Everyone out here thinks they're a farmer: Practically everyone grows tomatoes in their yard for some reason. And it seems like half the people out here are antique dealers: Everyone is selling something, a single 1880's chair, an old lamp, whatever. It's kind of funny.

But the people have been nicer than I remember them. And everywhere I go, it's like a family reunion. Everyone remembers us in this little town, I even ran into someone I knew in the waiting room at the doctor's last week. It's kind of hilarious.

A woman just a few doors down from my parents is running a daycare out of her house (needless to say, she knew me, my parents, my sister and my brother, the whole thing), so we got Mark into there three days a week. We were going to start after the surgery, but we might bump it up because of the delays. Steph has been trying to squeeze some freelance work in-between watching Mark. Not so easy because he's a handful.

...

We're basically set up here in Dedham. We've got a nice office to work out of and our own rooms in the back of the house. Our car arrived this week, and that's pretty much the last thing we needed to get. Mark plays with the dogs, both here and at Steph's parent's house, and helps Grandpa Thurrott pick tomatoes in the back yard.

We hope to have some photos to share soon!

• Some photos of Mark in early July 1999 , including the infamous "baby powder incident."
• Mark got to play outside during a rare Monsoon rainstorm.
• Some pictures of our house , cleaned up for the sale.

See you in Beantown!

We're moving to BACK TO BOSTON!
July 23, 1999
It's official: We're moving back to Boston to make sure that Mark can get the care he needs and begin hearing again as quickly as possible. Mark is tentatively scheduled for surgery at Mass Eye & Ear on August 17th. Our house went on the market this week and was sold, literally, within 24 hours(!). When Stephanie and Mark get back from their preliminary Boston trip this Sunday, we'll begin making our plans for the move.

Mark Update!
July 21, 1999
Sorry for the long delays since the last update: Admittedly, we've had a lot going on. Mark's situation, since his illness in April, is that he has lost most of his hearing and needs to get a cochlear implant. Luckily, he's an excellent candidate for this, and it looks like he'll be getting the operation soon, in Boston. And otherwise, he's in great health, climbing on everything and running around like a little bandit.

Two weeks ago, Mark had a CT scan to determine whether he's had any bone growth in his cochlea. The good news is, he doesn't. But Mark and Stephanie headed to Boston this week to have him checked out for his eventual operation. We'll post info here as it comes in.

In the meantime, we do have a few pictures to post. Grandpa and Gram Thurrott came out in May to visit, and here are some pictures from their trip. Aunt Cathy came out with Mark's first new cousin Andrea in June, but we don't have any pictures yet unfortunately. We'll try and get some up soon.

Going forward, we've got a lot to do, and its suddenly happening quickly. We'll try and keep the site updated.

Updated April 26
It's been a while since the last update, but we've had a tough time lately: On April 18th, Mark was rushed to Phoenix Children's Hospital with a severe infection of the fluid around his brain. Tests revealed it to be "strep-neumo" meningitis (Streptococcus pneumoniae), a now-rare form of bacterial meningitis. Mark seems to be recovering at an amazing rate, thank God, with only some hearing loss: A small price to pay when you consider that he could easily have died from this illness. Here's some info from the days before, during, and after this awful tragedy:

• Here are some older pictures that we recently got back from late 1998. Included are Christmas Eve in Phoenix before leaving for Boston, Mark taking a bath, and a few others.
• Mark turned one on April 7th and his daycare held a birthday party for him. Sadly, Mark was sick with a cold, a preview of the bigger illness to come.
• We had our own birthday party for Mark on April 9th, with Aunt Lori, and Kip and Nicole Dean.
• On April 18th, Mark was rushed to the hospital. For the rest of the week, Stephanie and Paul switched off nights with Mark in Phoenix Childrens Hospital while the other went home to try and get some real sleep. Days were spent alternating time with Mark with work and home, though at least one of us was always at the hospital. Here are some pictures we took after the worst was over, a couple from each day, Wednesday to Friday. Looking at these photos, it's hard to even comprehend how serious things were. 
• We'll have more soon, including some notes from Paul and Steph, and a bunch of the wonderful email we received from around the world. 

So now what? Mark's got a couple of appointments this week with his pediatrician and an ear/nose/throat specialist. And we'll be giving him twice daily injections of antibiotics through his PICC IV until May 3rd, to fully battle the bacteria that invaded his body. Hopefully, his hearing loss will be temporary and/or partial, but the overall outlook is good. And really, when it comes down to it: He's alive.  And that's all that matters.