Quick Catch-Up

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Emma was clear - no RSV, so she went back home with her aunt. Katie spent most of the day in the hospital - I was there most of the time, holding her so Kristen could get some things done and some rest. She went home at around 3:00 and we're keeping the big girls, since they have colds and they shouldn't be near the babes. Emma is staying with her aunt until Katie is well, so she doesn't pass the germs on to her. My word for the year, flexible, is getting a real workout!


PRAYER REQUEST UPDATE: Katie was admitted to the hospital around noon today with RSV (http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/infectionsguide/preventing_rsv.html). This is a serious issue for preemies. Emma was with her aunt all day today and now has been taken to the emergency room with the beginnings of the same type of cough and raspiness. Please pray for all of us! I have the bigger girls here tonight.


I needs lots of time to show you the beautiful shots of our week-end in the hills. I just wanted to catch you all up on a few things.

Maizie went home to Jesus and Joe on Monday morning. The funeral will be Friday afternoon at the funeral home. Her son who lives here is not a believer; in fact, he's quite anti anything Christian. He took a shine to my dad, the retired pastor who visited her, and has asked him to officiate at the service. It will be a small funeral, because most who knew her are already there waiting for her.

Lauren's mom and dad were on the news last night - they have already been to the state legislature to encourage passing of a law requiring carbon monoxide detectors in homes and apartments, just as smoke detectors are required. This bill was up for passage last year and failed. Six people have died in Colorado recently of CO poisoning. A skating rink in Greeley was closed down earlier this week when fumes were detected - apparently from a faulty zomboni. Scary stuff. A family of 4 was found dead in a huge luxury home in Aspen - they had won a week-end stay at this home in some sort of society contest in Denver. I don't know who the sixth person was.

Kristen will start school again Tuesday, so my schedule will rev up again with the babies every morning. The month has flown.

Kev and Sema are having a wonderful time with her family. We had an e-mail yesterday, which is always a treat. He's been keeping close tabs on the Super Bowl news, the Nuggets basketball scores, and the hiring of the new coach for the Broncos. Isn't it amazing what the Internet can do? Here's an exerpt from his message:

"Well we just got back from "shamba" which means farm really. It's their plot of land in a town called Kilifi near the beach. The beach was just a few minutes' walk away. It was so nice and peaceful, compared to Mombasa where it's loud, unbearably hot, and all that. I like both, but Dad, you would love it there in the countryside. I took lots of video. There are literally millions of palm trees there. This week we are actually going to a place called Watamu, a little town a couple hours away where (Sema's) dad has purchased us four acres of land. It's the first time we get to see that. Actually it was our wedding present. . . Wow, time is flying by. We hope to stay in a hotel for a night this week. Imagine at shamba we had to stay in a tent for 4 nights. and the mosquitoes, my goodness. I had to cover myself in bugspray every night. Other than that it was quite nice. Nothing to do but go to the beach and read. I also got stung by a jellyfish . . . "

I'm thankful they took lots of bug spray, because malaria is a real concern over there. Please pray as they come home next week on the 23rd that their flights will go more smoothly! I always wonder what they will do with that property that they own on the coast of Kenya!

I was going to show you this picture on my anniversary post, but there is a reason to show it now. This is my anniversary gift, which we found as we were visiting our favorite shop in Estes Park. They carry lovely paintings and photography. This caught my eye immediately - these watches are made in British Columbia and the bands are various types of wood. Just beautiful. Mine is sandalwood, I believe.




Please don't look too closely at the age spots on the hand! I took a shot from the other angle to show you the incredibly ugly ganglian cyst that I've been sporting for several months.




I keep waiting for it to disappear, as it did once before. But it just keeps getting bigger instead. I Googled it and learned that one way to get rid of it is to smash it with the old family Bible. Seriously. My friend (the one who just lost Lauren) told me recently that her grandmother got rid of hers when her grandfather did just that. The doctor even mentioned the old fashioned remedy! I think I'll pass! I don't have an old family Bible and I don't think my leather one would do the trick - maybe The Message would be heavy enough - but it sounds a bit too painful!

Modern methods are two - surgery, which I'd like to avoid, or aspiration of the gunk inside. I went in Tuesday with high hopes for aspiration. Often the cyst will return when this is done. Well, true to form, every time I have something done, it turns out to be a bit on the weird side. I don't want to gross you out with details, but suffice it to say the young doctor just about had a heart attack, I think, when the syringe began to fill with blood instead of gelatinous gook. He tried a different spot, after pressing on it very hard to stop the bleeding, with a bit more success. But not enough. I still have a large cyst, now with two needle holes in it. He was quite shocked and distressed, saying that I must have a vein over the top of it instead of underneath it. He wants to see me again in a week, but I don't really see what good that will do. My wonderful retirement insurance, pre-old-enough-to-have-Medicare-insurance, has such a high deductible that I don't really want to go the surgery route. But I really don't like having this ugly thing on my wrist either, and it does get in the way of my watch!

Could you pray for little Katie today? She has a nasty cold and Kristen just told me she spiked a temp during the night. She'll take her to the doctor today. We had hoped to avoid another trip over there.

I'll close this morning with this adorable picture of Feisty and her leaf-filled snowman that she made yesterday afternoon with what was left of Monday's snow.