Saturday, October 27, 2012

Unto one of the least of these

Iryna struggles with sleeping through the night. Last night was an example of that. She got up and decided to jump off of her dresser, which resulted in a black eye:

Poor baby. :(


The kids had a Halloween Costume Parade at their school. It was really fun. Anna invited us to bring Choffy to the party following and it was a big hit with her teacher and all her classmates.

Anna and her teacher, Mrs C.

Iryna and her teacher, Mrs W.

Keith

Calvin

This was in Mrs C's classroom and I thought it was so cute and probably very true.

Tonight was an Activity Days Daddy/daughter dance at church. Tyler said that Anna was embarrassed and didn't do much dancing whereas Iryna really boogied down. They are such opposites, my girls. 


As Tyler and the girls were leaving for the church, Tyler informed me that Keith - who was sitting on the potty - had thrown up all over himself. Lovely. So I bathed him, put him in jammies, brushed teeth, snuggled him, sang to him, and put him to bed. Then I got Silas into jammies, teeth brushed, sang to him and did the same with Calvin. Halfway through Calvin's songs, I heard Keith crying. He had thrown up in his bed. So I stripped his sheets, and bathed him again. Poor little guy. I don't know if he's sick or dinner didn't agree with him, but I will be keeping him home from church tomorrow (the Primary Program! Waaaah!) just to be sure. While I was bathing him, and I will admit it - I was tired from the day and what should have been a time where I could relax, I was cleaning up vomit not once, but twice - I had the scripture come to my mind, this is in the New Testament, in Matthew chapter 25:


 35 For I was an ahungered, and ye bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a cstranger, and ye took me in:
 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye avisited me: I was in bprison, and ye came unto me.
 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
 39 Or when saw we thee asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have adone it unto one of the bleast of these my cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

I had the thought that I had an opportunity to serve Keith and that I should be serving him as I would my Savior, Jesus Christ. Wow. That changed my whole perspective. I suddenly was ashamed that I found it bothersome to bathe Keith, twice, and to prepare him for bed, twice, when it was an opportunity to serve him just as I would serve Jesus Christ. I hope to remember this lesson often, which is one reason I am posting it here. What a blessing to be taught by the Holy Ghost.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing! I love your perspective, Jill!
Tisha

Anonymous said...

I take melatonin when I'm struggling with sleep. It really helps me. You can find it in many health and grocery stores, even Whole Foods or Trader Joes, if you have them. They come in a range of doses, maybe as little as .5 mg, but definitely 1mg and 5mg. I've taken both the 1 and 5, and I don't notice much difference b/w them, so I buy the 1mg. It's in different forms, a sublingual tablet, I believe a chewable tablet, and I think a liquid. You might also look into doTerra or Young Living -- essential oils -- for lavender. It helps relax the mind and encourages sleep. Neither one should negatively impact any medications Iryna may be on. Look into them. Try them if you are so inclined. They might help.

KC

Anonymous said...

Hi Jill-
I try and think those thoughts too.

By the way about moving to Co and heart problems-
You could check with this place and see what they say.

It seems strange that if children with heart problems should not go to CO there would be a hospital dedicated to children with heart problems-

http://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions/heart/index.aspx

Heart Institute at Children's Hospital Colorado

Rebecca said...

I have a child who does not sleep well. My sister-in-law suggested a weighted blanket. She made one for one of her kids and said it made a huge difference. One of these days I really will try to make one and see if it helps. She made it by sewing the blanket together in long strips... um, sewed the edges together on 3 sides, then sewed lengthwise down in strips 12 inches apart. She used the bead stuff that's in beanie babies and poured it down the strips, and sewed across.So she had 12x12 squares filled with beady-stuff. It was a HEAVY blanket,but the weight was well distributed and my niece sleeps a lot better with it.