Joel's hearing test, Buttfly and our first banana harvest

We set off at 5am for the 5 hour (300km) drive to Lilongwe to take Joel to ABC Clinic for his hearing test. They were very helpful and friendly, we hardly had to wait for our appointment and it was surprisingly comfortable, aircon and all!

They do 3 checks- outer, middle and inner ear. She started with the outer and middle ear check, and then attempted the inner ear check but could not get conclusive results. We were struggling to understand each other because she couldn't tell me why she couldn't get conclusive result and I didn't know if that meant there was an issue with his cochlear or not. She wanted us to come back in a month to check again...it was all just very frustrating because I knew he couldn't hear and couldn't understand why she couldn't give me answers- especially when we had driven for 5 hours to do the test! What she could tell me, based on the results of the middle ear test, is that his ear drums were not vibrating as they should, which could indicate fluid build up, but she said they weren't bulging as one would expect if there was a middle ear infection...so I still didn't know what that meant.

I want to thank everyone for the messages and prayers through this time. I felt very helpless and concerned, with my brain working overtime. Feeling supported and encouraged meant so much to me. It easy to say that worrying doesn't help, and I'm not generally an anxious person. With all the big changes and craziness, I just wondered how I could've missed that he can't hear when it suddenly seemed so obvious. I tried to think back, surely there was a reason I didn't consider it before, surely at some stage I had known he could hear...I couldn't tap into my subconscious to remember. I felt very emotional and scared. I pleaded with the Lord to comfort me and help me accept His will, but also to heal my baby and protect him from a lifetime of suffering.

My parents have a friend who is a physician in Lilongwe, and she gave us the details of an ENT. I was doubtful we would be able to see him over the weekend but decided to try my luck, and sure enough his rooms were open!

We drove there and asked if it would be possible to get an appointment and they said 'sure, he will be here soon'. As easy as that! What a relief.

We barely had to wait! He was so lovely and calming. He explained it all so clearly to me- they call it gum ear, when the eustachian tube gets blocked because the fluid can't drain (very common in young children) and it causes the middle ear to fill up with fluid- which results in hearing loss. He also explained that the reason the inner ear test was inconclusive was because Joel would need to lie dead still and not make any noise, not even sucking. I was so relieved to have some clear, and positive answers.

Benja happened to be in Lilongwe for football the same weekend! It was a nice treat for my big kids who had really had a pretty boring weekend in parking lots mostly, with an impatient an stressed out mom. They are so gracious and forgiving.

I had to laugh, we let the kids each choose a treat and they went straight for the fruit table at food lovers! I love that this it teaching them to appreciate the simple things that we used to take for granted!

Some pics from the drive home, it is a beautiful drive!

2m pile of chopped wood on the back of a bicycle!

A learner driver in a tank? That's a first!

Over the next few days our baby boy started to hear. It had been almost 3 weeks since his last cold, which is the longest stretch in his little life of only 3 months! He started getting freaked out by sounds he had never heard before. But I love that I can see him listening, and that he responds to my voice with a big toothless grin! Such a relief and answer to my prayers.

My sister made this beautiful picture that is such a comfort.

Meanwhile! LJ had a plan to climb a tree that looked enticing. Such a little engineer! He called in reinforcements to help with the hard labour.

Can you spot him?

with my mom...

This little girl has just blown me away with how quickly she is learning to read and write!

She is also such a great help with her baby brother.

The kids are enjoying tennis lessons on a new all weather court!

Lily amazed me with her skills!

Sunday fun day at the lake! We tried a new spot called Butterfly (or buttfly as we have nicknamed it after Louie incorrectly spelt butterfly in his spelling test!). It has a nice little pebble beach which the kids enjoyed, also meant Joel and I could be closer to the action, and he enjoyed getting his legs wet.