4x4 Tag...I'm it! Updates and Good News!

OK, So Jennifer tagged me (Squacreek Ranch Blog )

So I went to my fourth folder and it happened to be my blog photo file!  Yeah!  And the fourth photo was Esther!  yeah!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Esther and her Butterfly Swing"][/caption]

This is so cool, as I was just looking back at photos earlier this week and praising God that Esther doesn't need the feeding tube anymore!  While it saved her life, it was such a distraction from her cutness!  It scared little children, and made adults squeemish!  This photo was taken just a few days before we got to take it out!

Here's a recent photo - taken at the biggest birthday party we ever put on!


Isn't it cute - they even match! Renee is my dear friend who inspired me to start this blog! Don't you just love the hair!  Esther has a very special signature hair doo - the mohawk is getting longer so we usually put it in a pony tail, but on this day we let it all hang out!  LOL!

Renee was also there for me the day Esther was born, and took that ohh soo sweet photo of Esther on that first day when photos were so hard to take in the semi darkness and through the oxygen tent!
So, back to the birthday party! We missed celebrating 5 birthdays (the youngest 5 above Esther) while Esther and I were in the hospital! Three were in September and two were in December. So we decided to celebrate them all at once - and boy did we ever! We invited entire families, and ended up with 6 parents and 28 kids coming! The kids were from 5 families - Renee brought her entire family (13 children and her husband too!) so that made up for more than half the attendees! I was so glad they all came - we had a wonderful time and it was so fun to have so many kids around! It was loud and crazy, but everyone had a blast! I learned not to get caught going down the stairs when the kids all think the treasure hunt is leading them upstairs! Talk about a fish going upstream! It takes a while for 37 kids to push their way up the stairs and around me!
So here's the head count for the party - Bergerons - 13 kids and 2 parents, Jardinskis - 1 parent, 4 1/2 kids (her baby is due very soon!), Doyles - 2 parents, 5 kids (including the most adorable 4 week old twin boys!), Andersons - 1 parent, 2 kids, Clarks - 2 kids. And, of course 9 of our kids (Jeremy's still in California, Jason was working) and Daryl was home, making a very full house at 43 bodies! It was the most fun/exciting/crowded when it came to opening the gifts, as everyone tried to cram into the livingroom:


And here's thos adorable twins I mentioned earlier!



These two boys have three older sisters - age 2, 3, and I think 10!  Their mom is a wonder - out and about with these little ones and their sisters already!  She's a pro, that's for sure!  God knew she could handle these little blessings!

What's funny, is that all that morning I just couldn't remember the mother's name!  I could remember their dad's name, but not the mom's!  Then us moms were all talking about mom stuff, and she mentioned how funny it was that recently she couldn't remember my name and had to ask her husband what my first name was - what a hoot, as we both have the same name!  Ruth!!!  LOL!! Is that funny or what!  I don't think either of us will forget eachother's names ever again!

Oh - and that beanbag chair that the twins are on?  I thought it was generally a one or two person seat - I was wrong - here's a photo of it seating 5 (I was told that it had held 6 earlier!)



They don't look like they're having fun - but all day those two were smiling, I just didn't catch it at this moment!  This photo was taken way after the party though - spontaneously we invited the Bergerons to stay for dinner.  They didn't have plans, so I sent Jessica to the store for more food, and we had a great dinner of EZ lazagna, garlic bread and corn - service for 27!  There was even some leftovers!

The weekend before last, we were able to go bowling with the Down Syndrom Outreach group!  It was great fun - pizza, pop, and bowling - a special treat for all the kids.  We met some incredible parents, and some special kids, and had a great time!  Here's Esther with daddy and Jessica that night:



(sorry Jessica - I know it's not the best photo of you, but it's so cute of Esther and Daddy I just had to post it!)

So, a quick update on all things!  I've got good news on all fronts!

Esther - had her 6 weeks post-op appointment and she passed with flying colors!  She doesn't have to have another cardiology appointment for 6 months!  Yeah! She does have an appointment next week for her thyroid check though, but I'm not worried about that one, it should be a quick visit.  Other than post-snow traffic being a mess on the way down, the day went smoothly.

Esther also started physical therapy two weeks ago and is progressing nicely!  She's doing much better at holding her head up, and she's discovered she has feet and loves to kick the ball that hangs from her play gym!

And best of all, as of 11 days ago, Esther has been home longer than she has been in the hospital!  yeah!

My sister, Lisa had her surgery this morning, and they removed two cysts and there was no malignancy!  So she is free of cancer!  Praise the Lord!!!!!

I actually got caught up on laundry late last week (well, some of it is only in the right room and not in the closets, but that's close enough for me at this point!).

And best of all, Jeremy will be coming home in less than 2 weeks!  Jessica will be flying down to visit my sister, Lisa, for a few days, and then Jeremy is going to drive up from 29 Palms to San Fransisco to pick up Jessica and they'll drive the rest of the way home together!  Jeremy is leaving his car here while he's away.  He's even given me permission to use it while he's gone (we are down to one car right now) - I don't mind as it's a 1996 Camaro Z 28!  That will be fun!

We are planning an open house for him while he's home - to celebrate his time at home, our new home, and Esther too!  So if any of you want to come and join in on the fun, bring a snack to share, and show up here sometime between 1 and 8 pm on Saturday, February 28!  Email me or post a comment if you need directions to our house!