"Luke is a strong little guy, and with all the prayer coming his way - God will do His work."
Will's 3rd grade teacher, Mr. Y, in a message to me this week. Not only is our family blessed to have him teaching Will, but he is a man of great faith who shared such kind and introspective words. God bless 'em.
"Why did you get kicked out of your family?"
John Paul, to me, asking why my last name was different than his Nana's. Kindergarteners are funny people.
JP: "Mom, you know that verse in the Bible, 'the first shall be last and the last shall be first'?"
Me: "Yes {feeling slightly proud that he was quoting scripture}"
JP: "Well, I want to be last so I can be first at lunch."
"No!"
Scott and I to the kids. It's a word they haven't heard in a while. Bootcamp kiddos. Bootcamp.
"WHAT are you doing here?"
Tammie, our general surgeon's Nurse Practioner, when she saw us in the ER on Sunday morning. Trust me Tammie, I asked the same question.
We have a sweet weekend planned. Time as a couple, time with the kids and time with some dear friends who are getting ready to move 2,000 miles away (sniff, sniff). It should be a fantastic weekend. Make it a great one on your end.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Happy Birthday Aunt Amanda!
Man, she looks good for 16 doesn't she?! Aunt Amanda...we hope your day is awesome. We love you!!
Raise a glass to your first birthday as a MOM.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Deja Vu
Yesterday, I got the itemized hospital bills (if you're ever in the hospital - EVER - request one of these. trust me.) from Luke's last three hospital stays and I chuckled to myself. Three. Just since January.
{sigh}
You know, there are times when I just want to fast forward life and get to Luke's one-year mark. Everyone keeps telling us what a big milestone that is. Then, I get frustrated, because I don't want to miss out on the next five months getting there.
What a catch 22.
I find myself obsessing about all of his developmental milestones, wondering if he will catch up, or if he won't. No one has that answer for us, we just have to wait patiently. And we all know how good I am at that! One day at a time. One day. at. a. time.
For those that have supported us these past 11 months, yes May 28 is when I had my amnio, I just have to say thank you, once again. You might think, "Oh, I just brought a meal" or "I just picked up your kids once from school" or "All I did was send a quick email". It all made a difference. Anyone that's been in our shoes, and for those of you that will be and don't know it yet, reaching out in whatever way you can offer your gifts of help means more than you may know.
Often times, people will tell us they're not sure what to say or how to help. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to know. So the next time a good friend gets cancer, loses a child, gets fired from a job, or something equally horrible, just reach out...in whatever way you feel called. Yeah, you just might say the wrong thing. But that's ok.
Throughout each of our hospital stays, and this time was no different, we were once again reminded of how lucky and blessed we are to be so close to Dell Children's. Those doctors and nurses are really amazing. Of course, we've had a few that surely didn't mean to choose pediatrics as a specialty. But for the most part, they rocked it. Big time.
We jokingly say that everyone at Dell knows our son by his first name, kinda like Madonna or Prince or The Pope. He's just "Luke." As much as I don't like being a frequent flier, there are perks to riding in first-class. It's comforting and reasurring to know that Luke is infamous around 78723. And, I am fully aware there are other kids that wear the same shoes he does.
I'm actually tearing up thinking about all those sweet people - the PICC team, the nurse practioners, the sweet lady in admitting, the funny one in pre-op, the nice cashier in the gift shop, our rockstar surgeons, the wound care team, the sweet voice of pain management, the respiratory therapists, the "we have the perfect toy" childlife specialists, the chaplains, our sweet housekeeper who loved on Luke, the "nervous as hell" residents, the imaging transport team, the caring nurses in NICU, PICU, 3 North, 3 Central and 4 North, the kind volunteers who rock babies, the laugh-out-loud clinical assistants. So many faces, so many hugs, so many tender moments. I so wish I could gather them all in a room and hug each one of them and tell them thanks. Guess that's what the blog is for, right?
I wouldn't trade a single moment at Dell. God has allowed us to share our faith through Luke. And he's allowed us to experience love on a whole other level. The thing I love with equal passion is the relationships Luke's story has allowed us to deepen. We've connected with friends we haven't seen in for-eva, forge new ones and strengthen the ones we already had.
I'm pretty sure the entire hospital staff knows we're Catholic. Really, during our last stay we had two sisters (shout out to Sr. Maria Gemma and Sr. Elizabeth Ann) and four priests visit Luke's room in less than 24-hours. Total providence, I might add. But the conversations we had with the staff after they left was pretty awesome. I'm reminded of St. Francis of Assisi's words, "Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words."
This post ended up being a potpourri of stuff - reflection, thankfulness, therapy. Thanks for hanging with me...
{sigh}
You know, there are times when I just want to fast forward life and get to Luke's one-year mark. Everyone keeps telling us what a big milestone that is. Then, I get frustrated, because I don't want to miss out on the next five months getting there.
What a catch 22.
I find myself obsessing about all of his developmental milestones, wondering if he will catch up, or if he won't. No one has that answer for us, we just have to wait patiently. And we all know how good I am at that! One day at a time. One day. at. a. time.
Luke, at his post-op pediatrician appointment on Tuesday (love the Taggies blanket Leah!).
For those that have supported us these past 11 months, yes May 28 is when I had my amnio, I just have to say thank you, once again. You might think, "Oh, I just brought a meal" or "I just picked up your kids once from school" or "All I did was send a quick email". It all made a difference. Anyone that's been in our shoes, and for those of you that will be and don't know it yet, reaching out in whatever way you can offer your gifts of help means more than you may know.
Often times, people will tell us they're not sure what to say or how to help. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to know. So the next time a good friend gets cancer, loses a child, gets fired from a job, or something equally horrible, just reach out...in whatever way you feel called. Yeah, you just might say the wrong thing. But that's ok.
Throughout each of our hospital stays, and this time was no different, we were once again reminded of how lucky and blessed we are to be so close to Dell Children's. Those doctors and nurses are really amazing. Of course, we've had a few that surely didn't mean to choose pediatrics as a specialty. But for the most part, they rocked it. Big time.
We jokingly say that everyone at Dell knows our son by his first name, kinda like Madonna or Prince or The Pope. He's just "Luke." As much as I don't like being a frequent flier, there are perks to riding in first-class. It's comforting and reasurring to know that Luke is infamous around 78723. And, I am fully aware there are other kids that wear the same shoes he does.
I'm actually tearing up thinking about all those sweet people - the PICC team, the nurse practioners, the sweet lady in admitting, the funny one in pre-op, the nice cashier in the gift shop, our rockstar surgeons, the wound care team, the sweet voice of pain management, the respiratory therapists, the "we have the perfect toy" childlife specialists, the chaplains, our sweet housekeeper who loved on Luke, the "nervous as hell" residents, the imaging transport team, the caring nurses in NICU, PICU, 3 North, 3 Central and 4 North, the kind volunteers who rock babies, the laugh-out-loud clinical assistants. So many faces, so many hugs, so many tender moments. I so wish I could gather them all in a room and hug each one of them and tell them thanks. Guess that's what the blog is for, right?
I wouldn't trade a single moment at Dell. God has allowed us to share our faith through Luke. And he's allowed us to experience love on a whole other level. The thing I love with equal passion is the relationships Luke's story has allowed us to deepen. We've connected with friends we haven't seen in for-eva, forge new ones and strengthen the ones we already had.
I'm pretty sure the entire hospital staff knows we're Catholic. Really, during our last stay we had two sisters (shout out to Sr. Maria Gemma and Sr. Elizabeth Ann) and four priests visit Luke's room in less than 24-hours. Total providence, I might add. But the conversations we had with the staff after they left was pretty awesome. I'm reminded of St. Francis of Assisi's words, "Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words."
This post ended up being a potpourri of stuff - reflection, thankfulness, therapy. Thanks for hanging with me...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Count to 10.
Normally, I would provide you with some witty, insightful words on the weekly top ten. Today, I'm just trying to count to 10 with the girls and their sassy attitudes. You know, so CPS doesn't come knocking at my door.
In other words, I'm tired. They're tired. And we're taking a break.
Reflection tomorrow.
Some outstanding QOTW come Friday. Spoiler: they're almost all from John Paul...
In other words, I'm tired. They're tired. And we're taking a break.
Reflection tomorrow.
Some outstanding QOTW come Friday. Spoiler: they're almost all from John Paul...
Monday, April 26, 2010
It's back to Dell we go. For reals.
Oh, how I wish that were a typo. We were thrilled to come home on Saturday afternoon after Luke's 4-day PICU stay. He was doing beautifully. We put him down for a late afternoon nap and he awoke with a low-grade fever. Little concerned, but we gave him some Tylenol and went about our evening. He was still a little warm a few hours later, so we gave him a bath and put him to bed. We snuggled in for our first night at home, and less than two hours later, at midnight, he woke up screaming with...wait for it...a 104 fever.
Crap.
We made a call to the neurosurgeon on-call, which happened to be his surgeon, and he ordered us in to the ER. Silly us thought that he would be there to lay eyes on Luke when we arrived. Lesson #1. Just because a doctor sends you to the ER does not mean he is the admitting doctor. We reluctantly arrived at Dell Children's at the awesome hour of 2am. After a quick five-minute wait, they called us back and put us in an ER room. Usually I'd be excited to be whisked back so quickly, but I've learned lesson #2. If the ER is busy and you're called back quickly, that's not a good sign.
After a once-over by the nurse, clinical assistant and resident, the ER doctor arrived with some good and bad news. We needed to draw a blood and urine sample to rule out any infection, as well as shoot an x-ray to ensure his lungs were clear. At 4am, none of that sounds like good news. Particularly the "drawing blood" part. We mentioned that he was a hard stick, but it didn't seem to phase the charge nurse. She was determined to get the draw. I knew she wouldn't get it, but they weren't budging on paging NICU, so I figured why not let her learn lesson #3. When it comes to her kiddo, Mom is always right. You can guess that her ego took a hit after sticking Luke and missing the vein.
A sweet nurse and our friend Janet (who never works the night shift - what are the odds?!?) were able to get blood from a scalp vein - pretty much Luke's only good vein left. The doctor wanted us to start and IV and I enacted lesson #4. Just because the doctor orders it, doesn't mean you have to do it. We refused. The only reasoning was to start Luke on some fluids because he was slighly dehydrated. But, I knew that was largely because he'd been on no feeds (NPO) for four days and just needed to nurse more. I don't need an IV for that, I've got the two solutions :)
Around 6am, Miss "Even though I'm 16 I have attitude" Clinical Assistant came in to stock the ER room with new supplies. Of course I'd just gotten Luke to sleep, right? She saw his ID bracelet sitting on the bed and says (with major attitude) "Is there a reason why he's not wearing this?" Oh sister. You need to learn lesson #5. It's 6am, for heaven's sake. Back off a little on the protocol. Oh, and my reply? "Yes, he's sleeping put it on the bed and I'll put it on when he wakes up." (said with mom eyebrow)
At 6:30am (yes, we'd already been there four hours), the ER doc informed us that he and Dr. George had been on the phone for quite a bit trying to decide if they should admit us for observation or send us home. Ultimately, they wanted to admit us for 12-24 hours. Scott and I were less than thrilled. Luke was out of his mind tired as he hadn't really slept all night. But the fever was concerning, so we agreed, thinking that we'd be in a hospital room in no time. Lesson #6. Never go to the hospital via the ER to be admitted.
I'll spare you some details, but we were taken to a room SIX, count 'em, SIX hours later, at 2:30pm. Scott had to leave to head home and take the kids to Disney on Ice with his mom. Tickets that were bought before we knew all the craziness. And so Luke and I tried to intermittently sleep in a nasty ER room, with screaming parents, coding patients and no patience. I was teetering on the edge. At 10:30am, I asked to speak to the ER doc so we could get a sense of "the plan." I didn't end up seeing a doctor until 6:50pm that evening, 12 hours after speaking to the ER doctor.
Frustrated beyond belief doesn't even scratch the surface in describing how I felt. I can tell you that I came within minutes of walking out AMA - against medical advice. Minutes, people.
When we arrived in the room, I got Luke to sleep and completely and totally, 100% fell apart. Like sobbing with tears flowing so fast they were landing on my pants kind of fall apart. It wasn't just the past five days that had drained me, it was the past 11 months.
Then the phone rang and it was a collect call from an inmate in the county jail. And woke my sleeping baby up. I got Luke back to sleep...and he called again. Then I unplugged the phone.
People, I can't make this stuff up.
To make a really long post a little shorter, we watched Luke overnight, observing him for a fever or any other concerning symptoms. At 9:45am this morning, we were given the discharge blessing for the second time in 48-hours.
All in all, we think it was a virus with some pretty horrible timing and nothing more than that. We have a slew of doctor visits the next couple of weeks.
But trust me when I tell you this, we are d-o-n-e, done with Dell Children's. No more surgeries, no more ER visits, no more craziness. We are determined to break the vortex of the hospital. Now, if I can get God to buy in, we're home-free.
How was your Monday?
Crap.
We made a call to the neurosurgeon on-call, which happened to be his surgeon, and he ordered us in to the ER. Silly us thought that he would be there to lay eyes on Luke when we arrived. Lesson #1. Just because a doctor sends you to the ER does not mean he is the admitting doctor. We reluctantly arrived at Dell Children's at the awesome hour of 2am. After a quick five-minute wait, they called us back and put us in an ER room. Usually I'd be excited to be whisked back so quickly, but I've learned lesson #2. If the ER is busy and you're called back quickly, that's not a good sign.
After a once-over by the nurse, clinical assistant and resident, the ER doctor arrived with some good and bad news. We needed to draw a blood and urine sample to rule out any infection, as well as shoot an x-ray to ensure his lungs were clear. At 4am, none of that sounds like good news. Particularly the "drawing blood" part. We mentioned that he was a hard stick, but it didn't seem to phase the charge nurse. She was determined to get the draw. I knew she wouldn't get it, but they weren't budging on paging NICU, so I figured why not let her learn lesson #3. When it comes to her kiddo, Mom is always right. You can guess that her ego took a hit after sticking Luke and missing the vein.
A sweet nurse and our friend Janet (who never works the night shift - what are the odds?!?) were able to get blood from a scalp vein - pretty much Luke's only good vein left. The doctor wanted us to start and IV and I enacted lesson #4. Just because the doctor orders it, doesn't mean you have to do it. We refused. The only reasoning was to start Luke on some fluids because he was slighly dehydrated. But, I knew that was largely because he'd been on no feeds (NPO) for four days and just needed to nurse more. I don't need an IV for that, I've got the two solutions :)
Around 6am, Miss "Even though I'm 16 I have attitude" Clinical Assistant came in to stock the ER room with new supplies. Of course I'd just gotten Luke to sleep, right? She saw his ID bracelet sitting on the bed and says (with major attitude) "Is there a reason why he's not wearing this?" Oh sister. You need to learn lesson #5. It's 6am, for heaven's sake. Back off a little on the protocol. Oh, and my reply? "Yes, he's sleeping put it on the bed and I'll put it on when he wakes up." (said with mom eyebrow)
At 6:30am (yes, we'd already been there four hours), the ER doc informed us that he and Dr. George had been on the phone for quite a bit trying to decide if they should admit us for observation or send us home. Ultimately, they wanted to admit us for 12-24 hours. Scott and I were less than thrilled. Luke was out of his mind tired as he hadn't really slept all night. But the fever was concerning, so we agreed, thinking that we'd be in a hospital room in no time. Lesson #6. Never go to the hospital via the ER to be admitted.
I'll spare you some details, but we were taken to a room SIX, count 'em, SIX hours later, at 2:30pm. Scott had to leave to head home and take the kids to Disney on Ice with his mom. Tickets that were bought before we knew all the craziness. And so Luke and I tried to intermittently sleep in a nasty ER room, with screaming parents, coding patients and no patience. I was teetering on the edge. At 10:30am, I asked to speak to the ER doc so we could get a sense of "the plan." I didn't end up seeing a doctor until 6:50pm that evening, 12 hours after speaking to the ER doctor.
Frustrated beyond belief doesn't even scratch the surface in describing how I felt. I can tell you that I came within minutes of walking out AMA - against medical advice. Minutes, people.
When we arrived in the room, I got Luke to sleep and completely and totally, 100% fell apart. Like sobbing with tears flowing so fast they were landing on my pants kind of fall apart. It wasn't just the past five days that had drained me, it was the past 11 months.
Then the phone rang and it was a collect call from an inmate in the county jail. And woke my sleeping baby up. I got Luke back to sleep...and he called again. Then I unplugged the phone.
People, I can't make this stuff up.
To make a really long post a little shorter, we watched Luke overnight, observing him for a fever or any other concerning symptoms. At 9:45am this morning, we were given the discharge blessing for the second time in 48-hours.
All in all, we think it was a virus with some pretty horrible timing and nothing more than that. We have a slew of doctor visits the next couple of weeks.
But trust me when I tell you this, we are d-o-n-e, done with Dell Children's. No more surgeries, no more ER visits, no more craziness. We are determined to break the vortex of the hospital. Now, if I can get God to buy in, we're home-free.
How was your Monday?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
DCMC: Spine Surgery, Day 4, April 24, 2010
At 3:30am, Luke woke me up, so I quickly pumped to give him some fresh milk. Just as I was pouring the bottle, he settled down and went back to sleep...until 8:30am! Here's hoping he keeps that habit up at home.
I awoke to the awesome news that we'd been given the order to feed "ad-lib" - meaning Luke could nurse as much and as often as he wanted. I'm pretty sure I contemplated throwing the breastpump out the window at that point. Then, I got the monsoon of good news.
The surgeon stopped by and gave us the discharge blessing...
Gastro stopped by and followed suit.
Then hematology came by and we finally got some answers. It seems Dr. S did drink that glass of wine and ponder Luke's chart. Fortunately, most of Luke's medical history, barring 7 days, is housed at Dell Children's. And, because he's had well over 100 CBCs (complete blood counts) since birth and numerous other bloodwork, she had ample history to make her case for that hunch. It looks as if Luke has an allergic reaction to cephalosporins. If that sounds like Greek to you, I'll explain. Many, if not all, post-operative patients are given an antiobiotic as a precaution to prevent infections after surgery. In Luke's case, he's quite nearly had every drug on the planet (ok, maybe not all, but lots). Two drugs in particular, cephalexin and ancef, have been given to him multiple times. Each time, his blood levels have dropped, thus requiring him to have blood transfusions. Now, while that doesn't sound too horrible, what Dr. S shared with me next is. Obviously, everytime you're exposed to something you're allergic to, your reaction gets worse. In Luke's case, his reaction to the drug often times can shut down your kidneys. Um...remember Luke has a challenge with those? She was surprised that his didn't shut down this time around.
Minor freak out people.
Then I remembered how many people were praying for him... If you've ever wondered if you're prayers made a difference, this is your answer.
Because here's the crazy thing. If Luke hadn't had all these surgeries we might never have know about his severe reaction to this group of drugs. And, Dr. S. also added that's why sometimes a child is given a drug for an ear infection and then dies suddenly. Praise God for allowing us to determine this allergy so early. And God bless Dr. S., a specialist in blood disorders, who was on-call this weekend. That, my friends, is divine providence.
I know, wipe off those goosebumps.
Neuro stopped by next and had no choice but to discharge us :-) Actually, Dr. George's actual words were, "So, you want to go home?" Me: "Yes." Dr. G: "Alright, click your heels three times and get outta here."
After a few housekeeping items, a quick pack of the bags, a phone call to Scott and a little flirting with the nurses, we said hasta luego to Dell. For the sixth time. Nothing like three suitcases, two bags, a baby, a sling, two tired parents and 35 more bottles of frozen breastmilk to throw in the van.
The irony is not lost on today, either. You see, four years ago TODAY, I had major spine surgery. I was the one in ICU, fighting to begin my new life with corrected scoliosis. Who knew that four years later my infant son would be the one discharged from PICU with a new life to live?
Tomorrow, I'll have my usual reflection post. Until then...make it a great weekend. And thanks for those prayers.
I awoke to the awesome news that we'd been given the order to feed "ad-lib" - meaning Luke could nurse as much and as often as he wanted. I'm pretty sure I contemplated throwing the breastpump out the window at that point. Then, I got the monsoon of good news.
The surgeon stopped by and gave us the discharge blessing...
Gastro stopped by and followed suit.
Then hematology came by and we finally got some answers. It seems Dr. S did drink that glass of wine and ponder Luke's chart. Fortunately, most of Luke's medical history, barring 7 days, is housed at Dell Children's. And, because he's had well over 100 CBCs (complete blood counts) since birth and numerous other bloodwork, she had ample history to make her case for that hunch. It looks as if Luke has an allergic reaction to cephalosporins. If that sounds like Greek to you, I'll explain. Many, if not all, post-operative patients are given an antiobiotic as a precaution to prevent infections after surgery. In Luke's case, he's quite nearly had every drug on the planet (ok, maybe not all, but lots). Two drugs in particular, cephalexin and ancef, have been given to him multiple times. Each time, his blood levels have dropped, thus requiring him to have blood transfusions. Now, while that doesn't sound too horrible, what Dr. S shared with me next is. Obviously, everytime you're exposed to something you're allergic to, your reaction gets worse. In Luke's case, his reaction to the drug often times can shut down your kidneys. Um...remember Luke has a challenge with those? She was surprised that his didn't shut down this time around.
Minor freak out people.
Then I remembered how many people were praying for him... If you've ever wondered if you're prayers made a difference, this is your answer.
Because here's the crazy thing. If Luke hadn't had all these surgeries we might never have know about his severe reaction to this group of drugs. And, Dr. S. also added that's why sometimes a child is given a drug for an ear infection and then dies suddenly. Praise God for allowing us to determine this allergy so early. And God bless Dr. S., a specialist in blood disorders, who was on-call this weekend. That, my friends, is divine providence.
I know, wipe off those goosebumps.
Neuro stopped by next and had no choice but to discharge us :-) Actually, Dr. George's actual words were, "So, you want to go home?" Me: "Yes." Dr. G: "Alright, click your heels three times and get outta here."
After a few housekeeping items, a quick pack of the bags, a phone call to Scott and a little flirting with the nurses, we said hasta luego to Dell. For the sixth time. Nothing like three suitcases, two bags, a baby, a sling, two tired parents and 35 more bottles of frozen breastmilk to throw in the van.
The irony is not lost on today, either. You see, four years ago TODAY, I had major spine surgery. I was the one in ICU, fighting to begin my new life with corrected scoliosis. Who knew that four years later my infant son would be the one discharged from PICU with a new life to live?
Tomorrow, I'll have my usual reflection post. Until then...make it a great weekend. And thanks for those prayers.
Friday, April 23, 2010
DCMC: Spine Surgery, Day 3, April 23, 2010
At 2am, the nurse woke up Luke to do an irrigation (basically, we stick a tube up his hiney, shoot in some saline, and then let it drain). Lovely, I know. It's an effort to help decompress his belly and to stimulate his body to poop spontaneously.
That's about the moment that I got really frustrated. I'm pretty sure I spouted off a litany of things I was frustrated about to Scott, then I cried, then I ranted some more, then I pumped. Pretty much how things go the night before things start to turn around. It's too complicated to get into why I was frustrated, but it was therapeutic to get it out and Scott patiently listened. After we got a few hours of sleep and I drank some Starbucks, I had a more rational outlook. Sleep deprivation is not a good thing. It makes you speak crazy talk.
Both Dr. Josephs and Dr. Meyer (pediatric surgeons) stopped in and were pleased with Luke's progress. We pulled out the NG tube - Luke was estatic to see it go - and we're continuing with the decompressions for the remainder of the day. We had some special visitors - Fr. Danny, Fr. Dean (the Godfatha), Fr. Richard and Fr. Dave (straight in from the Big Apple!) - that brought such sweet blessings to Luke. We even offered up a prayer to St. Bonaventure, the patron saint of bowel movements. Who knew? Thanks to Scott's co-worker, Bob, who brought us lunch and a few laughs.
Dr. George stopped in briefly and was happy to see Luke kicking his legs, playing with toys. He gave us the all clear to pick him up and move him as much as we wanted. Yippee!! And, we also had consults from hematology and gastroenterology. Told you Luke was a social butterfly. Gastro wanted to see a diaper and then felt comfortable letting Luke eat. Around 3, Luke gave us our wish and loaded not one, but two diapers. We've never been happier about the "p" word.
Hematology's consult was a bit more involved. Dr. Shaeffer asked me a million questions about Luke's history, his challenges with blood level drops and what medications he had taken. She had a hunch she knew what was going on but wanted to spend more time with his chart, reading and dissecting his history. I told her she might want to grab an entire bottle of wine...
The best news of the day came around 4pm when we got the all clear to start feeds!! Luke wasn't too thrilled about having to take them via bottle. The doctor needed to measure his intake which is impossible to do with direct breastfeeding. After a few tries over a couple of hours, we finally got him to take milk via the bottle. Quite honestly, I was starting to sweat it. He's funny because the last couple of hospital stays he will only take a bottle and paci at Dell. But, once we get home, he wants nothing to do with either. It must be a psychological thing... Either that, or he just goes for the good stuff and isn't fooled by imitations :)
Scott headed home to be with the kids and his mom and enjoy a night at the Round Rock Express game with my parents. It was company night in the box, so the kids were in heaven eating their body weight in sugar and watching fireworks. Luke and I just chilled at the hospital, wishing we were with the rest of the gang.
After eating a quick bite, I had a friend who came up to the hospital to hold sweet Luke while I took a quick shower. Or, as the nurse said, "Oh, you're going to get some 'me' time." I'd hardly call showering, in a community shower, in the Dell PICU "me" time, but at least I smelled better! Dina, thank you for showering Luke with some much-needed love.
I had the opportunity to visit with the intensivist about Luke's progress. Quite honestly, I think everyone was being super-duper cautious - nobody wanted to be the doctor that made Luke have a setback. Around 11, Luke settled in for the night...I plan on doing the same.
And that, my friends, is a wrap on day 3.
That's about the moment that I got really frustrated. I'm pretty sure I spouted off a litany of things I was frustrated about to Scott, then I cried, then I ranted some more, then I pumped. Pretty much how things go the night before things start to turn around. It's too complicated to get into why I was frustrated, but it was therapeutic to get it out and Scott patiently listened. After we got a few hours of sleep and I drank some Starbucks, I had a more rational outlook. Sleep deprivation is not a good thing. It makes you speak crazy talk.
Both Dr. Josephs and Dr. Meyer (pediatric surgeons) stopped in and were pleased with Luke's progress. We pulled out the NG tube - Luke was estatic to see it go - and we're continuing with the decompressions for the remainder of the day. We had some special visitors - Fr. Danny, Fr. Dean (the Godfatha), Fr. Richard and Fr. Dave (straight in from the Big Apple!) - that brought such sweet blessings to Luke. We even offered up a prayer to St. Bonaventure, the patron saint of bowel movements. Who knew? Thanks to Scott's co-worker, Bob, who brought us lunch and a few laughs.
Dr. George stopped in briefly and was happy to see Luke kicking his legs, playing with toys. He gave us the all clear to pick him up and move him as much as we wanted. Yippee!! And, we also had consults from hematology and gastroenterology. Told you Luke was a social butterfly. Gastro wanted to see a diaper and then felt comfortable letting Luke eat. Around 3, Luke gave us our wish and loaded not one, but two diapers. We've never been happier about the "p" word.
Hematology's consult was a bit more involved. Dr. Shaeffer asked me a million questions about Luke's history, his challenges with blood level drops and what medications he had taken. She had a hunch she knew what was going on but wanted to spend more time with his chart, reading and dissecting his history. I told her she might want to grab an entire bottle of wine...
The best news of the day came around 4pm when we got the all clear to start feeds!! Luke wasn't too thrilled about having to take them via bottle. The doctor needed to measure his intake which is impossible to do with direct breastfeeding. After a few tries over a couple of hours, we finally got him to take milk via the bottle. Quite honestly, I was starting to sweat it. He's funny because the last couple of hospital stays he will only take a bottle and paci at Dell. But, once we get home, he wants nothing to do with either. It must be a psychological thing... Either that, or he just goes for the good stuff and isn't fooled by imitations :)
Scott headed home to be with the kids and his mom and enjoy a night at the Round Rock Express game with my parents. It was company night in the box, so the kids were in heaven eating their body weight in sugar and watching fireworks. Luke and I just chilled at the hospital, wishing we were with the rest of the gang.
After eating a quick bite, I had a friend who came up to the hospital to hold sweet Luke while I took a quick shower. Or, as the nurse said, "Oh, you're going to get some 'me' time." I'd hardly call showering, in a community shower, in the Dell PICU "me" time, but at least I smelled better! Dina, thank you for showering Luke with some much-needed love.
I had the opportunity to visit with the intensivist about Luke's progress. Quite honestly, I think everyone was being super-duper cautious - nobody wanted to be the doctor that made Luke have a setback. Around 11, Luke settled in for the night...I plan on doing the same.
And that, my friends, is a wrap on day 3.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
DCMC: Spine Surgery, Day 2, April 22, 2010
We left off at midnight...
His pain continued to get worse. We just couldn't catch a break. Every time we would get him settled, we had to do an xray, or a blood draw, or a heel stick or a...{insert painful procedure here} It was difficult to know if what we were doing was working. And, for the life of all of us, we couldn't figure out what his pain was the result of - belly, back, spasms, abdominal cramping? ARG!!!!
To complicate matters, Luke became the NG tube Houdini. He pulled that darn thing out four times. Which of course, meant we had to put it back in four times. That was some fun screaming.
During the wee hours, two of Luke's nurses from the general floor, on 3 North, stopped by to see him. What a welcome surprise to see you Elyana and Catherine! The intensivist also felt strongly about getting a blood draw so we could monitor his blood levels. Amazingly, he endured that stick fairly well. I'm giving credit to a sweet resource nurse, Fran. She is a quilter and her quilting group makes blankets for PICU babies, one of which she shared with Luke. She wrapped him in that hand-made blanket and carried out the order of "continuous patting." I loved Fran. She was awesome with Luke. We had this amazing conversation with the intensivist, the nurse and the resident about Catholic schools and nuns. It was awesome. I love those night shift talks with the staff.
We finally got the miracle drugs of this hospital stay on board - Dilaudid, Percedex and Versed. If you are a medical professional, you know that the dilaudid was our big gun. It is so rarely used in babies that it took two nurses and the pharmacy to determine the rate to infuse the drug...at Luke's bedside...at 2am. Usually, pharmacy sends down the narcotic, the nurse pops it in the infuser, sets the rate and we're off to the races. We were a little nervous when they pulled out their calculators to make sure it was the right dosage. But, it ended up settling him down. I should clarify that he was on a continuous drip of dilaudid, with an extra "bolus" every hour, in addition to the versed/percedex combo. This kid was in excruciating pain.
God bless Luke's neuro NP that put us in PICU. Quite honestly, he needed round-the-clock care, given his history. It's good to know we've learned something in all these hospital stays :-)
Time was 7:01am.
Quick, go grab that cup of coffee and then finish reading the post.
At 7:02, we realized that he had blown both his blood IV and his narcotic IV. Fantastic. Guess who we have on our speed dial? PICC arrived at 7:15 and looked, and looked, and looked for a good vein. His feet and arms were so black and blue and the veins so stinky that we only had one option...the scalp. We got a good line in and for now, it's working. We hope that we don't have to start a central line (to be done surgically). One thing at a time.
We were getting antsy about his belly and we asked our nurse how we could get Dr. Meyer to come by...good thing I have his number on my speed dial. Ten minutes later his Nurse Practioner, Angela, walked in the door. She had just looked at his xray and exclaimed, "That is the WORST xray Luke has ever had." Fantastic. After assessing him, and getting some honest insight, it seems the consensus is to get his belly less distended, get him pooping and get him home. Then, we'll go back to Dell in a few weeks for a constrast study to see if there's anything anatomically going on with his belly. In other words, is the belly a problem to be solved with meds or with surgery? Yeah, I think you know my answer
For the most part, today was a better day. He was easier to pacify, easier to calm and much more restful. We did get to see some special people today, namely our resident from the NICU, Eric. It's very reasurring to walk out of your room and see a hospital full of familiar faces. Everybody knows and loves Luke. And, they take such amazingly good care of him. Love. That.
Scott went home to see the kids while I loved on Luke. We finally got to hold him for the first time today. He still has to be flat, but being able to hold him did our hearts some good.
I started feeling like junk - guess I'm too old for all-nighters - so Scott came back and spent the night. Thankfully, Luke had a pretty restful night and we were able to get much better sleep, or, at least better than the night before!
Day three. Bring it.
His pain continued to get worse. We just couldn't catch a break. Every time we would get him settled, we had to do an xray, or a blood draw, or a heel stick or a...{insert painful procedure here} It was difficult to know if what we were doing was working. And, for the life of all of us, we couldn't figure out what his pain was the result of - belly, back, spasms, abdominal cramping? ARG!!!!
To complicate matters, Luke became the NG tube Houdini. He pulled that darn thing out four times. Which of course, meant we had to put it back in four times. That was some fun screaming.
During the wee hours, two of Luke's nurses from the general floor, on 3 North, stopped by to see him. What a welcome surprise to see you Elyana and Catherine! The intensivist also felt strongly about getting a blood draw so we could monitor his blood levels. Amazingly, he endured that stick fairly well. I'm giving credit to a sweet resource nurse, Fran. She is a quilter and her quilting group makes blankets for PICU babies, one of which she shared with Luke. She wrapped him in that hand-made blanket and carried out the order of "continuous patting." I loved Fran. She was awesome with Luke. We had this amazing conversation with the intensivist, the nurse and the resident about Catholic schools and nuns. It was awesome. I love those night shift talks with the staff.
We finally got the miracle drugs of this hospital stay on board - Dilaudid, Percedex and Versed. If you are a medical professional, you know that the dilaudid was our big gun. It is so rarely used in babies that it took two nurses and the pharmacy to determine the rate to infuse the drug...at Luke's bedside...at 2am. Usually, pharmacy sends down the narcotic, the nurse pops it in the infuser, sets the rate and we're off to the races. We were a little nervous when they pulled out their calculators to make sure it was the right dosage. But, it ended up settling him down. I should clarify that he was on a continuous drip of dilaudid, with an extra "bolus" every hour, in addition to the versed/percedex combo. This kid was in excruciating pain.
God bless Luke's neuro NP that put us in PICU. Quite honestly, he needed round-the-clock care, given his history. It's good to know we've learned something in all these hospital stays :-)
Time was 7:01am.
Quick, go grab that cup of coffee and then finish reading the post.
At 7:02, we realized that he had blown both his blood IV and his narcotic IV. Fantastic. Guess who we have on our speed dial? PICC arrived at 7:15 and looked, and looked, and looked for a good vein. His feet and arms were so black and blue and the veins so stinky that we only had one option...the scalp. We got a good line in and for now, it's working. We hope that we don't have to start a central line (to be done surgically). One thing at a time.
We were getting antsy about his belly and we asked our nurse how we could get Dr. Meyer to come by...good thing I have his number on my speed dial. Ten minutes later his Nurse Practioner, Angela, walked in the door. She had just looked at his xray and exclaimed, "That is the WORST xray Luke has ever had." Fantastic. After assessing him, and getting some honest insight, it seems the consensus is to get his belly less distended, get him pooping and get him home. Then, we'll go back to Dell in a few weeks for a constrast study to see if there's anything anatomically going on with his belly. In other words, is the belly a problem to be solved with meds or with surgery? Yeah, I think you know my answer
For the most part, today was a better day. He was easier to pacify, easier to calm and much more restful. We did get to see some special people today, namely our resident from the NICU, Eric. It's very reasurring to walk out of your room and see a hospital full of familiar faces. Everybody knows and loves Luke. And, they take such amazingly good care of him. Love. That.
Scott went home to see the kids while I loved on Luke. We finally got to hold him for the first time today. He still has to be flat, but being able to hold him did our hearts some good.
I started feeling like junk - guess I'm too old for all-nighters - so Scott came back and spent the night. Thankfully, Luke had a pretty restful night and we were able to get much better sleep, or, at least better than the night before!
Day three. Bring it.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
DCMC: Spine Surgery, Day 1, April 21, 2010
Our morning got started early...about 2am, when I nursed Luke for the last time before surgery. At 5:45am we were en route to Dell Children's and right on the dot at 7:30am, they took him back to the OR for his tethered cord spinal surgery.
Keep in mind, this was supposed to be our "easy" surgery. We've recently dubbed Luke's hospital stays as "the Luke experience." That's gotten a few chuckles from the hospital staff.
We were tha-rilled to see our friend and anesthesiologist, Jeff Klein, on the morning of surgery. If you'll remember from Luke's December surgery, Jeff lost the 'rock-paper-scissors' game that would've let him carry Luke to the OR. This time, he won.
Dr. George strolled in, ever confident, and asked how we were doing. I replied, "I think we're ready." His reply? "I think so, too." Scott and I kissed Luke, loved on him and then I handed him to Jeff. As they walked away, I saw those cute little eyes peering over his shoulder and that did it. Those dang boxes of Kleenex are too small, I say. That moment of vulnerability - of handing your child's life to the surgeon and his team - is so...extraordinarily difficult. I hope we never have to do it again.
We waited with two dear friends, Kelli and Angela, in the waiting room. I heard that damn ball machine upstairs, bong-bong-bong, and I prayed the time would pass quickly. Indeed it did, and we were led to the PICU waiting room to talk to Dr. George. Jeff came in and told us how beautifully he did during surgery and that he came out of anesthesia smiling. Hey Jeff, if you're reading this, I don't think Scott and I can adequately express how much it means to us that you made every effort to get on Luke's case. Having someone in that OR that knows and loves Luke gave us the peace we so desperately needed.
Unfortunately, just after Luke's surgery Dr. G was paged to an ER trauma, so we talked to him after we saw Luke. Even though we didn't get the full report until later, it was especially sweet to see our Luke. He was quiet, not crying, and just looking around. We were hopeful that this time, the pain management would be different. We got him started on morphine, visited with the anesthesia nurse practioner and all started looking hopeful. I tried nursing him a bit later and we finally figured out a system that worked.
I should explain here that spine surgery is different than other types of surgery. Luke has to be flat for 24-36 hours post-op to ensure there's no spinal fluid leak. So, it's likely that we won't be able to hold him for quite some time. That also means nursing became an Olympic sport. I'll spare you the details of how we made it work :-) About an hour after feeding him, the pain started and so began our walk down "horrible pain management lane". I'm sure some of you are reading this thinking, "Um, didn't the staff learn anything from previous surgeries about Luke's high pain needs? Why is this happening again?"
Luke is an interesting cat. With every surgery, his pain needs are so different and he's started developing a high immunity to what worked the time before. So, we usually start with what finally worked last time and go from there. Unless I shot a video of our afternoon and evening with Luke, it's not really possible for me to capture the pain he was in and the frustration that we felt. When we say that Luke cried non-stop for 16 hours, we really mean it. That is NOT an exaggeration. Scott and I took shifts and prayed incessantly all night long.
At 7pm, things took a turn for the worse. Luke's color was bad and the blood draw came back with a bad case of anemia (for our medical friends, his H&H levels went from 12 to 7). Not good. Belly was distended and firm. Double not good. The scene is never a good one when you have two surgeons (neuro and pediatric), the intensivist (doctor assigned to the PICU), two nurse practioners, the charge nurse and your day and night nurse standing at your son's bedside trying to decide the best course of action. We have been that family before and I was less than thrilled about being that family again. It was like a freaking convention. Dr. G told us he was concerned and trust me, that is not what you like to hear from your rockstar neuro. Dr. Josephs, the on-call surgeon, ordered an NG tube up his nose to get rid of the air from "up to" and ordered an xray of his belly. The intensivist ordered a blood transfusion. Problem. Luke only had one IV and blood has to have it's own dedicated line. The PICC team, who always starts Luke's lines, heads out at 7pm. Double damn.
One of the nurses came in and began setting up the supplies to start an IV. That's when I lost it. Completely and totally broke down. Scott had been at home with the kids for a bit and then was heading back to the hospital. So I was alone. And Luke was screaming. And this "Oh, not to brag on myself but I'm pretty good at putting in IV's" nurse was telling me she could start Luke's IV. I finally put my foot down. I begged our nurse to call PICC. And then I started praying Hail Mary's, feverishly. Oh, and I cried :-( By the sheer grace of God, PICC called back and said they were on their way. When Gene (he is THE man from vascular) walked in the door, I started crying. He came over and gave me a hug and told me they would get us access. God bless that PICC team. They did get us access and we started the transfusion.
I have to tell you - there were so many God moments throughout today that I just don't think I can capture them all. Your prayers allowed us to weather the horrible news, the setbacks and the frustration we felt.
The night went from bad to worse and by midnight, we had tried fentanyl, valium, toridol, tylenol and morphine. And, that, was day one...
Keep in mind, this was supposed to be our "easy" surgery. We've recently dubbed Luke's hospital stays as "the Luke experience." That's gotten a few chuckles from the hospital staff.
We were tha-rilled to see our friend and anesthesiologist, Jeff Klein, on the morning of surgery. If you'll remember from Luke's December surgery, Jeff lost the 'rock-paper-scissors' game that would've let him carry Luke to the OR. This time, he won.
Dr. George strolled in, ever confident, and asked how we were doing. I replied, "I think we're ready." His reply? "I think so, too." Scott and I kissed Luke, loved on him and then I handed him to Jeff. As they walked away, I saw those cute little eyes peering over his shoulder and that did it. Those dang boxes of Kleenex are too small, I say. That moment of vulnerability - of handing your child's life to the surgeon and his team - is so...extraordinarily difficult. I hope we never have to do it again.
We waited with two dear friends, Kelli and Angela, in the waiting room. I heard that damn ball machine upstairs, bong-bong-bong, and I prayed the time would pass quickly. Indeed it did, and we were led to the PICU waiting room to talk to Dr. George. Jeff came in and told us how beautifully he did during surgery and that he came out of anesthesia smiling. Hey Jeff, if you're reading this, I don't think Scott and I can adequately express how much it means to us that you made every effort to get on Luke's case. Having someone in that OR that knows and loves Luke gave us the peace we so desperately needed.
Unfortunately, just after Luke's surgery Dr. G was paged to an ER trauma, so we talked to him after we saw Luke. Even though we didn't get the full report until later, it was especially sweet to see our Luke. He was quiet, not crying, and just looking around. We were hopeful that this time, the pain management would be different. We got him started on morphine, visited with the anesthesia nurse practioner and all started looking hopeful. I tried nursing him a bit later and we finally figured out a system that worked.
I should explain here that spine surgery is different than other types of surgery. Luke has to be flat for 24-36 hours post-op to ensure there's no spinal fluid leak. So, it's likely that we won't be able to hold him for quite some time. That also means nursing became an Olympic sport. I'll spare you the details of how we made it work :-) About an hour after feeding him, the pain started and so began our walk down "horrible pain management lane". I'm sure some of you are reading this thinking, "Um, didn't the staff learn anything from previous surgeries about Luke's high pain needs? Why is this happening again?"
Luke is an interesting cat. With every surgery, his pain needs are so different and he's started developing a high immunity to what worked the time before. So, we usually start with what finally worked last time and go from there. Unless I shot a video of our afternoon and evening with Luke, it's not really possible for me to capture the pain he was in and the frustration that we felt. When we say that Luke cried non-stop for 16 hours, we really mean it. That is NOT an exaggeration. Scott and I took shifts and prayed incessantly all night long.
At 7pm, things took a turn for the worse. Luke's color was bad and the blood draw came back with a bad case of anemia (for our medical friends, his H&H levels went from 12 to 7). Not good. Belly was distended and firm. Double not good. The scene is never a good one when you have two surgeons (neuro and pediatric), the intensivist (doctor assigned to the PICU), two nurse practioners, the charge nurse and your day and night nurse standing at your son's bedside trying to decide the best course of action. We have been that family before and I was less than thrilled about being that family again. It was like a freaking convention. Dr. G told us he was concerned and trust me, that is not what you like to hear from your rockstar neuro. Dr. Josephs, the on-call surgeon, ordered an NG tube up his nose to get rid of the air from "up to" and ordered an xray of his belly. The intensivist ordered a blood transfusion. Problem. Luke only had one IV and blood has to have it's own dedicated line. The PICC team, who always starts Luke's lines, heads out at 7pm. Double damn.
One of the nurses came in and began setting up the supplies to start an IV. That's when I lost it. Completely and totally broke down. Scott had been at home with the kids for a bit and then was heading back to the hospital. So I was alone. And Luke was screaming. And this "Oh, not to brag on myself but I'm pretty good at putting in IV's" nurse was telling me she could start Luke's IV. I finally put my foot down. I begged our nurse to call PICC. And then I started praying Hail Mary's, feverishly. Oh, and I cried :-( By the sheer grace of God, PICC called back and said they were on their way. When Gene (he is THE man from vascular) walked in the door, I started crying. He came over and gave me a hug and told me they would get us access. God bless that PICC team. They did get us access and we started the transfusion.
I have to tell you - there were so many God moments throughout today that I just don't think I can capture them all. Your prayers allowed us to weather the horrible news, the setbacks and the frustration we felt.
The night went from bad to worse and by midnight, we had tried fentanyl, valium, toridol, tylenol and morphine. And, that, was day one...
Luke report
Well this straight forward surgery has become another challenge. Luke has trouble with pain management as many NICU babies do but this one is a doozy. Please continue to offer up anything you got to our Lord.
Sorry for the short post but came home for a quick breather and to help get all the kids taken care of for bed. I will be headed back to the hospital shortly. We think it will be a two person job caring for Luke this evening.
St. Luke pray for us!
Sorry for the short post but came home for a quick breather and to help get all the kids taken care of for bed. I will be headed back to the hospital shortly. We think it will be a two person job caring for Luke this evening.
St. Luke pray for us!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Luke's having surgery tomorrow @ 7:30am!
Here we go again. It's back to Dell we go.
Surgery #4 is upon us and Scott and I are feeling anxious. Not like all wiggy and short of breath anxious, just...anxious. No class, therapy session or life experience prepares you for handing your child's life over to a surgeon and the medical team. Nothing.
Trust me, if I could love this one away, I would.
In some ways the build up to this surgery has been easier. We've been able to plan a bit, rally the troops so to speak and get things in order before heading back to Dell. But, in some ways it's harder. We've had "THE DATE" on the calendar for so long and we've been counting the days until it's here. For a while, it was 'that surgery later in the spring.' Now it's 'holy smokes that's tomorrow.'
We're ready and incredibly thankful that Luke will have no memory of all of this craziness. That's the real blessing, isn't it? Scott and I are adults and we can handle this, but Luke is a sweet, innocent, smiley baby that will never, ever remember this pain.
I do have to share this about our spine surgeon, Dr. George. In a word? Amazing. I always knew that was the case. But, as providence would have it, I first met him as I waited with some friends who had a son undergoing brain surgery. I came home and told Scott what an amazing, compassionate, down-to-earth doctor this man was. Little did I know that four years later, I would be the mom he would be visiting with in the waiting room. Last Thursday, I had my checkup with my spine surgeon. We got to talking about Luke (imagine that!) and his upcoming spine surgery. This is a little of how the conversation went...
Dr. Geck: "Who's doing Luke's surgery?"
Me: "Dr. Tim George. We really like him and think he's pretty great."
DG: "He is, but I don't think people really appreciate just how amazing he is. There are some surgeons who are great technically, but have horrible bedside manner. There are some who do great research, but are technically sub-par. But, Tim is the whole package. He's technically sound, is always on the cutting edge of research and he's just a great person."
Me: [tears] "Wow."
Evidently, God knew I need affirmation from one of my favorite doctors. Boy, when He wants to get your attention, He goes guns blazing. If you have a moment, I ask that you offer some prayers, for some specific people, and in specific ways as we prepare for Luke's surgery in the morning.
For Luke's spine surgeon, Dr. Tim George and the entire medical team...that the Lord may guide his hands and alleviate the tension in Luke's spinal area and that the staff assigned to Luke take special care of him as he recuperates.
For Luke...that his body may heal quickly and that the pain he experiences be minimal. We love him beyond words and we pray he will feel that love tomorrow and throughout his hospital stay.
For all those taking care of our other children...that they may have patience, wisdom to know when mischief is afoot and display a heart full of love as they enjoy "normal" here at the homefront.
For all those taking care of our family...for their generosity and support. We could never do this alone.
For Scott and I...that we may be surrounded in peace and lifted up in prayer.
If you're wondering how you can help, PRAY! And, if you're local, we've set up a care calendar for meals through next Friday. Just click here and enter security code 8903.
We'll be tweeting and facebooking tomorrow with updates. I probably won't get a blog post up until late Wednesday or sometime on Thursday. If you're not a tweeter or fb'er, you can always log on to the blog and click on "follow my tweets" and read about Luke's progress.
St. Luke, patron saint of physicians and surgeons...pray for us!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Easter
Yeah, I looked at the calendar. While the beginning of the Easter season has passed, we're still in the octave, so this post is totally legit. Easter weekend was awesome. The kids were out of school, Scott was off work (hey, perk for working for the church) and we were in need of some serious family time that did not involve a hospital. God gave us our wish.
Thursday evening, Scott took the boys to Holy Thursday Mass. He said the Mass was incredibly touching. Fr. Danny washed 12 parishioners' feet, but it was how he did it that was so moving. As he washed each person's feet, he told them how much he appreciated their service to the church and how their gifts were glorifying God. We are so blessed to have priests like him. Our Diocese, State, Country and World are full of men like him. Praise God!
Friday morning, we headed to Dell Children's as part of the family service project, and donated lots and lots of books to the library. That was fun. We enjoyed lunch with my parents and while we had high hopes of me going to Mass with the girls, everyone completely broke down. In our wisdom, we opted to put everyone to bed early. Good parenting move.
We continued the festivities on Saturday. The Tucker's and Fr. Dean came over for lunch (wow, Thomas, you outdid yourself on the creole) and we let the kids loose. Basically, they just ran wild, but no one ended up bleeding so we considered it a perfect afternoon. Oddly enough, Fr. Dean took off shortly after lunch. Must've been the TEN kids that scared him off :-) Nah, we know you had to get ready for the Vigil...
We crashed for naps, laid out Easter clothes and rested up because we werecrazy smart enough to avoid the crowds and attend 7:30AM Mass. It was lovely. Aunt Amanda, Uncle Daniel and cousin Ava joined us and the kids were amazingly good. I think there were still in a somewhat sleep-induced state. Whatever it was, me like. When we arrived home, it appeared the Easter Bunny had visited and hidden their baskets. He's a sneaky one. Let the sugar rush begin.
After scraping them off the ceiling, we loaded up the troops and headed to Riverplace to meet the Kerners (another family of 7) for brunch. We had a blast, the mimosas were delish, the egg hunt plentiful and the conversation was so great. Kerners...thank you for such a fun morning.
After that craziness, we all took a much-earned nap and then the party got started again when my parents and cousin Ava and parents headed over for Easter dinner. The kids were so funny hunting eggs (don't you like Will's "arm move" with John Paul?) and the cascarones were a big hit once the kids figured out how to catch the adults off guard. How 'bout that egg to the head, Uncle Daniel?
Thursday evening, Scott took the boys to Holy Thursday Mass. He said the Mass was incredibly touching. Fr. Danny washed 12 parishioners' feet, but it was how he did it that was so moving. As he washed each person's feet, he told them how much he appreciated their service to the church and how their gifts were glorifying God. We are so blessed to have priests like him. Our Diocese, State, Country and World are full of men like him. Praise God!
Friday morning, we headed to Dell Children's as part of the family service project, and donated lots and lots of books to the library. That was fun. We enjoyed lunch with my parents and while we had high hopes of me going to Mass with the girls, everyone completely broke down. In our wisdom, we opted to put everyone to bed early. Good parenting move.
We continued the festivities on Saturday. The Tucker's and Fr. Dean came over for lunch (wow, Thomas, you outdid yourself on the creole) and we let the kids loose. Basically, they just ran wild, but no one ended up bleeding so we considered it a perfect afternoon. Oddly enough, Fr. Dean took off shortly after lunch. Must've been the TEN kids that scared him off :-) Nah, we know you had to get ready for the Vigil...
Don't those Godparents look cute?
We crashed for naps, laid out Easter clothes and rested up because we were
After scraping them off the ceiling, we loaded up the troops and headed to Riverplace to meet the Kerners (another family of 7) for brunch. We had a blast, the mimosas were delish, the egg hunt plentiful and the conversation was so great. Kerners...thank you for such a fun morning.
The Oldests - Luke and Will!
Big Luke and Little Luke :-)
After that craziness, we all took a much-earned nap and then the party got started again when my parents and cousin Ava and parents headed over for Easter dinner. The kids were so funny hunting eggs (don't you like Will's "arm move" with John Paul?) and the cascarones were a big hit once the kids figured out how to catch the adults off guard. How 'bout that egg to the head, Uncle Daniel?
On Monday, you already read about your jaunt and "interesting" lunch at the Grist Mill. All in all, I'd say score one for the memory books. We had an amazing time with family and friends, celebrating a pretty awesome resurrection.
He is risen!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Greats come to visit!
Over Will's birthday weekend, we had some very special visitors join us - Great Papa and Great Betty! Great Papa is my maternal grandfather and the kids love him and Betty to pieces. He and Betty act much younger than they really are, still travel, are in great health and always have good nuggets of wisdom to share.
They are a blessing to our family and I feel so fortunate that my kids have the opportunity to develop a relationship with a great-grandparent. How cool is that?
Here's hoping we get to see you both in Amarillo before long!
They are a blessing to our family and I feel so fortunate that my kids have the opportunity to develop a relationship with a great-grandparent. How cool is that?
The Greats and all the Grands :-)
Here's hoping we get to see you both in Amarillo before long!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Oh Happy Day!
Happy Baptismal Anniversary John Paul! Can't believe it's been six years. Our family is brighter, funnier and much more lively with you in it :-)
Sibling Tees
For weeks, I scoured cyberspace in search of some really cute sibling shirts. I didn't want something from Target (although, I do love me a good Target find), but rather something that was a keepsake for the kids. And, I didn't want it to cost an arm and a leg. I stumbled upon Zoey's Attic and immediately fell in love. When I called the owner, Erin, she was so gracious and helpful. And, she scored big points for not saying, "Oh my goodness, FIVE shirts!" Nope, she just said, "I'm so excited for you."
Sold.
We've worn them many, many times. But, I wasn't able to get the five kids together until a couple of weeks ago. I can't even begin to tell you how much it broke my heart not to have all the kids greet Luke for the first time in them, and for us to capture it on film. Shoot, he didn't even fit into the "newborn" onesie until he was nearly 5 months old! Now that I type that it seems so silly. I mean, really. They're shirts for goodness sake. For me, I think it was more the symbolism, the principle. It was just the fact that we had to admit that all was not 'normal.' Basically, I was avoiding reality. Eh, we all get a pass sometimes, right?
I think what it came down to is simple. After seeing Luke get so sick, I think I was just afraid that if something happened, we wouldn't have a family picture with Luke. And that meant a great deal to me. I'd carried him for eight months in my belly and now that he was "here" we had no proof that we had blossomed into a family of seven. We were disjointed, in different zip codes, just trying to survive.
So, when I share this photo with you, it's a bit of a milestone (even though Luke is clearly irritated!)...for many reasons.
Sold.
We've worn them many, many times. But, I wasn't able to get the five kids together until a couple of weeks ago. I can't even begin to tell you how much it broke my heart not to have all the kids greet Luke for the first time in them, and for us to capture it on film. Shoot, he didn't even fit into the "newborn" onesie until he was nearly 5 months old! Now that I type that it seems so silly. I mean, really. They're shirts for goodness sake. For me, I think it was more the symbolism, the principle. It was just the fact that we had to admit that all was not 'normal.' Basically, I was avoiding reality. Eh, we all get a pass sometimes, right?
I think what it came down to is simple. After seeing Luke get so sick, I think I was just afraid that if something happened, we wouldn't have a family picture with Luke. And that meant a great deal to me. I'd carried him for eight months in my belly and now that he was "here" we had no proof that we had blossomed into a family of seven. We were disjointed, in different zip codes, just trying to survive.
So, when I share this photo with you, it's a bit of a milestone (even though Luke is clearly irritated!)...for many reasons.
Friday, April 16, 2010
QOTW: April 16, 2010
"Why do you think you feel that way?"
Our couples' counselor. Yes, Scott and I took the plunge and started counseling. Most, if not all, of what we talk about there stays there (kinda like Vegas). I love my blog stalkers, but sometimes things don't need to be blasted in cyberspace :-) But, I just have to say this...I'm soooo glad we're there. Our marriage needs it.
"Are y'all EVER going to read Harry Potter?"
Will, all frustrated that Scott and I haven't even read book one, while he's finished all seven. We're working on it buddy. Promise.
"See you in five years!"
My favorite spine surgeon, Dr. Matthew Geck, at my yearly check-up! I'll write more about that visit next week. But seriously, y'all. That was like the best news ever.
"That's disgustin'."
ALG, regarding just about everything the boys do. I have to hide my face a little while I laugh, then ask her not to say it again. I need to work on my delivery. Hard to do when you believe her.
It's been a busy week. Scott and I keep forgetting what day it is. We're getting anxious about Luke's surgery on Wednesday. Spine surgery is never "routine." And, we're hoping to squeeze in a trip to the Strawberry Farm this weekend, too. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll get some posts up about Easter, the visit from the Great Grands and some other random things. Make it a great weekend!
Our couples' counselor. Yes, Scott and I took the plunge and started counseling. Most, if not all, of what we talk about there stays there (kinda like Vegas). I love my blog stalkers, but sometimes things don't need to be blasted in cyberspace :-) But, I just have to say this...I'm soooo glad we're there. Our marriage needs it.
"Are y'all EVER going to read Harry Potter?"
Will, all frustrated that Scott and I haven't even read book one, while he's finished all seven. We're working on it buddy. Promise.
"See you in five years!"
My favorite spine surgeon, Dr. Matthew Geck, at my yearly check-up! I'll write more about that visit next week. But seriously, y'all. That was like the best news ever.
"That's disgustin'."
ALG, regarding just about everything the boys do. I have to hide my face a little while I laugh, then ask her not to say it again. I need to work on my delivery. Hard to do when you believe her.
It's been a busy week. Scott and I keep forgetting what day it is. We're getting anxious about Luke's surgery on Wednesday. Spine surgery is never "routine." And, we're hoping to squeeze in a trip to the Strawberry Farm this weekend, too. We'll see. Hopefully, I'll get some posts up about Easter, the visit from the Great Grands and some other random things. Make it a great weekend!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Speechless
Just came across this appalling story. I don't know what's more replusive, the mother or the doctor who performed the procedure. This is the kind of world we live in. This is the kind of "choice" some lobby for on the capitol steps?
To Lucy, Mitch, Patrick and the many others we know, I thank God gave you such amazing moms who witness to so many people that every life is valuable and loved.
To Lucy, Mitch, Patrick and the many others we know, I thank God gave you such amazing moms who witness to so many people that every life is valuable and loved.
Luke Update, 4.15.10
Oh Lukabee, we love you so. Six months passed by quickly, too quickly. You're approaching your seventh month mark on April 18 and it makes me happy and sad, all in the same breath.
Estatically-over-the-moon happy that you made it to seven months. Because quite honestly, there were many moments we weren't sure we would have you one moment longer. You are happy and smiley and an eating machine. You have a big belly with two large scars which we have come to love. You have sweet blue eyes complimented by "the eyebrow" which shows you know way more than you're letting on...
Sad in that 1/3 of that time has been spent in the hospital. Some days I feel robbed of time with Luke. And as I write that it sounds horribly selfish because I know of moms who have already sent their babies to Heaven. I suppose I just wanted to have that time with him at home, on our couch, in our living room in a completely UNsterile environment. That just wasn't in the cards. As a good friend says, "We cry and then we move on." Don't we Lynnie? The sad is a small part and it gets smaller everyday.
A few weeks ago, just before Easter, we had the marathon day of doctor visits. And by marathon, I mean it. Four visits + shots. Nuts. Note to self: never do that again. Here's the skinny...
Gastro (Belly Doc)
Luke's belly is still distended (big and rotund), but it's soft and he's still got regular bowel movements. So, we've taken him off the antibiotics which were fighting the bacteria and letting him work it out, so to speak, on his own. So far, so good. If we notice any changes, we'll go back on the meds. But the bottom line is this: no surgery (right now) and a 3-month pass until June. Sweet.
Neph (Kidney Doc)
The kidneys are still small, but have grown since birth according to the ultrasound. And, he still has a pelvic kidney, meaning that it's a little higher than it should be, thus it doesn't have super great protection. At least we've ruled out any contact sports for his future. {insert heavy sigh of relief here} We'll repeat the check up and ultrasound in June. Double sweet.
Pediatric Surgeon
We got the follow-up pass until May. I'm thankful that we haven't seen Dr. Meyer on any "business" calls. I'm hoping we'll squeeze in a social visit next week when we're back at Dell. You know Luke, the social butterfly.
Neuro (Brain & Spine Doc)
This is the biggie. Mark your calendars. April 21, bright and early, we head back to Dell for surgery #4. He has a tethered spinal cord which needs to be released. Sounds scary, I know. Basically, babies are born with their spinal cord tethered to the top of their tailbone. As they grow, the spine moves up. In normal folk. But, Luke's is already tight and not moving up. If we don't do the surgery, he would eventually lose mobility in his legs as well as proper bowel function. So, this one has to be done before he hits his big growth spurt. He is in the able and awesome hands of Dr. Tim George, Chief of Neurosurgery at Dell. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. That's a "next week" post :-)
Shots
Quite nearly had a throwdown - ala Bobby Flay - with the 13-year-old looking nurse. I should clarify that when my kids get shots, I nurse them. I've always been a believer (and many a study will back me up here) that it helps ease the pain. So, when said teenage nurse pops off with, "It's just easier for me if you put him on the table..." I replied, "Well, it hurts him less this way, so that's the way we're going to do it." Then I gave her the Mom stare. Consequently, I won that battle.
We're thankful for the progress Luke is making. We know that the spine surgery will be a developmental setback (sleeping, sitting, rolling) but we will weather this storm, one lightning bolt at a time. All I know is this...when I wake up to this face, I'm full of gratefulness.
God is good. All the time.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Top Ten: Today's Missed Opportunities
I'm not sure why I was in such a melancholy mood today. Maybe it was because the 4-year-old gave herself bangs with the scissors, or because the boys were SO not nice to one another, or because I'm tired. Dunno. Either way you slice it, this is how today went down...
TOP TEN: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
1. Not enough loving.
2. Not enough playing.
3. Too much facebooking.
4. Too much texting.
5. Not enough cooking.
6. Not enough laughing.
7. Too much yelling.
8. Too much fighting.
9. Not enough praying.
10. Too much...stuff.
We'll do better tomorrow, right God?
TOP TEN: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
1. Not enough loving.
2. Not enough playing.
3. Too much facebooking.
4. Too much texting.
5. Not enough cooking.
6. Not enough laughing.
7. Too much yelling.
8. Too much fighting.
9. Not enough praying.
10. Too much...stuff.
We'll do better tomorrow, right God?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Before & After, Part VI: The Aggie Office
As any good Aggie would say, no house is complete without an Aggie room. Well...that's what we say anyway. I had the good fortune of having a boss who collected A&M stuff - and lots of it. When he was purging his collection a few years back, guess who he called? We love all things Aggieland related, clearly, and it reminds us of what great life lessons we learned in the "other" Holyland.
Integrity. Honor. Respect. Tradition. Friendship. Love.
You see, Scott and I met - on a blind date - under the dear old Quadrangle Arches. The rest, they say, is history. Yes, I do all my graphic design work in this room, but I am also reminded of a pretty special part of our wedded bliss here, too.
This room was the fifth bedroom, downstairs, tucked away in the corner. Quiet and cool. It just seemed like the perfect place for me to do some work. Oh, and pay some bills. And check facebook.
Integrity. Honor. Respect. Tradition. Friendship. Love.
You see, Scott and I met - on a blind date - under the dear old Quadrangle Arches. The rest, they say, is history. Yes, I do all my graphic design work in this room, but I am also reminded of a pretty special part of our wedded bliss here, too.
This room was the fifth bedroom, downstairs, tucked away in the corner. Quiet and cool. It just seemed like the perfect place for me to do some work. Oh, and pay some bills. And check facebook.
May I present, the before (yawn, yawn)
And the After!!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Good to know
I'm filing this tidbit away in the "good to know" category. In the past year, I've learned WAY more than the average Jane about insurance companies, claims, filings and voicemail prompts.
If you're curious why your homeowner's or car insurance just went up (or why you got dropped), check out this link. The report is totally free and might give you some insight as to what insurance companies know about you and your claim history. I found mine to be accurate, but I've learned that you never know what nuggets folks keep on your history. You can request a free copy every year. I highly recommend doing it.
You can also go here to check out your credit report. The score costs you $$, but the report is free.
This public service announcement has been brought to you by a slightly OCD mom of 5.
If you're curious why your homeowner's or car insurance just went up (or why you got dropped), check out this link. The report is totally free and might give you some insight as to what insurance companies know about you and your claim history. I found mine to be accurate, but I've learned that you never know what nuggets folks keep on your history. You can request a free copy every year. I highly recommend doing it.
You can also go here to check out your credit report. The score costs you $$, but the report is free.
This public service announcement has been brought to you by a slightly OCD mom of 5.
Friday, April 9, 2010
QOTW: April 9, 2010
I never really considered our family a freak show...until Monday, that is. Let me explain.
As part of our "Saturday Family Fun" project, which debuted this spring, we had a heck of an Easter weekend which I will tell you all about on Saturday. I'm going to fast forward to Monday.
Scott had the day off - love that perk - so we headed down to Gruene. The original gig was to head to San Antonio and eat at our favorite Italian hole-in-the-wall, Dough, but they were closed. At least we checked online before heading out the door. So, Gruene (for you non-Texans, it's pronounced "Green") it was. We were stoked about lunch at the Grist Mill. Seriously. If you have not had their chicken fried anything with a heaping pile of onion rings, capped off with pecan chocolate chip pie, then you, my friends, have not lived life fully.
The mill is an old cotton gin, turned restaurant, with sweeping views of the hill country, open air seating and fantastic food. It's a family favorite. The wait staff seated us and the stares and comments began almost immediately.
"1-2-3-4-5...wow," said one passerby.
Another shook her head.
Yet another quite nearly broke her neck counting our clan.
The stares were obvious and horribly uncomfortable.
Let me offer this disclaimer: the kids were absolute angels. No screaming, crying, fit throwing, yelling, punching, whining or otherwise in which to draw unnecessary attention to our table. In other words, the kids were perfect and we still got comments. Sheez. What's a mom to do?
I think the worst was a mom of two who was having serious behavior issues with her two-year-old (been there, done that) and she stopped at our table and proceeded to visibly count our children. Loudly. She then looks at Scott and says, "Man, y'all have FIVE and I only have TWO. I can't even keep mine under control." Then she took said screaming child back to her table.
Will looks over and says, "That was kinda rude, Mom."
Yes, yes it was.
I mean, it's not like I, or any of us, would walk up to a table of one child, look at the parents and exclaim, "Sheez. You only have one kid? When are you having another?" Because that would be...rude.
The one super bright spot was a kind gentleman, around 70 or so, that patted Scott on the shoulder just before we prayed over our food. He said to us both, "You're doing a fine job. Keep up the good work." I don't know who you are Mr. Green Ballcap man with a friendly smile. But I like you.
I realize that not everyone wants a big family. That's cool. But don't stare at us like we're caged animals. Just offer a, "You have a beautiful family" and keep walking. Because the reality is this. We all have beautiful families, if you have 0 children or 20.
After Will made his comment, Scott and I just smiled and then told the kids we loved each one of them. My parting question to Will was this, "What are big families, buddy?"
"A blessing," he replied.
As part of our "Saturday Family Fun" project, which debuted this spring, we had a heck of an Easter weekend which I will tell you all about on Saturday. I'm going to fast forward to Monday.
Scott had the day off - love that perk - so we headed down to Gruene. The original gig was to head to San Antonio and eat at our favorite Italian hole-in-the-wall, Dough, but they were closed. At least we checked online before heading out the door. So, Gruene (for you non-Texans, it's pronounced "Green") it was. We were stoked about lunch at the Grist Mill. Seriously. If you have not had their chicken fried anything with a heaping pile of onion rings, capped off with pecan chocolate chip pie, then you, my friends, have not lived life fully.
The mill is an old cotton gin, turned restaurant, with sweeping views of the hill country, open air seating and fantastic food. It's a family favorite. The wait staff seated us and the stares and comments began almost immediately.
"1-2-3-4-5...wow," said one passerby.
Another shook her head.
Yet another quite nearly broke her neck counting our clan.
The stares were obvious and horribly uncomfortable.
Let me offer this disclaimer: the kids were absolute angels. No screaming, crying, fit throwing, yelling, punching, whining or otherwise in which to draw unnecessary attention to our table. In other words, the kids were perfect and we still got comments. Sheez. What's a mom to do?
I think the worst was a mom of two who was having serious behavior issues with her two-year-old (been there, done that) and she stopped at our table and proceeded to visibly count our children. Loudly. She then looks at Scott and says, "Man, y'all have FIVE and I only have TWO. I can't even keep mine under control." Then she took said screaming child back to her table.
Will looks over and says, "That was kinda rude, Mom."
Yes, yes it was.
I mean, it's not like I, or any of us, would walk up to a table of one child, look at the parents and exclaim, "Sheez. You only have one kid? When are you having another?" Because that would be...rude.
The one super bright spot was a kind gentleman, around 70 or so, that patted Scott on the shoulder just before we prayed over our food. He said to us both, "You're doing a fine job. Keep up the good work." I don't know who you are Mr. Green Ballcap man with a friendly smile. But I like you.
I realize that not everyone wants a big family. That's cool. But don't stare at us like we're caged animals. Just offer a, "You have a beautiful family" and keep walking. Because the reality is this. We all have beautiful families, if you have 0 children or 20.
After Will made his comment, Scott and I just smiled and then told the kids we loved each one of them. My parting question to Will was this, "What are big families, buddy?"
"A blessing," he replied.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Random Bits
Read this article in USA Today yesterday and it made me smile :-)
My running shoes are temporarily out of commission. After all the hospital crazy, I decided God was trying to get my attention. So, I'm focusing on the Lukester and I'll resume training this fall. Cap 10k 2010 isn't on my radar, but 2011...you just wait. I'll be ready to kick some tail by then.
So exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open. Four hours of sleep a night (non-consecutive, I might add) is not enough. That must end. Soon.
Really happy we decided not have the kids in any after-school activities. It's made life a lot simpler around here.
I really, really love my husband.
That is all. I have a story, not quotes, for you tomorrow. And it's a doozie.
My running shoes are temporarily out of commission. After all the hospital crazy, I decided God was trying to get my attention. So, I'm focusing on the Lukester and I'll resume training this fall. Cap 10k 2010 isn't on my radar, but 2011...you just wait. I'll be ready to kick some tail by then.
So exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open. Four hours of sleep a night (non-consecutive, I might add) is not enough. That must end. Soon.
Really happy we decided not have the kids in any after-school activities. It's made life a lot simpler around here.
I really, really love my husband.
That is all. I have a story, not quotes, for you tomorrow. And it's a doozie.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Top Ten: Enough is Enough
In lieu of your regularly scheduled top ten, I couldn't let one more day pass without putting how I feel out here on the blog.
Mainstream media - NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, Yahoo, Newsweek, People, NY Times - all of ya. Zip it with the witch hunt on Pope Benedict and the Catholic church.
I'm certainly not saying that the priests who were sick and deranged enough to commit such heinous crimes against children should've stayed in active ministry. And, I'm not saying that those bishops who kept things quiet should be given a free pass.
But, I am appaled and horrified at the vengeance in which the mass media is attacking my church, my Pope and my faith with such biased coverage. It's shameful.
Lest we forget the emotional and heartfelt meeting Pope Benedict XVI had with abuse victims during his apostolic pilgrimage to the U.S. in April 2008. Go ahead, click on the link and read the story. Then come back here. I promise it's worth the read.
I am proud to be a Catholic Christian. And I am equally proud and honored to call many priests friends of our family. Several years back, as we were preparing to celebrate a priest's ordination at our parish, this poem surfaced and was printed on the program for the event. I've included it below.
Many of you may not know, but 2010 is the "Year of the Priest." I find it curious that during this year when we should be lifting priests up, praying for them and honoring them, the secular world is tearing them down at every turn possible.
To our friends in clerics, fear not. You have our prayers and we are honored to know you.
You baptized our babies.
You annointed our heads at confirmation, absolved us during reconciliation, fed us the Eucharist and made us witness to one another during the sacrament of marriage.
You held our hands and prayed with us when we thought we might lose Luke from this earthly world. And you rejoiced with us as his body healed.
You shared laughter and meals with us at our dinner table and tears in our living room as we mourned the loss of a baby to miscarriage.
You played basketball with our children.
You drank a glass of wine with us in Italy.
Prayed with us, inspired us and befriended us.
To each and every one of you, we say, 'thank you'. Your years of service and obedience to God do not go unnoticed.
And to the secular world, I say, shame on you. Shame on you for only giving your audience one side of the story. For assuming guilt, for giving Satan one more stronghold in people's minds. It's deplorable. Interesting that the story began to heat up, just as the church entered into its holiest time of year. Easter.
The juxtaposition is not lost on me. All those who yelled "Crucify Him!" on Friday, were begging for forgiveness and redemption come Sunday morning. He is risen, not just for those who believe, but for those who don't.
Mainstream media - NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, Yahoo, Newsweek, People, NY Times - all of ya. Zip it with the witch hunt on Pope Benedict and the Catholic church.
I'm certainly not saying that the priests who were sick and deranged enough to commit such heinous crimes against children should've stayed in active ministry. And, I'm not saying that those bishops who kept things quiet should be given a free pass.
But, I am appaled and horrified at the vengeance in which the mass media is attacking my church, my Pope and my faith with such biased coverage. It's shameful.
Lest we forget the emotional and heartfelt meeting Pope Benedict XVI had with abuse victims during his apostolic pilgrimage to the U.S. in April 2008. Go ahead, click on the link and read the story. Then come back here. I promise it's worth the read.
I am proud to be a Catholic Christian. And I am equally proud and honored to call many priests friends of our family. Several years back, as we were preparing to celebrate a priest's ordination at our parish, this poem surfaced and was printed on the program for the event. I've included it below.
Many of you may not know, but 2010 is the "Year of the Priest." I find it curious that during this year when we should be lifting priests up, praying for them and honoring them, the secular world is tearing them down at every turn possible.
To our friends in clerics, fear not. You have our prayers and we are honored to know you.
You baptized our babies.
You annointed our heads at confirmation, absolved us during reconciliation, fed us the Eucharist and made us witness to one another during the sacrament of marriage.
You held our hands and prayed with us when we thought we might lose Luke from this earthly world. And you rejoiced with us as his body healed.
You shared laughter and meals with us at our dinner table and tears in our living room as we mourned the loss of a baby to miscarriage.
You played basketball with our children.
You drank a glass of wine with us in Italy.
Prayed with us, inspired us and befriended us.
To each and every one of you, we say, 'thank you'. Your years of service and obedience to God do not go unnoticed.
And to the secular world, I say, shame on you. Shame on you for only giving your audience one side of the story. For assuming guilt, for giving Satan one more stronghold in people's minds. It's deplorable. Interesting that the story began to heat up, just as the church entered into its holiest time of year. Easter.
The juxtaposition is not lost on me. All those who yelled "Crucify Him!" on Friday, were begging for forgiveness and redemption come Sunday morning. He is risen, not just for those who believe, but for those who don't.
The Hands of a Priest
We need them in life’s early morning
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life’s woes.
When we come to this world we are sinful,
The greatest as well as the least;
And the hand that makes us pure as angels
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
At the altar each day we behold them;
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness!
Their dignity stands all alone.
Fore there in the stillness of morning
‘Ere the sun has emerged from the east.
There God rests between the pure fingers
Of the beautiful hands of a priest.
And when we are tempted to wander
To pathways of shame and of sin,
‘Tis the hand of a priest will absolve us,
Not once, but again and again!
And when we are taking life’s partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast;
But the hand that will bless and unite us
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy
For the Host which their fingers caress;
What can a poor sinner do better
Than to ask Him who chose thee to bless?
When death on our eyelids is falling;
May our courage and strength be increased
By seeing raised o’er us in blessing
The beautiful hands of a priest!
Unknown
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Bluebonnets!
And the spring Hill Country rite of passage has been achieved. Give it up from some hip-hoppin' bluebonnets in Central Texas. Looks like Clare enjoyed the photo the most.
First Bites
At 6 months, I guess it was time to give Luke something other than breastmilk. Man, it's just so much easier when all they do is nurse... Cereal day came...and went. After seeing the pics, I think you'll understand why we waited another week to give 'er a try.
The expectation
The taste
The "no thanks Jack"
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday Fun!
John Paul had two really fabulous PreK teachers last year, Mrs. Amber and Mrs. Lisa. Mrs. Amber also happens to be a really talented photographer. She decided to leave the school last year (boo!) to pursue her full-time photog dream (yea!). So I can't really be too mad that she's not ALG's teacher this year. We did get to keep Mrs. Lisa :-)
We've been trying to find a date for far too long for her to snap some photos of the fam. We finally carved some time out this weekend - check these out. Props to Granny Whitaker for finding those cute dresses and shirts for Easter.
Amber, many thanks! Did I hit the friend jackpot or what? So many talented peeps - all I have to offer in the talent department is some really rockin homemade chocolate chip cookies. If you live in Austin, you know the two photographers I love :-)
We've been trying to find a date for far too long for her to snap some photos of the fam. We finally carved some time out this weekend - check these out. Props to Granny Whitaker for finding those cute dresses and shirts for Easter.
Amber, many thanks! Did I hit the friend jackpot or what? So many talented peeps - all I have to offer in the talent department is some really rockin homemade chocolate chip cookies. If you live in Austin, you know the two photographers I love :-)
Looks like a Par-tay!
Oh indeed it was. We had 20 - yes twenty - third grade boys here for Will's birthday party. Truly, the Games2U trailer kept them occupied, quiet and sharing for a full hour and a half. Pandemonium didn't strike until we brought out the cake. Go figure.
I think this idea is brilliant. You don't have to plan a thing, the kids have a blast, the party is at your house and there's no clean-up. Does it get any easier?
We put a new twist on the celebration this year and asked Will's guests not to bring him a present - one look at our gameroom and you'll know that our kids have puh-lenty to play with on any given day. Instead, we asked them to join us in donating books to the Dell Children's Medical Center library.
On Good Friday, as part of our family service project during Lent, we trekked up to Dell and donated the books. It was great. All in all, I think we donated about 70 books. I'm quite positive there's a very happy patient, happily reading a book, because of all that generosity. Now that's something to celebrate.
I think this idea is brilliant. You don't have to plan a thing, the kids have a blast, the party is at your house and there's no clean-up. Does it get any easier?
We put a new twist on the celebration this year and asked Will's guests not to bring him a present - one look at our gameroom and you'll know that our kids have puh-lenty to play with on any given day. Instead, we asked them to join us in donating books to the Dell Children's Medical Center library.
On Good Friday, as part of our family service project during Lent, we trekked up to Dell and donated the books. It was great. All in all, I think we donated about 70 books. I'm quite positive there's a very happy patient, happily reading a book, because of all that generosity. Now that's something to celebrate.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
QOTW: April 2, 2010
"Mom, are you SWEATING?"
Will, to me after I came in from the backyard after raking leaves. He said it with such disbelief. And Scott practically laughed himself silly.
"Man, Dad's a machine."
John Paul, after watching Scott rake leaves.
"You have browns."
Clare, commenting on my eyebrows :-)
We are fully enjoying the Easter Triduum, which begins today. The boys went to Mass last night and I'll be taking them tonight. I'll be signing off while we enjoy the family time and reflect on Christ's Passion - in the holiest three days of the year. Catch up with us, come Monday.
Go have yourself a wonderful, blessed Easter!
Will, to me after I came in from the backyard after raking leaves. He said it with such disbelief. And Scott practically laughed himself silly.
"Man, Dad's a machine."
John Paul, after watching Scott rake leaves.
"You have browns."
Clare, commenting on my eyebrows :-)
We are fully enjoying the Easter Triduum, which begins today. The boys went to Mass last night and I'll be taking them tonight. I'll be signing off while we enjoy the family time and reflect on Christ's Passion - in the holiest three days of the year. Catch up with us, come Monday.
Go have yourself a wonderful, blessed Easter!
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