Praying

Today has been a rather sad day. Our daughter-in-law, Michelle, has a brother named Craig (also my hubby's name). About 5 wks ago he had surgery for pancreatic cancer. He was in the hospital for several days and then sent home. Last night when he got up to go to the bathroom, he noticed blood coming out of the drains that had been left in from the surgery. He ended up in the ER, scans were done, discovered he was septic, given a transfusion...long story short, they took him into surgery for what the dr. called a dangerous surgery that only 5% survive. We got several updates from Steve, but nothing since the decision to take him into surgery. I have literally been praying all day...for Craig, for his wife, Laura, for his parents, Fran and Trent, and for our dear Michelle. I have to admit that I've shed a few tears today as I've prayed. I'm feeling so sorry for this family that is in such anguish over their husband/son/brother...I'm so sad that they are having to go thru this. These precious people are all saved and know that the Lord is there with them and knows their pain and worry. I know that they are finding comfort in His tender arms. Craig has a lot of people praying for him...a lot of people that he doesn't even know. But, those of us who know the Lord and belong to Him...we're all sisters and brothers in Him. So, when I ask friends on FaceBook to pray, I know they will. And I am comforted by that.

I have felt today like I want to hop on a plane and go to Michelle and wrap my arms around her, sit with her, cry with her, pray with her....whatever might help. But, I can't. She knows how much I love her and hurt for her. Sometimes it can trite, but I'll say it anyhow...I will keep praying because I know there is a lot of power in prayer. Praying doesn't in any way guarantee Craig will survive this...but it does comfort those involved and God is listening.

So, I'm asking that you pray, too. I've met Craig, of course, but I really don't know him. Even so, he is my brother and ....I pray.

A wicker what?!

Today we went to the 11th Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show in Eugene. (Craig was with me so we walked thru it pretty quickly...not leisurely like I would if I was on my own.) There were a lot of vendors...many organic products, a lady with 2 alpacas (she had sheared wool and it was so soft), construction companies, a bed company, spice company...lots of vendors. Think sort of a hippie-type event. But I think the most unusual vendor was for wicker caskets and organic cotton shrouds. There were also some sort of urns, but I didn't see what they were made of. Craig and I were talking about it later and our thought was that using an organic casket and shroud made no sense since the casket goes into a cement box with a lid when it goes in the ground. These caskets can go all the way up to $1400 or higher...pretty much a waste of money. Don't you think this is odd? I sure do.

There was also a chicken booth. There were some babies and an adult hen and 2 roosters. Craig spoke with the woman there and we learned about a couple of different breeds that we should be considering. We got some good information.

We also stopped to talk with a man at a metal roof booth. Craig had questions about the metal roof on Fred...somehow some rain got in and he needed to find out how that could have happened. This guy also had lots of good info and we'll be calling him next week to have that roof looked at.

All of that in about an hour...my hubby moves fast. I'm getting excited to be getting our chicks in early Mar. I thought Craig was done with the coop, and then he started adding something to the front. He's putting a porch on it! It's going to be so cute...he knew I wanted it to be cute and he's making it happen! Now I'm really excited. This will be the start of our little farm.

Really, Sarah?

It's going to be a long 11 months until the next president of the USA is decided. It's going to be a really long 6 months til the Republican nominee is chosen! If it wasn't evident before yesterday, it certainly is now. Why is that? Well, in my humble opinion, the entry of Sarah Palin into the mix ensures that. I've never been a fan of hers, but after yesterday's announcement of her support of Donald Trump...well, I've moved over to just plain not liking her. She has an almost abrasive way of pushing her ideas. I have to wonder if she was just feeling left out of all the craziness and knew it would be most controversial if she went with Trump. And to say in her speech that "this is going to be fun" sounds like this is some sort of game. Her stepping up for Trump takes that much more credibility away from the Republican party. 

Politics is so disappointing. We should be able to look at potential presidential candidates and puzzle over which of these good people would make a great president. Instead, it seems like we're choosing the lesser of the "evils". I can't imagine what our fore fathers would think. I believe as Christians we are called to pray for our president (our leaders). I also think that we are to respect the position. That is becoming more and more challenging as we see all of the possible nominees (Rep. and Dem.) attacking each other. Lord, please bless our country and our president...present and future. Please guide them to the wisdom they will need.

Today

This morning we actually had some sunshine and no rain. So I got out side to stack some wood for kindling...it will get cut down to usable sizes later after it dries. It's scrap wood from the little cabin, Fred. (Craig's been out there working very hard to change it into an office/guest room.) After that was done, I moved back into the garden to work on getting all of the old grapevines down. I made some headway, but there's  a lot more to do. It was so nice out...a little chilly, but not bad. I wish I could be out there chipping away at that a little every day. But, since the rain prevents that, I have to find other projects to do indoors.

My indoor project for today and tomorrow is to make two of these therapy books:

I made this one for Josh when he worked at the kid's therapy place. Now that he's working as a hand therapist for adults, he's asked me for two more. People in the places he works now want them. It's a tool to help with dexterity. There are different sized buttons that the patient has to button and unbutton. Apparently it's pretty useful. So I'm working on those for a day or two.

Craig's also been working on the pen for the chickens we'll buy. We will order the chicks the end of Feb. and they'll arrive early March. We're both looking forward to raising chickens again. They're fun to watch. And it's nice to have the eggs. When we bring them home, they'll live in the 2nd bedroom in a little container... we have to keep them warm and that's the easiest way. So we'll some little house guests for about 6 weeks.

I miss 'em

We got home from Phoenix Mon. night. It's very quiet at our house. I was getting used to the sounds of Jason and Emily, Megan and Caedon. And the loving doggie kisses from Bauer and Cooper. We had such a great visit...but it went so fast. 

We haven't been retired for very long...3 months to be exact...and it's amazing to me how quickly we've fallen into our new life. There's no particular place we need to be at any particular time...well, except for Sundays. I've already [sort of] forgotten how busy my life was when I was working. And, after being at Steve and Michelle's, it's hard to remember how really busy life was when we had 2 little ones under our roof. Wow! So much activity and energy!

And, so, we're home with our quiet life...which one do I prefer? I love them both. God has blessed us with a beautiful place to live that's peaceful and a wonderful place to visit that happens to be our family....and not so quiet.

Family ties

We made it to Phoenix to see the kids and grands. We had dinner our with everyone...something we've missed a lot. It's so good to be here at Steve's house with his family. Watching Steve and Michelle as parents gives me such a joy! They are very good parents. Josh and Aubri are wonderful parents,  as well. Megan and Caedon are amazing...and that's largely because of their parents. Craig thinks he's going to have a hard time getting me on the plane on Monday...that's true. It will be hard to leave them again. But, knowing that I'll get to see them in a few months again will make it a tiny bit easier.

It feels comfortable driving around the area. It doesn't feel  comfortable to drive around the Eugene area...that's because it's still new and we lived here for 9 years. So I'll continue to use the Garmin to find my way around Eugene and it will become familiar eventually.

Blast from the past "

I made something for dinner last night from a cookbook I got at my bridal shower MANY years ago. It's from the Betty Crocker cookbook "New Cooking For Two Cookbook". The copyright date is 1971...the year we got married. I made the Shrimp Creole recipe. I hadn't made it for a very long time...I sort of forgot about it, actually. I don't know what made me think of it, but I'm glad I did. It was so good! 

It made me think about old things versus new things. Old recipes are usually pretty good. Old cars (pick up trucks, too) are very good. Old men are really good...at least my old men are (that's you, Craig and Dad). Old[er] sons are super  good...Josh and Steve...they become friends as well as sons. Old books, old music, old homes...lots of really good old stuff. 

New things are good, too. We've had many new things this year. There were trips to Oregon looking at property. In March we welcomed a new baby into our family...Emily Jean made her appearance a little early. She, just like her big brother, Jason, are bright stars in our family. (Their older cousins, Megan and Caedon are quite smitten with both of them). We purchased property in Oregon for our retirement and spent our July vacation working in MoHo to make it a bit more livable. As we moved into the summer months, my job changed. I look back on that time now as preparation for retirement. When we first started talking about moving away from the kids, I cried...because of leaving the kids but also because I truly loved my job and the people I worked with. Not being at the hospital working gave me a chance to separate from the job and the people which made it easier to leave. Retirement is a new thing for both of us and I highly recommend it. We left AZ Oct. 10 and I drove the car while Craig drove the truck with all our possessions...I had never done a drive like that as the driver. 

Once we got to OR, there was finding new stores to shop at and a new church to go to...we haven't lined up new doctors yet. We found the stores, and are going to a church with very nice people. And then there's getting accustomed to life in a single wide. And now, the cold and rain...lots of rain! It was a good decision to move here...we love it...it's beautiful. We're only a 5 hr. drive from Craig's folks and that will allow us to see them more often. 

So, as we look forward to this new year, we look forward to the new things the Lord will bring our way. He has truly blessed us with a wonderful family and a beautiful place to live and so much more.

Happy New Year!