This week is special in our hearts because it marks my
nephew Noah’s 1st birthday. Not only did he miraculously survive a
traumatic brain injury five months ago, but his little baby brain has since healed
and rewired itself; he is on target for all of his growth and developmental benchmarks.
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| Noah, November 2011 |
Moreover, recent tests and brain images of our former “Darth
Noah” show a normal, healthy baby who
has no more need for specialized follow ups. We are so grateful that Baby Noah
is still with us—and that God transformed such a terrible ordeal into a tangible,
visible, kissable miracle for all of us. Happy birthday, Noah!
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| Noah, April 2012 |
Poor Kirk returned from his trip abroad feeling under the weather. By Monday, he was in the midst of a full-blown sickness that kept him in bed all week. He hasn’t been this sick in probably six or seven years, and his recovery has been slow and (his words) boring.
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| Adults: check out John Stewart's "Faith Off" |
But since Kirk bills himself as an optimist, I will add a
silver lining to the story: a two-week back up of recorded Major League
Baseball and John Stewart shows kept Kirk nearly constant company. He also
finished reading the Hunger Games
series, and it’s been really interesting to hear his thoughts on the books.
It was something of a strange week for the kids and I,
who knew that Kirk was finally home
but nevertheless inaccessible. We
made the best of it by spending lots of time with each other. We finished
reading the 5th Harry Potter book and then discussed changes to the story
while watching the movie together. Carlos has since become an avid exclaimer of
“Expelliarmus!” and “Expecto Patronum!”
The kids and I also spent Saturday at Disneyland and
California Adventure Park. Kirk doesn’t like spinny rides like the Ferris wheel
or the teacups, so we used his absence as an excuse to enjoy many of those
rides.
From atop Mickey’s Fun Wheel, we could spy into the new Cars Land—a project
that’s been at least three years in the making. It finally opens in June, and
we are looking forward to visiting it before our passes expire.
Arianna and I were super excited to notice that her
braces are already causing major changes in her mouth. Some of her bottom incisors
were previously partially hidden behind others, and it was a real challenge to
put brackets on them. Now those teeth are very close to being straight!
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| March 16th |
Also,
thanks to the not-so-fun extractions that she endured last month, some of Arianna’s
impacted teeth have finally been able to descend (or ascend). It looks like her
gummy gaps will soon be gone. I am proud of her for being so brave and for
taking good care of her mouth!
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| April 12th |
This coming week, I have my final-round interview at
Ànimo Leadership Charter High School. The following day, Friday, we fly to
Guatemala for our much-anticipated heritage trip. I have been practicing some
basic Spanish phrases with Carlos, who speaks Spanish and even pronounces his
name with a French accent, LOL.
We are all so excited for this special
adventure. We plan to visit Guatemala City, Antigua, Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, Quetzaltenango, the Takalik Abaj Ruins, Chichicastenango, Biotopel del Quetzal, Coban (Loafy's birth town), and Semuc Champey.
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| Takalik Abaj Mayan Ruins |
Because Guatemala has little technological coverage, we
may not be able to send out Sunday updates for the rest of April. Still, we
will be thinking of all of you and looking forward to sharing many fun memories
and pictures when we return.
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