Sleep Study Yields Interesting Results

I went in for a sleep study last night. I was a first-time, never-ever sleep studier ...student ...person. I had read up on how they wired a person up like a telephone exchange, so I was prepared for that. I was pleasantly surprised that I had access to Discovery channel, so I watched some Deadliest Catch, a small luxury since we unplugged cable at home. What I dreaded was the effort it took for me to fall asleep on demand, and believe me, it's no small effort for me. I couldn't make it. I felt like I was doing the stuck-in-an-airport doze. No matter what I tried, something would bring me out of it. A noise. An itch. A snore.

Joni Faces A New Test of Faith

This stings a bit. Joni, a woman God has used to be a voice for Christians living with disabilities, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Please pray for her, her husband Ken Tada, and her ministry. Her video message is at Joni's Corner.

Fatherly Priorities From Early Life

I happened across a good quote today.

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich."  - Dan Wilcox 

Before I became a father, before I married my wife, I knew what I wanted. I wanted a loving, kind wife and mother of my children who would love them as much as I would. I wanted a home where we would eat dinner together most every night. I wanted one where we loved each other, and told each other as much, as often as we could stand. I don't mean the "Love ya!" belted out as one leaves for an activity. I mean holding your beloved in an embrace, looking them full in the face, and saying "I love you very much!" I want a family that remembers with fondness all the time we spent with each other. I believe that this is what helps a family grow and produce stable, kind, engaging citizens who have the strength to help others.

My wife, thankfully, was of the same mind and as we've lived, we've made choices in line with that. We saw the busy lives of people who were chasing their tails, trying to have it all. Even if they could have it all--and they couldn't--how could they enjoy it?

To this day, I haven't regretted having set that priority.

Life Around the House

Despite all that we do to keep life simple, sometimes life gets busy and things can't (or won't) slow down. It's been that way since early May. Because of my disability, my family has undertaken a new business. A lot of it involves using our home, and we needed a lot of renovation to make it suitable. We had no way to make the renovations, however. Money was not just tight, it was literally non-existent. Thankfully, an anonymous donor (we have a lot of those, lately!) stepped forward and not only paid for the material, but they brought in friends to help with the renovations! Now we're set up and open for business. All we need now are a few clients.

Memorial Day and graduations filled up late May and early June. Allergies make life fun this time of year. Plus, we've been working on solving a leaky sprinkler system, which is no mean feat when you're living on a shoestring budget with a disability. Old faithful springing up in your yard is never good, especially when you're trying to keep a lawn from dying in the hottest June on record. Thankfully, we have very qualified help who loves my wife's cooking better than his own--cooking, that is!

Speaking of fixing leaks, Wednesday morning, my wife was in the garage when she saw a few drips hanging around, literally. We had a leak inside the house too! A helpful friend, two plumbers and nearly $100 later, we managed to find it. Of course, Farmers insurance company doesn't cover this sort of thing, despite the promise that they would. The fix is not inside a wall like we feared, but it means we can't use a bathroom for at least a few weeks. What fun!

Nonetheless, we're okay, and God continues to watch over us! Thanks for reading, and Happy Father's Day!

The Heart Of A Young Man

My head is full of things tonight. I am under a week away from an appointment that will have significant bearing on aspects about my future, yet I find myself spending less and less time thinking about it. Instead, I find it preoccupied with how marvelous a family I have. My children are amazing. I couldn't have picked better kids if I had the choice and knew exactly what was in each of their hearts. I don't want to gush sentimentality all over, but they each bring me a unique joy and happiness I've never thought possible.

A New Look

After staring at the same layout for so very long, I'm grateful that Blogger has been expanding it's resources a bit and now it feels a bit better. Ever since I was young, I've loved lions and I wanted to keep with it, just change it a bit. So how does it look? For the next month or so, I'll have a poll up here on my blog asking what you think, so let me know! I'll be adding information and more features as time goes on. Thanks for reading!

Recommended Blog: Encouraging Words

I really appreciate this blog by "deni." She and I are in the same boat when it comes to abilities and dependence on God. She and her husband homeschool their children, as we do. Every post, I read what she has to say because more often than not, it encourages me and reminds me of what's important. This most recent one is especially good.

Chronic Pain - Why some doctors don't understand it

I was reading an article about children in chronic pain, when this paragraph popped up. In a moment, it crystallized why the medical community often doesn't understand chronic pain. Here's what it said:

“They don’t get it because I’m not crying and screaming all the time,” she said. “They don’t understand, crying makes it worse, screaming makes it worse, and it doesn’t help anything.

The medical world is used to acute cases of pain. Something that wasn't there yesterday for a person is suddenly presenting itself today. A broken arm feels like there's an elephant standing on it, making the patient hesitant to even let you touch it. A pair of tonsils are white and swollen and making it painful to talk or swallow. A stomach cramp makes a person double over in pain, crying out when it gets worse. That is what they can work on and fix.

Then a person comes in with pain in their head and neck that doesn't respond to the usual treatments. They have come in four times in the last six months, desperate for relief. Yet they look good, just a little tired and mildly agitated. The scans and tests can't find anything wrong. Yet they rate their pain very high, higher than the last guy with the broken arm. So what gives? the doctor thinks. Is it all in their head? Are they making it up? they wonder. This is why some in the medical community write off chronic pain as untreatable and others simply don't know what else to do.

Thankfully, a branch of medicine and alternative therapies are gaining ground in dealing with chronic pain. Pain Management is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that focuses on treating the patient's pain and maintaining quality of life. While acute pain is often resolved by treating the underlying condition, chronic pain needs to be controlled and managed by a coordinated effort among a team of doctors able to assist with longterm therapies, such as physical therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, and so on. Some pain is still unmanageable, but the goal is to achieve some form of analgesia, While we have a long way to go, more attention and effort is being directed toward understanding pain, its causes and its effects.

As one who suffers from chronic pain, I'm encouraged by the growth of pain management. My pain is manageable some days and other days, it's not. I ache and moan, but I don't cry much anymore because, like the girl said, it doesn't help and often makes it worse. What helps is loving support from family and friends who understand. If they "get it," it makes a difference in my outlook and my disposition. A solid prayer life and a loving, supportive wife go a long way toward making my pain tolerable.

A Collection of --You Know You're a Homeschool Parent When--

You know you're a homeschooling parent when: (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)

• You've had to wake up your tech support 30 minutes after you tucked them into bed for the night because the network crashed before you could grade their work
• Parents compliment your kids, and not you
• The hamster died in the night but the kids already got the coffin, dug the hole and had the service before you could get that vital second cup of coffee and get to the grave side
  

Fire And Ice

I'm working on a couple of longer posts, at least, I'm trying to with pain and fatigue draining any reserves I may have had. Still, while you're waiting, take a look at this amazing footage from the Iceland volcanic eruption.



If you thought that was cool, check out these photographs!

I always liked volcanoes even as a boy in 2nd Grade when I first discovered them in a book. They're so powerful and untamed! I love studying them! Just another big, noisy thing that goes fast (well, at least the lava does at times).