Last Week

Last week seemed to be one of those weeks full of a bunch of little 'unplanned' events -- we thought it would be marked by starting Shqip 2 (Albanian II) but instead was noted for Nathan going to the police station about the accident to Reni coming down with Scarlet Fever (yeah, I hadn't heard of anyone succumbing to scarlet fever since Little Women).  

But we had some high points too.  Like Skyping with a special niece/cousin...

Comparing dental gaps/missing teeth...

After lots of grins, giggles, and jokes, Ellie spontaneously just hugged the monitor to give her cousin a hug.  "I wish I could hug your real shirt," she said.
Be still my heart.

So about the accident... Nathan showed up at the police station with Mandi and Arjan, armed with printed photos.  The officer in charge was sympathetic, agreeing that the law about liability when making left-hand turns made no sense (especially in our case of being hit from behind), but in the end stated that if he didn't ticket Nathan and uphold the law, the other insurance company would never pay out and our insurance would never cover the difference, so ticketing was the only way to ensure we didn't have to pay any more out of pocket than necessary.  He gave Nathan the minimum ticket penalty which was the equivalent of about $10.

Reni's illness was thankfully not as serious as it sounded.  When his body developed a strange rash, it was after hours here in Tirana ... but not in Lexington.  Placing a quick phone call to see if Reni had been vaccinated for chicken pox, a quick run down of his symptoms led Nurse Connie to suggest scarletina (or scarlet fever). Sure enough, the next morning her theory was confirmed at the ABC Clinic and he was started on antibiotics.  A short while later he was back to his old self and out of quarantine!

Here's trusting for a week free of illness and accidents!