here's what I've been up to lately...you know...when i'm not chasing kitties out of trees and all. (p.s. peach and ollie have made a full recovery, thank you Jesus)
1. watching a LOT of Tangled lately. twain wakes up from his nap with a major storm cloud over his head and begs mama to sit on the couch and watched "tandled" with him.
i happily oblige. after all, it IS one of my favorite movies. and i DO sound exactly like mandy moore while singing "at last i see the light".
um. that would be false. i can't even keep a straight face for one second. i am the world's worst singer. i literally cringe when i sing in the shower. it's true. so sad, considering how much i love to sing.
2. we went to visit my sweet new friend sarah, and one of her daughters showed us some of her incredible duct tape creations...purses, wallets, and more. i was totally impressed. and apparently, so was finn. back at home he started busting out these bad boys like there was no tomorrow.
some of them are a little janky with the coins falling out.
but i still think they are swell and would totally carry one with pride. i currently carry my {dave ramsey} envelop money in a dilapidated plastic photo file case and sometimes get scornful looks from teenage cashiers at target. whatevs.
3. every time i pass the fridge, i smile at this rainbow libby colored.
so i decided to color one too.
if anyone can guess the drawing to the top right, then i will buy you a real one.
4. had fun making some arrows for my arrow-lovin' buddy. i wanted to make real live deadly arrows...worthy of katniss and the hunger games...but alisha said "no" and directed me to this tutorial.
5. doing lots of cleaning and organizing. i especially like to mop with my new bona floor care system. i feel like a school janitor when i stack my chairs on the table.
6. we went to feeding hope on friday.
some of these kids blow me away.
last year, there were these little girls that would bring their little baby siblings with them. i still have visions of them coming through the door pushing strollers, and feeding them bottles. babies taking care of babies I tell you.
some of them came back this year. young Aracely came, taking her 4 younger siblings with her. whenever I'm tempted to complain about how hard my boys are, I think of her and all grumbling comes to a complete halt.
i was thrilled to see them all again, thriving. they were so cute i wanted to take them home with me.
7. i went up to "help" Lindsay and the twins on saturday. within minutes of arriving, i almost caught her house on fire. i put a taco shell in her toaster and walked away. and when i walked back, there were flames coming out of her toaster that went so high, they burnt the bottom of her cabinets.
i just stood frozen in horrific fascination while mom tried to blow out the fire. i have a terrible head in emergencies. mom unplugged the toaster and jim rushed the flaming toaster outside, until my taco shell burnt to smithereens.
well. that is one way to wake up two sleep-deprived parents. i never saw Jim hop to it so quickly.
honest. i really did mean to be helpful that day.
the moral of this story: don't put your taco shell in a toaster.
8. i took a speed walk tonight. you shoulda seen me swinging my arms back and forth like a total dweeb. whenever I hear someone coming behind me, i quickly drop my arms back to my side to preserve my dignity--which was completely shattered tonight, as I heard the pitter patter of feet behind me and realized I was being smoked by an old man with a scraggly grey beard. and for the first time in my life, i was totally jealous of an 80-year-old for leaving me in the dust.
This Sunday afternoon. I am so tired even thinking about it. Exhausted to the core.
At around 3:30 today, I was busy working on my computer.
Finn rushed in the front door and said "Peach just fell out of the tree and landed on her back!"
Goodness. It's always something.
Just a few minutes earlier, I had tried climbing the tree out front to get Peach down. But she was too high up for me. I remembered my dad once saying how important it was for a cat to learn to get down a tree by herself. So I left her up there. I'm kicking myself in hindsight.
I ran outside and Peach was scampering around, looking for a safe place to hide amongst the bushes. I grabbed her and quickly brought her back inside. Observing her carefully.
She lay down and Finn and Calvin tried to pet her.
"Mommy. Peach has blood on her!", Finn and Calvin exclaimed.
Oh dear. Here we go.
I inspected her and found a tiny droplet of blood on her whisker. No biggie. But she kept making this funny sneezing sound.
She went to her food and water bowl and started to eat. This was a good sign, right?
And then the boys really started to get concerned.
"Mommy, mommy, there is blood everywhere!"
I looked and sure enough there was some blood splattered on the wall where she was eating. Apparently she had sneezed some blood onto the walls or something.
"It's ok boys", I tried to reassure them. But I wasn't so sure myself. In fact, I was quite upset.
I picked up my cell and tried to call John, but there was no answer. Arg! Where WAS he? Twain and Ollie were still napping and I wasn't quite sure what to do.
Peach snuggled up on a chair and kept trying to get herself comfortable. Round and round she went, but she just could NOT settle in.
I called my mother-in- law, Betty, who promptly rushed over to inspect our lil patient. Betty was concerned but thought we should "wait and see" before bringing Peach to the vet. After all, Peach was still capable of walking and did not appear to be in deep distress. But she left me her pet-taxi, "just in case".
Peach kept moving around from place to place to place, but could not get comfy. Every time I tried to pet her, she moved away from me, as if in pain.
I kept getting all teary-eyed. "Don't cry, don't cry", I kept telling myself. "It's just a cat. It's just a cat."
But every time I thought about replacing her, I couldn't help bursting into tears. I loved Peach. Ollie was obsessed with Peach. All the boys loved Peach. But at the same time, I consoled myself with the fact that it was "just a cat" and "at least my sister Lindsay was ok" from her ordeal. Boy. When it rains it pours around here.
I texted some friends and got some info on vets.
John came home and I filled him in on the latest haps. He looked concerned...he is very much a kitty lover. But he's also a guy and a very sensible, practical one at that. "Let's just wait to see what happens...emergency vet bills are pricy" he said.
Fine. That was our plan. No vet just yet. Seriously I could not believe all this angst over a kitty. This is precisely why we should not have pets, I reasoned. It's too hard to know what to do. If it was a child that fell out of a tree, of course we'd take him to the ER. But a cat? What to doooo!
And then Ollie woke up and something very curious happened.
He stumbled out his bedroom door and walked down the hallway, toward the living room where Peach was laying. He then dropped to his knees and started screaming. He then ran quickly back into his room and slammed the door.
I ran back into his room and his eyes were shut very tight and he kept yelping. And thrashing around whenever I tried to console him.
"What's wrong Ollie?" I kept asking. And he wouldn't say ONE word. He just squeezed his eyes shut and pulled a blanket over his head, yelping here and there. I was kind of rattled at this point. Did Ollie know what was going on with Peach? How? He was sound asleep during the whole ordeal.
I decided to lay low and just ignore the sitch for a few minutes to gather my thoughts. It was dinner time and decided to help John, since this WAS supposed to be his "father's day". But Ollie kept screaming and carrying on.
I ran back into his room and he was just besides himself. And for the life of me, I could NOT get him to open his eyes or say anything. John came in and tried talking to him...but nothing.
Ollie has done some strange things before, but nothing like this. This was just plain old bizarre. I gave him a remedy and started pacing the house listlessly.
My mother-in-law called back to check on Peach, and I was just close to tears again explaining Ollie's behavior. "What should I do?", I asked. "Ollie is flipping out over Peach--I might have to take Peach in to the vet or Ollie is gonna wig out if anything happens to her." She reassured me that Ollie was going to be just fine.
We hung up and I found Ollie on the couch next to Peach. He had found her. And was sitting next to her, with his eyes pinched shut.
He somehow just knew. I don't know how. But he just knew something was wrong with Peach. And I cannot explain it.
Peach moved around here and there trying to nestle in, with Ollie hot on her heels.
At least Ollie's eyes are open as he reaches for her.
Seriously the whole ordeal with Ollie and Peach reminds me of E.T. Remember the scene where Elliot and E.T. are dying together? They had that whole psychic connection going on. Whatever happened to one of them started happening to the other.
I knew it sounds absolutely absurd, but I was concerned that if Peach started going down hill, Ollie was soon to follow. Obviously this is crazy. But that is what the whole thing felt like.
Even John found the whole thing to be very strange and commented that "Peach is Ollie's alter ego".
Whenever Ollie greets someone, he says "I have a cat named Peach". Peach means the world to him.
Peach is his therapy. Whenever he is distressed or bothered, I just hand him Peach and he stops crying. What were we gonna do?
Hour after hour went by. And Peach just lay there, trying to sleep. With Ollie by her side. It was not unusual for her to nap. But it sure would be nice if she woke up. And tried to pounce on something. She is usually so feisty. But not today. Not now. John put her on Ollie's bed and we all ate dinner.
Finally John caved. He could not handle looking at my weepy face any longer. "I will work extra hours to help pay for her vet bill", he announced at dinner.
I scurried off to the vet, all by myself. I felt so proud. Hours earlier I would have needed my mother-in-law Betty by my side. But I was able to pull myself together and "be mama" to this kitty.
I checked in to the vet. $93. Gulp. Daddy is gonna be working his tail off.
In the waiting room, Peach sneezes another little drop of blood onto her whiskers. I am glad we are here.
After inspecting Peach, the vet recommends an x-ray to ensure that there was no internal bleeding.
"How much?" I asked.
"$180" he replied. Ouch.
"Ok", I said, thinking of Ollie. "Ok."
The X-ray came back fine and the vet thinks she is gonna be fine. Praises! I was relieved, but left the building feeling like a freak, nonetheless.
$273 total?????!!!!!! John was going to kill me!
I paid up the tail, that is fo' sho.
When I got home and broke the news to John, he was super sweet. He said, "That's ok. I shouldn't have left Peach all alone out front."
And the best part of the whole story, is that my money-lovin' kid offered to help pay the bill.
So. As much as my kid loves money, turns out he loves his kitty even more. And that makes my heart so happy.
Back at home, Peach started acting more normal. I'm very thankful to have her back and can't wait til she returns to her naughty and ornery little self.
Enough drama for me. Life just...happens.
oh hai. just hookin' up with the anderson crew for em's embrace the cam dealie today.
because.
i just wanted to say something about this guy.
remember how sunday was father's day?
why yes. vaguely.
while i was visiting my sis at the hospy on sunday, john held down the fort without one single complaint. i said "can we celebrate father's day next sunday?" and he said "sure!", without even batting an eye.
he's amazing like that. and i just want him to know how much i appreciate him.
i know he's superrrrr bummed that his annual father's day photoshoot got postponed. ummmmm. yah.
#notsomuch.
anyhow. thanks honey for being such a good sport.
*******
and i must say one more thing. while i was down visiting at the hospital, my dad was there.
and he took me to quizznos. my first time there, btw. took me an hour to place my order because there were soooo many choices. did you know about their tasty pesto sauce for their sandwiches? totally worth the hour of indecision. totally. right dad?
i wanted to buy him lunch for father's day but he insisted on buying lunch for me. on father's day. how did i ever get so lucky to have these great guys in my life? i don't deserve it. God is so good. happy father's day poppy.
Part 3
After hanging up the phone with my sister Jessica, my first instinct was to drop to the floor and pray for God's mercy on our family. I prayed like never before. And I remember crying. I take comfort in the fact that God was with us the whole entire time. He never left us.
My house was still a little chaotic because I had 4 boys running around, 2 of them having skipped naps.
So I took solace in my bedroom closet, for whatever reason. It became my little hideaway, or prayer closet, if you will.
I just sat down amongst all the laundry and prayed and prayed and prayed. I was in a bit of shock. I could NOT believe what was happening. This was the last thing on earth that I expected. I had been so concerned about the babies the past few months, that it did not even occur to me to worry about my sister Lindsay.
Dear sweet Lindsay. At this point in time, all I could think of was that my sweet blond-haired blue-eyed baby sister might be flying with the angels. I missed her terribly already and could not imagine life without her. I looked at my cell phone and saw her last text to me...wondering if it was the last text I would ever get from her. Of course I held out hope for the very best, but I had absolutely NO CLUE what on earth was going on in that hospital room.
Jessica and her 4 girls didn't know.
My parents didn't know.
Jim's parents didn't know.
Tough tough time for the whole family.
I don't think any of us knew one thing for at least an hour. It could have even been longer. I just looked at my phone record for that day and from deductive reasoning, I can infer that I knew nothing from 4:30-6:26???? How can that be? 2 hours? Not sure. It's not important.
I just know it felt like eternity in that closet. At first I sat there praying and folding dirty laundry, of all things.
And then I started texting or calling my fellow prayer warriors, depending on their typical method of communication.
On the phone, some people prayed and cried with me.(1Cor 12:26 "If one part suffers, ever part suffers with it". ) I will never ever forget this. Other people texted and showed their love and support in their own special way--and this is one of the coolest things about being in the body of Christ. Every member is unique and special in their own way. You cannot say to your toe that you don't need it, ya know? We all need each other.
And as scary as the whole situation was, I felt "the peace of God that transcends all understanding"(Philippians 4:7) come over me. I've often heard that God gives grace exactly when needed. Just at the right time. And I believe this to be true.
This feeling of calm...it does not mean that I was not upset. I was extremely upset. This was one of the scariest moments of my life. But I knew God was right there, holding me together.
And finally. Jessica calls me at 6:26. I hold my breath and tentatively say "Hello?" and Jess says "A nurse just snuck out to tell us that Lindsay is stable!! We don't really know what is going on, but Lindsay is alive and Jim is with her!!"
Ahhhhhhh. Thank you Lord!!!! Thankfulness flooded over me. I can not stop thanking Jesus. I'm still overcome with immense gratitude.
*******
My mom called me a little while later and started filling me in on what REALLY happened. Because folks? There was a lot of misinformation that night. In fact, days later I was still finding out new details.
So here's the scoop, to the best of my knowledge. Around an hour after the babies were born, Lindsay got a splitting headache and her bp started to rise. She was alone in the room with the twins and one nurse. And then she had a seizure. She was awake for part of the seizure and could not talk or tell anyone what was happening. Scary scary. My heart is sick that she had to go through that. And then she went unconscious. The nurse was all alone and wanted to get help IMMEDIATELY so she issued the code blue to get doctors in there, stat. Welp, that's one way of doing it. Scared the pants off of us.
SO. Lindsay was never in a code blue situation...not the way I had imagined it in my prayer closet. Her heart never stopped beating and she never needed resuscitation. She had a seizure and that was the result of postpartum eclampsia--this is rare and only happens to 1/3000 people. (Most people get eclampsia before the babies are born). Even though it's rare, it does happen enough that is should have been anticipated...especially since she's a first time mom with twins, where there was extra blood flow.
But Lindsay literally had no prior symptoms and so she does not think her treatment had been lacking in any way. In fact, she believes that her doctors have been overly cautious with every aspect of her pregnancy. After the seizure, they ordered a cat scan and everything appeared normal.
The doctors then put her on magnesium sulfate, which is an anti-siezure medication among other things. And also makes you feel really sick. I was "magged" once when having preterm labor with Finn and I have blocked the whole thing out of my memory.
Mom told me not to come down that wednesday night. Lindsay was in ICU and I would not be able to see the babies. "Come tomorrow!", she ordered.
Yes ma'am.
Jessica texted me some photos of the babies. I was absolutely mesmerized by their "twin-ness". I cried whenever I looked at them. And for the life of me, I could not tell them apart because they wore the same hat.
Thursday morning, I grabbed some blue beanies out of my stash, and went to Target to purchase my FIRST EVER pink beanie. I felt like it was absolutely imperative that everyone know which baby was which!
I drove for 2 hours to the hospital, giddy with joy and excitement. Um. I don't really know what I was expecting. A cheerful Lindsay holding 2 babies, grinning ear-to-ear?
Well that was really unrealistic of me, considering all that happened.
Lindsay was stuck on the 1st floor in a dungeon-like ICU, waiting until a room opened back up on the 3rd floor in Labor and Delivery. She was on the first floor, her babies were on the 3rd floor...this was a tough sitch for any new mama. Not too mention Lindsay felt completely drugged and out-of-it on the magnesium.
Jim took me upstairs to meet my new nephew and niece. Oh my. They were medicine to my soul.
I could not stop hugging and kissing them. I could cry just looking at these precious angels.
Meet James Wittmer the 4th.
You can't tell from the pic, but he's very alert and always looking around. And he always tells us when he wants something. Ahem.
And Savannah Adele. Adele is my mom's name!!(Not to be confused with the singer, Adele)
She is the perfect little peach--she always has this pristine little expression on her face.
And new daddy Jim is a natural. When Twain was born, Jim held him all the time. It makes me so happy to see him hold his own.
My heart would feel complete when I got to see these 2 babies in the arms of their mama!
That thursday, things were still just plain old difficult. Lindsay was still recovering from the seizure and dealing with some lingering eclampsia symptoms. She was in no condition for pictures and such. I would just have to wait and pray that she would get better soon.
That night, I said goodbye, with the hopes of returning that Sunday(I had no clue that Sunday was Father's Day. Dates and times had lost all meaning at this point).
All day Friday and Saturday I thought about Lindsay and the babies. I kept checking on them and praying for things to get better soon. Things were still tough, but slowly Lindsay was improving.
On Saturday night we went to church and part of the sermon was on trials...and how christians should EXPECT suffering. Tough stuff.
When I got to the hospital on Sunday, Lindsay was doing much better, thankfully. She looked great to me. I even tried to fuss with her hair.
But we decided that nobody would recognize her with her bangs swooped to the side. So back to a pony{tail} it was. You know. These are the important things to record in one's blog. Ha.
Proud proud grandparents. My mom and dad.
But. The moment I had been waiting for all these months...
My joy is complete!
So so giddy.
Mom snuck into the picture, haha. Hi mom! *waves wildly*
And of course Auntie Davi kept sneaking into pictures too. I can not get enough of these two! It's almost like having my own.
Auntie Jessica was there too, but we were not always there at the same time. Hence no pictures of her. Sorry everyone.
I'm already driving myself nuts, trying to make sure I give equal attention to each baby.
Holding James while mommy was feeding Savannah.
Seriously, it's a 3-ring-circus feeding frenzy up in there. You parents of twins. I get you. We're practically the same now, riiiight? Haha. Just kidding. Don't shoot me. But I really did get a glimpse of the madness. And I have no words. Just immense respect.
So Lindsay, if you ever get around to reading blogs on the computer ever again in the next 18 years...
I am so proud of you.
And so thankful to the Lord for you and these babies.
And I love "you guys" more than you will ever know.
Love, Auntie Davi.
p.s. Lindsay got to go home with her babies yesterday! And they are getting along just fine. But prayers are welcome as they learn the ropes. Steep learning curve.
