Miscellaneous old and new pictures

The kids are happy and healthy. They are definitely acting like three-years-old: strong wills, strong opinions, alternately loving and looking after each other and fighting over toys, and already ready to help out in small ways around the house and with each other. I'm really enjoying that!

We've begun potty training in earnest. We'd hoped they'd just kind of do it by themselves as Isaac did (more or less), but that hasn't been forthcoming. So far, so good. Marcie is leading the pack, and her example is helping the others to be more interested (so are the gummy bears - they all want the prize!).

All the kids are talking in full sentences and paragraphs and being super funny while they're at it. Marcie sang "God loves the mountains, God loves the Monster Trucks" [did I already tell you that?], and Gracie and Marcie pretend to "see" various things coming to get them. The most recent is dinosaurs. Seth loves puzzles, bikes, animals, dump trucks, Paw Patrol (a TV show of which we have one episode, so he watches it over and over again!). David is very mechanical and asks all day long where his Daddy is, loving to hear about the helicopter up in the sky. Will is his gregarious, ebullient, helpful self - until he wants what someone else has, although he sometimes tries to offer them a reasonable substitute. He also goes straight to "demand-o" mode when he has a felt need. "I NEED JUICE! JUICE!!!!!" Sometimes he throws the "please" on the end, at a lower volume, without being reminded, but we're trying to help him learn to start out nicely with "May I please have some juice?" or something along those lines. Anyone who's had a toddler can relate. :} He's the one truly throwing tantrums where he himself doesn't know what he wants, although Marcie too can start to really lose it. Hers tends to be more sad and his are more angry. If he's removed from the situation that seems to break the cycle. I'm just glad it's not all five at once in tantrum mode and pray it never will be! Anyway, they are precious, very active, often exhausting, but always cute kids. Their brother is a great kid and big help, too! He's SO tall now!

They're all enjoying their new sandbox and slide! Gavin has worked hard building that shaded area for them to play in. It's not done yet, but it's heaps of fun already.

These are very random photos and some are months old! We downloaded some of the older ones from Marmi and Papa's camera.

The kids like to dance and hug right now. Marcie in particular likes to wear her "princess" dresses (any church-type dress) and get another quint to dance with her.

Gracie kissing her hugging partner, David

Will: "May I cut in?"

The girls wearing Frozen princess pajamas from Len and Mickey. They love to match!

They put their arms around each other of their own accord, no prompting, and left them there for a long time. CUTE!

Gracie was moving in this picture so her face blurred out, but Marcie looks so pretty I had to include it.

Gracie "doctoring" Uncle James. The kids take turns listening to each other's hearts.

Seth in Madang back in June, proudly carrying a young coconut

Dirty, rainy days are a longed-for memory. We haven't had any appreciable rain for weeks and weeks. Almost everyone's rainwater (potable water) tanks have gone dry. There's a prediction that we might not get any rain until November! That would be disastrous to the PNG people's gardens and very lives. The stream that allows us to have running water for toilets, showers, laundry, etc. is also getting very low. Please pray with us that the Lord would send rain if He is willing! I think it's El Niño's fault it's been so unusually dry.

Marcie

Seth and Will

The swings at Isaac's school next door to our house

All three boys (Gracie was very sick with a tummy bug that day - this was back in May I think)

Gavin, Isaac and Larry (Papa) enjoying delicious PB cookies! (Gavin had tendonitis back then)

Papa and Will on a walk. Will LOVES to be the "only child"

Marcie and Marmi admiring a horse

Marmi reading to the kids many months ago.

(Sorry this is so fuzzy. I couldn't make it bigger without it getting worse.)

Farmer David with a carrot crop

Third Birthday Pictures

Marmi with her "twin" girls.

We did our best to celebrate the kids despite illness. Gracie and Seth felt totally fine, thankfully, so they got to be the ones to blow out the candles. Marcie just wanted to be held and looked half-asleep, and Will spent much of the evening (and past few days) whining and crying. David perked up for a couple of hours, but he's still feverish today with what we assume is the roseola Will and Marcie are recovering from. We'll see if it afflicts Gracie and Seth. (If it does, I pray Seth doesn't lose any more weight!!)

Papa admiring the cake with Gracie.

Our neighbor Johanna brought over her son's leftover birthday cake, so there was a cake with candles for Seth and Gracie to each blow out, although Gracie ended up blowing out both sets. Seth was trying to blow from too far away, and when I lifted him up he didn't want to blow them out anymore. Nevertheless, seeing him grin and blow reminded me of how far we've come in three years! I think it was three years ago tomorrow that he was moved onto the oscillating ventilator due to pulmonary interstitial emphysema: over-dilated lungs causing his blood oxygen levels to plummet, the beginning of a scary ride that lasted several months. It's such a delight to have this bright, verbal, loving, active blonde boy in our lives! It's a delight to have EACH of the quints. They're so unique and precious, and they look out for and love each other dearly already.

The kids enjoying candy birthday watches:

The following three photos were our best attempt to get a family photo. Gavin's parents gave it their best shot. If we'd forced David to turn around he'd be crying in the photo, so there was no point in that. Will and Marcie were already miserably sick.

Isaac being silly in his dad's hat

Too much cake? ;)

Goodbye pictures (and Happy 3rd Birthday!)

I'm posting these more than a week after we took them. My folks had to say goodbye Sunday night because of an early flight Monday. 

Doesn't Seth look so much better? Although still too skinny, of course. He's got a ways to go to regain his lost 2 pounds, and he was already under the 5th percentile for weight. :} I think he's gained about half a pound back. He's so active it's really hard to get him to gain anything!! He's eating really well, though, praise God - and keep praying, please!

I took this photo because I thought it was so cute of David and Gracie reading. It was only afterwards I realized they were wearing each other's boots! A daily activity around here is the putting-on of various shoes and boots. 

Enjoying books (including some new ones - thank you sweet friends!)
L-R: Gracie, Seth, David, Marcie. Their hair was wet after their baths.

David and Grandpadad (who was singing to David)

David and Grandma

Below: With Marcie, who happened to be coming down with Roseola - it was not a fun week for her and she's still not back to normal. Neither are Will and David, the other two affected. Roseola and birthday parties aren't super compatible, but the quints turned three-years-old yesterday nonetheless! 

Seth is better!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for praying!! Praise the Lord, Seth is BACK! He's his silly self, growling at us, laughing, playing with the others, and eating and drinking. Please pray he'll eat better and better so he can recover that weight loss. He's still not eating as much as normal, but it's a vast improvement and such a delight to hear him ask for food.

In sadder news, my parents said goodbye to the kids tonight. I feel so sad for them! I can't imagine leaving my kiddos for more than a  few days. I'm always desperate to see them again! Tonight, completely unsolicited, as Grandpadad was getting out of the car, David said, "I love him." (Awwwww!)

Marcie has completely lost her voice. Gracie seems fine, Will and David still have nasty noses. However, everyone does seem to be really and truly at least mostly healthy, praise God.

Thanks again for praying!
Carrie

P.S. I took a lot of photos tonight but now can't get them to export so I can put them onto the blog. Standby for future pics . . .

Disconcerting symptoms and rough week for Seth

Hi all,

Gavin was gone Tuesday-Friday this week, so it was more of a blessing than ever that my parents are still here! This is especially because Seth started having a really high fever Tuesday, with lethargy, panting and consequent lower oxygen saturations [using only the top ⅓ of the lungs causes that]. He was fine the following morning, with diarrhea only, but then his fever soared again - 105.3 F! He was super lethargic then. He's got swollen lymph nodes in his groin area; he's lost more than two pounds off his already less-than-5th-percentile frame; some pin-prick marks up his right arm turned into much larger raised patches of sub-dermal bleeding, like some strange rash; and when I took him into the clinic he had a positive strep test, a deep red completely disfigured ear drum and an ear infection in the other ear as well. He vomited five times last evening (four times on Marmi - lucky grandma!), and then today he broke out in a rash reacting to the amoxicillin that was treating his strep throat and ear infections. To top it all off, he has a run-of-the-mill cold that all the kids have, so he's coughing and sneezing and congested too. Life is just not fun for Seth right now.

The doctor ran several blood tests. Everything came back normal, thank God. The doc also switched Seth to the Z-pack (azithromycin) which is nice since it requires only one dose daily!

Seth's complete unwillingness to eat or drink anything REALLY concerns me. He's starting to look wasted. Looking at pictures taken just this past weekend shows a huge difference in this short amount of time. I was so encouraged by how he was eating and gaining the past several weeks, and now we've had this major setback. However, I realize the Lord was perhaps ordaining that big appetite to make him more resilient during this hard bout of illness. I know I can trust God no matter what, and that He loves Seth more than we do. We sure appreciate your prayers with us for health, for wisdom for the medical staff, and for renewed strength and appetite for Seth, Lord willing.

This two pictures were taken 8 days ago. He looks so healthy and happy to me!

Seth's strange arm spots

The other kids (except Gracie) have the normal cold stuff. Marcie is complaining of pain in her cheeks (maxillary sinuses), so that may be another doctor appointment. Will complained about his ear today. We'll see . . .

Gavin is home, so we're all happier tonight. Maybe not healthier, maybe not unconcerned, but happier. :)

A couple of cute things: David was talking to Gavin on the phone and kept trying to show him things (including his toothbrush). Will was also talking to Daddy and just kept yelling "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's in the phone!" David chimed in, "That's Daddy. This is my mommy [pointing at me] and this is my Will brother [touching Will]."

Today Marcie was running errands alone with me. She started talking about, "my brothers," and said, "I want to go get my boys!" She said she wanted to go get her "Gracie brother" too. I explained that Gracie is her sister. She said, "Yeah, Gracie is my sister brother." It's really cute that they are learning their relationship to one another. They are also congregating together more in public situations rather than splitting up and going in different directions. They like to talk to one another about what they are seeing or what toys they are playing with. They are doing a remarkably good job of sharing! Of course, they're not three yet, so it may be premature to do any sort of bragging. I'm just grateful that they seem to be learning cooperation and seem to genuinely care for and look after one another. When I bought David a small lollipop he said, "Where's Will's candy?!" We had to get one for all the quints and Isaac.

The kids are really into dancing, alone and together, and I got a series of blurring phone photos of their cuteness on Monday. It started with David and Marcie; then Will got excited and joined in, dancing with David; then Marcie inserted herself so it became an embracing trio; then David had enough and dropped out so Marcie and Will could dance alone.

The boys in their cute shirts from CJ and Jonathan! Thanks - we love them! We got a lot of compliments that day. ;) Each boy picked his favorite color, and they each chose a different one. Nice! (This was Tuesday, the first day of Seth's illness. He doesn't look like he feels great, does he?)

David and Marcie in princess dresses (from the movie Brave). David lost interest in his dress much sooner than Marcie did - which is a good thing since it's actually Gracie's dress! Marcie wears a princess dress at least part of every day. She's been given four now. :) She always wears a tutu under them, and today wore bright pink socks, pink Disney princess shows, pink pearl beads, and pink fairy wings. Anything pink appeals to her. She likes matching her Brave dolly, though, in her beautiful new green and plaid princess dress.

Random happy pictures from the past week

I am going to be so sad when my parents leave. We have a wonderful - albeit ofttimes challenging - life here, and it's super extra special to share that life - and the burdens! - with them. Thankfully Gavin's parents will still be here!! If you ever wonder how to bless a missionary, send their family to them [assuming the missionaries have a great relationship with their families, which, thank God, we do]. ;) THANK YOU to those who are standing behind my parents as they love and serve us here, and thanks also to those who sent so many beautiful, thoughtful gifts along with them!

Seth in Grandpadad's hat eating Grandma's
fabulous peanut-butter cookies!

David LOVES little LEGO cars and trucks.

Three gorgeous pictures of a very happy Gracie (while I drew a snowman for her and Marcie ate a banana in the background):

My darling nephew, who looks SO pleased with himself in his big boy chair at Panera!
He also looks like an adorable Smurf, something we once thought about David. Foster is the single biggest reason it's hard to be here in PNG and not in the U.S. It's sad to miss seeing him grow up! Plus, I'm missing seeing and knowing my sister as a mom. From what I hear she's the BEST, most loving, most self-sacrificing mom I could imagine! I'm so proud and grateful to God for the precious gift of Foster and his wonderful mommy and daddy, even though I can't squeeze and love on them physically right now. Prayers instead!

I love the kids of PNG. Apparently, so does Gavin. :) He took and highlighted this photo as one of his favorites from a recent four-day trip sling-loading building materials into a village up on the mountain. Two missionary couples and their families are moving there to share the love of Christ and the good news of salvation in Him. The people are very excited to have them come! 

T-shirt pictures

It's really hard to get them to pose for pictures, especially when we're at play group and they know it's time to play. ☺