Getting ready for 2019!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and special times with family!

We enjoyed having Amber here for a few days. Nam was pretty jealous at first...didn't want Ricky touching her...but he eventually warmed up. Now he treats her like part of the family. She and Ricky are up at the Spunky Creek meeting this weekend. I hope the weather stays good for everyone who has traveled up there!

I really enjoyed my Christmas Eve at Sheila's apartment. Matt's boys didn't come, so it was just the four of us. Sheila cooked some Vietnamese chicken and bought some takeout eggrolls for a yummy supper. We opened gifts, and then Matt and Nam spent most of their evening putting Legos together, while Sheila and I watched movies. The guys did watch some, too. Matt had never seen "It's a Wonderful Life" (yeah, really!), so he was interested in watching it with us. Nam watched most of it, too...asking hundreds of questions! When Clarence made his appearance, Nam wanted to know where his sword was (because angels carry swords to fight evil, you know!). At the end, when the bell rang and Clarence got his wings, Nam said, "He got his sword?" Haha! That kid!

I came on home Christmas day, and Dennis and I had a quiet day with just the two of us. Stephen and the boys did call us that evening, which was a treat! I love the age that the boys are right now. They are quite interesting conversationalists! I get such a kick when I ask them (as I always do) when they are coming to see me, and they always ask their dad if they can come tomorrow...or right now?! With everything going on, I'm not sure when we'll actually be able to work in a visit, but I'm hoping it will be SOON!

We are supposed to keep Nam M, W and F next week...unless Sheila works out something different with Gina for her day. Nam hasn't been to her house these past couple of weeks, and he is really missing her! Sheila and Nam and Matt and Caleb are coming over Tuesday for New Years. We are doing our shrimp/crab leg boil. I look forward to this every year! After that, I plan to really cut back on our eating around here. The holidays are not good for my eating habits! I went for a checkup Thursday, and my doctor got on to me. He said to work on my diet and exercise! Not that I didn't already know that, but I still don't like hearing it! I told Nam, "No more snickerdoodles!" He didn't much care for that either!

Dennis killed another dear this week. We gave away the doe that he killed in Brownwood, so we have 2 bucks to butcher next week. Right now, my freezer is too full to put anything else in it. After our seafood boil, I'll have to do some rearranging...and send some meat over to Sheila!

Still no word from Ricky's genetic test. I'm sure the holidays have slowed the process down considerably! We're still assuming his surgery will be Jan. 30.

Bobbie fell Sunday evening and spent a few hours in the ER. Nothing was broken, so they sent her back home. She and Daddy had spent the day over here, and I think she was just worn out. We may have to start limiting them to just attending the morning assemblies. They both wear out so easily.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year! Let's all work to make it a kinder and gentler one as well!

Health problems, hunting and holidays

There has sure been a lot of sickness going around! Nam had a cold all last week. Dennis and Ricky both came down with it over the weekend. Dennis is feeling better, but Rick is having a harder time of it. Sheila has felt bad with it all this week, too. She ended up staying home from work yesterday. I went and picked up Nam and kept him most of the day, so she could rest. It seems like just about everyone has someone in their family with some kind of bug right now.

We are still waiting on confirmation on Ricky's diagnosis. Both biopsies were inconclusive, so we are waiting on the genetic test results. Hopefully we'll know for sure next Wednesday.

The Howard girls had their surgeries Tuesday. I decided Wednesday would be a good time for me to go visit, so I picked up Nam from school and just took him home. That gave me a headstart when Sheila got home for driving to Dallas. The girls both looked great! I enjoyed visiting with them and Rob and Charlotte. Don and Suzie's family was there when I arrived. Don had to come rescue me as I was trying to find the right elevators to take up to their floor. It was good to see them, too, and have a chance to visit a little.

Ricky went for his swallow test Friday. He has really bad inflammation from acid reflux. They gave him guidelines for drastically changing his diet, plus he has to start taking medication. He is supposed to avoid spicy, acidic and fried foods...and caffeine. So he pretty much can't eat anything that he likes! He is really doing well with everything though. He is prepared for dealing with a cancer diagnosis and has a great attitude. He has gotten a lot of financial assistance already, with the promise of more to come. I am so very thankful to everyone who has sent help to pay for his medical needs! I'm also very thankful for all of the prayers and well wishes being offered for him. The outpouring of love and support has been amazing!

Dennis went hunting in Brownwood this week. He left Wednesday morning and came back tonight. He killed a doe and a very nice 8 point buck. He had planned to stay until tomorrow, but circumstances made him decide to come back early. He really didn't want to kill anything else, so it wasn't a big deal to come on home. With these two deer, that makes three for the season, so far. If we decide we want more, there is always muzzleloader season in January!

I got a call from Brookdale right after lunch today, and Daddy had fallen. Thankfully, Ricky was off work, so he stayed here and kept Nam while I drove to Weatherford to take Daddy to the ER. He checked out fine, just tore the skin up on his elbow really bad. They cleaned it up and put steristrips on it to try to hold the skin over the raw flesh. Then they wrapped it up with non-adhesive bandages. His blood pressure went pretty high again, but it does that every time he has to go to the ER...plus he had missed his 2:00 BP meds. The ER gave him his normal dose and it started slowing coming back down to where they felt comfortable letting him go. I got him back to Brookdale just in time for supper, then rushed home and hurriedly cooked up a pot of chicken and dumplings for my guys. Dennis got in just a little after I did. Nam was one happy boy to have his Grandad back home! He really missed him!

Sheila's work had their Christmas party tonight, so Nam is spending the night here. She'll come over tomorrow around lunchtime and hang out until Amber arrives, so they can visit some. Amber is going to be in town all week. She is spending some of her time here and some at her family's. Ricky is going with her for their Christmas dinner on Tuesday. I'm going to spend Monday night with Sheila and Nam. We did that last year, and Nam wanted to make sure we did the same thing this year. Matt and his boys will come over for supper and opening presents and watching Christmas movies. Then Sheila and Nam will spend Christmas Day with his family. So Dennis and I will have a quiet Christmas day by ourselves. I'm putting off our (traditional) shrimp and crab boil (and key lime pie) until New Years Day. Matt and the boys are supposed to be coming over to spend that day with us. Things, they are a-changing!

I hope all of your enjoy your time with family! Merry Christmas!

Back in the land of the living

I am finally feeling human again today! It has been a rough week, but I think I'm on the mend. I had a nasty stomach bug that just wouldn't let go. I finally managed to sleep straight through from 1-7 this morning, which felt pretty terrific. I'm not feeling sick and seem to be able to manage solid foods again...just pretty weak and tired. I hope NOBODY else gets this stuff!

With my illness, and Sheila and Nam's trip to San Antonio last weekend, we went just over a week without keeping (or even seeing) Nam. I really missed that kid!!! Dennis picked him up this morning. When he came in and gave me a hug, telling me that he loved me, I started bawling. He has been SO sweet and loving all morning. He really missed us, too! I have gotten more hugs and kisses and "I love you's" this morning that I have in many weeks!

Dennis bought a special tool that allows him to make Lincoln logs, so he has made up a bunch in the past week to supplement the small set that Nam already had. They have spent most of the morning building houses. That kid really loves to build things!

Ricky's biopsy went ok. When he showed up, they had only planned to do the ultrasound and schedule the biopsy for later. He calmly explained that he wasn't leaving until they did it! He would wait all day, if necessary, but he couldn't keep taking half days off work. They ended up doing it! They drained a lot of black fluid from the tumor, which the doctor didn't quite know what to make of. He said it could be old blood. Before Ricky left, the fluid had already started refilling. It is about back to the size it was already. He won't get the biopsy results until he goes back next Wednesday. They were able to reschedule his surgery in a surgery center, rather than the hospital that they had originally planned to use, when they found out he was uninsured. That will save him a LOT of money! He has already received some financial assistance from a couple of congregations, with the promise of more to come. That is a huge relief! It is such a blessing to see the generosity of others when there is a need!

Well, that's about all that's been going on around here. Hope things have been a bit more pleasant where you are!

Prayer request and general update

I have a lot on my heart right now. The past couple of weeks have been a real roller-coaster ride. My emotions are kind of “all over the place”.

Of course, having the family together for Thanksgiving was great! Before they all arrived, though, Ricky discovered a lump in his neck. Since the doctor’s offices were all closed for the holiday, he couldn’t get in to see his regular doctor until Monday. She immediately set him up for a CT scan. Then she got him a referral to see a specialist this morning. (It is hard to believe how fast this has all happened! It seemed to take forever while it was going on.) The specialist said it is definitely a tumor, but a biopsy will have to be done to determine whether it is cancer or not. There is only a 10% chance of it being malignant. If it is benign, they will remove the tumor and part of the thyroid. If it is malignant, the whole thyroid will have to be removed and surrounding lymph nodes checked to see if it has spread. They also discovered inflammation in his esophagus which is causing him to have some trouble swallowing, which they think is related to reflux. They have scheduled a swallow test to check on that on the 14^th. Hopefully the biopsy will be scheduled before that. Then he will go back to see the specialist on the 18^th to find out all of the results and schedule his surgery. So it is going to be a rough couple of weeks. Prayers are much appreciated!

We had our monthly potluck at the Fields’ house last Sunday. Poor Heather was too ill to get out of bed, so Layne and the kids took care of hosting everyone. All of the Pettit bunch were up (David was our guest speaker), so it was great to have the extra time to visit with them. David did a wonderful job on his lesson, as always. I do enjoy listening to that young man! The folks were doing well and were able to enjoy the whole day out, too.

I took Daddy to see his general practitioner on Wednesday. We won’t be able to get his bloodwork done until next week, but his A1C was fine. No changes in medication were needed this time, which was great! He goes back to see his podiatrist next week, then his pain management (for follow-up from his procedure) and hearing specialist the following week. He is pretty much holding his own for now. Bobbie has been doing better lately. She was diagnosed with some kind of auto-immune disorder that was causing a rash all over…especially on her face, neck and chest. They put her on a prednisone pack and the rash has greatly improved. Her appetite has been good lately and she is getting around about as good as she ever does anymore.

Nam is enjoying being 5 years old. He thinks he is such a big boy now! He and his momma are on their way to San Antonio for the weekend, along with a few others from the HC young parent group. He was a little nervous, but excited, about the trip; but he did tell me that he would miss me! (I love that kid!) So Dennis and I ended up with the day off today (which has been super helpful with all of Ricky’s stuff!), as well as Monday.

Since we didn’t have to get up early today, we decided to go on another date last night. We ate at El Fenix and then tried out the Film Alley in Weatherford for the first time. We watched “Instant Family”, which I have been wanting to see since the first trailers came out. I love anything that has to do with fostering or adoption, and this movie was about both. It is based on a true story and really plucks your heartstrings! I told Dennis after it was over that I was really glad that they made it into a comedy! I cried enough as it was! But it had some REALLY funny scenes in it, too…some that I could relate to! There was quite a bit of bad and crude language in it, but that is to be expected for the circumstances of the film. These kids come from some rough backgrounds! Some of the language was just gratuitous, which is common in movies today. I wouldn’t recommend it for kids for that reason. But it really does a good job of showing the need for good foster/adoptive parents and the struggles that they and the children face.

Dennis is scheduled to speak at Hurst this coming Lord’s Day. We are looking forward to visiting with the folks over there. It will do Daddy and Bobbie good to go, too.

There are so many in need of prayers right now:  those who lost loved ones this past week; Sherrill C, who is recovering from meningitis; Nancy, who is still struggling with her cancer and waiting to be matched with a clinical trial; and so many others. Please remember Ricky along with the rest. Hoping for a little less “eventful” week next week!

Thanksgiving 2018

The house is now quiet, except for the sound of the washer and dryer. What a difference from what it has been like the last couple of days! Things were chaotic and noisy and wonderful with all the family here. I had all day Thursday to cook and get the house ready, since we did our dinner in the evening this year. Stephen and Mandy's family went to John and Brenda's for the Gaddy's Thanksgiving dinner and then headed our way. Sheila and Matt did their Thanksgiving with the Joiner bunch et al at noon and then arrived about 5:30 for dinner with us. Dennis went to get Daddy and Bobbie, and everyone arrived pretty close to the same time. I was worried that since most of them had already had a full Thanksgiving meal, no one would really be hungry. But everyone ate pretty well...just had to put off dessert for awhile! After cleaning up the dishes, the littles played in the living room, Dennis took the folks home, and the rest of us played Apples to Apples...which provided an excellent opportunity for us to get to know Matt better! Ha-ha! He fit right in with the rest of us!

Friday morning, after breakfast, we loaded up and headed over to Sheila's for Nam's birthday party. All of the other guests had arrived, so I had to put the finishing touches on the birthday cake in front of an audience. Nam opened his presents and the kids played, while the adults visited. Gracie was able to get down and crawl around and thought she was as big as the rest of the kids! Sheila ordered pizza for lunch, and then we sang happy birthday and had cake. The kids all had a blast together! The rest of us did, too.

Sheila and Nam came over that afternoon and spent the night, which gave the boys more play time together and MY kiddos time to do more visiting. Mandy went to bed with Gracie and the boys, while Stephen, Sheila, Ricky and I sat up and talked a good long while. I love those times the best! After the guys went to bed, Sheila and I sat up even longer. We knew the littles would be waking up bright and early this morning wanting pancakes, so we finally crashed around midnight.

After breakfast, the morning was pretty well taken up with everyone gathering up their things and loading up to go home. The boys did get some play-time in with Grandad in the big mulberry tree in the front yard. Poor Dennis had been sick pretty much all week and missed out on most of the eating and visiting...and even the birthday party. I was glad that he finally felt up to spending some time with the littles. I'm slowly getting the house put back in order, but I'm not pushing too hard! As much as I LOVE our time together, I'm exhausted!

Before Sheila and Nam headed off this morning, we decided to weigh and measure Nam. In the year that he has been here, he has grown 4" and gained 3 pounds. He and Jesse are about the same height now, but Jesse outweighs him by quite a bit. Shepherd is bigger in every way than the other two! He is our gentle giant. With the two older boys both being "alpha males", it is nice to have such a sweet peace maker in the mix. Of course, Gracie has everyone wrapped around her little finger. She is such a happy, loving little girl (until it is time for bed!). She sure wants to keep up with the boys! Just wait until next year!

All in all, it was another wonderful Thanksgiving! There was much laughter, a few tears (and screaming), one black eye, a lot of bickering and making up, too much eating, and a lot of sharing memories and plans for the future. I love how our family is growing and changing and learning to interact and support one another in new ways. That's what family is all about!

I hope you all enjoyed your special times with friends/family! Now it is time to use up leftovers!

November update

I took Daddy back to his pain management doctor last week. The procedure that he had done on his back in March is no longer effective. They plan to repeat it next Tuesday. I hope it lasts a bit longer this time. He really doesn’t need to take prescription pain pills for several reasons…one being because of his kidneys. He also can’t take ibuprofen for the same reason. Now his liver enzymes are elevated from using so much Tylenol. Getting old is rough!

I found a new snack recipe last week that I’ve been making a lot of. You slice apples thinly, sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon and bake for 2-3 hours at 200⁰. Dennis and I love them! Nam will eat one or two, but isn’t a big fan. I think it is my favorite way to eat apples. I have to be careful though…I can eat more than is good for me! I also cooked up a large batch of jerky since the weather has turned cold. I put up a gallon for when everyone is here Thanksgiving, and we’ve been snacking on the other gallon. I love using my oven when it is cold outside! It helps warm the house without having hot air blowing on me.

Last Thursday, since Gina was keeping Nam, I planned a date night. We haven’t been on one in months! I’ve been wanting to see the movie, “Indivisible”. We caught a matinee and then went out for a steak dinner. The movie was really good, but it was SO sad! I blubbered pretty much all the way through it. Even Dennis liked it (and I did see him wiping his eyes a time or two!). It shows how hard it is on those who are deployed in a war zone…AND on their families.

We had a pretty quiet weekend. I stayed in all day Saturday, cooking jerky. Dennis went hog hunting and killed a couple…just to get rid of them. The folks were the only ones who had dinner with us on Sunday. Rick went out to eat with friends. So it was a very low-key day.

I’m supposed to go back to get another injection in my shoulder on Wednesday. I’m hoping it will last a little longer this time. Part of the problem I had last time was working on the guest room…doing overhead work. It is really hard on that shoulder to hold my arm up…especially when I’m bearing weight with it. I will have to make sure I’m more careful this time. The injections are supposed to last about 3 months (which is how often they can be given).

Thursday, we plan to butcher deer. That is our “day off” from keeping Nam, so it is the logical choice. I do NOT think he is ready to “help” with butchering yet! We have a big buck to process, so it will be a good 3 hours or more of steady cutting, grinding and packaging. If Nam were here, it would probably add an additional hour! 

Next week will be pretty full. Sunday night, Sheila, Nam and I are spending the night in a downtown FW hotel, so we can watch the Christmas Parade. Monday is Dennis and my 41^st anniversary. Tuesday is Daddy’s back procedure. Wednesday and Thursday will be busy with Thanksgiving baking and cooking (and making Nam’s birthday cake). Then family will all be here for Thursday night through Saturday. We’ll be having Nam’s party sometime during the time Stephen’s family is here. It is convenient to have his birthday fall at Thanksgiving, so the family is already together. But it does complicate preparing for it and Thanksgiving at the same time! Things are going to be quite loud and busy with all of the kiddos here.

Since it will be so crazy next week, I’ll go ahead and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving now! Enjoy the wonderful food and family time…and be sure to be thankful for all of your blessings!

Day 6 - I am thankful for adoption

A year ago today, Sheila, Jessica and I embarked on the trip of a lifetime. Not only was it the first time I’d ever been to a foreign country, but it brought our sweet Nam into our family. I remember feeling terrified: to be flying so far, to be spending 2-3 weeks in an Asian (communist) country, and to be helping care for a scared little orphan boy. As is true most of the time, most of my fears were unfounded. I did fine flying (although spending that much time on a plane is NOT pleasant). We didn’t have any REAL trouble in Vietnam (just a few glitches here and there that were able to be dealt with). And Nam was NOT the scared little orphan boy that I expected. Sure he was nervous at times, but that kid was SO brave and adventuresome, and hungry for love and family! We had some pretty rough moments (or hours), but all in all that kid was amazing in his resiliency.

Here we are a year later. Nam is fully integrated into our family. He speaks fluent English and has an impressive vocabulary (for any almost 5-year-old). He is happy and well-adjusted (for the most part). He can be sweet and affectionate (or not). He’s really just a pretty typical little boy! He has a love for life that is infectious. His favorite animals are the big African and Asian cats, crocodiles, rhinos, etc. (the common theme being that they are dangerous). Right now his occupations of choice (for when he grows up) are fireman, policeman, ambulance driver, “taking care of dangerous animals”, garbage man or ice cream truck driver. Ha! He wants to travel extensively when he grows up: to Asia, Africa, South America, and “where he can see polar bears, brown bears and black bears”. He also wants to own a farm that raises all sorts of unusual critters: all types of deer, skunks, geese, flamingos, for starters. (Of course the skunks would have to be de-scented first.)

It has been fun to watch the changes as Nam has learned about family and security and compassion and kindness and love. Seeing him learn about God and being a part of a church family has really been heart-warming. He is smart and has picked up so much already. He knows a LOT of Bible stories and can name some characters that would surprise you. He knows the words to a lot of songs…his favorite being “Oh Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” At our recent meeting, Ken got up Saturday morning and said something about God being holy. I could hear a sweet little husky voice in the back of the building start singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy”! When I was talking to Sheila about it later, she said she tried to shush him, and he countered with “but I was singing!” I got a kick out it myself! He has now been through a meeting with over 100 people in attendance and did just fine. Another hurdle overcome!

I love being able to have a grandkid around whenever I want. I still miss Jesse, Shepherd and Gracie and would love to spend more time with them. But having Nam close by really helps. I especially love it when we all get together and I can see all of the littles playing together! I am REALLY looking forward to Thanksgiving. Since Nam’s birthday is that same week, we will also have his party while the cousins are in town. He is very excited about his birthday. He’s been talking about it all year. Now that it is November, he can hardly wait! He is really looking forward to being five!

He had his second sleepover with us Friday night (without Mom). He did great, again. He did miss Sheila and told her later that next time he wants her to come, too. But we had fun! We cooked hamburgers and rode bikes at the state park. After supper, we watched a movie (Mulan) and ate popcorn. Dennis got up early Saturday morning and went hunting. Nam “slept in” until 6:15 (Granny was hoping for a little later get-up time), then we had our favorite bacon and pancakes for breakfast. About the time we were needing to leave to meet up with Sheila, we got a call from Grandad saying he had killed a deer. So we met up with him at the rest stop on 180, so Nam could see the deer. On the way, he was telling me how he really didn’t want to hunt deer, because he didn’t want to kill an animal. I told him that was fine. Then after seeing Grandad’s buck, he started saying he wanted to go hunting when he was 5! Ha! He was pretty excited. Funny incident: Dennis had shot the deer a little further back than he normally does. It was still in the lungs, but it also nicked the gut…which he DOESN’T like to do. He has looked at so many pictures of deer with Nam (and he always points out where is the best place to hit the deer), that when Nam saw the bullet hole, he said, “Grandad, you hit it too far back!” This kid doesn’t miss a thing!

So for my Day 6 of Thanksgiving: I am thankful for the miracle of adoption! I have two beautiful grandsons that I wouldn’t have without it, and they have a loving family and more blessings than we can enumerate because of it. It also has provided me (and our family) a richness of understanding that I’m not sure we could have achieved otherwise. Plus it adds a little insight into our relationship with our Heavenly Father who chose to adopt us as his children.

"Let us go on unto perfection"

The meeting was great! Every time we have one of these I feel like it is the best one ever. The guys who spoke did an outstanding job. Our crowd was the largest that we’ve had in our building before…we were scrambling to find enough seats!

Terry A started us off Friday night by giving an excellent lesson on “Growing Up”.  He exhorted us to be diligent in our labor and warned of the signs of spiritual immaturity (Heb. 5:11):  being dull of hearing, being unable to teach others, and lacking discernment – being unable to tell right from wrong. Our crowd was very large that evening, but even more people came as the evening progressed. After the assembly, we all headed over to the Fields’ house to share in the joy of watching Ashley J be baptized! Such a wonderful occasion! We headed back home afterwards with Laura and her girls and Roy M, who were staying with us. Craig and Julie got in about 1:00 am, after distributing their kiddos in various locales.

Saturday morning, Ken A gave us an impassioned lesson on “Learning How to Walk in the Spirit.”  He began with a beautiful reading from Isaiah 34 and 35 that shows what can happen when we read and respond to God’s Word. He also warned what happens when you reject God. He summed his lesson up using Romans 7 and 8 to show how “I” (the carnal man) must die in order to allow the Spirit to live in us.

After the assembly, we all spent the rest of the day at the Pettits’ house. They have worked tirelessly for the past year getting their place fixed up to be able to entertain a large crowd. It was perfect! The weather was glorious; the fellowship was sweet; and the food, abundant. Unfortunately I had been fighting a sinus headache since 5:30 that morning and was walking around like a zombie all day. I want to apologize to everyone for being such a wallflower all day. I didn’t mean to seem unfriendly…I was just fighting the impulse to crawl in bed and hibernate all day! I crashed early that night and got a good solid 9 hours of sleep, so I felt much better for the Lord’s Day activities.

Sunday morning, Garrett S gave an amazing lesson on “Worship/Growth”. He emphasized that we must have “tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pet. 2:2) to truly worship our Father in spirit and truth. We need to have a sincere desire for God’s Word to abound more and more. Worshipping God as He has directed should be the most important thing in our life. Afterwards, we had lunch and more fellowship at the Millsap Community Center, then met back at 3:00 to listen to Jensen speak on “Loving our Fellow Man”. He challenged us to practice what we claim to believe and make time to share God’s Word and His Love with the world, using the example of us being a conduit that “plugs in” others to the power of God. Very inspiring!

We hated to see the meeting come to an end and have to say our good-byes to our guests. It is our hope and prayer, however, that we ALL focus on what we heard this weekend and truly allow it to change our lives. The best sermons in the world are no good, if they are not internalized and acted upon!

I’d like to thank each of our speakers for their hard work in preparing and presenting such wonderful lessons. I’d also like to thank all of our visitors. These meetings wouldn’t be the amazing experience they are without all of you coming to be a part of them. I’d also like to thank the Pettit family for all of their hard work in preparing a place to entertain 100+ guests and then being hosts to everyone. I’d also like to thank our personal guests (Laura/girls, Craig/Julie, and Roy) for graciously accepting our “work in progress” as their residence for the weekend. We loved having you in our home and welcome you back at any time!

Countdown to our meeting!

Just one week until our meeting starts! *panic mode* I just love it when we are fighting a deadline to finish a project on the house in time for company. (Can you hear the sarcasm just dripping from my words?)

Of course, we won’t have the guest room completely finished by then, but we should have it habitable. We started laying the floor today and would have been finished if we hadn’t run out. Dennis is picking up some more laminate as he takes Nam to Jessica’s office (she’s keeping him while Sheila has a night out). We have the top shelf and pole put up in the closet, so we can put stuff back in there for now and finish installing the shelves later on. We have the crown molding painted and should be able to put it up tomorrow. Then we just need to do the window sill and baseboards and hang the new light/fan, and we can start moving furniture back in. Gina will be keeping Nam on Thursday and Friday next week, so we can get the house back in order and do a thorough cleaning.

We are about to wash away around here. I can’t even remember when it started raining, but it has been going at it pretty solid for a week or so. Our yard is a quagmire! It is an adventure just trying to get to the car. (Our garage is currently in workshop mode.) Nam has been going stir-crazy, not being able to get outside to play or ride his bike. Trying to get our work done and keep him occupied has been challenging. I normally don’t like for him to watch much tv, but I’ve been making an exception this past week. He has his window seat where he plays with his blocks and cars, and that’s about the only room he has for doing anything right now. Of course he loves to help us do EVERYTHING, but we can only take “so much” of his help. LOL! He really wants to help and tries, but he is just four years old! He was about to drive Grandad crazy today! So I decided to put on “Lady and the Tramp” for him to watch.

I took Daddy to get some bloodwork done Monday, so he decided to go ahead and relinquish his DL and get an ID card. Glad to get that done, even though it took ALL morning! We went early, and I was hoping the bad weather would keep people away, but they were pretty full. After filling out the paperwork and standing in line a half hour, we ended up not having the required proof of residence that he needed (had one, but not an acceptable second one). So we had to leave, go to the bank to get a statement to use, and then go get his bloodwork done. By then, it was time to pick up Nam. So when I took Daddy back to the DMV, I sent him in by himself with all of the necessary paperwork and stayed in the car with Nam. After about 15-20 minutes, I got worried, so we went in to check on him. He was still sitting and waiting on the lady to process him. I gave Nam my phone to play a game, and after another 15-20 minutes, we finally got through. Then we took Daddy back to Brookdale (just in time for lunch) and I took Nam to McDonalds for being so good for me during all of that!

Nam’s sleepover last week went very well. He didn’t have any problems at all. He and Grandad slept in our bed, and I slept in the other bedroom. He said his momma told him if he didn’t have fun, he wouldn’t have to do it again. But he told us Saturday morning that he had fun!

Sheila and Nam came over to Highway on Sunday to celebrate Dennis’ birthday. Nam took up with Layne, since Ricky and James were gone to Arkansas. He asked him to lead “Oh Thou Fount of” (as he calls it). When Layne got up to lead it, Nam belted it out at the top of his lungs! You could see smiles all over the building. After services, Sheila took us out to eat at Antonio’s. Then we took Daddy and Bobbie back to Brookdale. Bobbie wasn’t feeling very well. Sheila and Nam came back and visited until time to go back to afternoon services.

I’ve got a couple of batches of cookies and a loaf of banana nut bread baked and in the freezer. I’m hoping to get my pies baked and frozen tomorrow. (I’ve been planning to do them every day this week, but something else ends up taking up my time.) We are doing Subway sandwiches and hamburger/hot dogs on Saturday, so that means we only have to cook one meal for Sunday. I’ll be getting my food prep for that (and breakfasts) done up Friday. We are keeping Laura and the girls and maybe one other family.

Dennis and I had to go get fingerprinted…again…yesterday. In order to work with children (whether in a paying job or as a volunteer) you have to be fingerprinted with the FBI and the state of Texas. Every time one of them changes their system (which seems to be every few years), you have to go through the process again. They had fits trying to get Dennis’ fingerprints! He has done so much sanding on the drywall lately, that he sanded his right off. They kept having to moisturize his fingers to get anything to show up. But we got it done…until they change things again! (Dennis is my CASA Pal, which is why he had to be done. That means I’m able to discuss my cases with him, and he can accompany me on any visits that I make.) I’m still on my “sabbatical” from CASA, but I’m staying current so I’ll still be qualified when I’m ready to take on a new case. Still not sure when that will be! I may not start back until Nam starts kindergarten next fall.

Well, I hope to see a bunch of you next weekend at our meeting! If you are coming, have a safe journey and bring lawn chairs, if possible! Stay dry!

Just enjoying life

It truly feels like fall today! The temps have stayed in the 60's, and it has been raining all day. Makes me want to snuggle down in my recliner for the day. It has the exact opposite effect on Nam. He goes WILD in the rain! I'm not sure what it is, but rain makes him really hyper...he LOVES it! I don't know if it reminds him of Vietnam or if he just has a natural affinity for it. After picking him up at school this morning, he talked my ear off all the way home. Then we picked up Grandad and went to McDonalds for lunch. He was running and laughing and trying to ninja fight other people in the restaurant. It was hard to corral him! After playing for "30 minutes" when we got home, Dennis was able to get him to settle down for his nap. Whew! I can only imagine what he'll be like if we get snow this winter!!!

Gina has been on vacation the past couple of weeks, so we've had Nam every day. He was out of school yesterday for Columbus Day, but Sheila still had to work, so we had him all day. He's been a lot of fun! He is learning so much. He likes to sound out the first letter of words and is getting really good at it. He loves to recite the months of the year and talk about significant events in each month. He is obsessed with the number 80 right now. Not sure why, but whenever we talk about animals, he says "when I grow up, I'm going to buy 80 of them!" Today it was skunks...after having them de-scented, of course!

We are going to try a sleep-over this Friday. Sheila will just come get him Saturday morning...we hope. He did so well at the lake sleeping with us, that I think he'll do fine all night without her. He really likes thinking of himself as a big kid.

We are really enjoying having Kirk at Highway now. Even though he is still living in Shreveport, he is spending every weekend in Weatherford while he works on getting his house ready to move into. He went by to see Daddy and Bobbie on Saturday and took Bobbie some yellow roses. Then a bunch of us went out to eat lunch together on Sunday, and he bought their lunch. They are sure smitten with him! He is really good with the elderly. He cared for his mother for years before she passed away.

Dennis' birthday is this coming Sunday. The kids and I went in together and got him a fish finder/GPS for his boat. We were talking about his birthday at lunch today, and Nam asked how old he was going to be. Dennis told him "66." Nam said that was VERY old! Ha! (He also said that he would probably live a couple more weeks.)

It is just 2 1/2 more weeks until our meeting! Dennis thinks he'll have the guest room walls ready for painting by this weekend. Then, after painting, we can put down the floor and install the doors. If we can get that far along, we can move the furniture back in and be ready to use it for the meeting. We'll probably save the closet shelves until later...just put up a temporary bar for hanging clothes. We are sure looking forward to having everyone here. James and Renee have offered their place for activities all day Saturday. They've been working hard getting things fixed up to accommodate everyone. It will be nice to have a good place to spend time together!

Well, I hope you are enjoying the changing of the weather! At least, we are all blessed with a roof over our heads and adequate means of staying warm and dry.

1st Combined Family Vacation

Our first combined family vacation was a success. We learned a few things to avoid in the future (like trying to trotline with a group), but I think we all had a good time (although exhausting!). Doing anything with three 4 year-old boys is a challenge! The moms were hoping to have a little down time while the guys entertained the boys, but that didn't really happen. Dennis and Stephen spent a big part of the time out on the boat, running trotlines. It wasn't the right kind of fishing to do with the littles. They took Jesse and Shepherd out for a boat ride, but all of the kid fishing took place from the dock on this trip. But the trotline provided a good feast of catfish for Friday night supper!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and got settled in. Nam made the trip great! We ate lunch in FW, so he slept a good bit of the way. Sheila decided to take her car (we ended up having too much stuff to fit in just one vehicle), so Nam rode with Grandad, and I rode with Sheila. That gave us a good couple of hours to catch up on our visiting. We don't get that very much any more! The house was perfect for our needs: 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a great kitchen and dining area, and a full laundry. The back patio had a loveseat and two chairs for sitting out watching the boys play. The boys had pool noodles for playing with outside, as well as their fishing poles for "practicing casting". We had blown up a couple of packages of balloons for Shepherd's birthday, which provided a LOT of exciting inside play. Even Gracie enjoyed playing with them! I really enjoyed my time spent with her. She is at a great age! She is quick to smile and cuddle. She loves to watch all of the activity going on around her...especially the boys' antics! Nam really enjoyed her, too. It was sweet to watch him interact with her. He was so gentle and was quick to kiss her on the head.

We've been working on getting Nam to sleep with us to give Sheila a break. He decided to give it a try Wednesday. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to spend every night of our trip sleeping with us. After the first night, I had to move to a little mattress on the floor! I didn't get much sleep at all while in the same bed. Sheila got better rest than she has for the past 10 months!

We celebrated Shepherd's 4th birthday on Thursday. The boys enjoyed playing with his gifts for the remainder of the visit. Shepherd was so sweet about sharing them! He is such a big-hearted and gentle little guy! I say little, the kid is a giant! He is the biggest of the three, even though he is the youngest. He outweighs Nam by about 10 pounds and is about 2-3 inches taller. Jesse isn't far behind him. Even though Jesse is the middle of the boys, he takes the lead most of the time...which can sometimes cause trouble. He and Nam are both pretty headstrong! But they are learning to work things out and play well together.

Friday, we took the kids to the Tyler Zoo. That was a lot of fun! The boys were able to run and play and use up a lot of energy. We used to always take our kids to that zoo when they were growing up. Afterwards, we would let them pick out a plastic animal from the gift shop to add to their collection. So I told the boys that we would buy them one, if they were good. That turned into a circus! Jesse and Shepherd finally settled on rubber snakes (😳). Nam and Gracie (via Mandy) picked out jaguars. (Nam is working on his large cat collection: lions, tigers, cheetah and now the jag.)

Saturday morning was busy with packing, cleaning and loading up to head home. The guys had to go take up the trotline, too. We finally hit the road, and Nam was asleep within minutes! He and Grandad rode together again. We stopped for gas and lunch and he was still sleeping, so we just grabbed Subway sandwiches to go. We got to Sheila's about 1:30 and then headed on back to MW. I pretty much crashed after unloading! I still had some cooking to do for our monthly potluck, but didn't do much else.

Sunday was our guest speaker (Phil J.), potluck (at the Reddings), and singing service in the afternoon. We enjoyed visiting with Phil and Jennifer! We all enjoyed our meal and visitation at the Reddings' new home. It is beautiful and very well laid out for entertaining a group! It was a really great day all around!

I slept in this morning and have since been trying to get caught up. Nam was in a good mood when I picked him up from school and we talked about vacations all the way home. He really enjoyed the trip and wants to do it again sometime! He says as he gets older, he'll get more patient so we can travel farther. He did really good on this trip though. Sheila wasn't sure if he would last all three nights, but he did fine. The first night was the hardest, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to stay, but he got up the next morning and told her that he didn't want to leave! This was his first vacation! (He's been to Stephen's house a couple of times but only for one night. Other than that, and staying at our house, this was his first time to be away from home.)

Well, my dryer is telling me it is time to tend to laundry. I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler fall temperatures that we've been having. Hope your week goes well!

Just one more day till vacation!

Tomorrow we leave for our little mini-vacation with the family! We have rented a house on Lake Palestine for a few days. The guys plan to go out in the boat and do some fishing. I imagine we girls will mostly hang out at the house and visit. I’m really looking forward to spending some time with Gracie. She was still tiny the last time we saw her. We also are hoping to take the kiddos to the Tyler Zoo. That was one of our favorite family outings when our kids were growing up.

We also plan to celebrate Shepherd’s birthday while there. I baked and decorated his cake today. I still have to assemble it once we get there. It is 2 tiered, but I don’t want to transport it stacked. I also have some last minute decorations to add that won’t transport well. This is my first cake to make Shepherd. I hope he likes it. (Although I did do decorated cookies for him last year, at his request.)

I’ve got all of my baking done for our trip…just still need to go buy groceries to take. We are going to have a full load! We’ll be picking Nam up from school at regular time, then heading to FW to get Sheila. I hope we can fit everything in (clothes for 4, food, fishing stuff, fish fryer, toys, presents, birthday cake and a few other miscellaneous items). Since we’ll be pulling the boat, we can put some of the bulkier items in it (such as the fish fryer, tackle and ice chests).

Dennis and I both had colds last week, so we really didn’t get much accomplished. All of the sheetrock is finally up in the guest room and closet. Dennis tried his hand at taping and floating the closet, but it is going to have to be gone over again. He hasn’t got the hang of doing that yet. We are sneaking up on another deadline for needing to have it finished. Dennis was sure we’d have plenty of time before our meeting. Well, we are just one month away and still have a LOT to do. I guess that’s one way to get a room completed…plan an occasion with company coming, so it HAS to get done! Since we aren’t getting any work done this week, we’ll only have just under four weeks to texture and paint the walls and ceiling, lay the floor, do the trim work, put up shelving in the closet, install doors, put up the new light/fan and move everything back in. *groan*

We are all getting into the routine of school. Dennis and I are enjoying having the extra three mornings a week. I am enjoying sleeping without an alarm! The only morning that I have to get up early is on Fridays, when I go pick Nam up in FW. Nam is doing really well in school! He enjoys it, but it does tire him out. We are still struggling with lunch/nap time. He is so tired from school that he tries to fall asleep in the car between Weatherford and MW. If he does, then he’s grumpy when we get here and try to eat lunch…plus he won’t take a good nap afterwards. If we can keep him awake on the drive home, then we can eat and he’ll usually sleep well in the afternoon.

Nam wanted to help me today with the cake decorating. I had to explain that this is hard work and that you have to be very careful doing it, so he had to just watch and not touch. He did really well! After I was finished, he wanted some cake scraps and leftover icing. He had a blast squeezing icing over the cake and eating it. Then I got some wax paper for him to “decorate”. He made such a mess, but enjoyed every second! Then I sent him off with Dennis to take to his momma, so SHE will have to deal with his sugar high! Being a granny is SO much fun!

Well, that’s all for now. I HOPE to get some good pictures of our trip. I have a tendency, these days, to get caught up in what’s going on and forget to take pictures. I’m hoping to have my hands full a good bit of the time with Gracie and my three boys, though! I hope you all have a good remainder of the week!

Progress

I feel like we got a lot accomplished last week. I finished cleaning up Daddy's car and got it sold. The buyers contacted me within a couple of hours after I posted it and came to look at it that evening. It took a couple of days to work out all of the details, but it is gone now. I think it will be a good car for the family who bought it, and Daddy has a little extra money in his bank account.

Dennis and Ricky got most of the sheetrock hung and taped and floated in the guest room. We still have to piece together the closet and do a little more floating, then we'll be ready to texture. Nam can't wait until we get to the painting...he loves to paint! That will definitely be interesting to watch. Painting to him is artwork...a little brush work and a little finger work. We may have to limit him to the closet. Ha!

As most of you probably know by now, I have joined the "bikers". My 3-wheeler arrived Friday and Dennis spent a good part of the day assembling it. We went out for a test run that evening, and then I took it out for a 3-4 mile ride on Saturday. I'm getting more confident on it (I haven't been on a "bike" in over 40 years). I really think I'm going to like it...once my seat gets used to it's seat. It is great exercise and it doesn't make my ankles/heels hurt like walking does.

Nam and Sheila had a cold last week, and Dennis and I have come down with it now. We both felt pretty rotten yesterday, but woke up with full-blown symptoms this morning. Sheila said Nam is still struggling with his, so we can all feel crummy together. He didn't show a lot of symptoms last week, but he was tired and cranky...and had a bit of a crusty nose. That kid has an amazing immune system!

Daddy and Bobbie went both time to church services yesterday. That is getting to be a rare thing. Bobbie has home health coming to do physical and occupational therapy with her, and it seems to be helping her strength. She was able to get into our car better yesterday morning than I've seen her in some time. Of course, she wore out as the day advanced and had more difficulty. They were able to go out to eat for lunch and really enjoyed it. Kirk T. also went with us. He is in the process of moving to the area and retiring. He plans to be here every weekend until the move is finalized. We are enjoying having him around!

Ricky is working out of town again this week. It is that time of year again at CWC. He is feeling much better after having been on antibiotics for the past couple of weeks for his sinus infection. He did end up with a migraine yesterday, but was able to kick it after some medicine and lying in the dark for a few hours. I'm afraid both our boys inherited the migraine gene from their dad. Dennis has about "outgrown" his. He had been told that the prime age for having migraines was from 30 to 60, which is about what his lasted. Stephen started at a younger age...he was still in his teens. Ricky suffered from visceral (abdominal) migraines as a child, but outgrew them in his teens. They told us at the time that he very well could develop regular (head) migraines as an adult. They started this past year...which was right on schedule. 😞

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week and avoid any unpleasant bugs!

Dennis is funnier than most people realize

The last few weeks have been pretty trying for Dennis and me. I was contemplating on things last night  and wondered what would happen if by some unforeseen circumstance, I died before my dad. I turned to Dennis and asked what he would do if that happened. He looked askance at me, thought for a second or two, and said, "Weep inconsolably...is that the right answer?" I laughed so hard, I cried! I honestly don't know what I would do without this man!

Happy Labor Day!

Another Labor Day Weekend come and gone. As always, we really enjoyed our time with friends and family. We picked up Daddy and Bobbie Saturday morning and drove to Haslet. There was a nice crowd this year, in spite of the other events of the weekend. We enjoyed tacos for lunch and spaghetti for supper, along with all of the fixin’s and desserts. Bobbie had to take a break that afternoon, but Tonette had a hotel room nearby where she could go to nap. Nam and Sheila showed up after lunch. He was a little overwhelmed (and under-napped), so he wasn’t the happiest camper in the room. But he eventually settled in and enjoyed the games. We left right after supper to get the folks back home to rest up, so we ended up being home by about 9:00.

Sunday morning, we picked them up again and headed back over. We enjoyed a good lesson from Ken on how important it is to have God in our lives. Then we met back for a potluck dinner and more fellowship before going back for the afternoon assembly, where Terry gave an excellent lesson on dealing with our thorns in the flesh…very timely! We headed home pretty quickly after the assembly, so Daddy and Bobbie could be home by suppertime. Nam did much better on Sunday. He was getting more comfortable with the crowd and was more rested. He (and all of the other young’uns) passed out during the afternoon assembly, which made things much easier on all of the young moms!

I also got to hold a week old baby yesterday. I love babies! Jennifer and Stacey had met a new mother while serving at the shelter Saturday evening. She is trying to get her life in order for her new baby. I’m sure the good folks at HC will be there to help her however they can.

I am taking things pretty easy today…just doing a few things around the house. Dennis is mowing before the expected rains set in, and I think he plans to sand the ceiling this afternoon. Ricky is sick, in bed, with a sinus infection. He is going to go to the doctor tomorrow. He has been battling this for weeks, trying to treat it with homeopathic methods, but it has finally gotten the better of him. I think everyone’s allergies/sinuses were giving them trouble this weekend…which is pretty typical for Labor Day weekend. I woke up in the wee hours Friday morning with a sinus headache and was on the verge of one all day yesterday, as was Dennis. I used to always end up sick with a sinus infection after Labor Day. I’m hoping I can avoid it this year.

I’m sure Nam and Sheila are enjoying their bonus day together…especially after such a busy weekend! I hope he does as well on this 2^nd week of school as he did last week. I’m hoping for a CALM and easy week. I wish the same for each of you!

A lot of changes

Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. I can't go into details, but suffice it to say that we have had our hands full. I'm thinking things are about settled down now!

I had to get a new computer a couple of weeks ago. I was very disappointed that my HP didn't last any longer than the two years that I used it. It had been cracked for quite a while and it got to where it wasn't charging well. Dennis had been wanting to find something to buy me for my 60th birthday present, so I told him a new computer would work. I went back to a Lenovo Yoga...which was what my first 2-in-1 laptop was. It still uses Windows 10, so transferring files and getting up to speed on how to use it was a little easier than last time I had to replace my computer. It still took an entire day to get things lined out the way I wanted. I'm enjoying it pretty well. It is smaller and more lightweight, which I love. The touch screen isn't as responsive, though, which can sometimes be a pain. But if it lasts as log as my original Yoga, I will be very pleased with it!

Nam started Pre-K today! Sheila took the day off, so she could be the one to pick him up today. She said he did great! When she asked him what he did, he told her "made friends".  ❤ He then elaborated and said that they also did numbers, the ABC's and "the park". When asked what his favorite thing was, he said "coloring", which is a BIG deal! We have had a hard time getting him interested in coloring or writing at all. I was hoping that school would help, but I didn't expect it to happen this fast! We will start our normal routine with him tomorrow. Sheila will take him to school, and we will pick him up (Mon-Wed). Gina will keep him on Thursdays, and we will have him all day on Fridays. This is going to be a big change for us!

Daddy is selling his car! Hallelujah!!! It only took 9 months after losing his license to reach this point. (ha ha) We plan to go pick it up tomorrow so Dennis can work on it. The battery is dead, the oil is VERY low, and it needs to be cleaned out really well. He isn't getting much for it, but he didn't pay much for it when they bought it...MANY miles ago! Another milestone reached!

We are back to working on our guest room. Since we "had the day off" today, we finished grinding all of the quickset off the concrete floor. It is a really dirty job! We hung a cloth over the exposed wall and doorway, put a fan in the window to blow out as much as possible, and I stood next to Dennis with a shop vac as he grinded. We were able to keep it out of the rest of the house as far as I can tell. We were sure covered in dust though! Now Dennis is finishing up scraping the popcorn off the ceiling. That will probably be all we get accomplished today. I'm really looking forward to starting putting things back together! We have the flooring and door and new light/fan fixture ready to go once we get the sheetrock up and textured.

Finding the right tool is SO helpful!

Yesterday was our monthly guest speaker/potluck/singing. Robbie H. was our guest speaker and did an excellent job! It was great to have some time to visit with him and Charlotte and Morgan. Kirk T. also showed up. He is planning to move to the area sometime in the fall and was bringing a load over. I'm glad that it happened to fall on potluck day! James and Renee hosted the lunch, again. They are so good to open their lovely home to everyone. We had a great turnout, great food, and great fellowship!

This coming weekend is the annual Labor Day Gathering at Haslet. We don't know, yet, if Bobbie will be out of rehab by then. She is determined to go though! We will just drive them back and forth, if they are able to make the festivities. We told them that Bobbie will have to go in her wheelchair though. She cannot afford any more falls! We are very thankful that she didn't break anything this time around!

Well, I guess that's about all for now. I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming 3-day-weekend!

Sincere Prayer

I read a line in a book yesterday that has stayed with me. The book is a novel, not Christian fiction, but it deals with brutal realities in some families and how people deal with them. The line that caught my attention is:  “If he’d gone for a genuine heartfelt, please-bless-Maisey sort of prayer, I might have stayed. It is quiet and peaceful here in the chapel. But I’m not going to hang around and listen to this fledgling boy–man use prayer as an opportunity to tell God what he already knows.” (King, Kerry Anne. Whisper Me This)

How often do we hear this kind of prayer being spoken? I have to admit that this has always been a pet peeve of mine, even though I can be as guilty as anyone of doing it. Even though the scriptures tell us not to use vain repetitions, but to be sincere and humble in our prayers, we too often fall back on the same prayers that we’ve always heard uttered. I remember going to church in California one summer and being amazed (not in a good way) to hear the same words being spoken there that I always heard in my home congregation.

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matthew 6:5-7 NKJV)

The first time I ever remember hearing a person praying like they were really talking to God was when I was in high school. That is really sad, because I have attended church 2-3 times a week since I was BORN! Then when Dennis and I moved to Nacogdoches, I was blown away by a brother there who uttered some of the most REAL and sincere prayers I’ve ever heard:  no pat phrases, no fancy language, just simply pouring out his heart to God.

I imagine (at least I hope) that most people pray this way in private, but then allow something (pride, fear of letting others see their hearts, etc.) to get in the way when leading a public prayer. I really don’t think this is what God wants to hear! Quoting scripture in prayer is just showing out…He already knows it all…He spoke it! One of my personal pet peeves is saying things in triplicate. It happens all the time. Someone will be praying and use two or three words that mean the same thing in a sentence. But rarely do you hear someone just speaking simply from their heart…which is what prayer really is.

I hope that some day people will move away from using prayer as an opportunity to make a speech or give a sermonette or try to impress people. That’s never what God intended and doesn’t serve any good purpose. The only person that I know of in the Bible that was praised for their prayer was the publican who prayed thusly: "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:13-14 NKJV)

Health update and back to remodeling!

Well, I went back to my orthopedic doctor to get the results of my MRI on my shoulder. Turns out I DON'T have a torn rotator cuff! I have severe tendonitis and bursitis caused by an impingement. The only treatment (other than surgery to shave off bone to enlarge the impinged area) is steroid injections. The last one didn't really help much. The doctor thought that the medication might not have reached the area where it was needed, so this time he went deeper. He was reluctant to do that last time, because it is supposed to be pretty painful. However, it wasn't. I could feel it at one point, but it was pretty mild. So we are hoping that I will get some relief this time. If it does help, I can have them every 3 months, if needed. I still have to "baby" my left arm, since exercise only worsens the problem. Hopefully, I will be able to go about my normal activities with little pain with the shots though. The impingement is caused by a genetic defect in my shoulder in which the bone angles downward rather than being "parallel". There seems to be some spurs involved, too, which I seem to have more than my share of. So, it was better news than expected. It can't be "cured", but we might be able to keep the pain under control. If it does get to the point where it needs surgery, it won't be nearly as severe as it would be if the tendons were torn.

We spent most of Monday and Tuesday tearing up the guest room. We've gotten about 2/3 of the tile removed from the floor. It is pretty slow going! We took yesterday off to rest up. James and Debbie (and Renee) came over for a short visit to meet Nam. He took to James right off, which I knew he would. He started acting like he felt bad toward the end of their visit. He'd been having trouble with allergies for a couple of days. His left eye has been red and swollen and gunky. After our company left, I washed his eyes out with artificial tears and gave him a snack, and he perked right up! He really needs a regular routine of snacks to keep going.

He has done much better with the remodel than I expected. He loves to "help"! He actually is a pretty good help when it comes to sweeping up the debris from the tile and picking up the larger pieces and discarding them. When he gets tired of helping, he will go to his little bench in the dining room and play for a while. I think it is helping him sleep better at night, too.

Tuesday, we were watering the grass, and Nam wanted to play in the sprinkler. So I told him to take off his socks and shoes and have at it. He had a blast. We had two sprinklers going, so he would make them "fight" each other. Ha! He played for about a half hour and was totally drenched! I told Sheila he wouldn't need a bath that night!

Ricky went to Arkansas last weekend for his 30th birthday. He and a few friends got a cabin on Mt. Magazine and relaxed and enjoyed their time together. He got back Sunday night and had to immediately repack and get ready to go out of town for work Monday morning. So we haven't seen much of him for the past week!

I'm not sure how long it will take to finish the guest room job. We are going to replace all of the walls and strip the popcorn ceiling after finishing tearing up the tile. We plan to rework the closet, too. We have already bought the new flooring:  a laminate that looks a lot like the tile that we put in the kitchen/dining area. We have the new 36" door, but we won't hang it until after we get the new flooring laid. I'm sure we'll be working in there at least another couple of weeks. After finishing in there, Dennis wants to move onto the hall bathroom. We need to widen the door to it to a 36" one, also. To do that, we'll have to tear out the linen closet and reconfigure it, take out the cabinets and countertop (which we plan to replace with a ready-made one), and replace the tub with a walk-in shower unit. We'll also replace the tile with what we have in the kitchen area, too. It is really good to get back to working on the house. We've pretty much had it put on hold since I left for Vietnam last fall. We weren't sure how we'd be able to take care of Nam and remodel at the same time. I believe he is going to do just fine with it now.

A little soul-searching

A friend posted this verse this morning:  Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah (Psalms 4:4 NKJV)

Simple verse, but it can take a lifetime to learn to live it. First, to be able to control one’s temper…without thinking or saying or doing anything ugly. I might be able to control my actions (sometimes) or even my tongue (less often), but my thoughts? How many times does a retaliatory thought pop into my head? Way too often, I’m afraid. How many times do I pop off and say something in return? Still guilty. Learning to return good for evil is a challenge and a commandment that I struggle with daily:  Bless (this means to speak well of or praise) those who persecute you; bless and do not curse… Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14, 20-21 NKJV)

The second part of this passage is also challenging, but in a different way. Learning to control my temper is fighting against my human passion…bringing it under control…and replacing it with the love of God. Learning to be still and meditate is a more subtle struggle. Calming my mind…focusing on God. At times, it comes very easily, such as when I’m observing an awesome view of nature. Sometimes, it comes with just a little bit of effort, such as when I’m driving down the road, alone, and choose to spend the time talking to God and admiring His creation. But during my normal, daily routine…it is very challenging. When I’m taking a break and sitting in my recliner, do I meditate and allow the Spirit to move in me? Or do I busy my mind with TV or reading for pleasure or playing games on my computer? I’m afraid I am guilty of the latter. I have what I refer to as a “lazy mind”.  I don’t like to think deep thoughts most of the time. I like to keep things light and easy and relaxing. Which is a bit ironic, don’t you think? Look at the language used in the psalm…be still.  That imagery is one of peace and contentment. Why is it so hard for me to achieve? Why must I constantly fill my mind with trivialities? Why can’t I allow the Spirit to help me find true peace? And it follows that if I spend more time working on this, the first part of the verse will also get easier! Amazing how that works, huh?

Anyway, I’m grateful for Sherry sharing this verse today. It stirred up my heart and helped me spend a bit more time today in meditating on God’s Word and doing a little soul-searching. I hope it has done the same for you.

July

We are having a little respite from the extreme heat this week. Temperatures are still hovering around 100°, but that sure beats the 110+ that we had last week! It has been a hard summer for folks who have to work outside!

Last time I did an update, we were about to take Nam to see the 4^th of July fireworks. He enjoyed them, but he was much more interested in going to see the Fire Chief (which we weren’t able to do). That kid loves firemen, policemen and EMTs!

Nam went for his 6 month follow-up visit to the international adoption clinic this week. He has grown about 1.5” and gained just over a pound. Nothing we do seems to put weight on that kid! But he is healthy and growing…he’s just probably always going to be thin. I’m going to start fixing him smoothies every afternoon to see if that helps. It is a good way to get extra fruit/fiber in him anyway (plus protein from the Greek yogurt). He is on target in all of his developmental milestones, and the nurse practitioner was very impressed with his intelligence and language skills. I just love listening to him talk. He has the sweetest little voice and is a very interesting conversationist! I wish I could remember all of his cute sayings, but they are too many. One of my favorite things is when he gets in a play argument with his action figures (and Grandad). He will keep saying “Yes (or no), sir!” in that certain tone of voice that means he’s not budging!

I had a good birthday week. After Sheila picked Nam up on the 17^th, we drove to Granbury to spend the night. When Dennis asked what I wanted to do for my 60^th birthday, I said I’d really like to go to the beach. Since we didn’t have time to do that, I decided we’d just go to the city beach in Granbury. Ha! We had a nice shrimp dinner and waited until just before sunset before going. There were still a lot of people there, so we walked along the boardwalk and then found us a picnic table to sit at. I waded for a little while, and then we headed on back to our hotel room to relax and cool off. The next morning, we slept in and then did a little shopping and walking in the park before heading to FW to pick up Nam from Sheila’s workplace just after lunch. Sheila and Ricky took me out to Chili’s for supper and we all shared a Molten Chocolate Cake for dessert. Nam wanted to sing “Happy Birthday” to me, but I wasn’t wanting the attention, so he and the rest of family sang it very quietly!

Bobbie had a pretty rough week earlier in the month. She is feeling quite a bit better now, but she really wears out easily. Daddy is doing pretty well. We were finally able to get him some compression stockings yesterday. I’m hoping they help with his swelling in his feet and legs. We ended up getting the knee-high, rather than the thigh-high that the doctor prescribed. We just didn’t think he’d be able to put the others on by himself. He can do the knee-highs, although it is still a struggle. I need to get him in to see a podiatrist to see about his feet. I didn’t realize how bad they looked until he was trying on the stockings. (I never see his bare feet!) I plan to go over there in a day or two and give them a good washing to exfoliate them. They have a lot of dead skin built up on them! I guess he just can’t reach them to clean them well when he showers. I’m waiting a bit so (hopefully) the swelling will go down. They are so swollen that the skin is very tender and easily torn.

Robbie and Charlotte were in the metroplex this past week celebrating their 25^th anniversary. They came over to HW on Sunday and spent the day with us. It was great catching up with them! After the afternoon assembly several of us went out to eat with them and visit even longer. The guys had been tied up in a business meeting all afternoon, so Dennis and Ricky didn’t get to visit with them until suppertime. We usually only get to see them about once a year. Charlotte is like one of our own kids. Dennis has known her all of her life, and I met her family when she was 5. Our two families used to do EVERYTHING together! She used to babysit my kids when they were little and she was a teenager. It is hard to believe that she has been married 25 years and her girls are starting college!

Our monthly potluck is this coming Sunday at the Pettits’. Jensen is supposed to be our guest speaker. We are looking forward to hearing a good lesson from him and visiting with him and Andrea. They are another couple that is very special to us!

Well, that about catches you up on our lives. Hope things are going well with all of you

Turning 60

How did THAT happen?! Even though my body tells me that I’m that old, my mind can’t really comprehend it. Even with my terrible memory, I can still remember playing in the alley with the neighborhood kids in Littlefield and playing hide-and-seek in the cornfields at the farm. Then after moving to Saginaw, I recall all the hours that we spent playing in the court with our drywall “chalk”, walking all over town visiting friends, and spending MANY hours at Granny and Granddaddy’s house playing with the Putman/Smith/Spurlock cousins in the mesquite flats and bar ditches; as well as all those games of Red Rover in the back yard. I barely turned around and found myself graduating high school and moving out on my own. Then Dennis came along, and we were married before you could blink. Seven years of desperately wanting children was followed by a busy, noisy, joyful houseful of young’uns…who grew up way too fast.

Am I sad about hitting the BIG 6-0? Not at all! I have never regretted aging. Life is an adventure, and each phase brings new challenges and rewards. I love the freedom that we have since Dennis retired and the time that we have to spend together. I have really enjoyed the time that we’ve spent traveling (when we’ve had the opportunity) and look forward to doing more in the future (as things settle down).  I love spending time with my grandkids. Life is so much more fun when viewed through the eyes of a youngster. I truly love becoming friends with my children. They have all grown to be amazing adults, in spite of my ignorance and mistakes in raising them. I love it when we can all get together and visit and share memories. Watching my kiddos interact as adults is a joy, as well as watching them enjoy one another’s children. After refereeing all of those (seemingly endless) battles when they were younger, telling them to cherish and appreciate their relationships, it is such a blessing to see it all come to fruition.  And of course, I am now eligible for most senior citizen discounts!

Of course, growing old isn’t all fun and games! Things start to wear out and quit working…which usually causes some pain and inconvenience. You start losing more and more of the people that you’ve loved for so long. Watching your own parents decline is very difficult! It is rough to have to take on the role of “parent” to the person(s) whom you respect and have always turned to when in need. Watching them grow feeble, in both body and mind, is heart-breaking. Trying to walk that fine line of caring for them without “bossing” them can be most challenging! Then the realization that it won’t be long before you are in their position, and your children will be facing the same responsibilities, is very sobering.

I’m also much more aware, now, of how short life really is. I appreciate the eternal so much more! Knowing that there is something waiting for me that is greater beyond measure than the things of this world, fills me with such comfort and hope. When I was younger, I felt like I still had so much of life to experience, so I didn’t really long for my eternal home. As I grow older and see the evils of this world wax worse and worse, I’m thankful that my years are grower shorter. I long for the peace and joy and splendor of being with my Savior and not having to deal with “stuff”!

All in all, I’m glad that I’m turning 60. I’m thankful that I’ve been allowed to experience all the things that have come my way. I haven’t always enjoyed everything, but it feels good to have weathered the storms and come out on the other side with the help of God. And I’m confident that He will continue to see me through the next (?) years. I still have so much to learn and experience and enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

Things are hot and dry around here, with fires popping up on a regular basis. We have been hanging light blocking shades and curtains up in our bedrooms to try to help keep things a bit cooler. It is definitely helping things feel better. Hope it helps with our electric bill! Dennis is also having to water the grass as often as we are allowed to keep it alive.

Sheila ended up having the first 3 days of this week off, so we’ve had a little free time…more or less. We spent most of the day, yesterday, trying to get things lined up for Daddy and Bobbie to get a landline. They have struggled for years with cellphones, but it was getting harder for them to keep one in service. We happened to be in Weatherford yesterday morning, buying shades for Ricky’s room, and I wanted to run by Brookdale to see how Bobbie was doing. (She wasn’t doing very well at all on Sunday.) I knew that Brookdale was planning a trip to Walmart that morning, so we drove by there first. We saw the van and stopped. We found Daddy at the electronics counter buying yet another new cellphone. I was able to talk him out of getting it, since he just bought one about a month ago. He claimed it wasn’t working. We discussed the problems that he’s been having with them and I talked him into getting a landline instead. When we got back to Brookdale, I was able to get his other cellphone working (I just turned it on). We told him that we had 2 old phones at our house that they could have. They are very basic, old-fashioned phones. So we went to get them, then went by Charter Spectrum to line up the new service, and then went back to Brookdale to get things set up. The service technician is there right now, getting things hooked up. I’m hoping that this will make things a lot easier (and cheaper) for them to communicate effectively with others. If anyone wants their new phone number, just let me know and I will private message it to you.

We celebrated Sheila’s birthday last week. We fried up some perch and catfish for supper. It was SO good! I haven’t had fried perch in YEARS (maybe decades!). I like it SO much better than catfish! I also made a Hershey Bar Cake for Sheila. Not much was eaten, though. Everyone was too busy filling up on fish! I had taken Nam to Walmart on Monday to shop for his momma. He found a birthday card with a Superman “S” on the front, which he had to get for her. He also decided to get her candy and found an Avengers gift bag to put it in. Ha! That kid LOVES super heros!

Sheila and Nam are coming over for the 4^th and spending the night, so we can take him to watch fireworks. MW puts on a great display every year, thanks to Chicken Express. It is also much easier to deal with, as far as crowds go, than larger cities. We plan to cook hotdogs for lunch, make homemade ice cream, and then go for the fireworks show. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Nam enjoys a couple more “firsts” (making ice cream and watching fireworks).

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable 4^th of July!

Beauty from Pain

Last week, we watched the movie “I Can Only Imagine”. I cried throughout the movie (which, if you know me well, is one measure of how good a movie is), but it also had tidbits here and there that made me laugh out loud. It has a very simple (and common) theme about how something beautiful can come from great pain. They referenced, in the story, another of my favorite songs (and movies) and its origins:  Amazing Grace. The song was written by a former slave ship captain. The grief and guilt that he experienced from his past allowed him to write one of the most beloved (and beautiful) hymns in the world. As soon as the movie was over I went to bed, but my mind wouldn’t allow me to sleep. Tears kept flowing from my eyes and my heart was filled with so many memories of painful times that bred beauty.

The most obvious, of course, is the sacrifice of Jesus. Our redemption, our hope, our peace, our joy all come from an event of horrific pain. His suffering allows us to share in so much joy in this life, and purchases for us a future of unimaginable beauty.  The ultimate place of beauty was made available through intense pain and sorrow. The scriptures are full of how sorrow and tribulation gives way to joy and hope.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:16-18 NKJV)

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. (Psalms 30:5 NKJV)

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5 NKJV)

I look back in my own life and see so many times when something wonderful has emerged from times of suffering. Without pain, I don’t believe we can fully appreciate our blessings. As much as I always longed to be a mother, I truly believe that my love and thankfulness for my three children is greater after having gone through years of infertility and miscarriages. Those who have struggled financially are often the ones who appreciate most what they have been given, and also to have compassion for and a desire to share with others who are struggling. I believe that we are most effective in ministering to others when we have known pain.

So, is pain a good thing? I really believe it is. God gave us pain as a warning sign. If something hurts you, you learn to avoid it. Emotional pain can work the same way, but with an added bonus. It can, with God’s help, produce empathy and compassion and a sincere thankfulness that may not otherwise be achieved. We learn and grow from pain. Just as flood waters carve beautiful designs in the slot canyons of Arizona and Utah, God can use our pain to shape and mold us into a thing of beauty for Him. I found a line in a book that I was reading yesterday that illustrates this concept. It was talking about the sweetgrass that is used to weave baskets, and how it couldn’t be successfully cultivated in rich soil. “The grass has to have lived a hard life to be right for the baskets.” (excerpt from “Sweetgrass” by Mary Alice Monroe)

My prayer is that God uses my hardships and pain to create something beautiful for Him!

Summertime

Things are going pretty well around here. Daddy’s last checkup was good. Bobbie has been pretty weak and wasn’t eating for awhile, but she seems to have perked up a bit the past week or so. She still needs to see a couple of specialists:  one for determining what to do about her blood clots (blood thinners cause her to bleed internally and cause severe anemia, without blood thinners leaves her in danger of heart attack or strokes from blood clots), and the other for her kidneys. Her last numbers on her kidneys were actually up a little. Hers seem to fluctuate more than Daddy’s, but the doctor still considers them stable.

This Saturday, Brookdale is hosting a cookout for Father’s Day. Daddy is pretty excited about it. Dennis and I plan to be there, as do Sheila and Nam. He always really enjoys having Nam around!

Nam has missed Ricky since he started back to work with CWC. He only gets to see him on the night they sleep over. Ricky did go to church at Henrietta Creek on Sunday, which really excited Nam. They have really gotten to be good buddies.

We had a busy morning today! We went to the library to turn in Nam’s books/movies and check out some more. They have some really cool blocks that he likes to play with there, so we stayed a good while. Then we headed to the park. There were several little kids that he played with, including another 4-year-old boy. We also carried a new kickball that I bought Nam yesterday. We kicked it back and forth for a while, and he and the other kids played with it some. It is so good for him to have other kids to interact with. He is around adults most of the time. He is going to a special series of classes at the FW Museum of Science and History next week. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does with that. He’s never been left somewhere without one of us or Jessica or Gina. I hope he does ok! It will be good practice before he starts pre-K.

We were working with Nam on his counting on our way home from lunch today. We counted all the way to 100. He needs some prompting and help, but he is really learning fast. His language skills continue to improve. He is improving his enunciation, and he can say pretty much anything. Sheila and he have been doing a little science project at home. They sprouted some beans in a Ziploc bag. When they were checking their progress after a week, they were noticing the leaves and sprouts. Nam warned his momma to watch out and not break them, because “God made those!”

Not much else going on around here…just trying to stay cool on these 100 degree days. Thankfully, we’ve have some good rains over the past couple of weeks:  about 1.5 inches total. That (along with some watering) has kept our yard alive. Hope things are not too dry where you are!