Right and Wrong

As some of you reading this may know, our firstborn son, Glenn III, was diagnosed at the age of 6 months with a terminal genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 1, also known as Werdnig-Hoffmann disease. Children with Werdnig-Hoffmann typically do not make it to the age of 2. This disease affects voluntary muscle movement, and because it is a progressive disease with no cure, the muscles continue to get weaker and weaker. Children with this disease cannot lift up there head, roll over, sit up, or walk, and as the disease progresses, they lose the ability to swallow and the respiratory muscles get weaker, eventually leading to respiratory arrest. Our precious Glennie passed away when he was 20 months old, and our time with him on this earth was exceptionally short. As I said above, children with SMA type 1 typically do not make it to the age of 2, but there are exceptions. There are children who have beaten the odds and are now 4 or 10 or even 22 years old.

My sister-in-law, Sarah, has stage III brain cancer. She is a beautfiul and all-around amazing woman, wife, and mother of 3.

It makes me livid and sick that under Obama"care," people like Glennie and Sarah as well as anyone with a disease classified as "terminal" will not get the care they need. They will have no hope, as they are "doomed" anyway. I am so extremely thankful beyond words that we did not have this plan while Glennie was alive and that we were able to get him the medical care that he so badly needed. I am exceptionally thankful for the already-too-short time we had with him, and that that time was not cut shorter than it was. I am thankful that we did not have to sit and watch him starve to death because we would have been unable to get him into surgery for a gastric tube when he became unable to eat by mouth. According to this "kill bill," he would have been expendable just like anyone else with a termianl disease, and just like our elderly with health issues that have gone beyond a certain point. And how about the funding for abortions? We can pay to kill our unborn, and to save money on healthcare we can kill those who are supposedly beyond hope.

I honestly can say that I have never been so angry at something in all my life. This bill is as un-American as it gets. I will admit that I do not understand much about politics, even though I have been married to a staunch conservative for the past 8 years who amazes me everyday with how much he knows. But in my politically-limited mind, I know that this kill bill is a bunch of bunk, to put it lightly, and is completely and utterly wrong. It is moral-less and thoughtless. To quote Glenn Beck, this health care plan is not about health or caring. This shouldn't be about right or left, Democrat or Conservative. To me, no matter who you are it is simply about right and wrong, and we need to do whatever we can to make sure this bill does not pass. Babies will die, and our loved ones who need good medical care will not get it.

And one last thing: I wonder what would happen if President Obama ever was diagnosed with one of the many "hopeless" diseases. Would he be able to get treatment? I think so, as he is apparently not as expendable as the rest of us are. You better not get sick, people, or you become a liability to society and will lose your right to life.

Knock, knock

Our two year old has starting telling knock knock jokes. He learned them from Jeff, and it is the funniest thing to watch Jack tell his "jokes." This is how it goes:

Jack: Gock, gock (pushing his fist out in front of him as if he is banging on a door).
Me: Who's there?
Jack: Appow (apple).
Me: Apple who?
(a pause)
Jack: Gock, gock.
Me: Who's there?
Jack: Appow.
Me: Apple who?
(another pause)
Jack: Gock, gock.
Me: Who's there?
Jack: 'Ana (banana).
Me: Banana who?

And so on and so forth.. He learned the joke from Jeff, but actually it is Jack's version of the old "orange and banana" knock knock joke. The other day, I asked Jack if he wanted orange juice with his breakfast, and he paused for a moment and then said, "Gock, gock!" ready to launch into the joke at the sound of the word "orange." The boy never fails to amuse us.

Pee pee in the potty!!

I would just like to write a quick note to mark this momentous occasion. Jack went pee in the potty! We got him some Elmo big-boy underwear and put them on him after we got back from the beach today and, I might add, after he had already peed on the rug upstairs. About 20 minutes later, I asked him if he had to go pee, and he said yes. Glenn put him on the potty, and the rest is history. Yay, Jack! I will be so ecstatic to not have to buy diapers anymore, at least, and then to not have to constantly clean up his messies.

July 4th

Hey everyone, I know I don't post here very often, but I had some things to say, and I don't have my own blog.

Today is Friday, July 3rd, the day before what should be the most celebrated holiday on the calander for every American. However, I have really heard very little about it this year. I have become concerned in the past couple years about my country. Not about the economy, not about the jobless numbers, not even about N. Korea or Iran. I am concerned about the lack of patriotism in America today.

I remember growing up, July 4th, it was a lesson in patriotism from my father, and the fireworks. I never had a doubt that my father was proud of his country, even after coming home from Vietnam to the rediculous "welcome" our wonderful American people gave him (being spit on, called a baby killer, etc...) my father never lost his pride in his country. From a very early age, both my parents instilled in me a great sence of pride in America. Now, I see kids (early 20's) who think that the Canadian health care system is better then the greatest healthcare system in the world. I see people who think France and Germany's social programs are "the way it should be". When did this happen? The only thing I can think is that as parents, we are not doing enough to instill the values of patriotism into our children.

Tomorrow, I will be taking my children to the fireworks. But I will ensure they know why we are celebrating. Great men fought and shed blood for this great country. The least we can do is pass it on to our children.

Glenn Sinclair

NO MORE!!!

For at least 6 months now, our now 2-year-old, Jack, has been taking off his diapers quite often. At first, it seemed like he was just doing it because he could, but I have reached the point where I simply will go crazy if I have to clean up any more poop or pee. I tried putting them on backwards, using Pull-Ups, putting onesies or one-piece pajamas on him (which was really the only thing that worked, but it is currently way too hot to put those PJs on him). This morning, he had taken off his poopy diaper when he woke up and then sat on his brother's bed. After I put him to bed this evening, he took it upon himself to take his diaper off before he went to sleep, and when I went to check on him, his sheet was soaked. NO MORE, I say. NO MORE. I think we are going to try with him what we did with older brother Jeff. When we potty-trained Jeff, we just threw some underwear on him and took away the diapers. After a few accidents, he got the hang of it after just a few days. It sure beat putting him in Pull-Ups for several months beforehand, which didn't do a thing. I figure it can't hurt to start the potty training process, since I am always cleaning up after him anyhow. He might as well be learning something as long as I have to clean up his "messes."

Losing a child

Last week, my husband came home from work and told me something devastating. A Marine he worked with in San Diego (and whom I had met at the squadron Christmas party along with her two little girls) was set to be stationed here in Pensacola. The Marine, Delia, was on leave visiting family in the Midwest and was going to be headed down here when she was in a tragic car accident. She was in the car with her two young daughters, ages 2 and 4. Delia was critically hurt, and her sweet 4 year old daughter was killed. The 2-year-old was, thankfully, okay. I was jolted and heartbroken to hear this news. All I could do was pray and pray for Delia and her family. I also couldn't help thinking that for the most part I knew what they were feeling, and I also wished that there was some way I could take the suffering of losing a child away from them, though I knew I couldn't. In a way, I sit here and think to myself "I just can't imagine," but I can. I guess I can't imagine such an unexpected and violent loss. With Glennie, we knew his passing would be coming. That doesn't make it any easier to deal with, but I guess it's the shock value that gets to me. Our shock came more when Glennie was diagnosed, and it had time to dissipate a little before he passed. Still, losing a child is losing a child, whether you see it coming or it comes suddenly and shockingly. Either way it happens, God has a plan for it and plans to use it for good, whether we realize it or not. I am thankful to know this, and I pray that others who lose people they love will know this, too. Whenever I hear of tragedies like this, whether it be somebody you worked with or Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett, I pray fervently that the families of the deceased will turn to God in their sorrow and not away.

It Has Been A While

It has been quite a while since my last blog, almost a month. We have been quite busy in that time. We left San Diego to move to Florida on June 9th. We drove down here in separate cars; me with little Jack in my van, and Glenn with Jeff. The trip went pretty smoothly, and I only got lost once. That was in downtown Baton Rouge. It was nighttime, and I had just gotten stopped by the police for tailgating Glenn. I was following so closely so that I didn't lose him. The cop let me off easy with a warning, and from then on I was terrified of getting stopped again, so I kept my distance. That was where we got separated. Glenn called me to tell me to get over to the right to stay on I-10, but by then it was too late. Off I went into downtown in the dark of the late night. After a few failed attempts at getting back on the freeway, I parked in a school parking lot and told Glenn to turn around and come get me. Fun times.

We are still settling into our little rental condo and will be moving soon anyway. We had planned to buy a house, but since that didn't pan out we are now either moving into base housing or renting another place. We are looking forward to a few changes in the next few months, one of those being the move. I am also looking for another job and hopefully will be working from home again soon. We are also set to send Jeff to preschool in August! I am very excited and also nervous. I know I will be more sad than he will on that first day of school. I am excited because I know he will LOVE school. He adores going to Sunday School at church and interacting with other kids and being in the school environment. Ah, our first experience with sending a child to school.

I just had to post to let anyone who reads this know that I am back to blogging!