Loads of Stuff

So, obviously it has been a few months since we last updated this thing. Over the past couple weeks, a bunch of stuff has been happening. It has been crazy busy. First of all, Derek graduated on Saturday with a degree in General Studies. The graduation ceremony was nice in the sense that it only lasted 2 hrs instead of the scheduled 4. Afterwards we had an awesome BBQ with our good friends Lucas and Merridy. Then it was a crazy packing time so that we could exit Reno on Monday. I forgot to mention our awesome yard sale which we created a huge hype about but ended up being more of a bust. We got a few dollars here and there though. Monday was a crazy day, although we did have the help of our awesome family members and friends. The day would have been a great accomplishment except that the van battery died before Derek had even left Reno. I ended up getting to Gridley in the Subaru half an hour after Derek left Reno. He didn't arrive until 1:30 am. And then on top of that, Bindi's surgery was scheduled for 7:15 am this morning. That meant of course a very short sleep and a drive to sacramento at 5:45 am. We're really lucky that Bindi was able to have her surgery today, however. We hit a few bumps in the road: the first being that she got sick last week. Of course the doctor asked if she had had a cough or cold within the past week and we said that she had had a small one. That was a real blessing from God: even though she was sick, it only lasted about 2 days instead of the customary 6 with the common cold. She did have a phlegmy cough this morning, but the doctor said it would be ok to proceed. Also, yesterday they were supposed to call with the time of Bindi's surgery (they always keep you in the dark until the day before). But when they did call, they said that she was only scheduled for an ear tube replacement, a much simpler and shorter surgery. Therefore she was not scheduled for enough time for a cleft palate repair, but we fought for it and they worked it out in the end. So here we are in the hospital with Bindi. She's doing really well, but I can't say that I wasn't traumatized a little with all the pain she went through. The procedure took about 2 hrs while Derek and I were in the waiting room. When we went in to get her, she was screaming and crying, which turned out to be just because of the confusion of waking up from anesthesia. She does have a lot of pain in her mouth because of all the stitches, so she's not able to eat normally yet, but the doctor said that by tomorrow she should be right as rain. And she's been sleeping pretty much all day, which is great for recovery. Derek and I weren't expecting to stay the night because they told us we wouldn't have to, but they sprung that on us after the surgery. We're not sure where Derek is going to sleep since they only allow 1 person to sleep with the baby, but worse comes to worst, he'll sleep in the car. So that's our life up to this point. A few other minor points to mention: I'm applying to the navy now instead of the Air Force since we found out they're still accepting applicants for the fall semester; we had a great time at Frenchman's Lake with our friends from University Village a few weekends ago, we had a great mother's day: Derek took me to the Grand Sierra Resort for the evening and we went to a drive-in movie and watched Iron Man II and ate ice cream; the next day we made Ethiopian food for Denise and the girls came over...I guess that's about it. Happy Mother's Day to al those mother's and grandmother's that we forget to say that to. We've included some pictures of Bindi's first attempts to feed herself. Enjoy.