Subversive

Sam and I were in the back yard today.  I was quietly pulling weeds.  He was burning branches and stumps, making quite the billowing fire.

As Micah left to walk our dog Annie, she waved at the fire truck that was driving slowly by our house.  According to our neighbors to the south, the police had already driven by.  Everyone was checking out the fire.

In light of what's been happening in Minneapolis this weekend, all we can figure out is that someone called the cops because of Subversive Sam's Sensational Smokin' Fire!

Meet Gary

Friday night, Sam brought home Gary.  Trust me, I did not even know Gary existed - except that I did.  Gary was the night custodian when Sam first started teaching.  I knew him well.

In 2004, Gary suffered a heart attack and died.  In honor of his military service, an eagle statue was put in the school court yard in his memory.  Since Sam was one of the few remaining staff who remembered Gary and Sam had served in the military and the school is changing . . .

Friends, meet Gary . . .

Protector of the back yard

Nap Time . . .

. . . in the hostas!

 

Two are better than one . . .

"Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor: 

If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up."

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Just saying, my poor children don't stand a chance.  I just know this verse is talking about momma's - "two are better than one".  Matt's had a rough week.  He called his birth mom to see if they could get together and they did today.  What he doesn't know is that Allison and I spent an hour on the phone on Monday and exchanged e-mails yesterday!  Her direct quote to me was:  "We got this!! We will get him on the right path..." 

Together. 

Thankful Thursday!

I almost hate to write it, but honestly, we were ALL thankful Sam got to go back to school yesterday!

Students were supposed to turn in their Chrome books, so teachers were to be at the building from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

It was a lovely, gloriously quiet day at our house.  We didn't have to listen to morning zoom, homework zoom, staff zoom, students calling for help, coworkers . . . Sam is loud.  Yesterday was not.  For that, we were thankful!

No sweat!

Ever since that first bionic knee, I have honestly missed working out and sweating!  You can get a fantastic workout swimming, but there's no sweat.  I can walk at a good clip, but unless it's beastly hot out, there's no sweat.  Today, I rode my bike.  I was sweating!  I am happy! 

Simply WOW!

“And it shall come to pass afterward, 

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; 

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions."

Joel 2:8

We are going through some struggles at our house, which many of you know.  Matt is choosing at this time to turn his back on Jesus.  Part of his poor choices include illegal street racing.  Our choice includes letting him live at home where we can be light in his darkness and hopefully one day, help him walk the journey Home.  It's not easy.  Last night was the worst. 

I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me.  Matt was out again and we knew he was at the races.  In between dozing, I prayed.  Last night more than any other night, I prayed for his safety.  I finally fell asleep somewhere around 12:30 a.m. 

The phone call came at 1:30 a.m.

"Dad (smart child knew who to call!), I'm fine.  My car might be totaled.  Can you come to North Memorial and pick me and Sam up?"

He was attempting to make a left hand turn into a parking lot, when another street racer barreled up out of nowhere and illegally passed him on the left.  Matt hit him.  Both he and his passenger, Sam, sustained neck and back injuries and were brought to North Memorial.  The car may be (hopefully!) totaled.

While Sam went to pick them up, I sent Micah a text telling her what happened.  Then I spent another hour or so in prayer before finally falling asleep.  I finally heard them come home around 6:30 a.m.  Sam went to sleep downstairs so he could get some good quality sleep as today was supposed to be report card day.

When I woke up around 8 a.m., Micah came in and said, "That explains it."

"Explains what?" came from my sleep-deprived, fog-brain. 

 

"My dream last night."  

"Talk to me." 

   

"Mom, I kept having the same dream last night.  Matt was racing in his yellow car and there were white angel wings around it."

Matt doesn't know these stories yet.  He will soon.  Until then, we thank God for granting our family mercy last night.

 

Today's Sermon

I have never shared a sermon before on our blog, but I've never felt such hope/truth as I did listening to today's sermon.  We live in a challenging time with Covid-19.  I have no idea what is fact and what is fiction.  But this I know, God IS in control.  Hope you'll take the time to listen! 

 

An Extrordinary Covid Friday!

The Chiro.

Today started off at the chiro's office.  Micah calls him Dr. F-Bomb because that seems to be his favorite word.  I go to him because he can adjust my neck without freaking me out and I can be light in his darkness.  When today's conversation went to those f***ing Judeo-Christians who think they can go to church . . . I stopped the conversation.  Reminding him that Sam and I go to church, I shared with him from memory the verse we have chosen for this time:

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, 

for they are keeping watch over your souls, 

as those who will have to give an account. 

Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, 

for that would be of no advantage to you."

Hebrews 13:17

Point made.  Not every Christian fanatically believes we must be in church NOW and we both agreed as I left, this is a time for respect.

The Neighborhood Covid Challenge.

As I was leaving his office, I noticed on his desk flower seed packets.  I said, "I read about those.  You're giving them out free.  Mind if I take one?"  He said, "Ummm . . . I was supposed to give them out.  I forgot.  Here, take them all!"

No can do!  But I did take three.  Tron has her packet. Nancy has her packet.  I just planted mine.  We're going to see who can get them to grow!

The Walk.

Micah was coming back from her walk before lunch as Annie and I were just starting out.  I asked her to join us and she did!  First stop, our neighbor's who's son is getting married in two weeks.  Due to Covid it will be an intimate family affair only, but we did get to meet the bride and that made it great day!

Next we ran into Micah's elementary school soccer coach and his wife.  It was an excellent time of catching up and talking and ended with Micah getting a cake order.  Definitely worth the walk!

Yesterday, I learned the names of the four little neighbor girls who live up the street.  Today, they were outside "helping" their dad plant flowers.  Lucky Jake!  He got a break when they asked us if we wanted to see their worm collection!  How do you pass that up?     

      
 

Thankful Thursday!

Today, I'm going to share my thankfulness for two specific doctors.  

One is my knee surgeon's PA, Tad.  I saw him this morning regarding those now almost healed knees that were bloody blobs just mere weeks ago when I fainted after giving blood.  I got a clean bill of health and the following commentary, "Call me any time you have a question.  I'm glad to help.  You always come in so positive and energetic and I just like seeing you."  Now, that may not be an exactly exact quote, but it let's me know that Tad is seeing Jesus in me!  And for that I'm thankful . . .

I gave my internist of thirty years the option of letting a new doctor deal with my PMR this time because he has some new responsibilities and is rarely in the office.  Fat chance!  Today he let me know that he's sticking with me and for that I am thankful . . . E-visits!  

Our Bidet

In the wee hours of this morning when I went to the water closet to do my business, I got wet.  Thinking, "How strange.  We don't have a bidet", I realized in my non-wakeful state that the water was coming from the wrong direction.  It was coming down my back . . . 

I woke up the wonderful husband, said, "Water is dripping from our ceiling fan into our toilet.  I just got wet." and went back to bed.  Wonder husband got dressed, checked out the ceiling vent, climbing into the attic to make sure that was the only place leaking and then climbed up on the roof and put a tarp over the leaking area thereby stopping the drips.

Naturally, we can't get a hold of our roofer, the rain is continuing, but our bidet is fixed.

You say "Heucheras" . . .

 . . . and I say "coral bells"!

I spent portions of yesterday and today replenishing the the coral bells that the deer had enjoyed over the winter on the left side of my garden.  Can you say, "breakfast, lunch and dinner?" Nothing was touched on the right side.

Then Micah and I went up to our neighbor Helena's and got three coral bell plantings  that I had admired for years.

They were planted along what we call "coral bell corridor", replacing three plants that just didn't make it through the winter compliments of the above listed critters.  

Next on the list, Sam will be putting out "deer/rabbit be gone" and giving our coral bells a fighting chance!

Drop by anytime and we'll take you for a stroll down the corridor . . . 

HOPE . . .

. . . Shared on a flourless chocolate cake frosted in chocolate!

Created by Micah's "Uniquely Me Bakery"

 

BRT's

This is not a typo!  I do not mean "BLT's".  This is our COVID-19 garden.  Our usual garden is simply tomato plants.  That's all we want.  That's all we have the desire to care for.  But . . .

A few weekends ago we were watching Bobby and Laura on Kare 11 and they were planting plants on top of plants and we thought . . .

We're each going to add a vegetable!  Our first row is radishes (my choice), our second row is tomatoes (our choice) and our third row is beets (Sam's choice), hence . . . BRT's!

 

Waiting . . .

Back on March 1, Micah and I began our quest to become members of Berean Baptist.  We had our second membership class on March 8.  We were looking forward to our last class on March 15 when life shut down due to COVID-19.

This morning, we sat at a picnic table with our Lakeville campus pastor at the park formerly known as North (now Steve Michaud) and hopefully completed our membership process.  Dan will email his notes from today to the elders who will vote to accept us into membership or not . . . 

No matter what, we had a fun time this morning.  Dan arrived on his motorcycle which made Micah very happy.  He also said we were his first face to face meeting with non-church staff since COVID began.

Thankful Thursday!

As I crawled into bed last night, I realized this post had been thought of but not published!  Since yesterday was my own private pity party or day of mourning - you choose! - I decided to celebrate it to it's fullest and not publish until today.

Yesterday was a glorious beautiful day to be thankful, thankful

• That Sam quit working on his evaluation and went with me to buy dirt;
• That my birthday gift from Heidi gave me beautiful flowers to plant (thank you again, Heidi!);
• That said flowers are planted!
• That Sam figured out how to finish our order from Kohl's;
• That the house was cleaned;
• That the rocks returned to the trail at Raven Lake!  Someone had taken them all away the day before when it was supposed to rain.
• That PMR is a whole lot less threatening than say COVID-19 or cancer! 

With Great Sadness . . .

Tonight, it is with great sadness that I tell you my polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) has returned.  However, the road to diagnosis was nothing short of a glory story . . .

My yearly check-up was scheduled for mid April.  One of the blood tests my internist was going to run was my SED rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate for those who really want to be in the know).  In my case, a SED rate above 30 was an indicator of PMR.  Due to COVID-19, that appointment was pushed back to July.

Towards the end of April, my neck and shoulders just weren't feeling right and a chiropractic adjustment brought no relief.  Knowing that pain in that area was a sign of PMR, I sent an email to my doctor asking for a SED rate test.  He wanted a phone consult first, so I have one scheduled for next Wednesday.

Friends, I could barely crawl out of bed this morning.  In less than forty-eight hours, my pain had gone tolerable to unbearable.  And here's where God came in . . .

Around 8:30 a.m. this morning, I called the clinic and got a virtual visit with a doctor I had had before and actually liked scheduled for 11:40 a.m.

He called at 11:00 a.m. to say they were having difficulties with the virtual visits and wanted to know if we could make it work.  We did and he said, "No need to wait for 11:40 a.m., let's meet now."

His father-in-law has PMR so as I described my symptoms he said, "You need a SED rate test and a CRP (C-reactive protein)."   Then he went on to describe our plan of action should I pass either of those tests.  I was done with my 11:40 a.m. appointment at 11:33 a.m.  Imagine - done with a doctor's visit before it was even supposed to start!  How often does that happen?

I called the lab.  I got a 2:30 p.m. appointment.  I was a bit worried when she only took blood for one of the tests and then had to poke me again and draw blood a second time, but it ended well.

My SED rate test was in by 4:30 p.m.  I scored a 35 and will resume taking prednisone tomorrow morning.  I'm not sure what it all means NOW because as I spoke with the pharmacist tonight, she reminded me that it would lower my immunity.  

All of my jobs (that I am currently on furlough from) require me to work with people.  So tomorrow will I contact the doctor and see what he would like me to do.  Until then . . . I am grateful God worked out every detail today and by this weekend, I should feel relief. 

An Amazing Story!

Sam received the following Facebook post (including the picture) this week from one of his former students, Stevie:

"I thought I would share with you that I had six pictures survive a massive flood in 2016 (Louisiana), yours included.  It was under water for some time as we were unable to access our house until the water went down.  I was just amazed that all pictures were smudges of ink on mostly white glossy paper, except a few Polaroid's.  

I was a student of yours from the 1997-1998 school year.  I hope you are doing well!  Just thought about you and felt the urge to share.  Thank you for being such a great teacher!  Obviously, one for the keepsake box."

Sam said she was a winner, a student not defined by her home life . . . 

May 10 Two-fer! Round Two

Here's what Micah made Sam and I for his birthday and Mother's Day.  We'll enjoy eating it while you enjoy seeing it!

My flourless chocolate Mother's Day Cake

Sam's birthday pumpkin pie

 

It's a May 10 Two-fer!

To Sam!

Celebrating Senegal!

As the good ship Mercy is now Tenerife awaiting dry dock, check out "Celebrating Senegal!".  Here's the link to cut and past as I've yet to figure out how to share Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/414611172

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for a daughter who thinks outside the box!  You see, Sunday happens to be Mother's Day as well as Sam's birthday.  Rather than just have one big day of celebration and massive sugar overload, Micah said, "Mom, how about if I bake your cake early and you can have a piece every day until Mother's Day?  Then I'll bake Dad's birthday pie on Sunday."  

"Girl, sounds good to me!"  

Sitting in my fridge right now is a flourless chocolate cake decorated with chocolate ganache and chocolate dipped strawberries!  I will commence eating it as soon as said daughter gets home from work tonight.  Happy Mother's Day indeed!  

Someone in our house . . .

. . . had a rough day today!  It all started when his coffee pot overflowed.  That was followed by his co-worker Cheri gently saying, "Sam, it's actually May."  He had dated homework "April 4, April 5, April . . ." for this week.  The best had to be, though, when he found out a parent he had had a couple of years ago had the same exact name as one of his parent's this year and they were absolutely no relation!  He had been text the former parent, not the current parent.  Opps! 

No Knees!

I forgot to mention yesterday that when I saw Dr. Tad, the knee surgeon, he said he wanted me to stay off of my bloody knees (never pass out on a cement sidewalk after giving blood!) for a whole entire week!  This is one time I plan on following doctor's orders! 

Yup, I let Sam clean the bathroom floors yesterday and today Matt scrubbed the deck!  I wonder if I can get him to extend his orders?