Today is Sunday, November 27. All the guests have gone home now. Britt & Kenneth went to church with us, but left to go back to Raleigh before the Panthers game began. It's definitely time for me to try to get back into a regular posting routine. I've been a little lazy for awhile now.
Since we haven't talked about medical things for awhile, let me give you a quick update. Because everyone was leaving today, it seemed like a good time to go down one more milligram on the steroids. You know that always makes me a little nervous, so you can pray for my mind to stay clear and focused. I sometimes wonder how many of my "issues" with the step-down process are of my own making. It seems like a lot of fighting this tumor may be a mental game, so I'm trying to win the battle of the mind. But... I'm pretty excited that I started out this journey in the hospital taking 16 mg a day and am now down to just 4mg. The goal is to get to zero, of course, so I'm on my way.
How about something much more interesting than medical stuff? Like... here are some of our Thanksgiving decorations this year.
These tea towels were sent to me by Kenneth's parents... and I love them. They looked so great hanging on the oven doors in our kitchen.
And here is the sideboard in the dining room.
The thankful banner was given to us by our neighbor Maria. I think she received it at a Stampin' Up party she attended a year or so ago. I attached it to the wall with something we use at school called Teacher's Tape. It holds things really well and doesn't damage the wall or leave stickiness behind (or, at least, it hasn't ever for us... if you decide to try it you may want to be cautious). We love it for school and I love it for home, too. (If you're interested in trying it, they offer free samples to educators on their website.)
I'm going to give you a couple scriptures to think about tonight. Both are from the Psalms. This first one is from today's passage in my daily Bible. It may be a verse you've heard before.
Psalm 119:105
"Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."
God's Word is like our instruction manual for life. It tells us what God expects from us. It teaches us how to live. The wise read their Bible and take its instructions to heart.
And here are some verses from yesterday's reading that I'd like to share, too.
Psalm 119:81, 88
"I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word...
..."In your unfailing love, spare my life; then I can continue to obey your laws."
I can tell you that tonight I am pretty worn out... physically and mentally. I'm tired of being sick and as the day has gone on I'm more and more tired — inspite of the fact that I had a nap that caused me to miss the entire third quarter and half of the fourth of the Panther game. And I never nap through a game.
So, I'm a little discouraged — at least, at this moment. I truly feel worn out waiting for God to rescue me... and am wondering if He will. Or if He will in the way that I want Him to. I pray that He will decide to spare my life so that I can continue to love my family, go to work, blog... and hopefully make a bit of a difference in my little corner of the world.
And, after I write all that, I get a grip and go back a little farther in my Bible... reading this reminder from 1 Peter: "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." I may not like what is going on in my life, but I don't doubt that God loves me. I can trust Him with all my concerns. And it's important that I not let doubts cloud my faith.
So, Lord, tonight I pray for myself and my mind. I pray that You will give me peace and not allow my mind to be filled with doubts. You are so good and Your plans for me are good, too. Your love never fails and I will continue to trust in You and Your goodness.
Well, this is the last card that I've made and not shown you. Hopefully I'll have time to make some things tomorrow — because, if I don't, these posts may get a little boring for the craft oriented folks.
SHOW
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This is a card that I made in response to my "use-everything-you've-bought-at-least-once-before-buying-anything-new rule". It's a good rule, I think. It puts a bit of pressure on me, but that's probably not a bad thing. And it can keep me from impulsively buying things that I like the look of and then get and have no clue what to do with them.
I bought the Candy Cane Christmas set exclusively because of the mug. I just love that mug. And I can use it at other times... like I did on the thank you card shown here. The Tag-its #8 set? Well, I bought it solely because I can't resist a series. I know. That's a bad reason. And, I really do not need any Christmas sets at all. I don't usually make Christmas cards (we order photo cards). But it was only $5.00 so it was very affordable. Worth it, right? I mean, those are snowflakes... surely I can find a way to use them in January. :)
AND TELL: stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Candy Cane Christmas, Tag-its #8); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White) and Stampin' Up (Melon Mambo); ink is SU (Real Red, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose); baker's twine is The Twinery (Pink Sorbet); also used a tag doily from Martha Stewart, duct tape (PT-candy) from Fortis Design, and PTI dies (Candy Cane Christmas).
Thought I'd share a few photos from our Thanksgiving day before thinking about moving on to Christmas stuff.
There's the bird... fresh out of the oven. Ken always cooks our turkey. In fact, he makes the entire Thanksgiving meal. I have never cooked a turkey or made stuffing or put a whole big meal like that together. A few posts ago, I promised you the story. In 1982, a couple years after we were married, we invited some college friends — 5 of them — from Chicago and Kansas City to join us for Thanksgiving in St. Louis. Ken & I were excited to be hosting our first traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I had made a menu, done the shopping, and we were ready to go... until I got sick. And I was sick for the entire week of Thanksgiving. Ken came into our room on the morning of Thanksgiving, looked at feverish me, and determined that there was no way that I could cook the meal. I was even too sick to get out of bed. So — I had an aunt who lived in St. Louis. Ken called her and she walked him through the process of stuffing and roasting a turkey. And he's the only Hayes from our house who has ever done it. I kinda figured... if he knows how, why should I learn? Besides, he gets a great deal of satisfaction from the fact that he can get the entire meal on the on the table and have it all hot and ready to eat exactly when he says it will be ready. I'd hate to deprive him of that! Yep. He's quite the guy. (I think I'll keep him!) And that's the story of our first Thanksgiving. :)
So, moving on... here we are gathering for a prayer of Thanksgiving before the meal.
Instead of passing the food, we had a buffet line.
We've found that to be a bit easier with such a large group.
After dinner, while the adults visited...
the kids played with the ducks that a preschool family gave to me...
and joined Kenneth for some games on the iPad.
The dogs even got a little attention from Ken's cousin's daughter...
which, I'm sure, pleased them greatly.
And, as the evening winded down, so did the activity level...
with the afghans and the puzzles coming out...
It was a great Thanksgiving Day. And, a very typical holiday around here.
Thanks for bearing with me as I chronicle our life. And thanks for your prayers as we walk through this interesting journey. Maybe you can tell, but the way I feel and my mood and thoughts often change quickly. But I always come back to the Lord's goodness and His love for me. I have so much to be thankful for! And one thing I'm thankful for is all of you who read my blog, send us your love, and pray for us. We sure do appreciate it! xxoo
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