Visiting Chiang Mai Academy

We were up early, ate quickly and off we were on our way to met with Steve and Elyssa Rawlings over at the Song Tau station.  Originally planning on walking as it isn't even a 1/2 mile, but since Davis is still coughing a lot and weak, we waved down a Tuk Tuk and loaded up.  Tuk Tuk traveling is my favorite way to go, but it was cozy with all 5 of us, but warmer (are we acclimating already?), all squished together.  All along the way we saw the monks in their burnt orange outfits, bowls and purses heading down the streets collecting their morning breakfast from the people they passed by.  I still have not gotten a picture of that yet.  The city is just beginning to wake up, set up and begin again like so many other days before.  I have thought a lot about it, how monotonous to go about your life the same each day.  No hope for the future, no change from the past, just hoping to get enough merit to pass into the next life in a better existence.  So many people need to hear about Jesus and the hope of eternal life He has to offer to each one.  Not everyone can go throughout the world as missionaries, but there are so many people to reach, please pray for those out in the fields around the world, sharing the truth with a lost and dying people.  Become a part of the work in whatever capacity you can that God leads you to do.  You will be greatly blessed despite the trials and deprivations!            

Steve and Elyssa were there in the cut flower market waiting for us as our Tuk Tuk drove up.   After

Getting settled in the Song Tau on our way to the academy

morning greetings, we headed off following Steve to where we thought we were to go to get a Song Tau, but alas we needed to back track and go in a different direction.  There they were all the white Song Tau's the color we needed to head out toward the Academy.  We loaded up and off we went heading North out of the city.  The Song Tau's have set spots on their various routes that they sit and wait until the next Song Tau comes to load up the next group of people.  They want to be as full as possible making more money that way.  We came to a stopping point and waited the allotted time before we headed off at a rather slow speed in case someone along the way will want a ride.   Going slower allows the driver to stop closer to the person wanting to get on.

Steve & Laren talking with the Song Tau driver

We had the Song Tau to ourselves until a young college age girl hopped on with her Chihuahua

"Cute Cabbage" and her mistress

puppy she told us was 2 months old.  I don't remember her name, but the puppies name meant "cute  cabbage". The girl told us it only meant cute or cabbage to those that are children you could not use that same word for an adult as it doesn't apply for that age group.  She was friendly and happy to tell us that she had been to university in America, Maryland, last year.  She has since finished school and is returning to American next month, but this time to New York, Manhattan, to study in the English program there.  She is excited, she said she likes America very much.

More people were picked up all along the way and some dropped off, a teacher at a school, we saw nurses by a hospital, a young father with his 12 month or so little girl got on.  He positioned her hands to "Y" us in greeting.  We saw large pasture area filled with the Thailand armies horses.  So interesting to see how these gentle people live in this busy world.

Walking from the academy towards the church

We arrived in the little village Mai Teng, about 10 kilometers from the academy.  We needed to walk a short distance to get on the right road and find another Song Tau to complete our journey.  Steve gave us a tour of the academy, radio station, ICC (International Children's Care which is an orphanage), the church, Paul Food industry, where we got to met Paul himself, Pastor Phamor's gardens,  the television station where we met Bill Osborn the manager of it, Maria's

Eggplant in Pastor Phamor's garden 

house and finally Larry Daughtry took us by pick-up to the Bells house to meet Annabelle the wife of the school administrator for tea and a few minutes of visiting, before we needed to start back to meet our appointment with Onong along with her husband, who are the owners of the guesthouse where we are staying and where Onong who is the Thai massage teacher, for lunch.  Everything was interesting on our tour.  I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to, but got some.  My favorite part was probably the radio station New Life 103.25 FM.  The lady
who helps the manager is a very sweet Christian Thai lady, named Oh (pronounced Ahhh).  She gave us some CD's of the Great Controversy in English and Thai to pass out to people we meet.  Before we left she asked if we could have prayer together, so kneeling down, Steve lead us in prayer.  It was very special.

In front of the radio station with Oh

Coming back into Chiang Mai was slower than going out.  There were a lot more people wanting into the city than were wanting to leave.  Ummm, that has spiritual lessons to ponder.  Laren called the Sripoom house to let them know we were going to be late and we were, but we finally did make it.  Ohang, had prepared a tasty mushroom soup with herbs and gouge berries in it that we dipped over rice noodles with mug sprouts.  On top of that we placed torn chinese

Onong and Leah in Thai Massage lesson

cabbage and cilantro.  It was very good.  We stood in the kitchen and watched her cook the noodles then we added the soup and toppings as we liked.  Later in the afternoon during a break in the Thai massage lesson, Onong, Leah and I got to talking about me being a vegetarian, what we ate and didn't, etc.  Onong told me her husband likes to eat vegetarian and after his birthday on Dec. 9 he wants to eat vegetarian all the time.  Onong, brought out large chunks of TVP, soybean product that she told me her husband likes better than pork or fish.  Leah, wasn't sure what to think of us, I'm sure.  She couldn't believe we didn't at least eat cheese. Back in France she makes and sells goat cheese from her 33 goats.  I could see why it would be a hard thing for her to understand.

All this lead into talking about gardening, GMO's, chemicals etc.  Everyone is very aware of the dangers of these things.  In fact, Ohang's husband, not sure of his name, has a Bachelors in Agronomy and a masters in some kind of management.  He joined us in the conversation.  We ended up visiting so long we never did go back in to finish the lesson for the day.  Tomorrow, Leah said, she would study longer.

Laren and Miles left right after lunch as Laren had a followup visit with the Dentist.  Apparently they were 45 minutes late not being able to find a Song Tau that went in that direction and the Tuk Tuk driver refusing saying it was to far.  But they both showered up around 4:30pm with fruit and sticky rice for our supper.  The tropical fruit has been delicious.  We eat it for breakfast and supper every day.

ADRA

I headed to be the receiver once again this morning.  The teacher, Ohng, was reviewing with Leah the supine position for hand, head, face and stomach.  I always try to remember everything so I can do it later on my family if we ever have an opportunity to do so before I forget.  Towards the end of this mornings lesson Ohng, invited Leah and my family to eat lunch with her.  She would cook for us.  That was so sweet, but today would not work because Laren had scheduled an appointment to go out to  ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency).  She said no problem she would fix us lunch tomorrow, vegetarian, after we had told her we were vegetarians.

Chiang Mai SDA Church

As soon as I could get ready after massage, Laren and I left to walk to the Adventist church where one of the ADRA workers was to met us and drive us out to the ADRA office. The church is about a 15-20 minute walk along a busy one-way street.  Many of the people here wear face masks due to the high pollution with all the car/motorcycle exhaust fumes in the air.

We made it with 10 minutes to spare before or appointed meeting time, in fact the appointed time came and went. Finally we connected and away we went on highway 108.  It seemed complicated so we were glad to not have to try to figure out how to tell a song tau or Tuk Tuk driver how to get there since we didn't know ourselves.

ADRA Office in Chiang Mai

We meet with Thomas Benton who is the program director for Thailand ADRA. We are seriously trying to gather all the information we can to help us in the work that needs to be done at Sunshine Orchard Children's Home and Learning Center.  We talked about budget, courses, hiring teachers, connecting with ADRA when they did training sessions at the various refugee camps, etc, etc.  He kindly said he would email more info to us and will connect us to another person who is more directly involved in some areas that we need more info in.  What a blessing this meeting was and how it will help us with the vocational training program we are needing to implement.  It wasn't as helpful for Laren, as ADRA does very little agriculture programs at this time here in Thailand.  I am very grateful for their unselfishness in sharing info and resources with us.  It is another answer to prayer.

After we were done with our appointment, Thomas took us to a nearby restaurant where the lady spoke some English and we could get some vegetarian food.  We had not had time to eat before we came so were rather hungry by 3:30pm.  This was a typical "rustic" eating place and sure enough we asked her what our options were and she started listing off different dishes she could make vegetarian.  It was a one woman show, she did everything, waitress, cook, dishes and taking the money.  Laren told her to make the food just a "little" spicy.  Oops, that was a mistake,  A "little" spicy is to spicy for me.  It was really good flavor, a kind of noodle soup, but my nose started running and eyes watering.  I ordered some rice to help decrease the hot a bit.  It did help so I was able to eat it all.  The total cost for lunch was only 70 baht, or $2.10. Lower costs for things is another real blessing especially to volunteer workers like us :)

Traffic on the roads

We had to walk a bit of a distance to get back to highway 108 where we could get another Song Tau to go back to our room and the kids, probably about 1/2 a mile in distance.  It took only a couple of minutes to catch our ride back to the mote area where we are staying.  Once there we had some more walking to do.  We walk a lot for 2 reasons: 1) It is good exercise and 2) It doesn't cost anything so it preserves the money we have.  Laren and I looked for a bookstore that the Rawlings had told us about to look for a bird book.  Studying birds is part of our homeschooling and we needed something to identify the birds we have and would see.  We found the bookstore (after quite a bit of a jaunt), and we found a bird book!  Now we are ready to identify all the beautiful birds that we have been seeing!

Finally, we were back.  It was a good day, but busy and tomorrow we were planning to leave early to meet the Rawlings to take a song tau out to Chiang Mai Academy and see Pastor Phamor's gardens and greenhouses.  We had to leave early so we could get back in time to eat lunch with the owners of the guesthouse or motel where we are staying.

Being a friend, not just saying you want to be a friend, is the key to establishing relationships. Thank you, Lord, for all these opportunities that you give us to grow and learn.

Sabbath in Chiang Mai

There are several places I really enjoy visiting whenever I get a chance to do so.  One is health food stores. I have always thought it would be so much fun to own and operate a health food store.  Don't know that it will ever happen but it sounds like a lot of fun.  The other place I enjoy visiting is new churches.  How do they do things, what is their focus, how many people attend, what is the age of the church, etc.  Well, being here in Thailand is no different.  I was looking forward to going, but it was not to be.  Davis was still under the weather so even though Laren thoughtfully was willing to stay home so I could go, I knew he was hoping to meet the ADRA workers so he could schedule a meeting for sometime this week regarding the school/orphanage.  So it ended up that he went and I stayed with Davis.  So everything I share will be second hand.

A family working with AFM in a closed country near here and who attended the same meetings Mike and Marilee attended offered to come and pick up our family and take us to church which was very thoughtful. We walked out to the end of Soy 9, the name of the street, where they were going to meet and pick us up.  So I got to meet the wife as her husband was also home sick!

The church had about 100 attending with translation provided, which is always a plus when you do not speak the language! They had one big SS class for all of the English speaking people and one for the Thai speaking people.  After church there was a fellowship meal which Laren and Lexi stayed for but Miles walked home and ate lunch here in our room. Some time later in the afternoon Laren and Lexi came back and brought the Rawlings with them!  We sat out in the open lobby area where there are wicker chairs to sit in.  We spent several hours visiting, learning what they are planning on dong here in Thailand, some of their past mission trip adventures, etc. It was pleasant.  At sundown we had sundown prayer and then everyone but Davis and I headed out to find some supper.  They brought me back some Kau Soi, a kind of noodle curry soup.  It was yummy, but towards the end it was to spicy for me to finish.  And they say that this is the mild kind!

What a blessing Sabbaths are!  A time to come away from a busy life schedule and come together with others worshiping our Lord and Creator God.  Spending time in reflection and thanksgiving for all that God has done for us, through us and inspite of us.  He is good and he loves each one of us so very much. I am so thankful He has so much love and patiences for me and that he can change my heart and character to be like His if I will only let Him.  How about you, will you let Him?

Volunteering

Volunteering is an interesting position.  This is the second time we have done volunteering as a family where we left our home to do it.  Although the first time, I was pregnant with Davis, so we were all there but not in person quite like we are this time.  That first time was when we were helping at the medical missionary training school for John and Wendy Skeet, in Lady Smith, Wisconsin, back in 2000.  It was there we met the Rawlings family: Steve, Lynette, Allyssa and Micah.  What a fun surprise it was to learn they are here in Thailand doing language study of Thai as they prepare themselves for whatever or wherever God wants them to work.  Now while we have been here in Chiang Mai we have gotten to do several things together which has been a lot of fun.  It is always so special to get to be reacquainted with friends from the past.  

What are some other volunteering I have done?  I sat in for my friend Cheryl Null, (before she was a Null), at her cosmetology class.  They were needng someone with naturally curly hair to demonstrate how to cut it and since I had (have) curly hair, her teacher wanted to demonstrate the technique using my head of hair.  I was a college student and it was a free hair cut.  It worked for me!  A different volunteering experience was when I was 13 -14 years old and again with Cheryl.  We were candy stripers volunteerering at St. Lukes Hospital in Cedar Rapids, IA. That was interesting. It was there I first started leaning toward therapy of some kind as a career, but I think it was Physical Therapy back then.  Remember those days Cheryl?

Another time was when Miles was just a little guy and I was in for my regular check up with a Pap smear.  My Dr. had a PA training and asked if she could observe during my procedure. Why not?  There were already my Dr. and the nurse present. What was one more?  Besides having been a student myself, you have to start sometime.  It is nice when someone is willing to be learned on.  

There have been lots of volunteering for various church positions, school positions throughout all my school years and work related volunteering.  When Miles and Lexi were little and my 2 nephews were living with us we saved our money to sponsor having a Belarus boy for a summer.  He was one of the many who had been affected by the melt down of Chernobyl.  He was 10 years old.  His father committed suicide, his mother was an alcoholic, his brother was a solider and his sister lived at home but worked out of the home to help support the family, but looked very, very sad in a picture that Denise brought with him.  Not a very happy sounding family.  But what a sweet boy, Denise, was.  There were several times when he was very homesick for his mom.  He would come sit down by me and we would attempt to communicate with one another, he trying English and I Russian.  He would cry a little and I would hug him and soon he was better and out he would go to either play or do his chores.  I have often wondered what has happened to him.  I wish we could find him again, he would be around 23 years old now.

It has been quite an experience volunteering for the Thai massage teacher here in Chiang Mai.  The young woman learning Thai message, Leah, is originally from Belgium, but now lives in France only 12 kilometers from Spain.  She said she lives in the mountains and anyone visiting her home gets there e by walking the last 30 minutes or by riding a horse to get there.  There is no road for a car or motorcycle. She is here alone in Thailand to specifically learn this massage that she can take it back and use it in her village.  She is 34 years old. The Thai teacher and I both agreed we would like to go together to visit her someday.  The Thai teacher spent 30 years teaching in the primary schools in various places here in northern Thailand.  Seven years ago she quite or retired, not sure which, but it was at that time that she leaned Thai massage and has been teaching it ever since.  She is a very fun, happy person 58 years old with 2 sons, ages 32 and 35. She has 2 grandchildren a boy aged 3 and a girl 5 months old.  What fun it is after the massage is over, to sit together on the floor, where the massage took place and visit, laughing and learning from one another.  Leah speaks little English, the Thai lady, I haven't yet learned her name, has fairly understandable English.  I am thankful they are speaking English as I know neither of their native tongues. I pray for both of them, I believe they are both Buddists. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the people we interact with could meet together in heaven with us?   They have asked me to continue to help as a receiver of massage this coming week, not sure how my schedule will mesh with the class, but what fun it has been to be a part of something very interesting and unexpected. 

Please keep all the friendships we form in your prayers as we work here in Thailand.  Many are looking for something different, something more out of life, but do not know what that is.  

The Move

I awoke Thursday morning with a prayer on my mind, "Oh Lord, please give me the strength and wisdom I need to move our things and my family to our new room today.  And please, dear Jesus, keep me well, so I can take care of my family and all that needs to be done.  Thank you!"  So after my worship and then family worship, I took off to find something to eat, as I was the only member now eating, although Miles was beginning to be interested again. Once I ate, Laren, Miles and I each took a load to our new room. Miles was shaky and weak, but beginning to feel better. Laren thought he was already getting better, not nearly so dizzy now, but as we would find out, not exactly well. We did the paperwork that needed to be done. They write down each person's passport number that is staying in their guest house. We got the key to our room and placed our passports in the safe. Back to our original room we headed. We began to pack up our remaining things.

While we were packing, we got a phone call from M & M. They had a window of time before their next meeting, would we like them to come and help us move? Although I didn't think we had that much to move, I didn't know how I would get my family there. Laren had collapsed after returning from our first trip to our new room, still very weak with little energy.  So, YES!  I was very thankful to God's answer to my early morning prayer!

By the time M & M arrived we were ready to go.  We took our items down to the car which was parked right in front of the S.K. House. Laren carried Davis on his back down to the car and Mike assisted Lexi.  Everyone loaded up except Marilee and I because I needed to check us out and pay.  Once that was done we walked over.  It was not a very far distance, maybe a block, but far for someone not feeling well.  We unloaded the car while Laren, Lexi and Davis rested on their new beds.  While I was trying to get us settled Marilee asked me if I wanted to be a volunteer for the student who was taking Thai massage class from the wife owner where we were staying. I thought if I volunteered I would learn what Thai massage was like while I helped at the same time.  So hugging Marilee good-bye, Mike wasn't around right then so I was unable to give him a proper thank you and good-bye. This would be the last time we saw M & M until we leave at the end of our time here.  At least that we know of. What a huge blessing they have been in helping us transition in so many ways!  TY M & M!

I followed the owner as she lead to a room right behind the front desk area.  There I met Leah, a young woman from France who was the student.  Then for the next two days (so far), I was the receiver of Thai massage.  Wow!  Thai massage is nothing like Swedish massage or typical American massage that I had experienced before.  Thai massage is done to the whole body, stretching, rolling and flexing.  I was looking forward to the time she moved to the shoulders and back, knowing if I could just endure getting through the legs massage (I am very stiff and sore in part to some fused vertebrae and in part to fibromyalgia and mostly because I am just out of shape and don't stretch like I should), that then the top part of my body would get massaged.  I did get my head, face and shoulders 1x, but mostly it was review of, yes, my legs.  I know it is good for me and probably helping me not to get sick!

Before Laren reached the peak of his illness, he and I took a quick trip to the hospital to check why my ankles swell and hurt so much which has continued to get worse over the last few weeks.  Of course I have been sitting a LOT with my feet hanging down, which is a significant part of this problem. So prior to our moving day, on wednesday, I went to see a Dr. at the hospital. I went through the hospital system, being called "Mrs. Donna".  The Dr. wanted me to have some blood work done and urine test.  He suspected some kidney issues. The lab work results were going to take 2 hours we were told, so after I was finally able to pee pee (as the nurse called it), into the cup, Laren and I took another Tuk Tuk (our favorite mode of transportation when it is just a few of us), and headed over to find the ECHO Asia office to meet Rick Burnette, the founder.  We found it, met him and his wife Ellen.  We visited for an hour or so, getting advise and ideas how better to accomplish some of our goals at Sunshine Orchard.  It was valuable time well spent. We look forward to the time of the seminar next week with such topics as: Moringa propagation, Basic fruit tree grafting & propagation, Soap Making for Development, Backyard mushroom production and Introduction to vermiculture.

Back at the hospital, I went back to the internal medicine section of the hospital and was immediately wisked back to wait for Dr. Taratorn Thamprasit. After a short wait, I was called back in to see him.  Apparently my thyroid has been acting up. Dr. Thamprasit said it was "dangerously high".  He wants to see me in 1 month to the day, Feb. 9, and take more blood tests to see if the medication I will now be on is at the appropriate levels.  So according to him, my ankles should begin to be more normal again.  This explains a lot. It is nice to have answers. It would be nice to get some more hormone issues taken care of, but I don't see how we can at this time.

Hospital visits, sick family, moving and Thai massage all add up to keeping me busy.  But what a blessing it has been. There is so much to learn from these sweet, gentle people that currently surround us.  I also look forward to feeling better as my Dr. said I will once my thyroid is running at its proper speed.  So much to look forward too!  Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  It means a lot to us and we are grateful. I am especially thankful that I continue to be well. Even with all the coughing, fevers and runny noses, God has protected me.

Staying or Going?

I have not yet figured out how to put pictures on here.  If any of you know how to do that, please let me know, as it would be a lot more interesting for you reading.

The question came whether we should just plan on staying here in Chiang Mai until we were all well and since we were registered to go to a ECHO Asia seminar on agriculture later next week anyway, or go back.  Staying would save us a trip back to Sunshine Orchard and back again, a long drive, plus more importantly prevent everyone at the school from getting our sickness.  We called Lena and asked her what she would advise and with her recommendation we just planned to stay, get well, and then attend the meetings next week we had already planned on attending.  But that brought a new problem, where would we stay?  The place we were at was already booked.  This cooler time is tourist time, plus the Chinese New Year and all it's celebration is going on starting next week and the following 2 weeks after that, for a total of 3 weeks.  Mike and Marilee came by Wed. evening to drop off some Emergency-vitamin C, as they were going to be in the area visiting a friend anyway.  We had originally planned on being together Wed. evening, but with all the kids sick and now Laren was beginning to succumb also, we did not want to share this bug with them anymore than Miles already did on our way up.

While M & M visited Claire, they also were looking around at any possible places that we could stay at that wouldn't use up all our money on this unexpected lengthened stay.  They found a good option, but I felt it to risky as it had very steep stairs without handrails that we would have to use to go from our rooms to the shared bathroom downstairs.  Everyone who got this "bug", was VERY dizzy.  I could just imagine trying to help Laren down the stairs and both of us tumbling down to the bottom in a heap.  We ruled that option out.  M & M and I started walking to see what else we could find.  We walked to the Sirproom House.  Yes, they had a room.  One even, that was big enough for all 5 us to be in the same room on the ground floor for 700 bath (roughly around $25) a night!  It was an answer to prayer.  The owners said we could come as early as we wanted the next morning.

I knew the next morning I would be busy transferring everything down the narrow road way (it seems like alleys to me, but they are very busy with people on foot, in cars or motorcycles), to our new location.  But we had one more night to sleep in our original rooms and then we would move. What a blessing having a place to stay, with warm water, a shower, a toilet (western at that!), toilet paper and beds.  It all seems like such a luxury knowing how we will be living when we return to our home at the school, but so be it, it is all such a privilege to be able to help, to be needed and to have God making the path clear before our feet.  Tomorrow will be another day.

Chiang Mai

Tuesday morning, with so much to do, can we get it all done today and tomorrow?  Miles is still down, but everyone else still seems well, PTL!  First thing, lets go get something to eat. So off we go to find something nutritious and palatable. Shouldn't be hard here in the tropics.  We found a little restaurant called the Blue Diamond with lots of healthy options, including bread!  Not common here in Thailand, let alone whole wheat options.  Laren and Davis are especially happy as the bread eating people in the family.    The four of us eating all choose something different to eat, all vegetables with rice or noodles except Davis who ordered an avocado sandwich and french fries!  Salt is not used very much here, so everything is slightly bland unless you add salt yourself (if you have it), or soy sauce.

After eating we went back to check on Miles, who has been fasting since he first began to feel ill.  Now Davis says he is beginning to feel, "not so good", and later in the day Lexi was looking a little sick.  Oh no, guess it is going to go through the ranks.  Hopefully, Laren and I can hold on and keep well.  We are praying hard and taking such things faithfully as: Olive Leaf, Grapefruit Seed Extract and Garlic capsules along with Oragano Extract and drinking water.

Laren, Lexi and I found a ride in a Tuk Tuk, a 3 wheeled little covered truck type motorcycle, that only holds the driver in the front and 3 passengers comfortably in the back.  No sides, but the roof comes down rather low so you have to duck down to see out very well, especially if you are tall like Laren.  Off we went headed to a recommended dentist. Laren has been having trouble with some of his teeth for quite a while and we decided to wait to have them worked on until we were here where it is considerably cheaper for all medical work.

After being checked, Laren finds out he has cavities and the tooth he had pulled years ago on the Left side of his mouth needs to have a bridge to prevent such loss of enamel on the right side of his mouth.  The dentist said he had lost 1/5 of his enamel already, since Laren uses only his right side to chew on now.  This is costing much more than we had anticipated. We knew he had issues but didn't know that it was that much. Yikes, so much for any extra money we had.  But it really is a big PTL as he can get  his teeth problems taken care of, plus this dentist has a huge soft spot for missionaries he cuts the bill by 50%. It is still a lot of money being we are not working for income, but still way under what it would have cost us in the states.  Laren will have to come back several more times to get everything done and squared away.

Later that afternoon, Miles got up and managed to go with Laren to the hospital to have his ears checked.  For several years now, whenever he puts his head under water he reports having terrible pain in his ears.  He does not swim because of it.  So I stayed home with the progressively worsening younger 2 while Laren and Miles headed to the hospital to see a Dr.  Apparently there are no regular Dr. offices here.  If you want to see a Dr. you go to a hospital.  If the Dr. wants any tests run you do them right then and there so the Dr. can read them and determine what you need to get well.  It is a great system!  More efficient, more timely and less expensive.  Miles came back with some medicine to take whenever he is going to be swimming to help open his eustachian tubes, thus in theory, causing no pain. We will see when we test it out.

We all went to bed early.  Those sick to feel better.  Those well to prevent getting ill.  Miles is feeling a little stonger, Davis and Lexi a bit worse.  So far Laren and I are still well. I am so thankful!