One test done, one to go AND CONCERTS

Adrian had her CT scan yesterday. After drinking what seemed like two obnoxiously huge bland milk shakes, she was called back for the scan. The technician tried three times to get the IV in-finally did in her left hand. She has bruises and is a little swollen from the needles, but otherwise she is fine. She goes on the 17th for her colonoscopy.
Tomorrow night is Michal's 5th grade music concert. She and Jake will be singing an assortment of "non-offensive reflections on the current weather". Should be fun.
Thursday night, is the band's winter concert. Adrian hasn't showed us her music, but we know that she has been practicing. (I suspect several neighbors and dog walkers know as well)
We managed to get the first batch of Christmas cards completed today. As always, we each signed every card. This is the first year that Sam has done more than scribble. Seems he has taught himself how to write the letters in his name. Now to get them in the right order.
Those of you familiar with the Sunday at 4:00 game of basketball in Africa, will be happy to know that Jon found a 6-8 PM game on Sunday evenings-indoors. The men at the church we are attending play every other Sunday night during the winter. This is full court ball guys-no easy task for someone who spends most of his time sitting.
The GI doctor will have Adrian's results tomorrow. If you don't hear anything from us, it's because we haven't heard anything from the doctor--and that is probably a really good thing.

Carcinoid

We increased our vocabulary by a word yesterday. Carcinoid. The tumour inside Adrian's appendix was carcinoid. I figure if you are going to get cancer, this is the best way to do it. The best treatment is removal-which ironically happened during the appendectomy. This morning we will book her for further testing (including the ominous colonoscopy) to rule out any further tumours/findings. Once that is done, she is in the all clear.
Weird though, it occurred to me this morning that the next time I fill out a health form for Adrian, I have to mark cancer: yes.

19th

the 19th is the day---Adrian will see the surgeon for follow up, and he will refer her for all additional testing.
YIKES!!

a WHAT?

Adrian's surgeon phoned yesterday to tell us that Adrian's appendix had a tumour in it. He said it is not uncommon, but not rare. (if you figure that one out, please let us know) He said that our GP would be the one to help us organize follow up care with a pediatric gastrointerologist (no, I have no idea how to spell that one) and to expect that more tests would be done, including a colonoscopy.
Jon phoned our GP straight away, and was told that our doctor had left for the day, but they would gather the records and he would call us back today.
This morning, the GP's office called to tell us that the surgeon should assist with the follow up.

Soooo...we will wait until Monday, then call the surgeon and set up the additional tests.

The unpacking is going well. MOPS ladies are showing up by the mini-van and hauling away our dirty laundry. YEAH!!!

Jon has officially hung the first of our paintings. Now to the gazillion more :)

Details

During the waiting today (ironic, though--we are waiting on a lot, and yet we are focused on just today)-the waiting for a call from a trucker to announce the arrival of our shipment--I spent some time catching up on details-
curious isn't it that even though we have a "clean" credit history-that is-no blemishes, we were hit hard with extra fees upon moving back--because a "clean" history isn't the same as a "history". I guess living out of the country meant that we had no activity recorded here. Crazy.

will have to get back to this--Avon Middle School just called-need to pick up Adrian.

Back to School

Adrian is leaving for SCHOOL!!! Jon will drop her off at the school office so they can assign her a book buddy to carry her stuff all day.

We are expecting a call from the trucker this morning to set up our appointment for delivery of our shipment. YEAH!!!

Could be a busy and fun filled day.

Adrian

Adrian is home and eating. Today, she is even sitting up.
Thursday night she complained of a strange stomach ache. Friday morning, we knew something wasn't right when she was awake before 7:00 (her bus comes at 7:20, and she lives with the idea that 7:10 is a good time to get up). I went upstairs to check on her, and couldn't get her out of bed. Jon went up, and managed to get her up and then downstairs. After further assessment, we decided to take her to the ER.
The ER staff ran several tests, including a CT scan and bloodwork. Adrian was labeled a "turnip", because it took 8 tries to get blood out of her. She still looks like a pin cushion. Eventually, she was diagnosed with appendicitis and the search was on to find a surgeon. We farmed out Sam and organized Michal for pick up after school, and I joined Jon and Adrian at the ER. Shortly after I arrived, Adrian and I took an ambulance ride to the hospital that her surgeon was at.
St. John West Shore has a lovely pediatric unit, and Adrian's room was close to the nurses station. Mid-afternoon on 31 October, Adrian had three small holes cut into her stomach and had her appendix removed. By 10 pm, she was drinking sports drinks and eating jello.
Saturday morning, Adrian's doctor released her to go home. WOW-so fast!!
Sooo....Adrian is home, has very few restrictions, and a very good appetite. Her doctor booked her off from school for the week, but also cleared her to return whenever we feel like she can handle it.
It must be noted that Adrian did an awesome job while at the ER and the hospital. She took all the testing in stride (even the 3AM bp test) and did the majority of the question answering. She even spoke up for her self. Well done!!

waiting

Here, we are actually tired from moving into our townhouse, but it also reflects how we feel today: we are waiting.

And so we wait

Today we are waiting for a call announcing the pending arrival of our shipment. Soon, we will be able to open the front door to our townhouse, look inside, and recognize it as home.

I read somewhere recently that we travel with our home--and just sometimes have to find a house to keep everything.

Opa is here right now. I think he is enjoying his last days of "freedom" before his knee surgery next Monday.

Hoping for news on our stuff soon.

It's COLD

It is cold here today. Jon and Michal saw actual snow flakes this morning on the way to the bus stop. I walked Dakota-me in several layers and him in a sweater. (the girls are pushing for doggie booties, but I'm not ready for that yet)
Our shipment has officially landed in New York. As of this morning, we are waiting for it to clear customs, and then start heading this way. We get different stories as we go along, so we are just rolling with it. Once we have a finalized date of arrival, we will be letting local folks know so that we can get some help off-loading. We have two hours before the moving company starts charging us. We also have a campaign started for our laundry. I will be loading up large trash bags and signing them out to people to do the washing for us at home. YEAH!! We are so grateful for willing helpers.
Jon is still hot on the job hunt. He made calls this morning and did more online checking. Right now, he is finishing up some cabinets in the garage. We want to be as ready as possible for when the shipment gets here.
We are starting to "wake up" to all the changes around us. Maybe this was brought on by the cold wind.....

wild wednesday

Started the morning out with paperwork. While Jon is away, I am trying to plow through as much of the missionary related paperwork as I possibly can. I have also been in touch with two of the area Nazarene churches in the hopes of finding one that we can attend while we are in the area.
Sam has just about perfected his living room cartwheels. Adrian is just about finished with a novel she picked up at the library the other day (yes, we have library cards :)). Michal just got up....at 12:30.
Jon phoned, but we had a bad connection. We are still waiting on one more piece of information before we can make a final decision on Dakota. Jon has secured the girls' school records and has gotten more sorting done. It looks like our share of the shipment could be as much as $$5000. Thankfully, we can take it out of deputation.
Michal is in need of a hair cut. If she is motivated enough this afternoon, I might try to get her one. Until then...
I have more paperwork to get to.....

Living in Limbo

Jon arrived safely in Nairobi, and hit the ground running yesterday. By the time he went to bed last night, he had secured two of the three quotes necessary for our shipment, sorted out the payment of said shipment, purchased his return flight tickets, ironed out more details about Dakota, made a plan for today and sorted most of the house. He isn't doing this alone-apparently, the entire office staff is helping as much as they can. Edith is particularly upset. I don't blame her-we have been her family's sole source of income for the last two years.
The kids and I have been hanging out...well, the kids have been hanging out. I spent yesterday working on the housing hunt-came up with a few possibilities for Jon to consider. Today has been mostly following up on some small details, and tomorrow will be necessary paperwork. Yuck.
Jon is due to arrive this Sunday afternoon--and we will hopefully be able to finish off the housing/schooling work.
Now to find a job.

birthdays

Last night we had THREE birthday cakes. One for Michal whose birthday is Friday, once for Adrian who keeps threatening to have a birthday, but we want her to stay 12, and one for Sam-just because. It was good to be with family and to share some good times. It was also a little weird since we didn't have the pressure of needing to pack things up or the nagging feeling that this party would have to last two years. We'll be separated by about 7 hours after this week-but hey-that is a lot shorter than what it has been.

CAR

We have a car. For free.

normal people

It occurred to me last night that as of midnight, we are no longer missionaries. We stayed up to watch Letterman (something we don't usually do-and of course I slept through most of it), and as I went to bed I knew that we were fully released. I woke up this morning thinking-hey, I am a normal person once again. After nine years of being "ON"-I can go to Meijer this morning with my hair messed up, I don't have to feel like I have to smile at everyone--and best of all--I can finally get my nose pierced. (mom-offer still stands to get the buttons done)

candles and shower gel

Today we are off to visit Jon's folks for a few days. I will attend the Women of Faith conference and we will be in Anderson for the weekend-but the rest of the time, we will be in Rossville. Next week, I will head back to Cleveland with the kids-and a van load of stuff that we had set aside to take back to Nairobi. Two years of shower gel and scented candles. We don't have a place of our own, but at least everything will smell nice.

Monday Madness

Yes, on Monday it was madness around here. Phone calls flying back and forth between Cleveland and Kansas City. And finally, it was done.

We are not returning to Kenya. Not now at least. Instead, we will take time to take care of some family concerns. For the time being, we plan to stay in the Cleveland area. Jon would really like to move to Syracuse by May to begin working on his master's degree.

Sooo, instead of the packing and goodbyes that I had written in the daily planner for this week and next, we are jobless, homeless, carless.....and at peace.