Baby Blue Eyes

He kept leaning out of his seat to try and reach the cup of punch, so my friend's mom held it up for him to see what he wanted with it. He chewed on the bottom of the cup for a while! I guess he liked the cold.

The Artist

Levi is starting to actually draw shapes and objects now, as opposed to scribbles and squiggles and an occasional circle. One of his very favorite toys is his Doodle Pro. He brought it upstairs while I changed Jonas' diaper one day last week, so I snapped some photos.

He said these were "two eyes and two mouths"


This kid has some wild hair. He has Shane's hairline, color, and straight texture, but the thickness of my hair. So it sticks out all over the place, even when it's just been cut or brushed, but especially when it's neither, like in this pic.




Deep in concentration...


"CHEESE, Mommy!"

Not Me! Monday - 8/17/09

Are you feeling guilty for eating all the cereal you said was for the kids? Laden with remorse because you took a nap at your desk when your boss wasn't looking? Overcome with embarrassment when your child sticks their hand down their pants at the mall? We'll don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I did not answer the door in my pajamas, even though I knew somebody was dropping by. I'm always showered and dressed at 5 pm!

I have not been through drive thrus more times in the past few weeks than I have in, well, ever. I would never be that lazy!

I did not accidentally super glue my skin (and then have to leave it there because it was in a place that you would NOT want to put acetone...).

I was not that mom in the post office. You know, the one with the bratty child that everybody is staring at while said child screams at the top of his lungs so loud that you can feel your ears vibrating. Nope, my children are perfect angels that are only seen and not heard.

I did not have so much clean laundry on the kitchen table that there was no place left to sit down and eat. I always put the laundry away right away!

I did not feel like the worst car seat tech ever when Jonas' infant seat made that unmistakable *click* while I UNbuckled him, after arriving somewhere. Nope, I never make mistakes like that!

I did not offer to take photos for a friend's daughter's first birthday party and then have half of the photos be of my own kid. What kind of friend would do that?

Linda Update

Linda has been fighting hard and hanging in there. She was finally stable enough to have a CT scan, and it showed a pretty bad infection on her lung that the IV antibiotics she's on won't get rid of. She had a procedure to flush out the infected area with saline and antibiotics. They are hoping that will take care of the infection, but they won't know if it worked for a few days. If it doesn't work, the options after that are not good (this could include removing her entire lung). She is still sedated and resting peacefully. Her older son was able to visit her again. She still has a long way to go, so keep praying!

Jonas at 5 months

How sad is it that I was so late with my last post like this that this one is only two after it? Oh well... Here's little JP in the chair this month:

Pray for Linda

This is Linda and her husband Evan. I used to post with Linda on a message board when her first son was a toddler. He is now 7 and has a little brother that is a few weeks younger than Jonas.

Last month Linda came down with what she thought was the flu. She felt dehydrated, so she went to the ER, and it was discovered that she was in much worse condition than anyone expected. She had developed pneumonia, and then sepsis, an infection in her bloodstream. Her organs were failing and she was very, very sick. She was admitted to the ICU and spent a few weeks in a drug induced coma, on a ventilator. During this time it was determined that she had gotten so sick from toxic shock syndrome, caused by staph bacteria.

The doctors were able to culture her blood and get her on the right antibiotics, but the infection and TSS was so bad that her extremeties were deprived of oxygen and were badly damaged. Her fingers all turned black and died, and her feet are not in great shape either, although they thought she should be able to keep them.

Linda had started to improve and was even able to be taken off the sedation medications and wake up. Then this week she took another turn for the worse. She has sepsis and TSS once again, this time caused by c. diff. She is in another medically induced coma and her lungs are failing again. The medical staff is unable to do a CT scan and see how much damage the latest infection has caused because Linda is too unstable. She needs to be unhooked from most of the machines for the scan and they just don't think she can make it long enough.

Linda's older son, Ethan, has been kept at home because the doctors have said it would be too traumatic for him to see his mom so sick and unrecognizeable with all the machinery hooked up to her, the swelling, etc. The situation has become so dire that Ethan was allowed to visit this week. Now, not even Evan is able to visit because the risk of infection is too high, and he doesn't want to put the kids in danger.

These next few days will pretty much determine Linda's fate. She is very critically ill and they don't know if she will get better this time. Evan has asked that everyone pray for her. Not just for her to be healed, but for her to let God take control and for her salvation. Please pray for Linda, Evan, Ethan, and Oliver.