Today is the Global Big Day (of birding). Cornell University is known for its ornithology lab. Any birder knows about this lab and probably uses “ebird” – a place where every birder can log the birds they see anywhere in the world. The lab collects so much data about birds and bird diversity! During our “Shelter in Place” I’ve been working on my birding skills. Honestly, I’ve always been the kind of birder that “real” birders aren’t very fond of – I take pictures to help with identification. However, thanks to having more time at home, I’ve been learning bird calls (the Cornell Ornithology Labs has online courses) and I’ve been working on my visual IDs as well. This morning, I took off early, camera in hand (I’m not giving this up), and went birding to contribute to the Global Big Day. I saw a lot of birds! I was even able to recognize most of the birds I saw while in the field! I’m nothing like the serious birders out there (the top list from today was (the top list today from the United States listed 193 species) , but I do love it! I thought that it would be appropriate for Wren to play His Eye is on the Sparrow today as her hymn of comfort. Photos from my “Big Day” follow!
His Eye is on the SparrowLincoln’s SparrowNashville WarblerBlue-gray gnatcatcherBaltimore OrioleEastern BluebirdsBaltimore OrioleGoldfinchBaltimore OrioleBarn and Tree Swallows
had surgery on her spinal cord. It took 3 years of wondering and seeing Drs. about various gastrointestinal and mobility issues, but in late April of 2012 she was diagnosed with a tethered spinal cord. If you are wondering, “What is a tethered spinal cord?”, you can read about it on my old blog here. If you don’t have time to run over to the other blog, essentially a tethered cord is a “cousin” to spina bifida and she is cared for in the spina bifida clinic at Lurie Children’s. Back in 2012, when we finally had an answer, we were still terrified that we would make the wrong choice about what to do. You see, a year before this diagnosis, a radiologist told us that her cord was tethered, but her first neurosurgeon told us that there was nothing wrong with her “she just walks funny”.
In the year following the diagnosis of “funny walking”, we started seeing an amazing physical therapist. One night at PT, Wren had some very alarming symptoms which ultimately led us to a new neurosurgeon (Dr. Alden at Lurie) who confirmed the radiologist’s findings – a tethered spinal cord. After meeting him so many things happened to affirm his diagnosis. Two nights after seeing Dr. Alden, totally unexpectedly, one of Wren’s teachers at church called me. This Sunday School teacher is a pediatrician, and she was calling me to talk to me about some things that she had noticed at church. She said that she just couldn’t let this go, and she felt that God was prompting her to call me – then she asked if I had ever heard of a tethered cord? That was the first step in God’s provision of peace through this difficult season. A few days later, our chiropractor was adjusting Wren and said “something is wrong with her spinal cord”…”it’s like it’s stuck”. Finally, after the urologist ran some tests (that can only be described as horrific), we knew that Wren had to have surgery. Dr. Alden is the best, she was in good hands!! We had a lot of peace as she was rolled back to surgery on May 8, 2012!!!
Wren’s hymn of comfort today is “I’ve Got Peace Like a River” because, when I think back on that day, I just think about God’s peace. I wasn’t afraid, I knew that there were so many people praying for us and for the doctors that I wasn’t anxious!
Peace Like a River
She’s certainly faced challenges since then, but we are pretty proud of this courageous, kind, and joyful child!
Tonight we saw 7 owls total!! We went to check on the little one we’ve been watching for several weeks. He’s really growing. I’m saying “he” only because Wren refers to him this way. You can’t tell the sex of a great horned owl by looking. I only know which of the adults is the mom because I know which one was on the nest. Also, the mom stays close. We saw dad tonight too, but he maintains a rather aloof distance. Here are some new pictures so you can see how the little one is growing!
mom and owlet (R) – getting close to fledgingowletdad
Here is one of the other 4 owls I saw tonight…another mommy owl! She has 3 owlets.
mom owl at second location
We also enjoyed other migratory birds. We saw a common yellowthroat, a blue-winged warbler and a blue-grey gnatcatcher (one of my favorites!)
common yellowthroatblue-winged warblerblue-grey gnatcatcher
Wren’s hymn of comfort today is the hymn tune “KINGS FOLD”. She wrote the accompaniment.
Kings Fold
We hope you enjoyed our sunset walk as much as we did!!
I always loved this hymn when I was little. As soon as I started singing it to Wren tonight, I could almost hear my Nanny singing. Wren is named after my Nanny (Elizabeth), so this seems fitting. I also love this song because my child was made with a sweet spirit. Here is the hymn of comfort, a photo of my Nanny as a child, and one of my favorite photos of the girl.
Sweet Sweet SpiritElizabeth (Nanny) is standing on the far left.April 2012 (3)
April was National Poetry Month, so Wren has been writing a lot of poetry for school. She was assigned a “recipe poem” recently, and we wanted to share it!
Musicians
1 cup of Happiness
2 ¼ cups of Concentration
Sprinkle of Joy
1 pint of Belief
1 ½ cup of Precision
Strength
Strive
Frustration
Clear moments
Breakthrough moments
Musician
Instrument
Directions: mix the Musician and instrument in strength. Next, pour in belief and precision. Stir it well with a pinch of frustration. In a separate bowl, put in Clear and Breakthrough moments. Pour that into happiness. Serve with joy on top. By Wren Page
Wren has been composing for several years with her Nonnie! Last summer she took a composition class at one of her music camps, and now she’s writing all the time. In September, she wrote a composition for a school competition (PTA reflections). The composition made it all the way to State. That ceremony and celebration would have been yesterday, so this post is my way of celebrating her! Here is a video of her performing her composition, Courage, with her school orchestra teacher.
Courage
In addition to “writing”, she also loves to improvise with her cello. The “hymns” of comfort tonight are a couple of improvisation sessions from this afternoon. We hope you enjoy!
Mammatus Clouds in Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota
Wren picked this out of my old Baptist Hymnal. I didn’t know this, but the tune is beautiful. I couldn’t find this version anywhere online, so here are the words:
Give to the winds your fears In hope be undismayed God hears your sighs and counts your tears God shall lift up your head To him commit your griefs Your ways put in his hands To his sure truth and tender care Who earth and heav’n commands Who earth and heav’n commands
O put your trust in God In duty’s path go on Walk in his strength with faith and hope So shall your work be done Leave to his sovereign sway To choose and to command So you shall faithful seek his way How wise, how strong his hand How wise, how strong his hand
Recent Comments