The FIRST stitch

How many times has Jonathan fallen, and I've picked him up expecting to see blood and found none?  How many times have I breathed a prayer of thanks in those moments?  Finally it happened and the blood was there and so we had to get..... the FIRST stitch.

I'll tell you already....he's fine after his ordeal.  Thank you Lord!

We don't live in a child proofed country.  We have open ditches, dangerous drop-offs and sharp corners everywhere....and I do mean EVERYWHERE, even the "safe" American-influenced campus environment where Dave teaches!  So while Jonathan was learning to walk and in the following months either Dave or I had to stay 2 inches close in order to keep him from serious injury.  This child of ours still doesn't have much fear .....he's all "Jump in first and ask questions later." 

Anyhow, now that he's finally almost 3 and steady on his feet, we're letting him have a bit of lee way.  Last Friday (10 days ago) we (Jenn and the boys) went to school to have lunch with Dave on campus, as is our weekly routine.  After lunch Jonathan decided to refill his water bottle under Dave's direct supervision.  As he went to dump the old water into the ditch, he stumbled and fell over the ditch and hit his head on the sharp corner.  I was only about 10 feet away visiting with a friend and felt unconcerned as I watched Dave pick Jonathan up from one of only 1000 similar falls every year.  Then I heard Dave's voice over Jonathan's screams "Uh....Jenn?"  So yep, sure enough, he had gashed his forehead.

As wounds go, I think God was breaking us in easy.  Both Dave and I were right there when it happened.  The wound was less than an inch long and stopped bleeding with just a few minutes of pressure.  It was lunch time at school so there were oodles of people around to help....one ran for guaze, another ran for a teacher who knows first aid, another held Joshua, another packed up our lunch dishes, and another said "I'll drive you to the hospital if you need to go."  So we decided he needed stitches and off to the hospital we went. 

On this particular Friday afternoon, the "emergency room" at the private hospital was empty and we had no wait.  The nice female doctor decided he needed one stitch.  We burrito wrapped Jonathan in a big blanket and 4 adults held him down as he screamed 100 times "I WANT MY WATER BOTTLE!"  The male nurse put in a nice little stitch and we were out of there in about 30 minutes.  Our bill:  the equivalent of $15. 

Jonathan points to the blood stain left where he fell.  "My blood came out" he says.

Full view of the ditch.

I confess I do often get scared if I think about all of the horrible things that can happen to my children.  Dave and I are more safety conscious than most parents we know here ....for instance we are the only family I know who make our child wear a helmet just riding bikes around our neighborhood.  I go through periods of increased fear sometimes when I have to wrestle with the Lord about this dangerous world we live in.  It's not that I think living overseas is necessarily more dangerous than living in America.  I think Bethany's death has taught us that the bad things really CAN happen to us.  Yet our experience with Jonathan's first stitch help affirm to me that when the bad things do happen, God is there providing His agents to help and he prepares the way. 

Joshua 10 months -- 10 milestones!

We've had 3+ weeks of sick kids here -- I find that blogging time got sucked away by the time spent wiping runny noses.  I never knew it could take so much time!  When you consider how much time it takes to wipe the nose, dispose of the tissue (and the garbage can is way back in the storeroom behind a closed door now safe from a little guy's curiosity) and then wash hands.  At least one minute x 2 kids x 30 times a day -- that's a whole hour a day just wiping noses!

Ha, ha, excuses, excuses.  I think there is some truth to it, though.  I have much I could tell, but today's post is dedicated to Joshua who is 10 months old now and trying so hard to leave his babyhood behind.

So 10 months .....10 milestones:  ( I had to look in my What-to-Expect book for some of the milestones.)

1.  WALKING -- He took his first 10 steps on October 19 during our evening devotions at age 9 months, 9 days.  He gained strength quickly and is now walking like a pro, turning corners without falling, doing full 180s, walking backwards, squats, walking while clapping or waving a dish towel, and slow bee-bopping to music.

2.  TALKING -- He says (all at the appropriate times) "ma-ma,", "da-da", "ba-ba" (ball), and "a-meh" (amen.)  Believe it or not, he's also saying a quite recognizable "Thank you" on a regular basis!

3.  THROWING OVERHAND -- He is going to be our athlete I think.  He loves to play with balls and can kick things with quite a lot of accuracy.  He'll go around the house throwing his little orange ball and then chasing it and  picking it up.

4.  PICKS UP SMALL OBJECTS -- Yep, he's been doing this for a while.  I call it his "puppy" stage because if I don't watch out he will crawl around under the table looking for crumbs to eat.  He often succeeds and I'll find him sitting somewhere "chewing" on something.  He's gotten good at the jaw-shut-tight thing too so I don't take away his treat!

5.  PROTESTS WHEN SOMEONE TAKES SOMETHING AWAY FROM HIM -- Jonathan delights in taking away any toy that Joshua is holding, and yes he has definitely learned to protest!

6.  PLAYS PEEK-A-BOO -- He loves this game in its various forms.  Dave says it's not a very exciting video for a man, but that the grandmas might like it, so here you go.

7.  FIRST BIG SICKNESS and ANTIBIOTICS --  A few weeks ago he was so sick I got scared.  He had been having fevers for a day or so but that Thursday he spiked from normal to 105 F in about 30 minutes, just 2 hours after I had given him Ibuprofen.   His hands and feet turned dusky and he got very lethargic and just whimpered.  We got some labs done and they were normal and he gradually got better over the next few days.  It was probably just one of the normal viruses that go around, but I didn't like it. 

8.  WAVES BYE-BYE--He's just mastered it this week.  When he waves he also says "Da-Da" which is Indonesian for Bye-Bye.

9.  UNDERSTAND NO -- Actually he's a lot better at this than his brother who is almost 3!

10.  DRINK FROM A CUP -- He can do this, but watch out and be prepared to totally change his clothes afterward!

Wished for, but not yet achieved, milestone:  Sleeping through the night.  Sigh.  

No pictures of Jonathan in this post ....he has a birthday this weekend so I have something planned for that.  :)

Our life in pictures -- October 2012

Normally I would separate these photos into separate posts and make them a little more cute and a little more organized....but I have quite a backlog of cuteness going on here and I realize it's now or never!  The boys have been sick with colds and fevers the last week or so, so I'm just happy to be getting them on the blog as they are.....ENJOY!!!

If you look closely, you can see that Jonathan is slowly learning to write some of the letters in his name here!  We enjoyed this cheap box of colored chalk we bought locally last year.

Shadow play

Did you ever know that Thomas the Train is also a pilot?  While I think it's safe to say that Jonathan and Joshua like their toys, I have to confess I have a true toy obsession.  Over the summer, I spent much of my spare time on the hunt for "new" toys at thrift shops and garage sales.  What you see here is part of the results of my treasure hunting! 

Awh, this is my old friend Minarni, a colleague from Bethesda Nursing Academy where I worked when I was single on the island of Kalimantan.  She was passing through and stopped by our house for a few hours.  Joshua fell asleep in her arms within 60 seconds of meeting her. 

Jonathan put these puzzles together ALL BY HIMSELF!

Morning tooth brushing time.  I have to work hard to keep him from spinning around in circles while he is brushing....try to get him to focus on actually getting his teeth clean!  (In the evenings, I do the brushing for him, so they get one guaranteed good scrub per day.)  Blue potty chair in the background is now stored on the toilet instead of the floor to keep little brothers hands out of it!

It's not the first time you've seen train tracks in our house, and it won't be the last!  This one was special because of the "tunnels" going round and round under the bed!

Our guest room got a bit of use this month when our dear friends Paul and Becky Geary came to stay for a few nights.  They still serve at Bethesda Mission Hospital in Kalimantan, and currently their youngest child is attending Mountainview.  They are coming to town from time to time this year to check on their kid, which is great for us since they are some of my most favorite people in the whole wide world! 

We are getting more and more of this in the house every day -- Jonathan and Joshua sharing toys and playing peacefully together.  It still usually ends with Jonathan hitting Joshua on the head (and subsequent consequences from Mommy), but at least it's progress!

 

Awh, isn't he sweet?  This is his 5 a.m. smile, and indeed this photo was taken at 5 a.m.  Sometimes I can keep him quiet in bed until close to 6 a.m., but often he makes so much noise cooing and being happy that I just take him into the guest room so he doesn't wake up the entire household.

Yep, he's got four big teeth now.

I turned my back on the baby for 2 minutes, and this is what he did ....climbed up on the ottoman and then to standing by holding onto the couch.  He was pretty pleased with himself....his first big climb.  When I ran to grab the camara, Jonathan had to show that he could do it too.

We got some Cheerios via a friend who went to Singapore for visa purposes.  Rice Krispies and Kellogg's corn flakes have gone global, but we still can't get Cheerios here.  It's so hard to find healthy snack foods for kids here...so the Cheerios are a big blessing.  I can make a 14 oz. box last for 2 months by keeping it in the freezer in ziplock bags and doling them out in scanty portions.  Whenever a Cheerio lands on the floor, I grieve the waste.  Joshua loved them INSTANTLY. 

Did you know that Cheerios can make you so tired?

My birthday pedicure!  I turned 38 on October 20!  It was a lovely day!  Dave watched the boys while I went for a pedicure with Becky Geary (who also had a birthday that week!)  A two hour pedicure here only cost $6.50.  Dave and I were also able to slip out for a date night in the evening while the boys stayed with a babysitter. 

This little guy has been loving mommy and daddy's bed lately and often will not sleep in his pak-n-play!

Yep, it's another train track picture.  This time with our thrift shop Lincoln Log ("Winkin Wog") station and signal house. 

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of "Our Life in Pictures!" 

Remembering Bethany in October

It's October.  Most of my life, I had thought of October has being my birthday month.  However, I'm now aware that October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.  I'm sure you didn't know that.  I sure didn't before we had a reason to know.  Prior to Bethany's death, I had rarely ever thought about what it would be like to lose a baby.  Soon afterwards, I discovered that many -- a dozen or more -- people I know and had known for years, had lost a baby and carried those scars for the rest of their lives.  As we do now.

If you are new to our blog and to our family journey, Bethany's complete story is HERE.  

We celebrated Bethany's 4th birthday on July 22.  Below is a photo of the birthday party we had for her.  Her picture.  A balloon.  A cake that said "Happy Birthday Bethany Joy." Ice cream.  Family.

Our Forever Baby turns 4!

I still get teary eyed at times when I remember our daughter.  The grief is changing though.  How amazing to look at this photo.  Her photo remains the same black-and-white image that will never be replaced with pictures of her growing up.   Our family is changing and growing -- the photo from Bethany's birthday last year did not have Joshua in it!

How does grief grow and change?  After 4 years of avoidance, I'm now thinking about getting Bethany's music CD out again....and it doesn't pain me to think of it.  In fact, I found myself singing one of those songs to Joshua the other day.  It's a sign to me that we are healing, and our boys are the greatest healing salve of all.  We are so thankful for them.  We are also thankful for Bethany's vibrant life in heaven -- I think of her as a growing girl there. 

I met a couple last year who had lost a baby to SIDS about 25 years ago.  They now say that, although the grief process was long and painful, it was one of the best things that could have happened to them, because of how God showed his graciousness to them.   I don't know if I will ever say that Bethany's death was the best thing that ever happened to me.....but I am thankful that she is safe in heaven and am confident in her security.

We still give our deepest gratitude to the wonderful organization, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, who helped us in our time of need to provide such beautiful pictures of Bethany during her last day on earth.   These photos have been a crucial part of our healing process.  Do you know that we never held her, wire free, until her last 14 hours of life?  Yet we have dozens of professional photos of Dave and I embracing her -- just herself with none of that ugly medical equipment in the picture.  Those 14 hours were far too short, but our photos keep those memories fresh in our minds while the other less pleasant times are actually fading away to a place too deep to recall easily.

Please, if there ever comes a time in your life that you would know of a family who has just lost a baby, or has a terminally ill infant, do what you can to help them get Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep involved.  They offer this free service to anyone with this specific need and have volunteer photographers on call all throughout the United States and some other parts of the world too.  

Learning new moves

When Jonathan turned 2, we told ourselves he would be getting a bike as a late birthday present.    Finally last month I was able to find his bike!  See for yourself how he's doing!

A few things to watch for in the video .....Joshua practicing his wave and a surprise ending!  (No band-aids necessary!)   (P.S.  Gem, if you're out there, thanks for the great sun hat for Joshua!  We're using it a lot!)

Joshua is continuing to work very hard on his motor skills.  He just turned 9 months old yesterday, so check out what he can do!

hh

Learning to move!

I know it's been a while since I blogged anything.  I got on the computer tonight to put something new up, and then Dave and walked in and said "Jenn, you'll never believe it.  There's a snake wrapped around our door handle."  So I grabbed the camera and my machete --  I purchased this item in brilliant foresight a few months ago as I have had to use it in the past to chop off snake heads.  Now it's an hour later and I can't find the camera.  The snake is now headless and the machete back in it's safe storage spot.  Lest you get too excited ....it was just a little brown baby snake and Dave did the chopping ....snakes just don't belong in the house.  It was our first Salatiga snake.  

In other news, it has finally started raining.  We've had a bit of rain 4 days in a row now ....just spits and spats....hardly enough to even get wet with.   It has definitely brought about a change in the atmosphere though....lots of nice breezes and thunder and dark rolling clouds overhead.  

So since I don't have time to post any new pictures tonight, I'll just publish these pictures that I uploaded about a month ago and never finished up.  They are still cute.  :) 

This picture cracks me up.  Joshua started crawling just a few days after we arrived back from the US.  Jonathan wasn't used to Joshua getting into his toys.  This picture represents one of his first frustrating attempts to prevent his little brother from bothering his stuff -- all spare train track parts stowed inside train loop.  Then he would grab a "Baby Toy" and put it in front of Joshua.  As you can see Joshua is totally ignoring the now boring rattles and making a bee line for the train track.  I can't remember what happened, but I don't think it was pretty. 

Here's Joshua chasing a ball in his early days of crawling.

Brotherly interaction is becoming more positive.  Since Joshua has been using his Fred Flintstone car quite a bit, he and Jonathan can interact eye to eye.

I couldn't believe it when he starting pulling up to a stand just a day or so after he started crawling.

More practice standing ....and more train tracks as you can see.

More of the same .....so cute!  The sense of pride, amazement, and pure fun accomplishment is such a sweet thing to witness in these little ones!

Oregon Coast 1 -- Summer Recap 2012 part 4

One fine week in July, my aunt Marlene from Seattle came to visit in Lebanon.  We took our opportunity to head to the Oregon Coast for the day!  The last time Dave and I were at the coast was our honeymoon 5 years ago, so it was fun to visit there again with Jonathan and Joshua, plus Mom and Marlene.

Our first stop was the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center, which has been totally revamped since I was there last!  We decided it was just enough aquarium for a toddler, and plus it's free!  They still have the wonderful tide pool displays where kids can touch starfish and abalone and anemones!  

Sea stars!

Oh, the wonderful experience of touching a sea anemone and watching it pull in it's tentacles!

Wow, has the octopus display ever improved!  When I went to the science center as a kid, the octopus was always hiding at the bottom of a black opaque bucket shaped tank!  This octopus isn't shy to stretch out her arms for everyone to see! 

Joshua enjoyed some sensory experience too!

The wave pool was a lot of fun!  We all took turns building a dike and then making waves to knock it down!

And last, a group picture in front of the yellow Actually, this is the only picture from the whole day that has me (Jennifer) in it! 

Check back next week for part 2, pictures on the beach!