Further update on Jaxton

Thank you so much to those who have been reading and have told me you’re praying for little Jaxton. He’s still hanging in there and his parents have many things to praise God for. I’m going to do the same as last time and copy the latest updates on Jaxton from his mom, Lisa’s, blog. They have posted photos of Jaxton on their blog and I don’t feel comfortable taking that much and posting here, so please, if you’d like to follow Jaxton’s progress and see pictures, check out their blog here.

26 Feb

Saturday 4:30am {Pee, Poop & other fun stuff}

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Jaxton’s Story. Tagged: GOD, Heart, Jaxton Husmann, NICU, Omphalocoele, semi-lobar holoprosencephaly, Trisomy 13. 7 Comments

Hi!

So many things have been going on here!!!

Jaxton’s ph level is now 7.32   ideal is 7.4 which is an excellent change from his original 7.02 ph!

They  adjusted his ventalator and he is handeling the change well according to the respatory therapist. He originally was on 100% oxygen and now he is at 85%. I think they are trying to get him to room axygen which is like 25% (don’t quote me on that… there are to many numbers around here to remember them all)

Earlier today the doctor was concerned about how little he was peeing and then he surprised us all and has peed off the charts good! He only needs 2 oz minimum an hour and he has consistantly done 23 oz in 3 hours!

Crystal his nurse JUST told me that he has been absorbing ALL 6 ml of the colostrom which he had trouble doing with the formula. I’m sooooo thrilled!!! I have been producing twice as much as he needs at this point which everyone is so surprised considering the lack of sleep, emotional stress and having gone through the pain of a surgery. He just makes me soooo happy I think my body wants to reward him any way I can.

I have been loving and flirting with him this whole time. Kissing every sweet little part of him and whispering prayers and I love you’s. He has been tugging at my heart strings and making me fall more and more in love with him! He decided to flirt back with me and opened his eyes about 6 times and has been holding my finger.

I am loving towel bathing him, giving massages and lotion rub downs. He loves his feet and legs rubbed. He is responding to our touch which makes us smile!

I have decided that there is nothing better than seeing my hubby kiss, love and hold our sons. I have fallen even more in love with Josh just being so in love with our boys.

Jake was able to visit today and I loved seeing him running around and being his fun self. He was being so funny it was almost too painful to be around because it was making my incision hurt every time I laughed. I think he is starting to hint at wanting to be potty trained. Apparently he has been taking off his diaper A LOT and even went pee in the potty once on his own! (Big thanks to the Niccum family for putting up with the diaper situation! sorry you had the luxury of dealing with that.)

My heart is so full right now for Josh, Jake and Jaxton but for you all, the nursing staff and especially my friends and family. I’d like to work on a post here soon about how much you all have touched my life! It may take me a while to write because I have soooo much to say.

Right now Daddy is holding Big Jax and I’m due for a nap!

I am so thankful to God, Jaxton’s creator, for his tenderness and mercy with our family. He has been blessing us abundantly in so many ways. I’m almost moved to tears at how he has been so gentle with our hearts and answering prayers and questions right away. We have been able to pray over Jaxton and read scripture to him reminding him of how great and wonderful the LORD is! Father God… I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

We could use prayer for the decisions about his nutrition intake, breathing on his own, NO Trisomy in his DNA and extra prayers for his heart!

25 Feb

Friday 3:13 p.m. – Update from Josh

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 43 Comments

Jaxton is doing well!  Thank you for your continued prayers!!  God really is working and hearing your prayers!!!

Jaxton’s levels continue to improve!  He’s still hooked up to a ventilator, but he is taking some breaths on his own, which is a great sign!  He is moving more and we’re getting to know his personality a bit more!

Lisa wants to thank the entire staff here at IU North in the NICU!  They really have been incredible and gone above and beyond to help make sure Jaxton knows he’s loved.  Shari, our current nurse, made Jaxton a bracelet with his name on it and a cross.  She also made scrapbook and gave him a personalized teddy bear!  Our very first nurse, Erica, gave Lisa a book with Bible references according to theme (she’s also planning on coming to the next Vision Experience for Mercy Road!).  She had brought the book to work a week ago and hadn’t known why.  She told us she knew it was for us and she personalized the front of the book.

The nurses, respitory therapists, doctors, and surgeons have just been amazing and we’re truly thankful for each of them!!  Lisa has been praying for the nurses and doctors since we found out about Jaxton’s condition.

Jaxton is doing well please continue to pray for him.  We made a list of what to pray for in the previous post.  We’d also love if you would pray that Jaxton begins to breath completely on his own and continues to do so!  Also, pray for NO SEIZURES.  He hasn’t had any yet, but it’s a possibility with his brain issues.

Thank you all so much and we’ll try to update when we have more news!

– Josh (Lisa’s husband)

24 Feb

Post by Josh – Thursday 5:43 p.m.

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 82 Comments

Hey everybody, this is Josh (Lisa’s husband).  We want to thank Aimee for endless hours of no sleep to keep everybody updated on Jaxton’s status.  I honestly don’t know what the last update said, so I’m just going to share where we’re at now.

Lisa and I are spending some time with Jaxton.  Right now she has him on her lap and is talking to him.  It’s beautiful.  She just told me, “He moved his leg!”  Movement is something we get excited about.

Jaxton is coming up on 24 hours of life!  This is a huge praise!!  We almost lost him last night.  In fact the doctor has given Jaxton no chance of long term survival.  Yet, he’s still alive.  In fact, we just found out his blood PH is up to 7.227, which is much better than it was this morning!  We get excited for each positive step he takes.  The guy is a fighter!!

It’s been an emotional roller coaster so far of highs and lows.  Jaxton was not breathing when he was born.  He’s been switched between multiple ventilators, but now has one that is helping him keep stable.

For the left-brainers here’s the major medical issues Jaxton has: holoproscencephaly (brain), multiple heart defects, and the omphalocele (some of his intestines are in a sac outside his abdomen wall).  We had a tough decision last night of what to do.  We decided to ask the surgeon to put in a central line.  This is a catheter in his chest that is getting needed medication to his heart.

If you’re reading this THANK YOU SO MUC H FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!  WE CAN REALLY USE THEM NOW!!!!  It will definitely take a miraculous healing from God for Jaxton to live.  We definitely haven’t given up hope!  We also have learned to embrace whatever path God has for Jaxton, as difficult as that is for us.

Here is what you can pray for:

1. His heart defects would miraculously heal.

2. His brain would heal and function at a high level.

3. His blood PH remains at a good level.  7.4 is best.

4. His omphalocele heals quickly and well.

5. That he would begin to move a lot.  He rarely, if ever, moves beyond his tongue.

6. For our whole family during this time and for Jake as friends and family are watching him (thank you Niccum’s and sorry for Jake repeatedly taking off his clothes and diaper!!)

7. That Jaxton does not feel pain or experience much discomfort as he begins to try to move.

Thank you all so much!!!

24 Feb

4:54pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 9 Comments

hello everyone. i am writing from my home in dayton, ohio. i left the hospital at 2:30 and mom, dad, and jaxton were doing ok. jaxton and lisa were spending quality one on one time while josh got a couple hours of sleep. praise the Lord that the hospital has fantastic accomdations for everyone, including friends and family that come to visit. they have taken great care of everyone! i made the difficult decision to come home beacuase i knew that lisa, josh, and jaxton were in great hands and there was nothing more i could do. there will be very few updates as it is a waiting game now. i also wanted to give josh and lisa lots of quality time as a gamily without too many extra people hanging around. it has been such a priviledge for me to update the thousands of people that are praying for this family! if/when i hear anything i will post from home. if /when there are big changes for jaxton i will most likely head back to indy to be with lisa if that is what she needs from me.

please pray that jaxton continues to be comfortable and that he and mommy and daddy get lots of time together! please pray as the doctors continue to diagnose and treat jaxton with all the challenges that his timy body is presenting. please pray that God will continue to show Himself through the lives of the husmann family and their faith through this difficult time in their lives.

thanks again! aimee

24 Feb

10:36am

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 24 Comments

hello friends. i am sorry that the last post was so long ago! i am also sorry for all the typos and errors…i hope you can still follow along. at different points throughout the last day i have been a little preoccupied and spelling errors were not on my radar! things are still going here. at this moment josh is with jaxton and lisa is taking a much needed rest. this couple has had a very hard night, but they are both holding up with such grace and peace that i know only God can give. little has changed with jaxton. he has his times when things look very good and we get excited. there are also moments when we are reminded that his little body is fragile and we dont really know how this is going to go. jaxton is in no pain and is still sedated, much to josh and lisa’s dismay. lisa would love to see him squirming around and opening his eyes…please pray that happens while she is there to see it! jaxton loves to be held by his mommy and daddy. last night they took turns and tried to rest on their “off shift”. rest is hard to come by becuase they do not want to  miss a single thing. at one point lisa and i were talking, she was facing me and when she turned back she said “oh, i just miss him so much when i am not looking at him!” she desperately wants to soak up every minute and study his every little feature. she is healing very well from the surgery…she has been walking, eating, and drinking like a champ. josh has been an amazing support both for lisa and for jaxton. he jumps to attention with every little noise and he is on top of knowing what is going with jaxton…there is alot of information flying around and they have both been great about digesting that information and making decisions. please continue to pray in that way. please pray that God would make it very clear as to what they should do regarding care, medications, treatments, etc. i have been so blessed to see lisa be real with me over the course of the last day. she is trusting God but still crying out for Him to heal jaxton. the realization that that may not happen is very sobering. i have to keep telling myself that God is so much bigger than this, that i need to be praising Him for the fact that He can do this!

thank you for your continued prayers for josh, lisa and jaxton!! thank you for your continued patience with me as i try to post for them…sorry they are not as visually appealing as lisa’s…i promise she will be back soon! love, aimee

“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come with a vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you’.” Isaiah 35:3-4

Update on Jaxton

Hi all, I know many of you have been reading and praying for my friends, the Husmanns, as their little Jaxton’s due date came closer and closer. Yesterday he arrived! Praise God. There is a lot of prayer needed still, and I thought the easiest thing to do to update you is to copy the updates from yesterday from Lisa’s blog. You can also read directly from her blog here.

Blessings to you all and thank you for praying.

Love,

Whitney

24 Feb

2:26am

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 6 Comments

lisa is doing very well, especially right after having major surgery! jake was able to come up and meet his little brother, he didnt stay long, but it was so cute to see him trying to figure everything out. after jake’s visit lisa came back to her room to be checked and all that goes with that. she is now back in jaxton’s room with josh. josh was able to hold jaxton for quite a while now it is lisa’s turn again. at this point there are no updates about jaxton other than he is still fighting and he is still here! lisa and josh are both taking the time to tell jaxton the things that they want him to hear and to know…heartbreaking to say the least. we have all had wet cheeks! God is moving and touching the lives of those around this awesome family, me included. i am so blessed to be here and witness real faith lived out!

i cant tell jaxton this without crying, but i am sure it is how we all feel…

jaxton, you are loved. you are not an accident. we want you, not just today but forever!  jaxton, you make all of this worth it…your precious tiny ears, our long skinny legs, just you! i will always love you! xoxo “aunt aimee”

24 Feb

11:56pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 7 Comments

things are not going well. i wish i didnt have to write this…i wish i didnt have to write period. i wish lisa could do it, it would be none of this was happening! i wish i could tell you that everyone was wrong, that things have turned around and everyone is resting peacefully. lisa just finished holding jaxton. the doctor is here to put in a central line, which will hopefully give jaxton more time. they are calling this comfort care. this will not cure jaxton of any thing, it will just give the family more time. jake is on his way up here to meet his little brother. it will be so sweet to have the whole family together.

i know that i am taking a few liberties here, but i saw this on another post and it touched me and feel the same way about jaxton!

“Yes, (jaxton) is sick, but alive in Christ – forevermore.  This blog is far more than a gripping medical story.  It’s a record of daily concrete actions by the Spirit of God living in this family – not because of any goodness in us, but by the sovereign love of the Father overflowing through your prayers that are presented by His Son seated at His Father’s right hand interceding for us.” the simple wife, speaking of Joanne

i will update as i can, but please pray that God would allow Jaxton to keep fighting…we all need him for a while longer!!

aimee

23 Feb

10:04pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 6 Comments

i have heard so many words that i dont understand and so many things that are going on that am not even sure. jaxton is here! he is not in any pain! there will be lots of decisions that lisa and josh have to make…some sooner rather than later. right now lisa is in the NICU with jaxton!! she and josh are spending quality time as a family. the doctor was able to remove the other cyst from jaxton’s umbilical cord. right now they are inserting a central line. this is a more permanent IV line and give will jaxton better access to medication. jaxton does have VSD, a heart condition involving a hole. his heart is large for his size and not developed “normally”. they have moved him from a ventilator which breathes 60 times to a high frequency ventilator which breathes over 400 times a min…this is helping his lungs because they are formed more like a preemie.  the omephalocele (sorry if that is spelled wrong) is large and will not be able to be operated on right now. it includes his intestines and his liver, or at least part of it. becuase he has grown in the womb with the “O” his belly is not big enough to hold the organs, which is why they cant do surgery right now.

right now, this is all that i can think of, thank you for being patient with me. there are so many decisions to be made. please pray that lisa and josh have peace about their decisions. please pray that the doctors can get a very accurate  picture of what is going on and what they can do to give jaxton the best care possible.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!

aimee

23 Feb

8:54pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 6 Comments

i was able to go over and see jaxton and josh. they are both doing so great! josh is right by jaxton’s side, holding and rubbing his little leg and talking to him the whole time. he tells him what the nurses are doing, he cheers him on, and tells him he is doing a good job! it is the most awesome thing and brought tears to my eyes…what an awesome dad! the neonatal doctor came over while i was standing next to lisa. he said that they are running tests, but jaxton is still proving to be confusing. he has signs of trisomy 13/18 but he does not have some of the most classic signs (ie he has no cleft defects). they are taking x-rays of his heart and his brain to find out what is going on. while i was in with jaxton, he looked so cute. apparently i got the info wrong, he weighed 3lbs 12 oz. his coloring looked good and he was squirmin all over the place! he even opened his eyes a few times and kept moving his mouth and tongue around to figure out was was going on with the ventilator i walked back over to lisa’s recovery room so that lisa could call josh on the phone…it was so sweet. they are both doing so well. they both have such a peace about how things have gone and how they are going. there is still alot going on, but we are blessed and encouraged  so far.

more to come later! aimee

ps. jake is having a blast at his friends house, he is looking forward to a sleep over!

23 Feb

8:23pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

i am sitting in the recovery rom with lisa. the grandparents and dad are in with jaxton. he weighed 2.5lbs. they are taking x-rays now to check things out. he is pink “and filling up the bed” according to the NICU nurse, meaning he is all spread eagle. he is smaller than they thought, but apparently that is not uncommon. he is on a ventilator, but we are praying he decides to breathe on his own.

lisa looks great and is doing well. she did great with all the medications so far. we are so thankful for the nurses that are working hard to keep her updated and get her out there to see jaxton as soon as possible!

that is all i know for now. thanks…keep praying!

aimee

23 Feb

8:03pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 5 Comments

another text: ” moved to nicu. getting him settled. lisa got to see him in OR and touch his head for a while “

aimee

23 Feb

7:44pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

text from the photographer “jaxton born intubated now. will update soon”

thats all i know!

thanks! aimee

23 Feb

6:45pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 5 Comments

those of us that are here with lisa and josh were able to go in as a group and send her off in prayer. in just a few short minutes they will go back into the surgery room. the photographer and videographer will be there as well. lisa has been given both benadryl (for the itches) and an anti-nausea medication and will receive more medication in the OR. the surgery will be about about an hour…5 minutes to get jaxton out and about 45 minutes to finish and close lisa up. josh will go to the NICU with jaxton and lisa will go to recovery. please pray that lisa will be able to go to jaxton’s side sooner than the “normal” 2 hour wait. please pray…just please pray! i dont know what this miracle is going to really look like. i am praying for healthy vibrant baby boy, but i dont know what God has pictured and that is what makes this so difficult. i know that i felt His presence in that room as we were praying. i know that God never says no, only a different yes. PLEASE PRAY FOR JAXTON!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR LISA!!! please pray that lisa does not loose any blood and there are no complications with surgery. after having jacob, lisa had several complications…the prayer is that this time things will go better than smoothly!

i will update as soon as i can! thank you for praying incessantly  for my friends!!

aimee

23 Feb

3:36pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 6 Comments

i went into the room to deliver the nurses gifts and the drug doc (i cant spell the real title!) was there for lisa to sign consent forms for the spinal block. the catch is that lisa was honest in telling the doctor that she ate a half of a piece of toast at 1pm to help settle her stomach. the doctor did not like this and informed the husmanns that surgery would have to be postponed until 7pm. there is a small chance that if lisa were to vomit she could asperate that toast into her lungs, which in turn, could be fatal. lisa is very upset. it is nice to see that the doctor is doing what is best for lisa, but so frustrating at the same time. please pray for patience as we wait for the next 3 hours for what could be happening right now.

“O Lord my God, I called to you for help and You healed me.” Psalm 30:2

keep praying for God’s complete healing for Jaxton’s body!! please pray that this waiting does not set lisa and josh back in the preparation of their heart and minds for Jaxton’s arrival!

aimee

23 Feb

3:12pm

Posted by Lisa Husmann in Uncategorized. 5 Comments

hello friends! this is aimee. i am sitting in the waiting room, which is unusually warm! i just talked with lisa…she looks great and josh is looks uber cool in his new “Jaxton’s daddy” t-shirt. i cant wait for you to see pictures! lisa had just gotten hooked up to the heart monitor. jaxton is doing well and lisa is hangin in there! no real updates other than she is settled in and preparing to go. she wanted me to let you know that she is getting nervous and that “this is going to happen whether she is ready or not.” please pray for peace and comfort!! please pray for the doctors and nurses as they too prepare for surgery!

updates again soon!

aimee

Please pray…

A friend of mine from college and his wife are preparing to have their second child tomorrow at 4PM central time. I ask that you please pray for them, Josh and Lisa, their 2-yr old, Jake, and the baby, Jaxton. Jaxton has Trisomy 13, a syndrome which means each cell in the body has three copies of chromosome 13 instead of the usual two copies. Very few babies with Trisomy 13 make it to birth. Of those who do, the median survival age for children with Patau syndrome (another name for Trisomy 13) is 2.5 days, with only one in 20 children surviving longer than 6 months. There are a few cases of people living into their teens. Their are many complications connected to Trisomy 13 which contribute to the high mortality rate. Borrowing from Lisa’s blog about the symptoms of Trisomy 13:

 Symptoms    –   (* symptoms we know our son has)

Cleft lip or palate – 70-80% of cases

* Clenched hands (with outer fingers on top of the inner fingers) * one picture with hands open!  🙂

* Close-set eyes – 60-70% of cases

Decreased muscle tone

Extra fingers or toes (polydactyly)

* Hernias: Umbilical hernia/Omphalocoele, inguinal hernia – 13% of cases

Hole, split, or cleft in the iris (coloboma)

* Low-set ears

* Mental retardation, severe (semi-lobar holoprosencephaly) – found in 60-70% of trisomy 13 patients (Severe mental deficits are prevalent in trisomy 13, occurring in 100% of cases.)

Scalp defects (missing skin)

Seizures

Single palmar crease

Skeletal (limb) abnormalities

Small eyes

Small head (microcephaly)

* Small lower jaw (micrognathia)

Undescended testicle (cryptorchidism)

* Single umbilical artery – 13-28% of cases

  

So, Jaxton’s prognosis:
* Trisomy 13
*VSD/hole in heart 

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a defect in the ventricular septum, the wall dividing the left and right ventricles of the heart

*Umbilical Hernia/ Omphalocoele

During the growth of the fetus, the intestines grow more rapidly than the abdominal cavity. For a period, a portion of the intestines of the unborn child usually lies outside the abdomen in a sac within the umbilical cord. Normally, the intestines return to the abdomen, and the defect is closed by the time of birth. Occasionally, the abdominal wall does not close solidly, and umbilical hernia results.

*Holoprosencephaly

A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are fused, is found in 60-70% of trisomy 13 patients.

*SUA/ Single Umbilical Artery:

Normally, when the umbilical cord develops, it forms three vessels: two arteries and one vein. However, in some cases, just one artery develops. Precisely why this occurs is not entirely known. It is suspected, though, that one artery may simply stop growing as it develops or perhaps that the primordial umbilical artery does not divide properly.

  

Jaxton’s mom, Lisa, has been faithfully keeping a blog about this pregnancy, the ups and downs of it, the highs and lows of emotion, and the struggles and joys that have come in the deepening of their faith in God through all of this. Lisa, Josh, and thousands of others have been praying for miraculous healing for this little boy, and have been rejoicing that God is at the center of this pregnancy and this little boy’s life. If God answers the prayers for a miracle with a “yes” and Jaxton is healed, Praise the Heavenly Father! If His answer to the prayers for a miracle is “no”, then God’s purpose for Jaxton’s life has been and will be fulfilled in a different way. Taking from Lisa’s blog, she writes to Jaxton:

“I am so proud of you already. For just your existence has changed the world. What a legacy to start your life with! We have been praying for you since before you were conceived and as we continue to pray for you, I want you to remember all the things I have already told you, but especially this: You are in the hands of an Almighty God who loves you even more than I ever could and I am so in love with you. “

 

The impact that Jaxton’s life has already had has been tremendous. With yet having taken his first breath, Jaxton has already affected a multitude of lives. If you take the time to read Lisa’s blog, you will also be affected. Please pray for this beautiful child of God, who is fearfully and wonderfully made, and for his family. God’s name be praised.

In the words of King David, who experienced extreme joys and sorrows in life and did not shrink from sharing those experiences, thoughts and feelings with his Heavenly Father:

Psalm 139

 ¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

Mural Day 5

still going on the details

 

jona & "the guy opening the jacket"

 

lise, tineke, and "crouching dude"

 

roberto and "the adidas dude"

 

great Brazil team

 

the gang from both hogar projects together at last

 

celebrating being (almost) done

 

This mural is done.

 

I could keep working on it for days more..

 

But I'm not letting myself

 

So the office wall is completely finished.

 

The colors revealed by the opened jacket look great

 

Here's a semi-long shot of the long wall. Maybe half is showing. There's still a good bit yet to finish but it's come together wonderfully.

 

Lise and I after the week-long mural project. great experience, exhausting experience. so glad we did it and it was successful.

Mural Day 4

Working away on the long wall

 

A day of detailing...

 

Everything we painted had to be outlined in black

 

As far as we got on the office wall, day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

 

Long wall, end of day 4

There is still a lot to do, but it’s really coming along. The detailing is tedious with all of the black outlining with a thin little paintbrush, but I’m a perfectionist in the details, so it’ll all be done and done well 😀

One more day to get as much of it done as we can!

Mural Day 3

So we got some color up on the wall...

 

And the long wall got some paint, too...

 

The beginning of "Jesus", "Padre", and "Espiritu Santo"

 

Base color for working with the zipper of the jacket

 

End of Day 3

 

It's coming along nicely, though lots to do...

 

Names all outlined

 

Colors being revealed by the unzipped jacket; jacket design starting to show

Mural Day 2

Part of an octopus tentacle

 

Hard at work

 

 

Lots to do

 

Two hours of painting

 

I'm excited to see this come together

 

Done with this section

 

The long wall has a lot of steps to do before painting

 

These guys will be opening a jacket zipper to see colors inside

Hopefully I’ll have photos of the long wall with some color on it tomorrow. I think we’re about ready…

Anyone want to paint? We’ve got plenty to do…

 

This week we are doing a practical project at the two children’s homes where we work. At the children’s home where I work we are doing a lot of painting outside. We are doing two big murals and painting another large section of wall. On the office wall we will have a window like in a boat, or a porthole, with many different animals swimming on the other side of the glass, but some have escaped to our side because an octopus tentacle broke through the glass. Today was our first day of work so it is only sketched in so far. I will post pictures as we go…

Detail - shark

 

We bought a lot of paint

Figuring out our budget was a fun task of guessing and estimates. It didn’t help that none of us have ever done anything like this before. Add to that the fact that much of this is all new vocabulary in Spanish and we have to determine what type of paint we need, compare prices on the multiple types and brands of paint, budget out everything based on the probable square meters we’d need of coverage (another fun extra for me, measuring everything in centimeters and having to talk in terms of square meters), in all it was quite the undertaking.

 

Porthole of ocean animals

This is quite faint I realize, but this a lot of the sketch for the porthole. The drawings continue farther down the wall with other animals having escaped from the window. The octopus’ tentacle enters into the office window and back out again, as though it’s gone inside the office.

detail - crab

a huge zipper along the wall

We have a long, long, long, wall on which we are also doing a mural. In the end it will appear like a jacket is being zipped open to reveal a swirl of colors, in which is written “Padre”, Jesus”, and “Espiritu Santo”.  We first had to paint the entire length a fresh coat of white to cover the old white and ugly mint green that was there to start.

this will be a geometric pattern all the way along the wall

The jacket part will have a geometric design, and there will be a few figures drawn who are sewing a rip in the jacket, pulling back the tab, and maybe peering inside at the colors.

We paint this just to clean it up

We have a third wall, a corner wall, also quite large that we are painting in order to clean it up a bit. It was painted three years ago with a sunset/beach design, but weather and the boys at the hogar were rough on it. We’re freshening it up again.

 

 

I am going to try to upload photos as we progress this week with the murals. I’m really pleased and excited with how much was accomplished today and what will get done tomorrow.

I think CCR would have been proud…

I jumped on the bus the other day to head to the OM house and, as is the norm here in Santiago, there was a musician on the bus. Some of these musicians are quite talented and receive a lot of tips from the passengers; others are not and don’t. I was on a bus one time where a man had is own personal amp to make sure everyone could hear him, and then proceeded to astonish and amaze us (nope) by playing his instrument: a drinking straw with holes in it. He didn’t get many tips.

Anyway, the other day I jumped on the bus and there was a musician playing his guitar and singing. As soon as I got on, I started smiling, because the man was putting his heart and soul into his music, eyes closed, head rocking back and forth as he belted out “Down On the Corner” in heavily-accented English. In quick succession followed a heart-felt rendition of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and “Susie Q”. I think all of his studying may have come from the same cd.

That man did get a tip from me, if only because in the middle of downtown Santiago, Chile I was able to find me some good ol’ Creedence Clearwater Revival, y’all. I then went and ate some Kentucky Fried Chicken. No I didn’t. But I could have. It’s here. Tangent.