Monday, October 26, 2009

Fall is the best time of year!

This weekend the kids had tons of fun at different Fall events. Saturday we went to the "Scarecrow Row" in downtown Klamath Falls. We rode on a two-horse wagon....and just so happened to be in the parade! Then all the downtown stores gave out candy for the kids, even the jewelry and china stores....YIKES!


On Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. Each kid got to pick out their own pumpkin, but THEY had to be the one to carry it. It's very interesting to watch each one's strategy for choosing....Kaela has certain characteristics in mind when she looks to find "the perfect pumpkin". Graeson has to look at all of them, then decide which one speaks to him. And Maezie was satisfied with the little one that she could carry.


After choosing pumpkins, we decided to tackle the corn maze. Daddy and the kids went through (with the map--smart!) and made it out in about 20 minutes. So my friend Nikki and I decided we'd wander through, no real plan for "conquering" the maze, but we thought it would be fun to just meander around and spend some quality friend time. Eventually we realized we had no map and our leader was a five year old. So an hour later Bryan came in after us and we had to call each other's cell phones in order to find each other. (Ever played the game "Marco Polo"....one person trying to find the other by sound!) It was a bit humerous!
We had a great Fall weekend!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Kaela & Graeson describe Daddy


So it's time to write about Daddy this week, so I thought I'd let Kaela and Graeson do the talking. They were each asked the same questions, but separately.


1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
Kaela age 7-you guys need to stop fighting
Graeson age 4 (almost 5)-what's for lunch today?

2. What makes Daddy happy?
K-watching football
G-watching Food Network

3. What makes Daddy sad?
K-seeing me sad
G-when I do bad things

4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
K-he tickles me
G-by tickling me

5. What was Daddy like as a child?
K-he liked to ride his bike and that's how he broke his leg
G-uuuh, I don't think I was even born then so I don't know anything

6. How old is Daddy?
K-34
G-49

7. How tall is Daddy?
K-taller than Mommy's dresser
G-91 pounds

8. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
K-watch football
G-watch Food Network, I already told you that!

9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
K-he watches TV
G-he works when I go to Grammy's house

10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
K-watching football
G-cooking

11. What is Daddy really good at?
K-driving to places
G-cooking

12. What is Daddy not very good at?
K-buying all the things on the grocery list, because sometimes he gets stuff that's not on it
G-building a house (Mommy: has Daddy ever tried to build a house? Graeson: no but I know he would be very bad at it!)

13. What does Daddy do for his job?
K-he sells guns
G-work at a gun store

14. What is Daddy's favorite food?
K-pizza
G-pizza

15. What makes you proud of Daddy?
K-when the Beavers win
G-making good dinners

16. If Daddy were on TV, who would he be?
K-Food Network
G-Alton Brown

17. What do you and Daddy do together?
K-homework
G-we watch TV

18. How are you and Daddy the same?
K-we both like football
G-we both have blonde hair....maybe

19. How are you and Daddy different?
K-I go to school and he doesn't
G-he has brown eyes and I have blue eyes

20. How do you know Daddy loves you?
K-because he cuddles with me
G-he hugs me

21. What does Daddy like most about Mommy?
K-that he can kiss her
G-that he married her

22. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
K-bowling
G-there's this place when we go on vacation and Daddy likes to go to this, like, tool shop where you make tools, where we got our caramel apples, remember? (This would be the Seaside outlet mall where Graeson and Daddy went to "boy" stores.) Ok, next question please?

23. Anything else to say about Daddy?
K-that Daddy's my favorite
G-um, I don't know anything else about Daddy

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Confessions of a Hospice Nurse

For those of you looking for kid stories, I hope you're not disappointed. I feel a higher calling to divert this week into more grown-up philosophies...a story of divine appointments and omnipotent design...an inside look into the experience of a hospice nurse. This is about my friend Phyllis, who met Jesus face to face this weekend.

My path crossed with Phyllis a little over three years ago, when I was asked to give my testimony at our church's women's retreat. In exposing my secrets and telling the story of our adoption (ask me sometime, if you don't know the story), and women across the room were weeping, one woman in particular was sobbing uncontrollably. After the "afterglow" time of praise, prayer, and healing, I was introduced to Phyllis and informed that she too had been adopted, and had struggled to reconnect with her birth mother, only to discover she had passed some years earlier. AND that Phyllis's birthday was the same as the one I had given birth too. (Coincidence? I think not.) Phyllis then shared with me that my vulnerable sharing had given her a better understanding of what her birth mother had been through, and answered many questions she had never had the opportunity to ask her.

Fast-forward to the present day, when it was becoming clear that Phyllis not only had cancer for the umpteenth time, but it was going to win. I was placed in numerous divine appointments, several incidental meetings with Phyllis's friends or family who, knowing I was a hospice nurse, would ask me "When should she be on hospice? What can we expect? Are we making the right decisions?" (Coincidence? I think not.) Each time, each encounter, each person expressed such great relief after talking with me, and felt they had more information and confidence to face the challenges ahead.

When the day rather quickly came that Phyllis was signing onto hospice, all the other nurses were busy and I was the only option. (More coincidence? I think not.) When I arrived, a pastor friend was visiting and we all got to pray together. I never get to pray with my patients! It was so refreshing for me! Phyllis was having difficulty with her memory, but recognized me instantly, and smiled relief at a familiar face. Two weeks later, when Phyllis was in her final days, again a visit was needed and I was the only nurse available. (Really, I hardly ever see patients any more due to my supervisor responsibilities. Coincidence? Say it with me, I think not.) She very clearly said "I'm ready to go to Jesus, I want to go now." So I told her how to die...that it's just like sleeping, the harder you try, the more it doesn't happen, but only when you let go of that control, do you allow yourself to slip away.

Phyllis did die that very night, and her family reported that an amazing thing happened right before she passed. She rolled over without assistance (something she had been unable to do), informed them that Jesus was there to take her home, and then spent the next two hours talking to Jesus as if He was right there in the room. And I believe with my whole heart that He was. When she finished, she breathed her last, and went with Him to eternal bliss.

So what's the confession, you ask? People may think that hospice nurses are such a blessing to others. But our secret is that we actually receive back abundant blessing, hope, love, and peace just by being invited to participate in someone's passing from this world into the next. Thank you, to Phyllis and her family, for allowing me to be a part of this spiritual event. I look forward to seeing you again!