The Long Hot Summer, so far

Hi all,

It's sweltering down in Florida. Hope the rest of you are comfortable! Yesterday the heat index was 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Ugh! The kids are enjoying their Summer, though. We sleep late this month and start waking up earlier in July since Emily will need to be at Kindergarten by 7:45 in August!

Emily's enjoying musicals like Mary Poppins and Mama Mia, and belts out tunes wherever she is. She and David do a great "Every Day's a Holiday with You" from Mary Poppins (the park scene), arm in arm with Emily holding an umbrella. Kevin's teaching David to swim, and both kids start swim lessons next week, too!

Bruffy

David had his tonsils removed a few weeks ago. It was certainly an interesting experience. On the bright side, he bonded more tightly to me than ever. On the sad side, his past surfaced and the poor little guy alternated between rages and terror in the hospital.



Luckily, Emily and Daddy visited daily, and lifted his spirits. Here Emily serves Bruffy tea Alice in Wonderland style. Notice the handmade Alice dress from Grami Frani. It was a big hit in the hospital.

David stayed overnight in the hospital after surgery so he could be properly hydrated, but after 5 days at home he began refusing medicine, food and drink. Back into the hospital we went, and he was furious, slapping the nurses, refusing to cooperate, and shouting and struggling with his IV if I left his side. (It took 3 of us to hold him down for the IV insertion.) Turns out, his throat was swollen and required steroids to reduce the inflammation. With adult size tonsils in his mouth, who could blame him? I asked him several times if he was scared, and he moaned a solemn "Yeh!", and clung to me.

Now he's feeling much better, breathing better at night and he's actually giggling every day! His apnea and acid reflux seem to have abated, and we're hoping he doesn't really have asthma after all.



A neat side of being with him in the hospital was watching the medivac helicopter do an evening takeoff. It sat on the rooftop straight across from us.

More photos...

Hope all you dads had a great Father's Day! We fed daddy a breakfast omelet with bacon...yummy! The kids made Daddy a photo book about him. It was a fun day.

Happy Birthday to June Babies

Happy Birthday Jackie Blair, Kiera Dillon, John Gardocki, Ella Grace Gilbertson, Cindy Koullias, Emily Lewis, Ethel Skrine, and Stacey Strickland. And a Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to dear friends Brent and Margot Baldwin!

Bringing Home Brett at Last!

Be sure and follow the Bolton's journey to their third child, Brett, in Henan, China. Cindy, Russ, and big sister (jie jie) Abigail and little sister (mei Mei) Chloe have waited an entire year for new brother Brett. Cindy and Russ leave on Wednesday, June 24th for Beijing. We CAN'T WAIT to follow their journey!!!

Good Luck, Addison!

Addison Braun is entering the hospital the same day the Boltons leave, for a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy. After what David went through, we're keeping Addison in our thoughts for a speedy recovery. At least Melissa and Scott have been through this before with sister Kate, but you never know how the kids will react. We'll be thinking of ya!

Take care, everyone,

Caroline