Catch Up

Put your running shoes on people - that pretty much sums up the last 4 months.  I will attempt to hit the highlights here.

ER, cousins, and beach time

Wednesday, July 23 - 28 

Caroline  stayed home with her first non-family babysitter (Mrs. Rhonda House) because of a fever while I worked half a day at ETBU - one of my last days there.  That afternoon Caroline was diagnosed with double ear infections. We were scheduled to leave town to drive to Dothan, AL and meet cousin Hunter that evening.  We decided to keep our plans but get a hotel in Dothan as to limit C and H's interaction while she recovered.  While Daddy was at orchestra practice Caroline spiked a fever over 106. After a few panicked phone calls to Aunt Julie and Daddy, I rushed her to the ER.  Daddy arrived at the same time.  Rectal temp in the ER was 104.8.  Doctors were concerned about possible UTI or pneumonia.  After a big dose of Motrin, a urine sample, and a chest x-ray she was cleared of any further concerns.  We went home with a much less lethargic but were ourselves too weary from the events to try to pack up and drive across the southern US.
Thursday morning we did pack up and head out for our >10 hour adventure.  We tried to stop and take some fun breaks along the way to break up the drive.  Our first stop was in Ruston at Julie and Zach's.  We left the dog with them and C got to have some cuddles with Aunt Jules.
Next we searched out The Tomato Place in Vicksburg, MS.  Will and I stumbled on this hole in the wall roadside vegetable stand/restaurant while on a day date to Vicksburg about 5 years before when we lived in Jackson, MS.  The memories that we have from that day seem so mystical and dreamlike that we wondered if the place really existed or if it had somehow appeared on the side of the highway that day just for us. Well, it does in fact exist and Will contends that they have one of the best BLTs around.  The next stop on the food tour portion of our trip was for hot tamales.  With hours still left in our drive, I declined so I was 0-2, but I was holding out for the really good stuff.  Meanwhile, C was starting to experience what we believed to be more ear pain.  First-time mom, me, had turned down the Rx for numbing drops offered in the doctor's office on Wed.  So we then entered into what seemed to be a "Whose on first, what's on second" dialogue with our doctor in Longview, whose office is miles from a Walgreens on Highway 80, but we didn't need our prescription in Longview, we needed our meds at the Walgreens on Highway 80 in Clinton, MS.  Talk about confusing.  Amazingly enough the drops were ready and waiting when we arrived.
On to Jackson, I finally got my portion of our food tour - Keifer's - for a Gyro, cottage fries and feta cheese sauce.
I must have been in a food coma after that or suffering from the mind numbing sameness of I-20, because I don't remember much after that.  We finally made it to our hotel in Dothan around 9 that night.  Albuterol + 13 hours in the car, C didn't give in to sleep until 11.
Friday morning, no more fever, so we all went over to see Amy, Nick, and Hunter.  Caroline was a little curious about the baby, especially when I was holding him, but for the most part she ignored him.  We went to lunch, took a tour of Amy and Nick's church, ran some errands, and went back for dinner and Wii games.
That night Will experienced one of his most embarrassing moments upon walking into the hotel lobby and dropping an unopened glass bottle of Cheerwine all over the floor.  After helping clean that up a lady came in with a stack of food take out containers.  She was having some trouble, Will offered to help, and due to mis-communication half the dinners ended up on the floor.  Funny now.  Not proud moments then.  :)
We visited Hunter again on Saturday until about lunch before leaving to make our way to the beach.
In planning this trip I insisted that be part of our itinerary.  I hadn't been in soo long, and given the distance, I didn't know when we would get another chance.
We found a decent place at the Sugar Sands complex in Orange Beach.  We arrived in enough time to get in our first beach experience that evening.  Caroline surprised me by not minding the sand too much - as long as she was seated.  Walking in it was less acceptable.  The same was true for the water.  Seated on a lap, she didn't mind the waves coming up on her legs, but she wasn't ready to venture much more.
We spent most of Sunday at the pool or beach as well.  We bought a shelter while in Dothan to create a little play space for C, but it was a red flag day and we could not keep the wind from blowing it down.  We are completely windblown in all of our pictures.
Monday morning we packed up early to return home.
While the trip had a rough start, it ended very well, and I am so glad we decided to press on and go.

Friday, August 1

Julie came over to go to the Great East Texas Balloon Race and Glow with us.  Unfortunately, it rained, but we made the best of it.

A Lot of New

Monday, August 4

I started my new job in Children's Ministry at our church!  Praise the Lord for this opportunity.  Thrilled to finally get to work in this area, at this church, for such a time as this.  Also extremely grateful to put the daily commute to Marshall behind me and get to be with my baby girl a little more.  This adjustment has not been without its difficulties and not all expectations have been met.  Our family of 3 has never been on a weekday schedule that involves us all getting up and going together.  That routine is hard to create out of thin air, especially when schedules are pretty loose.  The job itself also holds a big learning curve.  Will says I am more stressed in this job, but I feel much more peace and happiness than I have in a while when it comes to the work I do during the day.  There will always be good and bad.

Tuesday, August 26

Will taught his first class as Adjunct Professor at ETBU.  He is teaching music history to 4 upperclassman and he loves it - eats it up.  I am so pleased that he is getting to explore this side of his ministry and career.
Very proud wife.  And yes, I left ETBU to be in Longview with him, only for him to drive to Marshall twice a week during lunch.  Oh, well.

September 14-21

Lollie came to visit and spoil C for a solid week.  They went shopping, ate at Chick-fil-a, visited Mommy and Daddy at work, went to the Splash Park, painted canvases....and more.

September 20-21

As if Will being in school and teaching school, and me having a new job wasn't enough, I have also returned to school.  A series of events over about the last year - since C's birth, led me to believe more strongly that I needed to take a step of faith and pursue something that I had wanted for awhile.  When the Lord led me to discover a certificate program in Childhood and Weekday Education at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth that was taught on the weekends I stepped.
While Lollie cared for C in Longview, Will and I went to Fort Worth for my first weekend of class.  The class is on Administration of Childhood and Weekday Education Programs.  It is scary to be a student again, and a married-parent student at that, but the Lord orchestrated this to occur even before I was aware of the new job.  This is no praise for me, but I do feel that I am reaping a reward for faithfulness.

October 

Consisted of another class weekend - had to go it alone and sleep in a dorm room with a roommate (!) this time, a very involved film shoot for Christmas that kept Will away for several weeks, another ear infection for C, and the cutest Energizer Bunny I've ever seen.

November

We've kicked it off with either another ear infection or an unresolved October infection and a visit to the ENT to discuss tubes.  Maybe I'm letting my crunchy side show too much, but this Momma is not giving in that easily.  Surgery is scary and I don't feel like we are there quite yet, so were popping echinacea and garlic over here like nobody's business.  The thing is - I am willing to do the tubes if it becomes evident that it is the best thing for C.   We'll see.



We've had some twists and turns the last 4 months, but I wouldn't change it.

I'm posting this now (11.14.14) and hope to return soon to add a slew of pictures.