Welcoming Daniel

We thank God for the arrival of Daniel Kenneth born September 19, 2013 in Dallas, TX USA Weight: 8 lbs Length: 20 inches Mother and baby are in good health His older siblings Timothy (6), Katya (4), and Nadia (2) are very proud. We hope to return to West Africa in early December.

Left hospital

We were released from the hospital yesterday and returned to Beth's parents' house.

Nadia Joy arrived

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Nadia Joy. Mother and baby are healthy.

got to jfk

After the unexpected night in Charlotte, including the challenge of tracking down car seats so the hotel shuttle could transport the kids, all three arrived at JFK. Two more long plane rides and they should be home.

Stranded in Charlotte

The saga continues. Beth and kids got to Charlotte. Then the plane was taken out of service, so everyone had to get off. They made her get her luggage and she has been waiting in a long line trying to get re-booked ever since.

She'll surely miss her over-the-ocean connection again, so we'll just have to wait another day...assuming there are no other unexpected setbacks. Such is airline travel these days. But hey, at least it's faster than a boat.

Still in Texas

We tried to fly out of DFW yesterday, to no avail. The 1-2 inches of snow that were predicted turned into nearly eight inches over the course of the day -- an all-time record for this area.





After multiple calls to the airline, who assured us each time that the flight looked fine, we drove to the airport at 5:30 Thursday morning through large flakes of snow. The agent who checked us in assured us again that the flight was still scheduled to leave on time. We believed them.

We boarded the plane -- a full flight in which we had to check one of our carryons and every seat was full. Tim was in the window seat, I was in the middle with Katie, and there was a man sitting in the aisle seat next to me.

Then began our wait on the plane. First, we taxied out to get in line for the de-icing machine. We were third in line. They told us it was a 10-minute process. After 30 minutes, they had finished one airplane, but we were suddenly fourth in line. We then had to go back to the gate to get more fuel. By the time we got back, we were eighth in line. We had been on the plane for five hours when we finally went back to the gate to give everyone a "break." They still hadn't canceled the flight. I was gathering up our things and trying to scurry off the plane (as much as you can with two kids and lots of stuff) when the alleged 10-minute break turned into "hurry up and get back in your seats! If we don't get back in the de-icing line we lose our place altogether!" We were already going to have to spend the night at a hotel in New York because we were already going to miss our overseas connection, so there was not much that was going to keep me from getting off that plane.

My first mission when I got off was to do everything I could to get at least our checked carryon off the plane. I was hoping to get the checked luggage off, as well, since letting it take off on that plane meant we may never see it again. The airline personnel were surprisingly helpful at that point. We had our carryon back in about 30 minutes and our checked luggage back within the hour. In the meantime, I called my parents to come pick us up (their second two-hour round trip through the snow to the airport that day -- bless them!).

So now we're back in Garland until Monday morning, at which point we're going to give the exact same itinerary another whirl. Hopefully by then the snow and ice will be gone and the backed up airport traffic will have cleared a bit.

We had a fun morning of playing in the snow! Here are a couple more pictures.

My dad holding Tim (left) and my mom holding Tim's cousin Candace (right):


Even Katie went outside for a few minutes!

3-month-old eyesight

Katie had another appointment with the Retina Foundation this morning. They determined that, at five months old, she is now seeing at about the ability level of a three-month-old. So that's an encouraging improvement!

One of the ladies commented how much she has grown and how well she now seems to be "tracking" with her eyes. We've definitely noticed that, too. It's fun to watch her follow and reach for toys and faces that are moved around in her line of vision.

The nystagmus is still there. They said that it will likely settle into a pendulum-type movement rather than the random roving that we've seen over the last few months. This is predicted to improve slightly as she gets older and learns how to focus (i.e. reading).

We're planning to return home to Africa in mid-February, so we still have a couple of weeks at my parents' house in Texas.

We just enjoyed a visit from Steve's parents from Guatemala.


Here's a recent picture of Tim and Katie together.

Delayed Visual Maturation

Katie's opthamologist called today with the good news that her MRI came back completely normal. Since Katie came back with "a clean bill of health," as the doctor put it, her current recommendation is for us to continue to watch her and hope (pray!) that her vision continues to improve. The nystagmus may continue, even if her vision is otherwise normal. So we may have to address the nystagmus again someday if it causes problems with her ability to visually function, but we'll cross that bridge later.

We've already seen an obvious improvement in her visual responsiveness since we arrived here December 9th, and we attribute it to God's hand. We know that He has it all under control, and we continue to ask that He will heal her in His time. We would love to see her complete healing. We trust that His plan is best.

Christmas in West Africa

While Beth and kids were in Texas, Steve spent Christmas in West Africa several hours East of the capital. Highlights included singing carols for hospital patients Christmas Eve, then climbing the nearby "mountain" in the dark to watch the sunrise and sing more carols. It was cold enough Steve was actually glad to have his jacket! Thankfully, it warmed up enough before long to revert to a short-sleeve shirt. There was a nice view of the countryside from the top.

Later many of the foreigners got together for a good potluck dinner.

Steve also enjoyed hearing from his siblings, parents, and family...each in a different country.

Christmas in Texas

Here are a couple of pictures of Tim and Katie. The other children in the second photo are my sister Ruth's twins.

The MRI: no news is good news

Katie's MRI was yesterday. They sedated her, which could have been a little scary, but it went smoothly. The personnel who worked with her, including the anesthesiologist, said she did great, and she regained complete consciousness very quickly after the hour+ examination. The hardest part was having to go six hours without nursing her, though thankfully she wasn't suffering for the last hour or so.

They told us that the full results would be available by Monday, but they would call us the same day if there was anything of concern. We didn't receive a call yesterday, so we trust that the results were more or less normal. If I haven't heard anything by Monday, I plan to call her opthamologist on Tuesday to see what she recommends for the next step(s).

One-month-old eyesight

After watching Katya's response to moving cards with varying-precision black-and-white lines, the Retina Foundation determined that she is indeed seeing, but at the level of a one-month-old rather than a four-month-old.

They also put her in a pair of special goggles to measure her nystagmus, then they stuck electrodes on her head and flashed more black and white lines on a computer screen while swinging jingling metal bracelets on a string in front of the computer screen to keep her attention.

Her retinas appear to be normal, so we'll see what the MRI shows tomorrow. In the meantime, she's smiling and responding more and more every day!

MRI

Katie's opthamologist recommends she get an MRI, so we've scheduled it for Wednesday, December 23rd. This is to check for any neurological problems that might be affecting her vision.

The Retina Foundation

I received a call today that the Retina Foundation is interested in Katya's case, so we have an appointment scheduled with them for next Tuesday, December 22nd.

Tim is feeling better

Last Saturday, Tim, his cousin Candace, and his Aunt Ruth all came down with the stomach flu. Everyone seemed to be mostly over it after a day or two, but Tim's hung for a full three days.

The nurse at the pediatrician's office told us over the phone that it sounded like strep throat and that we needed to come in this morning if he wasn't better, but thankfully this morning he woke up feeling much better. He started eating and drinking again and seems to be regaining his energy.

Katie's ERG

Katie had her ERG this afternoon. Aunt Lisa drove us there, and it took both of us to hold/calm her while they did the procedure. They stuck electrodes on her head, then on her face, and flashed a bunch of bright lights at her. The tech said that we have to wait a couple of weeks for the results -- the local doctor has to look at them before sending them to the opthamologist.

Doctor No. 2 -- the pediatric opthamologist

The doctor agrees that Katie has very limited vision, that she sees only the brightest of lights. Upon examination of her eyes, the doctor says that the problem is not one that can be remedied by glasses, nor is it something like cataracts that can be corrected by a simple surgery. She suspects that the problem is in the area of the retina, so Katie is scheduled for an ERG (electroretinography) Monday afternoon at 3:00.

In the meantime, Beth, Tim, and Katya are at Beth's parents' house in Garland with her sister Ruth and her year-and-a-half old twins. Tim is having fun playing with his cousins and spending time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles. The Christmas tree went up Friday night, and Tim was in awe.

Doctor No. 1 -- the pediatrician

Thursday morning they saw the primary care pediatrician, who agrees that there is a problem and that Katie needs to see a specialist, a pediatric opthamologist. Miraculously, she got an appointment in 15 minutes with the specialist!

Travel adventures of a mom, a two-year-old, and a 3-month-old

Beth, Tim, and Katya arrived in Texas Wednesday evening. The only notable delay was a 2-hour wait in the airplane at the gate in Paris while they replaced a part on the airplane. But when you already have an 11-hour flight, what difference does it really make if it becomes 13 hours?

Back to the beginning of the trip. Beth here. Here are a few more details for those of you who like such things.

When trying to work through this thing with the insurance company, they originally wanted to evacuate us to Paris. With the help of our organization's home office, we lobbied to be sent to Texas where we have the support of family and friends, a place to stay, transportation, Katie's peditrician, etc. Had we been sent to Paris, Steve would have, without question, needed to travel with me. Since we were headed straight for Texas, however, I felt prepared for this crazy international voyage alone with two small children.

At first, we thought we might have to hop on a plane with three hours notice Monday evening. When they were trying to get us out on the "next possible flight," they asked at 7:00 Monday evening if we could be ready to leave on the midnight flight. So we had exactly three hours to pack and get ourselves ready to go. After about 45 minutes of scurrying around, throwing things in suitcases, they told us there was no room on the flight. So they put us on another midnight flight, but the following day, Tuesday. So we had a whole day to prepare.

Normally an infant ticket requires a paper ticket, but there was not time to turn that around. So upon arrival at the airport Tuesday night, we had to hassle with Air France for awhile to get Katie on the flight. Thankfully Steve was there, 'cause I spent that time changing an astonishingly dirty diaper that Tim had made me -- one that made me wonder if the 20 diapers I had packed for the trip were going to be enough. That whole process took so long that we barely made it on the flight. We were the only ones on the bus out to the plane. When we got to the plane, one of the airport personnel grabbed Tim and rushed him up the stairs, which were empty by that point because everyone else was already on the plane. The plus was that we didn't have to wait too long for take-off. :)

No bassinets were available, but the flight was not too full, so they kindly gave us our own row of four seats! After Tim fell asleep in my lap, I laid him across two of the seats to my left. Then after Katie nursed, I laid her sideways on the seat to my right.

I thanked God so many times during this trip that she's such a good eater. That little girl didn't miss a beat: every two to three hours, then she was calm! And am I ever thankful to be nursing! That trip would have been decidedly impossible had I had to shuffle bottles of formula...

Amazingly the children slept 3 hours or so, and I think I may have gotten an hour or two myself. We got off the plane in Paris around 6 am. We had gate-checked the stroller, telling them that we really needed it in Paris. It was nowhere to be seen, and upon further investigation we realized that European regulations don't allow retrieval of strollers during layovers. Thankfully we had a six-hour layover, so I, with my 3-month-old strapped to the front of me, fell in step with my two-year-old.
We mosied our way over to get our boarding passes for the next leg, get on the train for a terminal on the other side of the airport, and go through security again. That only took a little over two hours, so we still had plenty of time to spare. We had some tuna for breakfast (thank goodness two-year-olds don't know the difference) and played on the little playground in the terminal. There was another mom traveling alone with her two small children: two boys, ages one and three, so Tim even had a playmate!

We had a direct flight from Paris to DFW, which was a huge blessing! Usually we have to go through another city in the US before arriving at DFW. It made for a slightly longer flight: 11 hours instead of 9 or 10, but it was wonderful to not have to shuffle everybody yet one more time. As I mentioned earlier, we sat at the gate for two hours before taking off. Tim slept the whole two hours, which sounds great, but the problem is that he didn't sleep again until the last hour of the flight! We did have a bassinet on this flight, but the arm rests in the bulkhead row didn't fold up, so Tim didn't sleep as well trying to curl up in the bucket-type seat. He actually did great -- was so well behaved considering everything. When we first sat down, there was a lady next to us who kept giving us dirty looks and whispering to the flight attendant before disappearing to another part of the plane. It turns out that the guys that were getting drunk across the aisle from us made more ruckus than we did. I take that back: We had a major melt-down/grand finale at the end when the plane was landing where both children were screaming, but I think everyone understood. The rest of the flight I think Tim and Katie did great.

The flight attendants were so nice to us. They kept asking if they could help. I pushed the call button every time I had to go to the bathroom to change Tim's diaper, and they came and kept an eye on Katie (I just changed Katie's diapers in my lap since she's so little). One of the times, I put the flight attendant to work fishing out Tim's plastic airplane that he had dropped down slot where the tray folds up in the armrest. I told him the airplane is not as important as their being able to fold up their tray. He got it out without bending it too much and was a great sport about it.

I don't even remember what happened after we arrived except somehow we got ourselves to immigration. In Europe, they rush everyone with small chidren to the front of the line. Not so in the US. The lady who was herding everyone through the line started to talk to me, and I thought she might just be planning to let me go through. Instead, she said gruffly, "Ma'am, don't take the escalator after you finish here. There's an elevator to your right that you should use." Then when I got to the front of the line, she reminded me, "Remember what I said about the elevator!"

I miraculously had enough hands for everything up to this point, but I had a little harder time after I retrieved our luggage. I put the large suitcase on a luggage cart and Tim in the stroller. Katie was still hanging on my front. I distributed the carryons between the stroller and the luggage cart, then couldn't quite figure out how to push both at the same time. One woman at the baggage info desk convinced me that she was going outside anyway, so she didn't mind helping, so she pushed the luggage to the customs desk. From the customs desk, one of the officials pushed it the 50 steps or so out the door where the transportation service guy was standing with a sign with our name on it. We were home-free! He took us home to 2109 where we got a wonderful welcome from my sweet family.

Off for further testing

Since arriving back in West Africa in October, we have been busy getting re-settled and doing lots of exciting things in our work.

However, sometimes life brings unexpected events.

Last night Beth, Katya, and Timothy left West Africa for the United States. I am still in country for the time being, awaiting further news.

Last week, we realized that our 3-month old daughter Katya’s eyes were not developing normally. Although we think she can sense light, she does not appear to see anything else. We saw a doctor who recommended evacuation and further testing. If the problem can be diagnosed and dealt with in the next few weeks, it increases the chances that she might gain her sight. Not doing so could result in “irreversible visual loss or permanent impairment.”

We initiated the process Friday evening and are thankful:
- That the insurance company agreed it to have her go to the US instead of France
- That they were able to get direct flights
- That a doctor has agreed to see Thursday morning shortly after arrival
-For the supernatural peace Beth and I have both felt, peace about the situation as a whole, and about her traveling back alone with the children. 2 Cor 1:3-4

We'll try to keep this site updated, as we are able.

Peeking

Peeking at you.

Out of the hospital

Beth and Katya are doing well and were released today from the hospital. Beth was surprised when they asked her if she wanted a wheelchair to get to the car. "I'll happily walk to the next building," she said.

Katya has already managed to scratch her face, sleep most of the time, and is pretty good at nursing--sometimes.

Big brother Tim has been giving her lots of hugs, kisses, and pats on the head. He also likes to point out her eyes, nose, mouth, and feet.

Welcome Katie

We’d like to introduce our daughter, Katya Elisa, born this week, weighing 6 lbs 6 oz. We plan to also call her “Katie” in English.

She is named after our two wonderful mothers: Kathy and Elisa.

Katya (like Kathy, Katie and other variants) means “pure” and Elisa means “God’s promise” or “consecrated to God”

Bumper walker

Some friends lent us a walker a couple of weeks ago, and Tim is enjoying his new-found liberty -- until he gets tired of not being able to reach things on the floor. His favorite places to "crash" are the bathroom (into the row of buckets under the sink), and the toilet room. See him here on the right, just before reaching to unravel the roll of toilet paper.

Overnight

We stayed overnight at the guesthouse. It wasn't too relaxing with all our hospital appointments, but it was nice to break the trip into two days. And Timothy enjoyed getting to explore another guesthouse.

Hospital

After Timothy gave us quite a scare with his episode of cyanosis we stopped by the hospital on the way home to the capital to see a doctor and run some tests. He was very brave for his blood test, reasonably cooperative for his urine test, and fascinated by his X-ray. First photo: Tim on the X-ray table. Second photo: After they took the X-ray, they handed us the dripping wet film to carry over to the other side of the hospital.

Week in the East

Steve had meetings in 10 hours East, so Tim and I went along for the ride. He and I enjoyed hanging out together in the guest house during the day, then spending time with Steve in the evenings.

Morning workout

In the mornings, Timothy and I like to go exercise with our friend Murielle. Some mornings, we take the running stroller to the stadium. Other mornings we lift weights in her home gym, as you can see here... Well, actually Tim usually plays in his Pack-N-Play while we lift weights, but every once in awhile it's fun to pretend he's working out.

Big boy in the mirror

We came home to find that one of our friends had left a whole bag of hand-me-down clothes for Tim -- they look more like little boy clothes than baby clothes. Here he is smiling at himself in the mirror, wearing one of his new big boy outfits.

Pictures of Tim in Texas

This trip we focused on spending time with family, knowing we wouldn't really have a chance to see all of our friends in Texas. We look forward to seeing everybody next year when the three of us are back for home assignment -- we plan to really make the rounds, visiting as many people as we can.

Here are some pictures of Tim with various family members at my parents' house in Garland.

- Checking out Grandma's necklace

- Laughing with Uncle Harvey

- Sitting with Uncle John and company (including cousins Clayton and Candace, Ruth's two-month-old twins)

- Dancing with Grandpa

- "Leaning on God's Word"

- Swimming with Aunt Sarsah and Aunt Ruth

Saying goodbye to Daddy

Steve had to go back to West Africa in late April, then Timothy and Beth stayed in Texas until early June.

Tim and Evelyn

My friend Kelly's daughter Evelyn is eleven weeks older than Tim. They enjoyed playing together several times while we were in Texas.