thyroid picture pages

Jenny had the left side of her thyroid removed this morning. The surgery went very well and the unofficial report is that the nodule they removed is benign. :) We will know for sure in a couple days. Jenny is doing well and will be home from the hospital tomorrow. Thanks for all the love, support, help, prayers, positive vibes and kind thoughts. Now some pictures from the last few weeks.

Easter Song

Eldana

is simply a great kid.
She LOVES school and has learned so much this past year. I am so proud of her I could just bust. Every day when I hear her read I am just amazed at how quickly she has adapted and thrived in this new culture and language. She has gotten straight A's the entire year at school. She loves her teacher and being in a class of kids. She is so happy that she goes to a Catholic school where she can learn more about Jesus (she was horrified when I told her the kids in public school don't pray or learn about Jesus).
Eldana is extremely kind-hearted. She is always concerned about other people not having what they need. Her goals for when she is a grown up are to be important, to help people, and to help God. (I have to interject here that most of her religious devotion comes from within... she talks about Jesus stuff way more often than we do. It's beautiful.)
Her favorite joke: Knock-knock. Who's there? Banana Banana who? Banana aren't you glad I'm a orange? ahahahahahahahaha
She constantly tries to 'trick you' wth Heylookthere'sElvis sort of cleverness
Eldana keeps a diary at night and asks me for topics that she should write about.
She likes to dance and is quite good at Ethiopian style of dance. She loves to listen to Ethiopian music, especially mezmur (church songs).
She would watch television for hours on end if permitted.
She really likes to help me around the house - folding laundry, washing down the table and chairs . . . anything as long as I call it a 'job.'
She loves all things princess and fairy (though we seriously limit the Disneyblondes here). If she were a queen, she says, she would not be rich, but just regular, and not have fancy clothes.
Each day before school she gives me three kisses on the face.
This young lady has faced a lot of adversity in her short life and yet she handles life with grace and a constant sense of wonder. We are so blessed to have this beautiful girl as our daughter!

The latest

Overheard in the car this week:
Abigia wistfully says, "I hope I can be a pirate someday...."
Eliana replies in an encouraging voice, "Don't worry, Abigia."



Abigi and Eldana are sick - colds? respiratory infections? They are miserable off/on. Me, too. I haven't caught it (yet) but it stinks having sick kids. Matt and Eliana and I are all feeling a little suspect... we'll see what happens in the next day or so, see if we'll come down with it, too. It's a great way to spend a holiday weekend.

Speaking of which, does anyone else despise the notion of a bunny who comes into your house and leaves chocolate, eggs, and jellybeans to celebrate the resurrection? I just can't get behind it. And the more I think about it, the more I dislike it. Yes, we're doing baskets and the whole bit anyway, but I just don't embrace it.

My new favorite food: lentils! I had been using lentils when I cooked Ethiopian food for over a year, now, but have recently expanded my lentil recipe collection. I have a list of recipes I can't wait to try! Tonight we had Lentil Curry. 3 nights ago we had a lentil loaf! I know it sounds disgusting, but it's fabulous.

Ok, off to do something productive. A mom has to take advantage of these few quiet hours when the kids are knocked out.

Happy Easter!

20%

That's the chances I'm given at this point that this *nodule* in my thyroid is cancerous.
80% chance that it's not!

I've been ultrasounded, radioactively scanned and fine-needle biopsied. This part has been dragging on for a month already (and hasn't really told us much at all). Surgery is scheduled for April 30th. The plan is to take out half of the thyroid and check it out there in the OR to see if it appears to be cancerous. If it does they will take out the other half, too.

Waiting stinks.

But I feel better about it now than I have all last month. Just having a surgery date is a relief. To be able to prepare and have a concrete action plan is calming for me.
So are the Lindor truffles left over from our anniversary.........mmmmmmm........

Happy Anniversary!

to my sweet-face!
Today marks our 6 years of wedded life.
What craziness! What wonderfulness! What a wild and lovely time it's been!
I am looking forward to another 60 years with you, my love.

Abigia

Abigia is FUN!
and boisterous!
and creative!
and silly!
Abigia has been an American for nearly a year, now, and to meet her you would never know that she spent the first 2 1/2 years of her life in another world so far away.
She has a great imagination. She loves to make us pretend food, play barbershop, and be a superhero. She is firmly entrenched in the 'why?' stage and asks about both the most minute details (why poop looks like that?) and the most obvious generalities (why is the sky there?).
Abigia has LOTS of energy. She loves to climb on anything and everything. She actually says "I have to run and run and run" sometimes while racing back and forth in the house.
In her best pirate voice, last week Abigia began a speech from the toilet that began 'mateys and gentleman....'
Abigi is loving going to a once/week Spanish pre-school class and can't wait to go to preschool at Eldana's big-kid school next year. She is focused on learning colors in Spanish (though she doesn't know many colors in English) and asks me 40x/day 'what color is that, Mom? How you call it in Spanish?" We will be beginning some sort of Amharic lessons with the kids this summer, and I am anxious to see how adding that to the mix affects things (for all of us, really).
Abigi is day-time potty trained now and LOVES wearing big girl underwear. She says panties. I hate the word panties.
She's also been trying to sleep in her big girl bed at night. I say trying, because she is so wound up at night that some nights I do have to stash her back in a crib when she won't stop standing up in her bed or hanging her head down and underneath of the bed.
Abigia is often sweet and snuggly. She tells me 50x/day that she loves me. Lately when I praise her for something she says "Are you proud of me, Mom?" The answer is yes.
Abigia sometimes gets a little overwhelmed initially at big gatherings or when a lot of people she doesn't know well get too close. When that happens she just snuggles into one of us until she feels ready to join the party. Then... watch out!
Today Abigi debuted some new break-dancing moves. She must be a natural because I guarantee you I've never shown her how to [ok, so I did just spend 10 minutes looking up breakdancing moves and I couldn't find exactly what she does, but I tell ya - the girl has a future in street dance] dance like this!