Birthday Blessings

Thank you for responding to my request and giving Mike many birthday blessings! He received 35 cards and a few gifts. What a joy it was to open all of the cards and read them with him. THANK YOU for making his 60th birthday special!

My sister and brother-in-law made it lots more fun by joining us at The Harbor on Friday. I had hoped to take Mike to the park to celebrate, but he was not maneuvering very well and his lower legs and feet were very swollen. We did walk a very little bit in the hall, but mainly he stayed in a wheel chair.

The nurse and I felt it was best if we stayed there in case there were any problems, so Carol, Ed, Mike and I went out in the courtyard with coolers, gifts, cards and cake. With sweat rolling down our backs, we huddled under the bit of shade given by the table umbrella and Crepe Myrtle tree and enjoyed our lunch. Mike ate well and slowly. Praise God!

He did not enter into the conversation very much and responses to questions were very slow in coming. At one point Carol remarked how pretty the courtyard was and asked Mike if they had squirrels. He did not respond. Then about 10 minutes later, when we were talking about something entirely different Mike says "Yes, we have squirrels." We need to really slow down the conversation so that he can process and keep up.

 Hugh and Tracey sent him a new shirt and pair of shorts. After he opened it, I started putting them back in the box, but Mike wouldn't let go of the shirt. Of course! He wanted to put it on right then. So we did. Then he was content. He received 2 books, some money, an OSU banner and a Brutus Buckeye pillow. We saved the cards to open in the coolness of his room and there he could get his legs elevated also.

After Carol and Ed left, he read/slept while I organized his wardrobe, drawers and photo board. Every time I tried to lay the book aside, he would wake up. I prayed with him, sang a few hymns and read a portion of Scripture and then he was really asleep. It was pleasant just to sit with him while he was resting so peacefully.

I received a call from Dr. Bostic as I was driving away from The Harbor. Mike was started on a fluid pill about 10 days ago and it is working, just very slowly. Blood tests have been done and all came back normal. If the swelling persists, then the doctor will order imaging of Mike's abdomen to check his stomach and kidneys. I told the doctor that Mike seems to be having trouble moving his right leg properly and that he has arthritis in that hip. Dr. B. wants to get the swelling under control before checking any other issues in case it has something to do with Mike's decreased mobility. His feet were extremely swollen, so I'm sure that makes walking uncomfortable.

I spent the rest of the weekend with Gayle and Tom. Gayle and I got pedicures on Saturday morning and I spent the afternoon writing on my other blogs. Last week got busy and I was behind on my self-imposed deadlines. I have to work on my time management.

Please pray that the cause of Mike's swelling will be discovered and that he'll soon be up walking again. I am so thankful for nurse C who recognizes when Mike is not his usual self and contacts the doctor promptly. He had a sinus infection last weekend and due to her diligence, antibiotics were started Saturday afternoon. I am very thankful for The Harbor and all the caring staff. Please keep them in your prayers also, they have to deal with a lot of difficult situations. Thank you!

Thank you for continuing to love and care for us. Your prayers, cards, and encouragement mean so very much to us. May God bless you each and every one!

2 Corinthians 9:11

"You will be enriched in every way

so that you can be generous on every occasion,

and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

Mike's Birthday

Last Friday I spent a few hours with Mike. The staff was hesitant to let me take him out of the facility because he had been uncooperative with them all morning. He also was not walking very well.

It was hot Friday so I knew we couldn't do much, but I had brought him some homemade goodies and I like to get him out of the facility when I can. He had on a long sleeve shirt and long pants that would never do outside in 94 degree weather with high humidity. If he wanted to go, I was sure he'd cooperate to change into something cooler.

When I finally coaxed him out of his chair, he was having problems maneuvering. I asked if he was in pain. "Yes!" "Where do you hurt?" Confused look. "Point to where you hurt." He stopped and palmed his right thigh. Often when he was super uncooperative at home, I would give him Tylenol. He rarely would complain of pain, but his behavior spoke for him. It usually helped at least a little. The nurse gave him some and we proceeded to get him changed so that we could venture out to the park. 

Physically he was not doing well, but his demeanor was very calm and sweet with me. We drove to the park, but it was too hot to get out. We just sat in the shade in the air-conditioned car and enjoyed a snack together. We were able to speak with both of his parents before he became anxious to get back.

I was able to help him with his dinner and thought we'd go watch some of the Olympics or play a game, but after dinner he was not able to communicate with me anymore. He became stuck in his humming "o". 

I spent Friday night through Sunday morning with Gayle and Tom who live a little over an hour away. We walked around a huge greenhouse and went to a movie on Saturday. Sunday I had hoped to take Mike to church, but it took a good while for him to break out of his perseveration. By the time he did, we would have been late and I didn't want to push it. 

We watched the Olympics for a little while, played Yahtzee, and sat on the porch. When I left, he was lying on his bed reading. It always makes me feel better to leave him when he's peaceful, quiet, and content.

On the way home I made a little detour and stopped at Lake Anna for 3 hours. I've had a yearning to sit by the water and just decided to take the opportunity. Even though it was too hot, too crowded, too noisy (someone had a boom box), and I got stung by a wasp, I still enjoyed the water and lying on the beach. It was a joy to see and hear so many families/friends out enjoying time together.

Mike will be 60 on August 26. I would love for him to get a flood of birthday greetings. If you have a chance, would you send him a note or card, please?  His address is: 422 William Mills Drive, Stanardsville, VA 22973. I'm going to ask the receptionist to hold the cards so that I can open them with him on his birthday. Hopefully some other family members will be able to come either Friday or Saturday and we can go to the park to really celebrate with him. I think I'll bake him a raw apple cake with caramel sauce. It's yummy.

Go with God and be blessed!

Two Are Better Than One

Ecclesiastes 4:9 & 10

Two are better than one,

    because they have a good 

return for their labor:

If either of them falls down,

    one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls

    and has no one to help them up.

Last week I enjoyed two days with Mike’s Mom and his sister, Lynn. We met at The Harbor on Wednesday and spent about 3 hours with Mike mainly playing games. Lynn is lots of fun, lively and animated and Mike smiled a lot as we played Sequence in his room. On Thursday, we took him out for a haircut and a picnic at the park where we played more board games and took a little walk. He did very well eating his sandwich slowly and not choking on his drink. By the time we returned to The Harbor, he was totally worn out and ready to lie down for a while.

With Mom Rice and Lynn to do things with, this felt like a vacation. We all enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool which overlooks beautiful farm land and the first night we even swam while watching the sunset and lots of birds flying overhead. It was gorgeous. Lynn and I spent a long time in the water swimming and talking the entire time. Thank you, Lynn, for coming all the way from Texas. It’s so much fun to spend time with you! 

Enjoying time with Mom R. & Lynn
at The Vintage Restuarant

Fancy & Delicious!

We ate at two memorable restaurants with very different, but beautiful décor and delicious food. One was an old mansion made into a restaurant and inn with a rustic, yet elegant atmosphere in Orange called The Vintage Restaurant at The Inn at Willow Grove. The other had a European flare with full-wall murals, overflowing service and probably the best food I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant. If you are ever in Culpeper, Virginia and want to feel like you’re in Europe while delighting your taste buds, I highly recommend It’s About Thyme. Thank you Mom R. for the fun dining experiences. I always enjoy having time with you!

It's About Thyme. We ate it all!
Their bread was superb. So flavorful.

Thank you for your prayers about my writing. I’ve actually started two new blogs. That was not my original intention, but is what’s happening now. I’m still tweaking a little bit and learning the new things that I can do with a blog, but they are both up and I’m pushing myself to post at least once a week to www.lookingforbrightspots.blogspot.com and at least twice a week to www.reflectionsbythepond.com. Each one has two posts up as of today. I hope you’ll take a look and give me your honest feedback on the sites and content. 

The Looking for Bright Spots blog is geared mainly to caregivers so far, but we’ll see how it evolves. I am still figuring out what my voice and niche are, but needed to get something out there to get over my fear, stop stalling, and quit trying to have everything perfect. I hope that eventually it will be helpful to anyone going through a rough period of their lives – always pointing people to Jesus and helping them find encouragement and hope.

I’m having the most fun with the Reflections by the Pond blog. I love to take pictures with my cell phone and learned how to make memes at the writers’ conference. If you’ve never heard of a meme, neither had I, but I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of them. Basically, it’s a picture with words over it. I’m still learning this also, but it is a creative outlet and a way to use some of these bazillion photos I’ve taken. Purchasing a real camera and taking a photography class are on my bucket list, but cell phones actually do a satisfactory job.

The gardens are producing and neighbors are sharing from their gardens also, so Mom and I have been busy in the kitchen today. She canned tomatoes, while I put cucumbers in lime for more cinnamon pickles. Mom had heard of a Squash Pudding so I looked up a recipe and made that tonight. It was yummy! Dad says more corn will be ready in about two days and the apples are rotting on the trees so we’re picking and working on those too. If you’re bored, come on over. We’ll put you to work!

The above verse is perfect for this blog. Having Mom R. and Lynn with Mike and me was much more fun and we could do more than when it's just us, having your prayers helped pick me up when I was struggling to start something new, and Mom, Dad and I working together to store food for the winter sure is better than just one of us trying to do it all. God knows we need each other, sometimes I think we forget that we do.

"Two are better than one."