Ramblings from home

I am listening to Ta'ayush as he/she? chirps from her cage. The laundry is still going, Austen is reading Plato's Republic (for co-op next week) and Cody is filling out forms for his 1st job at Flying L Water-Park. Yay Cody! Rumor has it that this kind man is hiring Cody with the understanding that Cody will be leaving for a week in May and a week in July. This gentleman is also willing to accomodate Cody's soccer schedule when needed. What more can Cody ask for? Brian and Angee are getting ready for Prom. It is Angee's senior year..and Brian's one and only Prom. (He skipped the one at TAMS last year..he and Angee were speaking at a dental conference that weekend). There you have it. A summary of last weeks highlights. Now the not-so-exciting details.
It is the week following both the Passover and Easter. We were pretty busy last week preparing for and enjoying family/friends for both occasions.

Here are some plants I purchased...they are Austen's "National
Youth Gathering" fundraising plants. The ELCA holds a national youth gathering every 4 years. This summer it will be in New Orleans..with the theme being "Jesus, Justice (compassionate justice) and Jazz". I hope that at a time in our culture when many confuse vengance with justice, some youth will become more aware of what compassionate justice can look like. The kids will spend each day with study, worship, service (New Orleans still needs a LOT of help) and music..like really good jazz. So..these plants..both on my porch (above) and my deck (below) are my contribution to this trip. I hope I don't kill the plants too soon!

We did have one unexpected surprise on Easter morning. It was
the beginning of Austen and the Case of the Mysterious Rash. Austen woke up with his eyes swollen, face and neck red. We assumed he had gotten into poison something or other. There are 180 acres in this sub-division..and he had been playing in all 180 acres the day before. We gave him some Benadryl, covered him in Calamine..and with all the sympathy in the world..asked him to straighten the living room while the rest of us left for church. He grinned and said, "Oohhh.."
The rest of the day was pretty routine. Guests came, we had confetti wars, eater egg hunt (and I found a snake!), kids played in the river..and Austen ran around covered in calamine. The family simply refered to him as "the phantom"..like "Phantom of the Opera". That evening he seemed to be getting worse. Aunt Sandy thinks he has eaten something...but what? We go through his diet for the past few days.."did you eat the 'mortar' at Passover? The cranberry Sauce?" "No.", he replies, "Aunt Barbara told me everything that had berries."(austen is extremely allergic to berries) . We give him more Benadryl and have him soak in an oatmeal bath.
The next day he wakes up worse! We decide it must be some fried apple pies he ate. After all..you never know what they put in those things..there must have been some berries. The doctor concurs. Austen receives a shot, prescription allergy stuff, etc. We decide since Austen is not contagious he can go to the water-park with the rest of the co-op kids.Yes..the same water-park Cody is at today. Mistake. By evening, Austen is miserable!
We keep him home Tuesday. He gets worse. We return to doctor yesterday..not a clue! She is concerned..we up Austen's steroids, and they send him to the lab for blood work...and then it happens. Austen has a seizure.
It has been almost 2 years since Austen has had a seizure. He has been off of anti-convulsants for 4 months now..he has been daring to dream of possibilities in these past 4 months ..pilot license, drivers-license, etc.. possibilities that he would only whisper of before. Maybe he can be a missionary pilot? An airforce chaplain?
Austen seizes with the needle in his arm. We all realize how disappointing this will be for him..as the nurse takes the needle out of his arm (while he is still out), a single tear falls down her face. Austen awakes..a tear falls down his face. They look at eachother and she gives him a hug. "It's okay..baby", she says."I'm so sorry." It is understood that she is not apologizing for needle in arm..she means the dreams, the hopes, etc. Right then and there my heart melts..it is one of those "outside heart" moments that my friend Carol just wrote about in her blog at mySA.com. Here is a link. http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/visit_the_can/2009/04/scattered-hearts.html
In the past Austen's triggers have always been needles, lights and lack of sleep. Now we know those triggers are still there. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to see what happens next. In the meantime they continue giving him meds to ease the discomfort of this ever-spreading rash and contact his nurologist about the seizure. Austen is in much better spirits today..and says, "Well I can still run a cyber-cafe..or be president" (grin). My mommy heart is full of pride for the resilience and humor of this precious child. My youngest son..who is (gasp) almost 15 now?
I continue working at the Club. We seem to have an extra amount of angry/hurting kids this Spring. I try to feed them, play with them, listen to them (and their families) and just be there. We are in the midst of developing a mentoring program. Hopefully we will have this in full swing by summer..so we can have one adult(volunteer or staff) consistently developing healthy relationships with 4-5 Club kids over the course of a year. As a staff team, we have decided that this (meaningful relationships) is the best gift we can give these kids for the long-run. So..if anyone is interested in donating 2 hours a week for a year....let me know:)
All for now.