The Weekend Zoo: In short

The zoo is closed today due to sickness--the Monkey and baby kangaroo are both running fevers and just generally being sickies.  Poor boys.

Mommy and Lamb are hiding from the germs.  And to pass the time, Lamb is making a list of every animal in the world.  We could be here a while.

By the way, I've learned that it is only $100 to have the Zoomobile from our local zoo to come out with some animals and do a show.  I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much I want to do this for Roo's birthday.  There's no way on earth it's going to happen, but how fun would that be?!  Anybody have an extra $100 laying around?  Just kidding.  And if you do, it would probably be better donated toward our Mozambique mission than having a zoo show for a 1-year-old.  But it would still be fun.  ;-)

Grow, Baby, Grow!

Yesterday we took Roo to the local Down's Clinic at our Children's Hospital. I was prepared to come out of there feeling really overwhelmed and depressed, because FOUR different moms have told me that was how they felt at their appointments there. Apparently the doctors and therapists there tend to look at the worst-case scenario and err on the side of caution rather than the side of hope. It didn't sound pleasant.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Our intake nurse was fabulous, and the doctor, while not exactly my BFF, was calm and not over-the-top in her concern and relatively friendly. Thank you, Lord.

 

Anyway, as I mentioned on Wednesday, we took Roo in because his growth has slowed. He went from 4 lbs, 2 oz at birth to over 12 lbs at 6 months. But now, six months later, he's just hitting 15 lbs. Now, a child's growth does slow in the second six months of life, but his slowed more than it should have. But the doctor, as I said, wasn't alarmingly concerned. She just made a few suggestions to help boost his growth, and asked us to follow-up with a nutritionist (and do a couple of follow-up weight checks). Her main concern is that he's not drinking enough formula (He's only drinking 16-18 ounces per day, and he should be taking a minimum of 24 ounces), so we're trying to encourage him to drink more. Of course, we have this whole big conversation about how he doesn't usually even finish his bottle, and he just doesn't want any more. And then it's time to give him a bottle while we're there. We fix a 4-oz bottle (which is what he usually takes, and leaves ½-1 ounce in it), and he DRAINS every last drop. So she gave us a sample of PediaSure (more on that in a minute), and we give him two ounces. He drains that, and then refuses to stop sucking or let me take the bottle! I finally wrestle it away from him, give him ANOTHER 2 ounces of it (That's EIGHT ounces total, people!), and he absolutely SUCKS IT DRY. At that point the doctor suggested that we stop, since the PediaSure is so much higher in calories and might upset his stomach if he drank too much. That little booger really worked to make a liar out of this mama!

So in case you're wondering, here are the things that Roo is supposed to do—which most adults would give their left arm to have a doctor recommend…

• When he's eating baby food, we should add a teaspoon of melted butter or olive oil
  
• When he's eating crackers, puffs, etc, we should spread them with cream cheese or butter
  
• If we're giving him things like mashed potatoes, we should add butter or gravy
  
• We should give him less fruits & veggies, and more meats and carbs (higher in calories)
  

We are also supposed to go back to fortifying his formula (putting in more powder than normal) for the next few weeks. After that we are supposed to add stuff to his milk, but I am hoping to talk to the nutritionist before we do that. The doctor's suggestion yesterday was to just give him PediaSure (instead of milk) or add Carnation Instant Breakfast to his milk, and both of those products are either chocolate or vanilla flavored. I'd really rather not get him used to ALL of his milk being sugary and flavored, so I'm hoping we can just fortify the milk with one of the toddler formulas they make now.

SOOOOO all that to say, it was a positive appointment overall, and I am thankful for that. She did mention that Roo, whose growth has been tracking between the 10^th and 25^th percentile on the Down's chart, will likely not be in the starting lineup of his high school basketball team. With mommy's coordination genes being passed down, though, I'd say it was a safe bet that wasn't going to happen anyway.

Settling In

When Roo was just a teeny tiny newborn and spent a week in the hospital, I spent the days in a constant state of wondering, "What's next?" Every day seemed to bring new issues, new challenges. We went in for jaundice, and soon discovered thick blood, then poor growth, then high H&H levels in his blood, then increased sodium output… just to name a few. We finally got everything under control and got to go home. Hallelujah!

After a few days at home, the next reality set in: "Holy moly, I have 3 children ages 4 and under! What were we thinking???" (Which is funny, because we weren't *thinking* anything—Roo came as a total surprise.) The craziness of having a newborn combined with the craziness of having a 3-year-old and almost-5-year-old was overwhelming, although I think we adjusted more easily to Roo than we did to either of the other two. Still, it took a while to get into a groove.

And we were just getting into one, when our pediatrician asked us to have some genetic testing done "just to rule out any issues down the road." Ha. Just days before our sweet baby was 3 months old, our world was turned upside down when we were told, in a rather matter-of-fact manner, that he has Down syndrome.

The next several months were a series of CONSTANT ups and downs. CONSTANT. As if the emotional turmoil of dealing with this new diagnosis weren't enough, a question was raised from his karyotype that led to additional bloodwork and weeks and weeks of waiting for answers.

"I just want to feel settled!!!" I cried out to my husband. I wanted to know a final diagnosis and be done. Move on. Live life. But then I told him, "I'm starting to realize it's not going to be settled. There's always going to be something. Delays, therapies, health issues, concerns. This is our life now."

And… OK, to some degree that's true. Therapy is a part of our everyday life. Delays are definitely present. And yeah, when he starts to sniffle and sneeze, I worry more than I did/do with the other kiddos. But I was also wrong. We are getting settled. We don't live in a constant state of worry and waiting for the other shoe to drop. It is getting easier.

Of course, I say all of this less than 24 hours before we take Roo to our local Down's clinic. His growth has slowed significantly, and I'm a little bit concerned that our pediatrician doesn't have enough knowledge of Down syndrome when she advises us about what to do. So maybe we'll go in tomorrow and come out feeling unsettled all over again.

But do you know what I have learned in the past 11 months—and actually, the last 19 months, since we found out we were pregnant? I've learned that, no matter how unsettled I feel, I've got my feet on the Rock. He is firm and unchanging and won't let me fall.

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. –Deuteronomy 32:4

There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. –I Samuel 2:2

For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? –II Samuel 22:32

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior! –II Samuel 22:47

For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? –Psalm 18:31

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! –Psalm 18:46

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. –Psalm 95:1

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal. –Isaiah 26:4

Today has been brought to you by the letter "P"

Here is my day so far...

• Play date with a group from the Up Side of Downs
• Panera with my two little guys
• Penguins at the zoo--we got to feed them!

And tonight, praise time with Gungor--I'm so excited to take my family to see this group!

In the meantime...

• Plates--I need to do dishes
• Preening--My kiddos need baths desperately
• Post-school work--aka homework  (OK, so I had to get creative with the P's in this list... ;-) )

I sure hope tomorrow isn't full of Q's...

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G

The other day, I told Mr. Fantastic that I don't like to go out of my comfort zone. He replied with some mind-blowing wisdom: "That's why they call it a 'comfort zone', Honey."

Hmmm… Oh yeah. I guess that makes sense.

But I am about to go out of my comfort zone, friends. In fact, I am about to kiss my comfort zone goodbye and make a running leap.

Goodbye, comfort. Hello………………………………. Mozambique!

YES, I am going to Africa—you know, me, the girl who thinks staying at a Holiday Inn is "roughing it." The girl screamed when my husband pretended to throw a dead mouse at me. (Really? Did I honestly think he would do that?) The girl who is addicted to Facebook and my Panini maker and my heated mattress pad.

I'm going to spend almost two weeks in a small village in Mozambique, Africa.

I am quite nervous, but I am also unbelievably excited. Our church has adopted two villages there, where our primary mission is to provide them with clean water and Living Water. The clean water part has been accomplished—we have brought fresh water lines to the villages, which gives them easy access to drinking water, saving lives both because the water itself was filthy and because of the crocodiles inhabiting the nearby river. Now our teams, which go there twice a year, focus on the Living Water, which is Jesus. (See John 4:1-26 if that reference is unfamiliar to you, and feel free to contact me with any questions.)

So a group of 8 of us will be flying out on May 24 to love and teach the people in two African villages. We will be presenting them with highlights from Philippians, focusing on humility, unity, obedience, and stewardship. Another woman and I will be teaching the women, two men will be teaching the church leaders, and the other four will be working with the children.

It is scary and overwhelming and unknown and an amazing opportunity.

And here's the most amazing part. Each time we go, we also do a health lesson. The people in the villages, even those who are Christians, still hold to many teachings of the witch doctors. This means that they believe that sickness is often—if not always—the result of a curse of some kind. During the last trip, they addressed the topic of infertility, since women without children were considered cursed. The team taught the people all about the reproductive system (Can you imagine doing that through an interpreter???) and the possible causes of infertility, and a friend of mine who was there shared with the women her struggle with infertility. And as I thought about that, it reminded me of the emotions that I experienced when Roo was born… I don't know any witch doctors and I don't really believe in curses, but I sure felt that I was being punished—or worse, that Roo was being punished for something I had done. And if I felt that way, knowing all of the things I do both about science and about God, how would these women in Africa deal with Down syndrome or any of the other many, many things that can be "abnormal" at birth?

So I offered to share my story. And I think it's going to happen.

So… pray for me. Pray for our whole team. I will definitely be sharing more in the weeks to come. We have a lot of funds to raise, and I am in the process of finding out if there is a way that people can donate online—which would open great doors for a giveaway… ;-) And pray for my family, as I will be leaving four very special people behind, one of whom will be turning 6 while I'm gone.

And most of all, pray for the people in these two villages, that God will use us to bless them as much as I am certain they will bless us.

I'm being stretched, friends. It's a tiny bit painful, but a whole lot exciting.

Happiness

Yesterday morning before church, I walked into my room smiling, and Mr. Fantastic was sitting on our bed. "What's that smile for?" he asked.

"Um… I'm just… smiling," I told him.

We got into the car, and he looked at me and said, "What's that smile about?"

"I don't know… I'm just smiling," I said.

At church we divided up the kids and dropped them off at their classes, then met back in the lobby to go to our class. "What's that smile for?" he asked again.

"I don't know, I'm just smiling. I'm just… HAPPY," I explained self-consciously. "Is it that unusual???"

"Um… Honey… you've been in a funk for… a while," he answered.

Normally the fact that he's this surprised that I'm happy would make me sad, but I'm too happy to let it ruin my mood. Let's just pray that this keeps up. ;-)

The Weekend Zoo: Play date

I'm writing from a retreat on contentment.  Who knew that I had so much to learn?  OK, actually, I fully knew that I had a lot to learn about being content, but now my eyes are truly opening.  It's good stuff.

But today we're keeping it light, so let me run you through my little checklist of insanity that has made up my past few days:

• Girls' night with my favorite little girl and some of our BFFs -- check
• Stay up until 11 PM cleaning my house for a play date -- check
• Play date with 7 girls from my high school graduating class and all their kiddos -- check
• Quick clean-up of the house and pack for the retreat -- check
• Go on retreat, leaving my 4 loves to fend for themselves -- check

And still to come... go home and get kids to bed, go to church in the morning, go to dinner with my family, have another play date, and then another, and then another... All between now and Tuesday.  Something tells me I might need to schedule in some down-time for me and my kiddos.  But at least we're wearing ourselves out having fun.  ;-)

And just to show you the houseful that we had in our zoo on Friday...

Check out that crew!  A lot can change in 10-15 years.