Phase 2 Dismissal and Home

We were dismissed this morning at 10:30 from Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO. We came home and ended up home around 2:00. It feels good to be home. The other three boys did great while we were gone. Andrew spent two nights with our friends, Josh and Molly Budde. He of course was a jewel for them (didn't cry at all) then came home to us and showed his true colors. Oh well, we know he had a GREAT time --- thanks a bunch! Ryan and Tyler spent their first night in our basement having a slumber party with their uncles Kent and Gregg. Then Grandma Frankie came and spent Monday and Tuesday with them here at our house. They did awesome too! Grant is feeding much better and resting good (thankfully they sent the pain medicine home with us too). We'll see how the next couple days go but expect him to keep getting better. Here is a picture of him before we left the hospital.


We were VERY pleased with the care at Children's Mercy --- it was amazing! They truly do a great job caring for children and have the touch! It was a very good experience! We are glad for that as we will be doing the next step of the Cleft surgeries when Grant is about a year old and that will be at Children's Hospital too. We look forward to seeing the same staff again (we hope). Dr. Singhal did a great job and all the nurses talk about what an amazing doctor he is. We were privileged to find him! Thanks for all your prayers!

Phase 1 Complete

The first surgery for Grant is complete. We are back in the room with him and he's sleeping! If you thought he sounded raspy before when he was breathing, now he really does. Due to the stints in his nose, he is unable to breath through his nose so has to breath through his mouth. He is doing that successfully. We will be here overnight tonight and expect to get dismissed tomorrow (the doctor will come in first thing in the morning). There is definitely a new look about him. Here are some before and after pictures. First is Grant on Christmas Day --- then before surgery picture. Last 2 are both after surgery. Notice the cute shirt we were given after surgery (My operation was "bearable" at Children's Mercy Hospital). We're sure he'll enjoy that souvenir when he grows a little bigger! Thanks for all your prayers!!!

In . . . and Out of Surgery

Well, it took me too long to get the computer hooked up. They took Grant back to surgery at 7:30,and we just spoke to the doctor (9:55) and he is out of surgery. He did GREAT!!! They said he'd be in the recovery room about an hour and then we'll get to go up to the room with him. We haven't seen him yet, but will post again after we do. Tried to get a couple pictures posted but couldn't so we'll keep trying.

Last Weekend

Last weekend was a big one for our family --- kind of busy also. Saturday morning Ryan had a basketball game. Once again, his team lost by 3 points (two weeks in a row) but they are improving each game. Ryan has made leaps and bounds since last year and is really doing well. Last week he scored 8 points and this week played great defense. He also played point guard through half the game --- who would have thought that.

Later in the day on Saturday we went to visit our new nephew, Ian Milo Huxman, born to Chris' brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Cori. He was actually born on Thursday, December 18 and is doing great. He is beautiful (of course we aren't biased) and looks exactly like his brother Luke when he was born. We now have two nephews put Chris' mother now has two sons of her own with 6 Grandsons --- she's like me and says she wouldn't know what to do with girls.

Sunday was the eventful day. In the morning, Grant David Huxman was dedicated in our church, First Mennonite Church in Halstead, Kansas.
In honor of the occasion, Ryan sang a solo "Use Me". The words were perfect for the dedication.
Chorus: Use me, Jesus use me; Take this life of mine, and use me.
Use me, Jesus use me; Keep me by Your side and use me.
Verse 1: All I want is to be with You, to ever please You in all I do.
Teach me Father to learn Your ways, and walk with me each day.
Verse 2: Mold me make me what You would have me be; I only want to serve You faithfully.
Help me Father to truly see what You have for me.
Ryan did an amazing job for his first complete solo song in front of an audience. Afterwards Ryan said to me, "Mom, it looked like people were crying when I was singing - why?" Let's just say there were many, many tears because it was a very touching moment to complete our dedication of Grant to God.
Then in the evening was the Kids' Christmas Program at church. Before they tell the Christmas story there is always a time for the children to perform. Tyler started everything off by playing the piano "Hark the Harold Angels Sing". I'll tell you what, no one could tell by his piano playing that the kid only has 3 fingers on each hand. He has really come a long way and does a great job. Ryan again sang a solo "O Holy Night" and did a good job. Ryan, Tyler, and Andrew were all shepherds in the pageant. I was concerned that Andrew might be a runaway shepherd, but he actually made it on stage the whole time he was supposed to (although at the end when he was sitting he was hitting the angels wings - whoops!)

It was a wonderful day filled with blessings and celebrations ending with the amazing story of Jesus' birth, and what a gift that one special birth was so many years ago. The true Reason for the Season!

Last thing, surgery update ---- Grant will be having surgery at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO on Monday, December 29 to repair his cleft lip. This will be a couple hour surgery, and will not begin any repair on the cleft palate (that will be at one year of age). We will be leaving for Kansas City on Sunday, December 28 due to the surgery being in the morning (not sure of time until this Friday). We will be staying in the hospital with Grant overnight on Monday and then plan to return home on Tuesday, December 30. Please keep all of us as well as the doctors and nurses in your prayers!

We Are Moved!!!

It is official, we are moved into our new home at 11409 NW 72nd St. (for all you who might be sending Christmas cards ---- expect ours slightly late, maybe in the New Year).

Our wood floor in our kitchen and dining room had the last coat of varnish put on Thursday evening, so we weren't suppposed to walk on it for 48 hours. So, we started moving things in through our bedroom door Friday evening to the basement and the bedrooms. That was also the night we moved our freezer out of the basement of our old house (quite an ordeal --- it requires taking off boards on the porch and bringing it out through an old limestone stairway under the porch --- glad to not have to do that again!) Then Saturday morning we started with the other major pieces of furniture, including the old upright piano. It always takes a group of guys, as you can see in the pictures. The other interesting aspect for moving out of our older home was having to take bedroom furniture out the window onto the roof because the stairway is too narrow and turns too sharply. Enjoy the pictures of the furniture on the bale forks of the tractor. Saturday evening we finally moved our refrigerator and stove in --- all the necessities. Our first night sleeping there was Saturday. Everything went very smoothly and all our house things are in (although we still don't know where some of those things are!) We're slowly getting the house put together and are grateful for a large storage room in the basement for all the "extra" things.


One kind of sad story during the move, Andrew wanted to take a nap Saturday afternoon but couldn't find his bed in the old house. So, he cried all the way up the stairs, continued crying, and ended up crawling into the storage closet in his old room and laid down. Here's a picture of him resting in the closet - what a sad but cute sight!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to our friends and family that came out and helped. We couldn't have done it without you. We feel very blessed and are enjoying the "warmth" of our fireplace as well as the abundance of love filling our new home! Here's the view of the morning sun from our bedroom door.

Kids' Program

This time of year always brings about many Christmas activities. To get us in the Christmas spirit we attended Ryan and Tyler's school program Tuesday evening. Every year the 2nd - 4th graders do a Christmas play with music added for their program. The 4th graders are assigned all the parts each year and the 2nd and 3rd graders sing along with all the songs. This will be one of the few years that Ryan and Tyler are both involved with the exact same program. It was kind of neat! Our music teacher, Mrs. Schrag, always does a wonderful job preparing the students for the program and they performed well again this year. As a 4th grade teacher I'm always involved with running the microphones and participate in rehearsals for a couple weeks before the program. This always makes me take extra interest in the performance because I've seen how hard they worked. This year as a teacher and also a mother of a fourth grader, I was very proud! Ryan was a caroler and sang a solo for one verse in "The Wassailing" song. As a caroler he also did a dance with 9 other students. He did an excellent job! Tyler contributed as a great singer in the choir (2nd row, 2nd from left).

Much to be Thankful for

As the Thanksgiving weekend ends, we have been reminded of how much we have to be thankful for (the 5 F's): family, friends, faith, fellowship, and food. As December begins and we look toward the Christmas season, we are grateful for all the blessings in our life. We all have our challenges at times, but this time of year we are reminded of the gift we were given with Jesus' birth. Our month will be very busy with the following activities: Ryan and Tyler's school Christmas program this Tuesday - the 2nd, moving this weekend - the 5th, 6th, and 7th (we think), Ryan's basketball games on Saturday's, Grant's dedication in church on Sunday the 21st, Christmas celebrations from the 23rd - 26th, and concluding the month and 2008 year with Grant's lip surgery on the 30th (we think -- not confirmed yet). With all the events and activities, our goal is to make sure and keep our focus on the reason for the season and the life we've been given through Jesus' birth. May you all enjoy the joyous season of Christmas!

Here are pictures of the house: outside, kitchen, living room, basement, and deck in back.

Trick or Treaters

I'm about a week late getting this posted, but I thought
better late than never. It was a beautiful night for trick or treating --- very nice weather and not too windy (like it's been lately). We didn't end up leaving the house until later (around 7:30) because Chris was cutting milo. We mainly went to family members and hit a couple other houses along the way, although most of our time consisted of driving --- making sure we made it to Moundridge, half-way to Halstead, and then to Newton. Here's a picture of the Huxman Boys: Ryan - the football player with Grant - his football, Tyler - spiderman, and Andrew - the skunk with the sticker saying "little stinker" (couldn't have had a more perfect nametag). They had a good time and the oldest (Ryan) actually fell asleep in the car at 9:15 and didn't even enjoy any of our time in Newton. Maybe the "football" just got too heavy for him to carry --- ha, ha!

Grant's doing Great

Well, obviously I've started school and feel swamped with everything (and feel I'm chasing my tail constantly) because I haven't given a Grant update since the first week of October. I'm so sorry to those of you who aren't around us to know how things are going. Here's a little run down . . .

We went to Olathe and actually picked up the obturator (for his mouth) October 16. It looks like a small retainer (as the picture below shows - the obturator is on the left and the larger thing on the right is the mold of the top of his mouth which they used to make it). What we didn't realize until we got there to pick it up is that it has to be taken out and rinsed after every feeding. This has taken a little getting used to, but really isn't that bad. It took him a while to get used to having it in, but now things are going great. He eats much quicker and is taking 4-5 ounces every feeding. We feel it has improved his eating a lot and are very glad for that. I don't have a weight update for this week yet (he gets weighed tomorrow) but last Monday he weighed 8 pounds. YEAH!


The biggest change with him has been his interaction with people. He is smiling a lot and starting to coo some. He lays on the floor and just swings his arms around and kicks his feet. It is a very fun stage! His brothers are still enjoying him a lot. Tonight, Andrew even was asking to hold him, so we gave him the opportunity.

Speaking of Andrew, the highlight for his life is that we are completely finished with his "bebe", or pacifier as most of us call it. If we'd tried to break him of it, we probably wouldn't have been successful, but it just kind of happened. No complaints on our end and not near as many from him as we thought there might be.

Ryan has officially finished football. His team ended the season 3-4 and then played in the Warrior Bowl in Newton this past weekend winning 1 and losing 1. One of the highlights for him was playing at Fischer Field on artificial turf at night with lights. Here is a picture of the Moundridge boys that played on the Halstead Hurricane team. They all had a great time!!!

Now on to Tyler, I don't know there is much to add about him. He just goes, goes, goes a hundred miles an hour. I'm finding I need to take more pictures of him I guess. Here is one of him with some of his friends at a Moundridge High School football game (with his brother Andrew getting in the picture - and obviously an older picture because he still has his "bebe" in his mouth).

I've Been Tagged

Great, Kristen Koller tagged me now, so I guess I'm supposed to say 6 things about myself that you may or may not know. Here it goes!

1) I have returned to work since my maternity leave and things are going well.

2) I have 18 students in my classroom and 17 parents came for conferences --- I'd say a pretty good ratio - 94%.

3) I have never been very interested in politics and never cared too much about it. For some reason, this year I've been very interested in everything that is going on (although, Kristen, they are driving me crazy too). I think I am taking more of an interest because our country is having some major issues right now and things don't seem to be getting any better. I really hope something changes. I guess the other reason I may be more involved is because I finally decided to grow up. Who knows!

4) I have a tendency to be late places --- and some how, having 4 children is not helping that right now. ALTHOUGH, I have gotten to school before 8:00 every single day so far. We'll see if I can say that in May (school doesn't start until 8:10).

5) We just got a car. Chris will be driving it back and forth to work. Should get much better gas mileage than his pickup, and much fewer miles (87,000 compared to 260,000). It is a Buick Lacrosse --- we are enjoying it (or I should say Chris has been).

6) We are supposed to be closing on our house the first part of December. We'll see. We finally got our light fixtures chosen - YEAH! I'm not good at decisions, but have survived the whole house decision process so far.

Alright, now I'm tagging Ashli, Melissa, Molly, and Kaitlen.

Grant's Update

It's been a while since an update, but we kept thinking we'll wait until after this and so on. First of all, Grant has been eating very well and had a super weight gain this week --- he now weighs
7 lbs. 1.7 ozs. We were VERY excited.
Last Thursday evening we (Chris, DeAnn, & Grant) drove up to Kansas City, MO and stayed with Tasha & Sloan Cain so we could meet with the Craniofacial (Cleft Lip/Palate) Team at Children's Mercy Hospital early Friday morning.

Grant & Sloan (she wanted Grant to sit by her and then asked Chris if he had a camera)

We loved the surgeon, Dr. Singhal, and decided we will be going to Kansas City to have his cleft surgeries done. It was an overwhelming day meeting with many people although it was also very informative. Dr. Singhal had two major changes for us: 1) putting tape on Grant's face to keep the cleft from growing any larger 2) getting an obturator (you'll hear more about it later) for Grant's mouth to cover the cleft palate area inside. We also met with a nutritionist who helped us with feedings (we weren't doing it exactly right), a speech therapist (talking about cups and such for after the palate surgery), and the geneticist (we informed him the reason for the cleft lip/palate was due to EEC Syndrome). We tentatively scheduled his lip surgery for December 30 and then the palate surgery will be around one year of age. Here's the newest look for Grant.

Grant's new look (unhappy about life, not the tape at this moment)

Today, we drove back up to Olathe, KS to see a dentist, Dr. Fales, and have Grant fitted for the obturator (mentioned above). This device will go in his mouth until he has the palate surgery at a year. It covers the open cleft in his mouth so food, liquid, etc. won't go up into his nasal area. This dentist is one of two that Dr. Singhal said made these devices (the other one was in Joplin, MO). Dr. Fales was an AWESOME dentist - we really liked him. We will be traveling back up to Olathe next week Thursday to have the appliance fitted and get the instructions on how to use it.

Grant before his first dentist appointment (not too concerned)

Dr. Fales looking at Grant's cleft with a mirror (Grant isn't too fond of this part)

To make the form, the Dr. put a small tray that looked like a small football mouthpiece in Grant's mouth. Then he made a thick plaster mixture and used a large syringe to put it in his mouth on the tray (the mouthpiece thing). Right away he pushed the tray upward in Grant's mouth and held it for about 15 seconds. Yes, Grant cried hard during this time, but it was a short period and then it was all over. It made a perfect impression of the inside of his mouth.

Dr. Fales pulling the mold out of Grant's mouth --- it actually set up in 15 seconds - pretty cool!
You can also see the big syringe they used to squirt the plaster in his mouth.

Dad and Grant after the dentist was done.

It didn't seem to bother Grant for very long and he bounced right back. We'll see how the fitting goes next week as well as wearing the appliance all the time. Wish us luck!

Soccer , Football, 5 weeks, and More

It seems the time is flying by since Grant has been born. He is now 5 weeks old and we think he's growing a lot. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 ozs. on Tuesday - yeah! That actually means he gained 1 pound in 2 weeks. Only 3 1/2 pounds more to go for them to do his lip surgery. He has to be at least 10 lbs. so that is our first ultimate goal. Speaking of lip surgery, we were planning to go up to Kansas City to Children's Mercy Hospital Thursday (the 25th) for a cleft lip/palete team meeting but it was cancelled. So, now we are planning to go next Friday instead, the 3rd. We are basically getting a second opinion, as we have met with the plastic surgeon in Wichita already. We have heard wonderful things about KC and if we feel good about things when we go, we'll probably end up doing it there. I've heard that they would possibly do his palete at 10 months or so rather than waiting until he is one year old --- that would really help with my school schedule and put that surgery next June or July rather than right when school is starting. We'll let you know how the appointment goes next week.

As for the kids, Ryan had another football game 2 Saturday's
ago. This time they ended up losing 12-0. Oh well, we'll see how this week goes. I got a true close-up picture of Ryan in his pads so thought I better show off his "football look".

Tyler had his second soccer game last weekend. They ended up winning 1-0 and Tyler actually scored the goal for his team. I was taking pictures at the game, but was so excited when he was getting ready to kick it in for the goal that I didn't even think of pulling my camera up to take a picture. Oh well, the one posted is one of his many times dribbling the ball down field.

Lastly, our house is finally completely sided. Yeah! The lagoon is also dug. I believe more cement is going to be poured this week for the porch and the driveway back by the garage. Then in another week or so, they will begin working on the trim inside, hanging doors, etc. My goal is to go to Wichita tomorrow and try to get a good idea on carpet and flooring so we can make final decisions on paint colors for the inside. Let's hope I can actually be in a decision making mode and get something done.

Lots Happening

It seems a lot has happened since our last post. We'll begin with some new pictures of Grant. He is back up above his birth weight, now weighing 5 lbs. 9.9 ozs.

The boys have been great with Grant. Ryan is an absolutely awesome big brother, holding Grant, feeding him, comforting him, and just filling in wherever needs to be. Tyler helps all the way around with Grant or Andrew. He can be a great distraction for Andrew and keeps him occupied quite well. As for Andrew, well, he's getting a little more adjusted to having a baby brother. He doesn't call him Grant, just says "Baby". The other night we came home and Grant was in his car seat. He started crying and when I walked in the room to get him, Andrew had already picked up his bottle and was knelt down next to the car seat trying to give it to him. It was pretty cute!!! He also likes to help burp him during feedings.

We've also hit fall sports time. Here's a picture of Ryan being introduced at his first football game. Yes, he is playing football on the Halstead Hurricane team and has had one game already at Valley Center. We won 12-7. He's playing defensive tackle. He's really enjoying it and fits the role of a football player pretty well. Now we get to split every weekend and one of us gets to go to Ryan's football game and the other one to Tyler's soccer game (which was cancelled this last weekend due to rain). Of course, football played despite the rain.

Here's Grant!

Sorry it has taken so long! Our computer is still messed up so I had to find a different computer to load these on. Here are pictures of our precious baby boy, Grant! He is doing very well --- eating well, growing, sleeping --- all the typical little baby things to do. He currently weighs about 5 lbs 2 oz. Ryan and Tyler are proud big brothers. They love to cuddle with him and watch him. Now Andrew, that is becoming a little different story. I think he hit the "not so sure I like this other little one in the house" point. But, last night was a little better. We'll see. Grant is doing a great job sleeping at night --- about 3 hours at a time, and then he goes right back to sleep. Good thing because we are TOO OLD to be up too much in the night.

It's A BOY!!!

Just a quick little note to let you all know that our baby boy has arrived!
Grant David Huxman
August 20, 2008
1:31 AM
5 lbs. 7 oz.
19" long
We are at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. We are all doing fine. Grant has been in the room with us the whole time and is eating and "hopefully" growing. The plan is to go home tomorrow, August 22 (Friday) as long as he appears to be eating well and gaining a little weight. We'll post more with pictures as soon as we are home. Thank you all for your prayers! We believe he is a BEAUTIFUL baby. He looks just like his brothers - you can definitely tell he is a Huxman boy.

Last Free Week

As I approach the end of my last free week before school begins, I can't believe summer is over. It seems like a mad dash to get everything done for school. This week has consisted of the following:
Ryan starting football --- yes, he is playing tackle football with the Halstead Hurricanes and had practice for 2 hours Tuesday and Thursday evenings --- this fall will be crazy with that.
Tyler and Andrew just continued in their same active ways. Andrew is beginning to talk so much. His newest words are Ryan, Tyler, yeh, and anything else said that he can mimic.
DeAnn --- trying to work on my classroom some, although I haven't been there much at all. I'm having a difficult time giving up my last few days of being able to do what I want. I have to report for inservice and meetings Monday and will then have the first day with students Thursday.
So, instead . . . . .
Chris and I --- met with the electricians for the house for 3 1/2 hours Wednesday morning to determine every outlet, light switch, and light for the house. Wow, lots of decisions. We went to Wichita Thursday and tried to determine countertops for the kitchen and bathrooms. Then today I began to look at some paint samples to match the countertops. We're trying to get some house decisions done so when school begins and baby is born, we don't feel too stressed about it.
Anyway, that's about it on the home front here. Our next sonogram is the 19th and then we'll determine whether we'll set an induction date for the beginning of the week of the 24th or not. The time is definitely approaching fast and the next few weeks will be very busy. Wish us luck as we begin the "school routine" again!

Swimming at Schmidt's Pool

This evening we went swimming at Myron & Pat Schmidt's pool (Vanessa Schroeder's parents house). Wow, I knew Andrew was my "No FEAR" child but it really proved true tonight. He has absolutely no fear of the water and is willing to step in when he wants to. I literally chased him around the pool the whole time. He had a blast jumping in off the side and especially off the board. Here are some pictures as well as a video clip of his diving board experience!

This week with the Huxman's

Some of you have been looking for an update since it's been a while since I've given one - especially on the house. It is REALLY coming along. Here is the most recent picture. I believe they will be starting to shingle tomorrow or at the beginning of next week as well as getting the electrical work going. They did dig the trench and put the electrical wire in from the road to the box by the house today - kind of exciting!


As for a baby update, we had a sonogram yesterday and the baby appears to continue to grow so that is good. Once again, he was uncooperative for the sonographer so they weren't able to see as much as they hoped. It appeared that the left hand was fine, right hand was unable to be seen, right foot was fine, and there was clefting found on the left foot. That is the most recent information we have. The real good news was he had turned so is currently head down. No specific induction day has been set and we'll just continue to see how things progress. It is definitely still a waiting game and your prayers are still greatly appreciated. We thank all of you for your friendship, thoughts, and words of encouragement. You are all a blessing in our lives!

Vacation - Part II

Hello - still from Coralville, Iowa. The conference just ended about 2 hours ago. What a great time we've had!!! We once again were able to connect with families from all over the US and reunite with friends from the past as well as meet new friends. Tyler and Ryan reconnected with their past friends - Morgan from Virginia (sister to Ally who has EEC and there is a website link on our blog) and Zemery from Virginia (who also has EEC and would have to be considered Tyler's BEST FRIEND at the conference. They act alike, look alike, and could appear to be brothers. It was definitely hard for them to say goodbye. Ryan made a few new friends also. Once again, this has been such a wonderful experience for our family. The NFED is such a blessing to us. I encourage you to go to our website link and check out the NFED website and what this organization has to offer. We'll be traveling back tomorrow and reality will hit Monday --- back to work for Chris and thinking about school for DeAnn.

The EEC Group at Conference

Kristin & Ally Kelso (Virginia), Norma MacDonald (Nova Scotia, Canada), Jack Kriz (Oregon)
Tyler, Zemery Dennis (Virginia)

Ryan, Andrew, & Tyler

Tyler, Zemery Dennis, Morgan Kelso

Zemery Dennis & Tyler (don't they look like brothers???)