Update December 17, 2009

I finally have news to share - but not much.

Tim finally was able to get LaRue in with a pediatrician, not many doctors are accepting new patients during the holidays, and even fewer want to take on 4 new Medicaid patients.   LaRue is now 11 lbs 12 oz and 24 inches long.  She looks healthy and her head continues to look better from the outside (the bump is getting smaller - there was never much bruising on the outside).  We should be refered to a nurologist soon ... but it might take 2 months to get an appointment, and we'll have to go to the big city for that.  A second EEG will be done when she is 6 or 7 months old.  Other than the threat of seizures - she seems very recovered and normal.  We are all seeing a chiropractor, and since treatments, she has begun to sleep more deeply without falling into very shallow breathing patterns that end in a huge cough and gasp for breath.  So I'm sleeping better too.  Pray for dr appointments to go smoothly and quickly and for the seizures to not recure.

Joel checked out fine.  He's 41 1/2 inches and 40 lbs.  They did a well child check up too - and you will be pleased to know that he can see out of both eyes and hear out of both ears.  (I knew that - but let them go ahead in case he was not seeing as well as I thought he was.)   Joel's advice for avoiding an accident ... STAY OFF THE GRASS!  He has also begun to have a few nightmares.  Pray we get us all back into a schedule soon.

Marriana is having some problems with adjusting - she thrives on a set routine and it's all out of whack, and new things going on.   Once Christmas is over, things should settle down for her.

Vannan is also seeing our chiropractor.  She was thrown by the billy goat several years ago, and we are taking advantage of us going to get her knee and back fixed up.  Her range of movement has greatly improved.  I didn't like seeing my 12 year old walking like a 90 year old.  She has declared bunny raising to be "really hard work".  But she is doing extra chores to make money to buy the feed.

Kendra is ... Kendra.   A big help at night.  She's been snuggling Joel after his nightmares or just because he is sleepwalking, or changing to my bed to snuggle LaRue so I can take care of Joel or other needs without worrying or moving her.  But she does get side tracked so easy during the day.  She's been heading up the cooking and Christmas cards.

Doing Christmas cards, we've discoverd that most of our addresses are very old, we can't find the last 2 years of updates.  So we are trying to redo the addresses.  Please send us your physical address (most of my readers are family and close friends, I think) so we can get the addresses written down correctly.  Thanks.

Tim is trying hard to build some clientele in his insurance job.  Not much income from that yet, and he's not getting as many games from reffing basketball as he usually gets either.  This is by far the leanest Christmas we've had yet ... Christmas just seems to be a bad time of year for us.  Pray for his job and safety on the roads.

I'm getting more sleep and have realized recently that I've lost the last 2 months somewhere.  Or really, a whole year.  I'm praying for a calmer new decade.  Life is so "not what I had planned", but I'm ok with that (most of the time, sometimes I have to remind myself) - I'm very sure that this is where God wants us right now, and that's comforting.  Remember the song, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin through" ?   I tend to sing it a lot these days.   I could wish for more, but wishing always gets me in trouble.  I'm working hard at that "be content" thing right now, and the "trust" part pretty often too.

One thing I've recently come to grips with is that all of us humans are pretty selfish.  If only people would do things OUR WAY.  Maybe I'll expound on a few things God has been teaching me later, right now, I've got a hungry baby to feed, and I can't hold my precious bundle of joy and type at the same time.

Smiling - wish you could hear and see Vannan singing to her baby sister.  She's gonna make a great Momma some day.