At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic
At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung
You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping
Your caffeine addiction level: high
None for me, thanks, I've had enough...
As if a week of worry and little-to-no sleep due to a child struggling with asthma and double pneumonia weren't enough, it took most of last week just to get a little energy back, only to be hit late Thursday with a little unintentional detoxing. Um, yeah, this is no little stomach bug, I'm on day 6 and I've hardly eaten more than a couple crackers, and even those caused much pain and distress. Sipping Sprite and Gaterade, yeah, that's painful as well, not to mention the fact that they don't seem to want to stay in my body for any length of time... ugh... this can't be good for a pregnant body. My legs are weak and shaky, which is an improvement on the intense aches and pains of the weekend, it was as though my very bones hurt... (cue sad violin music) sigh...
4 of my 6 children have gotten bit by the bug as well, though thankfully not nearly as bad as me, I guess I'm just lucky this time... There are many joys that come with having a big family- all those pinchable cheeks, more laughs and giggles, hugs and back pats, I could go on and on, but at times like this I am faced with the harsh reality that along with those big family blessings comes the inescapable fact that when a stomach bug hits, there is a lot more puking going on here than in the average American home... oh well, gotta take the bad with the good, right? This too, shall pass...
I've managed to knit precious little- seamed and finished the little Girl's Sundress, another inch on my current sock, and I'm up to the sleeves on an Easy Raglan. I've managed to sew even less, though I am working on a couple cute bags from Bend the Rules Sewing,
and I still have a couple skirts to finish up, and some cute little stuffed balls for baby gifts all cut out and waiting patiently for me to sew and stuff...
Oh, and bloomers, as soon as I get the little pink bloomers made, I'll get some pics of the finished sundress, but first I need to make an earnest effort to do some catching up on all the laundry and dishes that haven't been getting done with all of the sickness going on around here. (It's doubly bad now that my teenager is down-for-the-count, woe is me...)
Homeschooling? Well, most of the kids have squeezed in a few math lessons, and there is always a lot of reading going on around here... and violin and piano practice... we've got a few projects going and way too many more planned... so, I guess it's still pretty normal in that area around here, ahhh, relaxed homeschooling, just my style...
Just a quick note- Grace's followup appointment went well. Her lungs sounded clear, praise the Lord, another episode passed and now a thing of the past.
Her pediatrician was none-too-pleased with the fact that the ER nurse told me I could keep her home with O2 stats in the 80's, low 80's even. It's not good for a body to be deprived of oxygen for so many hours so many nights in a row... every organ in our bodies needs that oxygen... sigh... my poor sweetie.
She made it through just fine, but I'll be bringing her in every time she dips and lingers in the 80's from now on. If they send us back home, so be it. If she gets oxygen for 2 or 3 hours, well that's more than she would've had laying at home with low stats all night... If she ends up admitted, we'll just have to deal with the inconvenience of it all- nothing we haven't done before.
Yesterday (Friday) was actually a pretty good day for Gracie. She coughed a bit, but not very often (which, can actually be a bad sign sometimes, she needs to cough it up to clear it up), she did get easily winded when running around the house playing with her siblings, but her stats stayed up in the low to mid 90's for the day.
She kept running up to me, breathing fast and loud, to tell me that she feels fine and isn't sick anymore... I can hear otherwise...
She has been on the oral steroids and antibiotic since Tuesday morning, and the inhaled steroids and bronchodilators since Monday, when she first complained of pain when she breathes, one would think that would be enough medication to nip this thing in the bud, yet this saga continues.
I came very, very close to bringing her back in to the ER last night (which would have made 3 times in one week). By the time I got the other girls down to bed and was ready to give Grace her neb, it was 9:30. She was still doing just fine and I told her she was doing well enough and had been on her meds long enough to be able to go sleep in her own bed after her neb (she's been sleeping on the floor next to me, I've been sleeping on the couch next to her). I put the pulse oximeter on her finger and sat with her during her neb.
She started out at a whopping 97%, for a minute, then 96, then 95... I started to wonder how far it would dip. By the time the neb was done she had dipped down to 90%, which seemed odd after doing so well all day. I didn't feel comfortable sending her up to bed, so I had her lay down right where she was on the living room floor. She was very sleepy and drifted right off, as her O2 stat drifted right down to the mid 80's again. Then all the way down to 81%- that's too low. I was starting to panic, and dreading another late night run to the ER (it was now 10 pm) when she coughed a bit and changed position a bit and her O2 came up to 86%, still not good, but not quite panic level.
After about 15 more minutes and no improvement I decided to try the wonderdug Duoneb, which did great Wed night/Thurs morning. I had only been about 45 mintes since her last neb, but they've told me if she's not responding that it is okay to 'stack nebs' and do one right after another, if need be. Well, I figured close to an hour with O2 stats in the 80's called for more meds. It did nothing. No change, zip, nada, nothing. I thought (hoped) maybe the Duoneb takes a while to kick in.
I decided to call the ER and talk to a triage nurse before running in, especially after being sent back home twice already this week. Her stats always seem to come up into the safe zone after waking up and walking about... I thought, do I wake her up every hour all night long? to get her stats back up every hour? It took a while for the nurse to call me back, by the time we chatted Grace's O2 level had been in the 80's for about 2 hours...
I explained our week, and our current evening's issues. She said the Duoneb should have some effect right away. So why didn't it? No one knows. She also said that as long as she was sleeping and not waking up and/or sitting up gasping for air that she really didn't need to be on oxygen... I'm not so sure how I feel about that. I've had 2 doctors say she needs O2 whenever she spends any amount of time below 92% and I've had another doctor say that it's okay to dip to 88 or 89%, as long as she's sleeping comfortably. But now I'm being told that even mid to low 80's is okay? She conceded that it obviously wasn't ideal, that Grace was obviously sick, but said she didn't think she was in any danger. She added that if she dipped into the 70's at all, get her to the ER. How much better is 81 stinking percent than 79??!!
We need to get back in to see the pulmonologist or respiratory therapist, where I will ask many questions, including where to draw the line. I think I am wanting to get some marching orders from the specialists, so I'll just know yes, take her in, or no, she's okay for now, from someone who specializes in pediatric respiratory issues rather than a triage nurse who seemed to think that mid 80's was an okay oxygen level for a child to be at for the night...
After another hour her O2 came up to 90%. It slowly climbed though the night, and was at 95% by 6 am. I got some sleep the second half of the night, but not enough for optimal functioning, if you know what I mean...
She's been acting pretty normal today, for a child on steroids- rambunctious, kinda rude and whiny, and not exactly the easiest child to get along with... This too, shall pass, I know... I'm hoping it passes quickly! And permanently wouldn't be too bad, either...
Trying to enjoy each and every one of them, wheezes, crackles, and all,
It's been a tough week. Our 5 yr old daughter is having another battle with the problem known as asthma. It turned to pneumonia fast and furiously Monday night. We ended up in the ER early Tuesday morning (her O2 was down to 84% overnight and she wasn't responding well to her nebs). Her O2 level came up, and then dipped back down, but not as far, while we were there, so she wasn't admitted this time (to be on oxygen). She did, however, get yet another chest x-ray to confirm the presence of pneumonia in her left lung, upper lobe. We were sent home to add antibiotics and oral steroids to the inhaled steroids, allergy meds and bronchodilators she was already on.
I hardly slept Monday night, slept a bit Tuesday night, and about 3 hours Wednesday night, or more technically, this morning. We ended up going back to the ER last night after her stats dropped back down into the mid 80's. (We have a pulse oximeter at home, thanks to too many trials like this one.) They used a different med in a neb at the hospital and her stats stayed up a bit better, so we came home around 4:45 this morning... (though the pneumonia had spread to now 3 lobes of 2 lungs) and with 5 more children at home all day, every day (we homeschool) I was up by 8, though I would have liked to have slept until noon...
cull old shoes that don't even fit any kids here from overflowing entry closet
nature walk with kids
knit something
remove turtlenecks and various warm long sleeve shirts from too-small closets of often overheating children who will not need such clothing for at least 3 or 4 months
set up pool for kids
knit something
remove too-small clothes from speed-growing teenage son's overstuffed dresser drawers so he can actually put away the clothes that do fit this week
take kids hiking
knit something
clear years' worth of collected junk/stuff from junk/stuff room downstairs, throw most of it away, store leftovers in attic to be thrown away 10 years from now- that room is needed for children to make way for a new addition this fall...
explore a new park with kids
knit something else
plan garden, buy seeds, locate tools like rakes and hoes
drawing/sketching outside with kids
knit something
dream about getting chickens
read a classic book out on a blanket in the sun with kids
knit something more
go through pantry, eat or throw food nearing or past expiration date, restock pantry
bird watching with kids
knit something
clean some windows
try a new cookie recipe
knit something new
plan summer field trips
have fun with kids
knit some more...
If you notice a week (or two) pass with no blog activity, assume that I'm working on my list!
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7
Out our back door this morning. White, everything was white, beautiful.
No picnics in our immediate future, but soon, very soon. It'll happen, just you wait and see.
No climbing and sliding today, maybe tomorrow...
How pretty is that?! Snow covered weeds make me smile. I love simple pleasures.
So crisp, white, and delicate. You don't see that every day, even in Minnesota.
I love having these pines right out back, especially when they're covered in fluffy white stuff.
Don't the big kid rope and toddler/baby swing look lonely? Soon there will be swinging, soon.
A view up through the trees, with snow falling in clumps all around me...
So pretty.
This guy won't be ridden any time soon...
And this poor fella wasn't really needed today... this snow didn't last long. It never does this time of year. That's what makes it so special, it's so fleeting...
With all the kids sick, there were no outings today, and hence, no need to scrape of the van...
Picture heavy post, I know, but it was so beautiful out this morning and I just had to share. Snow is an amazing thing. So pure and white (except for the mud-plattered stuff on the side of the highway...) I love that the Bible uses snow as a picture of what we can be when washed by the blood of the Lamb. Do you see that whiteness?! The Lord is good to us!
"This is what a Minnesota winter is supposed to be like! Now for the bad news; it's still fall! Even though winter doesn't officially begin for another 2 weeks, we all know that the calendar is nothing more than a guide when it comes to the seasons around here. After all we average our first inch of snow cover a month before winter even begins! The snow will taper to flurries Tuesday night with a cold day on tap for Wednesday. We should stay below average in the temperature department most of this week with highs struggling to reach the low 20s and overnight lows dropping into the single digits above and below zero."
Winter Wonderland, right outside our back door... The snow has finally arrived, and with the cold temps, it looks as though it is here to stay! I won't be so excited about it in 3 or 4 months... but for now it's new and exciting. The kids can't seem to get enough of it...
The one that didn't get to go out and play...
We're enjoying plenty of play time around here as we're a bit house-bound at the moment and have been for a while... we had a van... there was a deer... a large, male, deer... the deer didn't make it... and the van is in recovery. Nothing serious, no internal injuries, some front end damage and a dinged up side (from the ricocheting deer... ugh) And, well, apparently these things don't fix themselves overnight, and our small town collision repair shop isn't exactly in a big hurry... anyway, no outings for us this past couple weeks- plenty of time to hit the books, and tromp in the snow, and I mustn't forget the cocoa! Mmmm...
I'm planning on a new adventure in lapbooking soon, maybe we'll even start tomorrow. We've been studying the early colonies, and we've stalled out on Jamestown in particular. There is so much fun stuff out there to do and see and read about, I just can't move on without getting to a few projects! And I think my recently turned 5 year old, who's beginning her phonics study might like to make a lapbook or 2 or 3, featuring her letter sounds! Fun stuff!
Math at our house... does this count as relaxed homeschooling?
This past Saturday we hosted our 5th annual Fall Soup Party. It was smaller than some (we've had upwards of 75 people over in past years) with only 31 people (in addition to our family's 8!) but that was to be expected as the invites went out late due to concerns about the viral crud that was sweeping through our home... A great time was still had, and several great soups were enjoyed, but alas, we have no proof... the camera sat out, batteries charged, ready to go... and was completely neglected the entire day... oh well, it will live on in memories, right?
Monday (2 days ago...) the boys had their first Homeschool Orchestra concert of the year. What a night! It is always quite the production to pull that off with all those kids at all those varying levels (they combine the advanced orchestra with the beginners for the concerts) performing music they've only been working on for a few weeks... There were definitely rough spots, but there were bright and shiny spots as well. The music they chose was quite challenging and it was fun to see them give it their best shot.
Jaron, 8, has been playing just over a year.
Ian, 14, started playing at 9, this is his 3rd year with the Homeschool Orchestra
My kids are always so inspired after a concert... The next morning, Jaron came down and wanted to start practicing his violin before breakfast (I did convince him to eat something first...) and he wanted to up his practice time from 30 minutes (he's only 8 years old) to a full 60 minutes, which he did, and then some. Even 14 year old Ian, upped his time from 60 minutes to 75, with some of that time spent working together with Jaron on orchestra pieces. Later Liberty got to her practicing and Jaron got out his violin again to play some with her! I already have two young violin coaches/teachers for my young girls- it may not be so hard to get them playing after all... (I've had my days when I wonder how I will fit in overseeing 6 children practicing violin for an hour a day... that's not to mention piano practice! Who has an extra 12 hours a day for that?! Not me...)
The rest of this week is sure to fly by- we have revival meetings at church every night Thursday through Sunday... busy times, a lot of driving, but always well worth it!
Enjoy the rest of your week, and as always, enjoy your children!
I really do love days like today. Days when things come together and run pretty smoothly- not perfect (that really never happens, now does it?) but really, really, smoothly.
We had hoemschooling friends up for some cooping, and we accomplished far more than one would expect considering the sheer number of preschoolers, toddlers, and babies we had scrambling around in between all the bigger ones. We began the day with a short spanish lesson, reviewing some basic nouns (door, table, window, etc...) and introducing the ever-important 'please' and 'thank-you'. Then we spent some time getting handprints and footprints of all the kids to add to their geneology books 'about me'. Next we spent a productive hour mapping 2 more states as we move across the country, 2 states at a time (it was Pennsylvania and West Virginia this week...) Then for some science study about our fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, we took a closer look at our eyes- playing with light and watching the pupils get large and small, boy, the kids were all so fascinated by that! Then we did an 'experiment' with a magnifying glass and some tracing paper (acting as our retina) and looking towards something light, they saw the image on the tracing paper the way it is projected onto our retinas- upside down, again, fascinating for younger minds , and the 13-14 year olds were pretty impressed as well... in fact, the moms all got a kick out of that one too. I think one of the other moms got some good pictures where you can even see the image upside down... I may have to blog about that experimnt, if I ever get a chance... don't hold your breath... but maybe...
Let's see... after a lunch break we moved on to art. The younger ones are working on nice and realistic coloring. The older ones are starting a drawing course using "Drawing With Children"- I'm looking forward to seeing what a difference this makes in our young artists work... Next we had a brief review of safety rules for our woodworking unit, discussing what makes a good work environment, etc... the kids are getting eager to actually get their hands on some wood and some tools! I'd better restock the first-aid kit, just in case someone wasn't listening today...
And lastly we worked on our salt dough maps of the original 13 colonies (for week 20, Tapestry of Grace Year 2) and we'll be spending the week talking about (and reading about!) Jamestown and just about anything and everything having to do with it...
After everyone had cleared out the kids got busy cleaning up what was left, and then some! Yay! By beavers got busy! Just the way I like them! All the while smelling the tantalizing smell coming from the crock pot- the roast and veggies that I actually managed to get in before our cooping day ever started! (That is a major accomplishment for me- I thought ahead, and made it happen, Flylady woudl be proud!)
After a very filling meal (Daddy even made it home to join us!) the dishes got done and the games came out. Everyone was quite content to gather together in the great room (I'm not a big fan of family members disappearing, off into their own rooms, etc...) and play giant checkers, Connect Four, a little Boggle, etc... but the best time was had a short while later when the teenager pulled out the Mad-Libs and Mom and Dad were the ones filling in the parts of speech. I laughed so hard I cried at one point... That is one of the funniest things we do together as a family... and we just love it every time! What a riot! I can just hear it now- teenager meets new friend- 'so, what do you like to do for fun?' 'um, well, I like to do Mad-Libs with my Mom and Dad'... (This coming from a girl who grew up in a family where we would get up and look things up in the encyclopedia whenever nobody knew the answer to some oddball question, and then we would end up reading on into the next several articles/entries... fun times... you can learn a lot that way!)
Then we shooed them all off to bed, and here I sit, with a satisfied feeling of a mother who really poured into her children today. We had fun together, we learned together, we fellowshipped with friends together, we communed (ate) together, we cleaned up (worked) together, and we played together. Can you sense my theme? Together. We were together. I am so thankful that in this time of busyness and in this world of distractions, that we can still have days like today- it was a busy day, it was a productive day, and it was a really, really sweet, heart-string tying kind of day. My family is close-knit because we have days like today. My goal is to keep it that way!
I assure you, I am still here... I thought our late summer was busy- then early fall hit... and the teenager got his first taste of organized sports (in other words, I became a soccer mom) and we've had to learn to juggle schedules in a whole new way. Trying to get enough 'learning into him' (and the rest of them coming up behind him) and still managing to get to practice on time, was quite challenging. Throw in Orchestra on Mondays, friends coming over to coop on Tuesdays, and an extra field trip here and there, and, well, when's a girl to blog? I won't even mention cook supper or keep up with the laundry, except that I just did... well... I'm working on it!
The latest news is the crummy cough turned bronchitis (yours truly) and now the dreaded stomach bug. When my 2 year old lost her lunch I thought it was just the cough; she's got it too, which, along with her asthma, will often result in the phlegm/cough/gag/puke phenomenon. But then she did it again, and I knew we were in for it... Then it was Grace's turn, and boy did she take it to the next level- over 36 hours with nothing kept down- not even a teaspoon of Gaterade (lost it in a few minutes) and very little 'potty'. When she got super lethargic and rather listless yesterday, I figured that since the teaspoon at a time thing wasn't working and it had been so long, I'd better take her in. Her labs looked okay, so she wasn't to the point of needing IV fluids (yay!) and they just gave her some Zofran and observed her for a while to she if she could keep down the apple juice I had to give her a few cc's at a time... She slept good and hard after we got home, and still does not have any appetite back, but she is keeping down fluids, finally, after 48 hours of not.
Soccer is now finished, they came in 3rd at the final tournament. And, to my amazement, Dad has consented to dear son playing basket ball- this could get interesting.
Oh, and Mercy is almost an entire year old!!! How'd that happen?! Seriously, it was so fast! Isn't it always? Cherish those first years, mommies!
He, he, he... here we go again. Is August really almost gone? I barely noticed July; it passed by so quickly.
I really am finding myself just too busy to blog. Seems like there's so much else to be doing, especially this time of year. We've been unusually active, hence, my at home time is spent decompressing (much like most men at the end of a long hard day at work!) and trying to catch up on a little housework (very little, I might add... sigh...)
I've been so busy I didn't even blog about my 4 year old spending an entire week (Mon-Fri) in the hospital last week with another bout of pneumonia. I think this one was the scarriest one yet- definitely the longest one. Her stats were too low and took to long to come up... it was a long, hard week, to put it mildly.
But, praise the Lord, she's finally over it all and weaning off of all the extra meds. She's back to her bouncy, silly self- full of smiles that turn me to mush. I just love her so much!
In other news, I never thought it would come to this, but, I've become a soccer mom. Yes, it's true... My oldest (almost 14) is spreading his wings just a teeny tiny bit and has been allowed to join the soccer team at the local christian school- they're very open to homeschoolers. We're only a couple of weeks into it and I'm already tired of the running around 4 days a week. It's only August, September, and October, then we're done and can settle in for the winter. I think I would actually enjoy hibernating if I could... I digress... I don't know that we'll do it every year through high school; I told him we'll see how it goes... and take it one year at a time.
I've started easing into a wee bit of a school schedule and hope to be up and running at full speed in the next couple weeks. I always make a gradual start to our school years- for a couple fo reasons. We have a growing family, and therefore I'm always working in a wee one's schedule as well, and that takes a little adjusting as time goes by... also, I tend to order my books over the course of several pay periods rather than one big lump, as we don't usually have a big lump to spend, so I kinda start with what we have and incorporate more as the books trickle in. Also, late summer and fall seem to be bursting with field trips and special activities, which make it hard to get full days, much less full weeks, of any semblance of an ordered schedule to work out... so.... we're just starting to pick up the pace from our summer of reading and botany cooping. I'll post more specifics about what we're actually doing for school sometime soon- I almost promise...
I've got a grocery list to get ready- so that's enough for tonight.
Well, it's been hot, and humid, an uncomfortable muggy mixture. But we Minnesotans are supposed to be hearty, right? Well, we're hearty when it comes to frigid weather, but this muggy nonsense is not so fun.
Last Tuesday was another day in the 90's- mixed with the humidity it had that stuffy, smoggy, yucky feeling of one of those days when they issue an air quality warning- something we used to ignore, even roll our eyes at, now with 3 asthmatics, maybe 4, we listen and take note. But having unhooked the TV antenna, I rarely see the weather report unless I think to check online... Tuesday was sunny, so as long as there was no rain it seemed like a good day to head back to the local County Park for another nature walk with friends. Our plan was to pick a tree to identify, look it up in our books, sketch it in our booklets, and do a quick bark and leaf rubbing... then head back for some fun water play (sprinkler and tiny kid pool!)
Not intending to be at the park for very long (the kids were more interested in the water play than the school time...) and since the park is just a block or so away, we didn't bring much with us other than our booklets and pencils... and 2 water bottles- both of us moms, nuirsing moms, took water bottles to sip from, and I thank the Lord that we did.
We hadn't been there very long when the kids started complaining about being hot and thirsty. Well, hurry up then, draw your trees and we'll head back... We walked a short ways down the path and stopped to take a picture by the lake. We sent the olders on down the trail and starting shooing the youngers along as well, when my 4 year old, little Grace, complained of a tummy ache... I didn't think much of it, my littles often complain of tummy aches... I told her she'd be fine for a few minutes, we'd be heading back soon. Then she said she couldn't see... I found that odd, we weren't trying to look at anything in particular and no one was in front of her or in her way... then it dawned on me- Do you mean your eyes don't work? Yeah... as she was swaying a bit... I turned to my friend and said that's just what 'Katie' (a girl at church) said a couple summers ago before fainting "My eyes, I can't see!"
I grabbed Grace and set her on my knee, she was looking not-so-good, and reached for the water bottle in the stroller basket, when she really started swaying, and then back went her head and back rolled her eyes... My friend Barb grabbed her water bottle as well and began dumping it on Grace's head and chest, soaking her hair and shirt, and then pryed her mouth open and basically force-fed her a drink of water, all while she was limp in my arms. She gasped when the water went back in her mouth/throat and inhaled a big breath, as if she had stopped breathing. She was confused and unhappy about being sopping wet, but with the bit of wind on that hot day, being wet helped cool her down quickly.
She seemd to recover almost immediately, and she didn't want to run right home (or to the doctor) so we had her sit in the stroller, we picked a few leaves, sketched a couple trees, all the while watching her closely (and the other 11 kids too! We each have 6!) We headed back home just a few minutes later and pumped everyone full of juice, water, and fresh fruit, and then they headed out to splash- and get sunburned- why? oh why, can I never remember the sunscreen on time?
Well, Praise the Lord for water bottles and fast-acting friends! She was back to her old self shortly thereafter and has been fine since. I have bought more Gatorade in the past week than I had in the past year... as we have had still more outings, and some more hot days- yesterday included...
Being the 'living is learning' folks that we are, it was an appropriate time for a lesson on heat exhaustion and safety procedures. What to do, when to call for help, etc...
*Tip- One thing I've been doing for years (after seeing a friend doing it one hot summer way back when...) is taking water bottles and refilling them part-way, freezing them, and then topping them off with water before heading out. This way we have some cool refreshing water for hours on a hot day. And since, with 6 kids, one or 2 water bottles is not enough, we have an insulated cooler bag that we use to carry several bottles practically everywhere we go throughout the warm months.
Actually looking forward to cooler weather (though not to the 6 months of ice and snow...),
I'm sure by now you have all heard about the horror that hit Minneapolis last Wednesday night. I've driven and ridden across that bridge so many times... and my husband had driven across it that morning. On his way home he decided to take a different parallel bridge (the one on the left in the picture just below)- that and about 10 minutes, maybe less, made all the difference in the world! Had he left just a few minutes later... and had he stayed on 35 rather than try to manuever around a little bit of traffic...
(Photos from Associated Press)
My brother-in-law crosses (well, crossed...) that bridge every time he went to or came home from work.
A dear friend from church, was in her van with her 6 children, on her way to the airport to pick up her husband, she pulled off just before that bridge to run through a drive-thru... something inside her said 'you should get the food now rather than later...' They were a few hundred feet away when it collapsed- and probably would've been on it had she not decided to pull off and grab the kids a bite to eat. Needless to say, they were a bit late to church that night... there was a bit of a traffic problem.
It's all just a little too close for comfort. I was sitting in the van, munching on my fast food before church when the first news report hit. Crunch, crunch... 35W... gulp...near Washington Ave... bridge collapse... what?did she say collapse?Must have been construction? It didn't occur to me people would've been on it... cars in the river... what?! Surely I must've heard that wrong...
A friend of my husband's called his cell- this friend was in Florida, watching the scene unfold on Fox News. He knew my husband was working down right near that bridge that very afternoon, just a couple hours earlier, and thought he would probably take 35W North, right across that bridge as he headed home. He wanted to make sure Dave was okay...
It all still seams so surreal. We went to a Twins game Friday night, as planned, and had to take a detour, it was odd, knowing why I was being rerouted... We passed near the area, and looked over, and couldn't see the wreckage, but we couldn't see the bridge either... just the end of the freeway... it was weird, eerie even. There was a picture tribute on the jumbotron-screen-thing, music, and stirring words about how our city has changed forever, how we came together and are stronger for it, it was so 9/11ish- very sobering. There was a moment of silence. It was hard not to cry. It wasn't an act of terrorism, but it was/is terrifying. It could've been my husband, my brother-in-law, or one of my best friends with all of her children.
Praise the Lord for His hand of protection over my family and friends. Life is precious, hug your kids!
Enjoying them,
beause of HIm,
ali
PS- There is a very moving article about the survivors' experiences titled "Am I dead? I must be dead." that was run in the Star Tribune, you can read it here.
