Joys and sorrows

 A lot has happened in the last month…some good, some tragic. As you probably know, Sherrod was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of cancer. It attacked his body with a vengeance, and he passed away last Thursday. His funeral was yesterday. His family barely had time to come to grips with his diagnosis before having to deal with his death. My heart hurts for all of them, but especially for Anita! Please continue to keep her and the kids in your prayers!

When they were trying to bring Sherrod home, the Highway congregation decided to build a ramp to make it easier for them getting into their house. They paid for the materials and asked Dennis to take charge of the building of it. He worked feverishly trying to get it done, with some help from Ron and the other Highway guys, Alan and Ricky. They did manage to finish the ramp itself, so Sherrod could go home a week ago Sunday. Dennis plans to finish the railing today. Because their mobile home was set so high, the ramp had to be very long in order to have the gradual slope that is recommended. It did enable them to allow Sherrod to be at home for his final few days, as well as making the removal of his body easier. I hope that it provides Anita and her family some good use in the future.

On a happier note, we took Nam on his Spring Break trip to Branson. He loved it! We had so much fun! We stopped in Ft. Smith the first night, to break up the trip a little. Sunday morning, we drove to Harrison for church. It was good to see the folks there, and Kelli invited us (as well as everyone else) over for a scrumptious dinner afterwards. After lunch and a short visit, we drove on up to Branson and got settled in our room. Monday, we drove to Springfield to the Bass Pro museum and aquarium. That turned out to be the highlight of our visit! On Tuesday, we went to the Dinosaur Museum, Dick’s 5 and 10, and the museum at the College of the Ozarks. Wednesday was Silver Dollar City. It was Nam’s first time to go to an amusement park. He had fun, but we all were pretty tired by about 3, so we called it a day. We got up Thursday morning and drove to Paris. We met up with Stephen’s bunch for supper, then headed to the hotel to rest up from a long day of travel. The boys played together all day Friday and a little while Saturday morning. They had such a good time together! I think playing with his cousins ended up being Nam’s favorite part of the whole trip. We got Nam home around 2, then stopped by Rick and Amber’s to pick up Dennis’ truck. (We had left it with them, so Ricky could use it to drive to work while we were gone.) Archer greeted me at the door. Then after a sweet hug, he stood there calling for “Dandad” until he finally made it. Just like the other grandsons, he LOVES his Grandad! After a short visit with them, we headed home, unpacked and RELAXED! It was a great week, but these two old folks were TIRED!

Watching knife being made

Silly picture at aquarium/museum

Grandad and Nam on ride

Nam was part of a magic show at SDC

Air Hockey in hotel game room

We didn’t get anything done on the house last month due to everything that was going on. I’m hoping that Dennis can get back to it this week. MW has issued a ban on outdoor water usage, so I’m not sure if he’ll be able to work on the shower or not. He needs to use the outdoor water to clean up (as well as mix) the thinset. He plans to go talk to the city to see if the restrictions apply to what he needs to do. I really hope that he can finish our shower before moving on to demo’ing our bedroom and starting on it.

I got Stephen and Mandy’s rag quilt finished and delivered to them. I think they were pleased with it. I also took Baby Girl’s quilt and accessories. After our trip I made Sheila’s quilt. Even though it is for her birthday, I’m going to give it to her this weekend so she can get a little use out of it before hot weather settles in to stay. After I take a little break, I’ll start working on Ricky’s. Each quilt that I do uses a different technique or design. It is so much fun seeing how each of them turns out! (I’ll share the picture of Sheila’s after she gets it.)

Baby Girl's quilt (with appliqued chenille hearts)

quilt, burp cloths and lovey

Stephen and Mandy's rag quilt/pillow set

Stephen and Mandy's quilt (on point and my first quilt with binding)

We are really enjoying having Ricky’s family living so close again! We missed them so much while they were living in Arkansas. We can see Archer whenever we want, and he has definitely learned who his Granny and Grandad are! He’s the first grandbaby that we’ve had this much early access to, and we are loving it!

Well, I haven’t accomplished anything today, so I guess I’d better get at it. The past week has been physically and emotionally exhausting, so I just wanted a morning to kind of chill. But duty calls! Be sure to hold your loved ones close and enjoy the time that you have with them.

Re 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." (NKJV)