The Time Has Come..........

To close the chapter called "Reconstruction" for this sweet angel. I can't believe the 4th stage surgery is here!!!!!! We leave tomorrow for Atlanta once again -- surgery is scheduled for Tuesday (June 1) at 7:30 est. time. What a bittersweet feeling we are having ~~~ it's so great knowing that as long as there are no complications (which we know God will take care of that) this is the final time Nathan will go into the OR for any reconstruction, but at the same time, those feelings of nervousness, sadness, and stress are resurfacing because WHO THE HECK WANTS to send their baby to surgery. Please say some prayers for ALL of us on Tuesday~~~ God is in control and we know he will have His hand on all of us but most importantly on Nathan.

In the above picture, you can see what his ear looks like as of today. Still some swelling on the top portion of the ear but as I have stated before, Dr. Jones says swelling doesn't completely subside until about 2 yrs after the final surgery~~ the detail will be at it's best at that point. I try not to get anxious about it, considering it still looks GREAT as it is, but God is the ultimate physician and only he can create a "perfect" ear. I am just thankful he has blessed Drs with the talent to do what they do.


On Tuesday the surgery Nate will undergo is called the Tragus Construction. The tragus is the small flap-like cartilage we all have at the front of our ears. This surgery will create that for Nathan---but most importantly if the tragus heals favorably, when the light strikes the front of the ear, a shadow is thrown beneath which can look quite like an opening to an ear canal.


To create the tragus, two small grafts are borrowed from the opposite ear~~ this donor tissue is the same tissue one removes and discards when people with protruding ears have their ear "pinned back." In the instance of building a tragus, this tissue instead is used as "building material".


Because surgically-constructed ears rarely protrude as far as the opposite, normal ear, this operation is a "two-for-one" procedure as removing the grafts from one ear and switching them to the other tends to equalize the two ears' projections and give better frontal (head-on) symmetry.


With all that being said (sorry so lengthy) we are definitely excited we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tonight we had a mini-celebration with family and friends to show Nathan how proud we all are of him for being so brave and tough over this past year. Nothing like a good old fashion cook-out with people we love.

The Cousins!

"Yea Nate!"

Disney World HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Little Graduate!

Meet the newest "official" 1st grader.....excuse me as I wipe my tears away~ sniff, sniff. Last week Nathan's school had it's annual Spring Sing to wrap up the school year, as usual the kids were cute as ever. They all seem to LOVE performing in front of an audience.
At the end of the program all the younger kiddos are dismissed into the audience and the Kindergarten class has it's "graduation ceremony".

He was oh so proud to have been selected to hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let the performance begin.....Sweet Mally (to the right of Nathan) is such a shy little thing. But let me tell you, she sure can get into some singing :) Loved it!
Nathan's "solo" ~~~"We're Imaginative!"

Let the commencement begin!

Checking out his diploma with sweet Sophie.

These ladies taught Nathan SO much over this past year! Thank you for all you do Ms. Hanna and Ms. Irwin.
And let's not forget our little love ~~ Isabel. What are they going to do next year when they are at separate schools :(? I still don't think they get it.

Nina and Papa made it to the ceremony.

Love you Nathan! Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you!

Wilson's End of Year Program

What more do you expect from a 2 year old preschool program than ---- SILLINESS!!!! And that is just what you get from Wilson.....silly, silly, silly! That is the going trait as of lately around the Foster household (that and not listening). The class was a little timid about singing in front of an audience....actually they weren't happy about it at all, a good handful of them left the stage crying and were alot happier in their mommies arms. NOT WILSON~~~the sillier the better.

And that just carried over into the class pizza party.....as you can see below!

Of course when you get these two together there will definitely be some laughs. Cousin Stirling was enjoying her pizza, while Wilson tried to get her attention most of the time.

The only thing that will get my little man to slow down and take a "serious" picture is this little angel........Claire Bear as she is affectionately known.

Wilson's sweet teachers! Thank you so much for putting up with my sweet little devil :)

Wilson's buddy Owen

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

One word............Blessed!

Not only for my two special gifts from God but for a fabulous mom of my own! Love you mom!

Karate Kid

That's right......The Foster home has a Karate Kid living with us :) Nathan started taking karate about a month and a half ago and has truly enjoyed every minute of it. Yesterday morning he had his first belt test --- this was to promote him from a white belt (which is the belt of purity) to a yellow belt (belt of obedience). He was nervous but did GREAT!!!!! It is so funny to watch him do all of these karate combinations and how serious he can get. Taking karate has done wonders for his self confidence and that puts a smile on my face.

You did a fantastic job Nathan!!!! We are so proud of you!

Part of their test is breaking a wooden board. Notice in the 3rd pic, that thing is in 2 pieces. He was SO PROUD!

Belt presentation!
Two new yellow belts----way to go Nathan and Matthew!


This is Mr. Patrick--- he does a wonderful job with the kids. He makes it fun for them but definitely does not play around when it comes to learning their stuff. Fun but Tough is what I would say.