Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for our meetings followed by some vacation time. Thanks for praying for safe travel, good health and a refreshing time. We will be gone for about 3 1/2 weeks altogether. Please pray as well for Ben as we are still having problems with his ear. He has been on antibiotics now for 10 days but is still having pain. We will bring him back to the ENT in Naga today. Please pray that we can figure out a plan that will make it not too painful for him to fly tomorrow and also that will clear up this persistent problem.
Before we left, I wanted to post these pictures of the wind chimes we had made down here in Bicol. A tribal man who needed work made them for us. Aren't they beautiful? They also make a very gentle, soothing sound in the breeze.
Well, we are off! Our email access will be more sporadic, so it may take us a few days to get back to you, but please don't let that keep you from writing - we love to hear from you!
Fortunately, a doctor friend in the States had JUST sent some medical strength stitch-replacing glue for situations just like this. Unfortunately, we hadn't put any of it in the car yet, so we had to wait til we got home to use it. We were able though to pinch it together with a home-made butterfly bandage so the blood wouldn't clot and prevent us from closing it by the time we got home. Then we were able to remove the butterfly bandage (OUCH!) and use the glue to "stitch" him up once we were home. 
As always, Zach was a real trooper, and he has been assured that "chicks dig scars" by the volunteers that are with us right now. 
If that is true, chicks are really gonna dig our boys! I love this pic of the finished product. Can you see the 2 smaller scars just under the new cut from previous accidents? Then the remains of a boil on his forehead, one starting on his cheek, and a long scratch to top it all off. Never a dull moment! :) 
He looked around up there very thoroughly but determined that either she had already left or was hiding under the eaves where we can't get to her without tearing out some paneling. So we chose to believe (there we go again) that she was gone. 
So we seem to have a large python living in our attic AND a recently-hatched batch of pythons loose up there. And somehow these itty bitty things are able to find a way down here... Needless to say, we are all wearing shoes inside now and putting our glasses/contacts in before using the bathroom in the night!
Jennifer is a speech therapist, and she arrived yesterday. She is feeling the effects of jet lag, but her trip went well and she is doing well. She will stay with us for 2 weeks and work with Ben. Her coming is such an answer to prayer. Here is a pic of her and Ben in front of Mt. Mayon. 
Even though she is still feeling the effects of the trip, she wanted to jump right in today with doing some testing and therapy with Ben. It is so encouraging to watch her work with him and to talk with her because I can tell she really knows what she is doing and wants so badly to help us help Ben.
They took several breaks in the testing and therapy to "get the wiggles out". Ben is doing great, but it is a lot of concentration time for a 4 year old. Pray that he would stay focused, and we would be able to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Please also pray as he just got an ear infection yesterday and is in a lot of pain. We are keeping him on meds to help with this the first couple days, and hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon. Pray for wisdom for Jennifer as she seeks to find the techniques that will be most effective in helping Ben overcome this difficulty. 
A few days after our family celebration, we went up to the wakeboarding place to celebrate with our new friends, Reuben and Sheril and their 2 kids, Takiah and Zeph (ages 4 and 5 months). We all went to some hot springs and enjoyed some cake and swimming together.
The Birthday Boy
Zach is pretty excited about the present from Takiah - a kit where you can make and paint your own plaster trucks! He is very excited.
When the kids 1st arrived up there, they were still recovering from the virus and the upper respiratory infection the boys both got. So the boys had to do nebulizer treatments 3x a day right off the bat. Here they are enjoying some TV time during the boys' treatments. 
Uncle Markus celebrated his birthday while our kids were up there. Nothing like a few extra kids around to help you celebrate!
Ok, I am going to leave you with a few pics of Ben. Markus is an excellent photographer, and it looks like Ben enjoyed hamming it up for the camera. Loved these pics - thanks for taking them, Markus!
"Thank you" just doesn't seem to be enough to express our heart-felt gratitude to Markus and Sarah and their family for the sacrifices they made to watch our kids during that time. The kids had so much fun, and Steve and I weren't worried about them so we were able to focus on the task at hand (no pun intended :) ), recovering from my wrist surgery. We are so thankful for all they did to love on our kids and make them feel secure during that time. THANK YOU!!!
Ok, so we arrived safely in Legaspi. At this point, I was just running on pure adrenaline since I hadn't slept at all in 48 hours. Dropped everyone at some friends' house where Steve and Kayla crashed then the husband accompanied me to the airport to work out the tickets and get checked in. Then we discovered - no joke - that there had been some error in the reservations, and we had nothing. NOTHING. At this point I fell apart big time. We had checked them out of the hospital up there to transfer them to Manila, now what were we supposed to do? Check them into another provincial hospital down in Legaspi??? After nearly 2 hours of crying and pleading and praying, the airline people managed to get us 3 seats in business class for the short flight to Manila - this was 15 mins before the flight took off, after everyone else had already boarded. So we said quick goodbyes to the boys - very tearful ones since they couldn't understand why they were staying behind, and I was already an emotional basket case with no time to explain - then put Steve and Kayla in wheelchairs and on the plane as it closed its doors. We thank God that He got us on that flight. The boys stayed in Legaspi with friends, and I figured we would figure out later how to get them to Manila.
We didn't check the boys in immediately - mostly because it would have been so difficult to care for people spread out in 4 rooms. So the boys crashed with us in the hospital (like the pediatrician recommended) so we could monitor them. Thankfully, the hospital staff looked the other way. Here is a pic of the 3 of them in the 1 room. Mikayla was definitely feeling better by this point on the IV. The boys were pretty sick. As you can see, I was able to take more pics on this leg of the journey because 1. people were there to help me and 2. I didn't have to run all over the hospital buying random equipment. They have bought into a novel concept and just charge you for everything at the end of your hospital stay. :)
At this point, Steve had his IV out and was feeling better but still very weak. But at least he was able to put in some snuggle time with the boys. Both of them were really out of it with very high fevers. We couldn't get them to drink anything (they were too out of it), and Zach was throwing up the few sips we did get into him. It looked like we would need to admit them the next morning to get them hydrated and on the road to recovery.
I love this pic - it was right after Mikayla got her IV out. She snuck into her daddy's room to surprise him and climb up in bed with him. She was more than a little happy to be on the upswing.
The next morning, Steve and Mikayla checked out and the boys checked into their rooms. As Steve put it, "All this really means is that we switch beds." :) Thankfully, Mikayla was able to go stay with friends - she got passed around to several homes and had a blast. We didn't end up seeing her for 5 days or so! She was still tired and weak but thrilled to be out of the hospital. Meanwhile, we started the boys on IVs (that was fun) so they could start getting better. Ben was actually a day behind Zach so he wasn't as sick, but we were hoping that we could "nip it in the bud" since Steve and Kayla both started getting so much better after they started on IVs. This picture is taken before Mikayla left. She is feeding Ben some mashed potatoes.
The boys both did better when they were together - they hated being separated. So once they were feeling a little better, they spent a lot of time like this, watching TV or reading books together.
Right before Mikayla left, these flowers were delivered to the hospital for her from her grandparents! She loved them. Then after she left, Steve set them up in my room - oops, I guess I am giving away the end of the story! :)
There were several ladies with our company in Manila who worked very hard to take care of our family during this difficult time. They brought food and special treats in, played with and read to the boys, and took great care of all us. We felt incredibly loved and supported. It was wonderful. Here is a pic of Aunt Judy reading a story to Ben.
We also felt very loved and supported by our friends and family in the States. Our parents called often, and we received several care packages from our church family. God was so good to provide so many people to encourage us in the midst of the chaos. He truly did meet our every need. 
The night after the boys checked in, I finally starting running a fever too. I had been feeling lousy all week but had attributed it to stress and fatigue. But the virus finally caught up to me as well, and I was flat on my back. The doctor also heard something with my heart that concerned him so I was admitted so they could monitor me and run tests. It ended up being mitral valve prolapse - no big deal actually, just something to be aware of really. After 5 days in the hospital, I was ready to check out and head to our guest facilities to rest. Ben checked out the day before me, Zach the same day I did. The boys had both gotten an upper respiratory infection on top of the virus, and I got an acute sinus infection. The antibiotics helped all of us, and the boys also had to go on steroids and a nebulizer for their coughs. However, after another 5 days of rest in Manila, we were able to proceed with our plans to go to Singapore for my surgery. We are so thankful that we didn't have to try to reschedule!
Here are some pictures of Steve removing the 16 stitches in the 4 incisions. I was a little gun shy of going for more medical care here in the province, and I knew that Steve would take extra care and time with them - and that we could control the sterilizing of the tools. Infection in this area and climate is a real threat. Anyway, Steve did a great job with it - he has been absolutely amazing through this whole time. I am so thankful for the incredible husband that God has blessed me with.
Ok, this post took me a whole lot longer than normal since I have to keep taking breaks to rest my hand. I am still in a fair amount of pain, but it is getting better all the time; and the doctor was very optimistic that this surgery will drastically reduce if not eliminate the amount of pain I have to deal with from here on out. Please pray with us that the bone fuses back together on schedule!
