Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Discrimination Against Large Families

Is there such thing as discrimination against large families in the US?

Oh yes!!!

It is very difficult for many to imagine how two people can raise so many children without snapping. Traditional families with 2 to 3 children are already overwhelmed.

The family of Maria Howard is now experiencing such discrimination. The DSS in their area has decided to investigate the family for abuse or negligence. This came about due to the recent incident when Maria had a brain tumor. THe person who filed a complaint is saying that the parents of Maria Howard are medically negligent by bringing her a bit too late for medical attention.

For all the drama they experienced in finding out their daughter has an inoperable brain tumor, the surgery and recovery, DSS knocks in the door (not literally, by protocol DSS has to give them advance notice) to tell them that they are going to be investigated for an indicative abuse and neglect.

WOW... call that a misuse of precious taxpayer money. Why are we paying knuckleheads to do this?

The least I can do for this family is to pray the Chaplet of St. Michael, the archangel to protect their family from evil.

The knuckleheads are not evil. But, Satan sure does know a way to stir a boat.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tridium Christmas

I want to test how google analytics work


Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Grace of Hope

Maria in ICU now...

From Julie:

We just got out of the recovery room and are now in ICU in the children's
hospital. She only had a strip of hair removed during the surgery so that is
good as that was one of Maria's worries. Bald at 12 for a girl is rather
unappealing.

I hope you will remember her beautiful smile as it might be a while before we
see it again. There is drooping in her left side which wasn't there before
surgery. She did speak to us, though it was a big effort. The right side is
not functioning well at all. The big party in the recovery room was she wiggled
her toes on command a tiny bit.

On the bright side her nurse is wearing a shirt with pictures of Jesus, Mary and
Joseph, the Blessed Trinity, The 3 Kings and the Flight into Egypt.

The Power of Prayer- Update on Maria

Surgery is done. It was hours. This is an update from Maria's mom:


The neurosurgeon just came down. They had no problem getting to the tumor, they had to go through a couple milimeters of brain to get to the tumor but he had no problems pulling the brain down to get to it. They removed what they think is all of it. They will know Tues. or Wed. whether it is benign or malignant. He said she may be worse for a while and gradually improve or she may be much better. She's going in to recovery now. We are waiting for them to call one of us to go up there (they will only let 1 in). After that she will go to the children's ICU.

What can we say for the power of prayer. Keep them coming.

Update of Maria - Please continue prayers for her

This is an update from Julie, Maria's mother:

Dr. Albright, the neurosurgeon, seemed confident. (at least he has a good name! haha) The tumor itself is about the size of a marble but there is a good amount of fluid surrounding it about the size of a golf ball. They will put a drain into the top of her head to drain the fluid. Then they will go in from the back left side of her head and attempt to remove the tumor which is in
mid-brain. She is in surgery now. I will keep you posted , pass it on wherever you can.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Healing Prayer for Maria Howard

"Heavenly Father, I call on You right now in a special way. It is through Your power that Maria was created. Every breath she takes, every morning she wakes, and every moment of every hour, she lives under Your power.

Father, we ask You now to touch maria with that same power. For if You created her from nothing, You can certainly recreate her. Fill her with the healing power of Your Spirit. Cast out anything that should not be in her. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells. Open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection. Let the warmth of Your healing love pass through Maria's body to make new unhealthy areas so that her body will function the way you created it to function.

And Father, restore Maria to full health in mind and body so that she may serve You the rest of her life. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

UPDATE ON MARIA FROM HER MOM

Maria's surgery is Saturday Dec 5th at 7:30am CST.
They said that she may not make it through surgery as worst case, medium case is
that she will be crippled and have brain damage of some kind or she may come out
just fine. It's a 4-5 hour surgery at least. First they will put a hole through
the top of her skull and put in a drain. Then they will put a hole in the back
of the skull. My dad is a doctor so here are his words (after talking to Tom):
"Maria has a brain stem tumor on the Rt. Side.
This is in an area of very critical nerve centers. This makes surgery difficult.
The tumor mass is the size of a golf ball but it is mostly fluid."

Maria needs prayers

Maria is 12 year old. She has been having problems with the right side of her body (thankfully she is left handed). This has affected her walking, her balance, ability to lift things and any fine motor skills as well as her ability to read, write, spell. She is seeing double, etc, etc, etc. Dad took her to the doctor on December 03 but he referred her to a peditrician in Madison. The Ped called back and said to bring her into the Emergency Room right away. Today, Maria is diagnosed with a brain tumor in the middle of her brain. Her prognosis is not good. They are seeking another neurosurgeon who can operate on her. If you have any prayer line, kindly remember Maria Howard in your prayers.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Offering Up House Chores that I Wanted to Give the Kids

Five of my children are with my in-laws. After Thanksgiving, my parents-in-law said that they needed help with yard work. My husband and I obliged. We would take the opportunity to do our own cleaning at home.

So I have a 3 year old boy, 8 year old boy, and 16 year old teen with me since Saturday.

My 16 year old teen goes with my husband to for his job internship.

To my surprise, there is tremendous house chores to be done in the house. We have by now let the kids do the kitchen and the cupboards are a disaster. Food crumbs, unwashed small kitchen appliances and other yucky stuff. And, that is only on the kitchen front.

I walked into the kid's bedrooms and yikes... more things for me to cry about.

I almost felt defeated. Would it be better for me just to do all the house chores? Might be impossible for the rate of mess is faster than my cleaning speed.

Instead of whining here, I will do things one at a time. Let me start with this George Foreman grill. My teen cook used this grill to cook my fish (fat free) dinner prior to my gall bladder surgery. Yikes... no wonder I had those tummy pain.

Before I end this post, even if it is contrary to what I feel, I will go and clean each dirty appliance in our kitchen. I have much to offer. One of my friend's daughter is going to ER at the moment. I will offer up these kitchen chores for her intentions.

St. Anthony, pray for us.

Come Holy Spirit, grant me the spirit of fortitude.