Meadows Family Mayhem

Today was a fairly easy one. We had our regular daily abdominal x-ray that was quick and painless. Then we had to go have some lab work done.

Ethan has been fortunate to not have had very much blood work done. So knowing he needed to have it done, was a bit daunting. So we decided not to tell Ethan what we were doing. We went into the small room, and Ethan did exactly has he was told. By the time he realized what was happening, it was all done. He didn't cry, he was just ticked off when we were done. Later he informed me that he doesn't like shots that put things into your blood, shots that take your blood and most of all shots from guns. I would have to agree with him.

Then we decided to make a trip to Loveland, Ohio. Dave was born and raised in Loveland, CO. It was a cute little town, and we had fun there.

We returned back to the RMH so that Ethan could play with his new friends. It is so great that we are in a room so close to so many friends and the puppet theater. They spend many hours a day playing there.
After a very tasty dinner we were lucky enough to have a lady from the Cincinnati Zoo bring a few of her animal friends for us to enjoy. She brought a baby aligator, an owl, a toad and a chinchilla. Unfortunately most of my pictures didn't turn out very well since it was a bit to dark. But Dave did get a picture of me petting the chinchilla.
It has been a good day. But now I am ready to get to sleep.

Today has been amazing. It was the day of rest we all needed. We slept in, and that made for a happy family. We have made some friends here in the RMH, and Ethan spent the day with 3 little friends.

What I have been pondering today is how wonderful the Ronald McDonald House is. It amazes me the amount of work that goes into running the house. The work is mostly done by volunteers. I know I have mentioned that the food is great and they are feeding us all of our meals here. Yet I am still in awe of the amount of love that goes into everything, especially the meals. Different groups, families and businesses provide the people to prepare and serve the meals as well as the food. After the wonderful meals we put our dishes into the dishwasher. However the volunteers clean up the meals and then empty the clean dishwashers. I almost feel guilty not having to do any cooking, or cleaning. We just have to make our beds, and empty our own trash cans.

Tonight we had a family that came and played bingo with the kids. They had tons of prizes, and were great with the kids. At the same time a girl scout troop brought ice cream sundes. There was also a woman that came into the house today that gave haircuts at no charge. She also provided kids with cookies, and activities.

I wish there were a way to formally thank all of those that are running the house, and showing those that live here how much we are loved. The best way I can show my gratitude is to go home and be a volunteer, as well as spread the word to everyone I know. So if you live near a RMH and have the ability to serve, please do!!!!

For the past 4 nights we have been staying here...
The Garfield Suites in down town Cincinnati.
It has been a great place to stay with 2 bed rooms,1 & 1/2 bathrooms and a full kitchen. The staff have been wonderful, and made our first few days nice. Yet when the call came to move we couldn't wait. Everyday this week Ethan has asked when we can go to the Ronald McDonald House. It was actually fun to get to pack.

We arrived at the RMH and were greeted by many people. Ethan was given a welcome bag that included a new stuffed tiger, a new blanket (that he loves, which isn't a surprise if you know him), a new watch, and several other goodies. Our room is perfect for the 3 of us, 2 beds 2 dressers and a very large bathroom. There are many comfortable gathering rooms, video games, a pool table, a play ground, library, puppet theater, and huge kitchen/ dinning room. I thought that we would be given 2 meals a day. But in reality they provide food, snacks all day long. They have volunteers that cook 2 meals a day, and then there are usually 2 snacks a day. That doesn't count all of the food that is available to make our own meals. What a blessing to not have to eat out 3 meals a day any more.
Since we have no appointments over the weekend we had planned on going to the museum today, but Ethan just waned to stay and play here. So we just spent the afternoon hanging around the RMH.
We finally were able to talk Ethan into leaving to go drive around downtown. We found a really fun park right on the river that borders Ohio and Kentucky.

The park happened to be right next to the US Bank Arena that was playing host to the Circus. We decided to go, and we had a fantastic time. It made for a late night, but it was so worth it!!

Today has been a very informative day. The morning started a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to Holly and Emma. We loved having them around, and we were so thankful to have them bring us to Cincinnati. I was doing great until sweet little Emma began to cry. We Love you both. (Thanks Eric for letting us have them!)

We had our bowel management lecture this morning, then we met with Dr. Frischer again. We learned so much from talking to the Dr, and nurses. We have been so blessed that Ethan has been a mostly healthy boy.

After the hospital appointments, we took a very scary cab ride to get a rental car. We got our car... a brand new Chevy HHR, leather seats and even a sun roof!! And it is only costing us about $8 per day. We were so excited about it. It is a good thing it is big because we could barely fit the 6 pieces of luggage into the car.

Tonight as we were sitting watching Harry Potter, we got the phone call we have been waiting for. The Ronald McDonald House called to tell us there was a room available for us. I was so excited I could hardly keep myself from crying. As soon as I was off the the phone, the tears began to flow. It was the final part to the puzzle, that fit in perfectly. I feel so blessed, and I know without a doubt that the Lord has his hand in our lives. Now I better get on the laundry before we check out of the Hotel in the morning.

I am very sleepy after today. Today was Ethan's exploratory/biopsy surgery. We had to be at the hospital at 7am, which meant we were up before the sun. I was nervous, but I know that Ethan was more so. We got there, and while Dave checked us in, I gave him his second little gift. It was 4 packages of Mario Brothers trading cards. He really loved them and found they were a great distraction as we were waiting to be called back.


We only had to wait for about 20 minutes, and we were then called back to the "get ready" room. It was so nice to have so many terms that were kid friendly in a place that could feel so scary.

We we were in the prep room for about 90 minutes before the surgery. We met with many nurses, the anesthesiologist (named Mario) and Dr. Frischer. Everyone was amazing with Ethan, and helped him to be calm. As Ethan was laying on the bed waiting he clung to his stuffed Mario that we gave him yesterday. It never left his hands, even as he was taken into surgery.
One of the best parts in the "ready room" was that we were informed that he would be put to sleep with "sleepy air" instead of by IV. Ethan was really scared to be poked to get an IV. So "sleepy air" meant he wouldn't have to feel any pain. He was given the option of grape, cherry, bubble gum, lemon, and a few other scents. I had no doubt he would choose bubble gum, and he did. I loved all of the nurses we met. Especially the child life specialist that spoke to Ethan and explained everything he would be going through. Including having his blood pressure taken listening to his heart beat, and being taken on a bed ride to the OR.


When the time finally came to take his "bed ride" to the OR, Ethan seemed calm and ready for the procedure. They let Dave and I walk back with him, until we got to the OR. We were with him as he was given his mask to breathe in his bubble gum "sleepy air". It was nice to see him fall asleep so happy. There was a balloon attached to the mask he was breathing into. The bigger the breath he took, the bigger the ballon would blow up. Because he liked this game, he took huge breathes and thus he was asleep in 60 seconds rather than the usual 2-3 minutes. He was laughing as he fell asleep which made leaving him a lot easier.

The procedure only took about 45 minutes, and after meeting with Dr. Frischer we were able to go back and help him to wake up. Dr. Frischer told us that everything went great, and the things we could expect as we begin the bowel management on Friday. We got back to Ethan and he had a difficult time waking up, yet the first thing he wanted to do once he was fully awake was to play video games. He could barely keep his eyes open, or hold his head up, but he wanted to play Mario brothers. Silly Boy!!! This picture is Ethan sitting waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the Hotel.

Once we were back at the hotel, we had been instructed to let Ethan take it easy. After about 2 hours he was back to his crazy self, and was ready to go play. So we decided to go to Jungle Jim's. What is Jungle Jim's you ask? I am still trying to figure it out myself. It is a giant 6 acre grocery store. I really have no descriptions of this crazy store, the pictures will have to speak for themselves.


Our St. Patricks day was an unusual one for sure. But in the end it was a great day!!

So we have our first procedure done. This morning was the contrast enema.
We all were a bit aprehensive as we awoke today. At breakfast Ethan was asking about needles and shots. We could tell he was scared. In preparation for the trip I bought several little surprises for him. Today I gave him a small stuffed Mario. (He loves Mario bros)
When Dave handed Mario to Ethan he got a huge grin. We told him Mario would help him not be so frightened. As he began the procedure he was quiet and I could tell he was trying to be brave. They took several X-rays, most of them were while he was being given an enema.



Ethan was relieved that there were no "shots" today. He even said he had fun while playing the Nintendo DS they had for him to play during the procedure.
Unfortunately tomorrow he will be poked as he will have a biopsy while under anesthesia.

But for now we are off to visit Cincinnati for the rest of the day.

We left Phoenix on March 10th and arrived in Milwaukee WI. We spent the night there, and the following morning Dave's brother Eric and his wife Holly picked us up.





After a delicious bagel breakfast we spent the morning at the Milwaukee art museum much to Ethan's chagrin. I personally loved the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. David loved most everything we saw, and I think Ethan's favorite part was getting to play in the snow.
After the museum we drove down to Pleasant Prairie which is where Holly and Eric live. It was fun to see their new home, and get to be their first visitors. The boys picked Emma up from school, and we were off to eat at the Brat Stop. All I can say is YUM!!! I was too busy eating to get any good pictures :)

Saturday was a fun filled day. We went to the Jelly Belly distribution center for a short train tour, and free samples.
We enjoyed the evening, playing games and laughing.
Sunday we went to church and spent the day relaxing. My favorite part of Wisconsin besides the company was the amount of delicious food, ie the brats & cheese. We discovered a locally brewed root beer that we had to stock up on for our trip to Cincinnati.

On Monday we (Eric, Holly, Emma and the 3 of us) rode the train to Chicago.
It was a fun new experience. The kids loved the trains we were able to ride.
We couldn't spend time in Chicago and not have Pizza. It was also great to have the time to sit inside, and warm up. The pizza was like nothing I have ever eaten.
It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the "el". However, I think we caught on and are ready for another try.
After 7 hours in the "windy" city I fully understand why it has that name. I had to buy a new jacket because the Phoenix jacket I had was not enough to keep me from freezing.
Today Holly and Emma brought the 3 of us to Cincinnati. It was fun to be able to see the Chicago Temple. We wanted to stop to see the Indianapolis Temple as well, but didn't want to spend more time in the car.
The 6 hour, 4 state drive was pretty quick and painless. Unless your name is Dave and had to sit in the back seat with 2 crazy children.
The 5 days we spent in Wisconsin with our family was priceless. I don't think I realized how much I needed the "boost" to get us through the next 10 days. Ethan has had so much fun with his cousin. He normally begs to play his Nintendo DS all the time. While with Emma, he never even asked. Ethan loves playing with her, and they are often heard laughing. I know this was a small miracle to have time to spend with the Wisconsin Meadows clan.

Thanks go to Eric and Holly for having us in their home, and showing us an amazing weekend. We love you guys!!!