I LOVE BEING HOME!!!!!!
We came home to some sweet hugs and a great celebration. The next morning our oven died and our washer would not spin. Our ceiling was leaking by the chimney and the furnace upstairs was out! It was a good thing we only had the energy to fight off a nap and sit and play on the living room floor otherwise I would have fallen apart. It is all such a blur now.
Oh my and how wonderful it is to be over jet lag and be in a routine. The girls and I are really enjoying have a baby in the house, Ruthie spends very little time outside of someone's arms. Slowly she is warming up to daddy and it will not be long until she get his number. She is such a delight and has stepped into the role of number seven with spirit. I am so crazy about this precious little girl.
I am thrilled she likes us! However, She is a bit leery of her brother, Grant.? I think I know why, but have not seen the evidence yet or should I say I have not caught him in action. I think he may be pinching her and taking toys. A time or two she has blessed him out in her sweet little voice and a language we do not understand - it is not hard to mistake her point! Grant is having a hard time and I will continue to spread the attention, which is much more difficult than I thought. It has been awhile since I felt like we had a lot of children ~ now is one of those times where I am challenged, the house is slowly becoming more and more disorganized, laundry is piled waiting to be folded . . . . I am trying to put my head down and focus only on what needs to be done. The days are amazingly short and packed full. I continue to rejoice that Ruthie was loved and well cared for. She is able to receive love in a healthy way and cannot get enough of all that we love showering over her.
We are also busy reaserching and trying to get answers about Ruthie's feet. They said she could not walk, but they were wrong! It appears to look painful, but she is determined!!!!! She is very pleased with her new accomplishment. Ruthie has a rare condition called cleft feet or Ectrodactyly. In addition, one foot is turned under and she is walking on the top of her foot. The other foot is very strong. We went to see an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham and he is recommending we amputate her foot at the ankle. He had never seen a condition like hers but he felt strongly that her one foot would never fully function. We are going to Shriners in Greenville, South Carolina and Boston Children's Hospital the first two weeks of April. My hope is that after getting a second opinion at Shriners we will feel a peace. We are okay with amputating her foot which sounds strange to many people. We are confident Ruthie will have a full life with our without her foot. In making such a huge decision, we do want to be able to tell her that without a doubt this was the right decision. We continue to pray for direction.
please do not judge me by the pile of laundry in the background ~
wish I could say the pile is a result of a broken washer
