Just Another Day in the Di Silvestri House

Jay, while quizzing Lindsey on her spelling words:
"Calves. When you slaughter calves, they become veal. Very tasty."

Lindsey, without missing a beat:
"C-A-L-V-E-S."

There is little chance our children are going to grow up normal in any sense. I apologize now, kids.

Okay, Okay

Here are some updated photos of Natalie, for those of you who have asked. The last two show her in her new brace, which doesn't seem to bother her too much, happily.





Thanks for asking, and I'm sorry I have been so slow in posting updated photos!

A Surprising Diagnosis

I took Natalie to the orthopedist today.

When she was born her pediatrician noted a "dislocatable hip" and sent us to the orthopedic specialist. By the time she first saw the specialist (at two weeks old) the hip had already apparently corrected itself and was no longer able to be popped out of the joint. The orthopedist thought that all was well but suggested that we do a follow up x-ray at four months (when enough bone has solidified in an infant to be visible) just to be extra cautious. He was so confident that all he would see was a normal hip joint that I almost didn't even keep the follow up appointment since it required a 45 minute drive.

Well, I did keep the appointment and, as it turns out, for good reason. As soon as the doctor looked at the x-ray, I could tell by his silence that not all was well. Natalie has hip dysplasia which means that her hip joint is not forming properly. Left untreated it could cause her to have a limp, early arthritis and likely surgery down the road. The good news is that catching it so early means that we can influence how the joint forms so she will likely make a full recovery without surgery.

Natalie's doctor has ordered a special brace for her that she will wear for the next three or four months to keep positive pressure on the hip socket. It shouldn't bother her (I hope!) although it may delay her reaching certain milestones (such as sitting up) by a few weeks.

For the second time in a month, I am grateful for excellent health coverage and for her amazing pediatrician who caught what was even not immediately apparent to the specialist. Most likely, she will recover fully with no recollection of this ever having happened to her.

Prayers to this effect are appreciated!

Quick Thinking

Sam recently celebrated his first reconciliation. I proudly took him to the church and participated in the opening rites of what was essentially a penance service for him and his classmates.

Sam and I were sitting toward the back of the church, watching as his friends went to the confessional and then returned to their seats one by one. I was thinking to myself that when Sam's turn came he was going to be VERY quick, as both Joey and Lindsey were in for barely a minute or two for their first confessions. I remember thinking at the time that they couldn't possibly have mentioned even a small fraction of the items I would have put on their list of confession-worthy transgressions, and that Sam was sure to have an even shorter list, knowing him.

At any rate, there I am, sitting with Sam who is now only a few students away from being called, when I am suddenly struck by the fact that this is SAM I am dealing with. I look over at him and see him happily playing with his program, alternately making a telescope with it and folding it back into a vehicle of some sort. It occurs to me that I had better inquire as to how prepared he is for this significant event.

"Sam," I ask, "you DO know what you are going to say in there, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," he replies confidently. "I say 'Bless me father for I have sinned' and then I say it is my first confession."

"No," I say. "I mean AFTER all of that. Did you think about what sins you are going to confess?"

He looks at me like a deer in headlights. "Uh, not really."

"You know, Sam, you might want to give it some thought before you get in there."

"Yeah, OK." He looks serious for about 10 seconds and then goes back to his program art.

Before much time has passed, Sam is called to the confessional and he hops right up and trots in. By this time I am SURE it will be less than a minute, since he hadn't even thought of the sins in advance, but what do you know? He was in for six whole minutes. Longer, by far, than anyone else in his class! I was about to send in a rescue party!

He bounced right back to his seat, loudly announced his penance, completed it and gave me a big grin.

I sure would give a lot to be a fly on the wall of that confessional. Ah, well. Some things are just as fun to imagine.