Super Duper Long Post

Well folks, this may be the longest post ever on this blog, so it may be wise to 'fuel up' before reading :) I'll begin with Silas. When he was born, he had a lot of red patchy skin that was first diagnosed as normal after birth redness. Later as my midwife examined him closer she didn't think it looked so normal and sent me to a pediatrician at our local hospital. This doctor was puzzled with his redness and sent me to the experts at the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. When I finally got an appointment there, Silas was already six months old. At this appointment back in April, I was told by the specialist in the dermatology clinic that it was a form of Cutis Marmorata and blood capillary malformation. She also told me that he would need to have an MRI to determine if this malformation was only on the surface or if there were other problems lurking below the skin. Problems that can occur with this condition are growth oriented; one leg fatter/longer than the other, eye problems and temperature sensitivity. The MRI, I was told, would take place in April 2009 as there is about a year long waiting list. As his condition is not an emergency, he was placed at the bottom of this list to wait his turn. We had another appointment after his first birthday to see how he was developing and so far everything was normal except that none of the redness has diminished. We were sent home and told to come back in six months regardless of when the MRI was booked. Well, last week I got a call from Sick Kids telling me they had an opening for the MRI on Sunday at 10:30am. We hesitated for a moment, not wanting to miss church, but then decided we couldn't turn down this opportunity to get the procedure done. So we shipped the girls out for the day and headed out to Toronto bright and early. He had to be put under general anasethetic as you have to be perfectly still during the MRI. He did very well and the whole procedure took about two hours. We now have an appointment in mid January to get the results. We pray that his condition, though not serious right now, will have no long-term effects.

Silas's cute hospital gown

Right out of it!

This is Colin's new experiment with Silas. He hangs him from our plate rail in the kitchen to see if he can do chin-ups!

On to Anna and Naomi. They have had a busy week practicing for their Christmas program that was held last night at their school. There were 270 kids singing (from K-8) and almost that many people watching. It sure was a housefull! It was a very nice program in that it was short but sweet. Each class had about two narrations and two or three songs and then it was over. This morning the whole school was booked for skating but seeing as how we have the snow storm of the century, that isn't happening.

It's even too stormy to skate on our own rink! I don't mind snow days as it gives the kids a chance to have a 'mental health' day and makes me slow down to have fun with them. Oh, and it's a good excuse to haul out the chips and make some hot chocolate :) This morning we had a leisurely breakfast (instead of me yelling, "Go, go, go, you're going to miss the bus!"), and this was the result:

Naomi's Cheerio horse.

Anna's Cheerio horse.

Now for Bethany. She has been busy copying the girls Christmas program songs and thoroughly enjoyed their concert last night. At one point I looked over and saw her swaying and bopping to the music. Colin and I had a good chuckle over that. She's such a comical kid! She has really been into colouring lately, and in my opionion, has pretty good hand control. Here's her latest picture of Peep, Quack and Chirp:



Finally we have a busy weekend planned as we're getting ready to head to a beautiful locale to visit family. It's a bit of a nightmare packing for six people, especially in the winter, but Colin's very strict as to what I'm allowed to bring. That means no extra underwear for that just-in-case-incident?!?! Actually, I'm sure I could hide them somewhere in the luggage when he's not looking:) Merry Christmas everyone and may you have a Blessed New Year!