I have had people ask how my mum is doing. Thank you so much for caring and praying! She came out of ICU two days ago. She was on a regular ward. It is amazing how draining something like a burst appendix can be. Nothing keeps my mum down! In my whole life she probably took 'aspirin' a handful of times. So this has really been a whammy on her.
My mum and Dad live in a small community and have done so for about fifteen years. She is the backbone behind so many public activities. She gives her whole heart to anything she can. She is a self-less volunteer! One of her many responsibilities is writing the weekly column for the local newspaper for the area that they live in. I am sure they are missing her writing skills right about now! She is also usually treasurer for one event or another. I can only imagine they are all scrambling to fill the many shoes or hats she wore!
My dad called me tonight to tell me that last night they transferred her to our local hospital. What he didn't tell me before was that when they operated they found an abscess on her bowel. This was a second hit to her system. Then he told me that she was on oxygen because she has fluid on her lungs and is on oxygen. He thought it was related to her lying down, but then he said it was due to what she had been through, so I am not really sure.
Please, please keep praying for her!! Her whole life she was so healthy, until about four years ago, and at that time she was hit with so many scares: diverticulitis, nodules on her lungs (which were not dangerous, but for a while there were very frightening), breast cancer, and now this. She needs to regain her strength and her punch.
My dad said she is not out of the woods, yet. Honestly, that kind of unnerved me because I was kind of taking it for granted that she was on the mend, and then I found out about the second two medical issues. I have no clue how serious the fluid on her lungs is. She is not a spring chicken anymore, and it seems during winter and after people hit sixty that their bodies take longer to recover.
I am thankful she is local now, so I can take the children to see her and boost her spirits!
Thanks again.
Blessings, Justine
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thank You For Praying
At the moment , my mum is doing fine. Last night, at about 11:30 the surgeon told my dad that the surgery went very well. When they opened her up they discovered that it was not a bowel perforation as they thought; it was a burst, very gangrenous appendix. It had drained quite far into her body, so they had her hooked up to a saline drip and were giving her all kinds of meds.
I am so thankful for a surgeon who was acted very quickly (an hour to surgery!) and was very compassionate, and thorough in her job.
My dad has been going back and forth to the hospital, cause where we live it is *cold* (like in -22) and the pipes can freeze, so he can't leave it overnight. I felt very touched last night when I had barely posted my prayer request and my phone rang. I dashed to it thinking it might be my dad, just to hear a deep voice say, "Justine." *smile* It was Al the Plumber (my salute to you, Al *smile*).
God sometimes uses the most unlikely people. This kind man had read on my blog about my mum and had immediately called to ask me to tell my dad that he would do anything for him that he needed. He is a good friend of my dad's. Al was the man that plumbed our first house when we moved to the area, and now his wife reads my blog. The funny thing is that he probably knows more about my family that my parents do!! lol Simply because his wife reads my blog, and she updates him, and I share more on here than I tell people in real life! lol
So when that call came in, I felt God had sent a great warm hug!
Then this morning, my dad and I were having a chat about the fact that he has a slippery driveway that his van doesn't like to get out of. My mum's vehicle is in the shop right now, so he has to rely on his van. He had a little laugh when he said that he couldn't get out unless he chopped at the ice and then put down sand. But of course, he had to go to town to get the sand, and he couldn't get out of the driveway to get the sand. Stuck.
So this morning, the children and I prayed for my mum and we prayed our thanks that Al had stepped up so quickly to help, and we asked that the problem of the vehicle and the driveway and the ice would be solved, so my dad could get to the hospital.
Well, wouldn't you know it, my dad called this morning and told me he would be going to the hospital. He didn't need to get his van out of the driveway. Good ol' Al had lent him his family vehicle. When I told Austin how God had met that need, you should have seen his beaming smile. Our God takes care of everything.
I plan to go up tomorrow to see my mum and see how things are going. They say she will be in for another couple days, while they flush her system. So thanks again to all who prayed for your care. You really are a great bunch, and thanks Al for pitching in and helping my dad!
I should just finish with a bit of a funny. My parents are not very technically savvy. Well, that's putting it mildy. They have no clue. They are not on the internet. They don't read my blog. I don't think my dad really even gets the whole blog thing.
So last night, I call my dad and mention that Al called, and he immediatly says, "You didn't tell anyone did you?"
And I'm thinking, NO, JUST THE ENTIRE INTERNET WORLD, and I cautiously and curiously ask, "Why?"
And he says, "Your mother is a very private person. She wouldn't want anyone to know."
And I am thinking, "Oh Poop!! Too late!" I have to tell him I put it on the blog for prayer. Sheepish grin. He says, "Well, it's better you don't tell your mother." *laugh*
So we'll keep the secret how you found out, Al, okay?
.
I am so thankful for a surgeon who was acted very quickly (an hour to surgery!) and was very compassionate, and thorough in her job.
My dad has been going back and forth to the hospital, cause where we live it is *cold* (like in -22) and the pipes can freeze, so he can't leave it overnight. I felt very touched last night when I had barely posted my prayer request and my phone rang. I dashed to it thinking it might be my dad, just to hear a deep voice say, "Justine." *smile* It was Al the Plumber (my salute to you, Al *smile*).
God sometimes uses the most unlikely people. This kind man had read on my blog about my mum and had immediately called to ask me to tell my dad that he would do anything for him that he needed. He is a good friend of my dad's. Al was the man that plumbed our first house when we moved to the area, and now his wife reads my blog. The funny thing is that he probably knows more about my family that my parents do!! lol Simply because his wife reads my blog, and she updates him, and I share more on here than I tell people in real life! lol
So when that call came in, I felt God had sent a great warm hug!
Then this morning, my dad and I were having a chat about the fact that he has a slippery driveway that his van doesn't like to get out of. My mum's vehicle is in the shop right now, so he has to rely on his van. He had a little laugh when he said that he couldn't get out unless he chopped at the ice and then put down sand. But of course, he had to go to town to get the sand, and he couldn't get out of the driveway to get the sand. Stuck.
So this morning, the children and I prayed for my mum and we prayed our thanks that Al had stepped up so quickly to help, and we asked that the problem of the vehicle and the driveway and the ice would be solved, so my dad could get to the hospital.
Well, wouldn't you know it, my dad called this morning and told me he would be going to the hospital. He didn't need to get his van out of the driveway. Good ol' Al had lent him his family vehicle. When I told Austin how God had met that need, you should have seen his beaming smile. Our God takes care of everything.
I plan to go up tomorrow to see my mum and see how things are going. They say she will be in for another couple days, while they flush her system. So thanks again to all who prayed for your care. You really are a great bunch, and thanks Al for pitching in and helping my dad!
I should just finish with a bit of a funny. My parents are not very technically savvy. Well, that's putting it mildy. They have no clue. They are not on the internet. They don't read my blog. I don't think my dad really even gets the whole blog thing.
So last night, I call my dad and mention that Al called, and he immediatly says, "You didn't tell anyone did you?"
And I'm thinking, NO, JUST THE ENTIRE INTERNET WORLD, and I cautiously and curiously ask, "Why?"
And he says, "Your mother is a very private person. She wouldn't want anyone to know."
And I am thinking, "Oh Poop!! Too late!" I have to tell him I put it on the blog for prayer. Sheepish grin. He says, "Well, it's better you don't tell your mother." *laugh*
So we'll keep the secret how you found out, Al, okay?
.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Emergency Prayer Request
Hi friends,
Tonight my dad called me to tell me that my mum, who has diverticulitis, was taken to the local hospital for pain that she has had for the last two days. The doctor thought it was appendicitis but ruled it out. They gave her morphine and then transported her via ambulance to a larger town for an ultrasound.
My dad just called to update me. She has a perforated bowel. The doctor acted quickly and is doing surgery immediately. As I write, she is entering surgery (about 9:30 PM Pacific time). Please would you pray?
Apparently, her whole body has been poisoned by the perforation. She will be in ICU and they say she will get worse before she gets better because they have to clear the contamination from her entire system. She should be in hospital for 4-5 days, but if things get worse she will be transported to a even larger city.
Please pray that the doctor has wisdom and knows exactly how to deal with this. Also, that the antibiotics that they use to clean her system will be speedy and extremely effective.
And also, peace for my dad, as I am sure this is rather unsettling. Thank you so much!
.
Tonight my dad called me to tell me that my mum, who has diverticulitis, was taken to the local hospital for pain that she has had for the last two days. The doctor thought it was appendicitis but ruled it out. They gave her morphine and then transported her via ambulance to a larger town for an ultrasound.
My dad just called to update me. She has a perforated bowel. The doctor acted quickly and is doing surgery immediately. As I write, she is entering surgery (about 9:30 PM Pacific time). Please would you pray?
Apparently, her whole body has been poisoned by the perforation. She will be in ICU and they say she will get worse before she gets better because they have to clear the contamination from her entire system. She should be in hospital for 4-5 days, but if things get worse she will be transported to a even larger city.
Please pray that the doctor has wisdom and knows exactly how to deal with this. Also, that the antibiotics that they use to clean her system will be speedy and extremely effective.
And also, peace for my dad, as I am sure this is rather unsettling. Thank you so much!
.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas 2010
This year we had a quiet Christmas. I was glad for that because I have had (am still having) a very stressful year. I won't say I have been stressed out; I have really been trusting God, but all the same I did want to kick back as much as possible and having a quiet year turned out to be a blessing. I love, love, love getting together with my sister's family and really look forward to doing that next year if we are in our new home. We *should* be barring any complications, which seem to keep rearing their ugly heads.
First, on December 19, our children were in a church play. Briton was a shepherd, the girls were angels, and Cooper and Austin were kids. I was impressed to see that my two boys had their lines learned completely, while others had scripts hidden. All that memory work they have practiced with their verses has come in handy!
Then when Colt came home on December 23rd, Ray, Colt, and Dane headed to the land to try out the snow mobile. The rest of us stayed home as there was much to do!! I have to say that this was the best year for getting things done! My troop of workers were amazing!
Cooper and Briton peeled enough potatoes to feed an army, since my mum and dad were coming, as well as our ten.
Cassidy baked three cakes and helped build two trifles and oneblack forest cake, as well as doing multiple other cooking prep jobs.
Team Work
To begin the evening all of the children got dressed up in beautiful clothes. I cannot believe that I did not take pictures! The girls looked gorgeous in their Ethiopian clothes and gold and white hairbeads . The boys were very handsome in their get-up.
We had a wonderful hour of singing Christmas carols and listening to songs sung in foreign languages. We also heard the Christmas story as read from the book of Luke in the Bible. This was finished off nicely with goodies and hot chocolate after the service.
From here we came home and the children helped tidy up the house and then got their pajamas on. They all settled into bed, with the exception of the big kids. Once I was certain that they were well settled Cassidy and Dane went and stood at the two bedroom doors. Upon my signal they burst openthe doors and called out, "Merry Christmas!"
The poor little kids were so confused, *laugh*, that they didn't know what to do! They thought their brothers were playing tricks on them. It didn't take Savannah long to hop out of bed and hit the stairs running once they told them they could come downstairs!
They all gathered on the couch and waited to see what was up. It is funny that they had forgotten from all the other years that we do Christmas Eve gift giving with the children's gifts, plus the out of town gifts, and then from Ray to me and vice versa!
Probably the best present of all. Dishes, crockery, pans, cutlery, aprons. Imagination fun time!
PS3 is out there!)
I played a trick on the boys and girls. I gave the big boys a large parcel to unwrap, and then I gave the little ones some small parcels to unwrap. I had put them backwards. Dane and Cassidy and Austin opened the Playmobil and played the part of all excited!
Meanwhile, my confused younger children looked with polite smiles at their DS games. Perhaps wondering if there was a DS coming? Not likely. So they looked over at what their brothers had received. And this is the reaction they saw...
I told the kids if they could come to an agreement then perhaps they could switch gifts. Cassidy and Austin were quick to say yes, since they own DS handheld gamesters, but Dane wasn't so sure. He decided to hang on to the Playmobil. He was in a lose situation if he switched. He didn't own a DS, but he could play with the toys. He decided to hang on. That is until Cooper tackled him. He finally gave in.
The night finished about 11:30 pm and the children headed off to bed, with goodies in their tummies, new toys in piles, and excited thoughts of what the next day would bring.
My parents live near to us and it is always nice to have them over for Christmas. For over 30 years my mother is the one that hosted Christmas. We immigrated from England and my Grandparents lived in England with the rest of our family. So we grew up with only ourselves for Christmas. Then my parents moved far away from us and we would go to their house for Christmas.
Once we moved here we began sharing putting on the event. Once our family increased to the size that it is and my sister had her two children, it was obvious that my parents house couldn't house the clan anymore. That must have been a hard adjustment for my mum, who had always put such effort into the occasion. So now we try to get them involved by putting in their efforts on the dinner. Like I tell my mum, we all have something to bring to the dinner that makes it special.
There is NO way that I am planning on *running* the Christmas dinner when I have so many children!! No way. I will host it, yes, but my sons and wives and daughters and husbands will all be part and party to the putting on of what will eventually turn into a huge number of people! lol
My children all love Curious George. When I found this anthology at Costco, I knew I had to buy it! It was a big hit with Cooper, and it came with an hour long audio cd of the stories as well.
Cooper has been saving his money and buying bits and pieces for the Playmobil police set.
This was so funny! Briton wanted a present for himself, so he decided since the present I handed him to give to Grandad did not have a writtentag , that he could write his own name. He did. Then Grandad told him he could help him open his gift. Briton began opening the gift - saw inside and said, "Ohhh!"
Then he realized what it was and in joking disgust said to my dad, "Clothes! You have 'em," and tossed the present to my dad. Boy, did we bust out laughing. That boy is going to be a comedian!
My sister sent Christmas presents with Colt when he came home. Dane opened his wrapping to find this pretty box. Check out his face. He was dying laughing. I am certain she deliberately picked this box for that boy. What a joke. At least there was no tutu inside the box! It was a nice American Eagle shirt. lol
At the end of the night when the children were done opening gifts I surprised my mum with a black forest birthday cake. Her birthday is going to be December 31 - New Years Ever - but I know they always go out that night, so I thought this would be a good way to surprise her. And it did!
But the surprises weren't over for the night. When the younger children were all in bed - about 1:00 am - we called the big boys into the kitchen to tidy up the late night dishes. As they were working I held up an envelope to Dane asking him if it was his because it had his name on it. He opened it and grinned.
At first he thought it was coupons to some music cds he wanted to buy. But after studying it for a while he suddenly realized what it was: excellent seating for him, his dad, and his brother, Colt, at the upcoming Bon Jovi concert in the Big City. It is an early graduation gift, plus thank you for working on our family home.
He was beyond pleased. He had wanted to buy tickets and had told us when they went on sale. I nonchalantly asked him if they were on Ray. I then gave Ray 'the eye' as he sat at the other end of the table. He was *supposed* to know that the eye meant 'go online and see if the tickets are for sale'. Of course, he had no clue. So then I said, "Are you done on your computer?" And reached over and helped myself to the computer he was still using. I am sure I confused the boys with my not-so-polite behaviour. lol Ray being the nice guy didn't complain. I then sat down and punched in Bon Jovi concert and came up with the information.
Okay, so it was out there. Now I had to get Ray tothe office to buy tickets without gathering suspicion. The boys and I were playing a game, so I just shut Ray's computer, handed it to him, and asked if he was done with it he could put it in the office . I was seriously not obvious (lol!)
The boys made a comment that, Dad was finished now because I had taken the computer. lol Ray finally got the hint, took the computer and secreted himself inthe office , went online, found the venue, chose our seating and made the purchase. It turned out this all was on the night they went on sale.
Weeks later, Dane tried to see about tickets. I tried to keep him away from the computer. Ray said to check out and see what was left. I did. There were $23.00 seats behind the stage in the nosebleed section near the roof. I told this to Dane to stop him from buying himself a ticket. That boy was determined to get to that concert even though it would cost him $150 in bus fare to get there, plus how was he going to maneuver the Big City on his own!
So you can imagine, when Dane found he had 10th row seats in the lower section he was very pleased! Now if I could be a fly on the wall. That music takes me back to my teen years!
So that was our Christmas and it was a very nice one!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and wish you all a Happy New Year!
.
Then when Colt came home on December 23rd, Ray, Colt, and Dane headed to the land to try out the snow mobile. The rest of us stayed home as there was much to do!! I have to say that this was the best year for getting things done! My troop of workers were amazing!
Savannah Cleaned Out the Pantry.
Cassidy the Baker
Cassidy baked three cakes and helped build two trifles and one
Raine was My Gopher.
Washing Dishes, Vegetables and Baking
Savannah and Briton Helped With Baking
And of Course, the Younger Ones Went Sledding
Christmas Eve
To begin the evening all of the children got dressed up in beautiful clothes. I cannot believe that I did not take pictures! The girls looked gorgeous in their Ethiopian clothes and gold and white hair
We had a wonderful hour of singing Christmas carols and listening to songs sung in foreign languages. We also heard the Christmas story as read from the book of Luke in the Bible. This was finished off nicely with goodies and hot chocolate after the service.
From here we came home and the children helped tidy up the house and then got their pajamas on. They all settled into bed, with the exception of the big kids. Once I was certain that they were well settled Cassidy and Dane went and stood at the two bedroom doors. Upon my signal they burst open
The poor little kids were so confused, *laugh*, that they didn't know what to do! They thought their brothers were playing tricks on them. It didn't take Savannah long to hop out of bed and hit the stairs running once they told them they could come downstairs!
They all gathered on the couch and waited to see what was up. It is funny that they had forgotten from all the other years that we do Christmas Eve gift giving with the children's gifts, plus the out of town gifts, and then from Ray to me and vice versa!
Briton Gets the Firetrucks He Was Wanting
Miss Savannah Gets a Hat and Stole For Dress-Up
(Mind you, I did find her sledding in it a few days later! lol Only Savannah!)
Dane Vying For Savannah's Hat
Cooper Happy With His PS2 Game
(We still have the old PS2 from when our oldest boys were about 8 and 10 years old! So now we can get games that are really cheap! Unfortunately it is getting harder to find them now the 
I played a trick on the boys and girls. I gave the big boys a large parcel to unwrap, and then I gave the little ones some small parcels to unwrap. I had put them backwards. Dane and Cassidy and Austin opened the Playmobil and played the part of all excited!
Meanwhile, my confused younger children looked with polite smiles at their DS games. Perhaps wondering if there was a DS coming? Not likely. So they looked over at what their brothers had received. And this is the reaction they saw...
Oh, So Pleased to Get Playmobil Africa
The night finished about 11:30 pm and the children headed off to bed, with goodies in their tummies, new toys in piles, and excited thoughts of what the next day would bring.
Christmas Day
My parents live near to us and it is always nice to have them over for Christmas. For over 30 years my mother is the one that hosted Christmas. We immigrated from England and my Grandparents lived in England with the rest of our family. So we grew up with only ourselves for Christmas. Then my parents moved far away from us and we would go to their house for Christmas.
Once we moved here we began sharing putting on the event. Once our family increased to the size that it is and my sister had her two children, it was obvious that my parents house couldn't house the clan anymore. That must have been a hard adjustment for my mum, who had always put such effort into the occasion. So now we try to get them involved by putting in their efforts on the dinner. Like I tell my mum, we all have something to bring to the dinner that makes it special.
There is NO way that I am planning on *running* the Christmas dinner when I have so many children!! No way. I will host it, yes, but my sons and wives and daughters and husbands will all be part and party to the putting on of what will eventually turn into a huge number of people! lol
My Dad Helping With the Turkey
Grandad and Cooper
My Three Big Sons
Police Stuff!!
Cooper has been saving his money and buying bits and pieces for the Playmobil police set.
This was so funny! Briton wanted a present for himself, so he decided since the present I handed him to give to Grandad did not have a written
Then he realized what it was and in joking disgust said to my dad, "Clothes! You have 'em," and tossed the present to my dad. Boy, did we bust out laughing. That boy is going to be a comedian!
At first he thought it was coupons to some music cds he wanted to buy. But after studying it for a while he suddenly realized what it was: excellent seating for him, his dad, and his brother, Colt, at the upcoming Bon Jovi concert in the Big City. It is an early graduation gift, plus thank you for working on our family home.
He was beyond pleased. He had wanted to buy tickets and had told us when they went on sale. I nonchalantly asked him if they were on Ray. I then gave Ray 'the eye' as he sat at the other end of the table. He was *supposed* to know that the eye meant 'go online and see if the tickets are for sale'. Of course, he had no clue. So then I said, "Are you done on your computer?" And reached over and helped myself to the computer he was still using. I am sure I confused the boys with my not-so-polite behaviour. lol Ray being the nice guy didn't complain. I then sat down and punched in Bon Jovi concert and came up with the information.
Okay, so it was out there. Now I had to get Ray to
The boys made a comment that, Dad was finished now because I had taken the computer. lol Ray finally got the hint, took the computer and secreted himself in
Weeks later, Dane tried to see about tickets. I tried to keep him away from the computer. Ray said to check out and see what was left. I did. There were $23.00 seats behind the stage in the nosebleed section near the roof. I told this to Dane to stop him from buying himself a ticket. That boy was determined to get to that concert even though it would cost him $150 in bus fare to get there, plus how was he going to maneuver the Big City on his own!
So you can imagine, when Dane found he had 10th row seats in the lower section he was very pleased! Now if I could be a fly on the wall. That music takes me back to my teen years!
So that was our Christmas and it was a very nice one!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and wish you all a Happy New Year!
.
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