then getting picked up by Daryl and going to The House to get the goodie bags ready. Jessica had been working hard all week to make new, personalized goody bags for her. I helped a little this morning so she could get her breakfast, but here she is sewing away:
Then we packed them with their presents, and called them up from the basement playroom where they had been impatiently waiting - here's the before photo:
And here's once the mayhem had begun:
And here's the resulting chaos:
Here's Elizabeth with her first set of twins:
The kids surprised Daryl and I by putting together a goody bag for us too! There was chocolates for us to share and bath items and hair pretties for me! Cool eh?
Then Daryl and I took Elizabeth with us to visit with Esther, and we found out that they were going to remove and replace Esther's feeding tube, and that if we could all get together, we could get a family photo while it was out!
So Daryl went and brought all the kids to Esther's room and this is the great photo we got!
I must say that sitting in the hospital this much hasn't been kind to me, and we aren't in our usual spit-shined condition we usually try to achieve for family photos, but I'm sure you'll all look past our every-day look and see the spirit behind this get-together! In spite of all we've gone through and are going through, doesn't everyone look marvelous???
Then we also got a super cute photo of Esther without her feeding tube and in her cutest outfit:
Notice her nice IV still has the ribbon in it! Too bad I didn't have pink ribbon to match her outfit!
Then we ended up waiting in the room for a while - longer than was comfortable anyway, so I took this photo of the kids and Daryl trying to be patient and sharing the seating for fewer people than were in the room:
So then the kids went back to The House for some activities, and Daryl and I had lunch with Esther. Then I took a much needed nap while Daryl watched Esther (well watched the Speed channel and checked Ebay for Chevelles ;) while fielding phone calls and nurses questions/information). Then it was time to go to the House for the big Christmas Eve Dinner, sponsored by the Seattle Police Department. While we were eating the dinner, "Santa's Helpers" were putting gifts in the rooms for all the families staying at The House - here's what we came in to find:
It was awesome! And here's the resulting happy Kaos, once again only on a bigger scale than before!
Then is was time for me to go back to Esther, and I spent the evening cuddling her and watching several episodes of "17 and counting", a TV show about a family with 17 kids and one on the way! Makes my family look small in comparison! They are an amazing family and we share many of their values. It was amazing to see Christianity portrait in a positive light on TV, as well as Biblical principles lived out in their lives and those of their children!
Esther showed us this morning what all that illness was really about - an ear infection! She sported blood and puss from her right ear this morning! So she's not on antibiotics, and we are unsure of her surgery at this point. Last rumor was that it was moved to Monday, but we can not get any information from cardiology as to day or time yet! I'm hoping we'll find out tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath as weekends and holidays are notorious for not seeing doctors unless it's an emergency! At least this ear thing is not new - she was in pain the last two days and we just couldn't figure out why - and she does not have a fever now either. The discharge is just her bodies way of releasing the pressure at the end of the infection, and the antibiotics are "just in case" she has any infection left.
Please pray for patience as we continue to play the waiting game, and that Esther will continue to recover from the ear infection and not get anything else so her surgery can go ahead soon!
I hope you all have a very Blessed Christmas!
You guys all look wonderful! I am so glade you were able to get a family picture in!
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