It's been more than a week since I sat myself down at my laptop and shared some thoughts with y'all. How does the time slip away from me like this?
Thankfully, Dick has been feeling better for the past few days. Of course, he had another infusion treatment today, which usually knocks the props out from under him a bit. He was pretty pooped when he and Nancy got home around 5:00 this evening. He pretty much headed for the couch and crashed. He slept for almost 3 hours before he woke up to eat a bite. Unfortunately, he gets to feeling better just in time for another treatment - a complaint registered by many cancer patients undergoing chemo.
The other night just after everyone went to bed, we were lounging in our beds chatting and reading. We heard conversation from across the hall in Dick & Nancy's bedroom, and then we heard my brother crying. I decided to eavesdrop a little, and heard my brother say, "I think Joylin (his daughter) will take it the hardest. You (Nancy) are ready because you're here every day, but not Joylin. And she's my 'girlie.'" He went on to say that he wants Nancy to tell his children and hers that he loves them and he's their Dad. (More crying and tears.) And then he said, "Oh well, it's just one step closer to heaven."
I was already crying, and that sent me into body-shaking sobs. Wow! Think about it. What must it be like to face the stark reality of your own mortality every single day. Sometimes I sit and look at him and wonder what's going through his mind. I know he thinks about it, but hearing him say it really drives it home!
So, tomorrow we fly home for Thanksgiving. We are leaving Dick & Nancy's around 10 a.m. and will have lunch in Sacramento with our cousin, Sam. He will take us to the airport around 3:30 and we'll leave my sister's car at his house. We'll have it there to drive home when we fly back on December 3.
Holidays are not as jubilant and happy as they once were. Sandi's family is broken apart, and her children are suffering so horribly, and acting out. Steven has moved to another job location - we have no idea where he is. A couple of months ago he told me he was heading for California, but has told his wife he's working in Kansas. Trust me, it's no fun for a Mom not to know where her child is - Dad isn't enjoying it all that much, either! Susan and family are scheduled to have Thanksgiving with Joe's family this year, so we lose on that front.
Enough whining, already! We have so much to be thankful for, and in spite of everything God has been so faithful and so good. And we will treasure the time we have with those of our loved ones who are able to be with us to give thanks.
I love you all!
XOXO
MY TEXT FOR TODAY: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (Notice it says in every thing, not everything - There's a difference!)
From The Message:
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This the way God wants you, who belong to Christ Jesus, to live.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Another interesting day
Today was interesting, to say the least. We were sitting around this morning still in our PJ's enjoying a leisurely breakfast and a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. Yup, I went to the door in my nightgown. There at the door was Nancy's cleaning lady, Bertha, ready to report for duty. She called on Tuesday (her usual cleaning day) to say that she would not be here to clean until Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, we were not expecting her at zero-dark-thirty in the morning - OK, it was only 8:30, but REALLY!
Bertha is a precious Mexican lady (probably in her forties) who barely speaks English, so that may have been part of the problem. At any rate, she started in the back of the house (the bathrooms, of all things!), so that precluded any opportunity to grab a shower and get dressed. My sis WAS actually able to sneak to the shower while Bertha cleaned the other bathroom, but sadly, I didn't make it.
Here's the complication. I had promised Nancy I would make a batch of cookies this morning. The 5th and 6th graders at the school where she teaches kindergarten had plans to "surprise" us by coming in the afternoon to rake the leaves in my brother's gigantic front yard. This yard has a buzzillion good-sized oak trees who are shedding their clothes for the winter. We wanted to offer a plate of homemade cookies to thank the kids for making us their "community service" learning experience.
So, at 8:45 a.m. I fired up the oven and hurriedly created a batch of Tollhouse cookies (from the recipe on the Nestle chocolate chip package - Yummmmm!). I've never made speedier cookies in my life. You see, I had to get the cookies in and out of the oven before Bertha finished cleaning in the back of the house and came to clean in the front part of the house where the kitchen lives. Whew! So, with the help of my sweet sister, I threw together the ingredients and got those cookies baked, cooled and artfully arranged on a pretty glass plate by 9:30! Please don't ask me to repeat it - ever! I know I couldn't do it again, no way! And in my nightie, too! I mean, there was no chance to get dressed. So there I was. I finally showered and dressed just after 10:30. It was like a comedy ballet, all that juggling and tap-dancing to try and stay out of Bertha's hair and stay on schedule!
The kids (fifteen 11 & 12 year-olds) did a great job. They filled a good-sized trailer with leaves, and the yard looks spectacular. Oh, and the cookies - they were a smashing success (I sneaked and ate a couple - they WERE good!
The blessing of today was that it was sunny and beautiful (low 70's) - what a contrast to the weather we're hearing about back in the Northwest, particularly the Oregon & Washington coast areas. In fact, a story from Tillamook (which happened on a road where we once lived) made the national news today. We saw it this morning on the "Today" show, of all things. The story is that a car with a mom and three kids drove off the road into the water when she was unable to determine where the road was under the floodwaters. Praise God, they were all safely rescued. All they lost was their car, which can be replaced!
My brother had another chemo treatment last Friday, and has been pretty miserable so far this week. He has developed a painful, itchy rash from one of his anti-seizure meds. We are trying to interest him and Nancy in looking into a treatment program in the LA area that treats brain tumors (and other cancers) with hyperthermia (heat). The level of heat used causes damage to the cancer cells and compromises their blood supply, but doesn't harm normal cells. Dick & Nancy are reticent to pursue it, so we need your prayers in that regard. There are clinical trials using this treatment program at Duke University, so it sounds legitimate. I'll share more on this later when we have more information.
In the meantime, take good care of yourselves and stay close to Him - I love you all!
XOXO
MY TEXT FOR TODAY: Isaiah 43:1-3 (New Living Translation)
What a beautiful promise!
1 “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
3 "For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
Bertha is a precious Mexican lady (probably in her forties) who barely speaks English, so that may have been part of the problem. At any rate, she started in the back of the house (the bathrooms, of all things!), so that precluded any opportunity to grab a shower and get dressed. My sis WAS actually able to sneak to the shower while Bertha cleaned the other bathroom, but sadly, I didn't make it.
Here's the complication. I had promised Nancy I would make a batch of cookies this morning. The 5th and 6th graders at the school where she teaches kindergarten had plans to "surprise" us by coming in the afternoon to rake the leaves in my brother's gigantic front yard. This yard has a buzzillion good-sized oak trees who are shedding their clothes for the winter. We wanted to offer a plate of homemade cookies to thank the kids for making us their "community service" learning experience.
So, at 8:45 a.m. I fired up the oven and hurriedly created a batch of Tollhouse cookies (from the recipe on the Nestle chocolate chip package - Yummmmm!). I've never made speedier cookies in my life. You see, I had to get the cookies in and out of the oven before Bertha finished cleaning in the back of the house and came to clean in the front part of the house where the kitchen lives. Whew! So, with the help of my sweet sister, I threw together the ingredients and got those cookies baked, cooled and artfully arranged on a pretty glass plate by 9:30! Please don't ask me to repeat it - ever! I know I couldn't do it again, no way! And in my nightie, too! I mean, there was no chance to get dressed. So there I was. I finally showered and dressed just after 10:30. It was like a comedy ballet, all that juggling and tap-dancing to try and stay out of Bertha's hair and stay on schedule!
The kids (fifteen 11 & 12 year-olds) did a great job. They filled a good-sized trailer with leaves, and the yard looks spectacular. Oh, and the cookies - they were a smashing success (I sneaked and ate a couple - they WERE good!
The blessing of today was that it was sunny and beautiful (low 70's) - what a contrast to the weather we're hearing about back in the Northwest, particularly the Oregon & Washington coast areas. In fact, a story from Tillamook (which happened on a road where we once lived) made the national news today. We saw it this morning on the "Today" show, of all things. The story is that a car with a mom and three kids drove off the road into the water when she was unable to determine where the road was under the floodwaters. Praise God, they were all safely rescued. All they lost was their car, which can be replaced!
My brother had another chemo treatment last Friday, and has been pretty miserable so far this week. He has developed a painful, itchy rash from one of his anti-seizure meds. We are trying to interest him and Nancy in looking into a treatment program in the LA area that treats brain tumors (and other cancers) with hyperthermia (heat). The level of heat used causes damage to the cancer cells and compromises their blood supply, but doesn't harm normal cells. Dick & Nancy are reticent to pursue it, so we need your prayers in that regard. There are clinical trials using this treatment program at Duke University, so it sounds legitimate. I'll share more on this later when we have more information.
In the meantime, take good care of yourselves and stay close to Him - I love you all!
XOXO
MY TEXT FOR TODAY: Isaiah 43:1-3 (New Living Translation)
What a beautiful promise!
1 “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
3 "For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Just when you thought...
Hi, everyone:
At 9:15 on Sunday morning my husband dropped me off in front of Southwest Airlines at PDX. My flight didn't leave till 12:05, but we wanted hubby to be able to make it back home in time to get to church. I took a book to read and bought myself an omelet at one of the high-priced airport eateries inside the security gates.
At 11:30 they began boarding my flight bound for Sacramento, San Diego, and on to Phoenix. I was in the "B" group, which meant they boarded a couple of groups ahead of mine (the wheelchair gang and the families with kids, besides the "A" group). I chose a middle seat (which I do NOT prefer!) in Row 4 between a man about my age in the aisle seat and a young woman seated near the window. She looked to be in her early thirties.
The flight attendants went through their safety information routine and took our beverage orders. We were even given a choice between pretzels or peanuts! My seatmates and I sat in silence during the first half of the 80-minute flight. The man to my left kept fiddling with his i-Phone (it was probably new?), and the young woman just stared out the window - there was really nothing to see, just the fluffy clouds that covered the west coast. She finally spoke to me when the flight attendants came back down the aisle to pick up our empty beverage cups and peanut (pretzel?) bags.
"Where are you headed?" she asked me. We introduced ourselves (her name is Leah) and I told her I was headed to Sacramento. She asked if I live there. I said no, and went into the whole story of how I had been home for a short visit, that I am spending time with my brother right now who has terminal brain cancer - certain that my story is one of the saddest there is to be told.
She was very sweet and empathetic, and I asked her some of the same questions she had asked me. She told me she was heading home to the San Diego area and had been with family in Beaverton after her husband's dad died unexpectedly last week. She went on to say that her father-in-law had taken his own life on Tuesday after receiving a 24-hour eviction notice in conjunction with the foreclosure of his home. In going through things they found stacks of unpaid bills that had been piling up for weeks. Dad had shared none of this with his wife and she was totally sheltered and clueless that there were serious financial problems. He had managed to keep it from her, even though he had been out of work for more than two years. His suicide plan was well laid out and organized. It had obviously been contemplated for some time (he had purchased a handgun in August). The eviction notice was, no doubt, the catalyst which brought his plan to fruition.
I was speechless (unusual for me). I grabbed her hand and held it, and when I caught my breath, I asked if the family were believers with their faith to lean on during this awful time. She said no, her husband's dad was a gruff, difficult and distant man who loudly professed to be an atheist. The wife, a quiet, submissive woman with a personality capable of being shielded from the stark reality faced by their family. Ironically, the final comment in Dad's suicide note said, "God bless you all."
Leah told me she was raised in the Catholic church and has a strong faith, as does her husband. We continued to chat till we got off the airplane (I finally let go of her hand), and I told her a little about my own faith and said I would certainly be praying for her and her family. She thanked me and we parted. It's unlikely that I'll ever see her again, but I will remember that 80-minute flight for a very long time!
Just when you think you are totally in the depths of the pit and your situation is as awful and as heartwrenching as it could get... At least we know that even if we lose Dick, we'll see him again someday when we're all together in heaven. And it's still horrible, sad, and intensely painful to stand by and watch him suffer and deteriorate a little every day. Hearing a sadder story in no way mitigates that! But it IS so comforting to have the assurances we have as believers, and that we have "The Comforter" with us every moment. It's still hard to bear, and I'm still sometimes worn down by all of it, but knowing He is there beside me definitely helps to make it bearable.
I love you all - so much! Please pray for Leah.
MY TEXT FOR TODAY (I just had to use it again!): Revelation 7:17 (The Message)
14-17 Then he told me, "These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they've washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That's why they're standing before God's Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes."
FROM "NEW LIVING TRANSLATION:"
14 Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And He who sits on the throne will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
FROM "TODAY'S NIV:"
Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 'Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne will be their shepherd; 'He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.' "
At 9:15 on Sunday morning my husband dropped me off in front of Southwest Airlines at PDX. My flight didn't leave till 12:05, but we wanted hubby to be able to make it back home in time to get to church. I took a book to read and bought myself an omelet at one of the high-priced airport eateries inside the security gates.
At 11:30 they began boarding my flight bound for Sacramento, San Diego, and on to Phoenix. I was in the "B" group, which meant they boarded a couple of groups ahead of mine (the wheelchair gang and the families with kids, besides the "A" group). I chose a middle seat (which I do NOT prefer!) in Row 4 between a man about my age in the aisle seat and a young woman seated near the window. She looked to be in her early thirties.
The flight attendants went through their safety information routine and took our beverage orders. We were even given a choice between pretzels or peanuts! My seatmates and I sat in silence during the first half of the 80-minute flight. The man to my left kept fiddling with his i-Phone (it was probably new?), and the young woman just stared out the window - there was really nothing to see, just the fluffy clouds that covered the west coast. She finally spoke to me when the flight attendants came back down the aisle to pick up our empty beverage cups and peanut (pretzel?) bags.
"Where are you headed?" she asked me. We introduced ourselves (her name is Leah) and I told her I was headed to Sacramento. She asked if I live there. I said no, and went into the whole story of how I had been home for a short visit, that I am spending time with my brother right now who has terminal brain cancer - certain that my story is one of the saddest there is to be told.
She was very sweet and empathetic, and I asked her some of the same questions she had asked me. She told me she was heading home to the San Diego area and had been with family in Beaverton after her husband's dad died unexpectedly last week. She went on to say that her father-in-law had taken his own life on Tuesday after receiving a 24-hour eviction notice in conjunction with the foreclosure of his home. In going through things they found stacks of unpaid bills that had been piling up for weeks. Dad had shared none of this with his wife and she was totally sheltered and clueless that there were serious financial problems. He had managed to keep it from her, even though he had been out of work for more than two years. His suicide plan was well laid out and organized. It had obviously been contemplated for some time (he had purchased a handgun in August). The eviction notice was, no doubt, the catalyst which brought his plan to fruition.
I was speechless (unusual for me). I grabbed her hand and held it, and when I caught my breath, I asked if the family were believers with their faith to lean on during this awful time. She said no, her husband's dad was a gruff, difficult and distant man who loudly professed to be an atheist. The wife, a quiet, submissive woman with a personality capable of being shielded from the stark reality faced by their family. Ironically, the final comment in Dad's suicide note said, "God bless you all."
Leah told me she was raised in the Catholic church and has a strong faith, as does her husband. We continued to chat till we got off the airplane (I finally let go of her hand), and I told her a little about my own faith and said I would certainly be praying for her and her family. She thanked me and we parted. It's unlikely that I'll ever see her again, but I will remember that 80-minute flight for a very long time!
Just when you think you are totally in the depths of the pit and your situation is as awful and as heartwrenching as it could get... At least we know that even if we lose Dick, we'll see him again someday when we're all together in heaven. And it's still horrible, sad, and intensely painful to stand by and watch him suffer and deteriorate a little every day. Hearing a sadder story in no way mitigates that! But it IS so comforting to have the assurances we have as believers, and that we have "The Comforter" with us every moment. It's still hard to bear, and I'm still sometimes worn down by all of it, but knowing He is there beside me definitely helps to make it bearable.
I love you all - so much! Please pray for Leah.
MY TEXT FOR TODAY (I just had to use it again!): Revelation 7:17 (The Message)
14-17 Then he told me, "These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they've washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That's why they're standing before God's Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes."
FROM "NEW LIVING TRANSLATION:"
14 Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And He who sits on the throne will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
FROM "TODAY'S NIV:"
Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"
14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 'Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne will be their shepherd; 'He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.' "
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