This seems to be our season of health problems - one after another, after another. We got a call early this morning that sent us driving quickly to the hospital. My Dad is hospitalized once again. He was having trouble breathing because of his chronic sinus infection and called friends to take him to the emergency room (we live about 25 miles away)late last night.

A chest x-ray shows "shadows" on the bottom portion of his lungs, and the doctor is treating him for pneumonia. They've put him on an iv antibiotic, are giving him oxygen and nebulizer treatments. We are praying that the antibiotic will help him.

He's gone from one sinus infection to another over the course of more than a year. The doctor can't seem to figure out why. Since my Dad is 88 years old, he doesn't want to risk any kind of surgery to clear his sinuses. It's been a vicious cycle.

He looks good and is joking with all the doctors and nurses. The real challenge will be keeping him in the hospital for a few days! Actually, I think he was sufficiently frightened and will be a good patient.

We would appreciate your prayers. The comfort that comes from knowing you are being prayed for is simply miraculous. Please pray for my dear little Mom as well. She has been so concerned - fearing the worst - but is feeling encouraged that at last they know what is going on and can treat him.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend. Thank you in advance for standing with us.

Blessings

He was born on the Fourth of July and tomorrow will celebrate his 36th birthday. If I say I can't believe the years have gone so quickly, you will just think, "Everyone says that," but it's true. It really seems like only yesterday he was his little girl's age - running around with limitless energy. It just takes my breath away sometimes when I see him and his older brother with their children. I wonder when all of that happened. When did they become fathers?

He is a precious son, husband, father, brother and Pastor. He pours his heart into everything he does. The place where he works full-time recently honored him for the work he does there. The owner of the company called him his hero. It is his servant's heart that blesses everyone he comes into contact with. He quite literally spends himself for the Lord. My mother's heart worries sometimes that he will just wear himself out. He is the one who is called when the car won't start, when they need something built, when they need help with a church project at another church, when someone is in need of spiritual counseling. He never says no. He calls every day just to check on Mom and Dad.

I have seen him deal with circumstances that would have destroyed most people, with a faith that not only carries him through but encourages and blesses everyone around him. We love him dearly. He is a precious gift from God, and we are grateful.
Happy Birthday son.

And Happy Fourth of July everyone!

We are home from our visit to the kids and grands. It was just great, and I'll write about it in day or two. Tomorrow I will be here with a post on freedom. In the meantime, I am trying to get a little order back into our lives. How can four days away from home result in such confusion? I did manage to get the laundry done and the budget for the month written down in my trusty little notebook, but there's a pile of laundry waiting to be ironed and a pile of bills to be paid and mail to track down (my daughter's which didn't get forwarded to us as it was supposed to) and enough dust to choke a whole group of people.....So I'll be back in a couple of days.

Blessings,

We're heading out to spend a few days with the kids and grandkids. Yippee!!! See you some time next week (that isn't really a picture of "us" but it sometimes feels we've packed that much for just a short trip).

We had an email from our daughter this morning. She is there safe and sound. It's a beautiful day in Paris!

Blessings,

Two Precious Gifts - my Mom and my Daughter

I hate good-byes. You know - the ones where someone you dearly love is going away on a long trip or leaving to go to a far distant home after a visit. I begin to get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach days before the actual good-bye, casting a shadow over that last bit of time together. I tell myself this is a silly way to behave, but it is useless to try and convince my heart of that. It refuses to cooperate.

I have known for a long time that my beautiful daughter would do a lot of traveling. She is a planner, and when she sets a goal she very nearly always accomplishes it. She went to France and Spain last fall for a couple of weeks and decided then and there that she would go back for an extended time as soon as she could. She immediately began working toward that goal.

So I have known for a long time that this day would come, and I have dreaded the good-bye. For weeks now she has been getting everything in order to be gone from her home for three months. I should tell you that she is twenty-nine years old and single. She saved diligently for years and bought her own little house a couple of years ago. She has left no detail undone. Little by little she has crossed things off her many lists and today she crossed off the final "things to be done."

She is a writer - an excellent writer (said the proud mother). She works part-time as an editor and does a lot of free-lance writing. She took a leave of absence from her job, bought a lap top and plans to work on her free-lance editing and writing from Versailles.

I am thrilled for her. She is living out her dream. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a grand adventure for her. I will miss her more than I can say. I'll miss the nightly telephone conversations and the visits. She is more than a daughter; she is my dear friend, my confidant, my joy. I am so proud of the young woman she has become. Her heart is as beautiful as her radiant face.

Knowing how much her Dad and I will miss her, she bought us a web cam. I have definitely stepped into the 21st century! We will be able to talk to one another via the computer AND SEE EACH OTHER! Thank you technology!! We did a dry run the other night, and I think even I will be able to pull this off. It is simply amazing. When my son and his family move to Dallas, we will get them one too. Then we will be able to see all the grandchildren whenever we want to - right here in our own home. It isn't as good as the real thing, but it sure is special to be able to see each other even when we are separated by hundreds and hundreds of miles.

We just got home from the airport a little while ago. Yes - those last few minutes were hard. It seems there is always another little bit of letting go. You think you've done it once and for all, but that just isn't so. We are holding her in our prayers, trusting her to the loving care of a Father who will never let her out of His sight for a moment (just as He never did when she was right here). We pray for safety and protection, for the blessing of finding other believers and a good church, for wisdom and discernment for her, and that she will have the very best of times.

She has filled our lives with such love and joy. The Lord brought her into our lives when she was just three months old, and we have been so blessed. I am so grateful. He gives me so much more than I could ever deserve.

Have a wonderful time Honey. We love you more than words can ever say. I miss you!

Blessings,

I'm over here today - at Laced With Grace.


Blessings

Everyone, I think, loves a good love story. In recent months I have been privileged to watch one unfold right before my very eyes.

Lamar walked into choir practice in January and quietly took a seat next to my husband in the bass section. They introduced themselves and began to get to know one another. The most important fact to emerge from this conversation, as far as I'm concerned, was that Lamar is single! "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." as Jane Austen eloquently said in "Pride and Prejudice". I don't really know about the good fortune part, but you get the idea. My little mind immediately began running down the list of single women I know.

I never thought of Jo, but as we were sitting at a little table in the church coffee bar before choir practice one evening Lamar walked in and Jo said, "I think Lamar is adorable." Being the great thinker that I am - something clicked! "So do I," I replied in as encouraging a voice as I could muster. I began to try to think of ways I could help this along, but I needn't have worried.

The next week when we walked into church, there were Lamar and Jo sitting having coffee together. Then they sat next to each other in choir. My little heart danced when, a few weeks later, my husband and I were walking behind them and they were holding hands. Before long they were together all the time.

It is such a pleasure to watch two people who are falling in love. Lamar is very shy and quiet, but he sure was smiling a lot more. Jo began to have a radiance about her. One evening I gave her a hug and told her how happy she looked. "I am," she said with that glowing smile.

We sat next to them in church a couple of weeks ago. They were holding hands and talking. "We've just come from the Riverwalk," she said. Then she leaned over and whispered, "It's my birthday, and we celebrated the day together." They both just grinned from ear to ear.

It was Jo's 68th birthday. Lamar is 72. They are such a sweet couple. I think marriage is definitely in their future, but Jo says they need to go slowly and carefully. She is a very wise lady.

It has been a joy to watch these two begin to build a relationship that is grounded firmly in their shared faith. They are precious, giving people who serve and love with open hearts. I plan to be at this wedding. I, for one, can't wait.

Blessings,