School

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I know that most of you have just finished your first week of summer vacation so you may be wondering about the title of this post.  Well this week we finalized our plans for next school year.  Joshua will be attending Pre-K and I will be teaching Kindergarten at Bridgeway Christian Academy.  Jason has already been involved with the school by helping them with some computer networking support.  Bridgeway is a preschool through high school private academy in the northern part of Atlanta.  It just celebrated it’s 10th year and next year will graduate it’s first senor class.  We visited many schools and preschools in our area over the last couple of months and feel that Bridgeway is the best fit for both Joshua’s education and Julie’s career.  The original plan was to find a part time program for both of us, but after much consideration and prayer I accepted a full time position so Joshua will also be attending full time.  We will both get out at 12:00 every Friday so we will have one afternoon each week to spend together.  I was very concerned at first about how Joshua might do going full days, but I have had many friends assure me that he will be fine, it is me they are more worried about .  Joshua’s classroom will either be right next to mine or right across the hall so I am sure we will both be o.k.  We will have our first real test of separation in a couple of week when we go to Vacation Bible School.  I will be leading the music time and Joshua will be in his own class.  It is only 3 hours for 5 days in a row, but it will be the closest thing to school he has ever done.  I have also signed him up for a week of summer camp at Bridgeway in July, so I can have some time to set up my classroom.  I have been so blessed to stay at home with Joshua this year and discover my favorite job, and I feel blessed to be able to return to my now, second favorite job, teaching Kindergarten.  We have some fun events and activities planned this summer so check back often for pictures and updates.

Health update praise:  Joshua’s blood work came back great!  All tests came back negative that should have been negative and he is immune to Chicken Pox so he will not have to have that vaccine. 

Health Updates

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Joshua had Doctor appointments 4 out of 5 days this week. 
    Monday was "cast off" day.  He was a little anxious (as was his Ma Ma) about the saw tool that they used to remove the cast and he and I were both somewhat shocked by the build up of black dead skin on his fingers and palm and the pin that was poking out through the top of his hand.  (I don’t know why I expected all the scars to be completely healed after only 5 weeks.  My surgery scars are more than 18 months old and still have some healing to do.)  Joshua was most concerned because he thought his hand looked dirty and he kept poking the pin and saying "Ma Ma what is that?"  When the doctor came into the room he reassured me that the hand looked great and it was how he expected it to look.  He used plier like tools and twisted the pin out of Joshua’s hand as Joshua watched and asked "What he doing Ma Ma?"  The doctor also informed me that there is another pin in his hand and he hopes that it will work its way out in the next couple of weeks, eeewwww! 
    Tuesday was his first physical therapy appointment.  The therapist was very sweet and Joshua enjoyed playing "pick up" games with her.  We will go once a week for about a month so I can learn a bunch of exercises to help Joshua adapt to using his thumb and index finger separately.
    Wednesday was the visit with the eye doctor.  Her evaluation indicated that the patching is continuing to improve Joshua’s vision.  She will recheck in July and decide if he is ready for his eye surgery at that point. 
    Friday was Joshua’s 4 year old check up and follow up blood work.  I did tell him ahead of time that there would probably be a shot involved and that he would also have to have some blood taken out of his arm.  He reluctantly went along with his stuffed penguin and the promise of M & M’s after every stick.  Our pediatrician is very nice and quite thorough.  As soon as he walked into the room Joshua said to him "Excuse me sir, I do not like to get a shot."  This cracked up the doctor who responded with we’ll take a look at you and talk about it later.  I had been preparing myself all week for the trauma of this appointment but had only figured on the needle sticks being difficult.  The doctor asked me to help Joshua undress to his underwear and put him on the exam table.  Joshua freaked out!  He was screaming and climbing into my lap clinging to me.  I had a flashback to his medical exam in China where his reaction was nearly the same.  In China he wanted the safety of his stroller, as his confidence in his Ma Ma was not what it is today (Praise God!!).  This reaction was a reminder of the mystery that is his past.  He has so amazed us with his adaptability and courage, adjusting to a whole new life and family, that we sometimes forget about the grief and trauma that are in his past.  Instead of dwelling on all the unknown heartaches that I long to have protected him from, I celebrate the comfort and security that I have become for him.  (By the way, this first Mother’s Day of mine was just a dream come true and a little piece of Heaven on Earth!) The doctor allowed him to stay fully clothed and did most of the exam with Joshua in my lap.  Finally after a quick single vaccination we were off to the lab for the blood work.  I promised him a trip to Chick-Fil-A for lunch when it was over and in we went.  We got to go right back, and with Joshua in my lap and the stuffed penguin in his, the lab tech began her task.  I cannot watch such things, but I could tell by the look on her face she was not finding a vein.  After what seemed like an eternity  she called another tech to come in and try his other arm.  Joshua was already pretty distraught and could not quite comprehend why this had to be done again.  The new (very pregnant) tech was able to get a vein right away and then proceeded to have a contraction.  The first tech was still in the room and was able to help steady her and then finish filling the vials for Joshua’s blood work.  We were both VERY relieved to have all of it behind us.   Joshua continued to sniffle and speak through occasional sobs for the entire 6 minute ride to Chick-Fil-A.  We are currently praying that the blood test will show that Joshua is immune to Chicken Pox so that he can avoid that shot.  I found out it is a requirement for school.  (I will go into all the school details in a future post.)
    I did not plan it out this way, but in hind sight I am so glad that my first Mother’s Day was how this week began.  Helping a child through a week of distress brought on by medical professionals is part of the job.  I daily thank my Savior for allowing me the opportunity to experience Motherhood and to be called Ma Ma by the sweetest little boy on Earth.

Happy belated Mother’s Day to all my bloggy friends!  Here’s to the good, the bad, and the ugly of Motherhood, and knowing you are not in it alone!!

Birthday Video

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Jason has been giving me lessons on how to post videos to our blog.  Here is my first attempt.
Video from Joshua’s Birthday Party.

Thanks for the Prayers!

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Thanks for your patience in waiting for this post.  Joshua’s surgery began at 8:30 am on Tuesday and was scheduled to last about 3 1/2 hours.  Right at 6 hours later he was finally wheeled into post op recovery.  Yes, I was on the verge of losing it after such a long wait.  Jason and the nursing staff were wonderful at helping to distract and calm me.  One of the nurses in the O.R.  wrapped Joshua’ s Curious George in a matching cast (see photos below),  I cried it was so sweet!  The surgeon reported that there were some unexpected and complicated issues with his index finger once it was separated from his thumb.  Joshua did not potty like the nursing staff needed him to and he threw up every little bit of fluid he took in in the first couple of hours in post op.  (Our first experience with vomiting as parents)  It was decided that he should be transported (across a parking lot) from the day surgery center to the Children’s hospital for overnight fluids and observation.  We got settled in around 7:30pm and with a lot of coaxing on our part and a lot of crying on Joshua’s he finally went pee-pee.  This continued quite often all night long, praise God the vomiting did not.  He woke up around 3:30am and was crying because he was so hungry.  The doctor’s orders were for a clear liquid diet until he saw Joshua again in the morning.  It was difficult to tell him that ice chips, juice, and jell-o, were his only choices.  He does not like jell-o at all, but he ate 2 cups of the stuff during his overnight stay.  The surgeon came in early Wed. morning and gave us the o.k. to go home if Joshua was able to keep down his breakfast.  He ate eggs, pancakes, and Cheerios and kept them down just fine!  At 11:00 this morning we headed home.  Joshua has done very well!!  He is already asking when he can take his cast off.  I can sense it is going to be a long 6 weeks for him!  He ate a good lunch today, had a long nap after his dose of Tylenol with Codine, played with some of his birthday presents, and enjoyed how much Playhouse Disney his parents allowed him to watch.  He continues to amaze us with the strength he shows in difficult situations and we are so blessed with the trust he has in us to care for him. 
We felt your prayers and we love all of you for lifting us up!!

 

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!

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Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful birthday party for Joshua at his grandma’s house.  The weather was fairly cool and drizzly when we woke up that morning, but an hour before party time, the sun came out and it warmed up, to provide us with a perfect afternoon for an outside party.  Most of our family and many of our friends were there to celebrate this very special occasion with us.  Joshua only had a couple of mini melt downs and overall had great fun.  Thanks to all who attended for helping to make this a very memorable event for our family! 

Joshua will be having surgery tomorrow morning.  Please pray and we will post how he is doing as soon as we can. 


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