Ok, I know I need to be writing more now that I don’t live anywhere close to anyone that actually might be interested in reading this.
I fully intend on writing a blog about our new home and updates about all of our nuttiness (like driving back and forth to STL in less than 40 hours just to buy a car).
But for now, I have to show you a quick clip about Anderson, who just starting getting two top teeth to match his bottoms. Tonight during dinner, he discovered that he could grind his teeth together… and how much it bothered Alisha. He thought it was so funny… I just had to capture this (I think he is going to be just a touch antagonistic).
So… Alisha has been in the hospital since Tuesday. There’s plenty of you out there that weren’t aware of that, and I’m sorry… I can get pretty overwhelmed by her health stuff. (Sorry!)
She is doing ok right now. She has a footlong section of intestines that is failing the same way her colon did. (Meaning that the disease is spreading along her digestive track.) We have some decisions to make on what to do next… but we aren’t going to rush into anything. We’ll be here a few more days and then we’ll start figuring things out.
Tonight, Alisha wanted to get her bedding changed so she bundled up all 87 blankets at the bottom of the bed and sat in the recliner until the tech was available to put new bedding on. About a half an hour later, I was about to run out to pick something up and told her that I would call her when I got there. That’s when she realized and told me that her phone was on the bed.
Long story short… Brittany (the tech) and I had to run to the basement, to the bottom of the laundry chute, and rifle through the dirty linens to find the phone. We probably would have been successful had we gotten down there 5 minutes earlier before the linen truck came to pick up.
Here are a few lessons that I learned…
Hospital linens are gross. At least the dirty ones are… sure am glad that I was wearing gloves! (Probably needed biohazard gear!)
Laundry can be very dangerous rambling down 7 floors. I nearly had to dive to push Brittany out of the way of a speeding linen bag, which almost landed on her head.
Stuff is stuff. Brittany felt so bad, and couldn’t understand why we weren’t screaming at her. I loved the adventure of the hunt! (Getting sad about the missing phone wouldn’t help….and I would missed have missed out on these lessons and a fun search!)
This past Sunday, we had a baby dedication for Anderson (who is supposed to be sleeping right now, but is just talking to himself in his crib). It was an amazing party. We opted to not do the standard protestant tradition of having the church pray for him during the church service. Rather we wanted to gather a group of people who were committed to holding us accountable as well as praying for him on a daily basis to come together and celebrate what God has given us.
It was a humbling time for Alisha and myself as we talked about our desire for a child and how we want to exemplify Christ to him. The highlight of the gig was when people gathered around us to pray… it was amazing. I was so emotionally worn out from it, I’m still not sure that I have completely recovered.
I made a video (that a number of people asked me to post) comprising of 1,321 pictures of Anderson’s short life. I had to trim it down from about 5,000 photos and wasn’t sure I would be able to get it under 2K. But in the interest of not making people absolutely sick over a five minute video, I worked it out (it is still pretty fast, hope you don’t puke). Anyways, here it is. And thanks to everyone for being so supportive of our family!!!! You all are so gifted and have given so much to us, it’s unbelievable.
It was one year ago today that I finally made it back from my trip to Berlin. If you remember, we had to extend our trip by 4 days because air travel was shut down throughout Europe due to the volcanic ash blowing over the continent from Iceland. Those bonus days were pretty epic. We got to see a lot more of the city, spend more time with local church planters and missionaries, and of course… we spent loads of time at the airport.
chillin’ at the airport
That trip to Berlin was amazing. It was really encouraging to see what has happened and IS happening in terms of new ministries in that area.
Personally speaking, it has been a big year since being a part of that trip. God has used what I learned during that time and I am super excited about what this next year will hold!!
More about that later. I just wanted to recognize the anniversary (because that’s just what I do).
I seriously can’t believe that Anderson has been around for 6 months! Alisha blogged yesterday about how neat of a kid he is and how thankful we are to have him (along with some great photos).
Last night we gave him his first taste of solid food. He had gotten clearance from his doctor the day before, and it seemed like a good way to celebrate. Considering I’ve only ever heard Anderson giggle twice before, this experience was amazing!! I love this kid!
I know that it can be a little silly to get so worked up about a sports team… but I can’t help it, I love the Packers!! My dad and brother really did their best to make me a Bears fan, but I was able to overcome those shortcomings and follow my heart.
I obviously have some deep seeded hatred for Brett Favre and the acts of betrayal that he has pursued (speaking of which, that video that I made after he lost the NFC Championship last year has gotten 11,000 views and if you are bored, you may want to click over and read the comments I have gotten… I am surprised how many people got angry and cussed me out [some comments get pretty vulgar- don't hold me responsible for reading ugly words]).
I feel so great for the Packers management that made the right decision to stick to their word with Aaron Rodgers after Favre gave up his multiple chances to come back to the team several years ago. It is a great story of vindication and it has been fun to watch this year!!
Personally, it was fun to share the super season with Anderson… Alisha went into labor during the first game of the year- Saints vs. Vikings (ugh, Favre). Needless to say, this NFL season started and ended in spectacular fashion!!!
I am thankful for 3 things right this moment…
1. How big of a lead the Packers have (incredible!).
2. I get to watch this with my infant son!
3. That the puppy bowl is still on… how terrible are the black eyed peas? It embarrassing.
I may blog several times today… kinda hard to contain my excitement!
What makes today so much better is that Anderson’s first Super Bowl has the Packers in it! How great is it gonna be when they win!!
I can tell he is excited, here is how his room is decorated…
This is the quickest and funnest way to sooth Anderson. This is right after he got two vaccinations (he was screaming his head off just before the video started)!
and follow my heart.
