Beautiful Day

God is blessing us with the painting of the trees right now.......they are just beginning to turn colors and the the leaves are falling. The sky was so blue today, it reminded me of Colorado sky. Autumn is an enjoyable time of year. God gives me so many gifts daily......God is good.

Thankfulness

Today, I am thankful for birds that sing, leaves that parade a cascade of colors for our delight. I am thankful that I have been blessed with awesome relationships, wonderful opportunities for worship and financial means to not to have to worry where my next meal comes from. I am thankful for having the three most awesome children that any one person could have. They have the ability to change the world and are doing so daily. I am one of those truly fortunate persons who gets paid to help other people. I am truly blessed in every way.
I have a sister and a dear friend who affirmed me and supported me when I could not believe in myself. Without their support I would not be who and what I am. But who am I truly thankful to? My wonderful heavenly father who gave me everyone of the things I mentioned above. For tonight I am thankful..............

Sunday

What an exciting weekend, full of emotions and hope and concern and fear. I spent an exciting day yesterday at Women of Purpose and was so blessed. But soon after I got there I got a call from my sister that the squad had taken Mom to the ER. She had "popped" her knee and couldn't walk. I left for the ER praying for her and for me, to be what she needed me to be. The xrays showed no break so she was referred to call an orthopedic doctor on Monday and schedule a MRI to further check on what happened. She was fitted with a knee brace to keep her right knee straight and given some pain pills. She was also told her her knees were worn out and would probably need a total knee replacement. My sister took Mom home and I went back to Women of Purpose. I was blessed by being there and the angels in heaven surely can't outsing Sara Jane! After WoP, stopped and picked up pizza as we were having a couple friends over later. Ginger and Rose came and visited and I laughed and laughed at the stories they told. They are two special ladies that are truly blessing my life. After they left, I went to my Mom's to spend the night. We had quite a time. My sister and I tried to set up the potty chair for Mom to use during the night so she would not have to get up and try to get to bathroom. Well, my sister found the liner for the chair but it did not have a bottom to it. She almost didn't notice. So we set about trying to find a container to sit inside of the chair to no avail. Finally, as a joint effort we figured out that this insert was to be used when you sit the chair over the commode. Mom remembered through her tears of laughter that the other container was stored under the other bathroom sink. So by then we sat up the potty chair thinking we had outsmarted it, but no it was not over. We had the chair set up high so Mom could use it. well, by the time she climbed onto it, she looked like little Edith Ann who used to be on Laugh-In. her feet a good 4-5 inches off the floor. So we fixed it and got it positioned by Mom's bed. My sister left and I though I had the easy part, just going to bed and getting up during the night with Mom. Well, my sister hadn't been gone more than ten minutes when Mom decided she was ready for bed. Well somehow as she tried to lift herself out of the chair with one foot and her arms and me trying to help her to a walker,; yep, she almost slid to the floor. The giggles returned and I thought I would have to run for the potty chair. Mom finally made it to bed and she took the brace off. She only got up once during the night and it went well. this morning I woke early and lay there waiting to hear her moving. A couple times I got up and went in to look at her and she was asleep. Finally I popped around the door to her room and she scared me by talking before I realized she was awake. She told me that after she used the bathroom during the night, she thought she might need a pain pill but she heard me snoring and decided not to wake me up. (Am I a good nurse or what?) She said it was a soft snoring, but she had her hearing aide out and was in another room! We barely got up and dressed this am before my sister came so I could go to church. Sharon came by to get me for church and Mom tried to tell her about all the activities and could not for laughing till she cried. Sharon just sort of smiled with a concerned look. Church was good and we came home for dinner and had tilapia but it just doesn't taste as well as when Dorian fixed it. I am going to get myself together and go back to Mom's and hopefully try to behave this time. I will spend the night there again and hopefully we can get an orthopedic dr. to see her tomorrow. Her knee was better this am but we will see....Pray that Mom will receive the wisest medical care and pray that those around her will serve her with skill not just good intentions (mostly me)

September 29th

Is not a happy date for me..........My grandmother passed away on this day in 1979 and then my children's grandmother passed away on this day in 1984.
Sort of in a funk these days trying to find myself and figure out who I am and where I am going. I am hoping it is the start of menopause and not sheer lunacy. but it is always clear to me how blessed I am by being redeemed by grace and blessed by so many wonderful people in my life. Today was the last day of work for my sister. She is completely retired now. I am so happy for her. She has been such an important person in my life. During all the hard times in my life, she was there cheering me on.
I did a stupid thing today..I joined facebook. Karen talked me into it by saying I could talk to her and my other children easier there.........This brain is getting too old to learn something new.......but Hey I talked to all three of my darlings on there. So as I think of another busy week at work I wanted to post a pic from when we were in Tennessee a few weeks back. Have a good week and know that God is good, all the time.

Old Times

Today, an old friend preached at church. It was good to see Teddy and I realized how much I miss him. He talked a lot about old times and his "growing up" in the Belpre church. He had pictures and one was of bible bowl team that had Lisa, Karen and Amanda all in it. He told of how this group would come to their home for practice and move everything around and eat everything they had. Surely it wasn't my children:) Teddy is doing a lot for unity in the Mid Ohio Valley. Teddy has always been a special person to me. When I had nothing we brought me Christmas gifts. He would call and see if Brian had money to go to church camp and many other things. We had different opinions on a lot of things but I never doubted Teddy's love for me and my family or to God. It was good seeing him and Cheryl again.
Our Monday night group is difficult. I am having a hard time answering all the questions posed by the book. Tomorrow we will discuss "Dreamsicles" - our frozen dreams and "Kick Start" - acting on our dreams. At one point I thought I knew exactly what I was supposed to do with my life. Now I am no longer certain. What is my dream? not sure. The only answer that I know for sure is that I am here to help hurting people. when you can help wounded people heal they can then connect with God and move on. I know I need to make better use of my gift and resources and I pray that this will become more clear to me. I am posting a pic of my children and my Mom, of whom I am so extraordinarily proud.

Life is Crazy

I keep thinking that life and work is crazy and I can not do all I need to do and then it hits me, duh! I never could I just though I could. It has always been God. I do not do a very good job of depending on my heavenly Father. I read His word today at lunch to try to focus on depending on Him. I know He is in control but I don't always act like it. but I am growing and learning and hopefully I will get it before long. Work was crazy and I became very angry at the inability of some of our "systems" to protect our weakest. I hope I always get upset at injustice but pray that I learn to work towards solutions.
The current political campaigns anger me in that lies and innuendo carry more weight than issues and truth. words are cheap and anybody can say anything. But who is going to stand up for those who have no one to fight for them? Who is going to make sure that our elderly are valued and money to insure their safety? Political party doesn't matter to me, what matters to me is the truth and integrity in which they have lived their lives. Sorry that I am on a soap box today. I ended my day giving a statement to police that caused them to charge a 10 year old girl with domestic violence. Pray for this girl and her family. Pray for me that I will continue to look to my Heavenly Father, from where all good comes..........

pic of Dorian

I could not get a pic of Dorian to load before , I will retry..........