Pearly Whites

There's a parable in the Bible that goes like this:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

With that being said, I'd like to introduce you to "Pearl", our "new" van.

While having the newer van is nice, I won't say that it's anything like I imagine the kingdom of heaven to be.  Although, it is quite roomy...

It took us quite a while to finally get it.  We purchased it and took it back in 2 days later to get its inspection tags.  That's when they informed us that Pearl needed an oil change (which we knew) and new tires (which we also knew).  Then they informed us that they would do all this for us free of charge and we could take a rental for the weekend since they had to order the tires.  Needless to say, we've been pleased.

Here's another quote from the Bible:

Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing.  Each has its twin; not one of the them is alone.

That being said, here's a video:

Deep Breath In

A friendly hug outside Whole Foods

To say the least, I was conflicted about starting this last week.  Isaac underwent 10 sessions of brainwave optimization.  That in itself was exciting.  The office where we got the treatments done was clear on the other side of town.  The treatments were each 2 hours long and we were doing 2 a day with a 2 hour break in between.  Those were the things I wasn't looking forward to.  Deep breath in.

I was looking forward to Isaac getting the treatments and excited about the possibilities it held for him.  I wasn't looking forward to a 40 minute drive each morning, waiting in a waiting room for 4 hours total with my other two kids, and then driving back 40 minutes to get home.  But we (I) pulled it all together, gritted our (my) teeth, and "happily" went along with it.  Deep breath in.

In our van

Now, I won't drag it out.  I'll let you know right now that after the first 2 hours in the waiting room, I was politely told that my kids were too loud for this office's reception area and that I would have to find some place else to wait.  A really deep breath in.  Now, I won't deny that my kids made noise while we were there.  They're kids.  Duh.  But I will defend them and say that they were well behaved and getting along and making the best of being in a waiting area that definitely wasn't made with a single child in mind.  So where did we go from here?  Our van.  Yep, we spent 4 hours each day waiting in our car for Isaac to get his treatments.  Deep breath in...

On the flip-side, Isaac did really great.  He had a good time and behaved himself just fine while having the treatments done.  It's too soon to tell how well it will work for his bowels, but we can already tell a difference in his concentration, speech, and sleeping behaviors.  And chances are that we will see some results in the next 1 to 6 weeks.  

What do you think it is?

All things considered, it was a good week.  Our lunch breaks were spent at the dinosaur museum and Whole Foods.  We got to dig for dinosaurs and learn about malacology.  We played at the park and watched movies on the laptop.  We survived.  Deep breath out.

But the end of the story involved a broken water pump, smoke coming out of the hood of our van, a tow truck, a constable, and eventually a rented car.  Deep breath in...and hold...