Where in the World...

I'm thankful Eli is so adaptable as he hasn't been sure of the state (or country) we're in for several weeks now. On August 1st we will return to Germany after 9 days in Arizona and 4+ weeks here in Montana.

For Kevin and I it has been largely a fun, sleep-deprived, crazy vacation. I've had a few mini-breakdowns (see Eli's update) and Kevin is now golfing in Scotland (yes, I'm serious). These last few weeks 'should' be more relaxed and, hopefully, doctor free.

Mary has started hitting, trying to run and swim (read: head injuries and chlorine swallowing), and forming words. She's also been teething and therefore not sleeping. All animals are still 'doggies' that say 'moo' but there are signs she is differentiating now. And she is wise enough to maintain her charming cuteness in order to avoid serious consequences after she empties cupboards or dumps her food bowl or hits me in the face.

Eli made it through Arizona only to get an infection (that's SIX since March) on our travel day to Montana.... it was not pretty as I had little pain relief medicine. Thus started the saga: Urgent Care the next morning, ENT the day after that, heavily-drugged reunion weekend, lots of phone calls to other ENT's and finally a 2.5 hour trip to Billings with an ENT that had an opening. He listened to our whole sordid story and did surgery this past Monday, in front of his other patients already scheduled, to accommodate necessary recovery time before travelling. The doctor said the tonsils he removed were big and ugly. Eli is 5 days out as of today and doing really quite well with some pain but no bleeding. He's been active, having fun with cousins and new friends, getting spoiled and farming with Grandpa.

Other than that we've been shopping, gaining weight (unfortunately), and enjoying the beautiful summer weather with trips to Yellowstone and the County Fair. Althea (Kevin's mom) has been doing fabulously and taking care of me while I attempt to take care of the kids. I drag her out of the house once or twice a day for kid-friendly activities and then we all come back for afternoon naps. It works out pretty well.

I'm glad we're staying so long in Montana. It is definitely (as always) by God's design.