hectic hell week--with a blessing attached

Jeff and Kira's baby was born 2 1/2 months early on Monday by an emergency C-section. Monday was Kira's birthday. Also the same day after I had had pulled a semi-all-nighter to finish a paper, and the day I needed to be going like crazy to finish a 7 page paper... that didn't happen, and that is happening right now due to the mercy of gracious although admittedly grudging Reformation professor. That's not to the mention the other essay/spiritual autobiography that I sort of threw together during last night's all-nighter. And so, you may ask, how am I managing to pull this current all-nighter off, to finish a 7 page paper with more difficult subject matter, after having chosen to completely overhaul my old idea at about 3:30 in the morning?

The answer is I don't know.

The extremely premature Jeffrey Michael McDonald Jr. is doing okay, though. He's got some of the common problems that afflict premature babies, so he needs a lot of prayers and more than a little bit of pure grace from his Heavenly Father for him to come out on top. I've been thinking about the little guy almost non-stop, worrying over the sight of his 14-inch little body struggling to breathe, filled with tubes and his skin deep red from the blood transfusions that he needs to keep him going. Jeff and Kira are exhausted, and their lives are on hold for the moment as they basically live in the hospital to be there for their 2 pound, 1 ounce son.

But you can bet I'm grateful that Little Jeff is alive and fighting to live.

So again, how am I managing to stay awake and alert enough to work on death essay number three of the week?

Well. Alert, not so much, but awake? Munchies that I can feel making me more and more unhealthy with every swallow. And this:

Thanks, Sufjan. You're the man, even if you have gone a little crazy recently.

Haven't we all.

Or maybe just me.