Life is usually busy for us. Period. But the last 2 1/2 months have been insane! You will soon see in this post and following a small glimpse of all that's been going on. I'm hoping and praying that things are truly slowing down. So, I have some time for little hobbies like up-keeping this blog :) First up, vacation or what we thought was going to be vacation.
Life happens. The Lord orchestrates and plans things in our lives that most assuredly never go the way we actually plan them. That's just how it goes. And as much as I hate to admit it, life is better that way because it constantly reminds me that I am not in control. He is. So, we packed up for 2 weeks and headed to Thailand for a visa run and vacation at the beach with our friends.
To save some money we took an overnight train to another city in our country before actually flying out of the country. The boys did great, but the train was a little jerky waking me up every few minutes. Glad that's behind us!
After the train and a flight, we made it to our second stop in Bangkok! I'm always amused and bothered by the "no" signs in taxi's.
This was the same guesthouse we stayed at 2 Christmases ago. It was great to be back here, enjoy some grass, and sunshine.
And this. I long for this. Schweppes' Manao Soda...I have only found this in Thailand. They're everywhere there, and if they don't have a can they'll make it for you from scratch. So very good. I only had one a day :)
We had planned to get my knee checked out before heading to the beach and tagged on an extra appointment for Caden. We finally got a few answers for my knee, but it's a long road until it's better. Recently, we've noticed Caden not hearing well and asking us to repeat ourselves. This is where our vacation plans changed. After seeing a pediatric allergist then an ENT then an Inner Ear Specialist followed by another Inner Ear Specialist with 3 different hearing exams, we were advised to get an MRI. Our time in Bangkok was prolonged a few more days, but we were cleared to go to the beach for a few days and return for the MRI. We changed our flights back home, went to the beach for some rest, then headed back to Bangkok to the hospital for some results. Check back soon for all that happened!
In between all of our appointments (spending most of the day at the hospital), we had some time with our friends. They adore each other.
So glad they have each other. Love P's face here.
We enjoyed the squirt guns on the hot days, which was every day. Ha!
Grady especially loved to swing.
Once we finally finished appointments Britton and I went out with the kids just to get away from the hospital. We took a leisurely ride to a nearby mall on the khlong (aka-a boat taxi on a canal). We all enjoyed the breeze.
Oh look! Another Manao :) We got donuts, Subway, and Manaos then headed back to the canal. A lovely trip.
For his last tests before heading to the beach and before the MRI, Caden had to be sedated to monitor his hearing. It took him nearly 2 hours to fall asleep after a double dose of sleepy medicine. He was extremely loopy and bobbed his head a lot. He got pushed in a wheelchair so he wouldn't fall over. I loved his little drunken state. It was quite hilarious. Climbing in the wheelchair he quoted Baymax from Big Hero 6 saying, "Seat belts save lives. Buckle up every time." Bless.
Captain America with his daddy. The doctor we saw that sedated Caden thought Britton looked like Nicolas Cage. Gave us quite the laugh.
While we waited for Caden to fall asleep then while the test was going on (about 3-4 hour process), I went to Starbucks (oh praise the Lord for Starbucks at the hospital!) and grabbed some coffee. The girl asked me what my name was and I said, "ok, Tara." I guess she thought my name was K Tara :) Lost in translation.
They monitored Caden's inner ear activity for an hour. The results showed a problem with his inner which is why we moved on to the MRI several days later.
We finished up at the hospital then went home to pack up and head to the beach. I'm so thankful for the Lord's provision so that our friends could watch Grady while we stayed with Caden at the hospital. I'm so thankful that although it was hard to understand some of the doctors' English, we were at the 9th best hospital in the world. And I'm thankful that although we missed some of our vacation, we could still go and enjoy the sun and some relaxation!
That night just before leaving, the lady that runs the guest house was so sweet to watch all of our kids and let us big kids go out. We went to an awesome Mexican restaurant then Thai massages. It was a truly wonderful break to spend together and away from the hospital.
