The surgery on Amelia's broken arm went well. It took longer than expected, because the break was complicated. There was just one break, but it was a curved break right above the elbow (see the x-ray from Tracy's earlier post). Moreover, the broken bone pieces were poking into the muscle, so that when the surgeon initially straightened it out yesterday, the muscle was pinched in there. No wonder Amelia had a very hard night of sleep.
Today the surgeon realized what had happened with the muscle, so he had to cut open the arm to sort everything out, which he was not expecting to do. We were told to expect one hour in the OR, which turned into three.
Now Amelia is asleep at home, still under the effects of the anesthesia. Tracy is out gathering medicines for when the anesthesia wears off.
Thanks very much to all well-wishers and especially to those families who have watched our boys today and yesterday while we have helped Amelia.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What Gary Didn't Tell You...
...is that the orthopedic surgeon asked if he could take home a copy of this x ray for his wife and kids who are begging him for a trampoline. AND that they don't give you a "mild scolding" when you say trampoline in the emergency room. They tell you "trampolines should be burned to the ground!"On a more sentimental note, he also didn't tell you that this morning, Amelia woke up and said "I want to make everyone breakfast in bed, because they have been so nice to me." Even in her pain, she is grateful and she is thinking of others. (No, I didn't let her make breakfast in bed for the family. She can barely move.)
Pray for Amelia
Please pray for our little Amelia. She broke her arm in a trampoline accident yesterday. It's a 100% break of the humerus right above the elbow. She was and still is in a lot of pain. I am awake at this hour because Tracy and I just gave her a round of pain medicine.
Later this morning she will undergo surgery to put pins in her arm to help it heal properly. They were unable to schedule it yesterday. They were quite busy at the hospital with similar injuries from the first day of summer break...er, summer vacation.
Even though it's a bad 100% break (x-rays coming soon), at least it's a fairly clean break. The surgeon said he doesn't anticipate any complications, permanent effects, or healing time beyond four weeks.
If you ever have your child seen by an orthopedic surgeon and staff for a trampoline accident, you will endure mild scolding from each staff member and from the surgeon himself (or herself, but in this case himself). They are anti-trampolines, which is charitable of them given the business they get from trampoline victims.
Finally, yes, when Amelia is more cheerful later today or tomorrow, we will take her picture together with Simon, who gets his arm cast off on Thursday. :-)
Later this morning she will undergo surgery to put pins in her arm to help it heal properly. They were unable to schedule it yesterday. They were quite busy at the hospital with similar injuries from the first day of summer break...er, summer vacation.
Even though it's a bad 100% break (x-rays coming soon), at least it's a fairly clean break. The surgeon said he doesn't anticipate any complications, permanent effects, or healing time beyond four weeks.
If you ever have your child seen by an orthopedic surgeon and staff for a trampoline accident, you will endure mild scolding from each staff member and from the surgeon himself (or herself, but in this case himself). They are anti-trampolines, which is charitable of them given the business they get from trampoline victims.
Finally, yes, when Amelia is more cheerful later today or tomorrow, we will take her picture together with Simon, who gets his arm cast off on Thursday. :-)
Friday, June 19, 2009
Talky Baby
Simon is really talking a lot now. He is putting two or three words together frequently. But he really surprised me a few days ago with his longest sort-of-complete sentence I have heard yet, when cheerfully asking for one of his favorite delicacies:
"How 'bout that soymilk!"
Keep in mind that Simon is not yet two years old, so that's pretty remarkable in my opinion. Also, Simon is lactose-intolerant, so he's our only soymilk consumer.
I was trying to decide whether Simon had put together a sentence of four words or five. The brand we use calls it soymilk. But there are more than twice as many references on the Web to soy milk than to soymilk. So what say you?
UPDATE: it looks like Silk only uses soymilk when referring to Silk Soymilk, their capitalized brand. When they talk about soy milk without mentioning the brand, they do say "soy milk." I'm not saying they're right or wrong--because it appears that no matter how you answer the poll, they're both right and wrong!
"How 'bout that soymilk!"
Keep in mind that Simon is not yet two years old, so that's pretty remarkable in my opinion. Also, Simon is lactose-intolerant, so he's our only soymilk consumer.
I was trying to decide whether Simon had put together a sentence of four words or five. The brand we use calls it soymilk. But there are more than twice as many references on the Web to soy milk than to soymilk. So what say you?
UPDATE: it looks like Silk only uses soymilk when referring to Silk Soymilk, their capitalized brand. When they talk about soy milk without mentioning the brand, they do say "soy milk." I'm not saying they're right or wrong--because it appears that no matter how you answer the poll, they're both right and wrong!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Cidade Maravilhosa
In April I was fortunate enough to return to Brazil for the first time since my mission. I went to a trade show in Rio de Janeiro, also known in Brazil as "A Cidade Maravilhosa," the Marvelous City. Besides answering questions at our booth, I had time to see the city and take some photos with a super lo-fi camera phone.
Rio is very different from the parts of Brazil I lived in--Manaus, Rio Branco, Porto Velho--but I have a feeling that 11 years have made a lot of differences as well. It seemed so clean and prosperous, as compared to what I experienced in the North.
It also seemed a lot safer than I anticipated. The only Brazilian who I talk to on a regular basis nowadays gave me a Rio safety tip: "Never ever go to Copacabana Beach!" Good advice, except that that's where my hotel was. However, I did not feel threatened at all. I did use my money belt, I avoided going out after dark, and I looked over my shoulder frequently. And it was worth the trouble.
These photos are an insult to how beautiful Copacabana is. The beach, the water, the mountains, the buildings, and the people all make it a wonderful experience.
Of course, Copacabana is more than a beach. It is also a neighborhood, maybe not the fanciest in Rio, but decent, busy, and a nice place to be. The photo above is a nice little corner store near the hotel that had great deals on bottled water, cookies, drinkable yogurt, and other Brazilian staples. (Most of the time I did not drink bottled water. The hotel and conference center were modern enough that the tap water was fine.)
I stayed at the Pestana Rio Atlântica, which I can highly recommend. The room was not fancy but adequate and had air conditioning. And the view from the rooftop pool is incredible. Unfortunately my room faced the city instead of the beach...you have to pay more than my employer pays in order to get an oceanside room. If you prefer a purely American hotel, there's a Marriott down the street.
But any decent hotel in Copacabana will have English speakers, which I did not really need. My Portuguese was pretty rusty on the first day, but I caught on and did pretty well for the rest of the week. I'm nowhere near as good as when I lived in Brazil, but I can get by with relative ease to get around town. Brazilians seem to appreciate the effort to speak their language, and they are typically patient and willing to speak slowly as needed. Now, dealing with technical language at the trade show was a different story. That was very difficult for me, but fortunately we had a Brazilian at our booth as our go-to guy and me as an able backup, with our two gringos on Alert 5. (One of our "gringos" is actually less gringo than me, having spent half his life in Latin America. But Spanish is of little use in Brazil.)
After the trade show ended on Friday, my flight did not leave until Saturday evening, so I had most of the day Saturday to see the city. I saved some money and had a different experience by taking the subway and bus instead of taxis that day, and it seemed very safe during daylight hours.
There is a little train that you can ride to the top of Corcovado, the mountain that is the home of O Cristo Redentor--Christ the Redeemer. The train ride itself is fairly scenic as it winds through the Atlantic tropical forest and up the mountain more than 2000 feet high:
At the top is the statue of the Savior:
This was an inspiring moment for me. After being away from my family for a week, this was a good spiritual boost to have a very large reminder of our Savior and all he has done for me. I have read that many people see this statue and think "Welcome." In this place, in this land where I was one of His representatives for a couple of years, the impression I got from the statue looking down at me was "Come Unto Me."
The statue sits on top of a pedestal that has a little chapel inside. I thought the trilingual signs saying "no photos of the inside of the chapel please" were sufficient, but most people did not. The Christ has the marks in his hands and feet. He also has a little heart carved on his robes, which I guess must be a Catholic thing.
The view from the top is wonderful:
This photo is to the east. In the distance is Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain).
This photo is to the southeast. Beyond the little mountains is Copacabana Beach, where my hotel was.
This photo is to the south. To the west of Copacabana is a lagoon and Ipanema Beach.
This is to the south as well and proves that I was there.
I also took photos of Maracaná, the world's most famous soccer stadium, but it was cloudy that way and the photos on my lo-fi loaner phone did not turn out.
I took the train back down the mountain and took a bus back to Largo do Machado, where there is a nice square:
Largo do Machado also has a subway station, and I took the subway and another bus to arrive at O Pão de Açúcar--Sugarloaf Mountain. I took the Bondinho (tram) to the top of Morro da Urca and then to the top of the Sugarloaf, 1300 feet high, where the view is stunning. The view from the Morro da Urca isn't bad either:
That's Botafogo Beach, to the northwest, as well as a helipad.
This is looking down one side of the Morro da Urca. The white spot on the side of the hill is a rock climber.
Then I took tram #2 to the top of the Sugarloaf:
In this one, you can see the Cristo Redentor in the upper right portion of the photo.
There's Copacabana Beach.
The Pão de Açúcar has some nice walking trails with beautiful vegetation and lots of shade. I took advantage of some peace and quiet, and I even found places on the trails where I could neither see nor hear anyone else. It was very nice.
Soon it was time to take the trams down and go pick up my stuff at the hotel in Copacabana and then go to the airport, for the short flight to São Paulo and then the long flight home. What a nice week this was, but how wonderful to return to my family.
What else...the heavy traffic surprised me. They have a real traffic problem in Rio (worse than here by far) and the subway is not extensive enough. If you go to a convention at Riocentro, realize that it is a long taxi ride from Copacabana, so plan for an hour or more to be safe. And it will set you back R$77 (about $35) for a fixed-price taxi, R$50-60 for a yellow taxi...There are lots of good restaurants in Copacabana, and many of them have all kinds of delicious food and menus many pages long. There wasn't a ton of Brazilian food in that area, but there was a good churrascaria and an Amazonian restaurant with weird food unlike anything I saw in Amazônia...Most places take Visa and Mastercard. I tried lots of ATMs before I found one that would take my Visa debit card. The one that worked was a Citibank ATM...AAA in the U.S. is a great place to get an inconspicuous money belt. You don't have to be a member, but you get a discount if you are...That's all the random tidbits I have.
I had a great time in Rio de Janeiro, and I'd like to go back again someday.
Rio is very different from the parts of Brazil I lived in--Manaus, Rio Branco, Porto Velho--but I have a feeling that 11 years have made a lot of differences as well. It seemed so clean and prosperous, as compared to what I experienced in the North.
It also seemed a lot safer than I anticipated. The only Brazilian who I talk to on a regular basis nowadays gave me a Rio safety tip: "Never ever go to Copacabana Beach!" Good advice, except that that's where my hotel was. However, I did not feel threatened at all. I did use my money belt, I avoided going out after dark, and I looked over my shoulder frequently. And it was worth the trouble.
These photos are an insult to how beautiful Copacabana is. The beach, the water, the mountains, the buildings, and the people all make it a wonderful experience.
Of course, Copacabana is more than a beach. It is also a neighborhood, maybe not the fanciest in Rio, but decent, busy, and a nice place to be. The photo above is a nice little corner store near the hotel that had great deals on bottled water, cookies, drinkable yogurt, and other Brazilian staples. (Most of the time I did not drink bottled water. The hotel and conference center were modern enough that the tap water was fine.)
I stayed at the Pestana Rio Atlântica, which I can highly recommend. The room was not fancy but adequate and had air conditioning. And the view from the rooftop pool is incredible. Unfortunately my room faced the city instead of the beach...you have to pay more than my employer pays in order to get an oceanside room. If you prefer a purely American hotel, there's a Marriott down the street.
But any decent hotel in Copacabana will have English speakers, which I did not really need. My Portuguese was pretty rusty on the first day, but I caught on and did pretty well for the rest of the week. I'm nowhere near as good as when I lived in Brazil, but I can get by with relative ease to get around town. Brazilians seem to appreciate the effort to speak their language, and they are typically patient and willing to speak slowly as needed. Now, dealing with technical language at the trade show was a different story. That was very difficult for me, but fortunately we had a Brazilian at our booth as our go-to guy and me as an able backup, with our two gringos on Alert 5. (One of our "gringos" is actually less gringo than me, having spent half his life in Latin America. But Spanish is of little use in Brazil.)
After the trade show ended on Friday, my flight did not leave until Saturday evening, so I had most of the day Saturday to see the city. I saved some money and had a different experience by taking the subway and bus instead of taxis that day, and it seemed very safe during daylight hours.
There is a little train that you can ride to the top of Corcovado, the mountain that is the home of O Cristo Redentor--Christ the Redeemer. The train ride itself is fairly scenic as it winds through the Atlantic tropical forest and up the mountain more than 2000 feet high:
At the top is the statue of the Savior:
This was an inspiring moment for me. After being away from my family for a week, this was a good spiritual boost to have a very large reminder of our Savior and all he has done for me. I have read that many people see this statue and think "Welcome." In this place, in this land where I was one of His representatives for a couple of years, the impression I got from the statue looking down at me was "Come Unto Me."
The statue sits on top of a pedestal that has a little chapel inside. I thought the trilingual signs saying "no photos of the inside of the chapel please" were sufficient, but most people did not. The Christ has the marks in his hands and feet. He also has a little heart carved on his robes, which I guess must be a Catholic thing.
The view from the top is wonderful:
This photo is to the east. In the distance is Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain).
This photo is to the southeast. Beyond the little mountains is Copacabana Beach, where my hotel was.
This photo is to the south. To the west of Copacabana is a lagoon and Ipanema Beach.
This is to the south as well and proves that I was there.I also took photos of Maracaná, the world's most famous soccer stadium, but it was cloudy that way and the photos on my lo-fi loaner phone did not turn out.
I took the train back down the mountain and took a bus back to Largo do Machado, where there is a nice square:
Largo do Machado also has a subway station, and I took the subway and another bus to arrive at O Pão de Açúcar--Sugarloaf Mountain. I took the Bondinho (tram) to the top of Morro da Urca and then to the top of the Sugarloaf, 1300 feet high, where the view is stunning. The view from the Morro da Urca isn't bad either:
That's Botafogo Beach, to the northwest, as well as a helipad.
This is looking down one side of the Morro da Urca. The white spot on the side of the hill is a rock climber.Then I took tram #2 to the top of the Sugarloaf:
In this one, you can see the Cristo Redentor in the upper right portion of the photo.
There's Copacabana Beach.
The Pão de Açúcar has some nice walking trails with beautiful vegetation and lots of shade. I took advantage of some peace and quiet, and I even found places on the trails where I could neither see nor hear anyone else. It was very nice.
Soon it was time to take the trams down and go pick up my stuff at the hotel in Copacabana and then go to the airport, for the short flight to São Paulo and then the long flight home. What a nice week this was, but how wonderful to return to my family.What else...the heavy traffic surprised me. They have a real traffic problem in Rio (worse than here by far) and the subway is not extensive enough. If you go to a convention at Riocentro, realize that it is a long taxi ride from Copacabana, so plan for an hour or more to be safe. And it will set you back R$77 (about $35) for a fixed-price taxi, R$50-60 for a yellow taxi...There are lots of good restaurants in Copacabana, and many of them have all kinds of delicious food and menus many pages long. There wasn't a ton of Brazilian food in that area, but there was a good churrascaria and an Amazonian restaurant with weird food unlike anything I saw in Amazônia...Most places take Visa and Mastercard. I tried lots of ATMs before I found one that would take my Visa debit card. The one that worked was a Citibank ATM...AAA in the U.S. is a great place to get an inconspicuous money belt. You don't have to be a member, but you get a discount if you are...That's all the random tidbits I have.
I had a great time in Rio de Janeiro, and I'd like to go back again someday.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
James
So what is Jimmy up to, you might ask. Rightly so. He does not appear on the kiddodiddo site so frequently as his siblings. He's not as outrageous, so he's not a headline maker. Looking over the last several posts, I realized something was missing: Jimmy's baptism (or more correctly: James's baptism)
It hurts to type it. He has always been Jimmy. Since the day he was born. I don't think I ever called him James in the hospital or anytime since. It feels foreign to call him James, but he insists. Or rather he is more polite about it and is very grateful if you remember "James."
James was baptized in March. It was a special occasion. He asked Gary and me to speak, about Baptism and The Holy Ghost. I was so surprised he invited us because he hears so much from us already. But it was his special day and I wanted to make sure the baptism program went the way he wanted it to. We sang:
"I like my birthdays every one, each brings a special joy to me but I can't wait until I'm eight for then I'll be baptized you see.
To be baptized as Jesus was by one who holds the priesthood true and thus obey God's holy laws is just the thing I want to do.
When hands are placed upon my head then I'll receive the Holy Ghost and if I listen carefully, I 'll have the blessing I need most."
and then he was baptized by his father. I am so proud of James and his decision to be baptized.
Many thanks to all who came to make it a special day for our family. (Don't you love all the bunny ears in this shot?!)Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Cool Places to Visit
Over Memorial Weekend, we went hiking in Shenandoh National Park. We climbed to the top of Hawksbill Summit. It was a lovely trail made even better by the lack of whining. The kids were super- duper hikers and I loved the whole experience. From taking pictures of wildflowers on the trail (they didn't turn out so well) to watching birds soar at the top. Thanks to Gary, for picking a great trail and to the kids for making it so pleasant!
Here's another cool place you might like to go: Cheerios Land! I was upstairs f0lding laundry and Jonny came to tell me a great way to get rid of ants in my garden. Throw Cheerios all over for the ants to eat so they would leave the plants alone. It would be like Cheerios Land, he told me. "What a problem solver he is," I thought. "I wonder what brought that on?" When I came down the stairs, I didn't have to wonder anymore!Simon and his Cast
Simon broke his arm about 2 weeks ago. He and Jonny were chasing around and they crashed into each other, both landing on Simon's arm. He doesn't seem too bothered by the cast and broken bones, he is still full of energy and good times. I took a few pictures of him with his super cool cast, for those of you who have not seen it in person.
Here is Simon, he's wearing a splint he got in the emergency room. He is encouraging me to "break the pickle." He loves that game- I think we were at it for half an hour!
Simon loves this little push car he got for his first birthday. He also loves the purple cast he got at the doctor's office. I was surprised he chose purple. I had no idea he likes that color (probably because I am always trying to talk him into liking green.)
A few weeks ago, Jimmy pulled out a Santa hat and was doing a great impersonation of Santa for his younger brothers and sister. (Think A Christmas Story for the bigger ones, for Simon he was very sweet.) It was a fun time, not to be forgotten. Last week, Simon put on Gary's old graduation cap and marched around the living room, shouting "HO HO HO!" Apparently Santa wears all kinds of silly hats.
Simon loves this little push car he got for his first birthday. He also loves the purple cast he got at the doctor's office. I was surprised he chose purple. I had no idea he likes that color (probably because I am always trying to talk him into liking green.)A few weeks ago, Jimmy pulled out a Santa hat and was doing a great impersonation of Santa for his younger brothers and sister. (Think A Christmas Story for the bigger ones, for Simon he was very sweet.) It was a fun time, not to be forgotten. Last week, Simon put on Gary's old graduation cap and marched around the living room, shouting "HO HO HO!" Apparently Santa wears all kinds of silly hats. 
I was tucking Simon into bed the other day and could not resist taking this photo of the event. Ready for bed with his pal Mickey.
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