Birthday and Bloodwork

Phew... lots happening around these parts in the past few weeks. I have not had lots of time to catch up on blogging so here is a quick synopsis of the latest Page fam developments.



I said au revoir to the 2nd decade of my life and bonjour 30's on November 18th. It was the day we officially moved into our temporary apartment and the last day of preparing our old home for the movers. I kept forgetting it was my birthday because I was so caught up in the busyness of moving. In the middle of the day, Lee Anne and her sweet daughter dropped in to visit and surprise me with homemade growth sticks for our kids! For the past year or so I had kept track of Joshua and Sophia's growth by marking and dating the measurement on our kitchen wall. Since I couldn't take the kitchen wall with me, I had intended on purchasing some growth charts from a local store. It was the perfect surprise and they are super adorable. I will take photos of them when we settle into our new home in France. I transferred their markings and can't wait to start using them for years to come.

So after lots of cleaning and purging and packing we were ready to head over to our new temporary home. We walk into the apartment and I start setting things down and I notice a framed photograph of our family from the fall photo shoot we had with Kim DeLoach a couple of months ago. Hmm.. that is weird, I thought. Then, I look up and there are framed photos of all of my beautiful children all around the den and dining area!!! I was giddy with excitement and I look at Freddie incredulously thinking he was responsible for this delightful surprise. He smiles and tells me that my sister-in-laws, mother-in-law and sweet friend Lee Anne were behind it all. And, it didn't end with the pictures. With a wide smile and happy feet, I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt as I went room to room finding treasures along the way. A Happy Birthday mylar balloon floated in the kitchen which was filled with all sorts of goodies - a big basket full of snacks and paper products. The refrigerator was stocked with chicken nuggets, YoBaby yogurt, cinnamon rolls (Josh was super pleased), lasagna and rolls. The bathroom had another huge basket with toiletries, candles and cleaning supplies. It was fabulous! And, like icing on a cake, there was a beautifully wrapped gift on the counter top which was hiding a new set of stainless steel pots and pans! I felt like little Miss Holly Homemaker. I was set and ready to clean, cook (without giving my family cancer from my non-stick pots and pans) and eat while gazing at my beautiful family's photographs in our new abode. It took me a while to come down from that high. I feel so undeserving of such loving and thoughtful friends and family. I am so blessed. The goodies are great and are very much appreciated but what means the most are the friendships and love behind it all. Thank you guys so much for thinking of me.


As if that wasn't enough, the next evening I had dinner plans with Gretchen and Charity. I was going to meet them at California Dreaming but Charity insisted on picking me up. I wasn't going to argue with no driving. As we drive down the on ramp onto the interstate, I quickly realized we weren't heading to California Dreaming as the red sign sails by. I knew they were up to something but I had no idea that I was going to be surprised by a table full of some great friends at a cool downtown tapas (not "topless", Sandy :) restaurant. The time flew by as we grazed on morrocan lamb, honey goat cheese balls (the name evoked lots of giggles... I know, I know.. believe it or not, we are all.. as of this week... at or over 30), nudey pasta (this isn't how it was spelled but it is how it was pronounced... it was yum-o), hummus and pita bread and lots of other scrumptious fare. We were there until they almost kicked us out. I had lots of fun and am so appreciative of the surprise dinner and laughs but most of all for all of their friendships. Each one of those ladies means so much to me and I will miss them all while we are in France. I pray that we will all be able to reconnect when we return. Oh yeah, that's right, they are going to visit so we will definitely stay in touch. :) There are pictures from this event but I don't have them at the moment.. will upload upon receipt.

On Thursday, the 20th, my Joshua came down with a wicked virus. With a fever, he was up all night coughing (I won't mention that I overdosed him with cough syrup at 12am which prompted a call to the Poison Control Center) and complained of a sore throat and was just miserable. I have three kids... kids get viruses, right? Usually over in 24 hours.. can't do anything about a virus anyways... save $25 co-pay and tough it out at home. Well, on Saturday he was still sick and getting worse. I could see his lymph nodes poking out of both sides of his neck. His pediatrician's office is closed so I take him to our local Doctor's Care office. After waiting for an hour, we are finally seen by a gruff physician's assistant. We aren't in kid friendly pediatrician land anymore. Joshua was a trooper though. He followed orders and answered questions with no complaints (you may have thought we have training camp around here sometimes). The doctor was very concerned about him. His tonsils were so swollen they were almost obstructing his throat. He underwent a throat swab for a strep test, being poked in the arm with a needle in an unsuccessful attempt to draw blood for a mono test, a finger prick and having two long swabs shoved up his nostrils for a flu test. It truly was horrible as a helpless bystander but not nearly as uncomfortable as the participant. When I mentioned having to take him to see a doctor before we ever went in, he started panicking about getting a shot. No, no Joshua.. no shots today, I say. I felt terrible! I had no idea. As a reward for being such a good patient and having to endure such hardship, milkshakes for everyone for dinner. He was too sick to even drink a milkshake. :( Despite doing a little better by Monday, I had to take him in to see his pediatrician because he was still very tired and his lymph nodes were still swollen. Upon feeling an enlarged spleen and liver the doctor suspected mono and was quite confident this was the official diagnosis. The poor dear had to endure, again, blood being drawn from his arm. Surprisingly the test returned negative. I went into panic mode and began researching on the internet what could cause the symptoms he presented. Note to self and anyone reading this - try to refrain from researching the internet when it comes to your child being ill. I mean, I know knowledge is power but by Wednesday afternoon I had self diagnosed Joshua with leukemia and was physically nauseous. His pediatrician wasn't in that day and I wasn't able to consult with him until Friday. His conclusion was that it was still viral as there are other viruses which mimic the symptoms of mono. I don't think I have ever prayed more for my son as I did in those three days. It is sad that it takes a near catastrophic event to bring me to a point where I pray without ceasing and turn completely to the Lord. I felt a taste of what it was like to be completely dependent on Him. If Joshua was really sick with a deadly disease, I couldn't control whether he got it nor if he was going to be healed of it. I just wanted it out of his little body and there was nothing I could do but pray. I thought about how I would handle it if, God forbid please, he were to die. I clung to my faith and hope that he would be with Christ - a far better state of being than here on this depraved earth - and that God is in control of whatever the outcome. I know this sounds dramatic but it truly is where I was this past week. I am sure the Lord was teaching me something. I do know that during this time I came to realize that all of the little things I worry and obsess about are insignificant. I realized that God is in control... not me. I realized that I need to start living a life completely dependent on Him and to cherish every moment I have with my family. Joshua is doing remarkably better. His energy and appetite levels have improved, he doesn't complain of a sore throat anymore and his lymph nodes appear to be back to their normal size. Thank you God for healing my son.

If you are still with me, we had a nice Thanksgiving with some family. I will blog about that later as I am sure you are so done with reading. This has to be the longest blog post ever! So, on that note, I will leave you with this... unrelated yet precious picture of Joshua, Canon (cousin.. look at those beautiful blue eyes!!!) and Sophia.