November In Philly!!

It's been a week since our last blog and things are still trucking along.  Never would we have expected to have celebrated Halloween in Philadelphia but pretty much anything that has occurred since we received the spina bifida news on August 7 has been normal or expected.  So let's start with that, as Halloween is quite the to-do at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House and we kind of new that going in.  I packed a few costumes for the boys but the PRMH also had costumes for kids so we had (or should I say Peyton had) a bit of a struggle in deciding what we wanted to be.  For those of you who have been a sibling or have two + kids, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I tell you that Myles had his mind set/made up that he wanted to be a penguin once Peyton put on the penguin outfit when we first woke up on Halloween morning.  So, once the battle for Peyton to let Myles be the penguin was over, it was then like Peyton was in a fashion show of Halloween costumes (see pics).

He finally settle on Superman, but not after auditioning as a penguin in our room, then as a dog at breakfast.  It was a great day and we still have a huge cache of candy in our room which the boys have really enjoyed (and my 8 month pregnant wife!!).  I actually walked out of the shower the other day and as I got out, caught Peyton with the guiltiest look on his face and his arm completely buried in the pumpkin-shaped candy bucket.  Shawna was out of the room so I think he thought he'd be sneaky and pull a fast one on me....but as Lee Corso on College GameDay says, "Not so fast my friend."  BUSTED!!! 
We were visited by my parents, though, from Friday morning to Monday afternoon.  We had a great time with Grandma Sue and Papa Bob!!  We really enjoy having visitors and want to give another shout out to all of you that have made the journey to see us.  We also really have appreciated all of the letters and cards we've received while being at the PRMH.  People of work, 2nd Reformed Church, etc., you've all helped keep our spirits up and attitudes positive with your cards/letters of encouragement, care, and concern.
We packed the weekend in with GS and PB with taking the bus tour (this was Shawna's 3rd time on it...I think she could easily give the tour by now!!  It is lots of fun and fact filled.  Each time we've had a different guide and so you get a little different flavor from each with new and different nuggets of information about the city of Philadelphia.

This tour ended with us having lunch at the Redding Market.  If you ever get the chance to experience the market, it's great....tons of different little food stands and such.  It was wrapped up with a bit of ice cream as many of our meals out do!!  I also just found out there is a great gilato place about a block away (look out!!).
The rest of the weekend was spent at a kids-type museum that had a HUGE dinosaur bones exhibit where Peyton and Myles could ramble off all of the different types of dinos they knew about, a Philly Cheesesteak lunch near the Italian Market, and PB and GS venturing through the haunted house set up in the Eastern State Penitentiary at about midnight on Sunday night.  It is actually required that kids under the age of 12 are not permitted and must be accompanied by an adult if they're under 18.  The outside of the place looks creepy in itself.  Mom told us that Bob had a bit of the runs on their way home back to their hotel in the early hours of Monday morning and I'm still not sure if she meant bowel runs from being so scared or a little more pep in his step after being so spooked!!  If you want the real-life story/version of the experience, ask Bob.  If you'd like the story/version with a few extra twists and animation/special effects, ask Sue.

Thanks, again, Ma and Pa for journeying out.  We had a great time and hope you did too!
We had some more guest join us for dinner Monday night.  Katie and Liz, two Hope students who we connected with through their significant others, are enjoying Hope's offering of an off-campus semester in Philadelphia.  Once again, some new faces and conversation (not that we're getting sick of each other) were very welcomed by all of us and it's always fun to chit chat with college students to hear about what that world is all about (not that we're THAT far removed!!). 

We had another CHOP visit yesterday, where everything with Shawna and the baby checked out.  34 weeks on Sunday!!  As mentioned before, only 50% of moms get to that point!!  Way to go Shawna and baby.  With every passing day we're feeling more and more confident that we've made the right decision for the baby to go ahead with the surgery (way back on August 30...wow, that seems like a long time ago).  It's been interesting, as well, as we see the turnover of residence at the PRMH.  We've made some good friends but were sad to see our favorite buddy, Justin, and his parents go back to their home of Curacao, an island just off the coast of Venezuela.  They were great people and we wish Justin all the best as his battle against some invasive cancer will now begin with treatments that are sent from here back to his home!!  Go Justin! 
A mother did come in yesterday, just for one night, with her little guy, Bo, who had the same procedure done that we did.  They were here on a check-up from Florida and, small world, knows and goes to church with a girl that was a few years older than Shawna who's brother went to Hope with us.  We chatted with her for a while and witnessed Bo and how well he is doing.  He scooting around all over the place and loving life! 
Another positive over the past week and a half is that Peyton finally revealed to us what he wants to be when he grows up.  Throughout his 4 year life, he's become quite enthused about lots of different things but some more than others.  At the top of the list would be trains, planes, tractors, big equipment, and dinosaurs.  So we thought, hmmmm, there are lots of great occupations that involve those things.  Well, while walking (staggering, huffing and puffing) up and pushing the wheelchair (with Shawna sitting with a boy on each lap) back to the PRMH yesterday afternoon (also, please keep in mind that it was 75 and sunny....yes, on November 4th!!) after our appointment, we were pushing Peyton about the possibility of being a doctor or something in the medical field ($$$$) as we've spent lots of time in that world lately.  Well, along many of the streets in our "neighborhood", which is basically the medical buildings, Penn University, and Drexel University, there are a plethora of food stands.  His response to our asking about a medical occupation was, "I think I want to be a food truck cook man!"  On one hand I though, "you've got to be kidding me.  A food truck cook man?  C'mon.  You can do better than that (not that there would be anything wrong with that...actually they seem really busy and successful and happy)."  But then I thought about the fact that it probably doesn't take a college degree to pursue that career so there is about $300,000 off of the books for us!!  I don't think many colleges have a major of "Food Truck Cook Man."
Once again, another week down and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter.  The boys and I will be hopping in the car on Saturday for another trek back to the mitten as we swap with Janet the Bra.  She is journeying out with her sister-in-law (Shawna's aunt) Peggy and her daughter Linsey (Shawna's cousin, same age/grade).  We're looking forward to them getting here on Friday and spending some good time with them, plus, I think their hotel has a pool so the boys will be in their glory for a little!! 
Driving through Pennsylvania Nittany Lion Country with my Northwestern jersey on Saturday could be dangerous and might get me pulled over but that would just add to the stories we'll have from this whole odyssey.

From Philly

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff