"Mama Cass" as Troy has taken to calling her, is 19 and a half pounds now. Her thighs and buns prevent her from wearing a 12 month size anymore. Here she is eating some tags off of a shirt.
I (tara) left Haiti for a few days to attend my Gran's funeral. Below, a random sampling of photos from the family gathering in Nebraska. Out of 19 grandchildren, 14 of us made it to Omaha to celebrate her life. (Cousins- I am emailing you the photo of your family, I have more than what I am posting.) Thank you Aunt Jan and Karen for all you're doing to help get Gran's house organized. We're thinking of you and praying for you during this weird time of adjustment. We were all amused to learn that Gran not only drove herself and had her hair done just hours before going to Heaven, she also had a manicure - something the beauty salon told us she never did.Cousins from Texas
More cousins (the crazy ones)
My sister, Dad, Mom (and me)
Uncle Rick at the graveside service
In addition to having an opportunity to say goodbye to my Gran for now, I also scheduled a few Dr. appts. I ended up having a little skin cancer spot frozen off of my arm and a biopsy done on a different troubling mystery spot that I have had since March. I will admit that I was thoroughly freaked out for the day before the appointment and the 26 hours we waited for the results. The pathology result showed no cancer. The night of rest after I knew I was fine, I slept 14 hours straight. The prior two days of wondering really messed with me. The Dr. started to give me instructions for taking out the stitches, but I stopped her and assured her that I know of a cute gal in Haiti who can do it. We're all so thankful that the little lump was nothing at all to worry about. Thank you Lord. And 'Seven' is doing great, I've gained 22 lbs and everything is on track in the pregnancy department.Mission Notes-
- The trade school appears to be about two or three weeks from completion of the construction phase
- Paige reports all babies in the program are steadily gaining weight. One more baby might be added soon, for now we are encouraging the Mom to keep trying to breastfeed
- Britt has a new 15 month old baby that was burned by boiling water, he has dressing changes every day and screams in pain
- Britt drained one new abscess and continues to pack a second abscess that Lori drained as well
- One guy with a bad cut on his hand refused stitches and chose the road of slower healing - kids seem to be tougher than adults when it comes to cuts and stitches
- Jean is starting to look a little better, he seems used to the routine of coming up for lotion, vitamins and a bath (Jean is pronounced more like John here)
- There are no teams coming in the month of July. Our next group arrives August 4th.
Family Notes-
- Isaac and Noah created an elaborate spider web with four rolls of floss across their bedroom. They are Spiderman obsessed right now.
- Noah has been running a fever and having other on and off Malaria symptoms for about 30 hours, we're watching him closely.
- Troy's hair is growing wilder by the day (this is for you Jamie Steen)
- We're freaked out that in 8 weeks the kids and I will be back in MN and in 13 weeks Seven is coming - ready or not. (Not.)
- Britt anxiously awaits the results of her June ACT test, once she has those scores her applications can all be sent in.
- The Mission approved a three month furlough for Troy. He will get to be in MN (with the whole family) for three months. He arrives a month after us. We'll use that time to 1.) have a baby 2.) figure out some house stuff and get rid of some things 3.) visit the colleges Britt ends up wanting to attend 4.) have a graduation party for Britt 5.) move Britt to school 6.) do "normal" American type things, like showering only once a day, wearing a sweater in the fall, enjoying Thanksgiving, Christmas and eating - maybe even a piano lesson or swim team for B & P 7.) fund raise and prepare for 2008 in Haiti 8.) remain as sane as can be while totally overwhelmed with the trajectory of life
- While in MN last week, a friend walked in, I said "Hi Brad! How are you?" The first words out of his mouth "Boy, the blog really has gone to pot." It was nice to see you too Brad.
- There is a rat in the laundry room. Laundry strike.
We recognize that you are entering into a Holiday week, we hope your 4th of July celebrations are fantastic. That is it from here for now.
-tara
