Another Prayer Answered

Thanks to all the prayers about Baby E and Brother J they are back! The dad who in the past had abused J had taken them to live with him several hours away. Baby E came back because she was too much for him to take care of. Melody had her since she was 3 weeks old so Baby E felt like she had come home. Last week Brother J returned for same reason. Now they are with Melody during the week and with their mom who lives minutes away from Melody on weekends. They are back where they are getting good care and lots of love. You can click to enlarge for Melody's 7 wonderful blessings. Since Brother J calls me grandma I think I had better say I have 11 grands instead of 9!

Happy Birthday Kuma

Yesterday was Kuma's birthday. She wasn't too happy with me in the photos as I made the mistake of putting her leash on her for a walk and then taking pictures. She wanted to go on her walk!
We went on a walk and then she got a bath and another walk in the sun to dry off. After that Kuma got a big can of dog food all to herself along with a rawhide pigs ear. I think she enjoyed the walk most of all and need to get back in the habit of walking her everyday. Debbi, Kuma sends her love and kisses.

Set out tomato plants and more eggplants and cucumbers yesterday. Also did some cleaning and rearranging. Have lots of boxes of stuff in the livingroom I need to price for the yardsale we are having with Gerda. Sold some baby chicks but still have lots running around. Have found a new home for Bud the Iguana and he will be going there Monday. I just don't seem to find the time to pet and talk to him as much as I use to and want him to get the attention he needs and deserves. Rusty and Troubles make sure they get their attention. They climb all over me in bed and poke and nudge until I pet or scratch their bellies. They follow me every step I make around the farm.

Megan is disappointed she won't be going home Monday. They had to change her medication and she needs to stay a few days longer to make sure its going to work. She ask us to continue praying for her. Here is the updated post Sheri wrote about her husband:



today- more of the same.

they back off of his sedation just a wee bit, then have to give blood pressure meds and nitroglycerin till he settles down. repeat.

he'll be quiet, then his legs/arms twitch and he breathes heavily and chews on his tube (they've got a stopper for that) and scrunches up his face in a frown. When he does that I stop reading, stand up, stroke his forehead and tell him he's OK, that they are just waking him up really slowly to be sure the graft is safe- always aware that he won't even remember going BACK into surgery and once he can think straight his first thought will be WHAT THE HELL???? and he'll fight like a Big Dog.

So I tell him to try to be calm, to try to concentrate on my hand in his, and the words of the book, which are all wonderfully descriptive and do an excellent job of pulling the reader/listener into the quiet, peaceful wilderness of the Dark Divide of southwestern Washington State.

Twice this afternoon, once when I first arrived and stroked his forehead and told him I was there, and once when I told him I had to leave to get Alec, his face frowned up and a single tear squeezed out of his closed eye.

Absolutely. Completely. Broke my entire heart.

Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers.

Updates

Megan should be able to go home Monday. Right now they are getting medications regulated which should help alot. She says thank you for the prayers and please keep praying.
Instead of my giving you an update on Sheri and family I copied and pasted her post so you can see how things are going. She too is very comforted by your thoughts and prayers.

Here is Sheri's post:

today I dealt with some work stuff, and some daily living stuff- arranging our living quarters for the duration.
Alec, April, Christine and Hopie left before I did on a Museum Extravaganza Day- I'm back to the hotel before they are.
I got to the hospital about noon, and was able to talk to the ICU doctor who will be Ward's monitor till Monday morning. She was cautiously optimistic.
-the lasix is working, so the fluid is leaving his lungs- good
-they can't place a working feeding tube due to how swollen his poor throat is- bad
-his heart is behaving without nitroglycerin- good
-due to the heart failure, it's still not pumping worth a dang- bad
-the graft is still viable, and all the pathology on the 'stuff' they took out came back negative- good
-they plan on him staying on the ventilator another WEEK or so- bad

so, sort of the same- a few things better, some not progressing as hoped.

last night I told him "I'll bring a book tomorrow and start reading to you" and then thought "hey!(?) what happened to his stuff from the regular room???" and went upstairs to retrieve it. it's not there. no one knows where it is. so today I spent 3 hours trying to track it down- mainly his GLASSES and BOOKS, to no avail.

finally, someone said "I'll call Patient Advocacy" and I rolled my eyeballs and told them that I'd called them for some other concerns LAST WEEK and had not heard back, even though I'd called again Monday. the Patient Advocacy supervisor is supposed to call me tomorrow.

so I spend a good several hours with Ward, reading to him. I re-started a book he'd just given me- we were discussing in his few lucid moments last week how much I was enjoying it and he just was so tickled- said he knew I'd like it, that's why he got it- and he smiled that wonderful loving smile. therefore, I decided to share the whole thing with him, since we seem to have plenty of 'down time' to do so ahead of us.

when I started reading his blood pressure upper reading was about 160, after just a few minutes it dropped to 140, only shifting up again when the nurse came and interrupted us with checks and procedures. before opening the book, I told him what the doctor had said- that he's better today than yesterday, and he needs to keep fighting- and his hand twitched in mine.

and so I read-

"Where Bigfoot Walks- Crossing the Dark Divide" by Robert Michael Pyle

Chapter One- Not Looking for Bigfoot

"Sometimes the things you believe in become more real to you than all the things you can explain away or understand."- Tommy Albright in Lerner and Lowe's Brigadoon...

Rainy Monday Doesn't Get Me Down

Just kept me busy in the kitchen. I am very blessed to have a friend that has "connections" with a produce stand. She blessed me with well over a bushel of apples, tomatoes, green beans, strawberries and lots of other veggies and fruits. I made 12 pints of apple butter, canned 12 quarts of tomatoes. Made 2 loaves of strawberry bread and have my beans all ready to be canned in the morning. I just love seeing the pantry fill up with the only cost being the canning lids. I am going to be canning applesauce after I get the beans going in the morning. The animals are loving all the veggie and fruit scraps they have been getting the past few days. I still have to think of something to do with all the oranges and tangerines.

We had a heavy rain last night and several rain showers throughout the day. Made the garden stand up and look nice. The radishes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and peas are growing fast. The broccoli, brussel sprouts, and peppers are standing so pretty and tall. Tomorrow I hope to set out more of my herb seedlings and egg plants. Its suppose to get up to 85 by Friday. Spring is flying into summer around here.

While I was stringing and breaking beans I enjoyed looking at the beautiful flower arrangement Kuma's mom sent me for my birthday. She is stationed in Germany so Kuma is staying here at the homestead until her return. The flowers are all a lovely lavender in a beautiful white basket. They still look as fresh as the day they were delivered and smell wonderful. Thank you Debbi!

Kuma and Rusty both got baths the other day but are already in need of another one. Kuma likes to roll in the dirt and Rusty likes crawling under things. When Charlotte had her piglets we brought the runt inside to warm it up. Rusty thought the piglet was his baby. He sat by it, licked it and when the piglet finally stood up Rusty nudged it with his nose to get it to walk. When the piglet would stop Rusty would nudge it again. We took the piglet back to its mom once it got stronger and Rusty wasn't happy. Every morning and evening when we feed he goes to the pen and stands there till one of us open the gate so he can go inside the pen. He then walks by Charlotte and goes directly to the piglets and looks till he finds Piglet. He watches for a few minutes and then turns and walks out of the pen. We had a hen hatch out chicks and one had a hurt leg. I brought it inside to see if there was anything I could do. Rusty had to check the chick out and lick it. When I took the chick back to the hen Rusty wasn't happy. He now goes and stands outside the pen where momma hen and chicks are and just watches his chick. If momma happens to be sitting on the chicks and he can't see his chick he barks. I have to make him go away from the pen until momma hen gets off the chicks so he can see and not bark. I think Rusty would make a good foster "mom" even though he is a neutered male. Whenever someone is leaving with chickens or bunnies they have purchased from us Rusty follows them to their car and actually walks on his hind legs trying to reach the animal leaving. Its like he thinks they are his and they belong here and doesn't want them to leave. Since we have sold over 100 chickens the past week Rusty has been doing alot of walking on his hind legs.

I have been getting up and going right to feeding the animals and so have switched my bible and devotional reading to right before I go to bed. It seems to work lots better as I have good things in my mind while falling asleep instead of the bad things I see on the late news. I tell my grands that I talk to God so much throughout the day that he wonders if I ever shut up. When I wake up the first thing I do is thank the Lord for a new day and ask him to bless me and mine. As I go about my morning chores I pray for family, friends, worries, blessings, etc. and the chores seem to get done in no time. I am a very blessed grandma and I hope you have lots of blessings to give thanks for tonight!

I Am So Blessed!

Woke up this morning to my email full of birthday wishes and beautiful ecards. Facebook friends, Blog friends and neighbors are giving me beautiful birthday messages along with phone calls from family and friends. How can anyone be more blessed than being surrounded by the love and friendship of such wonderful people! Each birthday wish,card, message, and call is very special to me and is making this birthday a very blessed and happy one. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and may your day be as blessed as mine.

My birthday also brings a little sadness but lots of wonderful memories of my neighbor and wonderful friend Ms. Fran. She passed away on my birthday 2 years ago. Love and miss you Ms. Fran and so glad you are watching over.

Special Numbers

This was in my daily devotion this morning and is something I am going to keep handy. Hope you have a blessed Sunday.
When in need please use the following Emergency Phone
Numbers:

When in sorrow, ...................... call John 14.
When men fail you, ................... call Psalm 27.
If you want to be fruitful, .......... call John 15.
When you have sinned, ................ call Psalm 51.
When you worry, ...................... call Matthew 6:19-34.
When you are in danger, ............. call Psalm 91.
When God seems far away, ............ call Psalm 139.
When your faith needs stirring, ..... call Hebrews 11.
When you are lonely and fearful, .... call Psalm 23.
When you grow bitter and critical, . call I Corinthians 13.
For Paul's secret to happiness, ... call Colossians 3:12-17.
For understanding of Christianity, 2 Corinthians 5:15-19.
When you feel down and out, ....... call Romans 8:31.
When you want peace and rest, .. call Matthew 11:25-30.
When the world seems bigger than God, ..... call Psalm 90.
When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30.
When you leave home for labor or travel, .. call Psalm 121.
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, . call Psalm 67.
For a great invention/opportunity, ... call Isaiah 55.
When you want courage for a task, ..... call Joshua 1.
For how to get along with fellow men, . call Romans 12.
When you think of investments and returns,. call Mark 10.
If you are depressed, ..................... call Psalm 27.
If your pocketbook is empty, .............. call Psalm 37.
If you are losing confidence in people, . call 1 Corinthians 13.
If people seem unkind, ................ call John 15.
If discouraged about your work, ....... call Psalm 126.

Alternate Numbers:

For dealing with fear, ........... call Psalm 34:7.
For security, ................... call Psalm 121:3.
For assurance, ................... call Mark 8:35.
For reassurance, ................. call Psalm 145:18.

All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day! Therefore feed your
Faith, and Doubt will starve to death!

Blessed

Things are still busy around the homestead. Worried about the cost of hay and should have known God always provides. William and his helper went Sunday and picked up 100 bales for only $1.00 a bale. We didn't order chicks this year and our hens are getting old but once again God provided. We now have over 100 chicks that in a few months will be laying eggs or be sold to others wanting laying hens. Our cost? Zero! William has been getting lots of garden tilling jobs and other things spring from those. We also made some wonderful friends. I have been taught to give my burdens to God and not try to carry them alone. Its easier said than done but God always comes through and provides our needs. We are so very blessed! How about you?

The Simple Life

is sometimes not so simple. Things go along smoothly and I get relaxed and a bit lazy. I find myself letting somethings go in order to spend more time doing the chores I enjoy. Now I am playing catch up on lots of paperwork and taxes. I forget to count my blessings some days and take for granted things running smoothly. The past few weeks its been anything but smooth around here. William's truck broke down and we are waiting on the mechanic to take the transmission out. While his truck is down he isn't earning a paycheck which means pinching those pennies. We have tried to catch up on outside chores but it has rained almost every day. We had some plumbing problems and William spent the day crawling under the house and digging up pipelines. Killer hatched out some baby chicks so we manned gloves and long sleeves to catch her and the babies to put in a pen. She is one mean momma! Killer doesn't peck and let go. She bites and holds on, bringing blood while you try to pry your skin from her beak. Now you know how she got her name. Tessa the turkey is sitting on her eggs. Fred is upset his girlfriend is not out and about so he can flirt and show his feathers. Molene the goose is sitting on her eggs. The problem there is Curly and Lucy are going in the nest and laying eggs too. Molene will get up and scoot their eggs under her too. She is now sitting on a huge pile of eggs and we have to figure out how to get past Larry and Ricky to get some of the eggs outta the nest. Being bitten by a goose is almost as painful as Killer's bite. Bonnie the goose is sitting on her eggs just fine and Clyde is being a good father to be. He won't let you anywhere near Bonnie's nest so we can't leave her food and water too close. The goats have found theycan run around the fence and get some of the geese food. Now we have to think of a new plan. We have kept the baby goats in their own pen so we could wean them. Thought we had them completely weaned but couldn't understand why milk production didn't go up alot. Seems the momma goats go stand really close to the fence so the babies can reach through and nurse. Even DiDi is letting them nurse and we sold her babies! William drove his pickup to check on his big truck and says it is making a funny noise. He will be working on that tomorrow. I am not writing this post to complain or whine. Just letting you know that sometimes the simple life isn't very simple at all. Sometimes you hit bumps in the road, detours, etc. You just have to stop, take a deep breath, give thanks for the good things in your day, give thanks for having the strength and know how to handle the bumps and detours in the daily road of life. I have always been taught and I believe God doesn't give you more than you can handle. That each bump and detour makes you stronger. Really the things we are dealing with here are minor compared to so many of our blog friends and neighbors. Some are facing medical problems, some have lost their jobs, some have lost a loved one, some have lost their home. No matter what each of us are facing we must keep our faith, stay strong and know those bumps and detours will work out and there are smooth roads ahead.

We Just Think We Are Having A Rough Time

I may get down and bend God's ear a lot over things that I think are important. Then I read about what others are going through and I ask God to forgive me for taking up his time with my whining. (click on the prayers for Gracie button to read about her)

And a grandmother has lost her grand baby: http://agardenofmythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-memory-of-poppy-josephine-hart.html

My burdens are not so heavy after reading about what these families are going through. Life at Hidden Haven is a wonderful blessing to be very thankful for. Even with a few rough patches along the way I am very blessed with the journey God has given me to experience. Please say a prayer for these families. And please don't forget to count your blessings and tell the big guy upstairs thank you.

Need A Birdhouse?

I started dusting the livingroom and noticed I had alot of birdhouses. I didn't even know I had so many. Maggie had a friend at work that gave me several and the others have just seemed to appear. My dining and kitchen are mostly chicken decor so guess its safe to say I am going for a birdhouse theme in the livingroom without knowing I was doing it. After taking pictures I did get back to finishing my dusting!

I have 2 places here in Fayetteville that is selling my soaps and lotions. With these 2 places and my etsy shop I am staying busy making soaps. I am also working on my fall scents and a Goddess Hina soap. Now I just need to take photos and get them listed.

The animals are all sleeping as its very very hot here. Temp is 105 and suppose to be like this all week. Their water gets warm very quickly so I am trying to empty and refill several times a day. I know I would hate to have to drink warm water.

Hopefully the screen will be finished on the porch tomorrow. The chickens are starting to come up and look in the back door thinking I will feed them. I sure don't want any of their "gifts" on my freshly painted porch!

Marci is having a Count Your Blessings Monday. Go on over and check out what everyone is thankful for on this beautiful Monday!

I am so thankful for my goats! Without them I would never have made soaps or cheese and would never have met some of the people I now call friend.

Count Your Blessings Monday

Marci started a count your blessing Monday a couple of weeks ago. Hop on over to her blog and add a link to your blessings.

My blessings for this Monday? For being able to make memories with the grands and to share the memories of visits to my grandparents with them. Life is precious and what better way to spend it than making lots of memories with the ones we love.

Thanks Marci for starting this weekly topic. I am enjoying posting and reading the other posts!