life

This is a quick update on life in our home.


My mom
On Friday I was called to the rescue when my mom decided to drive herself to chemo.  She had never had a reaction, so she felt it was a safe thing to do.  My brother had my parents' second car, so my dad was essentially stranded at home.  The SOS came at about noon after my dad received a call from Mom that she had reacted to the chemo and couldn't drive herself home.  Apparently the reaction was sudden and bad.  Her blood pressure dropped dramatically, her hands turned bright red and were itching uncontrollably, and she was dry heaving.  I picked Dad up and we made our way to the hospital where Mom was finishing up getting some IV fluids and looking good considering her earlier ordeal. She will never have that chemo again, and we expect one more round of chemo before the scans that will determine the possibility of surgery.  Thanks for the continued prayers. Please keep them up.  We want the surgery!

Summer Stuff
I was disappointed to learn that I had only one or two days off this week from my part-time job. I had one scheduled day off and had to call to see if I had to work my other potential day off.  I learned later that the manager wanted to call me in on the only day I actually had off.   Though I was clear in the interview that I really only wanted 8-12 hours per week (four hour shifts), this week did not work out that way.  Apparently some new hires did not work out and more are needed, so I agreed to work this crazy schedule this week.  I figured I really need the training anyway.  I have yet to see next week's schedule, so I can't say whether I will never see my family once school starts or not.  It looks like at the very least, my weekends are history.  Much as I hate that idea, I do know people are deployed and away from family right now, and I have a friend who has taken a permanent position across the nation from her family.  They are unable to move with her, so she is raising her three kids long distance.  Somehow I can make this work.

After our plan to visit a nearby amusement park fell apart early this summer, I decided to splurge on two fun things for the kids.  Everything else we have done has been free or already covered by a membership.  Today I made good on one of those things when we went to see The Karate Kid.  I have to admit that I was tempted to add popcorn and soft drinks to our rare movie experience, but I did not give in to temptation and saved our budget and guts. I have never cared for popcorn at the movies, but we can't have hot popcorn at all here because our microwave shoots sparks every time I try to make it.   I chose this movie because I knew that scenes from China would be woven into the story, and I almost cried at the opening of the movie as my desire to return to China is so strong.  Wyatt was anxious to see the fighting, and Zach is a Will Smith fan, so he was ready to see Will's son in action.  Unfortunately, the tension in the movie was too much for Julia.  She sat on my lap and buried her head into my shoulder asking me to tell her when the fights ended.  There was one repeated action (much like the original Karate Kid) that tickled Julia to no end.  She giggled and giggled over this ongoing repetition.  In the end the scenes of China were spectacular, and Wyatt is anxious for the movie to be released on DVD.