Down But NOT Out And A Plea For Prayer

You know the old saying, "The shoemaker's family never has new shoes"? Well, the same goes for the computer nerd's family. The power supply on our computer died and we have to replace it. It is not a big deal or expensive repair but, it just hasn't gotten done. We have laptops that I have been using to check stuff and pay bills but, all my pictures are on the other computer. I also cannot upload pictures from my camera card to the laptop so I can't post photos. I hope to have him (my computer nerd husband) look at the computer soon so I can rejoin the cyber world. Anyway, I thought that I would give everyone an update (sans photos) of what's been going on around here.

Saturday night, Jeremy started running a fever with no other symptoms. I missed church Sunday because he was still running a fever. By Monday night, I knew it was a sinus infection from the rancid smell of his breath. Tuesday, after our sad snowfall melted, we went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. Wednesday morning, he woke up after sleeping until 9 AM (which never happens) and it was like he was never sick. I kept him home to have him rest anyway and sent him to school on Thursday. Today there was no school due to parent-teacher conferences. He is doing well considering this is only his 3rd week of conventional school ever. So, he only went to school one day this week. Oh, well, it's only 1st grade.

On Wednesday morning, I was minding my own business, taking a shower when the door bursts open and a high, squeaky voice is screaming about how he just achieved "Pro Status". Apparently, I live in a house with expert Wii bowlers. After telling said child how happy I was for him, I told him to get out and close the door so I could finish my shower in peace. Even the bathroom is not sacred here.

I am proud to announce that I have caught up on all the laundry. I just have to put all the boys clothes away. By the time I get around to folding it and putting things away, they are all in bed and I can't go in their rooms to start putting clothes away. Well, I could but that sort of defeats the purpose of putting them to bed.

Great things are happening for this family. We are so blessed. I was reminded today how fragile life is and how we should always appreciate our blessings. I have a friend in Canada who is in kidney failure. Her name is Jillian, she is 30 years old and has 3 children (2 boys and a baby girl). Her mother sent this to me today and I wanted to pass this information along to everyone I could. Please read it and pray for Jillian and her family. If you feel led to do anything else to help, please call the number in the message. Someone out there can help save her life and allow her young children the blessing of growing up with a mother who loves them and doesn't want to leave this earth yet.

Hi everyone~~This is to update you on Jillian and her health re: her kidneys. Unfortunately none of Jillian's potential donor's were a match. We are spreading the net out farther now, as she's getting worse. I'll try to keep it brief but give you the relevant points:

*Her kidney function continues to drop and she is now at 17% overall kidney function

*Her need for a transplant is NOW

*We've run out of options--no one in the immediate family is a match. Her options are few--there are currently 1000 people ahead of her awaiting transplants from a cadaver.

*She can receive a kidney from a compatible living donor

*Anyone with blood type "O" (negative or positive) has a 90% chance of being a match.

We all understand this is a personal choice and trust me, there are no hard feelings for those who may not respond. But there is always a chance someone might be willing to donate a kidney and at this point we must leave no stone unturned until we find a match for Jillian.If anyone is interested then please let us know. Call 604-806-9078. Ask for a woman named Ruth. Tell her why you are calling and who you are calling about (Jillian Eccles) and she will take it from there. There are never too many people as some will definitely not be compatible. Thanks in advance for ANYONE who tries.

Bonnie

Thanks for taking the time to read this message and for praying fervently for Jillian and her family. Thanks to anyone who goes above and beyond to save a life.

Kristi

Back to Life

I know, I know . . . it has been a whole month since my last post. Call me a slacker but, I just couldn't find the time to blog the past 30 days. First there was the kids Christmas play, then there was all the baking and finishing the presents that I made (most everyone got a scarf this Christmas). Then there was the task of getting the house ready for 5 extra people over the holiday. I love the holidays and I love having people over but I know that I burden my perfectionist self with unnecessary work. Then we had to recover from the Christmas and the aftermath of 3 boys getting everything they wanted from all of their wonderful grandparents. My tree is still up! I hate taking the Christmas decor down. It saddens me a little. It is so warm and festive with all the lights and when you take it down, I want to cry. The house almost gets a chilly feeling. We are taking everything down this weekend.

After much prayer and wrestling, we decided to put Jeremy in school. He was just not doing what I needed him to do here at home. I picked him up on Monday after his first day and he said that he had a boring day and wanted to be homeschooled again. I laughed and said, "Sorry, Buddy. You had your chance to do what I asked you to do and you refused. You are going to finish out the year here and then we'll see about next year." He seemed OK until we got home and he had to write out his spelling words 2 times. He cried for 2 hours as he wrote the words. Last night was better but he also had math and reading homework. He cried but it was less and he did very well. Strong willed middle child = Jeremy. The good news is that he cheerfully gets up and ready for school and seems happy to be there when I drop him off. Yesterday, he told me that he told the teacher that he was not going to give up. He's so cute. My only concern is that since school started, he has taken to sleeping in the bed with me. Michael's on call so he's sleeping on the couch so the pager doesn't wake me. When Jeremy said that he wanted to fall asleep in my bed and then Daddy could carry him to his bed, I said OK because he had just had his first experience with school and had a hard day. Last night, he snuck into the bed at some point. I hope he doesn't feel like I am trying to get rid of him or that I don't love him as much as his brothers. I don't want him to think that I am discarding him. I just think that he listens better to other adults sometimes than he does with me. I didn't want him to fall behind academically either.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as to Jeremy's school progress as time goes by. Judah is still loving pre-k and Caleb is home with me. He is loving the quiet and the ability to get things done without distraction. The only thing that I am not liking is having to be at the school to pick them up at a certain time. I HATE school bus traffic!!!

I will try to get some pictures together from the holidays and post them later (probably tomorrow).