Looking to 2013

Happy New Years Eve!  Another year is quickly coming to a close.  I've decided I will celebrate my New Year's on London time, around 4:00 p.m.  Then I can go to bed at my normal time!  At least that's what I told Vivian last night when she invited us to their party.

2012 has been a year of ups and down.  These past few months have had quite a bit of stress, but I can truly say that God is good all the time.  I talked to my Dad today and he sounded so good.  His number one goal now is to recover and concentrate on therapy so he can finally go back home.  He has been sick almost this entire year, one infection after another, but he is looking forward to a healthy 2013.  He said the surgeon told him he did better than expected with his surgery and I am so glad for that.

Last night Pastor White preached an incredible message.  I believe the title was, "Finishing Right to Start Right."  In order to start 2013 on the right foot, we need to close out 2012 on the right foot.  His main point was forgiveness.  We have all been faced with times that forgiveness is needed - we need it or we need to give it.  Holding on to hurts from the past will not take us forward in the new year.  It's a struggle.  Sometimes we want to hold on to those hurts so we feel justified in our anger, but unforgiveness will only hold us back.

I am praying about my goals for 2013.  There are somethings that don't change - I'm going to keep living for God, loving Him and my friends and family, keep striving to be a witness, and live healthy.  But I don't want to grow stale or stagnant, I want to grow in new ways this year.  I honestly don't know what that means, but I'm praying that God will work in my life for His good purpose.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
`Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano

Will you stay up to see the new year in?

Update on My Dad

My Dad is now back in Fresno! 

We received word yesterday that he would be transferred.  Then we were told he would not be transferred until Monday.  Dad called Rick this afternoon and said he was going today.  I just got word from Kim that he is now in Fresno.  He is back in Hy-lond where he will continue to recover and do therapy.

We are so thankful for this wonderful news!  We appreciate all your prayers and support these past few months.  Every time I tell Dad that people are praying for him, he always says he appreciates it.

Christmas 2012

We had a very enjoyable Christmas. Les' parents flew in on Christmas Eve. We feasted and relaxed all day on Christmas! I made French Toast casserole for breakfast and turkey with all the trimmings for dinner. I was too busy visiting, cooking and eating to take a single picture on Christmas day!

On Wednesday we visited the Ronald Reagan Presidental Library here in Simi Valley.  It has been over four years since Les and I had visited, so there were a lot of changes.  It's an emotional journey walking the halls of the library, reading the many quotes by President Reagan and thinking about the state of our country today.

Bill and Dolly with Ronald and Nancy

The Oval Office

One of my favorites - the Bible that belonged to President Reagan's mother, Nelle.  The pages are faded, but you can see hand written notes.  I would love to turn each page!  This Bible was used when he was sworn in as President of the United States.

We got to walk through Air Force One.

The Presidential Cadillac

This quote reminded me of Kelley Highway and her many "Visiting" posts.  You cannot read them without shedding a few tears.

"If you ever start feeling sorry for yourself, try visiting hospitals." ~ Nancy Reagan

One exhibit that was completely new to us was the room dedicated to the Cold War, communism, and Reagan's meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, including his famous words, "Tear down this wall."

President and Mrs. Reagan loved horses and their Santa Barbara ranch!

The sun was setting as we made our way outside to visit a piece of the Berlin Wall.

And the final resting place of President Ronald Wilson Reagan.

We spent Thursday at the J. Paul Getty Museum.  Les and I had never been there - it's quite spectacular!  I didn't take pictures inside due to restrictions.  It sits high on a hill, you can see downtown Los Angeles looking one way and the Pacific Ocean looking the other way!

There is a special exhibit called "Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance."  There were paintings from the early 1300s. The pieces were mostly paintings of the birth, life and crucifixion of Christ.  Of course there was heavy emphasis on Mary, the mother of Jesus as well since the Catholic church was "the" church of that time.

Source

There were paintings by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh's Irises.

I missed blogging, but I sure enjoyed living this week!

Christmas Break

Les' Mom and Dad fly in to Burbank this evening.  They will be here until Friday.  My house is clean.  Gifts are wrapped.  Food prep is done.  I'm ready for a few days of just relaxing so I don't plan on blogging again this week unless I have an update on my Dad.

Merry Christmas!  And remember, Jesus really is the reason for the season!

Update on My Dad

Les and I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in San Francisco with my Dad.  His surgeries both went well, but of course he was in a lot of pain.  We had been concerned about blood loss, but after talking to the pharmacist on Thursday we learned that there are large blood vessels in the back, so blood loss is common with back surgery.  They were prepared to give him blood, and he required 2 units on Saturday.

Let me tell you something about my Dad, in case you didn't already know.  He loves his kids.  Just before going in to surgery on Wednesday he had my brother text my sister.  "Send Kathy a check for $200."  He had given Kim and Rick that amount to help with their expenses, and wanted to make sure we got that, too.  He had already sent us money for Christmas.  When we got there on Thursday that was one of the first things he told me.  "I want to help each of you."  Each of us would have gone to San Francisco to be with him whether he gave us a dime or not, we love him. But that's just the kind of Dad I have.

It was very hard to see him hurting so much.  Thursday, the pain was all in his stomach.  They had gone through his belly to get to his spine.  Do you know how many things you have to move around to get to the spine from the belly?  Just a slight cough was painful.

Saturday was really tough.  When we got to the hospital, he said he had a rough night.  The physical therapist came in and asked his pain level. "Eight" on a scale of one to ten.  That was before therapy started.  They tested all his reflexes, then had him do some leg exercises.  The therapist had him sit on the side of the bed, then slowly got him to stand. They had a very funny exchange at the point:

Therapist:  This is going to make you feel better.
Dad:  This is going to make YOU feel better.
Therapist:  Why do I need to feel better?

Poor Dad, he really was not trying to be funny but that just cracked me up!  In all his pain, I know he just wanted to keep laying down, but it is important that he got moving.  They "slow dance" a few steps, then Dad sat in a chair for about 20 minutes.  That pretty much wiped him out for the next few hours.

This was the view from his room.  You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, but he wasn't too interested.

Several times on Saturday he asked us the time.  "You need to get going."  He was concerned about us driving home and I did not want to leave!  Kim and her girls are there now, and I know he is receiving excellent care at UCSF, but it was so hard to leave him.

I am very thankful that he is okay.  His vitals are all stable.  His body is finally free of the many infections he has been dealing with for months.  There was a family in the ICU waiting room whose mother had been unconscious since Monday.  We watched oncology patients walk the halls with their IV poles.  I know things could be much worse.  My family appreciates every single prayer.  Our prayer now is for a speedy recovery and that Dad will get to go home soon.

Surgery Day

This post will have a series of updates as the day progresses.

8:55 AM: Les and I arrived in San Francisco last evening. We spent a few hours with Dad at the hospital. He was in good spirits and very calm. He had pain in his stomach from Wednesday's surgery and a sore throat due to a tube that had been down his throat during surgery.

He is scheduled for surgery at 1:00 pm today. We will have some time to visit this morning prior to him going in for the second round. We appreciate all your prayers so much!

12:00 Update: Dad went to surgery at 11:45. They said the surgery will be 6 hours. And now we wait.

6:00 Update: Surgery went well, lasted about 4 hours. Dad will be in ICU overnight as a precaution, but he is doing good. Praying for rest and healing tonight.

What Makes You Happy?

I ready an interesting article yesterday about the happiest people on the planet.  You can read the entire article here, but these are some highlights:

The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy. Canada, with its chart-topping percentage of college graduates, doesn't make the top 10.

A poll released Wednesday of nearly 150,000 people around the world says seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat attitudes are in Latin America.

Gallup Inc. asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries last year their thoughts in five areas the previous day:

• if they were well-rested
• if they had been treated with respect
• if they smiled or laughed a lot
• learned or did something interesting
• felt feelings of enjoyment

In Panama and Paraguay, 85 percent of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list. They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Prosperous nations can be deeply unhappy ones. And poverty-stricken ones are often awash in positivity, or at least a close approximation of it.

Carlos Martinez sat around a table with 11 fellow construction workers in a Panama City restaurant sharing a breakfast of corn empanadas, fried chicken and coffee before heading to work on one of the hundreds of new buildings that have sprouted during a years long economic boom driven in large part by the success of the Panama Canal. The boom has sent unemployment plunging, but also increased traffic and crime.

Martinez pronounced himself unhappy with rising crime but "happy about my family."

"Overall, I'm happy because this is a country with many natural resources, a country that plays an important role in the world," he said. "We're Caribbean people, we're people who like to celebrate, to eat well and live as well as we can. There are a lot of possibilities here, you just have to sacrifice a little more."

Singapore sits 32 places higher than Panama on the Human Development Index, but at the opposite end of the happiness list. And things weren't looking good Wednesday to Richard Low, a 33-year-old businessman in the prosperous Asian metropolis.

"We work like dogs and get paid peanuts. There's hardly any time for holidays or just to relax in general because you're always thinking ahead: when the next deadline or meeting is. There is hardly a fair sense of work-life balance here," he said.

I think the bottom line is money really can't buy happiness.  Money can't buy a good nights sleep or respect.  Of course we aren't going to feel happy every moment of every day, but having Jesus in our lives is what really makes the difference!  Earlier this week Jennifer Connell wrote about being happy - read that post here.  And have a happy day!

First Surgery Complete

The first of Dad's surgeries is now over and everything went well.  They cleaned out the disk that had become infected and prepped for Friday's fusion and hardware replacement.  Rick is with Dad now.  Dad is groggy of course, and on pain medication.

I'm thankful for this good outcome and praying for rest for Dad tonight and tomorrow.

Surgery for My Dad

My Dad will be having two surgeries this week.  We have been waiting for this since September.  He is finally strong enough and has been working diligently on his therapy.  We know this will probably set him back a bit, but we're praying that this will put him on the road to a full recovery.

My brother, Rick, is taking Dad to San Francisco today for his pre-op appointments.  Tomorrow he is scheduled for a procedure that will be about an hour and a half.  They are taking an extra step by going through the belly to get to the spine.  The purpose of this is to clean out any infection and it also helps to augment the fusion.  Rick will stay in San Francisco until Thursday.

Dad with his kids.  And yes, Rick is wearing shorts on Christmas!

Les and I will be going to San Francisco on Thursday and staying until Saturday.  On Friday they will go in through his back.  They will be removing the hardware because it is infected and loose.  They will be putting in new hardware and bone graft.  If they are not happy with the alignment of his spine, they will do implants to create a normal sway back.  This surgery will take about 3 to 4 hours.

Dad with his grandkids

Kim and her girls will be going to San Francisco on Sunday and staying through Christmas.  We felt this was a good way to split it up, so Dad has someone with him during his surgeries and on Christmas.

Please pray for Dad, his surgeon, and my family as we all travel.

Busy!

Expect my blog to have hit and miss posts for the next two weeks.  We are enjoying lots of Christmas activities and I may not post on a daily basis.  Let me catch you up a little...

Last Sunday morning (12/9) our Sunday school department put on a program.  There were puppets and the kids choir singing Christmas carols.  Voices of the puppets were some of our children, including one of our van riders. (I apologize for the quality of the pictures in this post, they were all taken with my phone.)

Last Sunday night, Les preached at our Santa Clarita daughter church.  We've visit many times for special services but that was the first time we have been there on a "regular" service. They have a growing work and it was good to see the young saints being faithful when their pastor was not there.

Last night was our Music Department recital.  It was one of our best yet!  There were a total of 25 songs ~ several instrumentals, groups, kids, young people and the finale of the night was by a couple of old folks, Les and me!

Carolers singing "Carol of the Bells"

Italia Castro directing the carolers - she did great!

Flores family - Dad and Nic on Saxophones and Caitlin singing

Youth Chorale

Les playing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" on his trumpet - he blew us away!

Praying for Sandy Hook Elementary School Families

My heart is just breaking with this news.  Twenty seven lives snuffed out, twenty of them children. This story is so tragic. 

Friday Foodie

I have a couple of recipes for today.  I'm almost through with my Christmas baking, I made some of our favorites and added a newbie - Peppermint Fudge!  But first, some "real" food:

Baked Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 lb.)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
3 T. butter, divided
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness.  Place flour in a resealable plastic bag; add chicken, a  few pieces at a time.  Seal and shake to coat.
2.  In a large skillet, brown chicken on both sides in 2 tablespoons butter.  Transfer to greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
3.  In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in remaining butter until tender.  Add broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cook for 5 minutes.  Spoon over chicken.
4.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake additional 5 minutes.

I have made this a few times and it tastes great but tended to be a little dry.  This time I doubled the chicken broth to one cup and that really made a difference.  It also kept the leftovers from drying out too much.  This made 6 servings for us. 

Peppermint Fudge

24 ounces (about 4 cups) white chocolate chips
1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed peppermint candies

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment or waxed paper, allowing the paper to hang over the sides. (I wasn't pay attention and use a 9x13 inch pan)
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the white chocolate chips, the condensed milk, and the salt.
3. Melt the mixture according to the white chocolate package directions, then stir in the vanilla extract and 1 cup of the peppermint candies.
4. Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly.
5. Sprinkle on the remaining peppermint candy.
6. Chill the fudge in the refrigerator until it's firm and set, about 2 hours

Use the overhanging flaps of paper to lift the fudge from the pan, then slice it into 1 inch squares. Yields about 64 candies. Tip: crush the peppermint before you start melting the chocolate, it needs to be ready to add in before the fudge sets.

What is it about Christmas and peppermint? My mother-in-law sent this recipe and it's a winner! She told me in email this morning, "The last piece of it here ended up in a cup of hot cocoa!" That gave me a great idea, since it was a cold 38 degrees here this morning. The first piece of it here ended up in a cup of hot cocoa!

I also made Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies, Sugar cookies, Scotcheroos, and White Chocolate Chex Mix. Gingerbread cookies are the last on my list and I'm getting ready to roll those out now! Recipes for all of these can be found here.

Today's Load

This is on my Daily Thought Wheel for today, I thought it was very appropriate after Monday's post:

Your ship is equal to the load of today;
But when you are carrying yesterday's worry and tomorrow's anxiety,
Lighten up or you will sink.

I'll have a couple of recipes up later today, but just wanted to share this thought.  Next time someone tells you to lighten up, remember this thought!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Where We Went

Read all the details here!

The Curse and The Scarlet Thread

Les started a new series in our adult Sunday school class last week - The Scarlet Thread.  This is the line through the Bible, from start to finish that teaches us that the life is in the blood.  Blood has always been necessary for redemption and eternal life. Yesterday's lesson was excellent as always.  Les taught about Adam and Eve and the curse that came upon the world because of their disobedience.

Most aspects of the curse were familiar to me.  I'm so thankful that Jesus bruised Satan's head.  Les pointed out something in verse 16 that I had never heard before:

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

The first use of the word "sorrow" is not the same as the second usage.  The second word "sorrow" in the Hebrew is as we would expect - "pain," but the first "sorrow" is actually "worrisomeness."

Worrisomeness in the Hebrew means:  worry, pain, anger, displease, grieve, hurt, be sorry, vex. Webster's dictionary doesn't contain the word "worrisomeness" but is does give the definition for worrisome: causing distress or worry, inclined to worry or fret. 

Les didn't spend much time on this, but I've been chewing on it since his lesson.  Any ladies reading this today know the feeling of worrisomeness?  Are there days when you just feel overwhelmed with it all and sit fretting about things over which you have no control?  Then you tell your sweet husband all about it and his response is, "What's the big deal?"  Men just don't worry as much.  I know they feel stress, but that is not part of the curse that was put upon man, we ladies got that privilege!

Eve had never experienced worry before the fall.  The Bible doesn't tell us how long they were in the garden before Adam and Eve partook of the fruit.  It may have been weeks, months, or even years.   She lived in a perfect world with nothing to worry about it.  Until the fall, then the curse.

Does that mean we ladies should just resign ourselves to worry?  Should we spend our days as Chicken Little:  "There's no way to avoid it, I'm cursed with worry, the sky is falling, the sky is falling!!"  I don't believe so.  I believe we will be attacked with worry, but we must take those thoughts captive.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6:

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Repeatedly Jesus says "take no thought."  One commentator said this:

It is the repeated command of the Lord Jesus to his disciples, that they should not divide and pull in pieces their own minds with care about the world. The thought here forbidden is, 1. A disquieting, tormenting thought, which hurries the mind hither and thither, and hangs it in suspense; which disturbs our joy in God, and is a damp upon our hope in him; which breaks the sleep, and hinders our enjoyment of ourselves, of our friends, and of what God has given us. 2. A distrustful, unbelieving thought. God has promised to provide for those that are his all things needful for life.

I needed this so much!  We've had a lot of stress in our life lately and I have watched Les confidently going on, believing that God is going to take care of us.  I believe that, until worry takes hold.  I wasted precious time on Saturday taking thought instead of trusting. 

The answer to overcoming our thoughts is the blood.  The scarlet thread that was started in the garden when God slew the first sacrifice to clothe Adam and Eve with skins, is still the answer today.  The blood of Jesus does more than save us, Isaiah 53 tells us:

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Our grief, our sorrow, our worry, our future, He carried it all.  Because He did, we can take no thought and know that our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need.  Several weeks ago, Les taught about God's purpose.  He said, "Since aspects of God are identical past, present and future… God’s future plans are as if they had already been fulfilled."  I have to wonder, what am I worried about?  God has it all in His very capable hands!

December Challenge Update

Remember my December Challenge ~ Enjoy Each Day?  Here is how it is working out so far...

I started the month with a Run in the Rain!  After a couple of days of rain, I couldn't stand it anymore, I just had to get out and do something.  On Saturday it was raining very lightly, so I went for it.  It was so refreshing and fun!

I cooked Mushroom Chicken.  I've made this a few times, and thought it was on my blog but couldn't find it.  I promise to do a Friday Foodie on it soon.

This was probably my favorite morning of the week.  After many days of rain, I hopped on my bike and hit the trail on Tuesday morning.  Total mud ride!  My favorite saying while riding: "I must have been smiling, because there was mud on my teeth."

Our Annual End of the Year Banquet was last night.  The DeAro's provided hilarious entertainment!  I enjoyed myself very much.  The food was good, too!

Phil singing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" - one of my childhood favorites!

What have you enjoyed most this week?

Crying Over "Jingle Bell Rock"

This seems to be the week for repeats. I posted this in December 2009 but I was thinking about friends who have lost loved ones this year and know that this time of the year will be difficult.  You are in my prayers today, dear ones.
 
I believe it was Christmas 1989 when Rod and I first "performed" our version of "Jingle Bell Rock." Our version included a crutch guitar and me as an elf or something. Ryan, Krysten, and Lauren were all 2 1/2 and Christmas was a crazy, delightful time!

Fast forward to Christmas 1994. Just a few months earlier we had said goodbye to Rod, this would be our first Christmas without him. It was a Saturday and I was in one of the many malls in the San Fernando Valley. Hundreds of shoppers rushed in and out of stores. Parents and kids waited for their chance to have a picture taken with Santa.

I wasn't really thinking about Rod until "Jingle Bell Rock" started playing over the mall sound system. An overwhelming feeling of loss immediately came over me and I just started crying! Now if you know me well, you know I don't cry at the drop of a hat. Tears don't always come easy - but they flowed in the mall that day. I quickly left the mall to get away from all the Christmas cheer, shopping was done for that day.

I can look back on that day now and smile. "Jingle Bell Rock" makes me laugh again. But I know there are people who will experience that same feeling this Christmas. The loss of a loved one - grandparent, parent, spouse, sibling, child, or friend - leaves a hole that does not quickly heal.

You can find dozens of articles on dealing with grief during the holidays. A Google search brought up 2,610,000 links. My personal experience has been that the pain comes when I'm not expecting it. In years past, I've prepared myself for specific days, but it's the unexpected - a song, a smell, a change in the weather - that bring my loss to mind.

If you're experiencing a "first Christmas" this year, I pray that you will find memories that warm your heart, a special recipe or decoration to bring a smile, and the comfort of friends and family who hold you dear.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Christmas Memories