Purchase Far Above Rubies or Blessed is the Man by May 21, 2009, and get  a bakers’ dozen of great bonuses valued at over $100!

Many of you may not know that Jim Erskine of Homeschool Radio Shows has purchased and taken over publication of our high school unit studies Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man.  In the process, he has created a couple of products I had long wished to do. Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man are now available in printable PDF format on CD ROM at the low price of $69.95 each. In addition to the full text of FAR or BITM, each CD contains many valuable extra resources. You can find the complete list on my website, www.lyndacoats.com

To celebrate this new product and help reach my support goal, I have put together a special introductory offer only available through the above website.  Through the generosity of friends and fellow publishers, you will receive several wonderful FREE gifts with every order for Far Above Rubies or Blessed is the Man placed on this website before May 21 at the regular price of $69.95, with FREE shipping on the CD as well.                                                                                           

When you see these offerings, I am sure you will want to take advantage of this sale. Where  else can your money do the double duty of obtaining all these wonderful resources of your family and helping further the work of Christ’s Kingdom among the Native American children of Arizona?

When you order Far Above Rubies or Blessed is the Man, here are the bonuses you’ll receive:

1. A Little Web Page, by Phyllis Wheeler of Motherboard Books, a 35-page e-book containing a fun exercise for ages 7-9 using a free trial download of software Web Studio. (Retail value $7.95)

3/4 Yes, You Can! Publications offers practical two freebies from their exciting line of e-books to assist 
and encourage homeschoolers. All are written by Michelle Geffken, author, speaker and homeschooling 
mom of six. Michelle especially loves to encourage parents that they can succeed with the tricky subject 
of art in the home. You can read more at http://www.yesyoucanpublications.com/.  Individual titles are:

3. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TEACH ART WHEN NO ONE TAUGHT ME?!  A 10-page pdf of encouragement 
and practical help for homeschool parents wondering how to tackle art. Ideal for new homeschoolers,
 but useful for anyone.  Would nicely enhance the art activities in FAR or BITM. (Retail value $4.95)

4. E-BOOKS: WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM ALL?!  The updated, 4th edition of this popular 40+ page e-book. 
A guide to more effectively storing, managing, printing less expensively and using ebooks in the homeschool. 
This could even be a help in making the best use of the FAR or BITM CD itself. (Retail value $9.95)

5.  The Word of God on Being a Woman, a Wife and a Mother, written by Candy Foote 
Are you interested in knowing what God’s Word has to say concerning this topic? This book is a 
compilation of God’s Word concerning being a woman, a wife and a mother.  There aren’t any 
comments made by the author.  It is entirely the Word of God.  (Retail $10.00)

6. Set of Three e-books - The Tawny Scrawny Lion - Fun Unit, plus Character Builders plus 7 Carrot Soup Recipes Based on the children’s book Tawny, Scrawny Lion, this unit study is geared for preschoolers but can also be enjoyed by older siblings as well.  This is donated by author Miiko GIbson of Our Grace Journey at www.mllkogibson.com.  (Retail $11.95)

7.  Sometimes I am Lonely, also by Miiko Gibson, was written for her daughter to address this common emotion from a Biblical perspective. (Retail value $7.95)

8. A selection of beautiful complimentary copywork sheets on classic topics from Phyllis Wheeler of Motherboard Books.

9. Continuing Education for Moms Download from Marilyn Moll contains twelve of her most popular phone seminars from www.urbanhomemaker,com, now available on one MP3 download. Gain a wealth of information at your convenience from well-known authors, experts, and other moms just like you. (Retail value $15.95)

Includes these 12 seminars:

1. Encouragement For Moms with Lorrie Flem
2. Health Begins in the Kitchen with Marilyn Moll
3. The Two-Stage Process with Sue Gregg
4. Healthy Water with Diane Carson
5. Cook Your Way to Wellness with Maria Atwood
6. Future Christian Homemakers with Laurie Latour
7. 12 Week Holiday Planner with Sheri Graham and Ann Voskamp
8. Cleaning Without Chemicals with Sandy Tuin
9. Child Training Tips with Reb Bradley
10. Canning Seminar with Lisa Vitello
11. The Hope Chest Society with Ruth Sundeen and Rebekah Wilson
12. Kick the Cold Cereal Habit

10. Activity Bags Sampler #2 from www.ActivityBags.com, includes assembly instructions for:

* 5 Preschool Activities in a Bag  * 5 Craft Kits in a Bag * 5 Math Games In a Bag
* 5 Science Experiments In a Bag * A 30-day Challenge Devotional and Journal page

Retail value for set is $20.00

11. Math Can Be Fun! e-book from Terri Johnson of HomeschoolingABCs.com -Need a little jumpstart when it comes to math? Are any of your students experiencing burn-out. Do you need to go a different direction? This 21-page e-book is an excerpt from Homeschooling ABCs lessons.

12. The Homeschool Transcript: It’s Easier Than You Think!  A downloadable audio workshop by Janice Campbell (Regularly $9.95) -- There is really nothing scary in the transcript preparation process! Come and learn about the three basic sections in a transcript, and how to collect and record information in a professional format. Whatever kind of homeschooling you’ve done, traditional or non-, you can create a transcript that accurately records your student’s achievements. Remember, it’s easier than you think!

13. A full-size copy of the Spring 2009 issue of The Old Schoolhouse, America’s premier homeschooling magazine.

For each of the packages offered on the website, you’ll be able to instantly download many of your free gifts from the shopping cart. Your Far Above Rubies or Blessed is the Man CD and other print items will be shipped FREE via USPS.

 I can feel what she felt; I can relate to what she is saying. I can also feel great sorrow for her, knowing that she did not have the comfort of the Lord in the way that we do. Though she spoke of God, it was never as the loving Savior or Father, but only as the power of the universe.

 I do not know the circumstances of these writings of hers, but I am quite sure that she experienced, or at least, understood, the heartache of losing someone close--- the pain that never completely goes away --- the hole that is left in your heart forever. Regrettably for her, she may not have known the Savior who answers her dilemma. He does know ‘why’ and He is ever ready to help those who love Him to understand it as well. Life goes on, because He is in control. His plans are far above our plans, but they are perfect for us.

When we lean on Him He will direct our paths. We can be sure that our life will go on under His blessed wings,  There is no better place to be.

This and the next two or three blogs, which I will try to post later today, will be sharing the expressions of love by my children to their father. This was written first and is by our daughter on her own blog. I am sharing it with her permission.  http://rebekah-livelifeyourway.blogspot.com

The above line from my favorite Dickens novel describes our life for the last two weeks only ours were in reverse order. It may sound strange to describe a time of illness and death in such a manner. In all honesty, it sounds a bit that way to me as well. Yet, for the last two weeks, that phrase has come to mind many times in our family’s journey.

It all started on October 28, when my beloved awoke before dawn heaving the contents of his stomach, laced with what I knew to be blood. Becky and I cleaned him up, only to have it happen again a couple of hours later.  By then, I knew we had to call the hospice nurse, who arrived a little after nine. After a thorough examination, she pronounced him “in the last stage” and set us up on CTC, their version of ICU. This meant we would have around the clock nursing care for as long as he lived or until he was significantly better.

This was discouraging but uplifting at the same time. While I hated to see Lauren so near the end, I knew he had slipped into a coma and was not hurting.  We also had the benefit of extra help to care for his needs, giving Becky and me a bit of much-needed relief.  An unexpected blessing from this was some precious Christian fellowship with the two ladies who came to serve during that time.

For more about all of this, see http://www.lyndacoats.com/?p=31 written as an e-mail and posted for me during that time. Thank you, Janice!) I‘m sorry it never made it to the blog.

Lauren awoke Thursday morning fully conscious saying “Feed me!” He ate a whole cup of yogurt, drank a nutrition shake and ate a few bites of bean soup. He seemed over the hump and was well enough to graduate from CTC the next morning. This was good.

We had a good weekend, until Sunday morning.  He awoke about 4:00 AM screaming, “No! No!” This worried me a bit as I had always heard that Christians died looking forward to going home. I knew Lauren belonged to the Lord, so why was he fighting death? Or was he? He had not been able to carry on much conversation since the downturn but he managed to tell me that he was ready for heaven but did not want to leave us. I reassured him, as I had several times before, that he could go if God called him, that we would be okay as God was still caring for us.  That calmed him and we sat and talked for hours. By about 10:00 he was sleeping again, this time very peacefully.

Several times that day he awoke in severe pain. In response, the nurse increased the recommended dosage of morphine, keeping him sedated. When she came to do a regular exam and wound dressing the next morning, it was clear that his body was breaking down.  His kidneys were failing, large sections of his skin was becoming necrotic. She decided to put him back on CTC that evening. He never made it there, as he passed away just a little before 4:00 PM that day, Monday, November 5, 2007.

Even that was both a good time and a bad one. He was gone from our daily lives, and we would miss him. Yet, he was out of pain, free of his disabilities and with the Lord.  In that we could rejoice. Please share in our Prasie that God has taken another saint home.

Well, it was exactly one week ago that Lauren and I returned home from UAB hospital.  He is well established with very good hospice program.  My mother was with the same group when she passed away just over a year ago. So far, we have been visited by (in this order): Drew, the intake nurse; Lynda, our patient tech (4 times) ; Isabeth RN (three times) ; Brother Larry the hospice chaplain; and the social worker Terri. We feel very loved and cared for with such a great support system. 

In addition to hospice workers, we have had visits from church members, long-time friends and extended family and have received many cards including some from some of you out there.  We appreciate every one of them. Lauren loves to see visitors.  If you are in the area, please drop by. Even if Laurren does not know you he will enjoy the visit.  Some days he doesn't remember the people he does know, but he is always glad to have company.

Caring for someone as sick as Lauren is not easy, even with hospice and family to help.  However, I am glad to have the opportunity to minister to him this way at home. I am also grateful for my precious daughter who lives with us, and the other extended family members who are willing to pitch in as needed. 

Becky and I are taking turns with the care when she is not in school, but since Lauren is not sleeeping much Becky and I both stay pretty tired. Just his daily wound care (he has several deep and serious wounds from previous procedures) is taking much time. There are also breathing treatments every four hours, lots of medications, feeding him(he cannot even eat on his own) and routine hygiene issues. Even with the trained aide coming in three days a week and the nurse weekly, there is more work than I expected. I AM NOT COMPLAINING. I am grateful to be able to do this. I just want you all to know why I may not post here as often as you (and I) would like.  If any of you have any pointers to make this kind of care easier, please let me know.

We covet and appreciate your prayers. We know God is answering them.

Most of us would probably be upset if someone put somethIng on a website we owned without our knowledge. However, this just happened to me, and I couldn't be any more delighted.

Janice Campbell, owner of Everyday Education, author of many wonderful homeschool resources, and the volunteer manager of my website at www.lyndacoats.com has posted a notice there about a wonderful sale she and other friends in the Christian self-publishing cxommunity are holding for me.  I had asked her to help me post info for special pricing on my own new items, but did not expect this. Even though it sounds as if I wrote the article, it was a total surprise to me. Please check it out and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity for your family. Thank you, Janice and CSP friends. You all are the best.

Our roller coaster ride may not be over yet, but for now, the Lord has eased us to a safe landing at home.  Lauren seems to be feeling better. He is breathing more easily more consistently, and his vitals seem to be good. He sleeps a lot but it is a peaceful sleep, not like it often was in the hospital. He wears out easily but enjoys having company.  His best times are about 7 -10 AM and  6-8 PM. If you would like to call or come see him, try to schedule it during those times.

Members of our church family have been gracious to help with food and other needs, including a room divider to offer Lauren privacy though his hospital bed is set up in our main room. That way, he can be in the middle of everything that is happening without having to ask people to leave when he needs care. Our dear friend Trudie created a beautiful painting with Scripture verses to hang over Lauren' s bed. We have also received lots of cards, drawings and photos.  Instead of putting them on the wall, he has decided to use a scrapbook so he can hold it in his hands and look through his memories.  He would like pictures included with cards (or digitals sent separately) so he can match names to faces. We would like to thank all of you for flowers, cards, gifts, financial assistance, food, and all other kindnesses shown to us during this illness.

Lauren is home! He is not cured and, according to the doctors, never will be.  However, he is at home with us under hospice care. That is enough for now.

We are still asking God for the miracle of supernatural healing but are willing to accept whatever He sends us. Please continue to pray for our entire family.

Thanks to those of you who sent cards to the hospital. We received nearly a dozen today, just before we left.  It seems that patient mail is only delivered once a week and today was the day. It was a wonderful spirit booster for both of us. We feel so loved.

Our rollercoaster hit rock bottom last night, and then climbed almost all the way to the top before midnight. God is good and was holding on to us all the way.

Last night about 6, Lauren and I were watching a DVD Becky had brought us on our portable DVD player when Lauren began gasping for breath. With the push of a button, nurses came flying and gave him massive doses of medication and a breathing treatment and increased his oxygen flow. Still, he struggled for each breath. The doctor came and told me this was called agonal breathing and he would probably not come out of it. Since he has a DNR order, I said my goodbyes and called the children and our pastor. I told them they did not have to come as I was not sure he would even be alive when they made the 1.5 hour trip. The nurse called the chaplain, who came and prayed with us.

Soon Lauren slipped into what appeared to be a coma and was in that state when the children arrived, along with my sister and a few close family friends. We all visited together in the family recreation suite while each person went in individually to say goodbye. Both car loads from Montgomery headed home about 10:30, not expecting to see Lauren alive again.

Our young friend Joel, who is a Marine recently home from Iraq, came in to say hello and goodbye. I did not even know he was in the area (visiting his mother in Birmingham), but one of my sons did and called him. He showed up with his mother, brother and sister (all of whom are longtime family friends) about 8:30, When the Montgomery crew left , Joel came into the room to sit with me. Within a few minutes, Lauren opened his eyes, looked at Joel and called him by name. He remained awake and alert for a couple of hours, during which we called the others back. Some were able to return; the others he talked to on the phone.

When everyone left, Lauren turned to me and said "Let.s watch our show," referring to the video we had interrupted. While I was setting it up, he asked when it would be time to go home.  He seemed to think it was already morning. When I told him  what time it was, he said he wanted to sleep now and watch the show later. He woke again about 7 this morning and seems no worse for the wear.

We are scheduled to go home this afternoon.  If you are in the Montgomery area, please call or stop by to see him tomorrow or any time after that. The primary reason he gives for wanting to go home is to see everyone.

I am disappointed that none of your cards have arrived at the hospital yet. Those that are on their way will be forwarded to t he house when they arrive.  If you have still not sent one, please send it to our home address: 24 N. Florida Street, Montgomery, AL 36107.

Please praise the Lord with us for His ongoing mercies and keep us in your prayers.

Yesterday Lauren took a considerable turn for the worse. He was lethargic and almost comatose all day long and complained of severe pain every time he awoke. He was having serious incidents of wheezing and difficulty breathing in spite of being on oxygen and having several nebulizer treatments. Tests showed that his kidneys also seemed to be shutting down.

I felt especially sorry for poor Becky who came up to spend the day and had almost no real interaction with her father. She and I did manage some good time together, but the overall experience left her disappointed and emotionally drained. I was discouraged but kept looking forward to a better day today.

This morning I was awakened by one of Lauren's doctors.  She had looked at the blood tests and information from his chart and was very concerned.  She laid everything out for me and told me that this was probably the beginning of the end.  In addition to the things I already knew, she said that his kidneys were continuing to fail and that his blood pressure was dropping -- both bad signs. She said Lauren has only a few days to go; he might not even live long enough to make it home.

With grace and assurance that could only have come from the Lord, I did not get upset or even any more discouraged. I simply asked the Lord to do His will. I did pray that if He was not going to take Lauren to be with him very soon, He would let him rally enough to be able to make the trip home.  Lauren and I both would rather he was there when the end comes.

Within an hour, Lauren was awake and alert and has been for most of the day. He has had only one wheezing spell and required only one breathing treatment all day.  He has also begun to cough up fluid after the treatment, which is a good thing but had not been happening. His pain level has been lower than usual and the blood pressure is almost back up to normal. They have not done any new tests on the kidneys, but his urine output is increasing, which indicates they are probably working better.

God is working! Praise him for that and continue to pray for His will and His care for all of us

In a consultation among all of Lauren's doctors, it was decided that the pain and other potential problems associated with radiation outweighed the benefits. For that reason, Lauren is being discharged on Tuesday with either home health or hospice to help at the house. We wanted hospice as they offer more care and a broader range of services.  However, the hospice we had chosen cannot accommodate a patient with a wound vac, which Lauren has to use for the time being. We are now looking for a place that can handle that. Please pray with us about that.

We refuse to be discouraged by this. It has been approved by God or it would not come to touch our lives. We trust Him fully and look forward to being home with our extended family and friends.  We need your help to make Lauren's homecoming a happy one for him.  Please send or bring cards, letters, posters, banners, photographs, balloons, small treasures or anything else that will brighten his room. Messages can be 'get well', 'welcome home'. 'we love you', or anything in a similar vein. Your help in this will be most appreciated. He would especially like to have pictures of those family and friends he knows personally as he says that will make him feel that they are still close around him.

The address  to which you may send items for Lauren is:

24 N. Florida Street; Montgomery, AL 36107

 While I do not wish to concentrate on finances, we do need prayer in that area. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and only about 80% will be paid by medicare.  With only Lauren's disability as income, this will be a burden. Please pray for God's provision and for a job or other income for me once he is gone.

Sorry, folks, but it's commercial time. As they used to say on all the old game shows: "We need a minute to pay our bills." I will return to the current thread in the next post. Now, I would like to let you all know about some new developments in my buisness.

First on the list is a clearance sale on all remaining stock of Blessed is the Man unit study curriculum for high school boys. Regularly priced at $64.95, this item has been reduced to $47.00 for this month OR while supplies last. When the current stock is gone, this item will be out of print in hard copy format.  We plan to release it as a series of e-books in early 2008. For wholesale prices contact us at blessedruby@aol.com.

I have finally ventured into the e-book market with release of 5 new downloadable titles. They include:   All the Letters All Year Long a total immersion phonics program for preschoolers and beginning readers with fun activities for the whole family; Taking it on the Road, a collection of fun, hands-on,easily-transportable educational activites for the whole family, ideal for trips and car errands; and   Life with the Pony Express, a historical fiction triology from a Christian perspective.

More information on all of these is available at my new website www.lyndacoats.com. We will also be looking for vendors who would like to carry these items and others who wish to sell them as affiliates.  For information on either of these, e-mail me directly.

I will be posting the latest on Lauren's condition later today. It's time to go feed him lunch right now.

WIth only three patients on our wing at the moment, the computer is much more available, so I should be able to post more often, as long as I do it when Lauren is sleeping or out of the room for a procedure. I am going to try to return to some of my e-mail lists and answer yuour e-ails more readily. However, I am still rather limited in what I can do.  This computer is considered part of the UAB employees' network, so it locks out everything seen as recreational, which includes the Yahoo groups website and many blogs. Even on this blog, I can post but not comment. I have to get someone to do that vrom another location. I also cannot click on links to profiles or websites of fellow bloggers.

Lauren went to radiation today but was unable to complete the treatment.  The doctors will decide tomorrow if he can continue.  He is still receiving some treatment for an infection and complications from the orignal surgery.  He has about 3-5 more days of that and will probably be returning home early next week, if the radiation is discontinued. We have already been in touch with Baptist Hospice for health care help at home. WHat we may need from you all is fellowship and encouragement.  If you live locally to Montgomery, please call and come by whenever you can. If not, you can help by sending cards to our home address. Please e-mail me if you need the address or phone number.

Thank you all for your prayers.  Please continue. 

Today, Lauren began his radiation treatments.  He came back in quite a bit of pain, caused from lying on a hard surface for so long with the serious wounds on his back side,  He is not sure he can make it through 19 more of these as he is scheduled to do, but we are praying that he can.  Please pray with us about that.

I continue to be impressed by the quality of care here in this unit of this hospital. Since we have been at UAB, we have dealt with about two dozen doctors (including residents) in several specialties as well as several interns and medical students. There are six doctors dedicated to palliative care, but they rotate among several locations and usually work in teams of two.

In addition to at least two doctors on any given day, our tiny little unit (twelve patients max) here has two nurses and four PCTs on each shift.  We also have access to physical therapy three days a week and respiration therapy as needed.  There are counselors, psychologists, and social workers available on call to help if requested.  The chaplain, Methodist pastor Melvin Rodgers, holds a worship service each Sunday, leads Bible studies as requested, is available for prayer with patients and families, and tries to visit  and offer comfort to all of his assigned patients and their loved ones.  To make life here more fun there are also music therapist who plays guitar and sings at the bed side once a week; weekly Bingo games on closed circuit television; volunteers who come by to visit and bring small treats, and a little black dog named Izzy, who is known as a pet therapist.

Lauren and I both appreciate all the prayer, cards, letters, and gifts.  They make us feel loved.  Lauren is making a scrapbook of the cards he receives.  If you are able to do so, please send him a card for this collection.  Please continue to pray, and know that we love you for it.

I just reread yesterday's post and discovered a serious error. I want to set the record straight and correct a statement that reflected badly on some very dear people.

I write my blogs out on paper in the hospital room so it will take less computer time to post them. In typing yesterday's post, I left out a line that totally changed its meaning.

The post should have read "The people who have been taking care of my business for me apparently are not able  to handle shipping orders along with everything else they do . Becky is being forced to take it over if we are going to stay afloat. Please pray for her not to become too stressed over all the things she has to do.

The material in bold face was left out when I skipped a line of the paper from which I was reading. To Andy, Deborah, Emily, and Robyn, please forgive me. Thank you all for all you are doing for the school. All seems to be going pretty well there.

To everyone else, please pray for these good people who are working hard to handle the schooling side of the ministry/business. It is not an easy job, but they are giving it their best.

When I started this blog, I said it would be about things I learned in my homeschooling years. In order to make good on that promise, today's entry is based on one of my favorite homesschool teaching tips --- the vocabulary notebook. (This is also a suggested activity in Far Above Rubies and Blessed is the Man unit studies.)

From the earliest time they could read and write, my children were required to keep a spiral notebook in which they recorded and defined new words they learned each week. There were to be at least ten new words (previously unfamiliar) per week, which could come from homeschool subjects, indelendent study, leisure reading, or any other source.  Each word would then be listed inn the book with its definition(s).

Along that vein, I present my "Hospital Vocabulary" words.  I am afraid I was not able to find ten, but here's what I have learned since I have been here.

attending (used as a noun in medical circles only)

geriatrician

inspirometer

ostomy ( or ostomy bag)

palliative (used in front of the word 'care' )

"squamous cell (called by doctors here 'squeamy" cell)

suprapubic

You will notice thst I did not give the definitions.  That is your assignment, should you decide to accept it. Post thedefinitiosn here or email them to me, if you wish. Most of the wordas are easy to discern as they are made from other words or come from common roots.  At any rate, I thought it would be fun. (See I told you it was boring up here.)

Sorry to have missed posting for a day.  I spent Thursday night, Friday and a few hours of this  morning in Montgomery for an eye doctor’s appointment and to take care of some other business matters. In the process, I came up with  few more prayer requests.

We have recently changed banks for our checking account, and I went yesterday to have Lauren’s Social Security disability check direct deposit changed to the new account.  They will not allow me to do it, even with power of attorney. They say it can only be done by him IN PERSON.  As most of you are aware, Lauren cannot go anywhere ovther than on a stretcher in an ambulance.  They would not be able to wait on him in their building in that condition, even if he could get there. We have already closed the account it will be going into, so I don’t know what to do.  Please pray for a solution.

The people who have been taking care of my business for me, apparently are not. Becky is being forced to take it over if we are going to stay afloat. Please pray for her not to become too stressed over all the things she has to do.

While I was gone, Lauren developed an infection and abscess immediately beneath the sutures from his colostomy surgery. A doctor came into his room and performed surgery to remove the infection, cutting out so much that they had to create Lauren a new navel. I don’t know why that was necessary, but he found the whole procedure fascinating. He has had a severe stomach ache and nausea all day today, probably due to the infection and subsequent treatment.  Pray for a speedy correction to this problem.

Since my return, Lauren has been much more alert and mentally astute than he has at any time since he has been her.  It is the result of a new stimulant medicine he is taking.  They told name about it Thursday and started it yesterday.  I am not sure what I think about him being on it, but he does seem to be enjoying life a little more today.

Thank youn all for reading and praying. We appreciate all of you.  Please feel free to leave comments.  I read them all to Lauren, and we both find them encouraging.

I will be going home tonight and coming back tomorrow evening.  My daughter called a few hours ago to remind me that my long-needed eye doctor's appointment was set for tomorrow morning. We discussed postponing it, but I really do need the checkup (I have glaucoma and need to be checked regularly). My dear, sweet, hubby was adamant that I go ahead and have it done. He says he will be fine without me for that long. That is probably true.  This unit does have exceptionally good care and a small patient caregiver ratio.

As safe as he will be here, and as much as I will enjoy sleeping in my own bed, cooking and eating in my own kitchen, and using my own computer, I still don't really want to go.  I will miss hours of time with my sweetheart. I have nver really liked being away from him and now those feelings are stronger than ever.

Please pray for Lauren's care and comfort while I am gone, safe travel there and back, and peace of mind while I am away. Also pray that my doctor's appointnent will go well and not reveal any new damage.

I will try to add more updates about today from home tonight or tomorrow. We have had some interesting experiences.