OUT TO LUNCH

Paul got a tee shirt from the summer camp he attended a couple weeks ago.

Daniel had mac & cheese for lunch.. he was more interested in the cartoons on TV.

David had yummy mini corn dogs.. he even shared one with me.


Here's Annabelle.. she has a mouthful of french fries.. she dribbled chocolate milk down her shirt.
I'm wondering if she noticed her mom's and Joyce's new earrings?

PIERCED EARS

As promised, I took Joyce out shopping for the 2nd half of her birthday gift. She chose to have her ears pierced today. I was so glad to be there when she had it done. Amy also had hers redone at the same time. Good thing she was with us, as Amy had to sign a consent for Joyce.
Here she is selecting the pair of earrings that will be inserted and she'll wear for the next 6-8 weeks.

No fear.. she sat quietly and never flinched as the earrings were inserted with the little gun.

They are tiny earrings .. like a daisy, white gold pink gemstone. Really tasteful and beautiful.

Happy birthday Joyce.. a little early... and thanks for letting me share this day with you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DAVID.. 4 YR OLD TODAY !!

David was here with his siblings this morning and brought one of his favorite birthday gifts.. an Indiana Jones Mr Potato Head. This one is cute and his hat plays the IJ theme song.
We got him the Chipmunk movie and we watched it while we made home made doughnuts out of biscuits. Each child decorated them as he/she wished, and though I took out some "holes" plain for Wendell, we sent most of them home with them.
We also got Joyce a dress for her birthday which is July 1st. We gave that to her today.. and then a promise to go shopping next week to finish her gift.

Because of the incident with the near hit virus last evening, I ran the virus scanner. I'm clean. I have Norton and AVG, so I feel safe. Just thought you'd like to know I'm not infected.

Interesting.. I have a warning for all my friends and family out there.. I received an email tonite that the subject line read "A Hallmark Card from a Friend".. I thought twice and then clicked on it (dummy me).. and it told me to click on the hyperlink.. My computer popped up a message that asked me if I wanted to save this file to my hard drive. I didn't .. so I closed it. I opened it again and decided to go to Hallmark.com to see if there was a card for me there using the number given on the email. Twice I put the number in and twice it said it didn't exist. My best guess is that someone sent me something malicious, and thanks to my computer, I didn't open it any further. BEWARE!

I have to say that I started my day out right. It was to be an eventful one with lots accomplished.
Unfortunately, I ran into snags all day.. especially when I got to the office and was missing critical schedule forms for this week. I searched for 2 hours and then threw up my hands in frustration and went home. Later in the evening one of my patients called for a schedule change..the book opened to the page where the lost forms were attached to the book.. Well.. I'm so grateful and thankful.
In the mean time I got laundry put away and the rug down in the bathroom (all clean and fresh).
Dishes are washed, and nothing else done. <<<>>>
A movie awaits my viewing, and I think I'll just sit down and crochet a while.
Have a nice evening Bloggers..

This is my nursing graduation picture with my cap. I lost my collar pin before I had it a year.

I do love days like today~ I accomplished a lot despite needing my frequent breaks to rest my back. This morning I got up and looked at the bedroom closet.. I would clean it.. it was comparable to climbing Mount Everest~ though I didn't get frostbitten, but I did get on a good sweat.
The closet has been approached in the past year, but never really cleaned out. So today I did it all except the shelf above. Gotta save that for tomorrow.
I found such interesting things that I didn't realize I had.. like my nurses cap
I was amused some time ago when I thought I'd like to own another one just for display and discovered that I'd either have to make my own or buy it at a costume shop. I did neither and decided I had lost them all. I owned several while we wore caps. They had to be taken to the dry cleaners and heavily starched. The place where it attached to my hair has left a thin spot on my head. I was glad when the hospital finally gave the go-ahead to take the caps off. They breed bacteria and tended to fall off at the most inopportune times ~ like while changing a dressing. YECHHHH! I always kept a spare cap in my locker.
The cap I found today was missing the studs and the black velvet stripe that went around the top. It was really yellowed, so I gave it a good washing in OxyClean and it's looking a lot better.

Years ago my brother Bill gave me a set of geodetic maps of Butler County and some from the valley where I grew up. All these years I've had them back in the closet. I never had the money to have them framed, but they were fun to look at. I showed them to John tonite and to make a long story short, he is now in possession of the maps, and that makes me feel good to know someone else appreciates them.

I also found a bag hanging in the back of the closet that contained a dress that my mom made for JJ when she was a baby.. red dotted swiss (sp?) and it had little hearts sewn on it. So beautifully made.. and I still have it.

Tomorrow I'll put things back together and put laundry away. I also have a huge pile of clothes that need sorted through. I just can't wear 21 different outfits. I never do~ I have a few shirts and pants that I like and then a dress and a couple skirts. That's enough.

Poor Wendell struggled and strained to get through the bedroom debris while I had everything spread out. Tonite he has given me the thumbs up. We can now walk in the bedroom without turning sideways.. well, that's a little far fetched, but it would have been so if I hadn't done the cleaning today.

As with the bathroom linen closet, there was a lot of dust and I'm doing a lot more coughing tonite. I hope to be on my feet tomorrow however.. I tried to be more careful this time. I need to use a mask when I do these dusty jobs.

I think I'm done for tonite and I see there are 2 more movies I need to view so Wendell can get them back to Netflix. He was kind enough to be patient and wait for me to see them. Last night I got 4 rows on David's afghan while watching Indiana Jones 'Raiders of the lost Ark'. Tonite it's 'Romancing the Stone' I believe.. or another Indiana Jones.
Gotta get the afghan out again..

It seems like June came and is almost gone now.. it was a full month of activity and work and some mighty nice picnics. I think that's a part of summer that I enjoy the most. We will have a picnic on the 4th of July.. that's just a little over a week away. Delightful! Summer is off to a great start.
I come from a very patriotic family. At the Best reunions years ago, Mother said they sang patriotic songs as a tradition.. they all sang together. And they had an American flag for all to see too. She remembered those days quite well. She was very patriotic herself. I think that's lacking in our nation today. I was taught to love the country and it's flag and to have respect for those things and the men and women who gave their lives to make sure my generation had freedom. I don't see that much now. We seem to be denied that national patriotism.. but I know there are many out there. We are mislead by the media who would rather deny it's existence.
When I hear the national anthem, I stand up and place my hand over my heart as I was taught so long ago. I don't see the respect any more. It's so very sad.

We have lots of birthdays coming up in the next month.. Joyce, David, Esther and Gayle.. WOW!
By the way, there is an Imm reunion coming up August 2nd too. The usual place and time..
I'm really hoping to get there this year. I don't have to work of course, but asthma may cause some problems. Hmmm
I'll have to get the Imm history books out. There are several large tomes. These have the history of our family from England.. complete with pictures.. it needs updated badly.
If any of the family would like to help me bring the data up to date, I'd surely welcome it. In fact I may do a questionnaire for the reunion to do just that.. I may just go around and find out who all my cousins are and who their parents/grandparents are..

It's to rain for the next week.. ugh. That means our picnic may be washed out.. but we will still enjoy the day and appreciate our freedoms.

I saw the allergist this morning. He agrees that the idea of allergy shots is a good one, and took a comprehensive history of just what happens when I have an 'asthma attack' brought on first by allergies.
He says I need skin testing to determine more specifically what the things are that trigger the allergies and then the asthma. I set up the first available appointment for August 12. It will take about 3 hours for the tests to be done.
They do the testing on the arms. I have seen the ones on the back, but this sounds better to me. There is always a chance that someone will have a really dramatic reaction, and they can apply a tourniquet to stop the spread if they use the arm.. a bit more difficult when they use the torso.

He also explained to me that I'd be on the inhalers for the rest of the year even with the shots. It takes about 10-12 weeks for them to 'kick in', and so the need for the inhalers. I won't get much benefit from the shots this year, but next year when the pollens hit in the spring, I'll be better protected. This is not to say that I won't have some allergic reactions or that it is guaranteed to prevent the asthma attacks, but the hope is that they will be less in nature.

God's Daily Promise

What does freedom mean to you?

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen for his own.

Psalm 33:12 NLT

"I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all the the lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws."

Genesis 26:4-5 NLT

The source of liberty

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one's own way.

Victor Frankl

---

For Americans, July 4 has special meaning as we celebrate Independence Day. There will be parades and picnics and fireworks. It is a day to celebrate freedom—and to recognize God as the true source of freedom and blessing for any nation.

So much of our freedom today seems bound up in a world driven by material possessions, yet those who died for the liberty we enjoy often did so to obtain or preserve freedoms of conscience—speech, religion, assembly, among others. And much of the blessing we enjoy today began with the promise God made to Abraham.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Growing old..

As each day/week/month, and year passes, I realize more and more that growing old is not for sissies. It's tough going by times.. and one needs a lot of reserve to make it through the next hurdle. ( I don't go over hurdles any more.. just through them with my hands over my head and a prayer that I make it through.)
A few years ago, I had no understanding of the fortitude of the elderly. One has some choices here.. you can sit/lie down and just let your life pass you by, or get up, get dressed, and face the day squarely.. though it may be painful to do so for a while. It makes starting the day with prayer so much more important. God gives me the strength, renewed each day, to do the difficult tasks that a few years ago were mundane chores.

Each day seems to bring another ache or pain or limitation to the usual activity. Some problems are just incapacitating. For those, necessity is really the mother of invention, and one has to go around the hurdle rather than over or through. It's not a shortcut, but the long way around also affords the satisfaction that you actually accomplished something when you had no clue that you could.

Friday and Saturday I spent cleaning the bathroom. It's a small room ~ about 6x8 ft, but the task which would have taken me a few hours 5 years ago, has become monumental, and 2 days was not enough. The linen closet I had let go for years was a monster to slay, and I did so, though not completely to my liking. I pitched and tossed and twisted, turned, climbed the step stool, balanced near the top, breathed in dust, and then stretched and wiped and finally got it clean.. it still needs more. My aching back!

Then the shower curtain.. and window curtain. I wish now that we'd put a vent in the shower rather than the window.. ugh! I had Wendell come in to balance me while I precariously stretched over the tub to reach the curtain rod to remove the old worn out curtain, and then replace it with the new. My aching arms!

The hardest part of the bathroom cleaning was the floor. It needed scrubbed badly, but getting down on my hands and knees to do so was not appealing. Getting down was hard enough, but getting back up... well... suffice it to say I felt panicky and called Wendell to help me get on my feet again.. My aching knees!

The walls need washed yet.. I'm going to look for a Swiffer scrubber to do that task.

As I said, this room would have taken me a couple of hours a few years ago, but with arthritis in my back and hands, 2 torn and healing rotator cuffs in the shoulders, and just general lack of flexibility, the best I could handle was 15-20 minutes at a time with at least that much rest between..
This morning I'm so sore.. the pain med has kicked in, but it's 10am, and now I've missed church. That does not please me one bit.. even for the sake of a clean bathroom. I woke up with a splitting headache from dust, I would think.. I've been coughing it up too.
My aching lungs!

So, today is a day of rest for us.. and that's what we shall do... Wendell has gone back to bed.
He's been giving himself boluses of supplemental oxygen for each task he has to perform..
Like yesterday when he went to the pharmacy to pick up his meds. He gave himself a 15 minute bolus, and was able to walk to the car easier. When he got home, he gave himself another bolus.
He did the same with his shower this morning.. before and after. Whatever works!

I had always hoped I'd grow old gracefully like my mother.. I don't think I've emulated her at all. Where she took each day in stride, I find myself tripping over my own feet and stumbling at every turn.

Be patient... God isn't finished with me yet!

SUMMER 2008
HAPPY CAMPERS

WENDELL & MARILYN ANNIVERSARY

39 YEARS AGO
JUNE 21

A BIT MORE CURRENT

SEE HOW WE HAVE GROWN !

My Funny Valentines

When I think back to 1998 when Cory and Wendy were married, I had no idea the family that would emerge 10 years later...

An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing.
Proverbs 13:17 NLT

A credible message needs a credible messenger because charisma without character is catastrophe.
Peter Kuzmic

Letters from God
A U.S. ambassador resides in a foreign country and yet lives on U.S.-owned property.

Though the laws of that land may differ from ours, the ambassador is still responsible to uphold the laws and rules of his own government.

His words and actions can never be wholly his for he does not act in his own capacity.

When he speaks, he is a messenger for his government. When he acts, his deeds reflect on the country he represents.

We are Christ's ambassadors and therefore his messengers.

Too often we think that the message we preach reflects our faith.

However, on a much deeper level it is the message of our everyday words and actions that are influential.
We are the letter from God that people read.

We become unreliable messengers when we speak crudely, gossip about a neighbor, or act dishonestly.

Our words and actions reflect God, who lives inside us, to people who never open a Bible or enter a church.

Never forget that you are an ambassador for Christ and a messenger of hope. Ask his Spirit to empower you to deliver the Good News with your life and words.


LORD, thank you for allowing me to be your ambassador. Let my message be honest and true. Help me to encourage others and to go out of my way to speak a kind word. Forgive me for times when I have spoken without thinking. Let me live in such a way that my words and actions represent you so that my message may be one of love and hope.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible
by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 21.

CORY & WENDY

CONGRATULATIONS

CORY & WENDY

10 YEARS TODAY

JUNE 20

HAPPY CAMPERS

That's P3 infront ..dark sweatshirt. Wonder what he's looking at?

Must have been chilly there.. Daniel is the guy on the left

with the hood up on his sweatshirt.

Now, this looks like a great day.. P3 in the front kayak,

and Daniel in the yellow one far right.

Daniel had to cut his camp experience short due to a sore throat.

Amy picked him up yesterday.

It's really too bad~ they were having a great time.

There is an email addy on the camp website where all these

pictures come from. You can send the happy camper an email

message there. I've sent notes every day to each one, and today,

one to Daniel at home..<>.. poor guy.

This is the first year Joyce, Paul and Daniel went to summer camp for a week.. Are they having fun? You be the judge....

Joyce in the blue hat far left side
Paul far right side in green cap
Daniel in the white shirt on left side in front of Paul

Follow the Leader.. Daniel in long pants left side
Paul in long pants on the right

Paul reaching up to Daniel who is being carried.. Looks like he got into some mud?

Joyce in the middle... blue hat

Pretty good day today.. but I had one really hard start IV-wise. The poor lady got jagged 3 times. That's the way it usually is.. all in one shot or it takes 3 because the veins are so poor. I actually had it going on the first try, but then suddenly a lump appeared and it shut down.. nuts!
Of the other patients, only one was a 'piece of cake'. The others were difficult, but I got them on the first try. I don't like to hurt people.. and most of my patients say I'm very good and that they never feel the needle stick at all. It amazes me.

Well, I'm off for at least 3 1/2 days. I'll have to go back Monday to make phone calls to the patients to remind them of their appointments.. many times THEY call ME.
My patients like their IV biologics. They reduce inflammation and in turn reduce the pain and swelling in their joints. It's a blessing to many.

It was a little chilly today and is still only 65 degrees. It won't be bad sleeping tonite at 50.
I'm hoping to just relax this evening, put in a movie and do some crochet.
David's afghan is slow going I'm afraid. I started the year out pretty good and have made a number of lovely afghans, but my work schedule keeps me so busy and tired, I scarcely have time to think or eat or anything else.

I'm having a good day.. AMEN

The rollator

I'm feeling burdened today to pray for a couple of special people..and thought perhaps I'd mention them on the blog and ask for you to pray for them also..
Nicki... Sandi... the Panichelles.. these top my list today as well as Wendell.
We went into the hospital today for Wendell's testing.. the high resolution CT scan of the chest took all of about 5 minutes.. he did well. I had dropped him off in front of the hospital and then went inside and asked for one of their wheel chairs. We have one, but it seemed dopey for me to struggle with the one in our trunk when I could just ask for one and they'd let me use it in the building. He just never would have made it alone.. it was a super long walk with friendly staff giving wrong directions to out patient services.. they have a building project going on right now and according to one source, OP location changes daily..ugh! Not so good if you are short of breath and just want a couple of little tests done that couldn't be done at one of the off campus sites.
He did well having his ABGs done.. arterial blood gasses. It's normally pretty painful. I joined him as the tech was getting him ready for his ambulatory pulse ox test. He had to wear the oximeter on his finger and walk down the hall. Easy for most people, but Wendell never got any further than out of the chair. His reading was 86%...bad bad bad! So the tech put 2 liters of oxygen on him and he sat for 20 minutes till it saturated his system...and they tried again. This time his readings were good till the last stretch when he had some steep desaturation and ended up in the wheel chair puffing pretty hard. So the tech moved his oxygen to 3 liters and he repeated the procedure. This time he made it down the hall and back, just a little short of breath, but good color and his readings stayed in the low normal range. He sent us home with a tank of oxygen and the concentrator (as seen above) will be delivered tonite.
Now the next thing we would like to get is a Rollator.. it's like a walker with wheels, brakes, and a seat.. Our favorite doctor of PT (Rick) suggested it, and I think it'll be a real help for Wendell. He has arthritis in his knees, so he hurts when he walks.. then the shortness of breath.. well, who can exercise with that going on? So, the plan is to get the portable oxygen and put it in the basket of the Rollator, and take a short walk outside.. and when he starts to hurt or needs to sit down, all he has to do is turn around and sit. Sounds wonderful.. they cost around $150.. can't afford it yet, but soon. I'd like to see if our insurance will cover it first..
We saw one in town today.. a guy walking down the sidewalk.. Wendell saw it first and noted.."not so bad.. I could handle that".. And then on the way home, I noted that Klingensmith's have them in their showcase window.. I know where to get one.
So that's the scoop for the day.. pray our finances will permit us to purchase this item for Wendell. It's not a necessity, but would make life so much easier for him.
Remember to pray..

Suddenly the day got a little brighter. I was just checking to see if JJ had posted anything new when I saw that she is going for her pony Penny tomorrow!!! WOW! I'm so happy for you and thrilled that you will be able to bring her home again where she belongs.
Pray for their safety as they travel to Kentucky and back.. it's a long long drive- 16 hr round trip.

Thanks for the prayer today for me and for my patients.. we all did remarkably well. I'm all set for the Thursday group coming in, so won't have to go back to the office tomorrow. YEA!!
I'll be going with Wendell instead to the hospital to have his testing completed.

I've been wondering how the kids are doing at summer camp.. I'll bet they are having the time of their lives.. Daniel's desire was to climb to the top of the rock wall..I should have bought them all a camera to use.. well, perhaps next year.

Our niece Christy was in an auto accident this past weekend. Thank the Lord for preserving her completely. What could have been a total disaster had a relatively happy ending.. scratch on her face from airbag deployment and sore shoulders from the seat belt harness holding her safely in place while her car careened off the highway in a thunderstorm and she hit a tree. The car didn't fare so well.. but Christy walked away. Our God is so good.

Charlie was over last night .. he brought an egg with him. It was a very special egg, for it was enormous. He isn't sure which of his hens laid it, but I'm certain it's the one that's now walking a little crooked. We didn't have a scale to weigh it, but it had to have weighed 6-7 oz. That's a big egg for a chicken. Think about 3 golf balls side by side.. that is about the mass of that egg he found. More like a duck or goose egg, but we have no ducks nor geese.

Life is grand.. enjoy it to the fullest.

Monday was pretty much a whirlwind day. Lots going on..
We started out by going to see the pulmonologist (lung doctor) for Wendell. He has a small amount of emphysema, but the doctor doesn't think this is the cause of his shortness of breath. He feels there is some other pathology (possibly the fibrosis) going on in there. He mentioned this could have been the result of anesthesia when he had his bypass surgery 2 yr ago. So Wednesday we will go up to the hospital where he will have a high resolution CT scan of the chest. This should be pretty definitive. He'll also have ABGs done and an ambulatory pulse oximetry to determine his need of supplemental oxygen. While we are there we'll stop at the sleep center to find a suitable CPAP mask for him too.
We stopped afterward for lunch and then I took him home and headed back to the office to complete work for the week and making necessary phone calls. While I was there, I straightened up the storage closet .. emptying about 6 huge boxes and organizing the contents on the shelves. By 3:30pm, I was home again.. with an aching back. I took a nap for about an hour or so.. then had supper.. and decided to sit down at the computer to search for some birthday items for the grandkids.. we have 4 birthdays within the next month. Having done that, we decided to also order a wedding gift from the bridal registry for friends from church.
In the mean time, it was a stormy day.. comfortable, but rainy. I think folks up north of us got it worse though. Today our high will only be 65 with some chance of rain tonite.
I'll be heading on into the office around noon. I have patients scheduled to infuse today. Pray that all goes well and that my accuracy will be right on target.
I'm loving having my own office, but I find that when I go in to do any organizing, I seem to get pulled to the front to assist there. I don't mind it, but I tend to get worn out, and my office is the only one that isn't picture perfect because I don't have the time to spend organizing there. I really don't mind, but it would be nice to be able to do what I would like to do to make it homey there.
I have slept well through the night with only one short episode of coughing from asthma.. it wasn't bad, and I'm up and moving early this morning.
Have a super day bloggers..

To all you fathers out there
in Bloggerland,
Have a great day !