Sometimes, Just A Hug Will Do . . .

After my husband's heart surgery, while in ICU, I met a woman at the nurses's station coffee machine.

She asked how he was doing and I told her pretty good. Her husband was not doing well at all. I gave her a big hug and told her that God would watch over and take care of him.

I don't know her name but hope that all went well for them.

Darlin' - aka "Chewy"

Darlin' is picking up a lot of nicknames - Lil Darlin' - Lil Devil and now Chewy!!  She has been chewing on the new dog toys and they seem to be pretty sturdy. She wasn't really interested until I started putting treats in them - that's the KONG toys. She has not touched the Nylabone puppy chew rings- they are very hard. May have to do a bit if creative engineering to get her to go after them.

Both Darlin' and Daisy like the smidge of peanut butter I smeared into the cracks of the toys and I poked a small bit of dog "cookie" in the end after they got as much of the peanut butter as they could out. I will be washing dog toys on a regular basis but as long as they chew on them and NOT ON MY STUFF, I'm OK with that.




















 Now if I can convince them, Darlin' in particular, to not take the toys outside . . .  I do take them away when they let up chewing on them but as soon as I give them to them,  she immediately heads for the doggie door. I had to retrieve it four times from the back yard - she is FAST! I am trying to get her to go to the mailbox with me, without doing the Family Circus, taking 10 laps around the yard before she goes a few yards to the box.

I still am finding little green tufts of stuffing on the floor. They come from her dog bed where she chewed a corner. I always show it to her before I throw it away and put her bed up and she hangs her head and runs outside. I think she is still unhappy that I took ALL her bedding away so she sleeps in an empty kennel. "Mean Ole Mom". I threw most of the bedding away since it resembled Swiss cheese - she even ate her name off the little blanket I embroidered for her. She had started on Daisy's bedding as well so I shut and latch her door to her kennel in the morning. Darlin' can open both of them if they are not latched. See what I go through!!!

Seriously though, she is a really good dog and just getting through the puppy part. We still have not figured out, for sure, her breed. She was advertised (on Craigs List) as a Chipin (part chihuahua/part miniature pincher), like Daisy but she sure doesn't look like her now.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/chipin.htm

I did see a picture on that site that looks kinda like her but those long legs are something else. When she runs she just flies through the air so gracefully that she reminds us of a gazelle. So glad she comes pretty well when called as I am not sure we could catch her. The first picture resembles Daisy and the second, Darlin'.

This was on the Craig's List ad. She is the little one.









She has come a long way from these pictures when we first got her and she was a poor little abused puppy. She was not even tall enough to go through the doggie door, then.  Now she flies through it.
































 


We have been blessed with some really good dogs who are great companions and we spoil them but they spoil us too!! Never thought about it 'til someone mentioned it - we seem to be stuck on the"D's". Our beloved Dachshunds were Dach and Dora and now we have Daisy and Darlin'. They are our babies!

Nagging feeling . . .

Counting Our Blessings . . .

HIS desire to put that nagging of feeling that “something was not right” in Jerry's head.

HIS guidance of Jerry's cardiologist when he insisted on heart cath even when all tests showed normal.

HIS guiding the skilled surgeon's hand through the open heart surgery to bypass 98 % and 70 % blockages.

And God's love poured out to us in the following:

The blessings of family support in so many ways – prayers, being there for support and a distraction before the surgery, hugs, phone calls, texts, sending cards, and taking care of our fuzzy babies at home and being available if we need them.

The blessings of a church family with prayers, visits, phone calls, sending cards, running errands, mowing our yard, taking care of a bad battery on my car, taking care of our fuzzy babies, bringing food and constantly being available for whatever we need.

Caring neighbors who also took care of our fuzzy babies, visited in hospital and home, recommended someone and helped take out a dying tree close to the house that was losing branches.

Countless prayers from Facebook family, friends and friends we do not even know.

Thank you to God and to all who are part of our lives. We love you all!

IT'S MY HEART -

It's MY heart. He gave it to me over forty-six years ago. It may be in his body but when something happens to it, I am in great pain too. Wishing I could take some of the pain and recovery time from him.

It is hard to see the pain he struggles with when a cough or sneeze overtakes him. He presses hard the little pillow to his chest with thirteen stitches in it, during these times, as well as when getting up and down.

Trying to sleep is a real challenge. He tried the recliner that our DD and SIL brought over but he did not have the mobility or strength to operate it.  He could not get out of it or sit up when his coughing started and ran short of breath. He just could not get comfortable. I did not want to get far from him so I slept around the corner on the couch. If he needed help and I was asleep, he'd call me on my phone to help him up or grab a cough lozenge for him.

To help a pressure sore, it would be better to sleep on his side but that puts pressure on the chest incision as well as the three incisions in his leg that they took an artery from. He has always healed very quickly so I am hoping this will be no exception. The healing on the outside that is. I know the healing of bone on the inside will take much longer. I pray constantly that he will get relief from this.

He finally managed to sleep some on the couch but awoke trying to catch his breath. It is time to figure out how to get him back on the CPAP machine for sleep apnea so he can rest well. He gets a little better each day.

I am so grateful that he listened to his body telling him that something was wrong. Even in our local hospital he had doubts, thinking it is just a false alarm, especially when all the test they ran on him turned out perfect. If he had not mentioned an incident of chest pain that happened a few weeks ago to his cardiologist, at a regular checkup, two days before going to the emergency room, they might have sent him home. So many times we hear about heart attacks with severe pain but this depends on the person. He only felt discomfort when he had the heart attack and this time. Chest discomfort, sweating, lightheadness - similar symptoms as four years ago. Thankful that this time we were five minutes away from the hospital, not fifty miles (I know God can handle my little car at 105 mph but I was really nervous at the wheel. )
 
His cardiologist insisted on a heart cath at the full service hospital downtown. It showed the true picture- 98% blockage left side and 70% on the right. Both blockages were above the three stents he had four years earlier after a heart attack. The surgeon used arteries, one from the chest and one taken from his leg, to bypass the blockage as well as the previous stents and buildup in the old arteries. You have to be aware of family history as well as diet and exercise.
 
 The chest pains he had the weeks before, swinging a sledge hammer, were a blessing because they got his and his doctor's attention. Otherwise we might never have known the danger he was in.

We have been so blessed to have a wonderful church family. Help has come from every direction: visiting at the hospital, gift snack basket, helping with a bad car battery, mowing our yard, caring for our fuzzy babies (dogs, Daisy & Darlin'), driving me home, sending cards and once home bringing meals. And MOST of all, so many prayers said for us by church members, family, friends and friends of friends.

God has been good to us!

Making Progress On A Scrappy Quilt Top.

I have three more rows to do, then the borders. I like working with and using up scraps.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Half A Dog Tall And Two Dogs Long . . .

This describes our Darlin'. She is only 11 pounds but has grown long rather than tall.  We had to find her a larger kennel so she would not be cramped in her smaller one.

She is not much taller than her best buddy, Daisy but is soooo much longer. She is just over a year old now so maybe she won't get any longer.  They are both such sweet puppies.
 

Here is a picture of the new kennel beside Daisy's. Darlin's old one was the same size as Daisy's.

Judgment

Since February DH and I have been doing bible study lessons, (off and on but mostly on), in our home with our minister and one of our elders. We started with twice weekly and now are meeting once a week. They have both been so great to help us learn more about God's word.

We work the lesson through the week, then discuss it when they come. We each have a copy of the lesson and work them separately, then discuss anything we have questions about. It is such a good way to read, study and learn God's word and nice to have the opportunity to ask and clarify anything we do not understand in a one on one setting.

This week, our lesson was on judgement. This one really made an impact on me. I think sometimes we are all too quick to judge others and reading through the scriptures on this topic was very enlightening.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, ” says the Lord.
-Romans 12:17-19 (NIV84)

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  It is written:“ ‘As surely as I live, ’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me;every tongue will confess to God.’ ” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
-Romans 14:10-12 (NIV84)
Knowing that JESUS is the only one to judge men really makes you think when you form opinions of others. When I judge others, I am sinning by doing so, because only HE is the judge of ALL. This realization is scary and brings thoughts of more patience and tolerance of all others - be it family, friends, neighbors, church members or complete strangers. We, being human, tend to hold grudges against those who hurt us or that we think hurt us. Sometimes misunderstandings or miscommunication can lead to years of painful memories and separation that are unnecessary.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
-Romans 2:1-2 (NIV84)

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
-Colossians 3:13 (NIV84)

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
-Mark 11:25 (NIV84)

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
-Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV84)

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
-John 5:22 (NIV84)

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for all the blessings you have given me and my family. Thank you for helping us throughout the difficult times and being with us for happier and peaceful ones. 

Thank you for the healing of our bodies and our souls.  May You continue to do wonderful work in our lives and in the lives of others around the world. Father, as only you can do, give the leaders of our country knowledge and guidance to do what is in the best interests of all it's citizens. 

In Jesus Name, I pray.
Amen.