Lizzie's surgery went very well on Friday.  The surgeon said Lizzie had plenty of tissue to work with and he thought things went as well as they could go.  She got out of surgery around 5:00.  Ross and I stayed with her in recovery for about an hour and then we were moved to her hospital room.  Right off the bat she was drinking out of a syringe and taking her medicine without any problems.  This was shocking because her tongue and lips were so swollen and it looked like a bomb had exploded inside her mouth.  The nurses called her a little "rock star" because she was handling everything so well.  We expected lots of crying on Friday night but she just whined a little off and on.  By Saturday morning, she had filled a couple of diapers and she was looking good, so the doctor sent us home.  She pitched a big fit when we got home.  I think she thought that once she was home things should be back to normal and since they weren't, she got really mad.  She also started getting a lot more picky about drinking.  She had some fluids at home but not much.  Today she has barely had anything to drink and it is starting to get a little stressful for us.  She needs to have food in her system in order to take her pain medications, but in order for her to want to drink anything, she needs to have her pain medications in her system.  Please keep us in your prayers over the coming days, as I think this eating thing is going to continue to be an issue.

Lizzie has to wear splints from her wrists to her shoulders to keep her from putting anything in her mouth.  We thought she was going to really hate this but she doesn't seem to mind much right now.  When she starts to feel more like herself again, I am sure she will be pretty frustrated with them, but for now she seems to be a little fascinated by them.  She still manages to play with toys and clap her hands with them on.

Overall, I have to praise God for getting her through this so successfully.  We have felt all your prayers with her and with us.  I (Anne) have somehow managed to stay pretty calm through the whole thing and am so thankful to have the worst part over.  Hopefully, the recovery ahead will go as well as the surgery did.  I wish Lizzie could understand all the support and love she is surrounded by.  Thanks for all your prayers, thoughtful words, and support that you have offered our family.

belated update

Hey all... sorry for not keeping all up to date on the ongoing saga of the Kedl Five.  I thought i would post a few pictures and a movie or two.  overall Lizzie continues to do remarkably well and has adjusted to the Kedl family far better that any of us could have hoped.   The other day Justin said that he knows we have only had Lizzie for 2 months, but it was getting hard to remember what the family was like without her.   we all agreed with that assessment.  

we have had a few conversations with a couple of surgeons and Lizzie's cleft palate surgery is no scheduled for november 14th.  the whole operation sounds pretty brutal and has a somewhat long recovery time for it... 3 weeks at least, during which a good part of the time she has to have splints put on her arms to make sure she does not put anything into her mouth and ruin the surgery.  we told the boys we were going to get them splints to wear too so she does not feel so left out.... that or a big cone to go around their necks... they they said they preferred the splints ;-).   anyway, we figured we'd get it out of the way well before christmas so we were not having to worry about it back in Minnesota  (for all those back in Minnesota, we will be there from christmas day to new years day).   there are many opinions on when is the best time to do this kind of surgery in an international adoption, but one train of thought is that, assuming a good degree of bonding and attachment with the family, it is best to do the surgery as soon as possible in order for the whole speech process to not get too far behind.  Lizzie is already quite a communicator, making lots of word-like noises and sounds in an effort to communicate, so we think she will likely be a big talker... just as soon as she can learn to talk which brings us back to the timing of the surgery.  we will try and keep everyone posted on how she is doing when she has the surgery.

otherwise, life as a family of five is a very good thing.  most of the pictures are self explanatory, some i'll mention here.  one is Ben just after one of his cross country races (he got 4th) and i love how far down he has to bend in order to put his head on Anne's shoulder.  others are with Lizzie and her ubiquitous Ritz crackers.  she also got a little chair just her size and she positively revels in it as you can see.  there are some of halloween as well with Lizzie in her bumble bee outfit, me as Jimi Hendrix, and Justin as a Haz-Mat worker.  he got a glow stick and some green Jello to put in his biohazard bucket which managed to make it glow in an unholy sort of way while trick or treating... it turned out very well indeed.  

We love and miss you all very much and are looking forward to seeing as many as we can over christmas.  

Love,

 the Kedl 5