Staring at angels

Twas certainly a day for the books!!

Gavin awoke complaining of a headache and a sore throat. He seemed in good spirits and otherwise normal. I wondered of perhaps he just had a case of school-itus. Upon further investigation there were, however, a couple of white spots in his throat. He continued to complain over breakfast that now his belly hurt. After that I dismissed him back up to his bedroom and continued getting Greta ready. Nora and I walked Greta up to the bus stop, which as I write this seems like several days ago. If that is any indication of how this day has been!?

I decided to have Gavin seen by the pediatrician to have him tested for strep. He was his usual jovial self on the way there and on until we were in the room waiting to be seen by the doctor. Nora was exceptionally well behaved and slept for most of the time that we were out.

He has a look of his sister!

The test came back negative and the doctor didn’t really see any reason why Gavin shouldn’t go on to school. So that’s where he went afterwards.

The rest of the morning and afternoon were relatively uneventful. I was relieved to have my shoes delivered that I ordered at the last minute for my sister Emily’s wedding this weekend. I was even more relieved that they fit! I was in a great mood–proud of myself that I got out of the house with Nora on my own, and happy to have my shoes. Things must have been going too well, I guess.

In a matter of 10 minutes the cat had another violent seizure, Nora became grumpy, and I was reminded of Gavin’s tux fitting appointment in a half an hour from then.

Unless I suddenly transformed into an octopus, it was impossible to bring the cat in a carrier to the vet with a baby in a carrier on oxygen. Not to mention the kids were about to walk in the door from school, one of which needed to  somehow be across town in 30 minutes. And Nora was pestering for a bath. I can’t wait until I can read this back as an old lady and laugh about it. Because it sure wasn’t funny this afternoon.

William was able to leave his job site that sounds like it also had O Fortuna blaring at it. Gavin got to his tux fitting a few minutes late. Nora got her bath, and the cat… is still alive. The vet wasn’t in when I called but will return my call tomorrow. SIGH.

I walked outside this evening to take the garbage out and was amused by the contrast of the outdoors from everything going on inside. It was nice to trade the sound of crying baby, disgruntled kid, whirring dish washer and ringing phones for the sound of crickets and distant train whistles. Even for just the 2 minutes I was outside!!

Nora has an appointment with the cardiologist bright and early tomorrow morning – 7am. Please pray that evidence of God’s healing touch will be evident in the tests that are performed on her precious little heart.

The Lord  is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
(Psalm 9:9 NIV)

Another sunny, beautiful day with the coolness of Fall in the air. A day not unlike the September 11th eleven years ago. No one woke up that day with any inkling about what was going to happen that day, but it happened any way. William and I were on our honeymoon in Maui on September 11, 2001 and didn’t learn of the attacks until 6 hours after it had happened because of the time difference. I remember sitting glued to the television for hours on end watching story after story of people searching for loved ones. Posters, flyers, photographs all representing  the quest for a precious loved one. I don’t have any answers for this one, but I feel certain that God didn’t cause it to happen. I also know that when evil and heartache manifest themselves into our lives, that God will turn it around and make something beautiful of it all. My heart breaks for all of the families and friends of the victims. I pray that the gift of time has helped alleviate that terrible sting of loss, and that they will rejoice in the promise of eternity — everlasting life.

Nora has completely recovered from her cold! She’s back to eating like she did and I was also able to lower her oxygen back down to an 8th of a Liter!! She’s been in a great mood today with lots of things to say and lots of sweet smiles.

Just as soon as Nora is over her cold, Gavin came home from school complaining about a headache. As the evening progressed he started complaining that he felt hot and that he was congested. It seems like no matter how diligent we are about washing our hands and keeping our hands off of our faces we turn into a line of dominos, one by one we get knocked down. Please pray that these illnesses stay away from us and especially Nora!

On our way home from Greta’s dance class this evening, Greta saw something incredible. She sees bird trios all over the place, but this was pretty awesome:

Close up of the center trio

Soooo glad I had my camera for that!!!!

I somehow need to figure out time to update this blog during the daylight hours. I’ve said it before, but this time I really mean it. Here I am exhausted again as I was last night. I did fix yesterday’s shoddy post, btw.

Goodnight and God bless!

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
(Psalm 86:15 NIV)

Bright and early! I’m still sleeping so sweetly!

I dream of milkies and baffs.

Ooh! Good morning! Did I oversleep???

I start the day off with a baff in my mini-tub!

I hung out with my Mommy all day and then my brudder and my sister came home from school and then Daddy came home. (Clap hands, clap hands till Daddy comes home.)

The weather was so nice we got to hang out on the back deck for a little bit. I like to listen to the birdies singing and the feel of the breeze!

Me and my sister love each other so much!

She takes such good care of me!

Here’s me impersonating a green little froggy.

* All of Patches’ blood work, tests, etc. did not show anything that would cause seizures. Still no idea what is wrong, but at least she’s back home and relaxed!! Details tomorrow.Thank you for your prayers!!!

I am mentally exhausted after the turn of events involving one of our cats this evening. Patches is actually Greta’s cat that she got as a kitten for her birthday last year. Instead of presents for herself we told her that if she asked for donations to the animal shelter she could have a kitten. That was a no brainer for Greta!

Any way… Patches was curled up behind me on my computer chair at about 6:30 this evening. I was attempting to answer some long overdue correspondences when suddenly Patches started jerking around behind me. For a second I thought she got one of her claws stuck in the chair fabric. When she fell to the floor, I quickly realized she was having a seizure. I was completely terrified and screamed for William, who does so much better than I do in these emergency situations. After it was over, Patches began running around the house with a puffed tail, loudly meowing… behavior I recognized the other day as well. This obviously wasn’t the first time this had happened. I wonder how long this could have been going on – how easy it could happen while she was hidden away under a bed. The meowing and puffy tail was simply attributed to typical crazy cat behavior. I didn’t think too much of it.

Of course this stuff ALWAYS happens after hours and/or on the weekend, be it with kids or pets. We had to bring her in to the emergency vet clinic where she’ll be overnight. I called around 10 this evening to check on her. Based on blood work, any metabolic disorders have been ruled out. Calcium and red blood cell counts were slightly elevated, but no cause for alarm. They were waiting on tests to rule out any type of cancer or seizure disorders. We’ll find that out in the morning when we go to pick her up at 7 am.

Never a dull moment around here!! I didn’t mean to turn this into Cat Blog, but that’s what has me in a fat funk.

Nora had a good day! She had a record day of feeding and seems to be getting over her cold. She took good naps and had only a few interludes of crabbiness that she unleashed on us. She’s been a little bit of a tyrant for her friends that come to stay with her at night. I’m beginning to wonder if she’s entering into that clingy stage. She definitely knows who her Mommy and Daddy are!

Please pray that Nora gets some good sleep tonight, which in turn will allow us to get good sleep too! Please also pray for poor Patchy. 😦

I just take baffs all day long…

I know how to get what I want!

Dis towel is delicious!

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14 NIV)

I'll have one baths, please!

I didn’t get a chance to put a post up last night because a certain little someone in our family decided that she wanted to stay up very late. Then the threatening weather was upon us. I gathered up all the necessities lest the electricity should go out and then attempted to get some sleep once Nornor fell asleep. Just as I started to doze off, a deafening crack of thunder nearly caused me to snap my spine in half from jumping up off of my pillow at 100 mph. If William wasn’t already sharing his bed upstairs with a hyperventilating 7-year-old little girl, he certainly was now!!

Children of the Storm

About an hour later my sleep was once again interrupted by my phone making some weird emergency alert sound that I’d only heard it do once before. Upon further investigation it was indeed an emergency alert: TORNADO WARNING IN YOUR AREA. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

Um… Okay then!!! Looking around at everything I needed to bring down into the basement, I decided I needed further information and turned on the TV. Fortunately we were in no immediate danger as we were not in southern Boone County. As a courtesy I DID text William upstairs that there was a tornado warning (question mark) and went back to sleep.

It figures the night that Nora sleeps great that that the weather would freak out!

Yesterday night Nora was exceptionally crabby and it proceeded on into the next day. I became a bit nervous when I monitored her oxygen level and saw that it would drop considerably when I put her oxygen flow back down to an 8th of a liter. We’d boosted it up to ½ a liter or sometimes ¾ liter when her boogies were at their worst – just to make sure something was getting through. She didn’t seem so congested anymore which is why I experimented with lowering back down. We wondered if her oxygen saturation had anything to do with her unusual fussiness and felt that an assessment by Dr. Bolling was in order.

Of course we got there and Nora made a total liar out of us. She was happy as a baby in a bath tub! She had lots to say to Dr. Bolling and didn’t have any obvious symptoms that raised any red flags. The oxygen desats are very typical with a cold, and she does still have it. We surmised that Nora missed Dr.Bolling and just wanted to come in to say hi! He did prescribe some amoxacillin as a preventative measure on the off chance that her ears were giving her trouble, or if there was some sort of sinus infection going on. Her ear canals are so tiny, it’s almost impossible to see if there is anything going on in there. Sigh of relief and a big fat reminder to STOP WORRYING!!!!

Also yesterday we were excited to hear of another little girl that lives locally with full trisomy 18. She is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD! Our mutual contact is going to see about putting us in touch with one another! I’ve been so excited to hear about this! Of course I have talked with several other families online or on the phone with children who share the same extra 18th chromosome as Nora but I have never met any of these children in person. Before Nora was born I had never even heard of trisomy 18 / edwards syndrome. I love how there are groups and organizations focused on children with downs syndrome. It seems like these families get to join another great big precious extended family. So many of these awesome families have befriended me even before Nora was born and I am so incredibly blessed by that. While there are some similarities with these extra chromosomes, such as the heart defects, they’re still different. Not knowing any other trisomy 18 children in person can be a little scary. They are so rare to begin with, but also rare that they survive. (I logically realize that and do NOT like or need to be reminded of that.) To hear of a girl locally who is EIGHTEEN gives me so much joy and hope. Obviously this child has been cared for by doctors and specialists throughout her life who were eager and ambitious despite her diagnosis. We definitely have been bestowed with like-minded doctors. I am wowed by the prevenient grace that God has heaped upon us – that we live 20 minutes away from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation. We never knew a child of ours would be dependent on unprecedented medical care. But God did. And here we are.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
(Acts 17:26 NIV84)

These days are long, but they go by so quickly. Intermittent bouts of fear and uneasiness creep in so easily when things are a little “off”. Nora’s lingering cold is much to blame for her fussiness, but in my mind I am quick to attribute it to something horribly wrong. Her heart, her lungs, she sleeps too much, she sleeps too little, and on and on and on.

Because the water is really the only place Nora is guaranteed to be happy, she had a total of 3 baths today.

BATH ONE

BATH TWO

Nora is always excited to see her brother and sister when they get home from school.

That second bath did wonders. Happy Baby was back in full effect. However, Happy Baby doesn’t always stick around too long and we get stuck with Sad Baby. Bath Three was in order:

BATH THREE

We wonder if she’s really a little mermaid. She’d be content to float in the tub all day and night listening to Heavenly Lullabies on Pandora. The life!!

Goodnight!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.
(Proverbs 3:12 MSG)

Check back tomorrow! Me n’ Mommy fell asleep!

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Hi, it’s me Nora! I guess 3 am is officially “tomorrow”! I’m up for a feeding so I figure I’ll update while I’m awake!

Yesterday I had a nice day with my Mommy.

These boogies sure are taking their time about getting out of my nose!

But I'm in good spirits!

It was nice to get back to the 'gym'!

I feel like I haven't worked out in forever!

Check out the THREE LITTLE BIRDIES around my head (those are the only 3 on the whole mat!)

Nothing like a warm soak after a tough work out!

Nana came over and stayed with me for awhile while Mommy finally got her hair 'did'.

When Mommy got home Gavin and Greta put the final touches on her hair and gave her a total makeover.

Doesn't Mommy look fabulous??!!

Because of the Lord ‘s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

I peeked ahead to the next day (Sept. 5) of my Jesus Calling devotional:

I am your best friend as well as your King. Walk hand in hand with me through your life. Together we will face whatever each day brings: pleasures, hardships, adventures, disappointments. Nothing is wasted when it is shared with Me. I can bring beauty out of the ashes of lost dreams. I can glean joy out of sorrow, Peace out of adversity. Only a Friend who is also the King of kings could accomplish this divine alchemy.

There is no other like Me! The friendship I offer you is practical and down-to-earth, yet it is saturated with heavenly Glory. Living in My Presence means living in two realms simultaneously: the visible world and unseen, eternal reality. I have equipped you to stay conscious of Me while walking along dusty, earthbound paths.

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I smiled as I read it because this has become such a reality to me. My days and nights are so much more beautiful when I make the conscious effort to include God in them. The days that I am not mindful of God’s presence are often filled with unexpected bouts of anxiety, anger or sadness.

I recently watched an interview of an atheist arguing the validity of God. I was amused by how much effort she put into trying to dissuade the viewer from believing in God. I was amused, but also saddened by the probable reality that this atheistic woman was so intent on denying God’s existence, that of course she was missing His Presence. If she’s never experienced God’s Glory by choosing to shield herself from it – then no, sadly God doesn’t exist. For her.

In a way this is comparable to a deaf person arguing about the reality of music and sound. If they’ve never touched something to feel the vibration of sound, proof that it exists, how would they know?

My perception of God was often viewed through a hazy sheet of glass. I could see glimpses here and there if I squinted and peered hard enough. Then Nora came along, as a bottle of spiritual Windex and cleared all the “schmootz” off the glass. Not only do I see God’s glory more vividly, but the Son shines through all the clearer–saturating me.

Here is a video of one of Nora’s baths today:

She still has a little bit of a cold, but seems to gradually be getting better. Here are pictures from today of the sweetest little 20 week old:

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 8:13-14 NIV)

The soggy morning light filtered in through the crack in the heavy hotel curtains. In what seems like no time at all, my fat little bald-headed cherub has grown up into the beautiful brown-skinned little girl that lay sleeping beside me. Gone are her adorably sqeezable arm and leg rolls, the kissable dimples on her knuckles, her chunky cheeks. Although she has grown taller and thinner she has not lost any of her baby sweetness. I smiled at her as she opened her eyes and looked over at me trying to figure out where she was. She reciprocated a tired smile and closed her eyes again, trying to pinch a few more minutes of sleep.

Not used to sleeping past 6am, I was up for the day. The smell of coffee beckoned from the lobby, reminding me that breakfast was in progress. After breakfast, we decided we should probably go swimming since we didn’t get to last night.

We swam in the pool and soaked in the hot tub, wondering what Nora was doing and missing her. Although we had a terrific time and a very fun, restful night we couldn’t wait to get back home to see Nora. Greta couldn’t get her seat belt off fast enough and dashed into the house once we were home. I followed behind her, slowed down by my bag and a Hello Kitty back pack. I’d been warned of Nora’s fussiness, but was relieved at the absence of crying when I walked through the front door. None the less a bathy was still in order!

I'm happy my Mom and my sister are back home!!

I still have a lot of boogies and these bathies make me feel so much better!

Aaaah.

Mmmmmm. Milkies.

Snora Nora

I’d missed my hubzbind too. But no sooner did we kiss hello, he and Gavin were off to Kings Island for their day out.

Nora took a lengthy nap after her bath. Being well rested I used the opportunity to catch up on some laundry and neglected household duties. Greta was happy to have the company of Gavin’s friend Matthew. He had come down to play with Gavin, but figured hanging out with Greta was better than nothing on a rainy afternoon and happily took on the role of “surrogate big brother” in Gavin’s absence. Greta was happy to have someone to play Legos with!

Eventually the guys were back home with tales of roller coasters and more roller coasters. When they were about 2 minutes from home Gavin exclaimed, “Wwooooaaahhhh!!! Look!!” In the direction of Gavin’s pointing finger was a brilliant double rainbow prominently displayed against the backdrop of dark clouds.

Just a little something to brighten your spirits when everything seems a little dismal and “off”. William pulled over to take a couple of pictures.

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (Genesis 9:13 NIV)