More Gifts.....

14.  A nice long phone call from my daughter, Jeannine.

 

15.  Sunshine with green trees and grass I can see though a big window looking into our backyard.

16.  *Little* friends.  Last week I visited at a friend's home, and her 2 year old sat on my lap most of the morning, sharing her blankie with me.  After lunch she fell asleep in my lap.  For 37 years I held newborn babies in the hospital nursery.  I just miss holding babies so much!

Rainy Sunday....

Yesterday we did some more running around.  Guy rotated the tires on his pickup, and then we went to Kohl's.  I love Kohl's.  They have my style and fit of jeans and cropped pants.  I love it when you find a particular brand that just fits.  And it never hurts when they are on sale - a significant sale amount.  And then it is a bonus when you can print another 15%-off coupon!  It took a little effort to wheel down the narrow aisles, into the dressing room and try on numerous pants and tops.  I often vacillate between 2 sizes, and right now, unfortunately, I'm into the larger of the two.  UGH!  I just can't do anything to get this weight off right now.  Well....I could - I could eat like a mouse, but when I get back on my feet, I'll be more motivated.  Anyway, I was able to pick up a few things, and along with my coupon, I saved more than 2 times what I paid, PLUS another $50!  Woo hoo!!

Earlier in the day, while Guy was out, I needed a piece of red fabric. I didnt know for sure which piece of red fabric, but I knew I'd know it when I saw it. That's why I couldn't just wait until he came home and ask him to get it for me.  Honestly, there are very few things I could send Guy into my quilt room and have him actually find it.  There are a few things in there that are organized in such a manner, but not many right now.  I pretty much know where most things are, but couldn't tell someone else.  So I dragged myself up the stairs, along with my grab-it-stick (just in case), down the hallway between bedrooms and into the hallway to the quilt room.  In that quilt room hallway are some pieces of fabric, and ah HA, there was the exact fabric I needed! 

However, the matching thread was still clear at the other end of the room, so I still had to scoot all that way.  Thankfully, when Guy replaced two of the drawers of my thread a few weeks ago when I sent him after some colors, he didn't put them back in the order they were in.  As a result, the drawer with my reds and pinks was in a lower position, and I could actually reach it from the floor!  Otherwise, I would have been up a creek!  I forgot to take a plastic bag with me, so I stuck the red fabric to the leg of my pants, and stuffed 3 spools of thread in my pockets, and scooted off down the hallways. 

During the evening I made another pocket to go on a T-shirt I got some time ago.   I really like the way this one turned out.  Now I'm really ready for some football!!  Roll Tide Roll!!!!!

 

Isn't that little elephant a cutie?

 

More gifts....

 

12.  Church on Sunday.  Love my Sunday school class, teacher (a long-time friend), class members who are such wonderful friends.  Love the worship part of the service - fabulous music, not just professional quality musicians (which they are), but spirit-filled individuals.  Love the preaching - fairly new pastor, but not a new preacher.  He may be young, but his messages are Bible-filled and powerful.

13.  A Sunday afternoon nap.  Enough said!

A Taste of New Orleans

Tonight we went to eat at the Bright Star, a local restaurant that is a favorite of many people. We were not aware until we got there that it was "A Taste of New Orleans" night.

You can see who the guest executive chef was. 

During our meal, he came out into our room and inquired as to how the food was. The lady next to us raved about her turtle soup!  I noticed that she ooed and awed all the time she was eating it. 

Guy had Greek snapper and I had baked Greek chicken. Guy said his was the best he had eaten. Mine was delicious, too. I had enough chicken and baked potato left over to feed both of us tomorrow. For dessert we had the chef's specialty, a mixture of fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and whole pecans in some kind of delicious syrup topped with butter pecan ice cream. 

Just as we were finishing our meal, we were surprised by a jazz trio - stringed bass, banjo, and trumpet. They were taking requests, so I asked for "When the Saints Go Marching In."  That was obviously a favorite of theirs. Click on the link below and listen to them.  Listen also for a very pretty soprano voice in the background that began to harmonize during the song. She was the lady with the turtle soup. I heard her earlier talking with the man she was with something about "the date of her performance" and figured she must be a musician.

When The Saints Go Marching In

 

It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening.

 

More Gifts from God

 

9.  A husband who took me out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then ran me around to several places - mailed a package off to the granddaughters, took me to Hancock Fabric so I could get some houndstooth fabric, went for coffee and donuts at the Donut Chef, and helped me get groceries.

 

10.  My sister, Colleen.  She is 5 years younger than me, and for most of her married life lived far away.  She moved to Birmingham not long after Mom and Dad moved here, and was a HUGE help in sharing the load of caring for them.  Colleen loves the Lord and loves to joke and laugh, and she is a very generous, selfless person who would give you the shirt off her back.  We've enjoyed reconnecting after all these years.

 

11.  My brother, Carl, was 8 years older than me and went to be with the Lord June 8, 2012.  Carl was a devoted Christian, brother, husband, and father - such a caring, easy going person who also had a wonderful sense of humor.  He was extremely talented with his hands and wood.  He built many of the homes they lived in and a gorgeous sound booth in their church.  Being with Carl just made you feel good!  And I never got to be with him enough.  I miss him dearly!!

 

 

1000 Gifts from God

Years ago I started a Gratitude Journal, but unfortunately, I did not keep it up.  Now,  some of my friends have been reading a book, One Thousand Gifts.  I looked at a sample of the book and couldn’t quite get into her style of writing.  But my friends’ lists inspired me to begin again.  I used to think it had to really be something significant to write about, but recently, there are many days just little things come to my mind for which I’m very thankful.  When you’ve been forced off your feet for many weeks, you kind of get a different perspective as you go through your day.  So I’m going to start keeping my list of things that I feel are “Gifts from God.” 

1000 Gifts from God 

1.   My first, and most important, gift from God is His Son Jesus Christ.  Thanks to Godly parents, I accepted Jesus as my Savior at a very young age.  He is my closest and dearest friend.  I could not live a moment without Him at my side. 

2.  My parents have gone on to Heaven, but they left a wonderful Godly heritage.  They taught me from a young age to love the Lord.  Every time the church door was open, we were there, too.  And we drove 9 miles one way to our church.  They taught me how to live and what to value.  I owe SO much to them. 

3.  My husband is a faithful, hardworking best friend.  We went to high school together in a class of 14.  We’ve been through thick and thin together for 45 years.  I hope we can grow old together.

 

4.  My children are Mark (1971) and Jeannine (1974), and they are the delight of my life.  I’m so proud of both of them.  Mark is an engineer and Jeannine has a degree in social work, but is a stay-at-home mom right now.  Any time either one calls, I drop everything to share in their lives.  I never see or hear enough of them. 

 

5.  My grandchildren bring so much joy into my life.  Mark has the 2 boys, and Jeannine has the 2 girls.  Dylan (2001) is a tall, dark-haired handsome young man.  He makes straight A’s in school and is a talented soccer player, always playing on teams older than his age.  He was born premature, but did very well at birth.  He gave us a scare at 4 months of age when it was discovered his formamen ovale (soft spot) closed prematurely.  This necessitated some very major surgery on his skull at 6 months of age.  But today, he is just a normal active boy.

 

      Christian (2003) is a brown-haired sweet young man who makes straight A’s (tested gifted), and is a dynamite soccer player, too.  He was born in Brazil and came to America to stay when he was about 2.  I hate that I missed his baby years.  Chris loves to draw.  He’s such a thoughtful, kind, and helpful young man.

 

       Maya (2005) is a dark-haired, dark brown-eyed, very petite sweet little girl.  She is smart as a whip.  She’s always been ahead of others her age ever since she first started to babble.  She would rather read a book than watch TV or play with her toys.  She can entertain herself for hours with anything.  She’s quite a little drama queen, too.  J  She loves to take me into their garden via phone face-time and show me all the flowers and vegetables that are growing there.  I think she might have inherited my gene for crafting/sewing.  (I hope!)

      Sofia (2003) is a light brown haired, sea blue-eyed, bundle of energy.  She is a snuggler and loves to sit on Grandma’s lap, though she barely fits anymore.  She struggled early on with something they called sensory integration disorder.  She doesn’t feel things as the usual person does.  She’s been through all kinds of testing, and various treatment modalities of which occupational therapy seemed to help the most.  They have now determined that she is highly ADHD.  She’s very smart, too, and is learning to read. She loves to talk with Grandma on the phone via face-time.

6.  My love for music.  I took piano lessons in the early grade school years, and was the pianist in most of the churches I belonged to from my teens through adulthood.  It is relaxing to be able to just sit and play.  I don’t have a recording-style voice, but I love to sing the hymns I learned as a child and now the contemporary choruses we sing in church.  So often an old hymn will come to my mind as I go about my day. 

7.  My hobbies.  I’ve done about every crafty thing there is to do – tole painting, knitting, crocheting, rug hooking, scrapbooking, cross stitching, ceramics - just about everything except needlepoint. Then one day in 1979, I took a quilting class, and all other crafts fell by the wayside!  I had found my LOVE!!  And I’ve been quilting ever since.  I first learned to do it all by hand, and felt it would be an insult to a piece of fabric to let a machine touch it!  But then all the short-cut machine methods came into being, and I knew I’d never get all that fabric made into quilts doing it by hand, so I converted.  I still love to needle-turn applique by hand, though.  I just think it looks the best.  Since getting a nice combination sewing/embroidery machine, I’ve fallen in love with embroidery, also, and incorporate it in my quilt making.   Below is a quilt I made for the family of a 9-11 victim.  You can read the story here. 911 Quilt

 

8.  My little Annie (May 2012).  She’s a beautiful small tri-colored rat terrier.  I have papers on her, but never did register her since we had no intention of raising little ones.  I’ve had dogs all my life, but after the one before Annie died, I decided I was done with dogs.  I get too attached, and I didn’t want to go through losing another one.  I was without for 9 years.  Then after retiring, and being home all day, I got the bug.  She’s a very smart little thing and a lot of company.  She loves my lap and is quite jealous of anything that takes my attention away from her for very long – my computer, my sewing machine, etc. 

My Mother's Bible

I was looking through a drawer the other day and found my mother's Bible.  I took it out and gently turned the pages.  I had not done this since she passed away in Sept. 2011.  Oh, what memories I held within my hands!  I want to share some pictures of her Bible with you. 

Here it is, and you can see that my mother was a faithful reader of the Word, because it is well worn.

 

 

Many years ago, my parents asked each of us children what we wanted of their things when they were gone.  Carl got to choose first, being the oldest, then me, then my sister.  These requests were then put in their will.  My first choice was Mom's Bible.  You can see that she then wrote that in one of the front pages.



I don't know how many times Mom had this Bible recovered - far too many for me to keep track of.  In those days, when the cover fell off, you didn't just go out and buy another Bible.  The one you had was far too valuable to you to do that.  She would take it to the Christian Supply store in Hutchinson, KS, about 30 miles south of where they lived in Little River.  I don't think they recovered them there, but probably sent it off.  She always got a nice leather cover.  In this picture, you can see after the last time it began to fall apart, she just took it upon herself to fix it.

 

 

Tucked within the pages, I found this article.  Click on the picture to read this beautiful poem.

 

 

As Mom read her Bible she unlined, and oh, boy, did she underline!  I don't think there is a page in the whole Bible that doesn't have some underlining or a note she jotted down.  The other thing she did on a regular basis was to write the date, passage, and preacher's name beside the passage from which that sermon was preached.  There are lots and lots of pastors and evangelists names on these pages!!

 

 

I had to turn to this page, because I knew it would be highlighted.  This was Mom's all time favorite verse in the Bible - Romans 8:28.  I think it was the 2nd verse I memorized, right after John 3:16.

 

 

Just another picture of one of the well-worn pages she patched with tape.

 

Here at the bottom of the last page of Revelation, you can see how many times she read her Bible completely through and the dates.



 

In the back of her Bible were several fly leaves - more than the usual Bible, because every time they recovered it, they would add more pages.  She often took notes from the sermons on these pages. You can see she and Dad believed in tithing.  (Me, too)  They always said (and I say it, too) that 9 tenths goes farther than 10 tenths.  I cannot explain that, except to say that it just works that way when you pay your tithe faithfully.

 



Here you can see that she recorded when her parents passed away.  I believe her parents were older when Mom was born.  As I do the math here, I think her mom was 40 when my mom was born.  So I was fairly young when they died - 8 when Grandma Carter died, and 10 when PopPa, as we called him, died.

 

 

I particularly like this little poem: Now I get me up to wake; I pray the Lord my soul to shake, but if the devil comes about, I pray the Lord to knock him out, until the victory I can shout.  (Rev. Brannon)

 

 

"Worry is like a rocking chair.  It gives you something to do, but gets you no where."  (Rev Lester Unruh, 1/26/64)  Rev. Unruh was our pastor in the Nazarene church in Lyons, KS, the church where I grew up.  I remember him so well, because he was there during my junior high school years and would some times officiate our girls' basketball games. 



 

I had to chuckle when I read this one!  :)

 

 

Here is her Romans 8:28 again, and she recorded at least two of the names who preached from that passage - Chuck Millhuff  - a dear and favorite evangelist friend of our whole family, and Bro. Pollard, whose daughter I'm friends with today on Facebook.

 

 

Here are some notes from Rev. Glen Dayton, dated 1966.  This was our pastor in Lyons while I was in high school and college and after Guy and I married.  I lived with them for a short time when Guy went to Viet Nam.  Guy and I were living out in the country on the farm when he was drafted into the Army.  After he left for Viet Nam, I was working 3-11 at the Lyons hospital, and the Daytons said it was just too dangerous for me to be going home late at night, down a long dark driveway, to an empty dark house, and insisted that I stay with them - dear caring people, they were!  Today, I'm friends on FB with their children. 

 

 

I just thought this was a cute saying Mom picked up in one of the revivals along the way.  :)

 

 

Tucked among the pages of her Bible were also a few pieces of paper that were meaningful to her.

 

 

After I graduated from college, Dad sold the grocery store in Little River and went into selling insurance full time. He won many awards for his sales. 

 

 

He won many trips for his sales also - twice to Hawaii and many times to Cancun.

 

 

Also tucked among the pages was a drawing from our son, Mark, when he was in grade school.  This was Charlie Brown, a beagle we had that got run over by the school bus one morning after stopping to pick up Mark.  As a child, Mark would often sit in church and draw pictures.  His favorite thing to draw was 18-wheelers. (And he was very good at it!)

 

 

Through the years, I've purchased many Bibles, trying to find just the right translation - study Bibles, parallel Bibles, the newest translation, etc.  I'm kind of disappointed that I don't have one-well-worn-Bible of my own to pass on to my children, because I will always cherish my Mom's Bible.

 

 

 

 



 

 

Another Doctor's Appointment

I went to see my orthopedic doctor on Monday.  I've been in this cast for 7 weeks now....7 loooong weeks!  The first thing one of the nurses/techs (?) did was remove the cast.  That saw just really sets me on edge.  I know they cut off thousands of casts, but I'm still scared it is going to cut me.  A friend of mine said when she was a child in a cast, the doctor showed her how it wouldn't even cut his bare arm, but I just don't see how that is possible when I'm looking at those little saw-teeth on that blade.   When the cast came off, I immediately noticed little pin-head-size red dots all over the lower leg.  She said it was most likely a heat rash.  No wonder it had been itching!!

At the last appointment, I sat there like a bump on a log and didn't even touch my leg.  I guess I was just so stunned to see what it looked like.  Anyway, I came prepared this time.  As soon as she removed the cast and left the room, I took a rough washcloth out of my purse and began to scrub off that dead skin like there was no tomorrow!  Ooooohhhh.....that felt sooooo good! I didn't even care that I made a mess on the floor.  (Glad it was about the same color as my skin.)  I couldn't begin to get it all off, but I made a little headway. 

 

Above is a picture of the bottom of my foot.  The top line of skin is as far as I could reach going through the end of the case.  I've tried to keep my toes clean, so they don't get all dried out and nasty looking.  But the bottom of that foot is disgusting!  I'm wondering how I'll get all that dead skin off once I come out of the cast.

 

The heel is hardly recognizable.  While I'm sitting there, and I try to flex my toes and the bottom of my foot, it is the strangest feeling, because the skin is all hard, and it doesn't even feel like my foot.  I just can't wait to get out of this cast and soak this all off.

 

After the x-rays, the doctor came in and said everything was still fine - there was a little bone growth, but not to worry - it was still healing just fine - on time.  I was concerned that there was still so much swelling, but he said that would last up to 7-8 months.  Really?  Finding shoes to wear for the winter may prove challenging.

 

He said the cast would go back on, and I was to come back in 3 weeks.  At that time, depending on what the x-rays showed, I would go into a boot for 2 weeks or back into another cast.  I'm not holding my breath or going to count the days until the cast comes off, because I know there is a chance it could be longer than 3 weeks.  Then if I do go into a boot then, it will just be hunky-dory!

 

As I was leaving, I made my next appointment.  The lady said there were no appointments on that Monday, so I'd have to wait until the next Monday.  OH NO!  Not an additional week!  She said there was an appointment available on Tuesday, but I would have to travel to his Brookwood office.  Well, I didn't want to have to travel the extra distance, but I took it.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a ride there.

 

I have the sweetest friend from my Sunday school class that has been taking me to the doctor appointments.  The first time, she brought me a whole meal, and it was delicious!  We ate on it for days.  This time she brought me some kind of delicious chewy bars with coconut and pecans.  I'm so blessed with wonderful friends.  Last week I had a dental appointment, and my new next door neighbor took me.  She has two small children about the age of my granddaughters.  We had the best time together (except for the dental appointment, of course!)  She took me to lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  We were finally able to spend some time visiting and getting acquainted.  I'm so happy to have them as neighbors.  When one sweet neighbor moves, you're always a little nervous about who might move in there.  But we are blessed to have Angie and Joey and her son and daughter living there now.

 

Until next time.....

*sigh*

Last Monday, I had my 2nd orthopedic doctor appointment.  The cast was removed - that was a weird feeling.  My foot is still fairly edematous.  It feels kind of like two rods were placed on both sides of my foot - hard to describe the actual feeling.  The nurse removed the stitches.  The first stitches she took out in the inner part were not all that bad.  She said those were the one she put in.

 

The next bunch were a bit embedded - ouch!  She said someone else closed up that side.  I think hers will leave a nicer scar than those on the outside.

 

There were also some on my heel.  What nearly made me cry was just looking at my leg.  Honestly, it looked like that of a 100-year old woman!  I wonder if my skin will ever look nice and smooth again. 

As the nurse was finishing the stitch removal, the doctor came in.  This is the first time I've seen him since before the surgery.  Let me just stop here and say that I hope his nurse is paid well, because she is the one that does all the work.  Anyway, while I had him cornered, I told him I had a list of questions.

"What exactly did you do in this surgery?  Do you have a foot model you can show me?"  He left the room and came back shortly with a model and showed me the 3 joints that were fused and where the 5 screws were placed.

"Just because one foot has arthritis, does that mean the other foot will have it as well?'  He said, "No."  Whew that was a relief!

"I've had so much trouble with this right knee, how long would I have to wait to have it fixed once I'm over this?"  He said that once I was walking again, probably 3 months.  Hmmm....I figured I might have to wait a year.  At least with a knee replacement, you are not off your feet for long.  I know that when I was going to physical therapy last year for my foot, I asked them how soon after a knee replacement do you start PT.  He said almost immediately.  If you don't, the knee with freeze up on you.

"Is it OK to take naproxen rather than ibuprofen?  I've only been taking one at night now."  He said that if I needed something, he would rather I take Tylenol.  The anti-inflammatories sometimes can cause the healing to slow some.  Yikes!  I'm not taking any more of anything!  My regular doctor told me, in general, he preferred naproxen over Tylenol because it was easier on your liver.  I'm just not going to take anything right now.  My foot no longer hurts; I was just taking it at night because it helped my hips not to hurt as much during the night.  But I'm not taking ANYTHING that might slow the healing!

"After the cast comes off, will I be in a boot, and will there be PT?"  He said, "Yes, you'll be in a boot, and you'll go to PT about 2 months."  I forget now how long he said I would be in a boot, but I think a couple weeks. 

He then told me that the x-rays looked fine.  There was no bone growth yet, but it was not expected this early.  Really??  OK.  He said she would put on another cast, and I was to come back in 3 weeks.  At that time, they would recheck the x-rays and recast for another 3 weeks. 

"Now, wait a minute!!  It's been 3 1/2 weeks since the surgery.  3 1/2 + 3 + 3.....that equals 9 1/2 weeks.  You said I would be non weight-bearing for 8 weeks."  He said, "Well, we say 8-10 weeks."  I can tell you that I know I heard him say before surgery, it would be 8 weeks.  If I didn't remember anything else he said, that I remembered!  SIGH!  Well, what can I do.....nothing!  Just wait it out.

Now I'm calculating the time and the calendar.  This would make me coming out of the cast on August 26.  That leaves me no time to get any PT in here, to speak of, before we wanted to make our trip back to Kansas.  The Kansas State Fair is Sept 6-13.  I knew I wouldn't be able to walk those grounds even if all went well, but I was willing to go in a wheelchair.  But if we still go, I'll have to have all my PT in Hutchinson.  That means a drive of 30 miles one way, and I'm sure it will be 2-3 times a week.  I really like my PT therapy team here.  I just don't know if this is going to work.  PLUS, now Guy is not sure he is going to be able to get off the month of September since a job time line change at this work.  Well, we are just going to have to wait and see.  Maybe it's not our time at the Fair this year......but I had SO planned on it this year.....Jeannine was going to come and bring the girls.

Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.

*sigh*