What a Christmas!

Here's a few Christmas fotos from Sun City! Mom ventured out to a community church program close to home on Christmas Eve, and did well. VERY nice music. Then we went to Christmas Mass in the morning, also very inspirational and enjoyable. But the most exciting thing was that since that church service, Mom has not felt the need to use her oxygen during the day, freeing her from that dangerous 50 ft. tubing. The shortness of breath has left her, and the constant complaints of tiredness. What a gift! We were able to share Christmas dinner with family friends of theirs, with energy left over at the end of the day.

We have begun walking in the therapeutic pool, which will have to satisfy mom until Jan. 10, when her surgeon had said she could begin swimming again. She is walking over an hour a day, while I swim next to her and we reminisce about our past as family...and about the 5 years we have been out of the country. Rich, rich, rich. At 56 years old, I still feel like my folks are my biggest cheerleaders.

For all of you who have prayed for Mom, a big thanks. There has not been a day here without one of the Hondurans calling to ask how mom is doing, to tell me they are praying for her healing. She would say the prayers have been answered.

GG update, Of Old Dogs and New Tricks

Twas 3 days before Christmas....Penny here. My hope is that John too will post to this to do better at communicating! After almost 5 years out of the country, I asked our mission board to send on our mailing list so I could "update" it during this luxury of having extra time. I was horrified to see how outdated it was, and we plan, with Cornerstone's help, to remedy that when John joins me in mid-January.

Our grandkids call my folks GG (great gran) and GPa. I have been with them in Sun City now just over 2 weeks, and have seen GREAT improvement in my mom. The portable oxygen tank made her recovery so much easier- she is now walking about an hour a day in 3 seperate outings. We will get a recheck on her anticoagulant therapy tomorrow. While still discouraged over her energy level, and at times still short of breath, I think she is encouraged by how far she's come. She has begun to do simple chores, fixing her own meals, making her bed, etc. What a Christmas gift, to be given this additional time with her!

To use my time well while on this "Sabbatical", John encouraged me to buy a travel guitar so I could practice while in the states. Said he'd get it for my christmas gift! So....trying to be a good steward, I decided I would attempt EBay. That first week, I spent hours online, working out the intricasies of bidding, trial and error. Pretty funny! Didn't occur to me til after I had bids out on several guitars at once what to do if I got them all! Oops! Fortunately I was outbid on all but l, and finally got my first choice. To give credit where credit is due, one of my parent's friends was visiting mom and saw my struggle, took over and made a final bid for me, then aware I had not yet discovered that I needed a Pay Pal account, he put it on his own account and I paid him cash when we discovered I'd won the bid! Its not arrived yet, but half the fun was bidding on it! In the end, I saved right about $50 over the store price here. My sister Shellie called the next day to let me know she'd just deposited an annual rebate check from our auto insurance- for $1 more than the purchase price of my new guitar! Isn't that just like our God?

Another first for me is learning to text message. Decided since that was the language of our kids and grandkids, I would learn to do it. Came up with a wall, tho, when I realized I had no idea how to enter numbers while texting, and Kate wanted a phone number. Haven't mastered that yet.

With Mom doing so well, I ventured out in my first solo rental car Saturday AM to go about 2 1/2 hrs north to Sedona, AZ to visit John's brother, Gary, and his wife Jane, great encouragers of ours. The weather cooperated, despite the awful weather elsewhere in the US, and I had no problems. Jane and Gary direct a non-profit ministry called "Potters Hand", that puts on several major productions yearly in Sedona, one being the Christmas "Bethlehem Marketplace", along with an awesome concert/drama in the Brooklyn Tabernacle style. Really enjoyed seeing what the Lord is doing thru them in this mecca of New Age thinking. Jane and I visited from 4 am-7 am on Sunday- she is an early riser, and there was no other free time with her 3 day intense commitment to the production. I alway come away from my time with her convicted. (and yes, Dr. Don, CHANGED!)

John is occupying his time with me away finishing up 2 little patios he's had in the works now for a bit, with a man from church helping. Since he did such a good job, John kept him on for a bit to finish up the trim inside the house, that we've had ready and waiting for 4 years now, hoping some visitor would feel led to do it. No one has had time, so finally its getting done! John said the annual church christmas program was last night, and said there was no comparison to our program 4 years ago and now. He was VERY impressed by all the growth.

Just in the nick of time, the Lord sent 2 LPN's to fill the pressing need in the hospital. They will be orienting for the next month or so and then fill a critical shortage in the schedule.

May your Christmas be blessed, full of peace and joy. In Him, Penny

Mom On the Mend

Its now 9 days since Mom began having problems from several pulmonary emboli. She seems to be stable, beginning to walk short distances with her oxygen, especially now that we have a small over-the-shoulder tank she can use that does not get in her way like the pushable tank! She has up days and down ones- but is optimistic that she will be in the pool waterwalking in 2 weeks. It will likely be WITH her oxygen, but knowing mom, she'll do it!

I'm enjoying the major change of pace- cooking and cleaning and erranding instead of being at the hospital 24/7 in Honduras. Quickly becoming accustomed to the clean, pretty golf course to run on daily, and even ventured out to the gym today with Dad to use the machines there. Mornings are down to 30, so need to go out to the Thrift store and get some sweats. My jungle garb is too lite for here! Went out today to see if I could find a guitar to play in my leisure time, and may make a decision on that shortly. I miss my guitar-outings to the school with Dr. Don! But not as much as I miss John!

Over the rivers and thru the mud, to Grandma's house we go

Well, I am now in Sun City, AZ, at my parent's home. Got a call last Wednesday that mom had thrown a few pulmonary emboli, one lodged in her pulmonary artery, and that she was being started on anticoagulant therapy and oxygen at home. It seemed best to go quickly, as I was the most free of us siblings. John worked hard to get me to San Pedro Friday night- by God's grace, the bridge that had washed out the previous Monday was repaired late thursday, allowing us to cross by truck instead of canoe and a long hike! I was prepared with my crocs and easy-wash sports clothes, but wasn't necessary. I arrived here Saturday night, and have settled in for the time being.
Mom is stable, just waiting for her energy to return and for her need for oxygen to decrease. The cardiologist today suggested that at least 2 more weeks of oxygen, and then they would do an office test to see if we could begin weaning. She is still very weak and short of breath. Her appetite is slowly returning with a lot of enticing. I'm enjoying the return to being a "homemaker" again, as there hasn't been much time for that these past 4 years. Finding old favorites to cook for mom. Trying to give Dad a bit of a break from the doctor's visits, cleaning and erranding that have comsumed his time. for now, I am on a US cell phone, 509-431-1885 or on my folk's home phone, 623-972-1300.