Emily Brynn Johnson - 3 Months Old Today!!!!

When Emily was three MINUTES old!

(I stood outside the delivery room door and got to hear the

whole miracle unfold.  They let me come in to

take this picture as soon as they took her from Jennifer!)

An Angel Resting

(This is my favorite newborn picture of Emily.

It was taken the day she came home from the hospital)

Jennifer and Emily on Christmas Day 2007

(This is a special picture.  Jennifer is wearing pearls that

belonged to my mother who passed away in September.

Mother's name was Kathryn PEARL Isenberg Sewell.

She was born Christmas Day, 1918)

Emily TODAY - 3 months old!!!

It's Gonna Get Interesting . . .

Well,  in yet another way, this political season may be one for the record books!

(We may run out of record books!)

The 800+ Democratic "Super Delegates"

may be called in to play

if Hillary does well in Ohio and Texas.

Eight hundred Democratic Party leaders

to determine who the Democratic  Candidate will be.

They didn't like hanging chads.

Will they like the popularity contest among

Super Delegates?

Hope it doesn't get ugly!  

Of course THAT won't happen.

(wink-wink)

We just might have a "Candidate-Select" scenario on our hands!

Five Seagulls On A Sunday Morning

This morning as I was making my way from the remote parking lot (where church staff parks), I noticed a group of five seagulls flying in a graceful point formation overhead.  They were winging their way over toward Huntington Beach High School.

I couldn't help asking myself:  Why these five particular birds?  Out of all the seagulls that hang at the beach or Bolsa Chica, why this very specific quintet?  Were they . . . gullfriends?  (Sorry!)  Had they maybe decided yesterday afternoon to meet at Dukes by the pier at 6:30 this morning?  Were they part of some feathered workout group?  Had they recently hatched some gull chicks, and were attempting to work off the excess poundage?

Seriously, the idea of possible friendship among the gulls fascinated me.  Maybe I'm just sensitive to the significance of friendship now in light of Lexi & Haley's recent plight.  I can't tell you how many folks have said to me,  "If there's anything we can do to help . . ."  Kristi has commented in her blogs about the overwhelming support and encouragement their friends have been through all of this.  It's been amazing.

All that to say . . . Thanks to all of you for being there for our entire family.  Your friendship and encouragement have helped all of us--especially Curtis and Kristi--get through a rough week.  It's great to know there are folks who love us and help us "soar" above the tough times.

God bless you all!

The Best Advice: Cry Out to Jesus

One of the fine Christian vocal groups out there is THIRD DAY. On their album Wherever You Are is a song that really ministered to me today. The song is "Cry Out to Jesus."  Ordinary music, simple text.  Nevertheless, it got through to me.

 As you probably know, our family has been through a tough week with Lexi and Haley's rotavirus complications leading up to hospitalization.  I'm in no hurry for any of us (or people we know and love) to go through this again any time soon.  Make that ever!  As difficult as our week has been, I realize that others we've been around this week have had an even tougher time of it.  (Like the little boy I met in the elevator at CHOC the other day .  Huge smile on his face--which was totally covered with cancerous growths--as he proudly displayed some of his artwork.)   Yes, life can be very, very rough sometimes.   

Unfortunately, those of us in ministry are often guilty of  trying to come up with all kinds of quick-and-easy advice for folks who are going through the "bad stuff" of life.  Even though our intentions may be good, sometimes our words are empty and dry.  Bottom line, the truest comfort for those answer-less times is simply Jesus.

This song is so neat, because it offers the simplest but surest solution to all of the great crises of our lives:  crying out to Jesus.   Click here to watch the music video. You'll be blessed!

We Love CHOC--When we Don't Have to Be There

As many of you know already, Haley is now having her turn at CHOC--the Children's Hospital of Orange County.

Yesterday Curtis and Kristi thought everything was on the mend. Curtis had brought Lexi home late Thursday night. She had responded like a trooper to the IVs, and doctors ruled out the possibility of a urinary track infection. (After she left the hospital, they finally were able to confirm that all her problems were from Roto Virus.

Haley had gone through all the same symptoms, but they'd made sure she'd continued to drink plenty of fluids and eat potassium-rich bananas.

Sooo, when they all woke up yesterday (Friday) morning, everything seemed to be on an upward turn. After noon, however, Haley's situation took a sharp turn to new territory--distended stomach, abdominal pain, violent vomiting, etc. Kristi's blog gives all the details.

As of this writing, Haley's still in the hospital. Hopefully, before the day is over we'll know exactly what's up, and she'll be discharged. Grandma Connie, Granddad Bruce, Mama Lyn, and I (Papa Don) spent last night helping Kristi de-germ their entire house. Washed, wiped, and sprayed every possible surface and toy with Lysol and Clorox products. Kristi and I left the "party" to go up to CHOC to be with Haley and Curtis for a few hours.

Haley was a real trooper. Curtis said she only cried out once when they inserted the IV stint. No whimpering or fussing at all. (Lyn and I were with Curtis and Haley earlier in the afternoon when the Ambulance/Fire truck took her away to the hospital. She was a quiet little soldier then as well. No apparent fear or worry. Of course, she had Sully [Monsters Inc.] and a great little stuffed dog the firemen gave her to give her solace!)

We're all definitely hoping and praying that next week will be noisily normal!

Thanks again for all your prayers for the princesses!

The perfect pick-me-up video

Well, after going through such a rough couple of days with sick babies, coming across this hilarious YouTube video on JJ Peterson's blog has been the perfect medicine for this old guy!

A HUGE shout-out to whoever produced this thing.. the narrator's voice couldn't be better. And the lady. . . ("graspy" voice and all)!!!  I assume she's the real "victim" in this story, but a professional comedian couldn't have done it funnier if she'd had a script!

Just the audio of this is a treat! Click here and enjoy Wiener Poopie!  (Yes, you read it right.)

Hang In There, Parents of Young Children

Who are these people? you ask. The cast of a new soap or primetime show? They really do look like they could be. Actually, they're the four sons, 1 daughter, and 2 daughters-in-law of Lyn's sister and her husband (Judi and John Troyer.) We always referred to the family as "the J's." John, Judi, Josh, Jonathan, Joanna, Jeremy, and Jeff. (Josh and Jonathan's wives broke the J-cycle.)

Lyn and I remember the Junior J's from infancy, of course. (Josh, the oldest, is a about a year younger than Kristi.) When we lived back east, we were able to interact with the family pretty regularly--especially when we lived in Louisville and they were all in Cincinnati. Since our 1989 move to California, that's not been the case.

Because of the 18+ years of separation, seeing this picture of the 2nd-generation J's and their spouses kinda caught me by surprise. I KNEW they were grown and all, but this picture just seemed to drive the reality of it into my brain. How did they get from "then" to "now?" What catalog of "stuff" has occurred in all of their lives through the intervening years?

I humbly offer my attempt to answer the first of those two questions as a word of encouragement to you who are in the early stages of raising children: Hang in there. It's so worth it.

I know several of you who read this blog. I know that there are probably days that you find it hard to imagine your kids ever making it through all the stages of life to be able to pose for a picture like the J's. I also know what amazing parents you all are. I've seen you in action. You will make it through the course!

One of the perqs of getting to "a certain age" (for a Christian) is the joy of being able to look back on life with gratitude and not regret. Will you make mistakes between now and then? Absolutely. Will you say things--terrible things--to your children when the pressure cooker heats up? Duh! (Haven't you already done that a few times? Many times?) Will you make choices and decisions that will deliver far more hurt than help to your son or daughter? If you don't, then I'll be the first to throw your name in the hopper for Sainthood nominations. After all, we "old guys" and "old gals" made all of those mistakes (and more) with you. Hopefully, you've forgotten or forgiven all of them--or at least learned from them. (But . . . that doesn't exempt you from bringing home the newest and best from "Mistakes-R-Us"-- you know, that awful place that seems to have an outlet in every house, condo, apartment, and tent on the planet. )

So how do we survive all the mistakes with our children? Even the really ugly, hairy, smelly ones? That's where grace comes in. The grace God lavishes upon us. The grace we gave/give our parents and children. The grace our children gave/give to us. The grace that teaches us to forgive and to ask for forgiveness.

As time passes, Grace (the twin sister of Love) will continue to work her mysteries in you.

Thus, when your adult children "pose" for a family picture 10, 15, or 20 years from now, the smiles will be genuine expressions of joy and not temporary facades plastered on their faces for the sake of a phony-photo.

Again, hang in there. Make Grace and Love your best friends. Invite them to dinner often. After all, they carry a lot more clout than Mistakes and Failures (the ugliest of step-sisters).

I mentioned Josh above. Josh and Sonia have already matched John and Judi head-for-head, and they're considering more! Talk about Grace and Love!!

Below is a picture of John and Judi with Josh and Sonia's FIVE children.

• (In the J's picture above, Josh is in the yellow shirt; Sonia is the young woman on the right. Hard to believe she's had five children!
  
• Joanna is in the middle, and Lara [Jonathan's wife] is on the left. Jonathan is behind her. They're pregnant with their first baby!
  
• The two outside guys are Jeff [left] and Jeremy [right])
• I wish I could name the boys for you in the picture below...they have great names, but I can't match name to face without my geneology in front of me! :)
  

John & Judi Troyer, and all FIVE of Josh and Sonia's BOYS!