A Month in Review

Well, I have gotten very bad at keeping up here, but there is still so much that I want to document, so that when I look back at these blog posts, I can remember all that we did as a family.

At the beginning of February, we celebrated the Jag 7 two year anniversary! It was two years ago, on February 6, that my mom and I brought Fia and Kwame home from Ghana to join our family forever.  The time went quickly and at the same time it feels like they have always been a part of our lives. We are so fortunate to have them in our lives and all our kids are such blessings individually and together.  They LOVE each other so much, and I am proud of that. To celebrate this year, we had a Super Bowl Party! ;) I felt bad at first that it was the same day, but then I realized that there is nothing more that our family would like than to hang out with friends and family! So, it actually was really fun and special.  We also asked Fia and Kwame what they would like for a special breakfast and they chose Swedish pancakes (too bad I don't have any Ghanaian pancake recipes!).  We also gave them each a soccer ball that we had been saving from when we were in Ghana.  They were so excited to have their own and they couldn't wait to go and play with them.  



 

Love the slogans on all things 'Ghana'!

Later in the month, Mary and Maynad (Grandma and Grandpa Farm) came to visit from MN.  It is always a highlight for our family to have them come and visit.  This time they stayed at a hotel for the first couple nights for the kids to be able to take turns sleeping over, use the pool, and take part in the extravagent buffets that they have at this casino/hotel.  The kids loved it (and so did we)! We also got to take them to Greta's soccer game, Justus's basketball game, marimba practice, a OneStepIn project for church, and take part in a romantic(haha) Valentine's Day dinner(king crab legs) at our house.  One highlight for me was that they took us to a chinese restaurant.  I don't know the last time that I had been to chinese and I don't think the kids ever had, so it was so much fun for us all to practice eating with the chopsticks together, as well as try out some great new food.  Basically, they spoiled us with things we don't always get to do, so I was thankful.  Daron and Maynard also took care of some of our odds and end projects that needed to be done, so the house looks SO much better with the upgrades.



Looks like they had fun at the movies!



How lucky to have both sets of grandparents together in one place!



Ella, pretending she is a OLD! :) Cracks me up!



 These wonderful ladies came one morning, instead of us doing our Bible study, to help me clean out my garage.  It was AMAZING how fast we got it organized and straightened up so I could (for the FIRST in 4 years)get our car in the garage.  Very impressive! And, I have to say that three weeks later, the car is still in the garage! :)

 Last week, I took Greta for her bi-yearly check-up into the Children's Hospital to see how her growth plate was healing in her elbow area. Well, we had GREAT news.  They said that it looks totally normal now and we don't have to come back any longer.  When this happened, two years ago, they said she would have to come back every 6 months until she stopped growning and then she would need surgery.  Well, it's HEALED and we are thrilled.  The only problem...Greta and I were liking our guilt free trips that we had to go into the city for...we might have to keep it going to celebrate.

 We also got to throw a surprise party for my niece's birthday.  The cousins had so much fun and I think she was excited after the initial bewilderment of the surprise.  She didn't realize that all the questions about her favorite food and dessert were for this.  Super fun! And no, the adults didn't eat the mac n cheese, we got some delicious sliders that Brad made(right Dad?)!

 Overall, we had a fantastic month, full of family and fun.  Coming up this month....Alive Covenant Church is celebrating our 5th anniversary this Sunday! I am so excited.  If you live in the area and have ever wanted to check it out, this is the Sunday to do it.  4:56pm at the Sons of Norway!

Greta is doing great!

Sorry I never gave an update regarding Greta's surgery, but she is doing just great! Greta is such a trooper with things like this and she really impressed me once again. It was her mom that broke down once they took her out for anesthesia and for the surgery. The doctor asked her if she needed one of us to come back with her (they preferred going without a parent, but we could if it would make Greta feel better). She said, no, she would be fine and they walked out with her (cue the breakdown by her mom). I realized fully that it was very minor but it was still a surgery where she was under, there was an IV, breathing tube of some sort, stitches, forms to sign 'just in case', so it just hit me. The doctor came back within the hour and said that everything went well and they took off the questionable growth on her cheek and sent it to pathology. He said he was glad they took it off but at this point it did not look cancerous. We should get results in about 10 days. In the meantime, she has a scar of only about a centimeter on her cheek but we won't see it until the steristrip falls off. We will head back over to Children's at the end of the month for a post op visit.

Children's Hospital is such an amazing place and I was so impressed with how the staff actually talked to Greta and asked her if she had any questions before us. They are very kid friendly and she felt very relaxed with them. It is pretty sobering being there though. This hospital sees it all and they are a good teaching hospital, so many times during the day you are reminded that so many people are hurting and going through very tough issues with their children. It was humbling.

Minor Surgery and Dark Circles

I wanted to post something new tonight, but my eyes keep closing as I try and upload pics of our time with Sarah, Brooks and baby Ida. TIRED is my new look and hopefully I can start a fashion trend with dark circles under my eyes, because that is the look I am blessed with these days.

On a quick side note: please keep Greta in your prayers and we go in for a minor surgery on her cheek on Friday. She has a mole/cyst on her cheek that the doctors at Children's are going to put her under to remove. They will then check it's status, but hopefully all will be just fine. If it didn't itch and puss from time to time(too much info I know), they said they would let it be and see what happens, but instead they will take it off and the scar will be larger they said than the mole a little bit. Please pray for her to continue to have peace(especially after with the scar) and for the doctors to make wise decisions throughout our time there. Right now Greta is pretty matter of fact about it and I think half way nervous and also a little excited after her friend, Chloe, told her that the hospital is A-Okay after being there herself last month over night(and for a much bigger deal than this). I also think I am seeing things and I don't know if it is just me, but the mole seems to be getting smaller now. I just don't want them to have to go through all of this if it is going to just go away. Please pray that what should be done is done!

Random March Pics and Stitches

Here are some pictures that I just found from March that deemed worthy of sharing for some reason or another.

Kwame all bundled up in the snow.....I mean really, could this be any more different from a typical outfit in Ghana or what? I don't think the evenings ever got lower than mid 70's when I was there.

March was also the birthday month of my neice, Kaia. She had her bday party at a pizza spot near them that is fabulous and the kids all had a blast. Fia obviously loved playing with the dough and teasing her uncles by putting the dough over her eyes.

Below are pictures of when we introduced Fia and Kwame to our church. The one picture is of Kwame and his buddy, Anders. They were cleaning up the nursery and really being big helpers. It was so cute. The other picture is when all the kids come up before Kids Church and Daron prays for them and/or gives a mini lesson.

Okay, I have more pictures coming soon. We have had lots of fun times lately with family and friends visiting, but I can only get my mind wrapped around a few pictures at a time these days, so this will have to hold you over.

On another note, our family has been to the ER twice in the last week. Before last Monday, I never knew where exactly one should go for stitches, but now I do. Last week after I put the kids to bed and Daron was at a meeting, I brought the garbage out(something I should have left for my better half) and forgot that there was broken glass in the bag. Well, I stuffed two more bags on top of the one with glass and cut right into my hand. After taking one look at it, I debated who to call first: Daron to come home or someone to come and watch the kids while we went to the ER for stitches. It all worked out, but four hours later, we were home and I had my three stitches that are just an annoying reminder of what I already know: NEVER TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE! ;) just kidding!

A few nights later, my sister and brother in law got into town. It was already after eight, but we ate dinner late so the kids could see them and hang out before bed. After all, it was spring break. While the adults were finishing up dinner, we heard a cry and they said there was blood. Kwame ran into our hutch and there was a big gash on his head. We just finished talking about our ER trip earlier in the week and we knew we had to do it again! We were smart and did not mention to Kwame that we were going to see the doctor. That would have freaked him out since after his immunizations a few weeks back he still says daily at one point, "Mommy, no go to doctor today." This time I used a new word, hospital, and we kept doctor out of the vocabulary. Only two and a half hours later, we came home with Kwame and two STAPLES in his head. Never heard of that before, but I guess that is common when it is on the scalp. I was very proud of him; he did just great and was super tough. It was kind of humorous and embarrassing that there was some of the same staff on that night as earlier in the week! Oh well, hopefully that is that last ER visit for a long time.

Never bring two kids to get shots without a wing man!

Okay....so I have been really fortunate to have survived 9 years of immunizations without being one of 'those' patients that has a screaming kid in the examination room next door. None of the older three kids have hardly shed a tear for their shots; no matter how many they have gotten.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why shots would be scary for Fia and Kwame and why they would freak them out. I just didn't prepare myself mentally and physically for it! With the kids so close in age, they are alot like twins in some ways. They hurt for each other, they take care of each other, and they learn from each other. Well....today they witnessed how much shots and blood work hurt each other. If I was smart, I would have brought Daron, enticed a friend, my mom, or asked my sister-in-law or cousin to accompany me to help with the kids. Instead, I thought I could handle it. Well, I did(because I had too). But it wasn't very fun and all three of us might be scarred from it for a LONG time. First, Fia got 6 shots and she was none too happy. Kwame got to watch her squirm and wail and they he followed suit(while Fia was still screaming)! If that wasn't enough salt in the wound, then we had to go down to the lab to get blood drawn. 5 VILES FULL!!!! None of this was fun and we definitely were heard by many. Kwame went first at the lab and his blood work went very slow, as they didn't find a good vein. When it was Fia's turn, she freaked out the 5 minutes before they even started on her!!!! It didn't get better either......she continued to wail throughout, even though they were easily able to find a vein since it was bulging due to her screaming. Luckily for her, the draw took half the time of Kwame's. Unfortunately for me......she holds a grudge!

So....they lesson for the day is to ask for help and bring a friend to take one kid out for a walk while the other gets their shots and/or blood drawn. No sense in having both kids cry at the same time when one isn't even getting pricked!

Disclaimer: Even though I started the day out by biting my tongue after missing the ferry by ONE car to our appt., I did get to have my fav fast food for lunch at Chipotle in the UDistrict with my sis-in-law & niece and we also got to play at the UVillage playstructure with the Harrington cousins! Thanks for the moral support when I FINALLY asked for it!

Plus, we ended the night by being invited over to our friend's house for dinner! Thanks for the great food, wine, and company!!! We had a blast(and thanks for taking the chance for having a family of 7 over)!!!!