Great News!!!

May!!! That's right! We won't have to go back for our next appointment until May. That's like, after winter!! That's Spring! With summer right around the corner! Yay!!!

After a very long drive in

and passing quite a few accidents, some being fender-benders, and another being a big one with a transport truck, we thanked God once again that none of these accidents involved us.

Keziah wasn't too anxious about going to the hospital. We told her we were going to say "hi" to Dr. Zuker since we haven't seen him in awhile. She did ask me a few times if it was going to hurt, but I tried to reassure her as best as I could that no, this time it will not hurt. I did inform her that Dr. Zuker will probably want to touch her face, so we practiced that together.

This is how you know you are at a Childrens Hopsital: the bottoms of the beds have murals on them! :o)

She was nervous when he walked in but became more relaxed as he talked to her. He has great bedside manners!! And she let him touch her face!! She did SO well! She sat nice and still, while he touched and prodded. We were so proud of her.

And what does Dr. Zuker think? He is very thrilled with the results of the surgery. He couldn't believe how nice the skin graft looks, as well as the incisions. You could see he was quite proud of his work, as he should be. He did such an amazing job.

Through the prodding he could tell that everything was still quite inflammed, which is why he wants to wait until May to do the next phase. The next phase will be to remove her eyebrow and replace it with skin from behind her ear. He also would like to fix her eye as it has already started to droop.

I did notice the droop a few weeks ago but I thought it was the fact that her eye now looked so "heavy" with such a dark and fleshy eyebrow. But it is actually the corner of her eye that is starting to droop, which is pulling the eyebrow down with it. It's not that noticeable. Yet. But it will continue to droop more and more as the skin settles back, which will distort her eye. So when he does the eyebrow, he will also do something about the droop (what a word. Droop.) We knew this was one of the risks as her birthmark is so close to the eye. We pray that it may be "fixable" for her.

Do you see the droop? I know, it's hard to notice when you have such beautiful brown eyes staring right back at you :o)

We will continue to take pictures of her scars and skin graft for another risk. And that is the risk of the birthmark growing back. This can happen because not all the cells are gone. That is another reason why the eyebrow needs to come off. There are a lot of cells there so the risk rises of it coming back. We pray also that this doesn't happen. Because we see her all the time, we won't notice the changes as they are gradual. So pictures we will take. I don't mind and it looks like she doesn't mind either :o)

So once again, we are praising God for blessing this journey thus far. He has shown His faithfulness and love to Keziah, giving her all that she has needed to recuperate. She has healed up beautifully and we pray that the healing may continue to go well. Thank you again for your many prayers!!

We are so blessed in so many ways.

Back to Regular Programming.....

After a number of posts that really didn't have anything to do with the reason this blog was set up, we are back to a post that is about Keziah and her birthmark. We are nearing Keziah's appointment at Toronto Sick Kids, which is to take place this Monday, September 24th.

As you can tell by my last number of posts since the removal of her birthmark, we've had an enjoyable 3 months filled with time with family and friends, as well as spending time just the 4 of us.

(having fun with cousin Conall, two peas in a pod!)

When this whole "removal" phase started, we never dreamed that we would have the summer that we did!! Everything has gone and continues to go so well. Although there was an accident where her incision split open in places, that also healed up quickly. Every now and then a tiny little spot will open, get crusty and then close again. So we keep the Polysporin handy, as well as praising God continually for His blessing on her.

(last week while camping, she did get two mosquito bites on her skin graft. It got bumpy and pusy but then that was it. She still has the birthmark down in front of her ear, hence the thick hair growth. It was cut short for surgery but now we are growing it out to be pulled back with the rest of her hair. So for now she has quite the sideburn :o).

The skin graft is sometimes quite pink and other times it blends right in with the rest of her skin. Her scar down and especially around her ear is still quite pink. Dr. Zuker said this is to be expected for up to 8 months or so.

On Monday, we start talking of the next stage, which is what to do with what is left on her face.

We will be discussing her eyebrow and the ways in which to remove it. At first I didn't think we would be removing it because really, what was there before was so much larger! What was left looked so miniscule!

Over time though, we've realized that what is left above her eye also needs to go. Never have we been asked so much about her face as we do now!! I know, crazy eh?! But understandable. With just the birthmark, people stared, pointed and sometimes asked. With the birthmark and expanders, people didn't know where to look, how to speak or handle what they were seeing. But now? Daily we are asked (or she is asked) "What happened to your eyebrow?" or "Oh my, that is quite the owie!" or "Did you fall?" or "How did she manage to get such a black eye?". Everywhere we go, questions are posed at us. The difference from the questions that were asked before? All of these questions are asked in a very sincere and genuine tone. Every single one of them. That is so nice.

And so we look forward to Monday as we plan for the future. We will fill you in as to what and when the next procedures will start. It'll be different this time because Keziah is 1/2 a year older. For grown-ups (or those that are supposed to be :o), 1/2 a year isn't much of a difference. For little ones, it is a big difference!! Even in Keziah's eyes, 1/2 a year is so long ago!! So long that the other day she says in a very expressive voice (no idea where THAT comes from :o)

"When I was a tiiiiiiiiiinnnnnny little baby, the doctor blowed up my cheek."

We pray (and ask that you pray) that Monday may go smoothly for her and that she is not afraid. We also ask that you pray for us, her parents, that we may continue to receive wisdom from God in making the right choices in what to do next for the little girl He has placed with us. Thank you!!!!!

Underfoot

Having taught kindergarten for 10 years, you'd think I would be used to having kids around me and be filled with so much patience. However, having a 5 or 6 year old (or many of them) near me all the time is so different than having a toddler around me. And there are times I think I used up all my patience on those students of mine as there are some days I just don't seem to have any!

As soon as Keziah learned to crawl, she was often found "under my feet". Although that saying shouldn't be taken literal, there were times that she was seriously under my feet as I turned from the counter and would trip over her.

Once she was older, it wasn't just her under my feet, but along came all her little toys. Wherever I was working in the kitchen, in a matter of minutes there would be this and that, little treasures that she was playing with.

I must admit something: I am not one of those moms that think "Oh, treasure these moments, for soon it shall pass and you'll wish to have them back". Oh, don't get me wrong, I did treasure those times that she would plunk her little diapered butt right by my feet to play, but I would be lying if I said I enjoyed every.single.time. she plopped herself down. To be truthful, I think I treasured it for the first 4 times that she did that. After that however, it wasn't so "treasured" anymore. I lacked the patience which was heard in my exasperated voice: "Keziah, would you please clean up your toys away from mommy so I don't trip!!!".

It is actually quite amazing that I haven't broken my back from tripping backwards or that she hasn't been squished into a pancake from me landing on her. It is also amazing (but not the same kind of amazing as mentioned first) that I haven't broken a single toy from stepping on it. And yes, some toys even managed to survive when I would "by accident" hoof them out of my way.

Over time, as she got older, she went from under my feet to beside me, a transition that I have treasured more than 4 times :o)

Keziah LOVES to help. I usually LOVE it when she does. That is, after I've prayed for patience. Having a toddler help you definitely doesn't make things go quicker. To help my patience, I do often start making supper around 4, because let me tell you, by the time each plate has lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, walnuts, raisins and apples all chopped and divied up, it is 6 o'clock!!

Things do go a little quicker now as she is getting older. The prayer for patience wasn't needed so much at that time of the day (other times, oh yes, but not so much when I was working in kitchen).

But you know what? I am finding myself praying for patience again, because now I have another child underfoot!!! And because big sister likes to play with whatever little brother is playing with, that makes for TWO kiddies plus their toys under my feet!!!

I know it's important for children to be around their parents as that is how they learn so much. And so I will continue to pray for patience, knowing that God hears my prayers and will grant to me what I need.

This is just starting to happen, now that Lincoln knows how to crawl. That means right now I am treasuring it. We'll see how long that lasts!:o)) Although in the moment I may get frustrated as the kiddies are entering my workspace, there are plenty of times that I can't believe that I have my own little ones that want to be near me, their mom. How blessed am I!!!

Camping Trip #2

And THAT is why Keziah was so excited in the last picture of my last post. While everybody (well, it feels like everybody) was heading to school, we were busy packing to head out to Port Burwell for a week. And what a beautiful week we had! One highlight was definitely the weather, which was about 10-12 degrees warmer than our camping week in August. It was also a lot drier. Well, it was after the first night. The first night we had quite the storm and tonnes of rain. Again we were so thankful for our trailer. "They" were also calling for more rain the next day but much to our pleasant surprise, we hardly got any and the day was very nice! We didn't see any rain again until the day we left, on our way home.

A second highlight was going to Aylmer's URC, a church we visit every Thanksgiving Sunday when camping at Turkey Point. We enjoy going to this church as we are fed spiritually with the true preaching of the Word, we get to listen to a congregation that sings in harmony (talk about chills), and the fellowship is a blessing. This congregation is very welcoming. You don't stand by yourself for more than 10 seconds without someone coming up to you to talk to you. We also were invited to a kind family's home for lunch! Oh, and I met someone who just so happens to read this blog (Hi, Denise!!), someone who I didn't know before but recognized us from the pictures and introduced herself as a reader. That was pretty neat!

A third highlight (and then we'll get to pictures :o) is the park itself, Port Burwell Provincial Park. It is a very nice park, with big sites, a large playground and very clean comfort stations. The one thing we were quite disappointed in was the beach. I can just hear those of you who go there in the summer gasp in surprise. I know. I have also seen pictures of the beach where it is beautiful and the water so nice. But when we went, the beach was posted for high levels of bacteria. It stayed posted for 5 days. We did check it out anyway on the first day but we saw why it was posted: there were thousands upon thousands of sea gulls. Well, we all know that sea gulls are not the cleanest birds. They are known to have another, rather vulgar, name for good reason. It was utterly dis.gust.ing. And what was attracting these sea gulls? The dead fish that were lying about all over the beach. Oh well. It is Lake Erie afterall, not the deepest and cleanest lake around. We didn't let it damper our trip, though. We still had piles of fun as a family!! Let me show you :o)

We first went out for breakfast on the day we left. Lincoln is deciding which dessert he would like to have :o)

Once at the site, someone was worried about the truck rolling away

I wish I knew how to photoshop, because I believe a bright red fire hydrant is needed in this picture to complete it :o)

Lots of fun at the park!

"Braving" the big spider web. At least she went on it!! Once.

"How can I get up there?"

We picked up this Chariot Bike Trailer/Stroller off of Kijiji (gotta love that site!!) for a fantastic price right before we left. Both kids love it and are often seen holding hands. It is so cute!

A picture that makes my heart beat fast.

Fixing up the tarp after the storm

Some fun with mom!

"Does she always have to do this to me? I am a boy afterall!!"

Keziah finally could enjoy a fire without covering her eyes. She learned the skill of roasting a marshmellow. The next skill? To actually enjoy eating the roasted marshmellow. She likes her marshmellows "just white, mom."

As you can see, the first one took awhile. I think it was ready the next day :o)

Ahhh! Relaxing by reading!!

Crawling boy + play yard = Happy Mom!! (with the added bonus of boy being happy, too!)

"Eating a juicy peach" stance:

First time eating ice cream. I think he likes it.

The first time we hit the beach to play at, we went to Beach 5. We noticed lots of cars (around 25 or more) parked there so we thought that was the best spot. We crested over the sand dunes and saw 2 other couples. That's it. Later on we figured out where the occupants of those other cars were: waaaaaaaaaaaay down the beach. Why? Because it's nicer there? Um. Nope. Can you guess why??! We decided Beach 5 was good enough for us afterall. Besides, we thought our 3 year old was a little young for an anatomy lesson.

The "nice clean/clear" water, with one of the many dead fish floating in it:

He just doesn't stay put!! See in the far bottom right corner? That's the blanket. Quick as a flash, he is off and running crawling

Playing Boggle with dad :o))

And lastly, here are two things Lincoln learned over the week, one being giving kisses:

and the other being: pulling himself to standing! Doesn't he look so proud of himself?!

We are so blessed to have this time together as a family, which really is the best highlight of all. We praise God for blessing us richly this past week. It is quite something to live a simplfied life for a week, enjoying God's creation and the blessings around us.

I Knew it!!!

So those of you who know me know that before kids came into our lives, I was an avid gym-goer. I loved it, especially strength training. I didn't want to get bulky and so I refrained from lifting a lot of weight (haha), sticking mostly to the 5 and 10 lbs weights. Who knew that I could have pushed for more?? Now 10 lbs is like lifting a feather for me! I've passed curling 15 lbs and even 20 lbs. I am officially now curling 22 lbs. I can't believe that in 8 months I have gone from curling 7 lbs to 22 lbs!! And the kicker is I haven't stepped foot in a gym in 8 months. So how, do you ask, is this possible??! Well, who needs a gym when you've got this handsome mass to carry around?

Lincoln had his doctor's appointment this morning and here are his stats: at 8 months old, he is 22 lbs and 30 inches long. Keziah was WALKING at this weight!! Actually, she didn't hit 22 lbs until 15 months (she was walking at 13 months)! And the thing is, if you look at his face and arms, you wouldn't think he would be 22 lbs:

He does eat well and when someone eats well and doesn't really show it, one would say "he has a hollow leg.". Yeah. Not this boy. Those legs are definitely NOT hollow! :o) This is where he is hiding at least 15 of those 22 lbs!

Since learning to crawl, this boy has discovered there is a world to explore! To get a picture of him is proving to be difficult as he comes right at me!

This is "the look" I get for moving away from him so he couldn't reach the camera:

In the last day or so he has learned to pull himself up to his knees. Here he is hanging on for dear life!!

But now what? How to get down?

"What's the matter, mom? Think I can't figure this out?"

Convincing me with his smile that all is good and he'll eventually learn to let go :o)

And it also looks like someone else is happy to have the play table back out!

I know it's a matter of time before he figures out how to stand. When he crawls to me (or someone else) he pulls to his feet right away and is quite proud of himself!

We are so enjoying him! Seeing him learn to do such simple things like wave "bye" and clap his hands gives us so much pleasure! But his smile! That is what gets me every time!!!

Having Lincoln has been such a blessing. Not only do I get to see my husband as a father (again) but I also get to watch Keziah in her role as big sister. He is so loved and cherished and we praise God every day for him!

And this girl....do you know why she is so excited?

You'll have to come back in a week or so to find out!!! :o))