An Invasion of a "STRANGER" Kind.... NEW THREAD IS UP!! Go Thee NOW!

[All7OfUs]

How can women wear heels that high...

and dance??!!!

It's a miracle they don't have more broken necks here!

 

[winkers]

I think you need to add this to your home school curiculum

 

[All7OfUs]

I think you need to add this to your home school curiculum

Trust me... we have enough practical experience around here!!! Worse than gas right now, my 12 yr. old son ate 2 whole cloves of RAW garlic at his friend's house last night!!! IT REEKS!!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

Just another general announcement. If you enjoy looking at some AMAZING, I do mean this in the most genuine of meanings, photography of the parks please RUN, do not walk, to blestmom's thread called, "It's All in the Details"!!!! She did exactly what I'm hoping to do some of in Sept, but did it with an infinite amount of professionalism and flair. Her photos are stunning to say the least!!! There isn't a lot of text, just a good spread of lovely, lovely shots of the details at WDW!!!

NOOOOOOOOO! I don't need another report right now!!!! How can you tempt me like that?!?! Photography??? UGH! I'm supposed to be making lists and checking them twice, and throw in a last minute Easter dinner. I'm not speaking to you anymore (not speaking to you any less either).

 

[All7OfUs]

NOOOOOOOOO! I don't need another report right now!!!! How can you tempt me like that?!?! Photography??? UGH! I'm supposed to be making lists and checking them twice, and throw in a last minute Easter dinner. I'm not speaking to you anymore (not speaking to you any less either).

WHAT are you doing up right now??!! NO!! Of all people on this thread YOU need to go take a look!!!! Her work is gorgeous!

Also, I don't remember if you're on Cherie's thread (Winkers), but if so, she could really use some words of comfort!

 

[carissanboys]

Hope you have a lovely Easter weekend, Liesa!

 

[Flossbolna]

Your thread moves way too fast. I guess you will soon have to start Part III...

But nevertheless, I meant to write something really on topic: comments on your day 2 plans!

I am relieved to hear that you don't plan to run around for the whole day, but tour more leisurely. I was at first a bit worried that after that day you would need to rest for the rest of your vacation!

On the coffee issue: Epcot has quite a few coffee carts which sell acceptable coffee. There is one along the walkway towards Mission Space. Allears has a list of places that sell real coffee. Katharina can tell you more about it.

In option 2 I think you are leaving too little time for transferring from MK to Epcot for your ADR. I think the walk from the monorail at Epcot to the R&C would alone take 15 minutes. And then there are two monorails involved. If you calculate 10 minutes waiting time for each and then 20 minutes travel time, you are already at 55 minutes... If you take the bus from the MK to one of the Epcot resorts, it might be a bit faster, but you might have to wait 20 minutes for the bus as well... So to be on the safe side, I would say to calculate with one hour transfer time!

 

[All7OfUs]

Hope you have a lovely Easter weekend, Liesa!

Thanks so much, Carissa!! We're about to make our Resurrection Cookies, then have a marshmallow roast out on our "patio"

Your thread moves way too fast. I guess you will soon have to start Part III...

But nevertheless, I meant to write something really on topic: comments on your day 2 plans!

I am relieved to hear that you don't plan to run around for the whole day, but tour more leisurely. I was at first a bit worried that after that day you would need to rest for the rest of your vacation!

On the coffee issue: Epcot has quite a few coffee carts which sell acceptable coffee. There is one along the walkway towards Mission Space. Allears has a list of places that sell real coffee. Katharina can tell you more about it.

In option 2 I think you are leaving too little time for transferring from MK to Epcot for your ADR. I think the walk from the monorail at Epcot to the R&C would alone take 15 minutes. And then there are two monorails involved. If you calculate 10 minutes waiting time for each and then 20 minutes travel time, you are already at 55 minutes... If you take the bus from the MK to one of the Epcot resorts, it might be a bit faster, but you might have to wait 20 minutes for the bus as well... So to be on the safe side, I would say to calculate with one hour transfer time!

Yup! It's all about leisurely touring! Slowing down to smell the roses- literally. Streetmosphere? You betcha! I can even imagine myself, just parking my carcass on a bench to watch Mo' Rockin'. Several times. Did I mention I downloaded some of their stuff and it's part of my Disney PreTrip music plan?? MOre on that later...

I may have to grab some coffee in the parks, as much as I would like to not have to pay park prices. But it's good to know it's available, anyways!

I think you are right about hopping time. It always just seems like it is just a hop, skip and jump to EPCOT, but I think that's mostly because the monorail is really like a ride to me. I love the smell of it, the feel of it, the spiel, EVERYTHING. So it seems like you're there in no time at all. But you are right, I always forget to factor in waiting time. I'll make adjustments.

 

[that's nice]

Chatty bunch last night! 3 pages???!!!??!!!


Liesa if I don't 'see' you at some point today, have a joyous Easter!!!!!

 

[MKBekka]

Chatty bunch last night! 3 pages???!!!??!!!


Liesa if I don't 'see' you at some point today, have a joyous Easter!!!!!

Mom says you too!!

 

[that's nice]

Mom says you too!!

Thanks!!!


Glad you are safe and sound... and not 'married' yet!!!!

 

[MKBekka]

Thanks!!!


Glad you are safe and sound... and not 'married' yet!!!!

thanks! I have had friends who were stolen as brides though...

 

[englishrose47]

Sorry no time to catch up will be back tonight !!! Have a great day !!

 

[All7OfUs]

Sorry no time to catch up will be back tonight !!! Have a great day !!

We'll still be here, Rosie... and we'll even leave the lights on

 

[englishrose47]

Strike the Erin and put Rosie !!! See even the Easter Bunny is rating Bathrooms !!

 

[All7OfUs]

Strike the Erin and put Rosie !!! See even the Easter Bunny is rating Bathrooms !!

Yes, I think you're right. This is perfect for Jordan's Bathroom Rating System.
But I had to laugh at it even more- the first time I read it, I thought you said, "Strike the Erin, and POSE the Rosie!". (As in go into a men's bathroom, in a bunny suit and stand there with eggs in urinals.) I go into men's restrooms in occasion but trust me, it weren't Easter eggs that I saw!! (refer to Hoop de View story in my last thread!)

 

[englishrose47]

Yes, I think you're right. This is perfect for Jordan's Bathroom Rating System.
But I had to laugh at it even more- the first time I read it, I thought you said, "Strike the Erin, and POSE the Rosie!". (As in go into a men's bathroom, in a bunny suit and stand there with eggs in urinals.) I go into men's restrooms in occasion but trust me, it weren't Easter eggs that I saw!! (refer to Hoop de View story in my last thread!)

Hmm Maybe we should bring Eater Eggs in June 2012 afteer all it is PEEPFEST!! and Peeps are Eastery !!! Now Liessa I have done crazy things before but until you put the idea in my head I had not thought of a BATHROOM Easter Egg Hunt!!!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Hmm Maybe we should bring Eater Eggs in June 2012 afteer all it is PEEPFEST!! and Peeps are Eastery !!! Now Liessa I have done crazy things before but until you put the idea in my head I had not thought of a BATHROOM Easter Egg Hunt!!!!

Bek was born on an Easter Sunday!! We had an egg hunt for her 2 year old brother (this was in 1993) in the hospital room- I'm fairly certain there were a few in the bathroom....

 

[Millie12591]

How was your Easter?

I think your slowing it down on the second day is a must, you'll wear yourself out girl!

 

[All7OfUs]

First off, it's a day or two late, but here it is....


Our 5 month ranking upgrade. Aren't you excited?? Well, maybe not as much as I am, but one more promotion equals one more month closer to the Mother of All Trips! Can you believe we've navigated and survived one more month on the Battlefield of Real Life, and have been brought one step closer to Dole Whip sensations; that old, familiar scent of musty air in the Pirates of the Caribbean; the sounds of fireworks bursting in the sky and happy music playing all around us!!

One more month gone by of waiting to close out this chapter in my life overseas, one more month of waiting to taste the freedom of reliving some moments of my childhood- this time with good friends.

So, as of today, we, the Belle Battalion, are Brigadier Generals.

Look at what I found for the etymology of the word:

"subdivision of an army," 1630s, from Fr. brigade "body of soldiers" (14c.), from It. brigata "troop, crowd, gang," from brigare "brawl, fight," from briga "strife, quarrel," perhaps of Celtic (cf. Gael. brigh, Welsh bri "power") or Germanic origin.

Gives it a raw, animal like conotation, eh?? Is it coincidence that (I can't speak for the trio of us) I should be engaged in real life struggle to make a clean exit from life as I know it, to something that has become unknown and unfamiliar. The trip, I hope with all my heart, will somehow give me a sweet interlude to yet another battle on the other side of Blankastan.


Onward to other business. I wanted to share just a few photos from our super fun weekend. It was a triple celebration! At our local fellowship, we enjoyed hearing some good thought on the meaning and jubilation of Easter; we enjoyed the traditional soup of the first day of Spring (Nauruz kozhe), AND had a Tisau Kes-oo for the youngest son of our close friends here. That is a little rite in which a good friend is asked to tie the legs of child just beginning to walk together, say a blessing, then cut the cord. By ancient tradition, it is highly symbolic in many ways, but Mike used a red cord to tie the the symbolism of being "free in the blood". PM me if you want more details... It was very sweet and significant.

Here is DH giving his little sermonette on the meaning of the child's name (Jonah, in the local language). Sorry he looks like a total doofus. He was mid-sentence, and frankly looks rather freakish. Trust me, for 46, he still a pretty hot guy!



Here's a close up of the cord. It's the responsibility and privelege of the "cutter" to make the cord especially for the child.




After the worship and preaching, we enjoyed a big meal together with the traditional spring soup.



It's supposed to have 7 ingredients, but varies from cook to cook. This one had mutton, dried peas, potatoes, dried mung beans, navy beans, noodles, and rice. The ingredient that makes it unique and really tasty is buttermilk!! It is surprisingly, really yummy!!

Then, later at home, we threw in some American tradition with a rousing round of Easter Egg Hunt.



Great fun, great friends, great food, what more can you ask for??

Now, lastly, and update on Joseph. I know you're wearying of this far too long an update, but thought you would be interested in how things are shockingly dangerous here in the medical realm. Truly. After reading this, I began to pray much harder that the next 4 1/2 months be accident/illness free for all of us... Read this... (the following is an excerpt from a letter from those closest to this family.)


"My husband and I helped manage this crises the past 4 days and saw first hand the trauma they experienced… and the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father in walking them through this ordeal. I’m sure they will give a first hand account to you all themselves once they emerge from the shock, but I’d like to tell you the story in a nutshell now.

Monday night we did not know if Joseph would make it. He was disoriented, incoherent, agitated, unresponsive and violently throwing up. Joseph was most likely overly sedated in order to get a CAT scan and he stopped breathing on the CT table. O. (Joseph's dad) (not the nurses), by divine providence, was right next to him and gave him CPR so he revived quickly, but the whole process was terrifying.

The next 48 hours were spent trying to get Joseph out of the local hospital and onto a plane. O. and J. are very grateful for the medical professionals who did all they can do given the training they have, outdated equipment and Soviet mentality they have, but the reality is, where Joseph was resembled a prison much more than a hospital. Much of the time, Joseph was in a room with 5 other kids and his parents could not be with him, but they would stand by the barred window, (which they weren’t allowed to open, though outside temps were probably 75F) look in and try to read each other’s lips. Eventually they were able to sneak a cell phone to him and he could text them. They had to bring food to the hospital and pass it through to a nurse who would get it to Joseph (the hospital does not feed patients). The nurses kept giving medications to Joseph and would not tell O or J what they were giving him, because the nurses themselves don’t even know – the doctors don’t tell them. Trying to find a doctor to talk to was near impossible.

I could paint the picture with many more details that would be hard for a person accustomed to “first world medical care” to even believe. But I don’t want to dim the beauty of what God has done this past week in response to an outpouring of prayer and His gracious nature. When Joseph stopped breathing, O. was there. When J. should have only had 15 minutes with Joseph in his room, she was allowed to spend the night. When one doctor adamantly refused to release Joseph or allow the parents to talk to the head doctor, that same head doctor just happened to walk down the hall, and within 3 hours Joseph was released. When they weren’t sure if all the insurance pieces of the puzzle would come together to get Joseph evacuated, in the end they did. When we were hesitant about him being treated in Istanbul, we found out they were sending him to a pediatric neurologist who had been trained at Harvard. "


Then, this followed from Joseph's mom herself from Istanbul:

"While his physical exams and scans are all normal… his EEG was not. The Pediatric Neurologist came by on his way home to explain that it was significantly abnormal indicating that his neurons are still in a “storm” state. He said this is common after a significant head trauma. He says it is amazing there is no swelling or bruising in the brain. He believes that Joseph will have a full recovery but feels very strongly that he must have a lot of rest. He will most likely release us tomorrow but wants us to stay close to the hospital for seven days after which we will have another EEG. He believes it will either be back to normal or be much improved and he will then release us to fly back to KZ. As long as the neurons are in this state there is a risk of seizure but he believes with everything else being so good this is a slim possibility.

Today several times we saw Joseph just sort of wilt. Once we were going back downstairs for the ENT exam and after loading in the wheel chair and getting to the elevator we saw the color drain from Joseph’s face and he just leaned back and looked like he was exhausted. Moments before he had been talking and laughing in pure Joseph form. The nurse took his pulse and talked to him and he said that his head was hurting and he was dizzy. The neurologist says these are symptoms of what the EEG showed and that they will last one to two weeks and then may be intermittent past that.

The only treatment is rest. When he is tired he must rest. And for the next seven days he must rest. So the good news is… we can do that! As we asked about other restrictions he said, “Well, you may not jump on a trampoline… ever again!” He was smiling but not joking! Joseph can not participate in sports until the fatigue, dizziness, and headache spells are gone. He may need to have half days at school or be able to lay down at school as needed. He told him not to do stupid things… and said, “Your head can break… your head nearly broke! So be careful with your head!” He also said that Joseph will be fine and that he should continue to be his normal self and enjoy life."


If you would please continue to lift him up, that'd be very appreciated!

Tomorrow.... The Plan of Attack- Day 3


Click Here for: The Plan of Attack- Day 3!