God has been gracious to us and has been with us through our journey of love and life. He has carried us through some of the most difficult times and has given us joy in the midst of sorrow. He has also been loving and given us abundant blessings. Most importantly, He has provided us with faith. May we share that faith with others.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame".
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

First Day of School

School looks a little different this year, but the kids are excited to be back at Central!  They love their school and their friends.  They have gotten used to the masks and the hand sanitizing. 













Friday, August 7, 2020

Luke's Surgery

Today Dave and I took Luke down to Riley Children's Hospital to have surgery on his penis.  He was born with a slightly bent penis that the doctor said could be easily fixed, but should be done while he is young.  We decided to have him circumcised while he was under anesthesia.  Luke was not allowed to eat after midnight.  He could have some clear beverages before 10:30am, so he had a Pedialyte popsicle for breakfast. Grandma Kusch came down to watch Liam and Lilly for the day.  Luke did really well until about 30minutes from the hospital.  He really wanted a bottle.  Checkin into Riley and getting ready for surgery went well.  Luke got to ride a car down to the operating room, which he liked.  He went to sleep with no problem.  The doctor said the surgery went well.  He drank a bottle when he woke up and then went back to sleep. He slept most of the ride home.  When he woke, he was hungry and scarfed down some fries and chicken tenders.  The first day he did well taking his medicine and wanted to snuggle and take it easy.





riding his car off to surgery







waiting for Dad to come get us with the van


awake and hungry




Luke and I slept on the couch together, so I could get to his medicine.  He tossed and turned a lot, but got a couple hours sleep at a time.  When he woke up he wanted to watch "Gonald Guck"


We let Luke have all the Pedialyte popsicles he wanted!




Update - When we went to change his diaper after getting home, we noticed that it was soaked in blood.  We were told we would see 3-4 drops and this was definitely more than that.  We called the doctor on call and he talked us through how to wrap the wound in gauze and apply gentle pressure.  It was scary.  We finally go the bleeding to stop, but blood had collected in his dressing and was continuing to come out.  We called the doctor again on Saturday night and he explained that although the bleeding was not normal, we handled it correctly and we should "keep the course."  After a couple days things started to look much better.  Luke refused to take any more pain medication.  But, he seems fine without it.  He as anxious to get back to his normal activity level.

Friday, July 31, 2020

July 2020

 We are still making the best of our summer, trying to do as many safe activities as possible.  We are doing our best to stay healthy, but also not stay cooped up in the house.  I think we've managed to have fun, despite our limitations.

Hockemeyer Pond

The Wellmans were sweet enough to let us use their pond for the day.  The kids had fun exploring and eating lunch outside.  Lilly even caught a toad, which she pretended to kiss.































Zoo






















Blueberry Picking


















Zoo










VBS



















Liam at his semi-annual cardiology appointment












Trying to Zoom for work



On our way home from Michigan





The garden has been plentiful this year!





Luke trying out Lilly's new hair band