For Lisa . . .

Who couldn't stop laughing when I told her

my Christmas tree was tinseled in

CLUMPS and HORIZONTALS!

I'm sure I appreciated the help!

From the Mom who works at Sand Creek Adventures . . .

The perfect Christmas gift!

Don't tell! 

Of course, theirs will have the correct names and hair colors!

One-One-Oh-Two

Is not someone's pin number - at least that I know of.

Or someone's password - definitely not mine!

But as of today it is the number of miles I've logged swimming at the Y!

1 - 1 - 0  - 2

Now before you think that's pretty impressive, remember - it's been a seven year swim!

Lunch!

This summer while Micah and I were in Texas, my friend Sarah came up to visit along with her daughter Isabella and her sister Martha and her niece Sophie because this fall Sophie was going to be attending the University of Minnesota!  

We drove up to the U today to take Sophie out for lunch.  Let's just say that in the twenty-some years since we graduated, the campus has changed - alot!  

• Text one: "We're crossing the Washington Street bridge."

• Text two: "We're lost"

When did they put light rail in?  Eventually we found Sophie's dorm and Sophie and even the restaurant we wanted to go to.  Here's the proof:

Note how half of our group was NOT smiling.  Being the total mom I am, I said, "If you're mama paid for your braces you'd better smile!"  Isn't this a much nicer shot?

We are blessed . . .

I copied our blog post from last Friday regarding Micah's IEP change and sent it to all six of the special education teachers who had worked with her.  You need to know that by 8:00 a.m. Monday morning EVERY SINGLE ONE of them had replied to us with words of encouragement to not only Micah, but to us!  

We are truly blessed to have worked with such fine women!

Just one day late . . .

From our house to yours - we'd like to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!  Our Thanksgiving day was spent with Dad down in Iowa. Eighty-three years old and he cooked everything but the apple pie!

Our challenge was getting there.  Matt had his first accident on his way to work Wednesday.  He was going about five miles per hour down a hill and hit black ice and then the car in front of him.  Matt's fine.  The truck just has a small injury which we probably won't repair.  Fast forward about six hours and we're now heading westbound on I-90.  Just past Albert Lee - not realizing the road was sheer ice - a car missed hitting us literally by inches and went into the ditch.  Just past Blue Earth there was a major accident closing both sides of the freeway - we sat there for over half an hour and waited for the freeway to be cleared.  Eventually we finally made it to Dad's - about three hours later than we had hoped.  On the way back yesterday, we counted places where 32 vehicles had slid in on I-90.  Our favorite?  The two semi's facing northbound in the median!

Giving thanks that Matt is fine and God kept us safe on our travels!

Pray against plague . . .

On Nov 21 the WHO reported that an outbreak of Plague in Madagascar. The first case, a male from Soamahatamana village in the district of Tsiroanomandidy, was identified on 31 August. Since that time a total of 119 cases of plague have been confirmed, including 40 deaths. Cases have been reported in 16 districts of seven regions. Antananarivo, the capital and largest city in Madagascar, has also been affected with 2 recorded cases of plague, including 1 death. 

A national task force has been activated to manage the outbreak. With support from partners – including WHO, the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar, the “Commune urbaine d’Antananarivo” and the Red Cross – the government of Madagascar is putting in place strategies to control the outbreak.

This  outbreak report has received world-wide press attention.

Plague is a bacterial disease caused by Yersinia pestis, which primarily affects wild rodents. It is spread from one rodent to another by fleas. Humans bitten by an infected flea can develop the disease. Plague is endemic in many parts of the world including the Western United States. The United States has an average of 7-10 cases of plague a year.

Plague is easily treated with antibiotics, but can be highly lethal if left untreated. Plague may occur in three varieties.

Bubonic plague is the most common variety of the disease. It's named after the buboes (swollen lymph nodes)  which typically develop within a week after an infected flea bites.

Septicemic (blood infection) plague is a rarer form of the disease that can occur as the first symptom of plague, or may develop from untreated bubonic plague. This form results from bites of infected fleas or from handling an infected animal.

Pneumonic plague is the rarest form of the disease and may develop from inhaling infectious droplets or may develop from untreated bubonic or septicemic plague after the bacteria spread to the lungs. Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease and is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person. Only 2% of the cases of plague in this outbreak in Madagascar have been of the pneumonic variety.

Plague in the developing world is a disease of poverty (people living in close proximity to rats) and the diseases high death toll is the result of lack of access to healthcare.

Individuals can reduce their risk of exposure to plague by avoiding close contact with rodents or flea infested animals, by using insect repellent and not handling dead animals without proper protective equipment.

Mercy Ships current infection control and patient screening practices should prevent any cases of plague embarking on the Africa Mercy. The hospital is also equipped with appropriate medications to treat any cases of plague that might occur.

The current plague outbreak in Madagascar is not expected to have an adverse effect on Mercy Ships operations or place personnel at any increased risk.

Mercy Ships is carefully monitoring the situation and will make programmatic adjustments if necessary to protect staff and crew.