Velly Appy

[This ended up longer than I intended, but it is an update on our kids' health for those who are interested]
Last week I took the kids to the doctor for checkups since Will needs a checkup anyway due to his epilepsy, and Annie has never really had a checkup. ever.
We got to the doctor and I didn't know what to expect or to tell the kids we were going to do, so I just said the doctor would check that they were healthy. We talked with him for a few minutes and I told him about each kid's health (rather- lack thereof) and he promptly prescribed a bunch of blood tests and a couple of x-rays. He told me what each blood test/x-ray was for and how it related to each kid's health, and I felt confident that he knew what he was doing. So we trotted along behind a Korean translator who took us place to place in the hospital to get all the tests done. It took about an hour and a half before we were finally finished. Both kids had bandaids on their arms and had stood very still for x-rays, and we were told that one of Annie's bandaids had to stay on for the next THREE DAYS (!!!YEAH RIGHT!!!), and we should come in this week for results.

So we did. We managed to keep Annie band-aided most of the time, and when we got back to the doctor's office, he announced that he was "Velly Appy!" He explained all the results to me and showed me that Will's epilepsy is being controlled perfectly and we don't need to change his medicine at all. His body is handling the medication just fine and the only thing that he needs is more RED MEAT. go figure. Thank you very much, Indian diet.
Then he showed me Annie's tests and explained that possible things that might be causing her delayed growth or development can be ruled out (i.e. thyroid is fine and she doesn't have TB). He said that her development is fine and she seems to be a smart girl. When he mentioned the x-ray she had of her hand, he again expressed that he was "Velly Appy!" because her bone density matched her age exactly. So, I guess she must really be 2 1/2, even though almost all the 1 1/2 year-olds we know here are bigger than her. :) The doctor's only requirement for her is to eat more red meat too. :)

I wanted to share this on here because it is an answer to our prayers and to the prayers of many people who read this blog. Two years ago we were overwhelmed with concern for our little boy who kept having seizures and we didn't have any idea what the future would look like for him and for us. It was a hard season. Then we realized later that year that our little girl was tiny and not really growing. She seemed frail, often refused to eat the food we tried to feed her, and passed out in our arms several times, so we were concerned about her lungs and heart. She hardly talked at all until she was two and we prayed that she was developing ok. We lifted all of these concerns back up to our Father in Heaven, who knows our needs before we even ask for them, and who promises:
"Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." (Isaiah 46:4)

And another promise that we clung to during the past 2-year season is that "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."(Isaiah 40:11)

We have felt gently led, sustained, and carried. We have felt God tending to our needs and drawing us close to His heart and He has given us peace about our kids' health. Their lives are in His good Shepherd hands. Thank you for praying and praising God with us. We are, as you can imagine, "Velly Appy!"

Good days

Baby Dechen (and her mom) came for a visit and my kids were just thrilled!
We've gotten to play at the playground several times recently.

Will is learning how to 'pump' his legs on the swing.

Hiking all over. So many steps and the kids do so well climbing up and down them.

This is the kids' favorite 'rest-stop' on our hike home from school.

Will - taking a few minutes to lay in the brush and relax before the last 5 minute-hike home.

Annie LOVES baby dolls and spends most of her time wandering around with one under her arm or in a backpack on her back.

Progress Report

This weekend all the students at our school got progress reports. The last quarter of the school year is underway and we're making progress at our house as well.

1. Annie's nose is all better as you may have noticed in the pictures from my last post! YAY!
2. My foot is almost all better and I am running again.
3. Nate made some good headway in his Narnia reading this weekend... now THAT'S progress!
4. Will is making some progress on learning the sounds that the alphabet letters make. If I'd just sit down and work with him more regularly, I think he might figure out how to read.
5. Annie is potty trained! FINALLY!!! - all day long (except naps) without diapers and only the occasional accident.
6. Our kids are great hikers! I just wanted to let the whole world know that they both plowed up our moutain and across it and back this afternoon without any complaining! Even I was impressed- and told them so! You'll just have to take my word for it, but they are an exceptional 2 and 4 year old on the 'hiking' scale.

random news of the week

Annie has been enjoying building houses with these little blocks. She puts two pieces of any shape and size together and says, "yook, I build a ouse".

Will has been building airplanes out of duplos - the other day he made two of them and sent them swooping through the air. He's very excited about going on an airplane to Korea. First we'll be going on an airplane to the USA! Just 3 months to go!
I have been very bad at giving my kids structured activities to do lately, but this week I DID manage one art project: we painted Will's helicopter that he received from A&K&S&E and the next project we'll do will be putting it together. The kids really enjoyed painting and are excited to finish it up whenever I'm in the mood for glue. not today. maybe in a few days. :)

Yesterday our friends came over for a few hours and Annie got to hold the REAL BABY DECHEN. You can see her thrilled grin as she holds the 3 -month old baby on her 27-month-old lap. She LOVES babies!

The last thing I should mention about yesterday was that this dear friend of mine agreed to chop off a little more than a foot of my hair, which has been feeling very heavy as I run each day. I have been ready to chop it shorter for at least a month and now it is shorter... but not short enough for anyone to really notice! We were at the Hostel Dorm Opening Ceremony later that afternoon and of all the people I talked with and ran into there, only TWO people even noticed that I had gotten a haircut and I was wearing my hair down! I even had to point out to Nate that I had gotten a foot cut off. SO, yeah. I'm back to the same look I had my senior year of H.S./freshman year of college. Speaking of which - that's ten years ago this year. Seems like it's gone quickly.

A few favorite things

Asterix et Obelix

Will has discovered comic books- French comic books (but we have the English translated versions). He calls them "soldier book" and is absolutely fascinated by Obelix: "He's carrying a BIG ROCK, mamma!" he often says as he points to his hero. :)
Tub activities and reading The Jungle Book
Another of Will's favorite books is The Jungle Book. He 'reads' it all the time! The kids love to pull out our bathtub and pretend it's a boat or flip it over like a drum, or pile blankets in it like it's a bed... they play the days away like this.

The Great Outdoors
The kids love to play outside- in the front yard or backyard. Here they are sitting in front of our gate reading and playing together. They love to talk with anyone who walks along the trail and often Will invites people over in his brief conversations.

Bob The Builder and Will

The other day we had some friends over for the afternoon. Will was playing with the older two kids. Before long, H (who is also 4) came in and asked me if we could watch Bob The Builder (which Will has seen once when he was babysat back in December). "Sorry, we don't have Bob The Builder", I said. "But Will said he has it!" H insisted. "Well we don't." I re-iterated.
H went back to Will and said, "You don't have Bob The Builder." So Will said, with all the expression you can imagine: " I DON'T???????!!!! I don't have Bob the Builder??????!!, Awww, come on!!!!"
"Well, let's just go back and play outside." H said.
"Ok, yeah, we should go play outside." Will agreed. And off they went. Maybe you had to be there, but it was a very funny conversation and Will was so surprised that he didn't have Bob The Builder. Sometimes he makes things up, I think, and just kind of lives in his own little world imgining that a cardboard box is a laptop and he can just watch Bob The Builder all day long on it. It was a rude awakening to have his friend tell him that actually Will doesn't have that DVD.

Growing up

Yesterday I got the kids weighed and measured.
At 3ft, 5 inches tall and 42 lbs, Will is a big boy.
Annie has only just reached 20 lbs and is 2ft, 7 inches tall. She has filled out a lot in the past few months, which makes her seem healthy, but she's still way below the average growth curve as she'll be 2 years old in a couple of weeks. I imagine that she's just petite and that's the way it is. :)

The best toys these days are:
-blunt kitchen knives to cut playdough with (ours have the same thickness for the handle and the blade!)
-playdough
-markers
-plastic people of various shapes and sizes, especially the duplo people and the favorites have hats and hair and can sit or stand - these are prized items at play time
-biggish vehicles that can be piled full of plastic people :)
-Sher Khan, the jungle book tiger (who is known as 'tiger' in Will's world of make-believe where he's a main character along with all the plastic people)
-Will's little blue monkey that keeps getting lost and Annie's two favorite dolls
-cricket bats and bowling pins that are both used primarily for banging on things to make a lot LOT of noise
-a bucket of water (but I rarely let them play with water because our water is a bit dangerous and it's messy and cold)
-a wet rag (Annie carries around a wet rag almost incessantly - she uses it to rub her chapped face, suck on, and wipe down furniture and tables)
-blankets
-backpacks (they've got 4 kid ones that they use all the time to tote toys around the house)
-keys... my keys.

I guess this post is probably not more interesting than my last one. Oh well. I think it's such a precious gift to watch my kids grow up and become who they are.

Psalm 23

Click HERE to listen to 4-year-old Will recite Psalm 23.

nothing new

I don't have much to write about and no pictures to post since our nice camera lens broke a month ago. I miss pictures. I'm not very good at figuring out what to write on here and I'd rather have pictures tell stories instead. Maybe a list will do for today.

-Will can now recite Psalm 23 - he includes a few comical errors from time to time, but his pronunciation and intonation are adorable and it's rewarding to have completed this 6-week project. Quite a feat for a 4-year-old.

-On Sunday we made wordless books for our little family 'church' time. I let the kids use staplers for the first time and they loved that! Will mostly understood the story too, I think.

-Will often says things like: "When I die, I will see God." and "Let's pray I'm gonna die in Korea"- he has a fascination with death and soaks up Bible stories and knowledge about God like a sponge. I am amazed at his interest and understanding. And Korea is all he knows besides India-smile (although sometimes if you ask him where he's from, he'll say Canada because we have friends who talk about Canada).

-Will now colors things in! It was an exciting breakthrough when he figured out that it's not so bad to stick with a project and color the whole thing in instead of giving up after a minute of trying.

- Annie likes to use markers - but her marker usually ends up on her cheeks, chin, clothes, walls, chairs... you name it. She also likes keys and changes her clothes about 50 times a day (usually putting on other people's clothes instead of her own).

-My most recent declaration about Naptime: "Naptime is for sleeping. And being quiet. And leaving people alone!!!" - I stated this to my almost 2-year-old who insists on getting out of her bed as soon as I leave her room every nap and bedtime. Replacing her every 5 minutes makes MY 'naptimes' very exhausting.

Perhaps that's enough for now. I'll try to think of something interesting to write about next time.

Knots.

Annie is obsessed with twisting up her hair into terrible knots. She just sits and twirls away at it until it's nearly impossible to get out. Here's the most recent knot up close. (She puts these things all over her head.)

In other knot news:

-I took Annie and Will to join the Preschool class at school this morning (as we have a habit of doing on Fridays), and the class got to spend about an hour in the gym climbing wall area. Will and Annie both got into harnesses and 'climbed' up a little bit on the walls. (Don't worry, they were securly fastened with ropes and knots), and they got to swing briefly way up high. They LOVED it.

-"KNOT" bad: Will hasn't had a seizure in 10 months! We praise the Lord for medicine that he takes well.

- "KNOT" great news: the Pappa is packing his bag up for a week-long hike, and we'll be on our own for too many days. He hasn't left yet and I already can't wait till he gets back.

Where did the time go?

Not so very long ago...

... and then we had to show him off to everyone:

...and a great big crowd came to our tiny apartment to welcome him:
... and all of our siblings became aunts and uncles and our parents became GRANDparents for the very first time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILL!
Today he turned 4 years old! So yesterday we had a birthday party for him.

• When I asked Will what kind of cake he wanted, he promptly said: "an airplane cake!"
• I baked a round cake
• Nate proceeded to draw and cut out from paper how he would use EVERY piece of that round cake to make an airplane shape.
• I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't get to nibble the extra bits, but very impressed that my man could manage this (you can see the little paper circle he used to brainstorm the idea on the bottom left corner of the picture)

The kids were so excited to watch us decorate the cake.

Then our friend Beth came over to our house, helped with the last-minute decorations, and ran a bunch of games with the other 3 and 4 year-olds who came to celebrate with Will.

There's the cake, all finished and lit up.

It was a beautiful afternoon and the monkeys left us alone for once, so the kids could eat and play in the yard. Presents!

More games:

(Thanks Beth and Dave for all the fun games!)

It was a very happy birthday party.

The next morning we woke Will up with traditional singing and candles and cake:

This 4-year-old wanted to cut his own cake by himself:

Now they know how to show how old they are on their fingers:

We had a wonderful birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday, Will! May Jesus Bless You!

Time away from the parents!

Will and Annie had lots of fun with our friends who took them for a little holiday for the long weekend. They did a wide variety of things, and passed on lots of pictures to us, but I wasn't there, so I'll just put a few of them here. Check out Will's face as he's just jumped into the pool above. :)

The fancy place Will and Annie got to stay.

By all accounts, it sounded like Annie happily threw things into the pool, but wouldn't dare go in it herself!

Watching TV on a very fancy 4-post bed. This is the life! What a huge gift it was to all 4 of us that our friends took these two on a little trip for a few days.

Rock-picking

We live on the side of some mountains in the Himalayas. Because of haze/clouds/rainy weather/laziness, we haven't seen the snowy peaks for several months, but on Sunday, when we got to the top of our trail, we were rewarded with this view:

It was a beautiful day for a walk after church, so we took the long way around to chardukan and 'let' both kids walk. (Annie LOVES walking and throws a fit every time we put her in the backpack.)

She was happy to walk.
.......................................
Later in the week, I needed something for us to do for awhile, so we took a walk to pick wild strawberries. However, we had tasted them previously and they don't taste like anything at all. They're tiny, bright red, and beautiful, but... sorely disappointing in the mouth.

(Heading out to fill up our buckets!)

One bucket filled! But not with strawberries after all...

... with rocks.

Busy busy rock-picking.

The glamour of picking rocks wore off after awhile and I convinced Will he should hang out in our neighbor's swing while I tried to take some nice pictures of him. My favorite is above, but I think the one below here 'brings out the Burchell' (I think he's got his Pappa's chin and this picture reminds me of some of his uncles).

He's such a happy kid!