Well, what a difference a month makes! I see from my last post that Joseph was not allowed to eat. That was supposed to last 6 days, but as it turned out, he needed another dilation on day 4. The good news is that it worked very well. Ever since, he's been able to eat just about whatever he wants ... which is saying a lot! He definitely favors meat: chicken, sausage, hotdogs ... In fact, he'd rather have more meat than dessert. We've begun introducing fruits and veggies, too. So far, he only likes carrots, but it's a start. Fruits have been accepted better, I think, because they're sweet. Bananas are his favorite. He just had a follow-up dr. visit and he's gained 4 pounds since his surgery (only 7 weeks ago)! His last esophagram looked very good, so at this point, he doesn't need any more surgeries or procedures. If he begins to have trouble swallowing, he'll have to be assessed at that time to see if he needs another dilation. At this point, though, he's done. My praise to God seems inadequate for all that He's done in Joseph's life in such a short time. Wow! Awesome!

Joseph's birthday was on July 4th, and he turned 6. We celebrated a little early since we were visiting with my family in June. He truly enjoyed his birthday cake and receiving presents. He's already planning his cake for next year!

The only ongoing thing for Joseph now is that he coughs - and even chokes -a lot at night. The best we can figure out is that he has trouble swallowing his saliva when he's in that deep, REM sleep. Hopefully, his throat muscles will learn how to work during the day so that he can do it subconsciously at night. Meanwhile, we were all feeling the effects of not sleeping well for weeks, so we put him on a medication (Rubinol) to "dry him up" at night. Hopefully, this will only be needed as a short-term solution, but so far it's working and we're really enjoying getting better sleep! There are so many ways in which our bodies are designed to work that we just take for granted.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are enjoying our summer --especially now that doctor visits have tapered off. Kelly is rehearsing several times a week for an August production of Pride and Prejudice. The rest of us are taking it easy and trying not to think about how quickly the new school year is approaching.

God's blessings to you,
Jill