Swine Flu

I sent Adam and Tyler to Youth Camp this week and could not wait to get them home! We picked them up and went to have dinner at Tyler's favorite restaurant and Tyler was super tired which is typical after a week basically no sleep and non stop activities. Adam wasn't though which made me a bit suspicious. Then by the time we got home, Tyler was telling me that he didn't feel too good. I chalked it up to exhaustion and put him to bed. Before he got to sleep I took his temp and it was 99.7....this raised my suspicions but I still didn't make too much of it. By morning he was burning up with fever of 102!

This went on all day Thursday....and he developed a cough...this made me more nervous than anything given Tyler's history with asthma and pneumonia....including a 7 day stint in the hospital in 2006. And I began to hear on Facebook and get phone calls from other parents that their kids were sick too...So by Friday his fever was 103.3 and he was getting noticeably worse...I decided to take him in to make sure his lungs were ok before we were caught in the weekend with the ER as our only option.

Our pediatrician is a dear friend and our small group leader at church (we are SOOO blessed to have this man in our childrens lives!) and I have come to know his mannerisms when he's examining our kids and becomes concerned...he gets really quiet for a few minutes...I'm no doc but I would assume he is thinking about what step to take next. He listened to his lungs for a really LONG time...so I was nervous he was gonna mention the "P" word....but NOTHING could have prepared me for what he said next....

"You know, if this was January I'd tell you that Tyler has the flu....but this is NOT flu season....and with all of these other kids I'm hearing about being sick from camp...well, it makes me suspicious. I don't want to alarm you but I also don't want to be naive and think it couldn't happen here....this could be Swine."

Ok, this would be where the world stopped....and everything else he said became mostly a blur.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?

So off to the hospital we went to get the nasal swab. To say that we felt like lepers would be an understatement...the moment I handed the lady the papers and she read "H1N1" she seriously did not hide her shock very well...she said something along the lines of, "Oh my, this is the first one of these we have seen and HE NEEDS A MASK NOW!!!" He was masked and whisked away into a separate area faster than we could say nasal swab! The lady that put his bracelet on him commented "Lord, he is burning up!" ...thanks lady! This sent my poor 13 year old brave boy into tears! He was getting scared of the way everyone was acting...and he is also old enough to be aware of the current events going on in the world and the fact that this has been deadly.

I took this time to reassure him that none of this had caught our God off guard! He was still on His throne and still had Tylers life held in the tight grips of his Sovereign Hands! That no amount of fear or worry could change the outcome...only beseeching our Heavenly Father and asking Him to be in every molecule of Tylers DNA and protect his little body from any further advancement ...if in fact this is what we were faced with. He dried his eyes and we went back to get him tested.

The swab was not bad at all....the waiting was HORRIFIC. We sat and waited for results...because if they are positive, you have to get a second swab. Doc Jason called me on my cell to give me the results..."he has tested positive for Type A Influenza." Tyler was right next to me so I tried to put on a brave face (which he later told me didn't work so well) as not to scare him. I really didn't know what this all meant so he told us we had to get two more swabs to send to the CDC for confirmation of the Swine Flu...this was the very first case that came back positive in our city so the hospital didn't know exactly what to do...and filling out that government CDC form with the title "CDC H1N1 Confirmation" across the top felt just a bit crazy to be honest....by the time we left there everyone was staring at us and it was a surreal moment to say the least! So much for the HIPA Privacy Act!

He is on Tamiflu and we are all on it too as a precaution due to his high risk lungs. So we wait till Monday or Tuesday to get the results from the CDC....we would appreciate any prayers we can get for protection over Tyler and our other 2 kiddos! And please lift up the other 65 or so kids from camp that have since tested positive as well! Yep, you heard me right...there have been 65 confirmed cases of Type A Flu just among the kids that were at our Middle School Camp so far! We are praying for protection over all the others and all of our High Schoolers that will be coming home from the same camp a bit earlier now as a precaution.

So for now we wait, pray, and trust!

Before I go, I leave you with....."the great masked one!" He will kill me one day for this I am sure of it! And did you notice his new summer do? Ok, so it's a little mangled after burning up with fever, vomiting, aching, coughing,feeling overall comatose sleeping for 3 days straight and maybe it's just me but I think he is still a handsome little devil even if he does have "the swine!" :-)

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

This week

This week....

My terrific trio....

has become my dynamic duo.

Adam and Tyler are here for a week at our church's Middle School Youth Camp and we are learning how to live without them...which means me taking out the garbage and unloading the dishwasher...myself...and for Mag and Aidan it means living in their favorite place...their imaginations....and missing their big brother...oh yeah, one less kid also means one less person to buffer the whole "getting sick of each other" thing which leads to the whole "let's bicker about every little thing possible" thing!

Today is Fathers Day and although we sent some cards via Tyler to surprise him this morning, we will be holding off on the FD festivities till they get back Wednesday....and although I will be stoked to have them back safe and sound, I realize God has a purpose got word today that 6 out of the 13 boys Adam has in his group have made decisions for Christ already! for them to be there....and it is bigger than my petty inconveniences or desires to have us all home together.

So until they return, we three will be doing everything possible to keep us preoccupied so that it doesn't seem like an ETERNITY till they get back! swimming, having slumber parties in the family room, eating our weight in Blueberry Cake Shipley's, Mexican food, and Jelly Belly's, perusing through Garage Sales, watching every American Girl movie known to man, playing Wii, having "homechurch" (did I mention Mag has picked up hand foot and mouth virus???), and enjoying the 95 degree weather we have here in TN!!!

Mag and Aidan are enjoying the pool in the backyard

Aidan more than Mag maybe :-) yes, I am aware that his suit is outgrown by about 3 years...he however, has not come to terms with this and is in denial...I pick my battles.

I am enjoying my patio...especially early in the morning with my coffee

And looking at my patio from my screened in porch during the hottest parts of the day..and the mosquito infested evenings!

And my beautiful Hibiscus my hubby bought me before he left....nope, I'm not missing him at all!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Maggie May...

That was the song that was playing in the delivery room 9 years ago today when Maggie Elizabeth McManus came into this world....head full of jet black hair, spitting image of her daddy, and cheeks made just for squeezin'....turning our world on it's side...and forever pink.

The jet black hair gave way to strawberry blonde waves but the tenacious spirit remained...Only God Himself knew what Maggie would bring to my life....to the life of our family. She has been from day one, strong willed and fiery! While nursing her, as a newborn even, she would clinch her fists and hold her breath till red in the face if I did not get her what she needed quick enough! Guess I should've known then that the toddler years were going to be blood, sweat. and tears! Independent beyond comprehension. "Me do it!" was a common phrase from age 2 and on. And although I thought at times I would surely lose my mind between the ages 2-5, I always knew and even prayed over her that one day that stubborn mind of hers would pay off and be used to bring God glory! I have watched Maggie grow into the most amazing little lady....that fierce independence now plays out in the form of setting her alarm and starting her schoolwork before her brothers have dare dreamed of even stirring...sometimes before I have even stirred! That strong will now looks like a young Daughter of the Most High King that stands firm in her Salvation and will not be shaken in what she believes!

Maggie is the most giving, most humble person I believe I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She is the one in Sunday School that shares her offering money with a little girl that didn't bring any to give. She is the one that brings enough quarters to El Rey to get each of her brothers a piece of gum at the candy machines as we leave. She is the little sister that thinks to bring her brothers their jackets to the car as we are leaving "just in case" they need them later. She is the one that asks me in her bed at night about adopting a a little girl that has no home. She is also the one that asks to sell her Kit Kittredge doll to help someone that is adopting. She is the precious young lady that sits in her bed faithfullly each night and commits to reading scripture and even keeps a notebook that she copies a new scripture a day into....all on her own accord mind you!


And if I ever wondered if God has a sense of humor....I now know. Maggie is the complete opposite of me. Which has made for some interesting battles...but I have learned to choose my battles more wisely these days...and what I have learned through these precious 9 years is that He sent her to me to challenge me....to grow me...to change me....to make me more like Him.


Yes, I see so much of Him in her...I am amazed at the beautiful person she has become...she has the sweetest spirit...everyone that encounters her is touched by it....and if I were to be honest, I would have to tell you that my daughter is someone I look up to....she is someone that impresses me beyond words....she is someone that I would choose to be any day if given the choice. She makes me want to be selfless...braver....better. And I get so emotional when I allow myself to hear God whisper to my heart the plans He has for her....part of me wants to shut it out because I want to hold her tight to me always....but I can't. I hear Him very strongly when He says that He has great plans for a heart like hers....plans that may test me in my own faith and trust in Him. We commit her to You Lord!

At her baptism

kids camp '08

Her favorite thing to do....All things Art!

Happy Birthday my precious Magpie!!!! We love you more than all the stars! :-)

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

True Worship...

As I prepared myself this week to lead worship in the absence of our worship leader, I never prepared the good swift kick in the rear that I got with the message....I get worship SO wrong sometimes....well, a lot of the time if I were to be really honest. I water it down to a set list...to "music" in general even. Don't get me wrong, when I worship....I worship! I go for it with all I have knowing it's His calling on my life to lead others freely into His presence...I give all I have to the Lord and it is never about a song or just music in the moment....but that's just it...I freely give all of myself to Him in song and service....and hide other parts of my life away from Him...clinching ever so tightly till He has no say in it at all. The areas that require sacrifice of self...getting my hands and feet a bit dirty in His name. The areas that may require me opening my little "box" and letting Him in to tear it all down. That neat little planned out ever so perfectly "box". I was humbled to my knees yesterday by this message....and I am encouraging/challenging everyone I know to take 48 minutes of your time to soak it in....receive it! You will not be disappointed you did...and may you...may WE ALL be moved to write our Chapter 12!!! (wish I had a video to post, but you'll have to visit the link to my church)

http://www.longhollow.com/messages/series/27?message=155&media=video


"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"