Kidney transplant

UPDATE (Wednesday afternoon)
The transplant is complete, and the new kidney is functioning!  Thank you, Lord!

UPDATE (Wednesday morning)
Mike's fever came down last evening, and everything's a go this morning.  Linda's surgery is first, she's already in pre-op, Mike's is scheduled for 10:30 AM.  Here's a picture of sister and brother taken last evening.  I can't look at it without crying, thinking of what she is doing today to save Mike's life. 

WHAT I WROTE LAST NIGHT
This evening we are crying to God for Jeremy's good friend Mike and his family. For a number of years Mike has been living with kidney disease, but in the last year or two it's become much more severe. He has managed to ward off the need for dialysis or transplant through major dietary changes. Meanwhile his sister was tested to see if her kidney would be a match, and it was. In the past month, the need for either dialysis or transplant became imminent, and the transplant was scheduled for tomorrow, October 20. His sister, a mother of two, is there in Florida, ready to donate her kidney. His mother and his dad are there as well, all of them from Pittsburgh. As you can imagine, this is huge.

Today Mike developed symptoms of a cold, and this evening he has a fever. They may not be able to go ahead with the transplant because of it. Would you please pray with us for all of them on this very difficult evening?

A weekend of variety

I had a good weekend. On Saturday I spent the day in Reading with Destiny. We sorted through all her clothes, organizing, getting rid of a lot more outgrown ones and many outgrown shoes. I think her feet grew two sizes overnight this past summer! I also took her and her brother to the park where they had a really fun time.

In the evening I took Destiny to Lancaster to spend the rest of the weekend with Frank. We got to meet Destiny's newest cousin on her dad's side of the family - Little John, just a few days old.

This morning I went to my two churches up here - the 8:15 AM service at Fillmore United Methodist and the 10:30 AM service at Unity Church of Jesus Christ. There's a huge difference between the two services, but I love them both. I am so enjoying getting to know the people in Fillmore's choir.

At Unity there was an excellent mime team that did a special presentation. I have a very special place in my heart for miming, since our church in Lancaster County has had such a tremendous outreach with a mime team.

This afternoon Lori and Austin were here for lunch and naps. Boy, did I take a nap. One of those deep hour-and-a-half naps. I'll probably pay for it tonight.

Here's a picture of Lori and Austin with his bowling pins. He knows which are the pink ones, the purple, the blue, the yellow. He says "yellow" so cute. It's so exciting to watch him learn new things.

No snow today!

October 15th? Don't worry, not this year!

But a year ago today, that is exactly what it did here in State College! It snowed about 6 inches! Wow. I'm not ready to think about that yet.

My day today was not a normal one, but a good one. Austin did not go to morning daycare because of an in-service day. So I went to Anthony and Lori's house by 8:30 this morning. I took him to the library for about an hour. It's such a neat place for kids to play and he just loves it.

Then we went to my house where I gave him his lunch and put him down for his nap. And then I had company for lunch - my friend Tuwana from Harrisonburg, Va. She is spending the weekend with her college roommate in Belleville (about 45 minutes from here), so she came to see me first. We had a great time catching up with each other and singing together.

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Soon after Tuwana left, Lori arrived and stayed for quite a while. Anthony is away at a small-groups conference in Maryland for two days.

I am so thankful to have a home for people to come to.

Autumn and Austin's new play things

The look of autumn has definitely come to our area. If you click on this picture, you'll be able to see the colors that are showing up on the mountain.

Lori got back home late last night, long after Austin was asleep. She said it was still dark in his bedroom when he woke up this morning, but he could tell it was her coming into his room. He was so excited he was trying to climb out of his crib, and then when she picked him up he just nestled in for a good, long hug. I wish I could have seen it.

Yesterday I pulled out some of Destiny's toys for him. These are her animals that she still loves to play with when she takes a long bath. I remember when I first started getting them for her, she insisted on having a baby and a mother of each animal.

And speaking of babies, I got out her dolly stroller. Austin seems completely unaware of the babies, but he just loves pushing the stroller with all his might.

And really, he'd much rather dig in my cupboards and drawers than play with toys anyway. Today he found my bottle brush under the sink. Just like that he disappeared from the kitchen. When I looked where he had gone, this is what I found, hahahahahahaha!!

Doing pretty well

We're doing pretty well without Lori, but we'll all be delighted to have her back home. Anthony said that this morning when Austin woke up he walked around, seeming to look for his mommy.

Last evening we went to the nearby park and had such a great time.

Little non-conformist!

I took some really fun videos of him dancing today, but I'm having trouble posting them to Youtube this evening, so I'll have to try posting them tomorrow. I was able to email them to Lori and she loved them.

We have been having thunderstorms for the past several hours. The first one came this afternoon when I was here with Austin. The wind was so strong I was beginning to wonder if we were under a tornado watch. Apparently not. But I did notice when I drove to Anthony's later that a huge electric pole, along with lots of thick cables had blown down. They were still working on it this evening when I came home, in the midst of yet another storm. Wouldn't that be scary?

I've been chuckling today every time I thought of what Lisa posted on FB this morning. They were watching the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game on TV yesterday. Sophie said she really likes the Rays. She hopes they go to the World Serious. Hahahahahahaha! Isn't that just adorable?

And remember when I was in Florida in July and their pool was in the process of being built and filled?  They've been working hard since then, and it's turning into the gorgeous appearance of a resort.  Here's just one picture.  Some other time I'll post more.

Meeting Margie

Yesterday was as wonderful as we expected it to be, and more!  Except for Dick - it would have been better if Penn State had actually won their game instead of losing 13 - 33.  Here are two pictures he took yesterday, first of the tailgate party and then the game. (Oops, I guess it was the half-time show.)

After the game he came home and fired up the grill for the first time since we moved.  Actually, it may have been the first time this entire year!  The weather was AWESOME yesterday!

Later our Arizona guests arrived, and the non-stop chatter began, never stopping until many hours later.  Lori, Anthony, and Austin came too, and we had a most fabulous time around the table.

Later we moved our conversation to the living room, and our hearts deeply connected as we shared some of our journeys with each other. 

Before going to bed we of course had to get the "official" pictures.  Unfortunately, my camera battery was on its last spark, so my pictures are not as sharp as they could have been.

Our guests: my blog/FB friend Margie Dautrich with her husband Bob and their daughter Lauren.

This morning we sat around the table with our tea and coffee as we talked some more, and then they were off to finish their PA vacation.  We all had the sweetest time together.  My heart is warmed by every thought of our time together.  And I know there will be more in the years to come. 

So now Lori is at a conference in San Diego for three days.  Dick and I went to church with Anthony and Austin this morning.  They came here after church for lunch.  Here's a picture for Mommy!

Bellefonte, Penn State game, Arizona visitors

I'm so excited today, but more about that later.  First of all I want to show you a few pictures I took the other day in our little nearby town of Bellefonte.  I went to the post office there for the first time, then drove around a bit to see what else there was to see.

This would be our normal weekend to go to Lancaster County to be with Destiny and for me to lead worship.  However, Lori will be leaving early tomorrow morning for a conference in California without Austin for the first time!  So I will be helping Anthony out with Austin tomorrow and the next two days.  I had planned to have Destiny come up here for the weekend, but she's "grounded"  for not going directly home from school one day this week.  So it's a rare thing for us to be here for a weekend without Dick needing to be at work.  And guess what he's doing today?

 

He's going to the Penn State game!  First time ever! He has a very loyal customer who is an all-out Penn State football fan - even traveled to Alabama earlier this season for the Penn State game!  He has a tailgate party right outside the Beaver stadium and season tickets that he shares with friends.  Today Dick is one of his friends!  Can you tell he's a little bit excited???  I think his seat will be on the fourth row!!

Meanwhile I am at home cooking and cleaning for company AGAIN!!  Twice in one week!  This time it will be overnight guests.  I have a blog friend from Arizona who is at the Penn State game today with her husband and daughter and they will be coming here afterward.  We've never met in real life, but we've been friends on line for several years.  

I don't even remember how long ago it was that Margie first commented on my blog.  She and Bob grew up in Pennsylvania.  Actually Bob grew up in Reading where Destiny lives.  They have two adult daughters and a grandson who is the light of her life.  Margie and I seem to connect on many levels and I am so eager to finally talk and laugh  face to face with her.  She says there are friends in PA she hasn't seen for 20 or 30 years who had hoped to have a visit from her on this trip, but she couldn't fit them into their travel plans.  So am I lucky or what?  I guess I'm just at the right place at the right time!

I Love My Blog!!

I Love My Blog???   How's that for sounding a bit self-absorbed??  But I have a reason for saying that.  I seldom take the time to read back over all the things I've written in the five years since I started this blog on October 5, 2005.  Once in a while, if I'm trying to remember exactly when something happened I'll go back in my blog history and check it out. 

On Saturday morning after Dick and I left The Waffle Shop, I decided to look in my blog history to see what we had done on some previous anniversaries.  When I got to October 2008 I came upon a story that I just had to read to Dick as we were driving.  I ended up just screaming laughing.  I told Dick,  "We need to do this more often!  When we're making all those road trips to Lancaster County, I should read to you from my blog so we can remember some of these things that happened."  

And now I want to share with you what that story was.

In the evening we had Dick's 40th class reunion. Frank was planning to have Destiny for the evening and we met at the agreed upon place. However, when he got out of the car to come back to our car for Destiny, his door locked with the keys in the ignition and the engine running!

What to do, what to do? He hopped into our car and we drove down the road to a convenience store, then a Pizza Hut, then a Hoss's Steak House, in search of a wire hanger. None to be found.

I knew that my coworker Pam lived somewhere in the area, so I dialed 411 on my cell phone, not even knowing if she had a house phone. She did! Directory assistance gave me her number. I called her house, got her answering machine, and proceeded to explain our dilemma, asking her to pick up the phone if she was listening. She was! She picked up and gave us directions to her house. By this time the rain was just POURING! She brought a wire hanger to her door, we went back to Frank's car, and the two men, Dick in his suit and Frank in his shorts and tee shirt, with my hot pink umbrella partially keeping them dry, worked and worked and worked and worked and worked to get that door unlocked.

I could hardly stand to see how wet Dick was getting as I watched the time slipping away. There was to be a class picture taken before the meal and I so wanted Dick to be there for it. I was praying out loud, reminding the Lord that He can move mountains, surely He can open a car door. After about 15 minutes I quit praying. It didn't seem that they would get that door open.

But they kept trying. After a while Destiny said, 'Lord, You can lift a car, You can lift a truck, You can lift a mountain, can You please lift the lock?" I was thinking, "Come on, God, how can you turn that prayer down?" And THEN, I kid you not, I saw the guys open that car door! Destiny and I clapped our hands, and I said, "Destiny, it must have been your prayer!" She said, "It was, it was!!" as she got out and ran front to her daddy's car!

The strange noise under the sink

This morning after I brushed my teeth there was this strange noise that seemed to be coming from under the bathroom sink.  I opened the cabinet door and listened.  I had never heard it before and couldn't begin to figure out what it was.  I told Dick that the water pipes under my sink are making a funny noise.  He said maybe there was air in the pipes.  I went to the kitchen to make coffee and forgot about it.  

A while later I went back to the bathroom and there was that noise, still going strong!  I immediately called to Dick to come and listen to this noise right away.  (As you can imagine, I'm hypersensitive to strange noises in water pipes!)   He got up from his comfortable computer chair in the office and came back to the bathroom like a good husband and listened to that noise under the sink.  Even he was completely stumped.  In the process he noticed there was some water collected on the counter top behind my washbowl and asked what that was from.  I was thinking,  "Why does he have to care about that right now?"  What I said was, "It just gets like that sometimes when I wash my hands and stuff."  I grabbed the hand towel to wipe it up, picking up the soft soap dispenser and toothbrush holder as I wiped under them.  

What??  The toothbrush holder was vibrating??  Then I suddenly realized the source of the noise and I said,  "Oh, never mind."  Can you guess??

I had forgotten to turn off my battery operated toothbrush before I put it in the holder.  And that was the source of the  strange noise that seemed to be coming from under the sink!  Wow, talk about feeling stupid and relieved at the same time!

And, like a good husband, Dick just went back to his comfortable computer chair without saying a word.

A visit from the Stauffer Women

I felt so excited when I got up this morning, knowing that the Stauffer women were coming to my house. We have always had the most fun together, and today would be no exception.

As planned, they arrived about 10 AM, and I had a breakfast of French toast and bacon and fresh fruit ready for them. And of course, coffee!  Actually, first I gave them a quick tour of the house, then we sat down to eat.  We talked and laughed so much I almost forgot to go pick up Austin from daycare at 11:15!  

After I gave him his lunch and got him down for his nap and Anthony was here to be with him, I took the ladies on a little tour of State College.  First of all,  Anthony and Lori's house, then Pep Boys to see Dick, then a bit of the Penn State campus, Anthony and Lori's church, then finally Perkins.  We still weren't very hungry, but we managed to find things that sounded yummy.  First of all we took pictures of each side of our table.

On one side, Faye (Steve's wife), Doris (Bob's wife), and Arlene (Grandpa's wife!)

And on the other side of the table, me, Carolyn (Jim's wife), and Deb (Fred's wife).

Just as we were finishing up at Perkins, Lori showed up!  Two of her meetings this afternoon had been canceled at the last minute.  We got her to take a picture of the six Stauffer women together.

Then I wanted to take a picture of Lori because I thought she looked so fine in her "professor" clothes.  Don't you agree?  She thought I was crazy for wanting a picture of her, so she didn't cooperate very well!

We went back to Anthony and Lori's house and hung out there for a while, and then they left to go back to Lancaster County.  We had such fun together today.  We discovered at some point that Faye had left her pink umbrella at my house and Carolyn had left her DNKY jacket there.  But since we had no time to go over the hills and through the woods to my house again, that was just too bad.  

Then, right after we walked out of Anthony and Lori's house Carolyn realized she had left her purse inside.  (What is UP with that girl?  She's the youngest one among us, hahahaha!)  But worse than that, I had left my keys inside and had locked the door when I walked out.  We were planning to all go in Arlene's van, so it wasn't an immediate dilemma.  So when we got to Pep Boys I told Dick what I had done and asked him if he could take the key for my car and the key for Anthony's house off his key ring for me.  He proceeded to do so, then said, "I'll just give you the key for Anthony's house."  I said,  "No, I need the key for my car too.  How will I drive my car  home?"  He said,  "Well, once you get Anthony's house unlocked, you'll be able to get your car keys."  Wow.  I hadn't even thought of that.  Of course, that just added one more reason for us to go over the edge laughing. 

This evening Dick stopped at Anthony and Lori's house for supper and afterward we had such fun with Austin.

He won our hearts even more than ever this evening as he ran from one person to the next for a goodnight kiss, complete with his charming smile. 

Of hamsters and hot air balloons

This was another whirlwind, but good day.  I went to our church in Lancaster County to lead worship since both of my assistant worship leaders were away for the weekend.  I left home at 7:45 this morning and had a glorious time driving as I soaked in the beauty of the mountains, the sky, and the sun and also soaked in the presence of the Lord as I worshiped with my CD's.

This afternoon I drove to Reading to see Destiny.  Frank had given her some money for her birthday which she had never had a chance to spend, so we went to the mall with a mission.  Her mom had given her permission to get a hamster!  She fell in love with a tiny, light-haired boy hamster, which she immediately named Little Guy.  We picked out a starter cage kit, then I discovered that they had offered Destiny two hamsters for the price of one.  First of all I made sure they would both be boys, then I called her mom to make sure it would be okay with her.  We figured there would probably be less fighting if she and her brother each had one.   We took them home, got the cage set up, and put the hamsters in it.  They were having a blast and Destiny was beyond delighted.  When I drove away I realized that once again I had forgotten to take any pictures even though my camera was in my purse.  I almost went back, but they live on the third floor and I didn't feel like climbing the stairs again!

I had a good drive back this evening.  Now I'm going to try to post the pictures I didn't post last evening. 

Yesterday right after  I left Anthony's house I noticed a hot air balloon in a nearby field getting ready to take off.  So I pulled over to watch.

And now, one more that I didn't post last evening - the picture of our bridal party back on October 2nd, 1971.  I remember that I wanted our bridal party to be made up mostly of family members so that our children would be able to look at our wedding pictures and recognize the people that attended us.  I didn't think about the fact that our children would hardly recognize them anyway because of how much everyone has changed, hahahaha!

Left to right:  my sister Doris Fahnestock, my sister Mary Ellen Witmer, our sister-in-law Doris Stauffer, my friend Elaine Nissley, me and Dick, Dick's friend John Nissley (Elaine's husband), Dick's brother Bob Stauffer (Doris Stauffer's husband), my brother Dick Witmer, Dick's brother Steve Stauffer.  Wow, I'm sure that's about as clear as mud to those of you who don't know any of these people, what with all those name duplications, hahaha! 

I have a VERY exciting day coming up, so I must go to bed!!  I'm having my first real "company" for breakfast.  (Yes, I did have Anthony and Lori here, but after living together for a year, it didn't feel too much like having company!)   Our sister-in-law Doris Stauffer, who lives in Minnesota, is spending a few weeks with her mother in Lancaster County.  So while she's in the area, all the Stauffer women (Dick's step mother and his brother's wives) are coming to spend the day with me tomorrow!  I MUST remember to take pictures!!

Thirty-nine years ago

Thirty-nine years ago today Dick and I became husband and wife - a very wonderful, happy day despite the rain.  We had dated four years, the last  two of those by letter, so my wedding day was a long-anticipated and dreamed-about event.

To celebrate our anniversary this year Dick and I had a romantic evening at home last evening, then this morning we went to the Waffle Shop for breakfast.  We  had fun reminiscing about our wedding day  and honeymoon in the Pocono Mountains of PA.  I reminded him how far we drove for our first lunch the day after our wedding.  I said,  "I guess we went there because it was the only place we were familiar with in the Poconos."  Dick said,  "It's a wonder we didn't look on our phones for a place that was closer to our motel."   That cracked me up.  

Here are a couple of pictures I scanned from our wedding day.  Don't ask about my hair!  I was Mennonite, and that's how we did our hair back in those days - the higher the stack the better, hahahahaha!!

I'd love to scan and post more wedding pictures, and I'd also like to show the amazing pictures I took today of a hot air balloon taking off, but I'm falling asleep and the pictures are taking too long to upload.  So good night.

One year ago today

 

Today it is one year since I last saw my dad and experienced his transition from this earth to Heaven.  Today I am simply reposting what I wrote last year on the night of October 1st.

My dad is finally home

Thursday afternoon I traveled to Lancaster County for my hair appointment. I stopped at my dad's first and it was very obvious that the end was near. It was so hard to see him laboring so hard to breathe, then stop breathing altogether for so long that we wondered if it was over. His hands were getting cold. I hated to leave, but went to my hair appointment.

When I came back there were various family members here. His breathing was harder than ever, his hands altogether cold, but he had a raging fever. Hospice told us to use cold compresses in his armpits, and we put a cold wash cloth on his forehead. And we sang and sang and sang. Songs about Heaven. One time my stepbrother saw a tear at the corner of his eye. After a while his breathing slowed down. Because I was the family member planning to stay the night, along with a hired nurse aid, I was shown where the phone numbers were that I should call if he should die during the night. The very thought was distressing. What if I couldn't keep my head together to make those phone calls at such a moment?

I went out to my car to get my bags and I cried, "Lord, please take him home while all these other family members are still here!!" I came in the house and my step brother, Lester, said, "Something changed. You'd better get in there." Dad's breathing had become very faint, with occasional gasps. Doris, Mary Ellen, my step mother, and her son Lester all gathered around him. The hired nurse, a sweet Nigerian angel, started singing the old worship song,

"I see the Lord, I see the Lord.
He is high and lifted up, and His train fills the temple.
He is high and lifted up, and His train fills the temple.
And the angels cry, 'Holy!'
The angels cry, 'Holy!'
The angels cry, 'Holy is the Lord.'"

We joined her singing between our tears and had beautiful three part harmony. The glory of the Lord filled the room. When we were sure he had breathed his last we cried some more. The nurse raised her hands and prayed aloud over us all. She kept proclaiming, "It is well. It is well."

Then the phone calls, more family arrivals, the Hospice nurse's arrival, the undertaker's arrival, and many more tears and sobs. We each took our turns kissing Dad before he would be taken away. Lester, who is a pastor, led us in a time of prayer as the undertakers patiently waited. It was a truly beautiful time for our two families to be united in our grief and our love for my dad and step mother. We ended by singing together Sweet, Sweet Spirit.

And then he was taken away and we sat down to make a few plans - viewing on Monday afternoon and evening, funeral on Tuesday morning.

Gradually they all left, and now I'm here with my stepmother. She just went to bed. We have peace knowing that Dad is finally at home with his precious Lord and Savior, he is finally free of his sick body, and he can sing and laugh again. But like my step mother said, "But he's not here." That is the hard part. The void that is left by the man he was. As Lisa said on Facebook - he was the most humble, loving man she ever knew. I know we can all say, "Amen."

I am rich to have had him for a dad. We are all rich - not in earthly wealth, but in the spiritual and emotional blessings that we are enjoying because of his love, because of his obedience to and passionate love for the Lord, because he honored the Lord in everything he did. The blessings of a righteous man are to a thousand generations. Thank you, Dad.