On the road to recovery...

Thankfully our little guy seems to be making progress daily although his mood and pain levels fluctuate widely. He typically has been waking up around 3 am in need of more medicine. Since he usually sleeps on the top bunk, he has been in our bed but we hope to transition him soon once we are sure he won't fall out of bed trying to get to us in the middle of the night!
The first night home he woke up at 4am in significant pain...we were supposed to wake him up at 3am to give him more medicine but we slept through it. I brought L downstairs to get the next dose and he made a beeline for the front door insisting that he was going to get his tonsils back!! He is a character!! That seems to be his standard line when the pain increases-usually nearing the time for more medication...
The other night, his snoring was especially loud since he now has more swelling but the doctor assured us this should completely resolve once he has healed. It was hysterical to hear the noises coming out of this little boy...you'd expect to see an old man sleeping in the bed next to us and there was our little man in blissful oblivion as we attempted to catch some zzz'z in the midst of his 'sleeping noises' ( Odesco's description of L's problematic snoring). L's voice seems to be up an octave and this also is expected to resolve in several weeks.
Yesterday after watching a video of an adorable 6 year old girl beautifully sing,"Somewhere over the Rainbow" L announced," I'm so glad I'm not a woman! For 2 reasons...#1 I don't want to have a baby and #2 I don't want to sound like that girl!" Who needs entertainment with kids around...they certainly do say the silliest things!
Thanks for checking in...we'd appreciate your continued prayers regarding L's recovery-that he would have no bleeding and that he would actually start to consume some significant calories to at least get him back to where he was before the surgery. Tomorrow Miss Mercy receives her orthodontic appliance and she is already expressing complaints and anxiety regarding this. We are trying to prepare her heart to make good choices tomorrow!! Pray that I would avail myself of every drop of God's grace to mother not only L and Mercy but the rest of the clan with kindness and patience.... my
'meek and quiet spirit' muscles are certainly getting a workout these days :)
Grateful for his unending supply of grace and everything I need for life and godliness!!
MamaB

A late night with Daddy 2 evenings before the surgery...watching the World Series and eating cookies...good thing he got a few extra calories then since he is not eating too much right now!

Prayer time for the little man...what wonderful friends we have ... the Y family came over the night before surgery to pray for L...they also brought a special gift-A Lego Star Wars kit...L was so excited to build this with his big friends. The Y's also brought a meal and some soup which was devoured on surgery day...it was wonderful not to have to cook for a few days and to be able to focus our energy on the needs of a very needy little guy in addition to the other 5 kiddos! Mimi and Pop-Pop came the morning of surgery to take care of Mercy and Odesco. Mimi brought a cooler of frozen meals also--what a gift! The 3 oldest kids went to Homeschooler's Day Out as usual and friends picked them up and dropped them back off-door to door service.
THANKS EVERYONE for lightening our load and being a tangible means of grace to our family- we are so grateful for you!!!!

Staying Busy in the waiting room before surgery with a new special book~

Before Surgery...
A boy, his Dad and the remote control...a good diversion~for the moment!!

After surgery...

Peaceful again in mommy's arms :)...Our little man was in sad shape when we first got to him as he was coming out of the anesthesia...the 3 nurses who were attending to him- (trying to keep him from climbing out of the bed )- commented on what a strong little guy he is!

"Let's get outta here!!!!"
We weren't allowed to carry L out to the car so we rode in style :)

Both boys took a 2 hour nap soon after our arrival home.
Surgery is hard on the siblings too!

"I see you!!!"- a lighthearted moment :)

The medicine is obviously working here...L is completing the craft he missed at Homeschooler's Day Out on Wednesday. G is playing "Activity Director" since she was actually present in the class...sometimes she takes this 'job' just a bit too seriously :)

L is enjoying staying up to take his last dose of medicine. Here he is with big brother P and his buddy J who slept over--he was a good sport and didn't seem to mind a snoring L in the bed next to him...I did move L upstairs after I was able to get the final dose of the night in him.

On Saturday, L perked up just long enough to head outside for some fall fun with our neighbor friends. This crew was out in our cul-de-sac for over an hour pushing all the leaves into one huge pile. It kept them busy and cleaned things up a bit-not a bad combination :)

The best part of fall is jumping in the leaf pile!! Mercy and Odesco are especially enjoying their first American fall...they have never seen leaves fall like this nor have they seen leaves change color. I love hearing them comment on the beautiful colors...God's creation surely is worth marveling over :)

~The momentary Mohawk~
For some reason L had it in his head that he wanted a mohawk for his surgery...Daddy worked late every night and didn't get the chance to trim him up until Saturday night bath time...so, we let him enjoy it for a minute before Daddy evened it all into a tight buzz cut!