Owen

One of my dearest friends in this world is a marvelous young lady named Sommer. You can read about Sommer from past posts here and here if you're interested in her aura. =) We live a long distance from one another, but we typically communicate on a daily basis, so I feel very close to her even though our visits are not as frequent as I would like. Most recently BJ, Silas, and I visited Sommer and her family in June/July of this summer, at which point we both had one child nearly the exact same age and we were both expecting another as well. Sommer's son Owen was born in August, and he is the only baby I have knit a blanket for. (My own second son George will be the second recipient of an imperfect Jenny creation.)

Those of you who have wondered about the woes of our past month will find your answers here. Sommer's son Owen has recently been diagnosed with leukodystrophy, which we have learned is a disease that, in Sommer's words, is "devastating and life-limiting." BJ and I are obviously broken-hearted and grieving for our friends and for Owen's precious but short life here on Earth. Specifics about Owen's prognosis and symptoms are not my business to share on this blog, but for those of you who are interested in Owen and Sommer's story and their ongoing journey, Sommer has made the momentous decision to begin her own blog. She has consented that I share this blog with my friends, her only condition being that I don't criticize grammatic content. As if. =) Sommer's account of loving Owen can be found here: http://lovingowen.blogspot.com/

In trivial news, here are a couple of things that I have made lately:

1. An alpaca basket-weave scarf for BJ. He looks so handsome that he simply needed a soft, handsome scarf to match.

2. Homemade marshmallows. I can't eat the packaged kind because it is made with light corn syrup, which frustratingly contains vanilla. We special-ordered vanilla-free corn syrup that came in the mail earlier this week though, and so now my hot chocolate has huge, gooey vanilla-free homemade marshmallows floating in it. Yum.

* Note: This is not actually a picture of a mug of hot chocolate with a thousand floating marshmallows. I may be crazy, but I'm not that far gone.

 3. A fool of myself in excitement over the success of OSU's football season this year. I can honestly say that I cared less than ever about this Bedlam game in light of the above-mentioned recent events in our lives, but I tell you, what a pick-me-up it is to win a Big 12 Championship and taste the first-time sweetness of a BCS bowl. BJ and I are pumped!