We made a flying trip to the City yesterday, and returned home today. LizBeth got a great check-up at the ENT Clinic. We are supposed to go back in 3-6 months when we schedule our Neurology and Genetics appts. She did great on the trip too! After the stunt she pulled on the way home from Ada last weekend, she has to be good for at least one year.

Right now she is sort of napping in the floor and trying to keep tabs on her sisters at the same time. And, she laughed out loud again today. This time it was for Stacy.

Katelyn and Sarah are in their third week of school. So far the report has varied from "the worst day ever" to "boring" to "boys are just gross" and Katelyn's pat response of "fine." Teaching three year olds is just as challenging and exciting as I thought it would be. God bless the teachers!

We are home again! Elizabeth had a terrible time on the way home yesterday. Her heart rate was very high and her O2 was low. She wore O2 all the way home, and cried most of the way. We were pretty sure she was getting sick or something. When we got home, Stacy put her in her bed, and immediately she went back to normal. She had a good night last night with only a few desats. We had our church and family praying for LizBeth last night. God is so good! (Hopefully, she was only allergic to her car seat.)

This morning I let the girls sleep in and go to school this afternoon. That makes me the best Mom ever, according to Katelyn. Sarah wants to know why they have to go at all.

Stacy performed a wedding in Ada this weekend. His cousin Shane was married to Camille. It was a beautiful wedding complete with Marines in dress uniforms carrying swords. Katelyn was afraid of the "Army men"(ha ha) and their swords. I told her the swords were fake. They were for decoration only. However, I did not know what happened before the wedding. It seems that Stacy stabbed the best man with one of the fake swords. Turns out, the edges are dull, but the points are sharp. A trip to the ER was avoided that day, and thankfully, the best man was Stacy's cousin. It's always exciting wherever we go.

LizBeth laughed out loud this morning! I went in to look at her, and she laughed at me. It was so precious! Here are some pics of the Ross Girls as they were clowning around this morning.

We took LizBeth to the doctor today for making noises when she breathes. He seems to think it's because of her secretions. We are now using a sulfate mist in the Nebulizer at night. Boy, does Liz hate it! She is still not talking to me.

Stacy and the girls had a Yahtzee! marathon. Katelyn likes to talk smack. Sarah loses interest rather quickly. Katelyn will be trash talking the other players while Sarah is practicing her head stand. Somehow, Sarah won the last game. Let's just say, she's not a gracious winner and Katelyn is a rather poor loser.

I start teaching at school tomorrow. I am teaching our three year olds this year. Stacy and Liz will be here tomorrow hopefully doing laundry!

Please continue to pray for Liz. She's making noises when she breathes. Her O2 sats are fine. We may just need to give her time to adjust. She doesn't ever seemed panicked or distressed. In fact, she was Miss Smiley tonight. She and I both have Thrush. Isn't that nice? I do have a new level of sympathy for her though. That stuff hurts! She sticks her tongue out when it's time for her medicine. (I do too.)

LizBeth's Big Day!

Getting ready for surgery.

Adenoids out now. Surgery went well. The trachea (windpipe) is a little swollen, and her nasal passages are very irritated. She let us know she was not happy with her silent cry.

She cried for her daddy,

she cried for her momma,

and then she was trach-free! Her first reaction was one of panic. When she heard her own voice, she stopped abruptly and looked around. Then she let it out again and I believe she liked it. The doctor was very impressed with her. We were too!

She is doing great at home. A bit gurgly at times, but learning to cough those secretions up. She is quiet the bawl bag now. She likes the sound of her voice I do believe. She talks and "gripes." She likes to make long, loud sounds. She also moves her head from side to side a lot more already. And she eats better. All in all, the Little Princess is doing great. Thank you for all your prayers.

We are hanging out in Moore at our Best Western. We thought we would give Liz a day of rest before heading home. She's doing great. We left the hospital at 9:00. Liz slept from about 10-2. She woke up to eat and cry. She likes the sound of her own voice! We gave her a bath in the tub tonight for the first time. She seemed to like it. Her stoma (the hole in her neck) is closed up already. It's still very obvious she's had a trach, but you can't see the hole anymore. Right now she's sleeping very well. Her sats are great and she is really sleeping. We were sort of afraid she might have trouble when she went to sleep, but she hasn't. We are looking forward to going home tomorrow!

Katelyn and Sarah have started school. They are excited. Evidently, first grade was boring for Sarah. She even said so. Katelyn is loving second grade. Katelyn entered several paintings in the local art fair, and won three ribbons: two first place and one second.

Do you hear that? It's Liz's voice... and boy, does she like it!!! She was successfully decannlated yesterday. Whoo-Hoo! Around 8:00 Monday morning she went back for her scope. The doctor saw that her adnoids were huge and cut them back. She came out a little after 9:oo, and was moved to the PICU (Pediatric Intensice Care Unit). At 2:00, the doctor and his team came in, set LizBeth up in the bed, and removed the trach. Liz did fine since she's used to trach changes, but after a few more seconds, her eyes got huge and she looked all around the room. Finally, she cried. Then shut her mouth and looked around again. Once again she opened her mouth and wailed. This time she didn't stop. She had a little trouble breathing at first without panicking. But, she finally got it down and has done great. She CRIED all night. Even though Stacy and I were exhausted, we loved that little sound. (Little means LOUD!) She hasn't went into a deep sleep yet. She will drift off and nap for a bit, then wake up in a panic. The doctor is afraid her tongue is getting in the way. She's been fighting sleep today, so this has been a rather noisy day!

I just talked to Stacy on the phone, and he said that Liz has taken two bottles! The first bottle took and hour for two ounces. She could tell something was different Stacy said. The second bottle took about ten minutes to eat.

Yesterday, she would cry, so Stacy and I would call people on the phone to let them hear. I'm sure the nurses think we're nuts! I think we're looking at going home tomorrow or Friday. She's already out on the floor and not the ICU. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. We will be posting pics as soon as we can.

**Katelyn and Sarah have discovered the speaker phone. Yesterday, we called them so they could hear LizBeth's voice. They, of course, had on the speaker phone. When they hear Liz cry, they started jumping and screaming and smacked each other in the head! Talk about a celebration!!!

We are leaving this afternoon for the City. Liz is scheduled to get her trach out tomorrow morning at 7:45. Please pray that it will be successful this time. Hopefully, we'll have some "naked neck" pictures to post tomorrow afternoon!

The girls are ready for school to start. Stacy's parents are coming down today to stay with them so they won't have to miss their first days of school. I am finished in my room! That is truly an accomplishment. The girls and I are going up later to put a few decorations up on the walls.

Oh my! We are so busy. In-Service days started at school on Monday. Tuesday, Stacy took Kate and Sarah to the eye doctor. Their vision is great. Sarah would like to have glasses though. Katelyn thinks that's wierd. I took Liz to get her shots on Tuesday as well. She was so happy in the waiting room watching all the other children. She was even happy when we went back to see the nurse. Liz was smiling right up to when the needle went in her little leg. Afterwards, she was not happy again until Wednesday afternoon.

During PT on Monday, the PT loaned us some cool equipment. All sorts of stuff to help Liz sit up and learn to push with her arms. Sometimes the Princess likes it, and sometimes she doesn't. We are getting a little nervous and anxious about the decann on Tuesday. Please pray that it will be successful.

Elizabeth turned over today! She went from her back to her tummy this morning. After her bath, she decided to pitch a hissy fit and in doing so flipped herself over. She kept up her fit, but was pinning her right arm as well. I came to her rescue and helped her turn back over. I am hoping this is a new milestone and not a one time thing.

We were able to go to church this morning as a family. The girls were glad to be back. Although, Katelyn repeatedly asked how much longer her daddy was going to preach. She started this at 11:30. With each answer only two minutes apart, she moaned and whispered into a near panic, "It's going to take like four hours, isn't it?" Thankfully church ended at 12:00. A meltown was avoided. (Sarah went to Children's Church. That's why she didn't comment. :-)

We are finally home... all of us! We have seen most of Oklahoma and Kansas during the last week. That's a lot of land to cover! LizBeth did great. LizBeth and I did not go to the funeral, but went to eat with the family afterwards. Liz was a little sleepy at first, but perked up when she realized she could be the center of attention. She enjoyed some mashed potatoes and a lot of smooching!

The girls are happy to be home. Elizabeth is happy they are home! When she finally woke up last night, she couldn't take her eyes off them. They missed her too. We are still set for decann August 12th. That's only ten days away! Jimmy and Janice are coming to stay with the girls so they can go to their first days of school. (Katelyn - 2nd & Sarah - 1st) They are a little nervous, but excited too.

This next week proves to be busy with PT, Immunizations, eye doctor appts., hair cut appts., In-Service days at school, school room prep... but it is definitely a week I am looking forward to.

After our adventures this last week, here are five things we have discovered and would like to share:
1. NEVER take a baby into a restaurant without a bottle made.
2. If you fail to remember #1, make sure they are serving mashed potatoes. The baby will stop crying long enough to "chew" the potatoes. Swallow. Breathe deep. Cry!
3. Don't go to Denny's at midnight and request the non-smoking section. There are only three booths in that section; and lots of people need to eat at midnight.
4. Your child will pick up such words and phrases as "Dang!, Shut your big ole mouth! and Idiot!" when they spend time with your teenage, and almost teenage, siblings.
5. They will use the above words and phrases in public.