Nativity Sets

We have five nativity sets that we get out at Christmas (sadly, I had to throw away a sixth one that was handmade and had seen better days) and scatter throughout the house. Two of the sets are toys that the kids can play with, a Little People set and a Playmobil set with lots of cute extras. I gave the kids the Little People set last week to play with, and this week I let them play with the Playmobil set. After playing with them for a short time I left them alone, and I was stunned and thrilled that they ended up playing with it for almost four hours today! It's rare for a toy to hold their attention that long and for them to play together so well for so long. Needless to say, I got a few extra things done today, such as these blog posts!

Santa Hat

I was snapping pictures of the kids in their Santa hats (although we don't do Santa around our house), and this was a cute one of Ryan, so I thought I'd share it. It's a rare picture of him without a glare on his glasses!

Trimming the Tree

The tree before

We said goodbye to our dinner guests, cleaned up the kitchen and then turned on the fireplace and Christmas music and started decorating the tree Sunday evening. Ryan did a very good job (I was surprised), and he was so excited about it all.


I wasn't sure we had enough ornaments for such a big tree, but it was no problem. We used up just about every ornament, and the tree looks great. Our tree topper is kind of tall and won't fit though, so we're looking for one we like better anyway. Hopefully we'll find one before Christmas, but if not, it looks beautiful anyway.


The tree after

Gingerbread

To say that Ryan is a picky eater is an understatement. Though he has some grown-up tastes (salmon, steak, green olives, for example), he will fuss over eating the most simple of things sometimes (cookie dough, cheese, watermelon, raisins, etc.). So when I baked a batch of gingerbread this evening, I expected him to resist even taking a bite. But when he saw that it looked like chocolate cake, he tried it and to my utter shock...loved it! He even had two pieces. He never ceases to surprise me.


He was upset when I took the picture over some infraction of his sister's, so that's why the big tears on his cheeks.

Cutting the Tree

We usually get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but Daddy was very sick that weekend. The next weekend Mommy got what Daddy had the week before. So this weekend we were blessed with no rain, no sickness, and a beautiful day for a family outing. We like to cut our own tree, so we headed up the road to a U-Cut farm up in the hills a few miles away. It was a nice drive, and once we got there, the kids had a blast running up and down the hills and hiding behind the trees.

It was Friday and we were the only customers on the farm, so we took our time and walked all the hills trying to find the perfect tree. At last we decided and Daddy cut it down. Daddy has always wanted a great big tree, but until this year we haven't had a ceiling tall enough or a living room big enough. This year he got to pick a large Noble Fir...almost nine feet tall! It is huge and really gorgeous. It makes our house smell so wonderful!

Oh, and for my family in California who are probably thinking we spent a small fortune on the tree...it was $20!

Have I mentioned how much we love Oregon?

Merry Christmas from The Garners!

For the Birds

We have several different species of birds who stay around all year long, including some really cute tiny chickadees that I especially like. Since we don't have a bird feeder or bird house yet, the kids and I made this fun pinecone feeders for the birds to enjoy during the sparse winter months. We just smeared peanut butter on the pincones and then rolled them in bird seed. It was so easy, the kids enjoyed it, and hopefully the birds will too!

Larry Boy!

Ryan loves to draw, but he pretty much only draws trucks and cars and all things with wheels. So whenever he draws something besides trucks and cars, I'm always thrilled. I thought this picture of Larry Boy from VeggieTales was cute, although Larry Boy was an afterthought after he drew the Larry Mobile.

He drew a cute picture of Jesus in the manger a couple days ago, but I couldn't scan it because it was on a box that was to be sent to his cousins. I think I'll see if he will draw another because it was pretty cute!

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.

Recovering

Ryan's eye is looking much better. Though it's still a little red, it looks much better than it did just a few days ago. He says it doesn't hurt anymore too, so that is a blessing.

I'll spare you (and him) pictures of his other surgery, but suffice it to say it's healing very well too. He is excited that it doesn't take as long to go pee as it used to! Mommy is excited that it now shoots out straight and directly into the toilet!

Doing Better

Ryan told me a few days ago that he's not angry anymore. His behavior has significantly improved also. What a relief!

I have been thinking about why he might be angry. I don't truly know what's going on inside his head, but I think perhaps we didn't give him enough information. Because he tends to dwell on things, we often try to keep things from him. Though he knew he was having the two surgeries when Gramie came to visit, he didn't know which day it was and perhaps we should have told him the day before instead of the morning of the procedure. I was concerned he would sit up and worry all night, so we didn't tell him.

In retrospect I think he might have felt that we "sprung" it on him, and in a way we did. Sigh. I continue to ask the Lord for wisdom with this little guy. He is so complicated at such a young age! Your prayers are so appreciated.

Angry Boy

Ryan has been acting out terribly the last several days since his surgery. We finally asked him if he knows why he is behaving so badly. Is he upset, tired, scared, angry, confused? He frankly told us he is angry that he had to have surgery and just wanta his eyes and [other parts] the way they were. I was a little surprised he could actually articulate what he was feeling, and slightly encouraged that we now have something specific we can focus on.

Along with disciplining him, we have been trying to love on him and reassure him and try to begin teaching him how to deal with his feelings. Please pray for him (and for us!). Sometimes it's as if his intellect is too advanced..he understands things far beyond his emotional ability to cope with them. I feel so inadequate to help him, but it certainly causes me to keep leaning on Him who has the answers!

The Pictures

Well, my favorite part of having a blog is sharing pictures! We didn't take loads of pictures today, but we did get a few of his progression through the morning ordeal.


Don't ask me why but Ryan woke up at 4:00am this morning. I told him to go back to sleep, but neither of us were really able to. So we finally allowed him to get up and get dressed at about 5:00. We left for the hospital about 5:30 with one sullen little boy. He must have not heard me or understood this morning when I told him we were going to the hosptial for his surgery this morning. He was chipper and ready to go. Then he asked why we were going, and he was NOT happy!


He eventually settled down, and I don't think he said two words the whole way after that. We checked in and everything went pretty quickly after that. In fact, he didn't even get to play in the playroom this time around, which didn't please him. He got to pick out a stuffed animal, and he chose this kitty and named him Stockings.



Daddy playing This Little Piggy with Ryan.
They gave him versed again this time, and it made him a "happy" boy! So long as we could keep him from falling off the bed, he was enjoying life. Both surgeons and the anesthesiologist went over the procedures again, and then they took him away...always the hardest part. They told us that they would do the procedures simultaneously, and the stenosis surgery would be about 30-45 minutes and the eye surgery about 60 to 90 minutes.



After two hours we still hadn't heard from the urologist, and Mommy was starting to get a wee bit stressed. Finally, he appeared and said he had been done for long time but he was waiting till the eye surgery was over before he came to talk to us...WHY!?



Anyway, he said all went very well and his recovery should be fairly easy. Then the eye surgeon showed up and again gave us a good report. We were told they would come get us as soon as he woke up and started calling for us. However, after about 30 minutes they called us and said they were taking us all back upstairs to the final recovery room. He had woke up very well and wasn't nauseous or distressed at all.



He ate a popsicle and took some pain medicine, and we got him dressed and were out the door within an hour and a half. Last time we were in post-op for 45 minutes, then in recovery for over two hours. He did wonderfully today!



He is feeling great now, and we're having trouble keeping him still. He had a caudal block and is still unsteady on his feet from the anesthesia. The nurse told us to keep him quiet for the rest of the day and that they have about two kids a week come back to the ER after having surgery because they fall and need stitches!

I am grateful to the Lord for His mercy toward my son! We will keep you posted on how he progresses and on how successful it all turns out. We go back to see the eye doctor tomorrow and again next week. We also will go back to the urologist next week.