Ike

Mark's mom's friend (Ike) will have a cardiac catheritization in the morning. He was admitted to Heartland due to chest pains but all preliminary tests seem normal. He had a five bypass surgery some years ago and a stress test in March was fine but no cath was done then. I plan to have Mark drop me off on his way to work so I can be with his mom during the procedure. If there is blockage and a need for stints or bypass, they will go on and proceed with this. Please keep him in prayer.

The new wall is up!!

The old wall was was replaced and it only took about three hours yesterday afternoon/evening. Of course, it needs taped and painted but we at least have it up!! Our contractor is out of town and not expected back until Monday so we cleaned up last night (we used drop clothes on the table and doorways). Today we did Dollar Store and grocery shopping and we hare having friends over for dinner. It is hot and humid but nearly August.

ok, now I am writing on walls!

We have to take the entire wall down that was the north kitchen wall. Our roof (until last summer) was flat in the kitchen and there was so much damage from water and termites that it has to be replaced. I decided to let my inner 8 year old come out and write on the wall. I really have not lost my mind. I was just having fun and trying to relieve stress. We are sticking to the same contractor for now but we will see how it goes.

Please pray!

Things with the contractor on the room have taken a turn for the worse and we have to decide the best course of action to take. One of the primary issues is that we feel he is telling us lies. He is also not putting much time into it at all. Also, Mark has to start on a form of Prednsione for some poison ivy that is not healing. The rest of it healed except one sore that he hit and messed up. Please keep us and our attitudes in prayer!! We went ahead and had the termites spayed for professionally for fear of not doing so. Thanks!!

Room addition

A trip to the city

Mark and I went to KC Friday and spent the night and most of Saturday there. We wanted to get away but also to get some shopping done for the room. We found an awesome Westlakes that was bigger than ours. It was on Antioch. We chose and purchased our paint and ceiling fan there got a few little other sale items there. We did some looking at Metro North Mall and I purchased a Christian CD at the Christian book store. Our home had termite damage when we purchased it and we fixed it many years ago and it has been sprayed but our contractor found some new damage in the wall and some active termites. We have an inspector coming tomorrow to tell us what he thinks. One of the things we also bought at Westlakes was a termite control kit that has stakes to detect and kill the termites. If we can get this to work then this would be far cheaper than a professional. The house has a window partially in and they are supposed to cut the door soon (to the kitchen). United Cerebral Palsy had a nice lift chair donated to them and they brought it to me on Friday to put in the new room. I know that will be a blessing. I want to take and upload some current pictures of the room onto PhotoBucket and place a slide on the blog. I am helping with VBS registration tonight. Hoping for a productive week ahead!!

Hot July days

I have been spending lots of time inside. I did go to the pool yesterday but it was very crowded. We had dinner with Mark's mom and Ike yesterday and went to Home Depot and Target on Monday. We are looking for just the right (affordable) ceiling fan for the new room. I went to the room for the first time in several days today. The electrical work is in progress and the roof is all shingled. Because the windows are not in yet, we have not had the door cut from the kitchen to the new room and so the journey to the room is a hot one. We are eating dinner with friends tonight and then we are going to get a few supplies. Cooler weather is forecasted along with some needed rain.

Lazy Lexie

This is a picture of our Lazy Lexy that Mark took this week. The pink pillow was purchased just for her (Wal-Mart clearance). She tends to lay her head on the wrung of chairs and I thought this would be more more comfortable. It has been a slow week on the room addition. The shingles are still being put on. Praise God that Aunt Shelly had no cancer in her second set of lymph nodes!

Praises!!!

Aunt Shelly is home and doing very well. We are waiting on test results on the second set of lymph nodes but believing the best, especially since the first nodes were cancer free. Went to see mike and Barb at the hospital and they were doing extremely well!! Praise God!! Mike was on life support the last time we saw him in ICU and we had been told that the attempt to get him to breath without the machine was not successful. Obviously, further attempts were successful because he was in a regular room and doing fine talking/ breathing etc.. He has two broken legs but realizes he could have been in a much worse perdiciment. For those who prayed for my aunt, Mike and/or Barb, thanks!!!!!!!!!!

The electrician has met with J.R. and today we had the framing inspection and it went well. J.R. is supposed to start on shingling the roof tomorrow.

my aunt and our first door

Thank God my aunt got through her surgery but they took several inches of her colon because one of the two polyps looked like possible cancer. She is eager to be able to have liquid by mouth. Please pray for infection not to set in because they said that she is more susceptible because of her Lupus. I learned today that Barb and Mike are out of ICU so I assume that means they are improving. Praise God! Here is a picture of our first door being installed.

July 4

Mark and I were ready to get away for awhile so after bringing home our Wal-Mart stuff and a short visit with J.R., we went to lunch and a movie. We have not gotten real good sleep the last few nights because of neighborhood fireworks. We plan to stay home the remainder of the evening and hope that the noise ends prior to midnight tonight since Mark has to work at 6 in the morning. Here are some pictures of the roof. The electrician is supposed to meet with J.R. about the electrical work tomorrow. We are undecided if we will have base board heat and a window AC or something like they have in motels that are both in one unit. Please continue in prayer for Mike and his mom. We visited them Monday night and they were both still critical but we were able to talk with Barb briefly and then Mike's aunt filled us in later. Aunt Shelly is in the hospital now and will have surgery tomorrow so please pray for her. Happy 4th to all!!!

The past week

I didn't want to post negative thoughts so I avoided posting for awhile. The work on the room was limited this week by rain/mud etc. and it has been hard to be patient. J.R. has worked alone on the days he did work and only 2-3 or so hours per day. The roof is still being worked on. I am trying to stay busy. Spent the day with a friend and her husband Thursday when we had lunch at Cheddar's and went to the Sidewalk sale at the mall where mark met us after work. Friday, Mark and I used some coupons and ate at Perkins. Saturday night, we went to the picnic for the Tractor Cruise and had fellowship there (and good food). Saw the Bond family who used to minister at our church just as they were on the way home to Joplin where they now minister and it was good to see them and their two girls who had grown so much. They have a baby boy but he was resting contentedly in the van but they post frequent pictures so I feel like I have met him anyway. A neat thing happened at the picnic when a lady ask me if I was Julie Flowerree's daughter (mom's maiden name) and I said yes. Mom and I look very much alike. Anyway, she knew my dad from high school at Breckenridge and my mom (I think because her husband was a post master). I think she may have known them both when they were a young couple also. It is rare to run into people who know both of my parents because they divorced when I was so young and dad moved to southern Kansas. I really enjoyed talking with her. Her husband drove a tractor in the cruise. Please pray for some friends of Mark and his family: Mike Foster and Barbara Foster. As I read the SJ Sunday paper this afternoon, I noticed that this son (41) and his mom were in a head on collision with another car early Saturday morning when they crossed a center line on Rt. D near Savannah. Pray also for the lady they hit. Last we knew, Mike and Barb had a paper route and we suspect that was what they were doing. All three had serious injuries and when I called to see about visiting at the hospital, Mike and his mom were in ICU. Also, please pray for my Aunt Shelly having surgery for a precancerous polyp on her colon Thursday. She will be entering the hospital July 4th and stay about 5 days because of the connection between the stomach and the colon (???). It is laproscopic surgery but she has lupus and has to go off some of the Lupus medicine prior to the surgery. She will have it in KC.