Pine tree down

The big ugly pine tree that is killing our other nice tree came down today! Grandpa Bob and his Friend Gene came over and helped daddy take it down. It only took them about 2 hours - way to go guys! Thank you! The only problem now is that we see a small squirrel running around the stump and crying - we seem to have taken his home away, and we're not sure what to do for him. We both feel so bad! Poor squirrel - first our dog tries to kill him every time she's outside, and now we take away his home.

4-H

Our 4-H group went to the Coon Rapids Dam and learned about Osprey. There is a nest on the Brooklyn Park side of the dam, and our speaker brought a telescope for the kids to see the nest through. We were even fortunate enough to see one fly to the nest while we were there!

Garden

All the kids helped plant the garden this week. We have tomatoes, carrots, peas, red peppers, and an eggplant (courtesy of Miss I). Unfortunately, Miss O is not very happy about having her picture taken lately, and it's too hard for me to hold Ato T and take a picture of him at the same time (he's an active boy!). So here is Miss I, representing all the kiddos.

Yard

I love your backyard in the spring! Any time the house smells, I just open the windows, and it's an instant lilac air freshner!

Spring fun with friends

Spring is so much fun! We get to play outside without everyone getting too hot. Here are some shots from our friend Lisa's first trip with us to the park since her newest son was born. He's only about 4 weeks old in this picture, and big brother is 2 years.

Good help

Miss O's PCA has been out of the country since April, and won't be returning until at least June 1st. While mommy finds her groove of getting things done without help, the girls have really been pitching in! They are now both getting up, dressed, and making their beds by themselves. They also have needed to be more diligent about picking up after themselves. Miss I, as seen here, has taken to doing the vacuuming. She loves it! And she' actually quite good, too! Who says good help is hard to find?

Happy Mother's Day!!

This is isabelle. I'm sneaking onto the computer to wish mommy a hhappyy n,mothers day ! i love you mothersw day! djjjjjjjdjhd;okhkojdxjbj;fcgjhfpjhofgujhioljtd jgfl jh.

Daddy will type for Olivia and Tariku. "We love you!"

Ok, Isabelle really wants to type again. We'll see how this goes...

i hope uyoun enjoy your present! you are lovelty

Ok, now Olivia wants a turn afterall...

i love you! you are special! i iove yyyyyouuuuuuu!u uuu

Dancing boy

Ato T here, dancing with his balloon from the hospital.

More reunion

Two more pictures from last night's fun!

Reunion fun

We topped off birthday celebrations with a dinner reunion of families in the area who we traveled to Ethiopia with. It's already been 3 months! The older kids all remembered each other, and it was so fun to be with everyone again, and meet their kids who were not able to travel!

A happy boy seeing his friends! Yep, he feels better - he ate a jar of baby food and a container of fruit we brought with, and then proceed to chow down half of mommy's dinner as well. He was extremely excited to eat Ethiopian food again!

Randy with his daughter, little Miss M, and with big Miss M.

Miss M posing for the camera.

MaryJo doing her best to keep kids entertained while we waited for food.


Miss I wasn't too sure about letting someone else push Ato T, until mommy stepped in to explain that Miss M pushed him in Ethiopia before we even knew him.

Kathy and Ato J

Jules with her kids.

Miss I and daddy waiting (not so patiently) for the food.

Ato T and Miss M

What a fantastic way to spend Ato T's first birthday here at home with us!

Birthday boy!

Ato T was feeling better on Sunday, just in time for his 2nd birthday! He celebrated in style with a clown cake and gifts. Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Bob came over to celebrate for a while, too.

He even ate his cake - about half of a piece, and loved it!

Updates

Well, Ato T seems to have something going on, but the docs aren't sure what. He's been running a fever for the last 2 days that is slowly creeping up. I took him in today to his primary care doc. and they took blood to test white blood cell count, and it seems to be okay for now. If his fever is not better by Monday we'll likely end up back at the neurosurgeon's office for them to draw CSF from the shunt. We're just praying the fever does not hike up any more, because in 0.2 of a degree, we have to take him in to the ER, if it stays there for more than a couple of hours. He has been sleeping like a maniac! Last night he went to bed at 7:30 and I had to wake him up this morning at 10:00! Not that I'm complaining - sleeping in a little is nice, as long as it doesn't mean he has an infection in his shunt. Only time will tell! Thanks for the prayers for him everyone!

Surgery re-cap

Ato T's surgery for a PT shunt placement went extremely well. For those of you who don't know, I'll explain. The shunt is placed to help relieve some on the inter cranial pressure in his head. The half of his brain that is missing has filled win with cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), which is what our bodies are supposed to do. However, the fluid isn't draining properly, which caused too much CSF in his head, which then causes extreme pain and brain damage if left untreated.

For the procedure, they make a small incision in his abdomen and then run a tunneler up into his head. They then make an incision in his head and create 2 burr holes which they will then use to place the shunt inside of. Then they run the "tubing" through the tunneler, and finish by connecting the tubing to the shunt. He has a Hakim programmable shunt. In the next few weeks we will be working with his doctor and nurse to set the shunt at the correct pressure for him. They do this through a magnetic tool that reprograms the shunt.

As I said earlier, Ato T's procedure went extremely well! He only needed one full dost of morphine, and two minuscule doses while we were in the hospital. The surgery was done on Friday at 3:00, and we were expecting to be released Tuesday at the earliest. We ended up being released Sunday! He was a trooper the entire time, and his head circumference has already decreased by one inch.

Enough explanations - here are pictures from the hospital.

Daddy & Ato T in pre-op

In recovery



Out of ICU and on the floor, sisters and daddy came to visit!

Auntie Stef, Uncle Jose and Ray visit, too!

Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Bob also came to visit, but we were still in the ICU and I wasn't able to get any pictures. Pastor Tom also tried to visit, but missed us by about 20 minutes. :( Thank you to everyone who stopped for a visit and those who prayed for us! We really appreciate you!

Bandages come off! This photo does not show the entire incision. It's a horseshoe shape. He also has one small incision on the back of his head, and then one in his abdomen.

Ato T charmed the nurses! They even took him out of the room for mommy when he woke up ready to go at 4:00 am. Thank you Children's Minneapolis nursing staff! It was nice to get some sleep!

We will return to the neurosurgeon's office in two weeks to have the stitches removed and check how the pressure in his head is. Until then, we clean the sites with a diluted mixture of antibacterial soap and water, and pat each one dry with a separate sterile gauze pad. We are praying no infections develop, although we are told that is extremely rare. (Not much comfort to parents of 2 children with "extremely rare" congenital birth defects.)

And now, the world's longest blog spot is coming to a close. :) Sorry it's late. We were not able to access the blog site at the hospital, and I've been extremely busy since we came home.

Fun at home

It's been so fun to see Ato T become more and more comfortable with his place in our family every day! He has begun to try and play with a few toys, and he loves to wrestle with his sisters, who just adore him! He has even begun to "play" us by trying to get sympathy when all he really wants is to be held. (Yes, we still give in on this quite a bit. - We just figure he still needs it for attachment purposes.)

Birthfamily fisit

We had a fun visit with Miss I's birth family a couple of weeks ago. This was their first time meeting ato T. Fun was had by all!

Surgery

Well, Ato T is off to have a VT shunt surgery tomorrow. From what I understand, the procedure involves making a burr hole in his head, then making a small incision in his abdomen, and essentially threading the shunt tubing through the two openings. Our surgeon does about 400 of these a year, and I have been hearing that the new ones have much less risk of infections and complications. But still, that's my baby's head you're drilling into! Please remember to keep him in your prayers. We were told to expect a 3-5 day stay. I'll try to update the blog from the hospital. Thanks everyone!

Melting my heart

I was praying over Miss I a couple of days ago. Just general prayers about how we would like her to grow into a woman who loves God and serves him, things like that. She stopped me in the middle of the prayer and said, "I'm going to take care of them when I grow up." I asked who, and she answered Miss O and Ato T. Oh, the love that is in her heart! We praise the Lord for her caring, and we continue to pray that her brother and sister do not ever feel like a "burden" to her - because they are not. They are precious gifts from our Creator!

Swingin' kids!

Miss I is, to say the least, enamored with The Magic School Bus books, as well as with the ocean. She loves the books so much we often catch her sleeping with them.

Ato T having fun rolling in the grass!

Egg hunt

Fun Easter egg hunt at church! Miss O loved it for the first time! Miss I was a bit overwhelmed, but still gathered her share of eggs. Ato T is still a little small to do it.