Anyone whose has read this blog since the very beginning might remember all the suffering we went through with Ethan’s night terrors (which finally stopped before Ian was born). Our suffering, not his:) I’ve decided that Ian must be having night terrors too. You’d think I would be able to realize it right away after having gone through it with Ethan but I finally just figured it out. He has always cried in his sleep but lately it has been more like screaming. For a while we blamed it on his ear infections or his teething, which some of it may have been that. But lately it’s been the same time each night. A few times I went in thinking he needed Advil for teething and ended up waking him up and then he was confused and wanted to be up the rest of the night. (One of the no no’s with night terrors is to never wake them up-I ended up being up with him for 3 hours in the middle of the night). So since I realized he may be having night terrors, I’ve not rushed in when he was screaming and watched him on the monitor and he was behaving the same way Ethan did with his night terrors and within 5 minutes he stopped. One of the factors that can trigger an episode is not getting enough sleep and Ian is prone to either wake up early in the morning or not take a long enough nap so there’s a good chance we’ll be dealing with this some more. At least we know what to expect this time around…(need I refer back to a previous post when Ethan had a night terror every hour for five hours one night?)
I was updating my virtual bookshelf recently and noticed how little I’ve been reading. I’ve been in the middle of C.S. Lewis’s biography for weeks now, it seems like I get to read a page at a time. For those who don’t know, the virtual bookshelf is an app. on Facebook where you can list the books you have read or want to read and also give a review of them. I read a post on the GirlTalk blog (see link on the side) about having a list of books to be read in your lifetime. The books she had listed as examples were an awesome collection. I have an ongoing list of books I’ve seen reviewed or have come across that I want to read and check them off as I buy them. My list is like 40 long so I have a long ways to go. Our pastor has a list of books that he gives out of those that every Christian should read. I’ve listed my favorite parenting books in previous posts but I think I want to come up with my lifetime list. In reading C.S. Lewis’s biography, not only is it about his life but much of it includes books and how they shaped his life. I love the way he described books and felt that he put into words my thoughts about reading. My husband frequently teases me about the number of books that I have (though I remind him that I got rid of about 150 books so that we could fit the children in our house). I have a hard time letting go of books because they are like friends to me. I have an emotional attachment to them because each one has been with me at different times in my life and I can remember what I learned from each book and what I was going through at the time. I guess they are kind of like photos. We keep pictures because looking at them reminds us of experiences in our past so I guess my books are snapshots of places I have been intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. What books stand out to you that would you list on your lifetime list?
We hosted game night recently. We hadn’t done a game night in a long time. It used to be something we did quite regularly before kids and now I can’t remember the last time. It’s a great way to have fun and save money. We tried a new game that I had gotten over the holidays; In a Pickle (actually one I had taken from someone else during a gift exchange game). It’s always challenging to try and figure out a new game when reading the instructions but then once you’ve played it, it seems so easy. And then of course we did some games on the Wii. Ethan was knocked out during a game of boxing and wasn’t very happy about it(in fact he carried on for quite a while). And poor Ian fell and hurt himself more times than I remember. Good times had by all:)
I scheduled another appt. with Ethan’s surgeon, this time I brought my husband along so I would be sure that we left understanding everything. He’s pretty sure Ethan will end up needing the sinus surgery. It’s been two years of one infection after another. We’ve ruled out cystic fibrosis, his immune system has been checked out, he has no allergies, and his adnoids have been removed. He wants us to go ahead and get the second opinion from the Ped. ENT at U. Miami. He said that there is a chance the dr. will want to rule out reflux as a cause first. He also said that some dr.’s like to try a course of antibiotics via IV first as well. The ENT said also that while he is willing to do the surgery, he doesn’t do them every week like they to at a teaching hospital and if it were his child, he would choose a doctor who did the surgeries frequently (there is some risk to the surgery since the areas of the sinus’s that they do surgery on is near the optic nerve). So, March 5th we will be headed down south for a day trip to get a second opinion about why Ethan is always sick and what we can try next.
We are still reading Ephesians in our couple’s small group and I was reading ahead for our next meeting from Chapter 4. It talks about the unity in the body of Christ, each one of us receiving gifts that are to be used to benefit the whole body and vs 13 says “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” That is something to look forward to! God wants us to mature in our faith but not on our own and out on our own, he wants us to grow in our faith together, helping one another along. Having brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us and help us along in our walk is a gift of God’s grace to us. I definitely experience that every time I share with a friend about struggles and challenges I face and know that they are praying for me. I pray also for our children that they grow up having Christian brothers and sisters in Christ that encourage them along as they grow in their faith. My husband and I experienced that sense of community while in college where we had others in the faith to hold us accountable and walk with us through the challenges we faced and I am grateful that God has provided that same sense of community in our church here.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Eph 1:3.
I feel badly for Ian that he can’t eat dairy products so I picked up some soy based icecream bars for him. He seemed to enjoy them, though he doesn’t know any better. Funny thing is, when I was a kid, we always had soy ice cream. I would never eat it now!
Ian is just about completely into size 2T now. Amazing. Thanks to a couple of friends who have lent clothes, he is able to have things to wear. It may seem suprising that we would need to borrow clothes, but Ethan is so skinny that he wears his shorts until they have to be thrown out and most of his t’shirts end up so stained that they can’t be passed on. The other ironic thing is that Ethan is still wearing all of his 3T shorts so Ian is one size behind him. Maybe a year from now they’ll be wearing the same shorts! (it’ll be a while before Ian catches up in the t’shirts since Ethan is in 5-6 in shirts).
There have been no opportunities to blog about lately since the holidays are over but I finally came across one to write about today. I learned about a site that sells high quality Wooden Toys. I’m always keeping an eye out for good toys for the boys, and am frequently frustrated with what I usually find at the toy store. This Wooden Toys site sells quality wooden toys that are both unique and educational. They have everything from baby pull toys to trucks to building blocks. What I thought was really neat, especially for boys who love building are block sets that actually build real buildings like the Leaning Tower in Italy. Very cool. This is definitely a site to keep in mind for relatives that want to know what to get kids for birthdays and holidays.
Ian slept in until 7am this morning, yay! It was great to have time to shower and read the word before the boys woke up. I usually end up reading my bible before I go to bed at night but I have to admit that sometimes I am tired and not as focused as I should be. My small group has been reading the Shopping for Time book that talks about ways to prioritize and focus your time so that you can do what God has called you to. In thinking about that, I set up a little table and lamp next to a chair in my room so that I can read and pray. It’s a comfy spot but not too comfy like my bed:) I’ve also decided that I need to organize my prayer life as well so I’m using a journal to write down what I need to pray about so that I will stay on task and keep my mind from wandering. The last couple of years I’ve come to a realization that I’ve been sitting around waiting for God to feed me spiritually rather than getting up off my you-know-what and being proactive in my spiritual life. I’ve realized that because of being constantly fed spiritually both in high school and college, once I left college I stumbled on my own. I kept looking for someone else to lead the way and direct me to spiritual growth and it sadly took me a while to realize I need to get my act together. It was awesome both in high school and college being in the word everyday, always learning about God from teachers and professors, there were always opportunities to meet with others for prayer and bible study, and always opportunities for ministry. I’ve really missed that and over the course of time since I started this blog I’ve been praying for opportunities to have those experiences again. God has definitely been answering those prayers. And this last book we’ve read on organizing time has been a great help in that. The HS is definitely teaching me a lot and pushing me to be more proactive in my spiritual walk. There are no college professors waiting and ready to teach me what I want to learn in the bible, I need to get engaged myself, pray, read, study, and fellowship with other believers. Living adult life away from the bible belt and away from the Christian college experience is one of growth for sure. The Lords has me living in Florida for some reason…
Yesterday was really quite warm so I filled the water table with water for the boys to play in. Ian got inside it and had a great time. I got him dried off in time for my small group to arrive and then he and another friend ended up getting into the water table again.
