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cheers!

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so i had a great 32nd birthday weekend. my mom and dad and sister mary came to visit from pittsburgh and we had a great weekend together. we celebrated saturday night with lasagna and a birthday cake (white cake with hungarian chocolate icing - a family recipe and birthday tradition) and the opening of presents. we also played a good game of chicken feet, which is a domino game that my family has been hooked on for a couple of years now. other moments from the weekend:
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-jack had many meltdowns during the weekend. at one point he told me, "i never want to see you again!" i know that these kinds of things are normal for kids and stuff, but since jack has never really gone through this stage yet, it is hard for me to hear. to put it into perspective, he also said that he never wanted to taste a jelly bean again in his life, too, and then proceeded to eat them a few hours later, so i'm not too broken up over it...
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-cade has another ear infection. he's had too many and they are going to send us to an ear, throat and nose specialist who is most likely going to recommend that he get tubes inserted into his ears for drainage. we are pretty apprehensive about this. does anyone have any experience with this (good or bad) or with any alternative approaches?
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-we had the memorial celebration service for the man, j.h., that i've been talking about here on my blog. it was very much celebratory, with balloons and streamers in the sanctuary. we sang joyful songs (up from the grave, when the saints, standing on the promises, etc.). what are your thoughts on these kinds of joyful celebrations in leiu of the traditional mournful funeral services? is there an appropriate time for both mourning and celebration, and if so, when?
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-thank you to you all for your kind words and thoughts for my birthday. i had about 40 'happy birthdays' over at facebook. so, thank you. i am very much aware that i have a great deal to be thankful for and to celebrate. cheers!
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greg.

Comments

Anonymous said…
We did something our chiropractor recommended when Taylor's ears weren't draining (very very common in children with cleft palates) where she would stretch his ears a bit--it's kind of hard to explain. It seemed to make him feel more comfortable at the time, but it didn't actually solve the problem for him--I imagine partly because the palate caused his ears to fill with fluid so much faster. When they did the lip repair surgery for him at 9 months (i think that age is right) they also put tubes in, and things have been MUCH easier. It's an extremely simple operation--15 minutes, probably, to do the tubes themselves, although your child is out for an hour or so. He may still get an ear infection or two in the winter, but they're a lot easier to take care of with the tubes.
Crafty P said…
My godchild, Jack, just had tubes put in his ears. He's had recurrent ear infections. His sister, Julia, also had them put in a year or so ago and has had no ear infections since then.
I say go for it. I feel for you guys, I've NEVER had to deal with ear infections! Praise God!

I say celebrate our deceased loved ones. I think your memorial service sounded so wonderful. My friend, Karen, had a similiar type memorial for her mom when she passed away. It was beautiful and really encapsulated all that she was about in life... LIVING!
I want to have a similiar type of funeral when it's my turn. Yes, it is sad (very very sad) event that I may have passed away, but now I am going to be so much more alive, in heaven, with Jesus! So... celebrate life- the one that I lived and the one that I'm about to enjoy forever.
right?

glad you're birthday was so celebratory.

ps 3 is SUCH a hard age. I do not look forward to having 2 three year olds at the same time. ugh
Laurie said…
Our Ben had ear tubes put in after a hearing test showed "hearing loss consistent with fluid on the ears" due to persistent ear infections. He had them virtually back-to-back for months and never had another one after the tubes were put in.

The hardest part of the surgery was the tantrum he through coming out of anesthesia. He as back to his typical perky self just hours later. My only advice is to use a children's hospital since in our experience they are much better at getting kids through such things with minimal physical and emotional stress. That and it is typically harder on the parents than the kids:).
Erin said…
greg,
i tend to err on the side of doctor hating, so please take this with a grain of salt. but my personal opinion would be to hold out for another month and he'll probably be fine through the summer. if it starts up again in the winter, then at least he's bigger to go through the surgery. N. has had recurrent infections for the past 2 years. last year when they threatened me with tubes, i started going to a chiropractor that specialized in children and she was able to get them to clear up. but then once i stopped going to her (2-3x/week) they came back the next winter. this year, i was also told to go to the ENT, but just haven't. n. is talking and can hear and doesn't get the fevers or any other symptoms of the infections. so, i'm just waiting until spring. we'll play next winter by ear. (no pun intened.)
Anonymous said…
I will absolutely second (and third, if necessary) Laurie's recommendation to use a Children's Hospital instead of a general hospital--but if it's an option, I'd recommend a Children's hospital for ANYTHING regarding your kids. Not only do they have stuff available to help your children get through things easier emotionally, they often have different equipment that works easier with children.

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