Sunday, 21 Jun 2009
Hooray! Ella is FIVE today.
It is hard to believe the years could pass so quickly. We are truly blessed – she is happy, healthy, full of love, and a wee bit of mischief.
Click to see the photos of Ella’s 5th Birthday party
Author: MG
Ella’s Morning Walk on Kailua Beach
Friday, 22 May 2009
Ahhhhh…to be young and in Hawaii – what more could a girl want?
Winter rains and blustery winds have finally given way to warm trade winds and sunny skies. Here Ella celebrates the return with an early morning walk on Kailua beach – before the heat of the day.
Early in the day the waves are small enough for Ella to go wading – she LOVES IT!
Happy Mother’s Day
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Happy Mother’s Day
Lucy’s Mother’s Day Note to Mama.
Father Daughter Dance
Saturday, 18 Apr 2009
Last evening Papa had the privilege of escorting Lucy to her first Father Daughter Dance.
The dance was held at the The Officers Club aboard Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
Lucy wore a beautiful yellow dress, yellow hair band and white shoes that she and Mama had found for the occasion.
After dinner and a few twirls on the dance floor, Lucy told Papa: “I miss my family.” Once reunited, dancing resumed – this time in pajamas.
Running Jumping Laughing
Sunday, 22 Mar 2009
Last week Ella received a Passy-Muir valve.
Her bright purple Passy-Muir valve is a one-way valve that fits over her trach tube. It enables Ella to force air through her vocal cords and out her nose and mouth.
She only uses it for short periods, as she is still getting used to breathing out according to God’s original design.
Life on the Driveway
Monday, 16 Mar 2009
Auntie Shelley’s Birthday
Friday, 13 Mar 2009
Today is Auntie Shelley’s Birthday and we all wish we could be with her in Seattle to celebrate.
Always one for a party, Ella offers her traditional birthday toast “may you have many more scoops this year” with her favorite – Breyer’s Natural Vanilla. CHEERS!
Mother and Daughter Adventure
Saturday, 07 Mar 2009
The weekend is here again and Mum and Lucy are off on a special Mother and Daughter adventure. Their adventure began yesterday afternoon when they headed off to the J.W. Marriott Ihilani at Ko Olina.
The photo to the left is Lucy (less one front tooth) in front of the baby hammerhead shark pond. Have fun girls!
Lucy’s First Front Tooth
Friday, 06 Mar 2009
This morning Lucy said, “Papa, my front tooth came off of one of it’s hooks!” Shortly thereafter, she managed to get it off of the other hook.
Lucy, we LOVE your winning smile!
Sounds Like Ella
Thursday, 05 Mar 2009
Ella is continuing to make more and more sounds each day.
The Doctors are pleased with Ella’s vocalizing and have cleared her to continue. Thank you for your prayers.
Click on the image to the left to see the February 2009 imagery library.
The Lanai Lounger
Sunday, 01 Mar 2009
Here’s Ella, enjoying a wee lounge on the lanai lounger, after not so wee,
Sunday brunch at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani at Ko Olina.
Spa Saturday
Saturday, 28 Feb 2009
When Mum is away, Papa lets his girls be a bit more adventurous. Mum is having a well deserved over-night break with Auntie Sally at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani at Ko Olina.
As an extra special treat, Mum and Sally will be enjoying the Ihilani Spa – a proper “Spa Saturday” for all of Mum’s hard work! While Mum and Sally are away, Papa is trying to keep things “shipshape and Bristol fashion.”
Thus far, the greatest challenge is trying to convince Lucy not to remove her loose front tooth til Mum comes home later today.
Sunday, 22 Feb 2009
Mum, Ella, and “Nurse Sally” arrived safely in Honolulu. Photos to follow. You can see the details of their flight, United 43 from Denver to Honolulu, by clicking on the image to the left.
Saturday, 21 Feb 2009
Mum and Ella departed Cincinnati today for Oahu. However, a mechanical problem on the aircraft prevented the landing gear from retracting to the “stowed” position inside the fuselage. When 90 minutes of in-flight troubleshooting (over Cincinnati) failed to resolve the problem, the pilot landed safely back at Cincinnati.
Mum, Ella, and their traveling companion, “Nurse Sally” will reattempt to “fly the mission” tomorrow. For those interested in following the progress of their flight – click on the following links. They will be flying on UAL 5315 from CVG to DEN and UAL 43 from DEN to HNL.
Any and all friends and Ohana are welcome to join us at 16:00 for their arrival.
Tuesday, 17 Feb 2009
Ella’s brief visit to surgery today yielded a wee bit of good news. For the first time, in a very long time, Ella’s airway appears to be healing properly – normal mucosa growth and no “over-scaring”.
This improvement means the doctors will not be replacing the stent they removed from Ella’s airway on the 11 February. While we are still a long way from saying good-bye to Ella’s trach tube, these developments are most welcome progress.
The image to the left is Ella caring for one of her favorite recovery-room nurses, Sandra. Sandra has survived multiple recovery-room encounters with Ella and is used to Ella’s occasionally gruff bedside manner.