Where was I?

Thanks so much for everyone that has prayed for us and continues praying. We appreciate the support that so many have provided though we've never met many of you in person. What a blessing to us!!

This week has been a BUSY one!

Monday we completed our CPR and First Aid training at a facility about 30 min away. We left the house at 7:50 and got home at 6:00! The space shuttle went up at 6:30 or so and traffic was bumper to bumper and pretty much stopped everywhere!

I went with a plan and a backup... I couldn't leave Lynae for that long, so the plan was for her to hang out and sit along with us. But I had no idea if they'd let her stay. I honestly was afraid to call and hear their "policy" rather than see what the instructor said. So we brought her along and had my mom 'on call' to come pick her up if they said she couldn't stay. The instructor said "you didn't have to bring your own infant for practice" when we came in, but I think when we went around the room asking our name and why we were seeking certification and we said we're adopting a child from medical foster care... they realized we weren't on the clock for work or anything like that and they were happy to have her stay :) And so were we! She did great- she's an easygoing kid- and she even wanted to copy me doing the CPR.

A little visual for ya... I did all the CPR hands-on studies with her right with me. She's not really sturdy sitting independently yet, so I was kneeling with her leaning against my legs, in her own little 'cave' as I bent over her to do the CPR practicum. And she pumped the dummy right along side. What a trooper :)

Very glad to have grandparents that want to be around, this week! The different grandparents kept different kids at each part of the day and allowed us to go do this all day and not have to worry about our other kids.

Then Tuesday I dropped off the kids at various schools and drove Emma back down to the same town I'd been in for the CPR and got her fitted for new AFO's. She's getting some DAFO #4's with straps. I think this will be a good fit for her and provide great ankle support in addition to the arch and foot support she's already getting with the suresteps. Of course the DAFO's required casting to be able to fit them for her... and though she fidgeted and kicked during the casting, you would have thought he was taking her LEGS off by the way she screamed when he used the little saw to get the casts OFF! Lynae didn't love that part either... That pretty much blew the day on Tuesday!

Wednesday Mike and I drove back to Tampa to get the medical training for our new son. I will post more about that on MyNormalFamily.wordpress.com :)

We also went to the Florida Mall on our way home to eat at the food court there then grabbed a few things at two stores there. Two years (or so) ago my sweet husband bought me a 'stash' of Bath and Body Works soap for our bathroom. At the time that was a big splurge and he saved it for my birthday or Mother's day or something like that. Unfortunately, that day came and went and the soaps didn't show up. Later on we talked about them... and we haven't ever found them! So I finally said that I wanted to go buy some 'replacements'. I think 2 years is a bit much to hope it'll show back up again... don't you? :) (yes, we still had soap, just 'cheap' soap!)

Today after bringing the boys to school and then N to his school I grabbed my mom and the three girls and mom and I went BACK down 30 minutes to the same town AGAIN for the 3rd time this week for a cardiology visit. Emma was not a happy camper! She doesn't like the building very much since she sees almost all of her specialists there. She cried and cried and cried... no hope of getting a blood pressure on her (which isn't so good since her last BP at the pediatrician's office was a little high and she just came off BP meds a few months before that). She cried through her exam, but the doctor did finally get a good (average!) BP for her. Brianna's BP was LOW, 82/40 or so but there was no concern about that so I guess that's all right.

Then it was time for echo's and Brianna did good with Lynae's "help" to keep her listening and playing. Her heart looks great. Small regurgitation but no shunting and her patches look great. She doesn't need to be seen for another year and charmed the doctor with her sweet toothy smile and that sparkle in her eye. I promised Brianna animal crackers and milk after her echo and true to my word produced those back where Emma was waiting when I brought Brianna and Lynae back to my mom. Boy was Emma interested!

Emma started signing eat more to me over and over again so I took off her glasses, took off her shirt, grabbed her juice box, grabbed the animal crackers... and said let's walk! She had no hesitation walking to the echo room and laying down on the table knowing that a cookie was soon to follow :) She ate a little piece at a time and though she kept grabbing the ultrasound tech's hands or the wand or the stickies for the EKG part, she took redirection well (as I pried her hands off) and overall had the BEST echo we've gotten in 2 years! That speaks volumes for animal crackers and juice!! :) Some may call it bribery... I call it finding what works!

Emma's heart wasn't quite as good of news, but still ok. One valve has 'opened up' a little where it was stitched and there's more of a moderate leak on it. It's still not something to be concerned about immediately, but it's something that "occasionally kids need to go back in about 5 years after their surgery and have that repaired". So, we may be looking at another heart surgery for her in a few years. For now we'll go back in another 6 months to monitor it. See? Can't be SO bad if she doesn't need to be checked out for 6 months, right? :)

It was wonderful hearing Dr. N talk about Emma and tell her story to the person in charge of Brianna's medical appointments. Dr. N holds a great fondness for Emma and is the person I credit with saving Emma's live- she talked the cardiac surgeon into operating! She was the first person to look at Emma and say "she's alive, and I want to see her live!"

All in all a good day. We had a girls' lunch with my mom and I and my 3 girls at Steak and Shake then came back to town to pick up the boys. It was another FULL day! Now Kristopher and Mike are at soccer practice and N went along tonight as well. The four little ones are running the roost while I'm sitting here with a headache typing away rather than getting the kids into pajamas :) Now on to my mom duties so I can go to bed in an hour with the kids! It's been a busy week and I'm ready for a good night's sleep :)