pastor invited Daddy and Ryan to go fishing Saturday at one of his friend Ron's place that needed to have some big fish emptied out of his creek. Even though Ryan was not feeling well, we allowed him to go since he was just devastated at the prospect of having to miss it. He and Daddy had a great time, and Ryan caught the biggest trout he has ever caught. In fact he caught three trout, two of which were very large.

The angle of this photo doesn't show how big this trout is,
but we estimate it was close to three pounds (over a foot long)!


This is NOT the biggest one. This one was about a two-pounder.
Sorry for the gory shot, but Ron degilled him before Daddy could get a picture.

Ron was friendly and helped Ryan bait his hook with some super bait (liver), cleaned the fish after he caught them, and even gave Ryan a canoe ride. Ryan had a fantastic time, and his catch was so big that our family couldn't even eat it all in one meal!

Answered Prayer

Since I listed out some specific prayer requests prior to Ryan's surgeries, I thought I'd post the specific answers we received. We were praying:

1. That Ryan will tolerate the anesthesia well. Last time he was pretty nauseous.

He did so much better this time! He was nauseated once on the elevator ride down, but he was just fine after that.

2. That he would be free from infection.

He had absolutely no infection!

3. For skill and wisdom for the doctors.

Both surgeries accomplished the task, and the eye surgeon said she didn't think she could have achieved a better result!

4. One of the uncommon side effects from the particular eye surgery he's having done this time is that his lower eye lid could droop slightly. We are praying that would not happen, of course.

No drooping! Thank you, Lord!

5. He will have peace and be courageous! He is very anxious.

He did cry when he first found out that morning that we were going, but he seemed pretty relaxed and was very cooperative during all the pre-op vitals, discussions, and time before surgery.

6. For a quick recovery, speedy healing and minimal pain.

He had almost no pain with his stenosis surgery, and some mild pain from the eye surgery for a couple days. However, they gave him Tylenol with codeine this time and that helped him cope much better than last time. His healing went very well and continues to heal quite nicely.

7. Lastly, we pray that the surgeries would have the desired outcome and be successful. The eye surgery is difficult for the doctor to know definitively where to cut and suture. So much of the outcome is based on things that she can't predict or control...like how his brain will "interpret" the new position of the eye. So we're praying for the best possible outcome.

Again, the stenosis surgery was successful!
The eye surgery was successful on many levels (no drooping, excellent positioning), but we won't know the complete picture for a month or more.

Needless to say, the Lord was most gracious in answering our prayers! He is faithful even when He chooses to answer differently than we hope, but this time I am grateful He saw fit to walk us smoothly through this small trial.

Good Reports

Yesterday Ryan had his two follow-up exams with the urologist and the ophthalmologist. Both went very well.

The urologist said it has healed well and the remaining stitches will dissolve soon. We don't need to go back to him again unless Ryan's having problems. Ryan is enjoying his new freedom to stand when urinating, though he asks me every time, "Can I stand?"! (We used to have him sit because it was nearly impossible for him to get it in the toilet otherwise.)

The eye surgeon was very pleased with the results of his eye surgery. I had been examining his eye myself and thought it looked just about perfect, so it was good to hear her concur. His eye is still healing though so we have to wait another month or so to find out if he will need bifocals and/or a new prescription. He still crosses a little bit up close, and she thinks perhaps bifocals may help.