Anthony's home...

Hi All,

Anthony came home last night and is doing ok.  The nurse came this morning to give him his antibiotics.  Yesterday I'd made a joke that they should teach me how to administer his medicine via the pic-line...well, as it turns out that is actually the plan!

For her birthday, Hannah received the movie, Tinkerbell.  Since then, she's picked up one of the lines in the movie and has been saying, "Ha ha, real funny" when things don't go the way she planned (something we're trying to undo).....well, last night, all I could think was, "Ha ha, real funny" after I found out that they actually did think that I was going to administer antibiotics through my husband's IV!

It is 'funny' because I am a habitual fainter when it comes to blood and needles.  My sister is a Physician's Assistant and deals with blood and needles and things all the time....I pass out.  God makes us all unique!

So after finding this out last night, I had horrible and strange dreams about pic-lines for most of the night, apparently very nervous about this whole thing.....then the nurse came, and I had to learn how to do this.....which actually went ok, but afterwards I was a little queezy and light-headed, but didn't pass out--yippee!  Since there are 17 more treatments to go, I think and hope that this will get better and maybe I'll even get over my needle/blood sensitivity.

So, now we just have to ward off infection of the pic-line, hope that the infection in the other arm gets progressively better, keep the kids out of Anthony's arms since he can't use either to lift more than 15 lbs., and protect the pic-line from getting snagged by one of the kids....especially during the 4 hours a day that he's taking the medicine....so all in all, things are going well....and he's on the mend....

thanks for checking in with us and thanks for praying.

Erica

Anthony update.

Well, Anthony continues to maintain his status....the doctors feel that he's better enough to come home but needs to continue receiving IV antibiotics. So he's going to have a pic-line put in, in a little while, and then a nurse will come home to give him his medicine 2 x per day (I think)....I was wondering if they could just teach me how to hook him up to the medicine machine, so they don't have to send a nurse, but I don't think they thought that was a good idea  :-)

He's not very excited about the prospect of the pic-line, but will be happier and more comfortable at home.  The kids will likely miss visiting him at the hospital as there is a TV there that carries PBS (and Sesame Street), but they'll be glad that he's home....last night on the way home they ran through the various games that they play with daddy (wrestling, park ranger, crazy horse ride, etc.) to find out if they could do them without hurting his arm....they've concluded that Park Ranger is ok, wrestling is definitely out and the crazy horse ride game is a maybe since he doesn't use his arms, but his legs but he does have to lie on the ground and often the kids land on top of him....(I have a video of this game with all three kids holding on to his legs while he kicks up and down....the winner is the one who stays on the longest)....so we'll see what he can do when he gets here....

The doctors have made some funny/not-so-funny comments while he's been in hospital like, 'well, if we don't give you antibiotics there's a 60% chance you'll get better on your own, but we're not allowed to withhold treatment to see if you'll heal yourself or not--we're not allowed to do those kind of experiments' and 'if we don't give you medicine you probably won't die but it's probably better for you to take them' and the one from the ER the night before he was admitted 'Well, you won't loose your arm in the next 12 hours if we send you home so just arrive here when we open if the redness spreads', then upon arriving in the morning after, a nurse said, " I can't believe it's gotten this far....you could loose your arm!"....and finally, a nurse just told him, "wow! you have celulitus?  People die from that!"...... so, some notable quoteables from the hospital....

We're thankful for your prayers, for the care that he has received, for the fact that he's getting better, and for the grace and mercy that's been shown to us during this time..... We have much to be thankful for.....

Erica

Doing Better

Anthony's beginning to do better now, though this evening the infection started to make a little more headway again. But overall I think he's on the mend.  He's still in the hospital and may stay there until Thursday or so. The kids and I are being so well cared for by our Church family, with lots of offers to bring meals and/or to watch the kids....someone even offered to watch my friends kids so that she could come over to help me!  :-)  It's a blessing to see the love of Christ radiate from His people in such practical and sacrificial ways.

Anthony's been given a few opportunities to minister to people at the hospital which has been a blessing and was something we have been praying for all along.

thanks for your prayers on his behalf....he's not home yet, but at least seems to be doing much better.

Erica

Anthony Update..please pray

Hi,

Anthony has been admitted to hospital today.  A nurse that saw him when he first came in Christmas Eve, was alarmed when she saw how bad the infection was and how far it had spread. She recommended (in no uncertain terms) that he request to be seen by an infectious disease doctor.  She said that if it doesn't get taken care of quickly, that there is a good possibility that he could loose his arm.  Please pray that the doctors use wisdom, caution and correct medicine as they care for him and that the Lord would see fit to allow his arm to heal completely.  We trust that all things are under the care of our Lord and Savior.

Erica

Update

Anthony's hospital visits have continued.  He's just returned from another ER visit, where they treated him for two types of infections.  Thankfully he was able this morning to preach at a church south of us, but by the time he got home, he needed to go back to the ER.  They told him that if it has not dramatically improved by the morning, after these treatments, that he needs to go back first thing in the morning and they will have to admit him into the hospital to figure out what he has and to treat him more aggressively.  We are praying that the Lord will see fit to allow his arm to heal over night, and that the doctors have given him the right medication to fight the infection that he has.  So, basically more of the same.  Please pray that he will heal over night and not need to be admitted into the hospital.  Thanks a bunch!  Erica

Anthony Update....

Well, our 'different than expected' kind of Christmas has continued :-)

Anthony got home last night around 1:00 with a new diagnosis. By the morning, the infection continued to spread, justifying another trip to the ER. He was treated again, with another round of IV antibiotics and was home at 2:00 with a new diagnosis and a doubled dose of the oral antibiotic.

We ended up cancelling our plans with the people who were to be coming over because we thought initially that he may have a contagious infection of some kind.

Since our guests weren't coming, and the kids and I had been in all day, we went to the park.....by the time we got home, Anthony's arm was again swollen and the infection was spreading past the lines the doctors had drawn to keep track of the swelling....so back to the ER he went for his 4th visit in less than 48 hours.....they treated him for a different kind of infection, again with IV antibiotics and gave him another type of prescription.

He's home now, feeling better (the flu-like symptoms are gone), and so far, the swelling has not spread.....tomorrow morning, he's preaching at a church south of us and after that, has to go back to the doctor for a check up....they'd like him to come back each day for the next 3-4 days.

So, pretty weird huh? The doctors don't know what he has, why he has it, how to treat it, or where it came from.....but there is one Divine Physician who does know and He is in control of all of this.....

As Anthony was leaving this morning, we prayed that he would have an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone....well, sure enough, there is a security guard at this hospital that Anthony had the opportunity to share with once before when Malachi had to go to this same ER. Anthony's been able to share the Gospel with him and follow up with him most of the times he's been back there for this strange event....so we will be praying for this man's soul....

God has His purposes for all things.....for His glory and for the good of His people...so we trust that this 'not so normal Christmas' and this very strange ailment, has been ordained for us for our good and for His glory.

Merry Christmas to all!

Erica

Christmas and Expectations.....

Hi,

It's almost 11:00 on Christmas Eve....and I hope you are all having a very merry Christmas this year. It is the time of year when we remember that God--the Creator of all that exists, and of each one of us--gave up all that He had in order to become a man. Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, by whom all things have their being, sacrificed so much in order to humble Himself so that we could be reconciled to Him.

We had an ultrasound yesterday of our little new addition....and I couldn't help but be reminded that God became a little 18 week baby like the one I saw on the screen yesterday! It's just mind-boggling if you think of it for only a little while....hopefully it is also soul-boggling (if that is a word), unto repentance and gratefulness for His love....no greater love has one than that he lay down his life for a friend.....and He lay down everything over and over again, for us!

But that's not what I was going to write about.....I was going to write about how Christmas is such a time of expectations. We want things to go a certain way, the food to taste just right, the people to arrive as scheduled, the kids to be thankful for their gifts and to be especially good, the house to stay clean, the family/relatives to get along....etc....whatever the expectations, I think we mostly all have plenty of them around this time of year....at least I know I do.

Well, this Christmas has not gone according to plan so far. We begin celebrating on Christmas Eve morning, which was this morning....when Anthony woke up with a swollen elbow that required him to head to the Emergency Room....instead of help me with the kids while I cooked as planned.
Problem #1 - strangely swollen elbow and a trip to the ER.
Problem #2 - A lot of cooking to do, and only one grown up in the house

Well, thankfully, as I was waking up this morning I prayed, "Lord, please just give me the grace that you know I'll need for whatever happens today--and please help me to have the heart of Mary while I know there's a lot of Martha's work to do." (if you know the story of Mary and Martha you'll know what this prayer meant).

The rest of the day was just a series of things that didn't go quite the way we expected. Anthony came home from the ER with a diagnosis of Bursitis....more to come on that....

While pouring the cupcake batter into the papers for Jesus' Birthday celebration, One of the kids accidently kicked over the whole pan onto the floor. So we started over.....

Essie got a fat lip because she tripped and hit her face on a corner.....

The 3 batches worth of dough for the bread dumplings didn't rise...and they ended up pretty hard.....requiring that we make more batches....

Our guests had a similar type day and ended up arriving quite a bit late.....which cancelled one of my favorite Christmas traditions of decorating cupcakes and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus...(though I hope to do it tomorrow).....and meant there was just enough time for us all to quickly feed dinner to all 7 kids, eat our own dinners and get everyone dressed for church.....talk about a whirlwind....

The cookies for the neighbors flopped completely.....

The bike we'd gotten for Malachi didn't work out so well.....and we likely need to get a different one....

The cake I made for the church Christmas Eve service got stepped on by one of the kids while getting out of the car.....smashing the icing decorations that I'd done.....

I finally managed to send out our Christmas newsletter and immediately after sending it realized that I'd put all the email addresses in the 'To" box instead of the 'BCC' box, meaning that I sent out everyone's email addresses....please forgive me if you were one of those people!....

And Anthony is now back at the Emergency Room with what seems to be an infection somewhere....he headed there as soon as we returned from church. He's getting some antibiotics right now, and hopefully will call (or be home) soon.....

So, this is not the way that Christmas was supposed to go by my standards....but all through the day, I've been thinking (as each new mishap has occurred)....this is EXACTLY how the Lord has wanted this day to go! This day is NOT about perfect food, guests arriving on time, traditions getting done, a clean house, gifts working out as planned, etc....This day IS about Jesus and that fact that HE came, HE gave, HE came to save, HE came to serve, HE came to die, HE came to save us from the punishment of our sins, HE-the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came to earth, lived a completely sinless life and died willingly on a cross for our sakes....and more than that....it was while we were sinners and not appreciating His sacrifice that He did this....it was out of Love, Grace and Mercy that HE chose to come to earth to live like one of us and to live among us.

Can you imagine having lived with God the Father in perfect unity for all of eternity and then coming to this earth to live among us? What a contrast! Yet He did it and He never sinned....not as a baby, as a toddler, a child, a teen, never!!!!

Anyway, not completely sure what my point is except that Christmas is often about expectations not being met...and mine sure weren't met this time around...but that's ok with me....there are other expectations that I have that have been exceeded beyond what I could ever imagine.....I never expected to be loved by God, yet He died for me. I never knew I even needed a Savior, yet He showed me that I did and that He had already saved me and redeemed me. I never expected to receive a gift of eternal life with God, yet He gave it willingly.

My unmet expectations of today are far out-shadowed and paled by the exceedingly great way that He has met needs that I didn't know I had until He'd already met them....all by His glorious grace.

I hope this post makes sense as it's now 11:30...and it's been a long day....but I just felt like writing this little bit....and again, if you received our newsletter with all the emails....I'm sorry, I feel pretty silly and bad about it....sure wish there was an 'unsend' button on those emails sometimes!

Hopefully I'll have an update on Anthony soon and will remember to post it here....

Merry Christmas to you! May you come to worship Jesus -- the Lord and Savior of mankind--all the more this year!

Erica

Hannah's Birthday

Hannah is turning three this coming Tuesday but we celebrated this morning. I thought I'd put a couple of pictures up here of her.....she's grown so much these days. Here she is with one of her little friends, Ella. Notice that she's wearing a bike helmet :-) For her birthday Grandma Ellie and Grandpa Hans gave her a bike, we gave her this helmet....she wore it the entire party and only took it off an hour ago because it was time for her to nap (and napping in a bike helmet just doesn't seem very comfortable)....

Here's the bike, which she rode around the park for over an hour doing lap after lap. Many of her friends brought their bikes to her party, so they all got to ride around together.....oh, yeah, does she look different to you? Notice the fat lip? Last night there was a little collision between her two front teeth and the bathtub. The two front teeth are slightly loose, her lip is blue and swollen....perfect for pictures on a birthday! (I think the teeth will remain in her mouth, they're not too loose....we'll find out soon enough though)

Here's just a couple of pictures of little Hannah....she's such a sweet girl...very nurturing, caring and sweet. She loves to take care of others, including me and is usually watching out for other people. She loves learning how to do work around the house, and just finds much joy in helping. The Lord blessed us greatly with her.....

I love her bright smile....her whole face lights up. Well, Happy Birthday Hannah! You are a true joy, and surely are a 'BIG blessing in a little-bitty body'.