Finding JOY in the Morning Finding JOY in the Morning Loni reveals how God has been her Life Sustainer. She shares her journey of homeschooling a large family, surviving the death of her 16-year-old son, and going through various stages in life including a 12th pregnancy at age 43! Articles
Blessings for a Happy, Peaceful New Year
2009-01-01 04:17:00 More About: New Year , Happy , Blessings , Year , Peaceful
We are home & doing good
2008-12-28 22:33:00 We got home mid-afternoon yesterday. It was wonderful to be greeted by all the kids. There certainly was lots of chatter, tears, and rejoicing. We are thankful for a safe trip home as it’s the worst fog we have ever driven through. Our boys were putting up Jessica’s new bed when we got home, and she slept very well in it. The baby just getting a present from Jessica We had our Christmas last night with the children. Jessica wanted venison stew on REAL mashed potatoes. The joy of having Jessica home and being together certainly was greater than the opening of gifts. I did not see the excitement with that as much as it was with just being together. Jessica seems to be doing very well with the pain. She took Motrin before bed and when she woke up (and she slept almost 12 hours straight). She is walking around and chattering with the little ones as I type this. The only thing she is having a difficult time not doing is lifting her baby brother. She ca... More About: Home , Good
We are going home tomorrow! (Friday Update)
2008-12-27 03:18:00 It’s hard to believe that one week ago today Jessica was out of surgery and just recovering and thankfully, tomorrow we are going home! We might need a boat to get home. It’s suppose to get up to 60 degrees and after a couple feet of snow this past week, there will be LOTS of water! I am not sure if they make U-Hauls to go behind a boat to get all our stuff home though! Jessica was delighted with a very nice gift package from our church family ~ lots of little toys and games, stuffed animals, candy, etc. Every since getting out of ICU she has gotten several gifts a day. Thank you to so many of you! We have an incredible church family ~ many who have helped in various ways from meals, to visiting with our children at home, bring diapers over so our daughter did not have to keep up with cloth diapers, phone calls checking up on them etc. One family blessed Jessica with a brand new single bed/mattress set so she does not have to go up into her bunk bed. We ... More About: Home , Update , Friday , Tomorrow
Christmas Day Jessica Joy Update
2008-12-26 04:31:00 It’s been a pretty quiet day here. Christmas Day ~ Making Gingerbread House It was not a quiet night of sleep. Jessica ’s room is right across from the nurses’ party break room, so they were having their staff parties during the night. Our room’s door kept getting left open and there was talking outside of it. There was a separate nurse for the baby in the room, so there were many interruptions throughout the night. I got up about 6 times to shut our door - the last time, I shut it a little louder, and it seemed to stay shut better! Tonight should be better. Jessica’s INR (blood thinning level test) is still too low. It was 1.9 today and it needs to be a minimum of 2.5 two days in a row before they will release her. Please be praying for this. She says her pain level is at a 3. This is the lowest she has said! We definitely have to be Jessica’s advocate here. It got to be close to 11 a.m. and the INR test was not done. I asked w... More About: Update , Christmas Day
Jessica’s Christmas Eve Update
2008-12-25 03:05:00 Blessings of Christmas Joys & Miracles from our Family to Yours This will be a shorter update, being it’s Christmas Eve and I know so many are spending time with family. The rest of my family back home is at a Christmas Eve service. Jayson is singing “While You Were Sleeping” by Casting Crowns along with playing his guiar. I am missing my kids terribly tonight, our Christmas birthday cake for Jesus and just being together. It was a good, busy day. Jessica did not have an MRI, but had a full bone/body scan. She still had to lay still for two 20 minute periods and did very very well. I am so thankful! She also had a series of x-rays. Her lungs look clear except just a tiny portion of the bottom of one, but a great change. We were actually hoping and praying to go home on Christmas day. It was going to be a surprise for the kids, but Jessica’s blood thinning levels are not good yet - too thick. It needs to be thin enough so it does not st... More About: Update
Jessica’s Tuesday Update
2008-12-24 05:44:00 Jessica had another good day of moving forward. Last night was frustrating with a roommate down and depressed about life, wanted to die, and moaned and cried a good portion of the night. Jessica did not need to hear any of this. I talked to a couple of nurses, and finally one nurse heard her and the woman was moved to a private room. We now have a newborn baby in the room and so far have not heard a peep from him (probably will at 3 a.m. if he’s a typical baby). Late morning Jessica got the final two chest tubes out and pacemaker wires. She still has a medicine port in her one shoulder area, but other than that she is not hooked up to anything. In the afternoon she went downstairs for a echo and EKG. I thought I’d hear the results by now, but haven’t. One of the main things that will hold her up in leaving is her blood thinning levels. It’s very important to have it at a certain level - not too thin to cause bleeding risks and not too thick ... More About: Update , Tuesday , Jessica
Jessica’s Monday Night Update
2008-12-23 03:02:00 The exhaustion is certainly hitting me with going on 4-5 hours of sleep each night, so I am hoping now that we are OUT OF ICU and I can sleep in Jessica ’s room, I can get some much needed sleep. With her surgeon that God used mightily to save her life. It was a good day. This afternoon she got one chest tube out and the other two are hopefully coming out in the morning. Jessica got up four times two walk, three of the times being quite long. She’s eating better - but is definitely back/neck sore and where the bedsore is starting is quite sore. Norm made it home. :) Thank you for praying for his safety. This is my short update because this is blurring as I type from the fatigue. Thank you for praying. More About: Night , Update , Monday
Monday Morning Update
2008-12-22 18:28:00 Jessica had a downer morning. I could tell as soon as I walked in her room, she was not doing well. She was in a lot of pain. And I found out she had a couple of bad dreams and asked her nurse to call me, and the nurse told her we were sleeping and did not call us. Needless to say, I was not thrilled, and it won’t happen again. Please pray for peaceful sleeps for her. I think the medications are giving her crazy and scary dreams. It took awhile for her to perk up and getting more meds in her to give her comfort. She sat up in a chair for over an hour and then took a long walk - went about 6x as far as she did last night and walked along at a good pace. There is concern still of the bedsore developing AND pneumonia. Both of her lower lungs show slight collapse - mainly because she is not breathing in deeply enough. So we are working on getting her to blow in a “thingy” that makes the balls go up 10x every hour. It’s already helped her oxyg... More About: Update , Morning , Monday , Monday Morning
Jessica’s Sunday Update
2008-12-22 05:29:00 It’s been a very good day, despite mom having to put her boxing gloves on to allow her daughter to win a battle! Jessica accomplished a lot today, and it’s been a busy, long and demanding day. I should be an RN by the time we are done here. I was up to Jessica’s room by 7 am (those that know me that is very early) and she was sitting up, hair all pretty and braided and a sparkle in her eyes. You know how we moms so look forward to the first smile from our newborn babies. It’s not any different with getting the first smile from Jessica today. It melted my heart. Four lines were taken out today. She had a line directly to her heart that measured pressures that came out along with medication lines in each wrist and her “pee tube” as we called it. She has been up to go potty four times now. By 11 am she had eaten about 20 mandarin oranges. It also brightened her morning to get a call from our pastor and she was able to talk to him.... More About: Sunday , Update
Quick late night update
2008-12-21 06:34:00 Just a quick update. Jessica is sleeping peacefully now. It was a rough afternoon/evening. She is more aware of the pain. We remain greatly concerned about her back/spine problems and are praying that there is not more damage being done there. We are hopeful that the orthopedic surgery office will see her in ICU on Monday (so we are told). She is not moving one arm much as it hurts her shoulder & neck so much. She is slow with eating - but considered normal with it. She did have to go back on the pacemaker tonight. We shall see what the outcome of this is. She is requiring a lot of attention and love. :) We can give that, but it’s tiring too! She needs help holding a pillow on her chest when she has to cough. She wants to be wiped with a washcloth often. She asks a lot of questions which we have to have our ear right near her mouth to hear. She is seeing double because of the morphine. She is asking often what day and time it is. Just pl... More About: Night , Update , Quick , Late , Late Night
Jessica is doing good
2008-12-20 22:34:00 Talking to siblings less than 24 hours after surgery It’s been a good day. Jessica was extubated around 5 am and has done fine with breathing. She is talking and as the day has gone on it’s been a little louder - though she has always had a soft voice. She still has the nasal oxygen but very minimum. Her sats have been at 90-95%. She has been drinking grape juice and water and had a yogurt today. Coughing is the worst, but she has to do it. It’s quite painful. She has her favorite Winnie-the-Pooh pillow she holds on to when she has to cough. She is on morphine, so she is seeing somethings double. She is asking a lot of questions, like “what if I have to pee” and we told her there’s a tube, and then wants to know where it goes - and we showed her the bag. We teased her about taking a picture of her with it. I got a scowl with that one! She has told us she remembers being taken for surgery, them putting the hospital gown on... More About: Good
Jessica is resting & doing well. THANK YOU for praying.
2008-12-20 05:54:00 It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours, but the worst, is over and what an awesome God we praise and thank, for orchestrating such perfect timing ONLY HE could do. Jessica is out of surgery and resting in ICU. We spoke with her surgeon. It’s pretty awesome shaking the man’s hand that held my daughter’s heart. The surgery went very well. She has a replaced mitral valve and a new conduit which is now a cow’s valve rather than the previous pig’s valve. There are more sizes with cows, and sew and fit better. I am sure Jessica (& Mr. Blough) will have some good jokes with this. A couple of concerns - being she has been on coumadin for so long, they could not promptly get the blood thinner out of her body. She had been bleeding a little more than normal, needed three units of blood during surgery and is getting more now. It seems to be slowing down and does not appear to be great concern now. Also she is on an external pace maker and she ...
Surgery done - waiting . . .
2008-12-20 00:19:00 Surgery is done, but they are still working on getting her off the lung/heart bypass machine (6:00 pm). There is a possibility we could see her by 8 pm if all goes well. More About: Surgery , Waiting
Urgent Prayer Request - My daugher having open heart surgery NOW
2008-12-19 23:09:00 Ihave not written as much on my blog lately on personal things, but come to my readers asking for you to pray for my daughter as she is having emergency open heart surgery as I write this. Shortly before surgery This past summer we discovered she has hemi-vertebrae, where 50% of one vertebrea is missing. She has been in a great deal of pain. We had an appointment for this morning with an orthopedic surgeon to decide the next move. We arrived at the hotel last night. We took Jessica into the hospital to show here where she was 11 years ago at this time when she had two open heart surgeries and found out one of her main nurses will be on tonight but were disappointed we’d not see her. We went back to our hotel room and got ready for bed. Jessica began having a hard time breathing and her heart was beating very rapidly and hard - which we could see across the room. We thought it might be panic attacks or a reaction to Tylenol PM which she just began taking. We walked ... More About: Open , Prayer , Heart , Surgery , Request
In Other Words ~ Come Join Us!
2008-12-19 06:01:00 This post is going to stay second from the top until the end of December. Please read my recent posts below. F or the next two weeks, we are going to do something a little different, to give our hostesses a break, and yet still share some special quotes with you. I invite any of you who read the In Other Words memes and those who host, to share what your favorite quotes were or a specific post shared by a hostess that touched you, encouraged you, etc. So, this gives all of you a chance to write on a quote you wish you would have, rewrite on a quote you wrote on but wish you shared it a different way, share about how another’s post blessed you, or anything you wish to write about. Just leave a little blurb on your blog, and then leave the link below in Mr. Linky. If you do not wish to write about it on your blog, but want to share something anyway, just leave a note in the comment section above. Thank you! More About: Join
Free Savings Angel for One Month
2008-12-18 04:40:00 (This post will stay at the top until this offer expires - so please read below for the most recent updates.) Acouple of months ago I shared about a coupon system we have been using with Savings Angel and how much it has cut our grocery bill - pretty much in half. Some may be hesitant in using it because of the monthly charge ($20) though I do get it for free. If you have others sign up under your name, you can easily get it for free. Anyway, this month SavingsAngel is offering it FOR FREE for anyone to try it out who has never used it before. NO STRINGS ATTACHED. You do not have to give any financial information. NOTHING! So, go ahead - try it out! You do need to sign-up to use it by Thursday, December 25th and you receive 30 days free. You will be quite pleased and shocked at how much it can save you! Here are the links for various locations: Enroll for free: Western Michigan Enroll for free: Detroit and South Eastern Michigan Enroll for free: St. Louis E... More About: Free , Month
In Other Words: Tuesday’s New Quote
2008-12-15 07:06:00 N ext week’s In Other Words , will be hosted by Miriam on her blog, Miriam Pauline’s Monologue. She has chosen the quote below. Think and ponder on this quote and share about it on your blog on Tuesday . Then, visit Miriam’s blog on Tuesday, leave the link to your blog there and visit the other gals who have also written on it. “You’ve stood where Joseph stood. Caught between what God says and what makes sense. You’ve done what he told you to do only to wonder if it was him speaking in the first place.” … “If you are asking what Joseph asked, let me urge you to do what Joseph did. Obey. That’s what he did. He obeyed. He obeyed when the angel called. He obeyed when Mary explained. He obeyed when God sent.” Max Lucado from “Joseph’s Prayer” in The Heart of Christmas More About: Quote
Such hope
2008-12-14 01:53:00 A view out the window - giving reminders of His presence on a dreary, wintery day. Photo by my daughter Heidi. More About: Hope
“A Pair of Shoes” ~ Remembering My Son
2008-12-11 07:10:00 Just remembering & missing today . . . . “A Pair of Shoes ” I am wearing a pair of shoes. They are ugly shoes. Uncomfortable shoes. I hate my shoes. Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair. Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them. I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy. I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes. To learn how awful my shoes are, might make them uncomfortable. To truly understand these shoes, you must walk in them. But, once you put them on, you can never take them off. I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes. There are many pairs in this world. Some woman are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them. Some have learned how to walk in them so they don’t hurt quite as much. Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before th... More About: Remembering
And the winner is . . .
2008-12-11 06:48:00 E ntry #31 who is PATTY WYSONG from her blog, Patterings who has won a personalized bracelet from my website, Bracelet Stories. This was in participation with Christian Women Online at Café Holiday Expo with each participant giving something away on our blogs. Patty shared with her entry, “I didn’t make it through the post without tearing up. sheesh. I have 5 kids with me and 2 with Jesus that I lost at 16 & 20 weeks. I’ll be adding the link to both of my blogs–these bracelets are wonderful.” I look forward to creating your Bracelet Story with you, Patty! Be sure to click the flashing logo above to see who the winners are of the other great prizes from this Café Holiday Expo. So many of you shared such touching entries, what you would want as part of your bracelet story. I wish I could give away a bracelet to each one of you. My base price for a bracelet is $15, then you add in birthstones $2 - $2.50 each and/or charms (little feet charms are $9.95... More About: Winner
Meet my friend - who I wish wasn’t my friend
2008-12-10 06:01:00 I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Bobbi Jo. You need to meet her. Your children need to meet her. Your school principal and family doctor need to meet her. Your next door neighbor needs to meet her. Yet, I still wish she was not my new friend. We have a common bond, I so wish neither of us have. But, if you don’t meet her, you or someone you care about dearly may have to join the same club we are in. You do not want to join our club. This club should not even exist. Our club does not display pictures of ourselves. It displays pictures of teenagers and young children who died playing a game. But, it’s really not a game. How can you call it a game if it kills? It’s the choking game. Her son, Kris, only 15 years old, died barely 5 weeks ago. Bobbi Jo is just one of numerous moms I’ve met in the last four years. She is just the newest member in our club. Tomorrow will be four years our son, Matthew, died in an ac... More About: Friend , Meet
Book Review: Life After the Death of My Son: What I am Learning
2008-12-09 06:07:00 I t did not strike me right away at church on Sunday. The Christmas decorations were all up. Our baby kept pointing to the hanging glass ornaments in the foyer, saying “ball”, “ball”. It was not until we started singing a song that it came bitter sweetly back into my mind. Many of the decorations surrounding us were the same ones decorating our church four years ago ~ at our son’s funeral service. But, it’s easing. It did not hit quite as hard or as fast this year. We still aren’t sure about putting a Christmas tree up. Matthew put our last one up. We have our advent tree up. We will do what we can. We don’t want our living room to feel like a funeral again. I thought possibly we were the only ones who felt this, until I read Life After the Death of My Son: What I am Learning. It was as though the author, Dennis Apple was writing a book on our emotions, our pain, and our unknown grief that those around us could ... More About: Book Review , Review , Book
Holiday Expo Giveaway - Personalized Mother’s Bracelet
2008-12-06 06:28:00 I am joining along with Christian Women Online at Café Holiday Expo with each participant giving something away on our blogs. I am giving away a personalized Mother ’s Bracelet (or memory bracelet, anniversary bracelet, etc.) from Bracelet Stories. Pictured below is one of my most recent bracelets I made for a mom of three children, but you can see over 100 different bracelets I’ve made. The winner of a bracelet will have the option of up to five (or less) Swarovski birthstone crystals and the choice of silver, gold or a mixture of silver/gold tones and the choice of a toggle or lobster closure. OR you can also choose the little feet charm (silver or gold) and two birthstones instead of the 5 birthstones. I’ll need your wrist size in centimeters or inches to the nearest 1/4 inch. Entries must be from with the USA or Canada only. Bracelet Stories began as a memory item for moms who had lost a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death. The...
In Other Words: Tuesday’s New Quote
2008-12-05 06:08:00 N ext week’s In Other Words , will be hosted by Lori on her blog, All You Have to Give. She has chosen the quote below. Think and ponder on this quote and share about it on your blog on Tuesday . Then, visit Lori’s blog on Tuesday, leave the link to your blog there and visit the other gals who have also written on it. More About: Quote
Product Review: coverPlug
2008-12-04 06:18:00 O ur home has been going through baby proofing for safety for . . . well . . . the past 21 years! Each child seems to have different interests in various things. Our youngest baby, now almost two has been our baby we’ve had the least problem with stairs. He learned very quickly how to go up and down. Others, we’ve had to keep the stairs gated for several years. But ALL of our children have had an interest in electrical plugs. There’s those little holes - what’s a child to do with it? Stick something in it! We have gotten the small safety caps through the years, but those are fascinating to a little one as well. Pull them out - push them back in - pull them out - push them back in. Then . . . try something else to poke into it! I was given this coverPlug to try out and review. I’ve had it plugged in for well over a week now, near an area our baby plays, and he has not tried at all to pull it out. These are paintable and can easi... More About: Product Review , Review , Product
More Giveaways!
2008-12-03 18:08:00 W ith the Christmas season here, there’s lots of giveaways going on! Here’s a few more! Laurel is giving away a CD on her blog, Laurel’s Reflections. The CD is Beautiful Faith by Higher Sounds. You can click to hear some of the songs from it. Then one of my new favorite blogs is The Gift Closet. This is such a lovely site. This gal has almost daily give-aways. And very nice give-aways. (You will also find my Bracelet Stories graphic ad there too!) Be sure to take a look at her site. More About: Giveaways
Cinnamon Sticks Giveaway - HURRY!
2008-12-03 02:07:00 I ‘ve discovered a delightful blog and want to share it with you. - Cinnamon Sticks . One of the most delightful things is the great giveaways that are going on RIGHT NOW ! I won’t write a long post about it! Go check it out! You don’t want to miss out, because signing up for it ends tonight!
In Other Words: Love Weighs More than Gold
2008-12-02 06:01:00 T his time of years remains a bittersweet time for us. On the 11th our son, Matthew will be in heaven four years. So many people gave of themselves during the days and weeks that followed, much of it a blur, yet some precious memories too. Something that stands out in our minds is that we were given a few hours notice on that first Christmas Eve, just 13 days after his death. Our church family was coming over to our house to spend time with us, so we were not alone. I think most met at church and then followed one another to our house. I will never forget seeing all the cars coming up our long driveway, one after the other, the car lights lighting up the darkness in more than one way. It lifted our spirits as well. Our house quickly filled up that night with so many from church, of every age - families that usually spent time with their own extended families, came and spent an evening with us. They brought food, some brought gifts, but most of all, brought love and un... More About: Love , Gold , In Other Words , Words
In Other Words: Tuesday’s New Quote
2008-11-28 06:14:00 N ext week’s In Other Words , will be hosted by Denise on her blog, ShortyBear’s Place . She has chosen the quote below. Think and ponder on this quote and share about it on your blog on Tuesday . Then, visit Denise’s blog on Tuesday, leave the link to your blog there and visit the other gals who have also written on it. More About: Quote
Hey Kids! A Gift Idea…or two…for Mom!
More articles from this author:2008-11-28 06:02:00 W ith having four teenagers and an adult son, there is quite a variety of loud music here. Thankfully, for the most part, my kids do like Christian music. Granted, some of it is questionable, but I appreciate what they get out of it, and many times will share with me how a song has encouraged them. Now, we have several iPods in our home, and at first I was not crazy about them. I don’t like seeing my kids having earphones on, zoned out to the rest of what’s going on around them. But I find that our kids use them more for storage of music and videos and then plug them into other speakers so it can be played for all. They use them often in the car. We have a clock radio in our bathroom, and the kids will use this to plug their iPod into, so they can have their music playing as they shower. With the videos stored on it, and will plug it into the TV for all to see AND it’s portable - taking it to their friends’ homes to play and/or watch there. Th... More About: Kids , Gift , Idea 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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