Reflections

II Corinthians 1:3ff

Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Empathy: The ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts or feelings.

It is beneficial (although not fun) to walk in another’s shoes for a time. I have been thinking about this over the past month or more as I have encountered various aches and pains. We all go though things in our lifetime that are not fun such as prolonged pain or sickness, loss of a job, a failure, loneliness, the hospitalization of a loved one, even facing death or perhaps financial problems. No temptation (or condition) has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. I Corinthians 10:13.

As we go through various things we will be able to relate to other’s suffering and will be able to encourage and comfort them.

I am going to try to be more empathetic and comforting to others and encourage myself that this too shall pass.

This Tuesday Chris and I celebrate our 30th anniversary. I thank God for such a good man for a husband. We plan to celebrate with a trip in Oct.

  

We had such a great trip to Yellowstone and have many fond memories. This is one of my favorite pictures.

  

Teresa started school this week and is still adjusting to getting up early

  

Jan finally mastered a machine quilting project after a couple of trys

  

Bonnie visited Laura for two days last week.

  

  

  

After a sucessful garage sale last weekend Friday Sept. 9th was the final moving day for Milton and Theo. Teresa helped after school and Chris after work and Jan brought some dinner after getting off work. Linda helped all day. Gradually things are getting settled. We are gradually seeing more counter space, less boxes, more knick knacks. Strangely our house is beginning to look a lot like grandma and grandad's house as you can tell by the pictures above.

Dear Milton and Theo,
Since your anniversary we have enjoyed keeping you company out at your farm. However, recently we have wittnessed how busy you have become since deciding to move, and we felt that it was time for us to move on. Truthfully we were beginning to become concerned that we would be accidently taken to the dump or sold at a garage sale. Therefore, we found it necessary to vacate your lovely facilities. We hope you do not feel too bad, for we have truely loved your company.
Recently your family came out to haul wood and we felt it was the perfect opportunity for us to hitch a ride. Therefore we stowed away in their wood loaded trucks.
Since that time we have been enjoying the home of your son. While there we discovered their plans to visit Yellowstone National Park. Since the Mrs. and I have never really been outside of Washington we felt that this was just what we needed. After discussing it with the rest of the your family they have agreed to let us tag along. We are truly grateful and expect the trip to be very enjoyable.
The Mrs. and I have been busy getting ready for the trip. We went to the supermarket to stock up on whatever we might need for the trip and then we set to the task of packing.
Which was quite difficult since we have never really had to think about such things before. However, we feel we have finally successfully accomplished these tasks. We do hope that we can once again visit you once your life has become more settled. You will have to give us a tour of your new place! We will continue to keep in touch. Thank you very much for your care and hospitality. Give Mike our best.

Your Friends,
Mr. and Mrs. Flamingo

I have been doing some sewing the beginning of this week. However on Monday I had a flare up of arm pain so went to the doctor on Wednesday and she says it is bursitis and to try to rest the arm. So the rest of the week I have been trying to not do much which is driving me crazy. We have watched some movies and such and I have been reading.

Thursday Laura and I went shopping to pick out fabric for a quilt Laura wants to make. It was fun and we actually found 22 fabrics we agreed on that look great together. We just have to come up with a backing which we have kind of picked out but they didn’t have enough. So we are looking a little further. Then Andrea has decided to make a quilt also so she has picked out her pattern. I spent some time trying to figure out yardage and we plan to go shopping tomorrow for the material. Today while out garage saling we came across a sewing machine so I picked it up so we would have enough for everyone to have a sewing machine to use.

Also today we went out to Cathlamet to load up some wood that Milton is giving us. Andrea joined us with her Dad’s BIG truck so we had our little one and hers. We only got about half the wood or even less than half but have a pretty big stack now. We were thankful for Andrea’s help especially since I was only using one arm.

Chris and I went to dinner at Marcia and Barry’s yesterday and played Rummy tiles. Chris one the first game and I won one and Barry won two so it was fun. We hadn’t gotten together for over a year although I have seen Marcia around town.

Thats it for now.

Wow! What a busy week. A lot can happen in a week. Let me count the blessings…

1. Laura had a fun weekend in Idaho with Andrea at a horse show. God protected them through a blow out and brought them home safely.
2. Chris passed his coding test and is now Milton Chris Ferguson CPC-A
3. Laura turned 21 celebrating with friends, at Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Larry’s and this past Saturday at Henri’s. Thanks to the loving family that made it special with toasts, advice, blessings and pictures and gifts.
4. Andrea had a lovely wedding which we were able to participate in with sewing, parties, rehearsal and reception. Laura got some good pictures.
5. Milton and Theo bought and sold houses within just a few days of each other. Now comes the hard part of sorting and packing. We will be glad to have them closer and will cherish memories of them at their old home.
6. Jonathan and Tonia were able to come home for the weekend.
7. We enjoyed seeing Jacob and Diane. They gave us some raspberries and I made some jam this evening.
8. We finished the weekend with naps, reading and quiet peaceful moments. What a blessing.

Congratulations are in order for Chris for passing his coding test and becoming Milton Chris Ferguson CPC-A. We are proud of you!

Also a happy birthday wish is due to Laura today. Happy 21st birthday! We look forward to celebrating more on Saturday. We love you and are very proud of how you turned out.

Happy Father's Day

I will not repeat pictures from the graduation as others have done a good job with that. We are enjoying having Laura home and enjoyed the graduation.

I would like to make a tribute to the fathers in my family. You have been wonderful fathers, a true blessing to each of your children that has more impact than we even realize that will extend down to future generations because of your love and example. We see your love, and provision in so many ways. Thank you.

We were blessed to be able to celebrate Father’s day with Grandpa Larry and Milton and Chris this year. Friday we had mom and dad over for dinner and had a good visit. Today we went to Cathlamet to see the Fergusons and enjoyed the day. Last night we celebrated with Chris after a busy day of garage saling, meetings and worship practice.

Thankfully Teresa and Wilson are much better and Laura is gradually getting over her cold. Teresa has a follow up doctor visit to evaluate her progress with her medicine in Portland on Tuesday. I have a routine mammogram on Monday.

We are giving a baby shower at work to our coworker, Kaylene who had a baby girl on May 18th. I am in charge of decorations. I am going to use dolls and stuffed animals and possibly some books from the kids collection and a quote from the Velveteen Rabbit beside the most loved and worn ones.
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

We look forward to celebrating with Milton and Theo on Saturday for their 60th wedding anniversary. Jonathan and Tonia will be here for the celebration too.

I am also doing sewing on dresses for Andrea’s wedding. One dress done and three more to go.

I'm sorry this blog has been so boring. There is so little time... Agh.
Yesterday was my day off and I had a list a whole page long to accomplish. At 5:00 I found out I had a 4-5 hour dictation tape to do and I worked today so it had to get done last night. Today I realized I totally forgot the manditory staff meeting that was last night. Not good. Tonight we were to have a bar-b-que for life group at 6:00. Chris got home about 5:50 so we could have been close to on time but then we got a call that others needed a ride but the neighbor she had invited wasn't home yet so could we wait for her to come home. So we waited which as you all know is not my strong point especially when we are already late. But in the long run relationships are more important than being on time.

Wilson is sick. This is the second day. We probably should take him to the vet but again there is no time since I work tomorrow. He is looking better than yesterday so hopefully he will be better tomorrow. We also haven't figured out what to do with him this weekend. Agh........

Teresa is babysitting triplets (and another brother) by herself tonight. She called and they are running late so she is still there.

This isn't much but is something new to read. Love Jan

Today we picked up Teresa’s new medicine from Kaiser. There were four large bottles. On the price it said $5760.30. Our price was $3.00. Our insurance saved us $5757.30. This is very impressive! We eagerly tear open the bottle to see what they look like. We are surprised to see they are about twice the size of a extra strength tums. Then we read that she is not to chew them or swallow them whole. We must dissolve 4 tablets in apple juice or water, or orange juice (which she doesn’t like). It must be taken at least ½ hour before eating. It takes quite a few minutes to dissolve and turns a murky tan color when dissolved in apple juice. Teresa is already convinced it will taste horrible…. and the doc said she would be doing this for the rest of her life……. Oh no! Mom suggested a straw because grandma Ruth says it makes things not taste so bad so Teresa is off to find a straw. She takes a sip and laughs. It is not so bad after all. Where have I tasted this flavor before? ……..Probably some medicine from my childhood she thinks. At least we aren’t paying $5760.30 for this tasty experience. lol

Well things went well with the meeting at work and we were okayed some extra hours to catch us up and other suggestions were received well. There is hope for improvement. Communication is a good thing. I really have found people at work very willing to listen and work toward solutions to problems.

Chris is back at Sunnyside now so doesn't have the extra drive so that is good. Not much new here. Just work and more work.

We had another great weekend with Jonathan and Tonia visiting. Jonathan helped take some things to the dump and do errands around the house. The girls had a quilting time at Linda’s with two friends of Linda’s from Vancouver. Susie was gone this time spending time at the beach with her mom so we missed her. The festival of Tonia’s birthday was begun with Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Larry since next week will be spent more with the Fergusons. We got to play some games.

We have been keeping the road busy between here and Portland for the last two days. Monday I went to a doctor’s appointment with Chris (because I am the one who has all the questions). Today Teresa and I went to OHSU to initiate getting Teresa started on an oral chelation medication to reduce her iron levels. This is a brand new medicine and a big improvement on the old IV method. It will take a couple of days to get the medicine to the pharmacy and then she’ll start taking 4 pills once a day. The good news is Kaiser is paying for all but the copay. It sure was difficult driving in the pouring rain. Chris had to go to the Interstate branch of Kaiser today and for several days for computer training. The drive is much longer and more stressful with the very slow traffic at the bridge over the Columbia.

I must try to get to bed earlier as I have to work tomorrow. We have a department meeting which I am now in charge of leading since Kaylene is gone. Things are pretty behind at work so it could be a stressful meeting. Hopefully we can find solutions to make things better.

My new quilt project

  

Today is my day off and finished a new quilt I started last week. I decided I needed to make a yellow baby quilt for Kaylene since her nursery is going to be in greens. I had some pretty flannel I had originally planned to use but got sidetracked by the sailboat design. I will try to get a picture of it but I have to recharge the camera.

I had a great time at the ladies retreat this past weekend. I am glad Linda was able to come. Susie, Linda, Terri Brewer and I shared a room. It was lovely weather and we got in two nice walks. Unfortunately I took a nap during the crafts but I think my body needed that more than the fellowship and bustle of the craft projects. I get enough crafts at home lately :) The teachings were on discovering and embracing the role of Princess (child of the king, royalty), our authority in Christ and running the race. I also enjoyed playing telephone pictionary and sequence. We took a wrong turn on the way home so were a little late to church but it was not a problem.

After church I enjoyed going out to eat with the family including Laura. It was nice to see her even if for a short time.

We are rejoicing in the news of Jonathan’s new job at World Vision. He found out yesterday. He will start on 6/5/06. Thank you God.

Our Oldsmobile was in the shop over the weekend. It needed a new water pump, hoses and connectors. It still needs a new motor clamp but we are going to wait until another paycheck for that repair. Car repairs are never fun but we’re glad it can be fixed and we have alternate transportation in the meantime.

Chris’s final is tomorrow. He will be glad to have the classes over but will still have to stay studying until his certification test on 6/12/06.