Wednesday without words

It is not death to die

Last Friday, my friend Natasha Meyer-Turner entered the presence of her Savior and Lord.

I met Natasha some 20 years ago when she, as a 21 year-old, recently-graduated teacher, spent a year teaching in our church's Christian school. She was 10 or so years younger than me, and enjoyed my young children at the time. I saw her next when my son, Tim, started college at her alma mater, Calvin College, where she worked in admissions.  She developed breast cancer.  After a short time, it recurred, and I saw her to have a cup of tea when she came visiting in New Mexico. And then, just as I was finishing my radiation after my first breast cancer and while she was continuing to battle the disease, she braved a day of deluging rainfall on the morning of my son's wedding in Grand Rapids to pop in and visit for a few minutes.  It was a real joy to see her walking into the lounge at Calvin Seminary in her rubber boots and slicker, and to slip away to the chapel with her for a few minutes of talking.  We didn't talk about anything earth-shattering. We talked about getting up every day, and about learning how trustworthy Jesus is. She told me about her daughter, Zoe, and I told her about my boys and my new daughters-in-law. 

And other than that, there was the praying.  Dave and I have prayed together for Natasha and her family daily for years now, and I have remembered her often in-between.  We have kept in touch via her blog (see link above).  And I heard from her as well, from time to time, to say she was praying for me.

I will miss Natasha's caring, creative voice, speaking truth and beauty in this broken world.  As her blog said this morning,

“Don’t ever say that I lost my battle with cancer,” Tasha once said. And she didn’t. The gospel is true. The cancer is dead. Natasha lives. And we will see her again.

Until that time, dance in joy, my sister. I look forward to the day when we can dance together before the throne.

Wednesday without words

Sabbath Song

Health Update January 2013

 Yesterday I had my visit to the eye specialist at UNM.  We redid some tests and blood work (the tests were an OCT and an FA, for the more technically-oriented of you who would want to know.) And my results were mixed.  While there continues to be no swelling in my macula (a good thing) and while my leaky blood vessels have improved, the leakiness is not gone as we had hoped.  That is our goal, so we must continue to pursue it.  For now, that means increasing my dosage of cellcept (the immune-suppressant I have been on for the last 10 weeks or so).  We will increase the drug, and assuming I continue to tolerate it well, we will te-check and retest in March.  If at that time those vessels are still leaking, we will ave to add another drug to the cellcept. 

If you are still with me, and have lasted the last year praying for me, I am very grateful, Gentle Reader.  I would appreciate your continued prayers that the birdshot chorioretinopathy will be effectively stopped in its tracks by the cellcept, and that we will not have to add any other drug regimen.  And while you're at it, could you please ask for a return of some modicum of energy for me, an improvement in my sight, and relief from the migraines acting up lately? Thank you!

Thursday without words, because I was busy on Wednesday

Putting up the Christmas tree

We had a wonderful time decorating the tree with the girls this year.  Ada was napping, but I'm sure she will enjoy joining us in a couple of years.  Isn't God good to give us such memory-building times together?

Sabbath Song

This morning finds us home heating pipes in the attic, heating the rooms with ceilings below frozen pipes, and watching for leaks in the attic or trickles from the faucets.  Hard to focus on worship when you are trying to preserve property :-(  But I am listening to Fernando Ortega, and trying to keep my focus on the Lord.

Happy Birthday, Ada Bell!

One year ago, a little bundle of joy entered our lives.  I was in the ICU recovering from surgery, and waiting for news.  And when we heard that Miss Adeline was here, we made plane reservations to head to Phoenix the day (literally) that I was allowed to travel.  And seeing her many times this year has been such a source of joy and blessing! She walks and climbs, talks and plays, loves to read books, and is still the happiest little girl I know.

Happy birthday, Ada Bell!  And may God continue to bless you with a sweet disposition, a fun-loving contentedness, and a tender heart towards Him.  We love you!

The snow sublimates

The snow sublimates, turning mystically from solid to gas without leaving so much as a drink for the winter desert below.

Oh blizzard of blessings, melt into my soul, and quench the stone-cold and parched places there so that new life can spring.

Wednesday without words (posted a little early since Wednesday is a very busy day...)

Christmas Projects (Part 2)

 Continuing on the projects completed for or during Christmas...I made a felt activity book for Ada, based on ideas I found here. The Farm page has critters hiding in the barn that are finger puppets.

 There is a weaving page and a lion texture page.

 On the left we have a clever idea: a dryer filled with socks that match the samples below.  They can be velcroed to their mate!  On the right, we have a simple counting page with snap-on shapes.

 And a Mr/Mrs Potatohead

 And lastly a place setting page with a bag of felt food fixings. And Tim mad eme a beautiful shelf with a quilt rack for above my bed.

 While the girls were both here, we made jumpers for the littles.

Other projects not pictured: earrings made by Nikki, cool sawhorses with adjustable height made by Dave for Tim, and ornaments of both the girls with their hand prints on them.  Everything was lovely!