A BITTER/SWEET THANKSGIVING

THE BITTER: Suzette was feeling ill from the effects of the Chemo she had on Monday and the Avastin she'd had on Wednesday. SO.....she and Dave were unable to come and celebrate not only our Thanksgiving dinner but also our joint Birthday celebration for Dave & Mickey who both celebrate their birthdays on November 24th. We have always celebrated Mickey & Dave's birthday together on Thanksgiving each year.

We held up dinner scheduled for 2 , hoping she could get to feeling better and come, but finally at 3 we had to removed 2 places settings and the 10 of us feast, instead of the 12 of us.

Taken right after I took Suzette home from her Avastin injection on the 24th.

Dave had shaved BOTH his and Suzette's heads on Sunday, November 23rd. What a great, wonderful, loving & supportive husband, Dave is to his wife & our girl!!!

MORE BITTER: #1 Son, David, did not get to make it in from California. But he did call, while we were eating and we passed the phone around the table for everyone to say hello!!!

THE SWEET: We had celebrated an early Thanksgiving, with Turkey and all the trimmings, on October 22nd when David & Karin came to visit!!! There were 14 of us, should have been 17 but Deann's 3 sons were with their father that week-end.

Since we'd had turkey a month earlier we had Ham. I baked the ham & candied sweet potatoes. Jacque & Benny brought Cauliflower/Broccoli Salad & Amish Green Beans - Jessica & Josh brought a yummy fruit salad - Marc brought plain tea, sweet tea, rolls & butter - Deann baked delicious pumpkin & pecan pies :o) (so glad our family finally has a pie maker!!!) - Suzette & Dave had made a cranberry salad & purchased the ham. I was also suppose to fixed mashed potatoes and COMPLETELY FORGOT!! We sat down to eat and Jacque said, "Mom, where are the mashed potatoes?" OOOpps!!! I mean a BIG oops for this family not to have mashed potatos!!!

THE SWEET:

Mickey received this Hoody from his brother, Jerry, from Tennessee. See the joy on his face?!!!!! He'd been wanting one of these.

The skull cap on Mickey's head, and the Jesus Fish Tee-shirt were gifts from Jacque & Benny. Benny has started a new company called Biker Wraps and the emblem is on the skull cap and the back of the tee-shirt. These are just 2 of his items.

Marc's gift to his dad was an external hard-drive for our computers. YEAH!! No more worry about losing our data.

Grandpa Mickey and Grandson Aric both claiming to be #1!!!!

THE SWEET: Being able to share this Thanksgiving/Birthday celebration with at least 8 of my wonderful family: Mickey & I, Daughter Jacque & Benny, Son Marc, Deann, Granddaughter Oksana & Grandson Aric, and Granddaughter Jessica & Josh. Again, Deann's 3 boys, Mason, Austin & Cody were with their father for Thanksgiving this year.

THE SWEETEST OF ALL: The faith to believe that next Thanksgiving Suzette will not be ill and we will ALL celebrate Thanksgiving/Birthdays together.

The faith that someday we will ALL celebrate the Marriage Supper of The Lamb together in heaven!!!!!!

THROUGH THE FIRE!!!!

Participating in Spiritual Sunday once again. Please go here to read other Spiritual Sunday posts.


A dear church friend of mine, Danny, shared this in our Prayer Room at our last church Sunday morning. It so spoke to my heart and I wanted to share it with my friends here, too.


Just as Meshach, Shadrach, Abendago were not spared from the fact and reality of the burning furnace, so often in life we find that God is allowing us to go through our own particular burning furnace. That is where our family currently finds itself as we walk through this burning furnace of Suzette's illness of lung cancer.



BUT......BUT, (oh what a wonderful word) just as these three were brought through that fire; unharmed, not burned, not so much as the smell of smoke upon them.....so shall we walk through in complete victory. This victory is and will be based totally on the WORD OF GOD and HIS promises to us. "He will never leave us, or forsake us!"



The other important feature of this story of the 3 Hebrew children in the burning furnace was THE FOURTH MAN (Jesus) was also in that furnace with them. Yes, we KNOW that we are not walking out this burning furnace experience alone. JESUS is with us every step of the way.


I also so this quote last week: "God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless he has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty." Peter Marshall

We rest secure in God specific and perfect plan for our lives.

BOOK - Fire On The Earth

Just finished reading my 15th book for the year 2010. FIRE ON THE EARTH - Eyewitness Reports from the Azusa Street Revival. This great revival began in September, 1906 and literally had an impact on the entire world.

I've heard of Azusa Street for years but never really read anything factual on it. What amazes me the most, after reading this book, is what a small group of people were touched at the various meetings and yet those who were literally did impact the entire world. On reflection, that shouldn't have surprised me, since we know what impact the 12 Disciples had as they "turned the world upside down".

This book was not a particular exciting read, and yet I'm glad we took the time to read it and read what actual eye witnesses wrote and said about it.

VETERANS DAY HONOR

This beautiful granddaughter, Oksana, invited her grandfather to be her special guest of honor at a Veteran's Day memorial at her school. I got to tag along, too :o) She recently blessed us with this 9th grade school picture so I thought I'd share it here.


First was a lovely BBQ luncheon served by some of the students, who were all wearing camouflage t-shirts with "Owasso".



This was on the wall in the room where we ate.
Standing in the buffet line.

After lunch we were shuttled by bus over to one of the auditoriums on this lovely Owasso campus for the program which began at 1.

The program was absolutely outstanding. This was Mickey & my first exposure to the Owasso school system since this is Oksana and Aric's first year to attend here. We are so pleased and delighted with all we've seen and heard and the good experience it has been in their lives.

The program was a jam packed 45 minute program with 2 guest speakers, lots of video's, taps by two student, the Chamber Choir, honor guard presentation of the colors, etc. and then over 50 veterans in attendance who were honored by name.

The program ended with all the veterans coming to the front and standing beneath the flag of their military branch.

It was a lovely, impressive program and to think it was put on by 9th & 10th grade students just blew our minds.

Another added surprise for us was getting to see Jessie. She and Oksana meet 3 years ago in the Tulsa school they attended and it is so wonderful that they are both still together here at Owasso. We had not see Jessie since Oksana's 14th birthday party.

It was a great day!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!!

NOVEMBER 10, 2010 WAS A RED LETTER DAY!!!!

A day that I believe every couple dreams about, and one that Mickey and I have worked hard for during the 52 years, 1 month and 6 days of our marriage -

WE PAID OFF OUR HOUSE!!!!!

We were within 10 months of having it paid off and this morning we just decided to take the money out of savings and pay it off and we did.

I cannot tell you what a joy and wonderful feeling it is to know that we own your little 1/3 acre tract of land and stone home FREE and CLEAR.

Mickey, holding up our amoritazation schedule showing our balance as we prepare to enter our Credit Union.


Me, holding up the receipt of payment that shows a balance of $-0- as we exit and prepare to leave.

During the 52 years of our marriage we have been blessed to live in in 8 different houses we were in the process of purchasing at the time. We only rented for 3 very short periods of time. Once in 1961 when Mickey was first transferred to Denver and we rented for a house for a short time before purchasing a home there. Once in 1964. when we first moved to Tulsa. we rented a house 3 blocks from the first Tulsa house we bought. The last time was in 1985 when we moved back to Albuquerque, due to my mothers health, even though we still owned our home here in Tulsa.

Thanks for letting me share our good news!!!! Believe me, it is a milestone in our lives.

***********

Our other GOOD NEWS ----- Suzette has had 7 good days since getting the fluid drained off her lung last Wednesday. We went out and spent yesterday afternoon visiting with her. We took her a beautiful musical background CD on HEALING with over 42 healing scriptures that one of my wonderful friends had bought for her. The three of us listened to it together. We also stopped and bought her a Chocolate malt. Of course I had to get me one, too!!! It was a nice, peaceful, blessed time. Her second Chemo treatment will be a week from tomorrow on the 18th.

Thank you to all of you who have left her a message on her Caring Bridge site. It means a lot to her to know that so very many are praying for her. She said again yesterday, "I am going to be a miracle."

CARING BRIDGES - Suzette's websight

Our son Marc set up a Caring Bridges page for Suzette and our son-in-love, Dave, Suzette's wonderful husband, is posting on it each day to keep everyone informed.

Here is the link to it http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/suzettestevens/

Please feel free to keep up with her. I know she would appreciate your comments and encouragement.

The latest picture of her, right after she got her hair cut and began wearing it with it's natural curl.

An earlier picture of Dave & Suzette with her 2008 Saturn Vue with XR leather package.

Suzette is selling this car - It is in excellent condition and has 26,200 miles. The blue book value on it is $18,415 and she is asking $17,000. V6 - 3.6 liter - automatic transmission - 6SFD w/overdrive - Front wheel drive. It is all beige leather interior.

It was 6 weeks ago yesterday that this "journey" began for all of us.

It is HORRIBLE!!!

This family has been through some very difficult circumstances before but this has to rank as the very worst. BUT, just as we have not only weathered the previous ones, but been made better people because of the work God does in you, at such times of testing, that is our prayer as we walk this one out, holding firmly to HIS hand and HIS word that sustains us on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis.

I guess the worst part is the roller-coaster ride of good news/bad news & good days/bad days. After the Chemo going so well on Friday and her feeling really good on Saturday Suzette spent very bad days on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. Tuesday Dave took her for her scheduled CT scan and that scan showed that fluid needed to be drained from the lung.

Yesterday was a very bad day so I am feeling very raw today. Mickey & I left the house at 8:30 a.m. to pick her up and take her to a 10:20 appointment at the hospital at Radiology.

Mickey drove and let Suzette and I off at the main entrance. Thankfully they had wheelchairs and a very nice volunteer who wheeled us to Radiology, which was quite a ways. Radiology is where they viewed her lung and marked an "x" on her back where they were to draw out the fluid. From there we were sent to Endocopy. So thankful for the wheelchair for the long way to where we at first waited in the waiting room and then were put in a private holding room where they took vitals and did blood work. Then we waited and waited and WAITED until 2:55 for her to finally be taken to the room where the Dr. withdraw 1.3 liter of fluid off her lung. This is the 3rd time, in these 6 weeks, that fluid has been drained from her lung.

Suzette was in terrible pain and discomfort and it was just horrible watching her sitting there, hour after hour, just waiting. To top it off she had nothing to eat. She was in a comfortable recliner and they kept bringing in the nice warm blankets for her, which helped but it was a LONG wait. We finally left the hospital just before 5 because even after the draining was completed we had to wait for x-rays to be developed to be sure no damage had been done to her lung.

Then the 3 of us hurried to Pan*era Br*ead where we got Suzette a large bowl of chicken-noodle soup and Mickey & I had the 1/2 sandwich - cup of soup meal. Boy did it taste good to us all!!!

Dave came in just as we arrived at their house. Suzette was totally exhausted. She had not sleep since awaking at 1 a.m. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her now that that pressure is removed and she can breath better. Dave is taking her to her 3:30 appointment today with her oncologist for the results of the CT scan and what other information he might have.

We arrived home after 7 p.m. and even missed church services. We were both just exhausted. It didn't help that I had worked from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. the day before, Tuesday, at the Election and Mickey & Sherry had done The King's Kitchen with me missing.


I'm so thankful-----HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING!!!!!

GO VOTE

This is a great country!

To keep it that way,

We each have a role

and a part we must play.

With different opinions,

we won't all agree,

Who to elect,

but thank God we are free!

So make up your mind and go vote.

Know what you believe and who you support.

And who are the judges you want on the court.

Ask the hard questions,

then you must decide,

The person you choose.

Let your heart be your guide.

Just remember you have to go vote.

The party's important.

Know where you stand.

But choosing a leader

is more than a brand.

One nation, united. "In God we trust".

He answers our prayers,

but remember you must,

Go pick up your ballot and vote.

Poem by Peter Enns

I'll be working at my polling assignment tomorrow from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition to all the elected position spots we will be voting on, we, here in Oklahoma, also have 11 very important questions to vote on. I trust all Oklahomans have studied them well and will vote.

Voting is a privilege many have died for and many in the world would give anything to be able to do. So do your duty

VOTE!!!