We have two really wierd pets.  Our cat, Fluffy, prefers dog food to cat food and our dog, Shaina, is more than willing to share.  We're expecting Fluffy to start barking any day now.

As for Shaina, we're starting to think she's a cat in a dog's body.  Why you ask??  Shaina has gotten into the habit of hanging out with me when I'm doing school paperwork while relaxing on our bed.  Not a problem, until I add one teeny, tiny piece of information.  She jumps up, sprawls out and puts her paws over my work, effectively stopping me from working.  She does this every time.  I thought only cats do that! LOL

...So many papers, so little time.  I'm doing paperwork for school plans for the new school year.  We start in early August.  It will be the beginning of our 22nd year of homeschooling.  Can you imagine that?  When we started homeschooling, many people didn't even know it was legal and there weren't nearly the amount of curricula available - I think I only knew of A Beka, BJU, and Christian Liberty back then.  The other resources were totally different too - no internet, DVDs, or CD-Roms. 

Back then, when we began homeschooling, we had 2 children, now we have 5.

I was teaching only 1, our then 4 year old daughter, inbetween caring for our 6 month old son.  Now, both of them have graduated, one is a teacher and the other a mechanic's apprentice and I'm teaching their 3 younger siblings, 2 sisters and little brother, who weren't even thought of when we began our homeschooling adventure.

This year, I'll be teaching 2nd, 8th, and 11th grades.

I've changed as a teacher too.  I used only what we well-known and familiar, mostly textbooks and workbooks.  Now, I mix it up.  Here's a quick overview of this year's materials:

2nd Grade:

- Bible:  Bibleman Bible, Leading Little Ones to God, www.faith4living.com

- Reading - Handbook for Reading, The Bridge Book, Happiness Hill, Growing Up Where Jesus Lived, Pilgrim Boy - A Beka, Stories About God's People & More Stories About God's People - Rod & Staff, with others based on student interest.

- Phonics - Complete Book of Phonics - Gr. 2 and AlphaPhonics

- Language - Everything for Early Learning

- Writing - www.edhelper.com

- Penmanship - Bible Scriptures from www.faith4living.com

- Spelling and Vocabulary - Workpages from www.edHelper.com

- Math - Total Math - Gr. 2 and portions of Math 2 for Christian Schools - BJU

- History - Our America - A Beka and Heritage Studies 2 for Christian Schls - BJU

- Geography - Exploring Our World w/Maps - Rushdoony, www.enchantedlearning.com

- Science - Enjoying God's World - A Beka & Science for Every Kid series - Van Cleave

- Health - Health, Safety, and Manners 2 - A Beka & The Body Book - SIlver/Wynne

- Music - www.classicsforkids.com , Music Reading Activities-Mitchell, SilverBurdett Music

- Art - Art with a Purpose - Rod & Staff, Childcraft - Make & Do, Artrageous CD-Rom

- Physical Education - We Win-Marini, President's Challenge Prog.,others based on interest.

8th Grade:

- Bible - Spirit-Filled Bible, Book of Virtues-Bennett, Family Walk - Wilkerson

- Math - Exploring Mathematics Gr.8 - Scott Foresman, pgs from Math 8 for Christian Schls-BJU, Math & Geometry for Every Kid-VanCleave, Pro-One Pre-Algebra CD-Rom

- Reading - Adventures in Reading - Lodge, The Book of Virtues - Bennett & Reading for Appreciation-Bk 1 - Grady/Klapper

- Grammar - Middle School Grammar CD-Rom & Easy Grammar workpages

- Writing - The Write Stuff Adventure - Rea & Macmillian English

- Spelling and Vocabulary - www.edhelper.com

- History/Geography - America, Land I love - A Beka & The Complete Student Atlas - Holt, Rinehart and Winston

- Science - Earth Science for Christian Schools - BJU, For Every Kid series - Van Cleave & Physical Science - Merrill

- Health - Let's Be Healthy - A Beka, Christian Charm Course - Hunter & Family Guide to Natural Medicine - Reader's Digest

- Home Ec./Practical Arts - Pro One Typing Teacher, Back to Basics - Reader's Digest, Learn to Sew - Simplicity, More-with-Less Cookbook - Longacre, Cooking for Life - Tessler, Science Experiments You Can Eat - Cobb, The Way Things Work - McCauley

- Art - Nourishing Creativity - Brennick, Drawing with Children - Brookes, Places in Art - Peppin, The Story of Painting - Usborne

- Music:  Violin and voice lessons:  First Lessons in Violin - Mel Bay and Teaching Kids to Sing I & II – Vocal Workout series, Music Reading Activities Kit - Mitchell, www.classicsforkids.com , www.classicalarchives.com

- Physical Education - We Win - Marini, activities  from The President's Challenge Program Fitness at Home-Kidd, Praise Aerobics, Dance For Joy, Ballet Lessons for Beginners VHS

11th Grade:

- Bible - Church, Missions & Jewish History - 100 Most Important Events in Christian History – Curtis/Lang/Petersen, readings from Operation World - Johnstone, Jesus Freaks 1 & 2 – DC Talk/Voice of the Martyrs, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya – Tucker, and A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People – Barnavi

- American Literature - Readings from Beginning in American Literature and The Literature of the American People - A Beka, plus reading list (incl Uncle Tom's Cabin - Stowe, others)

- Grammar - Multimedia High School Grammar CD-Rom

- Writing - Houghton Mifflin English, Practical English Writing Skills - Scheraga, The Write Stuff Adventure – Rea

- Spelling and Vocabulary - www.edhelper.com

- Business Math - Business Mathematics - A Beka

- Social Studies - United States History for Christian Schools - BJU & The Complete School Atlas - Holt, Rinehart, and Winston

- Plant Science - Introductory Horticulture – Reiley/Shry, additional readings from Plant Science – Hartmann/Flocker/ Korfanek, Square Food Gardening – Bartholomew, Complete Guide to Gardening – Better Homes and Gardens, and The World Book Encyclopedia Reading and Study Guide

- Fine Arts III – Theater, Radio, Television and Film History - Various websites, tapes, DVDs & CD-Roms, guidelines from the World Book Encyclopedia Subject Guide & field trips to the Museum of the Moving Image & the Museum of Radio & Television

- American Sign Language II - Joy of Signing - Riekehof, Signing Made Easy video, Webster's Millenium American Sign Language Learning System 4 CD Set, video materials from God’s Discipling Hands Ministry Learning American Sign Language - http://www.lessontutor.com/ASLgenhome.html

- Physical Education - We Win - Marini, The President's Challenge Program - www.presidentschallenge.org, Fitness at Home – Kidd, Praise Aerobics VHS, Dance For Joy (Hebraic dance), various additional exercise & dance DVDs.

The internet and our Netflix subscription will be a godsend this year.  We'll be using a lot of supporting materials from both of them. 

...What a year so far.  So much has happened.  Our little guy's ear surgery, the passing of my hubby's aunt (who was such a wonderful, Godly lady), the passing of our beloved Shiloh, my leg injury, the recent scare with my hubby's platelet count, respiratory viruses, and other little goodies too.  All this has come on the heels of 2 rough years, years where our family has lost so many people we loved, my grandmother, my best friend, changes in other relationships, and my husband's serious bout with ITP and his year long battle to regain his health.  It was getting me sooo discouraged. 

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I started praying, Lord, I don't get all this.  If you're trying to get our attention, You've surely got it, now what are You trying to teach us.  Here's the answer.  After I prayed, the Lord gave me the scripture from Isaiah that "no weapon formed against thee will prosper". 

While the Lord has healing and other great gifts for us, sometimes, He will use situations in our lives to teach us things as well.  He has allowed these situations to show us that He is fully capable of taking us through it all.  In each of our situations, He has allowed our family to walk through it all, but He has graciously taken us through it all and gotten us through it all. 

Personally, I hope we've all learned the lesson the Lord has been trying to teach us so we can get past it and move on.  I'm praying for a break in these difficult lessons.

I don't know about my hubby or any other member of this household, but, me, I'm tired...LOL

...that my darling husband remains in remission from the ITP!!  His numbers are better, definitely safe now.  He has another blood test in 2 wks. and if the results are also good, we go back to monthly monitoring.  What a relief!!  Thank You Jesus!!

Those who read this, I'd appreciate if you add my husband to your prayer list long term.  We deal with this regularly and are asking the Lord for a total and complete healing from this disorder...MTIA...

My heart just hurts.  I frequent a couple of Christian message boards and on one of them, I've been seeing some of the most horrendous behavior out of a couple of the people who post there.  Behavior that, IMHO, in no way, shape or form is Christlike. 

Why can't the Body of Christ simply do what Jesus did??  I'm telling you, it's sooo sad.  I keep imagining if some new Christian or a non-believer, maybe someone who's seeking God comes and sees something like this, how they would thinka nd feel.  Don't people realize that when you are giving a gift as incredible as salvation, when you are privledged enough to be able to use the term "Christian" in reference to yourself, that with that privledge is given an obligation to act in a Christlike manner?

Do we all blow it now and then?  Of course, with the chief offender being me, right here.  But what do you say or do when an offending party is exhibiting the same type of behavior and hurting people over and over again?  You pray for that person, and speak to them in love.  Do you stand by and just watch?  Personally, I don't believe so....Sad situation...

Well, it's been challenging here.  My husband had a blood test last week that may suggest that the ITP, the blood disorder my husband's been in remission with for over a year, may be kicking up.  Considering the stress we've been under, along with this nasty respiratory bug we've all been getting and can't seem to get rid of, I guess it was possible.  For those who don't know what the heck it is, ITP is ideopathic thrombocytopenia, a rare autoimmune disorder where the blood platelet number is too low, which can cause bruises and, in rare cases, even cause a fatal brain bleed. 

Ralph's had it since the early '90's but has had only 2 attacks in 15 years.  We're just praying he's not starting Round 3.  He just went for another blood test today that will tell us more.  If he is, prednisone is the likely solution, but the side effects are lousy.  Fortunately, he has a wonderful hematologist who is not pressing the panic button and will only treat him when absolutely necessary and accepts Ralph's decision to responsibly use a blending of traditional and alternative meds to treat him.  Our alternative practitioners that are wonderful as well. 

Prednisone is the least invasive kind of traditional treatment for ITP, and Ralph chooses to use it as a stopgap measure, using homeopathy and a regiment of Chinese herbs instead of other means.  So far, so good, but today's blood test results, due either later today or tomorrow, will tell us for sure. 

That's the old problem.  Now here's the new way.  I'm a classic worrywort.  Now I know what the Bible says about anxiety, etc., but it's a struggle for me in the flesh.  I'm trying to leave this one in God's Hands.  I'm doing okay, with occasional ups and downs and each time I try to take the worry back, I'm mentally trying not to.  An exercise in faith?  You bet.

Sunday was a difficult day in other ways.  You see, my best friend died a year ago this past Sunday.  Jon was like the brother I never had, a dear friend since high school.  It's been a tough year without my dear friend, tougher still since 2 other close friends, who were close despite only periodic contact, have basically dropped off the radar of my life - one who I know since junior high and is living about 1,500 miles away from me who, when menopause hit, just got nasty and dropped out of sight, the other who lives nearby and although I love her dearly, has been a bit of a fair-weather friend for quite a while, just dropped out of sight all together.  Usually, when that happens, I re-initiate contact.  This time, I waited, simply because there has been so much on my own plate this year.  Anyway, it's been a good 7-8 months since I've heard from her either.  Now all of these people have known me between 16-37 years, so I had a lot invested in each of these relationships, so believe me, it hurts like the dickens.  I'm starting to think I need a new set of friends...an have a number of good acquaintances at church and one good friend locally through homeschooling circles that I know for years and years, not to mention my precious online friends, especially on a message board I frequent, but somehow, it's not the same.  I really feel the absence of these other lifelong friendships. 

I think what is happening is that the Lord is forcing me to turn to Him more, which can only be a good thing.  He always wants to be our 1st love and our best friend.  I'm truly blessed to be married and in love with my 2nd best friend, my wonderful husband.  Beyond that, it all pales in comparison anyway. 

One prayer of my heart is that the Lord gives me a close girlfriend to fellowship with locally.  I have a wonderful online friend who lives in PA who has become like a sister to me.  We've met twice in real life, with a possible 3rd time later this year when my hubby and I go to PA on a weekend getaway.  I love this girl to pieces and she gets me like few do.  What a blessing she is!!  (And if you read this, "M", you know who you are!!)  ;)  Still, I long for someone here as well and it's something I'm leaving in the Lord's Hands.

Have been laid up for weeks, recovering from a leg injury, but it's really starting to show improvement.  Still need a cane at times, but can do more and more now, which feels oh-so-good.  Have been redeeming the time doing school planning, research, paperwork, praying, etc.  Sorry to say, I need to do more Bible reading, but to tell the truth, I was in too much pain sometimes to concentrate.  Still, as tough a time as it's been, it's been a good one too, but I'm glad we're one the tail end of it!

Now, if I can only get rid of this respiratory thing...Oh well...Lord?  What's up with this??......

Shaina, the newest member of the family, has only been here for 6 days, but she's endeared herself to every 2 legged member of the family, and even the cat is coming to terms with her presence.  Adopting her is proving to be a win-win.  She's so affectionate and sweet, but yes, she's still a puppy, just a big puppy.  She's about a year old and, according to the vet, someone took very good care of her.  She got her shots and blood work yesterday and the vet confirmed that she's already been spayed!  Her comment was, "someone really took good care of her".

Problems, yeah, there are some.  She's still having some accidents around the house, and when she gets excited, she jumps on people (to lick them), barks incessively at other dogs at times, and has been known to sit in a chair or two, but the joy she is bringing into this house outrules the bad habits that need to be broken.  She wakes each of us each morning with paws on the bed and lots of kisses.  She's adorable with her own stuffed toy pup; she treats it like a baby.  She loves to cuddle with all of us and demands belly rubs several times a day.  She's even making peace with the cat!  My husband, who has never been a dog lover, is totally in love with this dog! 

Am renting a copy of The Dog Whisperer to help us train her and there's always the dog obedience program at Petco, if we need it beyond that.  It's just great to have so much joy back in the house...

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July.  Remember today to count your blessings that you live in a free, albeit, flawed nation and can openly praise our Lord, homeschool, and live in freedom. 

In honor of the day, and those lost and those whose lives changed forever on 9/11 and for all those soldiers around the world who are fighting the good fight to defend our country and freedom everywhere, as well as their families, who make so many sacrifices, I've added a video movie, "There She Stands".  I hope every time it's watched, it will remind folks to never forget 9/11 and never forget to pray for our soldiers and their families...

Since Shiloh died, it's been a bit sad and, even with 7 of us here, a little lonely, but we all agreed that the best way to honor Shiloh's memory was to adopt another dog.  We prayed for the right dog and the right timing and it's happened sooner than we ever dreamed.

I was perusing www.petfinder.com and did a search of the local town shelters (my husband and I always believed that it was far better to rescue a dog from a shelter than to spend the money to adopt a purebred, unless, of course, you're planning to breed dogs, which we don't), and saw 2 dogs at the same shelter that looked great, but collie shepherds like Shiloh, one, a little boy, who looked a little more shepherd than collie, but with much of Shiloh's coloring, (he resembled Shiloh almost too much) and a little girl, a honey colored collie shepherd with black markings (that had a similar look to Shiloh in shape, but much different in coloring).  My husband saw the little boy, Billy, last week, but there was nothing outstanding about him and my husband just felt the timing was off.  The little girl was still on my mind and heart and I kept checking on her.

Finally, my husband turns around to me Friday night, after seeing another bunny on the lawn, teasingly said, that we needed to get another dog just to let the rabbits know they can't have the run of the place and ruin the garden.  Turns out, it was his was of saying that maybe it was time to start looking in earnest for another dog. 

I came back to the ad for the little girl and showed it to him.  We've always had male dogs, and knew nothing about her, so I called the shelter.  Turns out, they loved her there, but knew little about her, except that she was found wandering around a local shopping center 6 weeks ago (they nicknamed her Target Dog and Lady - the first for the location she was found in, not how she looks - LOL and the second for her manner).  No one claimed her in all that time.  She was the darling of the shelter, considered to be the best behaved and most well liked dog there.  She was about a year old, very friendly, well mannered, housebroken, and seemed to have some obedience training, although that was uncertain.  A little shorter than your average collie shepherd mix (I know the breed a little, this is my 4th one in the last 34 years), honey colored with black markings, a shepherd's coat with a collie tail and face.  DH and I had to go out of state for a funeral Monday (his aunt went home to be with the Lord), so he sent our 21 yo son, who knows dogs and our 25 yo daughter to check her out, with his blessings to bring her home if it all worked out.

Well, our oldest son and daughter went, leaving our 16 yo daughter to watch the younger 2, and not telling them, went to check the dog out.  She was beautiful, both inside and out.  She's sweet, playful, friendly, intelligent, the kind of dog you'd never believe was a stray.  Our son and daughter were even able to take her into the cat kennel area and she did well there as well.  Five hours and one rabies shot later, and she was ours.  My husband and I were able to be there, via telephone to hear the shouts of joy when our youngest 3 children met her.

We've named her Shaina (shay-nah), which in Yiddish means "beautiful", and she is, both inside and out.  She immediately befriended each member of our household and seems to divide her time between each of us.  She and our cat, Fluffy, are still adjusting to each other, and there's been some hissing, spitting, barking and a wee bit of growling, but it's easing up.  Not bad for less than 24 hours.  She already seems to know her name and "sit".  We're thrilled to have her.  We can't imagine why anyone would let her go, or, if she was lost, why no one looked for her at the local shelter, or why she wasn't adopted in those 6 weeks there.  The only conclusion my husband and I can come to is that the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, knew that it was Shiloh's time and that we would need a very special dog to be our new companion.  Shaina will never replace Shiloh, but we know that Shaina was heaven sent.  Her full name, by the way, is Shaina bat Shiloh (Yiddish and Hebrew for "Beautiful daughter of Shiloh, beautiful daughter of peace".  It fits her so well.  Once I figure out how to post pics here, I'll post her picture.

...God was sooo good.  He gave us 5 more weeks with our dear friend, Shiloh, but Shiloh passed away yesterday.  In those 5 weeks, he didn't suffer.  As far as we could see, he was in no pain.  He ate and drank well.  He enjoyed his time.  We had quality time with him.  He played and we loved on each other.  He enjoyed his walks with my husband, although they had to get shorter and shorter because Shiloh's back legs got weak.  In his last couple of days, he was restless, going from room to room, looking for each of us, stopping to rest when his legs got too tired to walk.  He spent time with each of us.  The morning before he passed, he actually tried to jump up on the bed with me several times.  It was then that he whimpered for the first time and it took both me and our 13 year old daughter (his favorite) to comfort him.

The morning he passed he was resting until he suddenly went into convulsions.  They were repetitive.  At that point, we had no choice but to put him to sleep so he wouldn't suffer.  We each had time to say goodbye.  He whimpered at some points, but calmed down when I spoke to him.  He was with my husband and oldest daughter just before the end and was loved on every second.  The people at the shelter who helped him at the end were wonderful and compassionate.  The man who took Shiloh into the shelter was so gentle, taking him into his arms wrapped in his favorite blanket and speaking to him gently.

We will miss Shiloh terribly.  I know, in time, we will adopt another dog, but no one will ever be our Shiloh.  He was a gift from God for the 13 years he was a part of our lives.  He was a kind and gentle and loyal friend.  He lived up to the meaning of his name - peace. 

I know whether animals go to heaven is a controversial subject, but if they do, then I just know Shiloh is there, chasing rabbits and squirrels, fetching a stick, or maybe playing in the snow, burying his nose into it and coming up with white snow on his beautiful and noble black nose. Thank You Lord, for our dear, dear friend.  We will never forget him...

Only God could have done what's happened here.  Shiloh is doing well, considering his age and condition.  Here, we thought, last Monday, he was hours, maybe days.  Now, he's functioning well, although I don't know if he'll be climbing any more stairs, but aside from that, he's almost completely back to normal.  It's hard to believe.  He even played Nana (remember Peter Pan?) and barked at 2 of the kids when they were arguing.  It's wonderful to see.  I don't know how much long he will be with us, but I think we're now talking months, not days or weeks, God willing.  What a gift!!

It looks like our dog, Shiloh, is rallying.  Yesterday, he could barely stand at times.  Today, he seems so much stronger.  He's not just eating, he's mooching table food.  He's drinking well, voiding well.  He's following me around the house again and even scolded 2 of the kids, barking when they got too rowdy and started to argue (typical for him). 

It's a miracle...

....Shiloh is our dog.  He's a wonderful friend.  A collie shepherd, with a little English spaniel thrown in for good measure, he has the short hair of shepherd, the coloring of both a shepherd and a collie, the temperment of a collie and the size of an English spaniel.   

Shi is the best dog we've ever had.  He's been part of our family since the summer of '93, when we found him through an ad for a no-kill shelter 45 mins. from us.  He was about a year or so old at the time, but no one knew for sure how old he was, since he was found, abandoned and tied to a fence.  We originally adopted him as a friend for our then 8 1/2 year old son, now 21 1/2, but he became a member of the family.  He's known as my 4 legged son.

The shelter helped us a lot, especially when, within a day of bringing him home, we found that he was limping on his hind legs.  Turned out he had a congenital defect and needed surgery, most likely on both legs.  The shelter was willing to foot the bill for his medical care and surgery, as long as we would drive out to their doctors, which was quite a hike for us, but we were willing to do it.  Fortunately, he only needed to have surgery on 1 leg and it was successful.

In exchange, we got a loving and loyal friend.  Shiloh means peace and he is a peaceful soul in many ways.  He hates fighting.  If he ever heard 2 people (especially the kids) argue, he'd go up to them bark at one, then the other, until everything was peaceful again, thus earning the nickname of Nana, as in the dog from Peter Pan.

Even as an older dog, Shiloh has been a real pip.  Up until the last six months, he still has had lots of the puppy still in him, and occasionally, we still see it.  He loves chasing sticks and chewing the heck out of them, chasing our grey tabby cat (they play fight although a couple of times, the dog ended up with a cat-scratched nose,) barking at falling leaves, squirrels, and rabbits, just to remind them whose in charge, and "getting the rips", when he will run throughout the house or the yard repeatedly in the same pattern, play growling and jumping on furniture along the way.

It's only in the last few months that he's really slowing down.  His back legs are getting weaker.  He insists on coming down to the den if I'm there or our 13 yo dd is there (If I'm his "mom", then our dd is his "girlfriend"  LOL)  He's got cataracts and is, at best, hard of hearing.  He also has a nasty growth on his back that the vet says we can have biopsied, but there is really nothing to do, since it is questionable how he would do with the anesthesia.  So we've decided to let him live out his life with us with as much dignity, comfort, love and care as possible.

He's had up days and down days.  Today was a probably the worst day he's had.

He got very weak at one point.  We thought we would have to put him to sleep right there and then, it was soooo scary, but fortunately, he's rallied some.  He's a lot better as I write this than he was earlier this afternoon, so we will take it day by day.

Not sure how much longer we will be blessed with Shiloh's presence, but we will treasure whatever time we still have with him, giving him all the love and care we can muster.  If you read this, please keep our dear friend, Shiloh, in your prayers.  I know everyone says they have a great dog, cat, whatever, but Shiloh is really one in a million.  Like I always tell him, "Who's the best dog?  Who's the best dog?  It's you, Shiloh..."

Just came across this story on another blog.  It's a favorite of mine and just touches my heart so. I hope it blesses all of you...

SHMILY - A Love Story You Will Never Forget by Laura Jeanne Allen   

My grandparents were married for over half a century and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word "shmily" in a surprise place for the other to find.

They took turns leaving "shmily" around the house and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged "shmily" with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers, to await whoever was preparing the next meal.  They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio (where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring).

"Shmily" was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper, to leave "shmily" on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places "shmily" would pop up. Little notes with "shmily" scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows.  "Shmily" was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love, one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship.  They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection, which not everyone is lucky to experience.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses, as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble.  My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be.  She claimed that she really knew "how to pick 'em."  Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune and each other.

But, there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' lives: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier.  As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every Sunday morning. But, my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore.

For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

"Shmily." It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time.

Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and (taking a shaky breath) he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came (a deep and throaty lullaby).

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. I knew that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

"S-h-m-i-l-y:  See How Much I Love You..."

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for letting me see.

Our 7 yo son, David, was diagnosed with a benign bony cyst in his right ear canal in late January.  Although it did shrink somewhat thanks to much prayer and a little homeopathic care, it didn't shrink enough to avoid surgery, so on Friday, we brought David to the hospital and he had it removed under general anesthesia.  All went "super" in the doctor's words, and there were no complications, Praise God.

Although we did not get one big miracle, namely a supernatural healing, we had many more.  First of all, Praise God, it was benign.  When I discovered that thing in his ear, I was soooooo scared.  First, Ralph, my husband, is ill with ITP, to the point he could have bled to death numerous times, then my grandmother has dementia, later breaks her hip, ends up in a nursing home and is diagnosed not with dementia, but with Alzheimer's, and passes 6 months later, then Jon, my best friend and almost high school boyfriend, lost his battle with cancer 2 months after being diagnosed with a relapse of a cancer that he had 3 years before (the same form of the disease as my own father had 25 years before), just weeks after accepting the Lord, all this during major home renovations from which we are still, 2 1/2 years later, unpacking boxes from, now David has this "thingy" in his ear.  I just fell apart.  I operated in fear, even after 3 specialists told us it was benign.  Thank God they were right!!

Second, David's care was amazing.  His doctor has been written up by Newsweek as being one of the top 1300 or 1500 doctors in the country and the hospital is in the top 5% of hospitals in the country!  All that, and Ralph's insurance is covering the bulk of the cost. 

Next, David tolerated the anesthesia well.  In the pediatric recovery room, he was one of 5 children there.  All were crying or throwing up (a common reaction to general anesthesia), all except David.  God's grace was on him.  He slept peacefully, woke sweetly, (I was telling him I loved him and he woke enough to tell me that he loved me too and dozed off again...) and never cried or got sick. 

Fourth, David has never had any pain.  The only complaints he's had were some muscle aches, which only lasted a few hours, and that when he has his prescribed eardrops, his ear is uncomfortably ticklish and it doesn't last more than half an hour.

He's doing just great!

We still don't know why this surgery had to be, but we do know why it was postponed a month (he was being watched and tested for a rash, possibly strep, which was, thankfully, negative).  When David went with Ralph and I for the pre-op hospital tour in late March, along with the other kids there, he was asked to make a picture.  That picture would be kept for them, hanging on a bulletin board in pediatric recovery, and given back to them after they had their respective surgeries.

We figured that David's wouldn't be there because of the month's delay, but it was.

It was hanging there all that time (6 weeks).  It was a picture of a hill, a large cross and 3 red nail spots where our Savior was nailed to the cross!  This was hanging there in pediatric recovery all this time, ministering to God knows how many people.

Another small miracle.  In the waiting area bathrooms were church cards from a church we used to attend some time ago (we go to another church more local to us now).  It was a tangible reminder that the Lord was with David and Ralph and I thorough the surgery.

God is good...

...This is from The Family Room, which is an online publication of Family Life.  It's called 10 Ideas:  Remembering your relationship with God in the mundane events of the day and was written by Scott Williams.  Definitely worth a read:

10 Ideas

Remembering your relationship with God in the mundane events of the day.

Thought I would take advantage of all the extra space on the right and start adding to my favorite links list and categorize them for the sake of convenience.  Lots of goodies to share from my findings and recommendations from my friends out here in cyberspace. 

Please feel free to check them out and to recommend more to add...

Lots to report since my last post.  In late January, a week apart, we found out that our youngest son's right foot (he was born with both feet clubbed) has a slight curving of a bone in the forefoot.  We are back to stretching and taping the foot and have to watch it further.  If it gets worse and we catch it quickly, bracing the foot will do the trick, but if not, surgery is the only alternative.

The following week, I noticed small growth in his right ear canal.  Praise God, thankfully, according to 4 ENTs and a CAT scan, it is benign.  It has been shrinking

some, thanks to a great deal of prayer and a little homeopathy and antibiotic/steroid eardrops, but, if it doesn't reduce significantly further, it will be removed surgically on Fri., May 5.  The ENT is top notch, one of the best in the area, and the surgery is elective (not life-threatening, as he put it, and can grow now or at any time, effecting his hearing, which, Praise God, is perfect, but I'm still pretty shaky about it all.  If you read this, please pray that the Lord will heal it totally before the surgery date.  There is a whole lot more to the story, to much to say right now, but I can tell you that we have had confirmation after confirmation that the Lord is doing the work.  We are believing the report of the Lord, pure and simple.

Resurrection Day was wonderful.  My DH and 2 youngest girls and I were in a cantata, Thank You for the Cross, that combines traditional hymns and modern worship.  Just beautiful.

Passover has passed, but our Seder is Sunday evening.  We are leading a Seder for our church, first time they have ever had one.  Have been baking with the girls, getting music ready, as well as the Seder itself.

School is going well.  I'm already preparing plans for next year.  Will post those shortly.

Daughter #1, now 25, has met someone special.  We know the guy and he's a treasure.  They are good friends and I know there is a connection there.  Neither date, but go as a group to various places.  They are definitely in like, but he isn't sure if the Lord has called him to marry or stay single.  They spend time together within the group, but are not glued to each other.  I'm just praying that the Lord gives our daughter the desires of her heart that that she does not get hurt if this guy is not for her.  Personally, I believe could be a match made in heaven, but only time will tell...

Okay, so the decision has been made.  My hubby and I genuinely believe that we are being led to stay and serve, as the Lord opens the doors, at a church we have been visiting that we attended and left over 20 years ago.  We absolutely love the pastor (same as 20 years ago).  The Word is sooooo solid.  The people are wonderful.  The problem is exactly the same as when we left - lack of praise and worship music, which we all thrive on.  Only this time, we have more to bring to the table and there is an open heart to moving ever so slowly from an all hymns service to a blended music service.  There are those who will resist this, but we have a feeling that there are more who are for it than we realize.  We have not express our concerns or desires in this direction to anyone but the pastor.

So I get a call this week from new friends who attend there.  The Lord has a Word for us.  What is it?  The exact same Scripture the Lord gave us just before New Year's - Psalm 149:1!!!  " Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,  And His praise in the assembly of saints."

In our conversation, my friend also expressed her concerns for the same thing (she had no way of knowing our hearts on this).  Please keep her and her husband and myself and my husband in prayer.  We have been trying to get together to pray and fellowship for 2 or 3 weeks, but his work schedule keeps changing and now he's sick with the flu.  Seems we are being blocked, at least temporarily.  But my hubby and I are excited that the Lord is putting like minded people in our path there.  How exciting to know that we know that we know that the Lord has put us in this place, one of the last places we ever thought we would go, for such a purpose...Lord, give us wisdom, patience, and everything we need for this new thing, that we follow You and only You in this, that self is not in the way, that we always have a listening ear to what You have to say to us every step of the way...

1. The Bible will still have the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

Now I just bet you thought I would write something else...LOL

Had a great New Year's.  The greatest thing about New Year's is the idea of a fresh start.  Aside from knowing that Ralph's health is stable again, 2005 was a really rough year.  2006 is starting out to be more promising.  The Lord is so gracious.  We are settling down in another church, one we attended 20 years ago and, through the children's activities, have had a relationship with for all those years.  The praise, worship, and music is a whole lot quieter than we are used to, but there is an open door for slow change in those directions (for instance, a slow move from old hymns only to a more blended service with hymns and modern worship music.  The Word, as always, is solid and the move of His Holy Spirit is there.  Ralph and I know, for so many reasons too long to explain here, that the Lord has led us back here.  Funny, isn't it, but we have a tremendous peace about it all.

Just started classes again Tuesday.  Tuesday was so discouraging.  I guess it was the "I really don't want to start school again, Mom" blues, but today was so much better and I am encouraged.  Seeing friends tomorrow night for coffee and fellowship.  Looking forward to it.