LOL!!!           

Just so you know, I’m doing just fine. 

Really, I am!

I’ll post some quick pictures (only a fraction of what I’ve taken over the past few weeks) and dialogue, then you will know I’m really here.

Well, maybe you won’t. 

I don’t have any pictures of myself!  I’ve been *BEHIND* the camera!

                                        *************************************************************

First was JanaLyn’s birthday party (back on July 24th).

                                         
                                                               She had a delicious ice cream cake.

AND, she had a pool party.  I sat in the shade, but still got a sunburn on my whiter than WHITE forehead!

                          
The corner area we used (around the pool) was decorated with bright colors of summer flip flops and pink flamingos – very pool party-ish! 

She was thrilled that a ladybug (one bug she actually L.O.V.E.S.) landed on her and stayed with her during the whole party as she walked around.  She named her “Dot.”  What a special girl, she is.  Even the bugs like her!

We went by JanaLyn’s house the next Monday for her REAL birthday.  We brought 2 gifts from Jesse and I and barely had time to say, “Happy Birthday,” before we had to leave.

                                ***********************************************************************************

Next was the church picnic.  I think that was the following weekend.  On a Saturday.

            
                                Jesse helped cook the burgers, sausage, and ribs (WONDERFUL ribs!).

And, *I* held down a yard chair in the shade and also took pictures.  Even though I was in the shade, my forehead was burned for a second time!  Must be all of the medicine I take daily.

The girls were baptized in the pool by Pastor C.J.

       
                                              Annamarie

    
                                                   Rissy

    
                                                Luci

Funny story about this pool.  I heard people saying that it wasn’t a chlorine treated pool.  Several children said the water tasted funny (meaning: awful).  Rissy went there with a purple t-shirt over her bathing suit, and she came home with a light pink one.  The navy underwear Jesse wore under his shorts, came back brownish purple.  I have NO IDEA what they used, and I haven’t asked if any other guests came home with color altered (dyed) swim wear!

This is the poor girl who died before the next morning.  She and I sat together for quite a while and got to know each other.  We talked about homeschooling.  She had a masters degree and said her public school comp teacher was upset when she wrote an essay on the benefits of homeschooling a child.

She left behind 3 children, who are living with their grandpa and step-grandma.  Such a shock.  Of course, Jesse and I jumped in and will do what we can to help the grandparents get on their feet since they are “new” parents again.  There is a lot of legal stuff about gaining guardianship and then help needed with clothing, etc.  The church members are doing what they can to make the transition easier for everyone.  The children are starting back to school next week.  What a turmoil for the whole family.

We didn’t attend the funeral.  Two days after the party (Monday evening) I became very ill with a stomach bug.  I had stomach cramps, body aches and a horrible headache for about 5 days.

                              ******************************************************************************

Luci’s birthday was Thursday, August 5th.  I was beginning to feel better if I took aspirin for the aches and pains.  But, food still wasn’t all that appealing to me.

We had a small celebration, just us five, and one of Luci’s older sister’s (Nikki) called her from Denver that night.  Her dad took her to Red Lobster for a shrimp lunch, while I was at the cancer place getting my routine IV (and extra fluids because I had become dehydrated) and her sisters were in their therapy session.

                              
                                        
                                                                The girls all love both of their big sisters.

Her sisters gave her the gifts from them, and Dad & I gave her a few from us.  Dad cooked chicken legs on the grill and we had a delightful fruit salad and green beans.

                      
                                            One gift from us was a baby doll that talks.

This was the day we had the homemade cherry chip cake.  It was SO HOT, the frosting never did firm up.  It continued to run all over the cake plate for days!  Kind of a slow ooze!

                     
                                   But, it tasted good, and Luci was pleased.

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Our company arrived the next day – late, in the middle of Thursday night.  They slept in Friday morning and we talked and visited most of the day. 

Luci’s party with the decorations, fancy cake, etc. was on Saturday, the 7th.

She was happy with her decorations and pleased that we had out of town guests to share her day.

Decorations were all different colors of bright flowers  – kind of a spring flower garden theme, I guess.  We threw shiny table confetti in different colors to make things sparkle!

Since this is the last “decorated” birthday party for the last of my young children, I dug through my party bin and gave out every party favor I could find.  That ended up being a HUGE mistake, as each child had a variety of about 4 noise makers a piece.  What a LOUD party!!!!!

People have begun to message me and ask if something was wrong or if I was still busy.

I guess y’all can tell  -  I’m still busy and having a great time!

I’ll write soon and post more pictures.  That’s a promise, as I am continually taking lots of pictures!

Be Blessed  ~

May I present to you a bullet blog – the best I can do for now!  

*   Saturday, the 24th, JanaLyn’s 7th birthday party was a blast.  Lots of children swam in the pool and enjoyed fresh fruit, Chex mix, juice packs, and an ice cream cake.  Pictures – SOMEDAY! 

*   Sunday, the 25th, we went to Jesse’s friend’s church.  Jesse kind of led the family to seek out a church and they are very proud of their Baptist church.  It was the group’s 1 year anniversary and they had a dinner after the service.  The food was Mexican and I’d tell you about the service and singing, but it was all in Spanish!!!!  

    That’s the day we stopped by the nursing home to get my mil’s laundry and say hello.  She fell trying to go to the bathroom with her walker and Jesse helping her.  She fell between the wall and toilet stool, knocking the floor bolts off and dumping the entire toilet sideways against the other wall.  They assured us they’d monitor her every 15 minutes.  She looked awful that day before the fall.  Very weak and frail. 

*   Monday, the 26th, the girls and I stopped by Stephanie’s with 2 gifts, from Jesse and I, and to give JanaLyn a hug on her ACTUAL birthday.  Forgot my camera and learned I have no idea how to take a picture with my phone.

*   Tuesday, the 27th, I had a medical check up at a church clinic.  They are the ones that first detected the breast cancer and hooked me up with the right people.  The doctor has called me and prayed for me over the phone and has supported my family through my battle.  She described me as looking in great health!  The girls, the doctor, and I held hands and prayed after my exam.  We had an opportunity to pray for the doctor, too. 

*   Wednesday, the 28th, a new cleaning lady arrived.  She’s the one who was recommended in the first place.  She did a great job – really whipped things out quickly and completely.  Unfortunately, she starts nursing classes in the fall, and she isn’t sure how much she’ll be available after that. 

     Also, Jesse’s sister in Tacoma (who works for a nursing home) called my MIL’s nursing home and demanded she be sent to the hospital for a complete exam.  She still had a headache, ached all over (as you can imagine), was weak, and they had done very little for her in the nursing home.  She spent the night in the E.R. 

    That evening, the girls and I (without Luci) went to COC church with scary dark, DARK storm clouds moving in from the west.  Never did rain on us.

*   Thursday, the 29th.  Rissy had been having a sore tooth problem, so we took her back to the dentist who pulled the wrong tooth in Annamarie’s mouth last fall.  Both girls told me the new dentist hurt them and lied about it not hurting and begged me not to take them back.  So, it was back to the old dentist.  He suggested Sensodyne tooth paste.  I use it, too.  Rissy has her own tube and has been lectured on the cost of it and has been told to use it sparingly! 

*   Friday, the 30th, I simply don’t remember!  I’m sure I played catch up, etc. 

    We went to see Jesse’s mother and she looked all kinds of better.  But her bruising was awful.  I took my camera and took pictures of all the bruises.  Apparently, she was dehydrated and starving in the nursing home.  She is too weak to come to our house at this time.  I don’t have much hope that she will ever be out of a nursing home facility.  Makes me feel bad for her. 

*   Saturday, the 31st, we went to a church picnic – the church we all attend on Sunday mornings.  It was incredibly hot, despite the tents blocking the direct sunlight.  We decided, last minute, to go and inquired about what food to bring.  We were told buns were needed.  Apparently LOTS of people called last minute and were told to bring the same thing.  There was on card table full of buns.  It was so OVER laden, I took a picture because it looked like a bread line in Russia!

    All three of our girls were baptized in the pool, along with the pastor’s son, and one other boy.  A little girl, who was really way too young, wanted to be baptized and the pastor said she was just “too young,” but he “dedicated her life to God” by dunking her the same as the rest of the children and said it would be the church’s prayer that she would willingly choose baptism when she was a little older.  (she was maybe 3 or 4???)  I thought he handled it VERY well.

    The house where the party took place is the “ministers of music” and they gave us a *FREE* full size electric piano, so the girls could start piano lessons.  There is one key that is stuck and the piano store (one of the only ones in town) said they could fix it for $75.  What a deal!!!!      

    Before going inside the the host’s house to cool off, I spent quite a while talking and eating lunch with a girl from church who was fairly new and VERY NEW to me.  I’d guess her to be around 30yo.

*   Sunday, August 1st, we went to church and came home to eat.  That’s when Jesse got a call from the pastor telling us the girl I had just met on Sunday (at the picnic) was found dead by her young children in their apartment bathroom.      The police came to church looking for the stepmother, so the children wouldn’t have to be taken into protective services.  What a shock!     No one knows any details, except her body was released shortly after the coroner’s exam, and the funeral is this coming Friday.

*   Monday, August 2nd, I cleaned up a bunch of clutter around the house.  We have company arriving this week    and Luci will have her 8th birthday and party a few days later.  

    Later in the afternoon, Jesse’s aunt and uncle (his mother’s brother) stopped by our house on their way home to Amarillo.  They had come here to check on my mil.  They said they didn’t think my mil would ever be out of a nursing home and wished she had taken us up on the offer to live here a couple of years ago.     On top of that, I found out she has a very contagious infection and we should have worn a gown, gloves, and mask when we went up to visit her!!!     Aunt Mary has had breast cancer and told me I had no business going up there because of how easily I could catch the same bacteria – gloves or no gloves.     (rolling my eyes!  NOW they tell me!)  The whole time they sat in our den, I felt sleepy and drugged.  I yawned and a few times my head bobbed forward and I realized I had almost dozed off.  SO EMBARRASSING!!!!!!!  I’m sure my eyes closed several times while we visited. 

    I took Luci and Annamarie to their therapy session and hung out (with Rissy) at Stephanie’s house.  Right before it was time to leave my stomach was upset and I got sick in her bathroom.  I apologized and tore up the street to pick up the girls.  They were calling me on my cell phone as Rissy was walking into the building to get them.  Again, EMBARRASSING!  

*   Tuesday (TODAY) . . .   I was up all night sick and I feel really shaky today.    I’m not planning a spectacular day.  I am almost done with my laundry and will make the 2 layers for Luci’s *real birthday* birthday cake (cherry chip) and put the layers in the freezer.  I’ll have to frost it later.  I felt incredibly sleepy yesterday and I must have been needing sleep because of whatever bug is eating on me.  I plan to lay in bed today. 

*    Tomorrow, Wednesday, the new house cleaner is supposed to come back, or at least she said she would try, since it’s obvious I need help. 

    Either today or tomorrow, I need to get Luci’s gifts wrapped.  Mostly in gift bags this year, which makes it easier for me.  I won’t have to bend over the bed to wrap corners, etc.   They are in store sacks in my closet and in no type of order.  I, at least, need to divide them up, so tomorrow I can quickly put them in sacks – which isn’t like I’ll have lots of free time tomorrow!!! 

*    Thursday, which is Luci’s birthday, I have my Zometa IV at 1pm and Annamarie & Rissy will go to the standing therapy session from 1 – 3pm.  Jesse will take Luci to lunch – just the two of them (a birthday tradition,   lunch with Dad).  Luci wants spaghetti, garlic toast, and salad for her birthday dinner and we’ll have the cherry chip cake.  She can have most of her gifts, too.  The menu turns my stomach, right now!  

*    Friday, our company is scheduled to arrive.    Three adults and three children.  I need to get the beds ready and figure out how to juggle people, so no one will have to sleep on the floor.  

    The funeral for the gal from church and a dinner following the service is planned, but I just don’t know if I”ll be able to make it, or not.  We have a bed for the step-grandma and some clothes and food to get her started.  This really caught her blind side.  She lives in a one bedroom apartment and their are 3 children.  Poor children.  They should be starting school in about 10 days!  What a mess!  

*    Saturday, is Luci’s birthday party.  The party with the decorations, party favors, fancy cake, etc.  There are 7 children at that one and I believe Jesse will cook hamburgers outside and we’ll keep it as simple as possible. 

Now everyone knows why I haven’t written before today!

So much going on and I’ve needed to be sensible about rationing my time between working and resting.  I’m hoping this stomach bug goes away quickly.  I may have to stay home from church on Wednesday night and get some extra sleep.  That’s what I’m craving more than anything else.  Sleep . . . AND water.

Be Blessed  ~

I’m NEVER this busy.  Secretly, I’m enjoying it all.

I’ll try to post tomorrow – WITH pictures.

In the mean time, don’t worry – all is well with me – just moving along quickly!

Please pray for Jesse’s mother.  She fell (hard) when we were visiting her at the nursing home last Sunday.  She was admitted to the hospital via the E.R. yesterday.  She fell so hard against the toilet, she knocked it off the floor bolts and it fell against the wall.  She’s VERY bruised and sore.  Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Be Blessed  ~

Unfortunately, that means a lot is happening and my posts would be more interesting than usual (rolling my eyes!!!) ones!     Just don’t have the time to write.

I’m doing fine.  Will catch up on here soon.

I have an appointment this morning on the other side of town.   I don’t do well with morning appointments, but didn’t have a choice with this one.   I need to stop at the post office to mail something to my two “Lori” friends.

JanaLyn’s birthday party (a pool party) on Saturday was nice,  I have pictures.  And we went to see her yesterday with 2 gifts from PoPo and Granny.  Yesterday was her REAL birthday! 

Talked to Jaiden and Nikki last night.  Jaiden is as cute as JanaLyn.  I can’t help but think they would be friends if each lived closer to the other. 

Need to take a quick bath and get dressed.  So, I’ll bait you with my “interesting” tidbits from my life – to be revealed  ASAP!!!!  (oh brother!)  

Be Blessed 

              
                         A picture I colored for JanaLyn’s room.  I have an oak frame for it to match her furniture.

I continue to clean out the cupboards and closet in Rissy current room.

           
                                         My dresser is full of boxes of tapes from Charity Ministries.

I don’t know when, but it needs to be ready when my mother-in-law moves into our house.  I don’t want it to be up in the air and make it look like she’s imposing on our family.  We really want to make this transition as easy as possible for her.

My mother-in-law has had some wheezing, so they called, yesterday, to tell Jesse they were getting a chest x-ray done.  But, they never let us know the outcome.  Probably getting her out of that stinking rehab/nursing home would do her a world of good!

                              
                                           A skort and cotton sweater for JanaLyn.

We have JanaLyn’s birthday party (this Sat.) to prepare for (choose gifts. buy, wrap . . . ) and then our out of town company will arrive next Thursday or Friday.  That Thursday will be Luci’s 8th birthday.  We are waiting for the company to be here (their 3 children), and will have her party on Saturday, the seventh.  So, we need to choose gifts, buy, and wrap those for Luci, as well!  

In the mean time, I bought these awesome coloring books from Amazon.com.  They were under the “buy 3 get the 4th one free” plan, so I bought eight.  Some for JanaLyn and some for my girls. 

I’m copying the pages we want to color and we are working off of a copy, rather than the book.   That will make the book last for ages!  And, YES!, you read correctly the word “we”  as far as who is coloring.

So very relaxing!  Now I understand “art therapy” – it’s not about the art, it’s about how conversation comes naturally when you are so relaxed. 

Two neighborhood children have been here this week so the children could enjoy themselves in an air conditioned house.  Interesting what you learn while listening to the conversations of 5 girls!

The books are full of intricate and tiny things to color with markers or colored pencils.  I enjoy the pencils because you have control over shading colors.

I’m getting ready to take a quick bath and go to Wal-Mart to do our grocery shopping, early.  Jesse wants me to stay out of the heat, as much as possible.  While the girls are in their therapy session, I’ll go to the Wal-Mart near the doctor’s office and shop around for gifts for Luci.

I should fly, like this fairy, and get myself in gear and out of here!

Be Blessed  !

Not bad – just entirely different from what I had envisioned.

We had planned to visit a friend’s church with his family.  Jesse was influential in getting them to attend church and his friend is very proud of his new church.  So, the plan was to attend the service, not the Sunday school class – since it’s in Spanish!  LOL!

Late Saturday night, Jesse’s brother called and asked us to meet halfway between his city and ours for dinner at Red Lobster on Sunday.  We started meeting at Red Lobster, several years ago, to celebrate birthdays.  A friend of his brother always joins us.

We got there at 11:30am, before the church crowd, and the food and service were good.  I ate waaay too many delicious garlic biscuits and drank cup after cup of coffee (also delicious) to try to wake up.  Another Sunday of feeling sleepy.  I can’t figure out what makes Sunday’s such a sleepy day for me.  It never used to be that way!  We’ve found a way to order our food so it costs us less.  We make a selection of 3 different foods for a combo plate.  Rissy wanted steak and coconut shrimp – so we ordered the steak and 2 orders of coconut shrimp, with a green salad and baked potato that we split.  Annamarie and Jesse ordered steak (for Annamarie) and shrimp & scallops for Jesse.  They split their salad and rice.  It worked out well, price wise, and then his brother’s friend ended up  paying for everyone’s dinner!  Another surprise!

The city where we meet is about an hour’s drive from our house and his brother’s.  By the time we got back home, I was tired and stayed on the bed reading, for a bit, to rest my back.  I’m sure the heat index of 110 – 115 degrees didn’t help my lack of energy!

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I got up and took Luci to a party decoration store and she picked out what she wanted for her birthday.  Really pretty and vivid garden flowers in purples, pinks, yellows, and green.  We also bought some things for gift bags for the guests.  We didn’t stay there long, as the place was miserably hot.  The cashier informed us the a/c was broken!  The same thing happened on Friday, when Jesse surprised us by taking us out to eat.  No a/c there either.

No one was wanting a huge dinner (Sunday was the day I had planned to cook a turkey!!!), so the girls and I ate popcorn, fruit, or the apple/pineapple dump cake I’d made!  Not very healthy, but it sure tasted good!

JESSE was asked to play golf, and left at 5pm to go with our neighbor, his cousin, and the neighbor’s pastor.  He didn’t get home until after 9pm.  This is the family that had the little boy with complications due to a staph infection and the teen daughter who needed surgery on a broken thumb.  They’re the family I took a meal to, a week or so ago.  I haven’t seen the mom since then, but Jesse has talked to the dad outside (the driveway).  It’s been interesting to see how quickly God has grown a relationship between parents and children!  I’ve lived here almost 6 years and haven’t met but one or two lady neighbors.

I have bought some things for JanaLyn’s birthday (her party is next Saturday) and will most likely finish that up while Annamarie and Luci are at an appointment tonight.  Rissy can go with me and she is usually full of great ideas for gifts.  We also need to think about Luci’s birthday.

We have family coming from out of town and we’ll have Luci’s party on Saturday the 7th.  I can’t wait for them to get here. We always have a good time together.

I talked with  my friend, Lori K., last night.  It was a good conversation and I was happy that she sounded quite a bit better than she’s sounded the last few times we talked.  It’s still a slow recovery, but she should start feeling progress each week, from now on.

So, eating a Sunday dinner of  turkey and visiting a friend’s church didn’t happen, but we still had a nice family weekend together, and that’s the most important – FAMILY TOGETHER!!!

FINALLY, my friend, Lori K, is home from the hospital.  She had an awful time with nausea one day last week.  I called and she was in the restroom about to vomit.  She sounded miserable.   A C-Section incision is so painful when you cough, sneeze, or laugh . . . I can’t begin to guess the level of pain produced when vomiting. 

Bless her heart!  I feel so bad for her.

Although she sounded weak yesterday, she *did* say they let her go home.  Now she has to rest around her 5 children and husband, who is running the house in her absence!   Lord, bless them all!!!!!!!

Please continue to pray for her recovery and her level of pain, as she heals.  She admitted she is exhausted and wanted prayers.  This was a very invasive sickness and surgery; and, her body has virtually been assaulted in almost every way.  She has some pain pills, but they can only do so much.

Please keep her in your prayers and message me if you would like to send her a card.

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Thursday I went for my MRI of the cervical spine (head and neck).  It lasted a lot longer than I had anticipated.  And, rather than use the vein in my right arm, as I suggested, my left arm was first tried and the dye bubbled and burst the vein.  That dye burns when it is outside of the vein.  REALLY BURNS!!!!  I haven’t heard the results, but I’m guessing there wasn’t an emergency of any kind, or my doctor would have been immediately alerted. 

I have developed numb arms and, specifically, thumb & index finger deadening and tingling, at night.  Also, if I talk on the phone for very long when my elbow is bent, my lower arm begins to go numb.  The oncologist suspects carpal tunnel syndrome, and the MRI was to rule out tumors (my tumor marker count is well within normal limits) or damage to my spine.

Don’t known when I’ll hear the results.  My sweet oncologist is soon due to deliver another son and I won’t see her for a while.

           **********************************************************************************

I got a bunch done yesterday.  I kept moving at a steady pace and never really experienced any back pain.

*  Cleaned up a bunch of paperwork on my desk
*  Sorted or deleted a bunch of email
*  Hand washed the china cups and plates we use for breakfast & lunch, and a few other items
*  Finish laundry – the towels
*  Washed a bunch of Ebay stuff that came in (blouses and bras for me, 1/2 slips for the girls)
*  Ironed a few shirts and skirts and a dress of Rissy’s
*  Cleaned up the kitchen counter tops.
*  Went to get a turkey from the garage freezer for Sunday’s dinner.  It was stuck to the bottom of the freezer.
*  I took a knife and chiseled all of the melted water/ice from the bottom of our freezer.

                                
 
*  Hoping my hard work pays off and the freezer becomes more efficient to run!
*  Wrote in my journal (I don’t write daily – just when the Spirit moves me)
*  Graded the children’s summer school books
*  Looked through the catalogs that have been piling up, threw away all but Yankee Candle & Christianbook.com
*  Made a last minute decision about dinner:  Paprika Chicken (recipe below) with a salad

 
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Jesse mentioned, last night, at the dinner table, he thinks we should take a family vacation.  He never did when he was younger and he thinks is would build good memories for the girls.  We don’t have any place we’re dying to go see.  My family is too far away and we don’t have money for a trip to San Francisco & Tahoe. 

He mentioned Amarillo (is dad & step-mother) but there isn’t really anything to do. 

      
The children like to see their Nana and PoPo, but that isn’t a “real” vacation.  By that, I mean, there isn’t much for them to do except visit adults.

I threw out the idea of Branson, MO – specifically, Silver Dollar City.  It’s close.  I’ve heard many good things about the place. We’d have to stay several cities away to find an affordable hotel.  But I think the girls would remember seeing how nails were made and glass blown, etc. in the old days.  AND, the terrain is beautiful, compared to flat, barren Oklahoma. 

I think Jesse is pretty serious about taking a vacation. 

We have out of town company coming for a week, during the first half of August.  So, we need to make vacation plans around their visit. 

If Stephanie could house sit here, that would be a big relief, as far as pet care and mail/newspapers picked up.

I don’t see how we have the money to go anywhere, but Jesse insists we can do it.

Of course, I need to consider my energy level and how long I can sit, walk, stand before hurting.

We’ve all been through a rough 18 months and it would be nice to do something together that’s really fun and will be remembered for years and years.

     
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Our oldest granddaughter’s birthday is July 26th and I’ve been searching for gifts for her.  She is a gifted artist, so I found some “adult” coloring books (Coral Reef, Butterflies, and Fairies in a Garden) on Amazon.com and bought a huge box of colored pencils.  I want to go to Hobby Lobby and get her a good pencil sharpener.  We use one in our home school that is stainless steel and takes forever to wear out!

         
JanaLyn is growing up so fast.  All of the girls are!

I *NEED* to be thinking about Luci’s birthday, because it’s 10 days after JanaLyn’s birthday.  I haven’t given ANY thought to what Luci wants to do for her last birthday party.  After age 8, we don’t do “theme” parties or give party favors to guests. 

Each child gets a special dinner, a choice of dessert, and the whole family to share with the birthday person. 

The last I heard, Luci wanted a Mardi Gras (sp?) party – with masks everyone could decorate and wear.  Sounds like a mess, doesn’t it?

I guess I should bring up the subject today and see what she really wants for this famous Last Wish Party!!! LOL

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We are well into the summer here.  Temperatures in the middle to upper 90′s and lots of humidity.  The heat index, this past week, has been dangerously high – around 110° to 115° – VERY dangerous for people AND animals.

Jesse bought the girls a Slip and Slide and they enjoyed it for two days, but said, yesterday, it wasn’t working right.  (sigh!)  So frustrating!  Everything breaks these days.  I guess a sprinkler would be similar to the Slip and Slide, but not in their eyes.

         ***************************************************************************************************************

Last time I got a Lemon Sherbet that Jesse said was really good.  

The only flavor I tried that no one cared for was Chocolate Malt.  We ate it, but wished we hadn’t bought it!

        
I weighed 25+ pounds more last year, but eating ice cream doesn’t seem to be putting the pounds back on me.  We don’t eat it everyday.  Maybe that’s the secret to enjoying it and not being punished with a weight gain!

                      
I’ve lost a few more pounds since my birthday in April.  I’ve lost a great deal of interest in eating since my taste buds work one meal and not the next.  I cook for my family.

AND, my hair continues to grow every week.  I’m able to wear a kerchief style headcovering, again.  I use metal snap clips to hold it in place.  It’s so much warmer than the Mennonite thin cap, but I’m just plain tickled to have hair that is long enough to get in my eyes when the wind blows!!!!

I will try to have Rissy take pictures of me showing my hair length and my kerchief style covering.

                         *************************************************************************************

Speaking of food, here is last night’s chicken recipe:

I’m making two strawberry Jell-O pies this weekend and a yummy summer cake. 

I’ve had many inquiries about my fiend Lori K. – her surgery and recovery.  Since some of you live in Europe, and are getting ready to go to bed for the night, I decided to post the latest info, now.

I talked with Lori last night, right before I left for church.

She said the surgery had become much more complicated than expected and her surgery lasted about 4 1/2 hours.

    They encountered bad stuff that needed to carefully be separated or scraped from good tissue.

The oncology doctor said her report was clean and not cancerous (Praise GOD!!!!!).

She has been moved to a larger room; not because of her large family visiting, but, because it was a more cheerful room and the other room had been rather dreary and depressing.

There is no talk of her going home, just yet.  They are waiting for her to pass certain post op mile stones.  One mile stone being her ability to manage pain without the IV push button.  She is in a LOT of pain and moving in any direction is difficult for her.  I gave her a few clues that I remembered after having an emergency C-Section years ago. 

Her infection and the raging fever have been brought under control.  In fact, the fever was gone when she woke up from anesthesia.

She still needs prayers.  Any of you who have her address, I know she’d appreciate a note or card.  For any of you who do not have her address, you can contact me for my P.O. Box Number, and I’ll forward any mail immediately upon receipt. 

I go this afternoon for my MRI of my cervical vertebrae and skull.  I don’t know if I mentioned it here, but I have some symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.  They want to check my neck and head, first, to be sure there are no fractures or hidden tumors (which is most unlikely).

If it IS carpal tunnel, I don’t plan to do anything about it.  BUT . . . that would sure explain why I’ve been dropping things and why my elbows to fingers go numb at night while I sleep! 

I think I better quit here and try to wake up some more before I consider typing anything else!  I’m definitely dependent upon the spell check this time!!! 

Be Blessed  ~

P.S.  Definitely asleep, here.  I forgot to run the spell check.  After hitting the edit button, and running the spell check, I found only one word misspelled  – - – - – - – LORI’S NAME, for crying out loud!!!!

I was too tired to get on the computer and write anything on Xanga. 

The news was good.    

The surgeon said things went very well.  There was some complications of additional areas being affected by the growths, and those had to be cleaned carefully, but her husband said the surgeon seemed to think all of the bad tissue is gone.

They are pumping her with IV antibiotics to try to get control and kill the infected areas.  In doing that, hopefully, there will be a reduction of her fever.

The biggest things she has faced were fever, infection, and pain. 

At this point, Lori thinks the post op pain is easier to deal with than the pain she’s endured for the past week.  That ought to give us a clue on how severe her pain used to be! 

I won’t try to call her until Wednesday.  I want to give her more time to sleep off the anesthesia and to become accustomed to moving with a stitched up area in her abdomen.  That’s never any fun!  (I speak from experience!)

I’ll pass on whatever I hear!

Thanks for your prayers for my dear friend.   

I love her to pieces and hate being here when she is there! 

Be Blessed  ~

The pastor’s wife commented, afterward, “You didn’t even look nervous, were you?”

No, that doesn’t make me nervous.  Speaking to crowds (much larger than our church) has never been an issue for me.  Yesterday was easier, in that I made some basic notes and let the Holy Spirit guide the words that came out of my mouth.  I have so much more confidence in God’s ability to deliver a message, than my own ability!

What I had prayed would happen, DID happen.  People came up and were encouraged to seek God for ANY type of  difficult circumstance in their life.  Although my testimony is a cancer healing testimony, God’s faithfulness, to His children, isn’t limited to only physical ailments.

I have no idea how long I spoke.  The pastor gave me the green light to go, and I told him, if I talked too much, he was to take take the old vaudeville cane and hook it around my ankles, then give a tug!    I never saw a cane and he hugged me afterwards (he isn’t talking, due to pain from a tooth that was pulled), and gave me a smile.

I’ll get a DVD, at some point, and then be self critical, while I review it.  That’s just the way I am.  I’ve always expected so much from myself.  Much more than other people expect. 

I think I’m called an OVER ACHIEVER.  

But, back to the sleepy part of my story.  For the last several Sundays, I’ve come home from church and taken a nap.  Last week, I slept REALLY hard.  Although I felt sleepy, yesterday, I never fell asleep.  I rested my back by lying down on the bed for a while, but there was enough brain activity to make me less than relaxed. 

SO, I didn’t sleep.

Right after church, we at leftovers for lunch. 

But . . . last night, Jesse cook charcoaled chicken legs and thighs (they turned out P.E.R.F.E.C.T.).  We also had corn on the cob and a potato salad I had made Saturday morning.  Add to that some fresh cantaloupe slices (from Jesse’s uncle’s store), and it was a delicious summer meal.  

I made a simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting for our Sunday dessert.

        
                                           It tasted perfect, too.  A very moist cake!

I guess with the sleepiness and all the good food, it was so VERY EASY for me to fall asleep, last night.  Soon after my head hit the pillow, I was in a deep sleep. 

There’s just something about Sundays that is making me VERY sleepy!  Maybe because Jesse is home and we try to relax and not make a stressful day of chores, etc.

          
                                             This is my newest cup and saucer acquisition.
                                The dessert plate is one of the new ones I bought in April or May.

This morning, I tried a new recipe of bran muffins with raisins.  I had been looking for packaged mixes and could fine them no where.  So, we broke down and bought a box of bran, and I found some online recipes.  The muffins turned out really tasty (no sugar, just 3 T honey) and I felt like I was doing something good for my body – except for the cup of coffee that sat next to the muffins!

This is a relaxed day.  I’m caught up with everything except mending a few items.  And, I have 3 or 4 things to iron.  This is the night that Luci and Annamarie go to their special therapy classes.  Stephanie was gone this week end, but I’ll call her later to see if Rissy and I can hang out at her apartment, until the therapy session is finished.

That’s my news; everything else I *could* write about would be dreadfully boring.  So I don’t believe I’ll put anyone through that and just say my simple, “good-bye,” now! 

Be Blessed  ~