Lucy's Summer Fun (cont'd)

In the month since I last updated this blog, our family has continued to be very busy!  Lucy girl's been to her first campfire and roasted marshmallows with friends and family, has been loving playing outdoors a lot (esp. on the swings) with her brothers and her B.F.F., made a few visits to a local farm that happens to have yummy ice-cream (score for Mommy!!) and a playground plus small farm animals and.....she made her first visit to the Atlantic Ocean!!  (to see a pic. larger, click on the pic.)

Some of "the crew"

BIG SMILES!

Campfire comradery

The B.F.F.'s

Tractor fun at the farm

   The beginning of July, our entire  family joined extended family for some fun vacation time.  This was Lucy's first visit to the ocean.   While she liked the sand and playing with her little friends on the beach,  she wasn't exactly sure if she was in love with the "Big Water."  Lucy has a hard time with sustaining balance for extended time while standing still if she has nothing to prop herself on.  So, when a wave would roll in, Lucy girl always made sure she had someone's hand in hers so she wouldn't be pushed over.  This vacation time was also the first time since coming home last September  that Lucy slept away from home.  I was concerned about messing with routine and so much change but I need not have worried, she handled the transitions well!

My doll babies!!

Kurt and Lucy 

Emily and Lucy

Loving her carousel ride

A (very) small part of the family at the boardwalk

   Speaking of transitions, our family has had a number of big transitions within the past month.  Shortly after we came home from our vacation, big brother Kurt left for two weeks for a missions trip to South Africa.  I explained to Lucy that Kurt would be flying on an airplane and be away for many "sleeps" but he would come back home.  When we took Kurt to the church to meet his missions team, she kept pulling at me and telling me "ready to go" (meaning she wanted to leave the building)?!  After a bit, it occurred to me that she was a little anxious whether or not Mommy and /or she was going on this airplane trip too.  She was unsure of what all was happening.  Once in the car, she became more relaxed and again I assured her that Kurt was coming home.

Goodbye to big bro.

Only two weeks later it was time for another good bye.  This time we were saying goodbye to her big sister, Emily (same sister that flew to China to bring her home).  Emily was leaving for four months in Costa Rica.  Em has been her dancing partner, her nail polish buddy and her ice cream cohort!  Since Kurt wasn't yet back, I was wondering how the little Miss would do with another goodbye.  While I know she misses her "Emmy", she does seem to have an understanding and will repeat back to us what we've explained to her.   Kurt's back home and I think it's clicking this leaving and coming back thing after extended periods of time.  Big changes and hard concepts, especially for a little mind with newly acquired English to try and understand!!

Our summer will be ending a wee bit early.  In less than two weeks, on August 20th Lucy Kim will begin the long process of correcting her foot deformity (vertical talus).  So the fun of the jumping into a pool of water or jumping on the trampoline, riding her wee bicycle will come to a screeching halt.  We will begin our once weekly trips for leg casts to be put on Lucy's right foot/leg.  If her foot responds well to this method of correction, she will have a total of six casts put on her foot followed by complex foot surgery, then followed by another six weeks of a cast (non-weight bearing).   We've been told the process to correct her foot will be approximately  four months long.  She will be in a wheel chair (or her new stroller) for many of those weeks.  After this foot correction process is completed, our little girl will need to have her knee contracture and hip issues medically addressed.  (but that's another story for another post - long in the future).

Is that an ornery grin or what?!