Sisters and Brother Visits!!

We love visitors!  And we have had alot!  So so fun.  We have been very busy over here.

First visitors were my sister, husband and daughter from the Oakland area.  They were here the FIRST weekend of the snow.  So crazy on the first of March.  On Friday we all had gone for a long walk, out for coffee, etc.  Saturday the snow started so us girls went sledding over on the school hill.  We made a super cute snow man (we just forgot to make it level!!)   And the snow just kept on coming.........NO CHURCH on Sunday.  Are you kidding?  That happens like once every ten years here.  My niece was ecstatic, being a California girl and all.  More of us went sledding out on Barnhart hill.  Even baby Kaden went sledding for the first time!

Meeting Kaden!!

Jenae and Becky

 At this point my California brother-in-law was getting a little worried about driving in the snow to Seattle (no I am NOT calling him a sissy lala......) but once they were through Bellingham they were just fine.  Thanks for the visit and WE WILL SEE YOU SOON ;)

Next up:  Les' older sister Linda and baby brother Gawin.  They are both Minnesooooota people so came from 20 degrees BELOW that morning.  Linda has been here before, Gawin has not.  They were picked up in Seattle by Les and niece Emily; they had lunch on the Seattle waterfront and toured Pike's Market.  The very next day we headed to Friday Harbor.  We had a beautiful sunny day.  They also had trips up to Mt. Baker and out to Birch Bay.  The weather was amazing!  We ran out of time before we could complete everything on their "to do" list, but we did a pretty good job.  We'll finish that list next time.......

 

One night we had Corby and Scott, their wives and their kids over for dinner (oops, supper for those midwest people).  Corby and Scott both went to school in Minnesota in Gawin's town and Gawin kinda took them under his wing and "took care of them" while out there.  They had some fun reminiscing to do!  Scott - you missed the picture!  A very fun evening.

Corby, Les, Kris, Gawin

Linda and Gawin were here for a week.  Goodbyes are pretty hard these days, but this one wasn't TOO bad because Linda's son in Montana is getting married on Labor Day and we will meet up with them there.  We loved having them here.

We are taking a break from visitors - our family of 7 has a big adventure planned for next week, so stay tuned for that blog!  And please pray for safe travels for us!

Too Many Goodbyes

We have been to TOO MANY funerals lately.  The first one was for a member of our church - a sudden death.  Les and I were both blindsided by how hard it was to sit through the service - maybe since it was in our church, our pastor, a guy a little older than us........ We walked (ran, more like) outside afterwards and burst into tears.  Very hard.  The second service was for Marty, one of my dad's best friends.  I went with my parents, who flew up from Arizona for the service.  This also was difficult! but it was nice to be there with my parents.  A hard loss for my mom and dad.

The third was for my Aunt Nan a week later.  She lived in Seattle.  She had a tough going in her younger years, but through that started Seadrunar, a rehab for drugs and alcohol in Seattle.  Her and her husband ran this program and grew it into what it is today; along with a recycling center for the patients to work at.  Aunt Nan was the next above my dad, and now my dad is the only sibling left.  The service was so great, Aunt Nan was honored and represented well by her family.  She was so much fun, so dedicated to helping others; she will be missed by many.  My younger brother and I with our uncle and cousins:

Recently our town lost Don Smith, a man loved by many.  He was married to my cousin Nyla.  Again, a sudden illness and now his loved ones will miss him so much!!  My dad had coffee with Don on weekday mornings - Don liked to call my dad "cuz" since he married Nyla.  Another friend my dad has lost.

Another recent, difficult loss for us was our neighbor, friend and fellow church member, Ken.  Ken also had ALS.  His ALS developed in his limbs first, and the disease progressed rather quickly over the past year.  Since we are dealing with ALS, this is so personal to us and so difficult to watch.  His wife Jan walked over the other day just to give us hugs - she knows.  I had some of their girls in youth group several years ago - they are all so special to me.  The service was so well thought out and so personal - very emotional for Les and I. 

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life.....The Lord will fulfill (His purpose) for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever."  Psalm 138:7-8

Jesus Calling

"Continue on this path with Me, enjoying My presence even in adversity.  I am always before you, as well as alongside you.  See Me beckoning to you: 'come, follow Me'.  The One who goes ahead of you, opening up the way, is the same One who stays close and never let's go of your hand.  I am not subject to limitations of time or space.  I am everywhere at every time, ceaselessly working on your behalf.  That is why your best efforts are trusting Me and living close to Me."

"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me"
Psalm 63:7-8

Sunshine break

Les and I headed for some warm weather last week.  My parents are in Palm Springs so we decided to spend a week with them.  85 degrees? Yes please!!  We left in freezing rain; we landed in Palm Springs at noon and we were sitting by the pool by one.

Les was quite content to just lay in the sun and read his John Grisham book.  I think there were several snoozes in there also!!  He is having an increasingly difficult time talking so prefers to spend time alone.  We went on a couple morning hikes.  We went up Indian canyon where there are some natural springs and Palm trees where the Indians used to go and hang out in the summers.  Pretty cool.  It was hot tho so we couldn't go as far up in the rocks as we would have liked. Les AND my dad both did great hiking!

My Iowa sister and hubs flew in the end of our week so we could overlap a few days.  They left -16 degrees behind!!  So good to hang with them.  We have some cousins hanging out in Arizona so they drove over and spent one night in Palm Springs.  We had a valentine dinner all together.  So. Much. Fun.  And laugh!!!!  Oh my, good for the soul.  Les and my cousin's hubs Jody have always gotten along; they go way back to a hunting trip in the early eighties (which would be a whole new blog!!).

 The six of us had a LONG breakfast the next day before they headed back to the desert.  A little hard to say goodbye, but we hope to visit their eastern Washington farm this spring.  The final day with my sister we did a little shopping and just hanging out.  Sure wish some of our family lived closer, especially now, but I know if we need them they will come.  A little harder to say goodbye these days to precious family.

We are working on a project in the basement so Les is busy with that.  He has had a few odd jobs to do for people which has been great.  He misses going to work. He might have some part time driving jobs coming up; he's been asked to wire a shop.  All good things!! And we are grateful for them.

Please pray for patience for both of us as Les gets harder to understand.  It's frustrating!!  Les ran across this verse a couple of different times this week:  "Therefore do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all"  II Corinthians 4:16-17

No more hunting!!

Hunting season is over.  The boys are sad.  I'm sad - I like those quiet Saturday mornings!  It was a good year.  Les spent alot of time this past summer building a new duck blind.  He launched it this fall - and it floats!!

 

INDOOR PLUMBING!

 

Thanks to the hunting buddies - Rolf, Luuk, Steve, Gunnar.  AND to the Tinklenberg boys for the great breakfasts!!  Hank loves that cold water - he did good.

 

Progress report

Les had an appointment at UW Medical Center yesterday. It has been 3 months since his diagnosis. We have been a bit anxious about this appointment.....lots of wondering.

First up was Dr. Weiss. He was encouraging since Les hasn't lost any weight and no new symptoms in his limbs.  We chatted a bit about speech and eating and he sent us on!  Next was a lung capacity test. This also was encouraging; Les' lung capacity has decreased only a small bit.  Then he had a heart test but we don't know the results of that (he has to have his heart checked because of one of his meds).  Next was a blood draw - to check his liver, again because of meds.  Last was the speech therapist, Deanna.  We know that Les' speech is worse, and he has more difficulty swallowing.  Her test results showed that Les' tongue is weaker.  We discussed a feeding tube but they aren't concerned with that yet.  Les would have to be losing weight and choking more often before they feel a feeding tube would be necessary.  We found out that Les should always be able to eat (even if just smoothies)--that cheered Les up a bit!!  We also talked with her about speech aides.  Most of them aren't appropriate cuz they are for wheel chairs.  Les will probably start with an app on his iPhone and maybe the iPad, but he needs to be able to hold it in his hand.  So that is his assignment-- find an app that works for him.  Talking alot makes Les pretty tired, so he does need to start using an alternative way to communicate.   Down the road we will look at a bigger machine/computer, but not quite yet.  Next appointment April 16!!  Lesson learned:  "Do not worry about anything; but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"  Phillippians 4:5-7

My cousin Lori's husband just had heart surgery at the UW medical center so we got to visit them on the 5th floor.  The patient is doing great and we had a fun visit!  See you in May for sure!!

Brother time

Les' big brother Howard has been here for a week.  He called up awhile ago and said he wanted to visit and just hang out with his brother.  I think he also wanted to escape the frozen tundra in the midwest :)  Worked for me since January is one of my busiest months!!

Our friend Carl called about this time "would you and Les be interested in going to the Seahawks playoff game on the 11th?"  I informed him that brother-in-law Howard would be here so didn't know.  Carl then called Les and Les said "of course! I'll take my brother!!"  Um, hello, what about ME???

Thank you Carl. Priceless.

They spent time just putzing.  Niece Emily who lives out here is Howard's daughter so Howard spent time cleaning Emily's car, building shelves in her garage,  being a dad.  The brothers put together our kids' old crib (Kaden needs a place to sleep!), washed cars, drove around the county.  When these two are together it's a bit scary - they are two peas in a pod.  We tease Emily about having two dads to watch over her!  So many similarities.  There is 8 years between these two brothers but we have stayed close with this family since they have visited out here so many times.  Here is a picture of Les' family.  We are hearing rumors of more of these peeps visiting soon!

The brothers had a good time.  Thanks for the visit Howard.  We are next looking forward to Les' checkup at the UW next Wednesday, the 22nd.  We are anxious for that, curious to hear what Dr. Weiss has to say.  Please pray for peace for both of us.