Oh Glorious Day

Today is probably the most important day to me, as a Christian. It is the day that we recognize as the day our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, rose from the grave. It is the day that He claimed victory over death and secured our place in heaven for all of eternity... if we choose HIM.

I chose to accept Jesus as my Savior and God's grace January 11, 1971.

I will write more later. I just wanted to make sure the day did not end without proclaiming God's promise and saying thank you for saving me.

http://youtu.be/VXp6xcY5IqU

NEW TO US

Well, it has certainly been a long time since I have written anything in this blog. I was looking at one of the blogs that I follow and noticing how cute it is. I thought it is about time that I changed up the look of my blog a bit. I hope that you like it. I had a "wee bit" of trouble getting it done.

There is another change that has taken place this weekend. Doug bought a new truck! Well, it is a used truck, but it is new to him. It is a fire engine red Nissan Titan quad cab V8. The back seat is huge and the engine is bigger than his other red truck so it feels more powerful. It rides nicely and Pearl likes her seat in the middle. Doug was planning on giving his truck to Ally, but now it might be going to Michael and Michael's truck might be going to Ally. No Ally isn't driving yet, but it won't be long at all until she is in Driver's Ed. She likes Michael's truck better and it won't hold as many people... and it has a huge grill guard on the front of it. Watch out drivers! Then if Michael and Michelle take Doug's truck, there will be room for their dogs when they go to Illinois.

What do you mean who is Pearl? Last summer, on her way here to visit, Nichole nearly ran over a little dog. After she saw the dog nearly get hit two more times, she decided to put it in the back of her pickup and bring it here with her. This little - and I mean about 5 pounds - dog appeared to be a really shabby, Yorkshire terrier. It's hair was really long and unkept. She had areas, mostly around her rear end, that had almost no hair. Her toe nails were so long that they had grown almost into the pads on her feet. She had the stinkiest breath... and body odor that I had ever smelled on a dog. AND THE FLEAS!!! I could see the fleas on her from three feet away. I was afraid to touch her.

We fed her and gave her some water, but we left her in the back of the truck that night. Nichole dipped her - twice and sprayed her for fleas on top of that. We took her to a vet that we found open on Saturday morning. She had no identification and no microchip. The vet said that almost all of her teeth were rotten and would have to come out, but not until she had been on antibiotics for a while. She also said that she was probably between five and 10 years old. She said that she was malnourished also, but she was worth saving. So then we took her to the dog wash for another bath. Nichole bought her a bed that she promptly crawled in and went to sleep.

Nichole took her home for a couple of weeks and then we had to baby sit her. Nichole had named her Pearl because it is an "old lady" name and she is an "old lady" of a dog. Doug and I didn't really like the name Pearl, but by the time we got her back, she was used to the name. Nichole wanted us to keep Pearl because her dog, Piper, didn't really like her too much. I didn't want her to go to a shelter and maybe be destroyed after all we had done to save her. We decided to keep Pearl and so we took her to our vet, Jack Callan. Jack said Pearl was much closer to 10 years than she was to five. A few weeks later, he anesthetized her and pulled her bad teeth. A few weeks later, she got her shots and then we could take her to be groomed. We got her a "teddy bear" cut and she looked like a whole new dog!

Pearl is a "daddy's girl". Oh she loves me, but she adores Doug! She likes to ride in the car (and truck). In fact, if you say the word GO or pick up your keys, she can beat you to the door. She is quite vocal. She barks when she wants to eat, potty, go, sit in your lap and when she is ready for bed. She sleeps in the bed with us. She has beds on the couch, by the front door and in the breakfast nook. The groomer says that she has been groomed in the past, because she stands perfectly still for them and doesn't mind anything they do. I don't know what their secret is, but she doesn't like it when we bathe her. I am sure that she must have traveled with her previous owner because she is so much at home in the car.

I don't know what her previous life was like, or if they miss her much, but I can't imagine life without her. She is the best dog that we have ever had. Thank you Nichole for bringing Pearl to us!!!

I wish I was in Zambia

I wish I was in Zambia right now.

I wish I was counting and packing pills - getting them ready for our first clinic in 2 days.

I wish I was having team meetings with Allan Neese and the nurses.

I wish I was helping get equipment ready to load on the lorries to travel to our first clinic.

I wish I was packing my overnight bag and rolling up my sleeping bag to get ready for clinic.

I wish I was visiting with my friend Mrs. Moono.

I wish I was enjoying the organized chaos of 200 people with one mission in common.

I wish I was in Zambia instead of being in Abilene and "on call".

I miss being in Zambia this year.

I Dream of Jeanie

Do you ever watch the old reruns on TV? I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show or maybe Bewitched or I Dream of Jeanie? Well, every once in a great while I get on a old show kick. I Dream of Jeanie is one of my favorites.

You know that there is no way that any of that show could ever be true! I mean a genie in a bottle that grants wishes... well, one could only wish for something like that to happen to them. And the ridiculous situations that Jeanie gets "Master" and Major Helee (sp.) in... and what about Dr. Bellows. It makes me laugh sometimes just thinking about all of the things that the good Dr. saw and then didn't see and thought he was going nuts - and he a Psychiatrist!

Well the funny things that happen when Major Nelson (Master) and/or Major Helee say, "I wish..." I guess it is a good thing that we don't always get what we wish for... although.... If I could cross my arms, nod my head and blink my eyes and make my wishes come true what would my world be like?

First of all, I would not be overweight like I presently am. That aside, I think my house would be clean. I can picture it now. The clothes are washing, drying, folding and putting themselves away. The dishes are washing themselves and stacking neatly in the kitchen cabinets. All of my mail would be sorted - with no junk mail laying around. Well, it would be fun just watching.

Beyond the housework... I would never be late to work because I could either freeze the clock or make it go backward until it was at the time I wanted. If it looked like my surgery room was going to be running late - I could just make the surgeon work faster. (Of course, no one would realize this was happening except for me.) There would be enough nurses to staff around the clock so there would be no call. I could pick my assignments. I could make them give me a day off or vacation whenever I wanted it. I wonder if I could make someone decide to take a sabbatical or even retire... I wonder.

If I didn't like the weather... well you get the idea.

Now as far as how things would really work out, I just don't think that I want to know how horribly wrong things would go. Jeanie sure blinked up some big ol' messes. I would rather imagine everything through my rose colored glasses. Until then... I'm overweight with laundry and dishes to do - and a Christmas tree that still needs to be put away.

What to say... what to say

I don't know why it is so hard for me to blog. I read other people's blogs everyday. Most of them don't really have anything to say - they are just blogging about what they do everyday or other random thoughts. I seam to have a hard time doing that. I thought that maybe if I change the picture on my header, then I might find something to say... maybe not.

I am trying to find great words of wisdom or something witty to say... but I am coming up blank. Why you say? I talk all the time at work you say? I talk to myself sometimes, why can't I find anything to say to this computer and you people out in cyberspace? Maybe there is too much distraction around me.

Doug and Michael (my youngest) are playing ping pong on the wii - loudly. The dogs are scratching on the back door because they want in. (I would let them in and will in a little while, but their feet are muddy because it rained here today.) The laundry room door is open and the washer and dryer are running. I am surrounded by noise. I guess I do not have the gift of great concentration... at least when I am writing.

Doug would take exception with that notion when I watch TV. He says that the house could and would burn to the ground around me before I would turn my attention away from the TV. Most of the time that is what I hear when he wants my attention. "... and then the house burned down!" Well he is a fireman, what else is he going to say?

It's just that there is some good stuff on the TV, you know? I think that I would probably die (from disappointment) if I didn't have a DVR so that, when I am away from home, I can record the shows or movies that I want to see. I am a regular watcher of - o.k. I am addicted to - Heros, House, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Ghost Whisperer, not to mention the HGTV channel's Divine Design, Color Splash and Dear Genevieve. Occasionally I watch shows about cakes.

I have my DVR set so that I can watch on show and record another. I go back and watch them when there is nothing else on TV. I erase them after I watch them, so it's o.k. Doug could do the same thing if he wanted to, or if he knew how to, I don't know which. I just know he gets mad if I have something recording on both DVR channels because then he can't go in our bedroom and watch anything else. The grandkids know how to record because sometimes after they go home, I find 10 shows of Hanna Montana or some other kid show on the DVR. Oh, well...

Supper is ready, so I am going to stop writing now. We can eat... as soon as we can turn off the wii!

Time to Post Something

I was talking to a friend at work on Friday when he said that he looks at my blog sometimes and was wondering if I am ever going to update it.

I know it has been a while since I have blogged anything, but I just haven't known what to blog about.

I could write about Africa and how great the medical mission was this year, but how we spent a lot of time texting back and forth with our daughter to check up on Doug's mom. We were so afraid that she might die while we were gone, but we had made our decision earlier in the year and Maui really wanted us to go. So with Doug's sister Jayne and our daughter Nichole taking excellent care of Maui, not to mention our other two Bryson and Michael, our daughter-in-law Michelle, Bryson's girlfriend Katie, and niece Brooke helping... We took off for Africa.

When we got back, Maui was still alive and had been anxiously awaiting our return. She then began a quick and steady decline and we said goodbye to Maui on August 10th near midnight.

We miss her very much. She suffered so much - so much. But she taught us all so much by the way she lived. I will write more about Maui at another time. She was a remarkable woman that I love, loved, will always love.

I could write about Michael and Michelle's wedding and our trip to Illinois. I could write about their reception, which we had just two weeks ago.

I could write about several other things, but I will do that in a day or two because right now it is bedtime... and I have to work tomorrow.

I just thought that if I could get a few words down then I will have blogged something and that will make it easier to blog something in a day or two.

My hat is off to those people who blog every day or at least every week. Their lives may be more interesting than mine or maybe they just blog instead of talking to themselves. You know get the thoughts out in cyberspace.

Well, enough for now. I will be back. Soon. I promise.

Back from the Bush

We got back from three days in the bush last night. We were treated to a Mexican meal at Eric's House by several mission hosts. It was delicious! The best things though were the warm bath water provided by Mrs. Moono (our host) and sleeping in a real bed!!

The people at Simalindu were very needy and combined with the Kapaulu clinic, the medical team saw almost 5000 people. Thankfully, most of the people were not acutely ill and we did see many fat, healthy babies.

Doug and I are both healthy, although Doug's knees are bothering him a lot, they were better this morning. Today is a "down" day, where we can relax and do fun things. There is a soccer game this afternoon and a few tours around the mission for newcomers.

Tomorrow We set out for two more clinic sites and three more nights in the bush.

Please continue praying for us and the people that we will be treating.

Also, please continue praying for Doug's mother and her caregivers. We will be back to Abilene soon and so hope that she will be there waiting for us when we return.

Love to all,

Anne

**Nichole please pass this on to PaPa and Momma Dot