Bright faces bright and early at the hospital

The endoscopy that Anellah had last week went well. She still has trouble waking up from anesthesia. Not that she can't be aroused but rather that she hates the feeling of being so out of control and becomes upset and combative. That piece is difficult because it's hard to console her but I am hoping that as she becomes older and we can talk about this feeling ahead of time and make a plan for it, the process will become more smooth.

The results of the endoscopy were decent. She had a few more varices (we were hoping for none) however the doctor did not seem concerned as they were not worse than before. He plans to do another endoscopy in one month (April 17th). We did not have to stay overnight in the hospital although we were there from 6am until after 7pm. Coming home to sleep in our own beds, however, was a great relief! I am also thankful that thus far we have been able to schedule all endoscopies on Fridays when Anellah doesn't have school so she has not missed a single day due to these procedures!

Getting ear impressions so her hearing aids can be made

Earlier this week Anellah also was fitted for hearing aids. There has been some mild concern about her hearing since birth. We are not sure if it has gotten a bit worse or if the issue is just more evident now that she is in school but it has become clear that some hearing aids would be helpful. She has been wanting braces for her teeth for some time so I told her that hearing aids are braces for her ears. So far she has bought it. She chose purple glittery aids.

Endoscopy Scheduled for Friday

"I tied them all by myself!'

This Friday Anellah will have her next endoscopy and her doctor will see how the vessels in her esophagus look. If there are no more significant varices (ballooned sections) then we will wait three months before having another endoscopy. If the vessels look worse than last month then we will return to the possibility of surgery. I believe that God performed healing in her body between the first and second endoscopies, explaining the significantly different results. We are praying for continued healing in her body so that surgery is not the only option. When the procedure was originally scheduled I was told she would stay overnight again but she HATES sleeping at the hospital (does anyone actually LIKE it?) and always ends up overly tired. Usually getting so tired makes her susceptible to other illnesses and her hospital stay is followed by getting sick. This time I was able to talk the doctor out of having her stay overnight so the plan is just to stay for the day in order to be observed.

On a day-to-day basis Anellah is doing great! She is herself again: cheerful, playful, and creative. She continues to love kindergarten and is beginning to learn to read. She has a special friend at school whom she refers to as her "best friend forever." The two even hold hands on the carpet during story time. It is fun to watch her develop her own friendships rather than just being friends with the children of my friends.

The weather has been unseasonably warm so we have spent lots of time outside from setting up a "treehouse" (ie. area under a tree that the kids pretend is a house)

"That is a BIG tree!"

to gardening (ie. Mom and Dad do the work while the kids dig random holes and get to put the seeds in once in awhile)

to going on "hikes" (ie. slow walks in beautiful places).

I have let Evelyn cry a bit more at night and it's allowed both she and I to get more sleep. In fact last night she slept all night!! Getting more sleep has helped me to be able to get a bit more organized since I can get up before the kids get up now and has definitely helped me feel more sane.

Room to Grow

I haven't been spending very much time writing blog posts lately...although ideas float around in my head. The reason- I have three kids. I guess I didn't really expect three to be much different than two. But it has proven to be quite a bit different. Of course some of the difficulty I'm having stems from the fact that I'm on the 6th month of sleep deprivation...but we're working on that!

Despite all the "busyness" of having a house full of kids ALL day, EVERY day I'm still trying to live joyfully and obediently to God. A lot of times that looks like a zillion quick pra

yers throughout the day of, "God help me to have grace...patience...wisdom...compassion...etc." I'm not doing a fantastic job but I'm doing my best. And I know once sleep becomes more consistent I'll feel a little more sane.

In the meantime I know that God is stretching and growing me by leaps and bounds. It's during the struggles that I can choose to either become bitter and shirk away or sink my roots down deep and GROW.