the new normal

2 weeks ago today was the day mom went into the hospital. 2 weeks ago at 10:05 I was getting ready to try to get some sleep in the recliner in her room while mom coughed and struggled with her breathing all night long. I had probably just finished having the last real conversation I'll have with her here on earth. Tonight she and dad were going to be spending the night at Calloway Gardens with my kids. They had started the tradition of taking them there to look at the christmas lights 2 years ago. I accidently called her cell the other day instead of their home number. So I heard her outgoing message. You just never know when something is going to be "the last" thing. The last conversation, the last lunch together, the last trip, the last laugh, the last hug.
I'm going to bed.

Service Times

Viewing -
Friday, Dec. 12
6:00pm-8:00pm
HM Patterson & Son Funeral Home
1157 Old Canton Rd NE
Marietta, GA 30068

Funeral -
Saturday, Dec. 13
2:00pm
Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church
4495 Sandy Plains Rd
Marietta, GA 30066

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:
M.U.S.T. Ministries
PO Box 1717
Marietta, GA 30061

...today

Mom died at about 4:30 this afternoon. We were all there and it was peaceful. We hope to have visitation at Patterson Funeral Home on Old Canton Hwy tomorrow evening and the funeral on Saturday afternoon. I'll let you know the final plans tomorrow morning.

Today

Today is the day Mom will see Jesus.

She commented last monday about how that "wouldn't be so bad" and had just found a note written to her by her grandmother, "ma" where she talked about seeing her in heaven. The wonderful doctors talked with us this morning and praise God for the unity in our decision to take her off the ventilator. They will be giving her morphine now and she won't feel any pain from now through eternity. After learning what the doctors predicted about her "recovery" and knowing the way Pulmonary Fibrosis will progress even if she does recover, we just couldn't imagine that she would want to suffer for weeks or months. Dad is doing OK. He says he will be doing much better than everyone expects because they've been talking about this for a long time. He welcomes visitors, but my own request is just that we try to limit visits to a few minutes at a time. Thank you for your prayers and your compassion and your love for my family. We love and are truly thankful for you. I'm blown away by my sadness, but I know it would be even more devastating to watch her live any longer.
I'll let you know later today about the arrangements we'll make for her funeral.

Wednesday Night

Today mom was about the same. Desiree, Darryl and Brandon are all in town tonight so tomorrow at 9 we will meet with Dr Boyce all together.
Hopefully I'll have more to post tomorrow. :)
Shea

tuesday

today Dr. Boyce says things look a little better. Still not out of the woods, for sure. They are talking about the possibility of putting in a tracheotomy by the end of the week. But they are now talking about the end of this week and referring to next week. Last week they just referred to the beginning of THIS week. She continues to look more like herself, but is still sedated.

monday the 8th

Today mom's condition remains about the same, but her kidney levels are continuing to improve. She looks MUCH better than she did at the end of last week. Much better. Her color is better and there's not nearly as much swelling. Her temperature is a little low due to the dialysis but apparently that's normal. She opened her eyes during one visit and I was able to give her a quick update on the where-abouts of everyone. Eric made a couple of CDs for her with her favorite music so we turned that on "repeat", hoping it would help her relax until she went back to sleep. The nurse was trying to decrease her sedation medicine some while keeping her sedated JUST enough. The nurses keep commenting on how she's really a fighter and becomes alert before they think she will or before she needs to. They don't know mom. They were able to decrease her oxygen to 55% today, which is good. Desiree will come tomorrow afternoon, Brandon and Darryl will be here on Wednesday. Hopefully around that time, we'll know more about her prognosis.
Thanks for loving mom and the rest of us!

sunday night

Sorry for the late post....left this morning at 8:45 and just now walked in the door.
today mom isn't worse. So that's good. She might actually be better! The dialysis seems to be working and much of the swelling has gone down. She's sedated heavily and didn't wake up today, that we know of. She seems much more relaxed and "comfortable", if that's possible.
My kids went home with Granna and Papa (eric's parents) today and so I'll be spending most of tomorrow and tuesday at the hospital.
I've been completely overwhelmed by the compassion of our friends through this. Thank you so much for your love and prayers....for being just what we need in this time.

saturday night

No real change....Praying the words to this hymn tonight:

O come, O come Emmanuel ("God with Us"), And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come Thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show and cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, and be Thyself our King of peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Saturday afternoon

today they started mom on Dialysis and they say it's going as expected. Dad says she appears the same as yesterday.
Thanks for your prayers.
Dad went in this morning and several folks from Wesley Chapel are hanging out with him today and tomorrow morning.
Eric is working this afternoon/night and tomorrow so I'm home with the kids. I think we're going to take a drive tonight to look at lights with some hot cocoa.

friday night

We talked to Dr. Fisher, my parents' family doctor of many, many years. He put things in perspective for us. He said her body has an "invader" and the invader has the advantage right now. He expects it will have the advantage for 4 or 5 days. During this time is when we need to gather the troops and begin the battle. That's the ventilator, steroids, antibiotics, dialysis (if needed).....After 5-7 days, ONLY THEN will we see if her body is going to be able to fight it. That's when things start turning around if they're going to. I think I have been hoping and expecting to see gradual daily improvement but after talking with Dr. Fisher, I'm realizing he is confirming what the other doctors have been saying all along: We shouldn't expect anything for a week. My dad practically had a spring in his step after hearing this from Dr. Fisher. He really respects him and it was comforting to know that he thinks we're doing the right thing and that the doctors are making good calls.
We told mom we had talked with him and dad said, "Babe, Dr. Fisher thinks all we're doing here is worthwhile". Mom just slowly nodded her head. I told her that he expected it would be at least 4 days (I couldn't bring myself to tell her 5-7) before we should expect big changes. She sighed and sort of slumped her shoulders. I'm sure 4 days of this seems like forever to her. At about 8:30 tonight, she was resting much better than she had all day though, due to the nurse increasing her sedation. I hope she sleeps all night.
On another note, my brother, Brandon is sick with some sort of stomach bug. Sorry Bran.....I hope you are feeling better really soon.

kidney

OK. So now her kidneys aren't functioning well and so they are giving her lasix to help with that. She's retaining LOTS of fluids. Very swollen. She may need a couple rounds of dialysis to get them working again. The nurse said that if it were her mother she would try it through the weekend and see if the kidneys started working again because she said although I might not realize it because I don't see this every day, she does have a chance of bouncing back. If the kidneys are working, it gives them time to help her bounce back. Dr. Boyce will be back on monday. The nurse says that he is very straight-forward and will not drag this out longer than necessary.
It's so hard to see her like this. so hard.

Friday Noon Update

This morning mom looks about the same as she did last night. This is really awful and no way to live. She's so swollen from all the fluid she's retaining. She's been awake a lot because her blood pressure has been low so they can't sedate her as much as we'd like. However, her BP is a little higher this morning so they just increased her sedation. Mom said she would like to sleep more. Each time we visit she wants an update of where everyone is and how dad is doing. She would like music so when dad comes in a few minutes he's going to bring some of her favorite CDs and a cd player. Dad did come and spend the night with me last night but he forgot his mask-thing for his sleep apnea so he didn't sleep that well. He's going home now to his house to get a few things, including his medication.
I'm hoping to speak with the doctor as soon as he's done in another ICU. His notes this morning said that her Xray was "slightly worse" than yesterday.
Thanks for praying for us. Pray she'll be able to be comfortable and peaceful and that we'll have wisdom as we make different decisions....and for Dr. Boyce, her doctor.
I'll post another after I talk to Dr. Boyce.
If you want to comment or leave a note for me to read for her, please leave it here instead of emailing me directly, if you can. That way I can just print it all out at once.
Thanks,
Shea

new pictures of eli

cute pictures of Eli at our friend's house. this is her daughter, Morgan, with him. :)

Update about mom

Hi everyone. As many of you probably know, mom's not doing well and is in ICU at St. Joseph's. I'm going to try to post updates here on my blog to try to streamline my conversations. We are doing OK. Dad is doing OK. The kids are doing OK. Right now we are set with meals through tomorrow night and childcare is taken care of through next tuesday afternoon. I'm tryin gto balance my days and nights at the hospital so I'm not away from the kids during all their awake hours.
Mom started feeling bad the friday after thanksgiving. (we all had a wonderful thanksgiving together at my brother Darryl's house in Charlotte) Over the weekend she continued to become more sick and monday went in to St.Joes' for an already-scheduled broncoscopy (sp?). They kept her after that and I spent that night and tuesday with her in the hospital and her breathing was getting worse and worse by the hour. At one point she sat up in the bed and lay back down and was gasping for breath for the following 30 minutes. She needed more and more oxygen and tuesday they decided she needed 100% oxygen and they moved her down to the PICU. She has pneumonia and they have identified a bacteria that they are fighting, but her xRays kept getting worse. Wednesday morning the doctor said he can't be sure if the bigger problem is her Pulmonary Fibrosis (a disease she's been diagnosed with for about a year....it is a progressive disease that gets really awful in the end. People live anywhere from 1 to 18 years with it) or the pneumonia. He didn't think she would be able to continue on the oxygen for more than 24 hours, so they put her on a ventilator yesterday around lunchtime. This gives him more time to work on the pneumonia with the host of antibiotics, steroids and other drugs she's taking. He says if the problem is pneumonia, she has a chance of pulling out of it. If the problem is the fibrosis, there's not much they can do but make her feel more comfortable. So today she's about the same. Her blood pressure has been low and so they can't sedate her as much as they'd like. She's agitated and trying to communicate by writing on a clipboard whenever anyone is visiting so the nurses are really wanting to limit the visitors to just a few minutes every couple of hours.
I'm going down there tonight to see her and be with my dad. Hopefully he'll come home and spend the night here tonight. It will take a couple more days before we know how she's progressing because it's slow.
Thank you so much for your prayers. If you think about it pray for wisdom and discernment for the doctors and for us as we might have to make hard decisions.
The kids were able to see her yesterday before she was put on the ventilator and that was really good for all of them. They're processing it all in their own ways, just like all of us are.
Thanks so much!

Our Big Adventure

Well we have news and no, I'm not pregnant, in case you were wondering. We will be moving to Berkeley, California in January. A friend of ours, Bart Garrett and his wife, Katie (many of you already know and love them) used to be on staff at Perimeter Church, where Eric and Bart worked together and Katie and I "mothered" together. Our kids are about the same ages so we spent lots of mornings walking at the park and drinking coffee together. 3 years ago, Bart and Katie moved out to Berkeley to plant a church and we have kept up with them, visiting from time to time. Eric was offered a job as worship and arts director at the church and after months of praying and talking and agonizing, we are accepting the offer. It has truly been the hardest decision we have ever made. All of our family is in the southeast and it will be so hard to be far away from them, but we really believe this is the direction God is leading us in and we are getting excited about the adventure ahead!
Here are a few details:
We told the kids last week. Emma was sad, but she has perked up since that day. Audrey and Caleb don't really get it...They're excited and Caleb's so excited to play soccer "at California".
Our house went on the market this past weekend (anyone know of someone wanting to buy a house in a great location, with AMAZING neighbors????? Friendly, family oriented,active community) so you can imagine what life is like here keeping the house clean just IN CASE someone wants to look at it!
We'll spend Christmas in Atlanta and then Eric and Bart (and hopefully some friends) will load up a moving truck on Jan 1-2 and then DRIVE out to CA together, pulling our van. The kids and I will stay with my parents until eric gets everything unloaded in Berkeley and flies back to ATL and then our whole family will fly out there together sometime around the middle of January. We'll sell the Expedition, as we only need one car there. Eric will be biking everywhere.
We won't be buying a house there because they are so expensive. the neighborhood we hope to live in is called Rockridge and it's just WONDERFUL. The houses were built in the early 1900's and you can walk everywhere....to the market, library, bookstore, restarants, school, church,coffee shop, etc. It's ideal. But it will be small for our family of 6. We are hoping to be able to rent a house with 4 bedrooms or at least 3 bedrooms with one extra room that would serve as a guest room because we're assuming many of you will be visiting!!!!
I'll put a link here for the church, Christ Church of Berkeley, in case you're interested:
http://www.christchurchberkeley.org/
We love you all and appreciate your prayers for us as we do something we've never done before, trusting God with so much. Also for our families, as this is really hard for them to get used to, as you can imagine.

the perfect afternoon

It's starting to feel like fall in Atlanta. It's Friday afternoon and armed with a cup of coffee, baby monitor, computer, book, blanket AND pillow, I've headed outside during the kids' rest time. I'm sitting in the shade of a tree in our front yard thinking about how perfect an afternoon this is. It doesn't come around often.

a few more

pictures

here are some pictures.......don't really have time to write now, but enjoy the pics!

Has it been this long????

Well, I've been out of the loop. My last post was July 22nd. I had no idea. Since then I've begun homeschooling Emma and Audrey for 2nd and Kindergarten. I think that's been what's kept me from blogging. Here's our daily schedule (on an ideal day....which hardly ever happens)
T/Th: I get to the gym at 6:15 and get home by the time everyone's getting up at 7:30.
They all have some chores to do before breakfast (make bed, get dressed, brush hair and teeth and put away clean clothes)
Breakfast at 8:00 (I try to take a shower while they are doing chores if eric is home and can give Eli a bottle)
We try to all eat breakfast together since dinners together are hit or miss b/c of eric's work schedule. That's when we study the Bible and pray.
On the perfect day, we'll all do a chore immediately after breakfast (unload dishwasher, switch a load of laundry, dustbust under kitchen table, clean toilets, etc.)
Then we sit down for school. In about 2 hours or less I can do writing, math, geography/history and language lessons with Emma. Audrey sticks around for a math lesson and a reading lesson and then she plays or does a "school activity" like art, puzzles, painting, etc. I usually have something for caleb to do like tracing, cut & paste, making letters out of playdoh or something like that and then he plays in the den with special "school toys". Eli plays for a little bit and then goes down for a nap at about 9:30.
Then they play while I make lunch.....then they eat.
More playing while I do housework or work on the computer. From 10:30 or so until about 1:30 is a good time for us to run errands or visit someone or take a field trip.....There is probably only one day a week that we're home all day.
Rest time is at 1:30 or 2. They all have quiet time on their beds for an hour and a half. The girls read for most of the time and caleb plays with legos or star wars guys (eric's old toys) while eli sleeps and I catch up on stuff or read a book or nap (that would be a really perfect day) Often I start dinner during nap time.
Emma reads a TON---probably 3 hours a day or so. I try to get books from the library that reinforce the period in history we're studying or the particular science subject we're studying. Other than that she loves american girl books, books of poetry, fiction and non fiction about anything and everything.
In the afternoons, we often eat pretty early, around 5 or 5:30 so that they can go out and play with the neighborhood kids until bath time, which is around 6:30 or 7. They love riding their bikes in the culdesac and playing in our yard and other kids' yards....the moms are all really great friends of mine so we enjoy being together, too. Sometimes there are like 15 kids all riding around in the cul de sac at once. it's great.
Then bath and bedtime. We try to always read aloud to the kids before bed. Right now we're reading The Trumpet of the Swan.
Mondays are Classical Conversations days. It's a Homeschool "school" once a week where they go into their own classrooms with their own teachers (backpacks, lunchboxes and everything). That's where we get the skeleton of what I'll teach that week. They don't give me exact assignments or lesson plans, but it helps to have a framework. I teach piano lessons on monday afternoons so eric's day off is Monday for now so that he can be with the kids in the afternoon while I teach.
Friday morning is "my" morning and eric is teaching Science to the kids each friday. It's great to have that off of my plate b/c eric really gets into it...he loves science.
So after the kids go to bed, I run around and try to clean things up, fold laundry, do dishes and get ready for school the next day. I generally fall into bed, kicking myself for staying up too late at around 11-12.
Some days are really good. The kids seem to get along, we get a lot of schoolwork done and the girls are really into it....I'm proud of the "teacher" in me. On those days I'm really glad we've made the decision to homeschool because I love the lifestyle and flexiblity. Education is in ALL of life, I truly believe. Even in the cooking, cleaning, making meals for sick friends, visiting grandparents, etc. Those are the kinds of things I'm thankful that my kids are a part of each day. But there are also days I want to quit. When I feel completely unappreciated and like I'm wasting my time....who really wants to clean and pick up toys and fix food for demanding people ALL DAY EVERY DAY?????? Especially when they don't act grateful.....I feel like I don't have time for ME. Me me me. So I find I'm selfish and my kids should be called "Lil sanctifiers" because life with kids is hard. But it's also wonderful.....

new song

Nina introduced me to this music by Sojourn and it is so great.....impressive musicianship, stylistically interesting, thoughtful lyrics, etc.
Here is a song called Lead Us Back from their album, Before the Throne. I've listened to it no less than 15 times in the last 3 days, being brought to tears almost every time.

Falling down upon our knees,
Sharing now in common shame,
We have sought security,
Not the cross that bears Your name.
Fences guard our hearts and homes --
Comfort sings a siren tune.
We're a valley of dry bones;
Lead us back to life in You.

Lord we fall upon our knees,
We have shunned the weak and poor,
Worshipped beauty, courted kings
And the things their gold affords,
Prayed for those we'd like to know --
Favor sings a siren tune.
We've become a talent show;
Lead us back to life in You.

You have caused the blind to see,
We have blinded him again
With our man-made laws and creeds,
Eager, ready to condemn.
Now we plead before Your throne --
Power sings a siren tune.
We've been throwing heavy stones;
Lead us back to life in You.

We're a valley of dry bones
Lead us back to life in You.
We've become a talent show
Lead us back to life in You.
We've been throwing heavy stones
Lead us back to life in You.

.......It's such a powerful song that leads me to repent of my quest for security and comfort, of my desire to have the approval of others, of my judgementalness (if that's a word). I think you should buy their album. :)
http://www.sojournmusic.com/2007/08/06/before-the-throne/#more-34

Patient Mommy

Emma, Audrey and Caleb are all visiting my brother's family in Huntsville. Brandon, Caroline, Nathan, Savannah and Forest. They were SO kind to want to keep them for a couple of days. The kids were excited to hop into their car and go!

So I just have Eli this weekend. Last night Eric and I (and baby) spent the night with my parents and this morning, we strolled around Home Depot Expo (we're going to get tile in our bathroom. Right now there's just CARPET! YUCK) getting some ideas. Well, that was after a stop at Starbucks, of course. My dad goes every Friday morning and hangs out with some friends at the Starbucks by his house. This morning he took Eli and showed him off.

I had this moment while I was feeding Eli lunch at home when I realized how HAPPY and PATIENT I had been all day. I mean, I've been "That Mommy" you overhear cooing to her ONE baby at Target.....I usually overhear "That Mommy" as I'm trying to contain all my youngins at the checkout explaining for the 100th time that we are NOT going to buy that candy and I will take you to the bathroom in a MINUTE and PLEASE be thankful for what you have rather than complaining and whining about what you wish you had and you BETTER stop arguing with each other or ELSE, etc, etc......(then "That Mommy" looks at me with a look that lets me know she never intends on losing control with her beautiful child)

Something about having ONE baby who smiles at me almost constantly and doesn't speak yet makes me a very patient woman. :)
BUT, I've found myself missing my other 3 kiddos today. It's awfully quiet here.

today

Today was.....one of those days. It was a day that wore me out emotionally. I have one child that continually keeps me on my toes because she can be so challenging.....her attitude... wow.

Today I just didn't know how to deal with her. It seemed like all day long, there were hurt feelings, tears, yelling, stomping, hard hearts, unforgiveness, sassy attitudes. She's in a summer camp this week and I had to keep her home this afternoon. She was NOT happy and we delt with that initial reaction to the punishment for about an hour before she finally fell asleep in a lump in the guest room. She woke up better, but by the time it was 6:00, the attitude was back in full-swing. She admitted that she had done something to her sister that APPEARED to be helpful but that she was really doing it to make herself look better and her sister feel sad. She totally understood what she was doing and also admitted that she was-and is- not sorry and doesn't know why she wants to be unkind to her sister.

So how do you force a child to feel remorse? How do you make a little girl have a heart that wants to obey? I know, I know, I can't. So we pray. I have prayed so much today....with the offender, with the offended, by myself, all together.....I know God can penetrate her heart where I can't but I'm honestly scared that he won't. I'm scared about what this will look like in a 15 year old. I'm a little mad at her because it's not fair to me or the rest of my kids for her to be so selfish and just plain mean. We are all beginning to tip toe around her. I suggested to the offended daughter that she go and try to talk to her in a "non-whiney" voice. She didn't want to (and I didn't make her because I knew it was true) because she said she was afraid she would yell right in her face.

I'm going to go get in bed with a glass of wine and watch a movie. (it's Thursday night) So there.
I love love love to get comments and emails, but I'm going to ask that if anyone feels tempted to send me some "tips" on how to fix my daughter or advice about what I may be doing wrong, please refrain. I can't handle it.
night night!
btw....Eli is now sleeping 11 hours straight at night! Yahoooooo!

Visit to Hayesville

This is where Eric's Grandparents live. We love visiting because it's beautiful and a little cooler in the mountains. Very peaceful. They were pleased to meet their newest great-grandchild.

Random pictures

My mother's Day display that Eric and the Kids made.

Cousins: Aidan and Asher's visit

papaw (Eric's grandfather) with Eli

Mamaw (Eric's grandmother) and Eli

Me and Eli at the Baptism

And more.

These were taken at Eli's Baptism. We had the ceremony at the lake at the church after church the first weekend in June. Randy Schlicting, who is Eric's boss baptized the baby. A good friend of ours, Lori Wreyford (memoriesbylori.com) took these pictures. She's great at getting shots that capture the kids' personalities.

there are more!

Look at these eyes. I just can't believe how beautiful he is.
Savannah, my niece, with Emma at Farm Camp at Sweet Grass Dairy
Emma with her favorite baby goat.
Audrey with Curly the huge boy pig.
Caleb with a little chick.

More pictures

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The first one is Eli with Sydney Cook. She's 6 months old and slept in a bassinet across the room from Eli for a couple of months. The Cooks are very special friends of ours.
Next is Stephanie, Eric's sister. She was visiting from Minnesota during the weekend of audrey's ballet recital.
The Cook Family with me, Emma and Eli.
Our whole family at audrey's recital
Eli eating solid food.

It's been a while

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I wish I had more time to write more, but honestly, when I finally have "time" to do it at 10:30 pm, I just can't bring myself to keep my eyes open to get a post written. I'll give you an update of our health status for the last few weeks. While we were at Farm camp, I had "Fifth's Disease" (which is not a big deal for kids, but for adults you basically feel like you have the flu for a couple of weeks....lots of aching joints and headaches) then eric had it the following week along with Strep throat. Caleb had a virus last week with a high fever for a few days and this week Audrey had the virus and yesterday, Emma came down with it. Today, we have no one throwing up and I think they are all on the mend. So we're not really doing anything today, which is kind of nice.
Here are some pictures:
First is Emma after her ballet recital with the grandparents.
Then there's audrey's 5th birthday, a ballerina party
There's Eli in his jumpy seat with sunglasses. He LOVES this seat.
And Audrey, Caleb and Eli playing on the swingset in our backyard
Emma loves to hold eli standing up because she's the only one allowed to. She's pretty proud of herself.

The days are long but the years are short

I can't believe how time has flown. I mean, I feel like this has been the biggest whirlwind!

Now Eli is 7 months and one week old and he's doing amazingly well. He's just begun sitting up by himself. (still unstable, but he can do it) and he's gained 3 whole pounds! Yesterday he was weighed and he was 14 pounds.
Emma's last day of school is tomorrow and we are so excited to have a break from activity. This month -in addition to caring for a new baby-the girls both have or have had ballet recitals (with two different studios, which means 2 different rehearsal schedules), my piano students' recital, my children's choir musical, audrey's had her birthday and party and all of the end of school festivities that go along with having a 1st grader at Perimeter School. We are really wiped out but like I said, we plan to do a lot of sleeping and relaxing this summer.

I have to tell a really funny story....this is about me, not my kids......I've been taking Zyrtec for my allergies but for a couple of days this week, I was really sneezing more than usual even though I had been taking my allergy medicine. And yesterday I woke up with serious stomach troubles....I'll leave it at that. I was beginning to feel sorry for myself for my stomach hurting so much and sneezing constantly.....so I walked up the stairs into our bathroom to take my Zyrtec and when I was about to pop the little pill out of the foil I looked down and read, "Immodium AD"!!!!!!!! Not Zyrtec, but the Immodium that LOOKS much like Zyrtec that had been sitting on our counter b/c we've STILL not unpacked our toiletries from Ethiopia. I guess I just grabbed all those pills and stuffed them in the Zyrtec box......so today I'm starting to feel better, thanks.

People have been asking what life is like with 4 kids....so far (remember he isn't walking yet) it's kind of like I thought it would be or maybe a little easier. When Caleb was born, audrey was 15 months and Emma had turned 3 two weeks before. I attached this picture to give you a visual picture. I specifically remember sitting at northpoint mall in the preschool playground area. I was breastfeeding Caleb on the bench-because it had to be done....what was I going to do, make all the kids sit in the bathroom with me? :) -- at the same time, Audrey toddles off out over toward Aunt Annie's Pretzels or the escalator while Emma pees on the floor. THAT was hard. I thought of that horrible time (which somehow now is funny) today when I was feeding Eli (a bottle, in case you wondered) at Target. The 3 other kids just sort of stood around and drank Horizon vanilla milk until I was done. It was amazing. The hardest thing right now is that he's not sleeping all the way through the night so we're tired...this too will pass. And the extra laundry. Forgot that.

"The days are long, but the years are short."

The Cooks are in Ethiopia

Our friends, Martha and Andy Cook are in Ethiopia RIGHT NOW picking up their 4 month old daughter and trying to speed up the process to get her 2 year old biological brother home.  If you're interested, please check her much more informative blog about adoption, specifically Ethiopian....surrenderingtotheunknown.blogspot.com

Things have been "rocky" -her words- so far in Ethiopia but we are praying their son will be able to miraculously join them on their flight home this coming thursday and not have to be in the orphanage another day.  

home sweet home

So Audrey has been dying to have a little someone to dress up.  She couldn't wait to get this pea in the pod costume on the baby.  She's always saying, "hey mommy, look how cute this is. take a picture!"  

Caleb looks typical in the 3rd picture.  He hardly ever DOESN'T have his face right in the baby's face.  

coming home

Kidist and Alayu manage the Guest House we stayed in. They were amazing people and followers of Christ.  They loved little Eli and were sad to see him go. We'll miss them a lot.  

Here is Eli sleeping on the plane.  They had a little attachment to the seat belt he had to wear during take off and landing.

While we were waiting for our flight in DC, we met the Dean of the College in Awasa, Ethiopia.  This is the city where Eli was born so it was an honor to meet him and have Eli's picture taken with him.  

Our arrival in Atlanta. First picture is with the kids and my mom and dad, Grandmom and Grandpop.

Next one is with Eric's parents also....Granna and Papa.

Emma said today to someone, "We sort of had a little party in the airport."