Christmas 2009

We all loved Christmas this year. Initially we had a quiet morning at home and opened our own prezzies and then went over to the Rigby's place for lunch. We shared the afternoon with the Rigby, Gibbs and Blyde families. Diesel also had great company with Boston and Sam. There was sooo much good food and the company couldn't be faulted. Each Christmas is getting better and better, just for watching Zemiel get excited about unwrapping his presents. He takes such meticulous care in tearing the paper - little piece by little piece. The suspense keeps everyone smiling. Azariah, on the other hand, believes in dissolving the wrapping paper before bathing the new item in his saliva. Both boys have been so well behaved over the last two days, Sharlene and I are very impressed and proud of them.
Diesel got a present from Roger and Astro next door...

Zem opening up his first present of the day.

Azariah enticing his present wrapping to give up and fall off on its own.

Sharlene is very appreciative of this thoughtful gift...

Our loot for the morning.

Mums and bubs.

At the Rigby's, Zem takes a brief rest...

Grand dad Glynn and baby Leia.

Four generations of girls.

More photos...

Still more photos....

Yet still more photos.....

Yet still more photos still...... (This one is special though)

Still yet more still photos.......still.......

Still smiling yet after all those still photos.........

All together now, lets have the grand finale of still photos yet again still, still, still photo.

Our small families....

Blydes unite!

Christmas Eve '09

It has been another big day. This morning we rested after moving furniture until almost midnight last night and taking photos so that someone might be interested in renting our house.

We took it pretty easy this morning. Sharlene got her Christmas present early today, by going to a day spa down at Tuggerah. I took the boys shopping and generally had fun around the shopping centre. In the afternoon, Chloe and Sharnaye came over and straightened Sharlene's hair.

Sharlene was asked to play Mary in our church's Christmas program this evening. She was a bit worried over learning her script, but in the end she did a great job. It was a well constructed program and also didn't go too late. And now, it's time for a sleep before the excitement of ripping wrapping paper tomorrow.

Nearly there

The last few days have been quite exhausting really. I guess, with Sharlene and I both being teachers we end up hoarding stuff... so cleaning up about 6 years worth of junk - sifting, sorting, binning, and then packing the remnant is something that I don't want to repeat any time soon. Having said that, our house looks fantastic again.

Sorry no photos - too tired.

2 more sleeps until Christmas morn.

Sharnaye's Dancing

On Sabbath we took the boys to Sabbath School and Church. We'd both missed it last week we were looking forward to it. Zem however, had different plans and began to leak fluid from his right ear. He had a middle ear infection and with all the business of the past 10 days, we didn't notice until now. So off to the doctor we went. He is now on antibiotics for 30 days.
Brendan, Anya, Kyan and Aliya Wotherspoon.

Brad and Nicholas Hawkes.

Kim, Leigh and Jessica Twine.

Jessica Twine and Isabella Johnson.

In the afternoon, we went to the Morisset show grounds to see Sharnaye do a dance recital. There were also some other dancing performances by various dancing schools. It was part of a larger christmas program. We didn't stay until the evening fireworks as the boys hadn't slept and were getting a bit unsettled. But they did get a turn in a fire truck. Azariah seemed particularly impressed. He is almost back to normal now.
Here's Sharnaye showing what she can do.

Step in time...

Safety in numbers?

Azariah seemed very interested in what was happening.

Looking on...

The 'rocket' pose.

This girl did an amazing solo performance.

And she did it with a broken toe!

Azariah (and Chloe) with his first fire truck experience.

Big things yet to come from this young man!

Azariah is becoming famous for his huge grins.

All Zem needs is some longer legs!

Now, how do I turn this thing on...?

Yesterday we went shopping for Christmas presents with Adrian, and began to put some serious effort into packing the house. We've given ourselves 4 days to do it.

Today we continued packing the lounge and kitchen. Shelly came over and helped, which was fantastic. We have 2 more days to go and we're not sure if we will have enough boxes. Only time will tell.

Azariah Returns Home

Azariah has recovered well so far and has been allowed to return home today instead of tomorrow. We ended up getting caught on the freeway behind an accident where a caravan completely overturned onto its roof. We were held up for about 3 hours before we finally got through.

Now it is time for Sabbath...time for a rest. Heaven knows I/we need one.

Recovery

Azariah's doctors are very impressed with his recovery rate. They are even more surprised with how high his pain threshold is. Sharlene said that this morning (Thursday) Azariah had only had panadol after his initial morphine and was not even complaining about discomfort. One doctor found it hard to believe. He may be released tomorrow if he is going well still. (Fingers crossed).

Today we also had our last session with Tracey at the RIDBC. Zem was pretty tired for the session (he is still a bit ill). Tracey has been a fantastic support this year. We're going to miss our regular check ups with her. I think Zem has really enjoyed her lessons also. Currently we are working on word suffixes like s, ed, ing etc. We also did some counting and colours today. Zem loves counting things. We also need to work on giving Zem directions to do unfamiliar tasks with familiar objects. An example would be: "Put the shoe on the computer."

Another thing Zem is really into right now is spiders. (Most likely because we haven't de-cobwebbed the house for a while). But everywhere he goes, he now looks for spiders on the ceiling. He still hasn't got the 'b' or 'p' sound happening yet, so he says it like this: "s-ider". So cute! 

Zem's favourite things at the moment: 

5. His ride and learn 4-wheeled bike.

4. His bead maze.

3. A small blue matchbox car.

2. His small Percy train that used to be a bath toy but is now an everywhere toy.

And his number one bestest favourite thing... (drum roll please)

1. His pull string fish (ishy) from uncle Trev and auntie Roni. 

Operation Day

First of all, I want to send out a HUGE 'Thank you' to everyone who has brought Azariah, Sharlene, Zemiel and myself before God over the last week - even though everything isn't over yet.
Sharlene and Azariah before surgery.

My last staff function was today. It was a staff breakfast at the Gosford Japanese Gardens. All of us who were leaving were prayed for. I handed in my key, and said good bye to everyone.  The brekky was fantastic! Afterwards, I intended to drive to Sydney post haste, but as I was driving out of the carpark I noticed the car wanting to pull to the right. Diagnosis? A flat tyre! Just what I didn't need. I wasn't sure when Azariah was going in for his op. After putting on the spare, driving around for a tyre centre, waiting for the tyre centre to patch up my flat, and getting back on the road, I had only lost about an hour. Praise God!  I still managed to get to Sydney before the operation.

Well that was today. Azariah has now had his laparoscopic surgery and it was successful. Contingency plans to do additional incisions weren't needed and Azariah has now got three neat little scars on his tummy to show that his gall bladder is now gone.

Inside the gall bladder, the surgeon found 3 more stones floating and about 17 more clinging to the walls that the ultrasound did not pick up. Azariah had passed the 4th stone and it wasn't playing pinball like a ball bearing like the surgeon feared. The tube leading out of the gall bladder had also been enlarged, which means that anytime the stones decided to go wandering and play havoc with his system, they could do so easily. (And if they've done it once it is likely they would do it again).

The operation lasted about 3 hours with an additional hour and a half in recovery before returning to the ward. Even then, Azariah was still sleeping off the anesthetic when I left. He is on a 'morphine cocktail' to combat the pain for the next little while.

Here's hoping that Sharlene will be able to get some decent sleep tonight, although Azzy will be quite hungry when he wakes up.

So peaceful.

Azariah's scars.

A closer look.

One day more!

Azariah looked a bit more comfortable today. Sharlene and I suspect that the gall stone that had blocked one of the ducts has dislodged. We hope it has now passed out of his system. After talks with dietitians, pediatricians, and another specialist that I can't pronounce (some gastro guy), we are pretty certain that having an operation is the most sure way to preserve Azariah's health. The biggest factor is that one of the stones is actually on the move. If all of them were still in the gall bladder, I don't think there would be so much fuss. Some folks want to take a biopsy of Azariah's liver for study purposes. Gall stones can be linked genetically in older people, but not much is known about gall stones in young children. In any case, the little fella is going to be feeling pretty sore and sorry for himself tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow is my last day at school. I have everything signed off now except for my room cleanliness. I will try to fix that up early tomorrow before the staff breakfast. It will be the last opportunity to say goodbye to everyone. It's difficult to think about it without sadness. Those people have shared so much of my life over the last few years. Dean's theme for next year is 'New Beginnings'. I find that encouraging; it makes me feel more okay with the change in life and situation.

Speech afternoon, visitors and carols at the SAN

Thank you to Shelly, Ben and Bec, and Cathy and Ben (and Adrian of course) for coming and spending time with Shar and I over the last couple of days. You have been a very welcome relief and comfort. Azariah enjoyed meeting Leia for the first time. They were so cute!

A little light reading...

Daddy's girl.

Norrrrrrr...

With all the saga of Azariah unfolding, I probably haven't told you much of what else has been going on.

On Thursday (3rd December) our school had its lower primary speech afternoon. I was impressed with the number of parents attending and the program flowed well. All the classes did an item. Our year 2s did a Colin Buchanan song titled 'Everybody get ready'. The other classes danced and jammed away on fake guitars but my class actually signed. They performed it again tonight at the 'Road to Bethlehem' at Central Coast Adventist School in Erina, but I wasn't there this time to help. That is because, I was at the SAN with Adrian enjoying the Christmas Carols. It was a fantastic night even though it rained. Zem loved it too, until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

At the upper primary speech night, I received a gift of shortbread biscuits.

Another week yet...

Okay, finally we have some answers.
Azariah has 3 gallstones in his gallbladder and one stone blocking or partially blocking his bile duct. They are approximately 3mm wide. This means that bile is not getting to his intestines and he has some pain from the blocked tube. The doctors cannot find a definite reason why his body made gallstones. They hypothesize that it is because the bile duct did not develop correctly. Azariah is dealing with his pain quite well (except when he is pressed in a certain spot - in which case he projectile vomits). He has lost about 400g and his skin colour has changed a bit. His stools look like a mouthful of green peas that have been chewed up and spat out (only a little brighter in colour).

He has one more test on Monday to see how his liver and bile ducts are functioning. More than likely he will need an operation to have his gall bladder removed. The surgeon will also be looking at the ducts and may either repair the old one or attach a new one between the liver and the intestines. Azariah has been booked in tentatively for an operation on Wednesday. This means that Sharlene will probably be at hospital until next Saturday.

Tired...

Zem has just fallen asleep on my bed. Across the middle of course.

Sharlene and Azariah are definitely at Westmead Children's until Monday (at the least). It is looking a little more likely that they will operate on him. Still doing testing. Shar is feeding him now and he hasn't had any pain for a while. But ultrasounds show that he still has the stones and one is causing a blockage...

If anyone has time to visit. I think Shar would appreciate it.

A Touch of Déjà vu

Azariah and Sharlene are still at Westmead Childrens hospital. None of the test results have come back yet, so we are still waiting on what they want to do. So far, Az is still in a fair bit of pain. Sharlene is allowed to breast feed him again though. (Although he is not keeping much down). Doctors will be testing for Cystic Fibrosis tomorrow. But it seems that they still don't know why this has happened. The scariest thing is, that this is the SAME time of the year that we spent 8 days in the same hospital with Zem last year. What are the chances that this turns into an 8 day saga? What do you think?

Gall bladder stones at 5 months?

Okay, here's what's happened.
Last night at 9:40ish, Az woke up crying and gasping for breath. We settled him down eventually but every time we layed him down he would cry again. We eventually went to the emergency ward at Wyong Hospital about 11:30ish. We stayed there until 3ish, when he was x-rayed for a bowel obstruction.

But the results were not convincing for anyone, so Sharlene and he were transferred to Gosford hospital early this morning. After an ultrasound and some blood taken, the diagnosis was: gall stones. How on earth does a 5 month old, breast-fed baby get gall stones? Don't people need to do years of self-neglect to get those things?

At 1 o'clock today, both were transferred again to the Westmead Children's hospital. Never thought we would see the inside of that place again! At the last word early this evening, Azariah was STILL in emergency and had not been allocated a bed. Sharlene is with him. He has not held down any milk. He has been sleeping quite well though. Doctors are waiting to see if he will need any intervention or whether the pain was a temporary thing.

Please keep Azariah in your prayers.

On the flip side, it was my last day of school and Zemmy had his big end of year assessment today. Both of which went quite well.

Some of my students' parents came in at the end of the day and thanked me for teaching their kids. I nearly cried, it was so special to me. I got a photo album style of autograph book with kids pictures and comments. That's a keeper. I also was given a coffee table photo book autographed by the kids. I'm going to miss them.

One day left!

Only one more day of teaching left for me!!

Oh...and Zem is booked in for his 1 year hearing test tomorrow morning.
Except that both boys are sick. Zem in particular has been fevering lightly all day. Az is also finding difficulty breathing when he his lying flat. Shar and I are taking it in shifts. It's going to be a long night.

Teleconferencing

Shar and I travelled to Newcastle today to have an introduction to teleconferencing for Zem next year. It all seems very good from my perspective and I am sort of looking forward to being one-up on Sharlene for a change, knowing the new genre of sessions. We will probably have to travel to get to the conferencing site for a while though. Apparently Bowen TAFE has one. We just sold our old TV but it seems that we will need to get another before very long...or maybe a very big computer screen...hummmm...

Azariah @ 5 months

Well here is the little chap again. This time, he is turning five whole months! "What's made the time go so fast?" We find ourselves asking each other. Although, we both know the answer: Keeping a vigilent eye on Zemiel of course. That boy will jump on, sit on, lay on, pinch, hug, hit, bite, pull, push, grab, drag, roll, kick, slap, kiss, lick, and throw objects at poor Azariah. And someone has to be there to rescue the baby when he does. But perhaps one of the most worrying things is that Azzy actually likes having Zem nearby. He even frets when Zem leaves. He likes the squishing. He enjoys the tugging and prodding. He even appreciates Zem's desire to bump heads together. He has bruises and teeth marks all over his body and yet adores the one who gave them to him. What devotion!

After all this, we still managed to get a couple of good pictures to share with you.

Packing...

We dumped, wrapped and boxed our office yesterday. We cleaned out the filing cabinet, uncluttered the shelving unit, removed all unwanted debris, cleared the wardrobe and stacked everything that remained in the lounge room. The office now contains neatly stacked boxes, and a slot car set.

There was four in the bed and the little one said....

Azariah has rolled over for the first time today! He rolled from his belly to his back twice but each time we were not looking.

Seven years and counting...

For our anniversary this year, we went to Port Macquarie for a weekend away. We stayed at the Flynns Beach Resort and enjoyed it very much. On the Sabbath, we went for a walk at 'Sea Acres Rainforest' and swam in the afternoon at the resort's heated pool. Zem had his first close up look at water dragon lizards and was happy to watch them for almost as long as they were happy to watch him. There were also ducks and a brush turkey. We took a lot of photos, but here are some of the best:

This is Sharlene with her 'Angelina Jolie' look.

Zem walked for most of the way along the boardwalk.

But when he became tired, it was time to sit down and toss leaves over the edge.

A cicada shell provided a lot of interest at a safe distance, but a lot of angst when up close and personal.

The walk through the understory was picturesque.

Some of the epiphytes were fantastic! Here, a crows nest.

Here, an Elkhorn.

This King Parrot was spotted by Sharlene through the trees.

Back at the resort, Sharlene and Azariah enjoy a moment together.

While Zem gives his attention to one of the ducks resting nearby.

Around the resort were scores of water dragons. Some Americans were there doing their Ph D. about the lizards. They were all numbered and we saw the students walking around marking their positions on maps of the resort.

This is a view from the top of the cliffs of the beach near where we stayed.

We left early on Sunday, but we decided to visit the 'Billabong Koala Sanctuary'. It was a good choice. Zemmy spend most of his time wandering after the wallabies. (Who, incidentally, spent most of their time wandering away from Zemmy). He loved it! It makes me think that whenever he's bored of his toys in the house, all I need to do is put half a dozen wallabies on an acre of ground, give the boy a cup of cracked corn and we won't hear from him for the rest of the day.

Does anyone else notice that his finger is inside the wallaby's mouth?

Dad....can I keep him?

We also tried getting some photos of the koalas. Some were cooperative.

Others weren't.

After a presentation, we had a good photo opportunity. Zem just wanted to hug the koala (which was a no-no). 

Anyway, we all had a lot of fun except for Azariah who was overheating in the 42 degree weather. 

Both boys slept a lot on the way home, so we thought better of stopping off at Taree again (sorry Omi).