This is the ring that Wendell gave me for our 40th wedding anniversary.
It's an aquamarine, but you can't appreciate the blue color in the photo.
It's a gorgeous ring!

BEARS!! oh my!!

One of our equestrian neighbors visited us this afternoon .. he said that recently he was riding back through the woods when he saw a mother black bear and her cub. Actually, it was very close to our house.. not a message I wanted to hear, but I'm glad to be forewarned.

Blessings

What is a blessing?

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. Psalm 1:1 NLT

President Bush and other politicians often end their public appearances by saying, "God bless America."
This week, we're going to look at what God's blessing means—to us as individuals and as a nation.
Blessings have to do with both giving and receiving.
It was a vital part of life in Bible times.
To bless someone meant many things…to praise them, pray for them, and commit them to God's care.
It also meant to dedicate and challenge them to live forever committed to God, to keep hold of spiritual things.
It was a call for abundance and prosperity for another.
And it was also a way of officially passing on the family inheritance to the oldest son.
Wishes for a rich and abundant life were inherent in a blessing, although not always in a material sense.
God was recognized as the ultimate source of the blessing.
The person blessed would walk with the Lord and receive his benefits.
To receive God's blessing meant not only to enjoy innumerable tangible gifts but in a much deeper way to be welcomed into a special relationship with him, a relationship to be affirmed and practiced.
Part of this, in turn, means being a blessing to others, a way of saying we have been a godly help for others.

adapted from the The TouchPoint Bible Tyndale House Publishers, p 1158

40th anniversary

Annabelle enjoying ice cream and cake

Keith and John trying to fly a kite.. it's a beauty,

but it won't fly.

"Davey Rockmonster Jones"

40th ANNIVERSARY

When we planned this picnic today, I neglected to mention

to my dear children that they needn't bother to bring gifts..

Their presence was all we desired..and a little cake too..

The picnic basket with all the goodies inside was from Paul and Amy and family.. It is absolutely perfect for us! I've always wanted one, but wouldn't spend the money on it..Thank you so much for the wonderful surprise.

The placque is from Joyce and will look so lovely on our walls in our new place.. It's the Lord's Prayer.

Thank you Joyce!!!

JJ and Keith gave us BIG towels.. so soft and colorful. We were going to buy some in the near future.. new ones.. this is a beautiful start. Thank you , JJ and Keith.. you are so special.

The Olive Garden gift card is from John and Mandy. They know how much I love going there.. especially with them.

Thank you a thousand times over!!

Wendell and I feel so blessed

40th anniversary

40TH ANNIVERSARY

This started out as a huge big box.. and then it had 8 more boxes inside individually wrapped. The kids thought it was a howl!! And I had helpers to keep unwrapping..

If I look stunned, it's because I was very much so..

It was a beautiful ring.. I believe this is an aquamarine..

and it was from Wendell. My gift to him will appear in a couple

of weeks.. till then, WOW!

40th ANNIVERSARY

CAKE AND THE TOPPER

FATHERS DAY

Just a couple of gifts Wendell got today for

Father's Day- Not only this.. but 15 pairs of diabetic socks!

Wendell says to tell you all

THANK YOU!

40th anniversary

Today is our 40th anniversary

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

It is the Sabbath. Wendell and I are planning to attend worship this morning. He's feeling fairly well, and I seem to be over most of that asthma 'thing' from yesterday.. though I still cough and am stuffy, it's not bad. Hope to see you in church!

We just had a torrential downpour.. I had forgotten to bring in a chair pad from the porch and opened the screened door a few inches to retrieve it. I'm soaked. It came from the north with such force. I closed the window on the door and came back inside. Well.. 5 minutes later, all is well once again. Odd day today.

20June09 peak flow 400

I have to admit, this is not one of my better days. I noted yesterday that I was coughing a bit, but today, asthma has raised it's ugly head. The good news is that my peak flow was in the good range at 400. So far so good. I've taken all my meds and even some Xopenex inhaler to open me up a bit more. I'm ok.
It's a peculiar kind of day.. muggy is a good description. The sun shines warmly for about 3 minutes,and then storm clouds move in. UGH. 5 minutes after that, fluffy white clouds appear and rain starts to fall for another 5 minutes till the sun shines again.. really strange. It's 72*.. it should get higher today.

Happy Anniversary Cory & Wendy

This was Wendy 11 years ago today.

That was the day she became Mrs. Valentine.


Happy anniversary to Cory and Wendy

It's been quite the day. Having decided to put off laundry until tomorrow, I sat outside this morning with my coffee and prayed.. for strength to do what needed done.. and then without thinking, I went inside and pulled the laundry together and asked Wendell if he'd like to go with me to the laundromat. On the way there, I suddenly realized that my prayer had been answered and I started to chuckle. God really is good.. and He hears ALL our prayers, even the mundane ones. I had plenty of strength to get through 4 hampers of laundry and actually enjoyed it!
............
It's been balmy here. All you have to do is sit outside for a while and you come back in "moist". I have the AC on right now and it feels so comfortable. I'm not complaining.. just taking note. Tonite we expect severe thunderstorms. In fact, I've put all the plants under the picnic table and surrounded them with a piece of fencing. Wendell says we may have hail with this storm coming, and I don't want the plants to get hit.. they are still young and tender. The fence is to keep the chickens out and , of course, Bunny and Clyde.

Good morning all...... slow start here, but I'm improving by the hour.
Just wanted to note that Valentine Happenings is back.. click on the name on the right hand side of this page to read what's happening. Now, we just have to get Memories in Motion back, and we're set.
Laundry is an iffy subject today. We are supposed to be deluged with rain again as we did Thursday, and I'm so sore.. just not sure. Praying for strength.. physically and emotionally to be able to do what I have to.
On to the day!!!

What's happenin'

You know, I just had a feeling that today wasn't going to be like yesterday.. I feel waterlogged or something. When the humidity is high, I just don't seem to be able to accomplish anything.. though I did get the final groceries for the weekend this morning while dancing through more raindrops.. and I managed to help Amanda get salads ready for supper. By the way, I have the most beautiful cilantro growing in a flower box on the picnic table. Tonite I snipped a bit off and added it to our salads...Nah.. I really think it's too spicy for my taste.. but it's a beautiful plant. I also snipped some of our chives, but they didn't have the flavor yet, they are too small.

Today before we came home from the grocery, I stopped at the local Trader Horn and found myself some impatiens. I was frustrated that my seed never germinated at all.. and in that large pot, nothing. So I now am the proud owner of 7 little plants with flowers too! Pretty! I do love impatiens.

Since my last posting we have had over 3 inches of rain.. steady and soaking. It rained again this morning and all the plants are happy. We do water them nightly, but this last rainfall really soaked them good.

No laundry got done today, but we hope to try again tomorrow even if it is still raining.

Oh boy!! I'm having another good day- that's 2 in a row!!! Must be some kind of record. It rained all day today. The plants loved it and are perking right up.. I loved it too and didn't mind shopping in the rain. Yes, I really got wet. Several times, as a matter of fact.
But I'm smiling through the raindrops.
Tomorrow we have to go out again. This time to the laundromat. What groceries we missed today will have to be purchased tomorrow. I made a fresh fruit salad tonite.. to die for! It was so mouth watering and sweet and juicy.. and .. and.. well, it was AWESOME!
I was also able to purchase a new computer monitor, so I can return the borrowed one to the Vulhops with a super big thank you for the loaner.
The weather service is calling for severe thunderstorms tonite.. I suppose I should batten down the hatches, eh?

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; My flesh also shall dwell in safety. Ps 16:9

It's been another glorious day here. I'm so thankful that I don't live in the city, but in a lovely rural area where one can sit outdoors and enjoy trees, gardens, and all the wild animals. I absolutely LOVE sitting out on the swing and just looking at clouds while sipping my early morning coffee or an afternoon lemonade. What a wonderful world God has made and given to us!
Office was good. 7 patients were infused without event. I'm always spent after an office day, and today was no different. I think it comes from the fact that I try to give my ALL to my patients and my employer. Tonite I'm tired. It's a good tired, knowing I have done well. My hands are doing so much better since that cortisone injection last week, and Wendell is also healing.. though he's not quite ready to hit the pool this week.. perhaps we'll be back next week.

This evening we had the serviceman come to check the oxygen concentrator for Wendell. I was surprised at the amount of dust in the bacterial filter inside the machine, but he says it was cleaner than most. Some are just black with dust and dirt. Ours was gray. So it's working again just fine. The service tech also gave us extra tubings too. That's always welcome.

WE THE PEOPLE STIMULUS PACKAGE

WE THE PEOPLE STIMULUS PACKAGE

Another busy Monday.. Wendell gets his shoes today.. special ones made to fit him perfectly. Diabetics need these so they don't get sores on their feet.
His knee is healing well. What was the size of a half dollar is now the size of a quarter, and the swelling is all but gone in his leg. His blood sugar was 94 this morning.. Amen.
Later today the medical supply company is coming to do maintenance on the oxygen concentrator. He does use it, though not continuously.
Wendell says he'd like to mow some grass today. Perhaps when the sun isn't beating down quite so hot. It's a beautiful day.
I took cuttings from Mandy's gooseberry bush and pushed them into some potting soil last evening.. this morning they look so fresh.

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th.
It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.
In In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.
Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) US state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday.

Get your flag out and wave it proudly Americans !!

Wow! It's been a really busy day.. I've accomplished a lot. All day I've been doing about 15-20 minutes at a time going through boxes in the bedroom and repacking and pitching things we won't need later. I'm a packrat, but one that is learning to let go. Some things just are useless- like the rusting keyring with 40 keys on it .. and then the one with 18 keys. Where do these all go? Who knows? Locker keys and truck keys, car keys, and door keys to doors we don't own. Good grief! I've got one corner cleaned up pretty good now. I have a number of smaller boxes that I have labeled "picture project" and those boxes hold family history needing filed yet. Boy, if we have a cold winter, I know what I'll be doing!
I am getting organized. One day when I'm gone and the kids are going through the family history, there will be a wealth of information for them.. and pictures that are actually identified! I'm doing it with them all. It's a slow and tedious project, but rewarding when one of my children asks to look at the latest album with the various families identified.. neat!

The bariatric surgeon's office called this evening and has accepted Wendell into their program! He will have his surgery !!Follow along with us on the DOWNSIZING blog at your right.

It was a funny kind of day today.. warm/cool and foggy/rainy.. Muggy
The plants loved it and they seem to thrive in the warm moist weather.

Today I had the PA inject the base of my thumb. Arthritis is worse there than anywhere else other than my back. Next week I'll have the other one injected with cortisone too. It feels pretty good this evening. I'm able to touch it and use my hands without any pain. She told me not to use heat on it for 2 days.. I said "YIPPEE!! No dish washing for 2 days!!".. then she reminded me that on day 3 they would all be waiting for me... sigh....

I'm really quite tired tonite and plan to go to bed earlier than usual. I'm waiting for my computer to run a couple of tests and then for a program to complete it's download. THEN I can get into my lovely bed that is calling my name.

The weekend is upon us.. Tomorrow Wendell should be able to get his 3rd round of Synvisc in his knees. Hooray!! He did so well with it the last time.. hmmmm...about 3 yrs ago I think.

BARIATRIC SURGERY

If you are interested in what we learned at our education session last evening, check the DOWNSIZING blog at the right. We learned a lot about bariatric surgeries and have pretty much decided which is for us..

Watch the Lord rescue you
The Lord continued to strengthen Pharaoh's resolve, and he chased after the people of Israel who had escaped so defiantely.
All the forces of Pharaoh's army—all his horses, chariots, and charioteers—were used in the chase.…
As Pharaoh and his army approached, the people of Israel could see them in the distance, marching toward them.
The people began to panic, and they cried out to the Lord for help.
Then they turned against Moses and complained, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness?
Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt?
Why did you make us leave?
Didn't we tell you to leave us alone while we were still in Egypt?
Our Egyptian slavery was better than dying out here in the wilderness!"

But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the Lord rescue you. The Egyptians that you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. You won't have to lift a finger in your defense!"

Exodus 14:8-14 NLT

Bearing down
Whatever your worries are today, they probably do not top the 600 Egyptian war chariots bearing down on the children of Israel!
Trapped between the mountains and the sea, the people forgot the God who had delivered them from the Pharaoh's hand, and they cried out in despair.
But Moses, who focused on the promise of God, stood firm in his hope.

When we face our "chariots," it is quite normal to feel anxiety and fear.
But when we remember God's faithfulness and his ability to bring good out of any situation, we find our fears calmed and our confidence renewed.

from Touch Point Bible commentaries by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 62

God never promised that life would be an easy road, but He did promise to be with us when we traveled the rough parts or the flooded parts.. He is always there for us when we fall and sets us back up when we let Him.
Wendell and I have had some difficult trials this past weekend. He had been feeling punky all day Sabbath, and then though he had a very good breakfast, he layed down and slept through lunch. When he got up, he still felt punky, and we ended up with spaghetti for supper.. without all the extras. To make a long story short, he went into insulin shock and we had to call an ambulance to get him to the local ER for help. Once given an IV dose of glucose, he was his old self again. It was very scary to say the least.
I went out for most of the day on Monday with Mandy and Joyce, and then about 5pm, Wendell said he wanted me to look at his leg once more. I'd looked at his swollen ankles that morning, but this was so much more.. His knee was double sized, hot, bright red and it stretched all the way down his leg to his foot. The other one was normal. I felt for pulses and found them.. it was likely cellulitis and not a blood clot. It was too late to take him to the PCP's office , so I called the on call doc and he said to go to the ER again to be evaluated. The ER doc was the same one that treated him the night before. He recognized Wendell and said he wished he'd seen the leg when he came in for his hypoglycemic event. We had caught the cellulitis early on, and he would go home on antibiotics for the next couple weeks.
This morning before I left for the office, it was already improved greatly.. his knee is swollen and so is his leg, but not the angry red and tight swelling of the night before. AMEN.
Office today was stressful with one patient having an event. I was never rattled.. but just asked the manager to get the doctor for me. He came back and evaluated the patient and we gave her some IV medication (steroidal) and within 5 minutes she was herself again. Only one patient had to have a second jag of the needle.. I believe it was not my skill at blame, but very fragile veins. I noted when I was discharging her that she had a hematoma around the IV site. I put another pressure dressing on it. The site wasn't bleeding, but I could see it bled under the skin even with pressure. I gave her an ice pack to apply to it too. Some patients can't tolerate the tourniquet and as soon as the venipuncture is completed, the vessels appear to just burst under the skin. I have several patients that I don't use a tourniquet.
After I finished, I went in to see the doctor about my arthritic hands. I told him the creams and gel that I tried to help with the pain just didn't make it. I'd had both hands Xrayed last week and had the secretary pull up the reports to save time. Bottom line is that the thumbs are bad and he said the creams/gels are useless. They need cortisone injections in both. I opted for Thursday when we won't be as crazy busy. I can endure that long.
I'm so thankful for so much. Things could have been so much worse this week. Family support and our pastor too.. prayer from all the family .. made it all so much more tolerable.

With the onset of spring and summer just around the corner, I tend to NOT be around the computer as much as I was most of the winter season.. there is just SO much to take in around here.. flowers, trees, animals.. all sorts of works of God's hands.
I took a stroll with my brother Charlie this afternoon. We looked at absolutely gorgeous potato plants. If they all produce 4 potatoes, we'll be overrun in the fall. Then the strawberries, lettuce, and onions.. yummy stuff. The peonies are all out and so heavenly with fragrance. We also took a look at an absolutely enormous groundhog hole beneath the forsythia bush. I can't believe how huge it is. We are making a special hot sauce for the owner. There are 2 holes along the driveway too. These will also receive the hot sauce treatment. It does work to deter them. We just have to be vigilant to watch where the next holes appear.

Today is a lazy day. I just couldn't get my butt in gear at all. I have days like that.. yesterday was one too, but complicated by my arthritic hand. Today the pain in the hands is not bad and required nothing more than Aspercream to settle them. Amen. But I just don't seem to be able to get any projects going today. I've accomplished little to nothing. The good news is that the dishes are washed and put away.

I have more seeds to plant. Mandy says I'm out of control with planting. I don't know about that. I'm awed by the fact that I drop the seeds on the soil and the next thing I know, little bits of green are coming out of the pots.. or flats..

I'm heading to bed early tonite.. I hope the extra sleep will be beneficial to me for tomorrow.
Lots to do..

I had my checkup with my PCP today. It was a great one for sure. All of my labs are normal.. even my cholesterol and triglycerides !!!!! I can't remember when that happened before.

I do have a bilateral hand problem.. arthritis has caused some minor swelling and not so minor pain in both. I have a slip now to get them Xrayed... I'll do that tomorrow when I take Wendell to get his knees injected again. We are hoping there is no damage from his fall on Saturday. There is a good bit of bruising, but the swelling is gone down substantially. He's still not walking well, but he needs 3 rounds of the Synvisc to get him feeling good again as far as his knees are concerned.
Poor guy had a bad week I'm afraid. He goes regularly to the podiatrist to have his toenails trimmed, but this time the doctor did it himself and snipped his toe ...ugh... you guessed it.. the same leg that he fell on and caused a large abrasion and all the swelling.

It's a rainy day..not much getting done here

I'm really getting into this gardening thing. Yesterday I tried to find a mate for Mandy's gooseberry bush. You have to have a male and female to get fruit. Imagine that! Anyway, the place where I ordered listed it, but didn't have any in stock..
I ended up buying 4 blueberry bushes, a blue butterfly bush, and 2 stargazer lilies. The blueberries like the woods and we plan to put them in the wooded area between the trailer and the main house here. I have planted an orange butterfly flowering bush from seed. It'll be a while before we get any results, but nice to have the blue one too. I love the stargazer lilies behind the trailer and thought we could plant a couple more.. they are awesome to behold when they are in bloom.

Well, tonite I called the surgeon for Wendell. He has to go to an education session in Cranberry next Wednesday and apply .. fill out forms and get information for the various testing he needs.
Insurance requires 6 months of supervised diet with his PCP and he's already got 3 under his belt. Just 3 more to go. By the time we get everything in order, we should be ready to go .. he will get a call from the doctor's office to let him know if they will accept him for the surgery.

Well, I have gone through my 3rd computer monitor. I had been hoping to get a new one in a month or so, but this evening the one John gave me died. I wasn't sure whether we could afford a new one right this week, so Wendell suggested we ask JJ and Keith if we could borrow theirs for a few weeks till I can find another one in our budget. Their computer died a while back, so it wasn't in use. Thanks JJ and Keith for the loaner!!

June 1, 2009

It was the first day of June and Amy had an appointment, so she dropped all 5 kids off at our house for a few hours. Oh, it's my delight! How I love doing crafts and chores with them.. I'm so blessed.
The first job was planting some more seeds in pots and flats.. I had helpers! The spinach that is going to grow in the pot above will be extra special as Annabelle told me "I plant!".. I gave her a pot, some potting soil and a bag of left over spinach seed.. the rest she did like she'd been doing it all her life. What a little farmer!

It was sort of funny to watch Annabelle trying to find the entranceway to this little closed in spot where Mandy has hanging baskets of upside down tomatoes and parsley on top.. and of course, her Vidalia onions. The bunnies get in and so not much else has been planted. Tomorrow Mandy plans to put her tomatoes in since she and John have a new and stronger fence to protect the plants from bunnies, groundhogs and deer (for starters).

I took a walk with Daniel and Annabelle while the other kids played Star Wars Trivial Pursuit.

Aunt JJ found this cute outfit at a garage sale.. Great buy, JJ.. she loved it!

Daniel went for our garbage can out by the road while I set up a station where they could all blow bubbles. It turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone.. I ended up blowing them and Annabelle and David chased them down through the front yard.

I was playing with the Macro setting on my camera. I wanted to see how close up I could get with it and still have clarity. I think it did a good job

Paul3 planted this flat of flowers.. If they all grow I'll be so pleased..



Joyce planted this flat of herbs and lettuce.. We should be ready for salad in a couple weeks.

Joyce and Daniel and David planted this flat very carefully.. I hope to have lots of spinach.

The original plan for this one was to put about 20 red onion sets in and then every couple weeks put 20 more in.. but it got to be so much fun.. I only showed them once how they went in the soil- there was only one upside down. WOW! We shall have lots of onions!