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All is not well in Ratville.  On Monday we left the house about 4:30.  The kids had been playing with Midnight up until right before we left.  We returned home at 7:30 to find Midnight a little stiff.  Ugh. One poor child was in tears, mourning the loss.  The others were equally grieved.  Despite my bit of disdain for the rats, I felt sympathy and rushed the kids to Petco for a replacement (now Midnight II).  Yes, it ended up being a late night, but hopefully they will have sweet memories of being escorted to the pet store late at night because their mommy loved them so much. 

That’s not all.  The next morning the kids decided that “Ginger” was not doing well.  She was very sneezy, and as rats can be very prone to respiratory infections, we made yet another trip to the pet store.  Because we are still within the 15 day guarantee they will take Ginger to the vet and administer antibiotics for her. Oh my.  Wouldn’t it be easier to just get a new rat?  Yes it would, but no, they have all fallen in love with Ginger.  What another little life lesson in just their first five days as rat owners.  We take care of the things we own.  So now we wait 7-10 days for Ginger to be restored to health.  The kids can call and check on her as they like. 

On a totally different topic, here is a funny story.  Elijah and Benjamin love to be tickled and often beg for it.  I know, crazy kids.  But I willingly oblige and tackle them with tickles frequently.  When they’ve had enough, they simply have to say, “I love you!” and then I stop.  Well sometimes I carry on a bit and say, “Well, I love you, too” or “I love you more”.  Elijah started his own rendition of the book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, even though he’s never read the book.  He’ll say something like, “Well, I love you around the world” and I’ll return something like, “I love you around the world ten times.”  This morning he shouted through his laughter, “I love you like God does!”  Awwwww.  I said, “Well, you can’t beat that!”  He gets it, he knows how much his Father loves him.  This kid brings joy to me every day.  Thank you Father for your gift of love and for allowing me to show that love to my son and for the gift of his love in return.  Pretty cool!

Or more like rats and boys…hard to come up with a title for this post!

First of all, Elijah had an appointment this afternoon with the pediatric cardiologist.  When I say “this afternoon”, I mean ALL afternoon.  This was a different doc than we saw a year ago, but oh what a difference.  We loved this guy, the staff, and the hospital.  They spent a lot of time with us and came up with a clear report.  We may have to watch for a couple of minor things in the future, but God willing Elijah will continue to live a healthy and “normal” life.  What a blessing!  Rather than go back again next year, we will return in two years just to keep an eye on things.

It was also special to spend an afternoon alone with Elijah and have one-on-one time.  We had plenty of time to talk and Elijah talked a lot about his early years in China.  He has shared quite a bit over the last year, but as his English skills have improved he can communicate much more clearly and with more detail.  He is such a brave and forgiving young man despite the emotional scars of the past.  As we hugged and cried together, I thanked God for Elijah’s openness and for continued bonding.

Secondly, while we were gone the rest of the kids were anxiously awaiting our return so that we could go to the pet store for their long awaited rat purchase.  Yes, we now have two rats in the house.  How long does it take to get over the shivers before I start to think they are cute?!  The four older kids have researched and saved their money for this joint venture.  I’m proud of their teamwork!  So here’s to welcoming Ginger and Midnight…..