Tanner

Thanks for your continued prayers for our nephew/cousin Tanner.  There are so many different things happening with this little guy; it is hard to find the words to explain everything.  He has been diagnosed with having DiGeorge syndrome, (a rare chromosonal disorder which he would have had whether or not he had been born prematurely).  The fact that he was born at 29 weeks and is so tiny makes the DiGeorge symptoms a little harder for his body to handle.  Babies that are born at 40 weeks with these same heart conditions have about a 4 in 5 chance of surviving surgery.  He is stable, but has had a few complications (including some seizures today).

He is so tiny and fragile, it just breaks my heart.  We will just continue to pray that he keeps growing, he will soon be able to accept formula through an IV, and his heart will be able to withstand an operation in a few weeks.

Thanks for asking about Erick's family, bringing food over, and helping them find housing while they are here.  That means the world to us.

Little boy, unfinished floor.....

same boy, FINISHED floor.....

Oh how I love thee.

Erick held true to his promise of working on the house while we were out of town.  Wood floors were finished, bathrooms were tiled, walls were re-touched, and baseboards made their way from the garage to their designated locations.

In addition to the hundreds of hours of labor spent remodeling, Erick spent a little quality time becoming acquainted with his inner old man.  I walked into an immaculate house complete with laundry folded, not a speck of clutter to be found, and a complex laundry sorting method in my bedroom.  A hamper for blacks.  A hamper for lights.

Mind boggling.

I was gently reminded late last night before crawling dog-tired into bed about 'the sorting method.'  

"Did you mean to put these jeans into the light colored clothes?"  

"Why yes dear, I did."  (*probably not my exact words)

"Here, I'll just put them over here in this hamper."

"Great, thanks honey." (*probably not my exact words)

*Definitely not my exact words...

I'm thinking it will be a few days until Erick remembers why the house can not possibly stay in it's current pristine condition:

This guy

and all of his grimy, dirt-digging friends.

We'll take the grimy dirt-diggers any day.

So THIS is Kansas?

At least there was no shortage of huge trucks at our hotel.

Private lesson 

Theory class

Switching the mallet to the other hand....

My Mom helping Raegan at Group class

New friends

The Recital

Raegan and her teacher, Mrs. Sanford

A sea of violins.

It's morning, I think I'm alive.

I've just got to post something.  It's 5-something in the morning, Greyson is turned diagonally on the bed and is simultaneously flailing and crying every six seconds with exclamations of "No, no, don't do that!"  I have no idea what he's dreaming about, but he is making sleeping an impossiblity.  That's fine.  I really would rather be sitting on the towel-layered toilet in the bathroom with the door closed tap tapping on the keys as quietly as I can so as to not disturb my Mom.  Although I'm pretty sure my food poisoning episode in the middle of the night was disturbance enough to last a lifetime.

Applebee's.  Ottawa, Kansas.  Oriental chicken salad.

NEVER again.

Oh my goodness.  I'm barely breathing.

So dreaded are stomach viruses and food poisoning to my psyche, my body usually likes to prepare itself for 'pass out mode.'  Ringing in ears, oh my goodness I'm going to die, get on the ground in duck and cover position just praying for the miracle of blood to rush back into my head, and waking up prostrate to the floor in a Super 8 bathroom.  With no towel floor coverings because I was too busy trying not to pass out.

Next time I'm covering the floor.  That was NO DOUBT lower than yesterday's tent moment.

I can make it through childbirth and witnessing rural dentistry in Guatemala and Honduras, but can't make it through a little food poisoning bout in Kansas without passing out.

I'm ashamed.

The day can only improve from here.  It's our last day of camp, and tonight's the big recital.  Upon hearing that she would be performing with all of the kids on stage, Raegan's eyes got as big as saucers and she said, "Oh no I'm not."  

Oh boy.  I'm praying she didn't get the pass out gene from her Mama.  

I may take a couple of hotel towels just in case.............

Random Kansas thoughts late Wednesday/Thursday

I have reached a new low.  I'm composing this Random Kansas thoughts Thursday post on Wednesday night while hunkered in a makeshift 'tent' my mom fashioned for the kids in the corner of our hotel room.  Above my head - a comforter that has been washed twice since it's Super 8 debut in 1984, and below my body - a sheet acting as a barrier from carpet that has never been washed since it's installation.  8:30 bedtimes in a single room are a major hinderance to blogging and watching Fox news.  Sigh.

I'm sure my Mom thinks I'm a major germaphobe.  Before allowing myself the luxury of swimming in the green saltwater pool brimming with hairballs, I sprayed lysol on every single surface of the room, including the refrigerator, remote, and food preparation areas.  All hotbeds for germ habitation.  I know.....the bald guy on Oprah told me.  

Of course, my kids want nothing to do with the sterile surfaces I have prepared for them around the room.  They would rather roll around the comforters naked (gasp), eat the cheese they dropped onto the two-decade old crime scene carpets, and waller around the yucky bathtub like a couple of water deprived baby seals.

But what atrocities I won't endure for violin camp.

Walks of all kinds of life congregate in Ottawa, Kansas for two weeks of musical training and instruction.  Luckily for my Super 8 experience, we're just here for a week.  

We're having a great time, and I think I have caught the camp bug.  Not from the carpets, but from the joy of seeing all of these kids having fun and playing music at the same time.  It's like watching a big family reunion take place.  Instead of weird relatives, potluck, and politics, it's just weird musicians, picnics, and practicing under trees.

Kidding.  Sort of.  

Greyson has been the hit of his 'sibling class,' which is really like an early childhood musical class.  It's hard to explain, but it's much like our 'mommy and me' swim lessons, (except there's no water involved and focuses on music, singing, nursery rhymes, and some instruments.)  The first day he was so shy (which is really unlike him) and didn't want much to do with taking a turn playing the instruments.  Yesterday was a breakthrough and he decided to shuffle up to the xylophone with his big lumbering pigeon-toed feet and tell the teacher and a room full of twenty other people about his shoes and owies.  "I got my shoes on."  "I got an owie."  And then proceeded to stick his finger in his nose (usually an insecure move that is just a finger in the mouth.  Unfortunate that it was in the nose on his debut xylophone performance.)  The teacher promptly semi-laughed and said, "Why don't we try the mallet in your OTHER hand."  

Oh, little boy.  You keep me laughing.  And sanitizing.

I could probably keep going on about the wonders of the week, but my scalp is crawling with whatever debris is falling from the ceiling of my tent.  

I have missed blogging the last few days.  For better or worse, I'm back.

(And p.s.....thanks for the prayers for my sister-in-law and baby Tanner.  Thanks to a good friend with the keys to an apartment (you know who you are), they are staying in an beautiful space rent-free for the next few weeks.  I'll keep you updated on how he's doing.)

Prayer request

I'm still in Kansas, but wanted to ask for your prayers for Erick's sister and her baby.  Tanda (his sister) went into premature labor two days ago and had to deliver her baby by c-section.  She delivered in a small town, so the baby had to be medi-flighted to Children's hospital in the city.  Tanner is 29 weeks old, and besides for being premature, has a hole in his heart and an under-developed aeorta.  Both of these things can probably be corrected with surgery, but he has to get a lot stronger first.  This could mean up to weeks and/or months in the hospital.

Erick is with his mom, sister and a couple of relatives who are all in town.  This is really hard for all of them because in addition to concern for the baby, they live three hours away, and are going to have to be away from jobs and family indefinitely.

We appreciate your prayers!

Kiss nesting dolls

sitting on my toilet.

Only at my house.