My Favorite Verona Photos

Heartbroken

Twelve years ago, we drove to an animal shelter in the sticks of North Carolina and paid $10 for a puppy. We had been married one month, and we were starry eyed young newlyweds. When we first saw Verona, she was the size of a kitten and four weeks old. We picked her because she was eating solid food. I was glad to get her out of that dirty animal shelter. Cats were roaming everywhere, and the animal worker had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he gave her deworming medicine. I only learned later that she never should have been seperated from her mother at such a young age. I remember tucking her into my overalls to cuddle her on the way home, and I put a ticking clock in one of my coats for her to sleep with at night. We quickly learned responsibility and also all the ways a puppy can damage an apartment and everything in it. I don't remember all the things that were ruined, but I do remember getting really good at spackling and hiding damage. Verona quickly grew into a giant. Her mother was a black labrador, but we soon began to suspect that her father was a rottweiler. We told people doberman lab mix, so they wouldn't be scared of her. She was such a sweet, timid, obedient dog, and she didn't deserve to be thought of as a rottweiler. She was my constant companion, and for the six months that my husband was away on float, she was my only companion. She was very good company on the twelve hour car trips to and from Florida to visit my family. She was like our only child, but after five years, we had our first real child, then a second, and a third. Verona would let those kids do anything to her and she would still follow them around. I think it was because of all the food they dropped off the table at mealtimes. She has been with us in the five houses we have lived in together. She has been there for all the remodeling that we did ourselves. She has been there during the stress of my second child's health problems. There is not a memory of our marriage that she is not a part of. She is in all the Christmas and birthday photos, laying in the background as the presents are opened. So yeah, she's twelve years old, and she had some joint problems. But, up until two months ago, she still used the stairs twice a day or more, and she still had a full set of healthy teeth. So why shouldn't she be around for another five years? I don't know. She had a stroke in October, and that was my first shock. She changed overnight, and we thought she would have to be put to sleep. She slowly came out of it, and she seemed to be herself again. There have been signs though, that all was not well. Sure, she was right there every night while I made dinner, waiting for me to drop something, and she was under the table during every meal to clean up the kids clumsiness. She was still going upstairs every night, up until Friday. That was when she had another stroke, and it was like she just gave up. By the time Isaac brought her in today, she couldn't walk, and she was barely coherent. Now she is gone. I know nobody besides us will shed a tear, and with the exception of my mom, nobody will really care, but that crooked eyed mutt was the most loyal and loving dog that ever lived. I am heartbroken. Her absence is louder than anything tonight. I keep noticing something missing. Her food bowl, her glucosimine pills that she should have about now, her dark, furry body in the middle of the floor waiting to trip me in the middle of the night. A piece of me.

Am I a Dork?

I don't really get much free time, and then it's usually at night when everyone is asleep. What do normal people do with their free time? Do they blog more or do they -
- watch the New Moon trailer multiple times when they're feeling down (watch it on Hulu!)?
- practice twists and braids on their daughter's My Little Pony because they're still waiting for lovely African hair to style for real?
- read Us Weekly cover to cover while curling their lip in disgust and/or gleeful derision?
- skip exercise because going up and down stairs ten times a day and lifting/carrying a 27 pound toddler already counts?
- sacrifice sleep to keep reading a good book (current sleep stealer: An Accomplished Woman)?
- compose angry letters to editors/congressman in their heads, but never get around to actually writing them?
- look for things on ebay that they have no intention of buying?
- watch stupid videos on youtube like Christopher Walken reciting Lady Gaga (my husband, not me)?
- procrastinate doing things like bills, laundry, shower in favor of puttering on the computer or reading (Mom, I know you know what I'm talkin' about)?
- do devotions on a very sporadic schedule?
Okay, that last one's not dorky so much as lazy.
Sometimes I feel like Hugh Grant in About A Boy, measuring out my activities by time units.
Although, he had a LOT more free time than me.

13+ Months Waiting...

Our agency officially upped the waiting times today. They have been telling families 12-18 months for a while now, but at this point most families have been waiting 17+ months. They are currently giving referrals to families waiting since June, 2008. They are now quoting 16-24 months. I saw it coming, but it is horrible to see for real. I'm peeved today, but hopefully we will be on the shorter end since we have already been waiting this long. Theoretically, 24 months would apply to families that submitted dossiers more recently. Theoretically...

One Year Waiting...

Yes, we celebrated our our one year waitiversary. We went to see Zombieland, which seemed appropriate somehow. It is so out of character for me too, the last scary movie I saw in theatres was Scream (the first one). Embarrassing right? but Zombieland wasn't scary, so much as over the top silly and really funny.
We did get our homestudy update in the mail and we went and got re-fingerprinted this month. Everyone asks about that, and I still can't answer why. I don't think our fingerprints changed in the last fifteen months, so I don't know why they can't just use our original fingerprints and check them through the FBI again. But there is no finding sense in the government's workings. If anyone has a good reason for it, please enlighten us.
They are still working on dossiers from May 08 and a couple in June 08, so we're looking at at least four months probably more like six... Ick.

Amazon Free MP3 Downloads

I love Amazon's free MP3 downloads. They send me an email every now and then with new ones, but I only get to go through them every few months. So I spent a few hours listening to snippets and downloading oodles of music by bands I have never heard of. Here are some of the best (I think):
Eternal Baroque by Various Artists (whole album is free!)
Boom by Anjulie
We Should Fight by Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
Rat Race by the Hundreds and Thousands
Animal by Miike Snow
the Sounds of Soweto by the Soweto Gospel Choir (whole album! highly recommend!)
Ancestors by Throw Me the Statue
Lille by Lisa Hannigan
100 best Digital Sampler by Various Artists (classical whole album)
Here are some more full albums that were free, but I chose to delete a few songs I didn't like:
Barsuk Records 2009 by Various Artists
Be On the Lookout! (Lookout Records) by Various Artists
Sargent House Sampler by Various Artists
I'm not very good at describing music, but I tend to go toward alternative, indie, with a bit of punk. And my tastes are varied, so I have no idea if your taste will agree with mine. But I gurantee you'll have fun sifting through music samples :)

11 Months Waiting...

Well, courts are closed right now until October 5, so things are a bit quiet. Boring, really. We are waiting for our finished homestudy, and re-fingerprinting appointments. And that's about it.

Oh, and our house hasn't sold...

10 Months Waiting...

Has it been 10 months? Am I losing count yet?
Boy, that means we are definitely more than halfway there. I think.
So, what news? We met with our social worker to do our homestudy update. We still have to get a couple updated forms, then it should be complete (I'm hoping by the end of August/beginning of September). Then we get to redo our fingerprints downtown. Yay!
Ethiopian courts stayed open longer than usual, but it looks like they will be taking the annual rainy season vacation sometime between Aug. 22 to Oct. 6. We're not sure how that will affect the wait.
Should we start taking guesses on when we'll get a referral? Or should I wait to our 1 year anniversary for that? Suggestions? Right now, I'm guessing between Christmas and Valentines Day. But I think, at some point, I would like to get everyones guesses for the exact day that we'll get the call, and maybe I will come up with a prize for the one who guesses closest. Yes, I think I might just do that.

Spinster House

I have often made the comparison of selling a house to courtship. You gussy it up with paint and elbow grease, then you put it out there on the market hoping for the phone to ring. When a walk through comes, it's like the first date. Sometimes you do all that cleaning/prettying up and they stand you up. Sometimes they show up early when you're not ready. And then you wonder if they liked you enough to call back for a second date. Well, our house is becoming an old maid. Nobody wants a second date much less an engagement. In fact, we haven't had a call in three weeks. I find myself cleaning things up in expectation and I keep thinking "wishful makeup-ing" (Pretty in Pink reference for the John Hughes fans out there). I can find no logical reason for our loser status. Our house is one of the newest in the neighborhood, and one of the cheapest per square foot. Sometimes it feels like God has made it invisible.

I find myself constantly asking Him why?? What is His purpose? I like having things figured out in my head. I have a very hard time going day by day trying to discern His will when it is completely unclear. God seems to know that about me, and I think He likes me to be uncomfortable sometimes. Don't you find that is when you are on your knees and talking to God the most? If nothing else, I will say that my walk with Christ has changed in the last couple months. I've gone from fasting from chocolate or soda or whatever to being on my knees and crying in prayer to a more consistent morning and night devotion and prayer. I find my priorities and personality changing a little too. I've never heard a booming God voice in my head telling me what I was supposed to do, and I've often wondered if that really happens (or if I just can't hear it). Even when I was dating my husband and I knew I was supposed to marry him, there was no voice, I just knew.

I'm reminded of a few years ago when my husband was working and living hunreds of miles away and I was taking care of two toddlers with a house up for sale all by my lonesome. It went on for four months, and we kept praying for wisdom, clarity, guidance. What were we supposed to be doing? But I couldn't hear anything. Don't get me wrong, I felt peace when I really needed it, but He never gave us a neon sign or an answer of why. Then two months after hubby came home and we decided to stay put, everything came together perfectly... for a totally different job, different state. It made sense then even though it hadn't when we were going through it.

Oh yes, God is stretching me. I'm hoping that it will all lead to our house selling, and us finding the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood (closer to everything). But either way, I think I've matured a little more this year. I don't want to be a waiter, waiting for the house to sell, waiting for a referral, waiting to pick her up, waiting, waiting, waiting... Everyday must count because we don't know what tomorrow holds. Sorry to get all schmaltzy and philosophical, but I needed to just talk that out. I know it's just a house, but it's gotten to the point of frustration.

Give Away Day Winnings

Here is my much delayed post about all the cool stuff I won from the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. I just recieved the last item this week (I guess she was much delayed also :). Let this be a lesson to you, if you neglect house cleaning and cooking dinner for a few days and devote yourself fully to entering oodles of blog giveaways, you too could be just as lucky as me. I was extremely surprised by all contests I won, and I made sure to share with my family, children and friends.

So, in photo #1, we have a Surfing Nelephant from Danger Kitty Designs, underneath that is a heavenly smelling tropical soap set from The Nadalet Family, and the adorable little red bag is from Mackville Road.

In photo #2, I put my 20 year old pincushion next to the beautiful cupcake that I won from Hillary at Designing Happy (she also included that lovely fabric scrap). I am still going to keep my old pincushion. Child #1 is very excited to be able to start using it.

In photo #3, cupcakes were the charm this year, and my cupcakes actually came on my birthday. How cool is that? This is my lovely personalized apron and cupcake clippies from Julee at Green(ish) Mama. I love this apron and I keep it hanging in my kitchen. My daughter wore the clippies on her birthday four days after mine!

And lastly, in photo #4, a super soft pair of wash mitts and goats milk soap from Breezy Babies. Seriously, I just kept closing my eyes and rubbing my cheek against the mitt. I cannot recommend the goats milk soap enough, it's fabulous!

9 Months Waiting

I have been busy busy busy lately. Relatives visiting, summer camps, and occasional walk-throughs. I'm feeling happy this week because Ethiopia just announced they will be leaving courts open longer this year. See, usually Ethiopian courts close for about two months every year during the rainy season (August-September). It has been confirmed that they will be staying open through August, not sure about September yet. It is great news for anyone waiting and anyone in the process. I just feel bad for the judges because they won't be getting the normal vacation time this year. We will be updating our homestudy this month, whether we move or not. So there you have it.

Took the words right out of my mouth

This article was written by one of the ladies on my adoption agency's forum about the Madonna adoption fiasco, and it says everything I wish people knew about our decision to adopt from Africa. She says it all so eloquently, and well, just read the article...

8 Months Waiting...

We will probably have to do a homestudy update soon, but we are just waiting to see if we will be moving or not. I'm not sure we will have a clear answer on that anytime soon.
So, the families that are recieving referrals right now have been waiting an average of 14 months. Which means that theoretically we are halfway there. In theory.
Not much else to report with that.
I'll post soon about what I won in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. I actually got a cupcake in the mail on my birthday! I could not eat it though. Stay tuned :)

Give Away Days!

It is time once again for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, (most sites will let you enter until May 31. They have divided it into Knitting/Sewing and Handcrafted. Nicely organized! Yeesh, I may just have to give something away myself next time.
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/

Sneezerville is offering two great giveaways, one for knitters and one for sewers.
(And I am really hoping for the sewers!)

I am absolutely loving the Heather Ross fabrics that Sugared Limes is giving away!

And you can put it all in this sewing basket on Why Not Sew? (unless you're not the winner)

The Stitchin Chicken is offering a hand made basket full of goodies!

I think my kindred spirit is residing over at See Mommy Sew, though she obviously gets more sewing done than me :)

Here's a different type of giveaway, it is a camera strap cover and she makes them in all sorts of beautiful colors. If you win, you pick the color. (from the Benner Daily)

Baby #3 and Me

I finished reading Marley and Me, a very funny, sad book about a rather sweet, stupid dog. The author called him the world's worst dog because of all the stuff he got into and destroyed. It dawned on me today that I have the baby equivilant to that dog. Technically she isn't quite a baby anymore, she'll soon be two. Keep in mind that she is my third (following two very active boys) and I am in awe of her ability to change order to chaos no matter where she is. I will give you today as an example. It was a typical day, except that I am totally congested from what I think is not the swine flu. The only safe time is when she is strapped into the highchair for meals, so breakfast was okay. I let her down, and when I turned my back to put dishes in the sink, she had climbed from the floor to the chair to the table where she commenced hunting down any food or beverages still left by her careless brothers. I removed her from the table and cleared any temptations to the sink. I seemed to have overlooked a cup, and she has poured it on the floor. This is why I only let them drink water, with ice if I'm feeling crazy. This is also why I have developed a habit of eating and drinking at the counter, I don't like to share. She also tried to climb in the dishwasher while I was loading it but that's standard. We got a bit of schooling done while she emptied a cupboard of "acceptable playthings" (plastic cups, aprons, placemats, etc.), but then I heard dog food hitting the floor. Who left the pantry door open?? She was very sad when I took the scoop away from her and put the pile of food back in the giant tub. But she consoled herself by pulling the books out of the bookcase and removing the dust jackets. I later find lovely pencil drawings on the kitchen tile, not sure when or how she fit that in. We went upstairs and I tried to clean up the bathroom a bit. I came across some nail polish that was old - in point of fact, all my nail polish is old because I only use it twice a year - and I felt a need to try it out. I painted one nail perfectly while she watched, then out of nowhere she mugged me. The bottle flew into the air leaving a lovely mauve trail as it went, POOM onto the carpet. I spent the next half hour scrubbing it out with nail polish remover, while she and her brothers fought over cotton balls. I don't see a spot and thankfully the light in that room is dim, so don't tell my husband about it, okay? If you see me at church with only my thumbnail painted, now you know why. I also got a bit of laundry done and tried to check my email. The latter was a mistake, I had my eyes on the monitor for thirty seconds too long. She had removed the knotted and sealed diaper trash bag from the laundry room and ripped it open. She had then removed a diaper and undid my fastidiously neat diaper burrito to ascertain the contents. That is when I saw her with her left hand holding the offensive diaper while her right finger pointed towards the mess inside, and she seemed to be deciding whether to touch it. Wasn't smelling it enough? Ewww. I grabbed it away and whisked her to the bathroom sink, where I washed her with soap until I was satisfied with her cleanliness. She really loved that, after all water is FUN! Naptime! As usual, she tried to eat the diaper cream while I changed her. Does she have no taste buds?? Here is a partial list of what I have caught her eating - lotion, cream, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, play doh, diaper wipes, dog food, dog biscuits, mascara, lip balm, vegetables, and paper. Yes, I know vegetables are okay, but she eats anything I feed her. But she also loves chocolate, so I find that confusing. Daddy got home before naptime was over. I confess that I usually wait until my backup is home, before getting her out of the crib. She definitely tones it down when there is more than one set of parental eyes. The worst she does for him is going up and down the stairs over and over. And also drinking out of the dog's water bowl. Sometimes she dips her hands in it, and sometimes she is tidy and uses a spoon.

7 Months Waiting

What do I have to blog about? I have disappeared because my husband is still doing obscene amounts of overtime (obviously I am grateful for this, but I'm tired too), nothing new has happened (two walkthroughs in two months), and I'm kind of depressed with the news coming out of Ethiopia right now. Things are tumultuous, and some newer, smaller agencies have been doing some despicable things, if rumors are true. Our wait is now looking more like 14-18 months for a referral, but at least, I can be assured that we used a reputable, ethical agency. That is what I keep repeating to myself over and over.

Our new super computer is becoming a bigger headache than the old one. We have had it for a few weeks and I have become adept at playing technical support russian roulette. I find the technicians on the west coast are the most helpful, but two out of three of my calls go to somewhere in eastern Asia. My computer periodically locks up and shuts down while I am in the middle of something, usually about four or five times a day. Despite at least a dozen hours spent on the phone with hp, I have yet to get my problem fixed. I finally told them I want to have it replaced with a properly working one. The downfall is that they have to recieve it back before they build the new one. Does that seem odd? Because I kind of feel like they should be making amends and apologizing for their faulty pc, but I am the one being seriously inconvienced. Hmph. As a result, I still don't have photos uploaded yet, therefore no fun, non-identifying photos to share with you today.

5 Months Waiting...

5+ months waiting and I have disappeared from blogging.
It is because:
a) The house is for sale, so I spend all day cleaning. Ironically, there hasn't been a walkthrough yet.
b) Poor hubby gets up at 4 am and doesn't get home until 6 pm. So I spend all day watching the kids, then he gets 2-3 hours before bed to eat dinner and spend time with us. Oh, and sometimes he works on the weekend. (I am not complaining, I am thankful for the job and the steady paycheck, especially considering what some friends are going through right now.)
c) I am exhausted, tired, frayed, and occasionally on the verge.
d) I have NO time...
I will be back someday, perhaps even to show you proof that you CAN get a speeding ticket for going 6 miles over the limit. Or with similarly ridiculous/happy/crazy/sad/disappointing/exciting news. We shall see.
Oh, and my computer crashed a few weeks ago, resulting in a complete recovery needing to be done, but I lost all my bookmarked blogs and pages. If you have a blog that you do not see listed under my blog list, please comment with it or send me an email. I am still missing some...

4 Months Waiting

We have been waiting for a referral for four months, and we anticipate another eight to nine months before recieving one. I am actually okay with that right now because of all the other stuff going on. It is actually perfect timing for a job change, this will give us plenty of time to get resettled before we bring her home. So that's the status of our adoption right now, not much to report. Dear Mr. S_ is excited because a move south means we will be much closer to the Ethiopian restaurant that we like and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that we haven't gotten to visit yet.

What is new this week in my life?

What isn't?


After a hellish week of car shopping, (sometimes with three cranky kids, and sometimes without) we bought a car. We went through the gamut of possibly getting a newer car that we would have to slowly pay off or getting a really cheap older car for my dear Mr. S_ just to drive to work. We ended up somewhere in the middle with a minivan that is exactly like our beloved brown Sienna, except this one is newer and a different color. We traveled to northeast, northwest and north of Houston, including some hardworking Hispanic gentle mans houses, seedy used car lots, overpriced Fred Haas' shiny car lot, and a sweet old gentleman's lonely, little car lot out in Cleveland. We ended up at a dealership in Conroe. We were out of time and needed to get back and pay the babysitter. I was out of patience, so I gave them my ridiculously low bottom line and stuck to it. Later, I went home and checked the KBB price for that model, year and mileage and we ended up paying a price right between average trade in and average private party sale :) I got it for $1500 below average dealer retail. So that made my day. Plus, the assurance that we were DONE car shopping.
Within a day of buying the new car, we got the Crapavan sold. It was sad to say goodbye to our trusty transportation of nine years, but it was comforting to know that it will see another life as a taxi in the Woodlands. At least that is what I was told. And it put a little bit of much needed cash into our accounts. good bye old friend.

Negotiations for the new job started on Monday, and they were never very encouraging. They really wanted Mr. S_ to work there, but their payment methods are similar to government. So they can't compete with the private sector for starting pay. However, it is a prestigious and exclusive set of men that get to work at this company. All I can tell you is that he is going to get to work on stuff that no one else gets to work on, seriously only like eleven other guys. In the long run we are going to be doing better because he will have guaranteed forty hour weeks, guaranteed overtime, perks, perks, perks, bonuses, and from what everyone tells me, job security. I am so proud of him. He was made for this. He is such a hard worker and so good at what he does, so it's wonderful to see him get a position worthy of him. Shh, he is far too modest to let me say these things about him, but the proof is in the pudding. Whatever that means.


It is starting to sink in that we will probably have to move though. It is a 90 minute drive each way for him, so.... decisions will have to be made. I know we will have to move, and I know we will have to sell the house. That's actually not the worst part. The worst part is leaving a community that I actually feel like I fit into. I have only been here two years, but in the many years we lived in Florida, I never felt like I fit in. I love our church. I love our homeschool group. I love our Cub Scouts pack. I love our pediatrician, dentist, pest control guy, and library. I'm not so keen on our vet however. I have finally made lots of friends. I am actually starting to get scared about starting over again. What if it's like Florida again and I can't find my niche? What if I can't find any kindred spirits? I am thankful that our church family and friends will still be within an hour's drive at least. It's not like we're moving to Iowa. I feel mean for uprooting Child #1 again now that he has made such good friends. What are the choices? What is God's will for our lives? Are we following it? Yeesh, too many big things happening right now. It is making my brain hurt.

Definitely a beginning of something...and an ending

Today was a beginning. It was one of those days that your whole world shifts. After a frenzy of sending an amazing resume to 20-30 places in the last two weeks, everything from dream jobs to worst case scenario jobs, my husband heard back from one place. Granted it was the one place that made me jump when I heard the message. I called hubby and screamed at him, ______ wants you to come in for an interview. He had to pull off to the side of the road so he could concentrate on his phone call. He had his interview today. I do not think I have ever seen him so nervous about an interview. I mean, he always gets nervous, but this was crazy nervous. Then I realized, I was just as bad. I've had stomach problems for three days, trouble sleeping and crazy stress dreams. We had this interview covered in prayer and decided that whatever God wanted for us was fine, we just wanted it to be obvious. I am so grateful to my church family and my neighbors for their prayers! I am elated to tell you that they want to hire him. He was told that an offer letter will be coming in the next week or two. I still can't tell you where he will be going, but it is a once in a lifetime job. (And mom, you are not aloud to spill the beans.) It is not a job that he is taking for financial reasons however. So let those clues sit with you while you try to figure it out. Once everything is decided, I will try to share more. BUT this is an amazing blessing, and from the timing of everything, one that God had him uniquely positioned for. We are full of thanksgiving today. The next few weeks and months are going to be difficult, but He is faithful and awesome!

And as I also mentioned today brought an ending, our love/hate relationship with the Crapavan has entered the final days. It came without warning and without cause. Halfway down Stuebner Airline Rd the Crapavan had a stroke and dropped the transmission, it lost third gear and the ability to shift. It worked hard to make it home in the throes of death with very loud engine wheezing, and idling at stops at 4000 rpm. I think it took a quarter tank of gas to go 15 miles to our house. We are grateful that we were able to get it to our home and did not have to abandon it on the side of a cold and lonely road. However, I am saddened that I will finally be forced to face the seventh layer of hell again - used car shopping. Sweet hubby is going to try a last ditch effort tomorrow to see if the Crapavan is faking it. He is going to see if he can reset the computer and trick it into working again. Oddly enough, this is not unheard of. I am praying this will be the solution and I will have a repreive from the auto dealers.

So it begins...or ends...or something.

This week started out really good, but it has ended up sucking. After months of rumors, poor husband's company has finally started doing more than just asking employees to conserve office supplies and electricity. All hourly employees have been cut down to 32 hour work weeks. It is temporary (in theory), but no word on how long. This makes my chest feel heavy when I think about it. I knew God was preparing us for something because I have been able to save money so easily for a couple of months now, but all the same... We are going to try to make that extra day off really count, and I will probably make it unofficial resale day. A day where husband does home school, and I list on Ebay or Woodlands Online. I have never had a month where I made the amount that we will be losing though. We have figured out that if we just stay home, we won't spend money. So we'll see how that goes. I think the next month or two will really let me see how this will work. I suspect it will be rather uncomfortable and vaguely unpleasant, but not nearly as bad as being laid off!

Adoption Progress Report - 3 Months Waiting

We have now been on the official waiting list for our agency for just over three months. If things continue on as they have been, then we have about another nine months of waiting until we get a referral/match. It can be difficult sometimes to be patient when people with other agencies get referrals after only weeks of waiting, but I continue to be thankful that we chose a proven and ethical agency. I am also thankful that the three months of waiting that we have had so far have flown by. It is hard to be patient, but I am glad for the time for the kids to grow a little, for us to save more money, and for me to get more reading in :)

Christmas Vacay

Multiple Choice - which of these do you not want to happen to you when you travel a few hundred miles to visit family?

A. Come down with a relentless, high fever for the entire duration of the vacation that causes delirium and confines you to the couch. Oh, and it doesn't respond to Tylonel.

B. On the night of your arrival, have the entire family find out that one of the family members has a serious terminal illness.

C. On your second day there, sudden, unexpected death strikes down a distant young relative living just two doors down.

D. All of the above.

For me, the answer was D. It was a very bizarre trip, but oddly, it was still enjoyable. I apologized to them for getting sick, and they apologized to us for all the bad timing of events. It was a bit of a relief to get home, and of course, that is when the fever finally went away. God is sovereign and His will is perfect. Even when it doesn't make any sense. Hopefully, our next visit will be slightly less eventful.