Category: Jonathan
Posted by Tricia at 9:43 pm
Tonight after I’d tucked Jonathan and Nicolas into bed (they share a room) I went back in to quickly drop off a toy or something and came upon a most interesting scene.
The room was dark as it should be, but Jonathan was sitting up in bed talking; actually as I was soon to learn, he was telling a story, which his little brother (also sitting up in his bed) was listening to with rapt attention. Arranged in front of Jonathan were various Webkins and stuffed animals who normally occupy his bed and he was moving one of the stuffed things while having it say, “I am a Hebrew. And I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.”
This made me stop my hasty exit from the room long enough to ask what in the world he was talking about. Surely this was no ordinary “stuffed animal bedtime story”.
“Oh, he’s telling me the story of Jonah, Mom.” Nicolas offered. Telling the story indeed; it sounded to me like my son was narrating the account verbatim from the text which I knew he had read to himself just the day before while we sat in church during the sermon. Very intrigued by this point I grabbed the nearest Bible I could find and stealthily planted myself just outside the room to listen. Jonathan was only in the first chapter of the Book of Jonah, so I figured this could take a while, and I certainly didn’t want to miss it.
For the next several minutes I skimmed over the story while listening to my little boy go over each part of all four chapters in amazingly accurate detail. Ok, so he left out most of Jonah’s prayer from inside the belly of the fish, as well as the three verse decree to the people of Ninevah in the third chapter, but he did all of the first and fourth chapters in a verse by verse paraphrase, using much of the original Biblical language. Near the end of the book he did get mixed up, and knowing I was listening nearby called out, “Hey Mom - what is it again God said to Jonah there?”
I read verse 8 of the fourth chapter and he answered, “No, that’s not quite right. Are you reading from the New King James Version? You should be on page 624 in that Bible.”
At which point I almost dropped my teeth out of my mouth. He even knew the page number that verse was on. Oh how very,very freaky. But I calmly opened his red NKJV Bible and turned obediently to page 624 and read verse 8 again. This time with the proper wording apparently, because he thanked me and happily went on and finished his bedtime story for Nicolas.
Which begs the question: how many little boys have a seven year old brother who at bedtime will narrate an entire book of the Bible to them like that after reading it the day before in church? I am overwhelmingly astounded at this. I don’t even have a proper, tidy ending for this blog entry because I am just too astounded. All I can say is “Wow!”
Posted by Jay at 7:11 pm
Jonathan, almost crying: “Dad, I don’t want to play chess anymore. Nicolas won’t play easier.”
That’s Jonathan, the 7 year old intellectual prodigy, referring to Nicolas, the 5 year old boy who until recently tried hard to give the impression he had cotton fluff between his ears.
Editor’s note: see comments for title credits.
Posted by Tricia at 6:24 pm
“I’m sorry Mom, but I just cannot ABIDE refried beans!”
~courtesy of Jonathan
Posted by Tricia at 10:10 am
Posted by Jay at 1:13 pm
There have been a few twists and turns since my last post. Yesterday morning, it seemed like Jonathan was doing very well and would likely be headed home today. Then he spiked a high fever in the afternoon and those hopes dwindled. We had a rough night and then an early morning visit from vampires, er, I mean the nurse who draws blood for further lab work.
When the doctor came by a couple hours later, Jonathan was still struggling with fever and discouraged by the blood letting. Interestingly, the doctor reported that all lab reports were looking good and moving in the right direction. And this without any new doses of antibiotic (which they withheld to test the hypothesis that it was viral).
So, it appears Jonathan is afflicted with a mystery virus that piggy-backed the pneumonia from a couple weeks ago. Mono is one of the suspects. But whatever the culprit, there wasn’t much to do other than ride it out, so were given the okay to head home. There are a few more results that should be coming in on Monday, so we may yet discover the actual culprit, but it is good to be home.
Posted by Tricia at 11:56 pm
Children’s has a medium set up for patients to receive email messages from friends and loved ones. Anything you send will be hand-delivered to Jonathan. Click here if you’d like to send him a message directly. He is a great reader, and loves to get mail of any variety. Thanks, Everyone!
Posted by Jay at 3:17 pm
First, we appreciate everyone’s thoughts, prayers, offers of help, and other expressions of love that have poured in over the past couple days.
Jonathan and I arrived at Children’s Medical Center yesterday afternoon and were treated to the least tortuous, least degrading, easiest admittance process I have ever experienced (and I’ve experienced about 20 of them). Interestingly, the gentleman signing us in was apparently in training for Mr. Universe or something, and his biceps were probably bigger than my thighs. But I digress.
Jonathan was doing very well, particularly given he was running a 103 degree fever. Once we were settled in a room (and a nice room at that, think LDR), we had a nice long consultation with our hospitalist. She was pleasant and competent, traits shared with pretty much everyone at Children’s. She then ordered a battery of tests, and Jonathan made me proud as he kept his composure while they poked, prodded, measured, x-rayed, and bled him through the evening. Along the way he enjoyed a dinner of french toast and bacon, cried after spilling his hot chocolate (and not from the hot liquid all over himself, but because he was enjoying it), took in a view of Pete’s Dragon, and generally did very well. Tricia dropped by late in the evening for a nice visit that coincided with the administration of the antibiotic via the IV installed earlier, and then Jonathan settled in for some sleep. I settled in for “sleep”, as I was on this couch-bed thing that was roughly equal to a balance beam surrounded by some squishy couch material.
The night went reasonably well, though there were some rough patches as Jonathan broke his fever. This morning he had no fever, which was fantastic, but didn’t last. The hospitalist came by again, with the surprising report that the x-ray hadn’t really shown any pneumonia. So next up was a CAT scan and then a rousing game of Battleship, followed by the return of the fever and some lunch.
So we have test results drifting in, but no real resolution yet. The hospital stay has been very pleasant, but we would like to be home. And I suppose that’s a good thing.
Posted by Tricia at 3:20 pm
Last night saw very little sleep for most of us as Jonathan relapsed with high fever, and Josiah fought a very nasty tummy bug, which he continues to fight today.
This morning after seeing Jonathan our pediatrician made the decision to hospitalize him, because he did not like the direction the pneumonia was taking. Jonathan is now checked in, and they are running a series of tests to rule out anything worse, in order to determine proper course of treatment. He is under the care of a very competent and compassionate doctor, and we are thankful for the attentive care he will receive, though we miss him terribly at home.
For his part, Jonathan was quite nervous about the prospect of hospitalization, so prayers for his little heart to be calm, and for his little body to heal are all very appreciated.
We are thankful for our sweet Grammy, who has come to be of help. Her presence has cheered us, and the house is a fresher, cleaner, more delightful place to be since her arrival.
I will try to post updates here as we have them.
Posted by Tricia at 1:05 pm
During lunchtime today, the children and I were discussing a passage from I Corinthians 1 [+/-]1 Corinthians 1
[1:1]Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of
Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
[2]To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together
with all those who in every place call upon the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
[3]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
[4]I give thanks to my God always for you because of the
grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, [5]that in
every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all
knowledge-- [6]even as the testimony about Christ was
confirmed among you-- [7]so that you are not lacking in any
spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord
Jesus Christ, [8]who will sustain you to the end, guiltless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9]God is faithful, by
whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord.
[10]I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be united in the same
mind and the same judgment. [11]For it has been reported to
me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my
brothers. [12]What I mean is that each one of you says, "I
follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas,"
or "I follow Christ." [13]Is Christ divided? Was Paul
crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of
Paul? [14]I thank God that I baptized none of you except
Crispus and Gaius, [15]so that no one may say that you were
baptized in my name. [16](I did baptize also the household
of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized
anyone else.) [17]For Christ did not send me to baptize but
to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
[18]For the word of the cross is folly to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God. [19]For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
[20]Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish
the wisdom of the world? [21]For since, in the wisdom of
God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased
God through the folly of what we preach to save those who
believe. [22]For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
[23]but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to
Jews and folly to Gentiles, [24]but to those who are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God. [25]For the foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[26]For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you
were wise according to worldly standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth. [27]But God chose
what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose
what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28]God
chose what is low and despised in the world, even things
that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29]so
that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
[30]And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became
to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and
redemption, [31]so that, as it is written, "Let the one who
boasts, boast in the Lord." (ESV)
, especially the last few verses:
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”
As we talked about what “boasting in the Lord” might mean, I gained some insight into my 6 1/2 year old’s concept of God:
Jonathan: “God can do anything.”
Mommy: “But one thing that God cannot do is sin.”
Jonathan: “Well, and he can’t play soccer either.”
Posted by Jay at 5:53 pm
A conversation at dinner that spun out of control…
Jonathan: Then you go to college? How long?
Jay: Usually for 4 years.
Jonathan: Do you live there?
Jay: Most people do.
Jonathan: Then what do you do? Do you look for a mate?
Chaos ensues.
Abigail: It’s not that way of matin’, like penguins.
Posted by Jay at 11:45 am
At lunch, I gave each of the boys a Trix yogurt, which have a couple colors/flavors in a single cup. Jonathan and Nicolas each stirred theirs into a single bluish putty-colored mass. At which point 6 year old Jonathan pipes up with:
“Look Nicolas, it’s sort of an indigo cerulean.”
Indigo what???
I had to look up the proper spelling for this entry.
« Previous Entries
