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!
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!!!
