Ocean City, NJ 8.11.11

Bethel Prep - Five Years and Counting

Ellody Hope, Update VI

Welcome Home Ellody.

Ellody Hope, Update V

Hello,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the prayers! Ellody had an incredible night last night! She was on the oxygen all night, but slept better than she has since we've been here. She was able to come off the oxygen around 11:30 this morning and continues to breathe on her own! That's 12 hours and counting!!!

Provided we have no major set backs overnight, we will be cleared for discharge in the morning.

Please pray for a peaceful night.

Love,

Melissa

One Step Forward...

...500 steps back.

Well, that's where I feel like we are right now. Apparently, that's RSV. I think the last update I gave was yesterday when she was taken off of the oxygen. She did fine for a few hours, but had to be put back on oxygen in the late afternoon. Last night was horrible and she did not fall asleep until 5:30 in the morning. She did sleep until 10, so that was good. I'm not sure what's going on with her at night. She seems restless and the only way I know how to comfort her is by nursing. Obviously, this is physically exhausting for me and does not really help her either. They tried giving her a little Tylenol last night, but it did not help. Pray that tonight is a better night for us both.

We had a rough start to today with a nursing session that ended in a coughing spell and vomiting. However, after that they did allow her to come off of the oxygen. This was around 10:30 this morning. She did well on just room air all day, but started having trouble keeping her levels up at about 5:30 this evening. The nurse, charge nurse and several doctors came in and talked about what should be done. Ultimately, the decision was to put her back on the oxygen after a good suctioning out of her nose, mouth and throat. She HATES that and it's difficult to watch, but the benefits are immediately noticeable as she completely relaxes afterwards.

This virus can be so deceiving. One minute, I feel like we are hours from being discharged. The next I feel as though we could be here for another week. It's emotionally draining. I've decided to focus on some positives from today:

1. Ellody was able to breathe on her own for a longer amount of time today than yesterday.

2. I got a shower AND washed my hair this morning...you have NO idea what a change that makes!

3. I made an executive decision to dress Ellie in her cute, comfy pjs after being in that yucky hospital gown for days. I think she appreciated the change. And she sure does look cute!

4. Last night, we decided to let the girls come up and visit their sister. They were only in the room for a few minutes, but every time Ellody heard Addison's or Emerson's voice, she would break into a big smile. Right before leaving, we had an impromptu sing-along session. Ellody was BEAMING and that just melted my heart.

5. Joe was able to come up today by himself. That allowed for me to go downstairs for a while which is a nice break from being in this room, and it allowed Joe to be with Ellie for some cuddle time.

6. While eating downstairs, I was reminded of how blessed I am to have 3 beautiful, healthy (relatively) baby girls. There are many, many parents here who would trade places with me in a heartbeat.

Blessings to you all and thank you for continuing to lift us up in prayer,

Melissa

Ellody Hope, Update III

Good morning...is it morning? Well, whenever it is...

We have progress! Although Ellody did not improve at all over the night and I got a little flustered with the doctor/nurses, we are seeing progress this morning. Once she finally settled around 2 am, Ellody slept peacefully until around 7, which is great!

She had a rough nursing session this morning because of all the coughing, thus most of the milk came back up. Before the next feeding I had the nurse come in and suction her. She took a great feeding that time and I also gave her a sponge bath. Right before the bath the respiration specialist came in and we decided to go ahead and lower the oxygen. She was only receiving half a liter so we were going to lower it to a quarter a liter. However, the oxygen meter that she currently has only goes by halves, so it can only go from .5 down to 0. I gave her the go ahead to try just turning it off. Well, that was three hours ago and Ellody has responded wonderfully!!! Ideally, her level would be at 100% and with RSV it is acceptable to be anything above 90%. She has been hovering right about 93% since it was turned off.

In order to be discharged, she must be completely off any oxygen support for 24 consecutive hours. Please pray that this process has started.

Thanks for the continued prayer and support. Joe is going to bring the girls up later this afternoon so that I can at least go down and have a meal with them...I miss them terribly!

Blessings,

Melissa

PS - Thank you all for lifting me up in your prayers too. I was reminded this morning how different our situation could have been when our new roommate was admitted straight from the ER in almost the exact same condition as Ellody a few days ago.

Ellody Hope, Update II

Greetings,

We are coveting your prayers and are blessed by all of the offers to help. Thank you everyone.

I wish I could give you better news, but things remain pretty much the same with Ellody. She is still on the oxygen, although they are going to try to start the weaning process tomorrow. They did try once today, and it did not go well at all.

She is also still being suctioned, although they are coming in to do that less frequently. They suction her every 3-4 hours now and she is responding well to that.

We did have to be moved to a different floor this afternoon. When we were admitted, we were put on a BRAND NEW "short stay unit" which was nothing less than beautiful and fabulous. The room was gorgeous and there were just 15 beds on the floor, so the staff was readily available at any given moment. This unit is only open Monday-Saturday at 3pm at which point they close and move any patients that need a longer stay to other floors.

So, we have been moved to a much older floor. All of the rooms are shared, so Ellody and I have roommates. There is also a shared bathroom that joins us with the room next door. The "parent shower" is down the hall. Needless to say, a far cry from the life of luxury I've been living the past few days.

God is certainly dealing with me through this ordeal. Upon being moved to our new digs, I found myself crying like a baby. I'm sure part of it was the emotional and physical exhaustion kicking in, but another part was my ridiculous ego. I was upset about the new location. Mad that I was no longer in the best part of the hospital.

SERIOUSLY MELISSA? There are parents here with dying children and you're upset because of the accommodations? How pathetic.

I went for a walk and spent some time in prayer. I am not the patient here and my comfort is not their concern. Ellody is still at the best place possible and we have the best scenario with me being here and Joe able to be at home with the girls.

SO, add my ego to your prayer list!

Upon entering our new room and after Ellody was assessed, they informed us that we will NOT be coming home tomorrow. I've learned to just get that question out of the way with in the beginning of each new shift. It just gives me the right mindset. Right now, it's just a waiting game. Waiting for her to be off oxygen for 24 hours.

While home is most certainly our goal, home with a restored baby is what we need. As hard as it is for me to be here away from Joe, Addison, and Emerson, it is much more difficult to imagine taking Ellody home in her condition.

Pray for her lungs to be cleared of the mucus and for her to be breathing on her own. It is also important that she continues to nurse well without aspirating any of the meal back up.

Thank you everyone and I will update again soon,

Melissa

PS-If anyone is interested in visiting, that would be great. The visit would really be more for me, as contact with the baby would not be encouraged. But, I sure am up for company!

Ellody Hope, Update I

I hope this blog finds all of you well. Some of you are aware of the situation, but I thought I would update everyone. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone whom you feel will pray for our little girl.

Ellody (6 weeks old) started the week with a cough that I'm certain came from her 2 older sisters who just cannot get enough of her! Anyway, the cough persisted and by Wednesday night, she was working very hard to breathe. Joe and I debated bringing her into the ER Thursday around 4 am, but I made the decision to wait it out until the later morning to call/take her into the pediatrician.

I made the call at 7:30 Thurs. morning to the answering service of my ped. She IMMEDIATELY called back telling me not to wait another minute and to take her right to CHOP (Children's Hospital of Penn.) or Dupont (which is in Delaware). With a frantic call to my mom to come right away to be with the girls and throwing random things into a diaper bag for the baby, I was out the door within an hour and on my way to CHOP.

I entered through the ER and they took her right back and listed her as "critical." She was immediately given a rescue breathing treatment which did nothing for her. They gave her another one shortly after with different medicine which helped a tiny bit, but not enough. So, she was admitted.

After a battery of tests, it was determined that she has a severe case of RSV. RSV is a respiratory virus that presents as a bad cold in older kids/adults but is very dangerous for newborns. There is no treatment for RSV, they just treat the symptoms.

Ellody was being suctioned (small tubes inserted into her nose and down her throat) every 1-2 hours and receiving chest physical therapy as well. While difficult to watch for a mom this treatment has been working well, especially since it has allowed her to nurse more comfortably and not aspirate.

She did well all day Thursday, but the nights have been rough. She had to be put on constant oxygen early Friday morning. She remains on the steady oxygen. They have tried weaning her off of that, but that did not go well and they actually had to increase it.

So, here we sit...Saturday morning. Last night was not good. She had 3 episodes in which her heart rate dropped significantly which had everyone in a panic and a nursing session that was a nightmare! Not sure what that was about, but she is doing better now.

I have already been told this morning that we will not be going home today.

Specific Prayer:

*that Ellody continues to remain fever-free (a fever would mean lots of painful tests for her and obviously an infection somewhere)

*that the nursing continues to go well and she is able to keep most of her meals in so that no IV is needed

*peace of mind for Joe and I as it is difficult to watch someone so tiny struggle so much

*wisdom for the staff here at CHOP (this place is absolutely incredible and I am so thankful God has us here...they are the BEST)

*comfort for Addison and Emerson

Joe did bring them to the hospital last night so that I could go down and eat dinner with them. But, obviously, they cannot come up here.

*SLEEP!!!

I will do my best to keep you all posted.

Love,

Melissa

Dependence

Jesus Christ was a flesh and blood man. He had a nose. Fingernails. Kneecaps. And He used that body to minister to His people. To serve His people. And ultimately He laid that body down as a sacrifice for His people. Amen.

As Christians we are called to model Christ. To be a Jesus. To be a little Christ. We are called to use our bodies to serve and bring glory to God the Father. I see no more loving example of this model than my wife.

To be mother. It is a calling. A high calling. With the birth of our third daughter in the last forty months I was struck by how Christian my wife is. She has sacrificed her body. Laid her body down for three beautiful girls. Not for her own sake, but for the sake of others. She has been stretched, kicked, pulled, bit, tugged, tackled, hugged, kissed, hit, and slept on. She has carried, pushed, pulled, picked up, put down, dragged, spanked, and squeezed countless times. She has been physically depended on by others day in and day out for the last forty nine months. The literal survival of her children has depended on her and her body. They need her and she serves them.

In this I see a beautiful picture of Christ and His church.

Welcome to the Covenant

Ellody Hope Canney was born today (12/1/10) at 1:00 pm weighing 9lbs, 8oz and measuring 21 inches long. Melissa and Ellody are both doing great. To God be the glory.

It has been ‎67 years since the ship my grandfather was being transported on, the HMT Rohna, was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea during WWII. 1015 US troops died, the greatest loss at sea in US history. He was one of the survivors and the following website has been set up to honor those who were involved in the tragedy.

http://www.rohnasurvivors.org/

Thanksgiving 2010

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Birthday

Today I am 34. Four years ago I turned 30 (and had a great surprise party) with no children and a not pregnant wife. This afternoon I will go home to celebrate my birthday with my love, Melissa Canney (who is with child) and our two daughters Addison and Emerson. Lord thank you for the blessings that come with age.

Family Church

Each evening in the Canney household, we gather together on the couch to worship our Lord. It is usually sometime shortly after dinner but before the girls begin their evening play. We conduct our family worship time as a mini-church service. I begin by reading an introductory passage, such as Psalm 100 and then we sing the Doxology. This is followed by an opening prayer, reciting The Apostles' Creed and singing Gloria Patri. At the conclusion of this I begin to read the Bible. With two young daughters I have chosen to work my way through the Bible reading the 'big' stories to them. For example, in the recent weeks we have read through Creation with Adam and Eve, the Flood with Noah and we are currently working our way through the story of Abraham. I usually read one chapter a night from my New King Jame Version translation and we close our time with prayer. One important point about the Bible reading is that I am focused on my children learning the stories they hear. I want them to know the people and the places, the good guys and the bad guys, and who wins. The important distinction is that I do not try to relate or teach a moral with any of our Bible readings. The goal at this age (3 years and 1 year) is for them to learn the story of the Bible.

We have found this time to be a great blessing to our family. One added bonus is that some evenings my wife and I will stay seated on the couch as the girls crawl off. They begin to play, dance, sing and be silly while the four of us are all together in the Living Room. It is these small moments when I see the Mighty Hand of blessing on my family.

A Dollop of Peanut Butter

"Truth, goodness and beauty can be found in having breakfast with a three year old, each with Frosted Mini-Wheats and a dollop of peanut butter on the side of the bowl."

Who's who?

Which one is Addy and which one is Emmy?

Bethel Prep Parent Information Night

The question before us tonight that I have been asked to speak on is, "Who is responsible for establishing and maintaining the spiritual theme of the academy? The theme is Romans 8: 37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who lived us.”

Thus, who is responsible? Well, if the theme is nothing more than a slogan, the school is clearly responsible. Bethel Prep needs to have a lot of pep rallies and spirit weeks to encourage and promote the slogan. But our theme is much more than a slogan. It is Scripture and it is true. We are more than conquerors. The responsibility, as Christians, lies within all of us. We all play a part in God’s kingdom and the advancement of it. My part tonight is to speak about how the staff will help to accomplish and be responsible for the theme.

How is it that we are more than conquers? The verse tells us, “through Him who loved us.” Him being Christ Jesus, our Savior. So, we are more than conquers because of Jesus Christ. It is His strength that makes us strong. It is His wisdom that makes us wise. We are nothing without Him. In order to be more than conquers we need to be like Him, imitators of Him, as Paul says in Eph. 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”

What makes children dearly loved? When they obey. So our job as Christian educators is help our students know God and to grow in their understanding and wisdom of God and His will. A great way to start is to begin with identifying what God loves and what God hates. Philippians 4:8 tells us,

⁸ Finally, brethren,

whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,

whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report,

if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—

meditate on these things.

We are told to focus on these things because they are what God loves. They reflect Him. Conversely,

Proverb 6:16 – 19 teaches us

¹⁶ These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
¹⁷ A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Learning and remembering Scripture verses such as these is perfect for our Grammar students as they grow in their knowledge of God and His Word. When students internalize these truths and examine the world around them, they can become “more than conquerors” because they begin to recognize the lies and the temptations that world has to offer. This is where our Dialectic and Rhetoric Schools build off the knowledge our students gained in the Grammar school. They can use their knowledge of God to begin to critic the world around them, whether it is books, movies, music, philosophy or culture. And then they can begin to conquer the culture that surrounds them through Christ who strengthens them. That is the goal of Bethel Prep, to form and mold students that God can use to advance His kingdom here on earth. Students who will change the culture, but will do so not with the weapons of the world, but rather as Paul says in II Corinthians 10:4-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

This is why the culture of each home and Church is important. The culture of the home and Church must be pleasing to the Lord. It must be a safe haven from the culture of the world. A place where young Christians can take refuge and seek wisdom as they grow in their wisdom and understanding. The home and the Church cannot be place that reflects the world’s desires. It must reflect, as we want our students to, what God loves and what He hates.

My final point is that in order to become “more than conquerors through Him who loved us”, we must serve Him. We must serve Jesus as Lord. And how do we do so? Not with the weapons of the world as Paul said, but rather as Jesus Himself said in Matthew 25:31 – 40, “³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

What we learn from these verses is that as we serve each other, we serve the Lord who in turns strengthens us. And as He strengthens us, we are enabled to become more than conquerors.

It is important to note that the school exists to serve Christian families. It is difficult for the school to train students to accomplish our theme if a family is not living out the theme in the home. However, when the family and the school are in harmony in trying to grow men and women who can impact the culture around them, then by God’s grace we can accomplish His will.

Again, the school will do its part this year to train our students to love what God loves, hate what God hates and look to serve each other as we serve the Lord. Thank you.

Born a Buckeye

The Creation of O H I O

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven , God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the archangel found him resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Michael, look what I've made."

Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put LIFE on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance???" inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth, "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East will be a hot spot. Over here I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people,"

God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and arid while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel , while impressed by God's work, pointed to some people standing around with their hands above their head, "What's up with that?"

"Ah," said God, "They are from Ohio , the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful lakes, rivers, sunsets and rolling hills. The people from Ohio are modest, intelligent and humorous. They can be found traveling all around the world. They are sociable, hard working and high achieving. They will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace and good will."

Michael gasped in wonder, but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there would be balance ?!?!?!?"

God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I'm putting in Michigan !!!!!!!

GO BUCKS !!!!!

Cheers

All Parents Shelter Their Children

My wife seemed to touch a little bit of a nerve with some folks when she posted the following on her Facebook page...

"it's amazing to me the efforts some will go to in order to "shelter" their children from the world (ie- investing loads of money into private education vs. government schools), but will not think twice about enrolling their young daughters in say, a dance class of sorts, which plays Hannah Montana music for warm up."

This is something her and I have talked about in the past, so I thought I would take a little time and break down some of what she means.

The first topic is 'shelter.' With most Christian folks, this is a hotly debated idea. To 'shelter' your child can draw horrified looks or approving nods. Most of the negative reaction comes from those who know of friends in high school or college that were painfully sheltered... embarrassingly sheltered. They are completely naive and vulnerable when they are outside the shelter.

The key point is all parents shelter their children. The question revolves around to what point. All parents make decisions on what and when to allow their children to be exposed to certain things. Some parents let their kids watch rated-R movies at age 8 and some do not even own a TV. But the point is, even the parent who allows the R movies, is going to draw the line somewhere. It might be far beyond where I draw the line even for myself, but the line is still there. The same goes for music, clothes, language, etc... Thus, when Melissa uses the word shelter, she means it in a very positive way.

Melissa and I definitely shelter our girls. We closely monitor what they watch, what they hear and what they are in general exposed to. We both firmly believe that the world is seductive and we do not want our children worshiping things which God hates. And here lies another key point. Our sheltering now consists of us making decisions as to what the girls have access to. However, as they age a key learning point is teaching them to "love what God loves, and hate what God hates." This type of Christian parenting does not take a monk approach. It does not consist of hiding things from children thinking that if they never see it, they will not be tempted by it. Rather, this type of parenting deals with things head on...when the child is at age when she can begin make judgments and see things for what they are.

Melissa makes a good point in her Facebook post that some parents are dedicated to raising their Christian children the right way. They are aware of the messages that their children are getting hit with and they are doing something about it. But then, like a sneak attack, in through the back door comes "Hannah Montana" eroding away a foundation that the parents have worked hard to lay. Her general point and encouragement to all parents is, "Never let your guard down."

The additional thing that I have pondered is that I wonder how many parents are upset that they let their young daughters become Hannah Montana fans only to look on in horror at how Miley Cyrus is currently portraying and selling herself?