Kate, Victoria, and Dorinda in Maine

This past Wednesday our good friend, Dorinda Clark moved to Maine to be near her boyfriend, Zack Costa.  Zack is considered "family" to us since he is Leonard's brother.  Dorinda invited Victoria and Kate to accompany her on this 2,100 mile trip.  They left after the Bible study on Wednesday night and headed north.  On the way, they were able to stop in Manheim, Pennsylvania to see Victoria's Mam Ma and Kate's Great Mam Ma, Mary Petticoffer.  Was she thrilled!  Uncle Todd, Aunt Melanie, Zack, Katelyn, and Nathan also got to see them and meet Kate.  I hope Dorinda got a word in, our family can really get to talking when we get together!
They spent the day in Pennsylvania and left Saturday morning to finish their trip to Gardiner, Maine.  I'm praising the Lord for their safety and hope they have a wonderful time with Kate's other grandparents, Leonard and Karmyn Costa.  (The baby looks just like a Costa, so I know they'll enjoy seeing her!)
We will miss Dorinda but know she is on a new "journey", serving the Lord in Maine, near Zack and her best friend, Nicole Droullard.

Our Little Girl - August 16, 2010

  

Today we spent our time going visiting different doctors, getting Alyssa ready for school.  We started with her pediatrician, Dr. Chaikin.   Alyssa is WAAAYYYY off the charts for her age in height - age 10 yrs. 8 months and 5 ft. 3 in.   Her little "mark" on the chart was floating a few inches above the curve.  For her height, her weight is perfect.  As a matter of fact, she is the exact same height and weight as her grandma, "Bachi"!  She's come a long way for a baby who came home weighing less than five pounds and only 18 inches long!

Alyssa bravely received two immunizations, one for hepatitis A and the other for chickenpox.  That was a sight ( I didn't take any pics!)

Dr. Chaikin did a complete physical on Alyssa and noticed that her spine was uneven.  She ordered x-rays for a scoliosis screening.  We went directly to Open Imaging of Longview and had three x-rays made.  

Right after that we went to Kilgore to see Dr. J.T. Roberts for our annual eye exams.  Good news there, Alyssa has 20/20 vision, so no glasses this year!

We weren't expecting to have any problems, but we know God is in control.  We did praise the Lord for having good doctors and having health insurance with Dad's company.

"What's Going On?"

Hello!

The summer is almost over and I believe we've packed more than our share of events into the days!  I think the last post was about our Memorial Day weekend in Muskogee, Oklahoma in the ICU with Jessica.  Since then we've done the following...

• Taken Alyssa around town to sell twenty-seven cases of chocolate for her school fund raiser.
• Prepared for Teen Convention.
• Welcomed Kate Lynne Costa to the world on June 23, 2010.
• Visited with Joe and his tour group, the Sons of the Prophets, while they were in the area.
• Almost finished remodeling the master bathroom (Scott).  Just grout and finish-work to do!!!
• Jessica and Martin Meave became engaged on July 20 at a surprise party at our home.  Our family, the Meave Family, Simmons Family, Tolleys, Joanna Bagwell, and Joy Britt were there for the surprise when Martin got down on one knee to propose.  The Simmons brought a beautifully decorated cake and Martin had roses ready for her.  What a beautiful ring!
• Alyssa got her phase 2 braces and has grown at least two inches!
• Jessica has had tests for celiac disease (negative) and now is awaiting results from a sonogram and blood work checking for other possible intestinal problems.  Please pray.
• Jessica upgraded to a new insulin pump with real-time blood glucose monitoring.  This device takes her blood sugar by IV every five minutes, so no more pricking!  She will be taking a class on Saturday and will be on this device by next week some time.  Praise the Lord!
• Scott has been working on other projects besides the bathroom, including taking my shrubs out from in front of the house...why did he do that?
• Jessica, Alyssa, and I went wedding gown shopping and Jessica found the dress and veil.
• Victoria and Kate come by every evening for laundry, fellowship, and dinner.  We get to hold Kate and spoil her a little every day.
• The girls and I all use the "One Year Bible" and enjoy talking about what we've been reading.
• We've enjoyed Sunday school class visitation and teaching, choir rehearsal, church services, and soul winning this summer.
• Now that Jessica and Martin are engaged there's a lot of dating and planning going on every week.  Martin will even sit and play board games with the family, yes, even Mexican train!

I hope I haven't bored you with what's up, I know we're not bored, and I did try to leave out all of the daily "dailies".