Crazy February!

I sincerely apologize for not updating our blog sooner.  My days with the kids seem to fly by so quickly.  I hardly have time to think most days!  But, I wouldn’t trade it for a million years.  Maya continues to be a little live wire.  She’s the ultimate Energizer Bunny!  John and I took Maya to her surgeon, Dr. Shaheen, on January 20^th.  He suspects they started to repair her cleft palate in China but it was too large & complex.  Honestly, I'm glad they didn't fix it because I'd rather it was fixed the right way by a skilled surgeon here since her cleft palate is so large.  He went through a lot of Maya's prognosis with us.  She will probably be in store for 5-6 more surgeries until she's 21.  An entire team works with our surgeon so every year, we will meet with them and they will decide the next step for her.  Dr. Shaheen said by the time she's 21, she'll probably be done with everything unless some problems emerge.  Her surgery is set for Monday, February 28^th.  Keep our little one in your prayers!  On another note, my father-in-law suffered a heart attack last Saturday while he was walking our dog back to our house!  By God’s grace, John got him to the hospital quickly.  He will need open heart surgery, which as of right now is slated for February 16^th.  So, the month of February should be a bit crazy for our family (what’s new?).  We were hit with a huge snowstorm last night, which meant no school for the kids today!  Whoo Hoo!  We bundled Maya up and took her out in the snow.  I don’t think she quite knows what to make of all this cold, white stuff.  Madeline and I were like cheerleaders trying to get her to crack a smile while we pulled her on a sled down our driveway.  We were able to get a few photos, but she doesn’t look too happy!  Oh well…I know next year she’ll be running around out there freezing her butt off.  Will and his buddy Patrick decided to both be “Kings of the Hill” on the snow mound that is in the middle of our court.  John, Madeline, Maya and I watched them from inside as they tagged team each other keeping the other boys off the top of the hill.  It was pretty funny!  You could tell they were all laughing and having a blast.  Ahhh…to be young again and enjoy rolling around in the freezing snow with a runny nose!  We got Maya’s blood work back.  Everything was a normal other than she’s a bit anemic.  So, she has to take a multi-vitamin with iron every day!  She actually loves them and would eat half the bottle if I let her!  Her eating is getting better and Madeline finally got her to eat grapes.  She still wants to snack 24/7, so John thought he’d curtail her snacking habits by putting a rubber band on the pantry doors.  It took one tug by Maya and that band snapped!  I think I’m just going to have to hide all the snacks right after her surgery since she has to be on a soft diet for 3 weeks following the surgery.  How much fun will that be?!  The kid who lives for crackers and chips?!  Do you think I can liquefy them in a blender?!!!  Take care everyone and stay tuned for further updates!  Sorry I’m not quicker!