It makes perfect sense...

Jadyn, looking at a deflated balloon: "Daddy, look! All the air from inside Mommy's body came out of the balloon last night!"

Karina: "I don't want to be 3. I want to be 5. How can I be 5, Mommy?"

Another quickie...

Mark's doctor appointment yesterday went great. They took off the wrappings from his knee, removed the stiches, and were impressed with how well it is healing. The swelling has decreased faster than the doctor expected, Mark's range of motion is already better than this time 5 years ago, and his muscles around the knee haven't atrophied as much as they had last time. X-rays showed the new ACL is still looking great. All wonderful news!

The doctor even said he could start walking without the crutches (but still the brace for 6 weeks) as soon as he felt the knee was stable enough. So we got home from the appointment and he set the crutches down and hasn't picked them up since! Last time took about 3 weeks after surgery before he was free from the crutches.

So we're praising God for the speedy recovery so far! We still have a long way to go, too. Tomorrow he has his first of many Physical Therapy appointments to come. Hopefully that process will go quickly as well, his muscles will continue to mend and regain their strength, and his rangle of motion and joint stability will all come sooner than later. We're definitely optimistic and thankful for the great news we've had so far. Thanks for all your continued support and prayers~

Just a quickie...

Sorry it's been a while... we've had a busy week. Mark's surgery went well on Tuesday. They reconstructed his ACL, found that he'd also torn his meniscus, repaired that, and cleaned up everything else in the knee. Recovery has been very good so far - no nausea from the medicines, very little pain (thanks to the meds), and overall a night and day difference from 5 years ago when he did the same thing. This has been a very good experience so far, so praise God for that.

For those who like gory pictures... here's a one of his leg the first night we were home. We had some trouble stopping the bleeding, but thanks to our local fire station were able to get the supplies we needed to get things under control. Here's a picture while changing the dressings - no, that's not colored on there from a marker... it's Mark's blood.

So thanks for all your prayers. Please keep them coming. Next Wednesday he will go in for a follow-up appointment where he'll get the brace unlocked so that he can begin bending his knee. He'll then also start the 3-4 month process of physical therapy to get the knee back to full strength.

Straight from Karina's mouth...

"Ouch, the sun is poking my eyes!" (Heard when we were riding in the car and somehow the sun decided to make a rare appearance.)

"Oh, I just love pipe cleaners!" (Actually referring to the bagpipe band in the parade we watching.)

"Mmmm, we're having chicken engazanas for dinner!" (Translation would be chicken enchiladas.)

"I am so frustrated that I went potty in my new pretty underwear. I just don't know why I did that. I forgot how not to right now."

"But it was Molly's turn to clean up the ducks and ponies. I told her she was going to be in time out." (Anyone know how to give a kitty time out?)

Spring Soccer is here

Jadyn and team had a great first game. It's been a crazy weather week - as soon as the game started, it began to hail some giant, painful hailballs. The kids were cold and the hail hurt when it hit them on their heads, but they kept playing strong.

Jadyn is facing the wrong way in this one, but check out that hail!

For more pictures, check out our family photos section. Here's a quick link...

http://picasaweb.google.com/MForee/SpringSoccer