So beyond me.

Today was one of those days that reminds me that, even when I might feel as if I have some semblance of control over our days, it's really truly out of my hands. 

Today, day 17 since Lilly's expansion surgery, she began to run a fever. 

This whole week, we have been a little suspicious that something might be brewing.  Her incisions started looking a little funky early this week and started even having a bad smell (which reminded me of how they smelled when she had her last infection).  She also began having more pain, night terrors, and a bizarre itchy red rash (some like hives) all over her body, mainly on her legs, sides, and back.

Not liking what we were seeing, we had some blood work done on Wednesday and I kept the doctor's appointment for her on Thursday that I had almost cancelled when the doc late last week was able to put in some referrals (for other issues that have come up recently with her right hand function and strength and possible neurological problems) for us without actually seeing Lilly.

Of course, the day you go to the doctor is the day that everything looks great and they wonder why you are sitting there in the doctor's office...

• The blood work actually didn't look terrible--white count was normal and CRP was slightly elevated but nothing like how high it went during her last infection and could totally be attributed to recent surgery. 
• Her incisions actually began to look better because we had removed her funky steri strips and placed a fresh dressing over the incisions.
• Her rash was nearly gone.

So, of course, the family practice doc we were seeing (and Tom and I as well) were really no longer concerned about infection.  Ready to move on into the rest of our week--which included back to school orientations for all of the kids & Jared's marching band's first football field show--as well as get ready for next week--which holds big things like 4 kids starting 10th grade, 7th grade, 1st grade, and kindergarten as well as Chinese school for 3 girls on Sunday afternoons. 

(Oh, and not to mention my starting in my new role as a Core Group leader for Community Bible study, and Tom and me beginning to get the ball rolling for co-hosting/leading a new home group from church, and continuing to do my marathon training--only 5 weeks to go!--and hoping to up the intensity of all of my workouts now and maybe shed a few of the stubborn post-adoption, post-surgery pounds that are ignoring my attempts at self-discipline in eating and intense fitness regimen...and hoping to maybe even start teaching spin classes at a gym again...and...and...and...but I digress...)

Today, however, concerns quickly picked back up.  Lilly's sleep patterns have been all over the map this week. This morning, however, when she slept till 9:30am, barely touched her breakfast, wanted to be carried to and from the park and barely played at the park, and then just wanted to be held after lunch, I knew something was up. When she complained that her head hurt and her shoulder and arm hurt and she felt warm, I began the obsessive-compulsive temperature-taking. The first two times I took it this afternoon, it was normal. Then it began to climb. Highest today hasn't been too high...101.7...but anything above 100.4 is of concern when dealing with possible post operative infection.

So, making this long saga a little shorter...after talking with Doctor Campbell, we filled some remaining refills on her oral antibiotics from the last infection and started her on them this afternoon. She should start to feel better in a few days, and hopefully can start school on time without missing a beat.  Now we wait and pray that this infection has not made its way to her hardware, where antibiotics are ineffective. 

In the category of brutal transparency:  Did I mention this is not how I had planned to spend our Labor Day weekend before schools starts?  And did I mention that not only do I feel immense concern for Lilly but also pangs of mother guilt when Isabel suddenly feels the need to point out every scratch and owie she might have on her legs or arms and whimpers and whines when I carry a weary and feverish Lilly around but can't pick her up too?  I might also add that feeling so very out of control and inadequate for such circumstances just makes me want to eat chocolate--or maybe have a glass of red wine--and that's really not what will make those stubborn pounds slip away.  Clothes fitting too tightly doesn't enhance my mood at all either. 

Yes, it's all beyond me.

Thank the Lord He's got it all in His hands and nothing takes Him by surprise.  Earlier today, when Lilly's tylenol had kicked in we walked to the park.  On the way, she wanted to sing together.  When she asked me what I wanted to sing, the only songs I could think of were "When I am afraid, I will trust in you," "Our God is so big..." and "Jesus Loves Me."

Indeed, "they are weak but He is strong." Personalizing it a bit, I am weak, but He is strong.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.   Proverbs 18:10

6 months as a family of 6

Six months ago, in a government office in Zhengzhou, China, it started like this:

From cautious and hesitant, to terrified, to seemingly relaxed and happy--all in about 45-minutes' time.

Then, a matter of days later, our brood of kids looked like this:

And we were all happy--thrilled that our journey to Isabel had finally come to its fruition, thrilled to be home after the long adoption trip, thrilled to begin a new journey of grafting in a new family member and establishing 3 new sibling-relationship-dynamics. 

As grueling and long as the adoption process can be, and as emotionally and physically taxing as the adoption trip itself can seem (especially when you leave the other kids home), I knew at this moment in time that our harder work was still to come.

The true journey for Isabel to grow genuinely comfortable, relaxed, and at home in our family, naturally, is an ongoing process.  One that refines each of us uniquely.  One that requires grace and patience and flexibility and stamina.  The end result is beauty; like many things in life worth doing, however, the process is not always easy or fun.

I recently read a blog post by a blogger that has a way of capturing the truth of life and emotions with humor and great writing.  You can read her post here.  I cannot come close to capturing the truth of adoption with the degree of humor and insight that Jen has done.  But I can completely relate to the different "stages" that an adoptive family goes through in that first year.  And I am happy to tell you about our family and how things are going six months later...

It is amazing to me that we have been a family of 6 for 6 months already.  

The first half of Isabel's six months with us was primarily spent at my side, helping me around the house, playing with me while the others were at school and work, running errands with me, and simply soaking up one-on-one mama time.  The afternoons were my easiest time of day because, once the girls got home from school, Isabel was completely engulfed in their world of play and fun and I was freed to do housework and cook dinner. 

Then came summer.  Which, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know has been quite full with vacations, camps, trips, medical visits, and summer fun.  This has been 3 months for Isabel to spend with her siblings and friends in the neighborhood, get comfortable in a pool, play outside a lot, and spend time with extended family.  She did well with a week of Vacation Bible School at church (in the same group as Lilly) and did some semi-private swimming lessons (again, with Lilly) at our neighborhood pool.  Summer is more chaotic with less routine, and Isabel has had to learn to cope with lack of structure...not easy for her as she prefers the predictable.  Our many road trips have taught her about the permanence of our home--we always come back to it when we've been away--and the older kids' overnight camps have taught her about the permanence of our family.

Through all of these months, we have been catching Isabel up on her immunizations and seeing a developmental pediatrician to assess her global developmental delays and determine what might be the cause of them.  Her doctor is quite thorough and ran a battery of genetic tests (all normal) and ordered an MRI of her brain (which she underwent yesterday with no sedation--what a trooper) to see if there are any clues.  If the MRI is normal, then we have to assume her delays stem from environmental/nurture factors and proceed from there.  Otherwise, aside from being emotionally immature and physically uncoordinated, she is physically healthy and behaviorally pretty normal, for which we are thankful.

I also spent time in the spring working with the school system to get an IEP in place so that when she starts kindergarten in less than two weeks there is already a plan in place and her teachers will already know of her needs and delays.  Isabel has been talking about school excitedly since the spring--watching Lilly get onto and off of the bus each day and do her homework made her excited to do the same--and she is still looking forward to kindergarten this fall.  I am eager to see how she does with the separation initially, and with the adjustment to classroom routines and a completely English-speaking environment.   We have school supplies, a back pack, and new shoes...so in that regard, we're ready. 

Isabel's English is coming along...especially her receptive English (understanding what is said to her).  In fact, tonight as we headed out for our family date night in the car, it dawned on Tom and me that she actually gets Tom's jokes sometimes now (and, like her siblings, rolls her eyes at them!)  Her expressive English (what she can say) is a not quite as developed, but she can carry on a pretty good conversation and tell some stories in Chinglish.  Today, she carried on an imaginary conversation with her friend, Yuan Yuan (the 12 year old whose family adopted her and was part of our travel group when we adopted Bella), on her toy cell phone, most of which was in English ("hello? what?  What you say? Why?  Where' your mama?")   I'm sure that being in a school setting with only English being spoken will help with the expressive language...can't wait to see. 

Isabel's early years are, and always will be, a mystery to us:  Abandonment in a rural village of Henan Province at around the age of 3, for unknown reasons. Developmental delays identified upon abandonment.  Living for the next 2+ years in an orphanage, with an intervening short stint of evenings and weekends with a "foster family."  On her first "birthday" in our family (the date they assigned as her estimated birthday when she was brought to the orphanage), I found myself musing on her early years, wondering who had carried her, given birth to her, and held her those early days and months.  Wondering what could possibly motivate a mother (or, perhaps, a father, or aunt or uncle or grandparent) to abandon their little girl at the age of 2 or 3?  Any number of scenarios cross my mind, and I'm sure there are many more scenarios that would never even occur to me, coming from a foreign culture and background; but we'll never know for sure.  So I am learning to become comfortable with the mystery and preparing myself to have to try to explain this mystery to her someday when she is curious. 

Because of the mystery of her past, however, we face more unknowns in her future.  I am certain that the road to her maturation and development will not be quick nor easy. 

But--here's the joy--the privilege of loving her, watching her gain skills, teaching her many new things, giving her opportunities to develop and mature...that privilege is ours.  Her family.

So here's to the next 6 months, and the next, and the next...may they continue to bring joy even amidst the growing pains, and may we each have eyes to see the long view.

    

All about Anna

Turning the attention of this blog away from yours truly (as I continue "doing" daily life as it flies by, enjoying the joy in the journey along the way...), I was struck while out running yesterday with some of the awesome things about my beautiful Anna that I wanted to share with all of you.

First of all, she is the "middle child."  It is an obvious fact, a title that she acquired when we brought Lilly home some 2 1/2 years ago, but something that we don't often think about. It was brought up yesterday by her pediatric ENT doctor as he asked her about her siblings, and he commiserated with her (and I chimed in, too, as a middle child) as a fellow middle child.  It felt like the three of us were in a special "club" for those with an older and a younger sibling.  The term holds a certain connotation--for good reason.  In Anna's case, it is manifested in her being either considered "Jared's little sister" or "Lilly's big sister," and, truth be told, most of the time it is the latter. 

But Anna, on her own merits, is worth her own title.  Simply "Anna." 

Allow me to tell you some of the ways Anna has impressed me of late.

• She has managed a difficult school transition with very little fanfare.  With our most recent move, Jared has paved the way to High School, which has earned him a sense of accomplishment and a new level independence. Lilly has embarked on a new journey called kindergarten and kindergarteners naturally just steal the show.  But Anna's move here brought her from a school district where she had already completed the last year of elementary school (5th grade) to a new school district where her grade level is, once again, in elementary school (6th grade).  No excitement of graduating to a new level of education for my Anna this year.  Instead, she is top of the school, coming in on the last year of elementary school with lots of kids that have been together since kindergarten.  Not an easy transition.  Anna is quite social, but her interests are often different than other girls her age so true friendships don't always come easily for her.  She seems, however, to be doing really well and has a couple of new friends that she seems excited about. 

• She is learning to be others' focused.  This is something that it takes many of us years and years to learn.  Anna, however, made some big leaps in this area when we brought LIlly home from China, and continues to shine in this regard.  Most 6th graders don't have to worry about their kindergarten-aged siblings too much.  Anna, however, willingly continues to sit with the kindergarteners in the front of the school bus and help Lilly with her backpack almost every day, simply because she knows that Lilly needs and wants her help.  She did confide to me that sometimes she longs to sit in the back of the bus with the older kids, and I gave her the green light to do so, knowing that Lilly can and will adapt to not having her big sister by her side, but Anna continues on her own initiative to provide Lilly that extra measure of security during their rides to and from school.

• She is pressing on in her swimming, despite feeling like she doesn't quite fit in.  As I mentioned above, forming good friendships is not always easy for Anna, and this pre-teen stage makes it even more difficult, it seems.  With the swim team here, she has lamented more than once that she feels like none of the kids are interested in talking to her and they give her weird looks when she attempts to strike up conversation with them.  The one swimmer that she knows the best (they are in the same class at school and we carpool) approaches swimming and most things in general differently than Anna does, and so a close friendship is not looking likely.  Still, she does not complain when it's time to go to practice or a meet, and she truly sees the benefit in physical activity and wants to improve.
  
  
  
  
  
• She is learning to be more teachable and moldable.  This, again, is something that can take years to develop.  Anna will readily admit that it has been an area of struggle in her life.  By God's grace, however, we are seeing some progress in this area, and Anna understands the need for this trait.  She is learning to spend time quietly with God, looking to Him for her worth and her beauty.
• She is dealing with her hearing loss with grace and patience.  The issue first manifested itself to us back in February, just days before we headed to Philadelphia for Lilly's BIG surgery, just weeks before Nana got pneumonia and almost died, just a few months before Lilly's post op infection, and a few months before our big move.  All of these things caused some major delays in dealing with Anna's hearing loss.  We finally got started on having her hearing loss evaluated in Florida this summer, while LIlly was hospitalized with her infection.  The process takes time, and we are now, finally, getting close to having a hearing aid for her.  She has undergone at least 4 separate hearing tests and has been to at least 8 separate appointments so far as we're determining how best to treat it.  We have several more appointments to go, possibly some genetic testing.  Although she is eager to have her hearing aid and be able to hear, she is compensating for her unilateral hearing without much fanfare.
• She has been dealing with lengthy parental absences, showing growth in maturity.  Because of Lilly's many medical trips, Anna (and Jared) have been left with grandparents and/or friends on numerous occasions, sometimes for just a day or two, sometimes for a week or more at a time.  For Jared, who is older, this hasn't been too much of an issue.  For Anna, however, it is a difficult trial.  She doesn't like to have us away from home, she doesn't like the feeling that things are happening with her sister that she is not fully aware of or informed about.  She is learning to express her need for our communication while we're away and she is learning to be more self-reliant in a host of ways.

Anna with Nana...

Walking to the bus stop with Grammy just before
we left with Lilly for CHOP

• She grows more beautiful by the day, inside and out.  Yes, she's growing up on me.  It is hard to buy clothes for her, as she is sort of in between girls sizes and junior's sizes, but when shopping for an outfit for her to wear to her cousin, Tanya's wedding,  I realized how physically grown up looking she is getting.  And, because of her character development, her outer beauty is matched by her more important inner beauty.  She is not afraid to stand for what she believes in, and she has her own definite sense of style.  She is not afraid to stand out from the crowd, something that will serve her well as the teen years come hurtling our way.

I will leave it at that.  I am thankful I get to be Anna's mom, and am eager to see the plans God has for this strong, spunky, independent, verbal, thoughtful young woman.

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some pics of Anna (and various other folks!) taken recently--most of them at our niece Tanya's October 22 beautiful beach wedding in New Jersey.  (The rest of those photos are on facebook...what a wonderful day!)

Our family.  Anna is a little bit of a "mini-me"...or so I've been told.

Having fun with Tom on the dance floor.

Sharing her daddy for the father-daughter dance.

Taking time to dance with Lilly (though she confided to me

later that she "prefers to dance alone" which she did for most of the reception.)

A Catch-up Photo Journal...

So, for the final few weeks before school started, we did  alot of fun things (other than be amazed by natural disasters and the miracle of birth in our home.)  Here are some photos for your enjoyment:

Lilly at Orkney Springs, where Jared spent a week of overnight band camp.  We attended family day at the end of the week to see them perform their field show--fun day!
 

Reunited with Jared after his absence all week.

Lovin' on my Anna

Jared loves this little girl!  Fun to watch him walk around the grounds with Lilly on her shoulders. 
Hmmm...maybe a girl magnet?  Nah, not my Jared.

We had a special visit from one of the families in our adoption travel group, who were passing through VA on their way from FL to NY.  So exciting to see Kim, Michael, Sophia, and Bella and how much these girls have grown since we last saw them in Guangzhou!

The kids and I got to celebrate my brother, Justin's birthday at their home in Ellicott City.  I LOVE living closer to my family and being able to share special days like this!

Justin is officially a "coffee geek" and has his own facebook page called "saturday morning espresso."  He does some amazing latte art.

Here are LIlly and Anna with their cousins, Abby, Delaney, and Elli at the American Girl store in Tysons Corner mall.  We went to their American Girl Bistro for a back-to-school lunch with their dolls.  What fun!

Here's Lilly with her "Baby Kit" Bitty Baby

My sister in law, Lita, with Elli

Delaney and Lilly and their dolls.

Our dossier is officially sent to China...this is one of the last photos we snapped of ourselves as a couple as we still needed some "couple" photos to include in the dossier.  Now we are working on an update to our home study since we've moved...more paperwork and notarizations and fingerprints...ugh.  But we are still somewhat hopeful we could travel late this year or early next year!

My parents and my brother, Doug, joined us for Labor Day weekend.  Here, Nana is giving each of the granddaughters a special teacups from her collection.  They got to choose their favorite two.  So exciting!

Here's my brother, Doug (aka "Uncle Duck") at Justin's house.

Lilly saying thank you for the beautiful tea cups.

Anna loving her Nana.

The delicious 70th birthay dinner for Pap Pap.  Justin and Lita grilled salmon and Joshua made zucchini bruschetta.  Abby made goat cheese-tomato bruschetta.  And the meal was topped off with some yummy lattes!  How fun, once again, to live close enough to get together with my family!!

In addition to fun with family, we began a new school year on 6 September, with Jared starting high school, ANna starting 6th grade, and Lilly starting Kindergarten.  Lots of transitions for all.  Thankfully, Anna and Lilly are at the same elementary school, riding the same bus, which has made it a *little* easier for Lilly to transition to school, but she is still suffering from pretty severe separation anxiety and each morning we are still having tears before school.  Here are some photos from day 1:

Jared, ready to head out into the pre-dawn darkness at 6:15am.  He's been doing great at getting himself up and moving in the morning!  Long days with after-school band practice 3 nights a week...

I hated to wake Lilly on the first day, but now her body clock has adjusted and she is pretty much waking up before I go in to awaken her.

Anna getting ready on day 1.  Her outfit was chosen during our fun shopping outing with her friend Melanie and her mom Catherine back in Florida.  Great memories and a cute look for my growing-up-so-fast girl.

Start the day with a healthy breakfast!

Get those teeth nice and clean!

Ready to go!  New backpacks for both girls (thankfully found one small enough that Lilly can manage it but big enough to hold a folder and her lunch box). 

Waiting for the bus to come!

So glad her sister is with her...

Whole gaggle of kids at our bus stop!

The look of anxiety as the bus pulled up.  Today--day 5 of school--was the first day she boarded the bus with no tears, praise God!



So our first week of school went off well, except on Thursday the rains were so heavy that the roads to the girls' school had flooded and busses couldn't get through.  they were stuck at school until Tom could pick them up in his truck after 6pm...crazy long day!  School was cancelled on Friday becasue the rain was continuing and the roads were still flooded...so it was a long weekend for us, and we got lots done in the house.  Even had some friends over for dinner on Saturday! 

After a week like that, what else can surprise us?

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.

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. 

The first few miraculous minutes of life!

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...

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.

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. 

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! 

Summer Vacation is Here!

It has been an eventful few weeks here, and I am weary from all the craziness.  Yesterday was an exciting day with lots of emotion as the kids wrapped up their school year, which all the neighborhood moms celebrated by ambushing our children as they came out of the school or off the bus with water guns, super soakers, and silly string.  So glad to have a quiet morning today to be still, let the kids sleep in, and just reflect.  Even I slept in till 6am and forewent the early am workout today.

Jared has now completed 7th grade.  He came home from school yesterday gloating and saying in his ever-deepening voice "Mom, I'm an 8th grader now!  Only one more year and I'l be in high school!"  Yikes he is growing up so fast.  And yet, I look at him and--notwithstanding his physical growth (he is up to my eyebrows now and growing daily; he can wear Tom's shoes)--I see so much growing he has to do emotionally, socially, and in the areas of organization, time management, and self-discipline.  So as I love him and encourage him in who God created him to be, I also am being mindful of ways to spur him on in those areas.  His language arts teacher this year has recommended him for the advanced class for next year with the caveat that "he needs to work on his organizational skills and writing in complete sentences over the summer."  So we will be doing a little bit of summer school at home.  Jared has recently taken up fencing lessons, and is pretty excited about that.  He will begin his summer conditioning for the cross-country team in a few weeks, meaning 3 early mornings of running a week.  I'm hoping for some carpool options so I am not having to get the girls out of bed early...

Anna has now completed 4th grade. She finished the year well, making the A/B honor roll all year long and achieving awards in many subject areas. She is thriving on her violin and will be picking up piano lessons starting next week. Even though a little stage fright at her violin recital this week left her at a loss for notes about midway through her piece, she remained poised and recovered well with a little queue from her teacher/accompanist. And she even calmly and articulately recited a poem she had written as an introduce to her piece before she played it. Her swim season is in full swing, and she has done 3 meets already, with another on the horizon in Tallahassee at the end of the month. 

Lilly, I'm sure, will be happy to have her siblings home with us now. She has been missing school, asking me almost every day "do I go to school today?" and saying "but I want to go to school!" when I've told her that she doesn't have school today. She has been having fun being my helper in household tasks, and she has been resilient as we have had SO many places to go and obligations in the past week or two. One day this week, I counted that she had been buckled into car seat, stroller, or bike trailer 14 separate times in one day. She and I were both ready to just stay home at the end of that day.

Tom is working diligently to finish his air war college readings and exams and papers. The poor guy really never has a chance to relax and just enjoy life. I will be so glad for him (and for the kids and me) when he is finally through with it and can simply do his job (and even take some vacation days!).

On the scoliosis front, we have successfully gotten Lilly's medical records from CHOP down to a pediatric neurosurgeon in Alabama, and are awaiting a call from his scheduler to get LIlly in for a consult and possible surgery on her spinal cord. Again, we continue to be blessed to enjoy "normal" life for now, because I know that upcoming surgeries are going to make life difficult for a time.

So, hopefully, lots of beach days, Big Kahunas Water Park days, and lazy days at home await.