A Study in Communication

What a wonderful weekend!

I was overwhelmed Friday evening when we entered the church building and saw all of the people who had traveled to be a part of our meeting. We had quite a few new faces join us this year. It was great to meet new people and catch up with old friends!

The theme of our meeting was communication. One person mentioned to me that it seemed funny that the speakers chosen for this topic were such quiet men. I explained that it was by design…that most of the wisest people we meet in this life are those who are slow to speak and choose their words carefully. We certainly had the right line-up!

Gene gave an excellent lesson on Communicating with God. Prayer is such a basic Christian principal, but we often neglect it or misuse it. Gene gently instructed us on how we should be using this powerful aid that God has provided for us.

After Friday night’s service, a bunch of us went to Braums. Some hadn’t had supper, others just wanted ice cream, but we all enjoyed having some “semi-private” time to visit. Before we knew it, we had kept the store open past their normal hours of business! They were very gracious, though, and allowed us our visiting time.

We met up at the Millsap Community Center for a hamburger/hot-dog lunch on Saturday. We filled the building! The guys were “in charge” of serving on Saturday. After a good lunch and a lot of time for visiting, we assembled to hear Terry speak on Communication in our Congregations. He used Ecclesiastes 10:10 as a reference on how we should use wisdom to sharpen our communication skills. He showed how our communication should all be done in a sense of cooperation (as a body) and sincere love. I’ve always thought highly of Terry and enjoyed visiting with him privately. Hearing him speak for the first time was no different. His teaching style is just like his “one-on-one” style:  gentle, sincere, and full of wisdom.

After the assembly, we headed back to the Community Center for more fellowship and a sandwich supper. Afterwards, Kay and Diane came home with us to spend the night. Sheila also came over to visit for a few hours. We enjoyed them all so much! That is such a wonderful side benefit of these meetings…having dear ones in our home and getting that extra special time to enjoy one another’s company.

Yesterday, David P. gave the morning lesson on Communication Between Congregations. I didn’t really understand why he was chosen for this topic, because David is a very private, introspective guy. However, he rose to the challenge and gave an amazing lesson, utilizing his skills that he has developed in his professional life. He emphasized how necessary it is that we take the time and effort to keep those lines of communication open in order to all be working for the same goal…and that all needs to be done to promote unity and love.

After the morning assembly, we enjoyed a potluck back at the Community Center. Many had to leave after lunch to start their long journey home. Our building was no longer full for the afternoon assembly, but we still had a nice crowd for Jensen to speak to us about Communication with the World. I love listening to Jensen. He brings a fresh perspective to his lessons that I really enjoy. The thing I enjoy most, though, is that his lessons all come from his personal experiences in working with the “inner city” students of his. He definitely practices what he preaches! He shared with us what our common mistakes are in trying to share the gospel, used the story of the “Good Samaritan” as an example (to stop, to stoop, to save, to serve), and ended by emphasizing that we are to share the answer of Hope to those who have none.

It was sad to say our good-byes when it was all over. These times we have together are so precious! We greatly appreciate all who took the time and effort to travel to our meeting to make it such a success. I hope that we all do a better job of keeping our lines of communication open, and I look forward to the next time we can be together.

Ready, Set.....

Things are about to get pretty busy. Our meeting starts tonight. I've got all of my baking done and just have a little more food prep to do. I've started cleaning house and plan to finish (what I have time for) today. My company (Kay and Diane) aren't coming until tomorrow, so I still have a little wiggle room. I've been so distracted with other things that I really haven't thought much about the meeting. Now that it is here, I'm really looking forward to it:  seeing everyone (we're expected a really good crowd), hearing the speakers, and spending the weekend growing in the Lord. I'm needing the booster!

This week has not turned out like I expected. We started it out by going to Henrietta Creek last Sunday. We enjoyed our visit with the congregation there, plus having a little extra time with Sheila. On our drive home, I got a call from my Aunt Coez. She was having some problems and needed a ride to the ER. We were still in FW, but I told her if she couldn't find anyone else before we made it back to MW, that we'd take her as soon as we got there. When we got to Weatherford, I checked on her again, and she was on her way. She was able to get in touch with one of her grandsons to take her. When we got to MW, I dropped Dennis and Ricky off at the house and headed to the hospital. She was still in the ER, but they had already decided to admit her. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis and started on IV antibiotics and given something for pain. I stayed until they got her settled into her room. It has been a rough week for her! She is still having quite a bit of pain, but they have her back on solid foods again. They were thinking about releasing her yesterday, but she hurt her leg somehow and is having a lot of pain with that...and can't get up and around. They did a MRI on it yesterday, but they hadn't told her the results yet last night when I was there. She's not able to get around and take care of herself right now, because of her leg pain and from being so weak. They are talking about either moving her to a swing bed (if she qualifies) or sending her to rehab for a few days to build her strength back up. She lives by herself, and there is no way that she could manage on her own in her present condition. The timing is really bad for me being able to help out much right now! Please continue to remember her in your prayers. She has taken care of SO many people during her lifetime (including me!), and I hate to see her not even being able to take care of herself. I wish I could do more for her.

We are down to 10 days until we leave for Vietnam! Sheila talked to Dillon on Tuesday and got some very helpful information about what to expect on the trip and when we get Nam. We will have a guide with us the whole time to help with travel arrangements, interpreting and helping us wade through all of the details of handling an overseas adoption (which are many!). Since we will be getting on an airplane back to HCMC the same day as the adoption ceremony, it will be invaluable to have him help with Nam...explaining everything to him and helping calm him as he tries to understand the changes taking place.

We had good news from Daddy's nephrologist this week! His kidney function INCREASED from 31% to 43%. The doctor started him back on the BP medicine that he had stopped, but just reduced the dosage. He also started him on a low salt/potassium/phosphorus diet. I'm not sure what that is going to entail...I haven't looked into it yet. It will raise his rates at Brookdale, which he isn't going to like. I am still waiting to hear back from the office manager on how much of a difference it will make. I'm really happy to see that his kidneys are still healthy enough to respond positively to lifestyle changes. From what we'd read on the internet, when they drop below 30%, the damage is irreversible, and he was awfully close to that! I'm really hoping that we can keep him off dialysis!

Well, today is Stephen's 33rd birthday. It is hard to believe! I remember this day 33 years ago quite well...and my memory is usually not good enough to remember that far back. I remember how terrified I was at becoming a mother...afraid that I couldn't do it! Then after that first night home from the hospital, I was sure I couldn't! LOL! But I soon learned that I could and started enjoying the thrill of being the primary caregiver to another little person. It fills my heart with wonder to think that Sheila is about to embark on the same journey. The circumstances may be different, but the love and joy and amazement of motherhood is the same. Just as a mother falls in love with her unborn child as she carries it for 9 months, I've watched Sheila fall deeply in love with Nam over the past 18 months as she has prepared for this new adventure. Motherhood is the greatest calling a woman can have, and I'm so very thankful that she is able to achieve it...even as a single woman. It will be more challenging, but I have confidence that she will be an amazing mom!

Well, I need to get started on my activities of the day. It is time to start on this whirlwind!

16 Days!

That's how many days are left until we board the plane for Vietnam, Lord willing. Things have really been popping this week! Sheila received our visas on Monday. (That was FAST!) Then Tuesday we had an adoption date set...November 10! We have our itinerary and plane tickets purchased. I've notified my credit card company of my travel plans, as well as the State Dept. Travel insurance, purchased. Packing list, finalized. Last minute purchases, made. Carry on bag, mostly packed. It's hard to believe, after all of these MANY months of waiting, that the time is just around the corner now!

The girls are having one last "hurrah" before Sheila becomes a mother. Heather and Allison came down to spend the weekend with Sheila, and they, with Jessica and Stacey, have been enjoying their time together. We plan to head over to HC for services tomorrow to see the girls. I also need to pick up my visa and passport from Sheila and get them packed. Sheila and I have been texting back and forth constantly all week. SO many things to talk about and plans to make!

Other than travel plans, I spent 3 days taking folks to doctor visits. I took my Aunt Coez to FW on Monday. We had lunch together and then, on our way home, we dropped off to visit Daddy and Bobbie. It was Coez's first time to see their home at Brookdale. Then Thursday and Friday, Daddy had his Mohs surgery on his nose and skin graft. Both went well, and he goes back in 2 weeks to get his stitches out. We go back to the kidney specialist on Tuesday to find out the results of the tests that he had done. I'm really interested in finding out what he has to tell us.

I also got some baking done this week. I made snickerdoodles and a pecan pie for our upcoming meeting (next weekend!). I also made a batch of oatmeal cookies to keep in the freezer for grandson visits. My granny ALWAYS kept a stash in her freezer when we were growing up. I plan to uphold the tradition!

I have a couple of CASA visits to do next week (along with Daddy's doctor's appointment), then the rest of my time will be spent getting things ready for the meeting, which starts Friday night. I need to get the house cleaned, groceries bought and my food prepped and ready to cook.

Dennis hunted 2 or 3 days this past week and ended up bagging a nice fat young buck. I'm hoping we can wait until AFTER the meeting before we butcher it, but I doubt that happens. Dennis is planning a trip to East Texas as soon as our meeting is over, so he'll probably want to have that chore out of the way early. I'm thankful for the freezer that we bought from Daddy, because for the first time in our 40 years of marriage, I DIDN'T have to defrost the freezer before hunting season!

Another first for our 40 years of marriage, we won't be able to spend our anniversary together this year. Since I'll be in Vietnam from the 6th through the 23rd of November, and our anniversary is the 19th, we will have to celebrate either very early or a bit late. (We did have our Grand Canyon trip though!) We are also having to cancel our annual Thanksgiving celebration. We are supposed to return home on Thanksgiving Day, and the first few weeks will be spent helping Nam adjust to his new home...not a good time for introducing him to the whole family. Hopefully when he gets used to things here, we can get the family together for a quiet celebration.

Well, that's enough exciting news for this week! I hope to see some of you next weekend!

A lot of "showering" going on!

What a great weekend! Sheila came over Friday for supper and spent the night. Yesterday morning, we headed over to Gina’s for her adoption shower. Gina had decorated things up SO cute! She and Jessica did a great job hosting the party. Gina served us some delicious food and Vietnamese coffee, and Jessica had a couple of fun activities that were also very meaningful. It was a small crowd, but we all enjoyed our visit, and Sheila got some great stuff for Nam. We were so late getting home from the party, that the guys had already gone out for Dennis’ birthday lunch. He turned 65 on Saturday. Ricky took him to eat bbq at the Natty Flatt Smokehouse here in MW. Later that afternoon, he headed out to one of his hunting spots (after having waited to buy his license until that morning…so he could get the senior price of $7!). He saw several deer but decided not to take one. It was pretty hot that afternoon and he was hoping for a better opportunity.

The personalized blanket on the rocker was Gina's gift to Sheila...so pretty!

I really liked this gift from Gwen!

Last night, we fried shrimp for his birthday supper. Sheila bought the ingredients and helped me prepare the shrimp and French fries and coleslaw. He was one happy man when he walked in and smelled supper!

This morning, I drove to Henrietta Creek to spend the day with our church family over there.  They were throwing another shower for Sheila, along with having a potluck, at Diane’s house. It was a good turnout! Sheila got a lot MORE great stuff for Nam…even a bicycle! The church there has been such a great support for Sheila throughout this whole process. I am so thankful that she has them!

I headed home after the afternoon assembly, so I could have supper with Dennis. On my way, I stopped by Daddy’s old house to see how much progress they had made on fixing it up. It is barely recognizable! It looks great! I can’t wait until they put it on the market so that I can see pictures of the inside.

This will be another pretty full week. I take my aunt to the doctor in FW tomorrow. I’m looking forward to spending the day with her! I always enjoy our visits. Wednesday, I go back to FW for a CASA visit. Then Thursday and Friday, Daddy will have the cancer on his nose removed and a skin graft done where it is excised.

We are HOPING that we get word on Nam’s adoption date this week…or maybe next week. We have already sent in our visa applications and should have them back in about a week. All we have left to do is make our reservations (when we have the date) and pack. I’m starting to get a little nervous…and very excited!

Hoping for a little time to recuperate!

It has been a busy week and a half since my last post! We made our trip to Shreveport and enjoyed our visit with the folks there. There were just the locals, since others who might have visited were either at the Ole Time Camp Meeting or on other travels. But we enjoyed our visit with old friends. Dot was only able to come on Sunday. She is now living in an assisted living facility. She looks good (as always) but time has definitely made a mark on her body and mind. It was good to have Sheila with us on the trip. Spending hours together in the car is a great way to catch up on some quality conversation.

Monday morning, I had to meet up with Sheila in FW to get our typhoid vaccine at the health clinic. Then I spent a good chunk of the day on the phone trying to work out another “issue” with Daddy’s business. He had received a check in Momma’s name the week before from the same insurance as the cancer policy that he’d had (and we’d finally gotten payment from). There wasn’t an explanation letter with the check, so we couldn’t figure out what it was for. I told him NOT to try to cash it until I had time to check and see what it was for and IF he was eligible to cash it. It took a lot of time, talking to 3 different people, to finally make them understand that my mother had been deceased for 11 years and I needed to know if my dad could cash the check (it was for overpayment of premiums). Evidently she had also had a cancer policy that Daddy had forgotten about and continued to pay premiums for, and he had never notified them of her death. So they asked for us to send back the (voided) check, along with a letter of explanation and a copy of her death certificate. They will refigure how much has been overpaid and reissue a check to my dad. So he will be getting another nice check from insurance that he didn’t know he had. All of these “found” monies that we’ve worked on discovering and getting reimbursement for have really made a huge difference in Daddy’s level of financial security.

Tuesday morning, Dennis and I had an appointment with our new primary care doctor. We ended up spending ALL morning in his office. They had just been bought out by a new company (the day before) and were having to install and learn a new computer system (THAT day), so everything took a LONG time! Then that afternoon I worked on getting things ready for Daddy’s meds for their trip to Spur. I use tiny Ziploc bags that I label and sort out for each day and time and which meds are given at each given time. It takes a good while to get them all ready! Then first thing Wednesday morning, I went to Brookdale to get his meds and put them in the appropriate bags. Tonette left with them about 9:30. They went by Abilene to have lunch with Wallace and Linda. Then Thursday they went to see Ted and Carol. They should be on their way back home by now.

Wednesday afternoon, I baked Shepherd’s birthday cookies, then decorated them on Thursday. My royal icing was giving me trouble…not setting up hard. So I didn’t finish all of the details on the zebras until Friday morning. Then I had to transport them in a single layer, since the icing was still sticky.  But they made the trip fine, and the boys loved them! We got to Stephen and Mandy’s about 4 Friday afternoon. Sheila arrived about 30 minutes later. We had a feast that Mandy had prepared for the occasion! We all enjoyed playing with the boys until they (reluctantly) had to go to bed. Then Sheila headed off to Arkansas to attend Brother Ross’ funeral Saturday morning. We stayed the night in Paris and got one more short visit with the boys on Saturday morning before heading home. (Sheila’s adoption shower ended up being postponed until this next Saturday because of the funeral. So instead of Stephen’s family coming to MW for the shower, we decided it would work better for us to travel to them, so Sheila could make it to Malvern Saturday morning. We had planned to attend the funeral, but other things came up that needed our attention.)

Ricky had some health issues arise early Thursday morning and spent a couple of days in ICU. I was there from about 4:00 am until about 7:30, until they got him out of the ER and settled into ICU. After eating breakfast and cleaning up, Dennis and I headed back up there for a couple of hours. I was trying to be there with him during visiting hours as much as I could while trying to get everything ready for going to Paris. He got out of the hospital Saturday morning and moved back home when we got back from Paris. He is feeling much better, but needs a little extra support right now.

Today was our first time back at Highway in 4 weeks! It was good to be home. Things have been pretty crazy lately, and I’m not sure they are going to get any better for the foreseeable future. Next Sunday is the shower that the HC congregation is throwing for Sheila and Nam. Then 2 weeks from that is our meeting. Sheila and Jessica and I could be leaving for Vietnam at any time after that (or possibly even before). The HW bunch is going to start thinking I’m just a visitor with all of this running around!

Daddy has a doctor’s appointment and his renal ultrasound on Tuesday. Then I have my 3 hour visit to observe in FW on Wednesday. Sheila’s shower is Saturday morning. I also need to start doing some baking (and freezing) for the meeting. I’m HOPING I actually have time to do a little housework in between everything else! My house has definitely been neglected of late.

Hope your week goes well!