COUSIN CAMP - Sea Surprise Day! July 17

This day started out really fun...Great Grammy came over and helped Hayden and Will decorate their sand pails and then filled them with water and started growing their sea creatures. Of course Swimmy and Spot watched everything with great interest. Then they made sand sculptures in little bottles. Then we went outside to have hermit crab races. Hayden picked which crab he thought would win and put down his "bet" of a quarter and before Will could bet - he promptly picked up Hayden's quarter off the concrete and put it in his mouth! We got that out before he choked and decided that all bets were off! Then Will decided to pull his own "see surprise" by picking up the largest and fastest hermit crab and sticking that inside his mouth!!!! We couldn't believe it - Katie & Hayden were screaming and crying and fortunately I was able to get the crab out of Will's mouth before he swallowed it and fortunately the crab didn't pinch onto Will's tongue or throat causing any other damage. We couldn't believe Will did that or was even able to do it with four adults right there - He is way too fast and now we know that truly "where there's a Will there's a way!"



Well, since we all needed something fun to calm some frayed nerves we decided to end the evening with a great meal at Sho-Gun,a Japanese restaurant that has a big aquarium and fixes your food in front of you with flames and flashy knives( I realize that doesn't sound exactly nerve relieving!). The kids loved it and Hayden was so inspired by the chef that he performed his own napkin dance and made Will roar with laughter.

COUSIN CAMP "Fun At The Lake" - July 18

Last Day of Cousin Camp - Hayden's mom Melinda came to attend last day ceremonies at Pine Cove and then we all went to Lake Palestine. This was Will's first time on a boat and he seemed to enjoy himself in spite of the staggering heat and stifling life jacket! Cookie and Katie skied and Lovie even went out on the tube!

SANTA FE WEEKEND WITH ADAM & MEGAN

We spent the Fourth of July weekend with Adam and his girlfriend Megan Ricks and Megan's parents Bill & Katie. We ate as much New Mexican food as we could - basically planning every activity around our next feeding...We began at Maria's Restaurant on Thursday night - Tom's sister and husband (Lucy & Ron Peterson) also joined us - they live in Santa Fe...



FRIDAY FUN ON THE FOURTH!
We began the day early with "Pancakes on The Plaza"- an annual Santa Fe tradition benefitting United Way(Tom's sister Lucy is the Chairman of The Board for United Way)


Eating lunch at The Shed....Browsing around the various artists and their booths...



Feasting at The Blue Heron at Sunrise Springs Resort & Spa...



Fireworks Finale!



SATURDAY SIGHTSEEING
We shopped the Farmer's Market - lots of fun foods, flowers and people watching!


We met up with Adam, Megan, Bill & Katie and rented motor scooters and toured Santa Fe. We stopped for a relaxing and yummy picnic. The afternoon ended with an electric lightening & thunderstorm booming literally over our head - we parked the scooters at a gas station and ran for cover!





In the late afternoon we found ourselves on Lucy & Ron's back verandah looking out over the Jemez Mountain Range watching a wonderful sunset...



SUNDAY IN SANTA FE
We began the day brunching at La Fonda and exploring the various sights off the Plaza (like the miraculous stairway at the Loretto Chapel) and of course shopping!







We spent the afternoon "back at The Ranch" - the Rv Resort where Bill & Katie were staying - we played in the pool and then played a rousing and hilarious set of "Catch Phrase" ...ok the guys won....yadda yadda yadda...



We ended our last evening together with a fabulous dinner under a double rainbow at Los Mayas. Thanks for a great weekend Adam & Megan - Bill & Katie - we loved being with you guys!

HAPPY IN-DEPENDENCE DAY!

A year ago, I was out on a cruise ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean 700 miles from the port of Seattle when I received a call that would change our lives forever. I do not think I will ever forget Katie's words as she told me the results of their sonogram and at the same time kept telling herself to "breathe...just breathe". All I wanted to do was be with our daughter and yet that was impossible. Family members and professionals were trying to reassure us that tests are sometimes wrong and we were worried that there might be more unseen health issues...yet underlying all of these anxieties and fears there was also a pervasive steady calming strength. The one common thread through all of those days during last summer was the feeling of utter dependence on the One who is always in control. We depended on God to get us through the multiple tests and He reassured us through the doctors that our grandbaby had a beautiful brain...a gorgeous heart...and all organs were fully functioning and perfect. We were in dependence on each of you - our family and friends - because many days we could not verbalize only groan to God and yet we knew daily through emails and cards and phone calls and hugs that you were interceeding for our family. We had blessings bestowed on us each day from finding a hospital like Texas Scottish Rite for Children that gave us hope and encouragement...from friends who offered their homes and finances and brought food...from strangers all over the world who felt compelled and convicted to pray for our grandbaby.  And these notes, emails and calls have continued to keep coming. Just the other day a sweet friend named Poosie sent a note to encourage us once again to persevere (Romans 5:1-5)and the Lord's timing for that note could not have been more appropriate as I had been listening to Katie and holding her hand (via the cell phone) as she struggled with God continuing to have His own plan and changing hers!

This day is one for celebrating our nation's freedom. But it is a day forever changed for me as I realize just how very dependent we are on our Maker and His plan and His sovereignty and His provision and His mercy and His love. We are a very blessed family to live in this country. Our grandson Will is so blessed to have been born in this country. My heart aches at the knowledge that there are children born every day with differences and challenges and yet for some reason they are not given the opportunities and advantages Will and we have been given. I do not comprehend whatsoever why God has this plan for Will and for our family but we embrace it and are grateful that living in the United States of America was also God's plan for our family. I have traveled to many countries and seen incredible sights and but I can truly tell you that there is not a more beautiful sight than being welcomed home to the USA and knowing just what that means. Thank you Lord.

Will's Prosthetic Process

The following information is from Katie & Reagan's blog - I don't know if you check their blog but we thought she did a really good job explaining where they are in the process of Will's prosthetics - and so many of you are so kind to ask us about Will's medical care that we thought this might be the best way to convey the information.


One of my [Katie's] new roles is that of an educator. I am learning how to teach others about kids with differences, appropriate vocabulary, etc. This summer we are learning all about prosthetics and we would like to share with you what we are learning! It truly is an art that makes a difference in lives. Last Friday, Will began the prosthetic experience with a casting. Literally, the prosteticist put casts on each of his legs. He had to lay very still and fortunately did so thanks to cartoons on a little tv above his head and me feeding him his milk. He also enjoyed chewing on the casting tubes. "Still" is not exactly in his vocabulary - we were very proud of him!

First the prosteticist made a series of measurements of each leg. Then she wrapped each leg in gauze and used a special marker to mark the "landmarks" (bones). Then she used more gauze and wet plaster to create the cast. Eash one took 5 minutes or so to dry. She then used several cool tools and a razor to to gently cut the cast off. This whole process took about one hour. In two weeks, we will return for Step Two: Test Sockets (more on that to come later).

People often ask when are we going to do hand prosthetics. Let me go ahead and state our thoughts on prosthetics. This is a very exciting although very emotional experience for us. We do not take this decision lightly. It is very important to us that Will know we accept his body and that we are doing prosthetics for him only as an option. They will be able to come on and off. We want him to be comfortable with them so he can use them for certain activities if necessary. However, we will continue to work hard with him teaching him to walk on his own feet as we want him to know that this is okay too. [As a sidebar - he is pulling up all the time now and last weekend learned to climb up stairs.] We do not want him to feel he has to use the prosthetics. We just want to make them available for him. Ultimately it will be his decision to do what works best for him.

We've read stories of other people with limb differences who are quite successful with a prosthesis (such as Roger Crawford, professional tennis player)and of those who are quite successful without a prosthesis (like Kyle Maynard, world record setter in weight lifting and college wrestler). We likely will not do hand prosthestics. There is no sense of feeling in a prosthesis and generally a child born with hand differences has already compensated and learned how to do anything they need to with the hand they have. For instance, Will can grab toys, he can crawl and he can feed himself. Sometimes, kids will get hand prosthetics for a one-time use. We've been told that girls have been known to get a prosthesis so they can get a manicure for their Prom. With boys, it tends to be so they can better play a particular sport (such as golf). So, at this point, there is nothing Will needs a hand prosthesis for.

Yes, we are excited to begin this process with Will. However, it is somewhat of an emotional time for us and we enter yet another new world of new faces, a new language and a new "normal". Hopefully, you'll enjoy learning about this process along with us!