Over Her Head

Mia's appointment with the pediatric rheumatologist went very well today. Dr. Keim gave me a lot of hope for her future. The official diagnosis is juvenile idiopathic arthritis. They don't use the term rheumatoid arthritis anymore for kids, because it's not truly rheumatoid arthritis. Idiopathic means that they don't know what causes it. The x-ray showed an excess of fluid on her knee, but all of the blood tests came back negative. She started taking naproxen tonight to reduce the inflammation and the pain. Hopefully that will put her into remission, if not, Dr. Keim has a plan in place for what to do next. He made her laugh and even let her tell the interrupting starfish joke. She completely charmed everyone she came into contact with. The x-ray techs let her take the films out of the machine, the receptionists were so busy chatting with her that it took them extra time to fill out the appointment card, the nurse spent extra time talking with Mia about her new fairy doll. Dr. Keim said that her talkativeness is a sign of a healthy self-esteem, and that makes me feel good as a mom.

The pics of Mia are from Sunday; you can see her keeping her right knee just a little bent even as she poses on the sandbox.

Over Her Head by Shelley Bates is a fantastic read in an unusual way. Most Christian fiction books put a sympathetic character at their heart. Laurie Hale was the girl you hated in high school who was pretty and popular and homecoming queen. Then she grew up to be the woman you hate: leader in the church and community, perfect family, part of every club and function. Laurie has the perfect life with her two children: 14-year-old Anna and 10-year-old Tim. But on her morning run, Laurie comes across the body of a young girl Anna's age on a sandbar in the river. Questions race through town about the girl's mysterious death, and soon evidence comes to light that Anna may be involved. Laurie's pretenses and pride are stripped away as her friends and even family turn on her. The killer in the story is fairly obvious, but that's not what's important in this suspense tale. Laurie's quest for the truth about her daughter and all of the things she held dear is what matters here. I was very impressed by Bates' ability to make Laurie human while showing her falseness openly. Laurie doesn't understand the growing gap between her and Anna and that only causes them both to pull farther apart. Bates doesn't settle for a happy ending where all plotlines are neatly tied up, and that makes the story believable. This is a great book for suspense lovers, and it has a terrific message that even when we are lost, God is always there to help us find our way home.

This weekend is the Amish Quilt Auction. I've been looking forward to it for months. I've talked Jess into going with me this year. Hopefully we can come home with some nice outdoor furniture.