The Jesters: Thankful

Remember all that money we spent on our master bathroom remodel last month? We weren't planning on another big expense anytime soon, but our HVAC unit had other plans. It was a 15-year-old unit that had been repaired a few years ago. We could've tried to repair it again, but based on its age, no one recommended it. The price of these systems are really high, and we collected a few quotes before we found a reputable company that provided a reasonable price. Thankfully, it went out during one of the most temperate weeks of the year.

Behold, our shiny new heating & cooling system!

Goodbye to a lot of our savings account!

On Veteran's Day, we took our favorite veteran and his lovely wife to dinner at Texas Roadhouse

The weather has been so pretty that Hallie and I have taken evening strolls most nights after dinner. We have a beautiful lake neighborhood near our house that we like to walk to.

Hallie's been begging Dan to camp out on our trampoline with her one night, and they finally made it happen! They had tried it once during the summer and it was just too hot. But they made it through the entire night this time, and celebrated with donuts in the morning. Emma and I agree that we're not sleeping outside when our comfy beds are just a few steps away!

Emma's been having UTIs once a month for several months in a row, so we scheduled an ultrasound and a visit with a urologist. The urologist put her on a low dose of antibiotics and scheduled a VCUG, where her bladder was filled with contrast during an x-ray, so they can observe while her bladder filled & emptied. It was just as horrible as it sounds. They gave her some kind of "loopy juice" to sedate her and said that many people don't remember a thing after the procedure. Unfortunately, it didn't kick in fast enough, so Emma was fully cognizant during the procedure. I was able to stay with her the entire time, so now we both will always remember how traumatic it was.

After the VCUG, that sedation medicine went into full effect, and oh boy. Emma is absolutely hilarious when she's high. She had the munchies on the way home and could hardly find her mouth, but she slowly managed to eat a bag of animal crackers that had too many "scary monkeys" in it.

She couldn't stand on her own, much less walk, once we got home. I had to wrap her arms around my neck and frog march her into the house and flop her onto the couch. She tried to shift positions while I was in the bathroom, so she fell off the couch and just laid there, wondering why she was on the floor. I sat beside her to monitor her, and laughed until I cried listening to her talk. Some highlights were watching her discover a "butthole" on her new reindeer stuffed animal, and wondering if the beast with many faces in the book of Revelation had any ears. After a while, she decided that she felt good enough to watch TV, but she insisted that she needed to go to the other living room. She still couldn't walk, but she rolled off the couch and crawled on the floor.

This was as far as she got, and she was stuck like this until I came to rescue her.

We met with a urology surgeon a few days later, who hopes that surgery won't be necessary. He gave Emma some suggestions to help, and we'll pray that they keep her UTI-free.

We met some special friends from San Diego at the Virginia Living Museum.

Jennifer and Dan worked together at Calvary Christian Academy when we lived in San Diego, and they've kept in touch through the years. Jennifer took her two daughters, Coral and Lily, on a cross-country road trip and made a point to visit with us while they were in VA.

The four girls were very close in age, and they became fast friends.

Coral and Emma are less than a year apart, and they both adore fantasy books and animals.

Hallie and Lily are about a year apart, and they had the best time talking and playing together.

After the Virginia Living Museum, we ate dinner together and visited Yorktown Beach until it got dark and our friends headed to Washington DC.

The Friday before Thanksgiving Break, StoneBridge has Christian Heritage Day, which is an on-campus field trip based on the Native Americans and early Settlers. The students dress like Pilgrims or Native Americans and visit several activity stations.