Thank you to everyone who is praying for little Caine.  After many days that felt like one step forward, two steps back, it was hugely encouraging to finally get more good news than bad today!  Last night was a very rough night, but today was better.  His parents and doctors are cautiously optimistic that he has turned a corner and finally on the mend.

Caine is still in the PICU (pediatric ICU), but the doctors have been gradually reducing his oxygen flow and he seems to be tolerating it well so far.  Once he gets low enough, he can be moved back to the pediatric ward where they can work on weaning him off entirely so he can go home.

The IV in his head seemed to be causing a lot of pain so they took it out today.  His parents got to hold him finally, probably the highlight of the day for everyone.  :)  The nurses weren’t able to get the IV back in, but that seems to be a good thing: instead, they ran a tube into his stomach and he was finally able to take some of the milk his mom has faithfully pumped by his bedside for the last 8 days.  This was his first feeding in over 3 days because aspiration (inhaling the milk into his lungs) was a big concern.

More good news: his most recent chest x-ray shows that the congestion in his lungs seems to be breaking up.  This means he can begin the long process of healing from the damage caused by RSV.  Also, his fever is gone and white blood count is normal (I think), so concerns about an infection or spinal meningitis seem to be allayed.

Please pray that he will continue to improve, that his blood gases will remain stable as they reduce the oxygen flow, and that he can continue to receive feedings via the tube.  Please also pray that the doctors and other caretakers would have wisdom and compassion, and that God would grant Caine’s parents and three brothers peace, patience, and wisdom as they adapt their plans to Caine’s current situation.

I know it’s been awfully quiet here on the blog and I hate to show up with a request, but I think you’ll understand.  We had a wild & crazy houseful of guests for most of the past 10 days.  That’s the good news.

The bad news is that one of our guests, little baby Caine, has been in the hospital since the day after Christmas.

Caine was due the week after our Calvin, but was born 3 weeks early.

Caine had a bout with pneumonia the week after Thanksgiving, and spent 10 days in the hospital.

He was much better by the time his family came here to visit, but somewhere along the line he contracted RSV.  It’s a common virus, not usually dangerous, but Caine was especially vulnerable because of his weakened lungs.  On the day after Christmas he went back to the hospital, this time in San Antonio.

Although the doctors had hoped he would begin to improve after 3 or 4 days, the poor little guy is facing new challenges daily and still working hard to breathe at Day 7. He started out in the pediatric ward, but was moved to the pediatric ICU a few days later.

Please pray for Caine and his family!

Yesterday I hiked up the mountain behind my grandparents’ property with Parker in the Ergo baby carrier.  Uncle Steve led the way, brandishing a machete to cut a path through the nearly impassable brush.  The thorns were brutal so I borrowed a pair of Grandma’s jeans.  They fit perfectly, so much so that I took note of the brand and size.  How many people can share jeans and take fashion advice from their grandmother?

As we made our way up, Uncle Steve shared his knowledge of logging, learned in his own long career all around the Pacific Northwest.  Most of these were second or third growth, not old growth. The old growth trees were easy to spot; they dwarfed the 150 foot trees all around us.  In his day, Uncle Steve logged many that were over 300 feet.  He has photos to prove it.

When we paused at a clearing with a view, he pointed out all the hilltops in the area where he had logged.  We climbed over and around stumps 6 feet in diameter, and one that had been nearly 8 feet.  He pointed out the various techniques used on the many stumps we passed and the reasons behind them, talked about the species of trees used for logging, how to fall a log on a hill, the dangers and challenges of logging, why helicopter logging is best for the environment, and why clearcutting is so wasteful and harmful.  He admits his own perspective has changed now that his logging days are over.

We snacked – who am I kidding?  We gorged on blackberries as we went, and saw evidence that coyotes had done the same.  I had a good laugh about the chia pets they leave behind.   Chia pets?  Think about it.  Berry seeds are notoriously difficult to digest.

Uncle Steve spotted several yew wood trees, and told me again about the bows and arrows he has handcrafted.  He is 1/4 Native American, and has been active in our tribe for most of his life, learning the language and spending many years living and working in Alaska.  He even gives lectures on the subject in classroom settings.

We marveled at the view, over and over, at every stop and every ridge, even though Grandma and Grandpa have lived at the foot of this mountain for nearly 40 years; even though Uncle Steve has climbed it more times than he or I can count; even though much of its beauty is gone now that large patches of it has been logged.  It was still indescribably magnificent.

We saw Mt. Hood in the distance, floating magically above the hazy horizon, and we wondered if Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Adams were hidden in the haze or behind the hills to our left.

And then we walked back down.

If blogging is sparse this weekend, it’s because I have better things to do: I’m visiting my grandparents in Oregon!

Perry surprised me by commanding me to buy a plane ticket to Grandma’s  birthday party, and – submissive, obedient wife that I am – I obeyed. 

Parker and I arrived in Portland on Friday evening and will be here until Wednesday.

How old is Grandma?  I’ll never tell.  Just these two hints: it ends in a zero, and if you saw her, you’d never guess.

Sometimes my pioneer spirit gets the best of me.   Minutes after I hit the publish button on my post about our frozen pipes, hubby called.  ”Why didn’t you ask your brothers to come fix the pipes for you while I’m gone?  The men at church offered to help with any needs, too.”

My defense was that I didn’t really consider it pressing.  I was going to see my brothers at the big family gathering later and I would have talked to them then.  I doubt that we could have help for the asking, but I didn’t see a need for anyone to crawl around under the house until the weather warmed up a bit.

No sooner had I hung up from talking with hubby than the phone rang again.  It was my brother.  ”Mom said your pipes froze.  We’re gathering parts for you.  Tell me what broke and we’ll be right over.”

After an hour and a trip to the hardware store, the pipes were fixed.  They found 2 more breaks in addition to the 2 that I knew about, but these guys know their stuff.   They didn’t turn the valves back on, but everything was fixed.

We all gathered at Mom and Dad’s house for a late Christmas dinner, where the plumbing was still under repair.  The cold water was running again, so dinner went smoothly.  With 40 or 50 people in the house, most of whom are children, toilets can make or break the day.

We headed home at 7 to take some much-needed baths and get ready for the Sabbath.  When I went under the house to turn the supply to the water heater back on, I got my shower early.  Another broken pipe, previously unsuspected.

I hated to call the guys and ask them to work in the cold and dark, but I knew if we left the water off we would wake to more frozen and burst pipes, and all their hard work would be undone.

They concurred, and said they’d be right over.  And they were.  Brothers are a wonderful thing.

Did you figure it out?

I’m sure you got close, at least.  We’re in Oklahoma, visiting my family.  The younger ones didn’t figure out what we were up to until we pulled into the driveway at 4 AM.  Apparently in their world, it’s not unusual to drive 9 hours when going out to dinner.  They didn’t even ask.  This is what happens when you live 50 miles from town.

The kids are having a good ole time playing with aunts and uncles their own age, and I’m having a good old time playing games with my mom, who could easily pass for my age.

PerryBoy spent the afternoon tagging along after my 10yo and 12yo brothers, just being one of the guys – except that he was only 2 feet tall and spent much the day wearing his jeans backwards.  He was quite a trendsetter swinging a baseball bat and sporting that zipper down the crack of his bum.

How are you spending the weekend?

Lois Groat said:

Tell us more about Sea World. Did you ALL go? Did people stare at you everywhere you went? Did you all wear the same color? We do that so that “we can all find us.” That is probably why people stare.

Our whole family went, along with quite a few friends.  It was a group event, and we met familiar faces around every corner.  We used to put all the children in the same color for events like this, and I still love the idea, but now that there are more children (and they are older) it’s harder to do.  We just flew by the seat of our pants, hoping not to lose anyone.  It worked, but it’s not a method I recommend.

This was our first time ever, and we found ourselves there on one of the hottest days ever – I think it was around 130 degrees.  I could be wrong; I’m just guessing but it was hot.  It was also crowded.  I guess I should have expected that, but I didn’t realize just how crowded it was until we went to see the Shamu show and the whole stadium was packed.  There are several shows/day and must have been 5,000 seats, but at the first show of the day we found ourselves standing up behind the top row, peering down.   Of course we had absolutely no trouble seeing, even from our distant and lofty perch.  Penguins might have been a problem, but killer whales – not a chance.  We could have seen from half a mile away.

Needless to say, they were amazing.  I had never before seen creatures like this in real life.  I would love to have a ringside seat at least once, but I was in awe nonetheless.

We also fed and petted dolphins, watched penguins acrobatics, giggled at the  big  doggy-looking seals and sea lions – they always make me smile! We even saw the Budweiser Clydesdales in real life.

And then…

We did what the big girls were waiting for.  The rides.  This part was less exciting to me than petting real live dolphins, but more exciting to everyone else.  I compare it to sledding: spend 10 minutes hauling it uphill and enjoy 15 seconds of exhilaration coming back down.  Then start again.

The rides were like that: I stayed with the stroller/camera/diaper bag/crying baby/sub-46″ crowd, while the taller members of the family stood in line for 20-40 minutes at a crack.  They would finally, at long last, reach the front of the line, and 90 seconds later they were at the back of the line again.  I’m glad they had fun, but I wasn’t exactly begging for my turn.

As it turned out, I didn’t have to beg.  Hubby knew that I generally enjoy roller coasters, and he wanted to make sure I had fun.  In spite of the long lines, he talked me into taking a ride.  As I stood in line with 4 of the girls, I felt a twinge of ovarian guilt, knowing that I surely wouldn’t enjoy it as much as those who stayed behind to tend to the Littles, but I indulged him.

It.  Was.  FUN.

It was Let’s take a brief tour of the photo.  Deanna is in the front row of our car, alone.  In spite of the look of pure animal terror on her face, she was having the time of her life.  She had already ridden several times and hit every drop with her arms in the air, in traditional roller coaster style.  She saw the camera coming and thinks that she was trying to smile, so apparently when you stack a cheesy smile on top of ultimate exhilaration at 90mph and 3 times the force of gravity, it looks like that.

I’m in the second row, looking calm and collected.  Right?  Right? See my white-knuckled grip on the seat in front of me?  I didn’t let go the whole time.

Did you notice Natalie sitting next to me?  You missed her until I said that, didn’t you?  She spent the entire ride with her head tucked down, repeating the same thing over and over: “Is it done yet, Mom?  Tell me when it’s done.”

Behind us are Kaitlyn and Becca.  Kaitlyn looks like she’s dozing off but that doesn’t sound very interesting, does it?  Maybe she was actually terrified and trying to find her happy place.  Little Becca was a trooper.  She went in looking small and scared.  She came out 90 seconds later looking 2 years older, small and scared.

Everything after that is a blur.  Do you blame me? My brains were probably still jiggling in my head when I went to bed that night.

I am a homebody.  I love home.  We’ve been on the run, in town and out, for the last 2 weeks.  But now we’re home and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The church conference and talent show were a blast.

The wedding in Austin was beautiful.  Both the bride and groom were very emotional as they exchanged vows, the flowers were lovely, the food was great, and the dancing was…well… I just have to say that there was at least one wild and crazy guy there. (WARNING: link to an SNL video clip)

Our children now have a new aunt Roxanne in addition to my sister, old aunt Roxanne.

It was fun to visit with family, and hotels are, on occasion, a welcome change of scenery.

Well, maybe not – but the kids slept well in their soft, cushy hotel beds.

They also had plenty of fun in the hotel pool.  But like Dorothy said, there’s no place like home.

Bethany is none the worse for wear; she gained another 6 oz. since Thursday, bringing her up to 8 lbs. 6 oz.  It must be all the chocolate I’ve been eating lately.  Or maybe all the Everything Else I’ve been eating.  I prefer to attribute it to chocolate.

At any rate, she enjoyed meeting her great aunt Yvonne this weekend.

Hey, wait.  Her eyes were crossed.  Let’s try again.

Need I tell you that she also spent plenty of time in the arms of Grandma C?  Somehow we neglected to take pictures of that, but we’ll have time.  Grandma and Grandpa C are staying with us for a couple more days.  Which means I really ought to get to bed so I can wake up at a reasonable hour and be a good hostess.