Keanna makes the day

Dear Family and Friends,
Keanna has provided a much appreciated list to my spirits this weekend. She came in last night full of ideas and excitement, she did her puzzle, she helped with dinner, she stalled going to bed as long as possible, then ended up in Grammy's tub and played with pillows, toys and the deep water, then she headed to bed and snuggled under her two special blankets and on her cute little princess pillow, we tried to use a hair dryer but I felt pretty much out of my element trying to get it tangle free and dry. She slept until 7:20 this morning and was suddenly beside my bed looking at me, I never heard her come in. We made breakfast and she discovered she liked my Cuties, Mandarin oranges I buy in a little box at Safeways. She had her toast with jam, sausages with catsup, cereal, milk and a lot of play in between. Then I showered and she dressed and we tried again to brush her hair, I searched the house over for a good brush, found none and ended up hurting her head as I tried to get out the snarls, finally we went with that rough look often seen on runways at fashion shows. Nikki had sent a valentine dress, valentine red shoes and she looked fine. We drove to Sabbath School and on the way the phone rang, it was OSI collections and they wanted money that minute against another $2,000 invoice for John Muir Hospital for the last hospital stay and no they could not wait, well they are waiting, going to send me another letter. That kind of call really effects the day. Fortunately when we got to the SS room we found many children were there, even some new babies had joined the fun. It was a very good program and then it was childrens church where Sylvia had an excellent program prepared about birds including birds that had hit windows and she had kept on ice, feathers for everyone, bird crafts, everyone got to peel a hard boiled egg and eat it. After the program was over we went to a local park where Keanna tried every slide and swing. Then it was time for lunch where Nikki met us as we ate with Bob and Carrol and the Guptils from Lodi. Nikki and Keanna headed home and I was sleepy on the way home so I stopped at the Byron airport and watched jumpers glide to the ground and slept for about an hour, then home for more rest, deck clean up and tonight I tried my new mop bucket. I had grown tired of wringing out the mop with my hands over and over, hands felt like thin paper for weeks afterwards. So I got the offending parts of the floor where puppies had planned accidents cleaned up and then I watched a bit of TV. I miss my social director who always knew just what was on and selected good programs that we could watch. I flip and hardly ever find anything really compelling. Last night we watched the Christian dish and that had good music, beautiful pictures, interviews with missionarys and it seemed worth watching.
I've been chasing stories on the internet tonight and hoping someone had written, sure enough, Dolly had written. It was good to hear from her. Also I read news that Bart Vogel's group is continuing to record for their new CD. That will be great, they have a real ministry with their music and a distinct sound. They are called En Route and he and Debbie along with Karey, Richard and Eddie make the music. for more infor on their group and concerts go to: enroute@entroutemusic.net very interesting things they are doing.
Tomorrow afternoon Nikki flys out for a week of training for her job with the Department of Energy doing audits. I hope she begins to feel better as her heart rate has been elevated, she has had recent dizzy spells and she came home from work on Friday early and to the doctor. I am concerned for her and hope, pray that her trip will not harm her health. Steve will be doing daddy daycare this week and hopefully I will be able to assist him along the way.
So today is another Sabbath without Nan and gradually I'm getting used to them that way. I feel like I'm being dragged kicking and screaming away from her, yet its just reality kicking in. I don't want to forget, to move on, not really, move forward to what?
Some of what I share openly is for the possible use of someone else in the future facing the same situation, perhaps when they read what I feel they can recognize that its OK to feel the same at this point in time.
Life has little joy in it, if it were not for the kids, for Keanna and Timothy, it would be even harder to look forward. They all help so much, and to get to see friends and talk to friends, well that is very special and helps a lot, perhaps more than people would understand, a few minutes with Sylvia, Wes, Dunstons, Lillian, Kim... yes you do make a great difference, the difference between going all day without speaking or getting the silence broken by caring kindness and gentle words.
So another week begins,
Please pray that God will continue to be with me, to guide me, to encourage me to stick with the efforts to be more healthy, even my neighbor LeAnn has now joined the cause to help me find the best foods, she is somewhat of an expert since she has helped Ken get his diabetes under good control. I welcome her input. I have so much to learn and unlearn.
Have a good Sunday and Roger and Carol, enjoy your cruise, your time in the sun, your freedom. Yes I've had my vacation and enjoy yours!
love
Tim