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.