Almost in Stitches

You know how this blog is called "Temporary Insanity"?  Well, I'm claiming some of that insanity right now.  It seems our family has been going through some particularly crazy times lately, most of it being the good kind of craziness, if you know what I mean.

I have been lax in my blogging as of late due to being very busy and also due to my parents' visit this past week.  I rarely get to see my parents any more - they live across the country in PA and visits are too few and far between.  Unfortunately for them, their brood spread out all over the world, and visiting us all frequently is tough, with the little vacation time Dad gets and of course the great expenses of such travels.  Besides me here in Oregon, my older brother and his family reside in South Korea. (here's his blog!)  My younger-by-one-year brother and his family live about an hour away from my parents in good old Pennsylvania, and my only sister lives with her husband in Ontario. (here's her blog!)  My youngest brother just recently got married and is now living in Indiana.  

So, Mom and Dad were able to get a trip together to travel across the country and the Pacific Ocean to see their oldest son and his family of six (yep, six!) daughters ranging in age from newborn to nine years old.  It was a great blessing to them to be able to see their son in action at the church he pastors there as well as spend as much time possible with six of their eleven grandchildren.  On the way home from Korea, they stopped in Oregon to spend a few short days with us.  

My parents were supposed to arrive on Tuesday at 3:40 pm (PST), but their flight from San Francisco kept getting pushed further and further back.  Poor Mom and Dad had already had a 12-hour flight from Korea to San Francisco and now were spending a ridiculous amount of time in the San Francisco airport, trying to fight off the jet lag that threatened to totally consume them.  At last we got the call from Mom that she and Dad had been transferred to another flight and would be arriving in Portland around 6:00 pm.  We rushed around doing last-minute things, and I set about getting the kiddies ready to head out to the airport.  I made a quick decision to redo Gabi's hair since it had suffered some frizzing during the day.  I took out her hair bows and was startled to see the one side of her hair all stiff and goopy with blood.  Okay, "startled" is a mild word for how I reacted when I saw that gruesome sight!

Apparently, a few hours earlier, Gabi had flipped off the recliner in the living room(the chair she is not allowed to play on) and fearing punishment, did not tell us that she had hurt her head.  Upon washing her hair and assessing the damage, it was clear from all the blood and the width of the wound that she was going to have to go to the hospital.  I decided to take her to the hospital while Chris picked my parents up from the airport.  Joy, joy - I was praying that it would be slow in the ER and that we would be able to be seen by a doctor quickly.

God answered my prayers, and we were in to see a doctor within minutes of arrival.  Gabi was terrified of everything - the thermometer, the blood pressure machine, the nurses - and when the second nurse mentioned that she might need stitches, I was terrified too.  Then the doctor came in - a very tall gentle man with a bit of an accent.  He informed me that he had four daughters of his own that were constantly getting into scrapes.  I felt immediately at ease.  He examined the wound and gave me the treatment options.  I chose the most unorthodox option - that of tying her hair in knots over the wound to pull the sides of the wound together.  He said he had done it with his daughters before, and I trusted him.  Plus, it meant no stitches!

And thus my parents' visit here started off with a bang! :)  Gabi is doing fine now, and I have many more stories to share of Mom and Dad's visit. (Which I will, in the near future!)

And for now?  I am praising God for His goodness and protection, and ultimately thanking Him for His greatest gift to mankind - His only Son.  May all of you have a most blessed Easter tomorrow!