Six Months

Six months.  Six months ago this morning we sent our precious, precocious little boy off for his fourth open heart surgery.  We had no idea how long the operation would take, mainly because the surgeon told us Eli's situation just doesn't happen very often and he didn't know for sure how much he would need to do once he "got in there".  So we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  January 21, 2014 was a long day.  Eli was in the OR for over 8 hours.  He was on bypass for almost five hours.  During bypass, the body is chilled (I've never asked how low...some details are better left unknown) and the heart is stopped.  A machine is used to pump the blood so the heart isn't moving as the surgeon operates.  As efficient as the method is, there is no substitute for the real deal and there's a risk of major organs not getting enough oxygen when the body is on bypass.  But what alternative did we have?

After an exhausting day we were told to meet Dr. Abraham in the Family Lounge of the PICU.  That was normal.  When he came in he smiled to see the large group of us who had waited all day (myself, Bryan, Zachary, my mom, my sister, Bryan's mom, dad, sister, and aunt).  And of course we were all wearing our Eli's MVPs tshirts and sweatshirts in various colors.  He told us the operation went well and Eli was being settled in his room in the PICU.  Dr. Abraham was pleased with how Eli was doing and gave us a rundown of the operation.  It had taken him a long time to get through Eli's scar tissue to even start the actual revision of his Fontan.  Everything took longer, but overall Dr. Abraham was optimistic.  He is a man of few words, but he doesn't mislead in any way.  If he was pleased, we knew we could feel the same.  

After another hour or so we were allowed to see Eli.  After his Fontan (the third heart surgery) we thought Eli looked great.  After this revision we thought he looked even better than the last time.  Eli was extubated without problems a few hours later (I had walked downstairs to Subway and when I came back Eli was extubated!).  We were so relieved to see his good color, his good vital signs, and have him breathing on his own.  But that relief was short-lived.  He started having a lot of twitching.  At first we attributed it to the anesthesia (that has happened to him before).  But as the night went on, the twitching increased even with the administration of some medication.  Eventually we knew he was having seizures.  He was also not waking up which is something he had started at this point with his other three surgeries.

I won't repeat everything that happened over the next couple days, but Eli had a lot of exams and testing done.  Finally, they were able to confirm what we and everyone else thought was happening:  Eli had suffered strokes.  One stroke on the left side of his brain and several on the right side of his brain.  The doctors had no guesses what Eli's prognosis would be.  Over the next few days, Eli made a few advances.  He slowly started waking up more.  I had spent many hours in his room praying he would just open his eyes.  His eyes moved around the room but we weren't sure if he could focus on anything.  He fussed and cried.  He was inconsolable at times and we had to guess what his needs were.  Those things, plus all the other frustrating things he was experiencing, were torture, but the worst was just not knowing.  Was this the best he would ever be?  Was he going to improve from this point?  Don't get me wrong, we were so grateful that our little guy was alive (and actually thriving from a cardiac standpoint) but what kind of life would it be?  Would he be bedridden?  Would he walk?  Would he speak again?  Could he see?  Would we ever be able to care for him at home?  An even bigger fear for us, was he the Eli we knew before surgery?  Would that little boy ever be able to show his personality to us or was he gone forever?  It was scary, frustrating, and a blur.

We received lots of support through those times.  Staff from all over the hospital would stop by to see Eli and check on us.  Nurses from the general peds floor came for many visits and gave lots of hugs.  It was hard for them to see Eli like that when they had just spent several weeks with him making him laugh and letting him boss them around.  Often I would catch them wiping away tears as they left.  The Child Life Specialists were always looking for ways to offer help.  One respiratory therapist found out Bryan and I liked purple Gatorade.  The next morning we found a bag with six of them for us.  And of course the messages, emails, and texts from our family and friends was huge.  We weren't able to personally answer a lot of them, but we read them all and cherish the gestures.

The days passed.  Remember those hours I spent praying he'd open his eyes?  Fast forward six months and now I have many times when I feel like a hypocrite for begging him to slow down and go to sleep for a few hours!!!  It's a wonderful feeling!  Not only did Eli open his eyes, he also spoke, he smiled, he laughed, he sat up, he held his head up, he swallowed, he ate, he drank, he walked, he ran, he raised his arms above his head, and many other things.  None of those things have been easy.  We've all worked hard to help get him this far.  He still has a lot of work to do, mostly with that left hand and arm.  But he has come so far. 

None of the doctors were ever pessimistic with us, they were just very honest and said there was a lot of potential damage.  At the same time, they were optimistic with us.  They would often offer stories of encouragement about advances they had seen with other patients.  I don't remember any of their stories having as much recovery as what Eli's had, so I don't know if he's more amazing than their other patients or if they just didn't want to set our bar too high in case Eli's recovery wasn't this good.  Either way, we're grateful for their guidance. 

A large part of Eli's recovery is because he was started in therapies so early after his strokes.  I think he was evaluated and started with physical, occupational, and speech therapies within a week of his heart surgery.  I vividly remember one day when PT and OT were working with him together.  It couldn't have been more than 10 days after his surgery.  Lynn and Erin got Eli to the edge of the bed and then to the floor.  The two of them stood him up and held him there for a few seconds.  It was difficult.  He had no head or neck control, he had no movement on his left side, very little on the right, and he couldn't be held under the arms because he was just a few days out from open heart surgery.  He was very verbal with his dislike for it, but they needed to see what, if any, strength and tolerance he had in his legs.  There wasn't much.  As I watched those two women (who were two of the most instrumental in his recovery) hold him up, I felt faint and was nearly sick to my stomach.  It was a combination of pride for what he'd already overcome, hearing his weak cries without words as we forced him to do something he had no interest in doing, and the realization of how much he couldn't do for himself all hitting me at once.  But I had to get over it quickly and help them get Eli back in the bed.  Because he couldn't be lifted under the arms, it took three of us to get this 35lb+ kiddo back into bed.

Another memory I have was a personal attitude adjustment for me and it came straight from Eli himself.  I work really hard to find the positives in most situations and we've been put in some pretty desperate situations.  However, by this point it was getting tough to stay positive.  It was two or three weeks after Eli's surgery and strokes.  Because of the flu outbreak, the hospital had some very strict visiting guidelines which meant Zachary couldn't visit.  I hadn't seen him for so long and he needed a mommy visit as much as I needed him.  Bryan was with Eli and I was saying my goodbyes.  As I was kissing Eli's cheeks, I was being silly and he smiled.  He SMILED!  It was his first smile since all that had happened and it was incredibly precious.  As I was driving from Indy, I kept thinking about that smile and how it was just as special as his very first smile.  That's when it dawned on me.  Parents are always excited about their child's first smile, first laugh, first steps, and first anything really.  We had all those "first" experiences with Eli and now we were getting to experience them again.  That was the attitude I had to have to encourage Eli through all the pain and frustration he would encounter over the next few months.

Eli spent the next six weeks at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.  Monday through Friday he had therapy for close to six hours a day.  On the weekend he had about two to three hours each day with therapists plus whatever we could do with him outside of therapy times.  Despite the visiting restrictions because of the flu, he had many visitors from within the hospital.  Even after he was released from his surgeon, Dr. Abraham stopped by about once a week to see how Eli was doing.  Infectious Disease Nurse Practitioner Angie was there almost daily even if the doctor was rounding on Eli that day.  PICU nurses came to see him.  The cafeteria delivery staff (usually women) would go out of their way to come past Eli's room or the therapy gym to see what advances he was making.  Student nurses who had Eli in previous weeks would come see him when they had a free moment from their current patients.  Eli became a fixture in the hallways.  If he wasn't in the therapy gym he wanted to be out and about.  I walked miles and miles around the nurses station, sometimes carrying him, sometimes pushing him in his wheelchair, and eventually he would occasionally walk around the hallways holding tightly to my hand with his right hand.  And because we were there so long, we were able to make some lasting friendships with other patients and their families.  Our two favorites this time around are Maddy and baby Katie.  Both had tough battles.  Maddy has completed chemo and will be starting college in the fall.  This super woman took (and aced!) several college courses while undergoing strong chemotherapy and melting Eli's heart.  Baby Katie fought bravely for a long time and has earned her angel wings.  That's a story I want to share another time because it is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever heard.  Meeting these families and sharing our journeys really helped us. 

Eli was then transferred to Evansville.  I knew St. Mary's was a good hospital, but I was really worried about making the transition.  Mostly for Eli's sake, but selfishly a little for myself.  Immediately we were made to feel at home.  Eli spent just over two more weeks there where he continued to flourish at a rapid pace.  The therapists, nurses, doctors, techs, and other staff were in love with him as well.  I think we'll always consider PMCH our "home" hospital because they have literally seen us through every up and down, but St. Mary's definitely earned their way into our hearts. 

On March 21, exactly three months after Eli's surgery and strokes, we came home.  We were sooo excited and sooo scared!  Eli had major improvements but he still required a lot of care.  He basically needed an adult within arm's reach at all times for the next several weeks.  We continued working with him on our own and he started therapy through our local hospital.  They came to the house and Eli warmed up to them pretty well.  They therapists we had definitely helped make the transition from hospital to home easier for us.  Because of policy change within the hospital we had to switch therapy providers.  Now we use an agency from out of town.  Again I was worried about changing therapists on Eli, but he has adapted well and tries to ignore them as much as he's tried to ignore all the other therapists he's had!

Eli has worked hard.  It's been a struggle for all of us.  We have a lot more to do but we are incredibly proud of where he is now.  The work he has left is a lot of small, detail things that aren't as celebratory as his second first smile or set of first steps, but they are just as important if not more so.  He has to work at straightening out his index finger and thumb on the left hand.  He has to work at grasping things with the left hand.  He has to work on muscle control in the left hand and arm. Countless more hours will be spent doing those things.  Will he get full control back?  We don't know.  He may not.  Early on one of his therapists said usually the most change we see after a stroke happens in the first six months.  I've had that in my head for a long time, as if the condition he's in tomorrow will be it and he won't have anymore advances.  I know that's not true.  I think he will continue to improve.  "Lefty" may or may not recover fully, but we will keep working. 

Eli also struggles with his emotions.  He's very stubborn and cries or screams a lot if things don't go his way.  Some of that could be from the strokes.  Some could be side effects from some of his medicines.  It could be signs of post traumatic stress from all the time he's spent in the hospital versus being a toddler at home.  It could be he's a normal three year old who is pushing our buttons and testing his limits.  Or it could be a combination of all those things.  He used to have night terrors but those have been few and far between for the last several weeks.  Other issues we have to deal with are that he still needs to drink more fluids during the day, we'd like him to eat more so we can decrease or eliminate the nighttime tube feedings, we don't know (and won't know for a few years) how much his vision is affected, as well as a few other things.  He is a lot of work but he is worth every bit of it. 

Thank you to anyone who has had any role in Eli's recovery.  From the dedicated medical professionals to social workers to friends and family and coworkers, thank you for everything.  We also want to express how grateful we are that Zachary is the kid he is.  Zachary is the best brother any kid could have.  He loves working with Eli's therapists during sessions.  He is so gentle with Eli and encourages him to use "Lefty" while they're playing, snacking, using the iPad, and lots of other times.  Zachary is a great role model for Eli and a huge help to us at home.  We really try to let him know how great he is, but I don't think he'll ever realize how much Eli adores him.  We're very lucky to have the family and friends we do who took care of Zachary while we had to be in Indy with Eli.  We're also very grateful for his kindergarten teacher who stayed very informed of what was happening with Eli and would offer extra support to Zachary when he needed it.  Our support system has been vital to us and we are thankful for all of you. 

Since Eli's surgery last April, our life has been filled with one struggle after another.  To get through it at the time, you just do what you have to do.  Now I'm starting to realize how much we've endured and I am starting to feel the effects of the last 14 months.  I am incredibly proud of our family.  We are not perfect but a lot of couples wouldn't have made it through times like this.  We joke that we're just too lazy to get a divorce, but in all honesty, that's never been an option.  We're stuck together even if we don't like it all the time!  And God definitely knew what He was doing when He gave us Zachary and Eli.  I really feel like no other four people fit together as well as we do. 

Thank you for all the prayers.  I am asking that you keep them coming because we know they're working!  God bless you for keeping up with our crazy life and remember to cherish Every Little Beat...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!  Hope each of you had a wonderful holiday.  The boys definitely made our lots of fun, just like they do for everything!  Our Christmas lasted for four days.  We decided not to rush things so we didn't open our gifts until the 26th.  It was really nice to do it that way because the Blizzard of '12 hit about 4am so we had a white Christmas!!!

When I sent our Christmas cards this year I included business cards we had printed for free with VistaPrint.  The business cards were advertising this blog in an effort to increase our reader base.  The ultimate goal is to spread awareness about CHD using whatever means we can utilize.  If you're reading this because of one of those cards, thank you.  Please keep coming back and, more importantly, help us spread awareness about Congenital Heart Defects and its prevalence.  I'm not going to go into any statistics or facts right now because this post is about our wonderful Christmas, but I promise I will be posting more in the future about the need for more awareness and research.  Thank you for visiting and please become a follower so you can receive notifications when we publish a new post.

***FYI:  Someone recently told me they receive an email notification of each new blog post, but can only view the text, not the pictures.  As far as I can tell, if you want to view the photos you have to actually be on our blog, not reading through your email.  Open a new tab and type in www.thevealefamily.blogspot.com and you should be able to view any post you want with the pictures included in that post.  Thanks again!

Here's a whole lotta pictures from our Christmas festivities.  The pictures and their captions tell our story.  Enjoy!

Wednesday 12/19/12, Zachary's Preschool Program:

The four of us at Zachary's preschool program.  The kids did a wonderful job entertaining us.  Zachary's favorite parts were playing air guitar while they sang "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and eating the yummy cookies after the program. 

Zachary waving when he found us in the crowd (and let me tell you, it was a large crowd!)

Zachary with his teachers, Ms Carrie and Ms Angie. 

My Aunt Shirley was there to watch her great granddaughters who are also in Zachary's class.  She borrowed Zachary's Rudolph antlers and even let me get this picture.  Everyone was feeling festive!

I took a turn with the Rudolph antlers, but Eli didn't know what to think!

Sunday 12/23/12, Christmas with Jessica's family:

We started our Christmas celebrations on Sunday the 23rd.  The four of us, my mom, my sister, her boyfriend and his son came to our house for pizza and our gift exchange.  Here my mom is opening a gift from Josh who had her name.  He claims he knitted the sweater inside the box. 

Eli and Zachary were thrilled that Aaron was at their house.  They don't get to see each other very often and Aaron was a good sport about looking at everything they each had to show him.  Eli said Aaron's name about 7 times/ minute.  Eli was fighting a cold which made his drooling even more pronounced as evidenced in this picture.

Ashley had Bryan's name and got him a Tyler Zeller Cavaliers shirt.

I had my sister's name and got her a new crock pot.  She's exaggerating her excitement a little in this photo.

Aaron is a huge San Antonio Spurs fan and his room in Ashley & Josh's new house is a Spurs theme.  Bryan had Aaron's name and we made him a body pillow for his bed.  We've never attempted a craft like that before and were very pleased with the results.  We're pretty sure Aaron liked it too.

The letter to Santa Zachary wrote at school said he wanted "some paints, paint brushes and stencils."  We didn't know what he meant by stencils.  Ashley found out Santa had other things for Zachary so she got the paint supplies for him.  Josh kindly put the easel together for us (with a lot of help from the boys).  When Z unwrapped the box containing the easel he yelled "My stencil!!!"  Mystery solved!

Zachary and Aaron hanging out.

Zachary preparing for Santa's visit.  He came to our house on the 24th because I had to work Christmas Eve night.  I wasn't scheduled to be off until 7:30am Christmas Day, but as a nurse you're never guaranteed to be out on time so we decided to ask Santa to come a day early.  He's such a sweet guy and immediately agreed to help us out. The sack Zachary is holding was made by Bryan's Aunt Donna.  She made two for us, at Santa's request.  Our boys are very lucky and have a lot of toys.  Santa started a new tradition this year by asking them to put some of their toys they don't play with anymore into these sacks and leave them with his milk and cookies.  Santa emptied out the sacks and took those toys to children who didn't have enough to play with, leaving the sacks for next Christmas.  It worked well and Zachary has already found more to put in his sack for next year!

Monday 12/24/12, Santa's Visit:

We left our stockings on the table with the sacks and milk and cookies.  Zachary insists we leave chocolate milk for Santa every year.  Santa left a letter thanking them for the snack and especially for helping him out by giving him some of their gently used toys. 

Our tree with Santa's gifts.  From left to right:  a bean bag chair (for Eli), an Imaginext Dinosaur and a metal detector (both for Zachary) and a wall of cardboard bricks (for Eli).  I specified which boy each gift was meant for, but in reality they both play with everything!

In our garage checking out the final gift from Santa.....a 7 1/2 foot air hockey table!!!!  Santa said it was too big & heavy for him to bring in and we don't have a good spot cleared out for it yet.  Guess what I'll be doing in the next couple weeks?!?!?  We can't wait to get it put together :)

Eating cinnamon rolls the morning Santa came.  He was making silly faces with the icing smeared on his lips.

 

Stopping to say "Cheeeeeessssseeeeee!" while playing with his new goodies!

Zachary was so excited to use his stencil (easel) and paint a jungle picture.  He's a pretty good artist.  I don't have a picture yet of the finished painting but it has a lion and a cheetah in it.  He says he wants to add a gorilla.

Tuesday 12/25/12, Christmas with Bryan's family:

Zachary pointed out that our nativity scene was missing a star for the Wise men to follow.  I told him I didn't have one and he immediately set out to fix that!  I like our new addition to the scene.

Christmas Day!  This is a photo of Bryan's sisters & cousins.  Front row:  Ashley (sister), Alexa (cousin) holding Zachary, Tammy (cousin), and Kendra (sister).  Back row:  Bryan holding Eli, Amy (cousin & Alexa's mom) and Cara (sister) holding her daughter Alyssa (niece).  Yes, Bryan is the only male grandchild, not only on the Rayman side, but also the Veale side.  I am the only female "outsider" to come into this family in 40 years!  The next will be when Zachary or Eli marries (another 40 years!)

Alyssa was given a rocking chair but there was a bit of a struggle over it at times!

Some of the people & presents at Bryan's parents' house.  It was a crazy mess of paper, gifts and laughter!

A Dinosaur Train blanket made for Zachary by cousin Amy.  Eli received a Mickey Mouse one. 

Eli decided to skip out of the party for a few minutes.  When I found him he was in Alyssa's carrier playing with her stuffed animals. 

The boys were given a copy of Madagascar 3, complete with crazy wig.

Just a super cute picture of my first born!

This is Granny, Bryan's grandma.  It was surprising she even put the wig on, but downright amazing that she let us photograph her....and with a smile!

Sweet little Alyssa was one of the best gifts for our family in 2012.

Wednesday 12/26/12, Our Christmas:

 

Opening a shared gift.  It's so cute how well they work together

Zachary took this picture of us.  We're holding the package he made for us at preschool.  The package was decorated with a beaded candy cane and had a card with his school photo and a sweet message.  The gift was a book about Christmas.  "What Christmas sounds like, what Christmas smells like, what Christmas tastes like, what Christmas looks like, and what Christmas is really about."  Very sweet gift.  Thank you to his preschool teachers for organizing such great surprises for the kids to give their parents.

Gift opening time out to read one of his new books.

Another Imaginext dinosaur!!!!  He discovered them before Christmas last year and received 5 or 6 then.  New ones came out this year and he got 3 more.  He plays with them multiple times a week and takes pretty good care of them because they're so special to him.

Reading to Eli from his personalized book about his adventures with Sesame Street characters.

Zachary was very excited to open the walkie-talkies he'd seen in the Toys R Us magazine.  He & Bryan had a lot of fun with those in the evening.

Albert is the biggest kid when it comes to presents.  He loves to open his and it's quite funny to watch.  I'll have to find a video and post it sometime.  You just have to see it to believe it.

My three guys, part of our Christmas mess, and some awesome smiles.

Eli loves to "daw!" so we got him a doodle pad. 

Eli's very own backpack!  Or "baa-paa" as he says.  He loves Zachary's backpack so when we saw this Elmo one that was just his size we knew we had to get it for him.  It has different snaps, ties, zippers, buttons, etc to help him learn how to do those things.  For now he just likes putting things in it and wearing it around the living room.

This is me & Albert by our pine trees in our backyard.  Albert played in the snow for a while but being a short-haired indoor dog he doesn't last a long time in the snow.

A picture of one of our snow covered pine trees.  There's a whole line of them in our backyard that's visible from our back door.  I absolutely LOVE looking at them every time it snows.  Our little bit of country in the city.

We hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.  Please check back soon for an update about Eli's health and upcoming appointments.  Thanks again for reading and remember to cherish Every Little Beat...

Christmas in November!

(If you read all of this, you will see one of the funniest pictures ever at the end.  Could you just skip all the text and other pictures and simply go to the end to see the funniest picture?  Sure, but that's not a proper Christmas in November attitude now is it?  Enjoy!)


So. Much. Fun. 

Tonight (well, Friday night because, as usual, it's after midnight by the time I get time to do this!) we took the boys to the French Lick Scenic Railway and rode The Polar Express!  It was fantastic.  Bryan & I have seen the movie a couple times.  Zachary has seen it once but doesn't really remember much about it.  None of us had read the book until the copy I ordered specifically for tonight arrived earlier this week.  We just knew it would be fun.  Both boys like trains.  The story & movie are good.  And who can pass up an opportunity to start "that Christmas feeling" on November 9th? 

Okay, I confess, I've been playing Christmas music for a week now.  At first I told myself it was to help get in the spirit for this event, but in reality I just like Christmas music :)

Through Facebook, I came across the page for the French Lick Scenic Railway a couple weeks ago.  I had heard that all their Polar Express times were sold out, but lucky me!  They had added some that day.  Who cares they were for November 9th?  We still have a rotting jack-o-lantern on our porch, but by golly we bought those tickets and looked forward to it!

Our train was set for departure at 5:30.  Luckily we arrived in plenty of time to get our tickets at will-call, take a few photos, and find our way around without being too early to allow the boys to get bored.  More importantly we had time to use the bathrooms which I must say, in all seriousness, were the nicest port-a-potties I've ever used.  They even had toilet paper in them!  For anyone taking a younger child, be forewarned there are no changing tables!  The 8-10 potties are lined up under a white tent with heaters in it.  There are two hand sanitizer stations before you exit the tent. 

Once my amazement at not being grossed out by the bathrooms ceased, we lined up for the train.  I'll just start the photos here and tell the story through captions.

At least they're both smiling, even if neither is looking at the camera!  And, yes, they're wearing pajamas.  Zachary is wearing slippers but Eli refused to take off his shoes even for his adorable Elmo slippers.  Children are encouraged to wear their pajamas just like the kids in the story.  I kinda wish I had worn mine!

A kind woman offered to take my picture with the boys after I had taken theirs.  Bryan was using the port-o-pot so I gladly accepted her offer.  One shot & she got us all looking at the camera!  I think I'll hire her to follow us around on outings and take photos so I can just enjoy the event.  But then I'd need to hire a hair/make up artist & a stylist and I don't see that fitting into the budget.



The engine of our train.  We were in Car 2.



Bryan and boys just before we boarded.  Eli was enjoying himself but not really sure what was going on. 

Zachary was very excited and kept jumping up & down in his seat.  He said over & over, "Oh boy!  My first train ride!  My very first train ride!!!"

While we waited in line, and old time newspaper boy was roaming around passing out newspapers.  He was very good and had down the whole "Extra! Extra!" thing.  The whole paper was about French Lick, but the front page was news devoted to The Polar Express.  We got Zachary to sit still for about 7.3 seconds by giving him the newspaper. 

He was done with the paper and getting bouncy again.  I loved his excitement though!  Eli picked up on it and it just made the experience more enjoyable.

Just as we were getting ready to pull away, I got them to sit still enough to get this picture.

Then we preoccupied Zachary by letting him use the camera to take our picture.  He's a pretty good photographer!

We're on the move!

In pure awe of the scene rolling past him. 

Eli was dancing to the music that was piped in and enjoyed watching the crowd around us.

The music stopped and you could almost hear a voice reading the story.  When we bought the tickets we were encouraged to bring a copy of the story so we could read along.  The boys love the beautiful artwork in it. 

At one point in the story, chefs come dancing through the train and pass out hot chocolate and cookies to the children riding.  That's exactly what happened on our train.  The hot chocolate was wonderful and the cookies were nice and soft. 

More dancing after the story.  Eli's saying "CHEEEEESSSEEEEE!" for the camera.

Now Z is looking at the camera as Eli is dancing.  I love how his hands disappear in the glow of Christmas lights in this one.

Eli watching the elves (former chefs in a previous picture) dance in the aisle.  They encouraged everyone to dance with them.  We all did, but Zachary wouldn't get into the aisle with them.

Looking out the opposite windows at the North Pole.  The train made a brief stop there to allow a "Special Passenger" to board.

Santa came through our car and stopped to talk to every boy and girl.  If he thought they were good, they received a bell.  In the story, the bell is significant because only those who believe in the magic of Christmas can hear the bell ring.  Our car was full of ringing bells!!!

Zachary was having a blast making his bell ring.  He kept asking questions about if he's been good or not.  Of course we assured him he's been good (it's the truth!) and it just made him ring his bell more!

Eli preferred someone else to ring the bell and he'd try to grab it.

At one point Eli ventured down the aisle to dance.  An elf picked him up and brought him back to us.  He enjoyed the attention (go figure!).

More dancing and singing!

Awesome smiles before our ride was over.

After we left the train, we had more time to explore.  There was another tent with activites.  Inside there were three toy train tables, two tables with coloring pages, crayons and paper to write your letter to Santa (his mailbox was just outside the tent), and one whole wall was a dry erase board where people left messages for Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves.

Zachary working on his drawing.

Eli was just as serious as Zachary was.  I guess he's a leftie today!

Zachary's finished masterpiece.

Some very serious train play. 

Bryan and the boys as we were leaving.

And now, the grand finale of pictures.  Believe me, this was worth the wait......



Are you ready for it......


You're almost there.....

the Best Santa Photo EVER!!!
We've all seen crying kids on Santa's lap, but I've never seen one where Santa looks like this!
Love the smile on Zachary's face :)

I shake with laughter each time I look at this!  Seriously, he was a good Santa.  Eli liked him at first.  He didn't object when I started to hand him to Santa.  The sad face started right when the photographer raised his camera for the picture.  We had no idea about Santa's face until we went to the viewing area after we exited the train.  Yes, we paid for this picture.  We got the 8x10.  How could we pass it up?  Zachary looks great, I'm so proud of him.  He's been working on overcoming some of his shyness and he did really well.  He didn't hide from Santa, he talked to him, told him two things on his Christmas Wish List and said thank you for the bell, then he didn't object at all to the photo.  Eli on the other hand......Oh well, it's a great story.

The evening was wonderful.  Zachary is ready to go again.  I'm pretty sure Eli would too, at least for the train, the elves and the cookies!  I hate to tell him they're sold out this year.  We're looking forward to watching the movie together.  If you get the chance to do this with your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc, I highly recommend it. 


"Seeing is believing, but sometimes

the most real things in the world

are the things we can't see."



MERRY (Halloween's-barely-over-Thanksgiving's-less-than-two-weeks-away-and-I'm-playing-Christmas-music) CHRISTMAS!!!!   Thanks for reading!