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| Cousin, P.J. and friend, Nancy, hard at work! |
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| They trimmed, I rolled. |
The Lord has blessed me with a little space and place of my own and I am so very grateful. It is about 85 of my foot steps from my front door to Mom and Dad's back door, so I am still very close, but we all have a bit more space which is a good thing. In the Fall, my nephew's family moved out of this trailer into their newly remodeled home and I asked my brother, Hugh, if I could move in and he graciously agreed. It belongs to the Farm and currently there were no farm employees needing a home and it is just perfect for me. I am thankful for all the people who made it happen. Y'all provided everything from words of encouragement to "go-for-it!", prayers, repairs, financial assistance, painting, cleaning, moving my stuff, installing new bathroom cabinets, plus a storm door and new back door, and more. I am truly blessed. I do want to give a special shout out to my dear friend, Nancy, who so faithfully came every day that I was painting and worked right along side of me for hours and hours. Thank you, Nancy, and all my family!
Most of what was boxed and in the milking parlor upper room storage were kitchen items and framed photos. It was bittersweet opening the kitchen boxes. Here's Mike's favorite mug, his thermos, etc., but it was fun also to remember happier times when we used these dishes and things together as a family. There is a nice set of brand new place-mats and cloth napkins that I do not remember at all. Were they a gift when we lived in the apartment after Mike came from the hospital? Did I find them on sale right before we moved back to the farm? I have no recollection at all, but they still had the stickers on them - never used. They've been used now! Yesterday I invited my Acts Bible Study ladies to my new little abode for our study and lunch to kick off our new year of study. It was such a blessed time of discussion and fellowship. Then today I invited Mom and Dad over for lunch and that was sweet too!
I'm still not completely settled. There is very little on the walls as I have not yet ventured into the other boxes that remain in the "upper room". I still have a few boxes in the office and my bedroom that need to be emptied and put somewhere, still a little bit of trim painting I want to do, windows need to be washed, etc. However, my desk is piled with papers needing my attention and the deadline is quickly approaching for all of the conservator accounting paperwork. I've done better this year, but have not touched receipts and spreadsheets for the past 3 months, so I have several hours worth of work ahead of me.
I still spend a large portion of each day with Mom and Dad helping them with meal prep and clean up and all the little things that need to be done on a given day. They are my main priority and it is a blessing to be able to care for them and help them as age slows them down. They are amazing at 88 and 93 and still able to do lots of things on their own. I am very grateful for Betty, who comes 2 mornings a week which gives me a little break.
I try to go see Mike every other week. All of the Rice family that could, gathered in an Air B&B in Charlottesville over Christmas and we were with Mike for a few hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It was an OK time. Not great, but not terrible. The Haldol has definitely calmed Mike, but it also makes him much slower. He still does not handle over-stimulation well and we continue to figure out the best way to be with him when we have a large group of family together.
This past week I saw him on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Tuesday was a good visit. I was able to take him out to get a haircut and get a sub. Wednesday morning was not good. He was so sleepy and when he was awake he was stuck in his "omm". The nurse did tell me that she's requesting to cut back on the Haldol for it is doing just what I said it did in the past. It makes him "old man-like". Stooped over, drooling, sleeping.
Over the months of November and December, I committed to pray about the possibility of moving Mike to a facility closer to me, if I could find one. If I felt that the Lord was giving me the go-ahead, I was going to start pursuing it in January. On December 31st, as I was walking over to my parents' house with thoughts of gratitude for my little place of serenity, I felt the Lord speak to my heart something like this: "Mike is content and settled where he is. You now have a place to settle, a place to call your own, a place of quiet retreat and space that will help ease your stress and anxiety. Let it be." Along with the thoughts came peace that has remained, thus I will not pursue moving Mike. I will go as often as I can and be grateful for the people, the care, and the nice facility that the good Lord provided for Mike and me over 2 years ago.
I also plan to start writing again on my other blogs. No grandiose ideas of how often or commitments to write every week, but the desire to glorify God, share from my heart and His word is there and I want to try again. I covet your prayers.
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| My kitchen table window. |
I love the view from my office window and my kitchen table window which are almost the same. As I am typing, I can look across the fields where baby calves frolic, birds glide across the sky, and the sun is touching the tops of the trees on its descent. Not only do I have space to spread out inside, but I have such a feeling of space when I look outside. I love the quietness. My soul releases one big sigh....
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| Looking out of my back door. |
I did not make time to write a Christmas letter, but I do hope that each of you had a blessed time with family and friends remembering our Lord's birth. We attended church on Christmas Eve morning, but I do regret that we did not make a point of reading the Bible or really celebrating Jesus during our family time together. I am making a mental note not to let that happen again. I feel like in the busyness and fun of being together we lost sight of focusing on Jesus whose coming to earth was the reason for celebrating.
May we all have a wonderful year and keep Jesus our Savior and Lord as the focus of every day of our life. I love you.
