Our week was no doubt marked by our dear friends and next-door neighbor's son being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Charlie is 7 and good friends with our boys. Around the time we moved in, Charlie started vomiting daily. What started as the doctors thinking it was allergies, then stomach inflammation, finally culminated in an MRI showing a tumor in his brain. Just hours before he was diagnosed I had been texting with Emily about how the tests were going and they were still under the impression they'd be leaving soon with a plan in place to treat stomach inflammation. It has all felt very surreal since...we are praying and believing for complete healing. I keep having a vision of this spring and Charlie is healthy and back to his normal self out playing with the boys. Please, Jesus, let it be so.
Other things to note about the week:
The boys spent a lot of time sliding down the stairs in boxes or on box lids. There were of course, injuries, but nothing that stopped the younger two from wanting to keep going. Henrik's head to the wood floor slowed him down substantially.
Soren seemed to grow up a little this week. He's currently demanding to eat, drink, do, sit, play whatever/wherever his brothers are. Ira is finding this especially annoying. I have to remind him that he did the same thing to Henrik who was much more gracious. Soren has been bringing me clean diapers when he needs to be changed and finally talking a bit more. One morning I was getting ready in my bathroom and he had made a mess on the floor with his breakfast. He disappeared and returned with two towels to clean it up. He just ended up spreading the crumbs everywhere but it was a cute gesture.
Ira and I took birthday treats into Henrik's class on Friday. His birthday is Monday but there's no school that day. When we were leaving Ira ran into a couple of his preschool friends who tackled him with hugs. The mom of the girl in his class informed me that her daughter talks about marrying Ira. I asked Ira about her and he said "oh yeah, Charlie? She's always saying weird things to me. Like I'm her wife or something like that."
I thought when I started wearing Madewell jeans that I wouldn't find any I liked better...but over the past year I've been buying almost all my clothes and jeans from Everlane. The jeans are actually less expensive than Madewell and ethically made which is a win. The Italian leather boots are pricey but the best things I've ever put on my feet.
I asked my mom to get me this cookbook for my birthday. Hope Helmuth's Instagram account had become a favorite of mine. Something about seeing how she cooked for her family everyday was comforting and inspiring to me. She has a fresh take on classic cooking that I enjoy. I also find myself feeling jealous of her quiet Mennonite life in the Shenandoah Valley (I mean, she has a river in her front yard), but I think we all know about how long I would last as a Mennonite.
At the beginning of the week I roasted a huge pan of mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and onions. I loved having the leftovers for lunches. I need to do that more on Mondays.
We're heading into a week of birthday celebrations for Henrik and me. Always a bright spot in dreary January.