Pushing 33

I believe in the latest post, Shawna had just said goodbye to her friends that came to visit.  Any change of pace for her very welcome at this point.  She's feeling great and once again came home from CHOP today with a great report from the nurses and doctors that she and the baby are doing great, but it's getting time for her to get home.  She is able to get out and about but still needs the wheelchair if she's going to be on her feet for any extended period of time (for instance, walking a mile DOWN crowded sidewalks from the Ronald McDonald House to CHOP with two boys on her lap and dad sweating profusely just trying not to jam a front tire and launch one of the boys headfirst onto the cement while holding on tight in an attempt not to launch a 200 human wheelchair bullet down about 4 blocks...keep in mind, whatever goes up must come down but in this case, whatever goes down must go back up so to say that daddy was sweating profusely trying not to let the wheelchair go down on our way to CHOP in comparison to having to push it back up about 5 blocks of busy city sidewalks at lunch hour, I think I got back to my original weight of when the boys and I arrived on Sunday...I'll get into my perceived weight gain in a bit).  So, in a nutsheel (or one LONG paragraph) we're pushing 33 weeks (Sunday) and all is still going well, medically!!
We met with a spina bifida coordinator today and started to get our DUX (good luck this weekend ZWHS) in a row as we'll need to be meeting with a pediatric neurosurgeon, orthopedist, urologist (Shawna thinks that should be for me too!!), physical therapist, etc.  She also showed us two walls of an office of pictures of some of their spina bifida kiddos and the things they are doing as they grow up which was very cool to see (getting married, playing basketball, playing hockey, going to homecoming dances, just being normal kids/adults).  Yes, we're still planning on having a child with disabilities but we're starting to be big believers that we all have disabilities and so will our next child and we all adapt and overcome and so will #3. 
Obviously, by reading this you are realizing the that boys and I made it successfully (a very relative term) on our van journey this past weekend.  I don't have any pics of the boys in the van 1. because that would mean that I was taking pics of them while driving (not that I haven't been guilty of that in the past) but doing that while driving in a near hurricane basically from Zeeland to the Ohio/Pennsylvania state line kept my focus, for the most part, on the road (not to mention switching DVD's and opening up at least 15 bags of fruit snacks, passing out suckers, graham crackers, donuts, or anything else less than healthy, while going through over a box of Capri Suns....and by the way, those stupid "juice bags" are hard enough to open as is, let alone trying to navigate through a tropical storm at 60mph).  We made it to Somerset, Pennsylvania on Saturday night, leaving us another 3 hours or so Sunday morning before re-uniting with Mommy in Philly.  The boys and I were pumped and fortunately, pretty well rested.
I can't put into words what a blessing the Ronald McDonald's House has been for us (and the thousands nationwide that benefit from what these places have to offer.  As mentioned in previous blogs, every meal is provided by donations and every night a volunteer group comes in and cooks a meal for all of the residence (that is where I could talk about my, I'm sure of it, of at least 5-10 pounds...it's like Thanksgiving dinner every night...including toys and such for the kids that the groups bring in).  So, a quick shoutout to the RMH's around the country and a reminder that anytime you eat at a McDonald's and there is that little change box by the drive-thru window or by the register, please put your extra change in there because these places that those boxes support are unbelievable.  Or if you're looking to donate some of your time and/or resources, consider getting a group together and providing a meal at the RMH nearest to you.  Just one chance to experience these places and you'll be hooked as we are. 
We've also been able to meet some of the other residence here.  Two of the spina bifida moms just had their CSections (37 weeks for both!!) and will be moving out in the next day or so.  Amazingly, one of them had a baby with a very large lesion, much larger than ours, on it's back which usually means possible paralysis from the waist down and the baby is already moving it's toes!!!  Not to get our hopes up, but you never know.  And originally, they told her there was about a 90% chance the baby would need a shunt but it's now looking like that won't be needed.
One of the families here is from Curacao (small island just north of Venezuela).  Justin, the son, is 14 and a gem of a kid.  He's here on his second visit as his first tumor was on his brain and was taken care of but on this check up visit, they found another aggressive cancerous tumor in his chest so they're here trying to figure out what the next steps are.  I have had the chance to chat with him a lot and dig into the life of a high school student from another country.  Very interesting the differences in educational systems from where he is from (a Dutch territory) compared to ours.  They head home this weekend. 
A few other frequent fliers that we run into a lot are 2 little girls that get radiation/chemo everyday that are 3 and 4 years old.  One is from Toronto and her mom and dad trade on and off being here with her every week as they have two older kids at home while the 4 year olds mom is from West Virginia and dad is from Maryland and they are both here and will be for 6 weeks.
There are big Halloween plans here which are no surprise as almost every night there is some organized event for entertainment (or during the day as Shawna snuck out on the boys and I while we were all napping on Monday and was quite pampered by a group of stylists who came in and did makeup and such for all of the moms here)...Monday night magic show, last night a group of dressed up dogs for the kids to pet and get candy from, music tonight, etc.

We did have visitor this week on Tuesday as our friend "Mr. TD" happened to have business in Philly so he was able to join us for dinner at the RMH and catch up with us.  It was great to have TD hang out with the fam for a bit and appreciate all of his and his families support of us while we've been in Philly...Thanks DeRoo's. 

Papa Bob and Grandma Sue are on their way out tomorrow morning for a long weekend.  Hopefully the weather is great so we can get out and about outside around Philly as we've covered a lot of the indoor activities.  We were able to go to the Please Touch Museum which was very cool for the boys to do all sorts of hands on stuff.





Week one of this two week rotation is about halfway over.  It's gone by pretty quickly.  It's fun being together as a fam and enjoying the last few weeks of our time out in Philly.  With Hope hoops starting up and getting into the middle of the school year, there are definitely things we miss about being at home, but being with Mommy out in Philadelphia is definitely where we want to be.  She's almost done but and intching to get home so any email, piece of mail she/we get out here givers her/us just a little ability to scratch that itch.

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff

Philadelphia - The City of Sisterly Love

Greetings from Sunny Philadelphia!
The motto is actually, The City of Brotherly Love, but my wonderful friends came to visit me this weekend so its been renamed the City of Sisterly Love at least for this weekend.  Bria, baby Lauryn, Lindsey, Julie and Hannah all hopped on a plane on Thursday and came to visit for a couple of days.  We had a great time and had great weather.  Luckily, Lindsey invested in a selfie stick so we were able to document all of our good times (once we figured out how to work the selfie stick).  Thursday morning the girls arrived after a very early departure from West Michigan.  Here is a picture in front of Independence Hall.  Since it was a Moms Gone Wild weekend, it wouldn't be complete without Bria changing a diaper blow out and Julie using her breast pump in the park at the same time on the same bench.  Moms gotta do what a Moms gotta do!

We obviously had to do the Double Decker bus ride again,  Its a great way to see the city when one person is in a wheelchair and another in a stroller.  Philly is beautiful but the side walks are 300 years old, narrow and cobblestone.  Makes for a bumpy ride.

Bria and super baby, Lauryn.   Lauryn is best baby East of the Mississippi.

Liberty Bell Selfie

Pat and Genos.  We got Philly Cheesesteaks from both and did a taste test comparison.  I think most of us voted for Geno's with the cheese whiz.  If you are ever in Philly you need to visit Pat & Genos and then head down the street for cannolis and espresso.

The girls in front of their old apartment during this Philly Semester.

Good ol Ronald McDonald.  Hannah & Lindsey stayed for an extra night and got to experience the Ronald McDonald House and its hospitality. 

We went to Haddonfield for dinner and got a pic with Haddie, the statue of the first full skeleton found in North America.

Lauryn needs to be super baby for Halloween.  

Throughout this whole journey our family has felt very blessed with the outpouring support from our friends, family, co-workers, church family.  It truly takes a village.  Having my friends come visit was such a nice treat for me to look forward to.  I think most people feel like these 13 weeks are going fast but for me it seems like forever since I was at home in Zeeland.   I am very lucky to have such a close group of girlfriends.  They are all busy mommas who made time for me and I am so grateful.  I am exhausted though!  I spend most of my days crocheting and watching HGTV and I can only be on my feet 10 minutes at a time.  I will sleep well tonight.

Before the girls arrived Janet and I have been finishing up our Christmas shopping and sight seeing.  We did a few trips and ended up in Ocean City, Valley Forge, Peddlers Village, Daniel Boone's Homestead and IKEA.  

Since moving in to the Ronald McDonald house, Janet has pushed me in my wheelchair to my check ups.  Its exactly one mile to CHOP and its a pretty wheelchair ride through Penn's campus.  My most recent check up was last Wednesday.  The baby weighed in at 3lbs 12 oz. I am really trying to get this baby to at least 6 pounds before its born.  I'm taking the "eating for two" to heart.  Our next appointment is next Thursday as long as everything continues to go well.  We will be meeting with the Spina Bifida coordinator who helps us find physicians in our area.  In addition to a pediatrician we also need a pediatric urologist, neurologist or neurosurgeon, orthopedist and also will need to find a place for physical therapy and probably a few other specialists.  We will also be educated on latex allergies.  Many Spina Bifida babies have latex allergies due to prolonged exposure.  

As I'm writing, the boys are headed out for their two week stay at Ronald McDonald.  I talked to Peyton on the phone while Jeff was driving and found out they were having cinnamon rolls from Burger King for dinner.  Oh boy!  I can't wait to see them.  Before August, I had only had a night here & there away from my boys.  I had never been away from Myles for more than one night and the longest I had been away from Peyton was when I had Myles.  Two weeks is a long time!  Counting down the hours until they are safely here.  

Many of you have asked for our address out here,

Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House

3925 Chestnut St 

Room #43 Carlson

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Joyfully from the City of Sisterly Love,

Shawna

"i'm lovin' it"

"i'm lovin' it"...the slogan for McDonald's, right.  Well, we're changing it to "we're lovin' it".

 

 

 

So, the pics above are why "we're lovin' it"!  My last post was hoping to come from New Jersey for the last time and sure enough, it was.  We received a call from the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House Friday morning informing us that a room had opened up for us and that we could move in as soon as we wanted to.  We had been anticipating the call and were packed up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and on our way to the PRMH in about 10 minutes.  We knew it would be a great place to be but were amazed at the house and the service that it provides.  You can click on the link above to learn more about it but in short it basically 45 hotel rooms, all with lots of space, bathroom, etc., a large group cafeteria/dining room with a large kitchen area with numerous sinks, dishwashers, ovens, refridgeraters, etc.  There is also a huge food pantry where there is every snack, juice, etc., imaginable.  We checked in and were given a tour of the place....huge play areas for kids, playground, gameroom, fitness room, huge lounges with coucheschairs/numerous tvs, laundry, computers....you name it or need it, you got it.  We asked the worker that was giving us the tour what we needed to get in terms of groceries and he kind of gave us a weird look and told us "nothing."  All food/beverage are provided.  Wow!!!  The kitchen/pantry are open to residence at all hours and all food/drink are up for grabs unless its labeled. 

Volunteer groups come in EVERY evening and cook/serve dinner as well as breakfasts on the weekends.  The house is fairly deserted during the day as most of the people staying there have children that stay in the hospital or need to be at the hospital all day so you see/run into people in the morning and maybe at breakfast and then they go to the hospital for the day and return for dinner or after.  It's another humbling experience, though, to hear their stories or see their kids who aren't much older than our boys with heads lacking any hair due to medical treatments.

We were treated to some more visitors last weekend as Kurt (Shawna's older brother) and Janet drove out Friday.  We were able to get out on the town as a group on Saturday and enjoy some beautiful fall weather.  There are double decker tour buses that have open air upper decks that give tours of the city so we opted to give one of those a try, which turned out to be a fun, interesting, and historically informational tour (yes, the history teacher in me was salivating!!). 

Once again, the PRMH showed us how special a place it is as we asked the van driver for the tour bus, who picked us up at the house and brought us to where the tour begins, how much the bus tours were and he informed us that it's free for RMH people (the list of activities that allow RMH residence to do things for free is unbelievable as well, or tickets to events that are donated).  So, we're thrilled, to say the least with our new residence.  We are allowed to stay here (unless we get kicked out, which on the intervals with Janet being with Shawna, I'm a little nervous about the two of them getting too wild and crazy) until the baby is discharged from the hospital after it is born!!
A great two weeks of being all together as a family did, though, have to come to an end.  We all traveled back out to our favorite hotel in Cherry Hill to swim, celebrate Shawna's 32nd birthday (it was actually this past Monday, but we celebrated early...which was the 2nd birthday we'd celebrated this year at the Holiday Inn Cherry Hill as we were there for mine the first week of September, so if you missed it, I'll still accept gifts), and say our goodbyes as Kurt, the boys, and I stayed there for the night so we could all get up EARLY that Sunday morning and trek it back to the big Z for the next two week shift.  So Shawna took off her jockstrap and put on her bra!  It was tough for us to say goodbye to Mom but bittersweet knowing we'd hit the 30 week mark, a big milestone in terms of a baby's development.  I also learned, about 10 days too late, how Shawna and I could have slept much better at the hotel as Kurt and I laid down the discipline with the boys (yeah right....Shawna tells me I'm a softy with discipline to start and then to add a fun-loving uncle into the mix equals ZERO-discipline) that we could have had our own beds as the boys settled down for a bit in our homemade cot!!

Speaking of the baby....that's right, that is the reason we're doing all of this so you'd probably like an update on him/her as well.  By the way, the him/her is one we don't know yet, even though I blogged a picture of Myles wearing a pink scarf and winter hat (Shawna crocheted those for our niece, Brielle, and Myles was just testing them out).  Shawna had another appointment at CHOP today and once again, our little trooper and big trooper (the baby and Shawna) both checked out well.  All is happening to the best that we could hope, which is allowing Shawna to get out and about more.  Her and Janet were able to suffer (or should I say my credit card suffered) through a trip to a mall and IKEA the past few days!!

Kurt, the boys, and I had a very uneventful (which is a good thing) back home on Sunday.  The 12 hour journey home is becoming second nature for us and when the boys don't flinch for, literally, 5 hours straight between stops watching Paw Patrol or their new favorite, which ironically was Kurt's favorite show as a kid, Chip 'n Dale, it is a pretty easy, and scenic drive (at least through Pennsylvania). 

The only thing that made it a little more difficult than the past few trips home is I wasn't still on an adrenaline high from a Northwestern win the previous day, but that's not a topic I really feel like getting into right now or ever.  I was really looking forward to flying my purple Northwestern car flag from the window of the van as we drove through Ann Arbor but I came to my senses as early as halftime of the game on Saturday and realized that wouldn't be happening as I took a stress-relieving walk where I found myself walking into a neighborhood that I probably didn't want to be alone too long in by myself as the sunset and darkness settled in without even knowing I'd walked that far as I was so mad about my Cat's performance.  I've always said that being a Northwestern fan was going to kill me but that actually almost became a reality!!  Just kidding, it as actually kind of fun/interesting walking around a few blocks of West Philly, although I got some strange looks having a purple Northwestern jersey on.
The best part about the return home was coming into an immaculately clean home, thanks to a few ladies that I work with.  Either they did an unbelievable job that dropped my jaw, or I had just left it SO extremely dirty than even a quick 5 minute vacuum job would have made the house look brand new (I think it was the first).  Just another act of kindness that we've received so many of.  Unfortunately, the house was dirtied quite quickly as Myles, who by the way, is pretty much fully potty trained now (he started getting to the toilet early last week consistently and has been doing awesome!!!  Thanks the Lord!), came up to me in the kitchen and said, "I need to poop, Daddy."  So we rushed to the bathroom to find Peyton already occupying the toilet, taking his time with his own poop, and Myles couldn't hold it and dropped off his load on the carped in the hallway!!  Shoot.  He told me he had to go and did everything right, just to find the throne already in use!  So we had a little carpet cleaning to do.
So, a big thanks to Kurt for co-piloting and joining Janet for a quick 24 hour trip and joining us for the trip home! 
Back in the Z for two weeks and already missing Mommy but glad to be back in some normal routines with work, Miss Jen's, etc.  Go Cats, Go Broncos (yes, still undefeated), Go Dux (yes, still undefeated), and maybe most importantly, Go Cubs....what Goat?

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff





Last from New Jersey...hopefully!!

So I start this blog in the hope that it is our last from New Jersey.  Nothing against New Jersey and the Cherry Hill area, it has treated us well, but we're hoping that a room has/or will open up in the Ronald McDonald House that is 1 mile from Chop.  It is our understanding that we are #1 on the waiting list for fetal surgery mothers and that a mother made it to her 37 weeks and had her C-Section earlier this week so we are waiting for her room to open up.  Selfishly, we knew there were two mothers approaching their 37 weeks in late September and we were just waiting for a phone call for a room to be open for us, but knowing exactly what this is all about and the importance of mothers reaching 37 weeks, we were hoping we didn't get an early phone call that a room opened up and that the mothers made it to 37 weeks, which we understand they did!!  Good for them and we're hoping we have the same outcome. 
So, Gov. Christie and the great state of New Jersey, you've treated us well, well...not unless you ask Shawna as the bumping around due to the wretched road conditions (yes Michiganders, we've found a state with worse roads than we have) is not always very pleasant on the stomach and abs that are still very much in recovery mode from surgery, but we're ready to get back across the Delaware River to Philadelphia.  We have appreciated the very low gas prices, but we've noticed that comes with the price of getting a free chiropractic visit (bumpy roads) every time we drive somewhere.  The Garden State, probably not a place we'll be back to soon (so the history teacher in me needs to make sure everyone knows why it's the Garden State...after some serious research by Shawna, well, actually just a quick google search on the way back from our appointment at CHOP this morning, we found out it's the Garden State due to a former famous/important dude calling it that as it's land was eaten up by people from Pennsylvania and New York for farming way back around 1886....it would fool you if you drove over the Ben Franklin Bridge like we have countless times now and all you see is roads and industry....agriculture is actually the 3rd largest industry here behind Pharmacuticals and tourism).
This pic above should give you a brief glimpse into the fact that, yes, we've been "holed" up in a hotel for the past week and will be still for a few more days, but we're now able to get out and about to enjoy some of the local attractions.  Yesterday we made a trip to the Children's Garden in Camden, New Jersey, to find out that it was closed on Tuesday's yet the aquarium next door was open (we planned to visit the aquarium at some point) so we opted to do that instead...thank goodness we did.  It wasn't Chicago's Shedd's but it was still very cool and the crowds on a Tuesday in October were non-existent!!

It's great that Shawna is feeling well enough to get out and about and the boys have a free ride everywhere they go if Mom goes (they love to ride on her lap in the wheelchair....so needless to say, my legs are getting a great workout whenever we go out as a fam!!).  The aquarium is located right on the Delaware River just across from Philly so not only were we able to enjoy the cool attractions in the aquarium but also a beautiful fall day on the walk along the river.

We've become quite adept to hotel living and this Holiday Inn is very accommodating for families like ourselves.  They have a deal with CHOP and we've seen and talked to many families that are here due to the same type of stuff we are.  Shawna has connected on facebook with a spina bifida group and a mother and family are actually coming here tonight to stay for their consultation as they weigh their surgery options for their unborn that has spina bifida.  We're not sure where they're from but she said about 6 hours away.  The hotel pool has been a blessing.  I'd say we spend about 3 hours average there.  Ask Chad and Kath, who visited us this past weekend.  It was great to have them out with Bryce and Brielle and give us a bit of change of pace.  We all made it downtown Philly for some play time at Franklin Park and a walk through downtown with a stop at the Liberty Bell and lunch at a philly cheesesteak joint.  The pool allotted our kids with tons of time to take advantage of Uncle Chad's physical durability (see, I can just play the card of having to carry Myles all over the pool as he's now the only cousin who can't swim by himself or jump on any adult available).  We probably owe Chad a gift card for a massage or chiropractic visit!!  Myles is also taking advantage of some of our downtime by learning with his mother how to crochet (which Shawna is quickly becoming very good at!!...see pic below).  We also need to thank Brielle for only being 6 years old but seemingly going on 16 as her motherly instincts can keep our boys occupied and calmed down!!

Once again today I was reminded of how fortunately we are and that we need to remember that we have a blessing on the way in late November.  First, another trip to CHOP for our weekly visit showed that Shawna is doing a great job of healing and keeping our baby healthy and in place.  All is checking out well...heart looks great, baby is growing, ventricles are still larger than a normal baby but aren't getting bigger as the would in many spina bifida babies, their is no membrane separation, etc.  Peyton really likes sitting in on the ultra sounds and when they listen to the babies heart beat they turn up the volume and he thinks that's great but he woosed out when they offered to listen to his heart rate so Myles let the nurse to a mini-ultrasound on his heart which was great!!  But as I went to workout in the fitness room in the hotel (it's been great for nap time and Saturday/Sunday football viewing to have a place to sweat a bit!!) a guy about our age if not a little younger came into the room and sat down on the exercise bike.  He's been around every day since we've been here so I introduced myself with some small talk as Bill Huizenga was speaking in front of Congress on C-Span (yes, I've turned into a political geek now that I teach AP Government and Politics...and for those of you who don't know, he's our Congressmen) so it gave me a chance to say I'm from Michigan and ask where he was from.  Turns out, Chris, is from South Carolina and he's been here for 3 weeks.  His wife is pregnant with their first kid and they found out in an early ultra sound that their baby only has 1 lung that is functional and it has some tumors on it that only allow the baby to use 25% of that one lung so they were referred to CHOP.  When he asked why we were here, I explained, very briefly, our situation as it is in no comparison to his.  Yes, complications could occur with our #3, but I can start there.  It's our #3.  We've already been blessed with 2 healthy and wonderful boys.  Our next child, now that we're almost to 30 weeks, doesn't really even flirt with the word survival anymore as that is really not a concern of ours now that we're to this point.  Chris told me if the child makes it through birth (it should get to that point as he said it functions very well off of mom while it's in the womb), it has a 5% chance of survival....holy smokes.  I can't imagine what his mind goes through everyday.  He works at a grocery store back home and is trying to make it as a professional bowler but says he tries to do anything everyday that will keep his mind off of what reality probably is for their baby.  So, another day goes by that we are counting our blessings as "whoa is me/us is not an option because it could be a lot worse.
We're looking forward to a visit from Janet and Uncle Kurt this weekend.  It is another transition weekend for the Jockstrap and Bra!!  Kurt, the boys, and I will be venturing back to Zeeland on Sunday.  It will be a much more enjoyable trip if his Sparty's can beat Rutgers in their trip out here (Rutgers is about 45 minutes from us) and my Wildcats can march into Harbaugh country in Ann Arbor and put their mighty meow to the Wolverines!!  If so, I'll definitely be flying my Northwestern car flag as we drive through Ann Arbor on Sunday!!
From Cherry Hill, NJ -

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff

Back to NJ - Pushing 29!!

Hey Hey,
We've made it back to our 3rd home away from home to the Holiday Inn - Cherry Hill, New Jersey.  So, I think I calculated that since we first came out to CHOP for our first consultations in August, we've stayed here 13 nights and we'll probably be here a few more nights before we move into the Ronald McDonald House.  We were in our Haverford home for 20 nights so that leaves about 12 nights that we've been in Zeeland, and even less for Shawna.  What a whirlwind but an adventure that we're taking in stride.  We're thinking of naming #3 Nomad!!
We splurged on our way out of Haverford and took in a nice breakfast at IHOP where our boys were thoroughly entertained by the little sticks that fold/bend/stick that kids are given...and BTW, with the fall coming, everyone has their "pumpkin" flavored stuff....IHOP's pancakes are great (see pic) as we are also enjoying Starbuck's Pumpkin Spiced drinks, although McDonald's does put up a close second.

So, overall our transition from Haverford to Cherry Hill has been smooth.  Many people may think that moving from an actual home (with a gorgeous, open living area) to a hotel room would be a tough transition, which, yes, we'd prefer a home, but we've likened it to this:
Fish tend to grow according to the size of their bowl/tank/container/pool/whatever and that can be a double edged sword.  You get a big, nice tank, the fish grow huge but with huge fish come big issues as well.  See, with the big living area in the house in Haverford, which, once again, was such a blessing so please don't think I'm complaining, came some big issues.  The boys loved running around and chasing each other and trying to hop on the furniture (sorry Hall's, I think we aged your house about 10 years in 3 weeks!!) and with that comes Peyton "accidentally" bumping/pushing/tripping Myles which then come tears, kicking, screaming, battle wounds, etc.!!  Now that our "fish" are contained to a hotel room, they have to find ways to stay entertained that don't involve ramming around (and they love the "hot tub" at the hotel....large indoor pool that is like bath water).  Myles has started reading novels (see pic) and us 3 boys, when the energy level seems to be rising up in the room, make our way to the pool, where even Dad (why do Dad's always seem to be the ones having to get into pools, lakes, ponds, etc., no matter what the temperature is?) enjoys the warm water and the boys get worn out and sleep like hibernating bears and eat like (fill in the blank with something that eats a lot) _____________ (see pic).

So, really, the only issue out in NJ is the approaching hurricane, but our lives have felt like a hurricane of late so we feel very well prepared!  Bring it Joaquin!!  The weather here has turned, just as it looks like it has in W. Michigan....50's with rain and wind!!
We had another appointment at CHOP yesterday and once again came away with encouraging results.  Shawna and Baby #3 are both doing very well.  So far, so good.  Baby is developing as a normal baby should and is still correcting any of the issues that the spina bifida had created as much as it can.  Shawna is feeling better and better although her abs still are quite sore from the surgery but that is to be expected.  She's doing a great job of keeping the baby put and has made it about 1/3 of the way through our stay in Philadelphia!  The light is at the end of the tunnel as the nurse tentatively scheduled the C-Section.  We're not putting the cart before the horse, but it was nice to think about the end-game and what we hope occurs at 37 weeks!  The boys and I were able to go around the hospital a bit yesterday while Shawna waited for the appointment and it was another great reminder as to what we have to be thankful for as we saw situation after situation of families and children with much more serious health issues than we have and are going to be dealing with in the future.  Wow, some people with some real challenges and resolve to deal with them!!  My biggest problem was dealing with this (see pic) for about 30 minutes!!

Don't feel bad for Myles, though.  He started it and is actually starting to be quite the little instigator but also able to hold his own with Peyton!!

They also think going to the hospital is fun as they get to ride on Mommy.  I'm sure that feels great on her incision!! 
Ironically, it is Spina Bifida Awareness month!  We feel that we've become VERY aware.  So, we'll celebrate (I think) that and try to become more aware (if that is possible).  It is the weekend, though, and that means another Northwestern game, Broncos game, and a visit from Chad, Kathi, Brielle, and Bryce....look out Holiday Inn - Cherry Hill.  Hopefully we don't get kicked out. 

Thanks for reading and all of the support. 

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff