Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year! Can you believe that it’s 2005 already? We were recalling past Christmases and New Years this year and Kraig and I were remembering where we were at the turnover of the new century—remember all the Y2K worries? We were in Mali, visiting Kraig’s folks then, wondering with baited breath if we’d be stuck out there for extra time while the world got itself reorganized (we were kind of hoping we might have to stay!)…. But no such luck! Not even the flicker of a power outage!

As usual I’ve been too slow about getting an update out. I still don’t have our webpage updated (something I wanted to do before I wrote), but I’ll let you know when I do and you can see how much Keren has grown since her birthday—and has she ever! Two months after her birthday she was weighed and measured, and the squirt had grown an inch and a quarter in that time! I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s grown more since. She’s lost almost all her baby-looks and is now truly a “little girl”. We’re thrilled.

So! What’s been going on in our lives? What hasn’t, is the better question. The fall was a whirlwind. At the beginning October Keren and I flew out to Pennsylvania where we spent three great days with my college friend, Rue Ann. The three of us drove to our alma mater, Philadelphia Biblical University, that weekend for Rue Ann and my 10^th reunion where we caught up with various friends and former profs. With a smile and just a bit of complaining, Keren put up with all the new places and faces. She particularly enjoyed Rue Ann’s big living room floor. Here she took up a new pastime of rocking herself vigorously from side to side on her back, and as a result scooching herself across the floor. She’s kept it up since, though now is more likely to roll onto her stomach and start working out there. As a result of all this rolling, she’s strengthened her back and ab muscles considerably.

The remainder of October and November were crammed with Keren and my activities. My MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church got into full swing. It only meets twice a month, but it keeps us hopping. I’ve enjoyed getting to know other moms—in fact, one of the mom’s at my table has a son with special needs that require some major surgeries. It’s been good for both of us to be able to bounce doctor experiences off each other and pray for each other. On Tuesday nights, my sister Carrie and I are teaching a women’s Bible study class. The fall study was on the Sermon on the Mount and proved to be wonderfully practical and challenging. The women in the class were awesome—I learned so much from them! We’ve just started our class for the winter and we’re studying Leviticus, one of the Old Testament books that focuses on the Mosaic Law and what it means to be holy. Once again, challenging; particularly as we look at how it applies to us today (that is, what are the principles—we obviously don’t have to do the sacrifices!).

We weren’t swamped with doctor appointments, but Keren had physical therapy each week, school playgroup, and speech therapy twice a month. We did have one big doctor event: we started what will become an annual cranio-facial team evaluation, an extensive evaluation done by doctors at Children’s Hospital of Michigan (where Keren sees most of her doctors). The evaluation was split into two different mornings, and by the end of it we had seen her plastic surgeon (the one who did her jaw surgery), an ear/nose/throat doctor, a dentist, orthodontists, a speech therapist, audiologist (hearing test), a clinical nurse and a social worker…. Whew!!! I think that covers that! This way, we don’t have to see the majority of those doctors for the rest of the year, plus they are talking to each other and getting on the same page about Keren.

Keren’s continues to move slowly along her developmental path—though we get great surprises now and then when she suddenly gets something. As I mentioned, she has strengthened her back and ab muscles considerably, and partly as a result her balance has improved a lot. The other month she suddenly was able to sit unsupported on a scooter toy she has—we were amazed, thrilled, excited…you get the picture. She still doesn’t keep her balance well when we put her in a sitting position on the floor; that takes different muscles. Standing, though, whether in her stander or against a chair, is something she loves to do, and she keeps working at taking steps (with support). We still get tons of grins, and she’s more and more interactive with people and toys (her favorite toys are her Mardi Gras beads). We’re working with speech therapy on things like responding to different sounds, looking at us when we talk to her, and we encourage any vocalizing. She loves to “sing” and we “talk” a good bit. Someday, in some way, we pray that we’ll get words…that would be perhaps the most special thing we could ask for.

While Keren and I were dashing to our events, Kraig kept busy this fall with bridge inspection work for a friend of his. It was amazing to see how God provided for the fall since Kraig is no longer employed at Wayne State. The dissertation progresses; Kraig is set to defend it in March. In the meantime, we’re still praying for a job. Kraig had a great interview the other week, but has to wait for a second interview with “higher ups” in the company before he’s sure of it. We’re praying that all goes well with the additional interview and that if this is truly what God wants for us it will work out. The location is ideal—right in Detroit by Wayne State and the hospital. We’ll let you know what happens.

So, in the midst of these many events (December was particularly crazy, though a good time with family and friends), we decided to add another exciting feature to our lives…. We’re expecting! Yep, looks like come mid-July Keren is going to have a little brother or sister. We’ve just finished the first trimester and so far everything is looking well. We’ve seen the baby via ultrasound and have even heard its heartbeat. Keren was intrigued by the ultrasound photos—nice black & white contrast—but it will be most interesting to see how she reacts to a new sibling! The greatest hurdle for us will be the 20-week in-depth ultrasound (about 2 months from now). It was during that ultrasound that we first had an idea of Keren’s diagnosis. Each day God gives us peace, though, and I’d say our biggest concern right now is coming up with a good nickname for our little one J .

Well, now you are all in on our secret! I think that also brings you up to date on all the events in our life. We will be sure to keep you posted concerning any new news on Kraig’s job, Keren, or the baby. I’ll also get those web pages put together soon so you can see Keren!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in this new year!

Much love,

Loren for the family