Update and Looking Ahead

For those who have been praying for Ruth, my "shoe fairy" - here are the last two days' updates from her husband:


The Dr. told us he figured that the surgery would take about 3 hrs. Ruth went in at 10am and she got back to recovery at 2:30, so she was in about 4 and one-half hrs. The doctor said the surgery went as well as he expected with no complications, for which we are very thankful. He was able to place the 2 leads on the nerves exactly where he wanted them. He said that there are two parts of the nerve. One controls motion and the other controls the feeling. In hooking up the stimulator and putting the power to the leads, he can get the motion going down the leg to the foot, but Ruth is not getting much of the tingling sensation on the feeling side. He said he was somewhat puzzled. He is going to check it all again tomorrow. He said that there might be some fluid build-up that needs to dissipate. The request for prayer would be that she can get that tingling feeling going in the nerve that will block the pain. Thanks for everyone’s prayers. We really appreciate them so much.


Ruth had a very good nights sleep last night. She has never been nauseated or had much pain from the surgery. She ate a good meal last night, this morning and a little lunch today. She has been able to control her surgical pain with a PCA pump. Her pain level has been a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10 since surgery. The spinal control stimulator (SCS) was turned on and programmed with 8 different programs this morning. She has been testing all 8 programs throughout the day to find the ones she likes and are effective. Although she is still is not feeling very much tingling, the doctor feels she is getting help, which could continue to get better in the next few days.

There is a slim possibility she could get out of the hospital this evening, but more likely tomorrow. We are both rejoicing and praising the Lord on how well she is doing. We feel that God is continuing to answer prayer. Thank you for your continued prayers.


Looking Ahead:


I just finished reading the book, Setting Boundaries With Your Adult Children, by Allison Bottke.

I wish I would have had this book when I was dealing with my prodigal. Allison has hit the nail on the head regarding what she calls the "national epidemic" of enabling our adult children.

I will be hosting one of several interviews with Allison right here on Friday. Please come back and see what she has to say about this very important topic and about her latest book.

Monday Musings

I have a couple of posts percolating in my mind - I really want to finish the Kona Adventure in two more chapters, and I have a series called "I Used To . . ." that I've been thinking of for a long time. But - for now - spring came back today. We'll see if it goes back to winter, or turns into summer.

The windflowers are out in profusion!

Here is a tiny little miniature iris -

The daffodils are going to lift their faces to the sun soon!

The tulips are blooming among the still-barren bush.

Dad built this new bird-feeder for us and came over to install it last Saturday. It will keep the pesky (though cute) squirrels out of the bird seeds. Now the bird-vine just needs to get busy and let each other know there's a new restaurant in town!

Today Care Bear had a great idea - let's eat at the picnic table on the patio! Snow on Thursday and a picnic on Sunday. Springtime in the Rockies!

Did you catch American Idol Thursday night - the result show? The finalists singing "Shout to the Lord"? I just about did - shout that is! I was blown away - and it was so beautifully done. I thought the 3 on the our left knew what they were singing about - Brooke, David Archuleta, and Kristy Lee. What a wonderful surprise.

EDIT: I just discovered that on Wednesday night they sang "My Shepherd" for the first phrase instead of "My Jesus." But on Thursday they sang it as it was written.

I just tried to insert the YouTube performance and lost everything else I had written. I am really bummed right now. I don't have time to re-do it, and there was MUCH more. I don't know how in the world this happened. I'll come back this afternoon and try to recreate. YIKES!! What a great way to start a Monday morning!

SO - here we go again?

Thursday night we went out to dinner with DC's sister, her husband, and their mom, who lives with them now. We were going to practice our family trio number for Sunday morning - the three of us have sung together several times lately, and it's fun. Mom C (who is 88) used to sing with Dad (in fact, they sang at our wedding), and she was singing along to herself as she sat on the front pew. We suggested that she sing with us - not just for practice, but Sunday morning. She wasn't at all sure she should/could do that, but we convinced her that she should. She did - and it was very special. (Sorry about the light fixture coming out of the top of my head!) We sang simply - "Gentle Shepherd" and "Come, Holy Spirit." I could tell that Ruth was being blessed by the words, as she headed in to surgery today (and is there as I write).

Friday was quite the day. Spring Break was winding down and I had all 5 kiddoes for the afternoon - with company coming at 6:00 for dinner. Our 4x4 group (4 couples meet 4 times within 4 months for dinner). Sometimes the couple might be two singles. It's a great way to get to know people in church more intimately. What ever possessed me to set a Friday night date is beyond me. I usually do Saturdays, when I have all day to prepare. But, I did it, so now I was stuck with the schedule. The little babes were in no mood to nap. And at 2:30 the home health nurse came to give them their last RSV shots - a service povided for preemies. They slept a few minutes after the trauma, but not very long! The big girls helped a bit by doing some dusting - really cute. But it was 4:00 before I was able to start getting ready - pulling out the big table, setting the table, making a salad, preparing and cooking the Swedish meatballs, peeling and cooking the potatoes. Here in the Rockies, potatoes take a long time to cook, and getting them on at 5:30 didn't cut it. They weren't ready until 6:30, but everyone was content to visit while they waited. All was good -including the food everyone else brought.

Remember Flora? Our Jewish lady who comes to our church and just loves it? She is so full of good questions, so happy with the love she is shown, but so very afraid of the change in her life to accept Jesus as Who He says He is. But she wanted to share a bit of Passover with us, so she brought some Gefilte fish - she wanted is to like it so badly - unfortunately, we didn't! It is kind of the Jewish equivalent of Spam. Go here if you want to read about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gefilte_fish

I am sure I've forgotten something, and will probably be back to edit. But for now I'm going to hit Publish and hope for the best!

Friday Show and Tell - and Twin Update

Earlier this week I had a little guessing game. I posted this picture and asked for your opinions on what this necklace was made out of:

Two blog friends came very close - Pea and RainyD both guessed that it had something to do with a beetle or bug of some sort.




Believe it or not - this horrible creature, which you do NOT want to find in your kitchen (or one somewhat like it) gave its life for this interesting necklace:

For size comparison, here is my necklace in my hand:

So - I know you're all asking - why in the world would you have such a thing in your collection of jewelry? Have you actually worn a cockroach around your neck??

The answer is, yes, I have worn it on occasion - it makes for a great conversation starter!

As for why? I have mentioned frequently in this blog that missions has played a huge part in my life, though I have not been a missionary per se. A few years ago, several people from our church and quite a few other friends from our district mission council, went to Caracas, Venezuela to build a church. It was a wonderful project, and those who went returned home, never to be the same.

One of my friends brought back these necklaces as souvenirs for the rest of us on the council. I'll be interested to know if Jungle Mom has ever seen such. Some incredibly industrious, creative people had found a way to make a good thing out of something very disgusting - supporting their families by making something beautiful out of something we would be in a hurry to crunch under our feet. I wish I knew how they did it. I don't. I just know that it does not gross me out. I am proud to wear it, and have enjoyed sharing it with you.

I also promised last week to show you a bit of the dedication ceremony for Emma and Kate. I wasn't able to get many pictures after all, but will show you what I have. Their other grandma teaches in North Dakota, and her fellow teachers sent some wonderful gifts with her the last time she came down. Kristen chose to dress them in these adorable dresses for this very special occasion:

My dad, a retired pastor, was so thrilled to preside over this occasion. He is 81 years old and has married, buried, and dedicated many people over the years. He has had the privilege of dedicating several great grandchildren lately. This was a first for him - the first time he has ever dedicated twins. He was doubly excited to have them be his own great grandchildren.

Here are two not-too-great pictures of Kristen and me holding the girls:

Our pastor prayed the dedicatory prayer:

Before I close, I must acknowledge a lovely award given to me by dear friends Karen of Karen's Korner and Mary of Mary's Writing Nook. Thank you so much, Mary and Karen! You make my day, too!

For more Friday Show and Tell stories, stop by Kelli's blog, There Is No Place Like Home.

Wordless Wednesday

Uncle Kev and the Girlies

Who in the world is holding us now??

A Testimonial, a Guessing Game, and a Bit of Trivia

EDIT: Yes, spring is here - Rocky Mountain Style! We're having a bit more of the slushy wet white stuff again this morning. When I say "spring seems to be here" I always mean the sunny kind! Oh, well, as we always say, "We need the moisture!" This is why I prefer autumn and Indian Summer in the Rockies.

Spring seems to be here - at least for a few days.

What do you think this necklace is made out of? Give me a guess, if you have one. I will share the story about it on Friday for Show and Tell.

If you'd like to have a fun blast from the past, go over to Kristen's place and read her latest post. She's finally getting back into the groove, and her writing skill hasn't gone away!

And now - the testimonial. This is an unpaid advertisement.

Barb's Burp Cloths!

Adorable, Utilitarian, Versatile

Great for all the normal, well-known uses - keeping your clothes from always having a bit of recycled milk on the left shoulder, useful for cleaning little tiny faces after a little spit-up incident.

But -- they have unexpected uses --

For instance, suppose you don't have a bib handy, or you forgot it at home:

It makes a GREAT substitute, temporary bib.

I know, I know, experts will tell us not to prop the bottle. But - when you have 4 little girls 5 and under that you're caring for, you either need lots more hands, or you need to improvise. These burp cloths serve yet another purpose:

Folded just so, they work very well as bottle proppers!

Diane of Diane's Place told me that she on occasion has used the burp cloth as an emergency diaper - after all, that's what they started out as!

So -- all of you who need burp cloths, know somebody who needs burp cloths, or know somebody that may someday need burp clothes, rush over to Barb's place, Chelsea Morning and place your order. Barb's starting her own on-line store, and the burp cloths are just the beginning.

On a more serious note, please keep up-to-date with

Cynthia as she and her family deal with the aftermath of Ladybug's kidnapping. So many times, when there is a disaster, we hear a lot about it for awhile, then we kind of forget about it when some time has passed. Ladybug is home, but their life is far from normal. Please keep praying for this sweet family.

One more thing - Thank you so much for so many pledges of prayer for my friend, Ruth. She's having an implant that is supposed to suppress the pain in her spine and down her leg. Next Monday, April 14, will be the first part of the process. She and her husband have to remain in Denver for the entire week until the second part of the process, which will be the following Monday, April 21. They are supposed to be able to come home on the 22nd. She was so happy this morning when I told her that so many of you would be holding her up in prayer.

Friday Show and Tell - and Twin Update

Back in the early days of my blogging adventure, I told the story behind this picture. If you want the whole story and you have some extra time, you can go here for the "purple shoe story."

Besides the purple shoes and the silver ones from her son's wedding, she gave me all of these. What a blessing it has been to have so many lovely pairs of shoes.

Ruth has experienced more loss of feeling in her leg and foot. She is in chronic pain, but you would never know it most of the time. In fact, she is going in for a surgical procedure that is intended to relieve her of the constant pain.

The other day the doctor put an end to the hope she had that she might someday regain the feeling in her feet. She still plays the organ at church (we share that ministry), and is losing the ability to feel the pedals. She realized that she could never wear any of the other shoes that she had held onto in hope that, since they were flats, she could someday wear them again. Not so - they don't have enough support to keep her foot from rolling. So now I am the proud owner of these:

A girl can't have too many shoes?? I never thought I'd have this many. For once, it pays to have big feet - I'm the only one she knows that these shoes fit! I have always admired her shoes. I have trouble finding shoes that are comfortable. She buys really high quality. Only one pair has not felt good on my feet, and I gave them to my DIL, since they were really too small for me.

If you think of it, pray for Ruth as she goes into these two surgical procedures, that she will finally have some relief from her pain.

The teeny tiny twins are not so teeny tiny any more. People still think they're so tiny, but compared to where they started, they're HUGE. Actually, they're the size of most newborns. They haven't been weighed by a doctor recently, but on a home scale, being held by Kristen, Emma is at 7 pounds and Kate is over 8.

See if you can tell how much they've grown from the first time they had on these outfits until now.

I

Sunday they will be dedicated at church. I'll be sure to get some pictures of that to share next week.

I must give credit to my very busy, back-to-work, mother-of-five, exhausted-to-the-core daughter, who took time to make me look good once again. Thanks, toots, for the new look!

Have a wonderful week-end, everyone!

For more Friday Show and Tell stories, stop by Kelli's blog, There Is No Place Like Home.

We Have a Winner!!

A week ago, for my 300th post celebration, I offered these as a gift for the winner of the drawing:

Go to this post if you'd like a little background on the earrings.

Care Bear, who is in kindergarten, loves to make lists, organize everyone's life. I asked her to write the names of those who entered the contest. She is all business.

She cut the names into various sizes of pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. We thought Feisty could pick the winner, but she decided she didn't want to be involved. Care Bear closed her eyes, so she wouldn't be tempted to pick her mommy's name.

Here's the winner! Care Bear writes 'em as she hears 'em.

CONGRATULATIONS, SOOSEN! That would be Susan of Penless Writer.

I hope you enjoy wearing them, and pray for Kenya when you do.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Springtime in the Rockies - the Sequel

Saturday, March 29, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 30, 6:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 30, 4:30 p.m.

Monday, March 31, 5:00 a.m.

Monday, March 31, 12:00 noon - melted and snowing again

Tuesday, April 1, 12:00 noon - sunny and cold