Post-Surgery...Kathlena is doing great!

I must admit that so much of this day was deja vu for us.  Waiting in the same lobby chairs, signing paperwork with the same receptionist and we even had the same nurse recovery nurse, Theresa that we had with Andrew.  All of the people we worked with were wonderful both times.  Kathlena's surgery was delayed a while due to some complications with the first patient who was a tiny 9 month old.  Thankfully, this baby after getting the  additional attention needed was doing fine.  During our wait Kathlena had daddy read her some books.  Daddy has a great voice for reading stories and while he was reading "Mailing May" one of Kathlena and Mommy's favorite stories I think he entertained someone else who was waiting too. 

After our 2+ wait in the lobby we headed to OR prep thinking that it would still be an hour or so until Kathlena would be heading to surgery--wrong!  We flew through OR prep time compared to when Andrew had his surgery.  We did manage to grab a few quick pictures of Kathlena getting her smiley face to mark which eye was having surgery and practicing her deep breathing with her mask before heading to anesthesia.

 As we passed through each of the same rooms memories flooded back from Andrew's surgery last year.  It seems so long ago that we were going through Andrew's surgery.  In many ways it was.  Andrew and Kathlena have changed greatly in the past year.  Going through this surgery with Kathlena made me realize how different we all were a year ago.  Of course it helped to have gone through this before, but even Kathlena's level of trust and comfort with us is so much more now than a year ago.  I remember Andrew being so concerned about leaving us and all the care that the nurses took to make sure we were there up until the very last minute and that we were the first thing he saw out of surgery.  Kathlena was swept away waving with her bunny and favorite pink blanket in tow.  She had no worries that we would be on the other side of this surgery.  This was a huge moment of courage for her and we were so proud of her.

Kathlena's surgery went by quickly only a little over a half hour and we were being called back to meet with Dr. Mazow.  He was very pleased with her surgery.  Her eye was quite swollen, even more than Andrew's, but he wasn't overly concerned as it was well in the normal range.  The swelling would subside in a day or so.  After talking to Dr. Mazow we were sent to the recovery waiting room where we waited for Kathlena to begin to wake up and to receive post op instructions.  We met a sweet nurse, Jan whose daughters took Russian in high school as their foreign language.  We were blessed again to share about the blessing of our adoption journey of faith with those who were caring for Kathlena.  We were soon called back to see Kathlena who was snooooozing!! She was so out!  (She doesn't even remember recovery)  The nurses let Daddy hold her and we tried to wake her up, but she was really zonked.  Daddy would sit her up and have to hold her head up like a small newborn.  I thought  she was coming around so I tried to give her some  apple juice.  She sucked in, but didn't swallow so it just dribbled out.  Bless her heart she was really out!

     Daddy holding Kathlena.  Sweet nurse Theresa had pity on us and our long ride home so she told us if we were okay with leaving with her asleep we could go.  Daddy scooped Kathlena up, carried her out saying you don't have to ask me twice we are good to go!

Kathlena slept the whole way home.  We had to stop at Randall's for some Tylenol and while I waited in the car with Kathlena she suddenly woke up.  She was like an amnesia patient.  Suddenly awake and no idea where she was or how she got there.  We were so thankful though that she rested comfortably for the ride home.  Once home she was greeted first by Andrew who wanted to entertain and take care of her.  It was so sweet.  He could empathize with her and went back and forth to get her anything she wanted or needed. 

We all gathered around to remove Kathlena's bandages and see her beautiful eyes again.  Even Calvin was waiting anxiously to see.  ;)

Wow!  Our beautiful Kathlena.  We are so thankful for the skillful work of Dr. Mazow and his team.  It is truly amazing the difference this simple surgery makes to restore and preserve vision.  We are so thankful to the Lord for His provision and comfort to us throughout this day.  We were blessed by the many friends and family who checked on us and prayed for us as we approached this day.  Thank you!

Preparing for Surgery...Kathlena

We have all of Kathlena's pre-op paperwork and visits completed as of today.  We were cleared by her pediatrician last week and deemed healthy for surgery.  She is now set for strabismus surgery next Wednesday, Sept. 8th.  We are excited even though it seems to have come about rather suddenly.  We have always known that it would be likely that she would need surgery.  In the past three months though it has become evident that sooner rather than later is necessary.  We have been in glasses all summer and while they have been helpful, especially in slowing down her nystagmus, her eye continues to turn out so, surgical straightening is what is required to keep her vision as strong as possible in both eyes.  We are thankful for our ophthalmologist, Dr. Mazow who also did Andrew's surgery a little over a year ago.  As Kathlena would say, "we know the drill" so, that has made it a little easier.  Kathlena at the beginning of our talks about surgery was not so thrilled...in her words "no, thank you surgery" to be exact.  Points for politeness were given though!  She is better now and is actually looking forward to it.  I think it has helped knowing that Andrew has had the surgery and recently one of her friends at church also. 

I have been reading and thinking back to when Andrew had his surgery and have been surprised to find so many similarities.  Andrew was also missing a front tooth at the time of his surgery.  He look so little back then and that was only a little over a year ago.  He is growing up so fast!  His surgery has been such a blessing and we are so grateful to have the technology to help restore his vision.  Such a different world this past year has been for him.  We pray that we see such a change with Kathlena from her surgery as well. 

Kathlena's surgery will be the same type of as Andrew's surgery just on different muscles.  We had been expecting to eventually have nystagmus surgery which is more extensive surgery than strabismus.  It would seem for now that her nystagmus has dampened on it's own and that type of surgery will not be necessary.   We are so thankful for this!

For Mom and Dad pending surgery on one of our babies is never easy.  We pray for the Lord to minister to us and Kathlena as we trust Him through this time.  I am thankful for the many friends and family who are praying for us and who have been so kind to check on us...Thank you!!

"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:30-32

Look out for falling....teeth!

It has begun once again in the Shiflet household.  Teeth falling out like rocks from the side of an unstable cliff.  Kathlena has entered that time where whistling will cease; pronouncing "th" can only sound like "f" sounds and no food is too soft to keep from dislodging one of these loosie goosies!
It all began last Friday.  Kathlena was enjoying her usual ham and cheese sandwich.  Very soft and perfectly harmless right?  Well, not today...a few bites in and Kathlena with a quizzical look on her face said "Emily, did you put tomatoes on my sandwich?"  Emily looks at her sandwich seeing red stuff on it and thinks to herself, "did I put tomatoes on her sandwich?  No, so what is that red stuff?"  After a few minutes of investigation and questions it is discovered that the red stuff was not tomatoes at all, but blood from a missing bottom tooth.  Only the tooth in question was no where to be found!  Oops, it must have gone down the hatch with the sandwich that dislodged it.  This was quite disappointing for Kathlena as she has been waiting for well over a year for this exciting rite of passage to be bestowed upon her--losing her first tooth!!!.  She, however could not be convinced that she actually swallowed the tooth.  Now in her defense we have no concrete evidence of the tooth's whereabouts since,  well...uh Mom was willing to just "let it go...;)"  So, sadly I have no first tooth to baggie up, label, date and put in Mom's treasure chest of children's teeth she collects for each child.  Somehow though this is fitting for my out of the box, uncontainably energetic Kathlena.  It makes for a much better story.
Now fast forward to today and once again we are eating lunch on a beautiful Friday afternoon.  Only this time the culprit is a glass of water.  Apparently, it bumped her loosie goosie top front tooth knocking it into a rather unpleasant looking position of sticking straight out.  Upon Mom's inspection it is discovered that the tooth must only be hanging by a thread, but a tough thread at that because despite my twisting and tugging it would not release itself into the safety of Mom's hand to be stored and recorded neatly in Mom's treasure chest of teeth.  The front ones are so priceless and this was going to smooth over last weeks debacle of "loosing" the first tooth.  But, once again Mom's plan is foiled!!! Somehow while "not really jumping off the couch, more like sliding she claims" the front tooth flies out to some unknown hiding place in the living room.  While we are excited to have yet another baby tooth extracted sadly it too is lost!  We looked high and low for it to no avail.  My hope now is that my meticulous 10month old who combs and scours the floors for tiny objects to put in his month and scare his poor mother to death will not be the recipient of the "lost" tooth.
Well maybe next week I will finally get to have a tooth of Kathlena's to put in my treasure box, but for now I only have this great memory. ;)

Daddy's Birthday and Calvin 10 months

Today we celebrated David's birthday with a few surprises.  We have been wanting to get him a new grill as his old one was in bad shape from much use.  He has been trying to repair it, but it was just time to upgrade.  The kids and I took a field trip and came home successful with the grill he had been eyeing for a while.  J.Michael put it together for him (quite quickly with only Andrew's help).
We then took Daddy to his favorite restaurant for dinner--Babins.

Instead of a traditional birthday cake we made Daddy's favorite--cheesecake.  Everyone pitched in to make the cake.  Andrew helped get the eggs as well as washed the strawberries, Emily helped make the crust, Kathlena ran the mixer and J.Michael dipped the strawberries in chocolate and make the chocolate topping.  Daddy said it was better than cheesecake factory!  We all had fun making it together which made a special memory for us all.

We are so thankful for Daddy and how he leads his family well.  Pointing us to Christ in his words and deeds.  How blessed I am to have a husband who disciples me and his children with conviction and grace.  The Lord has been working mightily in our home this past year.  David submitting to the call of the Lord to ministry as a church planter/Pastor and stepping out in faith last March to begin a church with a fellow elder and church planter Greg Parker.  We are blessed to have a growing fellowship of families who love the Lord and have caught the vision for planting new churches to the Glory of God.

Today we also celebrate 10months of our precious gift--little Calvin who is growing so quickly.  He is about to walk any day now.  He has begun to let go and stand briefly on his own.  He says "Momma" to me in the morning when I get him out of bed.  He is also beginning to "feed" himself.  His favorite foods are ham, bananas, blueberries, yogurt, chicken, fish and roast...well meat of any kind really!  He has just started waving "bye-bye" too.  So cute!  He crawls at the speed of light and really likes to see what happens when he drops things...over and over again.  He seems to never tire of this game while Mommy does. ;)  What fun and laughter we have over watching him grow and change.  As infant hood is succumbing quickly to toddler hood we are trying to basque in these last moments as often as we can.

Homeschooling in Progress

Today we studied some Fritillary Caterpillars who were attracted to my now blooming Passion Flower Vine which is a host plant for these furry little caterpillars.  I counted 7, Andrew and Kathlena each had an opportunity to hold one. Kathlena's caterpillar was a lively one and was soon crawling all over her. Andrew's however, was content to remain still in his hand. I find this most humorous as this is so like Andrew and Kathlena's different personalities.

For some close-up photographs of the caterpillars visit Pixelation Exploration.

Calvin 9 Months

Calvin sitting with his Great-Grandmother Davis "Mema" during our annual 4th of July celebration/family reunion. 

Calvin helping me unpack the food at the hotel in San Antonio for the Baby Conference. 

 

Calvin has changed so much in the past month.  He is on the move and so curious about the world around him.  He understands and can respond to Daddy and Mommy's voices when we say "no,no" he can and will stop.  It is great fun to train him and see him capable of learning self control at such a young age.  He is still a very calm and joyful little boy.  He is a little man of many faces and cracks us up with his endless cuteness.  He now boasts a mouthful of teeth-7 well, 8 to be exact as #8 has just emerged. His latest accomplishment is cabinet or couch "surfing".  He is loving the mobility and loves exploring his new 2 ft high world.

A New Look...for the girls

Here is Mom sporting her new look.  I like it Mom.  Kathlena below with her first pair of glasses.  She picked them out herself...purple of course.  ;)  I didn't think it was possible for Kathlena to look any cuter, but she does.  Best of all it seems she can see better and seeing small things like bugs in a new light.  Exciting times for Kathlena.  A whole new world just opened up for her...yeah!

Calvin 8 months

(By Gina)
Calvin you are growing up to fast.  Now that you are crawling you immediately wanted to stand.  After one week of crawling you began to pull-up on everything.  Then after two weeks you began to try and stand holding on with only one hand.  What happened it seems only yesterday we were waiting for you to arrive and now you are trying so hard to begin walking.

 Calvin did finally figure out how to roll over this month.  It would make him made to put him on his back because he couldn't turn over and crawl, but he finally got mad enough to do it.  Now he flip flops like a fish out of water.  Calvin is understanding "no, no" and will shake his head no when he hears you say "no,no Calvin".

Calvin is eating solid food very well now.  He eats liver, cooked blueberries, peaches, raspberries, carrots, green beans, chicken, quail (loves this!).  Mango-avocado-kefir water also is a favorite.  I have so enjoyed making baby food combinations in the Vita-Mix one of my favorite kitchen tools.  Calvin seems to just enjoy food and is not picky.  I am trying to follow Nourishing Traditions for babies.

Calvin has made a new friend.  Our dog, Chase is such a good dog and loves kids. 

Here is Calvin playing with our friends dog, Jackie who is also very kid friendly as you can see below. 

A Very Special Swing...

...long, long ago, before my three youngest siblings were born, my family lived for two years on my grandparent's ranch in Hillsboro TX. I was four when we moved there and it was love at first sight. At around 765 acres it was the world to me back then. We had a white picket fence around the little ranch house, a storm cellar, several cats and dogs, a little garden and a swing set. That swing set still remains on the ranch though no one lives in the old, run-down ranch house now. My uncle and grandfather recently moved the swing set near the lake along with a real retired merry-go-round from an old park that was remodeling their playground. They don't make em like this anymore. On our last trip to my grandparents my littlest brother, Calvin got to sit in the very swing I used to swing in when I was little...and I think he liked it. :)

What was funny was that we didn't even have to push him. That's the beauty of swing sets of antiquity, as long as somebody's swinging on it-albeit on the other side-the whole set rocks back and forth in unison. :)

Kathlena's Favorite is the merry-go-round.

Calvin Crawling

Calvin learning to crawl.  He took off quickly and within a week was pulling up and trying to stand to play.  Here are a few video clips we put together of him taking off.  He is growing so fast!  I love all the videos of him chubby.  I am sure that now that he is crawling he will be losing a lot of his chubbiness.

Thank you Emily for helping capture some cute moments on film and preserving these precious memories for your family.