BITTERSWEET

Let's start with the sweet, shall we?


Today is my mom's birthday! And as I said on my Face book page, she doesn't seem to be slowing down at all!  (Yesterday was my sister's birthday - yeah, she was mom's little early birthday present!) We had a special day at church yesterday to both celebrate mom's sixty ninth birthday and to honor and thank her for being our pastor's wife. She was totally surprised which is what we were going after! As two of my little guys from our Children's Church class escorted her to the platform, she was weeping emotionally; then wept while on stage with the children as they sang to her; then wept some more while the kiddos presented her a huge poster board sized card they made for her; then continued weeping as her favorite soloists sang her favorite hymns/songs. After service, we had dinner on the grounds! (yep! We're good baptists and in the south! The only thing missing was the pimiento cheese! Hint, Hint Missy Bowden!)


Some things you should know about my mom:
*She loves God
*She loves my dad
*She loves hard work
*She has more energy than anyone else in our church
*She loves to organize other's homes
*She has been a faithful wife to a pastor
*She has moved all over the United States of America, alot
 (see point above!)
*She enjoys being invited to speak at ladies meetings
*She loves cooking for Ron and Ellie Kennedy
*She misses her great grand daughters beyond measure
 (they live in Paraguay)
*She misses her baby boy John, who lives and works in W.V.
*She still works full time
*She runs circles around me!
*She loves visiting with people
*She is very hospitable


Now just a few photos from yesterday---
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A few of my students from Children's Church presented their pastor's wife with a huge birthday card
 then sang Happy Birthday to her!
( Have I mentioned she wept?)

Sarah presented mom with a beautifully handmade scrapbook and a pretty bag full of birthday cards.

Tim confirms that this is indeed a special service to honor mom.

Some of my girls listening to Miss Stephanie sing.
(Steph is my teaching assistant.)

It was a blessing to our church family to see Becky Foust at services yesterday. She asked me to thank everyone for their prayers for her last week after an attack from a Chow Chow. The surgeon did an amazing job closing the tear in her face. A muscle inside also had to be repaired.

The pretty roses presented to mom yesterday.

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A closeup of the scrapbook and card bags presented to mom.

 Below, a tiny clip of Stephanie singing. I cut it short. I was sitting further back than usual and wasn't sure how well my camera was capturing her pretty voice.

Now, for the Bitter part of this post:


I was saddened to awake this morning to news of my niece Jackie experiencing a miscarriage this weekend. I had just recently blogged about her here. We rest in the grace of our Sovereign God who cares for each of us and knows what is best. Jackie and Brian are experiencing that amazing grace through this difficult time and rest in the fact of meeting their baby in Heaven.

Pam's Birthday Surprise Long Version

I just love this video!!! I watch it over and over and over. I'm starting to remind myself of my boys when they were little and wanted to watch the same thing over and over again. I cry everytime I watch this one though. What great friends I have who made all this happen! What great memories I have of sharing this day with them! And to the gal who purchased my sister's ticket, I'm eternally indebted to you! (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!)And to those who bought our dinner at Chi*li's later that night, thank you, thank you, thank you!

MY BIG FIVE-O!!!

Wow have I got a story for you! You're gonna just LOVE it! I promise! But first, a disclaimer. This is a long post with alot of photos. I apologize up front but I really wanted to share this extraordinary day with you-A DAY I'LL NEVER FORGET!

Now if you happen to follow me on Face book, this will be old news to you, but I have to share with the rest of you about my wonderful birthday surprise! Are you ready?

Okay, here goes! I was attending a school reunion in Arcadia, Florida the Saturday before my birthday. Mom had also been a teacher at ACC (Arcadia Christian Center) so we had driven over together. It was wonderful seeing old friends and former faculty I'd worked with for several years before I moved to Mexico.

Photo of a former student and her family.

Here I am standing in the doorway of what was once my classroom! The school is now a daycare center ran by the county for un-wed mothers to utilize as they finish their education.

George and his sweet wife Bonnie helped organize the reunion. He was one of my parent's favorite students back in the day. He has such a wonderful personality.

Mom and I with Barbara, another former student. It was wonderful to hear how she is still serving the Lord! In a very touching testimony, she expressed thanks to my parents for their godly examples and for their strong Christian influence in her life. Her words were heart felt and brought tears to my eyes.



Mom with another former student, Ronnie. It blessed our hearts to learn that he serves as a deacon in First Baptist Church of Arcadia.



Another former student, Lori.

It was the typical school reunion: old yearbooks being passed around, tables covered with old photos, delicious food

(Km & Bill)

lots of hugs and loud laughter,

(Marie, Me, Sherry)

and there were babies being passed around, etc. You know the drill. Anyhoose, around five p.m. things had come to a slow down, some of the attendees had left already when all of a sudden, my nephew from Tampa and his wife walked into the school cafeteria. I had to do a double take. At first sight of them, I was amazed at how much that couple resembled Josh Daniel and Naomy! Then it hit me, that was Josh Daniel and Naomy-in Arcadia!?! "They never attended here. They've never even been to Arcadia! What are they doing here now?" Those are a few of the thoughts that were flying through my head for a brief second. Then I started thinking clearly again (Shut up Clint Vernoy) and walked across the room to hug them and ask what in the world they were doing at my school reunion.

Here I am, surprised that Josh and Naomy showed up at a reunion, over a two hour drive from their home,

for a school they didn't attend!

After a few friends who know them came over for hugs and greetings, Josh turned to me and said; "Aunt Pam, we need you to come out to the parking lot. We have something for you." Well that is when my radar went up! Did they bring my friend Shannon with them? She and I had just chatted early that morning and she had asked some suspicious questions now that I thought about! Had she baked me one of her stupendous cakes and was she going to surprise me with it here in Arcadia with this wonderful group of friends?" I was smiling inside anticipating what my cake would look like and how did they get it all the way from Tampa to Arcadia

without harming it?

As we walked out of the cafeteria, through the school's hall, out the side door, I noticed that a few of my reunion pals had grabbed their cameras and were following us out to the parking lot. Hmmm just what did they know that I didn't?

(Me with my entourage!)

Well as I rounded to the front lot, there I saw it! a HUGE box, wrapped up in newspaper and a big ol' tag which read: "To-Pam, Special Delivery". Oh and by the way, this was the morning after mid-term elections. I was in a great mood due to the gains of conservatives the night before and I noticed right away that one of the headlines on the wrapped box said something about the Energetic GOP! woop woop! So I continued walking and bantering with my nephew, my mind racing the whole time. When I saw that big, ol' box I was convinced it had a mighty big/ tall cake in it because there beyond the box, filming me and my entourage as we approached was Shannon, her husband Michael, and their young daughter Sydney! I started squealing with glee. "Shannon!!! What are you doing here?"

(behold, THE BOX!! and Shannon, Michael, & Sydney in background)

everyone starts yelling at me: "OPEN THE BOX!"

Guess what happens?

Let the screaming commence!
Boy Shannon, that is some cake. You really out did yourself this time girl!
A dear friend paid to get my little sister to me all the way from Paraguay for my birthday!!

Who said fat girls can't jump?

Here we are, still screaming and giggling and crying and ...

Rita, Mom, and I

It was a most glorious of days!

Surgery For Mom Today

Prayers appreciated! Mom goes in for surgery to have a suspicious lymph node removed today. She checks in at noon, but surgery isn't scheduled until 3 p.m. I'll keep you posted when we get the results in.

My husband's mom and brother are in from Mexico. Let me just say---we've been busy!! They are road warriors! No sitting at home relaxing for them! Each day finds us on an adventure or an outing! Today it was the beach!

I have lots of photos coming soon. In the meantime, here are a few more photos from our family reunion in July.






My niece Jewel with Aunt Virgie and Uncle Clarence. ( mom's sister and mom's brother)

Cousin Keith with his son Seth, having just returned from Myrtle Beach, where Seth's baseball team won the championship!
One of the rental cabin's on Keith's property.
(For more info. see http://www.hiddenpathcabins.com/)




Uncle Clarence and I waiting in the cabin, for Cody to arrive from Myrtle Beach.

This is the cabin that my son Josh and my brother John built recently on my cousin's property.

Missing Her

Just wondering if anybody else is missing Laura Bush as much as I am. The following link is of a short, pleasant interview with her by Ann Curry. I was tempted to not post this particular link so as not to promote NBC (National Obama Network), but in reality was happy they did this piece. Also, notice the website which I found this video on.

Enjoy watching a few minutes of this feminine, classy First Lady!

Laura Bush interviewed by Ann Curry

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UPDATE ON MY MOTHER

Mom had blood work done today at Moffitt checking to see if the die which was injected for her CAT scan last week has totally left her system. She can't resume taking any of her medications or supplements until they are certain there are no traces left.

While there, her surgeon also met with her. Mom said when the Dr. walked into the exam room, she asked, "Where's your daughter today?" I think that shows effort on the Doctor's part to want to connect with her patients. Have I told you how great Moffitt Cancer Center has been to us? Yes, I think I have!

Moving on....for now the team is more interested in knowing what exactly is going on in mom's collar bone area. The word lymphoma was in the reports. So...a biopsy will be scheduled for the neck area next week after mom (we) return from our family reunion in West Virginia. For now, the removal of the abnormal lymph node in mom's breast is put on hold. They'll deal with that after this other biopsy. In the meantime, mom plans on having a blast with her sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins, and few aunts who are still living.

Thanks for your prayers and if you wouldn't mind, could you pray for our safety on the road? Three car loads will be driving up from Florida to West Virginia on Thursday and Friday. Then back home on Tuesday.

May you feel the warmth of God's love today!

Mom

The appointment with mom's Dr. yesterday (Tuesday)brought news that she has a swollen lymph node near the site of her 1992 breast cancer. At least it isn't cancer this time! However, they want to surgically remove that lymph node to test for lymphoma. While consulting with the surgeon, I pointed out a place on mom's collar bone that seemed swollen. I first noticed this after mom's back surgery. The Dr. wanted mom in for an MRI before the surgery to determine if a swollen gland or lymph node was causing the area to look abnormal. Today was that MRI. We love Moffitt Cancer Center! They are so caring and get things done ASAP! Each Dr. I've met there have been so "people oriented". I'm so thankful the Lord worked things out for MOM to get in to such a great place. The staff is also very hospitable. They walk around the waiting rooms with trays of snacks and drinks - free for the taking. Once when there around the lunch hour, the Dr. offered to go get mom some lunch. Now that's impressive!

HELLOOOOO Anybody Out There?

Whew! It's been a busy month, and it's still not over!

*Weddings, Rehearsal Dinners, Graduations, Parties, Baby Showers*

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Some Random Thoughts:

*We had a great Memorial Day cookout with family and friends yesterday.

*We are so happy our Joshy got home safely on Sunday night.

*I loved it when I found out my nephew painted his refrigerator with chalkboard paint so his little nieces can write on it while they're here visiting in June!

*My hubby found an antique headboard and foot board for our queen bed! He spent the day putting it together! He ran into a few snags which made the job more tedious than he first expected.

*Our nephew arrived safely today from college in Indiana. He leaves us on Saturday to see his parents and brothers in Argentina.

*We ate left over burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans and chips for supper.

*It rained and stormed again today, 18th day in a row. Our lakes and ponds are filling up, looking so much better than during the drought.

*I'm enjoying listening to my husband speak his beautiful Spanish on the phone with his sister who lives in Argentina.

*I can't believe my son had to leave town this morning for another job. He'll be living in an RV this week with my brother and Justin. They're about an hour and a half south of Tampa building the frame work of a new church.

*I'm so blessed to have been able to see so many friends and former students on Friday night at graduation.

*I was so thankful to hear that Shane, my cousin's son, is doing so much better.

*I'm happy my brother arrived home safely around midnight Monday night.

*I love you dear readers and those who COMMENT here on my blog.

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A random photo I thought I'd share with you!

My son, Josh, gave my mom a haircut! This was before her back surgery, when she was in too much pain to visit the salon. I think he did a pretty decent job.

Monday

A beautiful day here! I feel I accomplished much for a Monday. We started our day by eating breakfast out on the back patio overlooking our small lake. Then we dove into laundry and school work. The last two weeks have been short changed due to the TEA RALLY, out of town guests, and then mom's back surgery. So today, we tried to get back into a normal routine.

Shane and I made some home made laundry detergent. I've used it for my last two loads of clothes and it seems to be working as well as a fellow blogger suggested it would. I like that! It will save me quite a bit of $$$$$ and we all like that don't we? I finally got Shane's dress slacks hemmed. Mighty Mom will be so proud of me!

I just got off the phone with mom. She sounded so good! Two ladies from her church were there visiting her, so I'm sure that energized her. Thanks Connie and Sarah!

Mom saw her diabetes doctor today and all was good. At her request. he also checked her incision and saw no sign of infection, so that was good to hear. It really wasn't his job to check it, but dad had suspicions he spotted a little oozing at the incision site.

I'm on the phone with my Aunt Ruby Carol who lives in West Virginia. She saw my baby today! He was unloading lumber for the new log cabin!
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Now for my sister, who really LOVES all things political, a few short video clips from the Tampa Tea Party. Enjoy Rita!
FYI: Since I can now post videos, I removed my playlist from this blog. Jackie, I trust this brings you a smile!

HOME SWEET HOME!

Mom was released from the hospital late Monday evening and so happy to be in her "HOME SWEET HOME"! She is doing very well! How happy she was when on Wednesday she could go up and down the step into dad's study without holding the door frame! She hasn't been able to do that in years due to sciatica, pain, etc. She is still experiencing pain from the surgery, but is encouraged that once healed, she will be able to work and move in a manner she hasn't been able to for years! We are all so happy for her!

Mom was in surgery for a little more than five hours. A 'cage' was inserted between two bones where the vertebrae had worn away, two fusions were done, some bulging discs were trimmed away, and her pinched nerves were straightened out.

The first few days I had to turn my head when mom tried to stand. There was nothing I could do to help her and the pain she was enduring was too much for me to watch. I AM NOT A GOOD NURSE!!! She would grab onto the walker and work at getting up ever so slowly with lots of moans and groans. I really was worried to bring her home Monday. It seemed she was still in so much pain. However, by Wednesday, she was getting up out of bed without the assistance of the walker! She looked better and was alert. Thursday and Friday were not as good for her. She mostly slept through out the day. When I called her today, she said all she wanted to do was sleep.

I cleaned her bathrooms and Shane vacuumed mom and dad's house yesterday. I changed the bedsheets on the bed mom is using to recupe in and the sheets in the guest room where I've been sleeping. Agustin had the day off and came over to cook for us! He's a keeper! He grilled steaks and onions, made a huge fresh salad, baked potatoes. Everything was so tasty! I always think other people's cooking tastes better than mine. Do you think that too?

The staples up mom's back remind me of a zipper, about 6 inches long! She goes to have them removed on May 12. She hasn't taken any prescription pain meds since Wednesday; only Tylenol. It amazed me how much she improved from Monday night to Wednesday morning! God designed this body to accomplish amazing things!

Dad is doing well and taking everything in stride. We had to reschedule a few Dr.s appointments due to the passing of one of his church members. The visitation with the family was Monday evening, which I was able to attend. It's amazing how sweet the visitation with family can be the night before a funeral. When the deceased is a Christian with a Christian family, the time of visitation feels more like a family reunion. They know Christ intimately and are experiencing HIS almighty peace right before your very eyes!

After attending the viewing at the funeral home, I left for the hospital to visit mom. I was surprised to see she had been released so late in the evening. They had her dressed and lying in her bed just waiting for my return. I wasn't able to attend the Tuesday morning funeral for Sally. Dad had to be there, as he was officiating and I couldn't leave mom home alone. Shane was still in St. Pete. Had he been with us, I possibly would have left him with mom since the church is right across the street from my parent's home. Shane could have easily called me and I would have been right there had he needed me, but things didn't work out that way. I know Sally's family understood why I wasn't at the funeral.

It was great walking into my humble abode last night, (Friday) around 4 p.m. There is nothing like one's own "HOME SWEET HOME"!!!

There was so much to do today. I've done about three loads of laundry, unpacked, sorted through mail, and can you believe, for most of the day, I've waited for a Verizon tech to come restore my phone/internet line!??? After almost a week with no time to post or surf, the one thing I was SO looking forward to was BLOGGING!!! But alas, last night, no internet!! No phone!! Thankfully, it was a minor fix today. A wire had burned out or something, not sure and don't care! The tech guy, Pete is my new hero! Thanks Pete for your friendly, positive attitude and your ability to troubleshoot and get me back on line! Whoo-Hoo! I made it a point to let Pete know how much I appreciated his friendliness and his winning attitude! I'll call Verizon on Monday to submit a compliment on Pete's behalf. Be sure you do the same when you receive good service! We are so quick to let people or businesses know when we get UNSATISFACTORY service, but we fail to communicate the good stuff. I encourage you to make it a point to compliment service people and businesses that treat you fairly and are courteous. I left two AWARDS for two of the Nurse Techs who helped care for my mom. One was a nurse tech who was a real go-getter! I enjoyed watching her pour herself into her duties and tidy everything up each and every time she entered the room. She was spoken to very condescendingly by the nurse on duty, but handled the rude behavior in a sweet, humble manner. Another tech cheerfully changed mom sheets around 10 pm after I asked her to. Due to pain or medications, mom had been sweating profusely and also some blood spots were on the sheets and gown. I just so appreciated the tech's cheerfulness while doing the extra duties that night.

I've had so much on my heart and mind to share with you all but much of it doesn't seem to be coming to surface right now - SO.....I think I'm off to read some BLOGS!!

Oh I just thought of something that really blessed my heart this week. Our friend Sally died on Thursday. Her husband, Harold, is our church treasurer and head deacon. He also teaches the Senior Citizen's Sunday School class each Sunday morning. When someone called him up to offer to teach his class, he kindly declined the offer, simply stating that he didn't see any need to quit doing his regular routines! Harold was in his place Sunday morning before his class, teaching God's Word and being a living example of grace.

Monday evening at the viewing, Harold shared with me in a quiet moment, that during the church service on Sunday morning, a peace came over him like he had never experienced before. My mind shot back to Sunday afternoon when my dad told me Harold seemed to not want to leave the church premises Sunday after the service. He stayed around, talking to everyone and dad even spotted him talking outside. Harold was the last to leave that day.

Sure he has his moments of tears, but you can see that he has such peace; a peace that we can't understand unless we too are a child of God. Harold knows that his wife, Sally, is in her final "HOME SWEET HOME"!

The Good Intentions of the Grandmother!

Why does my son's car smell of BEER!? Well, it could be due to the good intentions of the GRANDMOTHER!!! You see, the Grandmother decided to make the road trip with Josh on Tuesday from Florida to West Virginia. The Grandmother had several plastic zip-lock bags of "Amish Friendship Bread" starters stored in a plastic bucket in the back seat. That means, fermented flour, sugar, and milk! The Grandmother's good intentions were to bake, bake, bake many loaves of bread once she arrived at her sister's home. Well, the "starters" had a plan of their own! Late evening, after some time in "higher altitudes", Josh asked the Grandmother if she heard that strange noise coming from the back seat. She did! What she saw when she looked behind them was astonishing! The plastic zip-lock bags had expanded during the trip. (This reminds me of my first trip to Mexico. Details may show up in a separate post.) The white bread starter was oozing out of the zipped part of each bag and had popped the top off the plastic bucket the Grandmother had stored them in! The white "stuff" had even spilled out onto my son's backseat! The smell was obnoxiously strong! If any of you have ever participated in prepping and baking the Friendship Bread, then you know the mixture smells like "beer" after a few days of sitting out on your counter. (My friend Kim calls it "Happy Bread" because of the fermentation!) The Grandmother started yelling, "Josh, take the next exit! We've got to clean up a mess." He exited and they cleaned as well as they could with bottled water and paper towels which the Grandmother had brought along. They then had to drive with the car windows down, trying to air out the poor car. The next day, they were able to clean the upholstery better and the situation (smell) seems to now be under control; but oh, what a story, memory, and laugh the Grandmother and Josh have to share! The Grandmother told me she was worried that if they got pulled over for an infraction, the officer would ask if they were drinking and driving, due to the odor being so similar to that of beer!

I felt bad for the Grandmother when she told me this story over the phone last night. She had prepped and planned to bake this delicious bread and distribute it to her brother's and sister's while visiting them. At least her intentions were good. Readers, take heed! If you're going to travel from Florida to the mountains, please refrain from packing any fermented bread starter!

I've posted a few photos to show the special bond that has developed over the years between my son and my mom, better known in this post as 'THE GRANDMOTHER'!

The Grandmother and Josh at Tampa International Airport ready for their flight down to Venezuela to visit guess who? (Rita and crew) Notice the big, black and gray action packers? These were staple luggage for anyone stateside flying down to see my sister. They were usually full of peanut butter and jelly jars, school curriculum, and many ingredients for traditional American holidays. (Gravy mix packets, pumpkin pie filling, Stove Top dressing (Clint's preference). The Grandmother has also taken big items down to the kids, i.e. inflatable kayaks, solar panels, etc.

The Grandmother, with Tom, Kaden, and Bianca, at Josh's Sr. year homecoming basketball game and ceremony.

The Grandmother cheers Josh on at a baseball game. The Grandfather is there as well.

The Grandmother with Jayde and Josh at a Cathedral's concert in Orlando. (If you click to enlarge this photo, you can see that Josh is sick in this photo. His eyes were peaked and his lips red from fever. I remember Josh was a real trooper this night. He slept during most of the concert. Come to find out, he had a sore throat and fever that had developed during that afternoon ride to Orlando. )

The Grandmother was a fan who went to all of Josh's football games.

A visit from the Grandmother many years ago. (YES! They're seated on the toilet-lid closed of course! I must have taken this right after Joshy's bath time.)

Josh and the Grandmother on his sixth birthday. He was so happy to receive his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Skateboard! Also, in the photo is the Great-Grandmother Lula who is now in heaven.

NOW I JUST WISH I HAD A PHOTO OF THIS LATEST FERMENTATION INCIDENT TO ADD TO THE POST!