Hello again

It's been awhile and I'm sorry about that. I'm sure everyone will understand when I say I just needed to take a break from it all for a few weeks.

So, to get everyone caught up on what's happened in the past four or five weeks, here's a quick update:

For the three weeks that Finley had her casts on, she was such a trooper. I think she was actually happier with the casts on. Maybe this was due to the fact that Grandma was here answering to every need (something I've never been able to do as well, or as much, as my mom can).

Finley's casts came off on March 25. It was exciting, very exciting. Everything looked scabbed and bloodied, but it was a very cool experience. Her fingers look awesome and look better and function better each and every day. Yesterday, at my friend Liane's, Finley picked up a marker with each hand and was hitting them together. Seems simplistic, but it was awesome to see.

Two of her toes on her left foot have us a bit worried. The best way to explain them is to say that they look like they are frostbitten. They are very black and leathery. We are still talking to the surgeon in Dallas in an attempt to figure out what happened to them. He hasn't seen this before and is baffled as these are toes that he left untouched during this surgery. He thought that it may be a possibility that she has a hole in her heart, which allowed for a bloodclot to pass and settle in the toes. We saw a cardiologist at Children's last week and ruled this out. Her heart is perfect (thank God).

We now have a bit of a break (a needed one at that) for about four weeks, at which time she will begin weekly Procrit (a blood booster) injections and we will start preparing for her anterior cranial vault remodeling surgery. Big name. Big surgery. June 13.

Then there's Riley....three, going on 16. She runs the place. She is getting so big, so fast. She remembers EVERYTHING. Clever as the day is long. She's asking questions that I can't answer. I thought I had at least a few more years before my kid is smarter than I am....guess not. School is still working out great - it gives us a break from one another that we BOTH need and she loves it. I can't say enough about the school or her teachers. It's a special place and my kids will be better for having been a part of it. She'll start three days a week in the fall and we were lucky in that she'll have the same teacher. She's also taking dance on Mondays, which is great fun.

As for me....same. same. I'm desperate for spring (as I watch it snow today, April 10). Anxious to get out this spring with the girls and go and do and be all the things that we missed out on last spring/summer. Life is so much more fun when its above 65 degrees. It can't come soon enough.