ISL hosted a two day volleyball tournament with CEESA schools.  We were     glad that we were hosting and that Thomas didn't have to miss out on traveling with the team (he traveled for soccer and robotics).  I don't remember much about the first day except that Thomas had fun despite ISL losing some games.

The 2nd day on the other hand, was more exciting.  Even before the games began, some of the boys on the team were playing outside, goofing around.  They were trying to do something that caused them to lose conscientiousness.  What?!?!  Anyway, we got a call from the Sergejs, the organizer of the sports teams and ASAs.  He said that Thomas hit his head pretty hard like he could possibly have a concussion and that he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be able to play now.  I thought maybe Sergejs was overreacting a little (Latvians are more conservative on health issues), so I got Bri and the girls in the car and headed over after we got dressed.  That seemed like an eternity to Thomas who was in a lot of pain.  When I walked to him sitting on the couch with the nurse, she said that he had a really bad headache and that I needed to take him to the doctor right away.  Again, I thought she was overreacting because Thomas has hit his head before and had a concussion when we lived in Alpine.  But when I looked more closely at him, I could see how much pain he was in and how pale he was, so we hurried out of the school.  Right as we get outside, he walked quickly over to some nearby bushes and started throwing up.  This I knew was not good.  He threw up two more times in the bushes before we could get him to the car.  We drove home and layed him on the couch while we made some calls to the embassy med staff to get their advice on where to go for treatment.  They were wonderful to help us and Lana, a local doctor, said that she would meet us there because she was on duty anyway.  Briant and I left the girls and home, and left with Thomas.

The grounds of the hospital and surrounding buildings were from the Soviet Union days.  Here's the map we saw when we entered the grounds where the hospital was.  I've been to a few other "campuses" for testing and stuff, and have always found it confusing to find the building you need for your specific issue.  Luckily it didn't take long to find the ER. Here's the walk up to the E.R.

This was our first time in a Latvian ER.  We had no idea what to expect.  The wheelchair wasn't much to write home about, nor the facility.  But we had a great experience with the staff who for the most part, spoke enough English that we could understand and communicate.  The wait time to get in was fairly short as well--I think only about 30 minutes or so. Thomas' head was in a lot of pain.  He looked so pale and ready to throw up.  We were relieved when he stopped throwing up after a few hours.  We were lucky enough to have Lana, from the med unit at the embassy, working at the hospital that day.  So she stopped in, spoke with doctors, talked about treatment, etc. to make sure they were on the right track.  They got Thomas in for a brain scan pretty quick to make sure there wasn't any hemorrhaging or any fracture of his skull, so we were relieved to get the results back to learn that no major damage was done.  We spent 5+ hours at the hospital as Thomas rested and was given fluids and meds through an IV.  His head started feeling better and he stopped vomiting.

It was nice to see a smile back on his face and have him start to feel better.  The doctors wanted him to stay overnight, but we didn't see a reason to if he could rest at home and he didn't need anymore meds.  When I asked how we were supposed to check out of the hospital and pay our bill, they said that we already had when we arrived.  It was true, I had registered Thomas and payed 65 euros, but I thought that was like a copay.  I expected a much higher price tag with just the fact that he took up a hospital bed for hours, had a brain scan, had an IV and meds, and had regular ER doctors look over him as well as a neurologist.  My experience with socialized medicine so far has been wonderful!  :)

We purchased a neck brace on the way home as suggested by the doctors to help stabilize Thomas' neck because of pain he had from the fall and hitting his head, and it helped remind him to take it easy.  He wore it for a few days and then was done.  ;)  It was hard for him, but the doctor told him to refrain from watching t.v., being on computers, and participating in P.E. or sports for 2-3 weeks.  He made it a few days without the technology and 2 weeks without the sports.  It was a hard few days for a kid that loves his computer games and videos and a long two weeks for a kid that's used to being active and loves sports!  We hoped that was enough for a full recovery!  Glad our boy is ok!

I don't think there's one single picture of me taking care of our KVITS.  No evidence of the discontent I felt as I sat in front of piles and piles of receipts every quarter.  But I did take a picture of Rhea as she sat at the dining room table imitating me and the KVITS process.  If only I could have had her handle the real thing!

Latvia charges a crazy 21% sales tax on purchases.  Diplomats are exempt from paying those taxes to the Latvian government, but instead of deducting the tax right away at the cash register, diplomats have to save their receipts and get their names somehow typed onto the receipt (usually by communicating with a cashier that doesn't understand English).  If you don't get your name on the receipt, then you have to get the receipts stamped by the store or restaurant to show authenticity and have them fill and sign a little KVITS paper that shows what you bought and when.  Then you have to fill out paperwork with the receipts listed and calculate everything to show the total tax that we paid and what should be refunded to us.

After just a few months, we realized that we could save A LOT of time by not going through this process every time we made a purchase (unless it was at a store or restaurant we weren't sure we would return to), and that we could just collect a bunch of receipts for each store and go back to the store and get them all signed and stamped in one trip.  The hardest part about this process was working hard NOT to lose the receipts, but also to get a cashier or store employee to help you when you went back to the store to help you with the KVITS.  Most of them didn't speak English, and with the lack of customer service education, they never responded well to my requests for them to take the time to sign and stamp my papers.  By the end of our two years there, I had it down pretty good and knew who to talk to.  I even got to the point where they would let ME have the stamp to stamp the receipts myself so they could continue to help other customers and all they had to do was sign my KVITS form.

Here's one illustration though on how it didn't always work out.  This receipt from Senukai was only worth $2.50 or so, but because all of those little amounts add up to hundreds of dollars, I followed through with trying to get a KVITS signed.  For some reason, this particular store would NOT give me a KVITS with their signature.  They stamped it I guess because they didn't understand what I needed, but then when I asked them to sign the KVITS, they backed off and said they couldn't do it.  Some stores and restaurants collect taxes from you but never actually pay them to the Latvian government.  Not sure if this was the case with this store, but luckily this was one of the few purchases I made there.  Just from one normal grocery shopping trip at Rimi or Maxima, we would pay $18-20 in taxes, so those were the most important to collect on.

Let's just say that it was not my favorite activity to do in Latvia.  But we literally saved thousands of dollars over the two years there, so it was an absolute necessity despite the headaches!

Our time here in Latvia wouldn't have been the same without our missionaries.  It's been wonderful to have Sisters along with Elders, which we didn't have in Angola.  Sister Veil, on the left, has been special to the girls.  She started working on the Personal Progress program again just so Savannah wouldn't be alone (she's the only YW).  Savannah felt supported and excited to start and finish the program in just a year or so before the program ends (the first presidency has announced that programs like Personal Progress, Duty to God, Faith in God for Primary, Scouts and Boy Scouts are all going to end and a new program in the Church will start Jan 2020).  So Sister Veil was awesome to check in on the girls and make them feel special.  She gave me a bunch of hearts to "heart attack" Rhea's door for her birthday--that was so sweet and Rhea loved it!

Sister Lewis, on the right, was awesome too!  She's a foreign service kid too, so it was great to see how she's turned out and how she's appreciated her upbringing abroad.  It helped Briant and me to feel ok about raising our kids in this crazy life abroad!  Sister Lewis was super friendly and smiley, and helpful with translating or anything that we needed.


We were lucky enough to know Sister Sedivy too!  We loved her energy and excitement and interest that she took in our family.  She was always aware of the kids and wanted to make sure they were happy at church.  She picked up Latvian really well (She speaks Czech since one of her parents is from the Czech Republic and both her parents served their missions there).  Sadly she left to go home early so we missed her during the last several months we were in Latvia!

 

Sisters Boswell and Taylor were more wonderful sisters!  We loved their visual object lessons during their spiritual thoughts (All of the missionaries would come with fun visuals and object lessons when they came for dinner).  I loved Sister Boswell's energy and friendly spirit that made it easy to talk to her.

And our 2nd favorite set of Senior Missionaries, the Bloomfields!  They were serving in Vladivostok (he was the branch president) where they had been harassed by the government to the point where they had to leave Russia with a two way ticket (they had to make sure they would be able to leave--a 2-way ticket seemed like they would be returning).  The church just reassigned the Bloomfields to Riga to finish out the last year of their mission.
We were the lucky recipients of their service.  The wonderful Barnes went home in August so it was nice to have another couple here in April before they left.  The Bloomfields came in and served as YSA leaders, Sister Bloomfield was the YW president over Savannah, and Elder Bloomfield served in the District leadership.  They helped us have some of the activities and leadership that we miss when we're abroad.  We're so grateful for them!
Elders Aston and Palmer were awesome too!  We loved having them for dinner to visit and hear their messages.  They were so fun with the kids.
Here was one of their object lessons with forks and plastic cups.
We love our missionaries!  We're so grateful for each of their unique personalities and testimonies that have contributed to our happiness and well being in Latvia.  They have been so influential in the lives of our children--really like older brothers and sisters that are such great examples for them!

So Bri and I each got our first colonoscopy!  Bri was the first victim, and because he survived, I decided to do it too.  ;)  Briant also got an endoscopy as well to address a swallowing issue he's had for years.  Food sometimes gets stuck in his esophagus and won't go down.  So I took him with me to meet a gastroenterologist here in Pinki, and we both really liked him.  Dr. Sabri is actually Lebonese, married to a Latvian, so he speaks like 5 languages.  Nice guy.  We decided to sign ourselves up for these procedures and were glad we did.  Dr. Sabri found and removed 2 polyps in Bri's colon and one in his esophagus that we think was blocking the food.  And for a few weeks now since the procedures, Bri hasn't had any swallowing issues!  YAY!

Nothing was found in my colon, but I walked out with a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  I'm not excited about the diagnosis, but at the same time, I'm grateful to finally know what has been causing my 17 year old stomach aches and bloating (usually caused from reclining or laying down at any point after I put food in my stomach).  I'm now following the FODMAP diet to eliminate foods that bacteria in the colon are feeding on.  These foods feed the bacteria and then the bacteria create gas that cause pain and bloating.  It's very painful and uncomfortable, and something I'm tired of dealing with.  We'll see if eliminating these foods for 4-6 weeks helps.  I'll then reintroduce each food one at a time to see how I feel.  The hardest ones to eliminate are garlic and onions that we seem to use to season everything, apples, pears, broccoli, cauliflower, dairy (which I've pretty much eliminated already with the AIP diet), and honey.  There are a bunch more foods, but these are the main ones I eat every day.  I'm praying for improvement and answers to continue to come so we can understand the causes of my stomach issues!

Dad turned 46 today!  On our 2 day break inbetween traveling to west Latvia and east Latvia, dad has his birthday so we got to celebrate it at home with cupcakes and our usual birthday decorations of balloons, streamers, and the birthday pillow that Grandma B gave us a few years ago.Bri got some paintings and letters of love from Rhea, a chocolate bar from Thomas, a painting he wanted of Riga, and cupcakes.  Savannah even made him a trophy out of plastic cups and paint labeled #1 dad and filled it with M&M's.  The kids were planning how we would celebrate his birthday for weeks, so they were ready when we came back from our road trip with their surprises.  I'm pretty sure the kids were looking forward to the cupcakes more than anything. ;)

The years seem to be flying by, but he is still my hotty hubby!  We're so glad he was born and that we got lucky enough to have him for our husband and father!

Kendra, our CLO, put on a great embassy Easter party.  Donuts, egg coloring, and games outside with of course a visit from the Easter bunny.

You're never too old to say hi to the Easter Bunny!

John, Josh, and Avo with Bri.

Ambassador Pettit with all the kids and Easter Bunny.

Some fun outdoor games first before the egg hunt.

Thomas was motivated to find eggs and impressed us with his speed!Our favorite little toddler Emma.

Savvy found the big prize egg!

Nothing but smiles when there's candy in their hands.  ;)

At our favorite park in Jurmala, there were large eggs that the kids enjoyed climbing.  I'm not sure when the Latvians adopted the tradition of eggs and the Easter Bunny, but it's here!

 AND SPRING IS HERE!