A Quiet House

Welcome Little One! AND I sure do miss my babies, who are in Colombia, So. America, getting a new little sister.  If you would like to check them out you may go www.thebigsthelittles.blogspot.com and you can see the story of their adoption.  You can also click on a link that will allow you to shop if you are an Amazon shopper.  If you purchase anything from Amazon from this link, they will receive 10% of your purchase to go toward expenses for their adoption, which will help them immensely.  This has been a labor of love and money!  We would appreciate any investments you are willing to make.

 

Still have Hannah every day.  She does not know what to think with the house so empty and quiet! She is beginning to try to say a few things.  She is such a happy baby, and the apple of her Hap’s eye.

I am going tomorrow to have Thanksgiving lunch with Gordon’s Mom @ the nursing home.  She is still very unhappy there.  She is convinced we “snookered” into going there, but she says it is a nice place, that people there are nice to her, and they have lots of things for her to do.  But she wants to go home L. I am so sorry that we cannot take care of her there (at home).  I took her to see the dentist recently.  What a trip—wheelchair and all!    It was a good reminder to me of why I am not caring for her all the time.  When we returned to So. Hampton, she and I both were completely exhausted!

Since I last blogged, Gordon has had another surgery on his neck.  When they did the previous surgeries, they put titanium hardware in his neck to hold the bone in place until it healed.  They usually just leave the hardware in unless there is a problem.  Gordon kept having so much pain after the discs healed that they checked to see if the hardware was causing the pain.  Sure enough one (or more) of the screws was against one of his nerves.  They did another surgery to remove the hardware.  He is in excruciating pain from the surgery now, but he thinks it will be better.  It is not the same kind of pain as before the surgery.  I do hope and pray that he will get some relief soon.

I had another MRI and dr. visit today.  I am thankful to report that there has again been no change in my tumor.  I thank God for His touch. We saw on the news that there are some new treatments specifically for brain tumors that are in clinical trials.  I asked the doctor about them today.  They of course are not available yet, but maybe not too far away.

Don’t know if I will blog again before Christmas.  I already have my Christmas tree up.J  I would rather enjoy it before Christmas than after.  We wish you all a Blessed Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

Recipe for Happiness

Ps. 5:11-12 : "But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For sure, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield."

I don’t remember where I first heard this scripture, maybe a sermon, or a book.   It most assuredly speaks to us about where real happiness comes from.  As much as I would like to believe that my faith and trust is in God alone, I am afraid there are many times that is not true.  I let the cares of daily life and the troubles of our world creep in and steal my peace.  I would like to blame it on the world, but I know that my peace and happiness depends on me.  Will I choose to trust God in this circumstance, or will I try to work things out on my own? When my grandchildren become a little petulant, I am very quick to remind them that THEY can choose to be happy or unhappy, to obey or disobey.  They have the power to choose.  Then I think about the times I have had the power to choose, but didn’t. 

I love the word refuge  in this passage.  That word conjures up a harbor away from the storms of life. There are so many times in our life when we need that, a place of shelter, protection, a place of peace and safety.  No wonder we can “be glad.”     

There is a “conditional” here.  We must “love His name.”   I was raised in a God fearing home.  We learned early that God was our heavenly father, and Jesus was our savior and friend.  We were taught to revere the names of God and Jesus.  Only as an adult have I understood the importance of not just loving Him, but loving His name.  I have prayed for God’s favor on many occasions, but never considered it as a shield.  Thank God that there is something new that we can learn from His Word every day!

Gordon had another surgery on his neck Wednesday.  They shaved some bone or scar tissue off and took out the hardware they put in before to fuse his vertebra together.  The doctor thinks that might have been the source of some of his pain.  Hopefully he will come home tomorrow (Fri.).   He has been pretty miserable. 

Brant’s family is leaving for Columbia on Nov. 2 to receive their new baby (a little girl with sickle cell anemia).  They have had all kinds of delays which seems to be pretty typical of these adoptions.  It has been very frustrating, but they are going along with their plans.  The latest hurdle is they weren’t able to finalize plans for the trip by the deadline for their hotel, so they are having to take quarters in a less comfortable place.  Please keep them in your prayers.  They will be in Colombia until sometime after Christmas.

 Everyone else is doing well it seems. “ Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”

On the Other Side

Our summer has been pleasantly busy, sometimes even hectic.  We’ve had some more wonderful extra helpers that helped keep the pool clean, the water comfortable, and have helped keep the children entertained and safe in the water.  Thank God for them!! At the beginning of summer, I felt like filling the pool with dirt and planting a garden.  Because of these wonderful people, the kids have been able to enjoy a clean, safe summer in the pool.  They all love it!  

I wrote this sometime back, but haven’t posted it. 

“Recently I blogged about hard places, twice actually, so I want to pay homage to the other side.  I want to declare that God is faithful to see us through to the other side of hard places.  I am sure that I have not seen the last hard place, but I am here to say that “God is faithful to complete that which we commit to Him until that day.”

I have really struggled for months with feeling incredibly tired all the time.  Every time I walked by the couch, it reached out and snatched me!  I lost about 35-40 lbs.  I was really concerned that something was really wrong with me! The doctor did some blood work and discovered my thyroid was low.  They put me on medication but nothing changed.  I had  an appt. with an endocrinologist in Mar.   I went to my radiation doctor this week.  He is elated that I have done so well!  He certainly did not expect to see me in this condition now.  I told him that I give God the glory for using competent doctors with gifts that He gave them, to heal my body.  He enthusiastically agreed!  I have said the same thing to my chemo doctor who also agreed with me, but not so enthusiastically.

I have felt so much better recently  that I believe I am truly being healed!!  I have a wonderful friend at church who has prayed for and with me since early on.  She wrote a note that God impressed upon her:  “as if it has never been there.  Don’t know how, don’t know when, but as if it’s never been.”  I believe her prophecy is being fulfilled, PRAISE GOD!   Thanks to ALL of you who have been so faithful to pray for me and encourage me. I was able to keep 3 of my grandchildren at the same time overnight  several times this summer.  I have not been able to do that since my chemo.  Those of you who are grandparents know that there is no greater pleasure than to see them all together laughing & playing during the day, and then see their angelic faces asleep on their pillows at night.  I read somewhere that a little boy was asked about his grandparents.  He said “they were grown-ups who have lots of time to listen to you.”  I pray that God has made me a good listener.

I thank God for His peace in my life.  Jn. 14:27.  When I first received the news that I had a brain tumor, I was shocked.  I have been in perfect health all my life. I never had any serious illness, no major surgeries.  I have always done anything I wanted or needed to do.  I did not know how to be a patient!  I believe God needed to get my attention and slow me down long enough to teach me some things.  I may never know why it happened, but I pray that I have not been a slothful student.”

Gordon is still not doing very well.  He has so much pain that he can hardly walk some days.  He is being treated at  a pain clinic but nothing seems to help very much. They want to do another surgery, but there  is no guarantee that things will be better.  Some days we are both pitiful! I don’t know how much more he can tolerate.  He’s taking more medicine than he needs to, but not as much as the doctor prescribes.  Please pray for him.  I will post an update.

My brother Bill is having the same kinds of problems.  He is scheduled for a procedure that will burn his nerve endings next week.  Please pray for him that this will work.  He has spent much of his life in intensive pain and he NEEDS some relief.

My Mom is still trucking right along.  She had a problem with one of her eyes that has impaired her ability to drive, so we are “driving Mrs. Gracie”, much to her chagrin. She has accepted this gracefully as she has most things in her life, but is SO AFRAID she will inconvenience someone.  We are so thankful we have the privilege of caring for her!

Gordon’s Mom is still doing fairly well.  She is still not satisfied with the facility where she is.  She wants to go back home, but doesn’t understand that there is no way that she can. She just cannot understand that she is there because we cannot take care of her. She is very alert, but has a lot of difficulty with short term memory.  Look who’s talking.J

It is good to hear from those of you who have sent messages to my blog.  We continue to covet your prayers, and thank all of you who have prayed in our behalf.

August 22, 2013

I have been silent for some time, not because it is golden, but because there has been so much clamor at my house that I could not think!  I am glad to say it has been happy clamor for the most part, from my precious lively grandchildren. I have had some or all of them daily, which has taxed my strength as well as my brain, but I have had some wonderful capable helpers who love the children, and the children love them, more than me I am afraid!  We have spent a lot of time in the pool, in spite of the cool temperatures and the rain. I have threatened to fill it with dirt and plant a garden, but it might have redeemed itself this year.

My real reason for posting today is to report that I had a dr. appt. and MRI this week.  In his words, Dr. Dang  ”is very pleased with my report, which shows no change in the tumor.”  It is still there but shows no sign of change.  I will consider this a “good report” and a blessing from God.  I have been dismissed from my radiation doctor, who also is very pleased with my reports.  I do have wonderful doctors who have used their gifts for my benefit.  I praise God for His care through their hands!

Gordon is still suffering unmercifully from his neck and back.  I just do not know if anything can be done to improve his quality of life outside of a miracle.  I am not sure he believes that is a possibility for him. He really is pitiful!  He was going to physical therapy which helped momentarily, but our wonderful insurance company decided it was not really helping.  They dismissed him!  We have been trying to get him to go to Birmingham or Nashville to have someone else take a look, but so far, no cooperation.

His mother is holding her own.  She is resigned to the place she is staying; seems fairly satisfied, but would like to go back to the place she was before. She cannot grasp the concept that she is there because we are not able to take care of her.  She has no concept of the financial part of the situation.  She says South Hampton is a nice place, and everyone is good to her.  It is clean and of course she is happy about that.  She has always been the clean queen! 

MY Mom is not doing as well as she would like.  She is still having some breathing difficulty—is on oxygen at night and daily as needed.  The thing that has her down is that she has an eye problem that is keeping her from driving.  She will be 92 this week and has been VERY independent all her life, not to the degree of being obstinate.  She WILL NOT do ANYTHING that she feels will inconvenience someone else, so many times she stays at home rather than share with us that she might like to do something.  We are trying to make ourselves more available to take her places, Mom’s Taxi in reverse!

We will be getting a new baby from Colombia in October, we think.  Brant’s family will have to travel there and stay 7-8 weeks before they can bring her back here. We are looking forward to our little special needs child.  She has sickle cell anemia and is 2 years old.

Sarah Grace (Todd and Brandy’s oldest) started 1^st grade. Hannah is here with us every day.  They are precious prissy girls, and of course so smart!!

I have the sweetest mother in the world

This is absolute truth! My Mom was raised on a North Carolina tobacco farm during the depression.  Her life there prepared her for the challenges she would face raising a family on Glendale Farm in rural Jackson County,  Alabama.  Her oldest brother was determined that his siblings would go to college.  He came from N.C. to Auburn, AL., to teach Alabama farmers how to grow tobacco.  He brought his sister with him to go to college.  She finished a couple of years of school and in the process met someone she called her “Greek god”.  They dated awhile, then were married. My dad joined the Navy and after the War they moved back to Glendale Farm.  Farm life was hard, demanding, and thankless, not to mention 4 children thrown into the mix.  Growing up during the depression taught my Mom to be a good manager, which served her well living on our farm.   Without describing details, Mom and Dad worked hard  on the farm with my grandparents until I was 12 years old.  Dad had an opportunity to go to work in Huntsville, which ultimately led to a job on Redstone Arsenal.  We bought some property along Hwy. 72, built a house and moved when I was 12 years old, bringing my 3 younger siblings.  This proved  to be a real blessing.

God blessed us during hard times, and during some more prosperous times.  My parents always put God first in everything!  They paid tithe when they didn’t know where the next dollar was coming from.  We never went hungry, never were we without clothes to wear, and always had transportation to get us where we needed to go.  Above all we had friends-- and homemade ice cream!  I never heard my mother complain.  She always reminded us to be thankful for what we had.  She and my dad set the example to entertain strangers, be kind to those who weren’t always kind to us, and to share what we had with those less fortunate.  Sometimes I thought we were the less fortunate (:-)!   We learned early that complaining wouldn’t change anything.

I believe God desires to ordain our circumstances, but He will not do it alone.  We must cooperate.  When we continue to go our own willful way, He allows us to.  Until we are ready to yield ourselves to His direction, we continue going ours!  And we wonder why we find ourselves in such predicaments!

I am SO FORTUNATE to have grown up in my family.  I won the family lottery (see The Last Lecture). Before I read this book, I always told my mom that I was glad I was born into her family instead of some others I know of.  The Last Lecture calls it “winning the family lottery.”  I am so sorry for those who cannot say that about their parents, or family.

I am still getting good reports from the doctor. I had an appointment week before last.  The dr.  says my tumor is still stable.  I will accept that and praise God.  I think God has different ways of healing.  I believe He has used this tumor for several reasons.  First is to bring me closer to Him.  It has reminded me how much I need Him, and that He is the orchestrator of everything in our lives, whether He has our permission or not. I think about how much I love my children and grandchildren; what good I desire for their lives.  Then I think about how much more He wants what is best for us.  He wants to “withhold no good thing from us;” but if we expect to have those “good things”, we need to “line up”! We should also consider that what we think is a “good thing” may not be God’s good thing.  God wants to bless us, but we are the ones who determine whether or not we receive his blessing.

I have not blogged in awhile.  I have had a few health issues that have “wiped me out.”  We have had a lot going on as well.  By the time I had the opportunity to write I was too tired to think!

Gordon is still having problems with his neck and back.  Some days are better than others, but not many.  He is really pitiful, and he continues to try to do more than he should. My Mom is doing well.  She still has some heart and lung issues, but is doing pretty well right now.  She has been on oxygen, especially at night.  She went last week at 92 and had a senior driving evaluation.  They said she could continue driving (a stick shift) as long as she stayed off the interstate.  Yea Grandma Grace!!  Gordon’s Mom is doing pretty well.  She has been to the hospital for a fall recently.  Nothing broken thankfully.  She continues to be more confused about things; everything except her “Stuff’’.  She thinks she is going back to the place she was before.  Cannot understand what the cost of that is vs. the place she is staying.  We are very happy with her quarters.  The people are very kind and attentive (she says so herself), and the place is clean.  Every time I go someone is mopping, cleaning baseboards, doorknobs, handrails, etc.  The place smells really fresh!   She is not happy about having a roommate.   Most of them have been congenial.  If they are not, the staff has made a change as soon as possible.

Please leave me a note if you are still reading this.  I don’t want to assume that people are interested in what I have to say, if they in reality are not.  Blessings to all and praise to our God and Father!!

Emily - Our Blessing

We have had the most precious blessing grace our household and lovingly help me take care of our grandchildren.  She came to stay but God has ordained her path in another direction.  We send her away  reluctantly, because she has been such a blessing to our lives and our grandchildren love her so.  Hannah has learned to say “Emily,” before she has said “Nannie.”  But we know that God has a work for her to do and we are blessed to have been a part of her life for a short time. I would ask you to prayerfully consider being a part of her work in Uganda.  This is her story.

Emily felt called to Africa for the first time in 2007, at the age of 18. As soon as she set foot in Africa, she knew that God has placed a calling on her heart and she was to spend her life serving in Africa. After many exploratory trips to South Africa, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Uganda in the years after that initial trip, Emily felt the Lord calling her to full time ministry with orphans in Uganda. Uganda has over 2 million recorded orphaned children, due in part to the civil war, rebel army activity that was present in the country until 2006, and sicknesses that plague East Africa. On her first exploratory trip to Uganda, Emily met her now husband, David (a Ugandan and ex-child soldier himself), and they became friends. She moved to Uganda in 2011 to work with a U.S. based organization that David also worked for that cared for children in Uganda. Emily and David soon realized that the organization that they worked for was engaging in donor fraud and was mistreating the children in their care, so they left that organization in March 2012. God placed it on their hearts to start their own organization to care for some of the orphaned children that they had grown to love over the years. In April 2012, David and Emily, along with their dear friend, Zechariah, also a Ugandan, founded their NGO (non-governmental organization), Hope of Life Uganda. Hope of Life Uganda aspires to bring hope to the orphans of Uganda by providing for their basic needs. Emily and David married in Uganda in June 2012 and have enjoyed spending their first year of marriage caring for their family of 26 (David, Emily, and the 24 children, age 5 to 18, that they care for in Mbale, Uganda).

In August 2012, Emily came back to the U.S. to finalize the legal paperwork for New Hope of Life Foundation, the U.S. based non-profit corporation that will serve as the fundraising sister organization for their Uganda NGO, Hope of Life Uganda. Emily is an Ohio native but settled here in Huntsville when she came back in August, as her parents were living down here at the time. A week after returning from Uganda, Emily interviewed with Elesha and Brandy to help me provide for the grandchildren, and she has been with our family ever since.  Emily has been caring for the needs of her 24 Ugandan kids with her paycheck every week, as they have very few consistent donors thus far, as she has only been back in the U.S. promoting her organization for just over six months. This has been extremely difficult for her as she also has her own personal expenses to take care of, but she knows that God will bring her help to financially care for the Ugandan children. Emily knows that if she does not provide for the children that no one will, so she invites you to partner with her and help them provide for the children’s needs.

New Hope of Life Foundation funds the needs for the 24 children that David, Emily, and Zech care for. They are still looking for 22 individuals, families, church groups, etc. to partner with New Hope of Life Foundation and become a sponsor for one of the children in their care. For $40 a month you could help bring hope to a Ugandan child in need by providing for their food, housing, medical needs, and education (school is not free in Uganda). Emily, David (who is still in Uganda, awaiting the opportunity to join Emily in the U.S. for a while), and Zechariah (who lives with the children and is their main caregiver) trust that God will touch the hearts of capable people who will be able to partner with their organization and become a monthly sponsor for one of their 24 children. If interested in learning more about becoming a monthly sponsor for one of the Hope of Life kids, please email Emily at newhopeoflifefoundation@gmail.com or by contacting her through their website, www.newhopeoflifefoundation.org. As a 24 year old newlywed, Emily never really imagined that she would become the mother of 24 Ugandan children but she followed where God led and this is where she has ended up. I would encourage you to check out the New Hope of Life Foundation website,www.newhopeoflifefoundation.org, to learn more about the children, their day to day needs, and how you can partner with David, Emily, and Zechariah, as they work to provide for the needs of these 24 very special and loved Ugandan orphans. Once on their website, you can sign up to be on the monthly email newsletter mailing list that Emily sends out with pictures, updates, and partnership opportunities. Donations to New Hope of Life Foundation can be accepted on their website or by check, made payable to New Hope of Life Foundation, and sent to:

New Hope Of Life Foundation

201 Mountain Ridge Drive NE

Huntsville, Alabama 35801

Emily is moving back to Ohio in a couple weeks to be closer to family, friends, and her church community as she awaits David’s arrival in the U.S. They plan to spend the next few years living primarily in the U.S. raising funding and awareness for the needs of New Hope of Life Foundation and the children that they care for. David and Emily plan to move back to Uganda permanently in a few years. It is their hope to have raised enough funding to build a home for their orphans, and a school complex for the community in Uganda, when they move back to Uganda to live. Thank you for prayerfully considering how you may be able to contribute to the New Hope of Life Foundation and the goals they have to bring hope to orphans in Uganda.

It is my desire that you prayerfully consider supporting this organization as they endeavor to serve God by, “looking after orphans and widows in their distress ,” Jamess 1:27.

Happy Heart

I have a happy heart tonight.  All of my adult life, I have encouraged others, especially my children and now my grandchildren, to have a happy heart.  My intention was to teach them that they could choose to be happy in spite of their circumstances.  I wanted them to understand that they might not be able to control the situation, but they could control how they reacted to it. I have one grandchild who has had a particularly difficult time choosing to be happy.  When he comes in the morning I ask him if he brought his “happy heart.” Sometimes he bounces in with a big smile and says “YES!” And sometimes_____ (you fill in the blank)!  But, he is learning that he has the power to choose.  Sadly, that is an important lesson that even some adults never learn.

Elyse Fitzpatrick writes in her book, Idols of the heart,  ”St. Augustine wrote, ’Man’s happiness is God himself…Nothing is better than knowing God. There is nothing sweeter than His love. There is no pleasure greater than worshiping Him.  Nothing is sweeter that His love.  My happiness is found in Him.”  I ask my grandson, “When you are happy, who is happy besides you?”  He is learning that he makes others happy when he is happy, and that Jesus is happy when he is happy too.

I am especially happy tonight because I received another good report from the doctor.  I had another MRI and appointment with the chemo doctor.  He said everything looked good, that I am still very stable.  I will thankfully accept that as the hand of God in my life.  But if I had received a negative report, I would still praise God.  There is no sweeter or more peaceful place to be than in His hands.  We are already there anyway!