Hi Everyone--
Life has just been a blur since we got back to Athens... After my mom and grandma left last week, we launched into "let's catch up on activities" mode. We had our first soccer practice for Emmy's team last Thursday, and Roger and I (as co-coaches) met our new parents and kids while Britti and Chelsea watched Ellie near the field. On Friday, Emmy's Brownie troop came over for a meeting, and the girls LOVED playing with Ellie-Kate. We had another soccer practice on Saturday morning and then went to the Farmer's Market and then a fundraiser for Chelsea's high school band. Ellie-Kate enjoyed the spaghetti, and many people from the community enjoyed meeting her :)
We got to go to church for the first time since our trip on Sunday morning, and Ellie-Kate met so many of the wonderful people who have been praying for us and for her. Although she was a bit cautious with all of the new faces, Ellie did great during the service. She actually fell asleep during the last song during praise and worship time and then slept for the entire sermon. It was such a blessing to be able to be back in God's house, connecting with my church family, and hearing God's word.
After church, we dropped Chelsea at tennis practice and then headed home to set up for the 4-H meeting. Our house was packed with kids and their parents, and, again, everyone seemed to enjoy meeting Ellie-Kate in person for the first time. Although our lives are usually in such a frenzy, we intentionally kept Ellie-Kate home without distractions for nearly two weeks; however, this past week-end provided her with a "sneak peek" at the many activities and people that flavor our lives so richly.
Today has been blessedly peaceful and home-bound, though, and, as I glanced at the calendar, I realized that we officially welcomed Ellie-Kate into our family four weeks ago today. I can't imagine our world without her. She is such a neat little person, and she really fits into our family so well. In fact, one of Emmy's friends even commented on how much that Ellie-Kate looks like Emmy :) Indeed, her nose and mouth are shaped just like the rest of the girls. A "coincidence"? I think not! I'm also amazed by how much that Ellie-Kate constitutes a really neat combination of the other girls' personality attributes and behaviors. As soon as she gets in the car, she starts to yawn, and, before long, she's out... just like Britti. She loves to laugh, perform, and figure out how things work... just like Chelsea, and, just like Emmy, she loves to play, and she protests when she has to drop the soccer ball and head to another activity :)
Just like the rest of the family, she's determined, focused, passionate, intellectually curious, and eager to move rather than sit. She set her current record for standing today at 15 seconds, and she yearns to dash around the living room without holding on to anything. Ever since we got home, she has developed physically, and she's now crawling around the room. She's using her leg muscles, and we hope to get a good report from the orthopedic doctor at our appointment on Thursday. Even without formal physical therapy (we start that process on Monday), we witness daily progress. God is truly good!!
Ellie-Kate is continuing to develop her linguistic abilities, and her vocabulary is expanding daily as well. She knows how to say and use appropriately "more," "Coco" (one of the dogs), "uh oh," "bye bye," "ball," "no no" (as she interacts with the dog), and, increasingly, "thank you." She does say "mama" and "dada," but we're still not convinced that she's directing the word to us as opposed to just making noise. We're also using some sign language, and we know that her special word for all food is "nana." However, the coolest form of communication that we have is when we lock eyes, imitate each other, and burst out in joyful laughter. Yes, God is good :)
It's hard to believe that we've had her for only four weeks AND that we've been home now for two weeks. We're still playing catch up in so many areas of our lives. We still haven't gone through (much less handed out!) most of our souvenirs; the many photographs that we downloaded and ordered from Walmart remain in their envelopes, and we've yet to really look at them. Although we're both on leave now, Roger has some sabbatical stuff to do, and I am finishing up loose ends from the CSCA conference and working with a few students on independent studies. Chelsea's been busy with Cinderella rehearsal, and she has four performances of the show this next week-end. All of the older girls are also in rehearsal for their annual dance recital which will be next week-end. However, on the plus side, we've been prioritizing precious time with the baby and the girls and their activities, even though some other things just don't get finished as quickly or effectively as we might have otherwise preferred. We're getting there :)
We're also "getting there" with Ellie-Kate's health. We should receive the final lab reports by the end of this week, and she has her opthamologist and orthopedic appointments on Thursday. She also has to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist because she has considerable hardened ear wax in both of her ears. The audiologist couldn't even get a reading on her right ear. We have that ENT appointment scheduled for May 13. Although she keeps tugging at her ears, we're just going to have to be patient and pray that her ears will be okay and that she doesn't have an underlying infection.
We are also in the process of getting an appointment with pediatric dermatology at Children's to examine the marks on her body. We want to make sure that we do what we can for her to avoid permanent scarring. We're not sure what caused the marks, but, in the meantime, we're lotioning them and praying that the dermatologist can help us. (We know that Emmy's doctor is on maternity leave, though, so it may be a good while before we can get this appointment.)
Well, that's the update for now. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support!! Also, we've been told that the blog has been a good experience, and we're certainly open to sharing our story with others. Feel free to share our blog address with others in your life who might be interested. We want to give God the glory for this great thing that He has done in our lives, and we are happy for people to read about our journey with Ellie-Kate.
I'll post again on Thursday or Friday with more news from the medical visits. In the meantime, take care and know that we truly appreciate your concern for us!!
Christie
