Day 13 of Thankfulness

I realized the other day that I hadn't blogged about a fun fall break we had with our kids. Tonight I'll post just a couple of pictures from that vacation and follow up later this week with more. These are pictures from one of our activities. We painted pumpkins!

My kids (and hubby) are so much fun.

I am thankful for...
...how God has blessed me with some pretty terrific kids

Day 12 of Thankfulness

The poster below was produced in England at the start of World War 2. It was intended to keep up the morale of the British people in the event of an invasion.

The poster below was posted on my Facebook wall a few days ago.

I like this poster better. :) This should keep up my morale. :)

Yesterday afternoon I went shopping with my mom at Super Target. WooHoo! What a great store. :)

I am thankful for...
...having the opportunity to go to Target (and a Super Target, no less!)
...being with my mom at Target
...watching my mom try to operate an electric cart that was extremely low on battery. It was funny.

Day 11 of Thankfulness

Today I attended the funeral of my friend of 38 years. It's difficult for me to find something to say that I am thankful for.

I will miss her.

I was able to have a very encouraging conversation with my sweet daughter. A really neat connection happened during that conversation. We bonded over something we have in common now. Losing a friend and feeling like we could have, should have been a better friend. (Go to this blog-post to read about Megan's friend.) Plus it was just sweet to talk with her.

I am thankful for...
...the conversation with my daughter
...for these verses from Job 19

I know that my Redeemer lives,
   and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
   yet in my flesh I will see God

Day 10 of Thankfulness

I don't have a picture for today's post. I should, but I chickened out on asking the waitress last night at dinner to take our picture.

Last night Hubby and I drove about 50 miles to take a friend out for dinner. Remember back in this post about our trip to Chicago where I wrote about taking a friend of our son's out for dinner? Well we did that with another of our son's friend last night. He looked suspiciously like the guy we saw in Chicago. Why? Well they are triplets! (3rd brother lives in another state.)

We had a good evening with Peter. We've known him and his brothers for 10 years. It's a neat privilege  to be able to witness these guys growing up into awesome young men.

Today's post is short and sweet. Tonight we head to my hometown to attend my friend's funeral.

I am thankful for...
...the blessing of young people willing to put up with getting together with us old people.
...the blessing of my hubby being willing to take a day off of work to attend a funeral with me.

Day 9 of Thankfulness

I love music. I don't listen to it enough. It lifts my spirits. Today I listened to this song with my arms thrown up in praise.

You dance over me

While I am unaware

You sing all around

But I never hear the sound

Lord, I'm amazed by You

How You love me

How wide, how deep, how great

Is Your love for me

Lord, I'm amazed by You

How You love me

I am thankful for...

...God's love for me.
It's simply amazing how a powerful and perfect God loves me.

Day 8 of Thankfulness

**Originally posted on November 13, 2008** 

 

Stayed Upon Jehovah Hearts Are Fully Blest

So we are now into the second week of November. Every year at this time I am taken back to the beginning of November 1991.

On Tuesday of that week, 20 month old Megan started acting sick. That morning Pete changed Megan's diaper and said it looked funny to him. The stuff (#2) in there was black. Didn't know what to think. My mom had come for a visit. I remember shopping and Megan throwing-up in the store. She didn't want much for supper that night.

That Wednesday morning I was getting ready for Community Bible Study. I would have stayed home, but I was scheduled to share about what the study had meant to me and what Caleb had gotten out of the children's program. Megan was so lethargic that morning she just wanted to sit in my lap. Not a normal thing for a 20 month old. I called and made an appointment at the pediatrician's for after Bible Study. My mom agreed to stay home with Megan and would meet us at the doctor's office.

So Caleb and I went to Bible study. We met my mom and Megan at the pediatrician's office as planned.

When I described Megan's symptoms, including the funky colored diaper, the doctor quickly ordered a couple of tests, including a blood work-up. That blood work showed that Megan had lost a large amount of blood. She was immediately referred to a Pediatric Gastroenterology specialist at the university hospital. I remember being hesitant to call Pete because he was having a very busy day at work installing a whole new phone system throughout the whole plant. The receptionist just looked at me and sternly told me to call him.

So my mom took Caleb home to feed him lunch and I went to the hospital with Megan and Pete met us there.

The next three days were a blur of tests. Endoscopy, colonoscopy, Mekel's scan and a series of x-rays. All with inconclusive or negative answers. Followed by tears and kicking the wall out of frustration.

I spent the first night in the hospital in the hospital with her. They gave her a couple of units of blood. It was such a blessing to see her pink up and become more alert. The night nurse played peek-a-boo with her and she giggled. What music that was to my ears!

The second night Pete spent with her. When I was home I tried to catch up on laundry. I went into Megan's room to get her dirty clothes and fell apart. I sat in the rocking chair and cried. Caleb (who was 4) came in, crawled into my lap, and starting crying too.

I remember: hearing her cry "get down!" when she was having an IV put in; Megan screaming every time someone new walked in the room; crying as she feel asleep in my arms from the anesthesia given her for one of the tests; clinging to my husband; dear friends coming to see us and them crying as they prayed for Megan; going for a walk with Megan in the halls of the hospital and her getting excited at the babies; God speaking peace to me. (see below)

We were discharged from the hospital that Saturday morning. The doctor thought she had some sort of a massive internal bleed that had originated in the small bowel. The black #2 in her diaper was probably blood. She probably lost about half her blood. Praise God it has never happened again and she is healthy.

Here is a picture of sweet little Megan the day after she came home from the hospital. You can see the mark on her little hand from an IV.



It was an agonizing week. God spoke to me in a couple of really clear ways. One was the first Bible verse that Caleb memorized at age three:

Hebrews 13:6 The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

It was an assurance of God's presence.

Another way God spoke to me was this hymn:

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Every time we sing this song I end in a puddle of tears. Megan even chose it last summer for a worship service that she played the piano for. I was a mess by the end. And every time we hear that song Pete and I are ever thankful for sparing Megan's life and the blessing she is to this family.


Seventeen years later... me and my girl. She's a beauty. (That picture was taken about four years ago. It's amazing to us that it's been twenty years since this happened.)

**Originally posted on November 13, 2008** 

 

 

Day 7 of Thankfulness

Bear with me, today's post is going to be long and full of memories. One of my original intentions for this blog was for to use it to write out some thoughts and work through things that way. Today I need to work my way through some memories of my friend of 38 years, Pam, who died yesterday.

I got the news about a year ago that she had breast cancer. Then about 6 weeks ago I heard it had spread to her brain, lungs, liver, bones.... She was hoping to make it long enough to see her son graduate from high school in May. She didn't make it. My heart breaks for that boy. He had no father in his life.

As it goes with a lot of long-distant friendships, the contact between Pam and I had lessened over the years. We visited her family a couple of times. We emailed occasionally. We heard news about each together through our parents who are friends and live on the same street. I last saw her about 6 years ago when we both happened to be at our parents' for Christmas at the same time. We ran in to each other at Target, of all places. That night, I borrowed my parents' car and picked her up and we went out for coffee. (Well, I'm not a coffee drinker, but it's metaphorical -- you get the idea...) She had recently been divorced so we talked through all that and talked and talked and talked. We stayed until the place started putting the chairs on the tables and cleaning. We got the hint.

I've been really kicking myself for the last day for not doing a better job of keeping in touch. Why is it we get so "busy" (can that be interpreted as selfish?) with our own lives that we neglect relationships. It doesn't matter whether those relationships are right in our own town, or several hundred miles away. The same thing seems to happen. I could go on and on about this excuse of being busy. I'll just say -- you make time for what is important to you. (I'm included in this.)

Pam and I met in the 7th grade. Thirty-eight years ago. I don't recall how our paths crossed. We must have had some classes together that first year of junior high. (Remember when we called it junior high?) I remember by 8th grade she made fun of me for still being in swimming class in P.E., for not testing out. She was a swimmer, swam on a swim team and all. I succumbed to peer pressure and did end up testing out.

We would walk all over town, hang out at Happy Joe's Pizza, McDonald's, Shakey's Pizza and have sleep-overs. We used to walk part of the way home from high school, and stand on the corner where we parted ways and talk and talk and talk. (What do teenagers find so much to talk about??) Before our senior year in high school, her family moved... to a house just down the street from my parents! I used to borrow her oh-so-cool radio headphones when I had to mow the lawn. I used to call her to have her come over when I needed to take a shower and no one else was home. (I had stupidly gone to a stupid, awful, disgusting horror movie and freaked my self out.) Like tiny little Pam could protect me from the imaginary bogie-man! Ha! I used to wander down the street to visit so often I earned the nick-name of "Pesty Neighbor" from her family.  :) They always said it with a smile.

Pam had a pretty ring with a black pearl and a white pearl on it. I just loved it and asked for one from my parents. They gave me one as my high school class ring.

Pam and her sister would get a baby chicken for Easter and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Here is a picture of Pam at our high school graduation 32 1/2 years ago. She smiled a lot.

 Then college came and we went to opposite state universities. (I went to the right one. ;) ) We'd see each other when we were home on breaks and during the summer. I think we wrote some letters to each other.

Right after I graduated from college, I got married.  She and her mom hosted a bridal shower for me. Pam and her mom and her sister helped serve cake and punch at the reception.

Even though Hubby and I moved a long ways away, I would still be able to catch up with Pam whenever we visited my parents.

I had babies. She sent the most funnest gift for each of them. (Bad grammar, I know, but it expresses what I mean.) Pam worked at a sporting goods store and gave each of the kids a tiny pair of shoes. She gave Caleb some awesome Reebok high-tops and Megan some adorable pink and white Nikes. I dug through our photo albums yesterday and found a picture of each of them as babies with their shoes on. Hubby bought some Reeboks to match Caleb.

 

I saved those shoes and now I am very happy that I did! (Oh those babies are soooo adorable! I wish I could hold them again!)

When I was pregnant with Megan, I was a bridesmaid in Pam's wedding. I actually found out I was pregnant on my way to her wedding. I had gone to the doctor earlier that day and stopped to call the doctor's office (at a pay phone!) to find out the results. Pam knew I was pregnant before my parents did.

(I have a picture of the whole wedding party, but I don't think I'll post it. The marriage ended several years ago and it was not pretty.)

Here's a shot of me in the bridesmaid dress...keep in mind it was 1989. Very stylish for 1989, don't you think? :)  (Note the matching dyed shoes...)

A funny side story ... Megan wore this dress when she was a senior in high school for a Halloween costume. She was "Deb" from Napoleon Dynamite. (Anyone a fan of that movie?) I wish I could find a better picture of Megan than this...

I never told Pam that her bridesmaid dress ended up being a Halloween costume. I hope she would have found it funny.

I know this is a very long post. I wrote it for me. I have regrets about whether or not I was a good enough friend. I pray I can change that and never have another friend die that I feel that way about.

Her family is bringing her body back to our home town and the funeral will be there later this week. I will be there. Her mom and dad are having a really hard time with this. (What parent wouldn't?) Her sister is too. Pam leaves behind two kids, one in college and one senior in high school. I pray their dad will step in and be a dad to them. They need it.

I miss you already, Pam.

I am thankful for...

...my friend, Pam, of 38 years

...memories