1. Angela Faddis. For those without facebook, you can watch this interview that happened live yesterday on Life on the Rock (about 3.30 - 14.00).
The song at the close of the interview had me in tears. I really have no words. Watch and pray.
2. It seems so trival to post much else after that, but in the way of keeping the world updated.
3. We survived two nights at the beach and camping with stiches. I think finally I am ready to put an "L" sticker on our car. We love "our beach". The weather was perfect, the kids had a great time, no ER trips = success.
4. Our well loved tent (of 10+ years) has officially gone in the trash. Not sure if we are purchasing a new tent or something say, a little more pop upish, but we will try to keep our beach on the annual agenda.
5. Another reason we love this beach....best crabs + seasoning ever! I kept Augie busy with the hammer, which probably equalled a top restraunt pick for my two year old as well.
6. In just 3 days my baby turns 5! Princess party in the works for the weekend. I think I am more excited than she is. The actual birthday will be spent chewing lots of bubble gum, as her first age-sanctioned restriction is lifted.
7. Well, I am 10 minutes passed the friday deadline and now publishing on Saturday. Goodnight all.
The last several weeks I have watched as friends post updates and prayer requests for a woman, a young mother, dying of colon cancer. Tonight, as I read updates and finally "like" the page, I can't help but contemplate the intimite moments shared across the world on social media.
After years of waiting, you see your friend finally adopt, and then raise a beautiful child.
Following a person from engagement through wedding, and maybe to a baby announcement.
Death.
Birth.
Life is all shared relatively publically with"friends"
Following the posts at "Support Angela Faddis" has been particularly moving. I can hardly put into words what this precious family is facing in real life. On facebook they look incredibly brave, incredibly trusting...and have incredible faith. In real life, I am sure they are this...but how incredibly hard these moments are and how profoundly they are shared.
This precious family has over 4600 likes, which equals that plus more "friends" and strangers, praying for them. Pleaes pray for the Faddis family as Angela nears heaven.
1. I am glad this week has come to a clothes close (leaving for posteriety because it speaks to my current state). It is a week to go down in the history of our family.
2. Tuesday (head injury at 2pm) to Wednesday (when my baby returned home at 9pm) were the longest 31 hours of my life. Labor was easier, totally.
For those that are interested in the whole story - obviously not a quick take: So this morning, after a good night sleep, I can probably share a bit more. After the injury (tues 2pm) we called our Ped. They scheduled us and saw us at 3pm then said they wanted us to be seen by a plastic surgeon. They sent us to the ER where we waited 2 hours until the plastic surgeon then asked us to come back the next day to his office the next morning (at this point feeling a bit stuck, I should have called back to our ped, but it was after 5pm). So...yall saw the posts about surviving the night with Augie and his head laceration. It was a long night. 8.30am arrive at doctors. 9am seen by doctor. he was very nonchalant. I am tired mom with son with lacerated head. Because I fed him breakfast (wish someone would have suggested i not do this) they could not schedule him until 8 hours after eating. He did offer to schedule him for Thurs morning but I did not want to wait another night. So...I choose to occupy my son and not feed him all day. 2:20pm - arrive at surgery center. Get checked in and start waiting. They bring us back to a long room of waiting people and stick us in a private room. Augie begins to scream and tantrum (no sleep, no food...sort of understandable). He screams for at least 45 minutes straight. People are talking to me and I hear very little of what they are saying. Anesthesia doc comes in and I say "oh thank God". And then he tells me it is going to be a long wait. There are 15 patients in front of us. I beg him for anything and he orders Valium. This calms Augie down and I sit cry in this room alone for well over an hour while he colors on himself with highlighters in a cage-crib. My friend, a nurse, called. I answered accidentally. I am not sure how she heard anything through my blubbering, but she encouraged me to ask for a patient advocate. 5pm. I ask for a patient advocate, she returns and says they will now take him back for surgery. My much needed husband arrives for back up so I can go home. 9pm, the boys arrive home. Augie looked wonderful, and happy and was eating everything in sight. So, we are doing better this morning. I just wished someone could have seen the whole picture and had compassion.
3. Picture proof.
My sweet sleeping baby
Thankful for food and eating pizza crust after his arrival back home
4. I am so grateful for friends and prayers. Without which I could not imagine what might have been.
5. Next subject! I am super excited to be "adopting" a friend's college bound "foster daughter". This is a long story, but my college roomate took in a teenager who has flourished and managed to get herself a couple of full ride offers. She choose a school very near me and we are happy to be a family away from home to her, since she is oh...about 20 hours from home. I am so inspired by her story and looking forward to getting to know her better in the coming years. Please pray for sweet E as she starts college in a land far away from anything familiar. She will do great.
6. My husband is starting a new job next week. Same company, working his way up the ladder. He will do so great! We are in the middle of a life transtion. He has given up his construction business to purse pursue a theology degree. Along the way he is supporting our family and thankfully working just a few minutes from our house. This new job means regular M-F hours and the return of a weekend, which will be so good for our family.
7. Immaculee Ilibagiza. She is amazing. If you have not heard of her, please check out her story via this brief interview. I am presenting to our parish council about the possiblity of haing her speak in our Church.
Happy Weekend and cheers to the safety of our children and survival of their mothers.
Sunday night I brought Catie to the ER for an infection on her leg. She had some bug bites from 2 weeks ago that she had been scratching and suddenly she had hard swollen areas on her leg, arm and back. This was my first ever trip taking a child to the ER. I guess she managed to get an infection. She is doing much better thanks to benedryl, antibiotic cream - and she was placed on antibiotics again.
Oh and I forgot to mention, but Rosie is also being tested for Lymes. She has abx prescription waiting for her at the pharmacy.
So...today. Augie slipped and fell into the bathtub and lacerated his forehead. Thanks be to God my husband walked in the door 5 minutes later as I was sitting on the floor frantically trying to dial his number. After a visit to the ped, we waited in the ER for the plastic surgeon...who was stuck in surgery and rescheduled us for 8.30am tomorrow moning. So, now I sit...with a lacerated child, praying we make it through the night.
I had to bump back Catie's follow up appointment and Augie's speech therapy to accomodate our morning tomorrow with the plastic surgeon.
Thank goodness for a happy boy...who is watching all the "monkey george" he wants tonight.
Update: Thanks for the inquiries and for all the beautiful families who responded. The birth parents are reconsidering parenting. Please pray for all involved. I firmly believe God uses these situations to move our hearts in one direction or another. Praying for all who responded as well.
I love being so blessed to help in the adoption match making process!
I just received a call and email about a 4 day old African American baby in Maryland. I have little info other than the biological parents want to sign consents and my contact works with the biological grandmother who is hoping/helping to find an adoptive family.
Please email me if you are home study approved, waiting & interested.
1. I have sat down in front of the computer so many times this past month and started a couple of unpublished drafts.
2. Will this get published?
3. Construction is moving SOOoooooo slow in our house. But for the first time ever, we are getting estimates to have a fence installed in our back yard. It is weird and wonderful to think of hiring someone to get something done around here. A fence will be heavenly.
4. Augie - does he or doesn't he have Williams Syndrome? Refresher, clinically diagnosed but the confirmation blood work has come back negative. Our pediatrician is sending him for an ECG and developmental pediatrician (on the wait list...it takes a year to get in) to be safe.
5. Catie...is FINALLY WALKING. You may remember I posted this a month+ ago. Well...she walked that day. Now, at 20 months, she has decided it is better to be upright. Praise the Lord. I am no longer scrubbing knees (hers and her clothes). Orthotic ankle braces coming soon.
6. What are you listening to these days?
Rosie and I are hooked on "Call me Maybe" and "Jungle Drum"
7. One more week of babysitting the 6 year old. The first half of our summer was good. The second half, much more challenging. Rosie and said 6 year old do not get along more often than not any more. It is a bit challenging on everyone. Counting down the days until the end of summer, one last/first beach trip and the start of Pre-K. Yes...we decided to enroll her at our parish school.
1. I have finally found someone to refrain from calling me a bigot long enough to share something of worth...Alleluia! Nameless friend of a friend's post "Sorry for going off on this
thread, this is apparently something I take very seriously and
personally. If you wouldn't mind reading this with an open mind, it
will explain exactly why. I apologize again, peace to all and have a
great day.
2. First...thank you to that person for being big enough to be kind and thank you to the blogger for being big enough to open the door to conversation.
3. My response "thank you for coming back,
editing and sharing this post. I am reading through this post with an
open mind. I have never heard many of the laws of discrimination
against being gay. Every person is entitled to be respected for their
personhood. I think it is important to know I am not trying to change
you and this is not about hate - which is disappointing when most of
these types of posts end in name calling. With regards to what this
blogger writes specific to CFA...I am not finding anything to back that
up as fact. Please know I am researching. I inquired to a friend who
sent me a link to refutations to many of these claims.
To respond specifically to two statements in his blog:
"Jesus had almost nothing to say about sexual behavior of any kind."
This is not truth. If you would do me the honor of reading a post near
and dear to my heart, my favorite former atheist explains it much better
than I ever could.
If you read or take anything from that...just know it is not about hate and it is not about taking away your person hood..."
4. The second statement "What has Chick-Fil-A ever done for you?"
I can't even put this into words, but I will try. CFA is more than
your average establishment and it is definitely not about overpriced
chicken. They support our local library
tremendously, they give books to my children rather than cheap plastic
toys, they have helped me celebrate my foster children becoming my
children, they have become a place that my kids can send shoe boxes of
gifts to needy children. They have daddy daughter date nights and
regularly support schools, churches, families with cancer with charity
nights. They are the ONLY place that when I walk in with my 3 little
children in arms, will bring a tray to my table and then provide a safe
place for them to run wild and free while I enjoy a few minutes of
peace. I am always greeted with a smile. Their customer service is out
of this world....their staff walk around and frequently provide refills
as if I was going to be tipping at a restaurant. And I know I will
receive this same service at ANY CFA I go to. It is why I choose CFA
for playdates, birth family gatherings and out of town get togethers.
THESE are the reasons that people turned out in droves to support them.
Honestly, it would have been the same regardless of the reason they
were attacked. We love CFA because it is more than just any old place
to us. THIS SAID....if I find out that any of the claims made are
true....then I will reconsider my relationship with this place. I
understand the emotion in the issue and it is a well written blog. It
just does not provide any evidence that the claims are based in truth.
5. To which I received the response to check out this breakdown of their charitable giving and was encouraged to google FRC.
6. For the record I happen to have a friend who is the wife of a CFA business owner. She had never heard these claims and googled for me (for which I am probably now on her look-it-up-yourself list). :-) From her I received this link which I found difficult to navigate and this link which is an easier read.
7. Now who wants to do all my research for me? There is SO much heated and emotional debate. REALLY, this is not about us hating gays. I don't consider being
against gay marriage being anti-gay...and that is the source of all this
heated FB anger. I know a gay person would disagree with me...but this goes
back to the article I posted (see #3). CFA appreciation day was about us appreciating CFA (see #4). Obviously, to this person it is so much more and thanks to an insightful blog post (see #1), I am hearing more than just name calling and starting to understand the explosion. In the end, this person and I are still going to find ourselves in opposite corners. I have yet to find truth in the argument against CFA but I am grateful to have come across one person willing to engage in a civil discussion. Happy reading.
