Surgery Plans

Greg will be having surgery on Monday, March 2. He has to arrive at Miami Valley Hospital at 9:30 for surgery at 12:30. Dr. Binski is famous for running hours late so I will be surprised if he is back into the OR prior to 4! They anticipate the surgery taking four hours so in the end, it will be a very long day. I am grateful our good friends from our prior neighborhood are willing to hang out with me all day in the waiting room. While we are at the hospital, the girls will be spending the day with Grandma Pattie at the Green....they are really excited about a day of shopping. Dad called today on his way to the grocery store planning on all the junk he is going to feed my poor, deprived children. They have requested Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, cookies and Pepsi.....GROSS! Their sugar buzz should last into 2010! Please keep the procedure and traveling in your prayers as we start the next leg of this journey.

It's A Boy!!!

Baby Baughman #5 is a boy....we can't believe it. Way to score your own room little man! I hope our photos won't be considered graphic...these just are not the parts we are used to seeing in ultra sound photos!

Sleepover casualties

This is what happens when the girls have sleepovers. We have seven girls between 8 and 13 here tonight. I am beginning to think we should have another girl to play along with the current situation....a brother would be tortured! Kate loves it....her hair is in rollers, her toes are painted Princess Pink and her finger nails have stickers on them! The rest of the girls are still pampering....it's been about four hours! You should see the mess in the bathroom they call the "spa"!

Daddy's Little Carnivore

Kate loves steak! She always requests steak for dinner and when we have it, she asks to have the bone! She is Daddy's girl!

What a Lucky Guy!

These two beautiful young ladies were escorted by Greg to the Purity Ball this evening. Seeing them all dressed up is a strong reminder of how tough being their dad is going to be in the near future! This is Lauren's first year attending the ball and Erin's third.

Kate's Big Girl Haircut

Updates

Greg had a phone conference with our BWC attorney in Ohio this afternoon. They are resubmitting the paperwork for authorization of surgery because the original set of documentation had an error....left foot rather than right...minor details! Anyway, the attorney anticipates it also being denied but it doesn't hurt to hope for an approval! If denied, the appeal process will proceed. So this can be a good thing or a way to drag out an already long process. Time will tell.

I had an appointment today and heard the baby's heart beat. It ranged from 140-147 beats per minute. I have an ultra sound and another appointment on March 2 to (hopefully) find out if this is a boy or a girl. Everyone here wants to "think boy".

On a fun side note, all the girls and even the dog ended up on our bed the other morning for tickle and play time with Daddy. After a few chaotic minutes, Kate said very dramatically, "I love you guys but you are driving me crazy"! I know the feeling!

She also spoke to my belly last week and I told her that the baby can hear her now. She responded by growling really loudly into my belly. Great! This kid is never going to want to come out of there!

View out back today

This was the view out back today. We've gotten quite a bit of snow and ice and are currently under a "state of emergency". It is beautiful if you don't have to go anywhere!
Everything is closed except UPS because the world stops turning if packages are not loaded onto airplanes......at least that's what we've been told. Greg is ready to serve the world! What a guy!

Kate is "tying" my shoe

SNOW DAY!

It finally arrived! 3" of snow fell overnight with more expected throughout the day and tonight....the kids love it! Erin and Lauren took off for real hills to sled down but Kate and Makenna stuck close to home and hot chocolate! They came in wet, cold and grinning from ear to ear.....good times.


Lauren attached the dog's leash to her sled and had him pull her around the neighborhood! He loves the snow and apparently had some energy to burn!

Kate's preparing for the baby

I overheard Kate telling Brutus this evening that when mommy is in the hospital having the baby she will make sure he has food and water. I think it is so sweet that she is planning ways she can help.

She prayed for God to help get the baby out of my belly because it is sick in there! I guess the "all-day morning sickness" is making an impression!

Our Poor Dog!

This is what the girls do to the dog, what on earth would they do to a little brother?

"The Kitchen is Closed"

Kate found a bag of rubber bands this evening and used them to "close the kitchen"! All our cupboards and drawers were banded together to keep us out of them. Why didn't I think of that?

New Year's News

On our way into Dayton for New Year's, we stopped by the sign Greg fell off in July 2000. (He's the spot at the bottom of the sign.) We came to town for an appointment with the surgeon who put him back together after that 25 foot fall. We got some unwelcomed news at that appointment. Greg has to have his ankle fused. He will be in the rings and halos again for three months. The commute to and from Dayton every two weeks for appointments will not be much fun. Happy New Year?

Santa Came! (Grandma and Grandpa too)

Lauren, Makenna and Kate were up at 3am to see what Santa brought them! At 5, we discovered them awake and sent them back to bed until 7 when they couldn't stand it anymore! Kate got her requested "kid iron" and the grandparents provided Visa gift cards to the big kids to shop for their own clothes....they are so excied to hit the after Christmas clearance racks in January. Santa brought the family a popcorn machine for our family fun nights. All the grown-ups napped Christmas day in the afternoon!

Christmas Eve traditions

Cocoa and cookies for Santa, birthday cake for Jesus, Twas the Night Before Christmas by the tree at bedtime and dreaming of Christmas surprises....

Christmas with the Baughmans

We made a round trip visit to Dayton to celebrate Christmas with the Baughman's on the 21st. It makes for a long day but everyone had a good time. We love any chance we get to see Lizzie. Makenna got the American Girl doll she really wanted from Grandma and Grandpa and Lauren loved getting lots of fun toe socks.

New Year's in Dayton

On New Year's Eve we celebrated Christmas with Theresa and her family, went to see the Harlem Globetrotters and had "party" to welcome in 2009.