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Today I heard from Bill Wimberley at the hospital where Gracie was treated in January. He told me that the mental anguish I experienced was caused by a computer error. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, when the receptionist entered my daughter's name into the computer to verify her insurance, the computer spit out information on the previous patient. I wonder if such an error could be recreated, personally. Bill assured me that they informed the company in charge of the program. I should've asked for their number.
Bill told me that this verification program is used by many medical facilities. If his explanation is true, this means any of you might one day be questioned by police officers in an emergency room, doctor's office, clinic, or hospital regarding your own identity or that of someone close to you.
You can clearly see, now, why it would be wise to have microchips implanted in our arms... or, better yet, our foreheads.
Oh wow. It's almost like the end of a pregnancy... about to reach the end and also a wild beginning.
First of all, let me say that I don't know what I was thinking in starting a blog. I don't have time for this! LOL I have a draft of an unfinished post from February which will never see the light of day. It's a good thing I kept the draft, though, because I'd nearly forgotten some of what's happened.
You can see that in January I tore my living room apart, partly in anticipation of new carpeting and a new door. There was the wallpaper, too... that wallpaper has taken on a life of its own. I don't want to talk about it.
Toby, Lynae, and Jon auditioned for the Missoula Children's Theater production of "The Jungle Book". Toby got a part as a wolf. He was very wolf-like, and I could even hear his singing! (His deep voice really stood out among all those "kid" voices.) Lynae and Jon didn't get parts, but they were able to enjoy watching the show.
We had a wonderful tour of the Kentucky State Capitol on Valentine's Day, led by Brother Joe Adams, a missionary to our state government. It was great to finally meet the influential man I'd heard and read so much about over the past eight years. Brother Joe helped to secure our current homeschooling freedoms, and also helped to start our local support group. I'm so thankful that he devoted most of his day to teaching us how a bill becomes a law in a very meaningful way.
We were blessed with a healthy dose of snow before spring arrived in Crofton. We got a few inches over the course of about two weeks. I suppose it was even more exciting for me because I expect to be up north next winter, where it will last for more than a couple of days. Say what you will about a long winter full of snow -- it beats 40 degrees, rainy, and muddy.
Speaking of blessings... we were able to hire a couple of men from our old church to come and fix up the house. They've done floors, walls, siding, electrical stuff, plumbing, and more! It's been such a load off of me! Now I will be able to focus more on painting, decluttering, and packing.
Somewhere in there, I was able to get away for a day. I went shopping (well, mostly driving, really) in Nashville, then joined one of my long-time internet friends to hear a nutritionist speak. It was the most educational break I've had in a long time!
And just a couple of weeks ago, I took another trip to visit internet friends, this time in Cincinnati (the ultimate vacation spot! LOL). There were so many memorable moments, it's hard to know which ones to share! Unfortunately for all of us, I did as much bad driving there as I had done in Nashville. I seem to have lost a large portion of my navigational brain cells. 
Well, we still don't have a new door. The one we ordered was too tall. And we still don't have new carpet because the salesman was using funny math that never did add up on paper, though he insisted it made perfect sense. I now wonder if dyslexia was part of the problem.
One result of all that mess is that the computer still isn't in the living room. And because of that, the kids' computer isn't hooked up. That's one of the reasons they haven't been blogging. The other is that they're so darn busy right now. But they'll be back!
Last night I heard from a friend from my childhood who is battling colon cancer. My heart breaks at the thought of her suffering. But she's still exudes God's love, and will forever. I'm so grateful to know her!
Wallpaper is up. Some of the trim is back in place. New trim is almost all cut, but I have yet to cut the windowsills and paint them and the window jambs.
Carpet guy has come out to measure. (It wasn't sweet India after all!)
Door guy comes tomorrow, and I even have a new doorknob and deadbolt. :D
YES, I've been dragging my heels on this project. In the thick of it all, I dove head first into another project, of which I completed v.1.0 at 7:30 this morning:
Pennyroyal Academy of Fine Arts
Thankfully, when the phone woke me up at 11:30AM and I heard Toby telling someone I was sleeping, it was my mother. Anyone else, and I'd have had even more explaining to do. LOL
Today I plan to enjoy a day of REST. There'll be plenty of time to work tomorrow... and if tomorrow never comes, it won't matter that it didn't get done. :-)
My day didn't go as planned, which I could've expected, considering I was trying to get Jon to do some school work. I worked with him until he absolutely understood, and he was doing so well! I gradually backed off and let him work on his own... with me a foot away... it was just too much for him. Thus began the push and pull, the blurring of boundaries of what each of us would do for the other, the subtle power struggle and questioning of motives...
I'd much rather have packed the bookcase and cleared out the living room which is begging for new wallpaper (and carpet, but it's not time yet, says India) and window trim. But I stubbornly insist that Jon's education include math. Unfortunately, once upon a time, he caught wind of the fact that he was particularly good with numbers... which is why it's all I can do to get him to count, or to acknowledge that numbers represent objects. Now he just as stubbornly insists that he's "not that good at math."
Today, I guess that battle was just screaming to be fought. So the bookcase full of history still sits in the corner, all dusty and chronological. I resent the dust, which waits to inhabit my lungs, and I envy the order of chronology. My living room has slipped to a level of disarray such that I can hardly stand to look. And it will get worse before it gets better -- a light saber, two books, a crayon, and half a banana meant to be eaten in the truck as Daddy drives them away, just... AWAY.
After a sigh, a prayer, and a tightened ponytail I'll dive in and begin clearing the chaos... both in my home and in my heart. I won't accomplish all that I had planned, but will make a week's worth of progress in a few short hours. I will be relieved, refreshed, and grateful for my husband who really does understand that I need these times alone to work, even more than a bubblebath or foot rub. It was hard for Loren to imagine until he acquiesced and saw the result -- a cleaner home and a more relaxed wife. Now he's thrilled to help out by spending time making memories with the kids while I catch up on both the urgent and the important. He also helps me keep my priorities in perspective and reminds me that there are some things we just can't do like a normal family. Of course I know that, but I do tend to expect "normal" results for my efforts sometimes! LOL
SO... I must get some sleep! I have a quiet and busy morning ahead of me!
I wonder how many stitches Gracie would've had if she were famous like Arnold.
I saw one of the police officers in Walmart a couple days ago. I asked him if they'd been able to clear up the situation from the ER. It turns out the receptionist at the hospital made a ridiculously stupid error. And thus, she wasted the time of three police officers... and caused me a bunch of unnecessary stress. I think I need to write a letter to the hospital this week.
I wonder where my husband will be working at the end of this year.
We spoke with one of the Arby's people in Minnesota last night. They have two stores opening in northwestern Minnesota, near North Dakota. Cold - good. Isolated - good. Treeless - not good.
They also have two stores opening in northeastern Minnesota. Those two are very close to where I grew up. That's just plain weird to me. It could be good, but I'm not yet sure what to think. In all the 6-year process of planning our move (north, midwest, Minnesota, northern Minnesota, Bemidji), we specifically didn't choose that area of the state. After all, the world is a big place, and it would look to some people like I was trying to recreate something from my childhood. I don't have the energy to explain that I've got more of a life than that. LOL
So we're praying, looking at real estate listings, fixing the house, decluttering, and packing the stuff we won't use in the next few months. God's plan for us is no different today than it was two years ago when we went on vacation in Bemidji, or than it was when I was a little kid in Minnesota. I trust He'll continue to open and close doors as He sees fit. We just need to be ready to go where He leads.
