 |
| Corbin practices his reading with Poppy |
 |
| Olivia feeds Poppy lunch |
Thursday, November 15, 2012
You've gotta love every little bit of help you can get...and for Poppy these days, even 'LITTLE hands make light work'! It is a great blessing to have most of our grandchildren close by! The hugs, hand-colored pictures, happy thoughts and soulful prayers offered by each one of our young ones are so precious and valuable in our lives! We feel blessed especially right now, to have our son Pat, daughter-in-law Anna Lisa and their 18 month old daughter Amelia living with us while they house hunt. Pat and Anna have been amazing help and fun company for Jim and me and Amelia (Millie) has been pure JOY!
Jim continues to be either in bed or in his 'wheel-mobile' and so takes advantage of all these 'small wonders' about him (and we will add one more in the next couple of weeks)! His general condition as of this date is that he cannot use his arms or legs (the right hand still can maneuver his wheelchair, however) and his diaphragm is still being assisted during most of the day by the sip and puff air pressurization machine. At night he sleeps quite well with a bi-pap machine which has two pressure setting for inhale and exhale. This hasn't been a big adjustment since he's slept with a c-pap machine for over two years now! We take wheel-mobile walks when the weather permits and go on 'van' outings usually daily to get out of the house. He also really enjoys short visits from friends and family as often as time permits.
Recently, Jim and I have been listening to a book on tape by Toni Sorenson called 'The Master'. It's a tale of Christs life told by a young man who is 'fictionally' adopted into Joseph and Mary's family and is at Jesus' side through his ministry. We just finished the chapter where Christ calms the raging sea. His constant reminder throughout the book - to his apostles and all whom he comes in contact with is 'FEAR NOT'!
The other morning as we were doing our 'routine' to get us and up and going, Jim said he had the song 'Master The Tempest Is Raging' going on in his head. Whoa....two souls but with one brain! It was, at that exact moment, spinning around in my head too! Now I've never been a big fan of 'routine'! I like my life mixed up with all sorts of people, places and events! But as we were doing our morning rituals (song sill humming in my wee brain), I thought... yes, I liked 'this' routine. I like knowing we are doing all that we can right now....not running and trying to move mountains. We're working together and being like real 'partners' and it feels...well, right! Just like the words...'Peace be still' at the songs end, our 'routine' has become a peaceful comfort. Another 'small wonder' in this journey!
So 'fear not', all who visit here and have a 'wonder'-ful and 'peaceful' Thanksgiving!
Jim continues to be either in bed or in his 'wheel-mobile' and so takes advantage of all these 'small wonders' about him (and we will add one more in the next couple of weeks)! His general condition as of this date is that he cannot use his arms or legs (the right hand still can maneuver his wheelchair, however) and his diaphragm is still being assisted during most of the day by the sip and puff air pressurization machine. At night he sleeps quite well with a bi-pap machine which has two pressure setting for inhale and exhale. This hasn't been a big adjustment since he's slept with a c-pap machine for over two years now! We take wheel-mobile walks when the weather permits and go on 'van' outings usually daily to get out of the house. He also really enjoys short visits from friends and family as often as time permits.
Recently, Jim and I have been listening to a book on tape by Toni Sorenson called 'The Master'. It's a tale of Christs life told by a young man who is 'fictionally' adopted into Joseph and Mary's family and is at Jesus' side through his ministry. We just finished the chapter where Christ calms the raging sea. His constant reminder throughout the book - to his apostles and all whom he comes in contact with is 'FEAR NOT'!
The other morning as we were doing our 'routine' to get us and up and going, Jim said he had the song 'Master The Tempest Is Raging' going on in his head. Whoa....two souls but with one brain! It was, at that exact moment, spinning around in my head too! Now I've never been a big fan of 'routine'! I like my life mixed up with all sorts of people, places and events! But as we were doing our morning rituals (song sill humming in my wee brain), I thought... yes, I liked 'this' routine. I like knowing we are doing all that we can right now....not running and trying to move mountains. We're working together and being like real 'partners' and it feels...well, right! Just like the words...'Peace be still' at the songs end, our 'routine' has become a peaceful comfort. Another 'small wonder' in this journey!
So 'fear not', all who visit here and have a 'wonder'-ful and 'peaceful' Thanksgiving!
Last week, Jim's company had a gathering at their (nearly) new home on Market Street to visit with Jim. The Salt Lake extension of the company has grown from Jims start over 13 years ago, from 11 to 55, and when Jim left this past June, Tom Dennis said they had lost one of their 'anchors'! It was really a nice evening, complete with catered Sugarhouse BBQ and a good number of the group in attendance (rare, as this is a mostly traveling troupe)! Jim hasn't missed all the 'traveling and long hours', but has truly missed the 'engineering work' in general and most especially his fellow 'comrades' and their interactions with each other. Many of the group have visited Jim at home or call to ask him questions about a specific job; a real compliment to his abilities. Mostly, however, Jim just enjoys the chat and really is appreciative of the friendly visits! Special KUDOS to Oxana Chernucka, office administrator, for her organizing the event right down to the 'gluten-free' details (for Jim)! We both are grateful for the friendships we've formed with all of you! Thanks for a wonderful evening.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Faith, Trust and a little bit of Fairy dust' !
We just can't get seem to get enough of Halloween this year. Jim's 'Wheel-mobile' (courtesy of Marianne) was a big hit as he trick-or-treated with our little ones! After the 'headlights' were installed, night travel was made easy and passers by were pretty impressed!
Besides a few photo snippets from our Halloween, we wanted to show off our 'Tree of Life'. Thanks to Jim's sister Mary Ellen, we now have a potted branch full of 'hearts' adorning our front porch. Every heart is personalized for Jim and me from each member of the Rich and Patterson clan. Quite a wonder to behold and something that will remain at the entrance to our home 'Er the winter storms begin!
With not much new to report with Jim, we've sailed into November with early 'thanksgiving' for our blessings. Once again dear friends and family have offered their love and support in countless ways; housecleaning, paper filing, physical therapy, outings, date nights, dinners, visits, treats, phone calls, cards, sloppy kid kisses, and even shower 'evaluations' (to see how to adapt a new chair to the shower)! Ah, Jim loves his showers!
And so, as our darling two year old 'Tinkerbell' Olivia chanted while trick or treating:
with.... "Faith, trust and a bit of fairy dust".... we press press forward!
And so, as our darling two year old 'Tinkerbell' Olivia chanted while trick or treating:
with.... "Faith, trust and a bit of fairy dust".... we press press forward!
'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)