American Red Cross and CPR

This morning we took a field trip to the American Red Cross.We started out with a tour of the blood center. Our guide led us through the process of blood donation and what all happens to the blood once it is donated. We saw the machines that separate the three components of the blood from each other, and we learned which kind of patients use each of those different components. This is the refrigerator where all the different types of blood are stored. Blood can be stored for up to 42 days.

Inside this machine, platelets (the yellow liquid) are gently "rocked" back and forth. They are stored at room temperature and have to be be in constant motion to prevent them from sticking together. Cancer patients receive these.

Plasma is frozen, and can be stored for up to one year. These frozen packages of plasma are being scanned and packaged in insulated boxes to be shipped to a hospital just north of here. Plasma helps burn victims.These donors are donating platelets. We are learning how the machines work in that process.Platelet donation machine in operation. The platelets are being separated out (the yellow bag) by way of centrifuging, while the red blood cells are put back into the donor.This is the platelet machine before everything is hooked up on it. Pretty amazing! In the blood donation room, one of the aides demonstrated on a volunteer each step of the process that they go through when drawing blood from a donor. She wasn't so sure about having the iodine rubbed on her though =).The second part of our tour was being educated about how to assist someone who is bleeding or choking. The students practiced wrapping up their partner's "wounds" to stop the bleeding.

After lunch we had a CPR demonstration. Leah also tried her hand at resuscitating the baby.
The part that inspired me the most was understanding the importance of preparing a "Family Disaster Supplies Kit" for our family in the event there is an emergency. We brainstormed and took notes on our drive home on what items we need to gather and include in our own disaster kit.

Does your family have a disaster kit in the event you experience an emergency?

~Wee

Games

Last week Megan had two away games; both being victories. This week she had two home games. Last night's game was against Imagine Schools, the same team we played last Wednesday. Here they begin the game with a prayer, all standing at center court.
Megan waits for the inbound pass. I have been so proud of her in the fact that she seems not to be intimidated by those taller than her. She just drives around them and takes advantage of the times she gets into the lane to shoot. Megan was excited that her friend, Kayla, was in attendance at last night's game. Daddy, too. He closed the office a few minutes early and arrived at half time.And tonight, our good friends and neighbors came to cheer her team on. Thanks, you all, for coming!
Tonight's game was against Harlan Christian, the only team that has beat them. Since their loss of several weeks back, Coach has been preparing them for the visitors tonight! They've learned new plays and even a different zone defense. Well, their defense was awesome! Megan "broke the ice" for them (in Coach's words) by opening up her team's scoring, shooting from outside the lane!

Before the end of regulation, our team tied up the score, taking the game into overtime. It was a thriller to watch! We ended up losing by 4 points, but the girls have so much to be proud of. Probably due to their solid loss to this team earlier in the season, the girls played with great determination tonight! Only one more game to go, and then it's the tournament. That will wrap up what has been an incredible season!
~Wee

Connected?

This morning Leah came to lay in bed with me before getting up to start our day.

At one point, she noticed that the clocks on my nightstand and Daddy's nightstand contained the exact same numbers. In celebration of her own findings, she pumped both fists in the air and quietly said, "Yes! They match."

Then, getting a very serious look on her face, she asked, "Mom, are they connected?" (pointing to the two clocks.) This is the point where I realized what she was processing inside her head. I answered with a "No, they're not connected."

"Then how are they the same?"

"Because that's how Daddy set them."

"Oh, good." ........ And that was it - end of her curiosity and end of conversation.......

However, my mind then started to think......Am I connected? Does my life reflect the "same"?

The reminder to me -- stay "connected" to the Lord, and just as those clocks reflected the same numbers (without being connected in any physical sense), it is my desire that my life would reflect the "same" character traits as that of my Savior. I am so thankful for the "Spiritual connection" we have by way of the Spirit, as well as His Word.

~Wee

Now It's Her Turn

Yesterday was the day that Grace started her first phase of braces. Because of her very narrow, high palate and severe crowding, she will have a different experience than Megan did.

Waiting patiently in the chair to get her expander and braces glued on.

She has an expander that is glued to her back teeth and forms a bridge across the roof of her mouth. We do a quarter of a turn every night. The expander will be opening up her palate over the next three weeks. At that point, it will be determined whether we need to continue with turns (to continue opening), or to sit and wait for the palate to close back up. The braces on the front six teeth of her upper jaw are also making space for her teeth to come in properly.

In addition to expanding her palate with the expander, she will be wearing this mask only at night. It is attached to the front of her face by rubber bands that are connected to her expander. Its purpose is to drag the upper jaw forward, which will correct the bite.

Receiving instructions on brushing with braces on.

She is "blessed" with more hardware in her mouth and is learning to talk, chew, and swallow with all that in. It makes me realize how much we take for granted. She has been a trooper and has only used wintergreen oil on her gums for the soreness.

~Wee

Snow Much Fun

Megan had two games scheduled for this week. Tuesday night we drove 40 minutes to a school only to find that their school's girls' team was away....at another basketball game. Nice, huh? Anyway, we turned around and drove back home. Due to all the snow we received today, tonight's game was also cancelled. So, the girls spent that time doing this instead......playing in the snow with our neighbors.

Leah attempts making a snow angel.

And our snow beauties pyramid.

~Wee

This Week's Games

Megan had two basketball games this week, one on Tuesday (at a local school) and one tonight (about an hour away).

They lost Tuesday night's game, but from the first half to the second half, they only allowed seven points for the opposing team. Their defense came on strong. Alex arrived during the 4th quarter, so he was able to see the last few minutes of the game.

Tonight, we were short two of our players, so Megan got to be one of the starters. And, she actually put the first points on the board! Her efforts tonight added six points to their winning score of 33-10.

After receiving the inbound pass, Megan glances over at Coach to receive the next play to set up.

Dribbling around her defender.

Coach talking with the players and their parents after the game. He informed us of what they are working on to improve, what they need to improve, and how far they have come in just several weeks of practice and three games.

After the game, we stopped at McD's for a healthy (not!) meal with some of the team. It was fun to get to know some of the girls better, and it warms my heart to see how they have accepted Megan onto their school's team. Tomorrow is their team's Christmas party, which Megan is looking forward to. She is supposed to take a tree ornament, and we found a cute basketball one. We'll see what she comes home with.

~Wee

A Blessing from our Creator

Praise God that His mercies are new EVERY morning! This sunrise graced us with its splendor this morning.

~Wee

Which Jello?

Trying to decide which flavors to make for their finger jello, Leah laid all the varieties out on the kitchen floor and I heard her say,

"Catch a tiger
Meenie Minee Mo,

Catch a tiger
Meenie Minee Mo,

My mother told me to catch a tiger." :-}

BTW, she picked strawberry and orange. YUM!

~Wee

Let There Be Light

"Let There Be Light" was the theme of this year's Christmas program at church. Megan and Grace each had an acting part (no speaking) this year; Megan was a shepherd and Grace an angel.

We listened as the prophets of old looked on from Heaven and witnessed how their prophecies about Jesus' birth were being fulfilled. We watched as shepherds and wise men were also shown the fulfillment of the prophecies -- the shepherds, because of their humble hearts and the wise men, because of their searching and believing hearts. We were challenged to come to Jesus with humble hearts of faith.

Here is Leah's song ~ Jeremiah 29:13/Away in a Manger medley

Out of the six songs the choir sang, here is the theme song of the day, Let There be Light.

For some reason, this video is so choppy. I've included the words of the song, so you can at least "read" the beauty of them!

Let There Be Light

Star of wonder, star of night,

star with royal beauty bright;

westward leading, still proceeding

guide us to thy perfect light.

From the beginning the Father

had a magnificent plan,

revealed through the Law and the prophets,

to fulfill the redemption of man.

He spoke after centuries of silence,

in the midst of a still, starry night.

And Emmanuel came down among us,

and the Father said, "Let there be light!"

People who walked in great darkness

gathered from near and far;

shepherds with flocks in their keeping,

three kings who followed a star.

Together, the poor and the richest

witnessed that Bethlehem night,

and the sky full of angels announcing

the birth of the glorious Light.

We who are His have this calling:

to praise Him, and make His name known,

so one day the presence of Jesus

shines in every heart and every home.

Let there be light, let it shine bright,

piercing the darkness with dazzling white.

Hope for the hopeless was born on that night,

when God sent His Son and said, "Let there be light!"

~Wee

P.S. Sorry about the choppiness of the videos. I don't know why they are doing that during uploading. Suggestions, anyone, on what I might be doing wrong?

Sawmill

Last Friday was our December field trip. It was sunny out, but freezing! Dressed in layers, we first toured a local cabinet company. They were not producing or running any machines that day, but the guide led us through the process of first laminating the wood and showing us each step in the process of the making of doors, drawers, and finally cabinets.

Here, the girls are in front of various wood pieces cut and ready for use where needed.
At the end of the tour, we were able to freely roam their showroom, which "shows" all that this company makes. It was fun to open and close the cupboards and doors, enjoying some very unique designs, and to dream a little :) Isn't this kitchen beautiful?!
From the cabinet company, we went to a sawmill operated by the Amish.

This machine removes the bark from the trees.When all the bark is removed, the log rolls down the ramp and is later run through the sawmill.Inside the sawmill, the machines were running. On this machine, the logs went round and round as they were split into strips (you can see a strip shooting off the cutter onto a flat belt). Back outside, we watched this big crane at work. First, it picks up a tree trunk,
positions it in the sawand cuts it, then moves the cut pieces over to a different pile.
The girls in front of this fascinating machine.
Any unusable pieces of wood (from pallets, trees, etc.,) runs through a chopper and shoots into this barn. The sawdust is later used for mulch.From the sawmill, just a few of us families went down the road to a place that makes pallets (also run by Amish). This part of the trip was so neat, and I'm glad we took the time to see it. This machine is nailing the pallets together just after, and I mean "just after," the worker finished placing the boards on it correctly. There were a few times when the worker barely got out of the way of the machine before it moved back to nail on the boards. After the pallets are nailed together and before they are stacked like you see in the picture, each one is stamped with the company's name. All these pallets are going to a dairy farm.After the tour, I found out that the Amish man was a first cousin to one of my former massage clients from Topeka. It was fun to make that connection! It's such a small world.

I hope I don't bore you with posts like this, but my main purpose of our blog is to not only share what we are doing/learning as a family, but it also doubles as an online journal for our family. By the time I get around to scrap booking this field trip, I will probably have forgotten all the details. So, thanks for hanging in there with us! :)

~Wee