HP Computer: 2 Ian and Anne: 0

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll remember that we had to buy a new laptop in March, and then immediately had problems with it.  If you can’t remember, here’s a refresher:  http://mayfamily.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/sometimes-technology-isnt-all-that/.

We”ve been doing pretty well with the computer after the HP chick in India stripped and completely reinstalled the operating system…..until this week.

That feared message of  there being an error with the hard drive & the warning to back everything up before it is forever lost came up.

We bought the warranty for this computer.  (Hah!!! The Hard Drive warning message just popped up again!!!)  They (Best Buy) assured us it would be covered all around the world.  Upon clarification when we had problems, well…….They would pay for it, after we took it to a warranted dealer/distributor and then sent them copies of the bill and warranty.  What is it about all of that song and dance that makes me believe that we’d never see a dime of reimbursement for the repair/replacement?

I’m trying not to be bitter.  But come on!?!   So, we called HP.  Of course, they would ship us a replacement hard drive immediately.

Oh, but not outside of the United States, and the hard drive would need to be returned in the original box to HP within 15 days. 

I don’t know about you, but a computer box is not one of the essentials I keep out of a storage space when I’m packing up my entire life, let alone something I “keep” with a dear relative “just in case”.   That’s what I do with my will and life insurance papers!   And, it might just be me, but I don’t think that Kenya Posta has proved reliable enough to get something important to the States…..let alone within 15 days.

Sooooo….We’re open to grand ideas.

Our best idea yet is to Fed Ex our hard drive to a relative in the states, call HP and ask for leniency on the “original packing requirement”, have the relative call HP for the replacement drive, receive the replacement hard drive, then have them ship the defective hard drive back to HP, then somehow get the replacement hard drive to us here in Kenya, preferably in person (again, that whole getting through customs ….and the mail service hasn’t been so reliable).  If seeds can’t get through, I’m not thinking that a HP laptop Hard drive will either.

Or just go and buy a freakin new one.

Again, we’re open to ideas all of you smarty pants.  And I mean that with all due respect!

 

Where we were a year ago….

So, I’ve been asked how we ended up here in Thika.  I forget that some of you haven’t been on this journey with us from the start!

So for Donna, and perhaps others of you who haven’t been on this rollercoaster ride with us, I pulled a note that I wrote in early September reflecting on the journey that was leading us to come to Thika, Kenya.

It was a bit difficult re-reading and visiting again the emotions I felt the day I wrote this, but so it is.  This is the “note” as I posted it to facebook…where you can also find us!  For more info about Orphans Overseas and their work, you can check them out under the tab ”our cool hookup” on the main blog page.

As I write this, I am listening to:  Who Am I  by Casting Crowns.  A very appropriate song!

Really, we are moving to Kenya..

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 1:28am | Edit Note | Delete

I truly do believe that we only see a small fraction of the total plan for our life at any given moment.

Case in point. In April, our next door neighbor offered us first dibs on her house that she was selling. This is the house that I covet (and yes, I know I should not covet anything, but this is my dream home). It is the storybook house in which I envision huge & noisy family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Course it doesn’t have a great yard like our current tiny house, but that can always be fixed right? Anyhow, after agreeing that if the door remained open for us to purchase this house, we would, the door was slammed shut by the neighbor deciding she didn’t want to sell.

In June, I send an email out inquiring more of this Kenya project that keeps being brought up to Ian and I. Yet, in the back of my mind I remember the conversations I have been having with God over this huge life change. Since March I had prayed this sort of prayer…. “Ok God, so if you let me get pregnant, then no Kenya. If I don’t get pregnant, then perhaps Kenya.” We agree to talk with the organization more about the position in Kenya at the end of summer when things have slowed down….

In July, we find out we are pregnant, and I clearly remember thinking, “Ok, God, then no Kenya.”

In August, on Ian’s birthday, I am scheduled for my 10 week ultrasound. No heartbeat, no baby to be seen. Just an empty womb. I am by myself, left to absorb this heartwrenching news. On my drive home, I am sitting at a light signal and am struck by 2 birds (they look like eagles, but probably aren’t) soaring overhead and the phrase, “they will soar like eagles” and am put at peace because I am assured that my baby is safe and secure soaring with God, soaring like an eagle.

When I arrive home, a get a phone call asking for a time when Ian and I can come in to talk about Kenya. I hung up the phone, cried a lot, was generally pissy, stomped my feet in anger, and said out loud to God, “God, that was rude!” And thought about the cruel injustice of it all.

Later that day, the neonatal dude confirms that the pregnancy has a 90% chance of not being viable.

We accept the Kenya job on a Sunday, and I miscarry a few days later.

Wouldn’t have taken the job had they called even a day earlier, because I would have thought we were pregnant. It isn’t advised that pregnant women or newborns travel to areas that have yellow fever (Kenya). In what seemed like 1 day our lives changed dramatically….but we were allowed to see small parts of the plan that God has been working on for years.

It seems like only the start to an amazing journey for our entire family, and I am assured that there will be more babies/kids in our house…one way or another!

 

When the going gets crazy..the crazy get going?

About 6 weeks ago I wrote out a week by week to-do list for Ian and I so that we could spread out the work of all of the big and little details that would need to be taken care of before our move to Africa TOMORROW.

This was a good thing to do, I am easily distracted but current crises, and important things get pushed to the background.  We were  doing pretty well on the to-do list, or at least I was telling myself that until I realized that I was ready the dates wrong and was actually a week behind on all of the tasks.   A few moments of panic set in, but then I remember that I have amazing & wonderful and incredibly gracious friends and family to help with this transition.

My kids are used to being with Ian, myself or family almost 6 days out of every week.  In the last 9 out of 10 days, they’ve “visited” friends and family for extended play dates and nap time.  While this has given us the opportunity to get so much done, it has taken an obvious toll on the kids who are much more cranky and upset than usual.  My good friends and mother have reminded me to give them grace during this time.  I think I’m doin pretty well on that.

Anyhow, as if preparing to move to a 3rd world country wasn’t enough, Ian’s dear grandmother (she’s 94 and until fairly recently had a lot of fire and spit to her) has taken a turn for the worse and was put on hospice this weekend.  We’ve become accustomed to seeing her tired and weak….but in this last week you can see the shift that comes in a person whose body is in the last stretch and is ready to go home.  It is hard to think that we will not see her again, that she will most definitely pass here shortly.  She is a wise woman and leader of this family that we will miss dearly.

I don’t know about some of you, but I believe in spiritual warfare and that when you are about to embark on a faith journey that is going to have some amazing outcomes…that you are tested.  I kind of felt like we’d been there, done that in this last year and that we were finally on the home stretch here.  Then, on Monday, I got a call back from the dermatologist with the results of my biopsy on a new mole that had popped up.  I knew it wasn’t good news when they didn’t leave a message and when the nurse handed the phone to the doctor when I called to check back.

My diagnosis was melanoma in situ.  Wow, malignant cancer was SO NOT the news I was expecting to hear 3 DAYS before leaving for Africa.  So, yesterday morning I went in to have it removed. 

I guess you can look at this 2 ways.  The “poor me” I have cancer, why did this happen way

OR

the “Thank God” I went to the dermatologist (thanks Erin for continuously bugging me until I made the appointment) way of thinking.  In Situ, means in place, in the top layer of skin, or Stage 0 Cancer.  Mine was just starting to go into the Dermis layer of skin, so I had a pretty good chunk taken out of the back of my leg.  Another silver lining:  Sitting on an airplane seat for 20 hours sure does provide “pressure” to that wound site…and is a good excuse for some Vicodin.  Did I say that???   And, a prescription for 4 tubes of  prescription antibiotic cream sure does come in handy when moving to Africa!

Here is some information about Melanoma In Situ:  http://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-cancer/melanoma-in-situ.aspx

Did you know that:

Q. What is melanoma?

A. Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of pigment-producing cells. Melanomas may appear on the skin suddenly without warning, but also can develop on an existing mole. The overall incidence of melanoma continues to rise.

Q. Is melanoma a serious disease?

A. More than 75 percent of all skin cancer deaths are from melanoma.1 Advanced melanoma spreads to internal organs and may result in death. One American dies from melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes).1 Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.2 If detected in the early stages before it reaches the lymph nodes, melanoma has a 99 percent five-year survival rate.

And thank God:

Q. Can melanoma be cured?

A. When detected in its earliest stages, melanoma is highly curable. The average five-year survival rate for individuals whose melanoma is localized and has not spread beyond the outer layers of the skin is 99 percent.

 

 

Cute ‘lil thing

We’ve finally succumbed and have become a 2 computer family…that is 2  computers completely owned by us.  We decided to look into a netbook for me…cute, little and just the right price for  looking on the internet and blogging.  What else does one really do anyhow??  At least, “What else does Anne really do anyhow?”

Here’s what I ended up getting with some handy 1st hand review information from my friend Rhett Lee. 

As opposed to the last computer purchase previously discussed in another blog, I went and test drove web books so I would know exactly what I was getting.   I like this picture because it actually shows how small it is.  It is a heavy web book though at 3.2 lbs.  With that, it still has a 10.2 inch screen and nicely spaced keys.  Oh gosh, I’m getting kind of geeky talking specs like that.  Stop me please!  Next thing you know, I’ll be talking like this about cell phones!

Anyhow, what with moving and all (yes, we are finally out of the house and it is sparkling clean for the renter), this is the best post you are getting.

I know, I know.  Where are the cool pictures from the Tacoma visit, or Eli’s early birthday party with his buddy Jackson?  Or last minute get-to-gethers with friends?  Still safe on the camera, which was thankfully found.    I’ll write “blog update” on my to-do for leaving for Africa in 5 days list.  Right there with “change life insurance beneficiaries” and “write will”.

Phew.  I’m ready for bed.  Are you as tired as I feel?

 

The Waiting Game

So, we’ve begun this new adventure in our life–moving our family to Africa–but we don’t have a set departure date, and that makes us feel like we are living in limbo.

A few years ago, during my graduate school days, I took a course on the process of change.  It discussed how we as a society are so uncomfortable with being in a change…we push to get to the next stage, or feel comfortable again.  As a family, we’re in the middle of “the change”, that really scary, uneasy place, and I am telling myself (and whoever will listen, like Ian) to just sit in the moment and appreciate how it develops our character.

Hmmm, guess that is a bit deep for a first blog post.  I’ll try to keep them lighter in the future!