Tropical Updates...

Do you ever feel like things get worse before they get better?  It has been difficult to say the least, not having Kami here as Momma & Wife.  We are going on 6 weeks now that she has been in Florida and we still don't have any answer to this "mystery" illness.  To make matters worse, I have had a pinched nerve in my hip that has been getting progressively worse over the past 3 weeks.  I went to the doctor yesterday and he said that I have  a compressed disk.  He did an adjustment and let's just say that I screamed out in pain when he "adjusted" the disk.  Needless to say, I have been side-lined to resting on my back for the past 3 days and I seem to be doing worse...but enough about me.  Here are some more important updates:

-Kami now has appointments at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, next Monday & Tuesday.  South Point Baptist has graciously opened their Mission's Home to Kami, her mom and Micah during their stay there for the appointments.  Our hope is to get in to see the infectious disease specialists and get to the root of the problem.  Kami's pain now includes the left side of her chest and her joints are swelling and causing her a lot of pain.  There are times when she seems so weak and can barely keep a conversation when we talk with her.  The separation is indeed difficult.

- With me down on my back and Momma not here, the older 3 kids have really pitched in and are keeping the house running.  They take care of laundry, keeping Silas & Callie occupied, doing the dishes, housekeeping and most importantly...helping to prepare the meals of the day.   One of the most difficult things about the day is that all meals must be made from scratch.  There are no McDonalds here to be able to pick up some Value Menu hamburgers!   Josh, Beth, & Brenna have done wonders in the kitchen and their Momma has taught them well.  We try to take lots of pictures to send to Kami so that she can see how we are doing...here are a few of the pics we have taken:

Beth taking care of the sweeping duties...

Josh hanging laundry to dry in the bedroom...if it is raining outside, we have to hang everything around the house to dry!

Taking care of the nightly dishes chore....although Beth seems to be fanning herself while watching the other two work!  They always sing together when doing the nightly dishes and it's fun to hear them sing their parts with such joy!

One of the things we miss from the States is Chinese Take-Out.  So we have tried some cheap-to-make Chinese recipes lately...This is Chicken Yakisoba.

This is Terriyaki Meatballs over white rice...we used some chopsticks that Josh had bought.  He uses them to make some miniature St. Barth's-House Jewelry Boxes that he plans to try to sell.

Callie...not exactly using her chopstick correctly!  She just kinda "stabs" the meatball.

This is Brenna's Chicken Enchilada mixture.  She rolled this mixture into some tortillas, covered them with cream and baked them in the oven.  Wow!  They were amazing!

Here are some quotes from Silas:

"Daddy, can we go pick up Momma now?"

While talking to Momma on the phone, "Momma, can you please tell the doctor to please give you the right medicine this time so you can come home?"

Callie: "Can we Skype Momma so she can sing to us?"

Due to the technology of today, Kami has been able to Skype with the little ones at bedtime.  We take the computer into the bedroom and Silas & Callie climb into bed.  Then she sings to them and tells them goodnight while their see their Momma's video picture on the computer screen.  Callie has gotten teary-eyed and points to the screen and says with a quivering lip, "I want Mommy to come home."  Micah has twice been with Kami as she has Skyped during this bedtime ritual with the younger ones.  Both times he starts to cry as he sees his bed, his bedroom, and Silas & Callie... He points and cries as he shows us that he wants to come home.

Until next time...