Counting My Blessings

I am a very blessed woman.

I live in America, in relative peace.

I have a family who loves me, children who are (mostly) healthy whom I adore.

I get to pursue my passions, and enjoy the work I do (on most days--every once in a while I hate it.)

And I've gotten to spend three decades of my life with all four of my grandparents living.

Last year, when we returned from Seattle following my son's bone marrow transplant, I lost my first grandparent the night of our arrival home. I was lucky to be with her when she passed away, to have the chance to say goodbye.

Last night, my family said goodbye to my grandfather on the other side of my family. I was with him, as well, when he went to be with Jesus.

He was 94.

As I hugged my aunts, uncle, grandmother, and cousin, we were able to reminisce a little about the life he lived. He was born in rural North Carolina. Had several brothers and sisters. Served in the Pacific Theater of WWII. Married my grandmother before the end of the war, celebrating 69 years earlier this year. Worked for the post office. Raised my father and his siblings. Could be very loving, but just as cantankerous. He was a bit eccentric, and many things we did, many of us in the family shook our heads over. But he loved us, and adored my son, calling him his buddy.

In recent years, he'd gone down hill, and for many years, I've wondered if he'd see another birthday, another Christmas, another wedding anniversary with Grandma. I'd held out hope he'd get to celebrate 70 years together with Grandma next year, but it wasn't to be.

While I remember the cantankerous man who could snap at us grandkids, I also remember him and Grandma gardening with me, tending their cows, and taking me on rides on their property and picking wildflower bouquets for me along the way. One of my fondest memories is knowing that every night, both he and my Grandma would read the Bible. I have no idea how many times they've read it through, but that has always been a stand-out memory of him (and her.) Every Sunday that I was at their place, we'd go to church, almost without fail. And he took my family and me to see the Passion Play when I was 5 or so.

We'll say our final goodbyes next week. In the meantime, I will be reflecting on my memories of him. Hopefully, a few more I'd forgotten about will surface as I talk with my family.

Go hug your family. If you're blessed enough to have grandparents with you, be sure to tell them how much you love them today. I'm glad my final words to him were, "Grandpa, I love you."


Until next time...

Adventures in the Great Outdoors, I

If you took the way that my husband (The Man Of The House, or TMOTH) and I grew up and compared them, you would see the reason why the two of us are vastly different. Unless we were at my grandparents' farm, we didn't do much outdoorsy stuff--camping, hiking, fishing, etc. My husband? was outside ALL THE TIME.

Ironically, my husband and I met on a camping trip--the weekend was the first time I'd ever stayed overnight in a tent.

While I'm still not an "outdoorsy" girl--I'd still rather be at home with my books and laptop--I've been getting better about being outside. Or at least I'm trying to be.

Frequently on the weekends, my husband says for me to pack a cooler and grab some diapers for our three-year-old, and off we go. Sometimes I grumble, if not to him, to myself. I'm not a spontaneous person, I like to have some time to plan things when possible. An hour to pack everything we'll need for the rest of the day and it's 11 AM? Yeah, doesn't thrill me too much.

But, I like what it's teaching my kids--to be flexible, roll with the punches, and most importantly, enjoy the outdoors (although, much of the time, all they're enjoying at this age are movies in the car and an excessively long car ride.)

Father's Day was one of these days. On the way to church, TMOTH made noises that he wanted to go fishing. So, I had about a two hour warning before we got home that this was on the plate. Get home, pack lunch, grab the diapers, head out. 

Then, what inevitably happens with us, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"It's Father's Day. You pick."

"I don't know where to go!"

A bluegill our daughter caught on Father's Day

I sigh, make a few half-hearted suggestions. We stop and he retrieves the Gazeteer from the trunk. I start telling him directions. The kids watch "How to Train Your Dragon" for the 17th time in the last few weeks. The younger one naps. The dog is cramped, on the floor between the front and back seats of our mid-sized sedan.

We're all wishing we had a Suburban, especially the dog.

Eventually, we find a spot we've been to before, a long, long time ago--maybe before the kids came around. TMOTH and our daughter fish.

Our daughter catches two small bluegill, TMOTH catches a small catfish and a small bluegill.

I keep our son from falling into the water, take pictures of dragonflies when I can get close enough to them without our son getting too close and scaring them off. We huddle down together after retrieving our hats from the car as light showers come across the lake and hit us head on. By the time we leave, my T-shirt is soaked from the rain.

I'm cold, haven't had dinner, and am tired, but other than gently reminding my husband he neglected to get me something to eat when I couldn't eat at Subway (I started a gluten-free diet last fall, so Subway is NOT on my menu,) I don't say too much. I do adjust the thermostat in the car to something a little warmer, then help my husband figure out where the heck to go. We take a wrong turn or two (I've gotten turned around on where we are,) and I mark the Gazeteer in ink on where to go again, and scratch off roads shown on the map that aren't roads.

It's been a successful day overall. We made it home in one piece. The kids got to run around and fish. I took several pictures, none I'm thrilled with, but they're okay. And more importantly, my husband got me out of the house. I've become quite a homebody the last couple years. Having your life center around the health and wellness of your immune-compromised son will do that to you.

Next up on our list of challenges--a possible weekend trip to a cabin, or maybe even in a tent.

I'm not sure I'm ready yet.


Until next time...

On Meeting "Strangers"

While I was in Seattle, and even on the way there, I was able to meet some "strangers". All of them were WRITERS!

Honestly, one of the highlights of my five-and-a-half months in Seattle was being able to meet some pretty cool people I've known online, some for upwards of seven years, a few of which are familiar commenters around these parts!

Today's post is more of a "travelogue" as I'm just going to share some pictures of yours truly with those I was finally able to meet in person.

Author K.M. Weiland & Liberty Speidel
It was a very brisk March night when we
met over cheesecake.

Five Christian writers gathered at Starbucks
Left side, front to rear: Lynnette Bonner, DeWayne
Ruggles, Steve Mathisen
Right side, front to rear: Janalyn Voigt, Liberty Speidel

Liberty Speidel & Kristina Seleshanko
I was so grateful that she & her family opened their
home up to my son and me for a day!

In addition to the writers, we also met a bunch of fellow Shwachman Diamond parents and patients... too bad I didn't get any pictures that I can post to here!

Until next time,

Always with the Questions...

"What do you write?"

My husband and I were in a doctor's appointment with a doctor who may potentially perform our son's bone marrow transplant. He had asked me if I would be the primary caregiver while in the hospital. "Yes," I reply. "I'm a stay at home mom and a writer."

That's when I got THE QUESTION.

I've gotten it over the years, so the reply has started to just roll off my tongue.

"Murder mysteries, book reviews, and the occasional sci-fi," I say with a smile.

The doctor and transplant coordinator laugh, and the doctor says, "Well maybe while you are here, you will get an idea on something to write!"

Sadly, I thought later on as we left for the parking garage, he's probably not far from the truth, especially given my propensity for hating doctors and hospitals in general, and this situation in particular. And, I tend to have a running list in my head of things that will be useful down the road where stories are concerned.

But, then, you never know where that one little detail may come in handly. So, it's good to stay on your toes.

So, will a scenario with a murdered doctor in a children's hospital come up in my writing? You never know... Most of the time, I don't always know where my brain is headed. :)

----------------------

By the way, if you're in the United States, don't forget to vote tomorrow. And, if you're a Republican, a new law passed by Congress gives you the right to vote twice, three times if you're in Chicago. ;) j/k

Until next time,

Liberty

Topsy-Turvy

The last ten days have been anything but normal. And, the news TMOTH and I got last week has definitely turned our world on its ear.

Our son is headed for bone marrow transplant.

When I got the news a week ago, I fell apart. My world has been rocked. How could this bubbly, hyperactive, absolutely most adorable little boy in the world need such a risky procedure?

But, at this point, he does. We've got a lot of steps to go through before the ultimate decision will be made. And, we have to find a donor--it's not certain any of his immediate family will be a match. The likelihood is 25% for his sister, and 2% for both TMOTH and me--29% chance that one of the three of us will match.

The dust is just starting to settle and I can think straight again after getting the call last Tuesday. But most of my energy is being spent trying to figure out what's next, and looking down the road to the next few stages of treatment. Still hoping that when we go in to do another biopsy prior to transplant that the numbers have changed and we can hold off. I'd rather deal with biopsies every 3, 6, or 12 months than transplant.

I don't know what this means for my blog, or even my writing in general. I know I'll need to write to deal with the stress. And it seems like I've had three major things happen in just the last few weeks: first, deciding it was time to say goodbye to "Homebody" and move on; second, a personal decision to work on something I'd been struggling with for a long time; now, this. All in a matter of just a few weeks.

I'll check in when I can, try to post as I'm inspired or led... and this blog may turn into more of a journal of our journey, at least for a while.

Thank you, loyal readers, for any prayer you happen to send my family's direction.



PS: If you should feel so led, please consider becoming a marrow donor. It's an easy, painless process to get on the registry (although there is a small fee unless it's associated with a donor drive). Please check out Marrow.org for more information. -- LS

Growing On Up: 5 Lessons on Writing Learned in the Garden

I started a garden this year.

It was sort of a last minute thing, and I really didn't prepare like I should have, but despite it all, it's been fun to see my plants grow... a few taller than TMOTH and myself (and TMOTH is 6'4"/1.93 meters tall!!)

My garden at the beginning of  the year

My previous gardening experiences have left much to be desired. I grew up with a large garden in our backyard, where my mom would (sometimes) plant a ton of tomatoes, and occasionally other things like corn, peppers, and melons. But, since I married TMOTH, I've mostly had a black thumb. I can't start seeds to save me, and many plants I've bought at the store die.

This year, I was actually successful (at least up to now!) Eight tomato plants, five sweet pepper plants, and one lonely chili pepper plant. Oh, and an ever-expanding patch of oregano.

Of course, my water bill has been going up thanks to the huge drought Kansas is in... *sigh*

TMOTH was adamant--he wasn't going to tend to my garden for me. I have a tendency to not go outside at ALL when it gets hot. So, having a small garden seemed reasonable.

And, I'm kind of glad I started small.

So far as I write this, my city has had 20 days in excess of 100° Fahrenheit. We've had less than 4" of rain since June 1, 2012. Normally, we'd have had about three times that by now. I've had to be out pretty much every day to water, occasionally twice, or my plants start wilting.

Homegrown, home-canned tomato sauce

Because of the extreme heat, I've forgone any trips of any lengths of time. My plants would be dead or close to it, I fear, if left for four days (and yes, I know I should get a water timer, but that hasn't happened yet.)

Of course, all this has led to some fruitful results. I've picked a few peppers so far, but even more tomatoes. And, I'm flexing my canning muscles. So far, I've canned my own tomato sauce, and am hoping to soon have enough tomatoes again I can do my own salsa, too.

In the midst of it all, I've learned quite a few lessons, some that I can translate into writing lessons.

1. Plan Ahead -- My decision to do a garden was made hastily. If I'd started working on it earlier, I could have had much more space cleared, and hence, more plants/more produce. As a writing lesson, this is translated to outlining. I'm not a firm believer in outlining, but it's growing on me. Especially given this experience.
   
   
2. Give Me Space -- You can probably see that my first picture, I had things planted kind of close. I was ill prepared for how well my plants would grow, since my previous attempts at growing tomatoes and the like had produced straggly-looking plants. Writing lesson: don't jump right into editing. Let your writing sit for a while.
   
   



A Mariana's Peace Tomato from my garden -- not a Roma!

3. Do Your Research... or Not -- I bought 8 tomato plants from a local grower. I'd been adamant--I wanted Roma Tomatoes, the kind best suited for canning sauce. The grower told me she'd give me some Roma's, but she also had a different kind of Roma called a Mariana's Peace. So, I bought four of each. Well, the Roma's grew like I knew they should, but when the Mariana's Peace started to get big, I knew I'd been sold a bill of goods. These weren't Roma's, but beefsteaks! After I'd harvested quite a few of the tomatoes, I researched them--something I should have done right off the bat. However, I was pleased to learn they're an heirloom variety, have a lot of meat to them, great flavor, and seem to have mixed well with the Roma's. Writing lesson: I'm not huge on research, never really have been. Being a pantser, I rely on intuitive or stored knowledge, occasionally a blog by Lee Lofland, Wikipedia searches, or my small writer's reference library in my bedroom/office. Really have to stop doing that. I've had to rewrite more scenes because I later learn of major inaccuracies. Which is why I'm contemplating asking a couple of my legislator friends to allowing me to shadow them come January--despite the fact I've been a legislative intern twice--since I've got two new ideas for novels that would involve a legislative setting. I need to be a bit more disciplined about research.
   
   
4. Deal With Your Circumstances -- I had no idea I was going to deal with a drought like we'd had. Even though I follow Gary Lezak who came up with the LRC (Lezak's Recurring Cycle) which is a weather theory I believe has a great deal of scientific merit, I didn't see us having a drought as extreme as we've had. I figured it'd be hot--we had a mild winter, more rain than snow, and I think I was wearing shorts as early as February. So I was prepared for the heat. But, I've had to be out every day, usually in temps nearing 100°, and that's not something I'm used to. I actually hate the heat. But because I saw my little tomatoes growing, and had visions of maybe supplementing our food sources in a significant manner, I was out there, watering, tending, trimming, and harvesting, even if I was tired, hot, sweaty, or sick. Writing Lesson: Your circumstances are your circumstances. Deal with them as best as you can. If your schedule is unpredictable, fit in 10 minutes of writing between appointments.
   
   



My tomatoes quickly became overgrown.

5. Learn From Your Mistakes --  I desperately needed to have about twice as much space for my tomatoes as I ended up having. I can access them only from the perimeter, otherwise, I have to crane my neck and sometimes reach in blind to find my ripe red fruit. Next year will be different. Come fall, probably in October, I plan to Round-Up a significant part of the yard (probably much to our landlord's chagrin!) and add compost to all our areas that I'm clearing after a couple of weeks of killing off the weeds and crabgrass. I hope to have twice as many tomato plants next year, maybe even three times as many, spread over at least four times the amount of space. Writing Lesson: As I detailed in last week's post, I made the hard choice to give up on my project "Homebody". It was a tough decision, but one that needed to happen. While I'd hesitate to call "Homebody" a mistake, I definitely learned from it. Maybe I'll detail some of the lessons learned in a future blog post.

Question for you: What lessons have you learned about writing from your outside activities?

Until next time,

Two Years... and Counting...

Two years ago, my house was blessed to have the most precious (and I'm not biased in any way) little boy come into our home. His labor and delivery were brief (2 hours of labor, 3 minutes for delivery).

And when I saw him for the first time, I was stunned he was a boy (I'd really thought we were having a girl.) But, I thought he was perfect in every way.

I still cling to that thought every now and then. Now, I know he's not perfect (he's got the ornery streak to prove it!) And, I know he'll never be the same as other little boys--not just because God made him different, but because of what's different about him at a cellular level.

When I was growing up, I can't remember having birthday parties. Sure, I had a girlfriend over most every birthday, or went to spend the week of my birthday (which strangely almost always fell over spring break) at my grandparent's house in the Ozark's of Missouri. But, I never really had parties that I can remember.

Alexander

With Alexander, we don't know how many years we're going to get with him. He may grow up, have a family, and get to raise his own children, see his grandchildren.

I pray this is the case.

But, I also am all too aware that every birthday he has may be his last one. And, as a mother, this chokes me up. As I'm writing this, I'm crying, even though I can hear him and his sister in the next room, playing.

You see, his condition, Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS), puts him at a high risk of developing leukemia. I've talked about that before. Right now, until he has his next biopsy next month, we know he's at an even more elevated risk.

And, should it come to it, and he requires a bone marrow transplant, I know he's got but a 50/50 shot. We saw it with another SDS family just in the last few weeks. Their son had a transplant, and sadly passed away a few days later. He wasn't much older than our little guy.

It scares me, more than I thought anything ever could.

So, on Saturday over the weekend, Alexander turned two. And, we celebrated, as we expect we'll be doing not just with him next year, but with his older sister when she turns four in October.

While both of them can drive me nuts, and some days I wonder if it's really worth it, something in the back of my mind reminds me that all of our days are numbered. Only God knows how many days we get. And even though writing my stories are important to me, blogging and social networking are fun and even important tools as I try to get the engine going on my writing career, there's things more important.

Until next time,

Liberty

P.S. -- I should have mentioned this when it posted, but I guest blogged over on Linda Yezak's site about 10 days ago. Should you get a chance, go check it out.

Jitters

I've been feeling more than a little jittery lately.

And, no, it's not from heavy amounts of caffeine, although I'm weaning off of it again after a bad spurt over the winter of needing it in high amounts.

No, these jitters are nerves for writing.

See, I'm in-between projects right now. I've got "Homebody" which I'm still tweaking, even though I'm sending it out to agents. And, I've got "Reprisal" (the new name for "Cora's Song") which I'm contemplating all the changes that need to be made to make it publishable. (Not that it's not now, it's just gotten a little lengthy, and needs a bit of trimming and consolidating and poking to make sure I've got all the holes in the plot tied together well.) And, I've got one more project ready for editing... and two I'd like to be writing.

But, I'm trying to prioritize, and actually get things ready to go rather than writing, writing, writing and never editing, editing, editing.

Sigh.

Hence, the jitters. With the fact that I'm feeling just a little closer to my publishing dreams right now, it's making me twist into a little ball of nerves.

Which does nothing for any other aspect of my life except make me antsy. I mean, surely, the kids can deal without mommy for a while during the day, right? (Not that they do--it just leaves me feeling that way sometimes.) Surely, TMOTH can understand that I've got to get work done (Yeah, not so much.) And the dog... well, the dog and I go on lots of walks these days which is starting to give me time to think about all the changes to be done to "Reprisal". After too many walks where I'm chasing the kids or hollering to my 3yo to hurry up, these near-silent walks with the dog are ones where I'm having to retrain my brain to think about my plots again.

Anyway, maybe, along with fewer amounts of caffeine, I'll be easing the jitters soon.

And, in the meantime, you can check out and see whether my entry over at Miss Snark's First Victim made the agent's cut this month. "Homebody" was entry #1 last week over there, and today, I'll find out whether I won or not.

Until next time,

Results?

Hello, dear readers!

This will be brief, as I've got a lot on my mind, and just want to let you know about the things that happened last week.

First, wasn't Jeannie Campbell's couch time with my character awesome? I really, really, really appreciate her! Now, it's off to work on that project. :) Third Draft, here I come!

Second, the contest.

Well, I didn't make the cut. But, as I said on my Facebook page, that's okay. About two weeks ago, it came to be that a newly published author agreed to do a first few chapters critique of my story, and we found a bunch of problems, which I'm working on. Nothing insurmountable, but between that and some critiques I'd sought out on my pitch, it was for the best. Upward and onward!

And, the biopsy.

It went well. From start to finish, it lasted maybe 10 minutes (from what we were told), but sedating him and waking up made it about an hour total. A little nerve-wracking, but it's done with. Now, we're just waiting on results, which we're hoping for today or tomorrow.

It's been rather hectic this weekend, hence the brevity of this post.

Until next time,

Liberty

Non-stereotypical

You know you're an odd duck when your husband asks you when the Super Bowl is...

Such is life in my house. I am far more interested in football than my husband, although he seems to "get" the game more than I do.

Last night, we were eating dinner, and TMOTH looked at me (while I was stuffing my mouth with pizza) and said, "The Super Bowl is next week?"

I held up two fingers, and after I swallowed, told him, "Two weeks, Honey."

After thinking about it for a bit, it made me think about how much of the time, the characters I read about are a bit stereotypical. Sure, there's some exceptions, but most of the time, the girls are the shopping-freaks, and the guys can't understand anything else when anything with a ball is on the TV.

As a writer, I hope my characters are never cookie-cutters cut-outs. The main character in one of my projects absolutely HATES shopping, and is very likely to show up somewhere wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey (whether it's appropriate or not.) The hero in the same story is as comfortable cooking alongside his girl (the main character) as he is taking his car apart and changing its oil.

If you're a writer, do you find you rely on stereotypes of the genders a bit too much? If so, is there a legitimate reason you do?

If you're a reader, do you notice when characters are stereotypes?


Until next time,



P.S.--I drafted this last night... while I was watching the Giants/49ers go into overtime...

A Plea From the Dog

Me and Mom

My name is Tucker. I am a 3--almost 4--year old Chocolate Labrador Retriever. I live with my mom, Liberty, and TMOTH. I have commandeered Mom's computer to beg for your help (and I am really good at begging.)

You have to stop Mom's obsession with this thing called "writing". It is really getting in the way of my quality dog time. When I first came to Mom's house, everything was confusing, and I did not know how completely obsessed she is with this activity.

First, it was writing a book. That was fine. She would sometimes stay up late while writing this book. This was nice because she would, if she remembered, be up to let me out to go chase opossums and other night-time animals I don't get to see in the daytime. I sure do love to chase them squirrels and rabbits... just wish I could catch one...

But, Mom has now decided this thing called a book needs to go into a contest. If that weren't enough, she is now writing these things called "reviews" and "short stories". I'm not really sure what these are, just that they are starting to encroach on my well-deserved walks. After all, I am the dog. I need these sorts of things. And, if Mom were to take me for my walks, she might not be so concerned about the size of jeans she is (or isn't) fitting into these days.

If that isn't enough for you to help me, maybe this will be. I sometimes hear Mom talking to herself. I think she's talking to me--after all, she using the word "bones" a lot--but when I come to see where the bones are, she barely notices I am there! I know I heard her right. Then she's started talking a lot about getting an "agent" and making lots of "queries". I'm not sure what these are, either, but they sound like a big problem if I'm going to get my dinner on time one of these days. Too many times, Mom can't remember whether she fed me or not. (That's why the kids give me scraps--to make sure I keep up my strength. Someone has to get the word out about Mom!)

Won't you help me? You may know how to talk to Mom about her addiction. I've tried, but apparently, Mom cannot understand me. I will keep you posted on my progress.

--Tucker the Labrador

It's Coming!

... and I don't necessarily mean in a good way!

Since my son was diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome, we've known one of these days, he'd be having a bone marrow biopsy (BMB).

Well, it's official. He'll have one late next month.

This has left a lot of our family and friends with lots of questions, some of which we don't know how to answer (and are fumbling around trying to at least sound somewhat intelligent when we respond.) Why does he have to have a BMB? Will he have to have it multiple times? Will he be sedated? How long will he be in the hospital? What are they looking for?

I asked my online support group about it, and they pointed me to these two resources:

Bone Marrow Biopsy and Aspiration
Bone Marrow Biopsy Day

Am I glad I asked! I think both resources answer more questions than even I'd thought to ask. :)

Probably our next biggest question is how long it'll take to get the biopsy results--TMOTH has asked this, and I told him I had no idea, but we'd probably have results by Easter--let's hope sooner!

More on health: our son's doing better, and it's been 2 weeks since he's had a CBC (Complete Blood Count) run. We go back tomorrow for another CBC. We're watching his hemoglobin slowly rise, and I'm hopeful it's closer to the normal range. As an aside, our son isn't the only person I've learned of in the last few days with low hemoglobin levels--a friend's child was down to 6 last week (never heard for sure if the child had a transfusion or not) and a member of TMOTH's family also had their hemoglobin drop and had to have a transfusion. At least I can understand the worry when it happens now!

Next week, I'm going to try to get back to a post on writing or some such thing. Maybe an update on those resolutions I wrote about a few weeks ago. (Hint: I've lost some weight, but have no clue why! I'm not exercising like I know I should be...)

Until next time,

Liberty

It's the New Year! Will You Join Me...?

Monday has come and gone... and Monday morning, I had NO clue what to write about. Today, I think I do.

I've decided I'm going to do whatever I can to read through the Bible in a year or less. (So far, the "less" part seems probable.) Using my handy-dandy Bible app from YouVersion.com, I've selected a Bible-reading plan, in my case, the Chronological version.

Photo by RudraMel

I've been using YouVersion for a while on my Android smartphone. Instead of taking my Bible with me to church, I've been using this handy (and free!) app. I can switch versions at will (a good thing when our pastor switches from NIV to NLT to ESV in the span of five minutes.) And, I can get a daily reminder to read my Bible that day.

The year is still new. Will you join me and commit to reading the Bible in a year? I've never done this before, and could use the support, encouragement, and accountability. You can join me at YouVersion--I'm user Righter1.

Have you ever tried to read the Bible through in a year--or less? Were you successful? Do you have any tips to stay firm on your commitment?

Until next time,

Follow up to Gifts of the Heart

Just wanted to let everyone know that my son's hemoglobin level has come up to 7.8. Normal range is 12 - 18 for ANYONE, so he's still anemic. We're waiting on his hematologist to get back from vacation to give us any further instructions, but the nurse seemed pleased that it came up 1.5 points in a week.

Overall, we're pleased, but know he's still got problems. Still, it's enough to be encouraged.

Until next time,

Liberty

Gifts of the Heart

Merry Christmas, a day late! Or, as our friends across the pond may say today, Happy Boxing Day!

I hope you've had a most blessed Christmas... and managed not to kill any of your family. ;) Or is it just me that struggles with those feelings sometimes? (tee hee hee, just kidding!)

Today is my regularly scheduled post for the ChristianWriters.com blog chain, and to be honest, the topic (Gifts of the Heart) kind of has me stumped. But, I shall charge on!

When I read the topic (admittedly, about 5 minutes before I started writing this post), I thought, huh.

So, rather than do a traditional post, I think I'll leave you with a few pictures of some of the things that warm my heart. I hope you'll find them as endearing as I do.

 

Obviously, these are my kids... and my dog. :) I'd put TMOTH's picture up, but I'm not sure if he'd be okay with it. 

So, my family is my gift of the heart... I hope you can say the same for yours!

In a little sidenote, I want to give a brief update on our son's health. Last week, we thought everything was going well, and then we went in to see his dermatologist, who, on a whim, ordered some blood work. Our guy has been sick most of the time since Thanksgiving, and when they ran his hemoglobin, it was 6.3. Normal is between 12 and 18, so he's exceptionally anemic right now. We have his blood retested tomorrow, and his hematologist (blood doctor) is watching this closely. We've managed to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas without being admitted--and seeing as those were both spent at the hospital in 2010, this is a great thing. Hopefully, we'll make it through the remainder of 2011 without being admitted again! (Now, if we can make it through cold and flu season...) 

If everything is okay, I guess you'll hear from me next in 2012... wow, can it really nearly be 2012? It barely seems like I was getting a handle on 2011! If for some reason things aren't as good as we hoped, I'll try to post a short update on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

(But I'm hoping it'll be 2012 before you hear from me again!)

Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Liberty

Scared Silly

Ever get so focused on something, the whole world is just white noise?

Yeah, this happened to me in the last week.

Lesson: you should not get that so totally focused on something else when you have a 3-year-old and 16-month-old in the house.

I decided that I was going to get a head start on one of my four 2012 resolutions this past week: I'm going to learn how to quilt.

Over a year ago, I bought one of those "How to Quilt" books at my favorite crafts store. With everything going on, I hadn't cracked it open in, well, probably at least 9 months. But, with the wonders of PBS's CreateTV, I rediscovered that, hey, I wanted to learn how to quilt sometime in my lifetime. As if I don't have ENOUGH going on.

So, I dug my quilting book out of storage (i.e. my basement--and I knew exactly where said book was) and started reading a couple weeks ago. And, last weekend, I felt confident enough that I went out and bought supplies for a small, potholder-sized quilt.

And, last Monday, I decided that the kids were behaving well enough that I could setup for a quick "let's-learn-to-quilt" session.

Got all my prep done with kids underfoot, decided to babygate the kitchen door so they could see me, I could see them, but they couldn't knock over a hot iron or get into my sewing machine.

At some point, I got so focused on whatever I was working on--and I had my back turned to the kitchen door. My daughter dragged a kid-sized chair to the door, unbeknownst to me.

And she let out the loudest, "Hey, Mom!" that she possibly could.

I just about hit the ceiling. And let out a scream of my own.

Which caused my daughter to start crying.

I climbed over the gate, and hugged her, reassuring her I wasn't mad--just that she really had scared mom.

I think after that, we both had a cookie. We both needed one.

Later that morning, I did finish my quilting project. It didn't turn out too bad, even if I nearly had a heart attack in the process.

Hopefully, my daughter doesn't attempt anything similar when I learn how to can next year. ;) Fabric is one thing, glass and high pressure are a whole 'nother thing.

Until next time,

Liberty

Thanksgiving Blessings

Okay, so I admit it... I forgot about writing this week's blog post.

But, I still want to wish everyone a most blessed Thanksgiving holiday. As we all begin the hecticness of this holiday season, I hope you take a few quiet moments to reflect on everything we have to be thankful for this year.

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share with you this week's message from my church. The message is the "Thank God" message from our "Constant Contact" series. (But the previous message, "Ask God," is very good, too.)

Stay safe on the roads and in the air, enjoy time with family, try not to kill anyone. ;)

Until next time,

Things I Didn't Know

Nine Things.

This month's topic for the ChristianWriters.com blog chain is another that sort of has me stumped.

Being that it's Thanksgiving season, I'd hazard a guess that many are writing of what they're thankful for.

But, the only thing I can think of is to write about Nine Things I Didn't Know at this time last year.

This last year has been trying, to say the least. And, I've learned a lot.

1. A year ago, I thought something was wrong with me when my son wouldn't gain weight.

2. A year ago, I'd never have thought my second home for most of the next year would become a hospital.

3. A year ago, I'd never have thought I'd ever live in an apartment again (and thankfully, we don't again!)

4. A year ago, I didn't know what lengths we could go to in order to find out what was wrong with our son.

5. A year ago, I looked at holidays as something that happened normally. After spending three holidays in the hospital, I'm grateful for the family and friends who assisted us through the holidays last year.

6. A year ago, I'd never heard of Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. While I'm still learning about it, I know a heck of a lot more than a couple doctors on our son's team!

7. A year ago, I didn't realize just how much time would have to be invested in keeping our son healthy. It's more than you think, but less than I think is possible.

8. A year ago, I knew I'd have a book deal by now. Yeah, that hasn't happened. I've had to put off submissions again and again. :(

9. A year ago, I really didn't know how many people would rush to our side during a crisis. Today, I know. And I'm grateful for all of our friends.

I kind of wonder what I'll be learning next year.

What have you learned this year? How has it helped you?

Until next time,

Liberty

A Few Thoughts on Parents of Special Needs Kids

Before our little boy was diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome, I never really gave much thought to the needs of parents with kids with special needs. And while I would be the first to say that SDS isn't the worst possible diagnosis (and some would probably argue until the world ends that SDS makes him a true "special needs" kid), it also has given me a glimpse into the lives of other parents that do have truly special needs kiddos.

My Two Munchkins in a recent picture

With our daughter, if she had a cough or a sneeze, I never really had to worry it would turn into something more. (I did, of course, but she was never seriously sick.) If she missed being in the nursery at church one week, she'd be back the next week, maybe with the tiny tendrils left of a cold, but virtually all better.

Now, if my son coughs in the middle of the night--even if it's just once or twice--I wonder if he's coming down with a cold. Or the flu. Or worse. Will he have to be admitted to the hospital--again? How long will he stay?

And, it all runs through my brain in about one-half of a millisecond.

Every special needs kid is different. Whether the kid has SDS (like ours), leukemia, Downs Syndrome, or something else more rare like a muscle atrophy condition, there's an adjoining parent or two who struggles with the idiosyncrasies of their child's disease. With us, we've had to learn to accept the medications given daily (which I think is probably the same with most parents of kids with special needs) and the fact there will always be that "What If?" question in our brains. And the specialists that will have to be involved with his long-term care. And the fact he may not be as tall as his mom when he hits adulthood. (I really hope we're at least at eye-level. I'm a tall woman--5'8"--but I can't imagine having a child shorter than me when they're an adult!)

While most people tend to focus on the kids with special needs, sometimes the parents and sibling(s) get forgotten. If you're in this boat, maybe you should take a minute and give the mom or dad a call just to see how they're doing. Offer some babysitting time. Trust me--it's scary as a parent to hand your kid over to someone when you don't know what could go wrong--then you have the added concerns of medications, and it's nearly paralyzing. Since our son was diagnosed positively, I can count on two fingers how many times my husband and I have left both our kids with someone other than a family member. It's not that I don't trust anyone, it's that I personally feel it's probably overwhelming for someone to know what they need to do, even for something as "simple" as mealtime.

And, maybe I don't want to burden anyone else with the complexities. Who knows.

Question for you: do you know anyone with special needs kids? When was the last time you loved on the parents or siblings?

Until next time,

Harvest

by Foto3116

I grew up in the heart of wheat country--south central Kansas. Harvest is not an uncommon thing for me to witness. I remember growing up, there would be days we'd have to close up the house on nice days because there was a field just south of us, and the farmer was harvesting (or tilling sometimes) and it would stir up dust. My mom is an asthmatic with allergies, so the dust being blown in always caused problems--even with the house closed up.

Still, I love watching the big machines doing their jobs, row upon row being eaten up by that whirling harvester, soon to be turned into flour... or whatever else wheat is used for. Corn, milo, soybeans, and countless other grains grew in my area of the world. I even occasionally saw a cotton field!

Now, when I think of harvest time, I think of not just the big fields with family or commercial farmers in big rigs, but I also think of the small harvest--the one in a backyard. I'm hardly a green-thumb--TMOTH swears I have the ability to kill nearly every plant. He's almost right.

My mom grew tomatoes almost every year for several years. In the height of summer, there would be several weeks go by where she'd can a few days a week. Spaghetti sauce was a big one. While my family isn't Italian, we ate a lot of spaghetti. There's nothing better than homemade spaghetti sauce--with homegrown tomatoes!

I hope one day I can outgrow my black-thumb tendencies. I'd love to learn how to can for myself, and to teach my daughter when she's older. I've gotten a lot of encouragement from several friends, I just need to bite the bullet, get the equipment... and actually grow something worth canning! Then maybe next time, I can have a happy harvest, too.


Today's post has been a part of the ChristianWriters.com blog chain. For links to the other blogger's posts, please go here.

Until next time,