Another Burlison Public Service announcement....

Confession....I make predictions about my kids. For instance, Mary Ella, my sensitive soul, doesn't like people to laugh at her...just with her. She passionately pursues any goal she chooses taking all commitments very seriously (maybe even too seriously). She is a LOYAL friend, one you can tell anything to in confidence knowing it will not go any further. She is extremely cautious about who she puts her trust in and in making decisions. Yes, in silliness and sassiness, she does get impulsive, but that is where it stops. Addy, well, likes people to laugh at her and has a great sense of humor. She is the outgoing girl who likes to play practical jokes and may even sacrifice her own safety just to make someone laugh. She is an uncoordinated, fearless child....a dangerous combination. She trips over her own feet, runs into door frames and so on. One week she had FOUR bruises on her forehead. I told Scott the other day, "I hope I'm wrong, but I'll bet we end up in the emergency room with her one day." I'm not attempting to "box in" or put boundaries on their personalities, but I see definite personality traits within each of them.

Well, today we started the day off running. I got a call from the contractor coming to fix a few things on the house at 7:30am asking if he could go ahead and "swing by". My sister Meredith had surgery today and Scott is on call...So I was fielding phone calls and conversations all morning. Before I knew it, Addy had disappeared and was silent. I found her on Molly's diaper changing table with prescription wound cream all over her face and she was LICKING it off her lips! I page Scott to get his educated opinion on what to do next. Of course he didn't call me back...sigh! So I put my first phone call into Poison Control. Fortunately, it was no biggie as long as it was just a small amount. But it leaves me wondering....the kid licks soap, wound cream, eats chapstick, and likes anything I give her....does she have taste buds???? Well, she does look like her dad who is not a picky eater, maybe she got it from him or maybe she's just being Addy. Although inconvenient, I guess all ointments and creams need to be in an alternate location for now. Never a dull moment around here.

Back to my sister, Meredith. Please keep her in your prayers. She had a section of her small intestine removed today because they could not get the inflammation from the Crohn's disease under control. She spent two weeks in the hospital before Thanksgiving with a pretty significant infection and they decided the best course would be to remove the affected area. Good news is that this was the only affected area in her gut which could mean remission for many years. Let's pray that is the case. Another bit of good news in the middle of all this is that she was accepted into Baylor University where she intends to enter the nursing program. I guess she has realized the need for good nurses! Especially after they attempted to put a NG tube up her nose four times last night....without success...ouchie!

Before the craziness started this morning I told Mary Ella we needed to pray together for Meredith and by this afternoon, we still had not done it yet. She said, "oh mom, we forgot to say a prayer for Aunt Meredith this morning" I said, "you're right, let's do it right now." This is what she said:

Dear Lord,
Please be with, um, Meredith and, um, bring her back safe.
Help her to, um, feel better
And please help her to not get sick again. Amen.

Oh yes, what a sweet heart she has.