this weekend... julito meets flora

operation puppylift; codeword: i love poopiesss!!!

friday, january 22, 11 am: one of our west coast operatives known by the notorious e-bay handle, fat harry tuna (aka franco the great pro) will fly east to jacksonville, fla to pick up and deliver...

one miniature dinosaur!!! i am going to die i'm so excited!

ever since n and i have been married we've wanted a baby dino and now our dream is finally coming true!!! how did this happen??? flora needs a baby brother and she was supposed to get one before we moved her folks to NM; there has never been a right time for all of us so we figured it's now or never. he was born around turkey day and will be 9 weeks old when we meet him on saturday. OMG. i can't wait!!!!!! we thought about a rescue, but my father-in-law is samuraimasterblackbeltpuppytrainer and insists on gettin' em young. i will be his protege. ah-so. be it noted that he is being extra nice as he wanted a black and white bully named cisco, but has let me have my way (i've always wanted a red staffie!!!!!!)and says it will be rockie's and n's dog. aw man. i can't believe it, can you? we know the little guy will be all of ours to cuddle and kiss and he has his AKC canine good citizen big sister frances (wally's newest name) to learn from. this is the first time n has said we could get a dog and is actually excited. it's a dream come true, folks.

what should we name our little butter cup??? his dad is mr. pibb and his mama is holly. you can see them under "our boys" and "our girls" at rockstaffs.com.

please vote or give suggestions, we need help!!!

A. Julio
B. Willie (Wilbur)
C. Redjack
D. Ollie (Oliver)
E. Billy
F. Pancho
G. Cloud
H. Paco
I. Ferdinand
J. Other... help! he'll be here in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

winter update

last thursday n got a mini-surgery to get a port-o-catheter inserted into his chest so he can get IV nutrition since his weight has dropped so low once again. the docs and we don't know what else to try to help him get stronger in order to keep getting treatments to fight the pernicious lyme and other autoimmune/liver problems. n has a high risk of developing clots so we hadn't wanted to get a high risk line put in him unless there were no other choices. so here we are. the IV runs over 6 hours on a pump that fits into a backpack.

the surgery was nervewracking and more intense that i expected. the port is under his skin and they told us a needle would need to be inserted (by me!) into the port each time he gets hooked up to the IV. my knees got weak when they told me this. what i had done before (4 years ago when he had this same treatment) was connecting tubes that come out of his skin and using screwtop syringes and tubing with a very sanitary and precise method. the nurse trains you and then you're on your own. that was enough stress to keep me awake at nights. fortunately this nurse assured us that they would be putting a needle in that would stay all week and we just hook him up to the tubing, keep the line clean and patent, program the pump etc, etc. that's what's happening and it's going.... okay. it's a hard adjustment and n feels crummy today taking in so much liquid. they are going to make changes so he isn't so nauseated.

holding down the fort. this weekend i went to my office and abducted all of my unused plastic drawers and teaching tubs, washed them out, made labels and set up a nicely organized medical station in our bedroom for the ease of nurses, parents and myself. i am in awe that all this is going on. it's overwhelming, but full of the grace of Jesus. amazing grace. n is such a MAN.

today was a snow day so i got to stay home. actually i worked a lot here since i missed 2 days last week to help n. we have an excellent nurse who comes once a week to change the dressing, draw labs and check on us. a couple boxloads of medical supplies (including the IV formulas) arrive from coram healthcare weekly via courier. we get vitamin IVs from the doc and do those once a week. it's an intense regime.

commander of the fort and pack leader-- our hero, johnny d. no one knows how much he does for us and others; we are eternally grateful for his unending, humble service to us and to so many. he is amazing (and so is his woman, the great cho who keeps us smiling everyday) his reward in heaven will be GREAT!!!

speaking of our pack we are expecting a new addition this weekend. something special is coming our way at a time that may seem crazy, but we are ready for this most blessed distraction. most importantly n is excited. stay tuned. i will need your input.

have mercy

does anyone want to sponsor a little girl named mercy?

a couple of months ago nathanael read an article in world vision magazine encouraging all WV child sponsors (we have a "son" in myanmar) to find one other person to sponsor a new child. n took this earnestly and immediately called world vision to request an information packet on a child in need. unfortunately, world vision mistakenly, but apologetically, added this child to our account. we would LOVE to sponsor mercy, but cannot at this time. is anyone interested?

mercy pinyoloya is 7 years old. she lives in koro-bobi region of uganda with her sister and parents who struggle to provide for the family. she does not attend school. her main chore is carrying water, and she loves to jump rope. she lives in a community severely impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis. this means that mercy is a "hope child" (a child who lives in an HIV/AIDS affected community). here is what a $35 per month donation will provide for a "hope child" like mercy:

-clean water

-nutritious food

-healthcare, including AIDS prevention

-educational opportunities (usually they provide materials and uniforms for kids to attend school... wouldn't that be amazing for mercy?)

-spiritual nurture

-care for sick or dying parent

-HIV and AIDS counselling

uganda is such an intense country, ravaged this past decade by a rebel army known for kidnapping children by night and making them child soldiers forced to do things to community and family members that are unspeakable. here is an article where i first learned about it: children at war. anytime i feel sorry for myself, i think back to this article i read in a WV magazine 5 years ago. nothing could be worse than such a life of survival-- parents sending children to travel each night to "safety zones" to sleep to avoid the terror of kidnapping, torture, enslavement, rape and mutilation. how awful that this rebel army, the Lord's Resistance Army, has now moved into the DR Congo, Southern Sudan and Central African Republic. there are so many kids in all of these countries who need sponsoring. i really wish i could do it and i'm sure i will someday!

if you are interested in sponsoring mercy please let me know. if you are interested in learning more about world vision, check out their website: worldvision.org. they are an internationally reputable, christian, non-profit humanitarian organization; my father-in-law has worked for them for nearly 30 years and can testify to their excellent stewardship caring for children, families and communities around the world. they also have the most moving and best gift catalogue in the world... you can buy goats, chickens, soccer balls, sewing machines, music lessons, job training, business loans, counselling and other gifts in honor of others: wv gift catalogue. it's amazing and great when you don't know what to get for someone.

here is one of many letters over the years from our "son" aung in myanmar. he calls me "auntie roxie" and informs me that he is studying for university entrance exams, which i think is high school in myanmar. i've sponsored him since he was 6 so it's amazing to see his yearly progress pictures over the years. if you want to search for other adorable, beautiful children who need sponsorship check out world vision's well-organized sponsorship page: sponsor a child!

thanks for reading!