Scary Things. . .

. . .and I am not talking about it being Halloween.

First, though, let's have the good news:

*WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! Isn't that music to the ol' ears! We close on it next Friday (Nov. 7th). Truly, I did not think there was one out there for us. I used to think house shopping looked easy--and then I actually tried it! We really feel like the Lord blessed us in finding this one. Perfect location (three miles from Heath's work, right next to a huge park, and on a great street lined with newly renovated old houses); perfect price (our realtor told us that we shot for the moon and got it); and perfect cosmetic touches that we wanted (it is a brand new house with a gem of a kitchen). All in all, we are so happy to have it! It will be so nice to land after these past two plus years of living out of our suitcases.

*Today we bought a new dining room fixture from School House Electric Co. It is SO cute! We got to design the whole thing so it has lots of character. The one currently in the house is lacking any sort of soul so it had to go. We looked all over the place for one that we liked and I finally remembered seeing this store on MLK years ago. I actually saw it when doing the Race for the Cure for my friend Karen Sisler and thought to myself that if I ever had a house I wanted a light from there. Guess what. . .I am getting both! What a fun time this is! I love nesting!

Now, the scary news:

*Also today, we had to go have Zion's CAT scan and blood drawn. His surgery is in about three weeks so we are preparing for it. The scan was pain free but it was SOOOO scary putting him on the bed and watching them wrap him so he was immobilized from head to toe. Heath stayed in there with him while he was being scanned but I had to wait outside. I was a mess and opted to not watch it. He did great and they only had to take one reading which is a blessing. They say the dosage of radiation is low, but still, it IS radiation. The doctors just needed a picture of his skull bones so they could see what they would be working with in the actual surgery. Then we had to all be blood typed so we could find out which one of us could give him our blood. He will have to have a transfusion in the surgery. Again, more crying on all our parts. The look that he gave me while his blood was being drawn was one of confusion and "why aren't you stopping this pain?". It was horrible! I guess we were just being toughened up for the actual surgery. But really, though, we will be a mess come November 19th.

*His surgery will be at 7:30 am that morning. We have to be to the hospital (Legacy Emanual) by 6:00 am and he is not to have eaten for four hours pre-op. He will not be a happy camper by the time we arrive. So sad!

*We would love visitors but please give us the first day to be with Zion and support him through the surgery.

That's all for now. I'll post pictures of the house after I get some!

Pictures

We went to Sauvie Island a couple weeks ago with our friends from Japan. Here Zion is enjoying a new view.


Zion's five month picutres--one in jammies and one after getting dressed.
He is really starting to roll all over the place now. He also giggles like crazy and gets mad when he can't reach a toy. They grow so fast, don't they?!

Surgery Date

In a previous post I mentioned that we were going for a second opinion about Zion's skull. Well, we have decided to switch doctors because of it. We will be having the surgery at Legacy Emanual Hospital with doctors Wehby (plastic surgeon) and Wheatley (neuro surgeon). Believe me, you never want to have to use the word, "surgeon" when talking about your child. However, we feel confident about the outcome of the surgery and in the ability of these doctors.

His surgery date is November 19th.

It will be hard but we know that the Lord gifted him to us and that the Lord will see Zion through this. So. . .if it ever crosses your mind, please be praying for drs. Wehby and Wheatley, Zion's quick recovery and pain management, and Heath and me while we wait for the whole situation to be over.

On a happier note:

*My friend, Rachel, is having her baby in a month! What a fun shower she had this weekend.
*My niece, Bailey is now 6!! She is growing into such a super girl.
*We are still house hunting (is this "happy"?).
*Still love my Jack Johnson CD!

Ahhhhh

Do you ever have one of those moments where everything just aligns and you realize you are so content? I had one of those "Ahhhh" moments last night.

We had come home from church and Heath was putting Zion down upstairs. (Which leads me to another topic--Heath as a great father--but that is another post.) So I came downstairs, put on the new Jack Johnson CD I bought the other day on impulse, and just had a great time. I put away the dishes, made a cake (lemon lover's white chocolate--yum!) for Rachel's upcoming baby shower, and just putzed around for a few more minutes. I was so relaxed! Funny how just doing everyday things to good music could be such a salve.

What else. . .don't you love the fall? I love doing fallish things: the pumpkin patch, burning a fall candle, and watching the leaves turn.

We had the Namerikawa family visiting us from Japan this past weekend. Satomi is my friend from Kanazawa that helped out so much with my pregnancy. It was fun to see her and her kids on this side of the ocean. They were here Friday through Monday and we had a ball. Fun to be around Japanese people and the language again. What little of the language I did pick up is already getting rusty!

Zion's second opinion appointment is this morning. We will be heading off to Emmanual Legacy Hospital in a couple hours. Shouldn't be as rough as the last visit at OHSU just because we already know what the outcome is. We just thought it would be wise to have a second opinion. Not really expecting a different diagnosis.

My niece Bailey turns 6 this week! Where does the time go?

The offer on the house we liked in New Columbia was rejected. Okay with me, really. So now we are back to square one. We have looked at a ton of houses but nothing is fitting perfectly. We know the one is out there!

Better scoot for now!

Zion

Our family!
What a cutie!
Zion sleeping in his swing.
So big!
Zion and his Nanny Noo Noo (his great-grandma).

I need to update everyone on Zion's progress. He is just growing up so quickly!

Well, he is rolling all over the place now. Usually he just rolls once--from the front to the back or the back to the front--but today he was on his tummy, rolled to his back, then back to his tummy! What a mover and a shaker! He favors rolling to the left, but I have noticed the past couple days that he is starting to get the hang of rolling to the right too. So I have to be careful where I put him now. Our little patch of carpet on the hardwood seems to be shrinking everyday!

His little personality is starting to show through too. He giggles and talks to us all the time and is not afraid to let us know when he is unhappy in his carseat. But he remains a cuddler and it absolutely thrills us when his legs and arms go crazy when he sees us.

He has also found his fingers the past few weeks. He loves sucking on his index and middle fingers of his left hand. It is helping him self-soothe which is great because he has to put himself to sleep now. His little tongue likes to lick everything now too. It is such a joy watching him develop. We truly think he is a gift to us.

I do have some bad news, though. We found out a couple weeks ago that Zion has metopic cranio synistosis. I'll explain. . . . The skull is made up of many bones. The bones in a baby's head are not fused so they can go through the birth canal and the brain can grow. Well, the split between the two bones in the front of Zion's skull fused in the womb. This is just a fluke. They don't know why it occurs. Sometimes children (with other bones than the ones Zion has fused) also have cognitive or other deformities. But Zion is just fine. What all this means is that he has to have surgery in February. It is a serious surgery and we have cried many tears over thinking about him undergoing a procedure at 9 months that most never go through at all. He will have to have a blood transfusion so when the time gets closer, we will ask people to donate for him. The good news, though, is that this is a one-time fix. After the surgery, he will have yearly check-ups until he is six but that is it.

All in all, we are hesitant to tell people about this because we don't want them to treat him as if he is broken. He is just fine--not in pain, growing just perfectly, and cute, cute, cute! We would covet your prayers as we begin this difficult road.

Where Does Time Go?

This has been my question lately. Know the answer?? Not me!

It seems like even though Zion and I get to stay home together, the days just fly by and I don't have much to prove for them. Maybe part of it is that we are not yet in our own place yet so I don't have those crafty-home-improvement things to do. I really miss my sewing maching and all my crafting supplies!

And I REALLY miss all my kitchen supplies!!!! I get a fun idea for dinner only to remember that my food processor is in storage. I am hosting a baby shower for Rachel next month and I am having to borrow basic kitchen stuff to make her cakes. Oh, my!

Anyway, I LOVE being home with Zion! I feel guilty about it because I have done nothing but work for the last 10 years (I cannot believe it has been 10 years since I graduated from college!!). It is fun watching him grow and change. He turned four months last week! Like I said, where does the time go? He is really rolling all over the place now and scootching his rump in the air in an effort to crawl. Everything goes in his mouth--including the clothing of anyone holding him. This moring he was licking my shirt instead of falling asleep. He is also talking up a storm. His noises just make me smile!

We are still waiting to hear about th house we offered on. Who knows when that will be!

Heath is getting the vision for his new job and we are liking the people in the church.

I went to my first MOPs meeting last week and that was fun. I think I will like that. I need some new friends up here with babies of their own.

Well, time to feed the babe again. I'll post some pictures soon.

I'm Back!

Zion in his Bumbo seat
Us in Heath's office
Heath at work
Grandpa Frank and Zion in Heath's office

Sorry it has been SO long since I have blogged. In the weeks since we have left Japan, lots has happened. We are currently living in Frank and Nora's condo on the Columbia River. We have a front row view of the river and a beautiful place to live. Thanks, Frank and Nora!

It is lovely being around family again! I am glad Zion will grow up with all his family members close around him. The shower that my mom and Rachel threw for Zion was so fun. It was wonderful seeing all my family and friends there.

We have also bought a car (a VW Passat) and made an offer on a house. We are just waiting on that now. It will be SO GREAT to finally settle into something of our own. We have been living on the bare minimum the last couple years and I cannot wait to unpack our boxes that are in storage and have a fully equipped kitchen again!

Zion is also growing like crazy. He is grabbing things more and having fun with all his new toys from his cousins. He is over 13 pounds now and 3 1/2 months old! He is so fun.

Heath has also started his new job. He is liking it and really enjoying getting to know his coworkers. He has been organizing the office and it looks great now.

Today is the first day of school and look at me. . .I am at home! I just love being with Zion all the time and feel so lucky to be a stay at home mom. Thanks for working for us, Heath! I imagine I will do some part time work in the future, but for now, I am relishing my time at home.

All in all, we are so happy to be home again. Japan was such a neat experience, but truly, there is no place like home!