So, on Tuesday of last week, we were having a fun summer day. Anna was at a friends' house playing. Lilly had a little friend here to play. Jared was--where else?--at band camp. Tom had just left for another TDY, this time to Texas. Around mid-day, I was standing in my kitchen making cookies for the band-camp-carpool kids as Lilly and a little friend played (and had just run into the kitchen to investigate the yummy smell that had wafted over to their play area). Suddenly, a large truck began to rumble outside. Then the truck became a number of very large aircraft rattling the windows or perhaps crashing into the ground, or perhaps the airplanes were actually bombs at the Eglin bomb range (but how could that be, since that is in FL?) or even a terrorist attack? Then, as I watched my kitchen sway one direction and my sunroom sway another, and as I held onto the kitchen counter to steady myself, and as the girls with big wide eyes asked me "what's that noise?" it dawned on me, "we're having an earthquake!"
I quickly hustled the girls under the kitchen table, then momentarily realized that outside was a better option. We ran out the front door, clipping the leash onto the bewildered dog to exit with us, and met up with neighbors, also wide-eyed, in our cul-de-sac. That was Tuesday.
On Thursday, the forecasts for Hurricane Irene were not looking good for our upcoming weekend. Earlier in the week, when it was uncertain whether the storm would head toward the Gulf or up the Atlantic, I had hurriedly mailed to our Florida tenants the cables that power the generator we had left behind in our Florida house thinking they would need it more than we would. The cables had inadvertently gotten packed with our household goods and I wanted to be sure the tenants had them in case they lost power during Irene. But by Thursday it was clear the storm was heading up this direction, steering completely clear of the Florida panhandle. Tom began re-thinking our plans to head to New Jersey to see his family and celebrate a bridal shower for our beautiful niece, Tanya. By Friday, it was entirely clear that staying home--keeping the roads open for those who HAD to evacuate and reducing the risk that we might be driving in bad weather, sitting in heavy traffic, or stuck in New Jersey if roads were damaged or closed--was the wisest choice despite our desire to be in NJ with family.
In the meantime, our dear friends Mike and Beckie Lerma, whom we know from our time at Vandenberg AFB, California nearly a decade ago, and who recently moved to coastal VA, e-mailed to see if we might be around for the weekend as they were likely to evacuate their home and move inland. Initially I had offered our house as a safe haven, even though we were planning to be away. When we decided to stay home, I let them know we would be thrilled to have them here so we could spend time together after so many years. In fact, we had never even met their 4 children; when we saw them last, they were young childless newlyweds who used to babysit 3-year-old Jared and infant/toddler Anna. So the thought of hosting their family was exciting to me. The fact that Beckie was full-term pregnant with their 5th and due any day made the idea of staying in our home--with a doctor nearby--appealing to them.
So, Saturday I got up WAY early, was the first customer in the door to the local Shoppers Food Warehouse (great prices), and stocked up on ingredients for lots of meals and bottled water so we could hunker down for the coming storm with our friends. I spent the whole morning cooking several meals in case of power outages and no means of cooking. The house smelled great when they arrived in mid-afternoon, and it was so fun to see their precious kids and hear about their exciting pioneer-style life in a VERY rural area of VA. It was so amazing to see how far they have come since we last saw them and shared a meal together.
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Sharing dinner on Saturday night as we braced for the winds and rains of
Hurricane Irene, expected in the wee hours of the night |
Because of their rural location and because it was their 5th child, Beckie had been planning a home birth. Knowing she was due any day, they had come prepared with a brown cardboard box with their "birthing kit"--everything they would need to deliver a baby at home. So when Mike emerged on Sunday morning and said that Beckie had been having contractions all night long and they were pretty sure this was it, I knew we were likely to be welcoming a new baby in our home at some point on Sunday. We gave them their space, and I checked on them periodically--to pray over Beckie and bring crushed ice and water--and I could tell she was progressing simply by her countenance and posture each time I checked. Mike was by her side nearly every minute, and Tom was upstairs giving them space, simply on "stand by" in case of emergency.
Mostly, I spent my morning focusing on taking care of the older 4 cuties--ages ranging from 7 down to 18 months--with the help of Jared and Anna, who rose to the occasion and engaged fully with the group of littles in their house. We played around the house, ate snacks, went for walks with the dog, played at the park, looked for fish in the pond. By late morning, the 18-month-old was down for a nap and I began making lunch. As I was slicing sandwiches and apples, I heard what I thought was the toddler awakening from her nap upstairs. I wiped my hands, ran up the stairs, and paused to listen outside my bedroom door where we had set up her pack-n-play. Dead silence. Still napping. So, back downstairs I went to finish lunch. Again, louder this time, I heard a cry, and realized it was a distinctly newborn cry, coming not from my upstairs bedroom, but from my basement! I flew down the stairs to see Beckie cuddling her new little boy, Ezekiel Thomas Anav Lerma, who was a tiny little miraculous bundle. Tom was not needed at any point, though he did go down and check the baby and Beckie once Ezekiel had arrived.
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| The first few miraculous minutes of life! |
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LIlly wondered whether her baby doll was bigger or smaller than the baby.
It was pretty close. He weighed in at around 5 lbs on our bathroom scale... |
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The little boys had a blast climbing all over Jared and wrestling with him, just as
Jared used to do to their daddy when Mike and Beckie babysat for us in California. |
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| fishing with Jared |
The rest of the day was a complete blur to me--still caring for the older kiddos, preparing meals for all of us, and making sure Beckie was comfortable. She is an amazing woman, and was able to make it upstairs to join us for homemade chocolate birthday cake for Ezekiel that evening. What an amazing celebration.
The Lermas left late Monday morning, headed back to check on the status of their farm and animals and get back to their normal lives with a 7th family member in their midst. The exciting weekend had come to a close and I was left pondering God's amazing sovereignty to bring our families back together for such a miraculous and momentous occasion.
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They had even brought the infant carseat, just in case. Full minivan now!
Family of 7 on the road! |
After our exciting weekend (the whole cul de sac was abuzz with the news of what had transpired in our basement), it was time for us to get back to our own routines. With school starting next week I was planning on using the week ahead to make sure we were ready and to have some summer fun with my kids before my house is quiet during the day.
Except by Monday evening, it was becoming clear that Lilly was beginning to feel ill. Her most recent course of antibiotics had been running dry, and we had begun to cut her doses and stretch them out in order to make the meds last for more days. But her last dose was on Sunday. When I took her temp on Monday night, it was 101.8 and she was complaining of pains in the usual places--left abdominal side, left arm, left leg, tummy. She slept very little Monday night and I gave her the last remaining drops of linezolid Tuesday morning in an attempt to give her body any help I could. Thankfully, we had one remaining written prescription for a refill of the antibiotics so off to CVS we went to have it filled. It will be ready for pick up this afternoon. Tom was able to touch base with Dr. Campbell yesterday, and she is scheduled to see him in clinic in a few weeks, with possible surgery to clean out her hardware that same week before her next expansion.
So, back to school next week. With the separation anxieties triggered in Lilly by the prospect of school, I am thankful we can get her back on the meds to keep the infection at bay for a few weeks to allow her to get into the routines of school before any more medical trauma. I know Anna is anxious about her new school--she'll be in 6th grade, top of the elementary school, and has met a few other 6th grade girls in the neighborhood. Jared has his freshman orientation today and will get his schedule tonight at the "Cougar Kick Off" for Oakton High School; band camp seems to have really paved the way for him to feel at home here already and he does not seem overly anxious, except for the size of the school and the prospect of getting lost.
The weekend ahead promises some fun, as we welcome my parents and my older brother for a few days, then spend Sunday with my younger brother's family near Baltimore.
Nothing can surprise me anymore...thought I am delighted anew by the fresh grace and mercy of the Lord each morning!
