Just received this message from Mel....
Pops could not have his surgery today---had a skin reaction to the dye in the CAT scan dye so they have sent him home with steroids. Thinking it will be a couple of days at least until the surgery.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bob's surgery
Zona and Bob called this morning to let us know that his surgery is today in the U.S. (Wed.) at 11:00 am. Wow! They were able to get him right in and get the surgery scheduled. They still think it looks very good and will only remove a small portion and he should still be able to function just fine with what he has left. They will not be able to visit us as they had planned because their trip was planned less than 4 weeks from the surgery and that is just not enough recovery time. We are disappointed that they will not be able to come as planned but are hoping they can reschedule their trip for later on in the year. We are thankful that they found the mass early and are able to get this taken care of quickly. Please join us in praying for him!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Yesterday we received the news that Bob (Kelly's dad)has a malignancy on his colon. He is meeting with a surgeon today to find out what is involved with surgery to remove it and what other treatment might be needed. We are grateful that Mama Z, suggested he get a colonoscopy (he was not having any negative symptoms)because the Dr.'s feel confident that they have found it in the very early stages.
Please pray for the surgeons for wisdom and timing to remove it and pray that God would allow it to be completely eradicated from his body!
Today, I spent most of the day with my husband--which is always an unexpected treat! We began the day, going to school to hear Noah's "Home Country" presentation. He did a good job of presenting the U.S.A.---the home of this birth--and learned a few things in the process!
After the meeting we returned home and I did email while Kelly cleaned up the lose ends from moving his office out yesterday. Then we headed into town to run some errands and then meet friends for lunch to hear how their latest trip in country went. It was exciting to hear the latest about how G has opened the doors for them to open a rep office for an export business in the U.S. I remember having a meeting with them about a year ago--a hard meeting, where K asked them to spend the next yr figuring out a way to go live back inside and them thinking there was no possible way they could be involved in business. We have seen G change their hearts and lead them step by step to this process so they will be moving back around the first of the year. We spent about 3 hours with them.
Then, we headed to Kelly's new office so he could show me and get input about the arrangement of everything. We had an unexpected treat while we were there, of seeing an old friend who used to work with us in V but now lives in another country nearby. He was able to show us pictures of his family and we were able to spend a little time catching up. BTW, I'm excited about Kelly's new office set up and the possibilities.
After this we returned home in time to get ready for the kids to arrive home at 4:30. They are all swimming on the swim team so they get home late four days a week. Sat. will be the swim meet and they all came home and with the assignments of the races they will compete in. They are excited and nervous about the swim meet!
I am reading a book a friend sent called, "Get Out of That Pit," by Beth Moore. I've just started it but like it so far. I'll try to write up a review of it when I'm finished but can't promise it will be anytime soon. :>
I'm feeling better...but still a bit queasy, esp. when it comes to eating. Tomorrow, we've got a pretty full day--ending with Malia having a sleep over in the evening for her birthday. She has invited 4 friends---and with her and her sister that makes 6! She is excited!
Blessings!
Please pray for the surgeons for wisdom and timing to remove it and pray that God would allow it to be completely eradicated from his body!
Today, I spent most of the day with my husband--which is always an unexpected treat! We began the day, going to school to hear Noah's "Home Country" presentation. He did a good job of presenting the U.S.A.---the home of this birth--and learned a few things in the process!
After the meeting we returned home and I did email while Kelly cleaned up the lose ends from moving his office out yesterday. Then we headed into town to run some errands and then meet friends for lunch to hear how their latest trip in country went. It was exciting to hear the latest about how G has opened the doors for them to open a rep office for an export business in the U.S. I remember having a meeting with them about a year ago--a hard meeting, where K asked them to spend the next yr figuring out a way to go live back inside and them thinking there was no possible way they could be involved in business. We have seen G change their hearts and lead them step by step to this process so they will be moving back around the first of the year. We spent about 3 hours with them.
Then, we headed to Kelly's new office so he could show me and get input about the arrangement of everything. We had an unexpected treat while we were there, of seeing an old friend who used to work with us in V but now lives in another country nearby. He was able to show us pictures of his family and we were able to spend a little time catching up. BTW, I'm excited about Kelly's new office set up and the possibilities.
After this we returned home in time to get ready for the kids to arrive home at 4:30. They are all swimming on the swim team so they get home late four days a week. Sat. will be the swim meet and they all came home and with the assignments of the races they will compete in. They are excited and nervous about the swim meet!
I am reading a book a friend sent called, "Get Out of That Pit," by Beth Moore. I've just started it but like it so far. I'll try to write up a review of it when I'm finished but can't promise it will be anytime soon. :>
I'm feeling better...but still a bit queasy, esp. when it comes to eating. Tomorrow, we've got a pretty full day--ending with Malia having a sleep over in the evening for her birthday. She has invited 4 friends---and with her and her sister that makes 6! She is excited!
Blessings!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Finally.....
It's been a while since I've been able to send an update. First, my computer crashed. We took it in to have it repaired. The memory was corrupted. Then, when we got it back, the files we had saved had many errors and it just took a while to be able to get it all up and running again. Then, when it was finally repaired, many of my old settings were gone. When I tried to log onto blogger...it was in Thai and I couldn't read it. It took several days to try and figure out how to change it back to English!
The kids still have one week left of school. There are actually 10 days left but we are leaving for Singapore next Sunday, so they will miss the last 3 days. Funny, if you've seen the new Pirates movie, they go to Singapore. The kids have NO memory of Singapore and it is not very inviting in the movie. They will be pleasantly surprised!
Everyone is doing very well...except for me. I've had a stomach bug for almost a week now. I am just finding myself very weak. I hope it is over with. The last couple of mornings, I've started out feeling much better but end up crashing by about 3pm.
We received our new couches...FINALLY. They are beautiful and make such a difference. I feel like our home finally looks like a home...what a difference a few nice chairs make! Kel moves his desk out on Monday so downstairs will look like a "normal" home. I've practice stenciled but still haven't found just the right combination I was hoping to find.
I want to take some pictures and show you. I'll work on that. I often forget how to do it. It's nice because I can take pics now with my phone. BUT, I can't remember how to download them.
The kids still have one week left of school. There are actually 10 days left but we are leaving for Singapore next Sunday, so they will miss the last 3 days. Funny, if you've seen the new Pirates movie, they go to Singapore. The kids have NO memory of Singapore and it is not very inviting in the movie. They will be pleasantly surprised!
Everyone is doing very well...except for me. I've had a stomach bug for almost a week now. I am just finding myself very weak. I hope it is over with. The last couple of mornings, I've started out feeling much better but end up crashing by about 3pm.
We received our new couches...FINALLY. They are beautiful and make such a difference. I feel like our home finally looks like a home...what a difference a few nice chairs make! Kel moves his desk out on Monday so downstairs will look like a "normal" home. I've practice stenciled but still haven't found just the right combination I was hoping to find.
I want to take some pictures and show you. I'll work on that. I often forget how to do it. It's nice because I can take pics now with my phone. BUT, I can't remember how to download them.
Monday, May 7, 2007
My helper has been gone since Friday and tonight we had our book study at our house. I dread her being gone but then at the same time, enjoy it, too. She doesn't clean like I would like her to, so I usually take the times when she is gone to get in the kitchen with the bleach and clean it like I like it. In my opinion, bleach is a clean smell. In Kelly's opinion, bleach is a strong smell. Funny, Sage, came into the kitchen and said, "it smells so clean in here!" Ha. Anyway, she won't be here tomorrow either. And, everything is nice and clean. I'm astounded that we CAN keep it clean, if we really try. My helper likes to iron. She will spend hours ironing. She doesn't like to clean that much. I HATE to iron. I would choose cleaning over ironing anyday! :>
I was dreading book study. There is an interesting dilemma that has occurred in our small group. Two of the families own their own home. The rest of us are renters. The two that own their own homes are new to Chiangmai and their standards for their homes and decor is on a different level than ours. The positive thing about it is that they have motivated me to make some changes that will make me happier in the long run. Things that you try to tell yourself are insignificant and don't really matter but they make a world of difference to your disposition when they are done. The negative is that I was dreading having folks come over because I felt like there is just no way that our home can measure up to the same standard as theirs. I'm not sure I've ever felt that way out here. So, instead of focusing on the book, or my friends, or the fellowship.... It was needless worry.
After the study, I was so thankful that God has given me the husband/marriage/family that he has given me. Rejoicing that my husband is a Godly man who does what is right and not concerned at all about how my house looked. Of course, it still Smelled, clean, so there was pleasure in that! I'm so relieved because I was worried about how I was going to get over this obsession with things not being like theirs. When, now, I'm thanking God.... :> Wish I could go into more detail.
The girls gave a pre-garage sale with their Barbie's and Polly's since some of these couples have little girls. They ended up making about $40...which isn't a bad deal at all. I think they were thrilled. There is still a little bit left that will go into our garage sale.
One day soon, I will figure out how to upload pictures to the computer and I will take pictures of some of the changes that I am making. It's still not going to be Better Homes and Garden, but I think it will be inviting, comfortable and pleasing to be here.
I was dreading book study. There is an interesting dilemma that has occurred in our small group. Two of the families own their own home. The rest of us are renters. The two that own their own homes are new to Chiangmai and their standards for their homes and decor is on a different level than ours. The positive thing about it is that they have motivated me to make some changes that will make me happier in the long run. Things that you try to tell yourself are insignificant and don't really matter but they make a world of difference to your disposition when they are done. The negative is that I was dreading having folks come over because I felt like there is just no way that our home can measure up to the same standard as theirs. I'm not sure I've ever felt that way out here. So, instead of focusing on the book, or my friends, or the fellowship.... It was needless worry.
After the study, I was so thankful that God has given me the husband/marriage/family that he has given me. Rejoicing that my husband is a Godly man who does what is right and not concerned at all about how my house looked. Of course, it still Smelled, clean, so there was pleasure in that! I'm so relieved because I was worried about how I was going to get over this obsession with things not being like theirs. When, now, I'm thanking God.... :> Wish I could go into more detail.
The girls gave a pre-garage sale with their Barbie's and Polly's since some of these couples have little girls. They ended up making about $40...which isn't a bad deal at all. I think they were thrilled. There is still a little bit left that will go into our garage sale.
One day soon, I will figure out how to upload pictures to the computer and I will take pictures of some of the changes that I am making. It's still not going to be Better Homes and Garden, but I think it will be inviting, comfortable and pleasing to be here.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Wacky weather
It's STILL raining!
Kel leaves for a trip to V, tomorrow. Pr for him as he goes and for us as we stay. :> He will return on Friday. This past week he led worship at an agricultural conference. The worship was in the evenings and they had meetings all during the day. The surprised him at the end with a gift certificate to Duke's, so our family ate lunch there yesterday.
We also saw Spiderman 3. It's my favorite Spiderman so far, although, I haven't really liked the other ones that much. The kids are are excited about the trilogy of Three's coming out this May! Spiderman, Shrek and Pirates of the Carribean all have their third movies coming out in May! We've been on a Movie dearth the past few months. There have mainly been Tha-i movies and they have a wicked sense of entertainment. We saw a preview yesterday for "The Death Train..."
Today will be a lazy laid back day since we now have our worship time on Sat. evening. I still have the dregs of a sore throat--cough. Each day it seems a little better but this nagging cough won't go away. I wonder if it's connected to the dampness? It's better but it still is painful to swallow so I guess it's still swollen in there. It's been almost a week now.
I hear that weather in the U.S. is really strange right now. The rumor mill says that mom and dad must get a new fence because of 100 mph winds? I read an interesting article on the Dallas Morning News website comparing last years weather to this years. "This year also logged 25 days where temperatures sat at freezing or below. That's almost triple what was recorded in the same period in 2006." Amazing! Last year on April 17, the temp. hit 101 degrees. This year, it was freezing! This picture is from the Dallas Morning news, taken in Arlington.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Rainy Days!
It's finally raining everyday, here, lately! Yesterday morning, this morning.... We picked a good time to put in grass--last weekend. We pulled up the bricks that were surrounding our house (the wee bit of bricks!) and had grass put in. It looks so much fresher having that green surrounding the house. We want to add a tree (the space is very very small)--there is one that resembles a magnolia and change the flowers out front. It is my desire to have a regular gardener come but we haven't found one yet. So, the other things will need to wait.
The couches are still being made. We were supposed to be able to try them out on Wed. but of course, they were not there. This is about the 4th trip we've made...it's been 2 months??? (This is life in Asia!) The man agreed to have them on Monday so we could try them out before K leaves for his trip to V. Do you think they will actually be there???
Today is Family FUN day at Grace. Parents are invited. Kel and the children have gone. I was planning on going but since it's raining and since I've been sick all week and my throat is still quite raw, I decided to opt out of the festivities. I wasn't able to go last year. Last year, Malia and I were in Bangkok on one of her medical trips. Thank the Lord we are not at that same place this year.
She and her dad had a great time in Bangkok. Kel received thank you notes that said he was the best chaperone ever. Must have something to do with the Diplomacy game he took, wouldn't you think? They all had a blast. From all that I talked to, the train ride there and back were the highlight of the trip!
Savannah and Sage went rock climbing this week. They actually both did very well. Now, Sage wants to do it for his birthday celebration. I'm not sure we can afford it but we will check into it. Yes, he has a birthday next Thursday. Savannah had a birthday party last weekend. I took her gang of girls to see "Meet the Robinson's." Then, they went to another friends house to spend the night (for the friend's birthday). They are a great group of gals.
There are lots of holiday's here in the month of May. The kids are out today (Family FUn day...finished at noon) and Monday is also a holiday. I guess it is a trial run of the summer.
I'm practicing stenciling in my free time. I have considered doing a little on the walls but it's not as easy as I thought it would be. If the practice goes ok, I will consider doing it. A friend here has all the supplies and stencils. She shares them with those around. It's a great blessing.
Well, that is all for now. Just thought I would send a short update.
Blessings!
The couches are still being made. We were supposed to be able to try them out on Wed. but of course, they were not there. This is about the 4th trip we've made...it's been 2 months??? (This is life in Asia!) The man agreed to have them on Monday so we could try them out before K leaves for his trip to V. Do you think they will actually be there???
Today is Family FUN day at Grace. Parents are invited. Kel and the children have gone. I was planning on going but since it's raining and since I've been sick all week and my throat is still quite raw, I decided to opt out of the festivities. I wasn't able to go last year. Last year, Malia and I were in Bangkok on one of her medical trips. Thank the Lord we are not at that same place this year.
She and her dad had a great time in Bangkok. Kel received thank you notes that said he was the best chaperone ever. Must have something to do with the Diplomacy game he took, wouldn't you think? They all had a blast. From all that I talked to, the train ride there and back were the highlight of the trip!
Savannah and Sage went rock climbing this week. They actually both did very well. Now, Sage wants to do it for his birthday celebration. I'm not sure we can afford it but we will check into it. Yes, he has a birthday next Thursday. Savannah had a birthday party last weekend. I took her gang of girls to see "Meet the Robinson's." Then, they went to another friends house to spend the night (for the friend's birthday). They are a great group of gals.
There are lots of holiday's here in the month of May. The kids are out today (Family FUn day...finished at noon) and Monday is also a holiday. I guess it is a trial run of the summer.
I'm practicing stenciling in my free time. I have considered doing a little on the walls but it's not as easy as I thought it would be. If the practice goes ok, I will consider doing it. A friend here has all the supplies and stencils. She shares them with those around. It's a great blessing.
Well, that is all for now. Just thought I would send a short update.
Blessings!
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