A telephone conversation...

One phone call out of eight phone calls within 1 hour. Ya just hafta love her!


Riiinnnng, riiing, ring

Me: Hello?

Mom: Claire?

Me: Yes, Momma?

Mom: Well, it just occured to me that I am over here at the Air Force Academy in our room and you might not know where I am. I thought I had better call and let you know.

Me: Oh, Momma! I know exactly where you are at all times, sweetheart!

Mom: You do?! Oh I am so glad. I was just afraid you would have problems finding me.

Me: Nope! We'll be there shortly to pick you up, okay? You make sure you lie down and rest so you won't be too tired for our big evening out, okay?

Mom: Yes, I see. So you will be here at what time?

Me: At 5:00.

Mom: Well, okay, but if you can come sooner just do that. Don't worry about anything, Claire. We can just go out to eat.

Me: That's right Mom. We are going out to eat...at 5:00. We'll see you then, ok?

Mom: Okay. I'll see you then. You are sure you know how to find me?

Me: Without a doubt, I know how to find you. I love you, Mom.

Mom: I love you. Good-bye.

New pic of Nana

The above pic was taken tonight, October 24, after my Sister arrived for a two week visit.
The weight loss shows up in her face, don't you think?
This pic, of course, was taken on August 19, the day before her birthday and the fall.

 

OH NO!!!

Marsha and I arrived at Mom's late morning and found out that Mom fell this morning. Someone had left her call button draped across her bed table and it was pushed away from the bed. Mom needed to call for the aide and thought she could maybe reach it. The bed rail had been left down (after having informed the director upon Mom moving in that I wanted the rail up at all times). She is finally on an air bed, which inflates and decreases at different areas all over the bed, to help ease the pressure on her bed sores. This type of mattress is very slick which resulted in her slipping out of bed onto the hard floor. Her arm got caught in the rail and she is bruised from that but otherwise, praise the Lord, she is just sore. Tomorrow she will really feel the effects of the fall, at least, that's been our experience in the past. When we arrived Mom told us how "all of a sudden the room was filled with people, from the administrator and the director of nursing down through the ranks to several aides. It was amazing how fast everyone acted!"

We've been going through her room here at home and cleaning out some "stuff," as well as getting her king size bed out of the room. We are making room for the hospital bed once she comes home. She still wonders if she will ever make it home and we keep assuring her that we are fully expecting her to recover enough to do so. Regardless, early December she will be home, one way or another.

Update on Nana

We received excellent news on Sunday. News that sent our spirits soaring. Mom has not been doing well at all. She hasn't been able to eat. Nothing tastes right to her. She has been experiencing a ton of nausea and overall generally feeling bad. With all the belching she has been experiencing I went and talked with one of the nurses. I asked him if she could be checked for an ulcer. He said he would have blood drawn and see if she had "h pylori" (sp?). I reminded him that not all ulcers are of the bacteria kind. There are those which are caused by acid reflux. So, if the blood work came back negative I wanted to make sure they continued to seek out what was making her so ill.

Sunday morning I went to be with Mom while everyone else went on to church. The results of the blood work was in and she does have H Pylori. This is really great news because it is treatable with an antibiotic! We feel sure once she is over this setback she will begin to improve by leaps and bounds!

Mom still has a long way to go but we are so encouraged after finding out what has been wrong. We are rejoicing!

Mountains first snow of the season!

We have had a definite change in temperature over this weekend. It brought lots of rain to the valley floor but the mountains received their first snow fall of the season! These are pics which Pilot took while hiking today with Pilot C up in Pilot's beloved mountains!  

A Chance to Win!!!

A Blogger's Dream Come True

All of you bloggers out there have a chance to win a totally new design from Susie at Bluebird Blogs! Here's the quote from her page....

Autumn is my favorite time of the year, and it's just right around the corner. To celebrate the beginning of the season, I'm having a contest for 2 lucky people to win a totally free, completely customized blog design from Bluebird Blogs.

Information on how to enter:
- Send an email with your name and blog address to bluebirdblogs@gmail.com.
- Entries will be accepted from 7:00pm EST on Thursday 9/14/06 until 11:59pm EST on Friday 9/22/06.

*Bonus* - Mention this contest in a post on your blog and receive 5 extra entries into the drawing!

The winner will be announced on Susie's Bluebird Blog on Saturday, September 23rd, 2006. Good luck to everyone!

Finally!!!

Oh Happy Day!!!

We are pleased to announce that Pilot passed his final check ride today which makes him "Mission Qualified!"

It has been a very long road of intense preparation for two years to reach this destination. We salute you Pilot for achieving your goals. And for all your future plans may you always realize that even when you are "the Pilot" you truly are the co-pilot to God!!! May all your missions be successful!

A Spiritual Revolution...

Repentance means altering one's habits of thought, one's attitudes, outlook, policy, direction, and behavior, just as fully as is needed to get one's life out of the wrong shape and into the right one. Repentance is in truth a spiritual revolution. ~ j.i. packer

Update on Nana

I'm glad to report that Mom is back mentally once she got started on the antibiotic for the UTI. :) This is such a relief to me! And another relief is my sister will be arriving in a few hours! What a relief it will be for me to have her here.

The progress of her walking is very slow and the pain is still very intense. If the Lord brings her across your mind, would you pray for her recovery? It sure would be appreciated.

I'm exhausted. So I'm heading to bed. I have an early morning appt. so I can't sleep in!

Quote for the day....

Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God. ~ thomas d. bernard

Friday Feast

Feast One Hundred & Ten

Appetizer
Name 3 things that you are wearing today.

My capri's, a top and my sandals

Soup
Who was the last person you hugged?

I hugged my Mom upon leaving the care center but then I hugged my hubby when I got home. :)

Salad
What do you like to order from your favorite fast food place?

I really like Fries and fry sauce to dip them in. But then again, I do love really good onion rings...very crispy!

Main Course
What time of day do you usually feel most energized?

Usually, my best time of day is in the morning unless I've stayed up too late the night before. There are times, however, when I can get really energized around 9:30 pm and accomplish a lot before I fall into bed. If I'm on prednisone, for my asthma, then I'm energized all the time, 24/7 but just feel really crappy the whole time. But I do accomplish a ton when I'm on prednisone. *sigh*

Dessert
Using the letters in your first name, write a sentence. (Example: Sweet unusual spaniels are nice.)

Catchy lyrics always intrigue recluse experts.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about Care Centers 1…. The marjority of people in them are elderly. 2.... Most of the aides and nurses are very caring. 3.... Most of them seem to be understaffed as compared to a hospital. 4.... The people who are living there need to be treated with dignity. 5.... Actually, the food is quite tasty. And, they don't charge me if I eat right along with my Mom. 6.... It doesn't seem that the patient information (like, what is wrong with them) gets passed down to the aides who will be caring for the patient. Thereby resulting in more pain for the patient. 7.... Some Care Centers are cheerier than others. 8.... This particular CC doesn't have an "odor" which is typically associated with CC's. 9.... The people in the CC still need to have friends and visitors come to see them. 10.. It's always nice to send a card on a regular basis. 11... It's nice to drop in with flowers too. They could be ones grown in your own garden. 12... It's nice to say "hi" to the other residents too. Some of them are starved for visitors. 13.. Remember someone could see Jesus shining through you! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Uh oh...Out of control?

I know. It's late and with all that I have to do during the days I do need to be in bed. I had good intentions. Everything seems to be swirling around me. So much coming at me from all directions. It has been difficult for me to focus. I function much better when everything around me is in order. So really, it is no surprise that I am still up and going strong.

You see, it began once I arrived home from seeing Mom at the rehab center. By the time I finished talking with my sister (who DID give me strict instructions to wash my one load of clothes and then go. to. bed!) and I walked through door, I had every good intention of doing just that. I started the clothes washing and unloaded the dishwasher, fixed Pilot Dad's lunch to take to work and remembered that tomorrow is garbage day. I opened the refrig to clean out any old stuff (like Mom's little tidbits of leftovers) and it began. I kicked into high gear. There was no controling it! From the refrigerator I moved to my mom's bedroom. I thought I would just make room in a drawer for her holders of meds. Well, that led to bringing a garbage bag in and...and...I just couldn't help myself! I emptied this drawer where she had stashed a bunch of garbage er, stuff that she will never miss. Then I moved to the top of her desk. And then it was to a tv table tray that some "overflow" was on. It seemed like I was out of control but let me assure you I wasn't!

I cannot tell you how much better I feel! I can honestly say it is the best I've felt since this whole awful fall took place on August 20. My mind is clear. There has been a weight lifted, albeit maybe it's only for a short while.

The more I see of mother the more I feel it is going to be a very long process. Oh, don't get me wrong. I do see progress. Progress every single day, but it is in very small increments. Now, I do realize that she is 90 years old and frail so I should not expect huge strides each day (no pun intended). Honestly, I feel she will be able to come home again. I pray to that end, anyway, knowing that it is the good Lord who is sovereignly in control. I just don't see her coming home anytime soon. More like...months.

The other good news is now that it is Tuesday morning, it is just one week till my sister arrives. And just a couple of weeks till Pilot and Pilot's former roommate arrive. His roommate (I'll call him Pilot 2) has never seen the Rockies so they are coming out to go hiking AND Pilot is requalifying on his little plane in which he got his private pilot's license in what seems like eons ago! Do you realize what that means? We will get to fly again with Pilot!!!

So, in the midst of all the daily "getting through" there are blessings falling all around me for which I am so grateful. It comforts me tremendously knowing that all of "this" has first passed through His hands before it ever touched my mom or me or our family. And because He has allowed it to touch me, then I know that I will be able to move through it victoriously, as long as I keep my eyes on Him.

Okay. NOW I am heading off to bed to get some sleep. I have to get up early for my 8am appointment. Catch you all later!

Focus!

O VERCOME BY HIS FAITHFULNESS
V ERTICAL THINKING
E NTRUSTING HER (AND ME) TO HIS CARE
R ELEASING EVERYTHING TO THE ONE WHO IS ABLE
W ISELY KNOWING MY LIMITS AND HIS POWER
H UMBLING ACKNOWLEDGING MY NEED BEFORE HIM
E NLARGING MY FAITH
L EAVING EVERYTHING IN HIS HANDS
M ORE GRACE AND MERCY EXTENDED
E TERNALLY GRATEFUL
D EPENDING ON HIS STRENGTH

Wednesday night sunset....

We had a fast moving storm come through yesterday evening which left our skies with a multitude of different images at sunset.  

Hypocrisy

Have you ever had a conversation with an unsaved friend and wonder where they come up with some of their thinking? For instance, have you ever had a conversation with an unsaved friend who thinks they have to "get it together" before coming to the Lord? That they needed to clean themselves up before coming to God? Did you ask yourself where on earth did they get a stupid idea like that? Then did you hear a still small voice call out your name?

Often times, we have a zeal to demonstrate that "Jesus is the answer." But sometimes I think we go too far by pretending that we have all the answers too. Do you feel like being a good witness means never letting on that you still have plenty of problems in your own life? That, my friend, is being a hypocrite.

Our world is fed up with Christians trying to sell quick, easy solutions to complex problems. What the world needs to see is something very REAL in our lives! If we are ever going to break free from the snare of hypocrisy we have to admit we don't have all the answers. I know I don't have the perfect marriage, nor do I have a perfect child (that's right Pilot---you are not perfect!), nor do I attend the perfect church. I'm a sinner just like everyone else. There isn't a person alive on this planet who is not a sinner. My life will have a far greater impact when I'm willing to admit to the world around me that I blow it every day of my life. The difference is I'm not who I used to be, and I'm not who I would have been.

As I've pondered God's faithfulness over the past several weeks as I have been reading Isaiah, it is my prayer that God will deliver me, and you, from all remnants of hypocrisy. I do not need to feel the need to pretend to be someone I'm not. Neither do you. Be open to growing in your understanding of how great God is and all He has done. As you grow you will be increasingly aware that there is nothing we can add to God. He doesn't need you and I to enhance His reputation with outward displays of religiosity. God doesn't need us to turn in a shining performance for Him. Indeed, I believe God's faithfulness shines forth most brightly through our imperfections rather than our perfection. You see, it's then that people realize that Christians really aren't perfect, just forgiven. If God has accepted us just as we are then they can believe that He will accept them just as they are. It isn't a bumper sticker, friends, it's the truth. Let's live like we believe it!

Lacking 90 by a few hours!!

With all that took place on my Mom's 90th birthday I totally spaced out her OWLS luncheon (Older Wiser Ladies Society) that was held in her honor the day before. So, here is the birthday girl! Who would have ever thought that the very next morning our lives would be forever altered! All I can say is that she is one TOUGH lady to be only 4'9" and 79 pounds!

Her pain is still very excruciating but she is moving better. She was able to sit in a wheelchair today to eat her lunch. The confusion hasn't totally left, but the being in a fog, out of reality with that vacant stare, mumbling and "picking" the air has left! For that I praise the Lord!

So as Mom continues to come out of the acute delirium brought on by the broken pelvis I am much encouraged. Does she still have a long way to go? Oh my yes!! But there is hope, and encouragement as we see progress each day, even though it is in small increments. We can see the possibility of her returning to our home in the future.

Psalm 77:14 "You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the people."

Mom, we are so proud of you and all the progress you have made in a week! We LOVE you!!! 

Friday Feast 108

Friday Feast 108


Appetizer
If you could have a free subscription to any magazine, which one would you like to have?

This is easy because I already have a free subscription to my favorite magazine, compliments of my MIL. :) It's Taste of Home.

Soup
Describe your living room (furnishings, colors, etc.).

Well, my family room (which is where we live, rather than our formal living room) has green/tan/maroon plaid couch and love seat which recline. We have a coffee table and some end tables. Out tv is on an oak tv stand. We also have our stero/cd system, a gun cabinet which my husband's grandfather made, an antique hall/hat tree which also has a seat on it. My desk is there along with 5 bookcases (floor to ceiling). Behind our sitting area we have a round solid oak table and four chairs. There is a rocking chair next to the fireplace. We have a lot of accent things from all over the world, like a ceramic elephant which holds an old oriental boat, items from Turkey, German beer steins, and Russian dolls which stack. And of course, scads of pics of our son, the pilot!

Salad
What does the shape of a circle make you think of?

Hmmm, I would have to say a ring...like a wedding ring, which symbolizes a neverending love.

Main Course
Name 3 things in your life that you consider to be absolute necessities.

Things and not people? Besides food, clothing and housing? I don't know that I could limit it to three things. :) Okay, my Bible, my fan (I sleep with my fan on all year long---even in the winter, making my hubby wear a long sleeve turtleneck pullover and flannels to bed!), my computer, and I cannot leave my books behind...unless there was a fire. Then I would leave my books behind.

Dessert
What was the last really funny movie you watched?

I can't remember the last funny movie. It was either Fun With Dick and Jane or Failure To Launch.

Say Thank You to our Soldiers...

I hope the military personnel get tons of these cards. Do your part to let them know how much you appreciate them. And then pass on this website so others can send them, too. What a great idea!

If you go to the web site www.letssaythanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and the Xerox Company will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? I sent mine, now you send one too! (Some cool designs - all made by kids!)

Prayer for my Mom...

My Mom passed out Sunday morning, (her 90th birthday!), fell and broke her pelvic bone. She did not break her hip so will not require surgery. That is a praise. However, she is in the hospital and will be there for a little while. She cannot put any weight on it so is bedridden. She dislikes hospitals (can I hear an amen?) so pray for her in that regard. She can become fearful there and, she doesn't sleep well there. Pray also for a speedy recovery.

We were going to do lunch today with another couple in celebrating and then we were having some neighbors in for cake and ice cream tonight. But one friend, who had made the cake and decorated it, and her husband came on up to the hospital with the cake and lemonade and we still celebrated for a short while. The rest of the cake we passed out to her roommate who will go home tomorrow, and the nurses and aides on her floor. There's nothing like bribing the staff for good care, right?! LOL!!!

Of course, she feels really bad about all this happening on her birthday. She was blacked out for about an hour and then still lay there because she couldn't get to her glasses to see my cell phone number. We were in church. The awful thing is she lay there until almost noon when we could get there. We called the ambulance and they were able to get her up and on the stretcher and to the hospital.

I'll update as I know more. We just appreciate your prayers so much!

Resting in His arms...