Two weeks, two weddings, two picnic quilts

 Over the last two weeks, both of these sweet nieces of mine (pictured with their parents) got married.  If you go back a few weeks before that, Myka on the left got her Master's degree, and Rachel graduated from college.  Add a few significant family moments to that, and you can image the last six weeks these precious people have had!  Talk about emotional exhaustion!

These sweet, smart, talented girls love the Lord, and their new husbands.  I am so very proud of them and happy to call them family!

I made picnic quilts for each couple, and thought I would share. For Rachel and Jordan, I made "All Star Picnic" (about 42 x 50 inches, and backed with the multi-color stripe.)

For Myka and Jeremy, I made "Parisian Picnic", (about 60 x 60, made with French reproduction fabrics, and backed with the striped fabric).

I enjoyed praying for and thinking of each girl while these were made, and pray they will be used for fun occasions for years to come.

Throwback Thursday: Speech and Debate

I have so enjoyed other people posting throw-back Thursady or Flashback Friday that I thought I would give it a go.  Here is a photo from somewhere around 2000 or 2001, loading a car of speech and debate kids, their luggage and bins, coming home from a tournament. Here's to those amazing and fun days with Josh Baer, Emily and Carolyn Thomson, Joey Piotrowicz, Josh Spill, Michael Francisco, et al. And here's to thinking of the current crews-- Hallie Brown, Drew Hollis, et al., heading to current Nationals tournaments.

Wednesday without words: A new covenant child joins the family

Strange paths

I am often surprised by the strange twists my path in this world takes. But there is a pleasing unity to the whole when I look back at it. That helps me to look forward with hope.

Friday found me at the medical center being diagnosed with acute diverticulitis and an abcess on my bowel. We have hopefully found these in time to successfully treat them with antibiotics at home.

As I look back, I realize the tender care of a loving heavenly Father who was willing to disappoint me (today I am missing a sweet niece's wedding and reunion with family) in order to keep me off the road and with good medical care as this has unfolded. God is good.

And as I look forward to things planned and hoped that may not now be able to happen, I am working at being content in His love and care, and leaving the details to Him. May we both be successful at such rest, Gentle Reader.

Stuck between

I love to look at the backs of quilts.  There is often a beauty to the quilting that gets lost or masked by the colors of fabric on the front, and a plain background on the back often makes the patterns and the stiches stand out.  And of course between the top and the back is the batting-- that fluffy middle that does the yeoman's work of a quilt, giving lift to the quilting and warmth to the one being covered with the quilt.  That batting gets pretty smashed in between the layers.

I suppose it is part of the human condition to feel stuck between things. That seems to be a recent theme of my life: with a myriad of brilliant and wonderful doctor-specialists, I sometimes feel picked to pieces, each doc wanting to deal with his or her own part, but not with me as a whole.  I feel torn between my beloved family members all over the country, wanting to be with them, but being far from some and close to others.  But it never seems to be right.

That is, of course, because of my biggest in-between. I am in this fallen world and don't belong here, and not yet in nor fit for my home in heaven.  There is an old song by Glad that says it well:

The depth of your dreams, the height of your wishes

The length of your visions I see

The hope of your heart is much bigger than this

For it's made out of what might be

So now picture your hope, your heart's desire

As a castle that you must keep

And all of its spelndor, it's drafty with lonely

This heart is too hard to heat

when I get lonely, now that's only my sign

That some room is empty in me, and that room is there by design

If I feel hollow, well that's just my proof that there's more

I need to follow

And that's what the lonely is for

That's what the lonely is for

But you could seal up the pain

Build walls in the hallways, close off a small room to live in

But then those walls would remain

And keep you there always

You would never know why you were given,

Why you were given that lonely

Why you were given that empty in your heart

Why you were given that hollow

That's just your proof that there's more you need to follow

That's what the lonely is for

Feels like a curse, not a blessing

This palace of promise

When the empty chill makes you weep

With only the thin fire of romance to warm you

These halls are too tall and deep

When I get lonely, well that's only my sign

Some room is empty in me and that room is there by design

If I feel hollow, well that's just my proof that there's more

For me to follow

And that's what the lonely is for

For me to follow, that's what the lonely is for

So, on this crushed-between-the-layers kind of day, Gentle Reader, I am clinging to the God who designed me and trusting He knows what he is doing in my life, and in yours.

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”
― John Newton

Wednesday without words

Good news

Yesterday we headed to Albuquerque for my eye exam, prior to next week's infusion.  We got some very good news!  Every test showed improvement, and we have started the "remission" clock ticking.  What does that mean?

• My birdshot auto-immune eye disease is at a stable point.  While we still have little vestiges of leakage from my blood vessels, it is difficult at this point to tell what is due to permanent damage, and what is not really leakage at all.   It is possible these 'shadows" will continue to improve as we continue treatment, or they may be with me forever.  But basically there is nothing active going on in either eye: no active lesions, to active leakage. Words fail me to describe the difference between the original FA imaging done in October of 2012 and the last one.  What was chaotic and blurry and misshapen blood vessels has become very clearly defined, normal-looking blood vessels. It is amazing! 
• My sight has returned to 20/20 in my left eye, and 20/25 in my right eye- (with my glasses, of course!) and that is a huge improvement.  As a matter of fact over the last 2-3 weeks, i have noticed a substantial improvement in acuity.  Praise God! And just going through the tests was much less painful.
• My sed rate and inflamation markers have continued to drop as of my last blood work, and I hope to  see more in next week's blood work!  I am regaining energy and feeling much better than I have in a very long time. Additionally, my night vision has improved, my contrast vision has improved, and my cataract has become less bothersome.
• Now that I am at this "remission" point, we may still have to tinker with my medicine dosages and intervals, but basically I will stay at something like this every-day cellcept and every 8-week remicade infusion schedule for about 2 years.  If everything is still stable at that point, we will try to wean me off of my drugs and see if I can maintain the remission without them.  I recently read that about 20-25% of birdshot patients who reach remission stay there, while about 75% have one or more future flare-up. periods of remission can last anywhere from weeks to years.  And some birdshot patients never reach remission. So I am blessed. 

I am very grateful for a good doctor, a great husband with both loving support and good insurance, and an amazing God who lifts me up just when I need it the most.  Thanks, Gentle Readers, for your continued prayers and support.