UPDATE TO today is the day

Hi again.

Now we had some breakfast, I can type more and think clearer ;)

Anderson has been in now for 2 out of approx 4 hours.

The most DIFFICULT thing about this was "turning Anderson over" to the doctors for surgery. We got to walk him to a "red line" (literally, a red line marked on the floor outside of the operating rooms) and kiss him goodbye. To say this was difficult, is an understatement. We were a complete wreck...and continued to be a wreck for about 20-30 minutes. Once we talked to Dr. Frim, we felt so much better.

** Remember when Ryan had his 2nd set of ear tubes put in almost 2 weeks ago (yes, for those who did not know.....about 2 weeks ago, Ryan had surgery! Yes, we have been crazy busy! He had his 2nd set of ear tubes put in and adenoids taken out)...anyway, I kept saying, taking Ryan to that surgery felt like a trip to Chuck E. Cheese....well, after today...yes, taking Ryan for his ear tubes DID feel like a trip to Chuck E. Cheese ;) compared to this. Not to down play little Ryan's surgery, just different!!! Ryan was VERY brave for his surgery, he did a great job and is feeling better....yes, I digress....

Now, a few hours into surgery, we are anxious to see Anderson again and hold him.

The Ronald McDonald house is SO nice here. We decided to stay there b/c it is only 2 blocks away. Thought it would be convenient to be close to the hospital. Plus, we can leave our things there and stay at the hospital....go back and shower, get things, etc very easy. The Ronald McDonald house (RMH) here was just built in 12/07. It is brand new, approx 30,000 sq ft, 22 rooms, kid's play room, living rooms, fully stocked kitchen (anything you could want to eat)....so so so nice. The resident manager was helpful, nice, and welcoming. He told us that 30% of their residents are Dr. Frim's patients for Chiari...DOES THAT TELL YOU ANYTHING? Made Char and I smile at ech other when we heard this...yes, we are in the right place! He told us that Dr. Frim is internationally known for his Chiari work and they have many, many of his patients stay at the house.

Last night around 8:30 CST I was starting to lose it...the reality was sinking in. Crying, crying, crying...a little after 9:00 CST I started to feel better, feeling more calm. About 1/2 hour later.....I realized something.....did any of you Moms in Orange County get goose bumps?? Yes, at 7:00 PST (9:00CST)....my Moms group from Church held a Rosary dedication for Anderson! Wonder why I felt that calm feeling a little after 9:00 ;) !! Thank you MOMS for hosting that dedication.

Another thing....God is so good....many of you know...we had a cRAZY week of sick kids last week. We were sweating bullets on this one. Anderson got sick last Sunday (Feb 24th.....7 days to get better) with a cold and cough. They would not operate on him if he was sick, they were going to cancel the surgery. So, our ped put Anderson on an antibotic and breathing treatments. Then, Kaitlyn and Ryan got sick. Then, I got sick (now it is Wednesday with 4 out of 5 of us sick). Anyway...Anderson started to get better. Okay, feeling better. Now it is Friday...Anderson got pink eye. I mean, are you kidding me?? Pink eye? Back to the doctor....on Friday, Kaitlyn needs steriod breathing treatments, more breathing treatments for Anderson and now eye drops. Yes, Saturday, I had the pink eye. Saturday night, Kaitlyn and Ryan had it. Oh brother! Needless to say....on Sunday morning when we woke up...Anderson was better, no pink eye, no runny nose or cough...and I was better (oh yeah, did I mention, if I was sick they would not let me in the intensive care unit with Anderson??) and we were off for the plane ride to Chicago......GOD is good. ** Yes, we like to keep things REALLY exciting around here!! ha, ha,ha!

Thank you to EVERYONE for all of the prayers, support, emails, posts, prayer chains that you have started for Anderson. As you can tell from reading above....it's working! If you could have seen how sick our house was last week (or the look on the faces of the surgeons when I told them Anderson had pink eye 3 days ago...they were happy it was 3 days ago and not yesterday!!!) you would know....your prayers are working so far. We feel so lucky that we did not have to cancel the surgery!! Keep the prayers coming!!!! ** Did I say, THANKS for those prayers from all of you yet??? ;) No other way for us to express it.....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I know so many of put Anderson on prayer lists, prayer chains, told your friends, told everyone...THANK YOU! You are helping us get thru this right now.

When we get the notes you send, it makes us smile (and me a little teary) to know we have the love of our friends and family. We are so thankful and blessed to have all of you during this time.

** I will continue to update as much as possible during the day. Right now, not much for us to do....just wait. So, I thought I would type a little more. You can scroll down to read previous posts from earlier today. Our friend, Kristen posted a cute pic of Anderson from this AM!

XOXOXO