Sunday was our last day at Mt. Calvary. The crying started when I was driving to church realizing it was the last time I would do so. The crying didn't end till about 3:30pm...with a few breaks in between obviously. The crying has continued into Monday evening at my Christ Care meeting and I'm not sure it will end very soon. I have words I want to say, just not sure how to put them on paper (or the screen). I will do so soon...but in the mean time here are just a few photos from our last Sunday at Mt. Calvary. More can be seen here.

This is Ms. Roberta and Ms. Yvette, they work in the nursery at Mt. Calvary and take care of the little ones EVERY SUNDAY! They are amazing, caring, fun, great with kids and just wonderful people. I am so blessed to have had them to take care of my little ones since Naomi was 8 months old. They've watched the kids and our family grow. We will miss you dearly...thanks for putting up with my kids when they're crabby, loving them into a good mood and for being amazing care givers for them.
Here's Naomi and her sweet little friend Abby. We're gonna miss Abby and her parents! Her mom has been so sweet when I come in every Sunday with a new question for her...she's a pediatrician and I felt so blessed to have her advice and friendship. They used to live in St. Louis so we've got that connection too. Naomi's gonna miss seeing Abby every Sunday!
Here's Naomi and two of her six Sunday School teachers. All of her teachers are so special to her. Kristen and Karen have also come over to hang out with the kiddos and Butch is on staff so we'd get to see them occasionally for birthday lunches! We will miss all of the great Sunday School teachers!!! Thank you for sharing Jesus with my little lady!
After the late service they had a big bbq meal complete with brisket, sausage, squash, potato salad, cake and other desserts. Mt. Calvary sure knows how to throw a party. We had a great time and are so blessed. We loved being able to see everyone together again and will truly miss these great times of fellowship (and the food).


After the meal there was a short sending service. Sarah, Sarah and Caleb got up and sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas" it was pretty funny! The congregation gave us this beautiful painting of the Riverwalk and the Tower of the Americas. We will never forget San Antonio or Mt. Calvary. We feel so blessed to have been able to serve here for three and a half years. Two of our kids were born here...and many memories were made here.
New adventures await us. God goes before us. We are going to miss Mt. Calvary terribly but know that God has a plan...and it's good that He is God and I am not because everything in my life would be a mess if that was the case! I'll be back with some other parting words sometime soon! Have a blessed day!

I don't know how to explain what is going on right now other than to say CHAOS. The house is a MESS, filled with boxes, toys out of place, piles for goodwill and friends. The painters have been working on the outside of the house since Monday, but included in the outside of the house is the atrium, which is INSIDE the house, so we've been stuck inside the house. Can't leave because they need to get inside and can't play outside because they're painting out there.

So, the kids are going a little stir crazy...and watching too much tv, and fighting and whining a little more than normal. They know something is going on. They know we're moving. They know they can probably get things out of Greg and I that they wouldn't normally get, and they're taking advantage...smart kids right?

I'm slowly getting some packing done...but there's still LOTS to do. We will have about five days of solid pack time after next Tuesday so we should be good. I hate to leave things to the last minute and just throw things in boxes. I want to get things a little more organized since we don't know if we'll have to store things for a while or if we'll have all of our stuff with us. Crazy! Greg is going on Monday to look for a rental home for us. It's just a lot to take in. Moving with three small kids is no small feat, but we'll make it happen. I'm a little too overwhelmed to even realize what is happening. I don't want to leave my friends...I'm not ready for Sunday...when we say goodbye...gonna be a sad sad day.

Here's some photos from today just so you can see a little bit of the CHAOS that we are living in right now. The tree is usually in the atrium but since they're painting out there it's now in the dining room.
You can see the piles of books and other items to give away, you can see the guy painting our front door, and the chord to the spray painter going into the atrium.
Boxes, boxes and more boxes by the kitchen peninsula, the tarp and paint bucket, Hannah's in there somewhere and just the big ol mess.
Here's the paint for the sprayer, in the kitchen! lovely
Just another view of the mess and chaos!

I have stuffitis....
do you have it?
Have you ever had it?

I am slowly getting over stuffitis
having to pack and move is helping.
It's just stuff.
Most of it just takes up space with no real reason or purpose.
So, I'm getting rid of it.
Sure it's easier to get rid of things that aren't mine
(stuffed animals, kids books, etc)
but I still feel attached, "oh but she loves to read that book"
and "they play with that stuffed animal SOMETIMES"
But really it's just stuff and when it's all said and done and GONE
we probably won't miss it anyway.

So, I guess moving has one perk...
getting rid of stuff
and trying to cure myself of stuffitis.
Easier said than done (sometimes).

Trying to cure my four year old is a little more challenging.
Gotta purge while she's sleeping!

Please keep us in your prayers as we purge the stuff,
and get ready for our next chapter...

My parents left yesterday morning...
and I spent most of the day crying, feeling sad,
totally bummed that they had to leave
and just wishing they would come back.

Today I thought I'd be better,
and I'm feeling a little bit better for the most part
but I keep on crying at the strangest times.
Like when I found a drawing my mom did of Naomi's name.
Like when I looked out the window and saw the manger my dad built.
Like when Micah got out of bed this morning and asked where Papa was.
Like when I made the kids lunch and saw dishes my parents had used
clean but still in the sink air drying.

I know in my mind that I'll get to talk to them lots
while they are overseas for 18 months,
we'll skype, email, chat on facebook you name it
but my heart has not caught up with those facts yet.
My parents will still be in the country till the end of January,
but I just wish they were here.
I'm being selfish, I know.

We had a GREAT time while they were here.
For two weeks the dishes were washed and put away after every meal
(yes, we're still washing dishes by hand).
For two weeks I didn't change many baby diapers. (just big boy diapers)
For two weeks the kids got extra attention,
more books read, more games played, more pictures colored.
For two weeks grammy rocked a certain little baby girl to sleep.
For two weeks we had a handyman who helped with projects around the house.
For two weeks we had little day time adventures
and two times had special dinners out.
But my favorite part of those two weeks...
having someone(s) I love to talk to during the day,
make memories with, learn from, share life with.

I will treasure those two weeks,
but I will also miss those two weeks.
I hope the weeks to come get easier.

I'm writing this post for me.
So feel free to skip it.
I need to document the stuff that is/was going on with Naomi...
and since this is also my "journal" of sorts,
I figured this was the best place to do it.

Naomi woke me up around 2:45am on July 31 telling me she puked.
She also had some "d" stuff in the morning.
Same thing happened on Sunday August 1st.
Tues and Wed - Aug 3-4 she just had "d"
Thurs - Aug 5 she vomited and we took her to the dr.
Sun - Aug 8 she vomited early in the am
Tues - Aug 10 took a stool sample to the dr.
All cultures from the sample came back negative.
Thurs - Aug 12 she vomited in the early am

We left for MO for the funeral on Saturday the 14th.
Sat - Aug 14 she vomited in the early am 3 times
Mon - Aug 16 she vomited at 10:30pm
Tues - Aug 17 she vomited at 7am and 7pm (after being asleep in the car)

Every time she vomited it was after being asleep.
Most often it would wake her up with no warning.
We took her off dairy and gave her a restricted diet after the Aug 5th dr. appt.
She started having a little bit of dairy again after the 10th.
We took her completely off dairy again on the 17th (per dr. orders)

She started taking Prevacid on Sun, Aug 15th.
Because they thought that she had/had acid reflux.
She has not vomited since the night of the 17th.

We took her to the GI dr. on Aug 30th.
He told us it could have been any number of things.
He told us to take her off the prevacid but keep her on a dairy free diet for 1-2 weeks.
If there is any vomiting between now and Sept 30th,
(when we have a follow up appt)
then we are to take her back to the GI dr and they will
put her under and do a scope or endoscopy.

We took her off the prevacid on Tuesday morning and will wait and see what happens.
During the whole ordeal she never acted sick.
She played great during the day and only complained of stomach pain
once or twice near the end of the vomiting cycle.
Its just all so bizarre.

Also during all of this Micah and I got sick for one day each at the begining of August.
And Micah was sick for two days on Aug 23rd and 24th.
So strange.
We're hoping for some answers but know it could just be,
"well, she's better now so we'll never know what it was".

Okay, I'll keep this updated so I can remember what happened.
I've heard so many different ideas as to what could be wrong with her...
lactose intolerance, celiac disease, acid reflux, an ulcer, you name it,
but if you have any other ideas lay them on me!