Cruising along

Sophia is doing so well.  She continues to have some pain most days, but it must not be enough to bother her too much because she usually only tells me once or twice.  She hasn’t wanted pain medication when I offer her Tylenol, and after a few minutes, she is back on course with whatever it was she was doing.
 
She has been doing great with school and piano.  Her favorite piano song right now is “Jesus Lover of My Soul”.  I have been in other parts of the house, and heard her playing it over and over.  It’s music to my ears.

The pilgrim dresses have been a great source of fun.  The hats don’t usually last as long since they make heads itchy and warm.  But we have had many happy days of pilgrim girl play.

Thank you for continuing to pray for her.  She sounds so much better than she did before the surgery.  We can tell it’s easier for her to breathe.   If you could please remember to pray for her this winter, we would appreciate it.  She catches viruses easily and they almost always result in respiratory difficulties for her.  If you have any suggestions for boosting immune systems – send them my way!

We are thankful for each of you!

3 little pilgrim girls

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Alix in her colonial dress on her birthday - she made most of it!

brown sugar stitches

Sophia asked me today if it would hurt when her stitches “come undone”.  She was looking at me with a little frown and a slightly worried expression.

I told her to think about what brown sugar does when we put it on her warm oatmeal in the morning.
 
She said, “Oh…. you mean they’ll just melt away?”

And we were both able to smile about that. 

Thank you, God, for giving us happy thoughts to comfort little ones.  And thank you, God, for brown sugar, too.  It’s really the only reason I eat oatmeal.





Although it's not a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar - there are still alot of happy thoughts in this picture!



Healing

I took Sophia to see our pediatrician, Dr. Harper, yesterday.  He was very pleased with her progress.  Her wound is healing well, and she is only needing pain medication about once or twice a day.  She is moving her right arm around very well – unlike initially, when she kept it very tightly to her side.  He noticed she is breathing more quietly, too.  He said it is the first time he’s ever been in the office with her and not been able to hear her breathing. He encouraged me that it’s possible the tracheomalacia, the floppiness in her airway, will harden and firm up as she continues to grow.

I told him I didn’t think I would be returning to normal so quickly – and he agreed.  He said children are just more resilient and heal faster. 

We’re continuing to keep her home for at least a couple of more weeks to protect her from viruses, etc.  She misses her ballet class, but she is keeping busy here with the other kids. 

We’re working on her pilgrim dress for Thanksgiving, today.  I have slowly added to the costume over the years – first the apron, then the white, broad collar and cuffs (well, the cuffs were made of poster board which I cut out and then we stapled them together and slipped them over the girls’ wrists).  Last year, we did a few of the mothers’ pilgrim dresses. Now, it’s time to do dresses for the girls.  Sophia’s dress will be brown, Isabella’s blue, and Olivia’s red.  Alix and Kate have been working on theirs this week – we just need to finish them off.

Thank you for continuing to pray for Sophia!  She has been so happy reading the sweet notes and cards you’ve sent!  She has set them all on the counter in the kitchen so she can see them each day.  Don’t be surprised to find something from her in your own mailbox soon!

place cards for our Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house last year

 Pilgrim Mothers
Grandma, Aunt Colleen, Me, Aunt Jennifer

A random pilgrim children shot during our annual "play"

                                                       

God is good

Sophia continues to look a little better each day.  She is eating a little more, and only needing Ibuprofin about 2-3 times a day.

Yesterday she sat down at the piano and started playing.  I sat next to her, and after a few minutes, we did her piano lesson.  She seemed glad to be doing something from our “normal” routine.  She loves to play the piano.  At the hospital, she told a nurse it was her favorite subject in school. 

She has been drawing pretty ladies and pretending to be a horse – a lame horse – for much of the past few days. 

I gave her a shower on Sunday and washed her hair.  Neither of which she was very happy about.  Afterwards, as I was getting some lotion for her, she raised her right arm and looked in the mirror.  The incision site is pretty yucky looking, so when she saw it, she started crying.  I reminded her that she has had similar looking wounds at the same place two times before, and God healed them quickly.  He will heal her again.  He has not stopped taking care of her. 

As far as her breathing goes, we can tell that she sounds quieter overall.  She doesn’t take as big a breath before she says something, and she is quieter when sleeping than she was before the surgery.  We’re hopeful that as she continues to gain strength, and her activity increases, she will notice a big difference in her ability to breathe easier. 

Thank you for continuing to pray for her!  We are very grateful for all of you.