Like Rolling off a Blog

You know how birthdays are called "golden" when you have the same numeral on the calendar as your age? Well, how about when the year I was born is the same as the age I am? Is that platinum? ADDENDUM: I just went (Sunday morning) for coffee at the local Starbucks where the barista gave me a piece of banana chocolate coffee cake in honor of my birthday. But that's not the point... Her birthday is tomorrow - she was born the same year as I was and therefore is the same age. We agreed that this should be our platinum year! Bad news for my kids, who were born in '77, '80, and '82. Yep, you've got a ways to go...

Philosophical, that is. I suppose on birthdays you are allowed to get all sappy and wax philosophical. I dont' feel like it. Birthdays are a good thing because it means you've lived another year. But frankly, I don't really care if I have cake or a celebration. I'd rather just have people smile and remember. Yes, memories and photos are what I like. Could you tell? A good conversation starter is "tell me about the first birthday you remember." I'm not sure I remember my own birthdays. I remember friends' birthdays. It could be due to the fact that in Montana school started the last week of August, and on more than one occasion, that start date was my birthday. So I associate my birthday with school starting. Could that be why I like school? That's about as philosophical as I'm going to get. Ciao for now, as I sip my green tea and wait for Amberleigh to awaken.

Jokes did abound when I was in high school about "hemp." I mean, it's the source of all evil, right? Well, in the last six months or so I have discovered Hemp Milk at my local coffee shop. They make a great latte, I must say. Nutty flavor, no milk product (ironic, huh?), and 46% of your daily calcium requirement. May be a bit pricey, but if you are milk intolerant, like a lot of us, and you don't drink the stuff by the gallon, it might be worth a look and taste. Check out this article I found on it. I wonder if it would work as a baby formula? Hmmmmm...

At the risk of sounding really elementary and/or pedantic... did you know that you can set an alert to come to your email on any word or topic you choose? I've done our name (Elfstrand) as well as our company (Moody Publishers), and now I've added "mitochondrial." Don't know why I didn't think of that before, but I really want to stay up with current research, so now anything that hits the news or websites will come to my inbox. Cool, huh? It's Google that does this, and you have to drill down a bit to find the alerts section, but worth it. Off to read the latest...

Instead of blogging the trip, I wrote captions under the 324 pictures I took! Just click on the Flickr badge in the right hand column on this page, and then click on the California Trip set when you get to Flickr. Happy perusing!

(watch for the Flickr account when we get back. Until I get a phone that can text better than triple tapping, I can't post pictures to the blog like Lara does !) The sounds of the hospital are becoming more familiar, but nothing can compare to what Lara has gotten used to every night sleeping there! It is so great to be here...complete with tears and smiles and meeting the friends and medical staff who have been taking care of the family (especially Timmy) for so long. I was one of many who set up for Timmy's birthday in a large "media room" in the Children's Hospital. The Children's Hospital is attached to the main hospital where Timmy happens to have his room. He's on a floor with other kids having non-contagious medical problems. It is so sad to see them, and know that some have been there almost as long as Timmy. Anyway, Elmo did a major invasion and like Lara posted, when we all sang Happy Birthday, Timmy was all smiles. The Pastor spoke on Psalm 139,...

Last night, Ashley and Amberleigh came over while their mommy and daddy went on a date to see Wall-E. Mommy and Daddy came in separate vehicles: Daddy on his motorcycle and Mommy bringing the girls. (Amberleigh will be one year old on August 21. She is motoring around via her hands and knees quite a bit now, so we have to watch her like a hawk.) When her Daddy walked into the kitchen after parking his cycle, Amberleigh's eyes lit up, she kicked her feet (she was sitting in her high chair at the time), and she started playing peek a boo and babbling. She was recognizing her Daddy and so excited to see him! A few days ago an email was traveling around with 52 questions on it, getting to know family and friends by some seemingly innocuous queries. I love getting those things, although it takes some time to actually fill them out. When I got Lara's responses, some made me smile and some made me sad. Sadness because I recognize their pain, and also some very Nana-focused sadness. To...

Here's a preview (or a review if you don't catch it on air)of a conversation to take place on WMBI-FM, Chicago , this morning between 7:40 AM and 8 AM. Thanks to Bryan Litfin, professor at Moody Bible Institute . These are just notes, but please do comment, or send him or WMBI your comments. Do Babies Go to Heaven? Importance of the question Many people have suffered tragic loss through miscarriage, abortion, stillborn children, or early infant death. It’s an issue of great importance. Who among us doesn’t know someone who has suffered such loss? Sentimental answer vs. Biblical answer Let’s let the Word of God speak to us, not human emotions. Babies are not little angels sitting on the lap of Jesus. God doesn’t take them to heaven just because they are cute. Jesus did welcome children to come to him, but he wasn’t teaching us about their salvation in those passages. If we are honest, we must say the Bible gives us guidance on the issue,...

Yes, folks, I really was working. But this cute robot decided to dedicate a dance to Ashley, Amberleigh (but he calls her Amber), Oliver, and Timmy. So, have fun!

I thought I'd share Lara's blog with you today, followed by my comment. I thought the tears had stopped for a while ... You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil." - Psalm 5:4a "Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me. Save me because of your unfailing love." - Psalm 6:2-4 "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." - Philippians 3:20-21 It's hard to feel out of control. I watch as my little boy gets weaker and even the best doctors cannot really help him. They can treat the symptoms but there is no human cure for this horrible disease. I watched as he lost the strength to suck sufficiently to nurse. So we tried bottle...

For many years, we've been hearing that "content is king." I'm attending a conference for tradeshow and event planners, and this afternoon's workshop was on knowing your customers' communities. The presenter then said that content is no longer king... Community is king. Hmmmm. Would you agree? How many community groups online do you belong to or regularly read? And do you go there primarily for the content or for the community? Is it a toss up? Is the community the conduit for the content? Okay, the brain is now officially fried for the day.

But I think I'll know when I'll be back, Lord willing. Work has taken me flying a lot lately, and then a week after I return from this one, we'll head out to California to be with Timmy for his first birthday. That's the trip I'm looking forward to. I wish it could have been sooner, or that we lived closer to all the kids and grandkids. But if we can just stand the flying, that makes it less than a day's trip. I'm glad that so much of the family and friends take advantage of jetting around the country to help out. Pray for safety on all ends of the trips.

Frankly, I could hardly wait to get home and write this blog. If you don't want to read much, let me sum up this movie in one word: embarrassment. Silly me, I should have read some reviews. Any reviews. But because I really do like Abba music, I thought this might be fun. And in some parts it was. But other words come to mind: crude, socially irresponsible, immoral (please don't call me prudish, it really is). You know how I've titled my blog as "a hotflash in the making?" Well, this movie was a hormone wanna-be. Tasteless is another word that comes to mind. So save yourself the money and just buy a CD if you like the music.

I've missed the anniversary by a few days. On July 15, 1976, Richard Toshio Sawyer went to be with Jesus after a two year battle with cancer. He was 9 years old. In our minds he will always be 9. It seems incredible that he would be 41 years old now had he lived. About a year later, my mom wrote a little booklet called "Take Care of My Child for a While." It was based on a poem that I think I've quoted in this blog previously. I typed it up for her on ... gasp ... a typewriter and we copied it and saddle stitched it ourselves to be distributed at a local Cancer Aid thrift store. It was my first foray into publishing. The book was a memoir of Ricky's adoption and our foibles in fitting him into our Anglo family, and subsequent cancer treatment and succumbing to the disease. When Marshall was born in July of 1977, Mom handed me a copy of the book, signed thus: Perhaps now you will know what it means to love someone so much it hurts. I do. And Marshall and Lara do, ...

On my way in this morning, men were working on a new turn lane where I get on the highway. Couldn't help myself ... I just thought this was a cool picture.

Ingrid sent this to me, and it's really not fun to have tears hit your keyboard. Don't know the author, but this reminds us of family priorities. *Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play. *Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together. *Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles. *Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by. *Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned. *Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them. *Just for this afternoon, I will take us to...

And praying Psalm 20 for Marshall and Lara and Timmy... (thanks to BibleGateway for the online Bible.) Psalm 20 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. [RJE: Lord, You have been faithful to put the right people in place for Timmy and his family. You have protected him when his life has been in danger] 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. [RJE:We trust You, Lord, for the support You have and will give to Marshall, Lara, and especially Timmy. You have assigned people to be Your hands and Your feet during this time, tangibly surrounding them with love and gifts] 3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. Selah [Selah, indeed...rest] 4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. ...

No, I didn't mean "who are you praying for." I want to show you who you are praying for... our grandchildren. Starting with Timmy, who has seen more of the inside of a hospital than I ever have, and he's only 11 months old. And then there is Oliver, who is now 16 months old and VERY redhead!!! That will earn him a lot of stranger attention throughout his life, I'm sure... And, of course, the two we get to see the most of, so that we can watch the changes in mobility, speech, character... not to mention frequent kisses and hugs. We love and pray for you all!

When a person goes a whole day without blogging, they really aren't a serious blogger. So what about those of us who just make up drivel so that we don't go a whole month without blogging? July for this household has been woefully lacking in time for serious thought! Babysitting, travel, tradeshows, conferences, and throw in two days of vacation and what do you have? Blog fodder, of course. We were treated royally for two days (well not quite a whole two days, but close enough) to a friend's home in a gated community, complete with BMW convertible with "beach tags" on it so we could take this picture. It was a lovely ending to a hectic 8 days. But when I got back to work on Monday my blogging coworkers complained that I was posing. What self-respecting thoughtful individual has nothing to say for a whole week? And may I add that this blog really didn't count. I'm sure it's been seven years in blog years...

The next time you see a picture of lightning, I hope you'll go "ooooooh" and "aaaaaahhhhh" and "how did you do that?" Because I'm sitting in the midst of an electrical storm in Orlando with my trusty camera set to "burst" and have taken approximately 120 shots. ALL of them missed any single lightning strike! Any ideas?