Letting Go

Isaiah 43:18-19“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

In some ways it's been a horrific week, and in other ways, a glorious week.

Tuesday morning I awoke, still ill with the flu, thinking the ache in my head must be a flu-related headache. Instead of taking my chronic migraine tablet--an acetaminophen/caffeine, Walgreen-brand cocktail--I took ibuprofen.

What a costly mistake, leading to a throbbing four-hour migraine, complete with two vomiting sessions. The whole time I was only vaguely aware of what my four children were doing. Half-reclining on the living-room couch with eyes closed and a washcloth over my face, I tried to listen to what was going on, to prevent any disasters.

They played and played, having a pretty wonderful time--the little ones only vaguely aware of Mommy's misery. Even in my private darkness, I was amazed at their ability to entertain themselves amiably, with all four siblings participating in the fun equally.

In one sense I felt it was four hours of my life wasted. I did nothing but stay on that couch, getting up only to vomit.

I'm a busy mom, and this predicament meant that no essential tasks got done, except pleading, desperate prayer.

The house turned into a disaster, as is usual when the children have free time.

But I believe in messes. History has proven that my children do their best thinking, inventing and problem solving when they're allowed to make messes.

But there's always a price to pay for me, and that price is what I refer to as "riding the herd". They never want to clean up their messes--they're overwhelming messes, let me tell you--and I have to ride them like a herd of horses, cracking a whip.

When I'm ill I don't have the energy to ride herd very well. It's taxing emotionally and mentally on a good day.

I'd say riding the herd is the hardest parenting task ever.

And riding herd during bedtime-prep hour? Let me say it nicely...not my favorite part of the day.

On migraine day an elaborate Geo Trax train village took up my entire living room--their newest creation. It was awesome, complete with oodles of small toys used to dress up the village (various blocks, unifix cubes, teddy-bear counters, small cars, people figurines, etc.).

Even after they cleaned up the track and trains, the place was still a nightmare of small toys. They were whiny and uncooperative, in the sense that it took me sending them back five times to do a thorough job, after which I felt like crying and a couple of them did too.

Then later in my week, an obvious sinus infection gave rise to more pain and far less sleep. I went through five rolls of toilet tissue wiping my nose. The Kleenex were long gone, and now we have no toilet paper in the house at all, and when they all get back from the library (praise the Lord that husband works only half-day on Saturday), I have to rouse my puffy eyes and drag myself to Aldi's, hoping no one notices my atrocious facial appearance.

I'm happy to say, the sinus infection seems to be in the left half of my face only now.

We've long ago run out of groceries and it's been driving me nuts for days, thinking of what to feed everyone. Husband gets milk or bread on the way home from work, but a major grocery run is about the worst task imaginable to him, other than fixing the girls' hair or picking out their clothes.

Letting go and letting God sometimes means being sick and miserable, and not resenting it.

It means stopping to notice how wonderful your children are--how bright their intellects, how ingenious their cooperation skills--because you have no choice but to sit and notice.

It means turning on the Christian radio to try and cheer yourself up, and then noticing that when the News Boys song Shine comes on, your 4-year-old girl becomes ecstatic, dances around and recites a good part of the lyrics accurately, wanting your sorry, sick body to dance along with her.

And you do, because you realize this is God's grace. This impromptu dance with your littlest girl, shouting about shining for Jesus.

 Letting go and letting God also means stopping to devour a great book, because with sinus pain that no pain-reliever touches, all you can do is go out to the living room in the middle of the night and read, hoping the story is good enough to take your mind off the pain.

And they were.

I'm now three books ahead of my boys in our Sonlight curriculum, and wondering what's next.

This particular book --Gone-Away Lake--is so good, I never wanted it to end. When it did I was incredibly sad, except that I noticed she wrote a sequel. Whohoo!

Letting go and letting God means dropping your expectations, as you cancel this and that commitment due to illness. It means letting go of your agenda, so you can hear God's.

It means having time to more fully drink in, and notice, his many graces. Our God is all about grace. Not performance, not perfection, not expectations. He's the author and bestower of Grace.

And when you have no other choice, you really get to share in that grace in a more beautiful, poignant way.

So, yes...in some ways, it was a terrible week.

But in others....it was awesome.

Thank you, God, for illnesses.

Treating Sinus Infections (new guidelines)

Oh, the joys of cold and flu season. For moms still in the trenches, this season comes with a special brand of misery. About the time the children you've nursed back to health feel better, you're battling extreme exhaustion. Now sick yourself, you have to deal with hungry, energetic, mess-making children who don't understand how awful you feel.

Crawling in bed to drink fluids and rest is impossible. At this point a mother is at the Lord's mercy, unless her own mother or sister live nearby.

My children are all significantly better and despite my attempts at avoiding sinus infection, I was up with extreme facial pain last night (classic sinus-infection symptom). Each time I get one of these nasty infections, I research what I can do from home, and when I should see a doctor.

Advice has changed and now aligns with the supposedly "mainstream" thinking on ear infections. That is, more than 90% of sinus infections are caused by viruses, not bacteria, so antibiotics won't cure them. Moreover, using antibiotics will contribute to the production of "super bugs".

Taking a mucous culture to determine if the infection is viral, bacterial, or fungal, is not practical, since only a part of the sinus cavity is considered sterile--the part enclosed in bone that's impossible to culture. So doctors who prescribe antibiotics do so as a "just in case" precaution for very old or very young patients, or because the patient is demanding an antibiotic.

Both sinus and ear infections can lead to extreme pain, making it hard to accept that doctors can't help. Living with pain isn't something we expect in this modern-medicine era.

There are a number of things we can do to battle the infection without a doctor's help, however.

Sinus Infection Treatments: What Helps and What Hurts? 

~ Promote drainage by inhaling steam over a pan of hot water, 2 - 4 times a day (not on the stove).

~ At night use a steam vaporizer.

~ Drink a lot of fluid to help promote drainage by thinning the secretions.

~ Use an expectorant. Expectorants are drugs that help expel mucus from the lungs and respiratory passages. They help thin mucous secretions, enhancing drainage from the sinuses. The most common is guaifenesin (contained in Robitussin and Mucinex). Note that an expectorant is different than a cough suppressant. A cough suppressant is used to stop a dry, irritated cough to promote better sleeping. Productive (mucous) coughs are necessary to prevent bronchitis and pneumonia, and they should not be stopped, but encouraged. Never use a cough suppressant for a productive cough.

~ Use over-the-counter (non-saline) nasal sprays and decongestants with caution. After 2 or 3 days, they can hurt more than help, due to a rebound effect. A decongestant dries up secretions by reducing the swelling in nasal passages; it's the swelling that produces excess mucous. But as the process works, the decongestant also thickens the mucous, making it harder to expel.  So use a decongestant only at the beginning of your respiratory infection, and sparingly after.

~ Unless you're sure your problem is caused by allergies, avoid antihistamines, especially Benedryl, which tends to thicken the mucous.

~ Relieve the pain with ibuprofen, which reduces inflammation, thus promoting drainage. Tylenol will help with pain, but not with inflammation.

~ If you suffer from recurrent sinus infections, your doctor may prescribe a steroid nasal spray to help maintain open sinuses. Our sinuses inflame because of illness, or because of allergy, or because of a foreign body presence. If the narrowing of passages (swelling of passages) is due to allergy especially, you may be given steroids, such as prednisone.

Natural, Safe Decongestant Practices (found here):

~ One simple home remedy that may serve as a natural nasal decongestant is inhaling steam. Pour some boiling water in a large bowl. Place a large towel over your head, which should also drape the vessel. Inhale the trapped steam by taking deep breaths. The same method also serves as a natural expectorant.

~ Make a mix of salt (1/4 tsp.), baking soda (1/4 tsp.), and water (8 ounces). Stir well and pour the solution in a nasal dropper. Closing one nostril, squirt the dropper into the other and inhale deeply ensuring the solution reaches the sinus cavities. Thereafter, blow your nose gently and repeat for the other nostril.

~ Prepare some black tea, as usual, and add half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in it. The active ingredient in the pepper, that is capsaicin, helps in reducing swelling and inflammation. So drinking the tea will soothe the nasal passages, and make the mucus thin and loose thus, stimulating drainage, and clearing up the congestion.


When To See A Doctor: 

According to this March, 2012 article, here are signs that your problem is bacterial, and that a doctor visit is necessary:

How to tell if it's bacterial

A sinus infection, properly called acute rhinosinusitis, is inflammation of the nasal and sinus passages that can cause uncomfortable pressure on either side of the nose, and last for weeks. Most sinus infections develop during or after a cold or other upper respiratory infection, but other factors such as allergens and environmental irritants may play a role.

According to the guidelines, a sinus infection is likely caused by bacteria, and should be treated with antibiotics, if any of these criteria are met:

• symptoms last for 10 days or more and are not improving (previous guidelines suggested waiting seven days)

• symptoms are severe, including fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, nasal discharge and facial pain lasting three to four days in a row

• symptoms get worse, with new fever, headache or increased nasal discharge

Last, but definitely not least, pray my sister. Ask your family to pray too. These infections are nasty, nasty, nasty. You deserve not only prayer, but lots of sympathy. :)

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Thankful Thursday

source

1 Chronicles 23:30
to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening;

Thank you, Father....

~ that the children have some energy back, even as Mommy has no energy. We last had influenza in 2009 during the H1N1 outbreak. Beth was 10 months old and she and Momma ended up with raging sinus infections. This time I know better and my head in under a towel over a steamy pan a few times a day. The kids won't stay in that position long, but I'm trying...

~ for this site with its budget desktop PC reviews. We're simple, low-tech people with no home theater, no entertainment center, no Netflix, no gaming devices, no photo shop, no video camera. We don't currently even own a digital camera (it broke after Thanksgiving), but my honey is working overtime to replace it so we can continue to photograph their childhoods.

As far as PC's go, we need something simple but reliable that we can keep another 8 years. The CNET site gave me great information I can take with me to Best Buy, which appears to be one of the few stores still selling Windows 7 PC's. The more I read about Windows 8, the less I want to buy it.

~ that on taco and pancake and roast chicken nights, nobody grumbles about the food.

~ that Peter is busy planning the garden already. On a garden website he found seeds that turn into ginormous pumpkins. All the kids are excited about the pumpkin they envision entering in the Fair.

~ that the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) prayer acronym makes sure we thank and praise the Lord daily as a family.

~ that common illnesses no longer kill in mass. I finished the Wright Brother's biography but it ended with their first successful exhibition flight, performed for the Army. I read on my own to find that later one of the Wright brothers died of Typhoid Fever at age 45, their mother died early of tuberculosis, and their younger sister died of pneumonia.

~ for the enchanting way sunshine radiates off the snow, pointing to His Glory and Majesty.

What are you thankful for today?

Windows 7 or 8? Help!

We have two desktop computers, one 7.5 years old and another that's 10 years old (both have Windows XP). Curriculum I'm interested in for the boys this year requires an updated operating system. I've decided we'll keep using the 7.5-year-old computer because it can still be used with their Math CD Rom program, Teaching Textbooks, and it's located in a quite bedroom. A quiet room is a necessity for their math program.

For other curriculum requiring an updated operating system, I'm looking at laptops and noticed that Windows 8 is not particularly liked? As in...it's not user-friendly at all, especially for non-smart phone users (who aren't used to touch-screens)?

Has anyone updated their computer lately? Can you tell me how you adapted to Windows 8? My boys like technology and would probably enjoy learning a new system. But the mom here? Not so much. Should I try to get something with Windows 7? How did you adapt to Windows 7 after using Windows XP?

Any recommendations on laptops for $550 or under? I've never owned a laptop, and only briefly ever used one. Thank you!

My Blessing List (during influenza)

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.



Influenza made its way into our home last Tuesday and everyone but my husband fell sick. Isn't it ironic that we all got a flu shot last December, except him? He had shingles at the time and decided to wait to get it--then he forgot.

This is miserable and it does take time to recover, with the cough, congestion, and headache lasting a long while. I just hope husband doesn't get it because his will be worse.

So far we've stayed out of the doctor's office and I pray it stays that way. Flu shots make the illness less serious, even if they don't get the strains just right.

I skipped Beth's Sunday methotrexate dose to avoid suppressing her immune system again this week. Her only side effect from this chemo drug (so far) has been one canker sore in her mouth. I've never had one but I can tell it's painful. Folic acid helps avoid them and other side affects so I got permission to give her an extra half-serving of vitamin gummie, since none on the market have more than a 50% daily allowance for folic acid.

I have to dig far to come up with some blessings right now, but I'm determined to try:




Dear Father, thank you....


~ for pretty snow falling for a few days. I'm celebrating snow today with some beautiful pics found here.

~ for wholesome library movies to keep everyone resting and drinking fluids.

~ that though I'm weaker, I'm still able to do laundry and dishes and meals, and a little sweeping. That's God's grace in action.



~ my once-a-year perm time finally arrived and life is sweeter without straight, limp hair. The curls also hide the white, forty-something hairs a little better. I have to wash my oily hair once a day, and the bangs twice a day. My face stopped breaking out for the most part at age 43, but the oily forehead appears to be here to stay, despite the witch hazel applications. When I think back to the acne (starting at age 12) and all the damage it did to my face and psyche, I ache for my four children and pray so hard they'll not inherit it. Modern medicine just hasn't been able to help this sad condition.



~ gingerbread pancakes (the ginger helps settle stomachs a bit too. Kids can get nausea with the flu, but adults usually don't.)



~ for psalms that soothe the heart and the aching body.



~ the kids are too weak to do school, but I've been reading the next biography--The Wright Brothers--and loving it. My boys will hang on every word of this book. They're both entrepreneurial in spirit, like the Wright boys were at this age.

The Wright boys' father was a minister but he also liked to make things. His shed full of tools really gave his boys a great start. The first thing they ever made? A sled--one that was longer and narrower than all the other boys' sleds, because their mother taught them about wind resistance. She drew a picture with dimensions and explained about the wind resistance. Her sons never forgot her lesson about wind resistance, and that if the drawing is right, the object you make will be right.



~ for prayer and that while I care for sick little bodies at night, I'm awake for extra prayer time and prayer always makes life sweeter.

~ for picture books about snow. I love books about the different seasons because they point to God's glory so often. Snow books are always a lot of fun.




What are you thankful for today?