Happy Birthday, Janet the Planet!

Today is my sister's birthday!

Now, if you don't have a sister, Janet is the one you always wanted. She is 6 1/2 years older than I, which means I got to get into all her makeup and stuff, and play her Beatles 45's when she wasn't looking.

Her nickname was Janet the Planet, which means nothing, except that there is no other word which rhymes with Janet. This, of course, is opposed to my name, Barbara...oh, well, never mind.

On Janet's fifth birthday (November 21, 19*53), my Daddy bought a television set. It was the very first day tv's went on sale in our town. I heard the story so many times during my childhood, that I thought maybe it was an urban legend or something. Then, in 2003, Channel 33 ran a documentary about the 50th year of television: "We went on the air November 21, 19*53..."

Janet is a Svengali--she could get me to do anything. Got me to clean the boys' "offerings" around the base of the toilet by saying the Outside was not as bad as the Inside, which she cleaned with a brush. Offered to play Clue with me, but she always cheated. If she won, I had to kiss her toes.

Other than usin'-and-abusin' us, she was the Funnest. Sister. Ever. She has lived far, far away for over forty years (married an Air Force guy), so I don't see her very often. But, since we both know the Lord, that doesn't matter. Our relationship is sweet, like she is.

Janet is coming to see me next week! I am getting her Happy Box ready. (this is a collection of things I find during the year...I'll post about them next week, and you'll see why I call it a Happy Box.) It's going to be a great week!

Happy birthday, dear sister. I love you. But I'm *on to* your tricks now. Next time we play Clue, you won't get me to close my eyes. And I'm sorry about the time you had all those stacks of Girl Scout cookies in our room, and I ate one cookie out of each of about twelve boxes. And that time you caught me with your eyelash curler in your hand, and I said I didn't do it? Well, I did.

However, that time someone gave me a piece of a Hershey bar while I was walking home from school, and later you accused me of getting into the Oreos, and I said I didn't, and you made me open my mouth and saw chocolate, and told Mother I lied? Well, I didn't.

Na-na-na-na on You. I know you feel bad now.

Catsup Time

If you're old enough, you might remember Hunt's Catsup. This would be opposed to Heinz Ketchup. As a child, I was concerned, because they were one and the same product, but my family pronounced it "ketchup," so spelling it that other way seemed a little silly to me. So instead of saying "Catch-up Time," as I usually do in these bloggy situations, I thought I'd do something Just A Little Different.

After making a nice little resolution to take the month of November to be thankful for something every day, I fell off the wagon the very first day of the month! So, here goes with Thankful, part deux...

Monday, November 2

Today I am thankful for my brother Rick. He is just fourteen months younger than I, and was born four days before Eisenhower was elected for the second time. (gollee, does that sound old!) He and I are very close, and always have been. I can't remember a single instance of sibling rivalry with him, though I'm sure there are minor incidents here and there. Our relationship was cemented when I was pregnant with Violet at nineteen, and living at home. In the middle of the night, throwing up in the bathroom next to his room, I'd wake him up to commiserate with me. He never complained. We still speak about those times, even though there is *so* much more life we've lived since then. Love you brother, and a very happy birthday to you!

Tuesday, November 3

Today I am thankful for our beautiful miracle baby, Myra. Go here to see a new photo. I do, however, need to choose a blog-name for her, as my custom is to use fictional names for the family.

Myra shares my middle name, Annette. With one person in my life, I have the nickname Nettie. (you can read about *that* here.) So I thought Nettie would be cute. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Johnny Tremain and Lily had discussed the same nickname for Myra in real life! So, Nettie it is!

Thank you so very much for all of the prayers for Nettie. I think of the verse, "the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much." So, so true. Please continue to pray for stomach issues--she acts colicky, and possibly is bothered with acid tummy. (it all plays out the same in her fussy times!) Otherwise, she is gaining weight, and growing in all those beautiful baby ways.

Wednesday, November 4

Testimony time! You may or may not know that Charming and I went through a major, major marriage crisis early in our marriage. We have spoken a number of times in marriage classes and marriage retreats, giving our testimony of God's restoration. And you know, when God fixes something, it is better than it was before it was broken!

Last night, Rocky Balboa brought Blueberry and Oxford over to see Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop for a few minutes. Rocky was so, so excited he could hardly speak. He had shared our testimony with a woman at work who thought her marriage was over. Things are very bad, but the woman wants to come to church to find out what the Lord can do in her life. Hooray! Thank you, Lord, for Your healing work in our lives, that You can use to help others!

Thursday, November 5

Two things today: today is Winnie's birthday (see "Nettie" link above to find out about Winnie.) I thank the Lord for Winnie, my dear sister-friend.

The other thing I am thankful for today is Indoor Plumbing. (don't laugh)

I have often said that I am richer than Solomon ever was, because I have indoor plumbing. Think about it. You'll agree. But I was up in the middle of the night, making my way to the bathroom in my centrally-heated house. And I thought about chamber pots. Good at their purpose, but of course they needed emptying each day. That led me to think about....

Laura Ingalls. Chamber pots. "The Long Winter." Whoa.

I know you'll be thankful too, today, for your indoor potty.

So now I'm caught up!

Oops...

(Violet took me shopping and bought me this outfit.)

Okay, so I forgot to put the REST of my post in earlier. I was going to put the little poem down, and then put *my* view of November. Ditz-brain-fog settled in, and I pushed "post" after the poem.

Sorry.

November is a very nice month. As in, November is Nice! My sister's birthday is in November, as well as my next-to-me brother's. Not to mention Alvin Fernald's--he'll be turning fifteen. November is the month of Thanksgiving and all that beginning-of-the-holidays-getting-closer-to-Christmas thing.

In fact, I had a homeschool friend of mine tell me she was making November an entire Month of Thanksgiving. So I'll try, every post, to be thankful for something, 'kay?

November 1st: Gotta go with God's provision. Charming has been out of work for four months-plus now. We still have our house and all of its utilities...ON. Still eating. Still wearing clothes. What is that verse?

So if we have food to eat and clothes to wear, therewith be content.

And thankful! God is not moving at my requested pace (so, when does He ever?) and I am trying to learn. Trying to not-worry. Trying to praise Him for His goodness in this situation.

Because He IS good. Yep, all the time.

Thank you, my Father, for your bounteous provision.

November--No Way!

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member--

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds,

November!

--from a poem by Thomas Hood

Hear ye, hear ye...

....Rocky Balboa and Forget-me-not are expecting!

Forget-me-not has given birth to two of my very favorite grandchildren. But Blueberry was born three months before Lily's Sweet Pea, and Oxford was born just four weeks before Cambridge. Her boys were also born in tandem with their cousins on Rocky's side of the family.

But not so this time!

As you know, Myra is just a month old. Rocky's sister and sister-in-law had babies this summer. So, for the first time ever (drumroll please): Forget-me-not is pregnant all by her lonesome!

We can celebrate! Party! Shower! Boast!

It's. All. About. Forget-me-not. And that's the way it should be, you know?

(the baby is due June 28th, and we're hopin' for a girl.)

Four hundred ninety-four years ago...

(okay, so my son pointed out that it is FIVE hundred ninety-four years ago...)

"This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, 'Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day,'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words--
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester--
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered--
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
William Shakespeare, Henry V.


If you have never read Henry V, I would encourage you to do so. When we studied it last year, we got the book version, and read-along-with an audio version. After we were finished, we "treated" ourselves with the BBC version on dvd.

Even though details of the Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415) were probably "enhanced" by Shakespeare, it is an excellent picture of battle during that time in history. I had never studied a lot of English history when I was in school (past the Magna Carta, 1215 doncha know), so it was quite a new experience for me.

Props to Violet (my masters-in-English daughter) for suggesting it for our homeschool!

Baby Myra...

....is coming HOME to her family today!

...From a baby who was born not breathing and without a heartbeat (Apgar scores 0, 2, and 4), who at 30 hours of age had still not taken a breath on her own, kidneys and liver shutting down, doctors predicting that if she survived at all, she would be a vegetable, and counseling Johnny Tremain and Lily to disconnect the machines....

...to a baby, one day shy of a month old, going home fulltime breastfeeding, and without monitors or wires of any kind. Even three days ago, they trained Lily for a heart/apnea monitor to be used at home, and told her that Myra would get too tired nursing, without supplemental bottle feedings.

The doctors could sustain her life with equipment. But there was nothing they could do to revive her organs, or give her brain any function. ONLY GOD could do this work. It was not too big a job for Myra's Creator to re-Create.

To HIM be all the Glory!

"I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Romans 9:17

Prayer Vigil for Baby Myra

Myra was two weeks old yesterday. She has done a whole lotta livin' in those two little weeks!

Myra makes little steps ahead every day. One of the five neonatologists always has a negative report. "She is very sure" that the tremors Myra has are seizures. The other four doctors are very sure they are NOT seizures. Lady Doctor was sure Myra is probably deaf, blind, or both. But, even with others talking around her, when Myra's Mommy talks to her, she opens her eyes and turns toward Her voice. Yesterday, Lady Doctor said, "Look at that. Myra is focusing on my face." (something every blind baby does, you know...)

A friend of Lily's has organized a prayer vigil for tonight. You can pray anytime between 9pm and midnight. Just take a few minutes to pray for these specific needs:

1) Myra's brain. No one knows yet what damage may have been done. We are BELIEVING that God will restore it to full function, as He has already done with her heart, kidneys, liver. Her "soft spot" seems to be closing faster than normal. Pray that her brain has room to grow. Add in a prayer for her eyes and ears.

2) Please pray also for her suck/swallow reflex. The nurses tell Lily that Myra won't suck on a pacifier. Lily is there for Hours every day. The nurses try to get her to suck every time they "assess"--every few hours. They always try to make Myra suck when she is asleep. However, when she is awake, Lily sticks the paci in, and Myra sucks away.

A beautiful thing is happening. When they feed Myra breast milk through her feeding tube, Myra settles down. She LIKES milk in her tummy! And, since they are feeding her every three hours, Lily is noticing that Myra is waking 10-15 minutes before feeding time. She is learning what "hungry" feels like, and is anticipating food. Sounds pretty normal to me!

3) related to number 2: If she shows sucking and swallowing, she will not have to go home with a feeding tube. Not a deal-breaker, (she can go home if other things are in order) but we want her Whole!

I want to share a couple of verses that have spoken to Lily in the past few days. She has been *living* in 1 and 2 Corinthians.

from Myra's perspective:

1 Corinthians 10:15 "but by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect."

and look at this one:

2 Corinthians 1:8b-11 "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

Here is a link to the facebook page for the prayer vigil. There are photos and a video of Myra posted there, as well:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1017373734&v=info&ref=nf#/event.php?eid=150752002330&ref=nf

I hope you can join us this evening as we pray for Myra's full recovery. Thank you so much!