Spending the Holidays in the Hospital: 7 ways you can help

Celebrating the Holidays in the Hospital - 7 Ways you can helpIn a moment, everything can change. Your worries. Your priorities. Your prayers. Today you get to hear from the heart of a mom who experienced just this.7 Ways to help a family in the hospital

Veronica Janus was born and raised in Sweden but currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three children. Her life took a major turn when her son was born with major health issues. Today she shares with us a little glimpse of what she learned through this experience. She has written a beautiful book called Abundantly More –a  Mother Clings to God as her Baby clings to Life.

The holidays are usually a time when we are more eager to give and help those in need, especially basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.  We donate winter coats and we volunteer in soup kitchens.  But what about those who have everything they need and are suddenly thrown a curve ball and end up in the hospital. What do we give them?  How can we help?familynov9

A few years ago, when my youngest son was born, we were given shocking and unexpected news.  He had multiple heart defects and was immediately admitted to the ICU.  My son underwent his first heart surgery at 11 days old and the procedure was successful, but he became worse.  The next eight weeks were spent in the ICU going  through trial after trial including MRSA, weight loss, pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure just to mention a few. My son went on to have two more open heart surgeries. We had spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year as well as two big birthdays in the hospital before he was discharged. I don’t know what I would have done without the help and encouragement we received from family, friends, staff, and strangers. They offered to…

1.Pray

Pray in solitude at home. Pray with your family, friends, small groups. Place the patient and their family on a prayer list at your church and other churches. Leave a prayer  voicemail for your friend. Send them an email prayer. Quote scripture. Let them know you and others are praying for them. If you get them live, pray with them and you do all the praying. They’re exhausted. If they don’t want prayer, pray for them alone.

2.Listen

Be a sounding board. Don’t talk about yourself or your problems. If you have gone through something similar it’s ok to share but  keep it brief and positive. Don’t tell them you understand or you know how they feel, because you don’t. Instead mention how this must be very hard and ask how you can help. Give a few concrete examples of help so they don’t have to think.

3.Food

Set up a meal plan for the family through email, www.evite.com, or www.mealtrain.comPlace a cooler on the family’s porch where people can easily drop off food. The family may not be home a lot. Bring food to the hospital giving the family a break from cafeteria food, fast food, or skipped meals.

4.Children 

Provide child care at the hospital in designated play area (so children are close to parents), in your home or the family’s home. Set up carpooling for children and adults. Offer to set up play dates, take children to birthday parties and other events around the holidays to keep normalcy for children.  Offer to purchase Christmas gifts for the children in the family.

5.Home Help 

Set up regular home management like snow shoveling, lawn mowing, raking leaves, house cleaning, laundry, dry cleaning, oil changes, car washes, and decorating the home for the holidays.

6.Liaison  

Be a liaison between the patient and family and the outside world.  Setting up an update and communication system is vital but may take away precious time from the family or patient on a daily basis. There are special health sites such as  www.caringbridge.org,  www.carepages.com but Facebook and regular email work too.

7.Gifts

Send cards, flowers, gift cards, stuffed animals, books, toys directly to the hospital room or the family’s home to brighten up their environment. Call the hospital in advance to ask what is allowed in patient’s room.

The main point to remember is that a hospital environment is a very intense and busy place.  Patients and their families are inundated with medical information and multiple doctors visiting daily.  There is little time and room to think about anything but the patient’s health and advocating for them, especially if they are admitted long term.

How have you experienced the holidays in a hospital?  Leave a comment below and share your insights with us.

Celebrating the Holidays in the Hospital - 7 Ways you can help

Veronica Janus is a writer and speaker.  Her book, Abundantly More, a spiritual and medical journey can be found at major bookstores.  She lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.  For more information please visit www.veronicajanus.com. You can also follow her on Facebook.

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35 Gifts that inspire Adventure in Boys

Help your kids put down the electronics and inspire a little adventure in your backyard this summer!

I like toys that don’t make noise or break easily. I seek gifts that  foster an adventurist spirit in my children and encourage activity and relationship between people.

If you have a son and know me in real life, I have told you about my deep LOVE for JM Cremps–  the boy’s adventure store. The majority of the toys in our home are from this family-run business out of Minnesota. It’s been my one-stop Christmas shopping spot for the past 3 years. For that reason, many things on this list are from there because… it’s my AWESOME secret store. Enough about the store, on with the gifts.

My Top Picks to inspire Adventure in boys ( and girls!):

(this post has affiliate links)

Slackline - 35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in BoysSlackline

Hot gift this season. Anchor the slackline between 2 trees and balance your way across this narrow strip. The advanced version can even be used with skateboards and skis.

Slackline for beginners -35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in BoysMilitary Surplus Tent $29

Perfect for backyard forts.

35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys

Handcrafted Animal Slingshots$9.99

Choice of 7 animals – My boys spend hours outside trying to knock over cans and hit each other…I mean targets.Hand crafted animal slingshot - (35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys)

Backyard Zipline

So fun for the right backyard.Zipline (35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys)

Medic Bag $12.99

Shockingly popular with my children!! Before I gave these to my kids, I filled them with camo duct tape, bandaids, a wooden (not sharp) pocket knife, a mini first aid kit, a camo water bottle, string and caution tape from the dollar store, and some books on survival in the outdoors and  What to make with Duct Tape They staged “animal rescues”, climbed trees roping off weak branches, and had picnics under strange bushes. They were a huge hit. Every tool in that bag was used to its fullest.

Medic Bag (35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys)

Rubberband Gun – start at $12 

These have been so much fun that I went back to get one for my husband. I bought a pack of extra “ammo” or rubberbands which was a wise investment.

Rubberband Gun (35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys)

Z-Curve Bow and Arrow

This set is made of foam.There is also a Wolverine bow and arrow set for boys more self-controlled than my own.

Bow and Arrow (35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys)Metal Detector

Spend hours searching for loose change and metal treasures. Detects up to 3 feet deepMetal Detector - 35 Gifts that Inspire Adventure in Boys

Young Architect Kit

Design rooms and shapes in 3d design. Great building set for aspiring architects.Younbd Architect kit

Electronic Snap Circuits

  • Contains over 60 Snap-Together parts. Build over 300 exciting projects.
  • Build a Radio, Doorbell, burglar alarm and more

Electronic Snap Circuits. Teach kids how to create electricity

Other favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some favorites BOOKS:

35 Holiday Gifts that Inspire Adventure in BoysMy favorite Boy's devotional of all time. LOVE50 Dangerous Things you should let your children do.

For more holiday ideas, check out our Pinterest holiday boards.

50+ Bloggers around the world have gotten together to create the 2013 Ultimate Gift Guide Series and Pinterest Board from which this list is part of. We’d love for you to check it out.gift-guides-for-kids-2

www.jmcremps.com

I’m grateful for my readers and would love to have you follow The House of Hendrix below.  If you would like to connect further, please join my FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

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Our Thanksgiving Advent

Our Thanksgiving Advent

why we need November

There’s just something about November.

I need it. I crave it. It begins the day after Halloween, where make-believe is at its peak; and although I love an evening of gluttonous candy and costumes, there’s just something dark and unsettling about the night. I wake up November 1st thankful it’s over and ready to re-align my heart for the coming months.

November challenges us to go deeper. To be thankful. To have hearts of gratitude.

November is a blessing.

I need November because I REALLY love December. Without November, December would exhaust me. I would decorate, impulse spend, and wrap til even the elves were impressed. But November grounds me. It gives me time to reflect and re-prioritize on what I truly care about, not on what advertising campaigns and catalogs try to lure me with.

November allows me to enter the holiday season with a heart of gratitude not desire.Gratitude

So this month, I’m going to write about what that looks like in our home, and how I am preparing my heart and my family’s heart for Thanksgiving. One way we do this is through a Thanksgiving Advent.

Our Thanksgiving Advent Calendar

Each evening in November, we each write on a card something we are thankful for. Use these 'I'm Thankful' cards to cultivate a heart of gratitude in November through a Thanksgiving Advent. Free PrintablesI'm Thankful cards - free Thanksgiving printables

A thanksgiving Advent - How to prepare your hearts for thanksgiving through this advent calendar  (free printables too)

Sometimes it’s a list. Sometimes a drawing.Christ who gives me strength

We place the card into the corresponding day on our felt advent calendar.

A Thanksgiving Advent - Teaching kids to have hearts for gratitude before the Hoiiday season.  Print and fill out these cute "I'm Thankful for" cards each day in November. Read them on Thanksgiving.A Thanksgiving Advent - Teaching kids to have hearts for gratitude before the Hoiiday season.  Print and fill out these cute "I'm Thankful for" cards each day in November. Read them on Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving night, we read each of the cards.

I save these cards to remember. They reveal so much about the heart of our family…particularly those cards written when life was not easy. I cling to the cards of years past, cherish them, and am thankful to God for carrying us through the rough patches. I am thankful for His faithful goodness. I remember… and my faith is strengthened.

I made YOU a set of Thanksgiving cards. Click here to chose your style and print.

I’m thankful for you and hope your hearts are filled with gratitude and joy this November. Allison

For more festive ideas and activities, I just started a Thanksgiving board on Pinterest that you can follow.

I’m grateful for my readers and would love to have you follow The House of Hendrix below.  If you would like to connect further, please join my FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

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