Sisters, Ink

I used to take my children's health for granted. I prayed about it and thanked God occasionally, but Doogie and Molly were so healthy, it wasn't a common worry. Mia, on the other hand, regularly has me petitioning the gates of Heaven. Before she turned five, she had already had two hospital overnight stays. (Doogie had one at five for cryptosporidium; Molly's never had one) She's still in remission from Juvenile Idiopathic Rheumatoid Arthritis (thank you Jesus!), but she's missed quite a few days of school this year due to frequent fevers. Last night we were laying in bed watching American Idol when I noticed she felt a little warm. Her temp was 102.6, so Jess and I gave her tylenol and ibuprofen and let her sleep with us. Her temp was 101.6 this morning, so I called her in to school and settled in for a day of cuddling (Mia calls it Mamma Mia time). At eleven, she was lethargic and not her chatty self, so I took her temp. Result: 105.4. I immediately panicked and literally spun in circles a few times before returning to earth. Then I stripped her down to T-shirt and underwear, placed a cold rag on her head, and gave her tylenol and ibuprofen again. Half an hour later it was down to 104.8, so I called the doctor and made an appointment for early afternoon. The doc isn't sure if Mia has (another) UTI or if the ecoli she had back in October ever really went away. So she's on antibiotics with lots of rest and fluids until we get the results back from the lab.

Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz is the first book about the Sinclair sisters. Tandy is a successful business attorney in Orlando when she's given a leave of absence for insulting a client. She returns home to Stars Hill, Tenn to lick her wounds in the warmth of her family's love. Sister Meg has three children and is a homeschooling maven. Joy is a gourmet chef and newly married. Kendra is single and still trying to find her place in life through her artwork. Their father is a pastor, and they all still ache for the loss of their mother. It's this loss that has fueled Tandy's need to succeed and kept her from returning to the small town life she loves. Her life is further turned upside down by the reappearance of her high school love Clay, who has opened a diner in downtown Stars Hill. Because this is chick lit, the ending is never in doubt, but the route Seitz takes to get there is full of sweet sisterly dialogue, humorous small town characters (without being characters that populate so many novels about small towns), faith, and lessons about love. The Sinclairs adopted all of their girls, so they each come with baggage and heartache. Tandy feels the weight of her mother's expectations. All of the storylines are woven around the sisters' love of scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook, even though I'm all thumbs at it, and this book is inspiration for both your faith and your scrapbook jones.

Current temp: 101.6, time for more medicine!