Latest from Ginger.

Latest from Ginger. Please keep praying for Ian...

"Henry continues to do well. Joey and I were updated by the doctors today on Ian. There is still uncertainty about what caused this with Ian but HLH was the theory that was discussed. There are two types of HLH, and my understanding is that a virus can trigger an overly aggressive immunological response that would be very similar to the rapid deteriorati...on that we witnessed with Ian.

The problem that we are facing is that HLH doesn't have a test that there is a positive or negative result, it is more of meeting a certain number of criteria. Ian "technically" meets the minimum number of criteria, although the doctor here tells us that he has never seen a case of HLH without certain elevated antibodies, which Ian doesn't have.

I am feeling very concerned and extremely burdened because the doctors are not certain either way. The treatment for HLH is steroids and low dose chemotherapy. My understanding is that if he has HLH it would help him now and prevent further life threatening incidents like this, but in the absence of a definitive diagnosis, I feel sick about exposing Ian to those treatments. Please pray for wisdom and divine guidance for us and the doctors in this. Love to everyone."

on our knees

 Sweet Ian, all i can hope and pray for is that i will hold you in my arms again soon...!

that you and Henry will be free of this plaguing illness in your tiny bodies

that you will be strong and healthy

that i will see you walk

and thank Jesus for His gift to us of your precious life.

Ian and Henry are both suffering from pneumonia in Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Ian is still in a medically induced coma and on morphine and blood thinners, therefore causing a risk of bleeding in the brain. Ginger wrote this last night:

"Last night [the 27th] was a very hard night for us. Ian seemed to be doing better, and was even playing and laughing a little but then suddenly could not keep his oxygen levels up and they progressively got worse. After unsuccessful interventions, they bagged him and then intubated him but could not stabilize him. They decided to transfuse him with hemoglobin and platelets, which he had been dangerously getting lower on the last few days. It was also decided to put him on an ECMO, which is a type of life support that acts as an artificial lung. His blood is pumped through the machine to oxygenate it and then pumped back into his body. He has to be on heparin to keep the blood thin, but this runs the risk of developing a brain bleed. Please pray specifically that this will not happen, since the only remedy would be to take him off the ECMO, even if he was not ready.

Henry seems stable and oxygenates well, although he has low platelets. Please pray that he gets better and not worse.We praise God that Ian is alive and stable. We praise the Lord for Henry and ask that he gets better. We are so thankful to have wonderful support from our family, friends, and even those that don't know us".

engaged to my best friend

tonight...

i had a very sweet time with a new old friend. we ate chicken pie. i cut her hair. we scattered flower petals.
good night~~

thousands of words

 Recently...

Caid climbed on a wall...

There were two snuggly babies on my pillow...

Dad showed me how to smoke a grape vine twig... 

I hung out with Pip, (who is getting married on Saturday)...

and Caid amended his Christmas list.

Just doesn't look right.

For along time I've felt that the letter G should come before F in the alphabet. These are the kind of things I think about.

cam and wren

Cam: Hey Mom. Wanna know what i hate?  

Wren: Uh oh...I'm scared. 

Cam: (laughs) Why? 

Wren: (kind of laughs) I'm just scared! 

Cam: Don't worry, it's not you. 

Wren: Uh oh---what? 

Cam: It's not you. 

Wren: Still… 

Cam: You're like, third. 

Wren: Third?? 

Cam: Or, i dunno, fifth or something. 

Wren: Do i have to be anything??

(for the record, i asked cam and wren to pose really quick for a picture for me and, well, that's what they did)

you did, little girl puppet.

Something you hear on the TV if you live in a house with small children.

Girl Puppet: Hey Elmo!

Elmo: Helloooo!

GP: Did i just hear you say 'hooray for underpants'?"

Whaaa

It's the last say of November already. Did you realize that? Because I didn't.

Caid's Christmas list...(that first one is "spinosaurus", for all you non-paleontologists out there)

heh

i get a huge kick out of knowing that the search words that most often bring random people to my blog have, for weeks, been "brazilian chicks" and "patrick stewart" (sometimes accompanied by "mask").

this morning

henry one (looking for danger)

ian babe (with mashed banana face)

 

pretty girls with persimmons

Ginger asked me, "Colleen, do you know where the perfect place is to kiss a babe?"

"No, where?' i smiled.

"C'mere, Caid," she said, and gently took his face in her hands...

2 years

heavy with the impossible burden tonight.

for the ten thousandth time asking God why

Gwennie is so alive and vibrant in my heart it feels like it's happening all over again

didn't i just hold her? didn't i just feel her tiny little girl hands on my arm...didn't i just kiss her sweet face, and hear her little voice, brimming with first words?

this week is going to be very hard...

please pray for Ginger and the family.

i don't know what to say...but if my heart is still breaking like it is, i can't imagine theirs.

11.11.11

i'm hungry!

So much better. Prayers worked :)

This morning i took this picture from Joey & Ginger's window facing out over the hills...a cool November day. They say we have more rain coming tomorrow...i can't wait.

I just indulged myself in a super cute pair of Toms. When they come, and if they fit, i'll post a picture. :)

Have you seen the opening for the Office season 7? (the best version i could find is flipped :/ but it's still good)

I am contented today...in spite of things really not being much different than usual. This morning when he called to wake me, Chad prayer for blessings on my day, and on his. I think that's why i'm feeling so happy. 

so. sick.

oww my skin--pt 3 (...?)

i am a zombie. and not for anything Halloween related...besides, that was over a week ago guys. i know it feels like it should only be about october 15th or so, but it's NOVEMBER 7TH. (that was mostly directed at myself)

i mean i'm beginning to feel a very familiar and disquieting dizziness, increasing weakness, and aching in my joints that led to my mystery illness of the entire month of september. the lack of appetite is what really tips me off...because i can ALWAYS eat food. i can't even bring myself to open up a yogurt for lunch. which was almost 3 hours ago.

also, this morning i left my phone at home, almost forgot to put on shoes, and somewhere between the building i work in and starbucks 2 blocks away, i lost my sweatshirt. and it's freezing. and i threw away half my coffee because it made me nauseous. coffee i paid for.

WHAT THE WHAT.

blady bla

Well, tomorrow i'm starting my second to last week on Ricky Gervais. I'm happy to say i'll miss it...happy because it's really nice to like your job, and i'm crossing my fingers it gets picked up for a 4th season!

Last night Anna M took Ginger out for coffee, so Ioni was delightedly  helping feed Henry. I think this picture just speaks for itself.

I've decided i'm going to have a new segment on here where i share things that i think smell really good.

Here's a review Laura wrote of a  show headlining a band from London called Still Corners that i saw with her and Chad on Saturday. I took the picture with the article...you can see i am a seasoned professional with only the most high-tech equipment.

And for those who are still in post-Halloween mourning, here you go.

perspective

You don't have a Soul, You are a Soul. You have a body.

-C.S. Lewis