Car sleepers

Okay all you viewers, just TRY to get your head to touch your shoulder like this. How can kids sleep like this? All three of them knocked off during a 10 minute drive after playing at the park Thursday afternoon. Grace had the last 2 of her necessary 4 teeth extractions that day - we dropped her off and then went to the park. The kids had a blast on the big twistee slides and swings. Grace was a trooper throughout her ordeal and now will wait the year out for her teeth to move around and then start into her invisalign in January 08. She can't wait!

Mary

A chip off the old block!

The "Big Meltdown" occurred over this last week. Caitlin loves to chip away at the huge slabs of ice and landed this 'big one' after a long effort! Nearly 4 inches thick and over 4 feet tall. We are sooooo glad to see nearly ALL the snow and ice gone now.

Mary

Quick update

It's been a week since we've posted - sorry!! The evening of the 17th (last Saturday), Nate broke his second wire at 7p. The docs at U of I didn't want to rewire him at 11pm, so John, Caitlin and Nate took off for U of I on Sunday morning. 3 hours down .... 10minutes to rewire him .... 3 hours back. I was glad to stay back home and go to church this time!!

We all went to the Wild Game Buffet at church that night - venison, salmon, wild turkey, goose and some normal fare as well. We always enjoy a nice fellowship at church!

Mary

Nathan snaps a wire!

We have seen numerous robins lately, scavenging for food. Yeah!! Signs of spring are all around - daffodil sprouts (in others' yards), kids out trike riding on the driveway and sidewalks, chalk drawings all over!! We still have piles of snow and ice melting, but Spring WILL come!

Yesterday evening while eating dinner, John commented that Nathan was moving his jaw more today. I looked at him closely to see one of his two pin wires was broken! 5:45pm on Friday night - happy weekend! We called the hospital, which is 3 hrs away, and after a few calls and consults to "fellows" and the chief surgeon, we were told it was no emergency - we could come on Monday or over the weekend. So, we chose to wait and Mary and Lynn Cox will again travel to Iowa City on Tuesday to get the wire reattached. I told John we could just go to ACE hardware and get some wire ourselves, but considering the level of calibration the docs do to have his chin/face shifting "just right", we chose to let the professionals do it!! So as long as the other wire doesn't snap, we will wait until Tuesday - otherwise it will be a quick trip to U of I hospital. NEXT time I hope they increase the wire gauge or triple layer it!!

Blessings,
Mary

Grace's 13th birthday party with friends

Grace had 8 friends over for her traditional slumber party. Teen games, a movie, doing hair and just joking around - all had a great time. Can't believe my "baby" is getting all grown up!

Mary

Nathan's Crown!

Nathan's first surgery

Today, Nathan had his first (of three) surgeries at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. Mary and Lynn Cox drove down with Nate yesterday afternoon and spent the night in a hotel. They were able to take Nate swimming in the hotel's pool, which Mary said he enjoyed. This morning, he was taken into the O.R. to have his "crown" put on. I hope to soon have pics placed so you can see what I'm about to try to describe, but here goes:

Nathan has "hemifacial microsomia" with microtia. In layman's terms, in the womb half his face was not fully developed and his ear was not fully formed. The mandible (lower jawbone) on the right is not completely formed and does not have its growth plate. He also lacks the chewing muscles on the right side of his face. The left side is completely normal, and as he grows the left side of his face is growing normally and the right side pretty much not growing at all, so his face is gradually getting more asymmetrical. Eventually this can lead to considerable problems, such as twisting of the airway- which would not be a good thing!

Today, he had hardware placed that will "distract" his jawbone, or pull it back into a more correct alignment. The device is similar to a "halo" and is attached to his skull with pressure point screws, four on each side. Coming down from the front of the halo is a bar which is attached to Nate's chin by two pins. A plate was surgically inserted onto his chin for these 2 pins to attach to. Tomorrow, Mary will be taught how to perform the daily adjustments to this contraption that will gradually pull Nate's jaw back into alignment. In 3 weeks, we will return to Iowa City and they will take some of Nate's rib and rib cartilage out and graft it into his jaw. This graft will act as a growth plate in the future. In another 3 weeks, we will again go down and all the hardware will be removed.

During the 6 weeks that Nate is wearing the halo device, he will not be able to open his mouth more than a 1/4 inch or so. Mary has been able to spoon some orange sherbet into his mouth tonight, but it looks like feeding will be difficult for the next 6 weeks. According to the surgeon, he will not be able to chew anything harder than mac & cheese, so soft/pureed diet is what he'll be getting. Nathan is a carnivore. He loves meat- beef/chicken/pork- if you give it to him Nate will eat it!

Todays surgery went well. Nate is dealing with some discomfort, oozing of blood around the chin plate and groginess. We will keep you all informed of his progress. I'll try and post some before/after pictures too. Keep Nate in your prayers as he deals with this situation in his life.

Blizzard pics

Our front yard
Dad working the snowblower
A snowball fight!
Nathan and Juls
Sarabeth on a snow mound

The blizzard(s) of 2007

Tonight we are dealing with the second blizzard in the past 6 days. Blizzard #1 began last Friday evening with thundersleet and freezing rain, which gave us a nice coating of ice. The snow began in earnest on Saturday evening and with the high winds the conditions were pretty dicey outside. Many people here in North Iowa lost their power. Now, almost a week later as some folks are still waiting for their electricity to be restored- a second round of freezing rain and HEAVY snow is falling. The forecast is for another 12-15 inches by tomorrow afternoon, with considerable blowing and drifting of snow.

We are praying for those who are still in the dark. Our good friends Shannon and Jodi Clark are among those waiting. You can read their story on their blog at clarkproverbs.blogspot.com

The kids are enjoying the opportunity to get out and play in the white stuff. Thankfully the temps haven't been too bad, hovering just below freezing. The pics above show what we've been dealing with. As dad works the snowblower, the kiddos are having a blast playing.

Grace is a TEEN!

The youngest of our first family is a teenager. Grace turned 13 yesterday. It's hard to imagine that our little girl is already a teenager, but it's true! She looks and acts more like one every day. We had a small family party with presents and cake last night. Grace will have her traditional sleep-over party with 8 of her friends on Friday night (weather permitting!). She plans on decorating the family room, eating lots of junk, watching a movie or two, giggling a lot!, and not sleeping very much. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Above are some pics of our family party.