Good News!

For those of you not on facebook, where I've been posting frequent updates, Sean has finished his medical testing here in Istanbul and we are getting ready to head home Sunday morning.

The final diagnosis is reactive hypoglycemia, which means that he does not have diabetes. He does have to eat frequently and continue to monitor his blood sugar for a while, especially before bed. The doctor feels sure that Sean will outgrow this in time.

Everybody back at our house seems to be managing well in our absence. We've been able to talk on skype everyday, which is a big help for us all. Hannah Grace is convinced we're in Turkey for the express purpose of looking at animals. There is a house with peacocks near where we're staying, and I told her about seeing them along with some fish we saw at a nearby mall. She doesn't quite understand why we left her home just to go see peacocks, but she's taking it in stride.

Thank you for all of your prayers for our family over the past two weeks.

Preparing to travel

Sean and I will be heading out of country on Monday the 16th. He will be examined by an endocrinologist to see what may have caused his low blood sugar. We expect to be there at least ten days.

Please pray for safe travel, for a good diagnosis, and for grace for our entire family as we're apart during this time.

Pray for Sean

Randy and Kevin took Sean to the emergency room last night about 1:00. He was not feeling well and began having very rapid heartbeat, profuse sweating, uncontrollable shaking and muscles jerking. Needless to say it was very frightening, but the doctor on call was able to quickly identify the problem. Sean, for reasons that aren't clear, had extremely low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). As I write he is still in the hospital for observation but should be released some time this morning.

The doctor told Randy that we shouldn't expect a clear diagnosis on why Sean went into shock. Please be praying that if there is some underlying cause that it would be quickly revealed and resolved. Praise God with us that we were able to get good medical treatment.

My Littlest Scholar

We have a new student in our homeschool. Hannah Grace has been very faithful to sit in on nearly every class since we've started back after Christmas vacation. She has a Winnie the Pooh coloring book that she uses for "chemissy" and "quisses". Her favorite phrase now is, "It's my turn, ask me a queshun!" During the boys' history class, she used a Tigger book for her text and "answered" questions about the Middle Ages. It's been really cute, and everybody has been very patient with her participation.

Unfortunately, however, today she crossed the line. Julie was doing an art project, and she had all of her supplies set out on the kitchen table. When I called her for math class, she forgot to put things away. The disaster that I found only a few minutes later was incredible. Hannah Grace had poured out an entire large tube of glitter over a stencil and piece of paper. The glue stick was coated with a layer of glitter, as were several stamps. The ink pads for the stamps were relatively glitter-free, because they had been used to coat little fingers with ink. I noticed a bit of glitter on my lunch plate, and I'm sure we'll be seeing it for weeks--maybe even months.

The most pitiful thing is that our little artist was so proud of her creation and couldn't understand why art time was immediately canceled. She even told me that I'm not a good mommy anymore because I took away the glue! Then she cried because she wants to be "taller" so she can do her art project with glue.

All in all, she's had a disappointing day. Hopefully the weekend will be a little better. . .

Our yard looks more like spring than fall these days. We've had a lot of rain over the past few weeks, and we're seeing grass for the first time. It's amazing how nice the yard looks with a little green on the ground!

I also didn't know that roses bloom twice, but we're enjoying a second rounds of blossoms. Hannah Grace is making one of her famous silly faces.

Of course, I think these two are the prettiest flowers in our garden!

A Tale of Two Brothers

This week, I did something that I haven't done in years. I gave the boys a haircut. Normally, haircuts are their own responsibility. There are several little hole-in-the-wall barber shops within walking distance, so they go on their own and pay out of their own money. They were both overdue, so I suggested they take care of it on Monday. Kevin was anxious to go, and summoned Sean to go with him. Sean, however, doesn't like to do anything on the spur of the moment. He refused to go on such short notice. I asked if he would feel better prepared on the next day. That was fine with him, but Kevin didn't want to wait that long. I then suggested that Kevin go right then, and Sean could go on Tuesday. Sean didn't want to go by himself. At that point, I jokingly offered to cut their hair myself. This is (more or less) the conversation that followed:

Kevin: Yeah! Let's do that.

Sean: Ummm. . .I'll go to the barber shop with you now.

Kevin: But, Sean, think of the money we'll save!

Sean: Kevin, I didn't mean for you to go that far. I'll go with you to the barber shop.

Kevin: No, I really would rather Mommy cut our hair. She used to do it all the time.

Sean: Ummm. . .

Me: I'll cut Kevin's hair, and then you can look at it and decide if you want me to do yours too.

Sean: Okay.

After cutting Kevin's hair, Sean looked at it and decided it was acceptable, but there was still one more hurdle. He looked at Kevin and said, "Did it hurt?" Kevin reassured him that it was far less painful than the local barber, and the haircut problem was finally solved.

Skittles

A couple of weeks ago we had a little visitor of the rodent variety in the house. Now we have a kitten. Hannah Grace is sole proprietor, and is absolutely convinced that Skittles loves her unconditionally. We're trying to protect him from her tender loving care, and hopefully he'll survive to be a good mouser one of these days.

Electronic Evangelism and Other Updates

Several of my friends have suggested from time to time that I ought to sign up for Facebook. For a long time I resisted, for a variety of reasons, but last week I finally gave in and created an account. In spite of the drawbacks, I have found one really good reason to use Facebook: Emerald. We have been in touch more during the past week than we have been over the past year. It seems crazy to me, living in the same city, but I'm glad to maintain any small connection that I can.

Please pray for Emerald. Since she turned away from Christ, she has been trying to fill the void in her life with Islam.

Other updates:

• My head is healing. The lab reports came back this week, and the spot the surgeon removed was a basal cell cancer.
• Randy also had a biopsy on a skin spot, which turned out to be a basal cell cancer.
• Hannah Grace is also having some skin problems. We have been treating it as eczema, but it isn't responding to the medication.
• In addition to the health issues, Randy's workload has increased.

On the positive side, home school is going well, even if it is exhausting work. The boys and I have made it through the first chapter and a half of chemistry. I have to admit, nothing from my high school chemistry class is coming back to me--that was only a couple of decades ago--so I'm having to study along with them. We'll see how things look in a few months. Chemistry wasn't my easiest subject.

We're Back

Thanks to a new afternoon flight, we're feeling well-rested after our trip back home yesterday. In the past, we've had to catch our flight during the middle of the night, so this was a nice change of pace.

Here's a summary of our time away:

Talent Show

We had a week of meetings with coworkers, with fun during the evenings. The last night both Sean and Julie participated in the talent show. I knew that Sean was talented on the guitar, but hadn't realized how much so until several people who know a lot about guitar explained that it takes a great deal of skill to do what he does. Julie sang, and when she finished the MC walked up and said, "What are you, a miniature 25-year-old?"

Scalped. . .

We took advantage of the available health care and scheduled several needed checkups. We still aren't sure if Hannah Grace has eczema or psoriasis, but we're farther along toward a diagnosis than we have been. Randy had a biopsy taken from a spot on his arm, which we should hear about in a week or so. I saw a doctor about a sore that I've had on my scalp for a long time now. The doctor's English was great, until he began explaining the procedure he would need to perform. He said, "You know, it's like. . .it's like. . .uh, what the Indians used to do to people!" Having lived overseas more than a decade, I just laughed. As it turns out, he was partially accurate. He removed a small patch of skin and put in eight stitches, which is a far sight better than the skin graft he warned could be necessary. Still, I have far more insight than I could ever want into just how awful the practice of scalping must have been.

Glasses!!

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Back to School

Even though we'll have to break next week for a conference, we decided to plunge in and get a start on the new school year.

In this photo Hannah Grace is enjoying Kevin and Sean's first chemistry experiment--a simple test to show that air does, in fact, have mass. For some reason, she decided that it was a good moment to tickle Sean's knee.

All in all, it's going well in spite of the fact that I managed to forget to order Julie's spelling book. I'm trying to decide if I should just white out all of the answers in the teacher's edition. . .

Sixteen Years Old

It's hard to believe, but it's true. Kevin turned sixteen on July 7th. Where has the time gone? Obviously, his party was just a little bit different from his little sister's birthday party.

Kevin and his friends working on some very unusual pizzas.

Randy and I took him out to a nice Chinese restaurant for his birthday. He wasn't quite sure about the waiter placing a napkin on his lap, but otherwise we all enjoyed the meal. The next day we had a pizza party and sleepover with some of his friends. Our original plan was to take advantage of having our own yard and have a scavenger hunt. The weather didn't cooperate--it was amazing chilly and windy for July along with some light rain--so we improvised a game tournament indoors.

The latest computer game from Granny and PawPaw

Was he ever this little?

Three Years Old

Did you really give Kevin and Sean permission to do this to my chair??

Finally, everything came together at the same time: internet connection up and running, pictures transferred onto the computer, and enough free time to sit down and actually post pictures from Hannah Grace's birthday.

She turned three on June 20th, and has been looking forward to this day for months. Our celebration was very low-key, since we had just moved the day before. The fun thing is that, at three years old, the only two things that mattered to Hannah Grace were presents and a "fire cake". I was able to make a very unimpressive cake, and Randy brought home a riding toy that only a child could love. (Children's toys are neither impressive nor inexpensive here.) May she always be so easy to please!

Am I the only one that enjoys the squeaky toy?

Thank you, Granny and PawPaw!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Randy and Hannah Grace. . .my digital photo collection doesn't go far enough back to show the proud Daddy with his other three babies.

I'm thankful for both my husband, who is a wonderful father, and for my own father. I love both of you!

A Great Visit

Several months ago Julie wrote a pitiful email to my parents asking if they could come see us here. Everything worked out and they were able to spend two weeks with us. We all had a good time and were sorry to see them go.

While they were here we invited Allen and his mother for dinner.




We also spent an evening at our English Center. The students always enjoy having visitors from the United States. They're interested in hearing about the different areas of the US, jobs, lifestyle, families, economy and politics.

If you're interested in a one or two week trip, we're always thrilled to have volunteers come in and help out at our center. There are no special skills required other than the ability to speak English, and a desire to share the love of Christ.

If you receive Randy's weekly emails, you know that he is dealing with some medical problems. He'll be traveling to a nearby country to see a specialist in a couple of weeks. Please pray that he will get a clear diagnosis and a good treatment plan. Don't forget to pray for the children and me also during the time that we're on our own here.

And More Fire. . .

Happy Persian New Year! We celebrated the first day of spring by joining some friends for a trip to Fire Mountain. It isn't quite as impressive as the name sounds, but at least we were out of the city for a little while and the children all got to run around in the open air. The only drawback was the wind. We weren't prepared for the drop in temperature leaving the city, and the wind speed was considerably higher out away from all of the high-rise apartments.

"Fire Mountain" is one of several places here where natural gas deposits leak through the surface of the ground. Once they are lit--usually by accident--they become a perpetual flame. I believe this particular spot has been burning since the 1950's.

Maybe we'll go back sometime with hot dogs and marshmallows.

My Little Helper

Hannah Grace is at that stage where she loves nothing better than to help me around the house. Here is her version of hanging up laundry, and no, I didn't post the photo upside down:

Hannah Grace and the Snowman

Hannah Grace took on the neighborhood snowman in a snowball fight. She made two direct hits. The snowman never had a chance and Hannah Grace was the clear winner.

Snow Pictures

This isn't our creation. Apparently the neighborhood kids were busy yesterday afternoon.

It's Bubbling!!

Actually, it's snowing. When Sean took Hannah Grace to the window and told her that it was snowing she immediately responded, "NO! It's bubbling." It's been "bubbling" off and on for several days now, but today it is coming down thick and white.

I'll try to get some pictures up when I have a better connection.

Merry Christmas!

Kevin, the future history professor

Sean still loves puzzles.

Hannah Grace showing her new baby to Granny and PawPaw