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.