Big Happenings Around Here - Part I

So I haven't been posting much, but really, how many times can I say:  Well, we're sick again.  I started this post sometime in February, I think.  And now, I think I'm just going to kind of summarize each month.  So here's January:

After barely making it to midnight with The Fellowship of the Ring, Thomas and I had high hopes for a wonderful New Year.  We had a great Christmas with the kids, and we planned a wonderful weekend with The Elisha Foundation at a respite retreat in Cannon Beach.

{On a side note:  The Elisha Foundation has recently had lots of attention as Eli Reimer - the boy who inspired the beginning of the Elisha Foundation - and his dad and a group of hikers trekked to Mt. Everest base camp.  Eli was the first person with Down's Syndrome to do that!  Check out the news!)

Then Nadia threw up.  Several times.  We weren't sure we'd make it to the retreat after all.  Thankfully, as stomach things usually go, it didn't last too long, and our trip was only delayed by a day.

We had a great time!

The retreat was wonderful!  We had a great time with the other families, and Thomas and I even had some time to ourselves.

The kids had a blast as well!  Isaiah was able to have pretty much one on one attention the entire weekend.

We got home just in time to start the next round of sickness.

Thankfully we had a small break in the sickness for Thomas to take me to see Les Miserables around my birthday.  There are no words to describe the emotions that ran through me.  Grace White, you understand.

We had a few good days before RSV came to visit, but that's for the next month...

Too Soon?

So, yesterday I posted that we were getting over a virus that hit our family like a ton of bricks - make that 4 tons since each of us got so sick.  

Well, Nadia decided that an encore performance was in order.

The doctor thought it very possible she had the flu and then perhaps even pneumonia.  Thankfully I report to you that she simply has a virus.  Granted this virus hit her quickly with high fevers including febrile seizures, but it is just a virus.

She worked hard for all those stickers, and then she wanted them on her back.

Her fever had risen again while at the doctor's office, so I got some extra snuggle time with my pooky little girl when we got home.

But it's amazing what a little camera can stimulate....

almost smiling...

...and there's my silly girl!

Miss Piggy had to get in on the movie watching time

Please pray that Nadia will recover quickly and that the rest of us will be spared this sickness.  Yesterday Nadia was particularly loving towards her brother, and today I was trying desperately to block her hacking cough from the other people around us.  You know, doing what moms do.

A New Year

This new year has already had its ups and downs.  We were blessed to be able to attend a respite retreat with The Elisha Foundation, which I hope to blog about some other time because there are so many wonderful things I could tell you.  

And then we hit a "down", which I'm happy to say we are coming out or up from or whatever sounds good.

Never have all 4 of us been sick at the same time, and I hope that it doesn't happen again any time soon.  Thankfully it wasn't the flu, though it certainly felt like it.  

You might not have received a Christmas card from us, but Thomas posted this picture of us on facebook, sending his "Flu Season Greetings".

All 4 of us at the doctor for the kids

Granted I got some extra snuggle time with my kiddos, which I enjoyed, but it was hard to see them so miserable, as every parent can attest.

Now we are thanking God for bringing us out of that sickness and praying for health for a long stretch to come!  I pray that our family and friends are able to avoid the horrible viruses going around this season!

And my next post should have less pathetic pictures, though the kids still manage to be beautiful.

Practice Makes Progress

Michelle Duggar uses this expression a lot. I know this because my little man LOVES the Duggars.
And we all know what a good big brother he is, so naturally his little sister has come to appreciate them, too.



And that's good because now she's practicing.



Practicing how to be a good big sister that is. If how she treats her baby dolls is any indication, then Baby Slawson will be well fed and take lots of walks.

Busy Day

We have special guests tonight, so the kids helped me get ready for their arrival.

Nadia was intent on taking out the trash. She was also obsessed with watching the trains.

Isaiah and I got to have some fun play time together outside. He made me ravioli and strawberry ice cream. Alas, no pictures of my cute chef because I was way to busy enjoying his culinary delights.

But there's one from the other day of him taking notes, surely a list of more fun things for us to do!

Monday and Tuesday

Things have been a little different lately, even for us. Isaiah's recent post-op recovery time was the longest we've experienced yet. Monday was 3 weeks, and he's still not wanting to get around as much as he used to, but his spirits have dramatically improved!

So, as we venture back into society, here are some new things with the Slawsons:

Our friends who work at Walmart are happy to see us again. The guys who restock the meat coolers were giving Isaiah high fives as he tried to wheel himself around. Another lady stopped us for five minutes while she cleaned so she could know where we had been. (great opportunities threw themselves at us!)

And Isaiah made it wheeling himself almost the whole time at Walmart. Hide and seek really helps, if you don't mind getting funny looks.

We've "discovered" a small play area in our neighborhood where both the kids can play somewhat independently as long as mama is easily available.

Nadia is using a booster seat at the table. She's super proud of herself.

Nadia is also starting to look like a "toddler". She's quite entertaining.

We start therapy again this week. I'm hoping getting back into that will push Isaiah through the hesitancy he seems to have to try some physical activities.

We crashed a birthday party at our neighbor's and had a blast!

If you say "go" in any context around Nadia, be prepared for her to grab her shopping cart and head for the door.

I love to hear Isaiah calling for "Boys!" as we walk around outside. He's almost all the way back!

And some random pictures:

New Friends

Missionaries are supported by lots of people, and therefore could be said to have lots of "bosses", but our direct boss is the Executive Director of InterAct Ministries Dale Smith.

Thomas has spent lots of time with Dale and even had the pleasure of getting to know his wife Carol.  This week the kids and I got to meet them for the first time, and we had a blast!













We are thankful that when we move to Oregon, our kids will have "grandparents" on the west coast, too!  Thanks, Dale and Carol for loving on our family for a couple days.  We look forward to serving with you for many years!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

In Case You Haven't Heard...

We've had a few changes in our lives, and I'm pretty sure that most of our friends and family have heard the news, but just in case you're interested and you haven't heard the news, here it is:

We're not pregnant, if that's what you're thinking.  Here's what it really is:

After many long talks to God and each other and seeking counsel, Thomas and I have decided that we need to have Isaiah in the States more than in Russia in order for him to have the care that he needs.  We will continue ministry in Russia, living there during the summer.  That's the short of it, but if you want more details, you can keep reading a little bit...

Isaiah receives amazing physical therapy here in MS.  We have searched and searched in St. Petersburg, Russia, a city of 5 million people, and we have not been able to find anything close to the therapy that Isaiah gets here.  Every time we would be in Russia for more than 3 months, we would see his physical development stagnate and even regress in some areas.  His braces would not fit well, his body would start twisting in new directions, his legs would get tighter, etc.  I was simply not equipped to take care of those needs without the help of therapists and orthotists and surgeons.

Isaiah and Nadia are our first mission field.  God has given them directly to us, and we want to care for them body and soul as we follow the calling that God has given us.  God has given us a really good option to meet the physical and developmental needs of our son and still be involved in the ministry in Russia, and we are very excited!

Our mission agency InterAct Ministries offered Thomas some additional responsibilities involving fundraising, recruitment, and videography.  I say "additional" because he will continue to be the director of the work for InterAct in Russia.  As a family we will be moving to the Portland, OR area for Thomas to be able to work from the home office in Boring, OR (yes, that's right) for 9 months every year.  We will then travel to Russia for 3 months during the summer to continue different ministries there.

The move to OR is scheduled for Fall 2012 after our return from Russia this summer.

We are very thankful that we have not had to say "goodbye" to Russia.  We still love the country and her people.

This new aspect of our ministry will still require us to raise our support for salary and travel and all that good jazz.  Thankfully our current supporters have been, well, supportive, in our decision.  We are always looking for other people to partner with us in prayer and in financial giving.  If you would like to learn more about how to do that, please visit Hope To Russia, the site that Thomas has been working on to keep all our ministry developments in one place.

And that's why I've changed the blog name, again.

Big Day

Well, friends, Lord willing this will be my last post from the hospital!  That's right, we are scheduled to go home today; which, naturally means we have no idea when that might happen, but it will happen today!

We were thrilled with Isaiah's quick turn around once he was allowed to turn around!  After being off his belly and on his side or back and then sitting up, we noticed our fun-loving little man was back!

Thank you for your prayers.  Please do continue to pray for us as he continues his at-home recovery over the next 2 weeks.  I'll keep you posted, if the kids don't wear me out. :)

Sunday Morning

Lots of good news to report this morning!

Isaiah went all night on room oxygen, so we can get rid of that nose cannula!

About 8pm last night we finally got to move Isaiah to his side.  His mood has already improved (see post below).

The rounding neurosurgeon came in this morning and gave the ok for Isaiah's foley catheter to be removed so that I can begin our regular cathing again.  Another tube can be removed!  Now he will be much easier to move.  The doctor also said he would write the order for Isaiah to be able to sit up later today.  Having the order written ahead of time will be grand; we had to wait a long time last night to finally get him moved to his side.

Here's how you can pray today:

~Isaiah meets all the criteria to move to the 5th floor.  This floor is a step up from PICU, so we would love to be considered ready to move on up to the regular post-op floor.

~Continued improvement in Isaiah's mood, appetite and drinking.  We would love to get rid of the IV fluids, but Isaiah has to eat and drink more to be able to do that.

But don't forget all the praises above!  Please thank God with us for these improvements!

Thanks, friends!

Saturday Morning

Thomas stayed with Isaiah last night, so I returned to the hospital this morning to find my boy resting very soundly, which is an answer to prayer!  The previous two nights he seemed to struggle to get to sleep without medication, and eventually I had to ask the nurse for morphine to help him doze off.

Last night, however, he had a dose of morphine about 8pm, and he hasn't required any more since then!  He has continued his regular tylenol throughout the night.  We would love to see him be able to be comfortable with just the tylenol as the morphine seems to "dope him up".

Yesterday the neurosurgeon told us that Isaiah will be able to lay on his side this evening when we hit the 72 hour mark post-op.  We are hoping that the change of position will lift our little man's spirits a bit.

So here are some praises!

~Isaiah has started to eat a little bit more.  Thomas got him to eat some jell-o.  Until yesterday he hasn't been interested in eating or drinking anything.

~Only tylenol through the night.

~Some special visitors gave us a glimpse of "our" Isaiah; thank you friends!

~Getting to turn to his side this evening.

~Much needed sleep for Mama.  I feel refreshed and better able to take care of Isaiah today.  Thank you, Thomas!

Please continue to pray:

~Pain control.  With the move this evening to his side, we don't want his pain to increase or get ahead of us.

~Increased appetite.

~Happy spirits.  Anyone who knows Isaiah, knows that he is one of the happiest little people you will ever meet.  One of the hardest things about this whole process has been seeing him so different from his normal self.

Thank you all again for your prayers and love for our little man!  I'll try to post pictures tonight of him in his new position!

You Can See It For A Quarter

One of the surgeons who worked on Isaiah came by doing rounds about 5:30am.  Was he up early, or what?!

He removed Isaiah's bandage, so I was able to see his scar for the first time.  It looks pretty good.  I bet if you give Isaiah a quarter, he might even let you take a peek.  ;)

Seriously though, he did fairly well last night even with the regular vitals checks and the flashlight in his eyes from time to time.  He did have pain, of course, but he was able to go longer than the 4 hour minimum this morning before getting more pain medicine.  The two things that helped him?  Listening to Daddy and watching a Duggar.

His throat is still quite irritated, and he's having trouble coughing, probably a combo of the pain in his back and his throat, so the doctor mentioned ordering a breathing treatment for him to ease this situation.  The doctor also said that in the next day or two we should have our boy back, though he will still have to be on his tummy.

I'll be happy when I hear his normal voice again and see him playing in his bed!

Here's some specific things for prayer:

~Isaiah needs to be able to get to as normal a diet as possible, so please pray that he will be able to at least start drinking this morning.  I'm going to see if I can get some popsicles or something fun like that to tempt him.

~Keep praying for pain control.

~Please pray that his throat will feel better so that he can cough normally and there won't be any build up of "gunk" (nice technical term, huh?) anywhere.

~I'm always amazed at the way that Isaiah stays so sweet in these situations.  He always thanks the nurses and doctors for whatever it is they're doing, no matter how unpleasant it might be for him.  Please pray that we'll follow Isaiah's lead and be a good testimony to the people we meet during this experience.

~I'm praying boldly that God will bring feeling to Isaiah that he's never had before.  This could take months after the surgery to manifest itself, but I know that God can do it.  Please pray with me that Isaiah will have an increase in sensation and function in his legs.

Thanks, friends.

Oh, and I haven't posted pictures yet because Isaiah isn't looking his best.  Try lying on your face in a donut pillow for 4 hours and see what happens!  His face is still a little puffy, but it's getting much better already.  When he's a little more himself, I'll let you see the amazing trooper God has given us!

Update on Isaiah

Isaiah was in the surgical process for about 4 hours.  It took them a while to get everything "precisely right" once they took him to the OR, according to the nurse.  The neurosurgeon said that the removal of the scar tissue didn't take very long because the original surgery to close his myelomeningocele had been done so well.  The spinal cord fell back into place nicely once the scar tissue was removed.  I think the longest part of the actual surgery was closing.

So now Isaiah and I are hanging out in his hospital room.  Well, actually he's over there in his bed sacked out, snoring away.  Thankfully sleeping on his tummy is nothing new!

I'm about to lay down before the next interruption vitals check.

Here's what to pray about:

~Isaiah is in pain.  He said so himself, which is a big deal.  Please pray for the pain to subside quickly.

~Isaiah's throat is sore from the intubation, which makes it difficult for him to take his medications by mouth.  However, everything is ordered by mouth, and I had to get a little pushy with a nurse to at least get his seizure meds to be given by IV.  Please pray that his throat will feel better tomorrow.

~He is currently on a nose cannula for oxygen.  The theory is that his pain is causing him to kind of hold his breath, and whenever we have to try to give him meds or check his eyes, he gets agitated and his sats drop a little bit.  This is a very common thing after such a surgery as Isaiah has had, but the fewer tubes the better, in my opinion!  Please pray for easier breathing during the night and tomorrow morning.

~As he starts to feel better, please pray that he will stay on his tummy patiently.  The point of this position is allow fluid to build up between the spinal cord and the rest of his back in order to help prevent the cord from tethering again to scar tissue.  If he lays on his back or even sits upright, the cord could quickly attach itself to scar tissue again and this surgery would have been for nothing; and nobody wants that!

Thank you again for your prayers, and please keep them coming!

Resourcefulness

Nadia is sometimes a little needy.  Well, to be honest about 90% of the time she thinks she MUST be with Mama.  She isn't content to be in the same room with Mama, oh no, she must be somehow touching Mama the majority of the time.

This creates a little bit of a difficulty when Mama is trying to pack our things for an international trip; so out came the Kelty!

And she was happy.  She even figured out how to tickle the back of my neck, which made her even happier.

And there's something else you need to know about sweet Nadia:  She isn't too crazy about men getting too close to her.  In fact she pretty much freaks out.  Our friend Denis was staying with us, and as long as he waved and talked to her from across the room, she was all right.  As soon as he moved next to her and started chatting, she started screaming and desperately trying to find me.

So to give a "heads up" to all the nice men that we are going to see back in the States...Nadia will play with you, just don't get too close.  I'm sure she'll come around.

Packing Helpers

So we've been packing it up for our trip back to the States.  The kids were a big help...

...but don't worry, we won't make them travel with the luggage.

Tomorrow we start our trek, which will include an overnight stay in Warsaw, Poland.  We'll land at our final destination on Thursday night, recuperate a few days, then head to MS to start the latest round of doctor appointments for Isaiah.

We appreciate your prayers for safe travel and calm children.

We Made It

Well, after an unexpected and brief stop in Warsaw, Poland, our family is safely settled back in St. Petersburg, Russia.  We're all still recovering from jet lag, some better than others, but we'll make it.

Thankfully the sun is out, which makes a huge difference.

We arrived at our apartment late Saturday afternoon.  Happily, we attended worship with Light of Christ Church.  We had a wonderful reunion with the saints there.

But in true Russian style, nothing is quite as easy as it seems.  Read Thomas' article here to find out about our adventures upon returning home from church last night.

I am going to go eat my breakfast now that Nadia is back in bed and while Isaiah is still asleep.  Today is a big day for my niece, Kayti, who graduates from high school.  We love you, Kayti!  Here's a crazy hug for you, too!  And tomorrow is a big day for our Nadia who will be one year old!  I can hardly believe that a year has gone by already.

And my jet lagged brain is going to stop now and come back later.

The Rejects

I have successfully designed and will hopefully be sending out our Christmas card, complete with one picture taken by a friend (thank you JS!) and one of my beautiful children taken by yours truly.

That second picture was a bit of a challenge, but lots of fun.  The process was so much fun that I had to share with you the pictures that didn't make the cut:

Feeling the love, just not seeing the face

Brother's half-nelson hugging style

Isaiah had reached his limit during this photo session, and I'm not sure what Nadia was up to.

Having some sitting issues

Couldn't quite capture the kiss

Isaiah had us all laughing with this one.

Then Isaiah wanted a turn taking the pictures.

Sister also makes a nice pillow.

And this one, well, I just like it, but it didn't make the card.

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope we gave you some smiles.

My Little Trooper

The morning after our first weekend in Baton Rouge, we realized that something was wrong with Isaiah's right leg.  I called one of his doctors realizing that we would probably be taking him to the emergency room very soon.  And I was right, except that the "we" was just Thomas.  I stayed home with Nadia.

I can't explain to you how hard it was to be the one left at home during this situation.  I wished that I could be two places at once, but I think that Thomas was right to say that it would be better for Nadia if I stayed home with her.  But my phone hardly left my hand!

Long story short Isaiah broke his right femur.  How did this happen?  Horribly I say, "I don't know for sure."  We suspect that he crawled over his right leg with his left, and since his bones are not strong as he doesn't bear weight regularly, it just broke.  I remember telling my mom, "Well, I just earned the worst parent of the year award."

Thankfully my mom was able to come and help me, since Thomas had to leave town right after we learned about Isaiah's leg.  She was a huge help!  Here she was holding him so that I could cut his hair.

After working through my guilty feelings and hearing the doctor say that this is not uncommon with kids who are "insensate", I felt a little bit better, as long as I don't think about it too long.  The doctor said that the break had probably taken place at least a week before we took him in, which is normal.  His leg had already started to heal.

Isaiah LOVES the iPad.  Since he had to do a lot of sitting, he got really good at using it.  He even took the time to teach Nadia a thing or two.

For about 6 weeks Isaiah basically had to sit or be carried.  No crawling or bearing weight of any kind.  Needless to say when that 6 week period was over, he and I were both very happy!  He has now been approved to bear weight, and you should see him go at therapy!  He has lost some upper body strength through this whole ordeal, but he still remembers the basic mechanics of using his walker.

And praise the Lord, this is usually how he was.  His normal happy self.

I'm so proud of my boy!

Welcomed Home

After our torturous long drive to MS from NC, we were glad to be greeted by Thomas' parents who had prepared our townhouse and even stocked the kitchen with some goodies!

Mimi and JanJan were glad to get their hands on the little ones!

The kiddos enjoyed the bedtime tradition of singing "My Baby Bunting" and "Little Cabin in the Woods" with Mimi and JanJan.

We also got to have the special treat of supper brought by the some of our dear friends, Isaiah and Nadia's honorary aunt and uncle.

After a dizzying 3 days of doctor and therapy appointments we headed to Baton Rouge to see the rest of Thomas' family, or as many as possible.

Here with Aunt Sandra Nadia is showing off her Winston Churchill impersonation.

Of course at Mimi's there are always special treats, like ice cream cones!

We also really enjoyed celebrating our youngest niece's first birthday a little bit early since everyone (but 2) could be there.  Her mom did a fantastic job on the yummy cake, and Laila really enjoyed it!  We had fun watching her tear into all that sweet goodness. But this picture is her enjoying a yummy lunch first.

Still more catching up to do, but there's a little bit to whet your appetite, if you're interested. :)