37 Years With This Man!

I cannot believe it has been 37 years. I would not want to do life with anyone else but MY MIKE! He is an anchor, a confident, lover of Christ and lover of his family. He has been a wonderful father and husband and I'm truly thankful to the Lord for him. Happy Anniversary!

A Part of Getting Older

A part of getting older is being faced with health issues. During the last few years, since covid, we have had some setbacks, but have trusted that the Lord knows our bodies and His hand has been on us. I had a very bad case of Covid in 2020 and then was diagnosed with Long Covid. For years I have had issues with pain in my body and it wound up being diagnosed as RA. The medicine they wanted me to take gave me terrible nightmares and I figured I'd rather have pain that nightmares. Then, a little growth developed on my inner lip. I went to the Dr and he said it was nothing. For 4 years I let him know and that it was getting bigger and it hurt. He didn't take it seriously. THEN CAME MEDICARE.... they take EVERYTHING seriously! SERIOUSLY! I fell out of a tree putting up Christmas lights! Then, I fell and ran a bolt through my hand. I fell and broke my arm! I let the Dr know I had that thing in my mouth! It turned out to be a slow growing cancer. I had the first surgery and they didn't get it all. Then they sent me to an oncologist and he sent me for a pet scan. That pet scan revealed a hidden tumor that was deep in my throat in the perotid gland. So, with a broken arm in a cast, I went into surgery last July. Praise the LORD that I had that mouth tumor, or they wouldn't have found the perotid tumor. So, I've been recoverying since last July. Part of my mouth was removed and folks say they can't really tell, but I can tell. My smile is crooked. :) I have what is called "First Bite Syndrome" which causes pain when I take my first few bites of food, but I'm so thankful that I CAN take bites of food! Mostly, I'm so thankful that it was all found out and I have recovered. All the pet scans have been clear. I have one more coming up and I won't have to see the oncologist again. He was a very good Doctor! Here are a few pictures of recovery: (the first picture is about 9 months after) I am at 13 months now.

I have been very careful since those falls to walk with intent. At 68, I don't need to break anything else! I also found an herbal concoction to take for the RA from INDIA. It is called RELAXI and it is doing wonders for my body. I don't even need to take an aspirin at this point. I've been on it for 2 months. I noticed the difference after 2 weeks. I'm so thankful that things have improved. Last year was a HARD year!

The Heavens Declare The Glory of God

Have you even been in awe of the beauty of what you are seeing and all you can think about is scripture that flows out of you declaring the Lord's magnificant glory? That is what happens when I go to the Grand Canyon, or sometimes just look at the beautiful sunset in Texas.

It happens when I see the sun set in Florida.

It happens when I think about the complexity of a blade of grass.

This is a microspopic view of a blade of grass! Isn't it amazing! It looks so happy and does make me wonder if it appears differently when mowing the lawn. :)
Nature causes me to worship the creator who made it all! This is My Father's World!

These Two.... :)

They bring us joy! :)

Our Darling Albina

I have written a lot on this blog, since 2011 when our Albina came to us. We have never worked so hard with a child as we did with Albina. I am so thankful to her for causing us to be on our knees calling out to the Lord for every decision. This is how it should be for all of our children.... she reminded us. :) A long time ago she sent us a drawing and it said "Don't Give Up"! She was very worried that we would give up on her. NO way! :) x

A long time ago I wrote a post about talking to her about not living her life in the rear view mirror. She was looking back at all her losses and all the terrible things that had made up her life the first 11 years. She was missing out of all the blessing she had ahead of her. Today, she has learned to see the many blessings in her life. She calls us several times a week just to say hi. She volunteers for field trips for Sebastian, works hard, loves fiercely and even rides dirt bikes and goes to the car races. She has learned that life is what you make it. There is nothing you can do about the past but there is EVERYTHING you can do about the present and the future.
She is a wonderful mama and is about to have another baby in just a few weeks. :) What a blessing she is. Thank you Albina for teaching us to always look to the Lord and depend upon Him. We are proud of you. https://minichfamilyblog.blogspot.com/search?q=looking+in+the+rear+view+mirror

Boys to Men

The boys have grown so much as have we. :) The photo with all of us was our wedding day almost 37 years ago! We have taken more recent photos and I am so proud of each of them.

Chuck continues to flourish in his music as well as working as a pharmacy tech. Tim, due to a horrid reaction to a covid injection putting him in ICU with life threatening blood clots, no longer teaches but works for an insurance company. He loves his work. Joseph is teaching at a Christian college in Florida and also continuing to write. Marcus works for a construction company. What a great group of guys. :) I'm really thrilled that they are kind and loving to their sisters. Next week Joseph and Eden will be coming to visit and we cannot wait! Chuck will be coming too! Those are our two outta state guys. We also have 2 outta state girls. Albina and her husband will be coming down soon to pick up a crib for the new baby and to visit.

Our Family has Expanded!

This is Erika's mom in law who she affectionatly calls Mamo.... Sometimes we hear Mamo and Mama at the same time and one of is correct! LOL

Erika's husband Donato is one hard working man!

We all vacationed in Florida this Summer. It was a lovely time together. The kids have purchased their first home! Donato works for a construction company and Erika works for a missions group doing finances. We love having our expanded family!

BACK TO THE BLOG

For the last 4 years, I was unable to access my blog! I tried everything, even trying a different server and due to my own inadequacies, I couldn't figure it out. The girls were asking about it recently and I told them my delimma....
Sweet ERIKA came to my rescue with her computer skills and found the glitch! So here I am, after 4 long years, catching up!
Oh MY what changes have taken place! For one, I'm older, but so is everybody else! We have had a new grand baby born who is now 2 1/2. Sarah is her mama and she is about to have another sweet baby any day. She is actually OVERDUE! :) Albina is also due in 6 weeks with her second baby. All of this is such precious news. That means we will have 18 grands.
Mike and I are official empty nesters as of last week with our grandson moving. I now have a library. We enjoyed hosting Sam and we are confident he is ready to take on the world. :)
I have spent the past 5 years working on counseling, and it has been very rewarding! I work with a lovely team of people. Mike continues to work in the family business and I help. These past 4 years have been filled with ups and downs, but God has been close to us through all things as always. What a wonderful Savior we serve! I cannot post grand baby photos due to not trusting the world we live in to keep those photos safe. Take my word for it, SHE IS ADORABLE and oh so spunky, just like her mama! So HERE IS TO BLOGGING AGAIN!

THE GRANDSON!

Our grandson Sam whom I have blogged about since he was born, has lived with us for the last 2 1/2 years. He is an electrician's apprentice and has made a way for himself to have a very good income! We are so proud of him, as last week, he moved in with two good, solid roomates. Way to go Sam!

WHAT A WEEK!

We began our week with a wedding for James and Sarah. She is now Sarah Norby. :) Then came a huge ice storm and TWO birthdays! After that, Albina got engaged. It has been a very blessed week! I can't show any wedding pictures until the bride and groom return from their honeymoon, but I can show a very joyful Albina who is now engaged to her sweet Keith. :) We have another wedding coming up soon for Miss Erika also! I'm just amazed at God's goodness and blessing in our lives. :) A few photos from this week.