Oh Boy, we are still busy!! Cleft check up and Family Portraits

So, Steve was on vacation last week and was left with a honey do list! One thing on the list was to take Ruthie for a follow up visit with her surgeon, Dr. Ray. Dr. Ray was more than pleased with
Ruthie's lip. Steve said that he could not believe how fabulous she looked! He was more than excited and spent a good amount of time having a stare down with her. He did say that the muscle in her lip is like a tight rope right now. He said that her lip would draw up for a few weeks, then go back
to where it is now and stay that way. He said at that point, you will never know that she had surgery! He said that it looks so well that he wants to see her back in a month to review and then set up her 2nd surgery. He thinks that we could move it up to possibly February. This surgery will be more dramatic for Ruthie. We could spend up to 4 days in the hospital. He said that she handles her pain and adjustment so well, that it could possibly only be 2 days for us.

Now, about the surgery...In our mouths, we have a muscle that grows in 3 spots, nasal cavity, palate and the back of our throat. He will have to cut all three places and pull them all together. When it is complete, he will place cotton around the outside of the "pull together" until it heals/stops
bleeding. Apparently, this process is going to be hard on Ruthie because of the bleeding and her learning how to breath out of her nose and not the hole in her palate any longer. That is the main reason why they want to keep her in for more than just one day, to monitor her eating and breathing. Her recovery will be a little longer than her lip. She will have to learn how to eat and breath at the same time. 

Her hearing and ears were fabulous!

She will not have her gum fixed until her 3rd surgery, when she turns 5. When they correct her gum, they will have to take some bone from her hip. We are not going to think about that until the time comes. One step at a time. 

I will not know the date of her surgery until January 3rd. Until then, we will embrace the holidays and enjoy my almond eyed firecracker princess!




We decided that it was time to have our family portraits made with the 5 of us. Ruthie didn't get her nap and she sure showed it! By the time we were getting ready to wrap up an hour photo shoot, she came around and was the spunky little girl that she can be!! We had a great time and got some great shots! How thankful we are to be a family of 5!!

I love my family!! We have been through so much and I thank God for everything we have been through and conquered!! 

Blessings and Love,

Julie

Our 1st Thanksgiving as a family of 5

What a November!! I can't count the many many reasons why we are so thankful! November has been full of so many events. I started back to work on November 5th and shed many tears when I left Ruthie for the first time. I was sad but also very thankful that she was staying with my parents. They are there to love her and give her what she needs while I am at work. So thankful! :) I was very thankful to get to work and be missed by so many folks as well! The transition back to work was so easy. I missed my co-workers and are very thankful for having such a great job and great folks to work with everyday.

This was Ruthie's first Thanksgiving with us. She had such a great time! The Sunday before Thanksgiving we celebrated at church then with Steve's family. We enjoyed taking her to church and then to her first gathering. She had such a good time! She loved all the food and especially loved all the desserts. :) She got to meet new cousins and family and fit right in with them all. What a blessing it is to introduce her to so many folks that love her dearly! 

Thanksgiving Day, we got up early, watched the Macy's Day parade (we do every year) and took off to my sister, Brandi's house. Ruthie also got to meet some family that she had not met before. Ruthie enjoyed the food and of course all the desserts again. She was thrilled to be there to play with her cousins. We stayed outside some and watched all the kiddos playing. Ruthie would eat some, play, eat some more and then play again. I loved seeing her eat and her favorite thing to eat other than the desserts was green beans! We could not keep enough on her plate. It is just amazing to me at how she loves vegetables!

And she is out! She had so much fun! Every day is a new day and it continues to share all the many blessings that we have received from God. I am so blessed and filled with so much joy!

Until next time,

Blessings!
Julie