Surprise Email from Ethiopia

I was happy this afternoon to see this email from Dr. Lackey!

Friends and Family of MOM Ethiopia,

We arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on time this morning--around 7:45 Ethiopia time. The flight was long , but uneventful. All checked bags arrived in a timely manner, we obtained visas without a hitch, and changed our U.S. dollars into Birr. The group is exhausted but excited.

We enjoyed lunch at a downtown Addis pizza joint and toured the Hamlin Fistula Hospital. If you're unfamiliar with the work of Dr. Katherine Hamilin and her late husband, I encourage you to google the fistula hospital in Addis. The tour was eye-opening. For dinner, our host Dave Harding treated us to a traditional Ethiopian meal and cultural expression and dance for entertainment. Both the meal and the song/dance were memorable.

Breakfast is at 7:10 in the morning. After eating and packing our gear, we will spend the day traveling to Lake Langano where we'll stay at the SIM sports camp. We'll begin digging the well in a neighboring community the following day. We're all hoping to hit water!

While in Langano, we will not have internet access. So, no news is good news. Once we arrive in Awassa about 9 days later, we will send out another update.

Our thanks go to Ben and Kelly Taylor for the work they've done organizing our adventure and for letting me use their computer and internet.

Love from Ethiopia,

Laura Lackey and MOM Group Members


Hamlin Fistula Website

Sat-Mon

Saturday during our party

Take 1 Take 2
Take 3
it just doesn't get any better....


Sunday - all packed and ready to drive to Atlanta


Once we arrived in Atlanta and checked in to our hotel, we went out to dinner at Long Horn Steakhouse. Indy is going to become a Pescatorian - eating fish but no other meat. She started off right with Lobster. (she did say she probably wouldn't say no to her dad's steak every now and then!). Since her illness she has been unable to eat meat anyways, and figures maybe a healthier diet is the way to go.

Up at 5 am and at the airport by 6:30. My job was to hold her essay and turn it in to the professor once he arrived. Mike was in charge of the bags. Good thing Indy has her peeps, eh?! We noticed the other kids had also chosen to write their papers and turn them in at the aiport where Dr. Harshbarger was collecting them to be graded during the flight. Another parent remarked his daughter completed her paper at 2 am. Indy and I laughed and she remarked she was "early" then. Still, it was hot off the presses.

Indy says she looks "harsh" but made sure to look beautiful during the 2 weeks of classes so the others would know she had it in her! She's so funny. One girl even took a pic of Indy looking good and said she was bringing it along to remind everyone of her potential.



Indy and her bag boy - aka DAD :) carrying her backpack in the red bag

Indy will be wearing skirts almost all the time. She brought more clothes and less stuff this time, expecting to give away all the goodwill skirts and shirts at the end of the trip.


Fellow travellers checking in. This guy has peanut butter and a razor in Indy's backpack. A whole bunch of students stashed stuff in Indy's backpack so they wouldn't have to check theirs.



Up at the front you can kinda see the 2 professors in charge and more friends waiting to get checked in. Only about 4 of 12 checked bags. Everyone brought stuff for one suitcase to be filled with books, jump ropes, and bubbles for the orphanage games they will play together. And a hackeysack. There was some practicing going on during the wait.



Here they are again - Dr. Lackey and Dr. Harshbarger. He has travelled so many times he has the smallest backpack ever. Everything he needs for 3 weeks is in that bag! Mariah takes more stuff on a 5 hr road trip!

Next thing we knew, they were off! Indy was so happy and excited! She landed in DC around noon and then a 12 hr flight to Addis Ababa which lands in about 3-4 hrs from now. Hopefully there will be no complications getting visas and entering the country. They hit the ground running and go straight to work.


Sidenote: Dr. Harshbarger reassured Indie and wanted us to know that there is an excellent Korean hospital within reach should anything happen to Indie (or anyone else) - as good as our hospitals here. Her lymph nodes in neck and armpits are bigger again but we are still praying it won't slow her down or affect her trip. She's just glad she got to go and will deal with whatever needs to be dealt with afterwards.

Memorial Weekend

On this Memorial Weekend, we have been feverishly finishing the backyard in preparation of our first official backyard bbq with some friends tonight. Grammy and I have been super busy gardening both sides of the new patio and of course, found plenty to do on the three levels of the other part of the backyard. For some reason, that photo didn't upload. Oh well, another time.

Indy has been home for a couple of days. Today she and Mike have been working on getting her clothes prepped with Sawyers anti-insect stuff for Africa. She is ready to pack. Tomorrow we leave for Atlanta to spend the night and be at the airport for a very early flight out to Ethiopia. Here she is being funny as I walked by. She was gathering her items, but snagged Gib's jungle boots for the photo. He is leaving shortly for Boundary Waters. His clothes were Sawyer'd by ME! I did a better job, I'm sure, so Indy if you get eaten alive by insects, it's Dad's fault. I went out there and told him to saturate the clothing!

Back to the yard! A side view of the finished product

The all important bbq area. We need to get a couple of barstools so Mike and Gib can take a load off while they work diligently on not overcooking our steaks

A view of our patio exit from the house which is my morning spot

We have our eye on a nice set of furniture but it will have to wait awhile, in the meantime, this will do quite nicely

The firepit

The last part to be finished just in the time for the weekend was the staining of the concrete. We are happy with it!!!

Many blessings have come our way to make living here a possibility for Grammy and our family and we are very thankful for them. We are also very thankful for Indie's improved health and the prayers of many over her. We will keep her in our prayers that she has strength and vitality while in Ethiopia and returns to us safe and sound, having had a wonderful journey filled with awesome memories and stories to share.

Random News

Woke up with a migraine brewing - knew it was going to be One Of Those Days

Slept in a little too late and threw together lunches, watched the kids get on the bus and then just sat holding my head still, either in front of the computer or TV to watch tornado coverage of Missouri.

Today was the last full day of school.... except for Gib, who texted me a few minutes into his bus ride to call his school and get him out of Study Hall Exam. The school took it in stride and I thought he could just check himself out. I should have sent an email. Unfortunately, when 10:30 rolled around, the initial stage of a mega migraine had just hit and I needed to just pass out. Gib didn't have a signed note so I had to weave my way through high schoolers looking like I was about to heave-ho, get the dude and drive him and a friend home. Somebody forgot to bring his drivers permit. Bummer :( I alternated between intense a/c and then a little heat, and then more a/c just to make it without gagging while I drove. I'm sure his friend found it very reassuring. But hey, he got home sooner. I grabbed an ice pack and passed out for a few hours.

The cicadas have an unending DRONE that you can hear inside the house. Plus it was windy. So I was wondering what in the world that wave of noise was. It was getting through the pillows I had packed around my head, the covers I pulled over my head, and everything! I opened a window to listen better and rolled my eyes and shut it again.... cicadas!! Now that I'm awake, I figured I might as well stay up and enjoy the headache and have a little caffeine to go with it.

Those cicadas are so noisy, and as I sit here and analyze the noise, I realize they all seem to go in a wave of sound. It's rather irritating. I think less than half have emerged. Oy, it will soon be awful if that is true. I need to take some photos of our driveway, the house on that side, and the big tree in the back. They are all covered in newly emerged cicadas and shells. I think the empty shells that look just like bugs are the grossest part of the whole "Cicada Storm" as one of the preschoolers called it.

The patio project is just about finished. Finally!!! Whoa, we hit a slow down from February to May. Partly due to weather and partly due to the contractor moving like he's from the South; which he is, and the nicest guy ever, but c'mon, I hate it when I have to nag. Today we are finally getting the concrete power washed, sealed and first coat of stain put on. I kinda heard the power washing while I was passed out. When I woke up, it was done! :)

It was a major snag to find a company to do the concrete the way we all envisioned. I was ready to just give up on it. Then there was the unending winter. We had 2 days of 90, and then it was 50 degrees and raining for days again! We have 4 more days of rain once this system hits too. But, if we like the color today, we won't have to stain again. They start light and apply more as needed.

Indy's purrball is still a secret amongst the felines here but I anticipate the cat getting out of the bag, or the upstairs, before too long. He has escaped but we managed damage control before Chino opened his eyes and saw the intruder. That was a close call. Thank goodness Aussie is not a meow-er. He is WILD though!! Gib made a sock toy yesterday just to get the demon from chewing my arm off. I have two battle scars from that little episode of trying to teach Aussie rules 1 & 2. Rule #1 NO! NO! Rule #2 Paws, not Claws. Still working on them. Indy sometimes gets hourly reports, including pics and vid of Aussie's progress.

Mike tells me we are going to have a special guest next week! His sister Kay bought a car from a dealership in town and is flying in to drive it home. That is pretty cool. We get a visit and she gets a car!

Duke TIP & More Cuties Update

Mariah, Taryn and I attended the Duke TIP Tennessee State Recognition ceremony at Vanderbilt University. The criteria to be invited to attend required certain scores in the ACT or SAT depending on which test was taken. Mariah qualified in both SAT math and writing, and came close in critical reading as well. I think she feels she could pretty much skip a grade or be taking dual enrollment or something now.

The Stage Is Set. This is how it looked when we rolled in at 9:58:00 (that would be after we told some nice usher that NO, Taryn was not in need of assistance to find her seat amongst the 7th graders! Haha). Mariah found her chair, and Taryn and I found 2 seats by some miracle in a good location and sat down with 1 minute to spare. Whew. Mike would have gone INSANE to cut it that close.

University of Utah Alum (I mention this for those who would enjoy the factoid) some dude (aka Vice Provost for Enrollment, Dean of Admissions at Vanderbilt University) Douglas L. Christiansen giving the welcoming address

Mariah receives her awards
She successfully makes the walk, "head up, shoulders back... smile!"

She did not trip despite being weighted down with medallions

Nice! She's still working the runway walk.
We facebooked. Since we skipped school for this, it seemed appropriate. Then we walked with a couple of her friends from school to Brueggers and had lunch.
Oh wait, we goofed around first.
Mariah thinks nobody would notice she was standing on her tiptoes. She's really only booksmart. She has some wising up to do and a couple more inches before she can take me!
Our photographer, Taryn the talkative
Only she wasn't talking to US and she wasn't cooperative for a photo with us either!
Seriously?!

Meanwhile, just a few days ago....

Mike and I went to the school awards ceremony. This is Mariah getting her Chorus participation award. Woot! Mike should get one for driving her there every week before school. That's what I'm talking about.

This is the lineup of kids who took the Duke TIP testing at Mariah's school. She's about 3rd on the left or so. Shortly after this photo the fire alarm went off. Haha.

And a few days BEFORE that....

I was in Macon with Indy. We were hoping to wrap up over a month worth of tests to get a final answer to what had been plaguing her. We didn't quite get a final answer but we are certainly hopeful that her illness of the past couple months is a virus and not lymphoma. In June, we might know with more certainty that it was viral. For now, the doctor said she wasn't concerned about what lit up on the scan because it sounds like it could be 50/50 and it what showed was on the mild side. She also knew how much this trip meant to Indy and I think given the information at hand, decided a few weeks wouldn't affect her. Indy goes back at the end of June, and she will have to be tested a few times for the next year as well. Oh bother. But, we can't lose sight of The GREAT news that the doctors OK'd her to go to Africa at the end of May! I'll be anxious the entire time, but Indy will push through any remaining fatigue and make the most of a golden opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children learning English and helping a community have access to clean water.

My drivers arrived on Saturday 5/14/2011 after Indy and I spent a couple of fun days together once the dr visits were over. We hit paydirt at the Goodwill and got 3 skirts and 3 tops for less than $25 that she will wear in Ethiopia. We also went to Thor and enjoyed the movie quite a bit.

Indy's adopted a new kitty and named him Aussie. She got him here from our shelter. He will summer over with us, enjoying the days Indy spends here before she leaves again. He adores her, and sleeps in her room where everything should smell enough like her that when she comes back he should be all "hey! it's YOU!!!!" I think the instant love they had for each other will remain strong despite a couple of long absences. We try to give him alot of attention from alot of different people so he doesn't bond with any one person. He recently discovered Grammy's Side of the House below his room and that has offered endless entertainment and seemingly limitless opportunities to explore and satisfy his curiosity. I think he most enjoys sliding on the tile!

Cutie Pies Everywhere

Yesterday as I pulled in at the top of our driveway I noticed something under the Swag Van. Usually it's Chino but the shape was wrong. As I drove closer, I wondered if it was a chihuahua huddled there looking all terrified. Then I paused halfway in the garage and realized it was a baby deer! Awwwwww. I texted Taryn from the car inside the garage and waited for her to come out and we investigated. We kept an ear and eye out for Mama Deer but never saw or heard her. The Baby didn't like us looking at her so we didn't stay long.


When Mariah got off the bus a bit later, we went back
out and took some photos on the zoom lens.

We got these pics with that camera. We were fairly close but not as close as it seems in the photo. An hour later the fawn was gone. I should have stalked the window and watched the Mama Deer come collect her. The Mama hides her baby while she forages for food. If she has more than one fawn they are hidden in different spots. It would have been interesting to see how many babies she had when Swag Fawn was picked up in the car rider line.

Another cutie pie in the house has been a well kept secret amongst the resident felines... except for Ellie, and we haven't let her have her usual visitor of Chino so she can't spill the beans. Instead, Ellie has had to put up with a frisky kitten assaulting her mousie toys and running rampant all over her living quarters while she hides from him. Today she didn't hide as much so I think by the end of the week they will be friends. She only hisses a little and tells him not to come visit her under the bed. Aussie did a little rumba and darted under there today anyway. He came back out. She wasn't in the mood for Aussie Rumba Time. He hopes she will play soon because Ellie's 101 mice toys and bouncy balls are getting old... well, not really he goes after them every time he sees them, but still... he wants to make friends :)

Prayers

It is with a heavy heart, and a constant fear that I pray continuously to keep under control, that I share with you the news that Indie has been seriously ill. Today, she and I will be returning to Georgia to meet with one of her doctors. Either today or tomorrow we will find out the results of a scan testing for cancer. Please keep us, and the entire family, in your prayers.

Should we receive some positive news that at present, she did not "light up" in the PET scan, she will probably get a green light to go to Ethiopia and Armenia. It is her fondest dream to go. If she shows no cancer at present, she will be scanned for another year.

Lymphoma is one the dr's are most concerned about. She did test positive for Lupus so if cancer is ruled out I suppose more tests will be ordered to pursue the auto-immune avenue and her service work abroad will more than likely still take place providing she is physically up to it.

Taryn's Rolla Pics

All of these pictures were taken by Taryn at a local park in Rolla. It was after a big snow storm, and the lake in the pictures is frozen over. Here are a few of some of the favorites.

The tiny snowman Taryn made. Isn't it cute?


This is Taryn's boyfriend Tim. He refused to smile for the camera

There's a smile, but he still wouldnt look at the camera.

This was Indy's favorite picture out of all of them

Here's a good picture of the forzen over lake.

Tim and Taryn's shadow.



They are really pretty pictures aren't they? Taryn hopes everyone likes them as much as she does.

Cracked Part II

Mike was up to bat this week in a big way. He changed work locations. His commute was cut in half. From 2 miles to 1. He could bike or walk it, really. It's a beautiful walk from here with gorgeous tree lines sidewalks. He doesn't seem to be in the mood, however. He also got to bring our college girls' belongings home, and one of the college girls came back with her stuff! My dining room looks a little like an episode of The Hoarders.

Mike drove to Macon on Thursday, there and back; he got a little bit of sleep and headed to Missouri on Friday morning for another load and go. Indy will drive herself home, but Taryn came back with all her shoes! It took them awhile as they stopped in St. Louis to spend time with Tim and went to dinner and stuff. Which was probably a good idea since the President was at Fort Campbell and I don't know how that affected traffic. Sometimes they shut down the freeway for a few hours for security.

Taryn finished her last final on Tuesday and spent the week packing and playing with her MS& T crowd. She will go back in July to be a counselor for the HGR program (Hit The Ground Running) which she participated in as a Freshman. It helps the incoming college students become acclimated to college life, the school, get to know some students and take a few classes for college credit. I think it is a very helpful program. She will be paid for 20 hrs a week and room & board. I know Taryn will miss her college life but I think she will enjoy the break from classes and take full advantage of the kitchen and extended sleeping hours.

Her fishie and Indy's fish have taken up residence in the kitchen and the dining room. Indy is going to laugh when she sees how backward I set her tank up. The castle I popped in early Friday morning when I realized her catfish was going crazy without a place to hide. It was dark and I didn't pay attention until it was too late and he was already inside it. I figured, oh well. When I got home Friday afternoon, I spoke to her and got instructions on how to finish setting up her tank. I think I have her lid on upside down and her filter on the wrong side. The fish seem a little discombobulated. See? Don't they look confused to you?!

Fishy is currently still inside his parmesan cheese shaker but that is inside the fish bowl getting acclimated to the water temp. I couldn't find Taryn's PH balance tabs so I can't transfer the poor little Blue Guy. He's a hardy fella, having survived trips back and forth from Rolla so I guess a few hours more won't hurt him.

Indy is spending a couple days in Macon and will return home on Sunday. All of her stuff, is here! Plus some new things we picked up at silent auctions and yard sales for the apartment she gets to live in just off campus next August! Yay finally no roommates! And a pet! We are so excited about that!

I took Gib with me the day he was "needed at home" and was, therefore, unable to attend a Pep Rally at school to the animal shelter to check out a cat I thought Indy might like. That poor kitty got an upper respiratory infection and was quarantined. They said we could see him on our way out but couldn't enter the building again if we did. In the end we decided not to so as not to bring any contagion home to our cats. It was a good thing Gib, the voice of reason and utterer of "let's go mom" was there. There were a couple of cats I really wanted to pet and there were adorable kittens! Gib, by the way, has the total magic touch with cats. They LOVE him. This one also apparently loves Dr. Pepper. I think that makes her a keeper. So was the guy next to him. And the calico on her right that Gib called Cheeseburger was ALL OVER him when she had been lying in a super depressed state and wouldn't even raise her head a few minutes before. I was yesterday's cat meat with Gib there. (Poor Gib those places make him sad and I really don't blame him). Next time I'll take Mariah. She will agree to playing with kittens and everything, and I'll make her break it to her daddy about how we ended up with another feline!!!

Moving On:

After a LONG preschool field trip day at a nature center park hiking, playgrounding, picnicking, tadpole catching, walking, and ALOT of sun (which felt glorious!) I was so tired I could barely move. But I was texted to get moving boxes and a filter for Indy's fish tank. So Gib, Riah and I went to the stores. I get a little punchy when I go over the top:

The next morning I think I was still under the influence. I was trying to get one of my little minions to entertain me. Now, now... don't worry. No bunny's were harmed in the filming of this video. I knew there was no way Diego would reach it in time. I just wanted to see how close he could get. The bunny is by the long driveway and sidewalk. It's very quiet (we WERE hunting you know. You'll have to turn up the volume or just inject your own voiceovers - that's always fun).

Am I the cat whisperer or what? Not a dog whisperer though. By any stretch of the imagination!!! Bahahaha!!!

Have I Cracked?!

I'm pretty sure I lost my mind this past week. Well, it's anyone's guess really when I lost it. Some will say it was LONG AGO. This week has been a trying one. Warning: This is a long one!


Gib went missing. I was subbing in a Pre-K classroom so was later getting home than usual. I raced in behind the bus and caught Mariah getting out and motioned her over to my car since I figured she could run errands with me as Gib was on his 2 hour long driving training ride. We made it to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions I forgot to get the night before and my cell rang. It was Mariah's ring tone, Mariah's face... I looked at Mariah thinking, what is she doing now?! and she isn't holding her phone calling me in the middle of getting prescriptions. I look at my phone. I look at Mariah who is looking at me like I'm crazy. Well, this has happened before, when their nice bus driver calls on the phone and says "who's mom is this?" so I astutely go "Great. You left your phone on the bus". I answer it as she is madly patting herself down. I love how we both checked the obvious. It's her friend Rachel. Mariah heaves a sigh of relief. I ask her where she's getting off the bus. I ask Mariah where that is.


We're pulling out of Walgreens and my phone rings AGAIN. This time it's a number I don't know. I answer it and it's Gib's driving instructor. It's now almost 3:20, his lesson started at 3:00. She can't find him. She has called repeatedly his cell, texted him, called the house, etc. She is going to leave and no show us. I'm all "no wait let me try!" so I do the same with the same non results. Again trying the obvious, except he knows my number.


Meanwhile, back behind the bus.... we finally catch up to Mariah's cell phone and retrieve it like a baton pass.


I'm racing toward the high school now, and called back the driver training lady and said I was going to call the school and have them announce his name over the LOUDSPEAKER to get his tardy self out front to the drivers training vehicle waiting for him.


Right about then I'm wondering, I know I TOLD Gib the exact time, he wouldn't have messed it up, so where is he?! Half of me is going, don't be ridiculous. But the other half is going what if we can't find him anywhere, am I going to have to call 911 AGAIN?! I'm envisioning the Amber Alert and starting to feel my blood pressure reach the roof. Mariah is apologizing profusely about her phone. I keep saying It's OK.


Then as I approach a neighborhood my cell rings again. It's a new number so I wing in and answer it. It's the Driver's Training School Dispatcher dude. He says something about how two kids were to be picked up at the high school at 3:00 and he's pieced together the fact that the chick I was talking to is missing her pick up of Gib and that another driver was supposed to pick up a Connor but has a Gib in his car and he knows this because he heard them talking.


I asked him if he knew for a FACT that it was my kid in the car (you know, because I don't want to lose the Amber Alert steam I was building up and then have to go thru the whole thing again. I could just see at 5:00 no Gib arriving home because he never was there in the first place they were all a bunch of dodo's). He says yes, he called the driver who confirmed that he asked the kid if he was Connor, Gib answered yes and got in. Now that the names are straightened out, Gib is in the Connor-mobile. That sounds just like my son, so I am trusting that at 5:00 my son will drive to our door and sheepishly arrive home safe and sound with a great story to tell US.

Gib's Great Story: The Guy goes "Are you mmpffff?" I go, "uhhh yeah" and get in. How was I supposed to know there were 2?! The guy slurred his words SO BAD the only thing I really understood was "yeah". I had to repeat everything he said to make sure I heard it correctly. Besides I think I got lucky. That other lady seems like she was a bit much" Who appreciates the teenagerness and brevity?! Haha. I think the guy tossed back a few to survive drivers training. That makes sense.

So, to get even, the next day when Gib got out after his day was over, and he passed the road test with only a -2 (woot!!) I told him I was stalking the window for a blog photo: