Gymnastics/Exercise/Tulsa

This has been a busy but enjoyable week!  Friday evening, Bill took me to the NCAA Men's Gymnastic Championships at OU in Norman.  Univ. of Illinois won, and OU was second place.  Saturday, we drove to Tulsa and picked up Noel and Mark at Carl's Jr.  Noel's right hand has been numb since the surgery and he is hoping to get some answers this week.  Mark is excited about flying to California next month and driving back to Oklahoma with Uncle Galen. 

Saturday evening, Linda, who is a member of my Bible Study Class called.  Her mother had just passed away and she needed some company.  My friend, Sherry and I drove to her house with some hamburgers and sat and ate with her.  Her mother, Pat, had visited our class several times and was a sweet lady.

We had 16 in Bible Study yesterday.  I just can't get them there all at once!  They are great singers!  I let them choose their favorite hyms and we sing one of them each week.  Yesterday, we sang "Blessed Assurance" and the other adult class mentioned how great we sounded.  Smile!

Last week, I took Mom to the toning tables Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for an hour.  She loves it!  She said she has lost 3 pounds in the last two weeks.  Bill asked me to swim with him on Tuesday and Thursday.  The water was warm so I felt relaxed. 

I'm really praying for our nation!  We need a leader that will bring us together.  We don't need a King who will bypass the houses.  We also need someone who knows how to budget and encourage the United States to stop spending money we don't have.  Last week, I ordered a diet Dr. Pepper.  The young cashier handed me a cup and told me to get it.  I asked him what I owed and he told me it was free since it was a hot day.  I told him that it wasn't his to give away and I wanted to pay.  I fear that attitutde is going on in our government!  Bill and I work with college kids who admit that they vote either because of how the candidate looks, or because they belong to a party that their parents have always been members of.  Rarely, do people vote based on moral issues.  It's not a wonder to me that God can't bless our nation the way He has in the past. 

Eye Clinic/Tornado/Family

First, please forgive my typos and misspellings. I type fast and don't notice what I have done until I go back later. I should spend some time just editing! Last Saturday, I helped at the free eye clinic at our church. I learned how to use the heat machine to bend frames and fit glasses to one's face, and washed the blue prescription markings off the lenses in an alcohol solution. Over two hundred people received new glasses, cases and string holders absolutely free of charge. What bothered me most was how many people took without saying thank you! I have used my health savings account to pay for glasses and I know how expensive they are. We have really raised a generation of people who feel entitled. I can understand why the political party that gives the most tax money away will be put into office.

We prepared for severe weather for 3 days and prayed for the best. I know that God loves me and will put into my life what is best. As a believer, I don't worry or get too excited. I know that I am fine in life or in death. I have been through house fire, volcanic action, sickness and earthquakes. They are not convenient, but I have come through stronger every time. My grandparents use to sit on their porch swing and watch the weather here in Oklahoma. They didn't have any technology to warn them of severe weather. I want that kind of peace!

Keri called before we left for church on Sunday morning. Kevin received a call that his father was in the hospital in Petosky, Michigan. His father was fishing alone in the UP and had driven himself to the hospital 30 minutes away while having a heart attack. Kevin left Chicago after 2 hours of sleep and drove through a thunderstorm. Our church prayed that God would give him the strength to drive the 7 hours! He did! When we have the spirit of God in our hearts it is amazing how much strength we have!

Easter Celebration

I feel so grateful for the Easter messages of love that came my way! Thank you! I CAN imagine what it would be like without Easter because it is not on the Japanese calendar. Bill and I would go to church and then go to TGI Fridays for lunch. There were no Easter decorations or hams to be found. I was homesick because Easter was a huge celebration when I was growing up. We all had new spring clothes and went to a first class restaurant (courtesy of the funeral home where Dad officiated). As a child, we loved to dye eggs and hunt them over and over. Mom and Dad taught me that Easter was as important as Christmas and should be celebrated as such. Since coming back to the States, I try,

Sunday, Bill directed our chuch Easter musical. I could feel the spirit of God as I sang my solo parts. Many people told me that they were praying. Mom said she could feel the Spirit falling on the choir. The musical titel was, "Champion of Love". There were two funerals in the church last week, and all of the flowers were left to beautify the service. What a perfect reminder that "death has no sting". All believers will rise with Christ. Death and suffering is is wrong! Jesus came to tell us that someday He is going to make everything right!

After church, Mom, Ian and Phyllis came home with us for dinner. I made several salads on Saturday and baked a berry cobbler. Then I put a spiral ham in the oven before going to church. The house was decorated with the Easter egg tree that Mom and Dad brought back with them from Germany. I was also given Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rabbit. My gift to Bill was a Professor chocolate rabbit and of course, he gave me Jr. Mints and Peeps. As dinner favors, each person was given a small rabbit on a tricycle. Ian and Bill figured out that if you wound them up, they could be raced. Bill's went across the table to Mom. She would it up and sent it back to him. You would have thought they were all little kids! I was dying laughing! That is what Easter should be!!

We missed Noel and Janice and Mark. They had to go back to Springfield so that Janice could be back to work this week. Noel said he made the trip fine and had slept without pain medication. Yeah! We continue to pray!

I thanked God all week that I do not have maculer degeneration in my right eye. After being given an IV of yellow dye and having photos taken of my retina, I learned that my retina is swollen. I'm taking eye drops similar to Ibuprofen to reduce the swelling. I'm blessed to be near OU Medical Center where research is being done. Thank you, Lord! I can never be depressed if I focus on all of my blessings! I love my family and my friends! Happy Easter!

Noel's Surgery/Palm Sunday/J.C. Kanady

Friday morning, I got up at 5 p.m. to drive Mom, Bailey and Mark to Okla. Heart Hospital (North campus). Noel and Janice stayed at the Country Inn Suites the night before the surgery. We ate breakfast in the hospital cafeteria and then played Skip-Bo until noon. Janice was given a buzzer, and on the hour someone would update her on Noel's progress. When Noel was placed in ICU, Janice asked me to go with her. Mom wouldn't go because she said it brought back too memories. When we went into the room, Noel had been restrained by 6 nurses. He's a tall, big guy and apparently he didn't like all the tubes! Of course, he had no idea of where he was or what he was doing. He did very well on Saturday, but hit bottom on Sunday evening. When I called, he was in terrible pain and began to cry. I felt helpless and began to pray! By Monday, his improvement was like a miracle!! I drove Janice and Mom to the hospital. Noel had showered, been for a brief walk, and was sitting up without tubes. He even chuckled a bit. He really smiled when his son, Steve walked in with his family from Springfield, Missouri!

I felt torn on Sunday. I wanted to be at the hospital but knew I had responsibilites at the church. I had made little Easter baskets for my Bible Class members. I thought I had made extra, but it turned out I had just enough. There were 17 present and 2 absent. I wanted to do it on Palm Sunday because we have choir musical sound check during Bible Study on Easter. I'm really praying hard because Bill asked me again to sing the alto solo and I consented. Marla has also asked me to play the offertory because Sue is in Texas. Lots of practicing going on in our house! God's Spirit is at work in our church. Our pastor baptized 4 teens and 2 adults asked for membership.

Saturday, we attended the memorial service for our good friend, J.C. Kanady. He lost a battle with bladder cancer. He had been an architect and was a sweet Christian guy! He was not in the choir, but always came with his wife, Sue to the practices at our house. He would sit in the livingroom with the other spouses who didn't sing and just visit with them. They called themselves "groupies". I'm so glad I'm a believer! I'll see J.C. again. I'm sure of it!