A lot of you have heard about Evan and his pneumonia via Facebook, but I thought I'd do another post here...

Here's the note from Facebook...

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So, for those of you who may not have heard, Evan is currently in the hospital with a complicated pneumonia. It all happened very quickly, and I am just now getting around to posting now that I have a computer.

We originally were admitted to our local hospital in Lansing on Tuesday. After a CT scan, they decided he needed a chest tube. He was moved to their PICU for the chest tube procedure. At first, the tube helped a lot, and he seemed to be improving.They put a PICC line in his left arm since he will be on IV antibiotics for a couple of weeks. After another day or so of waiting and watching, it was decided that Evan might need further surgery,to remove some of the big pus buildup around his right lung, which was not an option at our local hospital. So, late Thursday night, he was transferred to Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. So, Evan and I got to go on an hour and a half long ambulance ride. After reviewing Evan's case, the surgeons here agreed that he needed surgery. So, Friday morning Evan had a video assisted thoracoscopy and decortication of empyema, which basically means they went in with a scope and a camera and scraped out all the pus and stuff that had built up. The surgeons were pleased with the procedure.

Now we play the wait and see game. He will still have a chest tube for two or three days minimum, and then they will have to observe him for an additional day or two.

Chris and I got a room yesterday at the Ronald McDonald House here, and Faith and Alex have been staying with various family that we have in the area.

I really want to thank everyone for all their prayers, thoughts, and help throughout this ordeal. Evan seems to be healing well, and has even been taken off of oxygen. So, we will continue to pray for him, and try to be patient and optimistic.

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That was my post from last night...since then, the docs have said he is looking good. His x-rays are coming back looking better each time. So, he just got to get his chest tube out!! Yay! Definitely a step in the right direction. Now we have to keep watching him and keep attacking the remaining pneumonia infection with antibiotics and time.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well-wishes from everyone!

Well, it's official, school has started once again, and summer is over! I am very sad...I really enjoyed this summer.

At any rate, here are a few highlights from the past few weeks.

Chris and Alex were fortunate to participate in a very cool cub scout activity on August 22nd. They went to a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game, and then got to camp overnight in the outfield at Oldsmobile Park.

Here we see Alex running around the outfield...



And running into the wall...



More kids in the outfield...




Lots of tents...(Alex and Chris slept in that teeny tiny kids' tent front and center. Poor Chris, that tent is NOT made for adults! I slept in it once with Evan, and felt very cramped!)



And they even got to watch a movie on the jumbo-tron. (Chronicles of Narnia, I think, but can't tell from this pre-credit opening shot...)





This last weekend, we camped out in the backyard of the church building. But, did I take any pictures of that? Of course not! Silly me, who wouldn't want to completely forget to document the weekend? We did, however, take a few shots at the Blues Traveler concert that we went to Friday night with Connie...


Alex, during a rare moment sitting still. (He spent most of his time running circles around us on the lawn.)



A serious Evan... he spent a good deal of time trying to get himself lost when he would just wander off.



Faith, really enjoying her Capri Sun...


Connie, Chris and I attended the concert with the kids, but managed to escape the camera's watchful eye!



We managed to get a few shots of the band. (Our camera really didn't like the lighting, even when Chris was up close.)

This one was taken from the lawn where we sat...



A closer shot...



And finally, the lead singer/harmonica player, John Popper...





Now on to the start of school.  Alex's first day was yesterday. He is in 2nd grade this year. But, unlike previous years, Alex wanted to ride the bus on the first day.

So, here's the first day of school shot, taken at the bus stop.


Alex's first day had a very eventful end, though. I was shocked and panicked when the bus drove by around 4:00 and Alex didn't get off! I immediately got on the phone to the school, and they started to search for him. He wasn't at school, so they put in a call to the bus garage. Eventually, they found him, on the wrong bus! (The bus number had changed since last year, and he was confused. And unfortunately, no one at school bothered to remind him of his bus number, a HUGE oversight that I am rather upset about!) He didn't even realize he was on the wrong bus, due to the fact that he had fallen asleep. He thought he had just missed his stop. So, after all the other kids were dropped off, they brought Alex home, almost 2 hours late. He WILL be on the right bus this afternoon...there are several people making sure of that.



Evan had his preschool orientation yesterday afternoon. He thought it was his first day, too, so we had to stop and take pictures on our way out.

Mr. Dramatic strikes a pose...



And Little Miss Faith refused to be left out. (We had to find her a backpack to wear, as she started yelling, "Where my pack? Where my pack?" when we tried to leave without one.)



Both kids are ready to go to Evan's orientation...






And moving on to Evan's REAL first day of preschool, today. He is in a special ed. preschool program through our school district, which he qualifies for due to his speech issues. And since it's special ed., he gets to ride the bus, which is a wonderful adventure for him. (And very convenient for us!)

Here's his REAL first day of school shot, taken at his bus stop...(and again, he's Mr. Dramatic)



And again, Faith had to get in on the action...



Evan getting on the bus...



And all buckled into his seat...

(He looks so little in that giant school bus seat!)



And now, I am home with just Faith. Currently, she's napping, so I should be getting all sorts of things done instead of posting on Xanga. It's going to be an adventure, I'm sure, but I will have almost 4 hours daily with only one child to look after, and she'll spend a good chunk of that time sleeping.What a change from the usual! Maybe I'll actually be able to get caught up on some things!!

I guess I need to blog...it's been 2 months since my last posting! In my defense, we have been very busy lately...here's a small sampling of our latest activities...

We have a new niece. Kaitlyn Kay Jankowski was born on May 26th (Memorial Day) She joins mom Bridget, dad Tony and big brother Michael. Mom and Dad now really have their hands full, as Michael was not quite 18 months old when his sister arrived.

We had to wait a little while to go see Katie due to schedule conflicts, but have been able to see her a few times now. Here are some photos from our first visit...


Beautiful baby, and so tiny! (6lbs 15oz at birth)



Evan checks out his new cousin...



Faith says, "Yay, another girl!" (The McLaren girls are still outnumbered 4-3 though!)



Alex is an expert at baby-holding, since he's done it a few times before! (He's the oldest of the 7 McLaren grandkids.)




The complex we live in decided it was time to redo all the streets in the neighborhood, it took a week, but we are enjoying the new pavement. And the kids were entertained by all the commotion...


"Look at what they're doing to our road!"


Nothing like watching them rip up the old asphalt.


"Now what are they doing, Faith?"


"They're laying the new asphalt!"
The kids sat in the front door for hours at a time watching the construction. Cheap entertainment!




And finally, Alex just finished baseball season. He played coach-pitch this year, and did very well. We decided to go to the town just south of us, Potterville, with a couple of Alex's friends from school and scouts. It was fun, and they have a great facility, which made things even nicer!


All smiles in the dugout...


Alex playing the catcher position, which is really only fun because of all the equipment he got to wear!


His hitting has improved a lot! He got a single almost every time at bat.





Evan watches the game...


But, thankfully, there was a slide right there for when things got boring!




Faith (who has recently graduated to REAL pigtails) always made sure to bring a water bottle


She also enjoyed the nearby swings...


and everyone loved digging in the dirt!!


So, there you have it, a short overview of some of the things we McLarens have been up to in the past 2 months.
And hopefully, I will be better about keeping current with my blogging...