thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Thought I would share the message from "Our Daily Bread" today by Susie Larson:
Daily Blessing
How do you create an atmosphere for growth and healing? You remember that God is on the throne. You make God's peace a high priority in your life. You learn to celebrate even the smallest of victories and enjoy even the smallest of blessings. You sing, dance, belly laugh, and worship with your whole heart. You immerse yourself in God's Word. You refuse fear and choose faith instead. You love in a way that changes you. This weekend, may you have the presence of mind to cherish every second with the ones you love. May you make time for fun, for rest, and for reflection. May you plan time in your schedule not to have plans, and see what happens. May you come to know--on a whole new level--that much more rests on God shoulders than on yours. And may you learn to enjoy the journey because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Jesus loves you with an everlasting love. Enjoy your weekend.
Colossians 3:15 (NLT) ~ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
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Gail, what a wonderful song, which will minister to so many here. Thank you for sharing it. We pray the Lord gives you peace to just take one day at a time and know God's strength, leading, comfort and provision in this hard time. I am so thankful you have Him to lean on. Can't imagine going through these trials without Him, can you? You are in our prayers.
Chris, what great news! That must be such a relief to hear your new meds are working (through God's mighty hand). Your views there are amazing - what a sunset!
Hershey, so you WILL get to work from home now? I surely pray that is the case.
Nancy, I love your pics and banners and words of miistry to all. You are such a blessing. I pray your tests come with good results, that your mom's hearing aids are found and a way to keep them safe when not in, and that the Lord will bless your visit with your mom (so thankful you get to see her now!).
We spent 2 days in Midland for doctor visits for James. Our son had so many hotel points that he let us stay at a Hilton overnight free rather than have so many hours of car travel in one day. The VA is fitting James with new hearing aids since sadly, his hearing has diminished even more, so we are thankful for that provision. We get them in 3 weeks. We are FINALLY getting some rain and even COOL weather, at least for a few days. How thankful we are for that blessing!
Lord bless and keep you all,
Ade
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Ade, yes! I am working from home for the foreseeable future. I am so thankful. My company's office is located in a community with increasing numbers of COVID cases. One business less than a mile away from my office has been declared an outbreak center, so everyone there is quarantined for two weeks. I'm very, very grateful to be at home.
Wishing you all a safe and relaxing weekend.0 -
Hi dear sisters,
I need to make this short and will write later. It has been a busy time of procedures and appointments. My Mom had to be taken by ambulance again to the hospital and she fell again on Thursday on her same side with her knee that has a hairline fracture. Her leg swelled all up. I think she is okay but the ER told her that the last time she fell recently when she wasn't okay. I am getting things in place to leave on Monday to go down.
Teka, thank you for the 9-11 banner. I usually post one and I just had too much going on. Thank you for reaching out today with that very nice banner.
Chris, thank you for that devotional. I really needed that then and now.
Ade, I was glad to hear from you. I hope the apts went well.
Hershey, glad you are NOW working from home after this long wait period.
Of all times, Cammie has gone to her litter box multiple times in a short period of time. This is not a good sign and certainly a bad time to be taking her downstate with me.
Have a good week dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I am sorry that when it rains, it pours. I pray this new pile of concerns won't overwhelm you and that you can commit your cares to the One Who cares for you. I pray your mother's knee (leg) will be ok and heal quickly and that they will safeguard her against future falls (whether walker, call button or whatever!), that the Lord will heal Cammie quickly without a vet visit, that He will BLESS your upcoming trip and grant you the peace and all freedom from anxiety that you really need right now. May He quiet your fears and grant you a big measure of faith.
Sending hugs,
Ade
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Thank you Ade. On a positive note Cammie seems to be okay for now. I use pheromone plug ins to relax her and when one of them runs out she is the one that tips me off as she gets very unsettled. That happened today and after I put in a new plug in she calmed down. However tonight she is not downstairs with me but is sleeping upstairs so I guess we'll see.
My Mom uses a walker and has one of those life alert pendants. She has not used her pendant the two times she has fallen. Her mind is compromised at this point I am praying for wisdom in how to move forward. I really want her to be able to stay in this facility but it is not a memory care facility and from day 1 they told us that as long as she is not a danger to anyone or herself she could stay there till the end of her life. That was a different director who had to resign due to her own health problems. There is a new nurse there as well so a whole different administration.
Did you come away with any solutions for James at your doctor visits. How did Maggie do being boarded? I am glad you got to stay at a Hilton free of charge. That is a blessing for sure.
I will try to stay in touch as much as I can while downstate. I am leaving on Monday and will be returning the following Tuesday of the next week.
Have a good coming week everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, sending prayers for a safe trip and that you and your sister will be able to figure out the best course of action for your mom. Also praying Cammie will comply and be good for you.
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Chris, thank you for your prayers. I am feeling a tremendous amount of pressure as I have an hour long phone interview with the VA to determine if I can be my Mom's fiduciary and there is so much work I have to do and much of what I need is with my sister who has had something come up and is not sure how much time she can spend with me on this while I am downstate. My Mom will get no retroactive pay until the fiduciary is assigned and I would rather it be me than some third party that knows nothing of our situation. This meeting gives me one day to get things ready once returning back home. Because of the virus there is no in person interviews which would have made this much easier but now I am supposing that I will have to scan many documents in for this person. I would have set this interview up later if I had a clue what all was involved. I received nothing in the mail as I should have and so she sent emailed me all of the things I had to do and I didn't have a clue all of this would be so involved. Since I already filled out so much of this same stuff already it just seems like overkill but that is the way it goes. I hope you are feeling strong enough to deal with the Bria's e learning and figuring out all of the technology involved.
Teka, thanks for the 9-11 banner even for a short time. I am glad you didn't lose any loved ones. A lady that taught at my school many years ago lost her son who worked at the Pentagon so we honor him and all who lost their lives every year for 19 yrs now. We have a sculpture which is memorial to 9-11 and there a part of the twin towers in this sculpture I believe.
Hopefully I will be able to keep in touch. I will probably be spending a lot more time at my Mom's house than actually visiting her with the restrictions of the pandemic.
Take care everyone and have a great week.
Love,
Nancy
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My Mom ended up in the ER again tonight. She had really bad diarrhea on Thursday when my sister was there. They had to give her three showers. Tonight the nurse called my sister and said my Mom's diarrhea was really bad. My sister went to get some liquids and some Imodium but my Mom got very shaky and they called an ambulance. My sister texted me from the hospital and said they were giving her an IV which I was glad to hear as I was so worried wondering if she had this diarrhea ever since Thursday.
I would really appreciate your prayers for my Mom.
Love
Nancy
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Thanks Teka and everyone for your prayers for my Mom. My sister and I texted to the early hours in the morning and I got the last text at 3 am saying she had dropped my Mom back to her facility and was heading home.
Neither one of us got much sleep so I am not leaving today as planned as I just don't have enough energy and I am afraid of falling asleep on the road. I will hopefully leave tomorrow. I have heard nothing on how my Mom is doing today. I am waiting to see what my sister says.
Thank you all for your concern.
Love
Nancy
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Nancy I am lifting you up to the Lord. May He grant you the rest you need, the peace you need, and the strength and wisdom to deal with all of this VA stuff AND healing for your poor mom. May He heal her of whatever caused the bowel problems and also her leg, and give her appetite too. May he bless your rest and your time ahead. He is with you and will never leave you or forsake you.
Love,
Ade
P.S. "woman"
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Thank you Ade, for that beautiful banner and truth. Thank you for your prayers. I got some rest this afternoon which I really needed and my Mom is apparently doing much better with no diarrhea. This is the second time I have heard someone say on two different days she was in good spirits. They stopped the appetite stimulant some time ago and I will be VERY curious to see if she seems improved when I see her because this is what I was thinking all along that the side effects were making her mind worse. Hopefully I will get good sleep tonight and power up for the trip.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, so glad to finally read that your mom is doing better. I pray that continues. You are in my prayers for a safe trip to see your mom and for this VA interview to go well and you get the approval you need. I pray also that your mom's leg heals and her physical health improves. Please drive carefully.
Reading and praying for everyone's needs that God may bless you with good health and whatever else you need.
Love and prayers for all,
Faith (in the future)
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Hi Faith, how are YOU doing? Praying with the meds and therapy you are seeing some improvement. Hopefully the cooler weather is possibly allow you to take some walks outside.
My Mom ended up in the ER today again. She fell. This time my sister was out of town and somehow my Mom's doctor got a call and intervened and had my Mom sent to his office first. Her blood pressure was too low they removed one of her meds. They did admit her as an outpatient and gave her another IV. My sister was texting me saying she kept saying are we going home now. The hospital took forever. My sister finally took my Mom back and a few hours later they called my sister and my Mom had fallen again but was okay. Needless to say it is a stressful time not knowing for sure what to do. This facility is not a memory care unit but they take people with dementia as long as they aren't a danger to themselves or others. I am praying that this is going to be a simple fix and with the blood pressure under control that her falling will stop. I have a feeling she may be blacking out. She does not push her alert button around her neck when this has happened.
I just got good news on my thyroid ultrasound. I don't have to have another US for 3-5 years so that is great to hear. One of the nodules actually shrunk. Unfortunately not the large one that is the one of concern.
I didn't get in to my Mom's house until late and too late to see her as they only have certain hours to visit residents.
I was able to reschedule the VA phone interview which will give me more time to get all of these documents scanned and sent to her before my apt. She said I could do a video conference and just show her the documents. I declined that offer. So much of this is the very same thing I did just a couple of months ago. It is a different department but even so it just is so cumbersome. I am grateful that we have gotten this far. Now it is a matter of getting the retroactive pay and many hoops to jump through if I am named fiduciary. Oh Lord help me now!!!!!
Have a good night dear sisters
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, glad you got there ok and your next thyroid scan isn't for 3-5 years (if they saw a problem they wouldn't have moved it that far up so that's very encouraging!) I'm sorry your mom keeps falling and pray that the change in her meds will help. Is she alone when she falls? Any way they can get her to call when she needs to be up and about - that she could remember to? I know even I am off balance when I get up in the night to use the bathroom (haven't fallen yet but it may come to that) so this gets to be a problem with us old folks. (and I'm 69!) What a relief to get the VA appointment delayed some! I know you will have all your ducks in a row - it's just these HOOPS! The VA only rated James 30% for his migraines - said it is because he "only has one a month"! He has 5 or more a month - they just didn't bother to read our claim! So - it looks like we will file a suplemental claim to that. The bad part is that he TOLD his VA doctor how very bad they are and how frequent and the guy didn't chart it!!! We are in the process of finding out how James can add a page of the specific things he discussed with the doctor on the portal so it is IN the VA records. No one but me knows how this man suffers. The meds help relieve the pain somewhat, but not the frequency. He is supposed to have a consult with a neurologist but the VA hasn't called us about it yet.<<sigh>> Now our insurance says he doesn't qualify for the expensive meds that have alleviated his fevers and we have to fight that! Aren't we glad we have the victory in Christ! One day at a time.
Well we 're headed for Midland again today. This time it is to take our neighbor friends to a car lot where they are picking up a brand new car. Our 2000 Nissan that we had planned to take just died AGAIN yesterday after James put a $175 new battery in it to get it running when it wouldn't start. We just put nearly $2,000 in repairs in it 2 months ago and have $400+ tires coming next week. So we'll have to take them today in my little 1999 Toyota Rav4. It will be cramped but they can't look a free ride 3 hours away in the mouth, right?
)On the road again...
Ade
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Ade, so sorry to hear you are still battling with the VA for James. I keep waiting for this mountain to be moved for you!
Nancy, praying for solutions for your mom and peace for you.
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Dear sisters,
I would appreciate your prayers for my family. As soon as I got to my Mom's facility I was prepared to visit with her through the patio door. When I met the first worker at the front door she said you can inside to see your Mom. Then she said the director wants to talk to you. So I knew this was not a good sign.
When they let in my Mom's patio door my Mom was surprised and glad to see me. I waited for the ladies to come and talk with me. My Mom had no hearing aides in and could hear so we could talk freely in front of my Mom. My Mom fell twice today before I even got there and basically said the her doctor said since she has fallen four times within a 24 hr period she needs to move to a skilled facility which is a nice way of saying a nursing home.
I was stunned but I certainly understand that my Mom has become a real handful for them to deal with. They all suggested this one facility as their number one pick which is a couple of blocks from my sister's house. When I got back to the house I was able to get in touch with someone in admissions but it was almost after hours then. She said they are expecting a vacancy and I am not sure if that was meaning someone is dying but she did say she would talk to my Mom's facility and just see what her issues are.
I am frankly having a hard time with this as I know that as soon as my Mom moves to this facility I may never get to see her again. The laws in Illinois are that no one can visit a nursing home but it looks like if it the resident is dying then maybe.
My Mom looked terrible and even though she said she was fine when she tried to move it was obvious that she is in pain from falling so much. She will be having another MRI of her hand as it was all red and swollen. The poor thing has been run through the mill and I finally had to take a pad of paper and write her notes as she couldn't hear me.
She kept falling asleep as well. It took two people to help her to the bathroom so I could see first hand how this facility was not going to work for her anymore even though they have been great the almost three years my Mom has been there.
Ade, you are a gem for driving your neighbor's friend to get their car. I know from past years how the ugly car bills can crop up at the least opportune times. Praying it all works out.
Chris, thank you for your prayers. I know that each step along this journey God has provided for us in spite of my hand wringing which I will admit I am doing now. He asks us to trust him in this journey and I was getting that message loud and clear before even getting here last night. So I know He is already making a way for us.
I must run for now.
Thank you all for your prayers.
Love,
Nancy
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Oh Nancy, I am so sorry and sad that your mom is in pain. I can sense how hard this is for you and your sister, too. You and your family are in my prayers.
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Nancy, so sorry your mom and you are going through this. It must be so difficult. May God hold your mom close and take away her pain and suffering.
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Hi dear friends.
Things are quickly changing. The water heater at my Mom's house failed and that was a mad dash to get that taken care of but the installation is complete as of this morning. I am waiting on my Mom's doctor to call me. My sister talked to him and then she said she would call him back after talking to me. She talked me into calling him back myself. I only got answering service but the gist of it is that he wants to have my Mom moved to a nursing home today and I think we will discuss hospice. The nurse at my Mom's current facility is worried about her today. She is not very alert and even refused an Ensure so we know something is off when that happens.
I ended up taking her to the hospital yesterday to have bunch of xrays as she seemed in pain when trying to get her up for her shower yesterday. The insurance would not pay for an ambulance transport for this so I took her in my car. Thank the Lord He provided all the help I needed to make this all happen. It was a rough day for my Mom just doing the ton of xrays they did on her.
I don't know if this is the end but I sense it is coming.
I could certainly use prayers for my sister and me and for my Mom's comfort as she is preparing for her transition to ??? and to heaven. I would prefer than she not have to be moved and could pass away peacefully at her current facility but God's will and mine may not be on the same page in that.
Thank you for your post of encouragement and prayer support. It means more than you know.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, we are all lifting you and your mom & sis up to the Lord. My dad AND my grandfather went Home JUST before they would have to be put into nursing home care and neither even knew that was next on the agenda. God was so merciful in that and perhaps it may be that way for your mom regarding a new facility. If not, the more intensive care facility will be able to give closer guidance for her and most likely lessen if not eliminate those awful falls for her. These times are so hard when you have to be a parent for your parent and make such important decisions for them. I'm glad you got the hot water heater situation taken for quickly (what BAD timing!) and that you got to be with your mom in person. I pray that our Lord will work out EVERY detail according to His perfect will for your mom and that He will grant you and your sister the peace and strength you surely need right now. We know that His love and power are mighty and that He hears our prayers - and Jesus Himself is interceeding at the right hand of the Father. (It doesn't get any better than that!)
Thank you Chris for thinking of us. James is in bed with a migraine today...again.
(Sending you ALL a cyber hug and lifting you up in prayer with love,
Ade
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Nancy, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom’s condition and the water heater troubles. I pray that our dear God will lift your burdens and that His Will shall also be your will and that your mom can stay where she is and go with peace to our Lord in His good time. I’m lifting you and your sister and mom up in prayer. I also pray you sleep well tonight. You must be exhausted from all the stress of everything.
Love and prayers to you and everyone here,
Faith
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I just lost a really long post and I am too exhausted to write much.
My Mom is in the hospital now. 3hrs in the ER and an hour getting her settled in her room. My sister will meet with the doctor tomorrow at 6:30 am. My Mom will have a battery of tests and if she is cleared hopefully this nursing home will take her. The facility she is at now just cannot handle her needs right now and the falls would probably continue.
I am totally wiped out. I have had two instances of exhaustion interfering and I came so close to causing a very bad accident but was able to swerve quickly and avoid it. Tonight I accidentally took my thyroid meds instead of this night med which could end up making my heart race and making me hyper. I take that med in the morning only. Praying my exhaustion will allow me to sleep.
My Mom is scared the poor thing. She had a rough time waiting for three hours in the ER before finally going up to her room in the hospital. This is all because of Covid 19 testing.
If she goes into the nursing home she will be quarantined for 14 days and I am doubtful we will be able to see her. We have lots of questions.
Thank you Teka, Hershey, Chris, Ade and Faith for your posts. Your encouragement and prayers means everything to me.
Ade, sorry to hear about James and another migraine. I am praying it is short lived. So frustrating for both of you I know.
Take care dear sisters.
Love,
Nancy
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Praying for Nancy's Mon and for James. Jean
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Praying for Nancy’s mom and for Nancy and her sister. May God give you all peace and healing. Also praying for Chris and James and all those here who read and are in need of healing. May God bless you all with His grace.
Love and prayers,
Faith
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Hi dear sisters,
Thank you all for your prayers and your posts of encouragement. Today was moving day for my Mom. I have to say that God truly worked miracles for us in this journey that feels like it has gone on forever but she has only been in the hospital since Friday night.
We didn't know if the nursing home we wanted so badly could take her not knowing her needs as they do not have a locked down unit. Then only by accident something came up in a conversation about my Mom's hospital status. She went into the hospital I assumed as an inpatient patient. I later found out that sometime yesterday her status changed to observation only which is a nasty little trick that Medicare has come up with to deny patients thousands of dollars. My Mom needed to be an inpatient patient for three complete days not counting her discharge day. Then Medicare will cover as much as 100 days (with her particular coverage) in a skilled nursing facility which is literally thousands and thousands of dollars. Also Medicare Part A does not cover this observation status at all so again we were going to have lots of money in copays. God Bless her doctor. He must have had fit that the hospital overrode his preference and I also rattled the cages with as many people as I could talk today. We did think yesterday that the nursing home had finally given the green light but I wasn't totally sure until today. So the GREAT news is the hospital REVERSED it's decision and kept her status as inpatient and that satisfied Medicare's three day rule in hospital to satisfy a Skilled Nursing Facility for 20 days completely and 100 days partial but thanks to my Mom's supplemental it will cover 100 days ONLY if she improves as she is treated like they do for rehab patients. Just an FYI if this ever happens to you or a family member. Ask what is your status as soon as you are admitting to the hospital.
Okay, we won that battle, we got the nursing home of our choice and then the brutal reality that my Mom had to go into quarantine for 14 days knowing she would be so scared and think we abandoned her. Today I had to fly across town from the hospital and sign a ton of papers with the admissions director from the nursing home all outside. It was a very pleasant day. In our talking she said this person's first name will be your Mom's roommate for the quarantine. I said what is her last name. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS ONE. This lady is one of my Mom's friends from church and they used to be in a widow's group that would go out to lunch once a month. I just about jumped up and did a happy dance right there. This admissions lady said I love when God does something like this. That gave me a clue that maybe she is also a Christian. She was a sweetheart I know that. So all in all God has taken a very difficult situation and has blessed us knowing He has made a way where there seems to be no way. It doesn't take away my broken heart knowing my Mom is still going to be scared and will probably ask where is my daughter referring to both my sister and me but she is in His hands and I have to trust in that otherwise I could make myself sick with worry.
So before I lose this post I am going to sign off. I haven't given myself permission to have a good cry yet. I still have to get up very early for a plumber to come to the house. The water heater installation caused some damage to the kitchen sink faucet so my time here is getting more expensive by the day. I have to foot the bill on this one too because that is not covered in our contract for the water heater.
Thank you so much for your prayers. God is good and always sees the big picture. My poor Mom still needs your prayers. She has had a miserable several days in the hospital and I know she just wants to rest. SO DO I.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I'm glad to hear that your mom is in the nursing home you wanted for her. I'm praying that she will settle in and not be too upset at not seeing you or your sister for awhile.You have certainly had a tough time with everything happening there and I pray that things will get better now. It is so good that her roommate is a friend from church. God works in wonderous ways.
Praying for everyone's needs,
Love,
Faith (in the future).
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Thank you Faith. Today I didn't have time to be down in the dumps as I had an early morning plumber come in to finally get some hot water in the kitchen sink. Then I realized the dehumidifier was not working in the basement as it should. Another chunk of money that more than likely will be spent soon. My VA lady that I needed to have the phone interview with pressed me to do it now. I had my needed documents at my house but she seemed to think we could still move forward. I think God allowed this to happen the day after moving my Mom to this nursing home knowing it would be difficult. I had to cram some preparation in knowing she was going to call at a certain time. I was greatly relieved that some of the things I was stressing about I don't even need to do so that was such a tremendous relief. I have lost so much sleep this past week and I really hope that I can get a good night's sleep tonight with hopefully no pressure to be anyplace. My sister and I still need to clean out my Mom's apartment and we have not even started talking about that yet. I need to get back home and then will come back after my Mom is out of quarantine and hopefully will be able to celebrate her 95 birthday coming in October.
How is every one doing? Ade how is James doing? And you? Chris how is the remote learning going with Bria? How are you doing with your treatments?
Faith, how you feeling? Do you think the interventions are helping you with the meds and the therapy sessions. I sure hope they are.
How's our NY ladies with Teka and Jean? I hope you are both doing well. I know before you know it it will be covered with many inches and possibly feet of snow. I don't know where this spring and summer went. Oh yeah, we were all trying to find toilet paper that wasn't $100 a roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hershey, I bet you are sure glad you don't have to be in that toxic work situation for now. That has to be a huge blessing.
How's our ladies doing in treatment?
Oh I forgot to tell you my sister found one of my Mom's hearing aides. It was in it's box. My sister thinks someone found it and put it in there but she doesn't know who. I keep thinking we may find one in her Lazy Boy chair. We'll see as she is totally deaf without them.
Have a good night dear sisters. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka I love that leaf with the heart in the middle of it.
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Wow, Nancy - what you have been through! But God had it all in HIs hand all along and seems to be blessing the situation with a room mate your mom knows! And your VA phone visit went better than you had hoped too! I am sorry you have to deal with the house repairs on top of all of this. At least there are no snakes!!! May the Lord grant you rest and sleep that you need and most of all His peace throughout all of this. May He grant your mom peace and freedom from any fear or anguish. I hope Miss Cammie is doing ok with your having to be gone a lot too. We will certainly keep you and this ordeal lifted up to the Lord.
James has had SEVEN migraines this month. He ALWAYS has a headache and it never lets up. Please pray they will give him something to prevent this. His tests are all ok so far so we don't know why he has had to live with years (decades) of pain. But God is our Divine Healer and we petition Him for relief.
Thank you for that notice about being admitted for observation. I had some heart problems a while back and though I was admitted for observation my part F did cover what part A didn't! I think they are doing away with part F but if anyone CAN get it - it is worth it. They pay the 20% Medicare doesn't and that can be a LOT!
Blessings upon your day, Ladies,
Ade
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