Stellan's Name gallery

Our picture made it in :) I drew Stellan's name on our office window, Acilia caught me doing it, and grabbed a marker and asked if she could do it too! I said surely!! I snapped my pictures, attempting to get a good one for the gallery, and this is what I got. She asked if we could keep it up until Stellan is feeling better, I replied "Absolutely!"
Still praying for you sweet baby!

"Recycle Yourself"

I designed this mug. It's a gift for Al's donor, Jen. Has a fun story to go with it ;)

It says "Recycle yourself, Donate a kidney". This originated from a conversation I had with Jen. She has a coworker that donated one of her kidneys and has a mug that says the same words. In a reference, Jen said she needs one of those mugs. I took her literally, and decided that would be a small token gift from us, to give her today. The picture on it, is a picture she sent me. Photography is a hobby of her's and I thought it would be neat to put a picture she took as the "backdrop" to such simple, yet impactful words :)
I love how it turned out! I hope she loves it too!

Did I tell you, Al found a donor???

Well...as luck would have it, Al had appendicitis in February. No, that's not a fun experience, and no, most people don't wish to have an organ/body part removed, regardless of the fact that it's not a "useful" part...however, it helped me to see clearly. The normal, appendix out, recovery, on your way, turned in to a much more complicated situation, because of the fact that he is on dialysis and nothing is easy. Well, God spoke to me, he gave me a nudge, (I love when he does that!!) my cousin sent me an article about a man who was in need of a kidney transplant, his daughters put an ad on Craigslist and they found a perfect stranger who was a match, and voila! New kidney! It was a lightbulb moment for me, I had previously thought of posting on Craigslist, but how do you post an ad for a new kidney?? Well, I sat down at the computer, and let the words flow. I did it, to try it, and figured, why not! However, I knew it was a needle in a haystack type of trial.
Would you believe, within 24 hours, we had a person reply, asking how to seek the information needed to get started in the process?
And would you further believe within a week or two, she was at one of the information sessions, and then was tested
Better yet, would you believe that she was A PERFECT MATCH and is going to be his willing donor?
BLESS HER HEART!
She is a fabulous soul. I have become attached to our daily back and forth emails, and realizations that we are two of the same soul!
We are meeting her tomorrow. I am thrilled, nervous, amprehensive, beyond words really. It's just such an interesting situation, with such a cool twist!
I will update on how it goes, and of course, add some pictures!

Keep pressing on....

I am fighting nearly every bone in my body to follow my career goal of becoming a Labor and Delivery nurse. I can *handle* the job, but the schooling is going to kill me, and I am just in the "gen eds" stage! Grr!
I am currently taking one class per semester. Clearly it's not the "fast route" to finish line, however, I have a husband on dialysis, that is on his machine 12+ hours a night, then he is at work at different hours of the day, leaving me home with two kids. My day is consumed with keeping the household running smoothly...anyway (Minor attempt to justify why I won't man up and "get it done") The class I am taking this semester is Psych 1100. Trying to make life easier on myself, I signed up for a telecourse. I guess I didn't have a clear idea of what a telecourse is. It's basically an independent study class, however, you have correspondance with your instructor if need be, and you go to the campus testing center for tests. Well...in a perfect world, this wouldn't sound so bad, but as I mentioned before, I work around my family's schedule and that does NOT work with the TESTING CENTER SCHEDULE. Grr again!
I have been attempting for more than 3 weeks, to get in touch with my instructor, she has literally gone MIA. My voicemails have gotten a bit snooty, which is not like me, but how hard is it to return a phone call? My studies have been put on hold, and I am on shakey mental ground, fighting a strong desire to withdrawl from the class. I will not quit! I will not quit!! Please dear God, give me the strength to stick it out, and possibly even Ace the class to maintain my 4.0 GPA. I will not quit. I will not quit. I have gotten the nudge it takes, (Mail today brought the summer classes catalog, I can't in clear conscious sign up for a new class, when I haven't finished the one I started!) Thank you Dear Lord. I am going to study my butt off and get in to that dang inconveniant totally freak me out testing center (Did I mention taking tests is a HUGE weakness of mine...I studied my butt off, and got in to the center a little over a month ago and took my first test, which I BOMBED! That was not good for the ego, considering I felt ready GRRRRRR) and take the dang test! Moving on!

Yay!

My heart is melting, not aching.
My smile is bigger, not frowning
The wonderful Lord is listening
To our prayers, our concerns, our thoughts
Stellan's condition is improving
the precious little soul is resting
his mama is smiling
we are all praising!

www.mycharmingkids.net
Stellan man is smiling and giggling today, and my heart is rejoicing!! I've been praying so hard that this sweet little boy. Our God is great! Our God is listening!

My heart is hurting, my mind is whirling, my brain is stirring, please dear God let this long week for Stellan and his family end soon with a sigh of relief!
You have the power to turn it around, you have the power.
Please with deepest heartfelt prayer, please let this little boy, loved by thousands, pull out of this condition and grant the miracle in him that he was granted at birth!

I'm pulling for him, I'm praying for him, I am thinking of him constantly, his precious smile flashes through my mind uncountable times throughout the day.
You want many to know him, you want many to love him, you want many to pray for him, please Lord, we ask that you heal him!

A case of the "why's"

I didn't write this, but thought it was good enough to share!


Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

Why does someone Believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, Why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses Are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will
have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And......The statistics on sanity is that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.