Three off the Tracks!

If a high speed train containing twelve connected cars manages to loose just one inch of one wheel on the seventh car, due to a rushed human error, the entire train would derail. However, as seen through children's toys, it takes a little time for the one car to affect the other eleven. There may be a few bumpy spots, but the rest of the locomotive will travel quite well for some time before the whole train stumbles off the track. Similarly, when we run through life on autopilot, we can skip over some significant steps that slowly but surely derail us. We are left in the wake of the aftermath wondering how such a crash occurred and/or could have been avoided. Most of us continue to learn like children. After significant pain, we learn not to touch the "light bulb" again. My third baby boy turned three this week, and touched his first heated light bulb before bedtime reading. Now every night, he reminds all of us: "don't touch the light!" One little burn, and his memory was seared. Likewise, I need little sparks on my railroad to keep me from slowly slipping into old habits of apathy, pride, selfishness, fear, and the like. Thus, my great Father has put us back on the hospital train to keep me purposeful. Without purposeful passion, we put our focus on misplaced dedication: the perfect home, perfect body, perfect vacation, perfect title, perfect accomplishments, perfect relationships. None of which are harmful at first, but give way to empty empathy or disappointing disillusions.
While not the news we wanted, our recent respite seems to have ended. Baby Luca returned to his blood pressure medicine to try and shrink his ever-growing subglottic hemangioma. If the meds don't work in the next few months, we will discuss laser surgery. Moreover, our birthday boy is back on the no-eating train. After a pediatric doctor appointment, his gurgling/cramping belly mixed with low weight-gain sets us up for our GI appointment Monday with the strong possibility of an overdue colonoscopy/endoscopy.
While this may sound disappointing, no one is dying. We are well despite the irritability, and I truly feel peace about our usefulness in hospitals and clinics right now. My little three year-old train man knows the Thomas and his Friends are "really useful," and we should be too! What better way to experience these "little years" than to feel useful in the place God has us. May we rejoice in our lot and see the beauty and purpose in it all.

Two years later... same place, same boy, different world.

Marta Train ride. Who could have picked an easier birthday wish? Love my Ro. You would have thought we were headed on his first roller coaster :)

A quick visit to a train museum was an added bonus.

My baby is growing up!

Roman was showing me his muscles, his "big boy muscles," as we tried big boy underwear. With all the GI issues, this underwear lasted approximately 10 minutes before it was tossed in the diaper trash.

Roman thinks we all need to do "righty" work to stay strong. His "twin" does this kind of homework so what else could you expect? (He'll have a great right hook.)