And Her Head Popped Off.

The end of one thing is always the beginning of another,
like two sisters standing back to back.

I'd like to say 'hullo' to you with a few goodbyes.

Goodbye, town garden, grown to weed and blossom.

Goodbye, Salvatore's Garden Place Hotel, with your glut and excess. Millie feels the lack of your Great Glass Elevator with mysterious residents most keenly. (Every Sunday after church, John would drive the long way home from Sheridan Drive in order to delight her with a glimpse.)

Goodbye, wee kitchen. Goodbye, quaint glass cupboards that I loved though they did not hide my teetering stacks of tupperware.

Goodbye, dear bedroom that allowed us to sleep within one arm's reach of all our sweetlings. (See the inexpertly applied splotches on the wall? We still received a gushing card from our landlords with the FULL rent deposit back. They must have appreciated my artistic sensibility...)

Goodbye, living room, so spare and relatively roomy without any stuff filling its cracks.

Goodbye, bathroom. (I had to stand in the tub in order to fit this grand room in one frame.)

Goodbye, most faithful of laundromats.

And is there a glimmer of recall for these three? Annika Arden, spotting-- and smushing-- laundromat 'buggies',

Grumpy Mildred Elise, nap deprived and eager to depart.

And the chubby Bird in laundry basket nest, licking her lips in worm anticipation. Surely you remember her.

How could you forget?

FREE READ!

If you're all not too weary of posts starved of their natural snapshots, here's another.

Tomorrow, Sunday, at 3:30, you're all welcome to come and take free stuff from our lawn, including (but not limited to) about 1,000 remaining books (most of them are NOT soggy, even though the tarp had a hole and the rain drove down).

People from Freecycle will be coming from 4-6, so be prompt! I care for you all so dearly that I'm giving you a 30 minute scoop.

And now I have to get off my sister's 'puter and count piles of money.

Real posts will arrive soon.
We're still not planning on getting internet access, but I can always use Becky's computer as a last resort AND my brilliant (desperate?) husband discovered free wireless access in the park!
Thank you, kind, wealthy man living in the large home bordering the park...

Rejoice!

My mom called today...

Good news makes my heart hop!

August was taken off of the heart and lung machine a few days ago and put on another, similar machine. His second lung began to properly inflate, and after pumping gunk out of his lung, the x-rays showed that the lung was clear, so last night, doctors began to wean him off the second machine. He's been completely off the heart and lung machine for a few hours now, and his oxygen levels are still within an acceptable range.

If all goes well, he will be eventually be taken off the respirator, and instead of being fed intravenously, he will be tube-fed, which means that he can be nourished with his momma's milk.

Praise the Creator for tenderly caring for His creation!

Thank you all for your faithful prayers. Please continue praying for August to improve more and more in the coming days.

p.s. I'm having a garage sale. Today's episode is almost over. We've covered a faultless, grassy bank with pounds of junk and 1,500 books (give or take one hundred). Yep. 1,500.

The continued prayers of the faithful are desired.

Baby August has been on the heart and lung machine for seven days now but can only stay on it for 8-10 days before he has to be taken off. His one lung is now properly inflated but the other is still deflated. He will have to come of the machine whether the lung inflates properly or not, and so these next few days are critical.

Please pray specifically that his one lung inflates and begins working properly so that when he's taken off the machine, he won't have to endure another immediate surgery.

And, as always, please pray that God shelters Pete, Sarah, and little Haven, and bolsters their hearts with His tender mercy.

Quick update:

Augustine's condition has remained the same for the last few days. The bleeding in his brain has not worsened, but they'll be checking it regularly because the heart and lung machine requires him to also be on blood thinners. The first five days that he's on the machine are the most critical, so please pray that the bleeding will subside. The machine is helping his blood maintain a higher amount of oxygen, but he's having some inflammatory reactions from the plastic of the tubes leeching into his bloodstream.

We are thankful that he's receiving the care he needs in the Philadelphia hospital; the doctor's best-scenario estimate is that he'll be there for at least a month, so they're on the waiting list for a room at a nearby Ronald McDonald house.

Pete has to start work in the podiatric practice of which he's a part on Monday, so please continue praying for strength and emotional sustenance for both he and Sarah. His work is a couple of hours away from the hospital, so he won't be able to see them as regularly. She and Haven will be staying near Augustine in Philadelphia.

May their Father continue to tenderly nourish the four of them in body and soul.

Augustine had surgery last night. He is experiencing serious complications right now. Again, pray that our Lord give His protection, whatever the outcome, and most especially pray for Pete and Sarah to know His perfect peace. We love all four of them so much...

I don't have easy access to the Internet, and I won't be checking this for a bit. I usually don't put much more than superficial fluff on this blog, but I request prayers from all of you for my older brother Pete, his wife Sarah, and their family. Last night, their newest baby, Augustine, arrived into the world. During the night, he began having trouble breathing, among other things, and he's been transferred to the NICU unit of another hospital. Doctors aren't exactly sure of the cause of this, but we just received word that he's getting worse.

Please join us in urgent prayer that the Lord will heal this sweet baby if it is His pleasure and that Pete and Sarah will be renewed with courage and comfort during this difficult time. (Please also pray for their two year old son who is not seeing as much of his mama and papa as he is accustomed to.)

**UPDATE:
Augustine has been transferred again, this time to a hospital in Philadelphia. The doctors plan to put him on a heart and lung machine instead of the respirator/oxygen he has been on. He's been preliminarily diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension...
still coveting prayers for all.

I plan to begin regular posting next week but will be likely be back to update before then.