Dear Mr. Obama

Listen to the youtube message of this Iraq Vet. Powerful and moving. It made me tear up. Called "Dear Mr. Obama" -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

Rehab for K

For anyone who's following the progress of my sister-in-law, I have more good news. She took eight steps yesterday! This qualified her for rehab, so she has been moved to a rehab center. I hope she's walking well soon. I had never heard of drop foot before this. I'm not sure how long it will take for her to recover from it, but I hope she's running around in time for Christmas shopping!

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I had two very interested critters watching my every move as I shaped those meatball, and sang my favorite meatball-making ditty: "On top of spaghetti..." Noah joined in on the last verse, "...nothing but MUSH!"

After dinner, we waited for trick-or-treaters. We only got 6. Noah and I had made up a bunch of goodie-bags for them, each with 2 treats and little kid-friendly booklets about Jesus. I figure - if people are coming to my door, I'll give them a "map" towards ever-lasting life. On this devilish holiday, I love to turn the table on Satan by giving out the gospel of Jesus!

Visit from Faith

My dear friend, Faith, came by to hang out with me today. I have been a tad too busy the last two days, and by last night, I realized that today I needed to lay low. So I invited Faith to come over and watch a movie with me. She brought chai and these "mock oranges," and we immediately tried to fit them into the decor, as they are not for eating. I think they make a very unique arrangement. They remind me of something Snow White might have put together while the dwarves were away working in their mine.

I've never seen these fruits before - aren't they interesting? Faith found them all over the ground outside the gym she goes to. Ben cut one open tonight, and it smelled like pine, and was sappy as well, nothing like an orange!

Here's Faith with little Cosmo. They are very find of each other, and snuggled much during the movie.

I am so blessed by Faith. A kindred heart, she makes me laugh, and makes me think. She isn't pretentious, but could be, she's so clever. Above all, she is kind-hearted. We met through our sons, when they were in the 8th grade. I'm so glad we did! We have much in common, and have been able to encourage one another in very knowing ways.

God has provided me with so many good friends, each like a different gem, having her own different color, shape, and properties. Each delightful and enriching in their own way.

They knocked me out and took all my wisdom!

Due to gum pockets, which is infection around the bases of teeth, in my case my wisdom teeth, all four had to come out. And so they did, yesterday. My mom took me there and back, and cared for me most of the day, til Ben came home and his "shift" started. Ben made me my first meal, chicken Ramen noodle soup. That was all I was allowed to have if I was really hungry. For dessert, I had a pina colada Italian ice.

Now I will have to start all over in getting wisdom. I've decided to store it in my ears this time. They are usually left on a person for their whole life.

My recovery has gone very well. This is probably due to the fact that the teeth were erupted, years ago. And they come in so straight, and helped to close a slight gap between my two top front teeth, you know the "rabbit teeth?" (One would think I would know their names and even dental numbers, with my husband having once worked for a dental supply co, but I do not. However, we do have a neat little cache of co. discarded fake teeth in his underwear drawer, just in case we should even need them.)

David was so concerned for me, remembering his own wisdom tooth extraction in his teens. Also, sadly, a boy recently died during a wisdom tooth extraction. And that had him worried. I think the boy had a reaction to the anesthetic. So far, I've never had a problem being knocked out, just nausea. When David got in from work, he brought me a big bunch of fall flowers and a container of Edy's French Silk ice-cream. What a sweetie...

















Here I am with my special ice-pack headband and cheeks full of gauze:





















In other news, my sister-in-law continues to improve. She had a brain MRI that showed no damage from the septic shock, as well as NO tumors - praise God! She's talking, getting rehab, and has even been gotten out of bed for roll-abouts. Do pray for her feet though. She has drop foot in both, and this will take some time in rehabilitating. We are still believing God for a total healing from the cancer in her body. For now, we know it is in many lymph nodes in her chest. She has had all the chemo and radiation she will ever be able to. So it's up to alternate treatments, and God's continuing mercy. He has been so good.


Here are K and my brother, Steve, after her first surgery last October.

Steve has been an amazing care-giver. He is so sweet and nurturing, and has gained much knowledge about cancer. But it seems to me , through this journey, he and K have gained even more Bible knowledge, as well as richer prayer-lives.

So sad...

I learned shocking news yesterday. The day before, the younger sister, 37, of a good friend, accidentally struck a police man with her SUV. He was thrown over an embankment and killed instantly. He had been setting up cones around a fatal accident scene from a couple days before, and was bent over on this bad curve of a 55mp highway when she hit him. I feel so bad for his family, a wife and 2 young kids. He was only 31. My friend's sister is devastated. My heart goes out to her. But really, you'd think he wouldn't have put himself in that dangerous spot w/o placing a flashing cruiser before him on the highway. He was working on a fatal crash from days before at the same spot! He should have considered the possibilities, and taken precautions. And it was rush hour! What a tragedy. Two families now struggle to come to grips with the whole thing.

I will be praying for the policeman's family as well as my friend's sister.

Better and better!

Wow - K is speaking! She asked for water the other day. Her mom, who was there, and all the medical personnel were ecstatic! She is still very weak, but her kidneys continue to improve. Today Steve told me she was stirring a lot, even wanting to get out of bed. But she needs some therapy first. Due to the the septic shock she was in at one point, there may be some motor skill issues. It's like she had a major concussion. This was one reason the doctors were concerned about her not talking sooner. She'll be having an MRI tomorrow, I think.

It's so amazing to us that she's recovering. Her docs now expect her to get through this crisis. But, really, is anything too hard for our God? He who made this world and everything in it, who holds it in place in the solar system? No, indeed! Cancer is nothing to Him. We are looking to him for a complete healing.

God is good!

I am happy to report that two days ago, my sister-in-law, K, was moved from the ICU to a regular floor. Her kidneys have started to function again, and her liver is also somewhat better as well.

Since K can't take any more chemo, the doctors' goal is to get her through this crisis so she can go home with my brother and enjoy the time that's left. Of course, we're all praying for a miracle. And I totally believe it can happen. The fact that K is still with us is amazing, considering her first diagnosis, back in Fall 2005, was inoperable metastatic (spreading) adenocarcinoma (aggressive cancer).

Thank you to my kind readers who are praying for K. The Lord is certainly hearing our prayers!

Update on K, My geisha pups

My sister-in-law, K, is still putting up a fight. Her white blood cell count has risen to 3x what it was a few days ago. The doctors are guardedly optimistic about that. But she has developed another type of infection on top of the septicemia she's battling. For those of you who have been praying - please continue. I don't know what the next few days will bring. I pray constantly for God's grace to my brother and K. His timing is perfect, and I know He will do only what's best for them.



On a lighter topic, here's how I found my dogs last night. They looked like the yin and yang. As soon as I grabbed my camera, they jumped up, but did allow me to reposition them. After a few snaps, I got on to other things. Later when I looked at the pitures, I was amazed at, without my direction, besides putting them facing each other, they mirrored each other. It was really strange. Take a look...



















































































The last is my favorite. They look graceful, like coy geishas.

Trusting in the Lord

My sister-in-law, K, is fighting for her life right now. She has been battling cancer for three years, and the last round of chemo really did a number on her immune system. She's in the ICU. She has a blood infection, and has had a transfusion, followed by many red blood cell transfusions. But she is not improving. This morning my brother called to tell me her liver and kidneys were failing. I spent the day at the hospital with him, as a support, but also, to get a chance to see K in case she doesn't get through this crisis. She's able to look at us, but is in and out of sleep, as she's on pain medication. My heart breaks to see her this way. She's only 37.

All we can do is trust in the Lord, that He has K and my brother in His hands, and that He is in total control of this situation. The truth is, we have to trust Him just to hold the earth in its right place in the solar system. A tiny bit closer to the sun, and we'd burn up; a tiny bit the other way, and we'd freeze. Our very breath, our ability to live and move independently, are amazing miracles we take for granted every day. I know that He can heal K, but I also know it may be time for her to go home, to be with Him. It's just so hard. I would love to see her released from her fatigued, pain-racked body, but selfishly I will miss her, and I don't want to see my brother go through this pain, losing the cherished wife of his youth.

Still, I trust that God knows best. That He is extemely involved in this situation, as He was when he first formed K's body in her mother's womb. I am able to rest in that.

Will I lose the wisdom I've gained?

My dentist said I have to have all four of my wisdom teeth out. I just went to the consultation yesterday. I'll be using the same oral surgeon that my kids have. It's strange to go through the same procedure that you've nursed your kids through. At least I know the ropes.

I go in a couple weeks. I'm a little nervous. They'll knock me out. I requested that.

Noah's Nautical room

Here are some pictures of our latest project. Josh and I came up with a nautical theme because Noah really likes pirates. He views his carpet as the ocean, for his pirate ships to sail upon. Josh came up with a compass idea for the ceiling, with all points correct. (N really points north.) It's based on a Portugese compass flower.

Here he is working on it:

Fortunately, we happened to take a trip to Cape May right after the room was painted, so we were able to collect all kinds of nautical items. Our favorite was the 5' whale. (The kids weren't so happy about this, as they had to carry it across their laps the whole way home.)

After veiwing the room, my friend, Pam, commented, "Noah - naughtical - isn't that interesting?" Josh and I hadn't even thought about it til then.

Sunday Dinner at Nanny and Papaw's

'Most every Sunday we pick up Chinese and head over to Nanny and Papaw's (David's parents) house. Sometimes we get sick of Chinese and opt for fried chicken from the grocery store.

After we (usually) eat too much dinner, we somehow find a way to stuff in some tasty treat Nanny has made for dessert.

Coming from a broken family, I enjoy this tradition very much. I grew up with this myself, going to my Grandma's house, and it's quietly comforting. Being part of the Sunday dinner tradition as an adult is different than it was as a child. I help to set the table, or make side dishes if we're having chicken. I help clear the table after, and after dessert, do dishes. As a child, I ran around and played after dinner while my mom and grandmother sat and had coffee and rolls, and my two big sisters did all the dishes by hand.

I found it interesting to watch how the whole transfer from dinner to dessert was done. Because of my family situation growing up, I missed some of Housewife 101. I had some fine tuning to be done. At first, I thought I was supposed to clean up all the dinner dishes, and then set out dessert, as this was what I thought was "right." But my mother-in-law would say, after we cleared the dinner plates and serving dishes, "Just leave those dishes for later - let's have some dessert!" So I have learned to pause between the two courses, and enjoy dessert with others.

After dessert, Nanny and I get the dishes done. While we're doing this, the menfolk scatter: David and Josh to TVs, Papaw out to the open garage to smoke his pipe, and Ben and Noah off to some activity, usually outside. Soon, a few of us are around the little kitchen table playing Candyland, knock rummy, Sorry, or Battleship.

If it's nice out, someone usually rallies a group to play crochet. Papaw is very good at this. I'm not too bad myself. By the time someone's a "stinger," we all know the game will end in 5 minutes or less, and it'll be time to head in for a second round of dessert and coffee or Cokes.

By late afternoon, Noah is falling asleep on a Lazy Boy while watching a kiddie movie. Papaw might have slipped into his bed for a cat nap as well. David is fully involved in a history or military show. And Nanny is heading out the door for choir practice before the evening service. Within half an hour, I'm rounding up the gang to head out, knowing that someone has homework waiting.

We go home, and after getting Noah's homework, cello, and bath out of the way, I try to catch Cold Case. And then I crash...

Cheese, Gromit!

David, Ben, Noah and I went to the Farmer's Market this morning. As always, certain foods had to be gotten: bacon-wrapped chicken livers for David, soft pretzels for all of us, hot sausage, and feta cheese, for anyone interested - mostly David!

Going to market is always fun. Noah likes to watch the Amish girls twist the soft pretzels. The girls and I like to poke about in the odd little shops. David likes to watch people.

This morning, as we were buying David's feta, I happened to spot Wensleydale cheese! This the the famed cheese of the Wallace and Gromit shorts . I had to have some. This Wensleydale was flavored with cranberries. I had some alone though, just to see what is was like. I found it to be soft, lightly sweet, and somewhat grainy. I liked it very much. The cranberries were perfect in it.

















I have heard that the little cheesemaker in England who made this cheese was going out of business when the Wallace and Gromit animations became popular. As Wallace was always talking about Wensleydale cheese, a demand grew for it, and the company is now doing well. I believe they even put a Wallace and Gromit sticker on the cheese wheels now. I found the story on Wikipedia:

"In the 1990s, sales had fallen so low that production was at risk of being suspended.[6] However, the popular Wallace and Gromit animated shorts A Grand Day Out and A Close Shave had the main character Wallace mention Wensleydale as a particularly favourite cheese. Animator Nick Park chose it solely because it had a good name that would be interesting to animate, unaware of the company's financial difficulties.[7] The company contacted Aardman Animations about a licence for a special brand of "Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale", which proved to be an enormous success.[8] When the 2005 full-length Wallace and Gromit movie, Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was released, sales of Wensleydale cheeses jumped by 23%.[9] [10]"

Here's my cheese, ready to be devoured!
















And here's David doing an impression of Wallace, "Cheese, Gromit! Cheese!"

I'm on youtube!

I have posted three videos on youtube! My theme for now is Cosmo and Maisy, and their antics. So if you type in "Cosmo and Maisy," you'll see them. I'm Cookietyme. (I guess by now you know my favorite food and beverage - coffee and cookies!)

Laptop Lapdog

Well, it has come to this. Cosmo wants up on Sarah Jane's and my lap while we surf. This makes for close quarters... And when we get up to answer the phone, or something, he waits for us to return. Here's how I found him after getting off the phone with my sister this morning: