And now back to our regularly scheduled programming

So where were we?

After 6 hours of surgery, Olivia has a brand new eardrum! They also cut the scar tissue out of her ear canal and took a skin graft from under her arm to put there. Now the trick is to keep her at a low activity level while it heals. It’s tough. She’s an active girl. I get sick to my stomach thinking about going for her checkup in 3 weeks, and finding out it didn’t “take”.

In the midst of all that, I got sick. Sicker than I’ve been in…ever? We’re talkng pain just below childbirth. I almost wasn’t able to go to the hospital with Olivia. Ultrasound and CT scan have not shown anything definitive. After much lying on the couch and moaning, I’m feeling almost back to normal now. I think I’ll be over it before they ever figure out what’s wrong with me. It is kind of fun to be able to call myself a medical mystery, though.

Having 2 of our 4.5 team members out of commission is not good. Matt and Madeline recruited the neighbor girl to help move the broiler chickens out to pasture after we got home from Iowa City on Saturday. Madeline stepped up and took over Olivia’s bottle calf feedings, and collected, washed and packaged eggs for me. She also helped Matt feeding the broiler chickens and with all the household stuff – cooking & cleaning, etc. This place is definitely a team effort.

I haven’t yet finished posting baby pictures. Still to come…the most beautiful calf I’ve ever seen, Ava, and baby plants. Also a new (to us) species arrived here last Sunday. Stay tuned!