two months---in bullet points

When you've blogged pretty regularly for 5 and half years and then  you go dark for almost two months, you have a choice.  Explain why you were gone and catch everyone up, or just start from where we are now. 

So the short explanation is I've been busy.  REALLY busy.  I thought giving up the blog would just kill me.  But it didn't.  I think sometimes it feeds my crazy a little too much and lately, well the crazy level has been so high and things have been hectic that, well, the crazy has not needed feeding. 

Here is just a taste of what has happened since I last posted: 

• Henry had pnemonia and had to receive IV fluids.
• We put our house on the market and it was discovered that I can keep our house perfectly clean OR be a patient wife and mother.  But not both.
• We rode Thomas the Tank Engine, went to Field Days of the Past, the VA State Fair, walked in a fundraiser for Prader-Willi research,  and visited both sets of grandparents.
• Hosted our last Phillips Family Homecoming parade extravaganza for the high school homecoming parade that goes by our house.
• Regressed from potty training to being back in pull ups because Grace pooped in the foyer 30 minutes before we had a showing.  (But that's Ok, because we...)
• Accepted an offer on our house.  20 days after we put it on the market.  (GO GOD!  GO Elliott Gravitt, realtor extraordinaire!)
• Made an offer on a new house and are under contract.  (I will write about this house later on because it is ridiculous.)
• Given Gracie roughly 300 nebulizer breathing treatments (fall is not her friend).
• Had both kids LOVE LOVE LOVE their new teachers at school.
• Completely changed the way we parent Gracie because of some behaviors she's been exhibiting that we suspect are from the crank she was exposed to in utero.
• Prayed for more and more patience as we await news on our kids in the Congo.
• Discovered that Gracie has imaginary friends.  They are adults.  Their names are Mrs. Fox (?) and Mrs. Walker.  (Mrs. Walker is also a teacher at school.  But sometimes "Mrs. Walker" has tea parties here.)  Gracie also sometimes plays with Jesus.  She REALLY wants Jesus to come to her birthday party.  Because He is her best friend.  
• Henry earned his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.  
• Henry can now count to 10 in Korean.
• Gracie started dance class and it is the cutest thing in the world.
• Learned some upsetting news about our son in the Congo and prayed him back into our family.  
• Hugged our kids who live here extra tight every night because never ever did I think I'd see the day when I'd be praying for one of my kids to get INTO foster care.  

I think that's it.  There might be other stuff.  I don't know.  I'm going to try and get back into the habit of posting more regularly, but my guess is that it will be shorter.  And probably kinda trivial.   But y'all gotta hear some of the things that come out my kids' mouth because they. are. hysterical.