Titan Football 2009

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We're Home!

We made it home last night around 8:30pm -- YAY! We were pleasantly surprised Sunday around 5pm when Dr. Levitt came and checked Emma out and said she could eat and then go home.

The nurse suggested we start with juice and wait...


Then order a tray of food and wait...

And then, if everything went down fine, they would remove the PIC line and we could be discharged.

As she ate her hot dog and macaroni & cheese, all Emma could keep saying was,

"I eat food, ma!"

What a great moment...

It was 8:30pm by the time all that was done so we stayed at the Ronald McDonald house Sunday night and got up early Monday and drove home. Tony did a great job and we made it in a single day -- 800 miles in 12 hours!

Glad to be home!

One More Day!

Could it be? Just one more day to go in Cincy?

We're told Emma will be able to eat tomorrow and then we'll be discharged. YAY!!!!!!! So today, we're doing more of the same -- playing with our doctor's kit, play-doh and yesterday we added splashing in a pail of water and bubbles to our routine. My girls LOVE to clean! Hope that continues as they get older. :)

A smile from this morning...

Titans Win!!! 20-13

In their very first football game EVER, the Titans win 20-13 against Miller McCoy Academy Friday night at Titan Stadium. In the starting line-up, #52 Zach Lechleiter at Center!

Mom, Dad and Emma couldn't be there to watch -- but cheered on the Titans (and Zach!) from Cincy. All the nurses and doctors who entered their room got in the spirit as well! Memee and Mia watched from the stands and rooted Zach on -- and provided us with a half-time update... 13-13 going into the 3rd quarter.





Mom and Dad waited on pins and needles for the after-the-game call when Zach announced they won 20-13!

Go TITANS!!!!

Zach in Jersey and slacks heading to school Friday where they participated in pre-game festivities throughout the day!

Delayed Departure

They performed a scope under anesthesia this morning on Emma to determine her internal healing. All looks great, but being cautious they decided to add a few more stitches. As a result, Emma will continue to be NPO until Monday. The current game plan is to lay low here in Cincy over the weekend and have the docs check her out on Monday morning and then allow her to eat. Once she does that, we'll be discharged and head for home.

While we are anxious to get back home (we miss Mia & Zach terribly, not to mention our own bed!), we are grateful for the wonderful care Emma is receiving here and know each day brings us closer to a full recovery.

Continued prayers are welcome!

Busy Painting (Yesterday)

Sleeping Beauty (Now!)

Doing Great!!!

It's Sunday, only 5 days after surgery, and here's our Emma squealing (literally) with delight while playing with a toy in the playroom at Cincinnati Children's Hospital! God is good! And he has certainly answered our prayers and the prayers of so many friends and family members... Thank You! And keep them coming!


Emma's surgery officially began at 8:25am on Tuesday morning -- we anticipated a five hour procedure and were thrilled when they called us only four hours later to say they were finishing up and all went great. We met with Dr. Levitt shortly after and he said it went even smoother than expected and that she was in recovery and we could head back shortly. It was the longest 30 minutes I've experienced -- I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms! Emma was out of it most of the day on Tuesday, but by Wednesday was sitting up and talking. Thursday, she walked two laps around the floor and by Friday was heading up two floors to the hospital playroom! She has amazed us all!

She cannot have anything by mouth for 10 days, which means Tony and I take turns leaving the room for lunch and dinner. BTW... hospital food stinks! :) Surprisingly she hasn't asked except for once when we passed a water fountain in the hallway... Thinking quickly, I replied, "I'm sorry, Tootie, it's broke." Now everytime we walk down the hall she points to it and repeats, "It broke, ma!"

While I was out of the room today (eating Ramen noodles and peanut butter & crackers... yum!), Dr. Levitt came to visit and told Tony if she keeps doing this well, she may be able to eat on Thursday... yay!

We have a post-op appointment scheduled for Friday morning at 9:30am with Dr. Levitt. My assumption is Emma will either be discharged by then or he will discharge her during that visit. Then we start our journey home.

Off to Cincy

We left this morning for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where Emma will be having surgery next week. She’ll be admitted on Monday with surgery following on Tuesday, August 25th. We expect to be at the hospital for 7-10 days, coming home on Friday, September 4th after her post-op visit.

Emma was born with some GI issues – she had surgery in China as an infant; however, requires an additional surgery. We are thrilled to be in the care of the doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital – they are the best in the world in this field of medicine and we are fortunate enough to be able to go there for her care.

We KNOW she will do great – God’s got it covered! We appreciate your prayers and praise to Him for His blessings on Emma and our family especially over the next two weeks.

The hospital information is:

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
3333 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45229
800-344-2462 or 513-636-4200
www.cincinnatichildrens.org

To send ecards to Emma which the hospital will print and deliver to her room – go here:

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/ecard.htm?WT.svl=r

Meet the Titans!

Lakeshore High Titans that is... The press was there as their uniforms were revealed for the first time -- the players didn't even get to see them until this morning as they got dressed at school for the big day.

Titan Turf

LHS is the only stadium around with artificial turf! We have 9 games this season and 7 of them are home -- everyone wants to check out the new field. Nice to have home field advantage -- especially when you are a new and very young team.

After pictures were taken, the players ran through a large sign while the cheerleaders and dance team cheered them on...

Each player was introduced to the crowd...

Offensive Lineman.... #52... Zach Lechleiter!


Okay, the crowd applauded after every kid, BUT my mom was there with me, and I guaranty no one was louder than us... You could hear "Go Big Z" from the visitor's stands! We're a little obnoxious, but hey, that's what football is about, right?

See, his cheeks are still a little red... :)

Proud Mom -- enough said.

From Kindergarten to High School

It's 6:00am in the morning and this is my son all dressed in a suit heading off to his first day of high school... yes, HIGH SCHOOL! How did that happen?


He's taller than me, obviously stronger than me... and according to him, smarter than me too. :)

In early August, Zach started 9th grade at Lakeshore High. It's brand new for all of us -- even the school is new! The facility is beautiful, the faculty great, and the kids are all excited about starting new traditions. With only 9th and 10th graders at LHS this year, there's only 452 students, but each year it will grow... Zach will be the second gradutating class at LHS -- but will be the first class to have attended LHS all four years.

Why the suit? The football coach requires the players to 'dress' on the first day of school and on game days -- Go, Coach!

Four days later, Mia started Kindergarten! More familiarity here, at least for Mom and Dad -- we've been Woodlake Elementary parents before... and Mia had several visits to the school to check things out and meet her teacher, Ms. Neville, prior to the big day.

Here's my sassy girl about to head out the door...

I think she was most excited about riding the bus and seeing Sara and Chloe at school... She climbed on that bus without a care in the world... pony tail just a swinging!

Can't you just see the delight in her eyes?

I couldn't wait for her to get home to find out how much fun she had... She was so proud of herself!

A special day deserves a special treat... she was SOOO excited to see this balloon waiting for her as she got off the bus. It didn't hurt that everyone else saw it too! Best $10 I ever spent...

Super Girl!

The Silver Stars -- Lakeshore High's dance team -- held a fundraiser right before school... It was a one day dance camp for kiddos between the ages of 5 and 12. Mia was excited because her friend Katie was going... Mom was a little worried about how she would do being dropped off at the gym. Mom was also a little worried about how they would get in touch with me if Mia needed me... Yes, we filled out a form, but one can never be too careful! Need Mom?

But the dance team girls did a great job greeting the kids, registering them and taking them by the hand as they arrived. In fact, Mia was greeted with a big hug from Beth -- a friend of Zach's who he has known since Kindergarten!

There was a parent show off that afternoon at 2:30pm where the girls, well showed off, what they learned that day at camp. Mia's group did a routine to "Super Girl" -- no, I have no idea who sings that song or any of the words, but apparently it's cool. They even made their own props and costumes during the day.

Tony noticed that the older girls must have had better instructors as they knew their routines better... he's soooo corny!

God Bless You, Little One!

Make a Smilebox photobook

They All Ask For You

We played hookie from camp and work last week -- just in case my boss is reading this, I really did take a vacation day :) -- and met some friends at Audubon Zoo. It was a great day -- not too hot, not too humid, and the animals were... Well, just take a look and see!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Princess Room

Pink, pink and more pink... that's the theme of the girls' room. Recently, Emma moved to a 'big girl bed' -- complete with comforter and sheets to match Mia's. She's so proud to have a bed just like her big sister!

Blueberries...Yum!

We went for our second annual blueberry picking adventure in June! The girls and I loaded up in the new "Tulli's On Tour" bus along with our good friends, Maris and Lily and headed over to Blue Harvest Farms for a day of picking and picnicing. I must say my girls aren't into sweating and after an hour of plucking those sweet berries, they were ready for the shade. Thank goodness for the picnic pavillion where the girls played on the swing while Maris and I chatted the rest of the morjing away. Once home, most of our berries got eaten before they even made it to the freezer -- but Dad still has a few blue ones to throw in his Sunday morning pancakes every now and again.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

May Happenings

My goodness, May was full of all kinds of crazy stuff!

We went to Cincinnati early in the month – just me, Tony and Emma. Tony and I decided one child is EASY!!!! Especially when neither of you is working, the maid cleans your room and a breakfast buffet is waiting for you in the lobby! While we went there for some medical tests for Emma, we were able to sneak in some fun too… We took her to the Children’s Museum and she had a ball.

While we were gone, Zach attended his first Athletic Banquet with his Memee at his side. At Mom’s request, he wore a sport coat and tie! He liked the look so much, he did it again for 8th grade day at Monteleone Jr. High. Next year, Zach will be going to high school – he’ll be attending Lakeshore High School. He’ll be playing in the band as well as on the football team again – and he’s already started the summer weightlifting and speed & agility training …. GO TITANS!
We attended Meghan Brown’s high school graduation – and were honored to be a part of her family dinner celebration that followed the official ceremony. Meghan is such a wonderful young woman – she’s been part of our lives for so long now, we do consider her family. Congrats, Meghan! BTW… she graduated with Honors!

Mia sang at her school’s Spring Concert – she finished her final year at New Covenant Weekday School. She’ll be going to Kindergarten in the fall and will be attending Zach’s alma mater, Woodlake Elementary School. She’ll be one of three Tulli girls attending WES – Sara will be in the 2nd grade and Chloe will be joining Mia in Kindergarten.

Emma was so excited to see her 'Na' (that's Emma speak for Mia) on stage!

Sadly and unexpectedly, PawPaw Mike Matheny passed away on Sunday May 17th… He died of a heart attack within hours of giving his testimony to the congregation of his church, where Michael (his son) is a pastor. The day before the services, Tony piled us all into the car and drove our family the 12 hours to Leesburg, FL. Michael and his church provided the most fitting and beautiful ‘Homegoing Celebration’ at which we got to see a film of PawPaw’s testimony. It was a blessing to see Mike so vibrant just hours before he passed. The church services were followed by a military burial at the Florida National Cemetery – and our motorcade was lead by several Vets on motorcycles carrying the American flag. It was all done beautifully. We will miss him…

So the five of us spent Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth! When we got there, they asked if we were celebrating anything special. I said, “Yes, Life.” PawPaw Mike would have really liked that… And yes, it was hot, and yes, it was crowded… but it’s Disney! The pictures say it all!

And finally, Peter and Tony built the girls a swing set in the backyard – You guys rock!