Sick

Yesterday was Eamon's 11 month birthday and we went to the doctor. I found out that he is 2 feet 2 inches long and 17 pounds and 8 ounces. I also learned that he has a double ear infection. That made the last five days make a lot more sense.

It started as a cold. Thomas got it, then Eamon got it, then I did. Sore throat, drainage, feeling pretty blah for a day, then starting to get better, except Eamon didn't do that part. He instead got a fever. Friday he just wanted to be cuddled and sleep, and that night was the first night I noticed him feeling warm, and since he didn't sleep very well, I noticed it all night. I knew a tooth was coming in and that he had a cold, but he kept falling asleep before I could give him some baby advil.

Saturday the fever was 101 and he still just wanted to be held. He would be fine and play for 5 minutes, then come to me and cry pitifully to be picked up. (Usually he will play for 20 minute spells by himself, and when he is tired of entertaining himself, he either starts playing with the stereo or power cords, or comes to me and yells to be picked up.) Once I picked him up he would cuddle or look at pictures on my computer or look at books. His cough started to sound croupy, so the fever made sense. I figured that by Monday he would be better and would just need to get him through the worst of it.

Sunday the fever was up to 102 and it was more of the same. We stayed home from church, but he still seemed to not be able to get comfortable. Besides the nasty cough and fever, he didn't have any symptoms, so I still guessed it was croup and he would be better in the morning.

Monday, his fever seemed to be coming down and I was crazy trying to get childcare for ESL because both of us who take care of the kids had sick babies. Monday was the worst day of my cold too. So I didn't call the doctor, still going on my assumption that it was croup and he was getting better. I felt generally nasty, but Eamon seemed to be doing better. Unfortunately, that evening he started pulling at his ears.

So Tuesday morning I called the doctor and, as Thomas likes to say, she found fire engines in his ears. We got an antibiotic, which he has had three doses of now, and his fever is down significantly, and he is sleeping better. He still wants to be held all the time, and pulls at his ears, and has a terrible cough, but I hope he is now finally getting better.

This is what he looks like while I am typing this post.

We haven't had a good night's sleep since he got sick, so our little family is rather exhausted. This will be his 4th cold. For the record, he has still yet to have a cold without getting croup or an ear infection. My mom says as he gets older and his airways and ear tubes get bigger this will be less and less of a problem. I am glad.

All this to say, I haven't taken his 11 month pictures yet. His little eyes are red rimmed and he is grumpy, but I will get them taken soon. I suppose that gives me time to get his 9 month pictures in the mail for the relatives...

Boys' and Girls' Club - Armor of God

Boys' and Girls' Club is over. We did a study on the Armor of God. I am not sure how much the kids got from their lessons, but I was blessed with teaching and thinking about this passage.

Ephesians 6: 10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

This is what I learned...
How is Truth like a belt? The belt kept the breastplate in place and held the sword. Truth keeps our righteousness from being our sole focus - Christianity isn't about doing all the right things. It is about Jesus - who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

How is Righteousness like a breastplate? Just like the breastplate protects the heart and vital organs, so doing what is right protects our heart from temptation. Although righteousness doesn't get us brownie-points with God, he calls us to be righteous for our own good. Now if I am following God, it will make me a target for Satan's attack, so being good isn't good enough. Interestingly, Jesus is our righteousness also.

How is peace like footwear? This one was a little more of a stretch, but like shoes protect our feet from those annoyances that keep us from walking easily, being at peace - with God, with ourselves, and with others - allows us to overlook offenses rather than letting them tempt us toward responding in sin. And Jesus is our peace.

Faith, being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, shields us from attacks of Satan. Whether it is the attack that God won't love us because we aren't good enough, or the attack that says we don't need God because we are fine without him, or any variety of those attacks, Faith reminds us that Jesus is the center of our lives.  Shields often identified the bearer, and our faith will identify us as followers of Jesus.

The helmet guards the head and Salvation protects our minds from attacks. Our reason is remade by salvation and it may seem like foolishness to those around us, but because our head is protected, we can stand firm. Jesus is our salvation.

And finally, the sword of the spirit. We are protected from temptation, but because we have the word of God, we can attack and conquer temptations. I need to remember that when I am facing temptation, I don't just need protection, I need to fight it. And I fight it by using Scripture. But Jesus is also called the Word made flesh.

So what did I learn? I learned that I am clothed with Jesus Christ. I am guarded by his blood and I can fight all temptation by his strength. I also realized that this armor isn't something I need to earn or find somewhere. It was given to me as soon as I became a Christian. Being a Christian doesn't mean that I use it naturally though. It is work. I have to "put it on," and "take it up" for it to be of any use. But I also learned that Jesus is right beside me working with me to do good works that will glorify our Father in Heaven.

Moment in Time

There are certain moments in life when you see more than what your eyes see. This moment was one of them. Standing in a beam of sunlight, with shadows all around, I saw my little boy with his grandfather. And in that moment, I also saw my other little baby in the arms of his other grandpa standing in the light of Jesus, with no shadows at all.

Zoo Trip

We went to the Philadelphia Zoo on Friday. It was a lot of fun. I am sure I had more fun than Eamon, but he seemed to enjoy seeing the animals too. The lions and the monkeys seem to have left the biggest impact, based on his reactions to seeing the pictures. We went with my Mom and Dad, my brother and his wife and child. It was very hot. Eamon slept through the African animals and the reptile house, but was wide awake almost the entire car ride. Silly boy.

This bird squawked louder and louder. We joked that it would blow up, but it didn't... fortunately.

The lions had just finished eating and were licking their lips.

Red Panda - sleeping.

Lovely hair-do, don't you think?

"Cat," says Eamon.

The otters never got in the water while we were there, although we thought they would fall in any minute.

I like giraffes. They have such crazy tongues though.

He had his backside turned toward us, but I got this photo through another enclosure.

Zebra

We all enjoyed watching the gorilla, and he seemed to enjoy posing for us.

This was a smaller and more timid gorilla - at least he ran away from the big one.

The orangutan was so funny! He hid under this sheet, then would poke himself out, the go under again, then flop around, then look out at us. We also got to see him get fed.

Katlyn, Keith, and Edmund

Grandpa and Eamon

Thomas started quoting Gussy Finknottle when we saw the newts. Then we saw this sign. I guess we weren't the only ones to make that connection.

Thomas, me, and Eamon

Relationship Thoughts

I've been busy, a good kind of busy most of the time. Busy with being a mom, teaching Girls' Club, teaching a friend how to sew, getting ready for ESL - ordering curriculum, making phone calls, writing emails, trying to write in Spanish and finding out how bad I am, making more phone calls, looking for the best deals, writing more emails, designing ads, trying to remember to keep my teachers informed, and keeping the house in somewhat of an order. And I agreed to help with the school play.

I have been considering the results of my busyness. I am building relationships all over the place, but they are all service oriented relationships - meaning ones where I am serving others. However, I am neglecting the sustaining relationships - those that keep me going, those that remind me of who I am, and why I am serving others in the first place. That has often left me feeling used up and worn out.

I noticed it first when someone told me how I should have done something for ESL. I did what I thought was the best idea, and someone else said there were better ways, even though I had deliberately chosen not to do it that way. I was crushed. I felt betrayed, alone, and depressed. I wanted to give it all up. A few weeks later someone else asked me why I was even considering doing the play. In my explanation, I felt like I had to defend myself from an attack. Again I felt alone and depressed.

These comments were meant to be helpful and supportive, but they felt like an attack. I think it is because I had been trying to be so busy serving that I was neglecting myself. I was forgetting to rest. So for the past week I have been trying to take some time to rebuild myself - listening to music, reading books, writing, just sitting and being in the moment. So I am feeling like I am doing better, but I am afraid that by neglecting them, I have hurt those supporting relationships. I haven't quite figured out how to balance it all out. In my serving others, I don't know how to seek out those who will serve me - encourage me, remind me of who I am, etc. When I share my needs, I feel attacked or like I need to defend my choices. But I think this is because I don't know how to have relationships not about serving others. I don't know how to just be a friend anymore. I hope that now that I have identified the problem, I will be able to find some solutions...

Prince Caspian and ESL

Recently, I have been struggling with discouragement with the lack of support for the ESL classes I have been trying to organize. I have several very committed people, but it feels like I am swimming upstream most of the time. It is easy to pick out faults and complain about "church cultural tendencies," and it would be the easiest thing of all to just give up and blame the failure on others. But as I was griping to God the other day, He brought this to mind.

    "Lucy," he said, "we must not lie here for long. You have work in hand, and  much time has been lost today."
    "Yes, wasn't it a shame?" said Lucy. "I saw you all right. They wouldn't believe me. They're all so--"
    From somewhere deep inside Aslan's body there came the faintest suggestion of a growl.
    "I'm sorry," said Lucy, who understood some of his moods. "I didn't mean to start slanging the others. But it wasn't my fault anyway, was it?"
    The Lion looked straight into her eyes.
    "Oh Aslan, " said Lucy. "You don't mean it was? How could I--I couldn't have left the others and come up to you alone, how could I? Don't look at me like that... oh well, I suppose I could. Yes, and it wouldn't have been alone, I know, not if I was with you. But what would have been the good?"
    Aslan said nothing.
    "You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out all right-- somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?"
    "To know what would have happened, child?"said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."
    "Oh dear," said Lucy.
    "But anyone can find out what will happen," said Aslan. "If you go back to the others now, and wake them up, and tell them you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me--what will happen? There is only one way of finding out."
    "Do you mean that is what you want me to do?" gasped Lucy.
    "Yes, little one," said Aslan.

 I was convicted. I had been "slanging the others" and not taking responsibility. And I was giving up because I thought I was alone. If I am following God's leading, and I believe I am, then I have Him with me. And he will provide all the things, money, and people that I need to do his work. My job is to go wake the others up and get them to follow Jesus - whether that means advertising for the class, encouraging our church to get more involved, or writing a gospel overlay to the curriculum.

God may not answer my desires as I want Him to, but He will help me do His work. And He does have "good works that have been prepared in advance" for me to do. So "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me", "forgetting what is behind" (i.e. what might have happened/what I wanted to happen) "and straining toward what is ahead, I press on..."

It is good to know that God guiding me. And even though it sometimes feels like  I am just following a shadow, it is His shadow, and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.


So we had a soccer game that started with one student and a teacher, the overseeing elder, and the directors husband - but ended with a game of 4 on 4. Advertisements went out to two different churches, and more will go out tomorrow. I still don't have a curriculum because it costs more money that I had allotted for it, but I am sure that God will provide for that too. I am realizing that I have a lot of cross-cultural translation to do, and that sometimes it is more difficult to communicate to my own culture. And in 2 weeks classes will start!