Shriner's Appointment

Finally, we went to our Shriner's Outreach Clinic in Hobbs, New Mexico. John-John and Alexis were seen by their wonderful doctors. I just love these people. What a blessing they are for so many children and their families. Apparently, standing in a soft crib mattress for twenty seven months is not good for a growing child's feet and legs....LOL!!! John-John has to have braces to try and keep his ankles from turning out so much as he grows. He will be fitted for them next Tuesday back in Hobbs.

Alexis has a much more complex situation with her leg length difference. The doctor said we have two options for surgery. Either we can do multiple surgeries to lengthen the shorter leg or we can do a procedure where they kill the growth plate in the longer leg. This means that this leg would stop growing and it can not be reversed. The shorter leg would continue to grow until it reached the length of the longer leg. Then they would kill the growth plate in the other leg.

I will need to make a trip in September to Albuquerque to the outreach clinic there for counseling on which procedure we will likely have the most success with. In the meantime, she will be fitted with a shoe lift to equalize her stance and steady her gait. The orthopedic doctor comes from Albuquerque to Hobbs and so he will not only see John-John but, will see Alexis as well for this shoe lift. In September we will schedule Alexis' surgery which will take place in Los Angeles, California.

Everyone else is doing well in the family. The kids have had a mild cold with sniffles and coughing. Otherwise, they have been very healthy. They are working hard to finish up their books for a nice long summer break. I just appreciate being with them every day. Really, I had no idea how much I missed when I was not home schooling them. All the strides they make give me such personal pride and satisfaction. Oh yes....Katie had an eye exam this morning and has to have a stronger prism in her lenses. Doc says no surgery now, however, as she gets older if her strabismus worsens we may want to consider an operative repair. Guess that wraps up things for now. I will post again soon. Many blessings!!!

Spring is in the air;-)

Our Blessing "The Bus"!!!! Used, but in great condition;-).
We can all go places in one car...AMEN!!!

Front view of our newest blessing;-).

Here is a picture of Alexis before her dental repairs.

After Bonding and teeth whitening!!! No more cavities;-)

Yes...Spring is in the air. The children are all working very hard to finish their books and other school work. They are looking forward to a summer filled with free time and lots of play with Mama outside. It has been a while since my last post so I will get everyone up to speed. Today and yesterday the children are doing homework to make sure their lessons are at week 24 on Monday. We have already met our Mass obligations. So, they have all day today for home work projects. We had Mass last night since it was the first Saturday of the month. We go on Sunday morning on the other weekends in the month.

Alexis is still not speaking English. I probably spoil her more than I did Katie Aunna since I mainly speak basic communicable Russian with her. With Katie Aunna I did not speak much Russian. But, now I know a lot more this time around. It seems every time I return to Russia I get more and more communicative. Also, I must give credit to the Rosetta Stone home school program, as I have improved with this class. I think one of the coolest things, beside teaching my children, is how much I have learned by being teacher!!!

I guess you have noticed what a wonderful difference in Alexis' teeth. I am delighted to say she has had her cavities repaired and new front teeth. Also, we did enamel bonding to her front four permanent teeth. She is very proud of those new teeth and smiles like a movie star. Further, on March 20Th we will go to Hobbs to the Shriner Clinic and make plans to repair her leg length difference. We have been told by the IA doctor that we are looking at multiple surgeries. I plan on giving her the summer off and then in Fall we will do our first surgery....waaaaa. But, all for the best;-) in the long run!!!

The children, Duane, and I are very excited!!! We are planning to take a family vacation. Duane's business offers an incentive trip every other year. The last time we went in 2008 it was to Switzerland. Quite a wonderful trip. However, this time we have opted to cash out and take the children to meet their only living grandparent. Duane's mother is getting up there in years and her health status has changed. Although, she still lives in the same house she had raised all of her babies in, she is now in her 80's and her health is not getting better as time goes by.

So, we are planning to take "the bus" to Kansas to visit his mother and introduce her to her two newest grandchildren, Katie Aunna and Alexis. She has never met them and she is just so excited. However, she has forbid us to have any more children...LOL!!! She doesn't realize we are well satisfied with this portion of our life. It use to cost $1million to raise a child...I think if they updated that in today's poor economy it's at least 1.5million...urg!!!! Anyway...back to some more of the good news;-).

Then, in June our niece on Duane's side, is planning a big Catholic wedding!!! OH HOW WONDERFUL!!! So, as soon as we return from our family vacation, we will have this occasion to attend. All of his family from several different states will be there. Naturally, we are very excited to have this time with certain family we have not seen in many years. The name Mary is a family name that started with Duane's family. It will be exciting to get all the family of "Marys" together for a picture. There is; Mary (deceased), Little Mary, Littlest Mary, Tiny Mary, and our Tiniest Mary in the family. Isn't that funny?!?!?! Five generations of Mary with the last four generations living.

Another blessing from God....Praise our wonderful and generous God for His great mercy and love for us all. He has seen fit to answer our prayers for a second vehicle. We found a very nice 10 passenger van for such a good price. It is definitely a huge blessing from God. Fortunately, we had enough money on our stock to cash out and buy it outright...another blessing. I have included a picture of our family bus above. We call it "The Bus"...haha.

Well I guess that just about catches us up to date. Of course, we will make posts after Alexis' Shriner appointment, during our family vacation, and at the upcoming wedding. We hope to go to Branson after visiting Duane's mother. Making this time one big road trip. It will be Katie Aunna and Lexi's first family vacation. Hopefully, we will be able to go on this vacation at the end of May. However, I will update in April after we take Alexis to her Shriner appointment. Many blessings!!!!