Word for the Day...

FLEXIBLE! Mike, from Social Services just called and they are not letting him go anywhere today. He ran a temp. in the night of 102 and is having bad abdominal pains again along with an increased cough. They will be doing tests today again to see what might be causing that. So...the move is postponed for today. Tomorrow is another day but today just got started! "The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me" Psalm 138:8 Amen!

Dad's moving...

Today Social Services came in and informed Dad that medicare would no longer pay for him to stay at the hospital and he had to transfer either to a rehab hospital or to a nursing home. That came as a total shock to him (and quite frankly, to me too!) and of course he translated that to "I'm dying and they are taking me to a nursing home." It took quite some time to get him calmed down enough so I could make him believe he is acutally getting better and this is GOOD NEWS! His labs are all normal as are his vital signs and the Drs. feel it would be safe for him to go home but he has no physical strength. He cannot even stand on his own for a few seconds, so.....after evaluation they feel he does qualify for a rehab hospital instead of the nursing home facility to get stronger. OH...we are so thankful for that call!!! Tomorrow he moves to his new home at Hobart Hospital for 7-10 days. Please pray that he will adjust well, work hard and trust the Lord! I don't care much for this set of trials but I am learning to trust more and look to the wonderful blessings instead of the "what-if's"! God is blessing my heart with peace today and I'm so grateful!

I was thinking this morning of the things I desire for my life as I age. First of all...I want to do it GRATEFULLY! For with that attitude, the others follow naturally! Second, I want to do it GRACIOUSLY and finally I want to do it GRACEFULLY! Isn't it amazing the things we see and learn as we face the various trials set before us?? These are words that I am studying this week...and every one of them are the attributes that I desire for my life beginning today. I have such a long way to go, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

To God be the Glory!

Sunday nights saga

Greetings...and bless your hearts for praying! I have to start by sharing with you how perfect the message in church was this morning for me. Pastor Steve is teaching through the book of Ruth and Chapt. 3 specifically. He taught it with the application being that of the likeness of of Boaz being the kinsman/redeemer for Ruth and how Christ is our kinsman/redeemer, but I read and "gleaned" a different aspect as I saturated my heart with scripture today. Over and over throughout the entire book of Ruth I see the faithfulness and PROVISION of our Lord with his children! It reminded me that no matter what happens in our life....if we belong to HIM he will be faithful to provide for our every need! Even when I panic...or wander "what-if" (thanks Kelly!) or worry myself down a rabbit trail that is not intended for me....JESUS is still there reminding me through scripture that HE IS IN CONTROL...he is faithful! So...yes, Jesus is my redeemer and I don't take that lightly at all, but seeing once again how he cared for Ruth, directing her to Boaz, preparing Boaz's heart and all...well, he knows how my heart longs to be filled with scripture and promises. No he doesn't promise us a life without trials...in fact, quite the opposite. He promises us that we WILL have trials but they serve a GRAND purpose in our lives! They bring me closer to my Savior! OH what a blessed assurance that Jesus is MINE!

About Dad...they put a catheter back in today and gave him some lasix to pull off some fluids...1600 cc from 7 AM till 1 PM to be exact. He is resting better, his hgb. came back up to 10.5 on it's own (yeah right!) and his appetite is good. He was up to the BR when we arrived...he'd walked in there with the help of the walker and his physical therapist. (I thank God for these people who know how and have the patience to push past the pain to motivate people who hurt to get stronger and more limber!!) Please pray that the Drs. will know when to cut back his medication for anxiety (which is necessary to keep under control during this healing process and taking such a whoppin dose of Cortisone really can make a person anxious!) and also his pain medication which they are giving in his Central line every 4 hrs. Pretty much leaves him doped up all day long for now.

We left him after lunch to take Mom out to eat at Red Robin, then came home for a much needed nap. Now...Dennis and I are headed back to the basement to see how it's going down there. Yes, Leslie...we are very thankful Amy's stuff was out of there!!! That would have made for a HUGE mess! Oh..I'm so thankful this didn't happen before the wedding!!! That is the room where we stored all the things to take to the church and also where dear Michael slept when he was here! He'd not have been a happy camper to wake in a wet sleeping bag! Ha!

Tomorrow's another day. God has lifted me up and sat me on dry ground for today! For this I am so thankful! HE has given me HIS strength to face tomorrow....because HE LIVES!

Again, thank you for your continued prayers. It was 2 weeks on Saturday.

Quick update...

Please be praying again. Dad's hgb is dropping. He doesn't "seem" to be bleeding, but it's odd that it's dropping and the Drs. are concerned. Tonight, I am too. They did move him out of ICU yesterday AM early and he seemed to go downhill as soon as they did. Had a huge amt. of pain start again in his lower left belly and leg...they did a CT scan right away and actually found the hematoma has decreased in size and also did a doppler on his leg and found no signs of DVT. Guess I'm overwhelmed.

This afternoon we found our basement flooded from a broken pipe. Dennis got it sealed off and we worked on getting water up, but boxes are soaked, the carpet is soaked and we are tired.

I don't know if it's the pain meds that Dad is taking, the fact that I'm exhausted or just what, but I have an uneasy feeling. I need a whoppin dose of my Lords comfort tonight. My sin of worry is crowding out my joy...guess I need to go read scripture before going to bed tonight.

Thank you for upholding our family in prayer. My heart is heavy.

Yippie Skippie!!

Dad is going to be moved out of ICU this evening if they can get a bed for him in the IMCU unit. (stepdown unit from ICU) He is doing MUCH better today and even sat up on the edge of the bed and stood and took 2 steps forward...2 steps to the left and 2 steps back while holding onto a walker. I told him he'd be ready for dancin' with the stars before long! :) His labs are almost all back to normal, but he has a GIGANTIC bruise all across his back where the gravity is pulling the old blood. Looks like he's been in a fight with a lion and the lion won! So thankful it doesn't hurt...except in the front where the swelling continues to be a source of pain. Again, thank you all for your constant prayers for all of us! We have been blessed.

Also...wanted to let my "faithful following" know to pop in on the honeymooners blog, for they have an update! I tell you this b/c if you're like me....you quit checking daily knowing there wasn't anything new on there! Amy posted lots of pictures for your enjoyment. We'll get pics of the house as soon as they are done. (that'll be in less than a month...trust me!) Amy is one that likes before and after pics..and the dramatic change! She really should have been the one who started Extreme Makeover, b/c that is HER style! It WILL be amazing....so get ready!

Dennis comes home tomorrow!!! I have a filthy house to clean and laundry to finish before his arrival. Also need to come up with something good for dinner tomorrow night. Mom and I have eaten out for lunch every day this week....I'm ready for a home cooked meal too since I didn't even eat dinner any while Dennis was gone!

Got a pic of my flowers today b/c it's supposed to freeze on Sunday night and the beautiful rhododendrum flowers will turn a yukky brown and fall to the ground the next day. The grass is so fresh and green right now. I hear lawn mowers humming and the smell of freshly mowed grass! My FAVORITE! I really should have been a farm wife....I love those smells and Amy loves the smell of dirt! Ally is getting ready to plant a HUGE garden this weekend (if the weather permits) and Dennis and Adam like to ride on mowers! Brian was raised on the farm, so he's our only "true" farm boy!

I got tagged tonight!

Had to think HARD to come up with 7 things that would be 1/2 way interesting to anyone! Can barely remember back to when I was a kid....so this'll have to do!

1. I LOVE mowing the grass! The longer it is when I get to it, the happier I am and I find enormous satisfaction in making PERFECT tracks around my yard!

2. I like my clothes color and item catagorized in my closet. (all blacks together, all blues together, all skirts together and all pants together...you get the picture!) Kinda FREAKY, huh?

3. I always want my gas tank to be on the upper level of 1/2 full. Dad taught me that...and I begin searching for the best gas prices when I get down to 1/2 tank! I've never run out of gas and can always tell you what the current gas prices are.

4. I own about 15-20 sets of dishes and I use every one of them! (no, I'm not proud of this fact, but I DID get most of them at Thrift Stores or Garage Sales...does this make it less "hoardy"?

5. I LOVE Mexican food and have had it 3 days straight this VERY week! (I've skipped dinner though!!)

6. Like Kathy, I LOVE it when my entire house is cleaned in one day....if I get all my laundry, ironing and the yard mowed the same day...I'm THRILLED!!!

7. When I was in Jr. High, I decided the best way to get boys to notice me was to have shiney hair. To acccomplish this I put 1/2 cup baby oil on my freshly washed hair with a hot towel wrapped around it for 30 minutes. OHHHH...THEY NOTICED ME ALRIGHT!!! I had to wash my hair three times a day for over a week to get it dull again! To this day, I'm afraid of "conditioning" treatments!

This is the best I can do....sorry I'm so boring!

Naples, Marco Island, Sanibel, Captiva

What a beautiful trip! These are just a few of the snaps I captured while in sunny and WARM SW Florida! There are sure a lot of critters down there! "Lizzie" welcomed us the first morning by hangin' out right by my side of the car! I advised her to move to the other side. Dennis began to back up into the driveway the rest of the trip! : ) (she was pretty stubborn on the moving thing!) Alligators....zillions of them throughout the Everglades. Dennis asked me if I wanted to go on one of those airboat rides so we could see more....I declined! Rather be a beach bum! So...when up to our necks in the ocean, we see a herd of people in the water walking towards us, pointing at us and getting excited. Right there, about 6 foot from us, swam 4 huge creatures. I might have wet my pants, but who would know?? I thought they were sharks but the crowd quickly advised us they were Manetee! They aren't meat eaters...but vegetarians! When the people said they eat only vegetarian...I was relieved and announced to those big critters that we eat steak! They swam right by us seemingly unaffected by my comment! Then...there were the little lizards that climbed the lanai screen by the pool every morning! They just hung on the screens....just watching us lay around. No one got too excited about those little things....b/c Dennis told me they were more scared of me than I was of them. I let him think that b/c afterall, he IS the ANSWER MAN! (after I found a hole in the bottom of the screen where they could come in to visit, I quit leaving the sliding door open!)

Then there are the birds! Ever wonder where they all go for the winter? My goodness....the Lord made all the long legged birds fly to Florida! They are beautiful and seem to be totally at ease sharing the beaches with us humans. One thing we have in common with them....we both like seafood and Cheese It's!! They would scavange the shells that washed up on Sanibel Island for something to eat and if you hold crackers in the air, they might fight you for them. Moral of that story...eat them under a beach towel!

What fun we had! Can't wait to go back next time it gets cold here! I'm thinking next Jan. or Feb. But then....I AM supposed to be moving to a wonderful new home within the year, so I may never make it back there. : )