The Waala Family !!

It's been too long !

2011-11-12T19:18:00.008-06:00

With Facebook I have been neglecting our blog- it is time for updates !
Harrison- has completed his last Cross Country season. He is in his senior year and has applied for college.
Madeline- is a freshman and just competed her first Cross Country season.

Hayden- is in 7th grade. He loves his school and the computer.

Elijah- Eli had surgery in August- unfortunately he needs another surgery this week. We hope the 4th time is a charm. He is a trooper and amazes us with how well he has adjusted these past two years.

Keaton- continues to enjoy school. He is in his second Boston Brace. We have started Chiropractic care- he was having some back pain and figured that it can't hurt.

Mia-Faith is getting every type of speech and language services one can get. I am debating taking her to be screened at Children's Hospital I suspect she has a long term issue and possibly a learning disability. We will see.

Another huge highlight was hosting a German student- Nicola. She was absolutely delightful and will always be our "seventh" child. Harrison will be heading to Germany April 1st to visit her.

Harrison, Madeline and Nicola -

That's all for now- I promise to get back to updating regularly !

Happy 9th Birthday Keaton !!

2011-05-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

Harrison's Confirmation

2011-05-20T22:29:00.005-05:00

Hayden's spring concert

2011-05-20T22:26:00.002-05:00

Maddy's last 8th grade concert

2011-05-17T21:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Eli !

2011-05-17T21:31:00.002-05:00

Sponsor

2011-05-08T17:08:00.004-05:00

We decided to sponsor a child when we got a little money back from our taxes. Isn't she a beauty. I follow the site and blog of Amazima Ministries. We recently got a letter and can not wait to write her back. I figure even if we can not adopt again we can still reach out and help those in need.

We are back !

2011-05-08T15:51:00.010-05:00

We apologize for the lack of blogging and promise to provide more frequent updates.

Lets start with Harrison. Harrison recently got his drivers license. Woo-Hoo !
This weekend was Prom. 22 more days of school and he will be a Senior ! We started talking about colleges which seems ridiculous.

Madeline was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. She rocked at Forensics this year , taking 1-2-3rd all season and then took 4th at the state competition.

Hayden recently attended 6th grade camp. He absolutely LOVED it. Hayden was lucky that his camp counselor ended up being his cousin Brandon. It was 3 days of geography, science, running around in the rain and good food. (Those are Hayden's take-aways.)

Elijah continues to do well in school. He will be having a revision surgery this summer. Which he is not looking forward to... but we are very thankful we are so close to Children's Hospital.

Keaton is sporting his second Boston Brace for his Juvenile Scoliosis. The first one lasted 18 months. He is such a trooper. He goes with the flow- a couple kids made fun of him when he got his new brace- he promptly told the teacher who dealt with the situation. Hoping for another 18months of wear and no curve progression. We attended CHOW Scoliosis support group. It was really interesting. Keaton was the youngest boy in attendance. At his last appointment we consented to allowing Children's to use his DNA for research. I am thinking that 3/4 kids having scoliosis has to be rare.

Mia-Faith is doing well. She loves school. She is still a peanut. Her speech is progressing and we just renewed her IEP. She has come a long way but still has issues with word finding, sentence structure and articulation. Never got a call from a teacher until Mia hit kindergarten. She is a follower and so eager to please...

Christmas Concert time ...Hayden

2010-12-15T20:18:00.001-06:00

Swimming Meet ~ Harrison

2010-12-14T20:14:00.000-06:00

Show Choir 2010- Madeline

2010-12-08T20:21:00.000-06:00

Birthday Party for Madeline

2010-12-04T20:29:00.003-06:00

Can't believe 14 years ago I was one day away from giving birth to our Madeline. Maddy you are a true blessing !

Just Dancing ! Hayden and Keaton

2010-12-03T20:26:00.000-06:00

Swing Choir- Madeline

2010-12-02T20:33:00.001-06:00

Christmas Decorating

2010-11-24T20:23:00.000-06:00

Cross Country Awards

2010-11-05T20:25:00.000-05:00

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-31T20:27:00.000-05:00

Scoliosis Update

2010-10-19T19:08:00.003-05:00

Today we visited Children's Hospital. Keaton's curves are holding with use of his Boston brace 20/24 day. I was relieved because I know he has grown since last visit. He will get a new brace in the next few months. Madeline's curve has progressed. She will get checked again in 3 months. If she progresses any further she will end up with a night time brace. Good thing she is almost done growing. All in all a good day.

2010 Conference Champs Cross Country JV and Varsity

2010-10-17T17:06:00.004-05:00

National Honor Society Induction Ceremony

2010-10-17T17:00:00.003-05:00

Great Job Harrison- we are very proud of you !!

Homecoming 2010

2010-10-02T18:23:00.002-05:00

Cross 2010

2010-10-01T18:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Mia-Faith !!

2010-09-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

Look who is SIX !!

2010-09-09T21:59:00.001-05:00

SCC, Veggie Tales and adoption- a must see !

2010-09-01T21:31:00.001-05:00

Yummie Eclairs

2010-08-28T19:56:00.002-05:00

Harrison and Madeline made chocolate eclairs- they were awesome.

Middle School Race

2010-08-28T19:50:00.002-05:00

Madeline participated in the first Middle School race held after Harrison's race. She did a good job. Can't wait till she officially trains for CC. Next summer !

Cross 2010

2010-08-28T19:43:00.004-05:00

Harrison ran today. It is so exciting to watch the team. He was disappointed with his finish but he did PR. The season is just starting so he will have plenty of time to set goals for himself.

2010-08-24T19:22:00.011-05:00

Eli found out today that his ELL teacher will be traveling to his new school this year to provide ELL services- He is so excited !

Dave and Keaton have a meeting tomorrow to show Keaton's new teacher how to apply his Boston Brace and go over his 504 plan. What Keaton really wants to know is- if his best friend is in his 3rd grade class.

School Supplies - check

Kids ready to go back -check

Dad and Mom ready for routine- check

What's happening ?!?

2010-08-09T21:15:00.003-05:00

This summer is flying ! Quick kid update- Harrison has been running all summer getting ready for Cross Country. He got his braces off and has started Drivers Ed. Madeline has been spending all her time with her friend Anna. They are 2 peas-in-a-pod. Hayden has been busy on the computer, biking and reading books from the library. Elijah can't wait to go back to school. Mia-Faith is excited about starting Kindergarten. We went to Lifest in July and enjoyed camping for a week. I had surgery the following week so we have had a really low key summer but all is good.

4 years with our Mia-Faith

2010-07-03T16:33:00.000-05:00

Brewer Game

2010-06-13T19:56:00.001-05:00

Closing the roof - rain on the way !

Hayden's last day of 5th grade

2010-06-09T19:30:00.001-05:00

Hayden has had the best experience in grade school. He loved his teacher. Off to 6th grade come fall...

Family 5 K !

2010-06-06T19:40:00.003-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-29T19:19:00.000-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday Keaton !!

2010-05-26T19:49:00.002-05:00

Family Wedding Fun

2010-05-22T20:13:00.004-05:00

Final Track Meet 2010

2010-05-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday Elijah !

2010-05-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

Track 2010

2010-05-15T16:59:00.002-05:00

Since Harrison's cast came off he has been running JV/Varsity. He likes the 2 mile. Last meet he ran his personal best- 11:19. He has one more meet this week then he will start summer running to get ready for Cross.

My beauty !

2010-05-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

Fun with left over carpet ....

2010-05-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

2010-05-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Just pictures ....

2010-04-21T15:00:00.004-05:00

Pictures and quick updates...

2010-04-07T21:09:00.003-05:00

Mia-

Mia's hugging her new doll from Baby Be Blessed. She has really started talking at home. Now that she is actually speaking- her speech and language articulation issues are vey noticable. It's just nice to hear her talk.

Keaton-

He had his appointment with the pediatric orthopedic MD. His curve is stable. We go back in 6 months. He continues to do well with bracing 20/24 hours a day.

Elijah-

He continues to work hard at school. He is excited to take 2nd grade summer school.

Hayden-

Loves the better weather. Loves to go biking and to get out of the house.

Madeline-

Spent last night at a waterpark with a friend. She is a very social gal. Would much rather pal with friends.

Harrison-

Cast comes off in 1 week. Continues to run a lot. Just signed him up for Drivers Ed. I can't wait till he can drive !

Happy Easter All !!

2010-04-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

Sedation MRI- with update

2010-03-21T16:09:00.004-05:00

Keaton had his sedation MRI. He was a trooper. We see the pediatric neurosurgeon on Wednesday. We are hoping for good news and that everything is stable.

Keaton's appointment went well. The syrinx is stable. Since he is not having symptoms we will move to yearly check-ups and MRI's - so unless he has sudden curve progression or new symptoms we are done with Neurosurgery till next March.

Happy one year anniversary Elijah !

2010-03-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

Day outside....

2010-03-13T16:01:00.000-06:00

What is a Navicular ?

2010-03-04T19:26:00.004-06:00

Apparently it is the worst bone to break in your hand, it is the hardest to heal and unfortunately Harrison broke his. He is now sporting a new blue cast. He will have it for at least 6 weeks.

Pondering....

2010-02-17T21:10:00.004-06:00

We received an email to schedule our 12 month follow up post placement with our awesome home study agency. We are coming up on a 1 year- how can that be ? Getting the email really got me thinking....when we adopted Mia I was so excited to have a big bash the following year to celebrate gotcha day, the day that she was placed in my arms. Mia's gotcha day was so exciting and I felt such a love towards her. With Eli I don't have the same feeling about Gotcha day. Honestly I would rather forget that day all together. There was a time where I seriously thought that he would not stay with me and that we would have to disrupt the adoption. Looking back at the pictures it truly breaks my heart. Eli was so distraught. He was so scared. I am certain that both Madeline and I are scarred and will never forget his primal grief that day.

So with that I think that we will do things a little different. I think we will celebrate the day that Eli arrived home on March 20 th, the day that we were reunited and all together again as a family.

Happy Valentines day and Chinese New Year !!

2010-02-14T19:24:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentines Day and Chinese New Year from Eli and Keaton.

Celebrating Chinese New Year

2010-02-07T20:05:00.005-06:00

We attended a Chinese celebration at the Domes. It was a fun time. The kids enjoyed the tropical dome and the train exhibit. Madeline liked the hanging bananas.

I love my goofy bunch of bananas.

Off to the races...

2010-01-31T20:00:00.000-06:00

Today Dave, Harrison, Madeline and I ran a 5K. It was Madelines first race. She did a great job ! She blew me away. We hope we have another runner in the family.

Backyard visitors

2010-01-27T19:52:00.000-06:00

What's up dog....

2010-01-24T19:38:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since we posted ~ fortunately things have been pretty quite here. We hosted the Waala Christmas in the beginning of January. It was a great time. We managed to squeeze 59 people in the house. I went away for 5 days with my Mom and sisters to the Bahamas. It was wonderful. The weather was the best. Dave managed to corral the kids, do school running and keep a clean house. Impressive.
Harrison- just finished exams. I am going to sign him up for drivers ed this week. He has been winter running- getting ready for track.
Madeline- joined Forensics.
Hayden-has a birthday coming up !
Elijah-is taking ELL placement testing. We are so pleased with his academic progress. As much as he wants to move to 2nd grade we are fine with him remaining in 1st grade. We are going to send a letter and pictures to his China Foster Family for Chinese New Year.
Keaton-loves school. He has a wonderful friend Frankie that we are so happy he has become pals with. He goes back to the neurologist soon for a check up.
MiaFaith-she has become a ham. "what's up dog" is her new line. Where does she get these goofy sayings from ? She it talking more at home. She will have an IEP in fall when she transitions to Kindergarten.

We are hoping for a better 2010. We had a lot of challenges in 2009 with bringing Elijah home, losing Grandpa Russ, Keaton diagnosis, and other challenges but we are strong in our faith and strength as a family. We are looking forward to our new normal, camping, relaxing, being with family and friends and having fun...

How about a sleigh ride ?

2009-12-26T20:26:00.003-06:00

Elijah's first Christmas...

2009-12-25T20:16:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from our house to yours !!

Just pics....

2009-12-18T10:02:00.000-06:00

Christmas Concert~ Hayden and Keaton

2009-12-17T20:11:00.001-06:00

Hayden as a toy soldier.

Keaton helping his friend play the bell.

2009-12-13T19:06:00.002-06:00

Another kid in braces...

2009-12-13T14:36:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Madeline !

2009-12-05T14:33:00.000-06:00

Can't believe that you are 13 !!

Juvenille Scoliosis Update

2009-12-01T18:20:00.004-06:00

Today Keaton and Madeline had check ups at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Keaton's measurements are holding. Keaton continues to be braced 20/24 hours a day. He is such a trooper ! He will see the pediatric neurologist again in January and he will have another MRI to check his syrinx. Madeline is doing well. She will be watched more closely for the next year because she is hitting a big growth spurt - she turns 13 on Saturday !

I am so thankful for their stable health and thankful that we have the resources to address any future issues should they come up.

Happy Thanksgiving !

2009-11-27T17:49:00.003-06:00

My mom and my sisters.

The Grandkids...

The Waala clan...

Harrison making breakfast.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving breakfast at home and then went by Mike and Jill's house. Unfortunately I did not have my camera. Eli loved playing with Bethany. Eli loved the "party". We did a little shopping this morning and we are busy decorating the house. Eli has 1000 questions about the Thanksgiving and Christmas. We feel very blessed to see the holidays through new eyes and his questions certainly make us reflect on the reasons behind Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Cross Country 2009 Awards Banquet

2009-11-10T18:04:00.000-06:00

Cross has ended. It was a great season for Harrison. His personal best 5K was 19:35. Sorry for the blurry pic's - camera trouble. Harrison lettered this year which is a great accomplishment ! He also received a metal for his improvement in race 1- We are so proud of you Harrison !!

THANK YOU MRS. P !!

2009-11-03T20:55:00.008-06:00

Elijah was given 3 books from a wonderful woman that I work with. She just spent two weeks in China and actually stopped in Wuhan, Elijah's hometown. Eli was so excited to get the books. He read one of the stories in Chinese and then repeated it in English. He is fascinated by the fact that she visitied the town where he came from. He immediately sat down to write a thank you note and draw her a picture. It certainly made his day !

Happy Halloween !

2009-10-31T20:51:00.001-05:00

Harrison, Hayden and Mia stayed home to pass out candy. We still had plenty of candy !

2009-10-25T18:45:00.004-05:00

Today I looked out the window only to see Eli and Keaton snow-boarding down our hill. We have a ton of leaves in our yard. Dave piled up the leaves and the kids had a blast playing in them. We explained to Eli how much snow we get here in Wisconsin. His eyes were so wide. If he has this much fun with leaves I can't wait until he can actually go sledding and build a fort in the snow. He tells me that in Wuhan they had "little" snow. He has never built a fort or a snowman. He says all he has ever done is walked on the snow.

We survived.....

2009-10-24T18:48:00.002-05:00

2009-10-17T17:03:00.006-05:00

Harrison ran 19:53. He took 19th place.

Homecoming 2009

2009-10-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

Cousin Grant on court.

Harrison and his CC team were bananas at the homecoming game. They ran out during half-time.

Proud to be part...

2009-10-10T19:36:00.003-05:00

http://www.communitymemorial.com/news/advertising.cfm

Click on link above:

Check out the second commercial- I am honored to be part of the new campaign for Community Memorial Hospital. It's been fun to hear from people who have seen it.

Party by the Carltons

2009-10-10T19:14:00.004-05:00

Picking Pumpkins with Uncle Frank...

2009-10-10T13:21:00.005-05:00

Today the kids picked pumpkins by Uncle Frank's. You may not be able to see it but we have had flurries today. Wisconsin weather ...

2009-10-05T19:55:00.004-05:00

Just plain cute-

Harrison ran 19:35- PR again !

Elijah was invited to his first school birthday party. He was so excited. He counted down the days. He was puzzled by the fact that I purchased the gift. He thought that he would have to buy it - he was cute. He wanted to go as Dracula. He asked us if Dracula " is a good guy?"

Happy Birthday Mia-Faith

2009-09-27T16:29:00.006-05:00

Our princess will be 5 years old tomorrow-

Mia-Faith we all adore you !

Quick update on Elijah

2009-09-22T21:22:00.006-05:00

A lot of people have asked how Elijah is doing in school... he has been home 6 months now. He loves school. He is so proud of all his projects and assignments. His conversational English is good. He has started sight reading. He is very inquisitive. He LOVES his classroom and ELL teacher. We hope to move him up to second grade soon. We continue to have him privately tutored one night a week. We will be adding an additional hour so that he gets consistent exposure to Mandarin. Overall we are very happy with his progress ~ his next adventure will be going to a school friends Birthday party. Elijah is keeping track of the date on the calendar and just can't believe that he gets to go.

CC again...

2009-09-19T20:03:00.004-05:00

Another weekend of Cross Country. Harrison ran a 20:17. His personal best for a 5K !

Fun in the sun

2009-09-07T18:56:00.007-05:00

We have spent the past few weekends working on our memorial garden dedicated to Russ. Right after Russ passed away we had to move Mom out of the house. I would run over and feverishly dig up perennials and toss them in the ground anywhere at our house. A few weeks ago we went and bought a roto tiller and made this garden. We still have to finish the walking path- it puts a smile on my face to know that a lot of the plants were from his mother -Grandma Lil.

Madeline, Elijah and Mia-Faith on the trampoline with the sprinkler.

We have a lot of visitors now that the garden is complete. Russ would have loved it.

Updates

2009-09-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

This is Moose- He is visiting this weekend. He is Madeline's class pet. She volunteered to care for him.

Mia-faith loves all things girly. She was styling after getting her hair done by Madeline.

Harrison ran a 21:16 this weekend. He did a great job.

First Day of School 2009-2010

2009-09-01T07:17:00.001-05:00

They are off: Harrison is a Sophmore, Madeline in 7th, Hayden in 5th, Eli in 1st, Keaton in 2nd, and Mia-Faith in Early Childhood K4.

2009-08-30T19:29:00.006-05:00

Harrison ran his first official race of the 2009-2010 school year. It was a 5K and he ran 21.40. It was really windy and cold on Saturday. I was so proud of him !

Elijah is doing really good ! He is feeling much better now. It was a really rough week but he was able to get rid of some tubes that he had since surgery on his 8th postop day and that really helped. Eli is very excited to go back to school. "I speak English now-I make friends" is what he tells us. He is also excited to be with Bethany in class.

Keaton and Dave went and provided a mini inservice on how to apply and reapply Keaton's Boston Brace. We think we have all the bases covered for the school year.

One more day then all the kids are back in school. It will be a challenging year. We will have 6 kids in 6 different schools - It will be crazy !

It is starting again..Cross Country !!

2009-08-23T08:19:00.004-05:00

Saturday Harrison ran his first race. It was 2 1/2 miles- He ran about 17 minutes. We are excited for another season season to start. I was a lot less anxious watching him since he did summer running this year. It is a great sport.

Today is the day- Surgery ! UPDATED

2009-08-20T06:41:00.018-05:00

It is 6 am and everyone is sleeping. I figured I better get up and guard the kitchen. Eli can not eat (he can have a sip of apple juice when he gets up) because his surgery is at 1:30 pm. We will leave for Children's Hospital at 11:00. The surgery is scheduled for 31/2 hours ! Eli is excited but I know he doesn't have a clue how truly painful this will be. See Eli has no pain tolerance, is over dramatic with any type of aliment and pukes at the drop of a hat- so I am hoping for the best-

Prayers said and fingers crossed ! Just can't wait till it is done and he is back in his bed at home.

It is 1pm and Eli's surgery has been delayed by 1/2 hour. The doctor is running behind. Eli is watching KungFu Panda. (the English version) He keeps telling me he is very hungry and very thirsty. I bet he is !

It is 2pm Eli has just been taken into surgery. He fell asleep 20 minutes after the preop cocktail. He was pretty loopy but still managed to tell the anesthesiologist that he wanted watermelon sedation. He held my hand and clutched Madeline's stuffed puppy "Ellie" until he drifted off to sleep.

This was Eli's reaction to the the preop medication that he had to drink- He said it tasted "bad, so bad." It may have tasted bad but it did the trick !

8:30 pm Eli has been admitted. The procedure he had is generally a Home Today Surgery procedure but Eli came out of anesthesia a little rough. I knew when the Dr came out of recovery and asked were the interpreter was (which I am a little disappointed because one never showed up) that Eli must be out of sorts. We immediately went back to the recovery area and I could hear Eli yelling in Mandarin and English. It took a few of us to keep him safe until he could be given more medication. I was thankful that the Dr immediately said that he would need to stay overnight. They have a lot more medication options here than I would have at home.

We are now in his room. A few things that melt my heart -I am able to comfort him and he is constantly looking for me. When we got to his room he asked for me to call Dad and have him come "right away" and bring all the kids. He was very insistent. I keep reassuring him that it is late and he will see the kids tomorrow. Lastly- even with all the pain- he asked if he is "fixed" and "like other kids". I keep reassuring him that everything is good and he is absolutely perfect.

Friday Morning- Whew ! What a long night. Eli and I are running on steam. We probably got about 2 hours of sleep. He continues with pain and spasms. I keep reassuring him that the worst is over and everyday will get better. Being awake all night lead to some interesting conversations about China, his foster family, the orphanage and why he was left in China. I am surprised how much he says. He is wise beyond his years in some ways. Prior to me picking him up it must have been really stressed to him that if he came to America he would "get fixed." He kept saying "he tell me I get fixed America. I fixed." It was hard to see him in so much physical pain- mentally he is in a good place. I've wiped a lot of tears and I am proud to do it.

I am really hoping we can go home today. I think it would help for him to be in his own bed and at home.

We went for a walk after breakfast. That didn't go so well so we have to stick with the IV for a few more hours. I took a nap and Eli watched a marathon SpongeBob session. While we were resting the nurse came in and asked if we wanted to have a pet visitor. Eli said yes- so Birdie stopped by...Birdie is a wonderful dog - it was neat visit.

I am hoping that lunch goes well and we are able to hit the road.

Last update- We are home !! Woo-Hoo !!

Double Baptism

2009-08-15T19:43:00.004-05:00

Today was Eli and Bethany's baptism. Fr M. was kind and squeezed us in prior to Eli having surgery this week. Both kids did a great job. Eli was ready to get the holy water poured over his head after he watched Bethany. Auntie Jill and Harrison are Eli's sponsors. I am honored to be one of Bethany's. Click on the collage to enlarge.

Car sick .... suggestions ?

2009-08-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Any suggestions for a kiddo that gets easily car sick ?

Trip recap...home and settled !

2009-08-03T07:14:00.009-05:00

The state of PA is really beautiful. We loved hanging around the Lancaster, Reading and Denver area. We visited Hershey, took a tour, and saw a cool 3D movie about the evolution of chocolate. We visited the Indian Echo Cave, a historical Weapon Museum, doll factory and the Natural Science Museum. We ate smores, swam and slept till 8:30- nothing gets is better than that.

It was funny everywhere we went Madeline would say "Jon and Kate did this or went there !"

The kids traveled well. We had assigned seating on the way back so that helped. It was great to get away. We can't say enough about Shriner's Hospital- it is an amazing organization. We feel good having taken the time to seek out folks who are truly experts on JS.

Elijah's surgery is coming up on the 20th. He will begin treatments this week to help him get ready for the operation. I am amazed at how much conversational English he knows and how much he understands what is going to take place. I marvel at his determination. The next few weeks are going to be very busy - between the doctor appointments and school being right around the corner time will pass quickly...

Hello all !

2009-07-30T09:36:00.007-05:00

Here is where we are hanging out.

Just a quick update - we are at the Visitor Center in Lancaster. It has free WiFi ! We are really roughing it - no email access is killing me.

Just an update on our visit to Shriner's Hospital. The first thing I have to say is that it is an amazing organization.

We saw a handful of speciailists. The plan for Keaton is to book him for surgery in 18 months. If his numbers have not progressed we will cancel it and just keep pushing the date out farther... if Keaton ends up with surgery it would be a combination VBS and rodding. Dr B is more optimistic about bracing and feels that Keaton has good correction and it helps that he is compliant. He would also like ot see more time pass so that Keaton is a little older if we have to go the surgical route. As for the syrinx- the plan is to monitor it, hopefully nothing will change and it is just an incidental finding. He said 1/3 kids with JS have a syrinx. Now for the crazy news. While we were at Shriners they decided to screen all the kids for JS. It went pretty quick till they got to Madeline. While I was in X-ray with Keaton the PA popped her head in and said that she was sending Madeline down to be admitted and then to xray to check her for JS. I could not believe it. Off to xray Madeline and Dave went.... well her xrays show that she has JS with a 17 degree "c" curve. They also did hand xrays to check her growth status. Based on all of this they are recommending a Providence Brace at nighttime. She took the news well. I have already called home and have her appointments scheduled. Keaton thinks it's pretty cool. They stressed a number of times it is not as severe as Keatons and will not be as difficult to manage due to the fact she is close to the end of her growth cycle. Today we are back in Denver. We are going to head over to Lancaster and see Amish country.

PA Road trip- Monday

2009-07-27T21:16:00.003-05:00

We had a beautiful drive from Ron, Valerie and Jensen's home to Denver, PA. It was very scenic. We passed through a few tunnels under the mountains - it was pretty cool. We arrived at our first stop Hickory Run Campground- we rented a trailer. It is pretty hilarious. It is old, tiny but quaint. Today we contacted The Ronald McDonald House. We were on the list to be admitted but they did not have room open up large enough for our size family. Our back up plan if we did not get a room was to drive into Philly and get a hotel and that is exactly what we did. We are now at the historic Comfort Inn on the Delaware River.
Once we arrived in Philly we saw signs for Chinatown- to pass the time waiting for our hotel room to be ready we parked and walked around. Eli chatted with the store workers as we bought some of his favorite Chinese snacks. It reminded me of China. Everyone is getting ready for bed. We are so excited to be here and to see what the doctors have to say.

PA Road trip- Sunday

2009-07-26T17:44:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful time visiting Ron, Valerie and Jensen. They were gracious hosts. We ate KFC , fresh fruit and cookies. It was all delicious. The kids loved Jensen. He is absolutely adorable !! It was great to stretch our legs, relax and enjoy great conversation. THANKS GUYS !!

Gearing up for Shriners...

2009-07-21T20:49:00.004-05:00

We have hit the road. We are on the way to Shriner's Hospital in Pennsylvania. Grandma is staying at the house. Thank You !! Today we crossed 5 states !! We are really excited for this trip for a number of reasons: we hope to learn more about Juvenile Scoliosis, JS treatment options and any options we may have for Keaton. We also have the opportunity to swing by and meet Valerie, Ron and Jensen. I have followed both of their blogs for so long - way before they brought Jensen home.

We are trying to make this a positive experience. The other night Keaton asked Dave whose spine he would be given if he had surgery.... it was such an innocent and sad comment. Keaton is really scared. Of course we explained to him that he gets to keep his spine -we just have to figure out when and how we can help straighten it out. We also want the other kids to see Shriners so if some day Keaton has surgery they will know where he is at....

Happy 15th Birthday !!

2009-07-15T19:05:00.007-05:00

15 things about Harrison -

1. He is athletic

2. He is good at video games

3. He is funny

4. Madeline likes his smile

5. Eli likes that Harrison runs fast

6. Mia likes to watch Harrison play Frisbee

7. He is smart

8. Harrison looks good in blue shirts- this is a family joke. Everything Harrison owns is blue

9. Harrison likes to be punctual

10. He is a big reason why we adopted Eli- he wanted us to "do it again" when we got Mia

11. Not in a hurry to grow up

12. Good big brother

13. It is his golden birthday

14. He is awesome per Keaton

15. He ROCKS !!

Lifest 2009

2009-07-12T17:23:00.008-05:00

David Crowder- Hayden's favorite !

Notice the new bangs- Mia decided to cut her own hair. We went and had it fixed before we left.

Every year we attend Lifest and camp. This year my sister Paula, Todd, Jordan and Andrew joined us. It was a wonderful time. We heard a lot of great music: Leland, Shane and Shane, David Crowder, Third Day.... our favorite by far was David Crowder. It was great to get away for a few days. We spent hours in the pond, playing Phase 10 and chillin !

July 4th- parade and waiting for the fireworks....

2009-07-04T17:12:00.001-05:00

We attended a local parade - Eli was quick to figure out that candy and goodies were being tossed from the fire trucks. The fireworks were a lot of fun. The kids killed the time by playing Frisbee and running around. Eli liked the fireworks, but did say that he had seen some before during Chinese New Year...

3 years ago today.....

2009-07-03T16:27:00.005-05:00

.... I was handed the most beautiful child. At 21 months old Mia-Faith was the oldest gal in the group from Fuzhou. She is a delight and we absolutely adore her. She has everyone of us wrapped around her finger.

Just pictures

2009-06-29T19:09:00.003-05:00

Mr Wiggles

2009-06-27T07:47:00.004-05:00

We were unable to complete Keaton's MRI. Keaton was too wiggly. The first MRI Keaton had when he was diagnosed was limited (part of his spine) and without contrast- he did fine but this MRI is a lot longer (top of the spine to the bottom) and also needs to be repeated with dye. The plan is to reschedule the MRI with sedation ASAP. He was a trooper and tried so hard but it was just one of those days the more he tried to "freeze" the more antsy and anxious he got. Just a small bump in the road.

I was inspired by a fellow blogger to try our own version of The Melting Pot. The kids loved it. It was yummy !

Day at Lake Michigan

2009-06-20T19:09:00.002-05:00

Today we spent Keaton's 4 hours out of the brace at Lake Michigan. The scenery was beautiful ! We all got a little pink even with sunscreen. The water was freezing cold but that didn't stop anyone from going in the water.

Dinner at Waynes drive in....

2009-06-18T21:32:00.000-05:00