Gayle spent a lot of time in her bikini with her new kitty boots and her "parella".
I think she liked them. She wanted to wear this outfit everywhere.. even to church on Sunday.
Mom and Dad said 'no', but let her take her parella anyway.

Gayle got a Mariposa doll for her birthday.
Her mom and dad got her this Mariposa outfit and she was ecstatic..
and wore it all afternoon.

Outside, she caught a butterfly and was so pleased with herself.

Eli loved the slip 'n slide even though the water was icy cold

Gramma Blair and Eli

Esther's dress and Gayle's new jacket were from the Z's.
The "Parella" was from Gramma and Papa Blair.

Hammin' it up

Singing Happy Birthday..
There was one cake for 2 girls.. when the singing started, Esther was upset that she only saw 4 candles when she was 6 yrs old that day.. but she just missed the 2 sets .. one with 4 candles and one with 6, and each blew out their own set.

We are back home again

There's no place like home

We are back home again arriving at around 3:30pm today... unloading, viewing our video, uploading pictures, and deciding which to post and what to do next..emails are out of control...YIKE!
We have decided to just post some pictures of our visit in a random order.. and tell you about them.

It was Gayle's and Esther's birthday that took us to visit. They got lots of presents and we had a great time. Here are the girls modeling their new sun glasses.

The Z's gave them a 3 lane slip 'n slide racer. Oh.. they did love that so much! Eli tried it too, and you have to see and listen to the video to appreciate how much he enjoyed it.

Isaac and Eli..

It's been a busy day preparing for our trip to Valentines this week. So much to be done. Wendell and I went to the laundromat today and got all of our clothes washed and ready to go.. we are packed aside from a couple of CPAPs and our meds. Those things will be packed tomorrow before we leave.

We also packed a brand new metallic blue Rollator! Wow! Was that fast.. shipped on Monday and delivered today.. Wednesday. Wendell likes it. It has a basket for an oxygen tank so he can go shopping or walking or whatever he chooses! HOORAY!! Thank you Rick and thank you Paul!!!!

I do have to work tomorrow. Wendell will get his tanks of oxygen ready during the day, and he should be ready to go when I get home. Hope it's a pleasant day.

I'll be checking email while I'm away. Won't be back till Tuesday. I won't likely blog.. or maybe I will.. we'll see.. there is so much to do while we are visiting for Gayle and Esther's birthdays.

It's been such a beautiful day.. I did go to the office and all patients did super de duper.. no problems whatsoever. One of the reps brought lunch, and since I worked through my lunch time, I brought home chicken scallopini for supper. Supposedly, it was a one person serving, but Wendell and I both had seconds and there are still leftovers out there.

It's been a bright and sunny day. Hot Hot Hot!!! I had to leave the car doors open for a minute or so before I got in, and I'd left all 4 windows down a crack all day. How very thankful I am that my car has working air conditioning. But the first thing I noted when I came out of the office was that my fingers were pinching in the joints, back was aching, and the air was very heavy. As I drove home I noted dark clouds.. ominous looking and fast moving.. and then the leaves on trees were turned back side up. It would rain tonite. Sure enough, later this evening, it rained a bit, though north of us got a nasty storm.
It's 74 right now and a promise of 78 tomorrow. A bit cooler.. my kind of weather.

Tomorrow is laundry day. Wendell and I are going out to wash our clothes before we take our trip to NY on Friday (or Thursday if he wants to drive).
I'll pack us up tomorrow evening, and get things ready so we can leave when Wendell chooses.
He's going to get the oil changed before we go. It hasn't been done for a while.
Bills need paid and I need some rest in the mean time.
After this Thursday, I don't have office till next Friday, so we can take our time .. likely be back Tuesday evening.

I'm off to sort the laundry..

Whoa!! It was a hot one today..85 degrees and 88 expected tomorrow. WHEW! There was a lot of thunder cracking when I got home, and though it kinda looked like rain, it never did let down a drop.
It was a good day in the office again, though one patient had an infusion reaction for the 3rd time, and now will be looking at a new biologic. I was right there when it started and treated her immediately, gaining control of the reaction. Timing is everything.

Tomorrow my patients will come later in the morning.. there are 6 of them eager to be jagged with a needle.. I would be too if I got results like they do.

Enjoy your evening....

Well, today is Monday and it's supposed to be a hot one. I am thankful for the air conditioning in the office. 85 is the expected high.. I guess summer is really here. Hard to believe Christmas is just 6 months away...
I don't normally do the office on a Monday. My biologics are shipped on ice and have to be kept refrigerated at all times, so having them shipped for a Monday means they sit in a truck in a warehouse Sunday night.. not good.
I arranged today's schedule for one patient. She is already late for her infusion because of an infection, but last week she said she was being treated, and so she wanted scheduled for this week. The problem is that her hubby is going into the hospital for major surgery (brain surgery), and she needed to be there for him on the days I had planned to infuse. So, one patient in one day is not cost effective for the office, and being the 'pushover' that I am, I scheduled her anyway and then started calling other patients to join her. I got 5 more to agree to Monday- today. Yesterday at lunch, I found a message on my cell phone from her that said she was still having infection problems, and would not be coming this week. Oh, for evermore. All the planning and calling and rearranging schedules, and now this. Well, there are 5 patients who need seen today and all were delighted to come in a few days earlier than usual.
Today I have to start the new plan of 2 days a week.. Tuesday and Thursday, and work from there. Reasonably, I can do 6 patients in the morning and 6 in the afternoon if I can arrange that. We'll start with the Thursday schedule and when it's full, move some to the Tuesday and keep on going.
I had 18 patients to see this week.. good thing we now have an infusion room.
All my patients today will be done before noon. The afternoon will be spent organizing and calling patients to change their schedules in the near future. I have several to do for next week, and then for the next couple of weeks there may have to be some changes also.
I'm learning. I've NEVER been good at scheduling, but in the old office, I could only schedule on Thursdays, so it wasn't a problem.
Pray for my patients this week.. no untoward events.. and for me that my skills in starting and running infusions would be at the peak. I always appreciate when you pray for us.

The end of the week we are planning a trip to NY to see the Valentines. Gayle and Esther have birthdays. We will be going carrying gifts.. and O2 tanks, and our belongings to stay for 4-5 days. Pray that gas prices will be stable as we travel. Our car gets exceptionally good mileage, but it's still a great expense.

I'm off to the office.. have a great day, bloggers, and keep cool!!!

HO-HUM

It's a sleepy day. We got up early and went to church.. stopped for lunch.. came home and though it's sunny and bright and warm outside, we both fell fast asleep....HO-HUM!
I must have been really tired.
Nothing much newsworthy today..

Is God concerned about our pain?

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one.
Psalm 34:18-19 NLT

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins!
But he was wounded and crushed for our sins.
He was beaten that we might have peace.
He was whipped, and we were healed!
All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:3-6 NLT

Crying ones
Through the pain and sorrow of Christ's experiences on earth, God has experienced the depths of human grief.
You that are called born of God, and Christians, if you be not criers, there is no spiritual life in you; if you be born of God, you are crying ones; as soon as He raised you out of the dark dungeon of sin, you cannot but cry to God.
John Bunyan

I watch for signs of rain. I suppose I could watch on TV, but since I don't care to sit in front of "the box", I look around me. My 3 best signs for rain begin with aching joints, then noting that all the neighbors cows are lying down in a crowd in the pasture. The third sign of impending rain is when leaves on trees turn over and show their underside. There are a lot more..
I got to looking for rain folklore, and this is what I found..

• birds fly lower than usual
• crickets sing louder than usual
• frogs croaked more
• cats licked their bodies more
• worms come up out of the ground
• animals become restless
• bees stay close to the hive
• fish bite more readily and are nearer the surface
• smoke in chimneys blows down
• flies cling to the window screens
• flies are more bothersome before a rain
• a halo around the sun or moon indicates rain
• no dew on the grass at night

• some people can smell it and feel it

Of course if you live in Seattle....
There is an old saying "When the wind is blowing from the east, 'tis not fit for man nor beast. I've found that to be very true.
Matthew 16 says 'when it is evening , ye say it will be fair weather; for the sky is red.
And in the morning it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowring'.
This is where we get the adage "red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in the morning sailor take warning".
Who needs a meteorologist?

MARK YOUR CALENDAR !
ANNUAL

IMM

REUNION

SATURDAY

AUGUST 2, 2008

BE THERE!!!

Charlie took me for a walk through the garden. He gave up on his sweet corn. It has done very poorly this year. His field corn (at White's) looks elegant.. and is way more than knee high on the 4th of July !! He has the entire garden fenced in to protect it from deer, and so far, so good.
Except for the tiny gate about a foot wide that he left open one night .. the deer found the opening and waltzed in and ate the tops off his green beans ! He has a mesh fence about 5' high on this side of the garden. I can't see it well even standing beside it, and it seems to work to keep the animals out. Even the ground hogs are having trouble finding a way in. Atta boy! Charlie.

This is the edge of the garden.. the chickens roam freely and hopefully stay within the property lines. On the left is a mulch of straw covering 2 healthy rows of potatoes.. and volunteers are everywhere you look. There's tomatoes, beans, peppers of all kinds, pickles, onions, beets, lettuce, carrots, and flowers...lots and lots of flowers!

Bachelor buttons, marigolds, cosmos, spider plants, asparagus fern, day lilies, and a field of brown eyed susans.. WOW! Lavender, chives, holihocks, and a host of other beautiful flowers of so many colors.

This peach tree branch needs propped up. You can't see well in the picture, but there's about 2 bushels of peaches on that one branch. The weight of them has caused the branch to split near the trunk.

The catch of the day.. green onions and radishes.. oh yummy!!!

This is my fire pit for bonfires.. I decided to light one today,
but got restless and looked across the way at the garden...

Everything is so lush and green.. and growing!
Charlie was mowing grass.
It occurs to me that an asthmatic shouldn't be sitting by an open fire..
nor sitting outside when the neighbors are mowing grass... duh..

Charlie stopped mowing and we took a walk through the garden.
The red raspberries are ripe and ready to pick!

Holihocks in the middle of the garden

This is one of about 4 planters that are set outside the front of our home.

Mandy's tomatoes.. her salad tomatoes are red..
see them in the corner of the big box?

Every time I see daisies, I think of JJ

I tasted some of these black raspberries..
oh, really really good!!!

I'm cleaning today.. it's Independence day, and Wendell and I have had our own little picnic at the kitchen table. He with a Big Mac, and I with KFC.. this time I asked the girl at the window to check my order carefully to make sure I got 'chicken breasts' and not some other order. It was all good. We had a nice quiet lunch and then played a computer game together. He's napping now, and I'm cleaning.

I found a paper I'd written almost one year ago.. see July 23, 2007 on this blog to read what I read. It was a testimony of sorts.. and it's been a year since I wrote it and made a copy for my file. A lot has happened since that time.. a full year + ago. It was good to read it again and then see how I've progressed. My faith in Jesus is ever strong, and I now have a hard copy prayer list so no one gets left out.
We have our health problems, but we know this is many times a part of aging and a part of other circumstances too. But the best part is that we still have each other and a family I wouldn't trade for anything.
We have so many blessings, it's hard to count them all.
We still have problems financially by times, but always we rely on God to provide for our needs if He so wishes. Our children all watch out for us and have made growing a little older a little easier.
I look around and see the news and the reports of the horrors and economic crashes and the fears others have for their futures. I look around myself, and I see a family and friends who uphold us all the time and who care for us in so many diverse ways.
I think to myself, if the world is falling apart while they are putting their trust in things that will pass away, why not give Jesus a try? What would they have to lose? What if I'm right, and they are wrong? They have all eternity to gain, and nothing if they continue the way they are going now.
I am going to take a longer break today since it's really a holiday.. and if it's not raining hard, I'm taking my camera with me.. I'll see you all later..

July 4th

I also wanted to add the other results of prayer.. my patients did so very well today, and my accuracy was right on target! Thank you all for supporting me and the patients too.

WoW!! We prayed that a reasonably priced Rollator would be available for Wendell, and God answered that prayer in a magnificent way. I never thought about eBay, but Paul did. THANKS PAUL !!! He found the exact piece of equipment we needed at less than $80 ! The S&H brought it all to about $100, and THAT was affordable now.
So I ordered one for him tonite.. it's not red like the above picture, but a really nice blue. It has 8" wheels on it and is all terrain. WOOHOO!! It's an early birthday present.. and well worth it.

Here we are again at office day. In the future (as soon as possible really), we will be scheduling our patients on only 2 days a week.. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The plan will be to eliminate all the extra days I have to go in, and have another person do all the prep work so I only have to go to do the infusions. Of course, my assistant will take some of those days too.. it's all good. I may see my retirement yet. I look back a few months ago and wonder 'how did I ever accomplish all those patients and still work 3 days a week at the hospital?' I dunno.

I'll be heading into the office in just about an hour or so. I ask for prayer for my patients and for me as the infusionist. The patients all do quite well, and my skills usually are right on target. This is my prayer on office day especially.

Remember to pray for Nicki. She is having a procedure done today which will make her feel more comfortable physically. The procedure can be painful, and yet not. Pray it will go smoothly without pain for her.

Please also remember Sandi, Helen and Sara.

The insurance company has decided to not offer any assistance to us with the Rollator for Wendell. Pray that we will be able to afford this piece of equipment in the near future.

I believe these are the top requests for us for the day.
Have a great one Bloggers

It's been another good day, though not a lot accomplished. Wendell's doctor agreed and wrote a script for the Rollator and we have the insurance company involved in approving the payment for this item.. We shall know more Wednesday.
It's been a cool day today.. I'm feeling chilly tonite too.
You can always tell spring weather.. it brings GI upsets..but usually these occur in March or April.. not June. I've had my share lately of heartburn..ugh.
I took extra medication to stop the upset, then have also taken 5 fruity antacid tablets and a small can of ginger ale.. still no real good relief. I feel like I'm raw all the way from my tongue down. The next step is going to bed and hoping I don't regurgitate any of the acid.. gross!!!!


G'nite all..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TO
JOYCE
11 YEARS OLD
TODAY
JULY 1, 2008