Matthew

Well, I am confused. For the past two days Matthew has been running, jumping, and acting like nothing is wrong with him. These episodes of not walking and being in apparent pain are so wierd.

We did go to the orthodpedic specialist yesterday. He ruled out Perthes, and Lukemia, and Lyme and a bunch of other scary stuff. Just when I was starting to think he was about to say, 'He's having growing pains, go home and let him rest and give him some vegetables!"

He says,
"What he's experiencing is not typical of growing pains and we need to rule out tumors or blood poisoning in the bones. " So, he's scheduled Matt for a bone scan on Nov.19th.

I am not freaking out! Really! I just can't see how it could be something like that. He's so completely normal today. Besides, if we are about to get some horrible news it won't do any good to freak out about now. (Yes, I'm preaching to myself)

So, we wait!
We watch for any further episodes.
We go the appointment on the 19th.

We'll keep you posted.

Matthew's limp

Well, we could sure use some prayers and wisdom right about now. My four year old, Matthew has had a limp on and off since September. Today it was so bad that he was crawling and only walking if he could support himself with things around the room. It was awful to see him crying and hanging onto the couch saying, "I can't get over there to that table Mommy."

So, I took him to ER. They took blood tests and x-rayed his hips down to his knees. Everything came back normal. The Lyme disease test results will come back tomorrow.

Matthew summed up both our frustrations when Jonathan asked him what happened today. Matthew said, "Well, Mommy took me to the doctor but the doctor didn't work."

I'll be calling our family doctor and the orthoped. specialist tomorrow to continue pursuing answers.

I'll keep you all posted on this site and on facebook!

Joleen

What does it mean?

I have been pondering the meaning of the well known Christmas song, "Oh come let us adore him." What does it mean to adore Christ? Wikipedia defines adoration as: Adoration (Latin) is to give homage or worship to someone or something.

"I adore the Lord>" This is not a phrase Iwould commonly use. It's more likely I'd say, "I love the Lord," or "I worship the Lord." But adore seems a bit archaic. Actually it has some pretty anchient meanings. Here's how adoration is defined in Wikipedia.

Ad, to, and ora, mouth; (i.e. "carrying to one's mouth "), primarily an act of homage or worship, which, among the Romans, was performed by raising the hand to the mouth, kissing it and then waving it in the direction of the adored object. The devotee had his head covered, and after the act turned himself round from left to right. Sometimes he kissed the feet or knees of the images of the gods themselves, and Saturn and Hercules were adored with the head bare.
By a gradual transition the homage, at first paid to divine beings alone, came to be paid to monarchs. Thus the Greek and Roman emperors were adored by bowing or kneeling, laying hold of the imperial robe, and presently withdrawing the hand and pressing it to the lips.

So, when I say, "I adore the Lord", I suppose I'm saying, "I worship Him." It's more than merely passing affection though. I don't simply kiss my hand and wave it in his direction. At least, I hope there's more than that to this whole adore issue.

Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him! I'm just stuck on that phrase. I am going to have to do some more research on this whole issue. Anyone want to join me?

Canning Peaches

Well, I'll post a picture to proove this is true. But, I couldn't wait to say that I've finally learned how to can peaches. I spent the weekend with a dear friend canning peaches and making applesauce. We had such a blast! I just couldn't believe how many peaches it took to make just one jar. We had almost a 100 peaches but only made 16 quart jars. Next year we'll need more peaches!

When evening came the house was so full of heavenly smells and the finished jars sparkled in neat rows on the counter top. They were so pretty!

Once the kitchen was cleaned we sat down and put our feet up to watch a well earned movie. A walk in the clouds, was a perfect chick flick to end our day.

I can't wait to do it all over again next year!

My favorite place on earth

This is my favorite place on earth. It's the lake in Canada where my parents live.

That dock in the picture has many memories. My first time catching a fish, the summer we floated candles out on the lake, the winter we caught cat fish through holes in the ice. I remember swimming off that dock with my Grandmother and getting into Grandpa's row boat. I'll never forget the waves this small lake is capable of producing and the hundreds of gulls who show up to feed. I"ve sat on the end of that dock with my feet in the water thinking about my first year of college approaching, Crying over lost love, Rejoicing over love found, Praying for my family and friends and so much more.

Yes, this is my favorite place on earth. A wobbly dock on a lake in Canada.

I was so encouraged this early Sunday morning by a quote someone posted at Chrisitian songwriters network. I love that there is no option for despair or failure in this quote.

"When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly."

Finding Petosky Stones

While in Michigan we went to a town called Petosky. Apparently you can find special stones native only to that area called Petosky stones. WEll, we collected a ton of stones and I think only one of them is really a petosky. Can you tell which one? Me either.......

Okay so I think the one fourth from the bottom is a Petosky. See the circular patterns?

The stone second from the right on the bottom is really really clean. Matthew discovered that if you lick it the lines and patterns are more visible. He must have licked that particular stone for about twenty minutes.