Archive for the ‘Grace’ Tag
The truth about Twelve
Filed under: God, Reflection | Tags: God, Children, Grace, Hope, Be the change
Leave a Comment Twelve is nine weeks now and a joy to all of our lives.
She will undergo open heart surgery in just 28 days.
I spend a lot of time just rocking her.
Six asked me if I ever got bored doing that.
Sounding a lot like Seven I said, “what…showing her God’s love?”
Maybe Seven is rubbing off.
At another time in my life I probably would not have had the time to spare for her…too many meaningless meetings to attend and so-called important memos to write.
But the truth is three other families considered taking her into their home and then turned her down.
Too much work?
Too much risk?
A ship is safe in harbor – but that’s not what ships are for.
God is in the business of saving lives.
We are in the business of helping God save lives.
But here’s the question…arr we saving Twelve…or is she saving us?
From selfishness?
From not caring?
From a wonderful to show the world the love God has shown us?
To be that conduit of God’s love?
Yes…yes…yes…
Best way to nap
Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized | Tags: Children, Grace, Together Time
Leave a Comment Everyone has their opinion about the best way to nap.
Some define best by the position…prone or in a chair.
Some rank their naps by the comfort of the chair, couch, hammock or whatever.
Others rate their naps by the time of day.
Still, some people consider whether the nap is a stolen time…like while their wife is out shopping.
But I think the best way to nap is with a baby on your chest.
I’ve had the privilege of doing this for 27 years…never getting tired of it…pun intended.
For one thing they (babies) smell great (except when they have a dirty diaper).
And somehow, you or they sync your breathing.
Then they make cute little noises.
Best of all…you usually don’t get chastised for napping because you are also baby sitting.
Often I’ve been sentenced to baby holding with the words, “Twelve is crabby…see if you can get her to sleep.”
Throw me in the briar patch.
Big family defined by Seven
Filed under: Reflection, Seven | Tags: Children, Big Family, Grace, Blessings
Leave a Comment Seven related a conversation he had with a girl in his high school summer school class today.
She asked him what it is like to be a part of a big family.
These stories always scare me because you never know what Seven will say, being autistic.
Then again, Seven’s comments have been fodder for good posts, term papers and even college entrance essays.
So Seven told her, “it’s like a place where you are loved no matter what you look like or what’s wrong with you.”
Choke…sob…he did it again.
Maybe I will write that novel, only as the ghost writer for Seven.
He went on to say that coming from a family like ours it is easy for him to easily accept other people he meets.
A reminder of the fragility of life
Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized | Tags: Blessings, Children, God, Grace
Leave a Comment So we were in Lincoln Park scoping out Four’s possible new digs for next year.
Seven called from the back of the car…”Ten doesn’t look so good!”
Yikes – she was having a siezure!
We had only seen this once before…about three years prior…and that was scary!
I still have the image burned into my brain of a small three-year-old on a gurney in the ER with 14 doctors and nurses anxiously hovering over her.
Three days later she was ready to go home but we knew she would forever be prone to seizures.
Three years is a long time…time to be lulled into forgetting about bad stuff.
But just when you think everything is going smoothly…when you are half way through your TO Do list…the unexpected pops up.
This was a reminder of the fragility of life.
Not something that could be hugged away like a oowieee or a loose tooth.
She needed professional medical attention and fast!
But we were in traffic in the middle of nowhere.
Not exactly the middle of nowhere…that DMZ between downtown Chicago and the ‘burbs.
What kind of hospitals do they have around here?
Then Four sprang into action.
She jumped into the back seat and began talking softly to Ten while relaying her condition to me.
I pulled a fast U-Turn and floored it for Children’s Memorial.
Four kept Ten awake and her brain focused.
The longest 12 minutes of my life!
In the ER she came to life the minute they stuck her with an IV. Thanks God!
Two hours later we were on the way to McDonald’s to get her favorite meal.
Thinking about the days events as a dozed off, it occurred to me that we saved her life today. We know God saved her life but we get credit for an assist.
What a reminder of the fragility of life and the role we can play in each other’s lives.
We’re watching each other very closely and carefully right now but I’m sure we’ll start taking each other and life for granted in a few…
But I hope we don’t!
I heard birds this morning
I can’t say that they woke me up this morning…I have too many other helpers who take that responsibility 
seriously…and they are all back fast asleep now.
But I hear the birds…they’re back!
I can remember a time when the birds meant I had to get up and drive 20 miles to spend the best part of the beautiful day inside doing things I really didn’t want to do.
But now the birds are a wonderful reminder that it will be a beautiful spring day that I can spend with those who mater most in my life.
Blessings do come in disguise sometimes.
I want to savor every day the birds wake me up this season.
The next three seasons are like my manna from God that only lasts for the day. It can’t be stored up so it must be consumed…enjoyed…for the day.
Isn’t that like our lives?
So I’m up for fresh air, sunshine, exercise, outdoor work (even picking up after the dog is a joy when you don’t have to wear a coat), and grilling for eleven.
What a gift to be able to open and enjoy God’s gifts in the midst of the world’s confusion.
Said another way…finding hope in the midst of calamity!
Eating crow
Not really…not literally.
Please don’t mention this post to the humane society Nazis or they’ll have me arrested.
But I will be the first one to report that I learned something from the tattooed ones.
They made me aware of the fact that we could do some things for our beloved family pet that could ease her pain…improve her condition…and put more bounce in her step.
Good News…her $283 blood test showed that she was basically in good health.
She does have a bit of a thyroid problem and arthritis.
And she is now on three medications twice a day.
Her prescription for thyroid pills was only $38.
We only have to take her in for more blood work in a month to see what impact the medication is having.
But, she appears much more agile to all of us..she actually jumps onto her favorite hassock.
She sleeps less and wants to give us her paw all the time.
I wonder if I could take the pills?
I guess she is saying, “thanks for waking up bonehead!”
Too bad we can’t add her to our medical insurance.
But she has given us ten and a half good years and is the best dog in the world…hands down.
She is worth it.
Sorry puppies. Someone else will adopt you.
Rejected
I feel so dirty…unworthy…rejected.
We hoped to adopt a new puppy but were turned down by an animal shelter.
Our family pet is ten years old.
She is at least 20 pounds overweight.
She may have arthritis and possibly a thyroid problem.
That’s our fault?
Moreover, a key condition of the adoption was our dog’s acceptance of the new puppy.
So a “get-to-know-each-other” visitation was scheduled.
We took our pet to the vet, to be sure she was up on her shots etc.
We had satisfied the state, county and our village but the humane society has stricter standards.
We took her to the beauty salon for a shampoo and pedicure.
We squeezed her into the car for a 30 minute drive to the visit.
We waited 30 minutes amid countless barking dogs and screeching cats.
Three or four brutes tried to attack our baby.
By the time we had our inaugural visit our gentle family pet was thoroughly traumatized.
We were placed in a small room and instructed not to speak to or touch our dog.
In bounced the puppy.
Our pet for a decade didn’t even sniff her.
Trembling, she looked at us with liquid brown eyes that screamed, “get me out of here!”
That’s when the handlers (humane society nazis), “tweedle dee and tweedle dumb” started in.
Shaking their heads like a physician reading the chart of a stage 4 cancer patient they both said, “it doesn’t look like its working.”
Duh!!!
Now these people are not the kind of people we would normally hang with. None of my friends have hair dyed pink, multiple piercings or so many tattoos that they look like clothing.
I don’t know how they could cluck so loud with a tongue piercing.
On top of this they berated me for not taking better care of our loving pet.
Why wasn’t she on analgesics for her arthritis?
What kind of dog food do you feed her?
You vet says you haven’t ever purchased heartworm medicine.
Can you believe they called our vet to check up on us?!!!
This was more like an interrogation in a concentration camp for both of us.
Se we left with our heads down and our tails between our legs.
Rejected and dejected.
Ahhhh…there is a happy ending.
What a difference it makes to come home to reality and normal people.
You don’t have to go far to find a support group of other folks who have been abused by those dedicated to prevent animal abuse…people void of excessive tattoos and piercings, I might add.
We’re not alone.
I have shared my story and when I finished we all chanted, “they’re only dogs!”
I am a good dog parent.
I do deserve to adopt a puppy.
After all, if you can adopt a human, a puppy should be a piece of cake (or at least a dog yummy).
This isn’t the end of the story…
Another 15 minutes of fame
Andy Warhol coined the phrase, “15 minutes of fame”.
It’s an expression that refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity in the eye of the media then passes on to the next celebrity.
Your mother and I were runner’s up by our local newspaper as Villager’s of the Year.
We were beat out the new police chief.
All he did was cut serious crime by 28%.
I guess that trumps being parents to 75 foster children over the past 18 years.
There’s no check involved…just glory.
Thanks to our friends at the local newspaper for noticing.
The real joy comes from the privilege of being able to step up to the plate when your number is called.
To show God’s love to the least of His children.
Thanks for the opportunity.
A gift I could have missed
Want to know what makes my day these days?
The expression on the face of Ten when she first sees me when I pick her up from school.
When Nine looks up at me, smiles, and says, What are you makin us for dinner Dad?”
Or when she says, “I loved the picture you drew on my lunch bag today…all the other kids just have their names.”
When I lay next to Ten of Eleven to tuck them in at night…when its silent…and they sigh and say, “I love you daddy!”
Going to breakfast mid-morning with my wife.
There are lots more.
I find myself counting my blessings more then ever before.
It was great raising One through Five…most of the time…and there is still raising to be done.
Then we got a second shot with Six, Seven and Eight.
Now its deja vu with Nine, Ten, and Eleven.
And God willing we are not finished – ourselves or with grandchild One that hasn’t arrived on the scene.
I’ve lived multiple lives. I’m living multiple lives. It’s like Ground Hog Day (the movie) but I don’t think I’m trying to get it right. We got it right the first time. Now we’re just enjoying it.
I enjoy “it” more because I’m not in an office, making somebody else successful.
Success has a whole new meaning for me. I am wildly successful and rich beyond explanation.
I think this is the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Romans 12:9-19 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.
This is what no more suffering looks like
I helped the medical supply driver load up six portable Oxygen tanks today.
One large Oxygen tank and stand – have a nice day.
One pulse-ox machine – so long Mr. Noisy.
One suction machine – good riddance to you.
One food pump with backpack – Adios.
And seventeen bottles of sticky medicine down the drain – take that drain flies!
This is what NO MORE SUFFERING looks like.
The rest of the medical paraphernalia is ours to keep or not.
I think we’ll donate what we can to needy folks who can use it for now.
