I feel as though I've written a posting with this title before. My seven and a half year old son Wyatt wants to know how things get onto someone's blog so I'm showing him. Next he wants to know how videos get on YouTube so that's my next lesson for him. Forget math and science - social media is what I teach MY children.
Does anyone still come to this blog?? I've been terrible about posting! But school is starting soon, Praise God, and I promise to post summer pictures.
For the time being, enjoy this pic of the six of us from April when we did a presentation to a group of Holt families about the clinic we're fundraising for in Ethiopia!
Recently, Wyatt has really stepped up his artwork and I thought that I should share some of it with my family and friends. I know that everyone thinks their child is an artistic genius (if you haven't seen "My Kid Can Paint That", you should!), but I just love Wyatt's work and they always have special meaning to him. Above, he drew a picture of the Oratory in the center of Ave Maria. Below is our family dressed as a football team. There's no significance to the number 12, fyi. It's not foretelling. Maybe it's a nod to Chrissy, who is adopting a sibling group of 5 from Ethiopia giving her a total of 12 little precious blessings!
The picture below is Wyatt's rendition of the manger. When he drew it at "church school" (as he calls Sunday school), the teacher passed it around for the whole class to see before he brought it home. See?? Independent confirmation of his genius!
The below picture is of the Australian flag and was done for his class's study of Australia. He has a special soft spot for Oz since it's the home of Oma Joyce and Opa John!
Below is another nod to Oz - it's the Great Barrier Reef!
I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure what the below picture is of specifically. I'll have to check with him!
Thank you to everyone who either saw the ambulance at our house on Sunday, or has heard about it, for their prayers and support! Asher is fine - I like to start with that so that no one panics if they hadn't heard. He had a febrile seizure brought on by a spike in infection and fever. It's not uncommon (to use the dreaded double negative) and he has no lasting effects from it. The same cannot be said for me, of course, as I will likely never sleep again. Wait, that would suggest that I sleep now. Ok, then, no new lasting effects on me either!
Learning that it is not uncommon, many people have asked me what he did and what I did, clearly taking mental notes in case it happens to them. He had just been diagnosed with bronchitis and had been running a fever that I was controlling, for the most part, with ibuprofen. When he woke up from his nap he was shaking a little, although otherwise alert, and very, very hot. Then he started making movements that I'd never seen his body do and his eyes kept opening and closing - like a very dramatic blink. Then his eyes rolled off to the side and he went limp. He had had very labored breathing while he was sick and when he stopped the seizure I couldn't hear him breathe at all. I was already on the line with 911 so the woman talked me through keeping his airway clear and counting the breathes as they came, every 6 or 7 seconds. If this happens to one of your kids, all you have to do is put them on the floor, keep your hand under his neck and lift to help open his airway, making sure there's no food in his mouth. It only lasts a few minutes and then he will likely fall to sleep or be non-responsive but breathing fine. He was probably like this for an hour, through the ambulance ride, during which time they gave him oxygen and a nebulizer. His fever was 104, after having a dose of ibuprofen about an hour before. They essentially looked him over, gave hinm Tylenol, waited for the fever to go down, and released him. They told me that he will likely get another one but not during this current illness. They also said there was no need to call the ambulance (yeah, right!) unless he seemed in greater distress than this time.
You will know when your child is having a seizure, even a "small" one like this because their body movements will be strange. He didn't make a sound during the whole thing. I wonder if he's had one before, while asleep, and I've never known it. Gads. What drama! I like my life drama-free, thank you very much!
I'll take all the prayers still, as his little body recovers from the bronchitis. And Jude has started coughing now, too, although he tends to get through illnesses much faster than Asher. He figures he already had his quota of seizures and illnesses in Ethiopia, I guess!
photos courtesy of Cate Turton / Dept. for International Development
First, thanks to Anna for allowing me to post on her blog today! Today, more than 25 bloggers, including this one, are standing with me to Ask 5 for 5 for Africa. Here's why....
I began pursuing a BIG dream two weeks ago. After deciding I could no longer avoid the news about the famine in the horn of Africa, I had that gut feeling that I couldn't sit this one out. I HAD to do something because I could. Something bigger than I could do alone. That's when #Ask5for5 was born.
Two of my children, Ashen and Bereket, were adopted and are from the region affected by the drought in Ethiopia. They would be two of the statistics if they still lived there. I see my son’s and daughter’s faces in the photos of those suffering in the refugee camps. It could have been him. It could have been her. The thought haunts me.
And moms just like us are watching their children go hungry day after day. I can't imagine what it's like, but I have to –I have to be there to help them, because it could have been my children. These families have lost their livestock, their crops, food prices are inflated at the market if there any food there, and don’t have any more lifelines to tap into. Many are traveling hundreds of miles through parched land in hope of finding help. Many are dying along the way. It is estimated that 29,000 children have died in the last 90 days in the famine in Somalia alone.
But I KNOW we can do something about it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, we can rally ourselves and our friends to respond! I set up a fundraiser through See Your Impact. 100% of your gift will go to the relief and development organization World Vision, where it will be combined with government grants to multiply up to 5 times in impact!
You’ll receive updates on just how your funding is being used to help save lives affected by famine in East Africa. I'm amazed at how much we've raised already -- over $7,000 in just four days! We blew through our first 3 goals in just 3 days and are well on our way to $10,000 and beyond!
I need you to help me save lives. It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:
Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
Share Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter, and join our page to stay updated too!
I'm also looking for 100 bloggers to stand with Ask5for5 to spread the word during Social Media week, September 19th - 23rd. If you're interested, email me, ask5for5@gmail.com.
Thanks! Please donate and email your friends right now--don't wait for a calmer moment, because if you're like me, other demands inevitably crop up and you won't get to it. A child's life hangs in the balance, but you can help save her!
