Dealing with mental illness is just not fun. My six year old son should not have to deal with so much! I just ache for him... Glenn and I just ache for him so very much!!! We are heartbroken for him... If our mind is on overload from seeing him like this, what must HE be going through? :o(
Today was a rough, rough day. Ethan came home this afternoon from school and within two minutes everything went haywire... it continued until church time and only ended then because Glenn insisted that he go to sleep during church. It began again when he woke up.
Please pray! Things have escalated lately and he's going through medicine changes to see what will work. PRAY! It's what gets us through.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A LONG post about the building....
This is for you very detail oriented people, like ME :o)
And for you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about (if you're not on facebook with me....) ...we've been interested in a church building we recently found out about. It's on the National Register of Historic places as it was built in 1860... This is the account of us going with a realtor yesterday to see the inside :o) ...
It was a crisp, (fall) evening as we pulled up to the building. The temperature was 66. That's actually warmer than is usual for this time of year. It felt good!
The building itself is in need of a good coat of paint. I can't imagine why it was left this way outside by the former congregation, but perhaps they were older, small, and had no money... I don't know... it just really seemed a shame to me.
We were there 10 minutes earlier than the realtors, a husband and wife team. Once they arrived, we did the traditional Minnesota thing of not only introducing ourselves, but talking about where we live, "do you know so and so? He's related to ol' so and so"....etc. Before long, you begin wondering, "why were here in the first place?" and "when are we ever going inside?!" ha ha
We were led around to the side, and entered through what we thought could be a "prophet's chamber". We were told that an addictions group of some sort had been meeting there. (a year ago or so and they left their stuff). Striking is the fact that after being told an "ADDICTIONS" group was meeting there, the first box I see is that of Vodka! (filled with books, etc. but a Vodka box ).
The realtors, who were super nice by the way, made us a path to the sanctuary as the house part is filled with SO MUCH stuff! We quickly realize that the house part is not in good shape and at best needs lots of work. Being assured that the sanctuary is in great condition, we press on. Anxious to get there, we turn sideways through the boxes (did I say LOTS of boxes?!) and make it to "the promised land". The sanctuary itself IS indeed in great shape! It's been remodeled and is really nice. I quickly asked if I could take pictures and begin doing so. I sat on a pew, and as a person of much girth (that means "heavy!") can tell you that indeed the pews are structurally sound, sister. They are comfortable and have red padding on the bottom part. The carpet is a tannish, brownish type, and appears to be in good condition as well. The "stage area has a place, a cut out place where you would think a baptistry could eventually go. (however, the Mississippi River is so close by that it's really not a problem at least during the summer). Shall we gather at the river?
As I sat down, I noticed the extremely tall windows and began wondering about the history of this building. I would certainly LOVE to read it! "If these walls could talk?" I could imagine business meetings of days gone by, and horses and buggies waiting outside.
I got up to join the others with the rest of the tour. There is a "cry room" or small nursery and it's complete with a rocking chair, toys on the floor, and a crib. In the foyer, (vestibule) is a coat rack which is a nice feature in this climate, and a small table. We were led downstairs to a large room which would be a fellowship hall. The sister in our church and I were imagining how many children we could get in there for meetings! We noticed a Sunday School room that is spacious and sort of connects (strangely) to the kitchen. There is a place where we could divide the room. There is also another long Sunday School room, making it possible to have 3 rooms for Sunday School downstairs.
The kitchen currently has turquoise colored cabinets (that color would HAVE to go! ha) and comes with a stove. (which would probably need to be replaced). Glenn and the brother from our church inspected the furnace area and I kept the kids back and began taking more pictures. There are stairs from down there that lead back up to the door from which we originally entered (the house area). Not wanting to huff and puff in public from the "high tailing it" up the stairs, I made my way back up to the sanctuary. I also wanted to take more pictures and just sit and think !
Soon, I was joined by the others and we talked some more about all we had seen.
The realtor lady informed us she would go make a bigger path for us back through the maze of boxes and off we went. After making it half way back through, the realtor man took the men upstairs in the house area. When they returned, we went on outside and talked some more.
It didn't take long before I decided to take my boys to the truck (Cala was not with us- as it was the first Girl Scouts meeting of the season), and I excused myself to do so. I stood outside the truck and took a picture or two, and saw a nice looking couple with a stroller in tow, out for a family walk. I heard the man say, "ah, maybe they will buy it!" and he promptly waved at me. I waved back of course and thought, "yes, maybe we will." I took a picture of the steeple area, where a bell once was, and heard the realtors say that the previous church took the bell with them. We were then told the story of a 69 year old woman (some years ago now) who had gone to church there as a child and had been back in the area and wanted to ring the bell once more.... so she climbed up there, broke through a 60 something year old plus window to get to the bell!!!
It wasn't long that we were all in our vehicles and back on the road home. (10 miles from us). Of course we could not quit talking about it, what we thought, what we envision, etc.
We went by our church members' home and Glenn discussed it a bit with the man as he is more knowledgeable in wiring, etc. etc. They talked about how much they thought it would take to get the place really ready... you know, 'if money weren't an issue' do you think it would be worth it? The answer is yes. We all seem to be feeling that.
We will talk more tonight at church and have special prayer concerning it. Of course we all know that if God wants us to have this place, HE will provide for it. If not, He has some place else in mind. We just want what He wants, and we want a permanent (at least for now :o) home for the church.
And for you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about (if you're not on facebook with me....) ...we've been interested in a church building we recently found out about. It's on the National Register of Historic places as it was built in 1860... This is the account of us going with a realtor yesterday to see the inside :o) ...
It was a crisp, (fall) evening as we pulled up to the building. The temperature was 66. That's actually warmer than is usual for this time of year. It felt good!
The building itself is in need of a good coat of paint. I can't imagine why it was left this way outside by the former congregation, but perhaps they were older, small, and had no money... I don't know... it just really seemed a shame to me.
We were there 10 minutes earlier than the realtors, a husband and wife team. Once they arrived, we did the traditional Minnesota thing of not only introducing ourselves, but talking about where we live, "do you know so and so? He's related to ol' so and so"....etc. Before long, you begin wondering, "why were here in the first place?" and "when are we ever going inside?!" ha ha
We were led around to the side, and entered through what we thought could be a "prophet's chamber". We were told that an addictions group of some sort had been meeting there. (a year ago or so and they left their stuff). Striking is the fact that after being told an "ADDICTIONS" group was meeting there, the first box I see is that of Vodka! (filled with books, etc. but a Vodka box ).
The realtors, who were super nice by the way, made us a path to the sanctuary as the house part is filled with SO MUCH stuff! We quickly realize that the house part is not in good shape and at best needs lots of work. Being assured that the sanctuary is in great condition, we press on. Anxious to get there, we turn sideways through the boxes (did I say LOTS of boxes?!) and make it to "the promised land". The sanctuary itself IS indeed in great shape! It's been remodeled and is really nice. I quickly asked if I could take pictures and begin doing so. I sat on a pew, and as a person of much girth (that means "heavy!") can tell you that indeed the pews are structurally sound, sister. They are comfortable and have red padding on the bottom part. The carpet is a tannish, brownish type, and appears to be in good condition as well. The "stage area has a place, a cut out place where you would think a baptistry could eventually go. (however, the Mississippi River is so close by that it's really not a problem at least during the summer). Shall we gather at the river?
As I sat down, I noticed the extremely tall windows and began wondering about the history of this building. I would certainly LOVE to read it! "If these walls could talk?" I could imagine business meetings of days gone by, and horses and buggies waiting outside.
I got up to join the others with the rest of the tour. There is a "cry room" or small nursery and it's complete with a rocking chair, toys on the floor, and a crib. In the foyer, (vestibule) is a coat rack which is a nice feature in this climate, and a small table. We were led downstairs to a large room which would be a fellowship hall. The sister in our church and I were imagining how many children we could get in there for meetings! We noticed a Sunday School room that is spacious and sort of connects (strangely) to the kitchen. There is a place where we could divide the room. There is also another long Sunday School room, making it possible to have 3 rooms for Sunday School downstairs.
The kitchen currently has turquoise colored cabinets (that color would HAVE to go! ha) and comes with a stove. (which would probably need to be replaced). Glenn and the brother from our church inspected the furnace area and I kept the kids back and began taking more pictures. There are stairs from down there that lead back up to the door from which we originally entered (the house area). Not wanting to huff and puff in public from the "high tailing it" up the stairs, I made my way back up to the sanctuary. I also wanted to take more pictures and just sit and think !
Soon, I was joined by the others and we talked some more about all we had seen.
The realtor lady informed us she would go make a bigger path for us back through the maze of boxes and off we went. After making it half way back through, the realtor man took the men upstairs in the house area. When they returned, we went on outside and talked some more.
It didn't take long before I decided to take my boys to the truck (Cala was not with us- as it was the first Girl Scouts meeting of the season), and I excused myself to do so. I stood outside the truck and took a picture or two, and saw a nice looking couple with a stroller in tow, out for a family walk. I heard the man say, "ah, maybe they will buy it!" and he promptly waved at me. I waved back of course and thought, "yes, maybe we will." I took a picture of the steeple area, where a bell once was, and heard the realtors say that the previous church took the bell with them. We were then told the story of a 69 year old woman (some years ago now) who had gone to church there as a child and had been back in the area and wanted to ring the bell once more.... so she climbed up there, broke through a 60 something year old plus window to get to the bell!!!
It wasn't long that we were all in our vehicles and back on the road home. (10 miles from us). Of course we could not quit talking about it, what we thought, what we envision, etc.
We went by our church members' home and Glenn discussed it a bit with the man as he is more knowledgeable in wiring, etc. etc. They talked about how much they thought it would take to get the place really ready... you know, 'if money weren't an issue' do you think it would be worth it? The answer is yes. We all seem to be feeling that.
We will talk more tonight at church and have special prayer concerning it. Of course we all know that if God wants us to have this place, HE will provide for it. If not, He has some place else in mind. We just want what He wants, and we want a permanent (at least for now :o) home for the church.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Never a dull moment here in our home. Yesterday was Ethan's turn to head to the ER. At a Flag Football clinic put on by the local high school coaches and team, Ethan was playing a scrimmage game. A little boy tripped, landing his tooth in Ethan's head. It caused it to bleed a bit and the bump was terribly swollen by the time Glenn and Ethan got home.
I called the nurse helpline, and it was determined we should take him to the ER, due to teeth having so much bacteria. Glenn and Ethan headed there, and all ended well. They cleaned up the spot and prescribed antibiotics just to be on the safe side, against infection.
Today at church, we had a great day... a really sweet spirit... tonight, after Glenn's sermon, we had a testimony time, and thanksgiving to God. Following the service, we celebrated a young member's 12th birthday. It was a really nice day!
Ready to take on this week :o)
I called the nurse helpline, and it was determined we should take him to the ER, due to teeth having so much bacteria. Glenn and Ethan headed there, and all ended well. They cleaned up the spot and prescribed antibiotics just to be on the safe side, against infection.
Today at church, we had a great day... a really sweet spirit... tonight, after Glenn's sermon, we had a testimony time, and thanksgiving to God. Following the service, we celebrated a young member's 12th birthday. It was a really nice day!
Ready to take on this week :o)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Faith Nadezhda
Remembering tonight that it was 6 years ago today that I miscarried a baby. We were living in Russia. I felt awful that morning and had NO clue what was happening. I began thinking I was having some sort of heart problems and as we did back then, looked it up on Web MD. It took a few hours and I knew- I miscarried.
I was heartbroken (didn't even know I was pregnant!) and throughout the sadness and grieving that followed, I kept feeling like the Lord was speaking to me, "Faith... Faith" And thus, to me, that baby is known as Faith Nadezhda. Nadezhda is Russian for "Hope". I just KNEW we would have more children one day.... I never imagined they would come in the form of boys from Latin America :o)
Faith would be in the midst of Kindergarten now, but you know what? We wouldn't know Seth. (or Ethan more than likely). I am a firm believer in Romans 8:28, that all things work together for good.... Faith is in Heaven with "Evan" (the baby I miscarried back in 1993) and so sweet is the thought to me that those babies know their Grandpa. It's fitting too! You see, a story for another time, but my Daddy actually found out I was pregnant the first time before I did! HA. Fitting that he got to meet Evan first.
I was heartbroken (didn't even know I was pregnant!) and throughout the sadness and grieving that followed, I kept feeling like the Lord was speaking to me, "Faith... Faith" And thus, to me, that baby is known as Faith Nadezhda. Nadezhda is Russian for "Hope". I just KNEW we would have more children one day.... I never imagined they would come in the form of boys from Latin America :o)
Faith would be in the midst of Kindergarten now, but you know what? We wouldn't know Seth. (or Ethan more than likely). I am a firm believer in Romans 8:28, that all things work together for good.... Faith is in Heaven with "Evan" (the baby I miscarried back in 1993) and so sweet is the thought to me that those babies know their Grandpa. It's fitting too! You see, a story for another time, but my Daddy actually found out I was pregnant the first time before I did! HA. Fitting that he got to meet Evan first.
Friday, September 11, 2009
FASD AWARENESS
Wednesday was FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) Awareness Day. I kept meaning to post then, but never got the chance.
As a Mama to a 10 year old girl affected by FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects, or ARND as it is now sometimes referred to), I wanted to cause attention to this day.
FAS/FAE is totally 100 percent preventable!!!! Simply don't drink! (especially not while pregnant!).
One of these days I will post in more details what Cala must deal with due to FAE.
Praying tonight for the countless babies affected by alcohol.
As a Mama to a 10 year old girl affected by FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects, or ARND as it is now sometimes referred to), I wanted to cause attention to this day.
FAS/FAE is totally 100 percent preventable!!!! Simply don't drink! (especially not while pregnant!).
One of these days I will post in more details what Cala must deal with due to FAE.
Praying tonight for the countless babies affected by alcohol.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Headache is gone.
So what has happened that I haven't yet updated since August 14th?! Surely, my migraine is gone! Yes, it is. I think Facebook sort of took over! Sorry 'bout dat to all you non-facebookers. I will try my best to do better.
I know one thing, I have GOT to get to bed earlier. Right lately, I have reverted to my old night owl ways and can't seem to get to sleep earlier than 2:00 a.m.! You don't even want to know what time it is as I type this! I keep avoiding the clock!
In the morning, Cala and I will head to Wal-mart, pick up some groceries and head home for Labor Day- a day we will spend organizing some stuff in the house, getting ready for the kids' school beginning- with that comes a new household schedule and routine.
In the evening, we are planning a family picnic. I really look forward to that. I love picnics! I especially do since Glenn bought me a traditional picnic basket. :o)
I know one thing, I have GOT to get to bed earlier. Right lately, I have reverted to my old night owl ways and can't seem to get to sleep earlier than 2:00 a.m.! You don't even want to know what time it is as I type this! I keep avoiding the clock!
In the morning, Cala and I will head to Wal-mart, pick up some groceries and head home for Labor Day- a day we will spend organizing some stuff in the house, getting ready for the kids' school beginning- with that comes a new household schedule and routine.
In the evening, we are planning a family picnic. I really look forward to that. I love picnics! I especially do since Glenn bought me a traditional picnic basket. :o)
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