Happy Birthday Jiliang!!

Happy Sixth Birthday Sweet girl. I can't believe my little one is six years old today. We had such a wonderful weekend. A day at the lake yesterday, and a small celebration with both sets of Grandparents.

Summer 2012

I haven't posted much lately, because Blogger changed a little and I was having some technical issues. Pretty much, we are doing well as a family. In April, my school did a celebration of Families Around the World. In my room, my coworker did The Middle East and I did China. It was a lot of fun and Jili was able to contribute some artifacts from China, and challenge others to the Chopstick Challenge. Students and adults practiced moving Cheerios from one bowl to another.

May came and went too fast. In June, we took a family vacation to Paradise, Michigan. It was amazing. We rented a cabin on Lake Superior, and we rarely saw another person the whole time we were there. It was like having a whole beach to ourselves. In fact, we didn't see a single boat until Day 7 of 7. We took a short commute to Tahquamenon Falls twice, but barely left the cabin. For a change, it was nice to not be running around. We also took Bear, our black labrador, and he spent most of the time in the water. Also, we saved a ton of money, because we cooked everything at the cabin.

One really amazing stop we made on our trip was to a bread store on the way back from the Falls. Instead of just selling me bread, the woman invited me into the kitchen where she makes hundreds of loaves of bread weekly. She makes different flavors daily, but her aged sourdough base was strictly from flour, sea salt and water - no sugar. It tasted so good, we almost ate a whole loaf in the half hour ride back to the cabin. We bought a plain sourdough and a Hawaiian sourdough (flavored with carrots and cherries - so good. The bakery is North Star Brick Oven Bakery, 13 miles north of Newberry, Michigan, on M-123: 906-658-3537. It's amazing how nice people are in the Michigan U.P.

Speaking of helpful, I went to a cafe in Paradise to buy some homemade maple syrup. The biting flies are bad in that area during the summer heat. The flies kept biting my dog on the beach, so I considered buying something to spray on him that was in their gift shop. The lady at the bakery told me not to buy it, but to spray Apple Cider vinegar on him. It worked and it was safe for him. We had to keep reapplying it, but it was better than seeing him get attacked and a natural remedy for less than $3, spray bottle included.

Pretty much, our summer flew by quickly. I go back to work on Monday, and it seems too soon to be ending my summer. I had so many family plans and personal projects, that I feel so behind. On a positive note, Jiliang learned to swim in the shallow end. She is not strong enough to swim on her own for long, but she is getting better each time. She does everything at her own pace. In June, we were trying to get her to jump in the shallow end, then in the deep end, then finally off the diving board with a life jacket. In July, she started doing cannonballs in the shallow end, and then off the diving board with a jacket. She is swimming underwater really well, across the length of the shallow end. Back on St. Patrick's Day, Jili learned to ride her bicycle without training wheels. The day before, Scott took them off, and she kept falling. He offered to put them back on, and she insisted: "No." The following day, she kept at it, and taught herself. I went inside for a moment to check on dinner and T.J. yelled, "Mom, Jili's doing it! She's riding on her own." At the beginning of summer, my kids were inseparable. The giggling and silliness was almost too much. By July, Jili started to need her space. Around 1:00 every day, she goes inside and ignores her brother, who tries anything to get her attention. Oh, it bothers him so much when she doesn't answer him. He doesn't understand that she gets tired and needs space. He is the most patient and loyal brother. He rigged a cart to his bike and wanted to pull her on it, and she just got up and walked away. I could tell that it hurt him. I am trying to teach her to say she needs some space, and teach him to give her space. Anyhow, they are due to go back to school any time now, and I know that a regular routine will remedy all of that. One morning, she woke up and starting looking all over for him, but he was at school. She was disappointed. Oh, Jili lost her first tooth a few weeks ago. I can't believe my baby is getting big kid teeth. Where does the time go? I can't believe that she will be six years old on August 26th. Well, another long post to catch up. I posted more pictures below. Jill :)

Summer Vacation Pics I

Scott and the kids: This is where we had coffee every morning. Oh, I love Paradise.

Photography by T.J.

Caught a minnow and let him go.

Bear Bear tries to keep up.

Bear jumped over this cliff chasing a chipmunk. The kids screamed and he popped back up as if nothing happened.

Swimming in Lake Superior.

Here's to returning very soon...hopefully, this fall. Jill

Summer Vacation Pics II

Canoe Ride - They had to turn back, because Bear Bear, our lab, was swimming after them. He wouldn't leave their side and he was exhausted. Loyal lab.

The happy dance: about to make some S'Mores.

Scott grilled ham on the open firepit and made pierogies with homemade saurkraut (made by Grandpa Koeppe last fall). And we did brick chicken on the grill too. :)

Photo captured by Jili when we weren't looking.

Photo taken by T.J.

Pretty cool photo taken by T.J. The kids also managed to take about a hundred pictures of moths,spiders and insects.

Good News

Jiliang went to the Craniofacial doctors (Neurological surgeon and Plastic Surgeon) and the Cardiologist at U of M Mott's Children's Hospital this week. It looks as though her skull may have closed a little. It is possible that she may be able to have a bone graft in the future and possibly repair her skin. The skin is actually a big deal, because if she ever gets injured, we want the skin to be healthy and to heal. There are so many unknowns, and we were advised to wait another two years, to see what her body can do on its own. The skull closing on its own is a huge blessing. So I just ask for your continued prayers for healing. There are so many risks involved...I can't even begin to explain. There are also so many possibilities and positive outcomes, so I'm trying to have faith and believe that everything will work out. The good news is that she is allowed to be a child for another two years, and that she is alive and well. I think that the gift of time is a precious gift. We feel like we want to enjoy our family, and to allow her to enjoy life. In the future, we will deal with surgery when Jiliang is better able to deal with it and have some input on the decision-making. As the Craniofacial team said, she needs to be motivated and ready, because it could be a lot for a little girl who doesn't understand what is going on. The most important thing is that our daughter is alive and healthy. As for the Cardiology visit, we had a good visit, and Jiliang is doing well. We have been given the okay to see Dr. Cotts once a year, instead of every 6 months. That is really good. Jiliang will have to have a valve replacement in a few years. Unfortunately, the next valve replacement may not be able to be done in a cath lab. She could have another surgery in her future, which could be a 5-10 day hospital stay. Of course, it's hard to say what modern technology will bring forth. So I am really praying that technology allows for her to avoid another invasive surgery. Looking at the bigger picture, this is a little girl who wasn't expected to make it to her teens without surgery. We weren't even certain that the surgery could be successful, and here she is today, medicine-free, and healthy. We are really counting our blessings. Mostly, I am just thankful that my little girl continues to thrive, and I pray that whatever medical surgeries she needs to undergo can be done with success, continued health and the least amount of surgery or difficulty for our little girl. I also pray for the faith to get through the next hurdle. Please keep her in your prayers. Thanks and God Bless. Jill

How Do I get my Counter back?

Does anyone know how to get my counter back, that shows how many hits the blog has received to date? I had just under 35,000, but it has disappeared. Thanks.

Surgery Last Thursday

Here's a quick update for Friends and Family on the status of Jili's Tonsilectomy and Adenoidectomy. Jili went into to the new Mott's Children's Hospital for surgery last Thursday. Everything went really well. Jili was kept overnight, due to her cardiac condition. She came through the surgery just fine. By Thursday night, she was eating eggs and macaroni and cheese. The nurse was astounded. Right after surgery, she became a little nauseous. They gave her some medication, and then she was so fine, that she ate a lot of food. My kid is tough.
The new Mott's room was wonderful. We got the 12th floor penthouse with the best view in the hospital (so we were told by many), and the biggest (1 of 10 out of many, many rooms with an actual pull-out couch). The room had a flat screen with many movies and activities, and it had Jili's name on it. It also had surround sound.
We had a visit from some U of M athletes, and had pizza (Thursday nights are the best). The Child Life Department provided Jili with paints and several wood items to paint. She was pretty busy. All of our nurses were really wonderful and sweet.

Jili complained of no pain that evening, but during the night she sleep so fitful and loud, due to the swelling. She was coughing a lot, so I couldn't sleep at all. The night nurse laughed, because every time she would come into the room, I would sit up, even in the dark, and give a Jili update. The night nurse later said, "I was tiptoeing and trying to be quiet". I assured her that despite all efforts, I just couldn't sleep.
For the morning report (around 6:30 a.m.), a female doctor came in with two residents. I had only been asleep for about an hour and half, so I just layed there in the dark, looking up at her, half-asleep. She asked how Jili was doing and I said, "She's doing great." Then, I said, "No, wait, she tossed, turned and coughed until 4:30 a.m." Then, it dawned on me that I was talking in my sleep. After the doctor's report, I realized that I was being rude, and I acknowledged that I should be sitting up talking to her. She laughed, knowing that I was half-asleep, and told me to get some rest. I was finally able to update her about Jili's successes. It was all a blur. Before we came home, Jili did some art in the Child Life Department.
Once we arrived home on Friday, she was ready to ride her bike, and was not too happy about sitting still. She but still managed to overdo it a little on Friday, so on Saturday, we went to the library and played some games to keep her busy.
Sunday was our worst day. She was sick, so we actually missed Easter Sunday Church service. Fortunately, the on-call doctor called in an anti-nausea medication, which was a lifesaver. Today, she slept until after noon, and she was under the weather, but she made a comeback this evening. Tonight was the first night that she slept somewhat normal, which is very good, because I go back to work tomorrow.
All in all, she is recovering really well.
Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and emails.
Jill :)