Since we last wrote, lots of things have happened. The biggest event was our move from Fairfax, VA to Huntsville, AL. On 16 October 2010, I took off alone from Fairfax and made record time to Tuscaloosa, AL. My friends had a ticket for me to attend the Alabama football game vs. Ole Miss, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Roll Tide. The next morning, I drove up to Huntsville and saw our rental house for the first time. Because it was the end of the fiscal year, I couldn’t take time off from work for a house hunting trip. Fortunately, our good friends Matthew and Kyla Kelly searched for a place for us, and we also got great cooperation from Rosenblum Realty (http://www.rosenblumrealty.com/). That removed the trepidation of moving into a house sight unseen. The house we are renting is in South Huntsville, just outside gate 3 of Redstone Arsenal (http://www.garrison.redstone.army.mil/), which is where I’m working now, along with half of Huntsville.

We’re really lucky to have such good friends as Matthew and Kyla. They put us up for about 9 days while our household goods were in transit from Fairfax. Also, they convinced their day care to allow Lydia to come there for a week while Deb had to go back to Virginia to work for a few days. That was  life saver. I must also include Matthew’s helping me discard the boxes and paper from our move, and loaning me his lawn mower. Not to mention the times they’ve been our babysitters. Good friends are priceless.

My new job is good so far. I’m working for the Department of Defense (http://www.defense.gov/), still as a Contracting Officer.  At  the Department of Energy (http://www.energy.gov/) I was mostly buying services, whereas I’m now buying software licenses and maintenance for the most part. It’s different, and in some ways interesting. I really like the team I’m on at the Missile and Space Intelligence Center, also called the Shelby Center for Missile Intelligence. I think it’s great that Senator Shelby (http://shelby.senate.gov/public/) has so many buildings named after him, and he’s not dead. He’s not even retired. But, I digress. The DoD culture suits me well: everyone is sir or ma’am, and there is a palpable esprit de corps among the personnel.

An added benefit of working for DoD is that we get three hours per week to work out. We’re encouraged to use that time since we are all subject to deployment. There’s always a catch, right? At any rate, I can always go after work if I don’t make it during the day, and the gym in our building is free. Also, since I’m in a secure building, there is a limited number of people using the facility. I love that I work in a secure building inside a secure area. It makes me feel like I’m James Bond or something. Furthermore, I’ve already gotten to travel to Miami for a conference (but I didn’t even make it to the beach). I traveled once in six years at DoE.

Deborah is looking for a job now. She’s applied at several places including some Government agencies here at Redstone Arsenal. It will be great when she finds something. I know she loves being home with Lydia, but having conversations with adults is nice from time to time. I think it would also be good to get Liddy back in day care. She likes playing with other kids and there are other social and educational benefits. Financially we can live on my salary, another plus for Huntsville, but two incomes are always better than one. That would really help us get ahead.

We were hoping to build a house in a development near where we are currently living. We have even picked out our structural and electrical options and given the builder (http://www.jeffbentonhomes.com/?gclid=CJaHgMb__qcCFape7Aod_SF9qQ) our earnest money. Unfortunately we are starting to think that house isn’t going to happen for us, for several reasons. First of all, the price ended up being higher than we anticipated. Second, as it turns out, the loan we were hoping to get has a lower limit than we thought. I should have done more research on it. That means we either drain our savings or get a loan with a higher interest rate that we had planned. Third, our income tax bill looks like it’s going to be much, much higher than last year’s. I have a friend who is a CPA, and he’s going to give our tax return a good look to see if he can work his magic and find some breaks for us. Finally, the threat of a Government shutdown is still looming. Word around the water cooler is that the prospect of furloughs is increasingly likely. If that happens, we go from one income to zero, making mortgage payments a bit difficult. So it looks like we might have to shelve the house building idea for now. However it plays out, we want to stay in the southern part of town. Both because we just like it, and also so Lydia can attend Grissom High School when that time comes. It’s a good school with lots of extracurricular activities, even a hockey team!

We’ve been attending the Brook Church in Madison (http://www.thebrookchurch.com/). It’s similar in style to Fair Oaks Church (http://www.loudonpurpose.com/), where we were members while living in Virginia. We have joined the team of greeters, as it was recommended as a good way to meet people and serve simultaneously. We haven’t actually been on duty yet, though. The music is great, the people are friendly, the pastor delivers good messages that are rooted in scripture, and there are good programs for kids. I’m looking forward to getting more involved.

That’s a pretty good summary of the main areas of our daily life here. We love Huntsville, and I am continually impressed by people here. Everyone is friendly, and this town is full of rocket scientists and other brilliant people. It goes well beyond academic-type smarts. For example, today while I was jogging, I saw a man walking his dogs. He had a leash in either hand, and rode a skateboard, powered by the canines. I don’t know the guy, but I salute his ingenuity. Huntsville has everything we need and a lot of what we want, including a minor league baseball team, the Huntsville Stars (http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t559). I love the fact that we also have a lot of eateries I missed in the DC area: Hardee’s, Zaxby’s, Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, O’Charley’s, Dreamland, McAlister’s Deli, Bob Baumhower’s Wings, and barbecue joints all over the place. Be jealous…

Now for an update on Lydia, which is probably the only real reason anyone would read this blog. Well, she’s getting big. She’s about 33″ tall and weighs 26 pounds or so. She’s a bit bigger than Owen, her best friend and son of Matthew and Kyla, though Owen is two months Lydia’s senior. To be fair, Kyla is tiny, so I’m afraid Owen’s chances of being huge are diminished. Liddy is also developing a lot of physical and cognitive skills. She starting walking really well on Thanksgiving night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R07vboJE5o4). She pretty much taught herself to walk. She never let us help her much, preferring instead to sit down. Then she’d get up and take a couple steps before stumbling and falling. She is all over the place now, and runs about the house. Our favorite game is where I say, “Liddy…Imagetchu!” and she runs and screams (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_pVudbv5E&feature=related). It’s a blast.

Her vocabulary is expanding by the day. Some of her favorite words are Elmo, keekee (kitty), apple, sock, car, and ball. She still jabbers about nonsensically an awful lot, which is funny. She understands a lot more words than she can say, which is helpful. We read to her, and she loves to “read along” and look at the pictures.

I am interested in watching how she learns. It’s funny that the learning process is backward from what we as adults are used to. By that I mean that adults learn from the general to the specific, whereas little kids learn from the specific to the general. Think about it: in Spanish class, you learn to conjugate verbs. You learn the basic rules, then apply them to specific words and learn exceptions. On the other hand, a child learns inductively. For example, Lydia knows what kitty is. Therefore, every fuzzy, four-legged creature must be a kitty. Likewise, all spherical objects are balls, all feathery animals are duckies, and all little boys are Owa (Owen).

It’s amazing to see Liddy grow and learn so quickly. Children truly are sponges, apparently. Some things haven’t changed, though. She is still a sweet little girl, and she generally doesn’t give us much trouble. She’s well-behaved, eats good, and gets herself to sleep without putting up a fuss. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives, and I thank God for her all the time. It wasn’t exactly how we planned to start a family, but the Lord knew better than we did. If we slow down and think about it, I bet we’ll find that to be true every time.

Here’s hoping you’re doing well, and that I will be more diligent about updating this page.

All our love,
Brandon, Deb, and Lydia

Our first day in Illinois was rather uneventful, though we did get to see some family. Of course Lydia was the focal point, as this was the first time most of my family had met her. She did not disappoint, displaying her normal bubbly and playful demeanor. The bad thing about the first day was that we were unable to join everyone at Emil’s (http://www.emilsonline.com/), a favorite of the group, for pizza, drinks, and a good time. There was nobody to watch Lydia, and although the place is now smoke-free, I didn’t feel comfortable bringing a baby to this particular establishment at night. We missed a couple people who we would have liked seeing. Alas. But on the positive side, we were able to get some rest. It had been an exhausting day, with an early start and hours of travel.

The next day started well. I went to use the treadmill in our hotel, and decided to turn on the TV for something to look at while I was running. As luck would have it, ESPNU was showing a replay of the BCS National Championship Game, in which Alabama defeated Texas 37-21. Niiice. That afternoon we went to my uncle Patrick’s house in Fox Lake, Illinois (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl).

Patrick is Michael’s twin brother. That being the case, he’s known Michael at least 9 months longer than any of the rest of us. He had everyone (and I mean everyone) over to his house for a celebration of Michael’s life and a gathering that would prove at least somewhat cathartic in the wake of Michael’s death. Patrick had called me and asked if I would speak when Michael’s siblings dedicated a bush to his memory.

I confessed that I didn’t really know what to say, but when the Baptist boy from Alabama is the speaker, everyone should expect some preachin’, which received sporadic laughter. I focused on the beauty that the bush would eventually display and how that relates to what Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6): if God provides for the lilies, or bushes, of the field or the sparrows of the air, will He not provide for His people, who are much more important than those other things? I further spoke about how we need not despair over Michael’s physical decline, which was indeed sad. For Paul told us that flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15).

I’ve found that no matter how many funerals or memorial services I speak at, it doesn’t get easy. What helps is being surrounded by friends and family, and that could not have been more true on this day. Having so much support there helped me to be able to get through my little piece of the day and proclaim the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, even if only for a moment and for a small group.

The worst part of the day was that Lydia was having a terrible time. As we finally diagnosed, she was stopped up and needed some prunes to clear the plumbing. I can relate: sometimes when I travel and am out of my routine, my stomach questions me. Other than that, it was really a great day. We got to catch up with lots of family, and also friends from waaaay back. The party lasted well into the night, and I sat outside around a fire with family and friends reminiscing and listening to George Strait while Deb was inside bonding with my family.

The next day was much better. Lydia was back to her normal self, and we were off to North Shore Country Club in Glenview, IL (http://www.north-shorecc.org/). It was incredible once we arrived. Of course we were late. We tend to be late everywhere we go because I so detest tardiness. Patrick’s father-in-law is a member and had our family there for brunch. The food was great, and we got to tour the clubhouse, including the amazing kitchen. Then we traveled down to Queen of Heaven Cemetery (http://www.catholiccemeterieschicago.org/locations.php?id=14) in Hillside, IL. There, Michael’s ashes were scattered upon the grave plots of other family members.

That night, we reconvened at Patrick’s house for a cookout and a couple hours more of family time. We got some more time to catch up before heading out the next morning. Our return trip was fairly mundane, as we were able to arrive at O’Hare in time for our flight. Huzzah!

The entire weekend was a good experience. It makes me a bit sad that it takes such a sad circumstance to get us all together, however. The lesson I took from the trip was that we need to cherish our friends and family all the time. The realities of life often prevent us from being able to spend the time we would like with the people we love, but there are details that we control. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus instructs us to be reconciled to one another immediately. He continually and consistently teaches forgiveness (Matthew 6:12-14, 18:22). What I mean to say is that if you have something against someone, particularly family, try to reconcile. You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you, Uncle Michael, for the lesson. May God give you rest until we get there to see you.

Michael Patrick Crown, 1961-2010

For more pictures of Michael and from the memorial, visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=114874598529857&ref=ts. Here’s a taste:

Deborah is having a great time making the food. She just boils or steams it to get it softened up, then she puts it in the blender with a little bit of the cooking liquid. Hit the “puree” button and watch the veggies spin until they are smooth enough for an infant. A very sweet infant. Really, she’s a doll. Then the puree is placed in trays of 2-ounce serving cups. The trays go in the freezer and, VOILA! We have individual servings for Lydia. It only takes about two minutes to defrost and heat the food if we give her two servings. This process is saving us money and peace of mind: we know exactly we are giving our little girl.

Lydia has gotten pretty good at the eating routine. At first she had a bit of a hard time. It was very different for her, and she didn’t really know what to make of her dinner not being liquid, and she would suck her thumb between bites. What’s more, she would get impatient and resort to chewing the straps on her space saver highchair ( http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=demo&pid=35236 ) by Fisher Price. But now she seems to do very well with the food. She’s not even very messy.

Before

After

See? Not that messy. Also, she’s started crossing her legs while sitting, as illustrated above. I think she’s trying to be ladylike. Often when she sits on her mat to play with toys, she crosses at the ankles. It’s funny.

Other things are going great also. Lydia had her six month checkup and everything is right where it ought to be. The doctors offer a certain measure that is a weight-to-length ratio. At her four month checkup, Lydia was in the lowest percentile of this ratio. I was a little nervous that Child Protective Services (http://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/cps/) might come take her away, but I had my defense ready. We can’t help it if everyone else has obese kids, right? At any rate, Liddy has moved up to the 15th percentile now. She has a little more meat on the bones.

Lydia has started using this fake, canned laugh. My theory is that she knows that when she laughs, Mommy and Daddy are happy. What a sweet little girl: loves to see her parents laugh. In addition, we continue to find games that don’t require toys. My current favorite is one I like to call “IMAGETCHU!” That’s a condensed version of “I’m going to get you.” Basically we run toward Lydia and she laughs and squeals with delight. See how it tends to go: http://www.youtube.com/tide0103

We hope you’re all doing great. Until next time…

With love,
Brandon, Deb, and Lydia

Our journey did not start out well at all. We left the house later than we had planned and did not arrive at Dulles International Airport early enough to check out bags. I was irate, so Deborah talked to the airline representative about our options. We decided to pay an additional $75 each for guaranteed seats on a direct flight to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. We timed Lydia’s meals so that she would be eating when we were taking off and ascending. The sucking and swallowing help babies’ ears when they are popping. Lydia did well on the plane, as did Deborah, who doesn’t like to fly.

Enjoying the flight

"Where's that barf bag?"

The folks at United Airlines were kind enough to give us some wings to celebrate Liddy’s first flight. She did well, as mentioned earlier, and the people around us were impressed by the kid. As well they should be.

Lydia got her wings without drinking Red Bull

The return flight to Dulles went fairly well. This time we made it early enough to catch our originally scheduled flight. We flew on Delta, so of course we had to connect in Atlanta. Again we timed Lydia’s eating schedule so that it coincided with takeoff, which was helpful. The last leg of the trip was from Atlanta to Washington (Dulles). Lydia was a bit fussy because she was tired, but quickly fell asleep and stayed in the Land of Nod until we were almost on the ground. That was fine, but the bad parts were a) I needed to use the lavatory, but had an unconscious baby on my lap, and b) Lydia had a full diaper that I think leaked on me. Well, either it leaked or it was just so hot that I got sweaty where she was sitting. Whichever the case, I left the plane looking like I had not been able to control my bladder. Oh, well…

I’ll recount the time in Illinois in a separate post. Thanks for checking on us. I hope you’re doing well.

All our love,
Brandon, Deborah, and Lydia

As you can see, we took Lydia to see the Easter Bunny. She was great; no screaming or crying. We couldn’t get her to smile directly at the camera, however. There was just too much going on. She was laughing and smiling at all the other folks nearby, so the photographer was able to snap a good picture. I am continually reminded of just how blessed we are to have such a sweet little girl. She wasn’t scared of the Easter Bunny at all, just curious enough to try to look back at him. Other kids were screaming and refusing to sit with him. I don’t know if Lydia trusts us enough not to cry, likes everyone, or is just too young to know danger. I like to think we keep her in good enough company that she has no reason to mistrust people yet, especially if Mommy and Daddy are with her.

Deb got some good shots of Lydia with her iPhone. I have to admit that I now want one, and will likely get mine in June when I’m eligible for an upgrade. On a side note, I added Deb to my plan and she got the supermegaultra awesome phone. How does that work? At any rate, here are the photos.

Bonnet and bunny...ready for Easter.

What a sweet girl!

On a sad note, my uncle Michael passed away earlier this month after a years-long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family and kept a cheerful demeanor until the end. Fortunately, I was able to talk to him for a little while via Skype. Technology is amazing, isn’t it? It was kind of sad to see him withered away, but we know that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Also, we know that when we are raised with Jesus, we inherit a perfect body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). How wonderful it is to stand upon the promises God has given us!

Deb, Lydia, and I will be flying up to Chicago this coming weekend to be with family and celebrate Michael’s life. That promises to be an adventure, and Lydia should earn her wings! We’ll have to get some good photos to share when that time arrives.

Until then, here’s hoping you are doing well.

With love,
Brandon, Deborah, and Lydia

We have seen Lydia’s new discoveries and actions with the excitement and glee that might be expected from first-time parents. Every new thing she does is thrilling for us. However, there are certain milestones we have been anticipating eagerly as of late. Quite frankly, I had been beginning to worry. She hadn’t rolled over from her back to her tummy, and she was beyond the five-month mark. The guides we have seen give a pretty big age range for that, usually 3-8 months. While still within the normal range, I worried because Lydia is very strong but hadn’t completed the roll, instead stopping on her hip. Maybe it’s because she just does not like to be on her tummy. I feel bad for the ladies at day care (www.kindercare.com). Her activity sheets usually have two periods of tummy time, and they are generally about 20 minutes each. She must scream for 18 of those minutes, plus the kids seem to take cues from each other. I don’t know how long I could deal with eight screaming babies. Bless those women. They love those kids so much that they even take candid photos, which they’ll share if you ask. Example:

She also discovered her toes recently.

At any rate, Lydia reached a few of those milestones this week. She started sitting up all by herself, rolled from back to tummy, and ate some actual food. She even held her bottle for a little bit. I think she can do that when the bottle is mostly empty and she remembers to put her hands under the bottle rather than on top of it. She doesn’t quite have a grasp of the law of gravity. We got some good video of Lydia sitting, eating, and even rolling over (www.youtube.com/tide0103). 

It’s funny how things are happening in clusters. Maybe this lesson will help me to be patient when new milestones are on the horizon. I am starting to realize that I must be serene, lest those warnings about things moving too fast become all too real to me.

I hope you’re all doing well. We’ll try to post more frequently.

With love,
Brandon, Deborah, and Lydia

Lydia is growing and changing so fast that it almost makes my head spin to think about it. All the warnings we received about just how fast kids grow up have turned out to be prophetic. Although she is already five months old, I feel like we just got her home last week. It’s been an incredible journey thus far, and I am anxious to see what the next year (or 18) holds for her.

Lately she is really developing her own personality. She is generally a very happy baby, and sleeps through the night with rare exception. Deborah and I count ourselves fortunate. At day care and church, she gets a good conduct report almost without fail. One Sunday at church (www.loudonpurpose.com), one of the nursery had workers to come get Deb from the service because Liddy was very worked up and wouldn’t calm down. Afterwards, one lady who works in the nursery on Wednesday nights came to talk to us, eyes popping and mouth agape. She just couldn’t believe Lydia was not being the perfectly behaved angel she had grown to know.

Speaking of day care, we have moved Lydia to the KinderCare (www.kindercare.com) in Oakton, which makes dropping her off and picking her up much easier for us. Plus, the new place seems more organized than the old one. The workers at both places are great, and they clearly love the children, but the Oakton center is just much more convenient. Additionally, one of our friends sends her two kids there, so she could get Lydia for us in the event of an emergency.

Recently Lydia has begun to discover a lot of things. Most notable is Deborah’s cat. He is a Russian blue, and his name is Koshka, which is Russian for cat. Creative, right? He’ll be turning 15 next month, which is remarkable considering all he’s endured. At any rate, Lydia now seems to think he is the best thing in the house. She squeals with delight and laughs at him as he slinks across the room. I have some video to share, which will hopefully be up at www.youtube.com/Tide0103 soon, provided I can convince the software to cooperate. (UPDATE:  Video now available.)

Deborah is doing well. Her job has been kind of crazy lately, but with the new day care location and an adjustment in my schedule, she has at least been able to go to the gym some days. Plus she finally got to use the spa gift certificate I gave her for her birthday last year (8 October). Her leg has improved to the point that the nerve rarely gives her much trouble, but she has been experiencing pain in her knees.

We’ve finally gotten pretty settled in our place in Fairfax. Most of the boxes are either emptied and tossed or put in storage. We still have a few in a couple places, but we are much closer to organized. I have some video of our home in Fairfax, Virginia posted on our YouTube site (www.youtube.com/Tide0103). It finally feels like home. Our neighbors are friendly and it’s pretty quiet. We have access to everything we need within just a few minutes’ drive. (UPDATE: All parts of this video are now uploaded.)

As for me, things are improving. At work, I have been moved into a different position. That was a huge blessing for me even though it requires learning a lot of things and re-learning a few things. I am now the Contracting Officer supporting the Energy Information Administration (www.eia.doe.gov) rather than the Loan Guarantee Program (http://lgprogram.energy.gov). The new position is much more independent, and I’ll get to interact with my upper  management frequently. I think this detail will allow me to learn and develop better than my previous position.

Back in January  my shoulder subluxed (http://www.caringmedical.com/conditions/Shoulder_Subluxation_(Instability).htm) for the first time since my 1999 surgery. I immediately stopped lifting weights and sought medical treatment. I’m smarter now than I was at age 20. I had an arthrogram MRI, during which dye was inserted into my shoulder to highlight the problem areas. Pretty cool, huh? The results were better than I had hoped: the labrum is frayed but not torn. My doctor, Dr. David Novak, is great (http://www.c-o-r.com/phys_novak.asp), and he occasionally works with Dr. James Andrews of HealtSouth in Birmingham. That made for some interesting conversation when he read my post-op note from the previous surgery, which was performed at HealthSouth by Dr. Larry Lemak, the former partner of Dr. Andrews. After the MRI, Dr. Novak prescribed physical therapy in hopes that it will strengthen the shoulder enough so that I can avoid another surgery. So I started PT last week at Results Rehab and Fitness (www.resultsrehab.net). I can tell I have never done anywhere near enough for the small muscles in my shoulders. The therapists are great, though (http://www.resultsrehab.net/aboutUs/ ; I’ve worked with Britta and Jill),  and I think this will help. I have decided to incorporate these exercises in my regular workout even after I finish my rehab in hopes of preventing any further episodes.

I think that is about all the updating I will do today. Hopefully it won’t be so long between now and the next post. Here’s hoping all is well in your world.

All our love,
Brandon, Deborah, and Lydia

The video can be found at www.YouTube.com/Tide0103. Many thanks to Brian Sims for filming.

Hope you’re all doing well!

–Brandon, Deborah, and Lydia

Alrighty then.  So, I left the office around 1:00pm.  We had already decided that Brandon would pick up Lydia from daycare.  He works for the government and they’re pretty good about releasing their employees during times like this.  My office?  Not so much.  It was snowing pretty well by then and I headed straight for home.  Twelve miles and an hour later, I finally arrived at my destination.  By early evening there were several inches of snow on the ground and the cars were well covered.  It was quite beautiful.  It was also still snowing heavily and you could tell that the forecast was going to be pretty much on point.  We spent the evening playing with Lydia, watching tv, wondering if we should order a pizza and making jokes about the snow.  The snow was still funny and cute at that point.  We did not order pizza, by the way.

Saturday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland.  Our entire world was blanketed in about 2 feet of snow and it was still snowing.  The novelty was starting to wear off by about 8:30am.  It was hard to get out of bed that morning, but with a three and a half month old, you pretty much have to get up when they do.  To top it off, Lydia was fussy.  She’s such a good baby and never really gives us much grief, but this morning she was a handful.  And it was perfect timing as I ended up with either a stomach bug or food poisoning.  I don’t know which one it was.  All I know is I spent the entire day going from the bed to the bathroom, slipping in and out of consiousness and sipping Gatorade and water.  Brandon spent the day trying to tame Lydia while also trying to put together a computer armoire and a pantry.  I’m not sure which one of us had a better day.  By about 8:00pm, I was able to stand up without having to make a mad dash for the bathroom and Brandon had successfully assembled the pantry and the computer armoire and had gotten Lydia into a more amicable mood.  It was at this point that we had an epiphany: we did not have a shovel and we had gotten well over 2 feet of snow.  Our cars were unrecognizable.  And, it was still snowing!

So Sunday comes along and we are now officially snowed in and not sure how we’re going to get out.  We attended church services virtually via our church website (www.loudonpurpose.com).  Our church was cool enough to pre-record the pastor’s message and post online in preparation for everyone being snowed in.  I must say, it’s pretty cool to attend church in your pajamas.   While we attended virtual church, we could hear the neighbors start the daunting task of digging out.  After “church”, Brandon headed outside with a small waste basket to try to get some of the snow off our cars.  There’s only so much that can be done with a small waste basket in 3 feet of snow.  While he was trying to get our cars dug out, the apartment community had a Bobcat bulldozer come through and start moving the snow.  We decided to let the Bobcat do its business first in the hopes that it would minimize the amount of snow that we would have to remove sans shovel on our own.  At around 5:00pm Sunday, I went out with the waste basket and made what I considered a valiant attempt to get my car dug out.  I was able to get most of the snow removed from one side of my car (and not without a slapstick fall on the slippery pavement), but soon realized that the waste basket was no match for the snow.  The weather reports were predicting another round of snow starting Tuesday.  We knew we were going to need to restock, so the decision was made to put pride aside and ask a neighbor for the use of their shovel first thing Monday morning.  Here are some pictures of the snow.

Monday arrives and Brandon heads outside to make friends with the neighbors in order to get his hands on a shovel.  As fate would have it, the maintenance crew were out clearing the sidewalks and let Brandon use one of their shovels for the day.  At around 1:00pm Monday, our cars were officially cleared off.  With the impending forecast for Tuesday, we knew that we absolutely had to get a shovel and we needed to restock some of our food supplies.  We packed up Lydia and headed out.  The roads were beyond ridiculous.  The amount of snow we received was just too much for the road crews to handle.  As it turned out, the messy roads were a blessing in disguise.  The stores were not too crowded, but we knew we were operating on borrowed time.  At some point in the next 18 hours people were going to have to get out, bad roads or not, to restock and things were bound to get ugly.  We were able to get in and out of the grocery store in about 15 minutes, but our search for a shovel was fruitless (unless you count the garden spade we found at KMart). 

We headed home and started searching online for a store that might have a shovel on hand that we could pick up Tuesday morning prior to the next round of hell.  To our delight, early Tuesday morning we found a shovel available at Lowe’s.  Brandon paid for it online and we made plans to head out early before everyone else could hit the roads [insert laughter] .  We also had a few grocery items that we had forgotten to get on Monday, so the first stop was the grocery store.  I wish we had taken a picture of the grocery store.  It was mayhem at its best.  They had every register open, including the self checkout lanes, and the lines for each register ran all the way down each aisle.  I stood in line while Brandon dashed around the store picking up what we needed.  We were looking at about 20 to 30 minutes before we would even get to the register.  Luckily, we got our hands on one of those hand-held scanners that ring up your groceries while you shop.  We scanned our items and then jumped out of line and followed the lady in front of us to the customer service desk to pay.  We thought for sure that they were going to tell us to go stand in line and pay at one of the registers.  To our delight, we were able to pay and scoot out before anyone could figure out that we had cheated the lines.  The line to get out of the parking lot was ridiculous so we took a back way out.  We cheated the lines again and headed off to Lowe’s to get our shovel and get home before our luck could run out.

We got as far as Lowe’s when luck started having her way with us.  The Lowe’s website had not been updated with what was actually in stock and our shovel was a mere pipe dream.  We resigned ourselves to having to borrow a shovel again and made our way out to parking lot to head home.  And this is where luck started laughing at us.  The parking lot and the road for the shopping center looked like rush hour.  There were hundreds of cars just sitting waiting for lights to change so they could go 10 feet and sit again.  After 20 minutes of trying to find a way out, luck started to come back to our corner.  We found a back road that cut through an apartment complex and put us out on the main roads.  Now it was officially time to get home before luck could change her mind.

With a fresh round of supplies and full resignation that we would not be able to purchase a shovel until the year 2020, we buckled down for Snowpocalypse, Part II.  This round wasn’t so bad.  We were only snowed in for 2 days this time around.  We entertained ourselves with a few movies and by playing with the baby.  The best part about being snowed in was having days and days of one-on-one time with Lydia.  We took pictures and video and just had the greatest time laughing and giggling with our little punkin’.  Here are a few of the shots of Lydia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Thursday afternoon, we knew that I was going to have to go back to work on Friday.  Brandon had a Friday afternoon appointment with an orthopedist to finally have his shoulder looked at and Lydia’s daycare center was still closed, so I took Friday afternoon off to watch Lydia.  Half a day of work after being out for a week was quite nice.  And we were heading into the long weekend, to boot.  Clearing cars was much easier this time around.  Even with a sore shoulder, Brandon did an awesome job.  As for his shoulder, he needs to have an MRI to determine whether or not there is any major damage.  We’ll keep you posted on news about the shoulder situation as we receive it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, life is slowly making its way back to normal around here.  The roads are progressively getting better, but it will be a long time before all the snow melts away, especially from the snow banks.  We also have some killer icicles hanging from our roof.  The shot below is from the balcony off Lydia’s room.  The icicles hang past the railing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the photos, we have a couple video clips for a broader view of the mayhem (www.YouTube.com/Tide0103). We hope everyone is having a safe and happy winter so far. 

With love,

Deb, Brandon and Lydia

Lydia had been a bit under the weather for a few days, but we didn’t think too much about it. She’d been going to day care (www.kindercare.com) for a couple weeks and both Deborah and I knew that she would start getting colds and other various ailments. It’s all for the best in the long run, we keep telling ourselves, because she will probably just get mild forms of illnesses and develop a strong immune system so that she doesn’t get devastated later in life by chicken pox or some other sickness that should be a rite of childhood. In addition, the social interaction, physical activity, and scholastic curriculum in which the kids take part will be a good start for her. Plus, it gives Deb the opportunity to get back to work, which is a strategy that is both financially sound and good for Deb’s sanity, as it gets her out of the house and engaged in adult conversation.

The cold persisted a few days, then Lydia began running a fever. Additionally, her right eye was a bit red, but we didn’t think it was pinkeye since she didn’t constantly have gunk and crust in her eye.  I didn’t think too much of this since the fever wasn’t alarming to me by itself. Well, Deborah had her mother’s intuition tingling, so we went to the doctor’s office (www.PedsAlex.com). We were there as they were closing up for the night, so I’m sure everyone was ready to get home. We saw a pediatrician who checked Liddy’s vitals and looked at her nose, ears, eyes, and throat. She did not, however, swab her for influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), both of which are common in young children and running rampant these days. In retrospect, we should have demanded a swab, but in our naiveté we accepted the doctor’s word as gospel. I’m sure she had Lydia’s best intentions in mind when she sent us home just as we had come in the door. The only direction she gave us was to bring Lydia back if the fever had not broken by Saturday.

Over the course of the week, Lydia’s symptoms grew progressively worse. Further, her appetite waned dramatically. Deb stayed home on Wednesday and I stayed home on Thursday. We noticed that she was growing more lethargic rather than being her normal, smiley, bubbly self. She also began vomiting violently about once or twice a day. On top of all that, her fever was increasingly high rather than improving. She also had developed a cough. The lack of energy was a big clue. As noted, she just wasn’t herself. She looked sad and tired all the time.  We called the doctor’s office on Thursday to let them know about the rising fever and vomiting and they told us that there was a stomach bug going around.  They instructed us to give her Pedialyte and a tepid bath and to bring her in on Saturday if her fever was not gone.  We were a little unsettled that they did not see cause for concern given the rising fever and vomiting, but we trusted the professionals.

Not her normal self

Friday rolled around, and I had to move the mountain of stuff we had in our 10′ x 7.5′ storage unit at Seven Corners to our 5′ x 5′ unit in Fairfax. We did some downsizing by donating some furniture to the Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org). Deb needed to go to work in the morning, and my aunt Sheila was good enough to come and watch Lydia for a few hours. Well, I got the reduced load moved to the new storage unit (www.publicstorage.com) just up the road and picked up the three big boxes we had ordered from Wal-Mart (www.walmart.com) and had shipped to our local store, #2015 at Fair Lakes. I left a good report for an associate named Lok, who was really helpful, and the store’s assistant manager called to thank me, letting me know that Lok would be recognized for his efforts. Yay for Lok! Anyhow, Lydia threw up again while Sheila was watching her, so we were really starting to get worried.

That night, we made another call to the doctor’s office.  Luckily they were closed.  Otherwise, we might have let them talk us into waiting until the morning to bring her by the office.  Prior to Lydia’s rapid decline, we had been planning a much needed parent’s night out, but rather than attend the postseason party for our flag football league (www.dcalum.org), we took Lydia to the Inova Emergency Care Center (www.Inova.com), approximately 3/8 mile from our house. Convenient. This turned out to be a good choice, as her temperature had skyrocketed to 103.8 degrees. Time for Mommy and Daddy to panic. It was about that time that I began to say bad things about the doctor who didn’t do much other than look at my baby and tell me she’d be fine. But I digress. Liddy also threw up all over Deborah, so we had to get both of them changed. Luckily, the facility had a seemingly limitless supply of tiny hospital gowns. They don’t take up much space, so it makes sense that they have plenty. When the nurse took Lydia to her own “room” we came across Jim Larranaga (http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/larranaga_jim00.html), head coach of the George Mason basketball team. One of his players had suffered an arm injury at practice and was being treated. But again, I digress. The staff was very helpful and Dr. Hermes (Mercury?) was incredibly informative. First, he started an intravenous antibiotic, which brought her fever down and cleared up her eye. He diagnosed Lydia with pneumonia and wanted to admit her to Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, which is part of a larger hospital. Inova Fairfax, as it turns out, is a huge campus. So off we went.

Ready to roll

We headed to Inova Fairfax Hospital, Lydia and Deborah in an ambulance, and I in my car. When we finally got a room, one of the nurses got me from the waiting room and escorted me to the Pediatric Sedation Suite. Upon seeing the signs, my eyes must have swollen to the size of dinner plates. The nurse reassured me that Lydia was just there because that was the only room available. I began to wonder just how many kids had been to the same office we had visited prior to being admitted. I entered the room to find my wife talking to Dr. Jain and my daughter in a nice bed, hooked up to about four different machines. Her heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate (how fast she was breathing), and oxygen saturation were all being monitored. If you’ve never seen an infant hooked up to a bunch of hospital machinery, I don’t recommend it. 

Dr. Jain was perhaps the most informative doctor I’ve ever encountered. He was very patient with us, encouraged questions and answered them very thoroughly and matter-of-factly, and even stroked Lydia’s cheek as she lay in her bed. He told us that since the fluid was concentrated mostly in one lung (the right lung) rather than being evenly distributed, this bout of pneumonia was likely bacterial rather than viral. Apparently, pneumonia is a much more generic term than I realized (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pneumonia/ds00135) prior to this episode. Anyhow, he told us about the treatment he recommended and we were confident that she would be okay. 

That night, Deb slept a little bit on the fold-out chair/bed that was in the room. I took the floor, which was not as cozy as you might think. On top of that, I hurt my shoulder (again!) about a week prior, so I was very uncomfortable. I got about an hour of sleep in all, and Deb got maybe two. Lucky. In the morning, we decided to take turns and go home to clean up. The weather had different plans. I walked out of the hospital to flurries and by the time I got home, it was coming down pretty hard. I was in the house maybe 20 minutes, and when I came out my car was covered in snow. So I grabbed our toothbrushes and a few other little things in anticipation of being stuck. I also got us some food from McDonald’s (www.mcd.com) and headed back to the hospital. 

The good part about being parents of a sick baby is that the hospital feeds you. The bad part is that they feed you. Actually, the food wasn’t that bad, with the exception of breakfast. Also, there were vending machines nearby so we were able to get Cokes and snacks if we needed them. By mid-Saturday, we were getting a bit stir crazy. Lydia, however, was just buckling down to battle the pneumonia. She received a strong dose of antibiotics each night and nebulizer treatments every four hours. By Saturday evening she felt well enough to give the germs the what for. 

This whole ordeal has made me realize a few things. First, it showed me just how much we love that little girl. I think we were both on the verge of breaking down a couple times, but we had to keep it together for her. I know she had no idea what was going on, and to see the people who always fix everything upset would have been detrimental, I suppose. Second, it made me appreciate my parents. I’m sure my brother and I put them through nightmares. Now I understand. So, if you read this, thanks Mom and Dad. And I’m sorry. Finally, the trial showed me how amazing the Lord is. When we were scared, we had an army of prayer warriors on our side. One good thing about technology is that I was able to update everyone via Facebook (www.facebook.com) and almost instantaneously get lifted up in prayer. In particular, I can’t thank our friends from Fair Oaks Church (www.loudonpurpose) enough for keeping us in mind. That place continues to amaze me. When people ask why bad things happen, I usually respond that it’s so God’s glory can shine through the bad times. Lydia’s situation was minor compared to things that happen in the world, but it was hell on two new parents. All the while, though, we had the peace of the Lord with us. For if God is for us, who can be against us? (See Romans 8:28-39). We can never thank Him enough and I hope you will experience His grace in your life just as we have in ours.

All our love,
Brandon, Deb, and Lydia