This was Mary Lu up in the mountains recently. Her head is chopped off in the photo because I was working to get her to smile, and I inadvertently held the camera too low. We'll just pretend I was being artistic.
So. Various thoughts for the day:
--Mary's labs came back. All of them were NORMAL, except for one. Our pediatrician consulted with an endocrinologist yesterday, who didn't think anything was conclusive, but recommended we have the test repeated (thyroid and horomone measurements fluctuate and change), in addition to some other tests. I'll be calling the endocrinologist tomorrow to make an appointment with her.
--SO, back to Children's Hospital today for another blood draw. NO urine test required, YAY! Today was much better too because my friend's daughter was there for a procedure, so we got to meet up and chat for a bit. She even brought chocolate. I have wonderful friends. (And of course I would never wish for my friends' kids, or my kids for that matter, to be at Children's Hospital--but if they need to be there, it's nice when we can all show up on the same day. :) )
--My three big kids have their first day of school tomorrow. (We began homeschooling on Monday, but tomorrow they go to their weekly schoolday.) They are THRILLED. It's orientation, so I (and Kaitlyn and Mary) will be with them the whole time, and it's just a half-day. Anna (1st grade) will have several teachers and go from class to class (SUCH a big girl!), and my boys will be starting KINDERGARTEN! Oh my goodness, I still remember holding them for the very first time in Ethiopia. Now they are Kindergartners!!! How did that happen?
--We are making major headway with our Ethiopia adoption. (What's that? You didn't KNOW we were adopting again? That's probably because it's been a crazy process with various twists and turns, and I don't blog about it much. Because for most of the process, I honestly had no clue what was going on or what we were gonna do. There was sadness over things that didn't work out, things far beyond our control.) But God is doing big things and I'm pretty darn excited about it all.
--A dear, dear friend from California, Andy, is in Denver on business and we got to spend the morning with him! Kevin picked him up from his hotel and they went to breakfast (I wasn't sure how my day was going to go health-wise so I stayed home with the kids), and then came back here for a bit. It was SO great to see him, and I really wish Jeannett and their sweet kids could've been here too.
Well I think that's all, friends. Right now I'm basically knee-deep in:
the start of a school year
an adoption process
and Mary's health issues.
Each of those alone seems enough to keep me busy and on my toes, but really, things are going quite well. Kids are happy. We're finding our school-year groove. I'm genuinely excited about our adoption for the first time in months. I worry about Mary Lu, but am so very grateful for good doctors and medical care, and that we're taking action and hopefully working towards some answers. I hope nothing is actually wrong, but if it is, we're in good hands. Not to mention, when life is so incredibly full, and your baby is so happy and cute and giggles at you throughout the day, ultimately...no matter what health issue she may face...I can say that things are good.
