rocky recovery road....so far

surgery went great. 
nasty little bone spur was the culprit 
that tore the rotator cuff.

sweet friend took us in her luxury heated seat car.
hubby had been sick w/stomach flu saturday nite.
we welcomed a driver and i welcomed having 
the female factor along.

hubby is good, women nurture better however.

tuesday morning i had let the pain win.
not good. horrid. 
i just sat on the motel bed, weeping and waiting for the meds 
to kick in. all i could say was 'holy. holy.'
pretty sure God understood.
and i have a better realization of what the crucifiction felt like.
don't recommend it. 

had been itchy, 
thought it might be the scrubbing stuff.
then was getting harder to swallow those drugs.
this a.m. decided it was allergic reaction to those drugs.
went to local doc. got steroid shot. 
breathing much better,
throat not swollen,
nasal passages clear,
itchy gone.

yup, i'm allergic to pain meds.

adds new dimension to recovery.

and then my sweet little momma
the cancer and her body are being naughty to her
blood count numbers so low, requiring daily shots. 
daily drive to cancer center. 35 miles one way.

dad drove them last week to chemo.
mom said they drove all over the road.
so, they definitely need a driver.
i'm out of commission,
but thank God for my siblings.

also mom is having tia's. 
those little mini strokes. 

most days if you ask me how my mom is
 this is what i think.
" my mom has cancer. 
my mom is dying."

I may or may not tell you that, 
but its what i think.
she does too. 

good news, she didn't loose as much weight this week.
yeah. 
good news,
i get to take a shower this evening. woo hoo


i call it my
"shower w/a friend." since I cannot do it by myself.


youngest daughter asked 
"who's your friend"
I replied
"your father"
"ewwww" 


that's funny.

rejoice in the Lord always-challenge

"giving thanks always"

big deep breath..
rejoice
okay.
giving thanks...
okay.


let me try


*thank you God I woke up healthy Sunday and every day
*I woke up knowing I could worship you with others who believe in you.

*thank you for that little yellow car that starts when it needs to,
has air conditioning and gets me where I need to be.
*thank you for the hubby who paid for that car and the gas,
with out complaining.
*thank you for the daughter who understands sometimes life 
is more challenging than other times, yet she knows how 
loved she is by her parents. even when they literally go different directions instead of getting to eat lunch with her and spend the afternoon together.
*thank you God for my siblings who's capable hands will be the physical and oh so important emotional support needed for our parents.
*thank you God I can drive, fly and arrive safely on the this weeks path
*thank you God for nsaids and how well they work.
*thank you God for sweet kids in Texas who's preemie son is growing strong and healthy, each hour even. 
*thank you God for allowing me to express my crazy emotions on paper. i know i feel better and once in awhile others do too. 
*thank you God our son has a job
*thank you God for our other daughter and her loving and fun hubby
*thank you I have a suitcase to pack and time to pack in.


okay...
I didn't do too bad.
it's your turn. 
let me hear 'em

a few pretty pics by the photographer.

At times I am still amazed the wedding is over.

At times I am still amazed we were blessed with so many 

people in the backyard.

 And that's not all of them.

Wanna see some of my favorite pics?

RMG watching Bride walk in.

 RMG and the minister

being silly.

Dad and Daughter being tender.

a prayer for peace

 

Much media focus has been on the September 11th tragedy this week.

I am unable to watch or read about it.
Not that I don't care.
Not that I don't hurt for the many who lost family members.
I do, sincerely. 


I just selfishly don't want to be part of the grieving. 
Realistically who wants their heart torn apart, for years?
No one that I know.

On Sunday, in my early early morning hours our son flies home.
It will be 10 a.m. in Paris when he gets on the plane.
3 a.m. on my clock. 
He and his 7 teammates fly to Houston. 
Lord willing. 

Initially when I knew he was flying home on that day
I was unconcerned.
But this past week with the media hype, I've found anxious 
thoughts attempting to take over my peace.
I want my son to come home, safe and sound. 
I don't want to be anxious about it however.

I will feel much relief when I get that phone call or text
saying " I'm home Mom."


" Dear Jesus,
you know my fears, rational or not. 
they are what they are.
Perhaps I'm not the only anxious person this weekend in the USA.
I ask you to forgive my anxiousness and questioning.
I'm really not enjoying it at all.
Please fill me and us all with peace.
YOUR PERFECT PEACE.
Settle my restless thoughts and quickening heart. 
Help my focus to be positive, 
glass half full, 
content in your plans for our life, and our son's life.
I know the only way to get through hard times 
is hanging on to your hand. 
And really the only hard time I'm having right now is with my doubts and worry of WHAT MIGHT BE. 


May I settle down in to you.
Surround us all with peace.
May your presence be prominent 
and our hearts full of joyous praise. 
In your name,

amen." 

a funny tale

Earlier today I breezed into a semi-dark bedroom,
my arms loaded with freshly washed linens.
Out of the corner of my eye something small, gray, 
about the size of a half dollar moved across the floor. 

Spider!
Haven't seen a daddy long legs THAT color before.
Must be some exotic one.

It moves again.
Gotta find a shoe to kill the thing!!

As I scramble for the weapon, 
I notice the spider is no longer moving.

So I swish my foot in the spiders direction,
flip-flop at-the-ready.

No motion. 
Perhaps he's playing possum.

Swish again. 
Still no spider motion.

Upon closer inspection I discover
the  exotic spider is really an
common dust bunny!

Perhaps I DO need to go to
my yearly eye appointment. 

Proverbs 21:9

Do your kitchen knives, forks, etc., ever get a field trip?

Lucky you if they DON'T.

Periodically mine do. 
I've never signed them up for it.
they don't want to go...

regardless

Last evening hubby was taking a stereo out of a car.
He needed something long and thin...just like a table knife.
I heard him rummaging in the kitchen, then head out the door.
I KNEW what he was up to. 
Up I jumped, rescued the good flatware
suggested he use the cheap-bends-really-easy set. 
After all we only paid $20 dollars for it, 
compared to the pieces in his hand.


He sighed big ...and finally agreed.
But.....
he did still have my better paring knife in his hand.
I just hollared..
" fine..I'll just go buy me a new paring knife!
You'll have to pay for it.!" 
( technically he paid for the one in his hand too)


I was furious!
I wanted to follow him out to the car,
go and hollar, rant and rave.

However, that's not a good idea,
doesn't set a good example,
makes me look foolish,
and often doesn't bring about the desired result.  


So I sat on the couch and fummed.
Eventually he came in,
put them back in the drawer!!
I said sweetly and kindly (HA!)
"At least WASH them before putting them back!"

He responded with much love and gentleness (double ha) 
in his voice
"we DIDN'T even use them!"

Not much conversation after that.
It was bedtime after all.

While I was enjoying nursing my anger,
he was in the bedroom laughing at the tv.
WELL!! 
Maybe I'll sleep across the hall tonight!
Then he'll know I mean business.
I AM MAD!



But I didn't.
I slept right beside that snoring man.
I slept all night long. 
Peacefully.

I remembered a  Proverb.
Proverbs 21:9 specifically
"Better to live on a corner of a roof
than to share a home with a quarrelsome wife."
 

I like weddings...

really, 
I do like weddings.
the realization of dreams coming true,
and the hope of a life-time of.... contentment.


Earlier this summer I was blessed to reconnect with a friend and former co-worker. 
She was understanding this wedding journey, because 
she is a Mom of the Groom. 
We commiserated with each other over the little frustrations
that do arise.
Let's face it. 
We are dealing with humans here.
But also celebrated the joy and fun stuff too.


Just this past weekend her son got married.


Today she began writing about the weekend, 
their rehearsal supper adventures...
and even included pictures.


I love it.
Another outdoor wedding.
Another taking a-chance-on-the-weather.


I've heard the rehearsal weather was cooperative,
but waiting to hear about the wedding.


Regardless...
I'm sure it was sweet.

You wanna tell me about your wedding adventures or 
mis-adventures...
I'd love to hear them.
Honest. 


Everyone needs a listening ear..
and guess what?
I've got 2 available ones.