Sorry I have been a slacker here in the blog world....busy getting used to a new schedule and growing kids and well just life in general. Here is a list of what we have done over the past month and I promise I will post pictures soon!

1. Labor Day in PA! We headed to Pittsburgh for a visit with the Engel folk. Trip included a visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for a way cool dinosaur exhibit with our friends the Legins, a family picnic at Dave's Aunt Cathy and Uncle Bob's house, a night out sans kids to a new german restaurant and an awesome irish pub (travelling the globe on the South Side) and of course a stop at Kennywood!! It was a quick trip packed with lots of fun and beautiful weather.

2. School School School!! Zachary and Madeline both started school this year. Zach is going to preschool 3 days a week (M-W-F) and Madeline is in a Mom's morning out program (at the same school) on M & W which leaves me 2 mornings all to myself..oh what shall I do :). They both seem to be loving it and are doing really well!!!

3. We ventured out to the mountains for a family gathering of sorts while my granddad was driving through on his way back to Florida (from a trip in Maine). It was nice seeing everyone and enjoying some true fall time.

4. A Walk With The Dinosaurs!!! We took Zachary to the Verizon Center in DC to see this really great show with animatronic dinosaurs..they were huge, loud and so real! He loved it and has not stopped talking about it since we were there. Madeline spent the day with her Aunt Barb which was just fine with her!

5. Big Girl Bed!! Well, the bed has been purchased. It will be delivered next week. It is bittersweet for me because I am not ready for the crib to go in the attic but my little girl certainly is. At barely over 2 she is so much older than her years and is now so excited she can hardly stand herself. My parents are coming this weekend to help us get her room all redecorated (new paint, comforter, shelves...the works) and the bed will be here on Monday while she is at school. It has a trundle bed...a very nice trundle bed...so we have an extra bed now in that room. And, Zachary has asked us to put his bunk bed back together so that makes 2 extra beds :).

That is all I can think of and it doesn't seem like much but man has it kept us busy. Zachary is now getting his OT on Tuesdays and Thursdays so he is busy all 5 days of the workweek. But he doesn't seem to mind and is sleeping really well ;).

So, check back in soon for pictures and such...I promise as soon as I get them off the camera, they will be posted. But when will I find time to do that.....hmmm..that is to be determined. Until then...
Cheers!!!

If...

you make your way onto my blog today and are reading this post, please pray for baby Leah Helen Bosshard as she is currently undergoing a lengthy surgery to remove a very large neck tumor. She is 12 days old and the brand new daughter to my dear friends, Laurie & Mike.

*****UPDATE******

Here is a copy of the email I received last night from Laurie. Nothing beats the power of prayer!

Quick update, because we are exhausted and we are with Leah now in the NICU but I wanted to let you know the good news.
Leah's surgery began at 9:01am and she was back in the NICU around 5:45ish. The ENT surgeons feel good about the surgery and are
"cautiously optimistic" that they removed the whole tumor and preserved most of the cranial nerves. A lot will depend on how she does over the next few days, so she will
be closely monitored. They know they removed 95-99% of it and possibly all of it but the area around the carotid artery and under her
tongue were hard to identify. They said some of the teratoma could still be there or it could just be some reactive tissue that is swelling b/c
of where the mass was. They will have to monitor her tongue movement and see if the left corner of her mouth moves and her left shoulder moves,
b/c those are involved with the nerves in question. But, we are in the NICU now and the left corner of her mouth and left arm have been moving a great
deal which is an excellent sign.

She is quite puffy from the surgery and they warned us that the swelling and puffiness of her whole body will get worse before it gets better, but it will go down
in a couple of days. She is still on pain meds and they are giving her morphine as needed b/c you can tell she is in pain. They had to give her blood and will probably
give her another blood transfusion tomorrow b/c they are drawing so much blood from her constantly to check her labs and you can't take that much blood out of a tiny baby
continuously.

The tumor does not pin her head down to the left side anymore, it is so great. She is on her back and her head is facing the ceiling for the first time in her life. She is still intubated with a breathing tube and they won't remove that till probably Friday. When they do, we will be able to FINALLY hold her for the first time. She will have her feeding tube with my milk for a bit. They will put that back in a couple of days once she has healed and then hopefully we can go to breastfeeding partially in addition to the tube and then soon, the tub will be taken out once she gets the hang of sucking.

Her facial features are not squashed anymore, they are centered and beautiful. Please continue to pray for a smooth recovery with little pain and that they discover as she heals that all the tumor was in fact taken away.

We can't thank you enough for all your love, support, and prayers. We could not go through this alone and we feel the love from all of you. God is on our side and giving Leah the strength to recover so she can come home and we can all be a family again soon.

We are going to spend some more time with Leah and then say goodnight b/c we are running on little sleep.
Much love to all
Laurie, Mike, Matthew, and Leah