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! 

I Found my Blog...

...amidst the new sea of boxes here in Virginia.

Here is the blog post that I started on day 2 of our journey north from Florida.  As you can see, I didn't get very far.
You see, I was driving a vehicle for 3 days straight.  And in my vehicle were 3 children.  Lots of snacks.  Some luggage.  Lots of books and toys and stuffed animals.  And a golden retriever who mostly watched Florida disappear out the back window but occasionally faced forward and drooled on Lilly.  There wasn't much time for blogging. 

My eyes were focused squarely on the lovely red Chevy Avalanche in front of me loaded with precious cargo that we didn't want to entrust to the packers:  The "good" bikes.  The computer.  The TV.  And my amazing man. 

 
Then we arrived to our destination.  Our lovely new home in Oak Hill, VA. 

Physically, it felt good to get out of the car and stretch.  Emotionally, we were each mourning losses from what we'd left behind, but also eagerly and, perhaps, somewhat anxiously anticipating what might lie ahead in this new place.  And mostly, we were tired.  But we had only just begun to move.

Less than 12 hours after setting foot in our new, empty, lovely house, the BIG TRUCK that had taken away all the boxes and furniture just 3 days prior showed up with a team of great guys to unload and fill up this new house. 

Boxes surrounded us yet again.

That was nearly 2 weeks ago.  And I'm not sure what happened to all the days in between then and today, except that we've been unpacking.  And registering at new schools.  And researching new swim teams.  And driving the marching band carpool (thank GOD for carpools...and new friends for Jared right off the bat here.)  And playing with new friends on our street.  And swimming in the community pool that we can walk to (but don't have to clean and balance chemicals as we did in Florida!!).  And shopping for all those things we need for the house as we set up and spending hundreds of dollars to attempt to restock the pantry to a functional level. 

Let's see, what else have we been doing?

• Rejoicing at getting our I-797 approval from the US Department of Homeland Security so we are nearly ready to send our dossier to China for Isabel. 
• Continuing to give Lilly 3 doses a day of potent antibiotics to hold off her infection until we can see Dr. Campbell in Philly. 
• Awaiting assignemnt of a primary care provider so we can get a referral for an ENT specialist for Anna to get a hearing aid for her left ear.  

Moving is most definitely like giving birth--you forget the pain until you're in the midst of it again.  So here we are...reminding ourselves that it usually takes us 6-12 months to truly feel at home and settled, both in the house and in a new community.

Until then, I am trying to be at peace with the chaos. 


     

Cantilinas on the Move

Started on Saturday, July 30th:

PCSing is like giving birth: you forget the pain until you're in the midst of it again.

We are sitting in our pet-friendly hotel room in Wytheville, VA as I type. This past week has been such a flurry of PCS chaos and emotion, my mind and spirit were all a-jumble as we left Niceville last evening. I have since had a lot of time to reflect and think, having put roughly 450 miles behind us in the past 24 hours.

The pack-out began last Friday, with packers in my home Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. We spent the intervening weekend pulling all the original boxes out of the garage attic and getting everything ready for the packers. As more and more of our household goods disappeared into boxes, both Lilly and Tad the golden retriever grew more anxious...

Blogging in a Sea of Boxes

Yes, folks, we are on day 3 of our pack out.  This move is really happening.  Our computer is set up on a borrowed folding table, I have suitcases strewn behind me on the floor, my kitchen has officially been closed roughly 24 hours, the dog has taken to sticking to my side as he watches strangers put things into boxes.  Lilly is trying to wrap her mind around this whole experience...thankfully her antibiotics are keeping fevers at bay and she is physically feeling well again.  She is having major separation anxiety issues, not helped by the fact that I have lined up play dates every day to get her out of the house while packing continues.  The older kids have been enjoying WAY more sleepovers than we ever let them do...soaking up every minute with FL friends before a new chapter begins.

In about an hour, the settlement on our new home will be completed, and we will be homeowners in both Florida and Virigina.  Scary thought.

Our tenants are here in Florida, awaiting our departure so they can move out of the TLF on Eglin and get into their new home.  We had them here for dinner and they are a wonderful family.  We are blessed with peace of mind leaving our house in their hands.

Tom's replacement at the hospital is here, waiting for the change of command on Friday...spending these last few days securing a boat for all the water recreation his family plans to enjoy in this place.

Tom and I find ourselves bouncing from one task to another...slowly and steadily ticking all the items off of our to-do lists. 


We are saying our goodbyes to dear friends...I am having a hard time leaving behind some of the wonderful relationships we've built here. Thankfully, facebook and e-mail and blogging make it easy to keep in touch. But there is no replacement for sharing a meal, a playdate, or some prayer time in person with another.

Isabel is blissfully unaware of the chaos in what will soon be her forever family. We recently learned she is living with a foster family, with an older brother and another child from the orphanage. We got some updated photos, which was a wonderful surprise in my e-mail inbox last weekend. Our last piece of paper needed for our dossier to go to China was supposed to be here before the move...it is looking like it might be slightly delayed and our tenants have agreed to continue to receive our mail here so that it can be overnighted to us in VA and we can press on toward Isabel.

As we begin our new adventure, I know God has new friends, new church family, new ministry opportunities, and new experiences for us to enjoy and learn from.  Hared will hit the ground running with band camp starting at his new high school the day after we arrive in VA.  A week from today, I will be driving the band camp carpool with folks I have only met through e-mail so far...life rolls on!

Summertime Life: Somewhat Normal for Now

But really, who's to say what's "normal"?  Summer vacation never really seems to "normalize" for me--I love my kids and I love the fun things that summer brings (pool time, 4th of July, outdoor concerts, beach days, water parks, watermelon).  But I never really feel like we are "settled" into any semblance of a routine, which makes me feel a little undone.  Yes, Amy, it's called "Summer VACATION."  Vacation means we are vacating that which is normal, right?  So I'm trying to get over it.  Get over the continually messy house (people live here, OK?), get over the constant grazing in the kitchen, get over the never-ending pile of soggy pool towels needing laundering, get over my summer hairstyle that never really varies from the basic ponytail--unless you count "wet ponytail" as another style. 

We are on the fringes of massive life changes.  We will be--Lord willing--closing on our new home in VA on 19 July.  Packing starts on the 25th (possibly as early as the 22nd).  When the packers are done, I will need to do a thorough scrubbing of the house so that it's completely ready for our new tenants.  Tom's change of command is on the 29th, and we will basically change our clothes after the ceremony, climb into our vehicles, and set the GPS for north.  Our fingerprints for the adoption are taken, and we are awaiting that final piece of paper (immigration approval) so that we can get our dossier through the final authentication stages through critical review at our agency, and sent on to China (hopefully--again Lord willing--before we hit the road).  We're coming, Isabel, really we are!   

Every day I try to stay focused on the to-do lists, but I am easily distracted.  The reality is that I want life to seem "normal" right now, since our past few months have been anything but that.  And yet (as I mentioned above) I am unable to conjure up "normal."  Each day brings new adventures, final appointments...laundry...final music lessons, writing farewell notes to friends I'll miss dearly...laundry... mentally making lists of things to pack in our vehicles for the drive, setting out on the dinner adventure each afternoon (emptying out the freezers and pantry before the packers come--what can I make with a can of tuna, a jar of tomato sauce, and some dried Chinese mushrooms...hmmmmmm....)...oh, and did I mention laundry?

So I'll just roll with it.  We are definitely living the "normal" Air Force pre-PCS life.  And that is most definitely an adventure that constantly reminds me that our sovereign God is even bigger than the US Air Force. 

Happy Summer to you!

The Time Warp Week: The Back Story and the Nitty Gritty

So, last week, doing normal life at home after our crazy previous three weeks, I noticed that Lilly was starting to act a little whiney and clingy. Didn't think much of it...we all have good days and bad days, and she just seemed to be a little off. I attributed it to just the irregularity of a summer schedule, and a week that was particularly heavy on doctor's and dentist appointments for several of the kids. Lots of time running around, doing things that aren't necessarily fun. I also, of course, felt some mama guilt over the amount of time I seem to spend lately making phone calls, answering e-mails, scanning documents, etc. for the wide array of things we have going on (see previous post...)

One of those medical appointments happened to be some booster shots that Lilly was due to receive. Those happened on Tuesday. Tuesday night, Lilly had low grade fevers. We figured it was the MMRV vaccine, gave her tylenol, moved on.

Wednesday, we did some fun things--library, Niceville splash park--in addition to the running around, and she was mostly ok. No more low grade fevers, just a little clingier than usual.

Thursday, we went to her usual Thursday morning OT appointment on the other side of town. She was acting much more clingy than usual, and was quite noncompliant during our session, which was cut short because we had to go straight to her dental appointment. Lilly's anxiety at the dentist (where one might think they were pulling her teeth out one by one without novacaine should one hear her wails from the waiting room) is almost equal to her anxiety about needles. While at the dentist, I noticed that one of her surgical incision sites (still under steri strips) was looking a little funky.

Friday was a pretty fun day to play with friends and have a family date night at the beach (it was Daddy's pick). By late Friday afternoon, it was clear she was coming down with something, choosing to simply sit in my lap at the beach and at dinner, rather than playing in the sand or playing in the fountains as Destin Commons with Jared and Anna.

That night is when the high fevers began. Friday night--103.8. Yikes.

Saturday Anna had a swim meet at which I was signed up as a timer. Tom stayed behind, got Jared to drop off for a week at Boy Scout Camp in Tennessee, and nursed Lilly through the day of fevers up and down. We figured surely the fevers would be over later that evening. Not so. continued high fevers through the night...102-103-ish. Even as high as 104 at one point.

Sunday, ANna and I were back to the meet, Tom again playing nurse to our feverish one. He had decided if her fevers continued to spike so high, he would take her to be seen at the ER. We were starting to be concerned it wasn't just immunizations, and it wasn't just something viral since there were no other symptoms of viral illness and the fevers were just so high and lasting over the course of so many days. Knowing on of the possible complications of the VEPTR is post op infection, Tom decided to wait no longer and take her in.

And so began our time warp week.

She was a very sick little girl. Initial blood work showed a white call count more than 3x the normal level. The ER folks immediately got a pediatrician and orthopedic surgeon involved in her case, arranged transport by ambulance to the local off-base hospital for MRI. So, as Anna and I were leaving the meet after our second long hot day in the sun swimming (Anna) and timing swimmers (me), Tom texted me to tell me he was with Lilly in the ER, awaiting an MRI to get a look at her hardware to make sure there were no visible pockets of infection around the rods--a possible complication of her surgeries.

Anna and I met them just in time for me to sit with her and hold her ankle (her hand was too far up into the tube for me to reach) for a 1 hour and 45 minute MRI session--her first ever without sedation. She did really well. I was stinky from sweating in the sun all day, and was freezing in my light weight clothes that had served me well in the hot summer Florida sun.

Sitting there by her side for that long stretch gave me the first of what would be many opportunities to pray fervently for my child and to reflect on God's character, as I envisioned possible emergency air ambulance transport to Philly and yet another major surgery on her tiny body.

Making what could be a really long story much shorter, here is a snapshot of the week from there:

Sunday: MRI at Fort Walton Beach medical center, admitted by midnight to Eglin AFB hospital for IV antibiotics. Her white blood cell counts were up to 30,000. Yikes.

Monday: more blood work to look at white coounts and other markers for infection; consultation with Dr. Brothers, Eglin's orthopedic surgeon, who also consulted with Dr. Campbell at CHOP. They agreed that Dr. Brothers should go ahead and--with sedation--clean out Lilly's incisions, re-dress them, and culture them to check for infection. Results: basic staph, which is pretty much everywhere on our skin and not a cause for enormous concern. No sign of anything deep in the tissue; incisions healing nicely.

Tuesday: more blood work. Lilly is a tough needle stick--tiny little veins, big huge loud lungs. Not a pleasant experience for anyone involved (especially at 5am), least of all Lilly. Anyone in military uniform or scrubs was quickly becoming "the enemy" and I feared I would soon be considered "one of them" because of my role as the one who had to hold her down and convince her that everything they were doing to her was for her good.

They decided to tag some of her white blood cells with radioactive isotopes which, when re-injected into her bloodstream, might give them some clues as to where the source of the infection might be. Because we knew she had much blood work in her near future, they decided to insert a PICC line, allowing them vascular access without continued fishing for veins with sharp needles. Nothing by mouth was ordered starting Tuesday night. The PICC line would be inserted tomorrow at Fort Walton Beach.

Wednesday: Ambulance transport arranged, yet again, to FWB Hospital, then a long wait in their facility as they determined whether they had the right equipment in the right sizes to insert a PICC line. A long day of fasting for both of us. Finally determined they could proceed; I again felt like such the bad guy as Lilly angrily fought the administration of the versed (meant to make her calm and a little loopy--in reality it only lowered her decibels a few notches as she screamed "No! I'm not brave yet! I'm not brave yet! Don't let them mama, I'm not brave yet!" :( ) My heart was breaking for her. Sedation--by injection into her leg--followed, and--at my insistence--I stayed in the room for the procedure. Painful to watch, it took easily 4 times longer than they thought it would. Lilly's sedatives were beginning to wear off by the end, and she looked at me with pleading eyes that said "get me out of this place." We thought the worst was now over and no more needle sticks would greatly reduce Lilly's trauma in this ordeal.

We weren't done yet.

Thursday: One of Lilly's surgical incision sites looked MUCH worse this morning. Dr. Brothers cultured it superficially, and scheduled her for OR time later in the day to For the second day in a row, NPO (nothing by mouth) was ordered so they could sedate her later in the day to actually open up a few of her incisions and probe more deeply around her hardware for any deeper pockets of infection. This was the day they had also planned to re-inject her white cells (drawn successfully through the PICC line early that morning) into her bloodstream. The problem: by the time the white cells were back from Pensacola where they had been "tagged," the PICC line had clotted off. It was no longer a viable vascular access point to administer meds or to re-inject the white blood cells. The OR time that had originally been planned to simply open incisions now also turned into a race against the clock (so the blood cells wouldn't expire) to get 2 IVs inserted, white cells injected, next dose of antibiotics administered.

Friday: finally a day without anything too scary. Simply watching the make sure fevers didn't return and continuing on IV antibiotics.

Saturday: cultures from Thursdays' procedure came back showing simple Staph infection, showing sensitivity to a wide array of antibiotics. Plan made for discharge Sunday (that would be today). Lillly awakened this morning saying "Today is an esasy day" and knowing that she would soon go home too gher "comfy bed." By noon, we were receiving dis hare instruction9s and receiving her oral antibiotic to cointinue at home for the next 4 weeks. \

It was a wonderful birthday -resent foor Anna to have her sister home--and it felt jhust SO good to be in our house (even with it as messy as it is) and be in my kitchen and simply be all together (Jared made it back from Scout camp too)...

But we weren't done yet.

Roughly 6 hours later, we were on our way back to the hospital. This afternoon, Lilly started acting like she didn't feel good and she wanted to just chill out in front of the TV. I gave her her next dose of antibiotics and took her temp. I can almost kick myself for doing that. 101.4. Didn't want to believe the thermometer was right, so I took my own temp. 98.6. Tom didn't want to believe it either so he tried a different thermometer. 101.8, his own temp with the second thermometer was 98.4.

I took the dog for a walk because I didn't want to think about what I knew was coming. Tom, meanwhile, called the doc who has been working with us at Eglin. When I got home and saw his face, I knew we were packing back up and headed back in. The birthday cake I had in the oven for Anna had 4 minutes left to bake. We let it finish, let it cool a bit while we packed back up (my clothes were all still dirty from last week...I scraped the bottom of the drawer to find something to wear tomorrow) packed up the lovely dinner that a friend of our friend Tiffani had prepared for us and headed back. I asked Tom if we couldn't just enjoy one night i our own beds, but knowing that the oral antibiotics were not keeping the infection at bay, he knew we couldn't afford to let her miss any more doses of the IV meeds.

Before we could enjoy Anna's birthday dinner together at the hospital, therefore, Lilly had to endure 3 more needle pokes in the attempts to draw blood for lab work and insert a new IV. Her poor arms are scabbed and bruised from all that she has been through. My heart is literally breaking for her.

At the same time, I know folks are praying, and God is graciously giving me His peace and His Holy Spirit to remind me of His presence. I know all things work together for our good and His glory, and am patiently awaiting His leading. Praying that He gets the glory in this situation, in our hearts, in our attitudes and in our love for others.


I am feeling blessed indeed, by visits from friends, meals prepared and delivered (even by some folks I don't even know.) Neighbors are helping with Tad and the yard work, and taking care of Anna and Jared.

Words cannot even begin to describe my emotions about all of this...another post will have to address those...

What a Week.

If you are a follower of this blog, then you know that my last post was written in the throes of Lilly's first VEPTR expansion in Philly. And I think I left you hanging just before Tom and I began our whirlwind househunting weekend while Lilly recovered from surgery with family in New Jersey and Jared and Anna spent the first few days of their summer vacation with friends in Florida. That's where my blog updates abruptly ended.

And, as you may have noticed, it has been awhile since I have blogged anything. This is not because there is nothing to share, nothing happening in our lives. Not because we dropped off the face of the earth. Not because I want to keep my loyal readers in the dark. Oh no. That is not why. Mainly it's because I'm lazy. Yes. Oh, and maybe because Facebook is a shorter and sweeter way to shoot out quick updates. But even my Facebook page was a little quiet until this past week.

I guess the main reason(s) I have not been blogging is this: We are getting a house ready to rent. And have been searching for tenants. And buying a house in another state. ANd preparing to move in roughly 7 weeks. And adopting a 4th child on the fast track. And doing "normal life" with 3 active kids, now on summer vacation. And dealing with some medical issues for Anna (hearing loss in the left ear). And, this week at least, entering a total time warp and unexpectedly spending a week in a hospital room with Lilly and her mystery illness involving high fevers and infection of unknown origin.

OK, so that's why. I know, a sorry excuse to neglect the blog. My apologies.

Oh, one more reason not to blog from the confines of this hospital room--I had no internet access. That is a truly VALID excuse, don't you think? My rockstar husband, however, who happens to work in this hospital, managed to have the computer folks here extend the WiFi to our floor, so now I have internet access on my iPad (my mother's day gift from my awesome man.)

So I am now without excuse, sort of.

Since there is WAY too much to give you great detail on each of the things we are currently up to, let me just give you a quick update on each:

The VEPTR Expansion: it went well, she grew another inch, and her recovery in NJ with loving grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends (and without Mama and Daddy nearby) went really well. Big kudos to Auntie Em for her amazing ability to juggle multiple children of multiple ages and keep Lilly happily distracted and greatly entertained.

The Move: Our house hunting weekend was ultimately successful. It was a whirlwind that started on a Friday when I left Lilly in NJ, drove to Philly to pick up Tom, headed to Northern VA (through old stomping grounds in suburban Maryland that were strangely familiar yet also oddly different in many ways after 10 years), and stopped briefly at the Tomatz' house (friends who moved to N VA from FL last summer)where we dropped off our suitcases and hopped into our realtor's car. For the next 36 hours, we drove all around the Vienna, Fairfax, Herndon/Reston areas of VA and walked through easily 20+ houses, some gorgeous, some not, some convenient, some not. Took lots of notes and looked at lots of photos online. In the evenings we enjoyed great food with the Tomtatz' and turned their living room into our command central, commandeering their computer and printer for our hunt. Our realtor was wonderful--let us know if you need a recommendation for a good one in the DC area--and made extremely efficient use of our limited time. The bottom line: on our 3rd day of looking, we put a bid on our first choice house, waited a few days for a reply, then--when learning our bid was not accepted on house #1, put a bid on our second choice house, around the corner in the same great neighborhood as the first one. Things are now rolling along on that front--inspection completed, awaiting appraisal, and we should be closing by 22 July.

Renting the House: Our initial tenants had to back out of renting it as he got a job elsewhere in FL, so, momentarily panicked, we rapidly put the word out and created an ad on militarybyowner.com. Within 12 hours of our initial panic, we already had a [phone call from a military family in Japan who were eager to send us a security deposit and sign a lease asap. They are excited about the house and the neighborhood, and we are excited to have a military family that is interested in renting for at least 2 years. Praise God!

Anna's Hearing: Anna starting complaining a few months ago that she couldn't hear well out of her left ear. This coincided with the onset of another viral illness, so I attributed the hearing issues to the virus and assumed it would clear up with time. Several months later, however, the issues persist, and she complains of hearing static, "morse code," and strange noises rather than voices or actual sounds in that ear. We had a hearing test administered,and have a followup hearing test scheduled for Monday. We will follow up with ENT and possibly some radiology studies top see what is happening with her...

And, finally, Lilly's surprise hospitalization and a week in a time warp. Which is another post of its own that will have to wait until another time to draft.


PS--but I am still lazy.