April 23, 2007 Get your party hats!

To one and all:

Silas’ birthday Party will be held at Living Water’s Church at 2pm on Saturday, April 28. Everyone is invited to help us celebrate the miracle God gave us when he allowed us time to get to know our son. The Little Bear has grand things in his future, the first of which is a birthday party! We would be delighted if you’d stop in and share some cake and punch with us. I ask that you please jot me a note letting me know if you’re coming so that I have an idea of how much cake I’ll need to pick-up. If you need directions, email me at tanayakyne@hotmail.com. Can’t wait to see you there!

Love,

~The Kynes~

April 13, 2007 Friends here and friends gone. . .

I just talked on the phone to Shanda, baby Ryan’s mom (CDH with a patch whom we met when they toured the NICU while Silas was on ECMO), yesterday for almost an hour. The last time I had seen Ryan was right before he was to fly home to Alaska and he did not appear stable to me. He was at Legacy on a vent and very weak. (It turns out that he got very ill just shortly before leaving.) I was so worried for that little family. Shanda said that she went home to get a few hours of sleep and in the morning found out that Ryan had been de-satting (his oxygen level in his blood kept dropping) but they’d brought it back up each time. Since this was not uncommon for Ryan to do, she continued her morning with a shower, getting her daughter ready, etc. When she got to the Alaskan NICU she found out that what they called “de-satting” was actually coding and they had performed CPR on his little body multiple times. It infuriates me when people can’t or don’t communicate the truth. “Oh, your son has been de-satting.” It should have been “Your son’s vitals keep crashing.” ANYWAY. . . Enough of the soap box. He is now doing really well. He is about nine months old and has a G-tube but the little tike actually nurses! And he is also starting solids. The tube feedings are just supplemental.

Shanda told me she may be coming to Oregon for a visit and I was thrilled at the prospect of not only seeing her little miracle, but watching Silas and Ryan play. It never ceases to fill me with wonder when NICU survivors who have come so close to leaving this earth, sit and play with each other right in front of my eyes. It feels like I am witnessing a profound miracle all over again. Of course, the swell of wonderment is always mixed with sadness for the little ones who are now in the Father’s arms. The thrill and joy are not diminished, just inextricably connected to the sadness. I could never have imagined feeling such intense emotions over the “silliest” things. I see a rainbow and I think of God’s promise to never destroy the earth by flood again. . . And I remember Jolee.

I see a lion and I am amazed at God’s awesome imagination with His creation and long for the day when that lion will lie down with a lamb. . . And I remember Judah.

I see Easter things and I think of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, and the awesome gift of grace he offers us. . . And I remember Drew.

I see the number eleven and I think about the birth of my first child born Sept. 11, and how my life was so amazingly and marvelously changed that day. . . And I remember Mert.

I see a newborn blanket and my heart swells with wonderment for the new life that will be wrapped in its folds. . . And I think of Joseph wrapped in his family’s loving arms for oh so brief a moment.

It is a strange mix of joy and grief that mingles just under the surface at any given moment. I guess that is what life is all about; growing deeper in understanding of both the good and the bad and gaining a profound appreciation for the good in life because of having tasted the bad. Lord, let me not grow bitter but grow more faithful in my trust of You and Your Almighty will. Remind me that I do not see the whole picture as You do, and that I am a thread in the tapestry, not the weaver. Most of all, Jesus, take us home soon where there will never again be a tear shed in sadness and not one speck of pain will blacken my soul. Thy kingdom come, Father, on earth as it is in Heaven. Thy kingdom come quickly.

~Tanaya~

April 11, 2007 HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANETTE!

I am so glad you are alive and that you are so vibrant. You are a fantastic little girl and I wait with baited breath to see what things you will accomplish in your life.
With much love and blessings being sent your way,
~Tanaya~

April 10, 2007 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILAS!

We are having a giant birthday party for any and all who would like to meet for the first time or just say hi to Silas. It will be April 28th at 2:00 pm. The location is still being worked out, but I wanted to give a heads up to everyone. I can't believe it has been a whole year.

April 10, 2007 Of white rabbits and Cheshire cats.

Wow! Our life lately has resembled the white rabbit’s life in Alice in Wonderland where we run in circles crying, “No time! No time! I’m late! I’m late!” It is absolutely AMAZING how a little R & R can relax and refresh a soul. Our little three day vacation was a phenomenal success. After staying up ALL NIGHT to prepare and awakening the family before my own head ever hit the pillow, I slept most of the trip up. When we arrived in Portland, we met the Cookes at the Ronald McDonald house where the kiddos played and the adults chatted. We bumped into a friend from home whose little girl had just under gone major heart surgery and were able to offer some encouragement and understanding. (It seems that every time I go up there I know someone who has their baby in that hospital.) Then, while Nanette had her one year CDH checkup, we visited the blood bank at the hospital. I’m not sure if I mentioned it previously, but Silas had used up all the blood from two donors and was working on his third donor’s blood before we left the NICU. It was thrilling to be able to introduce him to some of the people who generally never get to see the recipients of their hard work. Many remembered his name and were so tickled to have us visit that they took us on a tour of the blood bank explaining what they did in the lab and even showing us how they run tests on the blood. We then met Nanette and crew to head up to the NICU for a visit and pictures. (By the way, Nanette is in remarkably good health and is developmentally just like any other one year old. . . Scratch that; she is above any normal one year old and beautiful to boot; imagine the hearts she’ll break with all those striking good looks and brains too!) It was truly incredible to be sitting outside the NICU with our children playing on the floor not even really concerned about germs.
We also spent a few minutes letting the children play in the children's garden where we looked for and found Jolee Jean's memorial brick.

Well, after trying to contain the children’s energy for so long, we went out to supper at the “Spaghetti Factory” where we bumped into Dr. Newman and her family. She was the doctor who discharged Silas and we had really appreciated her care for Nanette and our little bear in the NICU. Before the Cookes and Kynes went our separate ways, the kids got to play “freeze tag” with Albert as “IT” and they had a great time. Mind you, my husband was pretty sore the next day, but what are dads for, right?

We settled our weary family at a hotel near Salem and spent a leisurely day shopping the following day. Albert found a leather coat and I found a jacket at Burlington Coat Factory. The kids managed to each spend almost their entirety of their money as well. We picked up new bathing suits for all and found a new hotel that had a pool with a kiddy section and fountain, a hot tub and a sauna all for a reasonable price. This was Silas’ first time in such a giant bathtub! Everyone enjoyed getting wet.
The next day, we saw Becky briefly while we ate breakfast. She looks fabulous but is still missing Joshua tremendously. Please keep remembering to pray for her whenever she crosses your mind. The gaping hole in her soul is so empty without her son. She means so much to me and I wish there were something I could do to ease her pain, but I know there isn’t. I can only ask the Lord to fill that void with comfort and peace and soothe her broken heart. I remember the day we left the NICU and headed home while Joshua was still stuck there. Amidst the unbridled joy of leaving and taking my son home, I felt like I was abandoning Becky and Joshua and the other precious families I’d come to cherish in the NICU. It is still a hard place to remember.

Anyway, the following day, we took the kids to the Enchanted Forest (after stopping to buy slickers at Wal-Mart because it was RAINING! RRRRRrrrrrrr!) But it cleared up a little and we had a fantastically good time. With the park being mostly empty, we got our pick of the rides and the whole family enjoyed the relaxed, kid-friendly, hands-on theme park. Even Silas got to go on a ride!
Daddy and Silas in a magnificent display of "action and response" therapy (aka "Cuteness").

Silas may look like he contracted some rare disease but in actuality, he had been thoroughly enjoying a lollipop!
The whole vacation was exactly what the doctor ordered. It was a simply fabulous switch from our crazy, daily, “white rabbit” life to the point where I’ve been so cheerful since returning home that now I feel more like the Cheshire Cat with a “perma-grin”. :- ) Ahhh yes; God IS good. I sometimes lose sight of that when bad things happen in this fallen world. Forgive me Lord.

I will write soon about the impact this Easter holiday has had on me. It is just too raw at the moment. Thank-you all so much for caring and praying for us.

~Tanaya~

April 3, 2007 I should know better. . .

Okay, so I *should* know better, but hey, I said I’d do it again and I have. I insanely took Jerusha into the Wal-Mart dressing room. (There should be some sort of drum roll or a dramatic theme song played at this point.) She is pulling on her shirt looking at her neck in the mirror. . .

Mommy: Jerusha, what are you doing?

Jerusha (matter-of-factly): I’m trying to see my breasts.

Mommy: Excuse me?!?

Jerusha lifting her shirt up to her neck exclaims: There they are!

Mommy, beginning to feel the color creep up my neck and into my face: Roosha! Shoosh!

Jerusha in a resigned but none-the-less loud voice: Boy, they sure are small boobies. I can tell you that for sure!

Mommy, trying to think if I packed any Duct tape in my purse this morning: Jerusha! Turn around, put your nose in the corner, and don’t open your lips!

Jerusha with a sigh: I never get to open my lips.

I think my children were designed to bring about humbleness in my character through thorough embarrassment. Sigh.

This is a quick rundown of life in the Kyne family for the next couple weeks:We are headed to Portland to visit Nanette (Silas’ NICU girlfriend- isn't she gorgeous!) and her family in Portland.

We will also see Becky, Joshua’s mommy, in Salem and hopefully a few other NICU friends as well. Albert and I are taking the kid’s to the enchanted forest on Sat before heading home. If you’ve never been, it is a wonderful, hands-on, little theme park. www.enchantedforest.com If you are ever in the vicinity with younger kids, this is a must stop.

Then, the following weekend, I will take three of the children (Savannah gets to stay with Aunty Kate and then Aunty Shahala so she can continue school) and we will spend a week with my parents at the coast. I am exhausted and *NEED* to get away for a while.

Here are a couple pictures of Silas getting his haircut; his baby curl is almost 7 inches long :-)Big brother Micah kept him occupied while I took pictures and my favorite hairdresser in the whole wide world cut his hair. Thank-you Carla!

These were the pictures that Rachel, Judah's mommy, took before we got his hair cut.

So that is what the plan is for the next little while. At least that is what the plan is, and we all know what God likes to do with our plans . . . Change them! So I should end by saying, God willing, that is our plan.

Love to all! ~Tanaya~