Departure, packing, Spring Carnival and just plain old life

So after we took mom and dad to the airport on Thursday afternoon, this was the view from our house:

(Ella cried a lot after we said our good- byes and mamaie and tataie went through security... . Of course, that made me cry too. We drove home sad knowing that we'll miss them for a long time until we get to see them again in Romania.)

Friday, after finishing up some work projects, I drove myself to the Coppell Irving Surgical Center at Baylor for a cervical spinal MRI. It just so seemed that the pain reached its peak on that day... ughh... I waited for two hours past my appointment time to get in. Not fun when you're in pain. Really, not fun ever to have to wait that long. Good thing I had a nice tech who did the MRI and got me out of there with the images on a CD, when I was initially told that it would take at least a couple of days for the films and readings to be available.  But then too bad that I couldn't get an appointment with the doctor to read those images before next Thursday! Duh!! Frustrating to say the least.  After that, I got home to my sweethearts, did some paperwork to put the house back on the market, got our popcorn and
mom's "check" and headed out to the see "The Lorax." Great movie, so glad we went! It sure made me smile and even laugh out loud and I so needed that.

Then on to Saturday.... after waking up bright and early due to the almost unbearable pain from overnight, I started off the day with breakfast pizza, a family favorite. After breakfast, I cooked lunch (pork stew, and lentil/black bean soup,) cleaned up the kitchen (as the agent was coming to take pictures to put the house back on the market), sew a pair of pants and a shirt for Ella's horse, spoke with my sweet parents, and then went shopping with the family at Kohls, our favorite affordable store. :) We picked up some nice clothes for daddy for his new job, a few Spring/Summer outfits for Ella and a hot pair of shoes for myself. Now, I really need to get that pedicure done! Ha-ha!

After shopping and lunch, Ella and I went to the Spring Carnival at school, as Hrishi had to run some errands in preparation for his departure tomorrow. She had a ton of fun and so did I, watching her get excited and play with classroom friends. After the carnival we went to see horses across the street but they're not out and Ella wanted to walk all the way down the street to another neighbor's ranch. We did but with no luck as their horses weren't out either...  must have been too warm or something. So instead, we enjoyed the walk/scooter ride back home.

Lots of fun games and lots of little prizes:

(Face painting with her dear friend from church and school, Lindsay.)

(This was by far the most favorite ride. They went down three or four times!!)

My awesome model!! (She had me model for her and I had to hold the crane's neck, lol! ;))

(very silly, but wonderful to be loved and wanted in pictures, lol!! :))

And even plain old life is better when you are loved.

The Lorax

What a sweet movie!!! Dr. Seuss rocks. Ella has been waiting for the movie to come out with much anticipation and fortunately we were able to go see it last night. It didn't dissapoint.  We had a great time, forgetting about pain, frustration, missing loved ones, and all the worries and cares of the world. I love my family and I am so grateful for them. And I'm grateful to Him for His mercy and love.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to my "A" MAN!!! :)) It's cake night here at this house!!!

Finally, we get to celebrate the man who's taking us to Houston, to new places, experiences, flavors, and flagrances!!!! Yeay for Hrishi! He's worked so hard all these years, took every single opportunity to better himself professionally and personally and have been such a wonderful, wonderful example for me and for Ella through thick and thin.

I am so proud of you, baby!! You are amazing! God bless you in your new adventure! I, like you, am so grateful for this new job as you have worked so hard to get to this poin. And grateful to your new employer for treating so nice. I know you will do an amazing job!!

Today you get to celebrate the close of a 10-year old chapter at CSG International and a new beginning in Houstonnnnn!!

Here's to you, my love!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bumpy days

There's been quite a few bumps in life over here lately but I can't stop but wonder whether I needed them to help me refocus, realign, and count my blessings more. The bumps certainly have not overshadowed the bounty of blessings we have received so far and continue to receive, I just see them as reminders of all this life is about: love, service, humility, and appreciating what I have. 

Bump #1: The house is off the market (and not of our own free will), we're starting fresh with a new agent. We're basically back to square one. Unsettling, stressful, but still a fact. A fact of life that sometimes things don't turn out the way they looked they would and how you would have certainly hoped they would.

Bump #2: I injured my arm (tricep tendonitis, I think it is from what I read) I've been through pretty much my darkest times so far in the health arena. I don't recall to have hurt so badly before, except maybe for when I was in the middle of childbirth contractions six years ago. The meds were supposed to make me feel better, but instead they made me feel worse. Aside from the excruciating pain, I have been nauseated, threw up quite a bit, light-headed, drowsy, and weak. I'm feeling a little better today, and hope and pray with my very fiber to get over this soon. I am aware this may take a while to completely heal, but all I'm hoping for some relief from the pain, or the ability to get better at coping with it. For the pain the doctor prescribed Vicodin but guess what, I couldn't handle it: I got really sick after taking just one pill. So no Vicodin for me, thank you.  But oh how much I've learned because of this (painful) experience: to love more, and be more patient with my body, with myself; to truly cherish every day of perfect health and take absolutely nothing for granted. I have learned to appreciate more quality (of workout) vs. quantity: that more reps do not necessarily equal to being more fit. I have learned to smile while in pain. (See, I was not very good at doing this before.) And I got to be spoiled with lots of kisses and hugs, and even got my "cast" ice pack signed by Ella. :)
[One thing is for sure though: this injury is not going to stop me getting better at what has become a passion. As I manage the pain, I'm going to be starting back up slowly with legs and back and working my way up to chest and arm hopefully in a week or so, God willing.]

Bump #3: Mom and dad are packing up. They're leaving for Romania on Thursday. We are all pretty sad, especially Ella who has spent so much time with them these past four months, and loves them immensly. We will miss them. I know I'll walk upstairs past their bedroom seeing and hearing no one and I will feel even more sad. I know that I will miss their smiles and love, their always caring nature and huge help with everything around the house.... But for now, we are trying to forget the departure pain and to look forward to next summer when we plan to go visit them in Romania.

Bump #4: Hrishi is leaving for Houston on Saturday. That means we'll have movers over on Friday and Saturday turning the house upside down and packing, packing, and packing some more. I am so not looking forward to it but this is a fact of life: we are moving. Our plan right now is for Ella and me to leave for Houston in another two weeks. We're staying behind to hopefully get a couple of more milk dose increases and a few visitors to see the house.

I am sad for all of this happening but I know that whatever we go through, it is somehow for our best. You see, there is just so many mixed emotions, all packed up in this week. I'm getting sentimental about leaving Dallas, about all that we've accomplished here as a family, and myself as an individual. But more on that later. I have to save some of this "mush" for another post, next week when the skies will hopefully be clearer.

Yesterday, a friend from church shared this on her  facebook wall and said it reminded her of me... I felt really humbled and so unworthy, knowing all of my shortcomings and struggles... And yet I am so fortunate to have so many people surrounding me with much love and patience. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

"For truth and duty - it is ever the fitting time; who waits until circumstances completely favor his undertaking WILL NEVER ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING." -Martin Luther

Now, a splash of color would be nice, wouldn't it, so here come the pictures (when I get time to upload:)
 
Temple grounds visit:

Horseback riding: this little girl was over the moon about it. She had a blast.

The awesomest rider!!

 

"Mici" making with tataie: so delicious!!

Yummy glazed brownies made with love by mom:

We love you mom and dad and are so grateful for the wonderful times we've had together! May God bless you as you return home to Romania in safety and may HE be with you, 'til we meet again.

"Daily Thought"

So many rough edges to smoothen out, so much to learn, so much to change in order to some day see that diamond shine through....

From allergy mom to allergy mom

These have been going around on Facebook. Some, like this one, are well-thought. I found it at http://www.allergickid.blogspot.com/, one of my favorite food allergies blog.

 

Prayers do go up daily for the safety of my sweet girl, for her safety around food.

Sometimes, this mommy is dead worried. Some other times, she's very hopeful that one day, one day you will be free of these allergies. Until then, she prays, and prays, and prays some more.



Week recap

This past week has not been the sweetest. We've had lots of challenges and trials and I wonder honestly how or when they're going to end. Comforting words of wisdom in ward conference this Sunday helped refocus and gain additional hope that somehow all will be well.

It started or continued if you will, with Ella's upset stomach which she had to struggle with for almost two weeks. Two weeks of diahreea, cramping, and poor eating. She was sick of being sick and worried that she wouldn't get well.

Then mom got this really strange allergic reaction in both of her eyes that caused a lot of swelling, redness, itching, pain, and non-stop tearing. Poor thing, she was miserable. First, we went to the minute clinic at CVS thinking that maybe she had a bad case of pink eye. But the sympthoms were too severe. The PA there told us that she needed to be seen in a doctor's office. We went in at the clinic and after waiting for more than two hours to get in, mom was given an allergy shot (epinephrine, benadryl, and something else), prescribed steroids, antibiotics, and another medication to help with the swelling and itching. Luckily, the meds are working and she's now recovering well. (This was quite an experience as I got to see the other side of the world, where the less fortunate take their sick. My empathy for human suffering increased ten fold seeing these people. Them and us were blessed though, with a very good and caring doctor, a man who I could swear might have healed thousands in the rural Africa and was now on a mission to bring relief in my neck of the woods, or so I'd like to think. Ha-ha! (I needed the humor!!) He was in fact from Africa.)

Now playback to Monday when I got some not so encouraging news about my employment. Due to the fact that Hrishi's leaving the company was a hard blow to the executives, they were for a while considering whether I should be able to continue working for them or not... I felt pretty terrible about this and did a lot of soul and mind searching. I felt hurt as I have always stood as my own professional and proved myself over and over again as a top performer in the eight years I had worked for them. Fortunately, because of the wonderful boss that I have, Julie, things are looking up and they might be able to finalize a telecommuting arrangement for me, after all. As it was explained to me later in the week, their concern was around Hrishi's going to work for a competitor (which is truly not the case but of course, they reserve the right to believe and assess the situation in the manner they think most appropriate.) Hrishi, my parents, and sweet Ella have been extremely supportive through all this. Ella's prayers for mommy "not to be kicked out" from work, were absolutely precious and very effective, I am certain. (The funniest thing she did on Saturday: she saw my work headset on the counter, picked it up, put it on, and said "Hello, this is Julie!" (Julie is my boss' name, the nice one! :-))

Aside from these, we're now waiting to see if the buyers are going to walk or not from the house. While we had an offer signed and finalized last week, after the general inspection, they decided they wanted to do another inspection, a structural one, today. Hrishi had one of his friends in the ward, who is a civil engineer, come over yesterday after church and take a look, so we would be prepared for whatever news today would bring. He pointed out some cracks and movement at the foundation but indicated these were all so common here in TX due to the temperature changes and the soil composition. Today we will find out for sure how severe these are, and whether our buyers will walk out or not. Regardless, we will have to make whatever repairs are needed and deal with the aftermath... I've been praying hard that whatever the outcome, we will somehow figure things out and be able to move on with our lives in Houston and buy a home there. When you take all the facts and stack them together, that possibility is looking slim but with HIM all things are possible, so I will not worry anymore.

On the bright side, Ella's finally over her sickness, has started eating well and is back in school. This blessing alone outweighs all the other trials.

On the fitness front which seems to always somehow help me find and keep my balance and sanity, I started P90X, my Valentine's Day present.

I did the Ab Ripper X workout on Saturday before I took mom to the doctor, then I did the Chest and Back workout and boy, they are TOUGH! I expected them to be, but the good news is that I was able to pass with flying colors, doing a minimum of 12 to 15 reps for each exercise. Wahoo!! (It feels great to overcome fears, do hard things, and know that you are getting stronger. The sweat and pain are nothing compared to THAT feeling!)

This should be a great training regime as I'm ramping up for this crazy event I signed up for, "We are Alpha", in our new home town, Sugar Land on April 7th.)

Yes, every mortal has a limit but we'll be there to push it further. :) (But I do think they could have picked a different less "ferocious" face for this poster!)
I spoke with one of the trainers at the gym who saw the training workouts and said this event will be a lot tougher than last year's. I say, let it be, we're stronger this year than we were last year.