and there was much rejoicing

after 2 years of speech therapy,

today we heard the "d" &  't" sounds

for the first time.
( she been using "h" instead)

AND 

loud & clear that little princess said

"Daddy" 

Whooot to the Whoooo!

it may sound like a small accomplishment,

but  those are the only sounds we 

had never heard up until today.

God is good,

and this girlie is a hard worker!

last week was another post-op visit.
her nose looks great, and
her palate & gum line still look amazing.
we have 4 more weeks of
the nose stents,
(insert big sigh here)
and a new lip scar treatment plan.
(more to come on that!)

we're in somewhat of a school
routine around here.
reality is tough sometimes.

look at those little angels
quietly doing their work
while I enjoy a cup of coffee and
gaze happily around at
my spotlessly clean house...

a girl can dream, can't she?!

so it begins...

my brain has put it off all summer long,

but it's here...

the realization that Ali will now be a 

senior in high school.

today is senior portrait day.

I hope the photographer can concentrate

with the weeping and waling

coming from my corner of the room.

really,  a professional should be
well equipped to deal with
an emotionally unstable mother, right?

by the time poor Gracie has reached this milestone,
I'm sure I'll be a more poised mama...
hahaha
speaking of our youngest, check out
her first official "face" picture

talented, eh?
she had her 4th post-op visit last friday.
she'll be sporting the nose stents for
another three weeks
(whaaaa!)
and we are to up our game on treating her lip scar.
(her surgeon is still not pleased w/ the
redness and thickening going on)
so...more lotion & NO sugar it is!

well, I'm being invited to a tea party
by a very convincing little 3 year old.
I guess I should go change out of my pajamas...

4 weeks

I cannot believe we are now exactly

four weeks post-op.

where does the time go when you're 

having well, um, fun?!

we fit in some sparkler time

Quinn called this his "statue of liberty" pose

we've eaten lots of popsicles

(check out that new little smile 

emerging under that tape!)

we also saw Dr. Matthews last week.

he actually wasn't totally pleased

with how her lip is healing...

not what you want to hear.

we are applying, as Gracie calls it,

her special lotion

(1/2 castor oil, 1/2 sesame oil)

as often as possible during the day.

we were told that the nasal stents will need

 to be in for probably 4 more weeks. :(

the process of cleaning & changing tape

is still NO fun, but getting slightly easier.

God REALLY does give grace in the areas

 you think you would never be comfortable in - 

grace for daddy to hold her down,

& grace for mamma to clean a sore nose

& insert that tool of torture, I mean healing,

as her baby screams "no mommy!!"

sleep...well, she's had a handful

of nights where she slept all the way through.

it's just so frustrating to her to not

be able to breathe well through her nose.

we've tried to adhere to her surgeon's dietary 

restrictions for Gracie as well.

he's very anti- refined sugar - that makes sense.

he also told us that Asian scars can heal 

better when you eliminate wheat & dairy from

 the diet. she's done surprisingly well.

there are many gluten/wheat free products now

(for a small fortune, I might add)

and then there's, of course, fresh fruit & veggies -

imagine that!

she's LOVED the homemade popsicles.

here are her 3 favorite recipes!

(W.Mart has great popsicle molds for

$3 in the frozen food section!)

Summer Splash 

juice of 1 1/2 whole oranges

  (Trader Joes is the only place I could find valencias around here)

1C chopped strawberries

1/2 C blueberries

1t flax seed 

3/4 cup silken tofu (sneaky, eh?)

3T agave nectar(sold right by the artificial sweeteners)

combine all in blender until smooth. 

pour into molds & freeze!

Orange Joy

juice of 6 oranges, or 2C of freshly squeezed orange juice

1 whole pineapple, cored & cut up

3T wheat germ

1 or 2 bananas

1/2C water

puree in blender until smooth.

pour into molds & freeze!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate

1/4C dark chocolate chips, melted

1/4C organic peanut butter

1T wheat germ

1C soy milk

puree in blender until smooth.

drink half, just to make sure it's OK, then pour into molds and freeze!

bye bye Packing, hello Princess

if the ground shook in your neck of the woods

yesterday morning, it could have been the

aftershocks of  a certain sweet girl's shrieks

as the packing was removed from her nose.

can't say as I blame her really.

it was not fun.

at all.

not one bit.

 which is why on the way home 

this fabulous ensemble

was purchased for our brave little princess.

we were sent home with tubing in her nose

that needs to be there for couple of months

(did I just type that?)

so that the work done inside her nose will 

heal correctly. evidently her septum needed
quite a bit of repair.

last night was the first night in over a week that 

she (& her parents, in turn) slept all night.

our joy quickly faded

*insert drumroll*

as we realized it was because her tubing fell out.

the drama that ensued as we had to clean

her nose & lip & insert the tubing back in &
then tape it back down....
it made yesterday look like a Mr. Rogers episode.
she is a STRONG girl,
and one tough little fighter.

so...now all is well. I spoke with the nurse in hopes
of receiving some advice on how to keep
the tubing in place. after some creative taping,
it seems good.
until Monday.
when it will be time to take it out
to clean it.
and put it back in.
again.
prayer? yes, please!

God is walking through this with us.
He sent us a hug with this beautiful sunset last night!

3 weeks post-op

she did it.

last night Gracie slept 10 1/2 hours in her own bed!

thank you Jesus!!

following cleft surgeries, congestion can

be an issue for a few weeks.

after effects from the anesthesia can mess

up sleep habits as well.

we were so grateful that we didn't have

to share our bed with a very restless

2 year old last night!

Gracie's palate looks great

and seems to be healing very well.

the "mushy food" diet has not been

too fun, but she has done great with

her limited food choices!

We're all thrilled to be enjoying the beautiful

fall weather together as a family!

ali & erin are gone to a youth retreat

for the weekend...

it will be VERY quiet around here! :(

allow this proud mother to share the promotional

video for the retreat this weekend.

(it so happens to include said

mother's oldest daughter!)

(remember to turn down

the music on the sidebar!)

Thrive Promo from John Pinkerton on Vimeo.