Technology Free

We were without phone, Internet, and TV for the better part of last week because of our move and I HATED it. I missed updating our blog and following the other blogs that I enjoy reading. I missed my favorite tv shows. I missed talking on the phone. I did get a lot of stuff done and thanks in large part to all of Mike and Sonia's hard work the previous weekend we're pretty much moved into our new home. I'll try and do a brief update today and hopefully this weekend I'll have more time to share more details.

Olivia
Olivia is continuing to do well. She is very excited to see her old toys (all carefully disinfected of course). She hasn't been eating much this week but after a trip to the store for her favorite snacks she seems to be getting a bit of her appetite back. She's pretty much surviving on water, Popsicles, popcorn, and chips at this point. She's just not interested in eating anything else. Her next doctors appointment is at Duke on Wednesday so we'll see if things improve by then. She's had a break from her physical, occupational, and speech therapy this week. We'll be back in Durham for the first half of next weeks so she'll have one last session with each of her therapists in Durham before we make the transition to receiving these services at home near Ft. Bragg. School is another story. I will have to set things up with the school district here. I'm hoping that they can be accommodating but we'll have to wait and see how things go.

Mike
Mike recovered from his cold and seems to be feeling good despite having staff duty several times over a week and a half period. He completed his first foreign jump last week, he jumped out of a German airplane, using German equipment, with a German jump master. He was thrilled and I wish I would have been able to see it, or maybe I'm glad that I didn't know until the whole thing was over.

Peter
Peter's first birthday was this past Wednesday, November 11th. I cannot believe that he's already a year old. I think it's so hard to realize that he's one because we spent so many months of his first year apart. We celebrated with cake and Peter loved it. More on Peter's birthday on future blog posts....

Laurie
Unfortunately I seem to have caught Mike's cold. I'm terrified that Olivia will get sick. I've sequestered myself in our bedroom, I wear a mask and gloves any time I have to go into one of the "common" areas. I'm loading up on vitamin C and spending a small fortune on Clorox disinfectant wipes and Lysol spray. Today is the first day I really feel ill and I'm hoping to feel better soon. Olivia, Peter, and Sonia all seem to feel fine. I've called the doctors at Duke about my illness and they say that we're doing all that we can. I'm so glad that my mother-in-law is still here to help out. More on Sonia later in future blog posts as well...

The New House
I LOVE our new house. Although after everything we've been through since we moved last June I think I would love anything. Technically the house is smaller than our last house but the floor plan is so much better for our family that it seems huge. It's just 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half bathrooms all on one floor. There is a large bonus room upstairs above the garage that we've turned into a media room/playroom/office area. It's the ultimate multi-purpose place. I think I'll love our new community even more than I liked DuPont. The neigh boors all seem really nice. There aren't quite as many parks as there were in DuPont but there are several community pools and lakes for fishing and paddle boats. I really hope that Olivia will be well enough to be able to enjoy some of these activities this summer. We've unpacked almost everything and now just have to hang things on the walls and organize things. The only complaint I have about the house are the curtains. They are terrible. They are all custom with huge cornices on each window. They are beautifully made but the fabrics are not even close to neutral and clash with our decor. I'll have to work on something. More pictures of our new digs soon!

Technology Issues
The entire community was designed to have "smart technology" and everything is built on a fiber optic network. We thought that it would be fairly simple to move in and establish services but it's been an absolute headache! Technology was one of the big draws to this community. Cable and Internet are included in our rent. It was a big perk as those can be expensive charges. I've spent hours on the phone with various tech support people for the phone and cable company. The phone and cable providers have contracts with the community, they are required to provide the hook-up to the house but are not responsible for or allowed to do anything inside the house. I've made progress in sorting it all out but aren't quite there yet. This weekend we'll need to purchase our own wireless router for Internet. If you have any suggestions for a good wireless router please let me know!

Prayers
Thank you so much for your prayers for Olivia and our family. I have to ask you once again to keep Olivia's friend Rachel's family in your prayers. As I mentioned in an earlier post Rachel passed away last week. Her funeral was on November 11th, please keep her family in your prayers. Rachel was actually from North Carolina and Mike and I were able to attend the visitation this past Tuesday. It was a time of reflection for us and an opportunity to be there for Rachel's parents who were so helpful to us during our time up on 5200. Words cannot begin to express the experience of attending the visitation of a child. I am joyful that she doesn't have to suffer anymore but it is so difficult to be at peace with her passing. I cannot help but compare her situation to Olivia's, there are so many similarities, of course there are differences too. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is HIS will, not mine. I believe that there is a greater plan in all of this. I don't know what God has in store for Rachel any more than I know about his plans for Olivia. I just have to remember that it is all truly in His hands.