Good News! – There really is something wrong according to the MRI. It isn't all in my head!   On Thursday, September 4^th, I went to a pain doctor to which my family doctor had referred me. According to the MRI I have two back problems going on at the same time. The one problem which has been the most excruciating and crippling has been in my right side, and it is a condition called costochondritis.

This coming week on Thursday, the 11^th , I'll be under sedation ... it will take about 15 minutes for him to give injections into the interior border of the right rib cage...He believes that should take care of the pain pretty soon.  

The other problem that I have is spinal stenosis, due to the aging process …narrowing of the spinal column that causes pressure on the spinal cord, or narrowing of the openings (called neural foramina) where spinal nerves leave the spinal column. This is what is causing the pain in the back. Sometime after the first procedure, he will treat that by way of epidural steroid... and then when that is done, I'll have physical therapy.

Thank you to each of you who have been keeping up with me via e-mail, FB, or here on Xanga. Thank you to Dr. Zakiah, who urged me to ask for an MRI. After my doctor returned from his vacation, he was shocked to see how badly I was hurting. (The stenosis was all that was hurting prior to his going.) After the insurance turned me down for the MRI, he went to them a second time and got them to agree to my having the MRI. I'm “hanging in there” and hopeful that there will be much less pain to deal with after next week's procedure.

On another note – a couple of new types of flowers have shown up in my garden! If you compare this picture with the one in the last post, you'll see -- this one is more blurred, but also .... there are three new kinds to the right -- tall light lavender, then another yellow kind, and then a blue, and then more of the white ones (which were there before, but not as many. I don't know names of any of them, but I get so much pleasure from them!

 Also, September is a BIG birthday month for our family. I  mentioned in the last post that Mom has a birthday, but  my husband had a lovely birthday on Sept. 3^rd. He doesn't  like a big deal made about birthdays, but my mom is all  about BIG celebrations. So I told them both to  compromise... and I fixed him a nice meal he liked,I game  him a bag of candy & nuts (notice he acts really thrilled  about the new plastic bag he can now use as a trash liner -  while the contents lie on the table), and Mom enjoyed  giving him a card, and some nice shirts and a pair of pants.  I got to order them on line for her ... such pretty colors...  the pants look black, but are actually navy blue. They both  were happy with the event and the gifts. Oh, and we sang  to him, and he sang along … to himself, then we ate pie  (he prefers that over cake).

 We have two more  birthdays coming up:  our younger son  Shaun's on the 10^th,  and their older  daughter  Tristen's  10^th birthday  on the 24^th. . . plus Shaun &  Melissa's anniversary on the 28^th.  

Any of you have certain months in your family that are especially big birthday (& other celebrations) months?   

The following is a free verse poem I wrote just now, inspired by my gratefulness to God.

               Blessings

Faith in God, Family and Friends

Meaningful things with which to keep occupied -

That help to keep one's mind off of self (& pain).

Fun things to do – word games, books to read, and more -

Bible study, prayer, journalling, and communicating with others

to encourage them – and that comes back as well.

All of these things are blessings … and there are always so many

more that can be counted too!

Thank You Lord, for always being there for me!

 ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4, NLT)

And where did August go?  I have been pretty much a "shut in" since late July. The last time I was at church (July 20th) it was extremely painful to sit in the pew, standing, walking out, etc. I have had various and sundry treatments for my back/side pain; I finally had an MRI a couple of weeks ago, and I have an appointment with a pain specialist in a couple of days. I really wasn't sure just what to post, but hopefully I'll know something by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, I have kept pretty busy even while spending most of my time working from bed or an easy chair. I have been working diligently on a schedule/calendar of appointments for a dear friend from India who will be visiting with us from September 18th through 23rd. I have also been plotting and planning a surprise for my mom. Her 90th birthday is on September 18, and we are having a family birthday which she knows about -- this will also give my sister - Kailas -from India an opportunity to see our adult children and grandchildren (for the first time to see our younger son, his wife, & kiddos -- last time she saw him ... he was in high school).       

As for the surprise(s)? I am asking Mom's friends to "shower" her with birthday cards...and I am hosting an open house at our home for Mom's birthday, so that some of the family and friends can visit with her in person and enjoy some of her cakes & ice cream with her. Her favorite cake is Texas cake, which we definitely will have! I'm also having a sheet cake made for her that will be decorated to show some of her important life events.

I haven't been to my group Bible study, but have continued with the study here at home, as well as my own personal Bible studies. Mom has been able to continue going, thanks to one of our friends picking her up each week. I have typed up and sent out via email, the prayer requests that the ladies submit in writing each week, so that has allowed me to be able to still contribute some.  Also each week I read the printed material and type out the study questions to email to Mom.

I have continued to post some things to Facebook, and I haven't taken as many pictures. I am going to try to blog again some anyway. I have enough newsy things that I may try an every few days approach with some of the news spread out.

I know that until Mom's surprise open house is over, and also until Kailas leaves us to go back to India I will be pretty busy! I definitely will have some more stories and pictures to post then!  Here are some pictures that I can share with those of you who do not "do" Facebook: (#1&2) Even though I haven't been able to water my gardens, God has sent us lots of rain (as well as the sunshine) -- & my flowers I planted are blooming beautifully, and the few vegetables I planted are starting to produce as well. Picture #3: With my being able to do less, Mom has been pushing her limits more, and has found that she is able to do more than before. Here she is one day when I found out she'd gone outside to the porch, down the stairs, and out for a short walk to the driveway (& since... even a little bit down the sidewalk in front of the house). So there have been (as there always are) things that have worked out well (because/or in spite of) as a result of my time of being less able to do things!  

There are other pictures and news to share, but I'll wait until the next post and come over for a little visit to see what you all have been up to the past month- plus.  I'm pretty tired now, but I'll be visiting you starting Wed.

Dear Friends,  

I'm not putting up much tonight, other than to say I'm using my time to visit  all of you dear friends of mine.  Thank you for you sweet congratulations and comments.  I am still in the "land of the living" -- I've mainly been using my "extra" time to read to Mom, and to try to do what needs to be done (including resting with cold packs, taking steroids & pain pills, etc.) .... the pain in my back and side are still pretty intense.  I did find out that I have arthritis in the spine, but I suspect that isn't really the problem.  Then Saturday night (i.e. - Sunday morning), I was in the E.R. from 2:30 - 9:30 with worsening pain. After a CT scan and being told that I had no problems with kidneys, appendix, etc.,  a friend brought us back home.  Today has been very painful, even with just sitting.  I called my doctor today, since nothing has really helped me yet.  Hopefully I will get in to see someone tomorrow, and we can find out what the source of all of this pain is! Meanwhile, life goes on whether one has pain or no pain.  I'm just thankful for friends and family and a God Who truly does care.

"God never allows pain without a purpose in the lives of His children. He never allows Satan, nor circumstances, nor any ill-intending person to afflict us unless He uses that affliction for our good. God never wastes pain. He always causes it to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the likeness of His Son (see Romans 8:28-29)."  ~ Jerry Bridges

My life verses: Rom. 8:28 -29 (God's Word Translation): "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan. This is true because he already knew his people and had already appointed them to have the same form as the image of his Son. Therefore, his Son is the firstborn among many children."        Well, I'll see you around on your sites! 

[Name] and [Name] sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.  First comes love,

then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage!^[2]

I  remember hearing that rhyme growing up!  Anyone else remember it? 

 Well on Saturday, July 17, 1976, Mike and I were married  . . . and then

right on schedule (according to the poem) -- about two years later . . .  on Saturday, July 12, 1978  - our firstborn joined the family that Mike and I had become.   Today we are

enjoying a quiet evening together at home. Some years we have celebrated alone, sometimes with a special meal or activity; sometimes with another

special couple or other family members.  The day isn't really the

important thing, but each and every day that we are together is another

day of celebrating being together with the best friend God could have ever

given to us -- each other!  And because Mike gives me special gifts

throughout the year (& we do special things throughout as well) it isn't

really necessary for him to gift me!  

However, he truly surprised me with a

beautiful bouquet of roses and daisies today!   We had just returned from

an early appointment taking Mom to the orthopedic doctor for an

evaluation of a very painful development (much better since getting a shot

of cortisone in her knee), and were just starting our lunch when I saw the

florist pull up into our driveway.  Perfect timing! (Mike said he wondered

if we'd be back home in time .... but we made it!) How pleased Mike was to

see my genuine surprise and delight!  

So on Saturday last week, we celebrated our firstborn son Tom's birthday

with his wife Amber, my brother Don, Mom, Mike, & me.  I made him his

favorite kind of quiche: spinach/bacon (three, actually) and a salad. His

uncle had purchased two of his favorite desserts: cheesecake and a cake

with a butter creme icing.  Then we had him open up his cards and gifts.

 Mom had  challenged me to write him a poem. (Thank you, Val ... before

the April Poetry month challenge, Mom didn't even remember that I had

ever written poetry!)  So the card that I made for Tom

included the collage I put up in my last post, plus a new poem which I

include below. 

Until next week ... see

you around on Xanga,

WordPress, and

Facebook.  And ...

THANK YOU for the

hundreds of sweet

comments and  "HAPPY

ANNIVERSARY"

greetings,   our  friends!

I've been around ... but not so much with blogging.  I've been having back problems, getting lots of rest, using ice pack/heat pack rotation, taking pain meds, getting massage therapy, and then finally went to my doctor to see what could be done. The pain was getting worse. He ordered x-rays (I haven't heard back, but I don't think that's the problem) -- and put me on a steroid pack for three weeks (days 1-4 are out of the way now).  The steroids seem to be helping the pain to decrease (from above 10, to a manageable 6-8).  Thanks to those of you have known and have been praying for me.  I'm still having to be careful, but it's nice to not be hurting so badly now!

Still I do have some things to share with you my Xanga friends. On Monday, June 30th, I had a huge surprise!  One of the first folks that I met on Xanga was a gal named Paula (heyheyPaula), and we have become super close. We've been able to see each other in person four times now... the latest being when she came with her sister and BIL on a quick trek from TX through OH to Niagra Falls, on to the East coast, and then heading back down to TX again. She sent me an e-mail message from her cell phone, letting me know that they (unexpectedly) had ended up for their second rest stop at a hotel in my home town of Springfield! So ... we had a lovely time together! I actually picked her up at her hotel, brought her home with me for an hour to share her with Mike and Mom, and then took her back to her hotel.  

 Next event that I want to share with you:  Some of you may have seen this on my Facebook page, but on the evening of July 4th, my college roommate died of a cardiac arrest very unexpectedly and suddenly.  Yesterday (Thursday, July 10), a friend of ours drove us to Columbus to the funeral home, and then to the church for a dinner with the family and friends, and then brought us back home. (Too much driving for me to do at this time.) I had been asked, and was privileged to share at her funeral service. The link to this is included here, if you would like to read what I shared about this very special "dynamite" friend of mine.  Here is what I believe to be the last picture that we had of the two of us -- maybe about 4 years ago?  (I'm not sure).  There will be more about April in my next blog ... which I'll plan to post next week.    Next -- July 12th is the birthday of our older son, Tom -- his 36th birthday!  Here is the collage that I've made for helping us to celebrate -- a sort of card, and a wall hanging for his party. I chose some pictures that gave just some of his "Faces" -- he is our artistic son who enjoys music, art, photography, and more.  He loves children and animals, and so enjoys loving on his nephew (pictured as a newborn) and his nieces. The top right picture goes back to when he first married his Amber.  We are looking forward to celebrating with them, and with my brother, who lives near to us.                                                      

More to share and celebrate in a few more days.  Be seeing you over at your Xanga home!   And since I haven't seen my grandkids for awhile due to not being able to drive far, here are some pictures that my kind daughter-in-law posted on her FB wall. It helps to see their pictures at least!  She is able to be a stay-at-home mom, and has discovered (as have we all) what a super-talented lady she is with handcrafts and creating clothing for her children... which is the theme of the last collage I am posting, followed by my encouraging thought for this post. 

This post is just for fun, smiles, and laughs.... after all it says in the Good Book:  

                   

                                                                 

  And just for pure cuteness (fake  knife) And a quote from a famous comic actor :  

Celebration - #1 - Last Post I shared about my brother's birthday which we celebrated at a Japanese restaurant.  His actual birthday was on Saturday, and so we had another celebratory meal which is a favorite of our whole family -- curry.  The first collage is of our special meal on Saturday. 

Celebration - #2 - On Monday, I took my Mom to our dentist for her initial visit since she moved from IL to OH to be with us.  Our dentist and the hygienist were pleased with Mom's excellent teeth. At almost 90, Mom has more teeth ... and all originals ... than anyone else in our three generation home!  After leaving the dentist office she wanted to go to Dairy Queen for a Peanut Buster Parfait!  I on the other hand had a low-calorie pinya-collada smoothie (suitable since I didn't inherit her great teeth)!

Celebration - #3 - Our granddaughter has been continuing to earn one belt after another in karate, very rapidly. We have been to a couple of her sessions where she displayed her talents along with the rest of her class, and then got her new belt. Currently she has a red belt (which is just under the black belt categories). Our daughter-in-law keeps us up to date with pictures and stories on Facebook.  This next picture is one that I got from Facebook, along with the caption that her mom put with it:  "Tristen is in the leadership program now so she gets to help with Brogan's class. He's the little guy on the left kicking."

Celebration - #4 - Our son Shaun's wife Melissa put this up on Facebook. (He had already called us to share his good news, but it was so sweet to see his wife's proud words. She deserves some of that credit along with him -- for "holding down the fort!"   Her words:  "It's officially official folks. My hard-working husband Shaun Justice finished his last quarter for his bachelors & will be graduating with a 4.0!!! Not bad considering he's been chipping away at it while going through his 2nd & 3rd deployments, buying a house/moving, 2 more babies, studying for/passing multiple computer certs, me going through radiography school, 4 career changes, countless Army schools, day/night shift changes, advances in his military career, & being a husband/dad & provider. He missed his 1st graduation bc of his 1st deployment & got his degree in the mail. He finally gets to celebrate his hard work & wear a cap & gown & I couldn't be happier for him. So proud of you babe! Congrats!—feeling proud."

Celebration - #5 - Our flowers are gorgeous! I've been having trouble with my back for the past couple of weeks, and so haven't been able to water them or weed or anything! But God has sent lots of rain and sunshine to take care of them! -- Psalm 147:7-8 -- "Celebrate and sing!    Play your harps for the Lord our God. He fills the sky with clouds and sends rain to the earth,   so that the hills will be green with grass."  

I hope all of you my friend find things to celebrate in your lives each day!

I keep a calendar / "date book" on my Kindle of things we need to do: doctor or other appointments,  meetings,  church services and other events, visits from or to people, etc.

 Saturday, June 21st is my brother's birthday. The collage below shows him from a newborn in June of 1961, through early childhood, standing next to my husband Mike in our wedding, as a young adult in his 20's when in the Marines, a picture of him a couple of years ago, and finally -- just this past Monday when we ate out at the Japanese steakhouse.

 We ate lots of different foods as we were growing up from many cultures: American, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, Italian, etc.

One of our favorites was a curry meal that a nurse friend who had spent time in India, taught us to make.  We are planning to have that with my brother this weekend. I'll have pictures of that when we  have it all laid out on the dinner table.

I recently took Mom to get her hair cut and permed again. I think she really looks pretty!  Speaking of haircuts, my daughter-in-law put up a picture of our son and their son after their haircuts.

A lot of people see the similarity of my husband and our younger son. Here is a collage to show the likenesses. (I included the final picture for Michel, even though it is from about 3 years ago, since you said that you wanted to see a picture with me in it.

I saw this quote by Mother Teresa on someone's Facebook page this week, and had to have it to share here. It is such a great bit of wisdom!

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's out there! 

We had a super busy week last week, with appointments and commitments each of the days -- Tuesday through Friday.  I also did a lot of planting of flowers over the weekend. Sunday, after church, my brother stopped by at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, and brought lunch over to share with Mom, Mike, & me.  Then Mom gave Mike 7? bags with various types of candies and cassette tapes of  "olden days" radio programs, music, etc. to celebrate his Father's Day. Mike also heard from all three of our adult children, which he enjoyed.

This was our third Father's Day without Dad, but it wasn't a sad day - even though we all miss him, as we know that he's with our Heavenly Father.  

Today would have been Mom & Dad's 67th anniversary.  I woke up extra early (for me) and picked some flowers and grasses and put them into one of my vases, and put a "Thinking of you" sort of card, and put them at Mom's place at the table so that when she had her breakfast she would see them.  

She then said she'd like to celebrate her anniversary, my brother's birthday (on the 21st), and Father's Day again ... with a meal at a Japanese restaurant where they cook in front of you (like another post I did ... only this time it will be another restaurant in town.  We enjoyed a great time together and also with another couple who sat at the same table with the Grill Chef / Entertainer. 

Finally ... our youngest grandchild Quinn turned one on June 10th. We had a gift bear and balloons sent to their home. We weren't able to make it to her party, but got pictures from FB.             

The Lord is like a father to his children,    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  For he knows how weak we are;   he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass;  like wildflowers, we bloom and die.  The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him.  His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant  of those who obey his commandments!               (Psalm 103:13-18, NLT)

I am going to try to do short posts, and do them more often.   We'll see how that works.  Thank you for your many thoughts,  prayers, & kind words to me.   Mom and I are better from our bout with bronchitis.  Right after that was over, things really got super busy! I didn't get on FB, Xanga, or WordPress much due to the business and just not feeling like blogging.   So now I have ammo for more blogs ... and will see how short ones go for me.

We have had  a piano recital,  some grand-parenting time, meetings (and minutes & reports),  entertaining & being entertained, doctor visits, tests, and so much more! 

So true to my goal, I'm going to stretch out the pics over many blogs! Here is a collage of the piano recital in which Tristen our oldest (now looking towards 4th grade this fall) played a couple of song for her part.  We were so proud of how well she has practiced, and how well she played with such great poise.  :-)  

UNTIL TOMORROW . . .