I'm gonna need a margarita

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving to all of you! Last week was a busy one and so was the weekend. We are off to a hurried start to this holiday week as well. I think I'm gonna need a margarita after it! Quick summary of the week: Avery had some better periods on Wednesday and Thursday. By Friday afternoon, she was throwing up (from some bug we now suspect) and having diarrhea. So, on Saturday we put her on Pedialyte only for about 24 hours. She tolerated that well and did not throw up anymore past mid-day on Saturday. On Sunday morning, we put her on half Pedialyte and half formula; then at night we had her back on full formula. The diarrhea is slowing down now, which is good. She does have A LOT of gas though so she is really uncomfortable at times. We can literally hear and feel it moving through her stomach and stiff when we are holding her or are just near her. It's hard to believe it can be that extreme on a little girl. She does seem to be calming a bit more in response to Jon and I though, calming pretty easily for a while when we hold her and in a certain position. She also seems to like her car seat a bit better then her positioning chair so we've had that in the house the past few days. Jon went to the Dr. on Friday to see about a fainting spell he had on Thurs. She doesn't think it is a big deal, but has completed a few tests just to check things out. I had a eye recheck on Friday as well. I have a spot on my right eye that the optometrist found at the last visit and he wanted to follow it. The good news is that it does not appear to have changed. He said it seems benign and he said it was like a had a non-pigmented freckle on my retina (back of my eyeball). The term he gave me for it is amelanotic melanoma. I am going to share this with my primary physician just to make sure there is no need for concern. We'll see. We had a visit at the house with friends Doug, Ruth and Thomas on Friday. They brought over dinner (THANK YOU!). We enjoyed the visit very much and the boys enjoyed getting to play together again. Ruth brought a card with donations from the IDEM Land Quality family (my former employer and great set of co-workers). That gift was very generous and so touching. We appreciate it so very much, and I appreciate that so many people care about us and think about us even though I no longer see them daily. Thanks so much to all of them (you)! On Saturday, Caiden and I went to Church to join the 20's and 30's group and the youth group to make put together baggies with food, socks and water to deliver to the homeless here in Indy. I brought Caiden along for the reasons I posted earlier and because he really wanted to go after we talked about it. We had talked about the mission project and what it meant to be homeless. When he realized that some people stay all night in the street in the cold (and in the storms as he asked me), he said "that makes me sad." I told him that it made me sad too and that it made God really sad and we both got choked up for a minute. We talked about how God wants us to do things for other people in need and I explained to him that that is what people have been doing for us since Sissy was born and especially leading up to and since the surgery. So, we ventured out to Horizon House which is a day center for the homeless in Indy (actually, the only day center we were told) and we were fortunate enough to get to tour the place while we were there. I was really impressed...actually I think the entire group was. I will definitely be visiting this place again and volunteering in other capacities when I can. Then we went downtown and handed out the rest of what we had near the Wheeler Mission. Most everyone was really thankful and that made it worthwhile. I think Caiden learned a lot from the experience. I am sure it won't be the last mission or volunteer work we have him involved in. I hope he learns true benevolence while young and goes on to continue giving to others for his entire life. We really gain so much more than we give when we help others. I suppose you all already know that though. Tomorrow the kids have dental appointments and then Avery has an appointment with Opthamology at Riley. We also have to pack so that we can head to Tell City as soon as Jon gets off work on Weds. We can't wait to see everyone. Which reminds me, I know that several have tried to call and touch base with me. I apologize for not being available, but I just don't have much time to talk on the phone right now. I am barely keeping up with Dr. calls and basic house work. I promise that I will touch base with each of you as soon as I can. If I can, I will post a time that we will be at Mom and Ralph's over the Thanksgiving holiday that people would be free to stop by and visit ( no call or appt. necessary...just show up). I don't know what time will work just yet, but I will post when I come up with one. I also plan to do the same in Indy when we get back. I had thought this past weekend, but since Avery was sick it didn't work out. I will post more on that and I time when we return from Tell City. Thanks for continuing to check in on all of us. We hope this brings you up to date a bit. I promise to write more later when I have a bit more time. Hope you have a Happy Thanksginving (I may not get to post again before then) and safe travel to your destinations. That will certainly be in out prayers. Wishing you love and many of life's blessings, Holly