superstars

Laura here.

Have you ever experienced a bunch of strangers yelling and screaming your name like they know you but you have never seen them before in your life?

Neither have I. But my children experienced this very thing this past Friday and it was beautiful. We had the privilege of meeting the 5th and 6th graders Joe wrote about here and here. The 6th graders kept up with Ira’s story last year when they were in Mr. O’Connor’s fifth grade class and this year’s 5th graders have done the same. When Ira and Sophia walked into the school the kids went nuts!

Ira was on his best behavior walking all around and giving everyone who asked a “high 5.” He even let one boy put his hat on him (over and over again). Sophia soaked up the attention and later told me that she liked being with the “big kids.”

What made the biggest impression on me was their unmistakable love for my whole family. They showered us with cards, birthday presents for the kids, and poems they had written congratulating Ira on his progress and praising our family for all kinds of things. I told someone later that it was the closest I’ll ever get to feeling like a celebrity.

The hour we spent with them was precious and will be remembered for a very long time. Thank you, 5th graders (and now 6th), for sharing your lives and love with us.

You made us feel like celebrities for the day but now that we’ve met you, we know the real superstars - YOU!

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Happy Birthday, Ira - Revisited

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shh, I’m sleeping

This past weekend was wonderful…and exhausting. That’s why I haven’t blogged this week. I do want to say thank you for all the sweet blessings you bestowed upon Ira in the last post. We are blessed to have you thinking of us and praying for us. Forgive me for not saying that until this moment. I’m just now catching my breath from the weekend’s activities.

Seeing all the docs and hearing all the good news this past Friday was refreshing. We would have been bouncing off the walls but trips like that to the hospital are tiring. It’s mentally and physically draining.

The party on Saturday was special. We were honored that so many would take time out of their schedule to pay tribute to Ira’s life. As any of you who throw parties know, getting ready for and cleaning up after a party is demanding work. And because of Ira, cleaning up after a party means sweeping, mopping, scrubbing all surfaces with disinfectant spray, etc. Saturday night we collapsed.

And you don’t have to be in ministry long to know that Sundays are both wonderful and dreadful. Wonderful in that teaching, preaching and pastoring are rare gifts in which others invite you into their worlds. Dreadful in that it takes so much mental and emotional exercise to do those elements well. Our Sunday started by walking in the MS WALK and ended with a Leadership Team meeting that night. It was a non-stop day.

It’s Thursday and I’m just now catching up. Both Laura and I have moved slowly this week and been a bit more irritable than normal but in the grand scheme of things, this kind of exhaustion is good exhaustion. I would much rather be tired from hearing good news from doctors and celebrating my son’s birthday than being tired because of continued trips to the hospital to see my son and listening in as docs talk about more invasive procedures to keep Ira alive. I would much rather be exhausted because of the many church functions taking place than exhausted because I’m not sure which direction the church should go. So yeah, I’ll take this kind of exhaustion any day and today I’ll choose to revel in it!

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Happy Birthday, Ira

We woke this morning still riding the high from yesterday. It was a good day to celebrate Ira’s 2nd birthday! This afternoon we had people over to commemorate Ira’s newest milestone of not just making it to his second birthday but blazing into his next year of life! Our family was honored that so many gave up a beautiful 70 degree Saturday to spend it with Ira.

Ministers aren’t known for lacking in words but I truly am at a loss tonight as I reflect upon the past two years and ponder the possibility of many more years with Ira. Being Ira’s father has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the most rewarding. It’s made me lose my faith and find a whole new, stronger faith. I’ve wanted to run away and I’ve wanted to never leave his sight.

Ira, I have failed you in so many ways over the past two years; yet time and again, you welcome me back into your life with a huge smile and slobbery kisses. I can’t thank you enough for reminding me of what life is all about - that God’s kingdom is made up of people like you and that I need to become like you in order to have a taste of that kingdom. Thank you for coming into my world and demanding that I take notice. I have, my son and because of you, I’m growing in the Lord. Ira, may you have many more years to teach me about God’s kingdom. May you have many more years to pester your sister. May you have many more years in which you make your mom cry at the sound of your voice saying “ma!” May you have many more years.

As I kissed Ira goodnight tonight I said to him the usual I love you. But this time I slowed down a bit as I said those words. I wanted him, I needed him to hear each word with clarity so there would be no mistake about my feelings for him. I love Ira. I love him so very much. I’m so glad God created him two years ago today!

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Please, leave a birthday wish/greeting/blessing for Ira in the comments so that we can preserve them for the future. We would greatly appreciate it.

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A-Rod and Ira

A-Rod is not the only guy in NYC that’s hot. So is Ira. Ira saw a whole host of doctors today and every one of them was impressed. The look of disbelief on their faces was due to the picture of a sedated, puny little baby that was embedded in their memories. Even for the doctors who saw him just five months ago, they were overwhelmed by Ira’s progress.

It was good for Laura and me to hear the doctors say things like, “This is not the same Ira we saw even just five months ago!” or “I would never have guessed this was Ira’s EKG/Echocardiogram results because of how good it all looks!” or “His heart and lungs sound great!” We showed off Ira’s walking skills. Ira stacked blocks as if he’s been doing it his entire life. He even vocalized a couple of times. I’m telling you, he blew them away. Ira’s surgeon walked Ira around his corridor and introduced Ira to several people as Ira “I Do Not Know The Meaning Of Failure” Hays. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude this evening. Overwhelmed.

Tomorrow, if I can collect myself long enough, I will write a Happy Birthday, Ira blog and I’ll ask you to leave your own wishes and hopes for him. In the meantime, I’m going to revel in these good feelings that are flooding over me as I type.

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HOT!

A-Rod is freakin’ hot! He did it again this afternoon hitting yet another walk-off homer in yet another two out bottom of the ninth inning. I’m loving every minute of it…even if I don’t have cable to watch him live on the YES network. sniff, sniff. But it’s all good, I’m all about keeping track of the game via the internet. C’mon, folks, let’s here it for the Yankees!

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speaking and the body

In reading a lecture concerning preaching, the lecturer - Jana L. Childers, a homiletics professor - sites a study conducted in 1985 by Albert Mehrabian of Stanford University. He found when people come to a lecture or hear someone speak, 55 percent of the message they receive comes from the speaker’s body and face. They receive 38 percent of the message from the tone of voice, and they receive a mere 7 percent of the message from the words.

How do you interpret these findings?

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our city girl

Several weeks ago Sophia spent the weekend with dear friends in Philadelphia. Our friends don’t live in center city Philadelphia so it feels very different than Brooklyn. They took Sophia to a nearby park that has great hiking paths. Sophia’s first question was, “Are we in Africa?” A little later she asked, “Do you think there is a diner nearby so that we can stop and get some ice cream?”

This past weekend Laura and Sophia spent time in St. Louis. Like our friends in Philadelphia, Laura’s family doesn’t live in center city so again, it feels very different than Brooklyn. At one point during their time in St. Louis, Sophia remarked, “There sure is a lot grass around here.”

That’s our city girl.

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Ira Doesn’t Eat

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Ira’s made a lot of progress, no? However, there is one part of his life where he’s made almost no progress - eating. Ira eats through a g-tuge which means that food (in his case, Pediasure) goes directly from a pump to a tube inserted into his stomach. The video you are about to see is one of Ira’s feeding sessions with his speech/feeding therapist. There are many reasons why Ira can’t and won’t eat. I won’t bore you with the details but this is going to be a long, long journey.

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hands and feet

I’m pretty pumped about this weekend and next. This weekend I, along with other Christ’s Church for Brooklyn friends, will participate in the Step It Up 2007 rally. The rally is an effort to raise awareness of our current climate crisis. The hope is that the rallies all across America will raise the awareness of our politicians. That’s all well and good but I’m hoping that my awareness will continue to be heightened by this event. There are simple things one can do to make less of a footprint on this world! I need that challenge in my own life!

Next weekend, several of us from church will walk in the MS Walk which raises money to “provide comprehensive support services, educational programs, and fund a national research initiative into the cause, treatments and cure for this chronic disease.” One of our church members has a mother who has MS and one of our members is currently going through the round of tests to determine if she has MS. It hits pretty close to home for us at CCfB. Check out my donation page and give a little so that our team can reach its goal of raising $1000! It would be much appreciated!

We at Christ’s Church for Brooklyn call these kind of events our Hands and Feet projects. Our mission statement at church states that we desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It seems to us that when Jesus said “for God so loved the world” that he really meant it - that God really does love the whole word. Human and non-human alike! These two events are small declarations of that belief.

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