A Phone Story

Earlier today, I got out of the car at the station to fill it up with gas. Fifteen minutes later, I got back in the car and burst into tears. It is strange how things happen...

Our car is in the shop, so we're borrowing Eric's car (thank you!!) for a few days. I am hopeful that our car will be ready tomorrow, so I went to the gas station today so I could return the car full. Just as I was finished setting up the automatic pumping, I heard a woman yell, "Does anyone have a cell phone? Call 911!"

Now it's strange, because on the way to the gas station I had dialed #646 so I could get a text message from Verizon about how many minutes I have left. I've been getting messages from them telling me I've used 75%, now 90%, and I've been worried about going over. We just had to buy a new washer, our car is in the body shop (Ian got into a little accident on the way to his parents over Thanksgiving), we have to trim our tree because it's a hazard to our neighbors garage, we're still paying on Jonah's physical therapy, PLUS it's December, which on top of having Christmas in the month also has my birthday and Ruthie's. Needless to say, it was already going to be an expensive month and I didn't want to add to that with a phone bill through the roof. But 13 minutes? My allotment doesn't start over until Friday, which is still four days away! How was I going to make it? So I'm fretting about this as I'm putting the gas pump in the car and I hear the woman cry out. Naturally, I rush over to my purse and pull out my phone and dial 911. Then I rush over to her car to see what the situation is, since 911 is asking me what kind of help I need.

In the car, I could see her son, a 4 year old boy, seizing. While I was on the phone explaining our location and what was happening, he stopped seizing but he also started having a hard time breathing. I watched in panic as the mother's fears escalated as she kept checking him for breath. She grabbed the phone from me and started asking what she should do. I can hear her explain they had just been released from the hospital that morning; he'd had a seizure last night and another one earlier that morning.

I stood by, helpless, as she kept saying into the phone, "He's usually responsive but I'm not getting anything from him." And then she would stroke her boy's face and try to rouse him. They told her to lay him down, so I helped her take him out of his car seat and lay him down. But this time, we could hear sirens coming, as the fire engine pulled into the gas station. They immediately started treating him and put him in an ambulance to drive away. Still shaking, I asked the woman if she had anyone else she needed to call. She called out some numbers to me and had me call what turned out to be her sister. I explained the situation to her sister and then she talked to her for a while. The she gave the phone back to the fireman, and jumped in her car to follow the ambulance. (Don't worry, he returned it to me.)

I got back into my car, and promptly burst into tears (which then meant that everyone in the car was crying since my kids couldn't figure out why we were staying so long at the gas station). I cried for a good five minutes, praying for that boy and his mother.

I sit here now, thinking about why this situation has so profoundly affected me. For one, I am a mama, and I can only imagine the terror of seeing your child seize and struggle for breath. As that mama grew more and more frantic, my own emotions followed along with her. Secondly, we've had a sad, sad loss in our own family in recent weeks and my grief stricken heart is still tender with the pain of seeing people I love mourn. And finally, I am awakened in my soul to the absolute ridiculousness of my worry about cell phone minutes and all the other minuscule things I worry about as other mamas follow ambulances to hospitals. In moments like this, and the many from last week, when I see so clearly that the world is broken and people are hurting that I cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come."

Ruthie Cooking in the "Kitchen"

Ruthie (and every other kid who comes over to our house) gets lots of great use out of the little playhouse that sits on the back slab in our yard. As you can see in this video, she's very busy cooking. =)

More to come - and it will include a Jonah update, I promise!

What We've Been Up To

It's been far too long since I've done a proper post. That's due to a combination of factors - mostly, I've had a few consulting events this fall that have kept me busy during afternoon nap. Also, Ruthie has gone down to one nap now which means during Jonah's morning nap, I still have a very active almost 2 year old who tells me "All done, puter, Mommy" any time I sit down here.

But, November and December promise to be less filled with work and more filled with family, time to write and think, and HOLIDAYS! As you know, I love celebrating, and this season is like my Mecca. I can't wait for next week and all the fun that the weeks ahead hold. Bring it on, baby!

Just to get you sort of caught up, here's what we've been up to:

Ruthie and Jonah, learning how to play together. 

They are beyond cute together and I LOVE watching them interact. Jonah has started noticing Ruthie and smiles every time she comes into sight. He is also starting to reach for her toys, which promises to be an interesting new twist in our day. Ruthie has adored him since day one and now says that everything is "Nonah's turn" after she has done it.

Ruthie, being the weirdo that she is.

This girl is awesome. She makes everything fun.

Homemade salsa from tomatoes from our garden. 

I think we might be the only state where the tomato vines are still producing. Our plants have a few final juicy red tomatoes on them and they are amazing with some cilantro, garlic, onions and jalapenos. Delish! Our avocado tree is also in a bearing season so last week we ate some yummy guacamole. Here's to homemade dips you can eat with chips!

Disneyland and Aquarium trips, still big favorites.

Ian's been sick this week but last night I took the kids and met up with my parents and Mike & Mary's family for a Friday night at the Magic Kingdom. Ruthie LOVES Disneyland. She asks to wear her Minnie Mouse shirt everyday and if I agree, she then asks if we're going to Disneyland. I love it when I can answer with an excited "Yes!" When we go over the bridge and down toward the parking structure, she starts to shout with glee. I think it's so awesome. She especially loves going if cousins will be there.

Here she is with Abbie, and then Sam and Clare are below.

And we love the Aquarium, too. On days where we don't quite feel up to a whole Disneyland adventure but still want an outing, it's the perfect place. Here she's enjoying the Parakeet Pavilion. Ruthie and Ian go every other week on Tuesday afternoons when I meet with my discipleship group from church. It's a great new tradition for them and they both really enjoy it.

More to come. I have an awesome new video of Ruthie's talking. Watching her language progress has truly been one of the most exciting things in my life.

Happy Saturday!

Guess She Doesn't Know

About the hands free law. :)

Happy Halloween!

It's Come to This

Mostly, Ruthie is doing a really good job at being gentle with Jonah. But some days, I need back up.

Working on Vacation

I am doing some work this afternoon, but it's okay, because this is my view while I do it: