MIDUK'S NEW HAT!

Miduk instructed me to take a head shot only.  Check out the new hat!

MORNING ROUTINE

Sugar getting her morning hug from Miduk.  She is so sweet and easy to love on.

Miduk loves to love on Sugar and she is happy to oblige.  Every morning when Miduk gets up he comes into the living room looking for Sugar and gives her a big hug, usually followed by a lot of howling and singing.  Sugar is a talented singer, haha!  Then Miduk goes out on the patio to check the weather, which I find kind of funny because our in our family we are all very weather conscious!  We live for the 10:00pm news to hear what the weatherman predicts for the next day.  :) In Indonesia it's hot and humid all the time so I guess it's interesting to Miduk to have some variation in the weather.  The thing about Texas weather is that it can be hot one day, cold the next.  He announces to me "cold today Mom", or "not cold today Mom" with such certainty you would think he was a meterologist.  And yes, I have explained to Miduk that sometimes the weatherman gets the forecast wrong!  He then takes a shower, feeds Sugar, does his exercises, and usually watches TV while he waits for me to check my emails, then we walk Sugar.  Today his "Ferrari" (mobility scooter) ran out of juice on our walk.  Evidently it did not get charged last night!  It was barely creeping along and I had to manually push Miduk and the scooter up the hill along the path behind our house the rest of the way home.  Yes I got my workout today for sure!  After our walk, I pull up YouTube for Miduk to play around with while I shower, then we're ready to start our day!  Except that by then it's almost lunchtime.....

today we drove to Carrollton to the "H-Mart", which is an Asian grocery store, in hopes of finding some Indomei noodles for Miduk.  He loves Indomei noodles, brought about 50 plus packages with him when he came to Dallas, and we are down to 3 packages left.  Basically it's just ramen noodles, except they are flavored with some kind of Indonesian spices I guess.  H-Mart had a hundred different kinds of ramen noodles, but wouldn't you know, no Indomei noodles!  We bought several packages of Japanese noodles, and he'll just have to try them.  He told me he guessed he would just have to eat American ramen noodles, "since I am American now"; haha.  Which reminds me, yesterday we went to Target to buy some shorts and t-shirts for our trip to Destin.  Miduk gravitates to the cargo shorts or what I call the "skater dude" type of clothing.  One pair of shorts we bought is a charcoal gray plaid print, long length shorts, and he was so fascinated with the LINING of the shorts because it had kind of a funky print fabric.  When we got home I told him to show Shelby and Kasey what we bought, so he had it all laid out on his bed and when he showed them the plaid shorts, he made sure to show them the inside too!  :)  Also we bought a skater dude type of hat that he really loved.  I also asked him to choose a plain white shirt for our beach pictures that we will take in Destin and he surprised me by picking a white button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.  He said "I think Kasey like this shirt".  :)  And yes, she did!  What's so funny is that if I pick out clothes for Miduk, he sometimes doesn't like them but is afraid to tell me so.  But if Kasey picks out clothes for him, he is all about it!  So last weekend I went to the mall and picked up a few things for him, put them all in one bag, and gave it to Kasey to give to Miduk as if she had gone shopping for him.  And what do you think happened?  He LOVED everything!  I guarantee that would not have happened if he thought I picked them out!  I guess if he thinks Kasey picked out the clothes then they must be cool.  I've just got to stay one step ahead of him!

Today we pulled up a map of the United States online and I showed him our driving route to Destin and explained that he will be in five different states:  Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.  He shouts "Alabama!  Sweet Home Alabama!"  Oh my gosh where does he pick this up????  We also looked up seashells, in particular the sand dollar and the legend of the sand dollar which I've always thought was pretty neat.  He must have told me a dozen times today, "Mom I so excited for the bitch".  Uh oh.  It's BEACH, Miduk.  BEEEEEEECH, repeat after me.  Please do not call it the bitch.  Anyway, suffice it to say that he is super fired up for this vacation.  I hope it doesn't disappoint.  We're praying for warm weather and sunshine!

New word of the week is DUDE.  DUDE this and DUDE that.  Randy Jackson, one of the judges on American Idol, says DUDE all the time.  I'm sure that soon Miduk will be saying YO, DUDE! just like Randy does.  And occasionally he throws out a "SERIOUSLY!"

Song of the week is "I'm Coming Home" by Skylar Grey.  It goes, "I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world I'm coming home" all kind of mellow jello and then the rapping starts in.  Miduk sings "Tell Indonesia I'm coming home".  Then he adds, "BUT NOT YET!!!"  We've pulled up all the variations on YouTube, trust me.

I've been lazy this week and not wearing makeup.  Yesterday I put on a t-shirt and jeans, walked into the kitchen, and Miduk said "Mom, is that YOU?  You look young Mom!"  haha I asked him what he was buttering me up for.

Last but not least, Miduk is still talking about Matt's car.  He woke up Monday morning saying "I love Matt. I love Matt car.  ZOOM!"  I think he's ready to go for another ride.  :)

MIDUK AND SUGAR SINGING

VISIT FROM LINLEY!

Wes and some of his fraternity brothers were visiting the SMU chapter this weekend and came by for lunch with us on Sunday afternoon.  They tried to get Miduk to kick the soccer ball around with them, but he was being kind of shy.

The shyness ended when Matt offered to take Miduk for a ride in his new Mustang Cobra GT.  Didn't have to ask him twice! When Miduk got out of the car he acted like his heart was beating out of his chest, haha  what a ride! 

This is Linley and Miduk with Dr. Russ Wagner, an orthopedic specialist in Ft. Worth.  Dr. Wagner was a big contributor in helping to fund Miduk's trip to Dallas, and we wanted to meet him.  Linley also brought scans of a five year old Indonesian girl for Dr. Wagner to look at, in hopes of bringing her over sometime soon for treatment at Scottish Rite.

Linley joined Miduk and I at our bible study on Wednesday morning, and here is part of our group!  She captivated all of us with her endless stories of the people she is helping in Asia.  Talk about an interesting life!  We told Linley that someone needs to write a book about her and all the work she does.

Linley with Tim, Miduk and myself

Before Linley left, she took some photos of Miduk to show his family when she returns to his village again.  We told Miduk to look tough so that his brothers wouldn't pick on him when he gets back home, ha! So he gave his muscle some special effects....  Linley couldn't believe how much Miduk has grown! (11 pounds and 1/2 inch taller) and how much healthier he looks.  :)

Linley flew from Singapore to Houston to take care of some personal business this past week, and with her crazy schedule she still made the time to rent a car and drive to Flower Mound to see Miduk.  It was less than 24 hour visit, but so worth it!  Linley put Miduk's mind at ease about returning home and getting a job right away.  Miduk has been very worried about that lately, mostly because every time he talks to family on the phone his mom tells him to hurry home so he can get a job and help out the family.  This has been weighing heavily on his mind, and he is feeling a lot of pressure in that regard.  Linley assured him that he is not going to jump right into a job when he returns, that he will have several months to adjust to being back home and to enjoy time with his friends first.  She also stressed that he will have several different options to choose from, and told him about some of the apprenticeships she was working on for him.  We want him to choose what he wants to do, what interests him and what might be the best job for him in terms of being able to sit down and not too much manual labor.  He could possibly learn how to become a tailor, or perhaps how to make braces for some of the patients in that area.  Miduk was quite relieved to learn that he won't have to start a job as soon as he gets back home.  Of course, his parents may have other plans for him but there won't be any backing from Linley for at least three months.  She explained to me that typically when a child returns to their village, they go through a period of adjustment and many times just fall back into their old ways in their previous lives.  They may choose not to attend school or not to get a job.  They might decide to be lazy and just get by.  But, having experienced "the good life" and wanting a better life for themselves, they are usually more motivated and ready to better themselves and seek to learn and to work and to try to make a better life for themselves and their family.  It may not happen right away.  But hopefully Miduk will find something that he likes to do, something that he is good at, that will bring him an income and allow him to be independent someday.  At least that's what we hope for.

Miduk has finally tired of Eggo waffles for breakfast and has switched to bagels, which he calls "beagles".  I keep telling him that a beagle is a dog and he finds it hilarious since some people over there do eat dogs! He also drank 2 quarts of Welch's grape juice in 3 days. 

We attended a funeral on Tuesday afternoon, as the husband of my dear friend Orbie from bible study passed away last weekend.  Of course Miduk had no problem dressing for the funeral, as he prefers to wear black most of the time anyway.  (We have told him he will not be wearing black on Easter Sunday so he needs to embrace color!) Jack's service was a graveside service at the Flower Mound Cemetery, very simple and very meaningful.  His sons told stories about their father and we were both laughing and crying.  I wish I would have known Jack.  On the way home Miduk said "Mom I laugh and I'm cry too".  He said he has attended funerals before, and said they bury bodies but I couldn't really get much more than than out of him.

Following the funeral was a marathon dental appointment in which nothing was accomplished!  Miduk was scheduled to get 4 of his 8 cavities filled, but as it turned out we ended up not doing it that day.  Dr. McClellan was concerned that Miduk was only two weeks post-op and that his knee was still healing, and recommended we wait a few more weeks and also to pre-medicate him with antibiotics before doing the fillings.  That was a relief actually, but now we have to go back again in a few weeks. I had already discussed with him what to expect, and he was ready with Kasey's ipod and her "dental playlist" that she uses when she goes to the dentist!  :)

Miduk is doing his exercises each day, and is definitely getting more movement and flexibility as each day goes by.  He cannot bend it completely but is making a lot of progress-and the swelling is starting to decrease too.

Yesterday we told Miduk that we are taking him to Florida for Spring Break and he said "What is Spring Break?"  :)   We set our countdown clock for the day of departure and he likes watching it count down.  Only 13 days, 4 minutes and 8 seconds until we leave for Destin!!!!

A DUSTING OF SNOW

We got a little teaser with a light snowfall one night last week.  I received a couple of text messages informing me that it was snowing (I didn't even know!) so that Miduk could run outside and see it coming down.  Here he is outside on the patio (barefoot of course!) watching the snow come down.  Unfortunately it didn't last long, but he was pretty excited anyway.  :)

Miduk in his new soccer jersey!  My friends Kelly and Amy Schneider gave this soccer jersey to Miduk.  It is his favorite player, MESSI, from his favorite soccer team, Barcelona! Kelly is a huge soccer fan and has a lot of soccer collectibles which he showed Miduk the last time we visited their house.   Miduk LOVES the jersey!  I can see that it might become his new favorite thing to wear all the time..... haha

Miduk went for his post-op checkup last Thursday and everything went great.  The bandage was removed and Dr. Birch was very pleased with Miduk's progress.  The knee is swollen but that's to be expected.  His stitches should dissolve or fall out on their own.  We met with the physical therapist who gave us a list of exercises to strenthen the knee and help him with flexibility, as right now he cannot bend it very far (also to be expected).  He does these exercises two to three times a day, and has made a lot of progress!  He is able to bend his knee a bit more and also can get around easier with his crutch.  The best part is that he can now take a shower again!  :)  haha  We will go back to see Dr. Birch again on March 22 for follow-up and x-rays.

Last week Miduk and I were driving in the car and out of the blue he said "Every night I pray for God to make two Miduks.  One to live in Dallas and one to live in Indonesia."  He is really struggling lately knowing that his return back to his village is inevitable.  Some days I truly think he is ready to go back and some days I sense that he wants to stay here as long as he can. 

His new favorite song is "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson.  Lots of good conversation coming from that!

On Valentine's Day Kasey offered to stay home with Miduk so that Shelby and I could go out on a date by ourselves.  Kasey's valentine is in California, but sent her some flowers and candy which impressed Miduk.  My bible study friend Barbara sent Miduk a Dominos Pizza gift card, so Miduk and Kasey ordered a pizza and watched a movie. We gave Miduk some dominos for Valentine's Day, something he said he plays a lot back home.

Another church friend (and neighbor) Connie showed up on our doorstep this weekend with the movie Castaways for Miduk to watch.  He LOVED it!  And keeps saying, "Wilson, Wilson!"  Tom Hanks was so great in that movie!

Shelby took Miduk to get some new tennis shoes this weekend.  Of course they had to be black!  Got some flip flops and summer shorts and bathing suit too, as warm weather is on its way!  We are planning a spring break trip to Destin Florida but haven't told him yet.  In conversation about beaches I found out that he has never made a sandcastle before.  That will definitely be on our list of things to do!  Hoping for warm sunny weather when we go!

Well I found out why Miduk never wants to stay home by himself - he is afraid of GHOSTS!  Seriously!  He goes everywhere I go, and I mean everywhere - even if it's just a quickie ten minute errand.  He told me he doesn't want to stay home by himself because of the ghosts.  At first I just laughed and told him there are no ghosts but he was dead serious about it!  He told me that his dad has wrestled a ghost before, and that he has seen ghosts in the jungle with glowing eyes.  I tried reasoning with him about it but could quickly tell that I was fighting a losing battle.  He is convinced.  Maybe I should show him some episodes of "Casper the Friendly Ghost"?

Miduk has been moody lately.  Perhaps it's the recovery from his surgery, perhaps he is homesick, or the opposite-dreading his return home. All I know is we talk a LOT about EVERYTHING.  I keep reminding myself that he is a typical 16 year old teenager wanting to hang out with friends, stay up late, have some freedom.  He gets in a funk and refuses to speak. At all.  Last week Kasey was on the receiving end of his bad mood.  He gave her the silent treatment all day long.  I encouraged her to try and get him to talk about it.  Finally at bedtime he told her "No talk to Kasey for 1 Day", like it was a goal of his or something! He acted like it was funny.  She let him know that she did not appreciate it and found his behavior to be rude and unacceptable.  Since then, he hasn't done it again.  I sat him down the next day and had a talk with him about being part of a family-that in our family we treat one another with kindness and respect-and he is part of our family now, so we expect the same from him.  It doesn't mean he has to be happy-clappy all the time, but it doesn't allow him to be rude to others either.  Once again, I have to wonder what his family dynamics are like at home...

WES HOME FOR A VISIT

Ok, better late than never!  This is the photo I took when our friends from church brought a prayer shawl over for Miduk the day before his surgery.  Pictured are Stacey, Jimmy and Claire Hammonds.  Unfortunately Miduk opened the front door before I got there and Sugar ran right out and scared poor little Claire to death!  Notice the concrete floor in our entryway-ugh-we had to have the hardwoods pulled up as a result of that darn leak, and are awaiting to have it repaired...

Miduk relaxing on the couch Friday.  Sugar pretty much stayed with him all day, and seemed to think she was helping by laying her head on his leg!  Isn't it funny how dogs can sense when we are not feeling well?  She did the same thing when Shelby had his elbow surgery last fall..

Went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Wesley's birthday on Saturday night.  Miduk found it interesting that at this restaurant, you can eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor while waiting to be seated.  I told him not to try that at home!

Wes came home on Friday and he couldn't get here fast enough for Miduk.  Miduk asked me all morning long, "When Wes home Mom?"  Wesley took Miduk to Blockbuster to pick out a video game, and Miduk picked FIFA Soccer. They played a lot of FIFA soccer on the Xbox this weekend, and Miduk really got into it!  You could hear him yelling all over the house!  We celebrated Wesley's birthday this weekend too, complete with a birthday cake and candles. Last week the anesthesiologist asked Miduk when his birthday is, and he said, "I no like birthdays".  She asked if he had ever had a birthday party and he said "No, I no like birthdays".  I'm thinking we need to plan a birthday party for Miduk sometime before he goes back home!!!  Go all out with balloons and everything! 

Sunday morning we let Miduk call home before going to church, so that he could tell his mom about his surgery.  He talked almost twenty minutes, and I sure wish I knew what he was saying! When we walked into our church,  my friend Becky opened her arms wide and came running up to hug Miduk.  Becky is our evangelism coordinator and is in our bible study class too.  She lifted him up by name in our service this morning, and you should have seen the look on his face!  :)  Several friends gave him cards or mailed him cards, and I truly think he was touched. Last week in our bible study class, my friend Kelly brought him a bag of the clementines that he loves so much.  I wonder what he thinks about all the attention?  I explained to him that so many people care about him, that we have been praying for him even before he actually arrived here in November.  I pulled up a map on the laptop and showed him how friends all over the world are praying for his recovery, from Singapore to Texas to California, Washington, Mexico, Oklahoma, Hawaii and more.  And every time I received a text message checking on him, I shared it with him.  Yep, I'm pretty sure he was overwhelmed.  In a good way.  :)

DAY AFTER SURGERY

Miduk taking a mid-morning nap

Last night after Shelby and Kasey left the hospital, Miduk and I watched the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" on TV and switched back and forth over to American Idol too.

He really surprised me by staying awake so long!  We finally turned the tv and lights off at 10:45pm, and got him all settled in bed with his leg elevated.  The nap was short lived, as the nurses came in to check on him at 11:00pm and every two hours afterwards!  I was in a chair bed in the room where I could keep an eye on him.  He actually slept better than I anticipated, and was awake by 6:30am ready for the day.  We ordered his breakfast, then the physical therapist came by to work with him followed by Dr. Birch.  He was cleared to go home, but not until the PT came back and assisted him with learning how to go up and down the stairs.  His right foot was swollen this morning and his shoe would not go on at all!  I went down to the pharmacy to get his pain medicine, the nurse removed his IV in his hand, signed a bunch of paperwork and we wheeled him downstairs to go home at 1:30pm.  He was all happy and singing to the radio in the car,  "I've got the moves like Jagger"; haha!  We have a few leg exercises that he will do each day at home to strengthen his knee.  No getting the bandaged area wet, so sponge bath for a week and I wash his hair using the sprayer over the kitchen sink.  I've noticed that whenever I do something for him, he apologizes.  Like when I had to help him get dressed or go to the bathroom in the hospital, or wash his feet, or show him how to do a sponge bath, he always says "Sorry Mom".  I finally told him to quit apologizing!  :)  It must be hard for him to let others do things for him.  Kasey and her friend Sam brought him a Mini Cooper car for his collection tonight and he has it sitting next to his bed. 

THE BIG DAY!

Miduk wrapped in his prayer shawl before surgery

Check out the fashionable hospital gown! 

After he was prepped and ready for surgery, Miduk was ready for a nap.

We woke him up at 4:15am this morning!

My friend Pamela checked in on Sugar for me today, and found Sugar laying in Miduk's bed waiting for him.  :)

This was the view from Miduk's room on the third floor at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  Downtown Dallas was all lit up at 5:00am and we watched the sun come up! (well I did - Shelby and Miduk were napping...)

Miduk was in good spirits this morning when we arrived at the hospital.  After the pre-op visit yesterday, he passed the time by going to Ben's soccer game, and we had a family dinner where he was more talkative and laughing than he has ever been at dinnertime!  Our friend from bible study, Stacey and her two children Jimmy and Claire, (photo soon to come!) came over to bring Miduk a prayer shawl to take to the hospital with him and to wish him well.  The Prayer Shawl Ministry at our church is amazing.  These talented ladies knit beautiful shawls to present to those who are in need of comfort.  At church last Sunday they dedicated some of the shawls they had made, and the congregation was asked to tie knots in the fringe of the shawls and say a prayer for whomever may receive it.  Miduk took part in the dedication on Sunday, not knowing that two days later he would be receiving one!  And a dark charcoal gray one at that!  His favorite! haha  He held it close and snuggled it under his chin as he was prepped for surgery, and they even allowed him to take it into surgery with him!  I know he felt all the love and all the prayers as he wrapped himself up in the shawl.  Our new pastor Jeff also made an early morning visit to talk with Miduk and to pray with him before surgery.  Miduk was so calm and laid back this morning, obviously not worried or nervous about it!  He has had a previous abdominal surgery so he was familiar with the IV and knew what to expect as far as being put under anesthesia.  Kasey told him, "Don't worry, be happy!", a little something they share.  Earlier in the week Kasey had a disappointment and was upset and Miduk spent the evening trying to cheer her up by telling her Don't Worry Be Happy Kase!  :)

All the staff at Scottish Rite are amazing, from the security guard in the parking lot who waves like crazy and smiles really big when you pull in (kinda like Santa Claus, Shelby says) to the nurses and doctors and support personnel.  I just can't say enough good things about Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.  They are definitely geared for children and make them feel welcome.  Almost like the kids came here for a good time instead of medical treatment!  Everything is bright and colorful, antique toys on display, a popcorn machine, aquariums, video stations, generous prizes.  Even the exam rooms have fun names like the Zippity Zebra room or the skateboard room.  And might I just add that we found the cafeteria food to be amazing?  They have the best burgers and even a stir-fry station!  :)

Miduk was finally taken into surgery about 8:45am, and we were paged at 10:15am that he was in recovery.  Dr. Birch came out to talk with us, and reported that Miduk did great and he felt like the surgery was a success.  He is very patient and very personable, and has a great rapport with the patients from what we've seen.  He told us that he scraped the growth plates and also put titanium plates (very small) on both sides of the kneecap to completely seal off the growth plates.(that's a lot of plates!)   He explained that putting the plate in was an added measure of  security, just in the very unlikely case that some of the growth plates continue to grow and cause the knee to turn outward. In cases where that happens, normally they would just go back in and scrape it again (a narrow window of opportunity since timing is everything).  But since Miduk will be returning to Indonesia, he didn't want to take any chances and went the extra mile.  And no, these plates won't set off airport security!  :)

Miduk spent the afternoon sleeping, playing a little Nintendo and watching some TV.  Shelby brought Kasey up tonight and he was glad to see her.  :)  She always makes him laugh.  This time she took photos of herself and Miduk and did that "photo booth" thing on the computer where it totally distorts your face.  Always good for a laugh!  He ate a cheeseburger and even walked to the bathroom!  So far, so good.  He was even able to do the exercises that the physical therapist taught him yesterday!  I feel like he's on the right track and we should be able to go home tomorrow.  Today when Miduk was groggy he opened his eyes and randomly said "Wesley here?"  Wes will be coming home on Friday to spend the weekend and see Miduk again. 

All in all, everything went great.  Thanks to all of you for your phone calls, emails, text messages, and most of all your prayers for Miduk today.  And thank you Darlene Rogers for making the most amazing prayer shawl, I'm sure it will be something Miduk will take back to Indonesia with him when he goes.  And what a great conversation starter that will be!

PRE-OP VISIT TODAY

OK well this is another photo from the weekend fishing trip!  Shelby, Miduk and Patrick.  They caught even more fish than this!  Miduk is ready to go back again. :)

Took this photo this morning when we went for our pre-op visit.  It was a whirlwind of a day, beginning with more x-rays, filling out a stack of paperwork in admitting, bloodwork at the lab (he got lots of stickers and put a Captain America sticker on his Nintendo DS), met the pharmacist, the anesthesiologist, met with Dr. Birch who will be doing Miduk's surgery tomorrow, met with the physical therapist, and even checked into his room already!  We opted for a pass to go home and spend the night at home, but will be back to check in at 5:00am tomorrow.  Miduk sang, hummed, or whistled "Don't Worry, Be Happy" all day long.  I truly don't think he is nervous-well not anymore than normal.  He was just very laid back today and ready to get it over with!  Tonight he is going to the high school soccer game so that will keep him busy...

THE BIG FISHING TRIP

Shelby's fishing buddy Darin teaching Miduk how to use a rod and reel. Miduk caught on quickly, and was very serious about his fishing!  In Indonesia Miduk uses a bamboo pole with string tied to it as his fishing pole.  When he gets a bite, he yanks the fish out of the water, sometimes over his head!  He had to learn how to reel in slowly and get the slack out of the line before setting the hook.

They caught Redfish, Black Drum, and Sea Trout.  Shelby and Darin usually catch and release, but Miduk wouldn't hear of it!  He insisted on keeping nearly all of the fish they caught and bringing them home. 

Miduk caught not only the biggest fish of the day, but the most fish caught too!

Shelby said he was all smiles and fished until the sun went down.

On Friday morning, Shelby and Miduk got up at 5:00am to head to the Texas gulf coast to do some fishing with Shelby's friend Darin.  Miduk was so excited, as he loves to fish and has been wanting to fish ever since he arrived.  Unfortunately the fish in the Flower Mound ponds aren't biting this time of year, but down on the coast they caught a fish with almost every cast!  It was a great time for Miduk to hang out with Shelby and Darin.  He came back singing a new song that they taught him - a country song called "Red Solo Cup"! Add to that the excitement of staying in a hotel - only his second time ever to stay in a hotel and he was really looking forward to it.  :)  I will post more fishing photos when I get them.

Last week while on our morning walk, out of the blue Miduk said "I miss Christmas, Mom".  When I asked him what he missed about Christmas (was it the Christmas tree? the music? the decorations? the food or gifts?) he surprised me by saying that he missed the party at Aunt Kelly's house.  I guess that made a real impact on him, a family Christmas with lots of fun and laughing and playing games and just being together.  It made me feel good to know that he has a happy Christmas memory for his memory bank. :)

We were talking about Miduk's family and I mentioned that he has four brothers and one sister.  He corrected me, saying "I have FIVE brothers, Mom".  Wesley is my brother now too.  :)

Thursday night Miduk was invited to the Flower Mound varsity soccer team dinner which was at my friend Pamela's house.  He was shy about going, but Pamela's husband Brian came over to get him (yay Brian!)  Miduk had fun hanging out with the boys and playing FIFA Soccer on the Playstation.

Thursday was also our appointment with the doctors at Scottish Rite to determine if there were any other options for Miduk other than the hip fusion surgery, which we decided against.  Dr. Birch recommended a surgery in which he will put a "plate" of some sort in Miduk's GOOD knee to seal off the growth plates, thereby giving the bad leg an opportunity to "catch up" in growth over time.  They have determined that he has roughly two more years of growth left, and hopefully in that time the shorter leg is expected to grow another half inch.  This obviously won't repair his dislocated hip, but should make it easier and more comfortable for him to get around.  He is currently wearing an orthotic lift in his shoe that Scottish Rite made for him back in December, and he likes it and reports that it makes a difference for him.  Lucky for us they were able to get Miduk in for surgery this Wednesday, Feb 8th.  We will go in for his pre-op tomorrow, then check him in at 5:00am Wednesday morning for a 7:00am surgery. We anticipate a one night stay in the hospital, and I will stay overnight with him.  Please keep Miduk in your prayers for a successful surgery, especially since the surgery is on his good leg!