beep - please leave a message at the tone

while i don't really consider myself a super religious person, i was raised lutheran and our family attends (well, not while we're in NL) a presbyterian church... i heard a sermon about 4 months ago about being called by God.. the pastor went on to say that you might get this calling at what you might think is 'not the right time' or 'not the calling that you were looking for'. during the sermon, i couldn't help but think that my calling was our move to the netherlands.

last night was one of those times, i wish i could have just said "beep - please leave a message after the tone, God - no one is home".

helen seems to have caught a flu bug and had been getting sick for the last 24 hours....last night (warning - too much information ahead!) she woke up at about 1:30am pretty much dry heaving,,,,, she proceeded to do this about every 30-45 minutes until about 6am. all this in between jillian's two feedings. i can remember saying to myself at 1 point "why me?.... what else?" "beep - no one is home, God"

the boys started school today, helen was sick, and i'm tired! ross got the boys ready and i headed off to school...... just a few miles away.....oh and we finally have a car big enough for the 4 kids now.....AND don't worry ...i have my tomtom!!!!! so off we go! ross had taken me on a practice run to the school on the day after easter (holiday here that day) so i could figure out where to park..... well, that's easier said than done... where am i gonna park this SUV-type car now - ahhhhh and i don't have my stoller 'cause the car trunk is too small to fit my stroller......and don't forget - helen is sick. so we drive around a bit (i think graham was worried he would be late for school) - i found a parking spot and walked the boys to school.... carrying jillian's carseat in one hand and helen on my other hip. (barf bag in hand!)

the boys found their classrooms and settled in - no problem. helen, jillian, and i headed home. i called to get helen an appointment with the chiropractor to get adjusted..hoping this would help her fever and tummy. the chiropracter was very nice and it turns out helen's neck and lower back were out of alignment. helen kept asking for water at the chiropractor... i was afraid to give her any fluids today since she could not keep anything down last night. she kept going over to the coffee/tea station and saying "water, mommy". after the appoinment we went back to pick up the boys from school (early release on wednesdays!) and headed home. helen drank a little bit of water and had some ice chips. ross had already made an appointment with our family doctor (assigned to us through socalized medicine) for later in the afternoon. turns out helen was a bit dehydrated.

even though i would have liked to "turn on the answering machine last night and today" - God helped me through the day..... jillian slept in her carseat while i dropped the boys off at school and also took another nap this afternoon..... so far helen has been able to keep her small amounts of fluid down......ross was able to help me with helen last night.