Success - and a Sigh of Relief!

We went up to Rock Hill yesterday to see the surgeon I mentioned in my last post (we thought that since my mom knew this doctor it would be better than gambling with picking one randomly from telephone phone book here). It was a long afternoon and evening, but Aimee is now finally free of that staple. The surgeon and the nurses were so incredibly patient and gentle that it was a remarkably better experience than any of the three times we went to the urgent care place here. After looking at the staple (which had been turned sideways and thus embedded deeper into Aimee's scalp, curtesey of the first removal attempt - grrrr!), the surgeon recommended applying a topcial numbing cream which had to sit for an hour, then injecting lidocaine so that Aimee would be completely pain-free, and while this whole process took over four hours altogether, it worked! Aimee became very upset when it came time to use the needle, which she insisted on being shown, and she was extremely wary of anyone working behind her, but the doctor was very kind but very firm as he explained what had to be done and what was required of her. My mom, who was especially adamant about not having Aimee held down (bless her!), held Aimee's hands and counted with her to calm her down, and finally Aimee agreed to sit still. She barely felt the shot, and when the procedure began to hurt because of all the work it was taking to get that thing out, she consented to another shot without any fuss at all. Aimee and I talked about everything at bedtime, and we agreed that this procedure went so much better because she was able to trust the surgeon. He was very honest with her (no comments like, "You won't feel anything," or "I'm just looking...", followed by the staple remover), and he never did anything without telling her first. I appreciate this kind of respect, too, and it's a shame that many people feel they can blow children off because it's more convenient. Of course, in this case, if the doctors had respected Aimee's feelings in the first place and had taken the time to work with her, they could have avoided a good deal of trouble. (I wish that I, too, had been a better advocate for my child at the start and not simply assumed that those people were professionals and were doing all they could. Don't I know better?!?!) As it is, we are going to press them very hard for some reimbursement here. They are, predictably, not being very cooperative, and have so far blamed everyone from Aimee to my mom to me, even, for having the baby with me the first time I brought Aimee in. But the saga is over for Aimee anyway - hooray!

How do you type an Angry Face?!

Well, staple-removal attempt #2 didn't go very well, nor did attempt #3 at the doctor's office last night. :-( The NP at the office was, in fact, intolerably rude about the whole thing, and Dave was especially upset about that. He talked to her today, however, and even though she gave him a hard time about the whole episode, she did agree that their office is ultimately responsible for the fact that it will now require a surgeon to remove the staple. (!!!) Fortunately my mom knows a good one that has agreed to help us tomorrow, so hopefully this will all be done soon. So frustrating, though!!

A Thankgsgiving Photo Shoot

A pair of adorable babies! This is Chase with my neice Isabelle. I know I'm biased, but aren't they ridiculously cute? :-)







Sisters.. :-) From left to right, Sarah (mother of Tiernan and Isabelle), Erica ( wish she wasn't so gorgeous - or that I didn't have to pose right next to her!), me (I've had my hair lighter since the summer, but my grandmother thoughtfully asked if I had "brought out the hydrogen peroxide", so it must be time to go darker again!), and Mary K. (the cute newlywed)



The boys - Ryan, Tiernan, and Drew






With my mom

The Other Side of the Moon

...which is where it feels we've been these last two weeks! But here we are at last, and words really fail me. I praise the Lord for this time, and am so thankful for everyone's prayers and encouragement, but I'm also SO glad I don't have to talk about the house anymore!!!!! It was a wild ride to the very last possible minute (and even beyond, I discovered), and I have just gotten past feeling like I still have to look over my shoulder for someone coming to throw a wrench in the works. Ah, we're here, and I do love it. Unfortunately, Dave had to go out of town for a week just a couple days after we moved, and that was truly horrible (yes, I should have asked for some help, and I don't know why I'm so bad at that - I guess I'm out of practice!). The kids were like something off Supernanny, and in fact early in that week, Drew threw something at Aimee while they were fighting and hit the back of her head hard enough to require a trip to the doctor and one staple. Yikes! It was really uncharacteristic of Drew and he was very sorry later. The staple itself has turned into a nightmare, however. Aimee was upset about it having to come out, and trying to get it out at the doctor's office was so traumatic she woke up the next morning with burst blood vessels in one eye and in her face. It had ben an absolutely horrible experience, and while I'm not sure exactly what I should have done, in the week since I have really regretted not having been a better advocate for Aimee, and all the more so when I noticed a couple days later that the staple was still there. There's no way I'm taking her back to that office, but the staple has to come out, so my mom (a nurse) is coming tomorrow to try to remove it. So anyone reading tonight can pray for Aimee and that little staple.
There's just simply too much to say! I could never get it all down, but maybe I'll work on catching up now that we're back online. For now. though, I'm going to retire after a really exhausting day - a virus manifesting fever and aches has taken its turn through the kids, and today was Ryan's day. He's still feverish now and waking right this minute, so I'm off!

Refreshment

Well, we've had some restless moments this week when we all felt like we just wanted to be in a home of our own again, when I have felt like I couldn't stand another minute of uncertainty, or when the the kids have undoubtedly wondered if we are actually ever going to move ("soon" starts to lose its meaning after awhile!) - but I was just thinking tonight how we've really had a restful and refreshing several days here at my Mom's. No boxes, no pointless cleaning, no bored and destructive kids, and no super-stressed-out mommy! We are scheduled (again) to close tomorrow afternoon, and I'll have to deal with the boxes again, although things are a little better on the flip side, so this almost week-long break has been a blessing. The conference over the weekend was great, the time with my mom overall has been wonderful, and today we went to see some very good friends, enjoying a fantastic day with them. Lisa has been a close friend of mine for - dare I say it - almost twenty years, and our children have grown up loving each other as well. Our friendship with their family is almost seamless, so that no matter how many months have passed since the last time we've seen each other, the kids can resume playing as if they had never been parted, and that shows, I think, how close their relationships are on a very deep level. That's a priceless gift, and one that transcends all this silly business about real estate. :-)
So tonight, I do not have an address. (On the other hand, I'm also free of a huge chunk of debt!) Things have been so crazy with this move that I can't say anything for certain, and I'm a little cautious about being too excited over the scheduled closing tomorrow. But I've had bodily rest, some deep soul-rest, and have spent good times with people I love - and my kids, too, have had some carefree days and better sleep. God has been good and has worked out details we didn't know we needed working out, giving us gifts we didn't know we needed, and teaching us how to rest in Him. A good week, and a great God!

Homeless :-)

Last Tuesday we closed on our house in Gray Court house (not without some very interesting twists, though - all that worked in our favor), Friday I left with the kids to bring them up to my Mom's, and last night Dave left with the truck and all the animals, so that chapter in our lives in closed! Because we have not yet closed on the house in Lexington, and indeed have not yet even been cleared to close, that does mean we are quite homeless today, and it's an odd feeling. I'm not sure of God's plan in this, and I confess am a little confused because I had thought all along that He was answering my prayer to be able to ride up to the conference with my friends, which didn't happen. That's a small thing, I know, but there are some bigger problems with this delay, too; namely, that Dave literally had to take all our animals to the at his office last night, and so they are all literally at work with him today! That will only work for a very short time, as anyone could imagine, so we are praying that the Lord will open the final door for our move soon. And we are learning to trust him more completely and to be content in the meantime.