THOUGHTS FROM ECUADOR

Things are going great here in Santo Domingo Ecuador! The weather is warm, the patients are adorable, and we are working hard. We have already done surgery on 44 patients with crossed eyes since 2:00 pm on Sunday. The days are long, but we are getting alot accomplished. Tomorrow is our last day to operate and we are planning on doing 15 cases tomorrow. It is wonderful to see how appreciative the families are when the they come back the next day for us to check their eyes.
We are hoping to go to an Orphanage on Friday morning after we have seen our post-op patients. We have extra toys and blankets to hand out at the orphanage.
We start home on Friday night and fly over night. We are about a three hour drive from the airport, so our day will be mostly spent traveling. Please remember our entire medical team in prayer as we travel for a safe journey home. I will hopefully post pictures when I get home!

Ecuador
I am headed to Ecuador tomorrow. I love going and I love the work we do there, but I also hate leaving my family!!! The children that we perform eye surgery on are adorable and their parents are so appreciative. It is amazing to see how far parents will travel and how long parents and children will wait for us to see them. The children don't have tons of electronics or even toys to entertain them, but no one complains or becomes irrate with us that we are making them wait. It is definetely a change from the patients we see here in Missouri!

Daniel and katie Beth have had a great week. They had their yearly check-ups at the doctor's office and he said that they were great! Daniel was is the 80th% for height and the 75th% for weight. Katie Beth came in a little lower, she was in the 10th% for height and the 25th% for weight. For all of you that know Katie Beth this is probably not a big surprise! The funniest thing was that she asked the doctor, "Are you saying that I am short?" I don't know where she has been, but she is by far not tall!!

Please remember us as we travel. I will not have a computer for the next week, so I will try to post some pictures from Ecuador when I get home next week. Have a great week!

THE FIRST FOOTBALL GAME!

We had our first flag football game today. Daniel was convinced that we would oversleep and miss the game! He was so excited. Mike had to give a seminar this morning, so he wasn't able to be at the game. Nonnie and Aunt Nancy both came to see Daniel play. He played QB, defensive end, and some other position on the offense, but this Mama doesn't know what it was!! Daniel's team lost, but he still loved it. Katie Beth wasn't nearly as impressed with the football game, but she made it through.
I am leaving for Ecuador on a medical mission next Saturday. We are going to do eye surgery on children with crossed eyes. I will try to post some pictures of our work if I have computer access.
We are patiently waiting for another contact from a birthmother. We believe that this contact will come in God's perfect timing and we are praying for that birthmother everyday. My prayer with Daniel and Katie Beth every morning is that God will send us a birthmother that is committed to placing her baby and that God will protect Daniel and Katie Beth's hearts. It is my fear, that Daniel and Katie Beth will be hurt by a failed match.
Life is moving forward at a fast pace with Daniel playing football, piano lessons for both kids, homework, and dive lessons starting for Katie Beth. This Fall will be busy as I am leaving for Ecuador and all of us are going to Austria with Mike's work in October. We are all very excited, as I am the only one that has been to Europe before. We are reminding the kids that we are so blessed that God is providing us with all of these opportunities!!

Flag Football

Daniel started flag football tonight!! He was so excited that he could hardly stand it! Katie Beth was less thrilled since she was going to 1hour & 15minutes of football practice. She survived and Daniel loved it. He can't wait for Thursday night to practice again. I was able to walk 3 miles around the track while Daniel
practiced which was great!
Today would have been my parents wediing anniversary, if my Dad were still alive. If all of my friends would say a prayer for my Mom tonight that would be wonderful! Today has been a hard day for her. They were the love of each other's life and she still misses him alot!