More Than A Week

The title of this blog has significance for 2 reasons.

First of all, I can't believe it has been MORE THAN A WEEK since my last blog posting. You would think that surely I would have something to write about being that I live in a foreign country and have 4 children. And you are right. As pretty much always seems to be the case around here, we can't go long with some kind of action worth mentioning. And this time it involved Alex and a hot dog. All you parents and other childcare givers probably know where this is leading, especially if you know Alex and his tendency to cram way too much food in his mouth. Yes, Alex choked on a hot dog last Friday and in turn, Alex and I got our first ride on a motorcycle (a term I am using loosely here since most motorcycles in Indonesia are more like glorified scooters and not Harley's) here as we made our way to the ER. Before anyone gets too concerned...He is just fine. And actually, he never stopped breathing but the hot dog was obstructing his airway and the good 'ol heimlich manuveur just wasn't getting it out. Maybe his huge tonsils were in the way. We'll get to that next. Anyway, once we got to the ER they held Alex parallel to the floor with his stomach facing the ground and pounded him on the back. Within a few seconds, a large piece of a hot dog flies out of his mouth onto the floor and pretty much instantly he's back to normal. While everything turned out okay, it was definitely one of those situations that really makes you think and remember how quickly life can change. So, what did I learn...

1) It is time to brush up on my first aid skills and have my staff take a class too. I think these type of classes are a must for all parents at different ages and stages of their children's lives.

2) God is good all the time! And praise Him that He watches over us and takes such good care of us.

3) How much I love my kids. Being a parent really makes you vulnerable. You wear your heart on your sleeve when it comes to your children. Some may say that there is no love greater, but I know one. It is the love that God has for us. And being a parent has definitely deepened my appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifice that God made by sending His Son to die on the cross for us. And I thank God for giving me this glimpse into the width, length, height and depth of His love for us. It really is astounding.


As I mentioned earlier, Alex has big tonsils and tomorrow he and I leave for Singapore to have them removed along with his adenoids and we will be gone for MORE THAN A WEEK. It is going to be hard to be gone for such a long time but I know that it the right thing to do and will benefit Alex greatly. So, you will probably get my next update from Singapore. Please keep us all in your prayers.