Please say a prayer for us.
The children have Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (comes in summer or early fall), evidenced by painful sores in their mouths. Trouble is, they also have had diarrhea and vomiting, persistent productive coughing, and some mild nighttime croup, all of which are not part of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. There is no evidence of a bacterial infection, no ear infection, or any unmanageable breathing problems, so I don't need to take them to the doctor (not yet anyway...they're still sick).
We either have three different viruses (above mentioned, then a cold, and also a stomach bug) or they have the Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, along with the swine flu, which causes tummy problems and respiratory problems. It's too early for the regular seasonal flu in this area. Still, all symptoms are mild enough that I don't need to take them in.
The whole thing is really waring on Don and me. We are exhausted, and now we are having trouble with Daniel's behavior. We took him off his ADHD medicine to see if it was causing the extreme anxiety. I had to cancel his therapist appointment and reschedule it for two weeks from now, due to this illness.
Rosey has begun a fear of monsters, worsened by the shadows in her room (nightlight creates the shadows). She's battling insomnia due to the pain of the sores in her mouth, and due to the monster fear.
Things are just really hard right now. Your prayers would be appreciated.
Baby is well so far, but if she gets the mouth sores, it will be hard to nurse. Dehydration is the main risk from Hand, Foot, and Mouth, due to the difficulty in swallowing liquid or food.
Don't you love cold and flu season? For the six months of winter, parenting can be a lot like boot camp.
Showing posts with label prayer request. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer request. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
a life story
I'm still working on this life story piece, but here is an updated version. A few more details were given to me by my sister-in-law, during her recent visit.
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Don's mom was outside chatting with her neighbors and snapping beans one summer night, many years ago. The neighbor's teenager had just obtained a used motorcycle. Half jokingly, he offered her a ride. Don's mother, a fun-loving, relaxed woman, accepted the invitation. Putting her beans on the stove first, she joined him for a quick ride down their rural Delaware road.
Several hours later, Don, age 16, and his sister, Lorrie, age 13, went to the morgue.....to identify their mother's body--her head having been crushed by a semi-truck.
I can't imagine all the ways my husband had to grew up, on that fateful summer night.
There are so many questions I have about my husband's childhood. What was he like as a boy? Did he catch insects for hours, in the woods behind their home? Did he come running up to his mother, salamander in hand, with the same passion I see in my own son? I think yes. He was known to ice skate on frozen ponds in the woods, alone, after dark. Was he a daring lad?
Don's was a much different upbringing than mine. His parents were Christians. After high school, Janet, his mother, obtained a Bible College degree and worked as a missionary in the Appalachian mountains, until she became ill and couldn't return.
At the age of 29, Janet married Luther. Their first child, a daughter afflicted with Down Syndrome, died of pneumonia at 8 months old. Shortly thereafter they had Don, and three years later, they had his sister, Lorrie.
Luther's upbringing was markedly different from Janet's stable one. His mother, mentally-challenged, was reportedly raped; she gave birth to Luther nine months later. There was never a father in his home, although his uncle made appearances to help care for Luther and his sister.
Luther's sister was also mentally challenged. Although not Down Syndrome, the exact nature of the impairment isn't known. Similarly, nothing is known about Luther's mother's mental impairment.
Luther resided with his mother and sister until his teenage years. At that time he left home of his own accord and lived as a foster son to a farming family. He helped with the farm work and attended the local high school alongside the farmer's children.
Stern and reserved, yet stable, the farmer and his wife provided Luther with the only normalcy he had ever known. Luther has managed to outlive all the farmer's children. They did maintain contact with him for many decades, however. While not their equal, he was part of their family.
Luther's mother was hurt by his leaving home, and I don't believe there was much contact after his departure. Don and I learned from one of the farmer's children, with whom we've visited twice, (he died two years ago) that Luther's sister spent her adult years in a mental institution. It 's not known if she's still living.
As a married man Luther worked in a paper factory. His first love was car mechanics, but he switched jobs due to his wife's dislike of his dirty appearance. Usually in a bad mood due to severe allergy symptoms (paper allergy, ironically), he came home from work and went directly to the garage, where he tinkered with old engines and appliances.
Luther was always impatient and short-tempered with his son, who did not share his dad's talent or interest in working with his hands. Deemed lazy by his father, Don suffered frequent spankings.
Luther was a very controlling, stern husband, as well. Extremely frugal, he went on grocery shopping trips with Don's mother to prevent her from spending extra money. She couldn't even buy tea. There is currently a considerable sum of money in Luther's bank account, so his frugality paid off for him, at least in his golden years. Still, he would rather eat baked beans than waste his money on real dinners. I guess I have to highly recommend baked beans; at 86, Luther's only health problems are arthritis and gout.
Luther's marriage suffered for obvious reasons, although Don and Lorrie both note that their mother adhered to Biblical submission. Janet certainly had ideas of her own, as did her own mother and her three sisters. Janet's mother was known for her independence, in fact--much to Luther's distaste. He disliked visiting his wife's family, who resided within a couple hours of the Pennsylvania home Don enjoyed until his late elementary years. They then moved to rural Delaware, resulting in Janet's being isolated from her family.
There is evidence that Janet was traditionally minded in her own right. Lorrie remembers asking her mother once why Don wasn't made to clean his room; Lorrie was routinely asked to do so. Janet's answer? Lorrie needed to learn to clean; Don did not.
While Don's mother was very happy with her children, she was an unhappy wife. She had no freedom--not even a driver's license. According to Don's sister, Janet had been contemplating divorce in the months before her death. She was probably conflicted, however, since Luther had never committed adultery. The divorce wouldn't have been Biblical, and I daresay if Janet had planned a divorce, she probably also planned on never remarrying. Her unhappiness was not shared with Don; only Lorrie knew of their mother's discontent. Don's memories are of a happy and fun-loving woman.
After Janet died, their father was angry. Following the funeral, he could only shout, "Now who will do the cooking and the cleaning?!"
While personally devastated, Don and his sister were very happy for their mother. Home with Jesus, she could drink tea to her heart's content. She was free.
We have surmised that, due to his unfortunate upbringing, Don's dad suffered (and still does) from attachment disorder. He knew nothing about love, which explains his bizarre reaction to his wife's tragic death.
Don went away to a Bible College in Iowa two years after his mother's passing. Never again did he reside with his father. And Lorrie, his sister, became a pregnant teen two years after her mother's passing. Her father helped care for her baby while she finished high school. She then married the baby's father and left home, only to divorce twenty years later, after a very unhappy marriage. At 47 she is still single, but she is at peace. Her husband committed adultery multiple times during the marriage, so it's no wonder that Lorrie is content as a single woman. She never had more than the one child, who is now 30. Lorrie currently manages a small health club in PA.
Luther never remarried. Intermittently, he has made efforts toward a relationship with Don and Lorrie. However when there are visits, he is harsh and critical after the first day or so. Despite this, brother and sister have no ill feelings toward their father. You won't detect any anger now--only peace. They know to expect little from him, emotionally or otherwise.
Luther has resided in Florida for many years. Don took the boys to see him in early 2008, after Luther had a hip replacement and was recovering. Lorrie accompanied them and the visit went poorly, presumably because Luther didn't have undivided attention. We haven't heard from him in 18 months; he won't answer his phone. The neighbors on one side, with whom Don has intermittent phone contact, tell us that Luther is physically fine, but emotionally reclusive--not desiring any contact from us, or from other neighbors.
In Luther I see a very juvenile man who wants his own way, much like a small child. Without sufficient love, he failed to grow emotionally, and has remained stunted. I think he was jealous of his wife's love for her children, and also jealous of Don and Lorrie's close sibling relationship. He resented his wife for seeming to forget their first baby, after becoming pregnant with Don. Luther grieved over their baby daughter's death much longer than Janet, or so it seemed to him. He felt like an outsider in his own home, I presume. It seems to me that the love he desperately craved, very much eluded him.
During one of the two times I've seen Luther, I heard him tell Don, "I have learned to be content--no matter my circumstances." Only God could have facilitated that contentment in Luther's otherwise tragic life.
Luther is a man of faith, dedicated to God. He took his family to Baptist churches and raised his children in the faith. His born-again faith began in his late teens or early twenties. While the farmer and his wife were church-goers, they didn't have any saving faith to model for Luther; there was only the consistency of non-evangelical, Lutheran church attendance. How the Gospel penetrated Luther's heart is unknown. Of course it was divine, but the source of any earthly influence is unknown. There is much, in fact, that Don and Lorrie don't know about Luther's life.
One would think that Don would be poorly equipped for parenting, given the daily, unloving paternal example. And one would think he would be poorly equipped for marriage, for the same reason.
But the thing is, Don is a better husband and father than any man I know. The Lord wanted it to be so. The Lord poured into Don, what Luther couldn't. And Janet, Don's mother, must have been an amazing woman. Her love covered over a multitude of sins.
I wish so much to have known her. My heart is full of gratitude for her selfless mothering! And I wish so much that my children could have her in their midst, so that she could take them for walks in the woods--the same way she did frequently with Don and Lorrie, when they were little.
Luther is not likely to live much longer. My prayer is that Jesus would pour love into him, in Luther's last days, so that Luther would be compelled to pick up the phone and call Don. And say, for the first time, "I love you, Son. I'm proud of you."
Please join me in prayer for Luther.
As an aspiring writer, I am driven by a love for the written word, and by timeless depictions of the human condition. I don't know if I have any fiction in me, but if I ever start a novel, I will surely begin here. There is so much in this story.
___________________________________________________
Don's mom was outside chatting with her neighbors and snapping beans one summer night, many years ago. The neighbor's teenager had just obtained a used motorcycle. Half jokingly, he offered her a ride. Don's mother, a fun-loving, relaxed woman, accepted the invitation. Putting her beans on the stove first, she joined him for a quick ride down their rural Delaware road.
Several hours later, Don, age 16, and his sister, Lorrie, age 13, went to the morgue.....to identify their mother's body--her head having been crushed by a semi-truck.
I can't imagine all the ways my husband had to grew up, on that fateful summer night.
There are so many questions I have about my husband's childhood. What was he like as a boy? Did he catch insects for hours, in the woods behind their home? Did he come running up to his mother, salamander in hand, with the same passion I see in my own son? I think yes. He was known to ice skate on frozen ponds in the woods, alone, after dark. Was he a daring lad?
Don's was a much different upbringing than mine. His parents were Christians. After high school, Janet, his mother, obtained a Bible College degree and worked as a missionary in the Appalachian mountains, until she became ill and couldn't return.
At the age of 29, Janet married Luther. Their first child, a daughter afflicted with Down Syndrome, died of pneumonia at 8 months old. Shortly thereafter they had Don, and three years later, they had his sister, Lorrie.
Luther's upbringing was markedly different from Janet's stable one. His mother, mentally-challenged, was reportedly raped; she gave birth to Luther nine months later. There was never a father in his home, although his uncle made appearances to help care for Luther and his sister.
Luther's sister was also mentally challenged. Although not Down Syndrome, the exact nature of the impairment isn't known. Similarly, nothing is known about Luther's mother's mental impairment.
Luther resided with his mother and sister until his teenage years. At that time he left home of his own accord and lived as a foster son to a farming family. He helped with the farm work and attended the local high school alongside the farmer's children.
Stern and reserved, yet stable, the farmer and his wife provided Luther with the only normalcy he had ever known. Luther has managed to outlive all the farmer's children. They did maintain contact with him for many decades, however. While not their equal, he was part of their family.
Luther's mother was hurt by his leaving home, and I don't believe there was much contact after his departure. Don and I learned from one of the farmer's children, with whom we've visited twice, (he died two years ago) that Luther's sister spent her adult years in a mental institution. It 's not known if she's still living.
As a married man Luther worked in a paper factory. His first love was car mechanics, but he switched jobs due to his wife's dislike of his dirty appearance. Usually in a bad mood due to severe allergy symptoms (paper allergy, ironically), he came home from work and went directly to the garage, where he tinkered with old engines and appliances.
Luther was always impatient and short-tempered with his son, who did not share his dad's talent or interest in working with his hands. Deemed lazy by his father, Don suffered frequent spankings.
Luther was a very controlling, stern husband, as well. Extremely frugal, he went on grocery shopping trips with Don's mother to prevent her from spending extra money. She couldn't even buy tea. There is currently a considerable sum of money in Luther's bank account, so his frugality paid off for him, at least in his golden years. Still, he would rather eat baked beans than waste his money on real dinners. I guess I have to highly recommend baked beans; at 86, Luther's only health problems are arthritis and gout.
Luther's marriage suffered for obvious reasons, although Don and Lorrie both note that their mother adhered to Biblical submission. Janet certainly had ideas of her own, as did her own mother and her three sisters. Janet's mother was known for her independence, in fact--much to Luther's distaste. He disliked visiting his wife's family, who resided within a couple hours of the Pennsylvania home Don enjoyed until his late elementary years. They then moved to rural Delaware, resulting in Janet's being isolated from her family.
There is evidence that Janet was traditionally minded in her own right. Lorrie remembers asking her mother once why Don wasn't made to clean his room; Lorrie was routinely asked to do so. Janet's answer? Lorrie needed to learn to clean; Don did not.
While Don's mother was very happy with her children, she was an unhappy wife. She had no freedom--not even a driver's license. According to Don's sister, Janet had been contemplating divorce in the months before her death. She was probably conflicted, however, since Luther had never committed adultery. The divorce wouldn't have been Biblical, and I daresay if Janet had planned a divorce, she probably also planned on never remarrying. Her unhappiness was not shared with Don; only Lorrie knew of their mother's discontent. Don's memories are of a happy and fun-loving woman.
After Janet died, their father was angry. Following the funeral, he could only shout, "Now who will do the cooking and the cleaning?!"
While personally devastated, Don and his sister were very happy for their mother. Home with Jesus, she could drink tea to her heart's content. She was free.
We have surmised that, due to his unfortunate upbringing, Don's dad suffered (and still does) from attachment disorder. He knew nothing about love, which explains his bizarre reaction to his wife's tragic death.
Don went away to a Bible College in Iowa two years after his mother's passing. Never again did he reside with his father. And Lorrie, his sister, became a pregnant teen two years after her mother's passing. Her father helped care for her baby while she finished high school. She then married the baby's father and left home, only to divorce twenty years later, after a very unhappy marriage. At 47 she is still single, but she is at peace. Her husband committed adultery multiple times during the marriage, so it's no wonder that Lorrie is content as a single woman. She never had more than the one child, who is now 30. Lorrie currently manages a small health club in PA.
Luther never remarried. Intermittently, he has made efforts toward a relationship with Don and Lorrie. However when there are visits, he is harsh and critical after the first day or so. Despite this, brother and sister have no ill feelings toward their father. You won't detect any anger now--only peace. They know to expect little from him, emotionally or otherwise.
Luther has resided in Florida for many years. Don took the boys to see him in early 2008, after Luther had a hip replacement and was recovering. Lorrie accompanied them and the visit went poorly, presumably because Luther didn't have undivided attention. We haven't heard from him in 18 months; he won't answer his phone. The neighbors on one side, with whom Don has intermittent phone contact, tell us that Luther is physically fine, but emotionally reclusive--not desiring any contact from us, or from other neighbors.
In Luther I see a very juvenile man who wants his own way, much like a small child. Without sufficient love, he failed to grow emotionally, and has remained stunted. I think he was jealous of his wife's love for her children, and also jealous of Don and Lorrie's close sibling relationship. He resented his wife for seeming to forget their first baby, after becoming pregnant with Don. Luther grieved over their baby daughter's death much longer than Janet, or so it seemed to him. He felt like an outsider in his own home, I presume. It seems to me that the love he desperately craved, very much eluded him.
During one of the two times I've seen Luther, I heard him tell Don, "I have learned to be content--no matter my circumstances." Only God could have facilitated that contentment in Luther's otherwise tragic life.
Luther is a man of faith, dedicated to God. He took his family to Baptist churches and raised his children in the faith. His born-again faith began in his late teens or early twenties. While the farmer and his wife were church-goers, they didn't have any saving faith to model for Luther; there was only the consistency of non-evangelical, Lutheran church attendance. How the Gospel penetrated Luther's heart is unknown. Of course it was divine, but the source of any earthly influence is unknown. There is much, in fact, that Don and Lorrie don't know about Luther's life.
One would think that Don would be poorly equipped for parenting, given the daily, unloving paternal example. And one would think he would be poorly equipped for marriage, for the same reason.
But the thing is, Don is a better husband and father than any man I know. The Lord wanted it to be so. The Lord poured into Don, what Luther couldn't. And Janet, Don's mother, must have been an amazing woman. Her love covered over a multitude of sins.
I wish so much to have known her. My heart is full of gratitude for her selfless mothering! And I wish so much that my children could have her in their midst, so that she could take them for walks in the woods--the same way she did frequently with Don and Lorrie, when they were little.
Luther is not likely to live much longer. My prayer is that Jesus would pour love into him, in Luther's last days, so that Luther would be compelled to pick up the phone and call Don. And say, for the first time, "I love you, Son. I'm proud of you."
Please join me in prayer for Luther.
As an aspiring writer, I am driven by a love for the written word, and by timeless depictions of the human condition. I don't know if I have any fiction in me, but if I ever start a novel, I will surely begin here. There is so much in this story.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Joy's Husband
Joy's husband (Memoria Arts blog) has been hospitalized for complications to pneumonia. Sounds serious. He is not stabilizing as expected. They have four young children and the fifth is due soon. I can't imagine the stress they are all experiencing. Please pray.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Prayer
There is a blog on my sidebar entitled "More Love to Thee", written by a woman who has been married for five years, and has had three miscarriages--no children to raise yet. She recently announced a new pregnancy on her blog--her own, and then also her sister's new pregnancy. Since then she hasn't updated her blog--for three weeks. She also recently began watching a foster baby. Perhaps she is just busy and possibly not feeling well, or.....something else. Either way, prayer for them would be so good!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
An Interview
I don't say much about the job hunt here. There isn't usually encouraging news, and I don't want to say something that will be a downer for someone who may have just lost a job. The shock of joblessness is difficult to deal with at first, but after a few months have passed, one gets used to the uncertainty.
I do want to ask for prayer for an interview Don will have tomorrow. It is the first job listed that includes benefits. Don never expected the application to amount to anything, so getting the call for an interview was quite surprising to him. It would be so encouraging to him, and such a blessing to all of us, if he is chosen. I don't know what God has planned, and perhaps this job would be a bad fit. So I guess I'm asking for prayer that Don will feel confident and relaxed during the interview, no matter what the outcome. If you've been to any interviews lately, you know how draining it can be for those of us who don't have confidence exuding from our pores. Just going in there and feeling confident would be a blessing.
I probably say too much about my husband on my blog. A lot of you are nodding right now. Certainly it is in poor taste to put one's husband down in anyway. They deserve our love and respect always. But when only gushing things are said about husbands on blogs, it gives the impression that marriage can be an easy breezy thing for some people. That just isn't the truth; I strive to present a realistic picture of marriage. A good goal for any spouse is to get to a humble place in our heart about our own imperfections. When we get to and stay at that humble place, our marriage happiness just soars--even though our spouse may have stayed the same.
Anyway, hopefully I have painted enough of a good picture that someone out there wants to pray for him. Thank you!
I do want to ask for prayer for an interview Don will have tomorrow. It is the first job listed that includes benefits. Don never expected the application to amount to anything, so getting the call for an interview was quite surprising to him. It would be so encouraging to him, and such a blessing to all of us, if he is chosen. I don't know what God has planned, and perhaps this job would be a bad fit. So I guess I'm asking for prayer that Don will feel confident and relaxed during the interview, no matter what the outcome. If you've been to any interviews lately, you know how draining it can be for those of us who don't have confidence exuding from our pores. Just going in there and feeling confident would be a blessing.
I probably say too much about my husband on my blog. A lot of you are nodding right now. Certainly it is in poor taste to put one's husband down in anyway. They deserve our love and respect always. But when only gushing things are said about husbands on blogs, it gives the impression that marriage can be an easy breezy thing for some people. That just isn't the truth; I strive to present a realistic picture of marriage. A good goal for any spouse is to get to a humble place in our heart about our own imperfections. When we get to and stay at that humble place, our marriage happiness just soars--even though our spouse may have stayed the same.
Anyway, hopefully I have painted enough of a good picture that someone out there wants to pray for him. Thank you!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Burden on My Heart
The Reverend Franklin Graham has gone into North Korea for humanitarian reasons more than once. He leads Samaritan's Purse, which does Operation Shoe Box (aka Christmas Boxes). Rev. Graham said the situation in North Korea has deteriorated since Obama took over the Presidency. He was not blaming the new President--only talking about the dangers of the rogue regime, and the desperate need for an envoy. Governor Richardson (New Mexico), who has experience with North Korea, was suggested by the Reverend as an envoy. In his opinion, the two journalists who were sentenced to 12 years hard labor are currently a distraction for us--although he feels sorry for the two women and asks that we pray for them. He thinks what we should be focusing on is getting Korea to back down from their nuclear program. In doing that, we can also work on getting the two women sent home. He asked for prayer for our President regarding these matters.
I also heard unbelievable things about how labor camps are run in North Korea. Prisoners are literally starving in these camps. Even children must perform hard labor, and some of the tasks assigned to prisoners are meaningless. When they want to kill someone, they do it through labor, rather than directly. Prisoners eat bugs, mice, rats, snakes...whatever they must eat in order to survive. Only a small portion of corn meal is given to them for food.
The last thing I want to do is sound preachy here, but I'm just so sickened that this rogue leader is allowed to treat his people this way. Sanctions imposed by the UN, as well as just awful economic conditions, have caused even regular citizens to starve. The leader has no heart. Evil incarnate he is.
Please pray for the people of this country--that they would know peace, that they would know freedom, that they will know a satisfied stomach, in their lifetime.
Please Lord, give courage to America..to other countries as well--who can help. This leader needs to be taken down, Lord. Please, make it happen. We can't save the world, true. It's too expensive; American is broke. But this regime just can't be allowed to continue to exist. Provide the money, Lord. Provide the brave people. Provide the deep-seated repulsion in people's hearts for this regime. Make your voice known Lord!
And for those in the prison camps--most of whom are likely there for the wrong reasons--sustain them Lord with your spirit. Make yourself known to them. Give them a joy that surpasses all understanding. I believe in your power Lord. Even someone who has only corn meal and mice to eat, Lord, can have their spirit transformed by you. Show yourself in mighty ways through this whole situation.
I also heard unbelievable things about how labor camps are run in North Korea. Prisoners are literally starving in these camps. Even children must perform hard labor, and some of the tasks assigned to prisoners are meaningless. When they want to kill someone, they do it through labor, rather than directly. Prisoners eat bugs, mice, rats, snakes...whatever they must eat in order to survive. Only a small portion of corn meal is given to them for food.
The last thing I want to do is sound preachy here, but I'm just so sickened that this rogue leader is allowed to treat his people this way. Sanctions imposed by the UN, as well as just awful economic conditions, have caused even regular citizens to starve. The leader has no heart. Evil incarnate he is.
Please pray for the people of this country--that they would know peace, that they would know freedom, that they will know a satisfied stomach, in their lifetime.
Please Lord, give courage to America..to other countries as well--who can help. This leader needs to be taken down, Lord. Please, make it happen. We can't save the world, true. It's too expensive; American is broke. But this regime just can't be allowed to continue to exist. Provide the money, Lord. Provide the brave people. Provide the deep-seated repulsion in people's hearts for this regime. Make your voice known Lord!
And for those in the prison camps--most of whom are likely there for the wrong reasons--sustain them Lord with your spirit. Make yourself known to them. Give them a joy that surpasses all understanding. I believe in your power Lord. Even someone who has only corn meal and mice to eat, Lord, can have their spirit transformed by you. Show yourself in mighty ways through this whole situation.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Shannon
Shannon, over at Exploring Holland, is having a rough time this week. Waverly has lost a lot of language during the past few weeks. Only "Mommy" is heard regularly.
Her son had to go to the ER due to unexplained pain, and next week he is having a minor surgery. Shannon is nervous about the required sedation, which can be problematic for Sanfilippo-diagnosed kids.
Please pray for her and for her children. And maybe leave a note on her blog. Comments are always encouraging when one is going through rough times. With so little in our hands, and so little we can do to help, comments are at least SOMETHING. They're like a gift we can give to families going through this kind of pain.
Her son had to go to the ER due to unexplained pain, and next week he is having a minor surgery. Shannon is nervous about the required sedation, which can be problematic for Sanfilippo-diagnosed kids.
Please pray for her and for her children. And maybe leave a note on her blog. Comments are always encouraging when one is going through rough times. With so little in our hands, and so little we can do to help, comments are at least SOMETHING. They're like a gift we can give to families going through this kind of pain.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Stellan - Why Bother Praying?
There is a very good post about prayer on the "my charming kids" blog (April 22nd post, featured right). You may have seen the "Praying for Stellan" buttons on various blogs? I don't know how to insert a button, unfortunately. Anyway, this blog author is Stellan's mother. She shares some really wonderful thoughts on prayer - "Why Bother Praying?"
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Audrey Caroline
Angie, who writes the "Bring the Rain" blog, has reached the one-year mark of grieving for her beloved daughter Audrey Caroline, who only lived for 2.5 hours after her birth. Please keep that family in your prayers this month especially. Although the pain is always there, significant healing, or a dulling of the pain, doesn't usually come until two years have passed.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Unfolding of Something
Anna Grace looks just like me! I see it more and more. I have a too-thin upper lip, to which I apply lip pencil and lipstick. It helps a lot and is often the only makeup I have time to apply. I never go anywhere without it. Can you tell I really don't like my lips? Anna has my same upper lip. It's nice when they inherit the good things, but you feel bad when you see the not-so-great traits coming out in them, whether it be a quick temper, or a unflattering feature. I know the best thing is to never let them hear us talk about the things we don't like about our looks. Presumably then, they won't start looking too critically at their own.
I had acne most of my life; thankfully, it goes away during pregnancy and nursing. Now you know the real reason we had four kids! LOL I'm praying now that my kids won't inherit it. It's an emotionally painful condition for anybody, but especially for girls and women.
Things change so quickly, don't they? God's love and faithfulness are all we can really count on. I say this because we found out today that Don secured a part-time (approx. 35 hours/week) job. It will pay for the house payment, diapers, one utility bill, and thrift-store clothes for the whole family's needs. We're getting there! God has something up his sleeve. The other pieces will come together soon enough, and it will start to make sense. It's certainly stressful when you realize how little control you have, but it's also kind of exciting to watch God work. Or at least I find it so, when I can let go of my stress.
The part-time job is working with/caring for a mentally-challenged adult man (26 yrs. old). His functioning age is about 9 yrs. old. He lives in an apartment with another mentally-challenged individual, who is also assigned a staff member. The hours will be similar to Don's other job, but he will get home around 10 p.m., instead of 11:30 p.m. He can still tag team with me on the homeschooling, which is good. He'll keep looking for work in his off hours.
Please say a quick prayer for the man Don will be working with. He was taken away from his parents by the State a number of years ago. His parents abused him physically and emotionally, and were only interested in his social security check. I imagine, given that tragic past, that it's not easy for him to adjust to new caregivers. My heart goes out to him, and to all the other vulnerable people in his shoes. They are abused at such high rates! To God, they are precious. I know God has plans to touch Don's heart, and possibly this man's heart, through their interaction.
Don can use a quick prayer as well; he didn't want a care-giving position. It's a difficult, low-paying line of work. In the past he worked in institutional settings with unstable, mentally-challenged clients. This situation should be easier (no known instability), but he still isn't enthused. He is grateful for the work, however.
P.S. No one was brave enough to comment on my entreprenuerial idea. Guess it was pretty dorky? I know. Without a counseling credential, it's a long shot.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wisdom
Last night I dwelt on James 1:2-4. Today, I am dwelling on James 1:5-6:
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
I had mentioned to Don whether he thought we should immediately put the house up for sale, with a "by owner" sign, instead of just primarily spending time looking for jobs. We want to be able to recover our down payment, at least. This house is a fantastic deal for the price, due to the square footage from the family-room and dining-room additions, and the large, fenced yard. It might go faster than the market would predict. We put in new flooring, carpet, paint, a new dishwasher, a water softener, a new water heater, and a bathroom sink and counter 3.5 years ago. It needs paint again, but the other improvements still look new.
I also called Countrywide to inquire about mortgage-hardship programs. They did get a bailout, after all. We'll see what happens with that.
I believe your Word, Lord. If we pray for wisdom, it will come. I also believe that you work all things for the good of those who love you.
My mother says they would be happy to take us in.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
I had mentioned to Don whether he thought we should immediately put the house up for sale, with a "by owner" sign, instead of just primarily spending time looking for jobs. We want to be able to recover our down payment, at least. This house is a fantastic deal for the price, due to the square footage from the family-room and dining-room additions, and the large, fenced yard. It might go faster than the market would predict. We put in new flooring, carpet, paint, a new dishwasher, a water softener, a new water heater, and a bathroom sink and counter 3.5 years ago. It needs paint again, but the other improvements still look new.
I also called Countrywide to inquire about mortgage-hardship programs. They did get a bailout, after all. We'll see what happens with that.
I believe your Word, Lord. If we pray for wisdom, it will come. I also believe that you work all things for the good of those who love you.
My mother says they would be happy to take us in.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
MPS 111
This excerpt is from the Exploring Holland blog (featured right). Her children are suffering from a serious, fatal condition that slowly robs children of their capabilities before death. I know it's depressing to read, but any prayers sent her way would help. I can't imagine the pain.
Begin post:
We just returned home from a very emotional trip to UNC to see a developmental pediatrician who is extremely knowledgeable on MPS III. Matt and I knew it was going to be an emotional trip to NC. We drove by the hotel we stayed at when we were at Duke for the transplant consultation and so many memories came back. It is difficult to even express the stressful week we had and the agonizing decision we were forced to make. For those of you following the blog, I am sure you remember this time.
Today we spent 5 hours meeting with our doctor and her team. They conducted a full developmental evaluation and determined a developmental age in various categories. We knew that Waverly has lost skills since our last visit, so we were prepared for lower numbers. Still, knowing that she is between 6 - 14 months across the board is painful. It is so helpful to provide them to her therapists, teachers, babysitters, etc. It allows people to adjust their expectations. Oliver is continuing to learn and his developmental age is increasing. He is still behind his peers, coming in somewhere around 18-20 months. Again, this is so helpful for us.
The doctor had some wonderful suggestions for us in terms of things to watch for and tests that need to be done. She is also going to help us create ideas and goals for IEPs and school placements that need to be done this spring. I am SO thankful for her input in this area.
She was able to give us an idea of what the next year will look like for us. (This is always the most difficult part of the appointment.) She believes Waverly will likely have considerable difficulty with her mobility by the end of the year and will probably test around the 6-9 month level at our next appointment. She warned us that we are going to see some noticeable changes in her ability to walk. Oliver is going to continue to learn new skills, but in 12 months he may only move up 4-6 months developmentally.
We were talking with her about how we feel this is Oliver's last year to really learn new skills and progress. We want to have as much intervention as possible for him. We figure the more he learns, the longer it will take this terrible disease to take it away from him.
Tonight is a bit solemn in our apartment. The kids are asleep. Matt and I are taking in the news. The sadness has set in. Tears are flowing. Desperate for a cure.
Begin post:
We just returned home from a very emotional trip to UNC to see a developmental pediatrician who is extremely knowledgeable on MPS III. Matt and I knew it was going to be an emotional trip to NC. We drove by the hotel we stayed at when we were at Duke for the transplant consultation and so many memories came back. It is difficult to even express the stressful week we had and the agonizing decision we were forced to make. For those of you following the blog, I am sure you remember this time.
Today we spent 5 hours meeting with our doctor and her team. They conducted a full developmental evaluation and determined a developmental age in various categories. We knew that Waverly has lost skills since our last visit, so we were prepared for lower numbers. Still, knowing that she is between 6 - 14 months across the board is painful. It is so helpful to provide them to her therapists, teachers, babysitters, etc. It allows people to adjust their expectations. Oliver is continuing to learn and his developmental age is increasing. He is still behind his peers, coming in somewhere around 18-20 months. Again, this is so helpful for us.
The doctor had some wonderful suggestions for us in terms of things to watch for and tests that need to be done. She is also going to help us create ideas and goals for IEPs and school placements that need to be done this spring. I am SO thankful for her input in this area.
She was able to give us an idea of what the next year will look like for us. (This is always the most difficult part of the appointment.) She believes Waverly will likely have considerable difficulty with her mobility by the end of the year and will probably test around the 6-9 month level at our next appointment. She warned us that we are going to see some noticeable changes in her ability to walk. Oliver is going to continue to learn new skills, but in 12 months he may only move up 4-6 months developmentally.
We were talking with her about how we feel this is Oliver's last year to really learn new skills and progress. We want to have as much intervention as possible for him. We figure the more he learns, the longer it will take this terrible disease to take it away from him.
Tonight is a bit solemn in our apartment. The kids are asleep. Matt and I are taking in the news. The sadness has set in. Tears are flowing. Desperate for a cure.
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