Please pray for Luke

Here is a tiny glimpse into the life of Luke as said by his mom Rachel


In the world of parenting a child with disabilities, your biggest concerns are health and social
inclusion. The work to achieve these goals is difficult, but so worth it.


Luke Martens is a lively 3 1/2 year old. At birth he was diagnosed with an extremely rare disorder called Mosaic Trisomy 22.

Luke's disorder is growth based so at near term in my pregnancy he was only 3 lbs. Now at age 3 he's close to 4 feet tall but only 23 lbs. Because of the lack of weight he's not walking yet.
As he is very interested in walking, i would love to be able to invest in some gym equipment for further at home physio.
He's also nonverbal. Right now he speaks with limited signs and becomes increasingly frustrated with his lack of ability.
His abilities on a cognitive level have yet to be figured out by any therapist. Being the one who spends the most time with him, i end up being translator.
It would be my dream to get asl training as well. You dream big for your child with special needs and any help would make that reality
Luke has been battling inexplicable stomach problems for which no doctor has been able to provide relief. Luke has an opportunity to get testing done at a lab in the US. These are not covered by Canadian health-care.
I really appreciate your help! Luke's been in almost daily pain and i'm running out of things for him to eat that won't send him into an episode. They've run all the standard tests available in Canada. Thank-you for your help from one mom to another - Rachel
We appreciate your prayers for Luke, his mom Rachel and dad Nick.

The money raised will first be used to get the medical tests done (about $700), if we raise more we would love to be able to bless the Martens family with funds to get some of the things she mentioned such as physio equipment & asl training.


For every $125 raised, there will be a draw for $25. Every $5 donation = 1 entry into the draw.
I hope you will consider donating to this wonderful cause! Please tell your friends too!


Thank you very much!

Mr. Mom

Mr. Mom: Life as a stay at home Dad

It's challenging and rewarding at the same time. I just love it! My wonderful wife is a full-time flight attendant which makes me Mr. Mom. I am with our son 24/7 up to 6 days per week. The airline requires her to be on call at times so, with her sporadic schedule, we are sometimes granted up to 6 days in a row together. I like to call this time we have together "Quality Family Time". This means I'm 50% stay at home Dad and 50% single parent. I have it all and it is intense at times. I can only imagine what single parents have to go through every day. My deepest respect goes out to all of you out there.


Ever since our little guy came into our world almost 10 months ago, I have had the time of my life! Staying home with him was the best choice I have ever made.
My wife and I were raised this way by our mothers and we knew we wanted to do the same for our child, with one stay-at-home parent. It turned out my wife has the better benefits (health, travel and time off/flexibility), compared to my benefits (zero), so that decision was "easy". Liam, our baby, and I always drive my wife to the Airport (Princess Drop Off) and pick her up again (Princess Pick Up), because we are a single car family. The result of living on one income comes cost cutting. It's a choice and we made this decision for our son who deserves the best!


Being a full-time stay-at-home parent is the most under appreciated job in the world. My wife appreciates everything I do, but I have a feeling she is the only one who does. My in-laws are trying to talk me into jobs. Um, HELLO! Parenting is my damn job (excuse my language) and I'm more than proud of it!! Our son is an extremely happy and friendly boy, well adjusted to visitors and we are able to take him just about anywhere without him screaming his face off. We feel this full-time parenting has benefited his growth greatly in this regard. What happens if I did seek full-time employment with a company? We would have to put Liam in daycare and I would basically be working to pay that bill. I think this is a big issue in this country and it's really going in the wrong direction-- did I mention, I'm from Germany?

My Dad also thinks I'm just sitting on the couch all day not doing anything. I don't get it!!! More appreciation please! Now! I love my job as "Mr. Mom" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Mom/309627278701 and I wouldn't change a thing. Of course it would be nice to get paid for it, but I don't think there is enough money out there to pay for all the "overtime". But it's so worth it and my wife and I know that our little man is in good hands while she is out there working like crazy to keep our heads above water. Of course it's not easy for her to leave her cutie pie, but I send her pictures and updates every day, which makes it a little bit better for her.


In my "free-time" (Liam's Nap Time) I'm in the process of building an online store for quality Baby/Children toys and other specialty gifts. www.nils-online.com.
I try to offer toys/items that I would give my own son to play with. It's so close to my heart and I'm hoping to build it up more in the coming months. Let's see if Liam will let me... ;-)
I'm enjoying my life with my little awesome family and nobody can take away my pride of being a stay at home Dad. Mr. Mom is standing strong behind his "Job".

Thanks for reading and till next time,

Mr. Mom
www.nils-online.com

No Phone Zone

PHONE + CAR = SCAR Put your phone away, and I mean away when you are in the car. Just turn it off completely, or put it in the trunk while driving. It's just too dangerous and you put too many lives in danger. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.

PHONE + CAR = SCAR (emotional, mental, or physical scar) - Just imagine how you would "scar" yourself, or even worse, putting scars on other people, or family members if you get in an accident, just because you thought it was more important to take/make that call, or that message couldn't wait. Not that I never used the phone in the car. I used to, but after having a little precious family, I don't want to test fate.

It can wait - DON'T test fate

Please take the pledge and make your car a "No Phone Zone"

http://www.oprah.com/packages/no-phone-zone.html

Please don't put yourself, or others in danger!

Nils + Family

www.nils-online.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Mom/309627278701