Hurricane Ida *grumble*

So, this little hurricane Ida has it's eyes set on my front door. It's really not going to be that big of a deal. I've been through some really bad hurricanes and this one is going to be more like a very long lasting thunderstorm. Remember me posting that Bro. Baldwin was coming in to preach for a youth meeting. Well, we should be starting to get the effects from Ida not too long after his plane lands. I think that our teens are pretty much planning to come, but the youth groups we have invited may be a little gun shy to travel in possibly treacherous weather conditions.

Speaking of youth, I am glad to share that we are up to 12 teens who want a part in the Christmas skit. They all seem pretty enthusiastic still. If our youth meeting goes through, our youth group is planning on singing. They're pretty nervous about though, since we plan on having in about 250-300 youth. They're used to singing for our bunch, which runs about 100 usually.

John's Sunday school class is planning on going to see the Blue Angels this weekend. Since we live near where the Blue's are stationed, we get 2 air shows a year. Their last show of the year is in Pensacola and is this weekend. He is pretty excited as he has never been to see them. Hopefully this hurricane won't interfere. I wouldn't think it would.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 6, 2009

For today ... November 6, 2009

Outside my window ...
it was a cool 41 last night, but the temperature is supposed to get up to near 80 today with nice clear skies.

I am thinking ...
of how glad I am that the Lord provided a nice second-hand swing for us at a great price. The motor burned out on the swing we bought when John was a baby. I'm also thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and hoping that everything works out for us to spend time with both my and my husband's family.

I am thankful for ...
the Holy Spirit of God and how He will guide me into all truth. I'm also extremely thankful that the boys will be beginning piano lessons in January. An answer to prayer. I'm thankful for a great group of teenagers!!

From the learning rooms ...
plugging along in our studies. We are significantly behind with the baby's birth and our hospital stay, but it will eventually get done.

From the kitchen ...
chicken pot pie for tonight. Perhaps some collard greens, also. I just walked out to the garden and the lowest leaves are really getting big.

I am wearing ...
a new red, long-sleeved shirt from JCPenney's. I got a "save $10 on a purchase of $10 or more" coupon. That sounds like free stuff to me, so I hopped on the offer! It's paired up with a denim skirt, socks and tennis shoes. The hair needs a ponytail or something.

I am creating ...
I'm still working on the game day dress I mentioned for Lydia. The trouble has been finding time to sew. I did, however, make her a jumper to wear out in the deer woods.

I am going ...
perhaps nowhere. The children asked to go to the park today, but it depends on how quickly their schoolwork is completed. Yesterday we had "vanschool," so we have some catchup to do.

I am reading ...
Still working on Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. It's a time issue, as it is with the sewing. I'm also reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which has thus far been pretty good.

I am hoping (praying) ...
for Josiah to sleep through the night and for me to be patient with him until he does. I'm also praying that we had a good number of our youth turn out for putt-putt Saturday. I'm praying for God's blessings on and good, enthusiastic participation in the youth's Christmas skit.

I am hearing ...
very loud playing from Ethan and Lydia. The other two are quiet, as Josiah is sleeping and John is getting dressed.

Around the house ...
most things on the homefront are still very topsy-turvy. Since Josiah's discharge from the hospital, we have had a revival meeting nearly every night. I will be glad once things get back to normal, but I think it will not return to such until after the first of the year.

One of my favorite things ...
fellowship with Christian ladies. I was blessed to enjoy such a time yesterday at homeschool fellowship group.

A few plans for the rest of the week ...
not too much for the rest of this week. We're planning a youth outing for Saturday and church, of course, Sunday. Monday and Tuesday we are having in Bro. Kenny Baldwin to preach, which I'm pretty excited about.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Daddy has decided that the boys are big enough to learn to drive the lawn mower, which completely gave me a heart attack!


Bed head. :-)

Quality Conservative Christian Music for Download

Not for free, but for download. Where you ask? You'll be surprised when I tell you on iTunes! When you go to the iTunes store (first you have to install iTunes, but you knew that, right?) search for Champion Baptist College. I was totally shocked to see that Champion Baptist College, under the earthly leadership of Dr. Eric Capaci, has music on iTunes. It is truly conservative, Scriptural, and uplifting. Hope you enjoy.

What Happened Anyway?

I'm going to try to sum up exactly what happened last week.

Tuesday 10/13 - Ethan starts running fever about 101.5. The fever passes in about 18 hours.

Wednesday 10/14 - I start running fever which peaked out at 103.5. Kicked it in 18 hours.

Thursday 10/15 - Josiah starts running fever around 101.5. I'm thinking he's going to kick it in 18 hours or so too. I called the doctor to ask about keeping little man hydrated, since he is 100% breastfed. The doctor is insisting that he be seen. He's acting just like himself and I'm thinking this is just silly. But I do trust our pediatrician. She also respects our homeopathic slant. I bring him in and she is not too worried about him, but gives him a shot of Rocephin just in case he makes a turn for the worst. He has a CBC and urine culture at a local lab. Both are normal relatively normal. The CBC shows slightly elevated platelets and a bit of blood in his urine.

Friday 10/16 - Josiah is still running fever and had been over 24 hours. I can't get it down. Not with Tylenol, not with homeopathy. He is a bit lethargic. Dr. Page spends about 5 minutes with him and calls the hospital to get him a bed. The doctor orders many blood tests and VRP. He is also put on IV drip of 10 mL per hour to keep hydrated. He is also given Rocephin every 12 hours.

Saturday 10/17 - Josiah's fever stays around 102 to 102.5. He acts very feverish and more lethargic than he was Friday. His appetite begins to wane. The fever is unresponsive to Tylenol. To get it to break they increase his Tylenol to 120 mg and administer it by suppository. The recommended oral dose for his age is 40 mg. His dosage brings his temp down to the uppers 100's, but still doesn't break it. All tests come back normal.

Sunday 10/18 - The same routine with the Tylenol, but we start to see breaks in the fever. But he still has fever spikes. That morning the tech comes in to take his vitals and he shows a normal temp. Just ten minutes later the nurse comes in to check on him and he is looking extremely limp and lethargic. In that short time his temp jumped to 103.9! This is where he really takes a bad turn. They get the temp down. But it really takes a toll on him. He is completely limp. He is constantly sleeping, not even waking up to eat. I try and he won't even open his eyes. I mean, he's more limp than a premature baby. He won't even pick up his hands. They repeat the tests. When they draw blood he doesn't even flinch. He doesn't run any more fever after this evening. He's kicked it, but it's taken every ounce of his strength. They take him off the breast and give him expressed breastmilk in order to see how much he'll take. He takes between 1/4 and 1/2 oz in 20 minutes and is exhausted. Normal for a 7 week old is 4 oz. He has lost a whole pound and his IV fluids are increased to 16 mL per hour.

Monday 10/19 - Same as the day before. They begin tests for meningitis and neurological disorders. The pediatrician consults a neurologist for his opinion about a CT scan. He is still just as limp. His eyes do not dilate nor do they respond to light. The doctor orders an NG tube through the nose in the afternoon since he won't eat. After he has just 2 feeds he begins to open his eyes a bit.

Tuesday 10/20 to Thursday 10/22 - he becomes steadily stronger, but is still very weak. Tuesday and Wednesday he is getting some of his feeds down completely by mouth, but sometimes still needs the help of the NG tube. Very early Thursday morning he manages to pull his NG tube out, which was really funny. I had grabbed his hands over and over to be sure he doesn't pull it out. I turn my back to grab a diaper and there it went. Dr. Page was ecstatic.

Friday 10/23 - Dr. Page discharges Josiah. She admits that he is still pretty limp, but thinks the best thing for him is to finish recovering at home. When we asked her what was exactly wrong, she says that she thinks he had the flu and got it from me and Ethan. She thinks that the VRP's, which test for flu, gave false negatives every time.

To everyone who prayed for my little man and me and my family, from the bottom of my heart...thank you!!! It was a very difficult time for us. Not just because of the sickness but here's why. I've heard preaching before and read before about trusting God when you can't really see what He's doing. And about trusting him when you don't really feel His guiding hand. When we lost our baby last year, it was really hard. The hardest thing I had been through. But I felt God's peace and his love. He really took me through it. He let me know that I was in His hands. He gave assurance. This past week I felt more like the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15. I was crying out and it felt like God was not saying anything. I have never felt so lonely. It was a real test, I think. As Josiah got better God began to reassure me, but while we were in the thick of it, maybe God was trying to see if I'd trust him no matter what. Hopefully that makes sense. I'm not always great at explaining stuff. :-)

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Celebrating five wonderful years with Ethan! He wanted an Alabama football cake. I think he was trying to impress his Daddy, who is the biggest Alabama fan I know.
I completely adore his cake. Our new "cake lady" really goes the extra mile. She ordered Bear Bryant style hounds tooth to go around the edges.


Yes, he's five. Where has time gone? To the left is Miss Lydia who constantly said, "I just want a little taste" with pointer finger extended toward the cake. ha!


Here is a disposable stethoscope we brought home from the hospital. The kids think it's the coolest thing ever.


Josiah is on the mend, as you can see, he's still a bit pale and weak. Here he is happy, but he has been a BEAR since he's been home. I'd imagine that after a week of super-strength Rocephin, an antibiotic, his nutrient levels are badly out of whack. When Ethan was on pharmaceuticals, he was always cranky. But since Josiah's diet is still 100% baby super food (mother's milk), he should be back in balance relatively soon. Just have to deal with lots of crying and whining in the meanwhile.

Speaking of super food, I'll mention this season's garden quickly: collards, rutabagas, carrots, onions, mustard, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. Yum!

Ooh, and I have to talk about my thrift store finds, too! I don't usually have great luck when I go. I nearly always get just 1 or 2 items and can't find anything else. The Lord really blessed this trip: Lydia got 2 or 3 (I forget) long-sleeved tops for play, a school uniform style jumper and matching shirt suitable for church or play and a really cute hoodie. I found a great long sleeved collared blouse and a jean skirt that is super comfortable. It does need some repair work. It looks like the previous owner took out the hem perhaps to lengthen it. Not very smart. The hem has been in place for so long you can't even iron the folds out. Someone wasn't thinking on that one! Then I also found a black pinstripe skirt. Great churchwear. Nothing for the boys this time, unfortunately. I don't usually have much luck finding the boys stuff. They're just so rough on clothes. Grand total? 9 items for $15. Store bought that denim skirt would have easily cost double that alone.

P.S. My love emails me all of my little typos after reading this post. Guess I'm tired or something. Anyway, I thought it was funny and the errors have been corrected. :-P