Frannie's Journey

Candyland Championship

2012-01-30T08:56:00.006-05:00

Lawrenceville is the site of the scarf-wearing Candyland Championship of the World. Nowhere else has a competition like this been seen in all the world. In a nail-biter, Grace Fay pulled ahead and overthrew the competition, winning 2 sets out of 3. She is, without a doubt, the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. All three competitors are seen above wearing their handmade, finely woven scarves. A rematch has been discussed.

Prayers go out to our boy Brett who is spending time in Scottish Rite. No updates today. Pray for Lisa to get some sleep. She's averaged about 72 minutes of sleep a day for the past 3 months. Mother of the Year? You bet.

Thank you God for weekends

2012-01-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

We went out for a wonderful meal last night in our neighborhood to Sushi Gallery. Grace has a classmate named Ella whose family owns the restaurant (Benihana-style with hibachi too) and it was such a nice Friday treat. This week was short for work, but it seemed like it lasted 13 days. My friend once said they put "an addictive chemical in wasabi to keep you coming back" and I believe that theory to be true!

Oh Happy Day

2012-01-17T19:46:00.004-05:00

Our weather is unseasonably warm, the girls are smart, happy and healthy, Kevin is working a fair amount (but not too much) and work is not too bad these days. I love my co-workers -- we have a great bond in our office and share a lot of laughs, my students aren't pulling my hair or kicking me in the shins lately. What more could a girl want? Oh yeah, are these adorable girls or what??

PS We have been loving my new version of chili: a pound of ground turkey, browned with 1/2 an onion, chopped fine. Add a can of black beans, can of white beans, can of red beans, can of corn (all drained) and a large can of pureed or diced tomatoes. Add 2 tbls of chili powder, a tbls. of cumin, tbls. of oregano, salt, pepper and a little bit of crushed red pepper. Yum!

Thoughts on life

2011-12-30T19:15:00.002-05:00

In a way, it's strange that people even read this blog, I am not always sure why I keep it up. My Dad used to ask me to update it all the time, but now he is gone and I don't think about it much. My friend Nancy and I had some time today to sit down and talk about some books we have been reading and it all got me thinking: my life is not always easy, but I have it pretty good here in Lawrenceville, Georgia and I have very little to complain about. I truly believe in God answering my prayers in many different ways: through words coming out of friends' mouths, through songs I hear, through birds tapping on my window, etc. God has been so good to even CARE about me, taking the time and effort to remind me of who is in charge and who gives me all these wonderful things in life.

When I entered 4th grade, I went to a Catholic school for the first time in my life and my 4th grade teacher, Sister Germaine (a large woman with an enormous backside who was nicknamed Sister "German Tank") told us a lot of profound things about God and a few of them have stayed with me for life. One of the most important is this: Your life is like one grain of sand. Think about eternity in this way: place your wet hand on a sandy beach and try to imagine how many grains of sand are on your hand. Now think of all the beaches in all the world and all the deserts and all that sand. Your life is just one grain. If you can obey God for your short, little life, you will be rewarded in heaven for EVER. Even more than a desert full of sand. Trusting in Him is not always easy, having faith that His will is PERFECT in all regards is not always easy to remember, but isn't that the point? If God knows all and He truly loves us, doesn't He mean GOOD for us? When we take the blind leap, God ALWAYS rewards us 100 fold, doesn't He? Can't we remember that and thank Him daily, allowing Him to use us any way He wants in order to do His will and bring Him glory?

I've had a few moments of miraculous "coincidences" in my life (haven't we all? Let's face it) and if anyone out there doesn't believe, I will be praying for you tonight and for the rest of my life because I wish heaven for everyone. Seriously, for Kim Jong Il, Hitler and Stalin. I hope to God you three did repent and gave your life over to Him at the end.

Saint Francis of Assisi (I believe it was) was asked once during a game of pool what he would do if he knew he would die the next day and he replied "I would keep on playing pool." What the heck does this mean, you ask? Hey, if you are not ready today, chances are, you will not be ready tomorrow. I watch a lot of medical shows and I am painfully aware of how quickly life can be taken away from any one of us, tonight, tomorrow or the day after. Have you ever known anyone who has died suddenly? Of course you have. We all have. Does the thought of dying scare the crap out of you? I am curiously looking forward to the day I get to go, but I hope the four of us Fays all get wiped out together, like by one big Mack Truck or Armageddon or .... you get the point. I don't want to leave my girls without a Mom. I pray that if death scares you, maybe you should do something about it right this minute.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the most comforting thing in my life. No amount of snuggly sheets, comfy slippers, drugs or a bank account full of money could make me feel better than that.

My favorite memory in the world: I was studying for some class behind Sever Hall, looking across at the Philosophy building which has a quote on the side of the building "What is Man that Though Art Mindful of Him." It took me about 5 years of searching to find out the origin of that quote: Psalm 8. And I discovered it while reading a quote from a Rabbi no less. I went to Psalm 8 and became obsessed with this psalm because I have always felt closest to God when I am listening to good music and seeing all of God's great works in nature. So about 5 years ago (I have mentioned this story before on the blog) my friend Noreen and I were camping, looking at the stars and I mentioned Psalm 8, asking her if she had ever read it. I told her the story and later in the evening after a few beers, she asked if I wanted to read her daily reading with her and she opened the page and shook her head in disbelief. Yep, the scripture she had never in her life remembered reading was right there for us to marvel over. Thank you Lord for all these coincidences.

I am looking forward to seeing my Grandma Egan Evrard again, of hearing my Uncle Bill laugh again, of seeing my hand-holding parents again and especially, meeting Jesus face to face. Wow, I can only imagine.

Nope, I'm not obsessed with death today, just thinking some thoughts about being ready and praying all my family and friends are ready too. I hope all of you are ready, wheather I know you or not. The more, the merrier.

Merry Christmas and Grace's Surgery

2011-12-25T09:55:00.005-05:00

Grace is doing remarkably well. She basically had a little nose job. The doctor was able to split her front, top gum away from her lip and bring her nose together, basically giving her a nose job. She did great. Other than having some bloody scabs showing, she is on Tylenol now and eating like a true Evrard. I mean Fay (who are we kidding, the Evrards would squash the Fays in a noodle-eating contest). Here is the latest photo of her new button nose. Oops, she is sitting on the potty in this picture....

2011-12-11T11:51:00.005-05:00

In case you have not seen this movie, take the time to learn about this incredible story, about which we don't hear enough in this country. Instead, on the "news" we hear about the latest on Brad and Angelina, but not about important information like this. Unless Charlie Sheen mentions it on the Academy Awards, no one seems to care enough to read what is going on in the world.

I love this video

2011-12-05T09:10:00.002-05:00

Look how little these little peanuts were (in China, Grace still with St. Francis hair):

Being pulled all over

2011-11-11T17:52:00.002-05:00

Frannie has strep throat, home from school today. My student of 3 years was adopted (yeah!) by a woman in Missouri and I was much sadder to see her go than I anticipated (boo!). Frannie is gearing up for her big appearance in the Nutcracker and Grace is gearing up for her appearance in the O.R. on December 21. It's a GO. I will not talk to her about it until a day or two before so she doesn't get too freaked out. We are meeting our digit friends on Sunday for our annual Christmas picture! So much fun! I love this tradition! We've gone from 4 woman with 6 kids and here we are, four years later, 4 women with 15 kids and one on the way!

Okay, this is a little questionable in taste, but.....

2011-11-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

Grace should be having her next surgery a few days before Christmas (around the 20th, we should hear today). Not my idea of a good Christmas gift to her, but in the end, she will be glad we did it. She is going to have the skin clipped under her top lip because it is attached to the gum (like being tongue-tied only Grace is lip-tied) and she is having some cosmetic work done on her lip and nose. Poor little bugger.

My little tiny girl

2011-11-02T10:24:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to my biggest fan, Frannie. She always says the nicest things to me, how good I look, even when I don't feel quite so lovely. She loves to sign "I love you" to me, like it's a special code just between us. She truly wants to be right beside me at all times of the day and night (oooh boy) and even when I have to run 43 errands on Saturday, she would rather do that with her Mamma then stay at home watching tv. I am thinking about and praying very hard for her Mom and Dad in China, hoping that somehow they know she is okay and maybe, just maybe, we can go there one day and let them know who she is and how gorgeous, funny and smart she has become. Look how tiny she was!!!! She had not yet turned two in this picture.

Big, big news

2011-10-30T14:15:00.003-04:00

I know, it's the moment everyone has been waiting for, Frannie lost her front tooth. What a life-altering moment. Ha ha

I wasn't feeling so good yesterday and with Kevin out of town, my friend Nancy came and got the girls for me and kept them for the entire day! You rock Nancy! Today happens to be her birthday too. You rock birthday girl! They had a blast at a farm, as shown above.

Thank you Lisa for your friendship and patience with me yesterday, you know me so well :) Love you my friend :)

Bathroom Done

2011-10-18T07:55:00.003-04:00

I need to get some pictures together from our weekend (not done yet) but we had such a good time at our school yard sale (the girls ran around playing for 6 solid hours and my buddy Kim and I sold hot dogs) and next we got to go over to Donna's house for an adoption potluck. Such a blessing to have such good friends and great weather! The girls jumped on the trampoline until it got dark. We met a woman who has two little cuties from China who is facing similar palate difficulties as Grace. We are having ANOTHER consult with the doctors on November 4 and Grace will probably be undergoing a surgery at Christmas-time. More later on what part of the anatomy and when...

Home Improvement/Adoption Blog

2011-09-26T09:53:00.003-04:00

Lots of home improvement going on lately: I went out and bought a claw-foot tub for a future master bath renovation and this weekend I worked a lot on our half bath floor. Not completely done, but the trim and the paint should be done this week. Here are some before and during shots.

The surgery saga

2011-09-21T17:52:00.005-04:00

Grace is facing 4 separate issues in her mouth and face: shown here, she has a HOLE behind her two front teeth -- not a true fistula in the sense of a palate re-opening, but a new hole formed due in part, (my professional opinion yuck yuck) to her palate being pushed apart too abruptly after last year's surgeries. The plastic surgeon, Dr. Williams at Scottish Rite, is also proposing to do another corrective procedure on her palate, a frenotomy (frenectomy? frenotomy?) (separating her front lip from the gums because hers is completely attached thereby disabling her from puckering her top lip at all) and doing some cosmetic work on her lip. The scariest part of this to me (other than her risking life and limb) is the repair to her hole: Dr. Williams wants to cut a flap in her tongue, sew it to the hole above, wire her teeth together for 3 weeks and, in a follow-up procedure, snipping the two apart. I was nervous about the possibility of the palate rejecting the tongue flap/graph and/or deforming her tongue and screwing up her speech even more.

After asking for everyone to pray and receiving a 2nd opinion from another oral plastic surgeon, we are all feeling a lot more confident in the procedures and our faith in Dr. Williams is renewed. Sorry dude, I love ya, but I need to know God wants this surgery too.

I will post the date of impending surgery once we have any specifics. All the prayers are keeping her brave and funny as always. My favorite Grace story of the last few weeks: we were standing in the bathroom and I was brushing Frannie's hair. I got a whiff of gas and asked "Whose got the toots around here?" Gracie immediately pointed to her head and said "I got toots. I got ear toots." She means ear tubes. She's just so deadpan, it's hysterical.

I don't like BUSY

2011-09-10T07:04:00.003-04:00

We do have lots going on. Grace is going to have to endure more surgery. Details are sketchy because although I love her doctor (her plastic surgeon), I have some concerns about his plan for repairing the hole in Grace's mouth (see attractive photo shown here). Donna gave me the idea to apply to Shriner's who will evaluate and treat for free. Grace also needs to have her p-flap evaluated to make sure it's working, which is possibly the cause of her continued speech problems (she sounds so nasal still). Kevin started SEC football work which takes him away for 2 or 3 days every week, not so fun. Well, it may be "fun" for him, but his family misses him. Today I have to take a Saturday class at school for the WHOLE stinkin day. The consignment sale has not been too successful despite working 4 thousand hours preparing for it. So far in the sale I've made $54. The sale is over today and I will know by 3:00 how much I've made. The girls both started ballet classes and I'm supposed to be tiling the half bath tomorrow. Right now it's lumpy concrete and aluminum mesh poking up in spots. By the way, I do love my kids and wouldn't trade them or my dear dogs for the world. Kevin also is a keeper.

Thanks be to GOD

2011-08-21T18:59:00.002-04:00

We had the best week with so many obvious blessings -- my Dad's house went on the market on Friday and there was an offer by Monday and a contract by Wednesday -- Grace's birthday was so joyous and truly fun for me. Frannie in particular impressed me with her mature selflessness during her birthday weekend -- celebrating with her rather than express jealousy. We had a great time celebrating our friend Danielle's 5th birthday today too -- I pray that both Grace and Danielle's Moms receive some peace on this day, somehow knowing that their girls are loved and happy. Thanks everyone for the fun times and gifts!

Frannie's First Day of School and Kevin's B-Day

2011-08-15T10:31:00.005-04:00

We had a more relaxing few days (getting prepped for school stressed me OUT) and putting Frannie on the bus made me only slightly weepy. She got all gold stars for the week! Meanwhile, Grace and I surprised Kevin at the Braves game with a cupcake and lots of hugs.

What a Great Summer

2011-08-06T13:53:00.004-04:00

Too much to say, but not enough time. Due to an aching back these days, I've spent very little time online. Back to school after a GREAT trip up the east coast to visit our beloved family and friends. What a rare treat it is to see about 40 people that you truly love within a few weeks of each other -- like attending a happy wedding only EVERYONE is invited and it lasts 3 weeks! My Weight Watchers Leader would probably not approve of all the beer I drank over the course of this 3 week sojourn, but that's her problem and she's just jealous.

And the Mystery Photo Reveals....

2011-06-29T18:29:00.004-04:00

Yep, Grace got a haircut. In case you didn't notice. Not professional.

Frannie and Grace don't know it yet, but we are going camping this weekend up on Lake Lanier. My friend Shelley and her daughter Sophia (above) are joining us! Frannie was just obsessed about camping a month ago when I mentioned camping this summer and she is just going to SQUEAL when she hears the news. Don't tell her until Friday! She will drive me nuts if you do! Susan M, for the first time in my life I'm bringing a blow-up mattress to camp! Am I a whimp or what?! My back aches and I'm getting old, get off my back (ha ha). Ah, peeing outside and drinking beer around a campfire, nothing like it.

Before and After

2011-06-25T13:46:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm feeling a lot better about life in general. Kids tend to snap you out of it, right? I thought I would show you some before and after photos of Grace. Notice something different?

We are going on a trip to visit some friends and I am not exactly looking forward to the MILES, but visiting all our buddies will be worth every second of the gas money spent and the aching back from driving in the car. The girls are so good about long trips, that part doesn't bother me.

Sometimes I just want to curl up in bed

2011-06-20T14:51:00.004-04:00

How is it possible that losing my Dad seemed so much worse than losing my Mom? Is it just that it's so final to have no more parents left? Was it more emotional because it was a military funeral? Did I somehow love my Dad more (or differently) than my Mom? Was it because my Dad seemed so much more "with it" than my poor mentally unstable mom and it was actually a relief to see her go? Am I destined to kill someone off every time I go on a cruise?

Note to my family and to anyone attending the funeral: when you saw the little box of ashes at the funeral, did you picture six guys hoisting that little, two-pound box on their shoulders or was it just me?

Thanks goes out to my friends who all came forward and took care of the girls (Laura and Kerri especially) surrounding all this. I actually left church a tad early yesterday, wanting to cry on Father's Day. I'm so happy for my Dad and for his reunion with his family, especially my Mom, but Father's Day this year was just yucky and despite celebrating my daughter's wonderful Father with them, I wanted to just curl up in bed all day. Kevin is a great, great Dad and an even better husband to me -- he drove almost 400 miles to attend the funeral with me -- a surprise because he needs to work and turned around and drove 400 miles home, alone to get up and go to work early. God bless you my dear.

Yeah, What She Said

2011-05-31T18:49:00.005-04:00

I was JUST mentally composing this exact article and Tara beat me to the punch (just kidding, she is WAY too articulate and educated to be compared to little ole me....)
See page 32 for her article on our President B. Hussein and the role he is playing in the start of all hell breaking loose in our world....click back there <--

To digress (a lot) and to zoom into our own tiny corner of the universe, I am getting prepared for Friday's departure and my own separation from my two little ones. Didn't think it would be so hard, but ... PARTY!!! Really, I am not looking forward to seeing their reaction when I tell them and they realize I will be gone six whole days, whoa. Pray for my little ones and for Kevin to have fun with them. Hide the scissors, Kevin, I found a chunk of hair in the trash and Frannie's princess dress has undergone some experimentation with "little girl scissors" as she put it. Egad.

Me and the Pops

2011-05-26T08:48:00.002-04:00

I love my Dad, really, but we are an awful lot alike - not always a good thing. He is pretty sick and I want him to be happy, but I would also like to see him live another month or 20. Not sure if that will happen, so please pray for him.

Sorry, I love watching these short clips

2011-05-19T19:03:00.001-04:00

Dear Diary

2011-05-19T07:39:00.004-04:00

Philipians 4:something. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. No kidding. I used to think I would be a single, fat smoker who died alone with no one to find my decomposing body. My aunt, Sister Marie Therese who is a Sister of St. Joseph (ha ha Tara) used to bother me about my calling to be a sister. I knew that was not in the cards, but I never knew that I would end up so blessed with my job, my family and in better health than I was 15 years ago. I went yesterday to have an ultrasound on my thyroid and ended up having a funny conversation with the tech who was so interested in my job and the kids and my buddy BC who, I believe, has a bright, bright light shining in him, but his poor little body will not allow him to tell us or show us. My girls are doing great -- Frannie and I talked about going camping this summer (big mistake) because she wants to go camping RIGHT NOW. At 8:30 at night. Please Mom? When are we going? What should we bring? Can I bring my Dora sleeping bag? Pretty please Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM, MOM!

I started working on a new vanity for our half bath and now my OCD brain won't let it go. I'm working today, but I just want to be home working on cabinet doors. I love working with wood, thinking of Joseph and Jesus. Hokey, I know.

My Dad is staying in a rehab place to help him recover from his last hospitalizations. I have been talking to Frannie about him and making sure she understands that he is sick and he may be going to live with Jesus one day. I don't want to scare her, but she talks about him a lot and I don't want to confuse her either. I know my Dad will die one day, and I'm not saying it will be soon, but my Dad thinks it might be so I'm preparing Frannie. By the way, my Dad was the first one to get me interested in carpentry and bought me my first drill when I lived in Beacon Hill. Thanks Dad.

Grace has this strange-looking hole in the roof of her mouth, right behind her two front teeth that needs to be blocked up in order for her to stop shooting milk out of her nose. Last week, the hospital pic was just a procedure where they knocked her out for a few minutes to make an impression of her mouth. She will be fitted with this device in the next few weeks and I pray she will miraculously start to sound less nasal when she speaks and no longer shoot STUFF out of her nose.

Six more days of school for me. I love my students and I love my co-workers and all (bless your hearts) but get me outta here. I want to sleep in. I love when the girls toddle downstairs with messy hair and crusty eyes, and we watch cartoons and eat toast with butter and honey in bed. Meeting friends at the park and having cookouts and going up the east coast to visit friends! If the Apocolyse doesn't occur this Saturday, that is what we will be doing.

My friend

2011-05-16T06:15:00.007-04:00

I have this friend from Massachusetts, Tara, who is such a strong, strong, wonderfully intelligent Christian, mother and friend who should be famous for her writings. I love how she speaks out when it's not popular, she speaks the truth and most importantly, she does God's will. She reminds me of the analogy Mother Teresa made about her life: she compared herself to a mere pencil that God uses to create His works. She allowed herself to be used by Him without question, as does Tara. See here.

I hope you don't mind that I posted this, Tara. Kevin, the girls and I will be blessed enough to visit Tara and her family this summer and I cannot WAIT to hug this tiny lady. Like Mother Teresa, Tara is elf-sized (I think she's actually a Lephrechaun) and a powerhouse to boot.

Ballet Recital, Anesthesia, Life

2011-05-15T11:44:00.002-04:00

Busy Day

Emotional Day

2011-05-10T06:48:00.003-04:00

I woke up to read an e-mail about my Dad being in the hospital again with an irregular heartbeat and breathing issues (again). Poor guy just can't stay away from the hospital. When I got to work I read that my AP, Deb's Dad died over the weekend. We all thought it was imminent, but horribly sad nonetheless. About 30 minutes later, an e-mail popped up on my screen from my co-worker and buddy, Eileen marked "Kevin." Eileen and I have a lot in common -- we are both Irish Catholic, we both have Kevins for husbands, we share the same humor and we are both blessed with girls who happen to have been born in China. Her daughter is also a ballet dancer. My dear friend Eileen lost her Kevin this weekend in a tragic accident. He was a mere 51 years old. I wanted so much to jump in my car and speed right over to her, just to wrap my arms around her. But I knew she did not need that right now. She needs to be with her kids. My principal's retirement party was all set for 4:30 and I had signed up to help set up. On my way out the door to get some more soda, I got a call from my dear friend Norma, informing me that our neighbor had fallen over, apparently having a heart attack. His wife was at the hospital near my school, could I go over and sit with Rosemary? I love Rosemary dearly and would have run right over if I could, but I felt like I could not run out of school. Norma called me 30 minutes later to inform me that our dear neighbor Ron had not even lived to make it to the hospital. Dear, dear Ron was just this month retiring from the Army after serving in Iraq and spending so much time away from his family. It's so strange how it happens like this -- so much in one day. Fast forward to the retirement "party," with Kevin and the girls along, I cried to see dear David leaving us, albeit for less stressful and more relaxing times FOR HIM, but with broken hearts for us. My Kevin was grieving for Ron -- I was grieving for Eileen, Ron, Rosemary, the loss of David and worried about my Dad. Give me strength and the right words to say to all these friends, Lord. Protect these families and be with them on this day.

Dear 16-year-old Me

2011-05-06T18:53:00.000-04:00

Take a few minutes if you are fair-skinned or love someone who is.

Thirty Days

2011-05-03T10:57:00.003-04:00

I am leaving one month from today for my cruise! I can't believe it's actually going to happen. I'm leaving my girls for 5 days? What?@! Can I do it? (YES, we can!) I love my family and all .... but... we are talking Mexico and Grand Cayman! And lots of buffets and conga lines and fun girlfriend time (sing Copa Cabana to yourself and get a mental image of me on the LEDO deck with a colorful drink with a little umbrella sticking out....)

We attended the UMDF fundraiser/walk this weekend in lovely downtown Norcross. (UMDF stands for United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, is that right?) which is a dreadful disease which affects a lot of my students. The day's events helped to raise over $100,000! Frannie was cheering the walkers across the finish line with the Georgia Tech cheerleaders (Doug H eat your heart out) and having a blast visiting with friends and playing lots of fun games. Grace managed to toss her bean bag, not into the target hoola hoop, but across the game into the duck pond game, splashing a lady and making everyone around laugh at her aim. When she got to the ring toss game, she overthrew it again and hit the same lady in the leg, prompting the lady to yell "that little kid has it in for me today!" Grace was giggling, but embarassed :)

I'm sorry to state my unpopular opinion on Osama bin Laden's demise, but I must say I hate to see ANYONE burn in hell. Yes, I lost no one on 9/11/01 and he would probably have strangled me with his bear hands just for holding my Christian beliefs, but I still feel bad for the guy, spending all of eternity without any virgins for company and far worse, without the love of God. If my parents had raised me as a neo-Nazi, chances are, I would have turned out to be a neo-Nazi. I'm blessed to know the TRUTH and feel bad for those who don't.

So much Fun

2011-04-26T10:03:00.004-04:00

What a great week. Only thing missing was Kevin (he was in Chicago for the weekend)

So Happy to be So Blessed

2011-04-24T13:33:00.004-04:00

I usually get choked up at church on days like today -- I'm feeling so blessed -- not just for my family, but for my faith and our God! Simple as that. I have a new student this week who is dying of a brain tumor and just breaking my heart. There are lots of ways for people to go, but this particular scenario has me so grateful for every stinking minute with my girls and Kevin and friends and our country and our weather and my job and the strength God gave me to lose 36 pounds and chocolate Easter cupcakes and raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens....

Lifetime!

2011-04-20T09:48:00.004-04:00

I finally made my lifetime goal with Weight Watchers and here are my actual before and after photos!

The Ultimate Peep Show

2011-04-19T09:51:00.003-04:00

The Ultimate Peep Show

I used to be into all sorts of cerebral stuff....

2011-04-18T14:12:00.002-04:00

I used to be into all sorts of cerebral stuff like reading grown up books (I started to write the word 'adult' books, but that sounded wrong ...) and watching the news and attending speeches on topical political events.... now I think about show and tell (sea shells), insurance claims and pre-k registration, among other things. I also think about my child going through anesthesia, like this morning, when I couldn't be there for her! I know her Dad was there, taking care of her, but I still want to be there to cradle her and give her kisses all over before they wheel her back -- okay, okay, so it's just an ear tube replacement procedure, but STILL!!

Little Peanut playing peekaboo with Dad

Such a Perfect Day

2011-04-17T13:18:00.008-04:00

We had such a good time at the Braves game yesterday! The girls are getting older and not quite as needy at the games so I could actually watch the game itself. If you want to find bargain tickets to ANYTHING, go to wwww.stubhub.com. We got last-minute tickets for $3.95! In total, we paid $21 for our tickets and the Braves website wanted us to pay $27 each for crappy seats.

Such sweet Turner Field people let us into the Golden Moon Level (thanks Jamie) and the usher let us sit next to Kevin (thanks Kathy) and Noreen joined us for a beer too! The weather was actually chilly, a far cry from two years ago when Frannie and I both almost upchucked from the heat. It was a double header and the girls were starting to tire out so I packed them up during the 9th and Grace started crying, she didn't want to leave her Dad OR MISS THE GAME. She is so related to me. PS She now asks to watch the "blood show" because she also likes emergency room shows. She pulled up her little mini Victorian chair in front of the tv and sat transfixed while they shoved some guy's brains back into his head, I could weep with pride.

Making the most of Spring Break

2011-04-11T07:10:00.002-04:00

We went to church yesterday early, out to our favorite Eagle's Landing for breakfast, shopping, to the park, home for nap, to the carnival for a few fun rides (thanks Dawn) and Kevin came home for dinner, yippee!!

It's Always Nice to Be Home

2011-04-07T08:21:00.003-04:00

We had a very, very good time in Florida (I don't always say that), but my ailing father and I got to spend some good time together, discussing the meaning of life and how everyone would be so much better off if they would only follow OUR advice and be more like US. Ha ha. My Dad really misses my Mom and is not too sad about the prospect of leaving this Earth to be with her and Jesus. I'm so blessed to have two parents with such strong faith - neither one ever had any doubt (in the slightest) about where they will spend eternity, thanks be to GOD.

We stayed with my cousin Denise and her very thoughtful family. We were treated like royalty! We got to spend some time with my buddy Laura (my friend for 33 years now) and the girls are still covered in tattoos, thanks LaLa (ha ha).

I'm so thankful for my husband, my girls and all my blessings. I wonder what I've ever done to deserve such a rich life. All the hugging and giggling and love we get to share blows me away sometimes. Grace really loves to look at pictures of Jesus and studies him hanging on the cross, so innocently saying things like "his head hurts" (oy, you're not kidding) or she points to her own hand and says "ouch." I bought them a book of saints for girls and Grace went immediately to the page on St. Terese and squealed "Jesus!" pointing to the crucifix she is holding on the page. When she leaves church she always waves and says "Bye Jesus!" Both of my girls teach me a lot.

Today is a snow day. Nah, it's not snowing now, but I'm at work (working real hard, as you can tell), making up for the week of the snow storm we had in January. Our principal gave us the option of making it up as we want, which was awfully nice. He is retiring in May and I for one am going to be sad to see him go. See pic here

We do have a wonderful replacement in Sara Clifford, also an adoptive Mom, who knows and loves our students like David. Bittersweet. Only 7 more weeks of school (then I get to cruise on Carnival .....yeah! Ooops, I mean, I'm going to miss my husband and girls horribly...)

Spring Break

2011-03-31T11:12:00.007-04:00

We are counting down the moments to departure -- we leave for St. Augustine on Saturday morning to stay with Cousin Denise and visit friends and family. I lived in St. Augustine from 1978 to 1988 and sometimes I feel like a local, but my buddies who still live there sometimes unknowingly remind me I've been gone for over 20 years! I was a mere 22 when I left home for Boston and I LOVE St. Augustine now (when it's not stifling hot). I love seeing the old girlfriends and spending time with my sister in her bead shop, eating at the best seafood restaurant in the world, Schooners and watching my crazy girls run around my Dad's backyard, feeding the ducks in the pond. I asked Frannie about going to St. Augustine the other day and she said "We love Papa (my Dad), he loves me soooo much! AND he likes Ariel too" He put The Little Mermaid on his tv once for her and she never forgot that.

Grace is in heaven with her favorite teacher, Miss Stephanie.

We can't wait to meet my friend's new daughter, Elise. Isn't she just gorgeous! They are still in China, working on paperwork and bonding. We are praying for you Donna!

Here's His Mug Shot

2011-03-27T12:41:00.002-04:00

Here's the guilty culprit to the vandalism charges. Looks like a hooligan, doesn't he?

I've Got to Go With my Gut

2011-03-25T06:21:00.002-04:00

My WISE friend Lisa told me to always go with my gut and that is what I had to do this week. Grace has been suffering from continual strep infections and very high fevers so juggling that and work has not been easy for either one of us. The teacher at Grace's school who has been preparing the kids for Pre-K (like a Nazi if you ask me) gave us a bit of grief about how much school Grace has missed (yes, folks, she is 3 and a half and not really in school yet) so after some deliberation, Kevin and I both agreed that Grace needs to be with the one who truly loves her and to heck with Pre-K prep, we held her "back" and asked for her to be moved back to the baby class with her (and my) favorite, Miss Stephanie! Pictures to come. She hugs Grace all day long and looks out for our little Peanut like a Mom would. Clancy is working off his repair job by taking a job at a rock and gravel plant. He has to repay the drywall and the labor and owes us $267.64. Plus he had to buy a hard hat. Anyone see the Youtube movie with the guilty dog Denver? Priceless

Five Kids?

2011-03-23T17:47:00.004-04:00

My buddy Donna (seen here on left) is leaving tomorrow for China for child #5 (lucky number 5), can you believe it?@^&@ She's getting Elise, who will join her family while her two brothers wait here with Grandma. Doesn't it make you want to go get a baby from China?? (I've prayed about it and I'm pretty sure God told me FINISHED!) The girls are outside watering the new azaleas with Kevin, enjoying the gorgeous weather while I count the days to spring break.
Wish I had taken a picture of this, but the strangest thing happened last night. Frannie told me something like "Clancy wrecked the wall" and I had no idea what that meant, but she showed me a corner of her room where a hole had been made right through the drywall into our unfinished space! Shreds and chunks and insulation were everywhere. Nearest we could figure, the dog must have heard a squirrel and was trying to dig to get him, either that or there is a secret treasure back there that is emitting a sound only a dog can hear....

Yesterday was my 11th anniversary

2011-03-13T13:31:00.005-04:00

Only by the GRACE OF GOD was I able to quit smoking, 11 years ago yesterday. I prayed and prayed and asked all my friends and every saint that ever lived to pray for me so I could kick this evil habit and it worked. Thanks God for showing mercy on me to help me do it. If I still smoked, I think I'd be paying $5? Is that right? For a pack per day? Wow, that's incredible. We used to drive 20 miles to Idaho from Spokane to pay something like $15 for a carton of generics.

Some days, like during this week in particular, the hardest thing you will do is to stop yourself from hitting your child. Seems like we have had a particularly rough week and on more than one occasion I have had to put the girls in their room and walk away for fear of my temper. Just walk away and pray. It's only nail polish on the carpet, it's not the end of the world. My Mom said to me once, which truly has helped me (when referring to Casey at 3 years old), "She is far more important to me than anything she can wreck in my house." Wow, Mom, that was pretty wise. The girls flooding the bathroom this week or stubborn Grace telling me NO! three hundred times or shampoo being intentionally dumped is not really that important. Is it attention they are after? I'm too stubborn a Mom to give into THAT ole trick. I know the ABCs of behaviorism. Let their memories of this week please be the Gators winning the SEC championship and not their Mom loudly screaming things like "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME CRAZY?!!!!!!" The Lord is my shephard....

Frannie's First Formal

2011-03-10T18:40:00.003-05:00

Frannie's teacher, Miss Alexia, is so creative with the kids. They had a Valentine's dance with formal dancing and some line dancing too. Her dancing lessons are paying off BIG TIME :)

Climbing a Mountain

2011-02-28T11:26:00.003-05:00

The girls and I climbed Stone Mountain yesterday (Grace rode on my back) and YES, I am out of shape. Can't believe Grace weighs 30 pounds (she felt like 50). Frannie did GREAT! We will have to plan some more real hikes!

Fun Fay Girls Day of Adventure

2011-02-20T12:50:00.003-05:00

Sounds like Girls Gone Wild, but we wanted to have a DAY OF ADVENTURE so we went to cheesey Helen, GA! The girls and I ate boiled peanuts and saw some pretty North Georgia country scenery. We miss Kevin like crazy, but the Fay Musketeers had a fun day of girly laughs without him (he's in LA working the NBA Allstar junk).

2011-02-08T09:49:00.002-05:00

The picture above of Shanghai reminds me of feeling so claustrophobic when we were there! The main shopping street got more and more and MORE crowded as we walked further down and I just had to get the heck out of there! Anyhoo, what a great picture of the Chinese lanterns during the Chinese New Year Celebration. And of course the dumplings are my favorite. I've tried to make some for the girls (okay, really for me) and at least I know for a fact they do not contain earthworms or bugs.

What is it?

2011-02-08T07:19:00.002-05:00

Having a long week already. Frannie ended up with some strange hives yesterday. Anyone out there have any guesses? She went to school yesterday morning with no bumps and when I picked her up at 3:00 she had little red bumps from her neck to her toes. Mostly on her belly. Nothing unusual to eat at school or in the morning at home. No new detergent at home or soap. This am she is better, but I gave her some Benedryl anyway. Grace and Frannie are both coughing some, but they are on their way to school.

We are so pathetic

2011-02-01T07:32:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it has taken us this long to get a picture - ANY PICTURE - of the four of us. We have a TON of pictures of a combination of everyone, but only one of the four. Here we are. Grace's teacher has been asking for a photo for, oh, 5 months or so.

Anyone out there interested in Medjugorje? If you don't know what I mean, don't continue .... I've been reading this incredibly interesting book called "The Miracle Detective" by Randall Sullivan and I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone interested. I've got about 75 pages left and I wish I could just sit in bed and read!

Poor Grace is home with a fever. Her antibiotics for strep don't seem to be doing the trick just yet so we are praying for her poor little throat.

Getting prepared for St. Patrick's Day

2011-01-24T08:15:00.003-05:00

Thought we might try some new apparel for March.

My Co-Worker

2011-01-24T08:10:00.002-05:00

Hope you can connect to this. I work with this woman Laura Greenburg and she spends her day helping little kids and cracking us all up. Oy, she kills me. Click on her name above then click on the LISTEN button, don't just read it.

So Many Fun Snow Activities!

2011-01-19T13:56:00.003-05:00

Lots of cooking and knitting going on in my life during the last week. Maybe during the next snow storm I will churn some butter and learn how to make jelly.

More Snow Activities

2011-01-19T13:44:00.001-05:00

Snow Days

2011-01-19T13:41:00.002-05:00

What we do when we are snowbound:

Truly, the best Christmas Ever

2010-12-26T19:50:00.005-05:00

We have had a blast with lots of friends and not enough family (we stayed home, just the 4 of us, which made it "nice and quiet," but this is a first for all of us). We had a wonderful time on Christmas Eve at the Children's Mass, then the Rucci's house for dinner; a nice morning at home with a visit from our buddies the Conways and then we went to the Michael's for fun and games! God bless!

Such a Great Time of Year

2010-12-17T19:42:00.004-05:00

We are having such a great time during all the craziness of this time of year. Despite being sick NON-stop (no joking) for a month and a half, the girls and I have crammed in lots of fun activities and just getting ready to celebrate Jesus' birthday. We are trying VERY hard to stress that to the girls. Despite the non-stop discussion of presents, the girls are learning to focus on the Jesus part, thank God (really).
We got some great pics done with Santa (he was not just one of those elves you see hanging out at the mall, this guy was actually Santa) and he put Gracie right at ease. This pic here is just a hint of the real thing. You will have to wait and get a Christmas card if you want to see the best ones! If I don't have your address, send it to me and I will mail you a great pic of the girls with Santa :)
Frannie and I got to see a wonderful production of the 12 Days of Christmas, a ballet with dancers from 3 years old to about 20. Frannie was in heaven. Grace stayed with her buddy Nancy so that Frannie and I could have a special night at the ballet, what a treat. Our friend's daughter, Alexis, also from China, was so incredibly good, Frannie talked about her for days.
I just finished reading the Mary Beth Chapman book "Choosing to SEE" about the death of their daughter Maria. What an incredible story! Pick it up if you want a good gut-wrenching sob. Thank you Lord for my girls on this day, Amen.

Such is Life

2010-12-03T13:01:00.006-05:00

Before we left for Florida, the girls were both in the doctor's office, sick with a virus, strep, but their appetites, strangely, were not affected in the least

GIRLS WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE DOCTOR

GIRLS PASSING THE TIME BY WATCHING A LITTLE "HORTON HEARS A WHO"

GIRLS STARTING TO FADE

GIRLS AND MOM THINKING OF TAKING A NAP OR SNEAKING OUT THE BACK DOOR

My buddy Donna gave me a website to check out, with a little girl born with a missing thumb, just like Frannie's! Gives us something to think about. The little girl in this blog (click here), Natalie, has a normal looking pointer finger, however. Frannie's ortho doc suggested that Frannie's surgery might not be successful because of the atrophied pointer finger. Her first finger looks about the size of her pinkie. I never felt like she should have surgery, but looking at this blog makes me wonder....

Priceless

2010-11-22T21:42:00.004-05:00

I really love Grace's ode to me. Reminds me of an incident on a trip to Italy: my friend and I were visiting Cinque Terra and the owners of the gorgeous seaside restaurant and pensione had two sons and a cat with one missing eye. I asked the younger son what the word is for "eye" in Italian. He said "occio" (sounds like Pinocchio). So I said "What's the cat's name?" and without missing a beat he said "Un occio."

Grace is doing very well with her recovery from surgery. HOWEVER, she does have a newly-discovered HOLE just behind her two front teeth! Her teeth slant backward so it was hard to see, but when I did finally spot it, I realized DANG, that's why she still has chunky food coming out of her nose. Think a custom-sized tube of hot dog would work as a cork? I hate to put her through more surgery so we are considering just taping it up.

What It's All About

2010-11-19T19:45:00.003-05:00

I'm so glad that a co-worker convinced me I should not miss this. I considered staying at work, being a good employee, but instead I snuck out of school, smack in the middle of the day, and ran over to Frannie's Thanksgiving celebration.

Sick, sick, sick

2010-11-19T08:10:00.003-05:00

All 3 of us have been sick and I'm just so tired. Grace gets up and then I'm wide awake for a few hours and then I start to nod off and I hear Frannie upstairs moving furniture or whatever the heck she does. Sometimes I get up and, no kidding, Frannie has color-coded the plastic hangers in the closet. After today we have a whole week off from school!

Howdy

2010-11-13T11:36:00.006-05:00

Just one more cute pic of Grace on Halloween. Kevin is working far too much, the girls have been sick, work has been CRAZY with the Georgia Alternative Assessment being due this week, our play room floor has been transformed to a nice laminate and we've had lots of fun times with friends. We are heading to St. Augustine for Thanksgiving for just a few days, but I look forward to seeing the family. Miss you all. P.S, No, I am not responsible for killing some rabbits to make my girls some fashionable hand-warming muffs (like I had when I was little, sniff, sniff). The girls are holding live rabbits at a Fall Festival petting area. PPS: Today is the Feast Day of Saint Frances Cabrini, God love her!

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You...

2010-10-30T14:37:00.003-04:00

Thank you so much, Dear Friends, for sharing this event with us. Can't believe Frannie is 5. Pretty soon she will be going to Kindergarten and immediately getting married and next we will all die...
Frannie dressed up like a fairy, Grace was a ladybug and can you guess my costume?

I love a good miraculous coincidence

2010-10-29T14:20:00.003-04:00

After reading a stranger's blog today I was reminded of one of my favorite things in life: receiving a "wink" from God (as my co-worker Sally put it) just for your amazement and as a reminder of who is really in charge around here.

About 4 years ago I was camping with my friend Noreen up in North Georgia, was it Tallulah Falls? I can't remember, but there were falls there. It was right around this time of year and the weather was perfect for camping, chilly, but not cold. We sat around the campfire drinking a few beers, staring at the night sky, watching the stars come out. I could not help but think of Psalm 8, which I then paraphrased to her:

O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! You have set your majesty above the heavens! . . . When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place-- What is man that you are mindful of him, mere mortals that you care for them?

So we started talking about how incredible it is that God even CARES about what each of us is doing. About an hour later Noreen asked if I wanted to do her "Daily Reading" book with her. She opened the little pamphlet-like book and she said something like "You are not &*@$$^^ going to believe this -- guess what Today's reading is?" and I didn't even have to guess.

Tomorrow is Frannie's Birthday party and MAN is she pumped. I'm posting pictures of the girls dressed for daycare in anticipation of the Halloween weekend. Wish Kevin could attend, but every year we run into this same problem (football vs. Frannie's b-day party). Too bad.

My friend Brett

2010-10-22T07:27:00.003-04:00

Brett is one of the strongest guys I know. He doesn't lift weights or help me move furniture and compared to our friend Johan, he's not exactly buff. He's endured more than all of us put together, and he keeps on plugging. Insteading of divulging confidential information about my buddy, let me just tell you that he has SUFFERED. Now his Mom has made the decision to get him a trach for his comfort and hopefully for his longevity. This is not an easy surgery so they need lots of prayers on Monday.

Thinking About ...

2010-10-18T13:08:00.003-04:00

If you have never seen this movie, do not stop, GO to your local Netflix or Amazon or wherever you can find it. I watched it recently and the memories of my trip to the Holocaust Museum in DC was reawakened. My sister Peg was born in Germany in 1955. As I grew older, it dawned on me how incredibly soon after WWII that was -- a mere decade after the end of the war, my parents actually lived there. I'm planning a trip to the school depicted in this movie, it's only a couple hours from us and I want to see if or myself.

*phew* Frannie's birthday is fast approaching and her dreams are about to come true -- she is getting a treasure chest full of princess accessories and dresses and she doesn't know it so don't tell her! She is going to faint from the sheer excitement of it all.

Have I Scarred Them for Life?

2010-10-10T13:07:00.005-04:00

We took a fun trip yesterday to our local Pumpkin Patch and I pray the girls do not suffer some life-long side effects from it. First it was the gi-normous blow up spider that greeted us the second we stepped through the gate that inexplicably moved its head in a random fashion that made him look alive. Secondly, like out of some Watsonian nightmare, the girls both about pooped their pants because of the guy in the gorilla mask lurking around all the kids (see Exhibit D above -- pictured just above Frannie's head)). The pictures of Grace, I hate to admit it, give me a nervous smile because she was petrified of the guy and spent the entire 34 minutes looking over her shoulder for the gorilla guy and begging to be held. We got the heck out of there after purchasing 3 tiny pumpkins and one positively reinforcing pony ride (at least I pray it served as a positive association with all things Fall/Halloween/Pumpkiny). Yikes.

Miss My Husband

2010-10-08T08:21:00.001-04:00

Kevin is working baseball playoffs and I miss him a lot. He has traveled for work since the day I met him, but I don't think I will ever get used to it. I want you home now!

Just Us Girls

2010-10-05T21:20:00.003-04:00

Frannie, Grace and I will be solo for the next week or so while Kevin stays at the RITZ CARLTON Philly. We promise to finish the leftover rice and beans you left us Honey, really. We don't have time to go out and eat or shop while you are gone anyway, we worked on sewing up the holes in our socks and the girls did a real nice job delivering the newspapers the other morning ... we are just so happy you are having fun eating cheesesteaks and drinking with your buddies between exciting ball games.

Grace has been improving by leaps and bounds this week. The hole (or fistula) in her palate looks smaller to me and she hasn't complained about any pain at all in days. She went back to daycare today for the first time in 3 weeks with no problems. Thank God for her buddy Miss Alicia.

One of my Favorites

2010-10-01T18:18:00.002-04:00

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Therese of Lisieux, one of my favorites, mostly because of her book. She is a great example of someone very much in love with Jesus, but so human too. I loved reading how she was so annoyed by the noises one of the nuns made during rosary. I felt so close to her after hearing that! See below:

Patron of the Missions
1873 - 1897

Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the "Little Flower", and found in her short life more inspiration for own lives than in volumes by theologians.

Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was an brief edited version of her journal called "Story of a Soul." (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently.) But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized

Back Home from Hos-Tipple

2010-09-27T12:26:00.005-04:00

Frannie talks a lot about Grace going to the HOS-TIPPLE so now she's got US mis-pronouncing it. Last week I worked 11 and 12 hour days at school and said I was going to take Grace to the doc if her neck did not improve, which it did not. The doc sent us to have an x-ray in case. X-ray sent us to have a CAT scan at the ER at Scottish Rite. The ER doc called the plastic surgeon who worked on Grace's palate who was on the floor coincidentally. We had been withholding food and meds and juice from her since noon in case she needed to be sedated for the CAT scan. By the time we saw the doctors, it was 6pm and Grace was crying HARD and grabbing the back of her head. Hmmm. Dr. Williams, the plastic surgeon, was so, so nice and explained how the throat sutures would cause her to hold her head stiff like a stiff neck, but since little kids RARELY get herniations in their necks, the likliest explanation is just plain ole pain from the surgery. In the meantime, he could see the agony she was enduring and decided that keeping an eye on her for a day or two in the hostipple was the best solution while giving her enough morphene to make her smile for the first time in 9 days. It worked. She ate like her normal self and slept well. We were discharged yesterday morning. She seems to be doing well today, even without the morphene. We are sticking to Lortab and Motrin and we will slowly wean her off that this week. My little Brett (my friend and student) was in the ICU so I got to see him and spend some time with him and Lisa. Thank you so much Lisa for your friendship. Just when I need a buddy, you happen to be right there to hold my hand. We love you both so much.

Later in the day I got to have dinner with my Digit Friends, one of whom, Donna (like I need to introduce Donna, come on...), far left, is going back to China again for daughter number 3! So excited for the Straight family. So good to spend some time with Donna, Lucy and Darcy and have a few laughs. And good Chinese food to boot.

We Just Missed Our Nurses and Doctors

2010-09-25T18:16:00.002-04:00

Grace and I are at Scottish Rite, just visiting. And sleeping here and eating here. And getting lots of meds here to stop the blasted pain that Grace has had to endure! There's news, but I don't have time to post about that. She has a new hole in the roof of her mouth, but we believe the p-flap is intact.

Back to Work Despite the Pain

2010-09-22T08:03:00.003-04:00

Grace's neck is a bit better. We all got haircuts yesterday (picture forthcoming) and Los Hermanos ALWAYS works to cheer us up (our FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant, not to be confused by The Brothers, a Mexican band). I'm trying to cram 32 hours into 3 days of work, so I don't have to use sick time this week. Be careful what you ask for, I'm swamped.

We are juggling appointments (well, it's all Kevin doing the appointments, really), school pick up and drop off for Frannie, keeping track of all Grace's meds and whims (I want an egg NOW -- wish she could actually say that, but.... she has culinary wants and needs this week which do not always align with our current refrigerator stockage). In the meantime, I'm at work and Kevin is bonding more and more with Grace. She could use some manly bonding time. All we seem to do is paint our nails and style our hair. Dad can teach her how to read the sports page and how to load a gun. Just KIDDING!

Is this a joke?

2010-09-19T18:30:00.002-04:00

Grace had a very strange day. Started off with lots of pain (she sweats like a fiend and has no temperature, gets shaky and cranky) and she had a BIG meltdown about 11:00. Put her to bed and she was crying out loud in her sleep. She's been turning her head like she has whiplash, but with no temp and no sign of blood, I didn't know how much to freak out. Spoke with the PA again from the plastic surgeon's office and she called in some more pain meds and recommended Motrin for the probably neck swelling from the position they put her in during surgery. We will see the doctor tomorrow. After the Motrin, she was like a different kid. Kevin is home now for 4 plus straight days, thanks be to GOD.

Never a Dull Moment

2010-09-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

We had a little scare today when Grace kept picking at her ear, picking, picking and telling me her mouth hurt for the first time. After eating a chocolate pudding, she had a trickle of chocolate come out of her nose and I almost burst into tears. THAT is NOT a good sign. After picking at the ear for the 20th time a big black chunk came out, a dried blood clod, I guess and she stopped complaining. I called the plastic surgeon's waiting service and asked for a call back. The PA called and said that if the palate has opened up again, there's nothing they can do about it now anyway. Oy. I'm so nervous. I tried to look and could not see much, but it all looks healthy and sewn shut to me. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe she had that pudding in there since Tuesday and she was holding on to it. Nothing I can do about it except keep all sharp objects away from her. Breaks your heart when you think of the pain. Who is the patron saint of cleft palates? Saint ____________, Patron Saint of Cleft Palates, pray for us.

Going Home, Yeah!

2010-09-17T08:17:00.002-04:00

She had a great night. We slept a lot (and I felt the prayers, thanks). Doctor is sending us home this morning! Frannie can have a fun overnight with her buddy Mary Pat, but I can't wait to see her! Grace tells me she wants to stay here. Sure

Honestly,

2010-09-16T21:12:00.002-04:00

God GIVE ME PATIENCE. I had patience until about an hour ago. I want to go sleep upstairs somewhere and just let her neighbors hear the wrath. Ay carumba. It's not like any of the crying makes a whole lot of sense. She wants the light on, NO! LIGHT OFF! She kept yelling something like ya ya! ya ya! and I wanted to scream I don't know what the hell ya ya is! But I refrained. I let her cry and I regained a little sanity and tried to redirect her from whatever ya ya was. Oy vey I want to sleep. I pray we can go home tomorrow. We are both tired of this small room. She just got her 9 o'clock Lortab so I'm praying she will crash for a long time. Pray

Grace is just a little testy

2010-09-16T18:18:00.004-04:00

She only went to sleep at 2:00 for a nap. We were both pretty wiped out, but she slept solid for 3 hours, hooray! She wavers with her moods, depending on when she's received her meds. I was trying to not upset her last night, responding to every whimper and today I knew I would NEVER get any sleep at all if I didn't just walk away and lay down in my own bed. That really ticked her off and she obviously wants me at her side to fetch her robe or feather fan, but I just waved at her and told her "I'm right here. We have to sleep, I'm right here." and she finally gave up and passed out. Tonight we both need our sleep so crying or not, I'm lying down!

Grace is still a trooper, however....

2010-09-16T05:26:00.004-04:00

5:30 am and Grace has been crying or whimpering pretty much all night. Think we need to re-evaluate pain management. Personally I think she is hungry and her hernia sutures are the parts that are bothering her the most. I pray the doctor has early morning rounds. Grace let me sleep from 1:30 to 3:15 and has been miserable ever since. I could be way off base, but I'm willing to bet her nurse is not a Mom. You can just tell. She's not mean or anything, but Grace's obvious pain would affect any Mom and this woman just doesn't get it. She KNEW she had a lot of pain and when I asked for her morphene in between yelps, she later told me she gave her "the lower end" of her alloted dosage. Thanks a bunch. An hour later and she is still wailing in pain. Is the other part of the dose coming out of your paycheck? Standing at the nurse's station, I couldn't help but hark to Shirley Maclaine in Terms of Endearment when she screamed "GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOTTTTTT!!!!!!!"

Grace should get the trumpet out of her nose this morning too which will help. She's been whimpering for Daddy too so his appearance will help I'm sure. Given my throbbing cold sore and my lack of sleep, let's hope I don't start to resemble Woogie in the next day or so...

She's All Done

2010-09-15T15:58:00.003-04:00

Dr. Williams just came to give me the update. No room # yet, but she will be in recovery for about an hour. He said all went well. She now has a pharyngeal flap (didn't the Wiggles sing a song about that?) and I'm nauseous about her waking up alone in pain. Kevin went to get Frannie at school and they are coming back here in a while. Watching a movie and trying not to vomit while I wait. It's not quite that bad, but I do feel sick to my stomach.

UPDATE AT 7:00 PM. Grace is such a trooper. She's sleeping mostly and complaining very little. She hates the arm splints -- if it weren't for them I'm sure she'd have pulled her trumpet tube out of her nose by now. The doctor will remove it in the morning. Frannie and Kevin just left so we are watching Praise Baby.

Grace is in Surgery

2010-09-15T13:26:00.004-04:00

We sent her back about 10 minutes ago, praying with her and holding her little floppy hand. She was so loopy from the drugs, but smiling. The estimated time in the OR is 3 hours, given the 3 surgeons involved, working on her ear tubes, hernia and palate. Update later.

Then and Now

2010-09-14T13:30:00.003-04:00

We've had Grace in our hands for one year today! One year ago she was a bit stinky, very, very tired, kinda bald, skinny and a fashion disaster.

Some big differences in Grace's life: she is not forced to wear navy tights with pink pjs when it's 110 degrees out, she has hair on the back of her head, she can drink through a straw now and she gets to have Kevin as a Daddy!

Night and Day

2010-09-13T12:18:00.002-04:00

Frannie and Grace are so different -- I mean truly. Frannie is so prissy with her shoe fetish and her obsession with princesses and looking good and sparkly STUFF. Grace, however, laughs at the absurd, a dirty face and people falling down. Grace also loves babies so much, I think she feels she's ready to be a Mom. She spent half the time in Mass yesterday putting a diaper on her baby doll. She wiped that baby's behind with the equivalent of 14 baby wipes, ensuring a proper diaper change. Today at the doctor's office we found a book with a picture of a crib and when you lift the crib flap, there's a baby shown in the crib. She stared and stared and pointed and talked about that baby. What's so funny is that she went to another picture on the same page with a flap showing a blanket and she gently took that blanket (pretend) in her hand and gently placed it on the baby in the crib. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye for approval and we laughed and laughed. What a KooK! I think I need to get her a new baby doll for the hospital stay. I need to find one with a whole kit of babydoll-sized diapers and bottles and binkies. Anyone out there need a babysitter, Grace will sign up. PS We were at the doctor today because Grace's cough seemed to be worse to me so I wanted him to check out her throat for strep and to listen to her breathing. She's fine!

Patriot's Day!

2010-09-10T11:08:00.004-04:00

The girls were supposed to wear red to school today, so why not celebrate the Red Sox AND wear red, white and blue for Patriot's Day too? Kevin is working in the Swamp this weekend and flying right up to NY for his Father's funeral. We agreed that the 3 Fay girls should stay home to keep Grace healthy for the surgery. She had her last pre-op appointment this morning and they checked out the potatoes she's been growing in her ear canals. It's so counterintuitive to leave that junk in there. I want to waterpik it out. I know, I know!

Tomorrow brings Ringling Brothers to town and we are going! Can't wait to see the girls' reactions.

We will be praying for all the Fays this weekend. Wish we could be there to hug everyone. Thanks to my Oakland family for all the nice cards and the gorgeous plant. I'm overcome with gratitude for such wonderful and thoughtful co-workers.

Tell Fran We Love Her

2010-09-07T11:09:00.002-04:00

Kevin lost his Dad yesterday, peacefully. Kevin spent the night in the room with him and stepped out for a few minutes when he passed away. I have heard from hospice workers that dying people truly WAIT for their loved ones to leave the room before they pass. My prayers for all Jim's sons are for peace and for good thoughts about their parents being together again at last. I am sure St. Peter had a smile on his face and saluted him saying "James Aloysius, come on in!"

Busy Week

2010-09-05T11:26:00.004-04:00

Kevin left this morning for NY to visit his father who is very, very ill. Last update I heard was that the mass they saw on the scan is a brain tumor and since he is 89 years old, the family (mostly Kevin's brother Tom who has taken a huge part of the burden on by himself due to his close geographical proximity to his Dad) decided that pain management is the wisest course of action. He's not doing well at all. I'm so glad Kevin planned this visit before things got too bleak. Pray for all of them because we all know it's never easy to watch your parent suffer.

The girls have multiple, multiple appointments this week, leading up to Grace's surgery and I may lose my mind, trying to keep up with my daily to-do list. Three pre-op appointments, three speech therapy appointments, two dentist appointments, one dematology appointment and one audiology appointment! No kidding! Not to mention school for me and the girls.

Wish I Had Videotaped This....

2010-08-30T22:07:00.002-04:00

The girls were giggling so hard, riding around the circle, down the hall, through the kitchen, living room, back through the hall, around again, almost crashing into the couch, the wall, etc. They were hysterically laughing which ALWAYS makes you forget all your troubles

This is What we Do for Fun

2010-08-27T18:35:00.004-04:00

Kevin and I are trying to keep our houses in good working order and updated. With the current economy looming over us, we feel very fortunate to currently have good tenants and we are also fortunate to have the ability to fix a lot of the problems ourselves. Not everything, but a good number of the chores fall within our realm of experience (or guesswork). Like in some weird Walter Mitty fashion I sometimes find myself fantasizing about finding high end tile on the clearance rack or walking past an Empire desk in the garbage which would work perfectly as a sink somewhere. These pics are the Before and After shots of the condo, where I spent a huge part of my July. Just in case you were wondering why our girls barely knew us at the end of the summer . . . .

What a Difference Three Years Makes

2010-08-26T07:21:00.006-04:00

Hard to believe it's been three years since we laid eyes on Frannie. She was so scared for about 3 days -- until she realized what a harmless goofball she had for a father and started to giggle. If November 2 is truly her birthday (yep, it's an estimate b/c she was about 3 weeks old when "they" found her), I pray for her biological family who are also thinking of her, wondering where she is. I pray God puts an unexplained peace in their hearts, trusting that she is happy and healthy.

Grace's Birthday

2010-08-22T16:12:00.002-04:00

Last year we were mere days away from going to China to get our hands on our little girl so we missed her 2nd birthday by about 3 weeks. This year, we got to hold her, tickle her, bake for her, make her crown and smother her with all the lovin she deserves. She will be having her third palate surgery on September 15, along with replacing her ear tubes and fixing her hernia. Please pray for an easy one this time!

Ballerina Girl

2010-08-21T12:17:00.003-04:00

Frannie started her ballet class. She is just a little excited!

First Day of School

2010-08-10T10:39:00.005-04:00

The girls had an emotional start, but evidently they had a good first day of Pre-K and daycare (same place for them, different rooms). Grace told me she liked it, which is saying a lot for her. She is still in diapers (yep, not ready) so they had to make a last-minute switch from the "potty-trained" room to the "not quite ready" room.

My first day of school went great. I can't tell you how much I miss my students every summer and how grateful I am to have such great parents who greet me with open arms every year! I will be working 32 hours per week so Wednesdays I get to stay home and take care of some business or read a book or do some laundry, yeah!

Grace's surgery is set for September 15. In case you are wondering, she is having a p-flap surgery (fixing the palate again), her hernia fixed and new tubes installed in her ears. Don't tell her about this surgery, I want it to be a surprise. Not funny, but seriously, I'm not telling her until September 14. By the way, by complete coincidence, Grace's anniversary date of officially being OURS is also September 15.

The pictures are from our trip to the Harkness cabin (thanks again Doug and Lucy), the first day of school and a post-Wendy's Frosty photo taken of my two girls who handle Frostys in drastically different ways, as shown by this picture. Click on the bottom picture to get the full effect of the chocolate ice cream aftermath. It's ironic that your name is Grace -- you are just like your Mama!

Interesting Read

2010-07-24T13:23:00.003-04:00

I love to listen to books on tape in my car, since I do spend so much time there for work. My latest book on tape is interesting, funny and depressing (see cover). Of particular note is the author's casual mention of the "animal market" in Guangzhou, across the bridge from Shamian Island. Wait a darn second, that's where we stayed last year (see blog entries from September, 2009, fuzzy photos due to extreme humidity and bog-like climate that week). He mentions that SAARs started in this market from contamination..... Wait a dang minute .... we spent positively HOURS walking through this place.... Nancy, how are YOU feeling....

If you've spent any time at all in China, I recommend this read (or listen, as the case may be). WARNING: It can make you depressed about our children's country, however.

Life, Generally

2010-07-23T22:17:00.004-04:00

Since we last spoke, I have finished summer school (and I have to note, GOD BLESS teachers of autistic children, really), the girls and I have been getting lots of swimming in this summer, they have enjoyed their time with Avery, our star babysitter, Kevin and I are in full handymen landlord renovation mode, we are excited to go up and stay at our friends' cabin in Clayton, GA in the mountains and school starts for teachers in about 11 days.

It's nice to report that my buddy Lynne who lives in Salem, OR has had a baby Tessa (yahoo), our local friends KC and Kathleen have added their new baby Luke to their family via adoption (double yahoo), my Dad came to visit and finally got to sit next to Kevin working a Braves game and he didn't need to visit any Georgia emergency rooms! I have reconnected with two old friends via Facebook (long, long lost friends) and I'm going to try working 32 hours per week vs. my former 20 hours per week. We could use some extra cashola and the girls will be in pre-school 5 days per week anyway.....

My brother recently had some elective surgery and is doing well, I need to call and check on him. My dear niece Casey has a boyfriend, Joe who had a strange accident at a party -- he almost lost his eyeball, but the latest reports indicate he may be spared that agony. He got glass in his eye and initially the doctors thought he might lose one of his eyes, but thanks be to God, it sounds like good news.

I wish everyone had a blog out there so we could all check in and get the updates as we have time. It's easy to do, people, come on. I'm not always willing to get on the phone these days out of selfish, quiet evening time, but I am willing to check your blog if you would just start one!

PS I love this "old" picture of Frannie, she was such a lil' peanut (Hey Angie B, it's Cap'n Crunch, not Captain Crunch)

In case you didn't notice....

2010-06-24T06:45:00.004-04:00

I am not always a good blogger, nor am I a good housekeeper, not always the best wife or teacher or friend or aunt or Christian or mother, but I do know this about myself. There is a long list of other things in which I am lacking so let's just get that out in the open so if I don't respond to your call or e-mail or if you stop by and my house smells like shoes or I'm frazzled, you might forgive me since I REALLY DO KNOW THIS and I do try.

I started summer school this week and I have 4 very cute kids but two of them are occasional biters, scratchers and pinchers. Another one has already shown some behaviors (to put it niceley) towards her fellow classmates and this last kid, the cutest little guy, takes a lot of abuse and smiles a lot and makes my day when he holds his plastic doll, slowly twists the arm off, then giggles at our attempts to amend the amputation. My paras are first rate, for which I am truly grateful.

We spent a short 4 days in Florida and the girls had a blast digging in the sand and seeing all the family. Personally, I had a great time eating fresh seafood and seeing old friends. My "high school" friends have been my friends for over 30 years now and it never ceases to amaze me how we just pick right back up where we were like we see each other weekly. I love you Laura!

Post Mother's Day Thought

2010-05-11T13:18:00.002-04:00

My prayer for my girls: to miraculously forget all the mistakes I have made with you. To remember only love and giggles, patience and good food. Sorry about the rest. I really am. I pray too for your birth Moms. I'm so sorry that they will never know your growing faces and get to see all the goodness in you and how blessed we all are. I'm sorry that they live in a place where abandoning your child is even considered, let alone practiced. I pray they are at peace and somehow God lets them know through a sign or in their hearts that you are okay. Maybe one day we can find these two Moms together and have a good no-language-required cry together and hug and laugh.

Quote of the Week

2010-05-09T14:55:00.003-04:00

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Because Grace has a cleft palate (Even after two surgeries! She still has a cleft palate!), therefore she cannot use a straw and SUCK.

Frannie (a direct quote) "Mom and Frannie are good suckers! Grace can't suck."

Oh, Grace would never suck. Even with a perfect palate, she would never suck.

See? I download pictures of subjects other than bloodclots and screaming cartoon women. The shot I SHOULD have gotten this week and FAILED to take was the one of Grace in a bathing suit and a NORMAL diaper (note: not a swim diaper) immediately after sitting in Chloe's pool for 10 minutes. Oh, it harks back to good ole' SNL, Jane Curtain and the BigButts. Lucy and Peggy, haven't you done that schtick on purpose once or twice? I have a vague memory of photos.....

I've been listening to a Bill Bryson book on tape in my car and if you never have done that -- do it. The particular one I'm currently enjoying (it really doesn't matter which one you select, you are sure to pee your pants regardless) is "Notes From a Small Island" and it has brought me out of my "I want to punch someone" funk. Maybe a few improvements in our financial status has helped too, but Bill Bryson, if you are out there, you just may have saved someone from getting punched by moi.

Toddler waking from nap, see ya.

Fate, Destiny, God's Will, Call it what you will...

2010-04-28T20:39:00.002-04:00

I've been having these conversations about winning the lottery (our MegaMillions is up to $220 Million or some such obscene amount) and I'm curious about your thoughts: would winning that money ACTUALLY be a blessing? Would it leave you with fewer or more concerns/worries/problems and could it EVER bring you closer to God? I must admit, it sounds great and I do fantasize about how much fun it would be to surprise friends and family with gifts and burning their mortgages for them and paying for some equipment for students, etc., etc. but the more I think about it, I do NOT personally think it would be a blessing. Case in point:
*I don't care who you are or who you THINK you are, but people change.
* I don't care how great you think your friends are, but they will treat you differently, am I right?
* would you REALLY donate a ton of it to worthy causes or would you turn into some figurehead sitting on a throne contemplating who DESERVES a gift from you and who doesn't....

Add more to the list if you want, I'm curious.

Beautiful Springtime

2010-04-11T11:18:00.002-04:00

Other than an allergy headache, we have been enjoying this beautiful spring. It's so nice to get out and have some ice cream and run around the park.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-06T18:55:00.002-04:00

Grace just got back from the doctor where we found out that the back of her palate has opened up and she now has a hole where there was formerly (a week ago) a back palate and uvula. What they sewed together to make her palate has started to split open from the back. This means another surgery in 3 to 6 months. Lord give me strength, truly.

We Are Home

2010-03-31T14:32:00.002-04:00

(and I already have to worry about IEPs). Grace and I were released yesterday and she is happier than a clam at high tide. She has been giggling and dancing around and eating like a horse. She was so happy to have her Auntie Katie and cousin Elena to pay attention to her and give her lots of lovin'. I mention the IEPs because, as springtime usually brings IEPs, come what may, they must be planned and held regardless of who popped what stitches. So today I'm working during nap-time on my two IEPs planned for tomorrow and praying for quickies so I can get home to my girls.