Happy Valentines’ Day! Those of you who know me know I’m passionate about marriage. I think that Satan is against marriage, and with divorce rates upwards of 50%, too few people benefit from the happy, healthy relationships God desires for us.

When Pastor Graham spoke on marriage in his sermon this weekend, I was pleased to learn something that I hadn’t heard before, but which I know will benefit my marriage.

First of all, I loved his premise: if God designed marriage, shouldn’t we pay attention to what he says in the Bible about marriage? Lots of people shrug off the gender-specific non-politically-correct passage in Ephesians about submission and marriage. Pastor Graham challenges that assumption. He challenged us not to ignore what God has said.

Focusing on Paul’s words, “husbands love your wives, wives respect your husbands,” Pastor Graham quoted a statistic. In a survey of men asked whether they would prefer to be loved or to be respected, 85% of men said they would prefer to be respected.

We’re pretty familiar with unconditional love. Obviously our men should love us even when we’re cranky, demanding, lazy and selfish.

But what really blew me away was this – the respect we show our husbands should also be unconditional. It’s not about how much money he makes, things ticked off to-do lists, or even how much love we’re feeling. We need to respect him, regardless.

After all, how can he lead his family – if no one is following him? Or, as Pastor Graham put it, how can he stand up – if we’ve cut his legs out from under him?

Most of the time I find it so easy to respect my husband. I know I’m very fortunate to be married to a godly, trustworthy, caring, intelligent, and hardworking man. There have been times when I have withheld my respect from him for whatever reason – hurt feelings, disappointment, or just ugliness.

Now that I realise that I should show respect to Ben no matter what, I can choose to do that even during the rare times that I don’t feel like it. And in doing so, I am making a choice to further strengthen our marriage and celebrate many more Happy Valentines’ Days to come!

We were delighted this evening to dedicate Vi to Christ in front of our church family at Subiaco Church of Christ.

photos taken by Jessie whose grandson Jacob was also dedicated during the service

Pastor Graham asked us if we would commit to love, guide, and nurture Vi in the worship and teaching of Christ. He asked us to live as examples of Christ to our children.

Our response? We will!

Related posts:

dedicating
Nikki to the Lord – 17 November 2006
dedicating Michael to the Lord – 25 April 2008

This afternoon Nikki asked for macaroni and cheese, but there was no blue box in the house. I grabbed the opportunity to try Auntie Leila’s Easy Mac and Cheese recipe.

While cooking, I remembered the advice not to let my helpers taste any of the grated cheese prior to mixing it into our shells. Tasting the plain grated cheese makes the final cheese mixture seem less cheesy, and we didn’t want that!

After stirring all the ingredients together, I served Nikki, Michael, and myself each a bowl of cheesy noodles.

Nikki and I enjoyed the pasta. The light-coloured sauce reminded me both in colour and flavour of Kraft White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese. However, after his fifth bowl, Michael said he didn’t like it.

What do you think? Should I try a different recipe next time?

The finale of the series of unexpected photos (see Nikki and Michael) requested by Megan takes place on the playmat.

Vi was so cute playing with Lex’s tail that I jumped up from lunch and grabbed the camera.

                    

Ooops! Time to scoop a sweetie!

Our big guy enjoyed an exuberant day celebrating his birth!

He opened cards and gifts, devoured sausage, mash and peas, and topped the day with cake.

We simplify cake selection by asking our children to choose a cake colour and a colour for the decoration on top. Michael chose white cake with blue topping. Capitalizing on his love of fruit, I baked a blueberry sponge cake.

Although not quite cooked in the center, Michael’s enthusiastic endorsement was all that mattered to me!

Michael enjoyed exploring the sand bar at Point Walter the day before his second birthday.

          

 

          

This week I’m sharing the notes I took during a half-day first aid course. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them, but please remember that this information is not a substitute for hands-on first aid training.

Several things I learned in class were specific to Australia, and I will share them here. What are the equivalents where you live?

image source :: greenwichmeantime

The emergency telephone number in Australia is 000. Or, on a mobile phone, dial 112 (this will work even without a SIM card in the phone). Either can be dialed while the mobile phone keypad is locked.

Emergency calls are routed to a central call centre in the Eastern States, so you must specify from which state you are calling (e.g. Western Australia), as well as the town, address, and a street crossing to help the ambulance find you as quickly as possible.

Good Samaritan laws protect first aiders responding to a casualty as long as they “acted as a calm and rational person of the same level of training would have under the same circumstances.”

Anyone who performs first aid and feels anxious or distressed as a result can call the St John counseling service. Staff are trained to help first aiders work through intense emotions.

With excellent training, laws to protect ordinary citizens who want to help their neighbours, and an emotional safety net available via trained counselors, I feel confident that I can use my new first aid skills to “do something, help somebody.”

Related posts:

Child Basic Resuscitation :: introduction
Child Basic Resuscitation :: DRABCD
Child Basic Resuscitation :: restart the heart
Child Basic Resuscitation :: choking
Child Basic Resuscitation :: Australia

This week I’m sharing the notes I took during a half-day first aid course. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them, but please remember that this information is not a substitute for hands-on first aid training.

During the tea break I asked our instructor if we would be learning the Heimlich maneuver. She explained that the Heimlich maneuver is no longer recommended in Australia because (a) arms are not long enough to reach right around every adult, and (b) rib and spleen injuries have been associated with the maneuver. Instead, the accepted protocol for a choking victim is as follows:

Help the person who is choking to relax. This will cause the muscles in the throat to relax and could be all that is needed to dislodge the obstruction.

Ask the choking victim to breathe as deeply as possible. This not only helps the person to calm down, but also may shift a partial obstruction.

Encourage coughing, which should dislodge a partial obstruction.

The majority of choking cases are cleared by following those first three steps (relax, breathe, cough).

If the choking victim is an infant who cannot respond to requests to cough OR coughing is unsuccessful, call emergency services.

With emergency services en route, lean the casualty forward with head and chest low. If an infant, position infant on your forearm with the head downwards.

photo source :: childsafetyaustralia.com.au

Deliver up to five sharp blows between the shoulder blades, pausing after each blow to check if the obstruction is cleared. For an infant, use two fingers. For children and adults, deliver the blows with the heel of your hand.

After five blows, if the obstruction is not cleared, next deliver up to five sharp blows to the casualty’s breast bone, in the same manner as the blows to the back.

Alternate in sets of five, back and front until the obstruction is cleared or emergency services have arrived.

Tomorrow I will conclude this first aid series with some Australia-specific information.

Related posts:

Child Basic Resuscitation :: introduction
Child Basic Resuscitation :: DRABCD
Child Basic Resuscitation :: restart the heart
Child Basic Resuscitation :: choking
Child Basic Resuscitation :: Australia

This week I’m sharing the notes I took during a half-day first aid course. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them, but please remember that this information is not a substitute for hands-on first aid training.

Never forget that the heart is a pump. When the heart stops, chest compressions keep the pump primed so that it can start back up more easily.

image source :: South Dartmoor Community College

Each person’s heart is roughly the size of her clenched fist – this holds true from babies all the way through to adults.

In children, the most common reason for the heart stopping is asphyxia. Therefore when a child’s heart stops it usually lies completely still. CPR usually restarts the breathing and therefore the child’s heart. A defibrulator is not useful in restarting a completely still heart. If a defibrulator is called for, it must be at a lower power than an adult defibrulator (50 jules rather than 150).

In adults, the most common reason for the heart stopping is heart disease. Therefore when an adult’s heart stops, it usually quivers as it tries to continue pumping. Compressions in CPR keep the heart primed and ready to resume pumping, but will not often restart a diseased heart. Defibrullation combined with CPR is often effective in restarting a quivering heart.

photo source :: buydefibrillator.co.uk

Lay people’s defibrullators are becoming increasingly available. The most common place to find them is at the airport. The machines are straightforward to use and even include voice prompts. Additionally, the machine will not allow you to do anything unsafe or not indicated (for instance, it will not attempt to shock a heart that is lying completely still).

After giving a shock, restart chest compressions immediately. It will be clear if the heart has restarted.

Tomorrow I will talk about what to do if someone starts choking, a very relevant skill for those of us with enthusiastic young eaters!

Related posts:

Child Basic Resuscitation :: introduction
Child Basic Resuscitation :: DRABCD
Child Basic Resuscitation :: restart the heart
Child Basic Resuscitation :: choking
Child Basic Resuscitation :: Australia

This week I’m sharing the notes I took during a half-day first aid course. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them, but please remember that this information is not a substitute for hands-on first aid training.

In a situation where someone is injured, a trained first aider can “do something, help somebody.” St John first aid training focuses on the acronym DRABCD.

D is for Danger – stop moving; check for danger to yourself, others, and finally to the casualty; if possible remove the danger, and

R is for Response – ask the casualty “can you hear me?” “can you open your eyes?” and give a squeeze on their shoulders in case they cannot hear you. Tell them who you are. Hearing is the last sense we lose, and it can fade in and out. It is always a good idea to tell the casualty what you are doing. If no response, call for help! Ask someone to call emergency services, then

A is for Airway – check the airway. if not clear, turn onto side (rescue position) and remove any visible obstruction. Never reach fingers in if you can’t see an obstruction and never reach back farther than the roof of the mouth. Once airway is clear, keep it open by lifting the jaw and tilting the head back. Then check for

B is for Breathing – look, listen, and feel. You need to see two breaths within ten seconds. If you see them, move the casualty into the recovery position. If not, give two breaths and check for another ten seconds. If the casualty is still not breathing, perform

C is for CPR – with the casualty on his back on a firm surface, give 30 compressions (counting aloud will help you stay calm) at a rate of two per second. Pause every 30 compressions and blow two breaths, pausing between breaths. Immediately resume compressions. If you can’t or won’t give breaths, simply pump the heart with compressions on the breastbone. Scan the casualty’s face and limbs for signs of life rather than just watching your hands. Take turns with one or more other people if possible. Continue until emergency services arrive, or, if you have access to one,

D is for Defibrillation – Get someone to bring the machine. Turn it on, bare the person’s chest, and follow the voice prompts on the machine. Attach adhesive pads as per the diagrams on the pads. Continue resuscitation (CPR and defibrillation) until emergency services arrive.

I learned some fascinating things about hearts and defibrillation that I will share in my post tomorrow.

Related posts:

Child Basic Resuscitation :: introduction
Child Basic Resuscitation :: DRABCD
Child Basic Resuscitation :: restart the heart
Child Basic Resuscitation :: choking
Child Basic Resuscitation :: Australia