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So we’ve had a bit of ups and downs as any family does. We had a lot of ups a couple weeks back when we went on vacation with our families… but we returned and since then have been on a steep slope going down hill. Yikes!

 Here’s a recap:

"Ray" Mini-Vacation – We went to the Jersey Shore with my parents and
siblings. We had beautiful weather and it was such an enjoyable time.
We went to the beach and the kids weren’t loving the water.. true it
was a good thing that ME didn’t like it- as she wasn’t allowed in it
due to the trach, but I wouldn’t have minded walking along the shore
line with her. But the water was too cold for her liking and it was
intimidating. Same for Drew. So I guess that was a good thing really.
They ended up liking the sand and ME loved making sand castles. Even
made friends with some kids on the beach. Each night we went out for
some fun… whether it was the park they had there with rides, or the
ice cream shop that did a little show with singing/dancing, or walking
to shops etc. We ate out as a family and had a grand ole’ time. It was
great! Pictures shall be posted shortly!

"Raia" Mini-Vacation – We took the laid back and cheaper approach with
staying at Andy’s sister’s house. The kids had fun. We took them to Six
Flags in New England. They went on a lot of kiddie rides, saw two shows
(the wiggles, and looney toons) and hung out in this little play ground
with water sprinklers that they loved. We bbq’d for the 4th of July,
did a little shopping, saw fireworks, and went to a Children’s Museum.
It was a lot of fun for the kids and I know they enjoyed it. Pictures shall be posted shortly!

Then we got back and into the swing of things…. well sorta….

It
was hectic because I went back to work of course and we also took ME to
VBS every evening. Which she loved (we did too). VBS is vocation bible school
at the church. They did such cute crafts, sang adorable children’s
worship music, played and learned many things… oh but of course this
was not without struggle as the 3 year old class was quite a handful! I
stayed to help a bit here and there. It was cute indeed though and I
can see she will love preschool in the fall.

So we were keeping busy, and…

ME’s NEXT SURGERY
was scheduled, but not without a little struggle. They didn’t have any
openings until September sometime. Well she’s starting preschool for
the first time ever in September and I was not happy. I wanted her to
be able to start school with a pleasant experience and not have to be
in the middle of recuperation or jump right into a surgery. They were
going to try to squeeze her in for sometime in August…. but then….
they had a cancellation and we took it. So ME is getting sclerotherapy/injections on July 30th.

Then Friday came and they called me into the office at my job at 11am and told me my position has been elimated.
They were cutting back and now are dividing my work amongst others as the office. This is
much more traumatic than people seem to realize. I worked mainly from
home (hard to find LEGIT work at home jobs!!!) and not many people can care
for Mary Elizabeth with her special needs. And I still need that full time salary.
We’ve been working out things since I got let go from my job and so far nothing seems to give. I keep having to call Andy with the most recent bad news. *sigh* Anywho – without getting into the nitty gritty- the income is now not going to cover what we need and to boot we got an extra bill thrown in the mix when we found out how much we NOW have to pay into for health insurance with the changes made. (Health insurance was previously held at my job). Anyway, It’s quite a hefty sum of money and I’m not sure where we will go from here. Just having faith that God has a greater/bigger plan for us.

There’s been a lot under the scenes but you got the
gist of it all now I’m sure. Stress level is high right now and well- we’ll all take some prayer if you are willing!