Monday, July 19, 2010

Our Boy's Surgery

On Friday, July 16th Andrew finally had surgery t make his knee better. We left by 5:30 in the morning with Aunt TT and Luke. We got down to the surgery center only to find out he wasn't on the schedule. They quickly figured out that his surgery was in the children's center at the hospital, so we drove over there. Andrew was feeling scared and nervous so we were anxious to get settled in to our spot. Once we got to the hospital he got checked in and put on the "itchy" pjs. They let him watch Happy Feet and he snuggled in his bed with his new stuffed doggy from Lauren, Jacob, and Austin. He would get sad and nervous when he would hear the nurse talking about the procedure. At about 7:30 they gave him some juice that pretty much knocked him out. When they wheeled him away he wasn't really with it. This was the hardest part for daddy and mommy to watch their little boy be wheeled off, knowing we had no control over the situation. We waited in the waiting room with TT and Luke. Luke was a great brother and visited Andrew before surgery and went and bought him a stuffed dog at the gift shop during surgery. We gave Luke the option to come along with us because we knew this was hard on him and we wanted him to feel like he was apart of the process. Around 8:40 they came and got us and the news was good. The nerve tumor was removed and they didn't need to cut any nerves. This was the best news we could have gotten. We went back to see Andrew and hung out for about an hour while he woke up. When the lady asked if they could wheel him out in a wheelchair, he quickly responded, "no, my dad can just carry me." He must get that from his great grandma E, who never wants to be in a wheelchair. TT almost fell over when we got to the car and he jumped in on one leg , like nothing had happened. We got home to a huge banner from the DeJongs and Andrew was feeling pretty good. He had morphine and tummy medicine in his system, so he was doing well. He didn't want to walk on his leg, so he was hopping around the house. Friday he rested most the day and Saturday he had a bad fever and threw up from the pain medication. Sunday he started to move more and our goal was to straighten his leg more. He was walking pretty good by Sunday evening. On Monday the boy went bowling and decided that he thought he was ok to bowl and he managed to get the high score of 101 and bowl a strike on his first turn. We know this healing will be a slow process, but he is already doing great and we are trying to keep a positive attitude. He has been blessed with so many friends and family who have stopped by and brought him goodies. Coloring books, movies, treats, games, stuffed animals, and a homemade pillow by Ben, are some of the things that he has been enjoying. He says, "mom, it's almost like my birthday." We have felt so loved and blessed during this whole process. Grandma has been a huge help with watching the kiddos, bringing food, and just being with us. Friends have continually been praying for us and Andrew and checking in on his progress. Our prayer is that we are nearing the end of this road and Andrew will be free from pain in his knee as he starts 1st grade and his 2nd soccer season. We love you buddy and we are so proud of the BRAVE boy you have been....you are amazing!!!


Saturday, July 17, 2010

Twas the Night before surgery...

and all through our house the nerves were rising, so mommy planned a little scavenger hunt. I knew it was going to be a difficult evening for Andrew since he knew his surgery was first thing in the morning, so I thought we should do something fun where we could have a great time together and get our mind off the next day. After dinner we headed to the mall to find the answers to 10 clues. The boys just love these type of things, so we had a great time reading the clues and then walking the mall to find what we were looking for. We got a few treats along the way, which made it even more fun. Every stop we take a picture and the kids actually didn't mind it that much :) Please excuse the bathroom picture..one clue was to find this bathroom in the mall that has a "mini" everything. When the boys found it they both ran in and jumped on the potty...perfect timing (I thought). I couldn't help but snap the picture because my boys were being so cooperative with pictures and they didn't even know it. We had a really fun night and they each got to pick out a toy at the end that would help them be BRAVE the next day. Andrew got a Happy Dwarf, Allie got a Minnie Mouse cell phone, and Luke got the Woody Bear from Toys R Us that he had been wanting. We got home and everyone was tired and ready for bed...it was going to be an early morning!!!






















VBS...Passort to HERO HEADQUARTERS

We have been planning for VBS for months and the week finally arrived. We had a difficult week due to Allie and mommy being sick, but the boys still enjoyed themselves. Daddy was the water slide man again this year and mommy headed up the pre-school area with Christina. I had to miss half the day Monday and all day Tuesday. Our whole family missed Friday because of Andrew's surgery, so it was kind of a crazy week. Andrew enjoyed being with the older kids this year and he was in a group with Ben, Spencer, Andrew D, and Fisher. Luke was in a group with Jacob and Josiah. He'd often get sad when he would see daddy or mommy, so he had a couple times where he would help us throughout the day. We were so thankful for grandma because she took Allie everyday because she wasn't feeling well. The nursery missed her, but she got some great grandma time. The kids love listening to the music CD and I love hearing Luke sing the words in the back seat. He sings the words to the theme verse song, 1 Timothy 4:12!!






Wednesday, July 14, 2010

When a ROADTRIP to Bakersfield is taking FOREVER...

and sister is screaming in her carseat...Wendy's Happy Meals toy comes in handy!!! Thank you Wendy's for the distraction and laughter you brought to our car!!

Oh Bakersfield...

We made our annual trip to the Bakersfield Ranch with our BIOLA friends (AKA as Boochcation). We grow a little more each year..meaning a few more kids get added to the mix. This year we had 16 adults and 19 kids..(1-7yr old, 3-6yr olds, 5-4yr olds, 1-3yr old, 5-2yr olds, & 4-1yr olds) just a little crazy!! We had a blast and the kids all do so well together. We were missing Brad & Katy, Kendra & Tommy, and Kevin & Brandy this year. We got to the Ranch on Wednesday and the girls headed out to Costco to get the food. It was quite an adventure buying food for that size group. We had our usual pizza dinner to start the vacation off on an "easy" note. The Vandys had a slight issue the first night when Luke woke up throwing up. It's never easy to deal with a sick child when you aren't at home and you have no laundry. Thank goodness for friends who packed extra stuff, we survived. The lake water is sulfer, so we think he drank a bit too much while he was swimming. Thankfully he was fine the rest of the trip. We enjoyed our days hanging out by the lake, going down the waterslide, jumping on the trampoline, eating, taking rests, riding the golf cart, riding on the boat, tubing, and being with great friends. At night after the kids would fall asleep the adults would enjoy our usual games that result in hysterical laughter and some inappropriateness :). One of the best moments of the trip was when all 8 girls jumped on the 2 tubes and Nick took us for a ride. He was determined to throw us off the tubes, but did well. We flipped over once, but other than that we hung on. It was a blast and we were all laughing so hard and having a great time. We headed out late Friday night instead of Saturday morning because we had to be back for some VBS stuff. Before we left everyone laid hands on Andrew and prayed for him and our family as we approach his surgery. It was very special and surely an emotional moment for us. We are so blessed to have great friends, who even though live many miles away still love and support us so much. We look forward to all the times we get to be together!