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Resting and re-grouping

by | Apr 21, 2016 | Uncategorized

This last week or two have been quite the interesting ones.
My husband had a full knee replacement surgery. It went well other than a few glitches and issues.
He is recovering as far as the knee goes, he can bend it and it is healing properly.
The new problem is an infection and that is being treated very aggressively.
Prayers and good antibiotics have helped in this process.
The thing he has to do now is rest and let the healing take the time to do what it needs to do.
I know it’s hard but he has no choice.
Next week the 29 staples will be removed and he can learn to bend again without pain.
Before his surgery he was given a day of fun. He had a two hour flight scheduled out of Hillsboro and it was just what he needed.
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They took off in a small plane and decided to go up and over Mt Hood. Before doing that they flew over our house and neighborhood.
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The views from up high are way different that what we see below.
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This is a field by his old work site. It looks totally different from the level of a car.
They flew over Portland and the city buildings were amazing I don’t have those pictures yet.
They flew over the Oregon City bridge and water area, he said it was amazing.
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The day was beautiful and sunny. They had clear skies with fluffy clouds. Heading to Mt Hood it was beautiful and majestic.
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The majesty and glorious mountain covered in snow, with rugged beauty.
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Our God is so amazing to create such beauty and power in a mountain. Very much like Mt St Helen’s before the volcano changed it’s look.
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When he came out of the sky and back onto land his smile was wide and he was so happy.
It was a gift of a lifetime.
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As soon as he could he was ready to share the stories and pictures to anyone who wanted to see them.

The reason

by | Apr 15, 2016 | Uncategorized

I haven’t written for a little while because my husband retired, we had a party at his work, we had a few days off and then helped our son and his family move.
He had a full knee replacement surgery on the 12th and came home on the 14th.
So we are in a recovery mode.
It will take a few weeks for his pain level to even out, and then he can one more time learn to walk on a new knee.
There were a few complications but all in all he did very well.
Two days in the hospital and a night of sleeping in the recliner chair.
He is ready to get back to our familiar routine.
I made home made dinner last night and he wasn’t too hungry, I think the pain medications affect the appetite.
This afternoon the door bell rang and I opened the door to find a delivery lady with a bouquet.
He is sweet, sneaky guy, don’t know when he set that up.
I am taking a short pause before I get back into long term writing again.
Until then hang in there and remember God is with you always.
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Retirement

by | Apr 1, 2016 | Uncategorized

Today is my husband’s official day of retirement.
He left the company yesterday knowing that he would not return.
The first few months won’t really feel any different, next week is a week off. That could feel like a vacation.
Then he will have a full knee replacement surgery which will also require recovery time.
I don’t imagine retirement will hit him till at least the first week of June.
He has been on the job for 37 years. That is a long time. A lot of designing and planning.
He was a design engineer for a dental company designing all aspects of the dental units.
It seems strange to say “was”… he still is a designer but that skill won’t be used as much now.
He wants to find a motor home, or a truck and trailer. He wants to take some time to fish.
Just times for relaxing. He deserves it.
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He won’t be using the phontoon boat as much and he doesn’t have a dog.
But retirement could still mean a lot of fun.
We are figuring it all out and soon it will be a blur of memory and a wonder why, we were so ‘concerned.’
I think he feels a bit strange, to know he is not going back there to work.
He might even feel a bit displaced because for a man, identity forms within a job title.
He had his exit review. They wanted to know why he was retiring early.
His answer to them, “because I can.”
Yes because we can. That is a good enough reason.
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Happy Easter Weekend

by | Mar 26, 2016 | Uncategorized

We start our weekend out with a birthday breakfast for our grandson Josiah, he turns eight years old today.
The tradition is for each grandchild to go out for breakfast with grandpa, the choice is theirs where to go.
Then we will go to his house for a party with his family.
After that we have softball game for our grand daughter Hannah who is 12.
Then we will get ready for our ‘dinner’ for tomorrow, the traditional ham and potato’s and assorted dishes to go with that.
Tomorrow will be Easter service then home for dinner and relaxing.
A good weekend that is both busy and full of family.
Happy Easter to my faithful encouraging readers.IMG_20160325_145717 [2843460]IMG_20160325_145813 [2829557]
[Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him, for the Lord is your life.]

It will be good

by | Mar 23, 2016 | Uncategorized

As I mentioned in the last writing we moved to a two story home on a corner lot, with larger rooms to live in.
Now that I think of it years later, we were funny to do this kind of move when our other ‘home’ would have worked for us.
No point in thinking backwards, we have been here now for many years and this feels like home to me.
When we first moved here I didn’t like it. It was dark, the sun had different ways coming into the windows, it was not our home, not the home we built or raised our children in.
I don’t do change easily probably because of the background I came from. I like things to stay the same.
We both worked fulltime so we were here evenings and weekends.
There is a lot more yard to take care of and having two stories was a new experience, that I thought I wanted. Now I am learning differently.
A single level would be perfect with no stairs. As we get older the up and down is not safe anymore, I always have to hang on to the railing.
We became grandparents in this home, the only home they have ever known for us.
We struggled through the year of our 25th anniversary then a baby came.
It brought us hope and a new meaning of grandma and grandpa. We worked on our relationship and continued to make it work.
After Faith was born I stayed home to be with her for close to four years, it was the beginning of healing for me.
To sit and rock and love on that precious tiny baby, it was good for me to slow down and rest.
In this house we have had a variety of different surgeries and illnesses.
In this house we have learned about hospice, and healing on many levels.
In this house we have lost pets, and gained some. We have lost parents and friends.
We have grown apart then back together again.
We have had, the good times and the bad and yet we remained together.
The journey has not always been easy but no journey is.
In this house I began my writing process and have created a place for ‘sharing my heart.’
Larry was the one who suggested it.
After I left my last job I didn’t know what to do with myself.
The grand children were all in school. I watched my nieces little baby and yet I needed something else.
He suggested that I write. He wanted me to tell my story or at least a part of it.
When I was working there was never time or energy to do anything like that.
I took advantage of her nap times and then shut myself in the den room, and began the process of ‘writing’.
It has been quite the learning process. I focus on topics and self made deadlines.
I love being my own boss.
In this house we are growing old together. We are creating memories and finding who we are as a older couple.
Soon Larry will be retired, he will have one more serious surgery and then we will begin the time of recovery once he is home.
It will take time but our hope is the ability to travel and see things we have never seen. And of course move one more time.
God will guide us to the right home, and the right setting with the right ‘people’ to help us move.
It will be good. It is always good when we follow his leading.

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