FYI TO MY READERS:  This is the recounting of a recent day, spent in my backyard…with Finn and Lucy Jane.  It will be made into a book for her.  I know it’s a mite on the longish side, but I just had to get it all in.  Enjoy!

Once upon a time there was a funny little dog named Finn.  He lived with a Mom and a Dad and his very own boy, Alex.  The family had lots of friends who came to visit.  But, Finn was happiest when Patty and Little Lucy Jane would come over to play.

One day, in early spring, Finn heard the doorbell ring.  And, soon, he heard a voice he loved…it was Little Lucy Jane!  He started shaking all over with excitement.  He always had such fun when she came to play.  He could remember making turkeys out of pumpkins together, and blowing bubbles together.  Well, she blew the bubbles, he just tried to catch them.  He remembered going to catch the sticks she threw, and chewing on the baseballs she tossed in the yard.  She was a little girl…not a big girl like Mom.  So he had to be careful not to jump on her cause it would make her fall.  He just wanted to give her kisses, but he had to be very careful and just kiss her when she was sitting down.  Oh, he could hardly wait!

He wished Alex would open his door and let him out.  She needed to be greeted properly.   But, he couldn’t reach the door handle…and he couldn’t turn it if he did reach it!   She would be so glad to see him.  Sometimes, she would call him ‘Wild Man’ instead of Finn.  That was OK with him because he knew she loved him.

Finally, Alex opened the door.  He hurried as fast as his short little legs would go.  “Where was she?”  “Where was she?” , he thought.   And, then he saw her.  Well, he was so excited he ran to her and jumped with all his might to give her lots and lots of kisses!  “OW, Finn!”, she said, “that hurt.”  She was rubbing her arm where one of his toenails had scratched her.  OH, he felt so bad.  He felt so sad.  He forgot that she wasn’t big like Mom.  Awww, he was so sorry.  So, he just stood next to her as still as he could be.  Then she bent down to hug him.  And, THEN, he could give her kisses.  He did, and she laughed and laughed and laughed.  He liked to hear her laugh.  It really made him happy. 

Mom suggested that they go outside for a walk around the big, back yard.  That was a great idea!  There were so many things in the yard to see and chase and smell.  Oh, it was a very fine back yard!  They walked a while, and then they ran a while.  They rang the windchimes, and checked the water in the pool.  They sat in the swing and went back and forth, back and forth.  UGH!  He had to get down.  Lucy threw the ball and he chased it.  And she threw it again and he ran and ran and ran.   Right about then, Finn caught a whiff of something wonderful.  What was it?  Little Lucy Jane and Mom didn’t know…they didn’t even smell it!  But, he did.  And, it was wonderful!  And, he was going to find it…and smell it and smell it and smell it!  And, he would share it with Lucy Jane and Mom.

“There it is!  I think it’s down here!”

“Yeah!  Right down there!”

“Lucy Jane, can you smell it?  Can you?”

 “Whew!  This is hard work!  But, I’m getting close.”

“AHHHHHH!  there it is!  It makes me swoon!”

“Lay in it? Are you sure?  Well, OK, then!”

“It’s great!  Don’t you think it’s great?  I think it’s great!  Really, great! Just really great!”

“Here  stick your head in…right here!”

“Now, just roll around in it like this!”

“Told you!  Wasn’t that the best thing ever?”  I’m one happy dog!”

“What?   Dirty? Who’s dirty? Filthy?  What does that mean?   Why are you looking at me like that, Mom?”

“See?  I can wash off right here in the pool…just like Lucy Jane.  Relax, Mom…we’ll be fine.”

“Uh Oh!  Mom’s got that look in her eyes.  Think I’ll hide over here.  Oh no!  She went to get Patty!   Run, Lucy Jane!”

“Aw, man.  This is a bad,bad idea, Mom.  Why do you want to go and ruin my good day?  Hey!  Four hands is way too many!  It doesn’t take four hands to wash me! ”

“Hmmm…I’m kinda liking this smell, too!  Hey, Patty, how about a kiss?”

“Look at me, would you?  I’m clean…I smell like a coconut…and when they let me get down, I’ll shake the rest of this water off.  Why do people think you can dry a dog off with a towel?   We can do it lots better ourselves!”

“Let me down, now….please…I’ve been good!”

And, when the Big Dig and the Shower in the Sun were all finished, Finn was ready to go home with Alex and take a nap!  Which he did.  Oh, he had the best dreams of the most wonderful hole and the most wonderful smells, and the most wonderful friends.  But, NOT the most wonderful bath!

And Mom, and Patty and Lucy Jane, and Alex  talked about the day’s adventure and laughed again.  And, they all looked forward to being all together once again.

                                                                                              THE END

FYI…I do not usually wear headbands with yellow bows on them…unless Lucy Jane brings it to me and asks me to.

If you are not a regular reader, you may be thinking there’s some foul play afoot, due to this title.   But, no, just one more post before I get back to what I was blogging about before a certain little butterbean made his appearance…4 weeks too early, I might add.  Not that I am complaining, mind you…just explaining. 

I have been to the hospital today, where the other Owens’ family is camping out.  They got some good news last night.  There had been some concern as to infection in the blood, but the tests FINALLY came back negative.  That’s a very good thing…cause that would have been an additional problem.  Also, this fellow likes to eat!  The Dr. says that children with the RSV virus usually refuse to eat….but not our boy…his appetite has actually increased!    He lost some weight after he came home, but today he is weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds 13 ounces!Isn’t that just wonderful?  Isn’t God good!  He must be speaking into that sweet bitty ear saying, “Come on, Levi, you can do it!  Try another 1/2 ounce!”  He’s still sleeping alot. but no more antibiotics, or IV fluids.  Today they are trying him with no oxygen.  He seemed to be fine while I was there, but we’ll know more when the Dr. visits.

As I entered the hospital room this morning,  this is what I saw…

So, I went in for a close up…or two..

…and just to prove he does open his mouth for more than just a bottle…

He stirred and woke and we changed a diaper or two…and then he decided to take another bottle.  Which he did.  Then, snuggling up close to Mom,   his little eyes got very sleepy again.   I snapped this on my way out…and tiptoed to the door.   (Mom was snoozing by now, too).

And, the sad, sad ending of this tale……I did not get my hands on him…not even once!  Oh, well…there’s always tomorrow!

ADDENDUM:  I just heard from Suzanne, and Levi is not getting the oxygen he needs.  They tried him without it some today, but the Dr. said the levels were too low for him to even consider letting him go home.  His levels have got to get higher and stay higher for a while.  So, looks like it will probably be on into another week.  But, that is nooooooo problem.  He is right where he needs to be.  Whatever we need to do, we will.  How fortunate they are that they have family and friends here to help if need be.

So, we covet your continued prayers as Little Levi continues to rest and grow and get his lungs all strong and healthy.  Cause, he’s gonna need good lung power when I teach him to sing all the songs I know!   😮

Well, I told you the grandson may break in on our Hawaiian Tour.  And, he is.  Bless his sweet little heart…and lungs…he is in the hospital with the RSV virus.  On Monday night, Adam noticed the baby was becoming quite grey in color.  But, he perked up, and they all went to bed.  In a couple of hours, they both got up to change him and give him another bottle (he’s still not able to take but an ounce or 2 at a time).  They noticed his coloring and this time Adam had to work at getting him to breathe again.  They called the Dr. and were told to go right to the ER.  They admitted him, and we found out that he has the RSV Virus.  He stopped breathing another 2 times before they got his meds and oxygen going.

Now, I was not really aware of what the RSV virus is, but most younger mothers know about it.  So, Let me educate you, a little.  Especially since many of you have grandchildren or children or children to come!  Following is some info from the CDC Atlanta, GA.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Overview

Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Most otherwise healthy people recover from RSV infection in 1 to 2 weeks. However, infection can be severe in some people, such as certain infants, young children, and older adults. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States. In addition, RSV is more often being recognized as an important cause of respiratory illness in older adults.

Symptoms and Care

Illness usually begins 4 to 6 days after exposure (range: 2 to 8 days) with a runny nose and decrease in appetite. Coughing, sneezing, and fever typically develop 1 to 3 days later. Wheezing may also occur. In very young infants, irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties may be the only symptoms of infection. Most otherwise healthy infants infected with RSV do not require hospitalization. In most cases, including among those who need to be hospitalized, full recovery from illness occurs in about 1 to 2 weeks.

The doctor told Suzanne that they were so fortunate that they saw him when this happened, or the outcome could have been, sadly, very different.  He told her…”It was a God thing.”  And, we so agree.  They re usually not even up at that time,and for some reason, they both got up.  God wanted them to find Little Levi, and get him help…or they would have slept right through. 

I wonder just how many times God does that for us?  Probably many times during a week.  Oh how good He is to us! How could anyone not trust Him with their heart and souls?  When we belong to Him, He is watching and caring for us ALL the time.  Don’t know about you, but that makes me feel so safe.  Thank you, God.

THURSDAY

Well, this did not get posted yesterday, as I planned.  Little Levi is continuing to do well.  The doctor is surprised that he is doing so well taking his bottle.  Many times when an infant gets this virus, they lose their appetite.  Which is not good since they are usually small anyway.  Well, this has not been a problem for our bpy.  He is eating well! 

I’ll update when we know more.  But, for now, he’s hanging in and doing what he is supposed to!

WELL.  What with all the exciting’ baby coming early’ news and all…which I am not complaining about, you understand……. my posts about our trip got put aside.  And, rightly so.  I mean A NEW GRANDSON certainly trumps a TRIP TO HAWAII !  There are still some things about the trip to talk about, so I’ll pick it back up.  HOWEVER, Sweet Levi may break in at any time! 

Let’s go to Honolulu!  Honolulu and Waikiki are on the island of Oahu.  This is the most populated and most commercial of the islands. 

We went there mainly to see how it had changed since Joy and I were there in the early 70’s.  We also wanted to go back to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We remembered it being so good back then.  And, Patty really wanted to go to Pearl Harbor.  We knew we had an ocean front room in Maui, so we took a city view room in Honolulu.  The hotel was right on Waikiki.  It is the oldest hotel on the beach, built in 1901.    Much renovation, though.  However they are now deemed a historic site and can make no more changes.  It is a beautiful place, for sure.

Someone has to have the yucky view rooms in hotels in Paradise…and we knew ours was going to be poor.  So, it was OK…we didn’t spend much time there anyway.  But, just a peak at how faaaaaaaar away from the beach it was…here are Joy and I practicing our synchronized waving on our balcony…

…then we made this photo of Patty…..way down there…

And, when we got a chance, this is the site we saw….Waikiki Beach.

Joy and Patty planned their next day to be a trip to Pearl Harbor.   To make it a real adventure, they took off early, caught the city bus, and found the Harbor.  They were able to spend as much time as they wanted there, and then they made there way home, again on the bus.  Here are some of their pictures from the day:

The Arizona Memorial…

This is the top of something that is on the Arizona.  I don’t mean to sound flip, but I really have no idea what it is.  I do know, however, that oil is still leaking out of it, even today.  You can see the oil on top of the water.

This is a plaque on the Memorial…sorry it is hard to read…

I love the composition of this picture.  Through the top of the Memorial, which floats on top of the Arizona, Old Glory still waves against the Creator’s blue sky. 

And, back in the park, a picture of Joy and Patty, with the Arizona in the background.

As for me, I did a little exploring of my own.  There were so many little, and BIG, shops around and in the hotel.  I did a little shopping, then went back to the room and rested, and read some, and watched a movie.  I needed an easy, restful day after the long trip the day before!  Then we ate at The Cheesecake Factory, of all places!  Joy and Patty were so tired, and it was in walking distance.  But, a strange thing happened there, that has never happened to us before.  We ate our meal…and NOBODY WANTED CHEESECAKE !!!!  I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.  We didn’t even take any with us.  I don’t know…maybe it was the sun…or something.  I’m hoping it doesn’t carry over to the next time I visit one of their Factories.

STAY TUNED….MORE EXCITING ADVENTURES  OF *THE THREE WAHINES * TO COME…

SUNDAY…..4/3/11

Adam and Suzanne took Levi  home on Friday.  All was well, and their first night went smoothly.  On Saturday, Ian came home from Birmingham and went straight to Levi’s house to play!    But, Levi was just too sleepy and didn’t do much playing.  He looks so tiny in Ian’s big hands!

 Adam had a wedding to shoot on Saturday, but they all visited again when he got home.   So Ian got another chance to visit with Butterbean.  He’s just about the size of one, don’t ya think?

 And, the second night was going as smoothly as the first.  Until Suzanne began feeding him in the middle of the night.  He began to have much trouble breathing and seemed to be choking and causing his parents much distress.  They called the doctor and the nurse told them to take him to the nearest ER.  They did, and we got a call.  We went, and he seemed to have gotten better by the time we got there.  Blood work came back fine.  The ER doctor said it was probably just because he is still 4 weeks early and his lungs aren’t completely ready for our world just yet.  But, they will be.  So, back home and into bed around 4:00.  So, so thankful.  God is good!

THURSDAY…4/7/11

No, I haven’t skipped the country with my new grandson.  And, no, I haven’t flown back to Maui and bought a little cottage on the beach.  Would I like to do both?   Well, what do you think?  Anyway, this has been a very hard couple of weeks.  First, I have been in lots of pain this week.  I am having to rest and stay off my feet quite a bit.  I really haven’t even felt like reading or writing.  So, that’s the reason I haven’t been commenting…I haven’t been reading.  But, I’m not gone…just   trying to keep it between the lines!

Don is in Birmingham to be with Ian who had his tonsils out yesterday.  He did well until last night.  Started bleeding, but was able to get it stopped!  Thank you, God!  Don will stay with him a few days before heading home.  Things are a little different inside his mouth due to his early difficulties…so we are praying he will heal quickly and without incidence.

Levi went in for his one week check up this week.  Adam and Suze decided to use the pediatrician that Adam had used and the one who had found his cancer 32 years ago.  He said that Levi was a healthy strong little boy…great news for us all.  And, the doctors was so glad to see Adam again…one of his early success stories!

I am working with a friend to plan and decorate for a very special wedding coming up this month…with another friend coming to help out also.   It will be an honor to decorate and so sweet to be in attendance.  More about this in a few weeks. 

Wanted to share this pic with you.  I didn’t have it when I did the post on the tsunami.  We bought these shirts later in the day that it actually hit!  Someone got busy, didn’t they?    (Patty has one too)  And, by the time we left there, we saw 6 or 7 different styles!

I still have several posts to do on our trip to Maui….I’ll try to get them posted before Thanksgiving!  🙂

And, please forgive me for not keeping up with you, my friends who blog.  I will get around to it!  Promise!