Thanksgiving Blessings

Last week didn't start well. We received a call late Monday that they had taken my grandfather back to the hospital. He had been in a nursing home for about 10 days and had developed pneumonia. He has three strains, one of which is pretty serious, so they have him on antibiotics, etc. He is continuing to lose weight, but does not have much appetite. He has lost track of time and is often disoriented. Please continue to pray. Also pray for my grandmother who continues to be faithful to spend 8 hours a day at the hospital with him. She is completely exhausted.

Thanksgiving was great, albeit a bit odd without my grandparents there. I spent several hours at the hospital early in the day and then went home to cook, etc. Others from the family then went in shifts to be sure that they were not alone. Papa's face lit up when we brought him some mud pie.

My sister, Elizabeth, and I always go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. We do it mostly for the time together, but sometimes find a good deal at the same time. This year we did things a little differently. The huge outlet mall just over the Wisconsin border was opening at midnight on Thanksgiving night, so we decided to stay up all night and shop. It was quite an adventure! We arrived home about 7:30 am on Friday ready for BED! A big thanks to Kermit who watched Elizabeth's four kids (as well as our three) so that we could go out. Wrangling all seven of those cousins at the same time gives new meaning to the words 'crowd control'!

Even with all of the craziness of the past 6 weeks, it is easy to see all of the blessings God has granted us. Our family, our kids, our church, our friends, our jobs, and so much more. God has certainly kept his promise to never leave us or forsake us even at times when we probably deserved it. HE continues to see us through each day and continues to bless us in spite of ourselves. I am so thankful for a loving, merciful God who loves wretched, filthy souls like ours and that he finds ways to use us when we least expect it.