It's Friday!

These pictures are of a Liquid Amber Tree in our front side yard. First sign that Fall may show up after all. We have another one of these trees in our back yard and it's leaves are a combination of green and yellow. Our birch tree is starting to lose it's leaves. All three trees will be naked in a few weeks.

It's been awhile since I've posted. So much is going on around here that I just don't seem to have time to settle in at the computer for as long as it takes to write and to read my friends' journals.

This has been a pretty good week. Dennis saw his surgeon on Monday. The resident physician who assisted with the surgery removed the staples from the 5 little incisions. What a relief that was! When he saw his surgeon, Dr. told him he had recovered faster than just about any other patient who had such a big surgery. He released Dennis to go to work and to start walking again ~ he wasn't surprised when Dennis told him he had already been doing both. After we finished that appointment, we went to made an appointment for Den to see the Dr. who performed the scope for follow up on the Barrett's syndrome.

Yesterday was our 37th Wedding Anniversary. We went to dinner and had a really nice time talking about the old days and what we see ahead of us. Yesterday was also our grandson, Andrew's FOURTH birthday. We are celebrating with him on Saturday. I bought him a 41" long Tonka truck with a car hauling trailer. He saw it at Toys R Us a few weeks ago and told his mom, "I want it today. I don't want to wait until my birthday." Too bad, buddy. All good things are worth waiting for. Before we went to dinner, Dennis and I called him and sang Happy Birthday to him. He told us about his new scooter and Speed Racer movie. He's excited about his party on Saturday.

Our son is 1/2 way through his training at the Sheriff's academy. He's doing great. He passed his mid-term with a 96.6%. Right now, they are having fire arms training and scenarios to teach them to handle different situations. They are also learning driving tricks and they are practicing traffic stops with their classmates as both the officer and the guy getting pulled over. This week they are learning about domestic violence calls. These calls are the most dangerous calls he'll get. Highly emotional and heated!!! If you watch COPS you've seen what the officers go through. It's nuts. Next week, their class is going to the Los Angeles County morgue. They have a lot more and a bigger variety of cases than our county.

It's not for sure, of course, but it's highly likely he will go straight to patrol instead of working at one of the jails or in the court system. We are praying for two placements ~ both in safer communities. I don't know what he's praying for but as his MOM, I don't want to see him go to one of the more dangerous communities. I'm the insecure one.

I have so much anxiety about him being a law enforcement officer. This is NOT the job I would chose for him. I am truly proud of him and I know the job needs men of character out there serving their communities but when I think of him coming into such dangerous situations, it makes me cringe. I am praying for God's peace.

I'm sure most of you heard about the terrible fires in So. California over the weekend. We live about 12 miles, as the crow flies, from the Corona/Yorba Linda fire. We have friends who were very close to being evacuated from the Chino Hills fire. Dennis has designed remodeling and custom homes on 12 of the streets in Yorba Linda and Anahiem hills where there was loss and/or damage. It's so sad to see the stories on the news of such a tragedy. One young family lost their home and everything they own the day after their first baby was born. Over 500 mobile homes in Los Angeles county were lost and most of those owners are elderly people on fixed incomes. As of this morning, all of the fires were 100% contained. Now if the winds don't come up again, the firest aren't likely to ignite again. We are so lucky that our air quality has not been effected by smoke and ash. The wind has been blowing to the west which keeps the air here pretty clean.

More soon!

It's amazing how quickly Dennis is healing after his surgery. He went for a mile long walk today. He's off all pain medications and he might even work for a few hours a day beginning tomorrow. I'm so happy with how things are going.

I had a follow up appointment with the dermatologist today regarding the lump on the back of my hand. He was very pleased with how it responded to the treatment and didn't feel he had to inject it today. I showed him some itchy dry places on my legs that drive me crazy when they first erupt. He gave me the following advise:

Shower in warm, not hot water and then pat dry. Within 2 minutes of getting out of the shower put your lotion on. It will seal in the added moisture from your shower and will be more effective along with the lotions. I'm going to start doing that in the morning and see if it really helps.

He gave me prescription cortisone cream to help with the itching. He told me to put that on first and then cover with the lotion. Hopefully this will take care of it.

My sister is coming for a short visit. I'm so happy! We've talked on the phone quite a few times since getting home from our Italy trip but I haven't seen her in person. She's such a special person in my life.

I'm ordering some Christmas toys today for my grandchildren. If I order before November 18, he shipping is free. Yippee! Seems so strange to be thinking about the holidays.

My life is quiet and boring. Wish I had some funny or exciting things to write about. Maybe next time.

Thankful

Dennis was in surgery for 5 1/2 hours yesterday. His case was "complicated and difficult" according to his surgeon but the results were exactly as he had hoped and wanted. Dennis tolerated the surgery well and, so far, so good. I'm so thankful that he had this particular surgeon considering how complicated things were. I've joked that he's the best doctor in the world and if you don't believe me, just ask him. There was no arrogance when we spoke yesterday. He was warm and his words comforted my worried heart.

I'm thankful that the surgeon was able to do the surgery laproscopically. Dennis has 5 small incisions. He says his belly is sore but not especially painful. The biggest discomfort comes from the air they pump into the abdomen during the surgery so they can see better what they are doing. He said the pain in his neck and shoulders is worse than the incision pain.

I'm thankful that he is doing so well he may come home tomorrow. He was running a little fever today. They want him to drink lots of water and to do his breathing exercises often. That should help in breaking the fever. He was drinking clear liquids when I was with him this morning but his doctor was going to thicken it up a bit to see how he tolerates it.

He is in a Seventh Day Adventist hospital (no caffiene or meat). I'm thankful because it is a Christ centered place. They have beautiful paintings of doctors with Jesus looking over their shoulders in the lobby. Knowing that most of the staff are people of faith ~ not necessarily Christians ~ gave me a lot of comfort.

Thank you for your kind comments and good thoughts and prayers. I appreciate it more that you know!

Hugs to all!

Tomorrow is the big day! Dennis is having his surgery at 10:15 in the morning. By this time tomorrow night, his stomach will no longer be 80% up into his chest. It won't be upside down any longer. We are praying that he will be able to have it done laproscopically. If so, he'll be home in about 3 days. If not, he will be in the hospital for 7 or 8 days. He is not looking forward to pureed food for a few weeks or the discomfort of recovery but he is grateful that he has a great surgeon and he will be in good hands.

All prayers and good thoughts are welcome and appreciated!!!

The McCain team is bashing Sarah Palin and making her the scapegoat for losing the election. I was just waiting for this to happen. They just cannot accept responsibility for all the mistakes the campaign made ~ they have to play the blame game.

CNN has a video by Campbell Brown addressing the situation. It's very honest and fair.

Personally, I didn't think Mrs. Palin had the experience needed to be vice president but I like her spunk and her spirit. She was used by the Republicans to pull in female voters who would have voted for Hillary Clinton if she had been running. She was a 'token' VP candidate in McCain's attempt to manipulate voters. It's just not right to throw her to the wolves now. Shame on them. Here's the link to the video. I hope it works. If not, go to www.cnn.com and click on Campbell Brown's video.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/11/06/ec.campbell.brown.palin.cnn

Oh, What a Night!

Our country has spoken. We have a new leader. I hope this sends a message to the world that the policies of George Bush didn't reflect the heart of many of the American people. I hope the message goes out that we want peace and to be part of the solution to global problems. I hope those who voted for McCain or another will give our new president a chance and their support. We have an opportunity to join together and make a difference if we can put our differences aside and think and do what is best for our country on the grand scale and not break things down to whether you're a Republican or Democrat.

I'm 59 years old and honestly did not think I would see a black man become President in my life time. Tonight I am very proud of the election results and I'm grateful that I'm here for the ride of change. This victory is going to enable all of us to make positive changes in our lives and our attitudes. I pray that President Elect Obama will surround himself the the brightest, most talented and knowledgeable people available to aid and support him. I pray that Republicans and Democrats will honestly put the people and country before their own agendas.

God bless America.