We both are feeling better!

Amy sent me this photo of Audrey. She has had a terrible cold and that is why she and her Nana have had to stay apart for so long.


 I wished that I had been healthy to just go up and hold her and give Amy a break. I think that must be a Nana thing, because I felt the same way when I found out that our little Kai had a cold and an earache last week. I was always under the impression that when you were the Grandma, that you would be the healthy one that comes to the aide of your children and grandchildren. Yet for a large part of my life...it has been the other way around. My kids and my grandkids have helped me back to health, on more than one occasion.
I am so grateful to see her little smile, and to see the energy she has again to make big misses like this one. I am grateful that for the last 3 days, I have had some relief from my body aches and fever. I am grateful that my breathing is less labored. I actually took a shower today, dried my hair and fixed something to eat, all without having to take a rest or nap in between.
 Most of all I am grateful that I feel happy and hopeful again. I was getting pretty low there for awhile. I know it is because of all the love, concern, prayers and kindness ...each of you have shown me. I am forever grateful!
Good night dear friends

Kindness matters!

I am always amazed at the kindness of others. When I read this quote below, I thought how true!

"Life is short. Never miss an opportunity to perfect your own humanity. Love is simple. In fact it is all that we truly have. It binds us. It makes us who we are. It is not the coat that keeps us warm, it is love. Give what you can. Do what you must. Be more human. "

We have felt overwhelmed with the love, concern and kindness all of you have shown to us, since I have been sick. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Someone asked if I am going stir crazy in the house all day? Actually...no, I haven't felt good enough to do anything or any hobby around the house. I have felt terribly lonely, when Jeff is home and we eat dinner at 6:00pm, I just look at the clock and realize that he will go to be in 4 1/2 hours and I won't see him for another whole day. It was that type of thinking that has been hard not to get down about. There have been so many friends that have offered to come over, or said I could call. But honestly, I haven't even had the energy to visit or talk. Doing my blog each night made me try to focus on something positive, so that was a blessing.
Here is my update from the appointment today!
It's Date Night and I think we are going to have another one at home! Who cares, at least I have another human being with me! And a very handsome one at that! :)
Good night dear friends!

Just an update to let you know we just got back from the pulmonary specialist. Good news is that everything looks like it is on the mend. No problems with my lungs, other than the bronchitis... that I am still fighting. He thinks when that gets better, that the inflammation in my lungs will go down and I will start breathing easier. I don't have strep which they tested me for yesterday. And hopefully on Monday we will get another negative result back, from the virus culture they did.

 As for my energy, he just thinks because of being sick for 8 weeks... that all my calories, energy everything has been going to fight these infections, but that too should improve. Now the trick is to stay in, so I don't catch anything else while my immune system is weak and then to slowly build my stamina and strength back. Of course right now that isn't a problem because I am so tired and weak. Might be a different subject when I feel really good!

He didn't seemed to surprised, he said he has seen this sorta thing happen often after someone has had pneumonia for weeks. He said it has been a very bad year.

Funny, I went in there with the worry of cancer or something like that, but as soon as he said that all looked great, then I started wondering... but are you going to give me something to help me breath better? The answer was no and if I need to, then next week I could go in and do more breathing tests and see what to do from there. I should have been more grateful, I felt like was some.. but struggling to breath is sort of a panicky feeling.

But all in all, our prayers were answered that it wasn't anything horrible. Just need to rebuild my poor body back up,  from being sick so long.

Thanks so much for all love and concern!

Kid's project to help Oklahoma tornado victims!

 I have always been impressed on how Jason F. Wright, writes and when you read his books, how you often want to go out and make a difference in the world. Well, obviously Jason and his wife have taught that same principle of giving ...to their kids. Look at the idea they came up with!

Kids launch toy crane, stuffed animal project for Oklahoma tornado victims

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June 11, 2013

My children have always enjoyed playing the toy crane machines that guard the entrances of grocery stores, malls, restaurants and arcades. Kason Wright, my 9-year-old son, has such a high success rate that the folks who service these machines coordinate their restocking schedule with his allowance day.
We often joke that if dropping out of elementary school and turning pro were an option, he'd hold a press conference, hire an agent and line up sponsorship deals.
My wife reminds me the kids come by their toy crane prowess honestly. I've been playing the toy crane since the toys were slathered in lead paint and the cost was just a nickel. Even now as an old-timer on the toy-crane circuit I'll often stop to play when I'm on my own. "Never let the skills go rusty," I tell myself.
One night last week, I listened as the boys giggle-chatted in the backseat about their embarrassment of stuffed-animals riches after a particularly successful stop at our local Walmart in Woodstock, Va. Kason and his 6-year-old brother, Koleson, had just won three times on our way out of the store.
Then, before we'd even left the shopping center parking lot, Kason asked the kind of question parents live for. "Dad, what if we sent all our toy crane prizes to the kids in Oklahoma who lost their stuffed animals in the tornado?"
I stopped the car and looked over my shoulder. "Really?"
"Well, we've got lots and some of those kids probably lost all of their stuffed animals."
It was yet another reminder that my children's goodness surpasses mine in almost every imaginable way.
By the time we pulled in to the driveway, Kason and Koleson had decided that their friends might also want to send their own toy crane prizes and other stuffed animals. They dubbed it The Toy Crane Project and made plans for a website to invite others to join their mission.
Later that night my wife and two daughters returned home and I listened as the boys laid out their idea. There's nothing quite like hearing your 6-year-old son describe with pure giddiness his plans to build a website with pictures, video and "infostructions."
Over the next few days, the boys began telling people about their project and started sorting through their own stash of stuffed animals. Meanwhile, longtime family friend Eric Farnsworth helped with graphics, Aaron Lee compiled a highlight reel for YouTube and Stephen Funk donated both expertise and Web space for the site.
Before details had even been announced, good pals Stuart Freakley and his young daughter, Anna, were on our porch donating the very first collection of stuffed animals. Kason and Koleson got their older sisters excited about the project, too, and organized piles of stuffed critters began appearing on the floor.
Thanks to our good friends at the Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce, we soon had a drop-off location for local donations and a mailing address for others who might wish to help from a distance. Anyone who knows her - or the spirit of the chamber - wasn't surprised that Jenna French, executive director, couldn't say "Yes!" fast enough.
Just like that, in less than a week, the desire to do good went from a dream hatched in the backseat of our car to plush reality.
Hours before the website and video went live, I asked Kason what he hoped the Toy Crane Project would accomplish. "I want to help make the kids in Oklahoma happy and feel loved and cared for."
"I think you just might do that," I answered.
If you'd like to join the project, please send your new or very gently used toy crane prizes or other stuffed animals to the Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce, Attention Toy Crane Project, 103 S. Main Street, Woodstock, VA 22664. Please include your name and return address.
Donations will be sorted and delivered to Oklahoma in stages throughout the summer. If volume surpasses the need, donations will be stored until opportunity arises in other areas. If we've learned anything this year, it's that we do not control the when and where of disaster, we only control the response.
So, whether you're a fan of toy cranes or not, whether you're a child or an adult, whether you live in Virginia, Utah or points in between, you are invited to join the childlike dream of two boys with a simple plan. With your help, we can "make the kids in Oklahoma happy and feel loved and cared for." Read more of Jason's work  here:

Each life makes a difference

On Monday when the kids and I were going to Costco, the teased me when I got into the store. The reason was, as I was getting the electric chair ( I am sure there is a better word for it ? ) the lady who was letting everyone in, remembered who I was. She began asking me questions about my knee surgery and asking also about my back and cancer stuff. She was genuinely happy that I was up and healing well from my surgery.  My daughter-in-law just laughed when we started in the store, because she said "You know everyone!" I have to admit that I was impressed that after the hundreds of people that probably go through there on a daily basis that she still remembered me and my situation. And you could tell when she was asking me questions that she really was concerned and wanted to know...now that is a very Christ-like attribute I think.

She rates right up there in my book as my friend at the bank. She is the teller for the drive through window. She is always happy and so helpful and takes time to talk and visit with each person. Throughout the past few years, she has noticed if I haven't been in for awhile, and always asked me how I am doing. She always asks if there is anything that she can do for me. Even after my knee surgery a couple of weeks ago, she called our home and asked Jeff if there was anything that she could do for me. Wow, isn't it amazing when we take time out to connect with others in our pathway of life? I know I certainly try to, because I feel like I have a million friends, true friends! They just happen to be the Costco lady, ladies at my dental office, people that work in the hospital, bank tellers, the post office people, those who work at the grocery story, the fabric stores and on and on. Yes, I am grateful to have so many friends. So many people who have made a true difference in my life, because they went out of their way to connect with me. It is the BEST FEELING when that happens and even though it does take time and energy, I do believe it makes all the difference in the world.

So enjoy this short story that emphasizes this very point! Good night dear friends!

Important Question

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: 'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. Absolutely, said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello". I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.