12 Hour Window for Stitches!

We had been back from Disney World for less than 24 hours.

Ephraim decided to climb on top of our high-top dining room table to look at something...

He slipped and fell; and as he fell he sliced his lower lip open when his mouth hit the edge of the table.

Charles held him and checked first for broken teeth (this is my first assumption when I see a child with blood pouring out of his mouth, since my brother knocked his two front teeth out of his mouth FOUR times!) There was a lot of blood, but his teeth looked fine. I went over to the table to see if I could tell what had happened... I was still looking for teeth or teeth marks, really... when Charles said the words a mother never wants to hear...

"Oh, my God... Samantha, you need to come look at this."

Ephraim's lower lip was gaping completely open, as if it had been intentionally sliced and pulled apart. In addition, it looked like a chunk of meat was missing.

I took him immediately to the Pediatric Emergency Center... a bit wary because of previous experiences there... but breathed a sigh of relief to see my own doctor's name listed as the physician on duty. Praise God!

A few hours later, after inhaling the coughs of a dozen children sick enough to be contagious but who would NOT (I knew) receive any antibiotics in this day and age and had therefore waited (and coughed on Ephraim and me) needlessly; I asked Dr. Ellison if I did the right thing by bringing Ephraim in or if I should have waited until the next day to see if the wound really needed stitches.

He said you have to get stitches within 12 hours of an injury, or it will be too late because the wound will begin to heal. In Ephraim's case, this could have been very bad because his lip was split beyond his lip line. If a lip is not torn beyond the lip line, stitches are not necessary; but anything beyond that may not align properly when it heals.

Who knew?

There was really no danger that I wouldn't take Ephraim to the Emergency Center because of the way his lip looked; but the 12 hour time limit is a good thing to know.

Pictures from Peru

I will try to upload more pictures to Facebook when I have time!

Hoping for snow.... the tale of a truly southern boy

Matthew and Ephraim at Disney World During Christmas of 2006

Poor Ephraim!

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We are planning a trip to Disney World during the warm months. Ephraim rarely stops talking... it's just constant chatter all of the time... so I sometimes miss some of the precious things he says, I'm sure. However, I'm glad I didn't miss this one!

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He said recently, "Well, when we go to Disney World, we'll build a snow man!"

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A bit surprised, I asked, "What did you say?"

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"It snows in Disney World," he replied matter-of-factly. "When we go, we will play in the snow and build a snow man."

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It took me a moment to understand what he was talking about... and then it dawned on me. The only "snow" Ephraim has ever seen (with the exception of about 25 flurries a few weeks ago) is the fake snow Disney World produces at Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom during Christmas!

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He was not happy when I tried to explain that it probably would not snow in Orlando OR that the snow we saw during Christmas of 2006 was actually made out of soap. In fact, I could tell he thought I had lost my mind. He knew it would snow at Disney World any time of year.

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Maybe Blizzard Beach will make up for the lack of snow!

Nathan tasting "snow" at Disney World!

Our Pristine Swimming Pool

Charles is doing an excellent job of keeping our swimming pool clear and clean over the winter... just look how much these guys are enjoying it!

It's probably a good thing he didn't see the ducks taking a swim...

Mission to the Amazon Jungle in Peru

It was snowing in Columbus when they left. Charles has been craving an adventure in the snow... but that's not what he'll be getting on this trip!

They are scouting out an area of the jungle to see what type of long-term mission opportunities might be feasible for MBC on a long-term basis. This particular area was abandoned by a previous church, and I can understand how that could happen. Airfare to Peru is very expensive; and the accommodations once you arrive are... well... a tent in the jungle. The Amazon Jungle. They have to travel to their site in a boat down the Amazon River for about 4 hours. After the boat ride, I believe they are also backpacking a small distance. It's not the type of mission trip that will appeal to everyone!

Here are some of the things that might discourage the average person from a trip to the Amazon:

• "The Willy Fish" (I didn't make up the name; I'm just repeating what it's called!) Learn about this clever little guy with this clip originally aired on Animal Planet:

• Piranhas.

• The Anaconda (and other critters). Here, you can learn how to survive an Anaconda bite:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72QsTwxqDmg

Very interesting!

I'm not really worried about the guys in the Amazon. However, I did tell Charles to stay out of the Amazon River. I know piranhas are only attracted to the smell of blood... but why test the theory? I saw the movie Piranha in my formative years, and I can guarantee you I am not ever getting in the water with any piranhas! No Way!

Here is the trailer for the movie that forever shaped my opinion of bathing in the Amazon River:

Crazy in Love

This is dedicated to my very young friends...

When Charles and I met, we had that special "spark" right away. We met in June of 1995 on my first day at MBC, and hung out together over the summer in a big group of friends. We finally went to the movies alone in September, I think... and that was the beginning of dating. We were engaged at Christmas and married the following June in a simple church ceremony. Why the rush? It's simple... we couldn't WAIT to be married!

Now, I don't ordinarily recommend marrying so quickly. However, we were both seeking the Lord when we found each other... and we were 26 and 25 (so we had a little maturity on us); and we just knew it was right.

After becoming engaged, my goal was to plan a wedding as quickly as possible. Once we decided to get married, we couldn't wait to get started on our lives together! I was in graduate school, so the wedding had to be between quarters. June 15th gave us enough time for a honeymoon, so that was the date!

I looked forward to my wedding day; but my main wish throughout it all was to be Mrs. Charles Ellis. I wanted a church wedding, but I didn't want to go into debt for one day. A lot of frivolous items normally associated with weddings didn't really matter to me, so it was easy to cut corners.

There were only 2 things I kind of regretted at the time.

First, I borrowed my childhood friend's wedding dress... which I loved doing because I love her and was honored to wear her beautiful dress... but I felt a little twinge of regret at not having a wedding dress to pass down to my future daughters. Well, that is obviously no longer a regret because I have 3 sons. God knew I didn't need a wedding dress, and He probably prompted Deborah to offer hers!

The second thing I kind of wanted was dancing at my wedding. I chose a simple reception over dancing; and God worked that one out, too. We were surprised by how exhausted we felt after our short ceremony and reception; and were relieved we didn't still have several hours of dancing ahead of us!

I am fortunate to have a wonderful example of commitment in the legacy of both sets of my grandparents... each couple was married for 63 years. Isn't that amazing?

My mother's parents, George and Clara, married very young. After her death, we were going through their papers and I noticed her birthdate on her wedding certificate didn't match the date on her birth certificate. After looking at it a few minutes, we realized she had lied about her age to get married! We laughed and cried, imagining my Grandma at 15 wanting so badly to marry my Grandpa that they pretended she was 18! Despite their youth, 63 years.

My father's parents, Allen and Frances, also married young. They met while he was stationed at Ft. Benning, about to be deployed in World War II. They married after a whirlwind courtship, and then he went overseas and fought in Europe for over 3 years. He survived to return home to her. Again, 63 years.

What makes a wedding perfect? What makes a girl feel like a princess on her wedding day?

Perfect flowers, perfect dresses, perfect food, perfect decorations, and dancing... these are all good things. However, the girls I see screaming on TV if these things aren't just right... girls dubbed by the media as bridezillas... these girls are depending on things to make them feel like a princess... and my heart aches for what they are missing.

I have found the one whom my soul loves... Song of Solomon 3:4

I'm glad I was like my Grandma, Clara, who married the man she wanted to marry despite obstacles. I'm glad I wasn't 15 when I did it... but she lived in a different time, and that was right for her. Charles was right for me.

Marriage is hard, even for those who couldn't wait to be married. However, the advantage of marrying someone you couldn't wait to marry is this: "crazy in love" in a committed marriage turns into a comfortable love, but the "crazy" is never completely gone. It comes back every once in awhile, and it's wonderful at any age - from 15 to 89.

Wait on God. He has a plan for you, and you don't want to miss it by making your own plans!
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Crazy Hair

Wednesday was crazy hair day at AWANA. I have had 4 cans of colored hairspray (blue, red, purple, and orange) for 2 years now; and after carrying them across town in our recent move, I was looking to get rid of them. Nathan chose red, and I emptied the can on his head. Ephraim chose blue, and I used nearly all of it on his hair. Matthew said he would pass.

Two cans left: orange and purple. Hmmm... I am an AWANA leader, so I decided to show a little spirit and have crazy hair too. I tossed the orange can... frankly, I have no idea why I bought orange hairspray in the first place because NO ONE in my house would put orange on their heads. (Sorry, Auburn fans!) So, I sprayed purple hairspray all over my hair.

AWANA was fine... the kids got a kick out of my hair... I came home and finished typing a report Matthew had written for school and didn't get around to washing my hair until about 9:30. I washed my hair a couple of times and thought I had gotten it all because the water ran clear... got out of the shower and looked in the mirror...

My hair was a light shade of magenta. You know, like the dog on Blues Clues that had to get glasses back around 2001? Magenta.

I didn't panic. I had used my high-dollar shampoo that I use to keep my "low-lights" from fading. I groaned inwardly, thinking about my recently added low-lights. I knew I would lose all of my brown streaks if I used regular shampoo... but I had to get rid of the magenta. Reluctantly, I reached for the Pert and called for Charles to help me.

Charles is a good husband. He washed my hair first with the expensive stuff; a second time with Pert; and a third time with clarifying shampoo strong enough to clean your kitchen floor.

My hair was still magenta.

I decided maybe I should check the hairspray bottle for possible warnings. Aha! It said, "Warning: Do not use on bleached hair. May not wash out."

Bleached hair describes half of my head, because I have highlights. I dried my hair and surveyed the damage. It wasn't entirely bad... some girls do this kind of thing on purpose...

I no longer had blonde highlights. Instead, I had light brown hair with beautiful streaks of magenta. It looked like a professional job. Well, except for the magenta part.

By this time, it was 10:30. I was scheduled to work the next day as a substitute teacher!

Did I mention Charles is a good husband? He went to Wal-mart and scoured the hair-coloring isle and got me a nice box of brown to try and cover the magenta. He called me from his cell phone and called out names of different colors.

I asked him how "ash brown" looked on the box. This question was apparently too much. His answer was short and to the point. "Brown," he said.

I said, "All right, that sounds good, just get that one."

I got up early this morning and applied the brown coloring. It looks a lot better; now my hair is a pretty brown color with a purple hue towards the bottom.

Nathan watched my hair all the way to school. He seemed impressed by the way the purple highlights changed hues depending on the amount of sunlight entering my side of the car.

Matthew reassured me that it was nothing to be ashamed of. He said, "After all, no one ever reads the directions."