Roller Rue, Anna and Emma Grace too...

Years ago when our own children were young, my husband took great joy in taking them roller skating. Amanda,Jaime and Dan would chase him around the roller rink and they became good little skaters. So recently Garey suggested that he might take our two oldest grand-daughters roller skating. Yesterday was the big day... we went to the rink and I was able to watch as the girls started the process of learning to skate. Emma Grace is 4 and Anna is 6. They each brought skates of their own. Emma realized very quickly that if she was going to learn to skate she needed the skates like the other kids were wearing. Anna was content to wear her own shoe skates.
The part that made me laugh was watching the girls hang on to Garey for dear life! After 15 minutes Gar was sweating like he had been working out for an hour. When the large stuffed Kangaroo called Roller Rue skated out, Emma Grace said she did not want to skate with him. She watched carefully until Roller Rue skated back into his closet! Anna observed that the boy behind the skate counter, went into the closet before Roller Rue came out and the boy came out of the closet only when Roller Rue went back into the closet. So she cleverly deduced that indeed the boy from behind the counter and Roller Rue were one in the same!
In less than an hour the girls were ready for a snack and they were very tired. We think their arms were probably more worn out than their feet.
We are will no doubt go back to the rink when G-pa recovers! :)

New Opportunity to Pray

There is a baby now in Boston who has had open heart surgery and who is now on a heart and lung machine and is in need of a heart transplant. The young mom is a close friend of my daughter Jennifer. Her grandfather is the director of America's Keswick in New Jersey. Please join with the thousand who are praying for Lindsay! http://www.lindsaykeswick.blogspot.com/

Thelma's Birthday...

April 16th, 1928 a baby was born to an Irish maid named Annie Johnson. She worked, we believe, for a wealthy Mass. businessman and his family. How Annie found herself in the "family way", we are not sure, but she took her new baby daughter to a foundling home. When the baby was just a few weeks old she was given to her adoptive parents, Harry and Lottie Kay. They had longed for a child of their own and had lost several children to miscarriage and still-birth. Here at last they had their baby girl. Why they named her Thelma, I will never know, but they did and little Thelma Marion Kay took her place in the world. Although not wealthy people, the Kays showered Thelma with everything they could possible give her. She had dance lessons and piano lessons. Lottie was an amazing seamstress and so Thelma always had beautiful dresses. The little girl loved her parents, but was daddy's girl. She excelled in school earning A's. In high school Thelma took four years of French and four years of Latin. She excelled in the maths and sciences. She was involved in drama and oratory clubs and was a voracious reader. Thelma never missed a chance to dance and did whenever she had a chance. By the time high school graduation came around she had earned a full scholarship to Brown University.

But as she prepared to go to college her beloved father suffered a severe stroke and was sent home to die. Thelma stayed home part of that year to care for her dad and entered nursing school shortly after his death.

Thelma spent almost 50 years as an RN and she was an amazing nurse! She worked in every imaginable area of nursing. In the later years of her life's journey she worked for the Indian Health Service in Barrow, Alaska. She loved the Inuit people and the wild world of the land of the midnight sun. In her early 60's she kayaked alone down an Alaska river from one town to another. She tracked moose for 10 days walking into the mountains with just a pack horse and a gun.

I was Thelma's only child, but she had a host of friends whom she loved and who loved her in return. She had five grand-children who have become amazing adults. She would have loved watching each of them graduate from college. She would have loved going to their weddings. One time a reporter in Cripple Creek, Colorado when writing about the old hospital there, wrote of my mother... "She could light up the darkest corner of the old building." And so she did! Even in her final days she brought laughter to those who were with her. If you ever complained to Thelma about some pain or illness she would use her best New England/faux Irish accent and say "Well, now I'll tell you one thing for sure... It's a long way from your heart!"

It has been over ten years since Thelma left the planet. I miss her so much. There are great-grand children she never got to fuss over, there are new in-laws she would have adored,and there have been so many life events that she would have just been crazy about.

So tomorrow is your birthday mom... you would have been 80 going on 40! :) I love you and miss you!

Suzi

PS I will tell more of your story in a future post! Yes, I will try to get it right, and no I won't tell everything, I promise!

Blog dependent...

Just like a patient can become ventilator dependent or ICU dependent I think I have become somewhat blog dependent. These last weeks and months I have become blog dependent while following the story of the Lawrenson's. Just like the serial movies of long ago.. I check the computer many many times a day waiting praying and watching for an update on Tricia's condition or that of the baby, the next installment if you will. And so as Tricia becomes less and less dependent on the ventilator and as the baby becomes bigger and stronger and less dependent on feeding tubes it is only fitting that all of those of us who have been part of their journey should also start to be weened. The day is coming SOON when the family will be going home and start living a "normal" life. We will continue to pray but we will never forget the faith and courage we have seen in the lives of this young family.

Until then I am going through withdrawal when Nate takes a blogging break! AH!

Story of Starvel...

I recently heard from an "old" college roommate who remembered my 'friend' Starvel. Starvel was a stuffed dog that was given to me during my childhood. I hauled that poor dog around for so many years! I named him "Starvel" because even when he was new he looked like someone had starved him. I loved that dog. He was the one constant in a childhood that offered few constants of any kind.

Today I am blessed to have a life of so many constants. The constant love of my savior, the constant and undying love of my husband Garey, the constant love of my five grown children, and of course the love of my grandbabies!

So whatever happened to Starvel? Sadly someone who will forever not be named, made me part with my faithful friend long ago. But that is okay, God certainly is more than enough!

Reason to Rejoice!

We continue to rejoice with Nate, now that his wife Tricia has received her glorious gift of new lungs. The days and weeks to come will still need much prayer. Continue to intercede for this family.

I remember years ago when I was in ICU for many months that some people prayed just for our finances to be taken care of. Even when there was much doubt as to if I would live or not, there were many who just kept praying that God would cover all of the bills!

This has been my prayer of late for Nate, Tricia and the baby. The last thing these sweet young people need is horrific debt. So we pray that God would supernaturally take care of EVERY medical bill for both the baby and Tricia! I believe that they have insurance, but as with all insurance policies, there are always things that are not covered and so we ask the Lord to do what only He can.

Nate has so much on his plate right now, but keeps standing watch for his girls. Visit www.cfhusband.blogspot.com for the most recent updates!

Pray for Tricia tonight!!

The transplant surgery has started for Tricia. Now Nate must wait for the next 7-9 hours as the team operates. Please keep Tricia, Nate, baby, and their families in prayer tonight! Pray also for the donor family!

www.cfhusband.blogspot.org