Home Again, Home Again. . . Again

Weeks ago I meant to post and let you all know that we were getting ready to bookend our summer with another roadtrip--this time out to CO for the wedding of D's sister Nicole to her Indian love, Sumeet! We took 2 weeks for the trip, and it was a lot of fun, but over so quickly!

Now we are back home, and the life is quickly setting back in--crashing in, actually.

a) illness. . .
Before the wedding, some of the Indian relations were getting sick, including the groom, who had a mysterious fever for several days but was, thanks for God, fine for the wedding day. After the wedding, various members of the US side of the family started to get sick--no fever, just violent hurling for a night and soreness and lack of appetite for several days after. I got it Mon of last week while we were still in Colorado Springs, staying with my dear friend Susan and her wonderful husband Luke and their delightful girls. D got it this past Sat night, while we were in Chico at his parent's house, where we went after CO to participate in a wedding open house his parents were hosting for all the local friends and church members who have known and supported Nicole in her non-profit work in India. With D sick, we ended up just coming home a few hours earlier and missing the party--but it was the right thing to do, and we enjoyed being in our own beds Sun night. And then last night B got it, poor little yellow-faced girl. (My kids are absolutely adorable when they are sick--they are sweet and quiet and big-eyed and sleep a lot.)

Please pray baby E does not get it!

b) our poor old dog. . .
When we left on our first road trip, we took our dog Macey up to stay with D's parents in Chico (what I call the pampered poochie palace) and ended up leaving her there until after this second road trip, since that just made the most sense. I blogged earlier about the mischief our very tough, rough and tumble dog caused on the way up in June, attacking a little helpless, naked dog that was too fascinating not to try gumming. She did not hurt the dog, but freaked it out so much it had to go on doggie valium for a month.

Fast forward two months: right before D's parents were going to head out for CO for the wedding festivities a couple weeks back, they noticed Macey was not eating much and was not her usual hearty self. So they took her to the vet and the diagnosis was that she was recovering from internal bleeding, but after several vet visits and tests, they could not tell what had caused the bleeding. And since Macey seemed to be eating again and recovering, D's parents left her with their other dog in the care of a neighbor while they (and we) were in CO. But they came back to Chico to find her not at all well, and even called us to warn us about her condition before we saw her. I am glad they did, because once I saw her, completely skin and bones, barely able to stand and walk, laboring to breathe, I realized our dog was dying.

We brought her home with us on Sun night, and I am pleased that she seems to be reviving a little! She has eaten a little (I gave her organic babyfood I had on hand, a turkey dinner someone gave me that I was not planning on giving E) and has even barked at people twice. Since we still don't know what was wrong, we don't know what is going to happen next, but we will give her lots of loving and hope she either improves or doesn't but does not linger long in this state.

c) the catalogue of abominations grows. . .
nothing like coming home to find a gummy red and green puddle dripping from the top of my open shelving in the kitchen to each shelf below and then to the floor. The culprit: old Tootsie Pop lolipops that had absorbed so much moisture they had reverted to technicolor liquid sugar, leaking out of their wrappers, through the wicker basket that holds misc. candy up there on the highest shelf, and on their slow, gravity-driven way. mmmmm.

What surprise will I find next?

d) the rebound behaviour has begun. . .
The girls have been pretty awful--they actually started the poor behavior a few days before the end of the trip. I guess they are finally road-tripped out. Even baby E is crabby and difficult. So this is going to be a GREAT week!

Actually, sarcasm aside, I hope it will be a good week. I want to enjoy the good moments. I want to be busy and efficient but put the kids and their emotional needs first. I want to enjoy my little house even in its all-over-again mess. I want to be a good parent, patient and firm and gentle. "Let your gentleness be evident to all--the LORD is near!" I want to rejoice in each morning and be thankful all day.

The beautiful sun really helped with my heart today! Thank you, God!

Wedding and roadtrip photos and highlights to follow!