Adventures.  I feel like that's a nice of putting how the last few weeks have been going...

Thursday was Eliana's 3rd birthday.  Complete with lots of balloons strewn about the house, donuts with multi-colored sprinkles, and another high temp for a baby sister.  Yep, that's right.  Evie had another high temp, that demanded yet another trip to the ER.

Once again, she was admitted to the hospital, and we spent a few days there with her, monitoring her vitals, and waiting for test results to come back.  It's a semi-serious business when such a little baby has a high temp.  They get you back in the ER and do an entire series of tests and cultures - a chest xray, blood draws, spinal tap, catheter to get a urine sample - and then put an IV in.  It's not very pleasant to have to watch a little wee one scream while they do all of this, but I am thankful that she is teeny and won't remember any of it - if it was one of my older kids that had to do it...oy vey, that would be incredibly traumatizing...

After getting all their samples and tests, it's basically a waiting game.  They admitted us to the hospital for monitoring, and although we were all pretty confident she picked up whatever bug the rest of us have (L, Z, my mom and I all have it too now), we had to wait for the tests to come back at the 48-hour mark.  They did come back negative, which was a relief.  The doc said she either was on the tail-end of resolving the viral meningitis from her little body, or she just picked up whatever has been floating around here.

We were discharged today, and I can honestly say that I hope that we get healthy and stay healthy from here on out.  Like the nurse said today, it feels like the hospital has become our second home the past few weeks.  And I, for one, am so ready to be at my real home and stay here with my family!

I am so thankful that it wasn't worse, and that she simply had a little cold - and that they take such care to make sure it is nothing more that is attacking her wee body.  I can't imagine being in the hospital long-term, and my heart goes out to those who have to be - I can't imagine what it must be like, as we were only there 2-3 days at a time.

Thank you to all who have been praying and encouraging our family. I am also so overwhelmingly thankful that my parents are here visiting, and could watch L & Z.  It took such a load off my shoulders, knowing they were being taken care of and that everything was fine at home.

Now, I am off to enjoy a quiet afternoon at home, resting with my family, and enjoying the sounds of a fish tank, baby monitor, and my dad's crazy laughter, instead of an IV machine, the drone of a TV, and a door opening every 5 minutes.