Wishes for a Merry Christmas

God Bless Us, Everyone!

We hope you are all enjoying your Christmas Day. We sure are! We opened presents, started the turkey, went for a long walk/bike ride in St. Mary's City, and are now in napping mode. Jacob got a new bike and has reveled in his new freedom. The kids loved the long bike ride with Mom and Dad walking along, and we explored some parts of St. Mary's City which we hadn't been through before. The day was beautiful and I loved trying out my new camera.

More photos will follow, but for now we send our love and Christmas wishes to you.

Love,

Jay, Pet, and the kids

Leaving in three weeks!

We got our call from the adoption agency and our travel approval came in today. We are scheduled to leave for China on Thursday, January 8th. Our agency is now making a consulate appointment for us. I can now officially start packing.

Petrie

'Tis the Season for a Tree

Saturday Jay was home and we took the kids to the tree farm. Jay loves to get a fresh-cut tree, and I love that about him. I get so frustrated with the mess and the bugs in the house that every year I say I'm ready for a fake tree, but every year we get a fresh tree and I love it. And yes, the cat has already toppled the tree...the first night it was in the house. He seems to do that every year. I've learned to wait a couple nights before putting on the good glass ornaments because he's going to do whatever he does in the wee hours of the night, and cleaning up the tree water from the carpet is enough work...I don't want to clean up glass, too. Anyway, Jay was up early on Sunday morning to find the tree lying on its side, and he graciously cleaned up the mess. Thanks, Hon!

I decided not to get out all the fancy ornaments this year, since we'll probaby have to take the tree down in a couple weeks anyway. Each child has a box of personal ornaments, either those handmade ones from preschool or ones that were received as gifts. So I let the children decorate the tree with their own ornaments, put on a little garland and lights, added a handful of candy canes, and it was done. It's not a beauty this year, but we still enjoy basking in the glow of this Advent season and the lights just seem to set the mood.

Best Wishes,
Petrie

Update on our stuff

So far not much change for me. I went to the cardiologist's office today and was fitted with the Holter monitor for 24-hours. Not very comfortable, but livable. I return it to the office tomorrow and a technician and the cardiologist will review it and let me know what's next. I'm hoping to get an appointment with the Dr. before we leave for China.

Jay's dad was released from the hospital today. We are thankful for that, and hope he continues to recover.

Thank you all for your prayer coverage during this time. We really appreciate the calls, emails, meals (Thanks, Lisa!--it was marvelous!), and kindnesses offered. We are truly blessed to have you as friends.

Love,
Petrie

I've got two Five year olds now

Today was Jacob's fifth birthday. Here are just a few scenes from the occasion. Jacob wasn't on his best behavior today, so we had tears, and of course he wouldn't smile for the official photo with the cake. This was not my favorite birthday day. But the kids had fun once the presents were opened and all the misery was forgotten (except mine...I feel like I need a good shoulder to cry on today. Ugh.)

Since Jacob opened his presents one hour ago, he has proceeded to break two of them. One was the backdrop for his Playmobil pirates and the other was a homemade gift Merrilee made for him. He makes me nuts the way he just destoys stuff. He also broke a toy car I bought for him this spring. He doesn't care...just nonchalantly throws it in the trash when its broken. Sure wish I knew how to make him care more about his (and other people's) stuff.

I do have to say, I'm rather pleased with the cake. I wasn't able to buy one this year because I was in the hospital, so I had to wing it and make one myself. It turned out better than I expected. Wish I had done it on a piece of cardboard rather than kept it in the pan, but the pan is great because it comes with a lid to keep the cake fresh. Kids don't care if the cake is in a pan or not, right?

So today is over and I've got virtual twins for the next five months. So funny when people ask me how old my kids are and I tell them. Then they ask if they're twins and I say "no". I've seen a lot of confused looks and it's always enjoyable. And now when I holler at the kids "Stop it! You're acting like a coupla five year olds!" I'll really mean it.

Petrie

Requesting prayer for our family

**UPDATE**

Jay called yesterday and said his father was doing better. The coughing seems to be more under control, and he's breathing better. Thus, Jay decided to beat the weather and head back to NC. I don't know how much longer his dad will be in the hospital, but hopefully he'll be back at the VA home soon.

I am doing okay today, but had a rough day yesterday. I think my water intake has a great affect on how I feel each day. I'm going to have to get in the habit of drinking a lot more water daily, I think. The medications I'm taking are not holding out for the full 24 hours, so I'll talk to the cardiologist about this when I see him next.

Thanks to all of you who are keeping us in prayer. We truly appreciate it, and give God all the credit for pulling us throught his difficult week.

Love,
Petrie
--------------------------

We seem to be going through a trial and we know God is still in control, but we would appreciate your prayers. Last Sunday I had to make a trip to the ER because my heart was racing and I was not feeling at all well. I was admitting Sunday evening and was diagnosed with SVT. Not life threatening, but very uncomfortable and I've not felt normal at all. Jay came home Sunday night and has kept things in order for me. I was discharged on Wednesday evening with some medication, but my heart still pounds, albeit at a slower rate. I've gone down from about 186 to 72...much better.

Late last night we got a call from the Indiana Veteran's Home that Jay's dad was being taken to the hospital for breathing difficulty. We got a call early this morning that he has pneumonia. Since then the doctor has called and said Jay's dad is unresponsive and has a rattle in his chest from probably aspirating food or water.

Please pray for Jay during this difficult time. He is naturally torn between staying home with me to help out, or going to Indiana to see his dad. We both know that God loves us and is fully aware of our situation, and we want to do what is in His will. Pray for clarity for Jay as he seeks to do what God would want him to do. And pray for his father, that he would heal and become responsive.

Thanks,
Petrie

Losing a Tooth

I first noticed the tooth was loose on the Saturday before Columbus day. It was our first loose tooth as parents, but I don't think Jay found it to be quite the memorable occasion I did. My FIRST kid's FIRST loose tooth! I thought back to my loose teeth and couldn't remember anything. I remember breaking a molar while eating a Necco wafer while walking home from the post office when I was about 11 or 12, but that's all. So I couldn't recall how long it took for a loose tooth to be set free.

We wiggled the tooth and waited. I checked it every few days to see if we were making progress, and Merrilee proudly showed it off to friends, grandparents, Sunday school classmates, and everyone else who was willing to acknowledge her magnificent milestone.

After five and a half weeks, I called the dentists office to see if there was something I didn't know. I sure didn't think any of my loose teeth took THAT long to come out when I was a kid, but I was reassured that it can take a long time and that I didn't need to worry unless she was in real pain. She wasn't, except for the time or two she ate an apple and really smashed down on the tooth. But that pain subsided quick enough and she was back to just a loose tooth.

I will have to admit one cowardly act. Merrilee really wanted that tooth to come out earlier this week, and I let her have a tissue to pull on it a few times. After the first try I got the heebie jeebies so badly that I told her to do it somewhere else. I'm a bit of a freak that way. I can handle bloody noses, and all manner of other nasty kid stuff, but things that make creepy noises just whack me. And the popping sound of a kid trying to pull out a tooth is one of them. So I did the unthinkable. I told Merrilee about the "old fashioned" method of tying a string on the tooth and pulling it. She was all for it, but little did she know I didn't have the stomach or nerve to pull the string myself. (I know my parents are probably laughing at me as they read this. They're shaking their heads saying "We knew she wouldn't be able to handle that." I have a history of being a pansy when it comes to the "little things". They know me well.) But I had a plan. I tied the string on and handed the other end of it to Jacob. As you can imagine, he had no problem with assisting in this very delicate medical maneuver. Merrilee, on the other hand, had the look of terror on her face as she realized I had betrayed her into the hands of her little brother. I reassured her he knew what he was doing (Okay, who are we kidding? He didn't know a thing, except that this could produce a tooth on a string with lots of excitement. He was all in!). Well, we tried it about four times, but with no luck. The tooth was in for another night. Thus, Jacob's moment in the spotlight was over and Merrilee breathed a sigh of relief.

Last night at about 9:45 pm, at the age of five years, seven months, and 20 days, after six weeks of wiggling it, she lost that first tooth. It was her lower left incisor. She had her friend Annalee spending the night and she was awake playing with her tooth after Annalee fell asleep. She came running out of her bedroom to tell me she “almost” pulled it out, as blood was dribbling down her lower lip. I took her to the bathroom and gave her a tissue to do a bit more of a professional job at pulling. After two lousy tries I told her to yank upward and Pop! Out it came. She was ecstatic! I haven’t seen her this excited even at her birthday parties. After we stopped the blood, she wanted to call Daddy. He asked her to save it for him to see, and she said she wanted to show it to Annalee and Jacob in the morning, and then she wanted to keep it for a few days, and then she’d mail it to him but he could only keep it for a week. She also informed me that she didn’t want to put it under her pillow because she didn’t want the tooth fairy (whom she knows is me) to take it away. She wants to wait a few days. So we had to go get a special little box out of my jewelry drawer for her to put her treasure in. She also requested we have a tea party the next day to celebrate. She went back to bed and I kept hearing her talking to herself and giggling. This is one of the singular most delightful moments of her little life. What a joy to share it with her! And to add to her delight, when I wiggled the lower right tooth as I tucked her it, I noticed it was loose too.