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Planting

Posted by eph21920 on May 19, 2024 in Creation, Family, Grateful, Hurt

I was grateful that my brother came for the weekend. Unfortunately I injured myself a few days ago. It started when I was over- zealously cleaning the bathtub. I reached way over and something popped in my ribcage. It seemed not to be too bad for a couple days, but then it got worse. So I’ve been struggling with some pain. My poor sister has been taking my turns with mom so I don’t have to move her. I was so glad my brother came for a couple of days to give us a hand. Our neighbor’s daughter in law thinned her garden and brought a bunch of plants for us to fill in the empty spaces in our area. I was unable to get out and plant them this week, so our neighbor kept them watered. Today my brother and I were able to get outside and plant. Well, actually my brother dug the holes and put the plants in. I stood and watered them once they were all in. I’m grateful for the help and excited to see how they grow. Just getting outside for a while felt very good.

I Found God today with help and getting plants in the ground.

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Good Start

Posted by eph21920 on May 18, 2024 in Begin, Family, Life, Opportunity, Travel

My grandson is going on his first solo adventure. I’ve been praying for his protection. For the first part of the trip, he left this morning to drive to the East Coast. I was glad to hear that he made it to his first stop safe and sound. He’s off to a good start.

I Found God today in my grandson’s safety.

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New Garden

Posted by eph21920 on May 17, 2024 in Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Joy

A little while ago, a friend of mine suggested a new activity for my mom. It was a flower garden kit. I found the kit in the toy section at Walmart and picked it up today. It consisted of a bucket full of plastic stems and leaves, flowers, and accessories, and base pieces. We sat at the table and put together a small circular base to start. I opened the package of leaves and stems and we filled in the holes in the base. We added more stems to some to make them taller. From there, we put the flowers on. Then, we added some accessories to the middle of the flowers to decorate them up a bit. The finished product was colorful and fun. It was such an engaging, joyful, beautiful activity. I was grateful that my friend thought of us and passed on the idea.

I Found God today in a thoughtful friend and beautiful activity.

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Supportive Nurses

Posted by eph21920 on May 15, 2024 in Answer, Grateful, Patience

This morning our Hospice nurse came for her weekly visit. We discussed the events of the past week. She was so understanding, gracious, validating, and supportive. She never made me feel inadequate or irresponsible. The CNA also came towards the end of our visit and gave Mom a shower. She was also very caring and supportive. Plus she was gentle, patient, and kind with my mom. Today I was extra grateful for the Hospice nurses and support.

I Found God today in supportive nurses.

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Huge Relief

Posted by eph21920 on May 14, 2024 in Answer, Faith, Family, Grateful, Prayer, Sick, Struggles

Another new caregiver has been here a couple weeks. The other day she said thought my mom had Cdif and told us all the hygiene protocols we should be following and that mom should be quarantined. My mom has had some troubles, but I had been talking with our nurses about it. Everything the caregiver told me pretty much put me into a panic. I contacted Hospice and our nurse. A nurse on call came and checked out my mom. Then yesterday, our nurse came and talked me off the ledge. She collected the stool sample to get tested. During this whole time, I came across the scripture Phillipians 4:6-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. I prayed that the test would come back negative. I couldn’t stand the thought of my mom suffering through that and putting her through another round of heavy duty antibiotics. Today we received news that the test came back negative. I was shocked, relieved, and so elated I praised God in all the ways I could. I was so grateful that He showed up big time in the midst of these ongoing struggles.

I Found God today as He provided a huge relief for us.

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Funny Card

Posted by eph21920 on May 12, 2024 in Family, Humor, Laughter, Struggles

I got my mom a funny card for Mother’s Day. It had 5 little chicks in it – same number as her children – so it was perfect. I also got a funny one for my sister with a singing cat as she loves kitties. I figured the best thing I could give would be a little humor. Turns out I was right as it was a very challenging day. But my mom did laugh at seeing the little chicks sing and dance. For that I am grateful.

I Found God today in laughter.

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Flower Day

Posted by eph21920 on May 11, 2024 in Children, Creation, Family, Grateful, Happiness

Today we received some gorgeous flower arrangements from my brothers for Mother’s Day. Added to the roses we already had, it made for a beautiful display taking up half of the dining room table. Mom loved the view when she sat in her favorite spot at the head of the table. In the afternoon, my grandson and granddaughter came over. We planted flowers in the 3 outdoor pots. It was a lot of fun. We are excited to watch them grow. Now we have a little extra beauty coming in and going out as well as inside the house.

I Found God today in His beautiful flowers.

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Making Progress

Posted by eph21920 on May 10, 2024 in Answer, Connected, Grateful, Home, Life, Struggles

This morning I called the insurance company and spoke to them about the toilet incident. The claims adjuster was very informative and helpful. She contacted the restoration company, contacted an appraiser who contacted me, and walked me through the next steps. When the restoration company arrived, they already knew exactly what needed to be done for the insurance compnay and had their information. They ripped up several feet of carpet in my mom’s room and bathroom and cut a hole in the ceiling in the basement. They sanitized and left their drying machines running to finish the job. They wished us Happy Mother’s Day as they left. I contacted a plumber who was over in just a few hours to examine the toilet and made an adjustment on the flusher. He emailed a detailed invoice to share with the insurance company. Our friend who does flooring came over to see what had been done. He made his recommendations and is coordinating with even more people to complete the project. He was our first call yesterday and got things rolling for us. I am very grateful for all the helpful people who are making this big mess much easier to deal with. Today’s meditation in mom’s “Jesus Calling” book talked about how we should not run away from our difficulties, but thank God for them. These struggles help us to rely on God who knows how best to care for and love us. Thank you, God, for giving us so many caring, helpful people today.

I Found God today in many caring, helpful people.

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Plumbing Mishap

Posted by eph21920 on May 9, 2024 in Answer, Connected, Friends, Grateful, Home, Problem

This evening there was a caregiver here. After my mom woke from her nap, the caregiver brought her out to the kitchen with me as I finished dinner. Then she went back to my mom’s bathroom to clean things up. Suddenly I heard her yell for me. I went back there to see the toilet overflowing. She managed to get the water turned off while I found the plunger. We got it flowing again, but there was a disgusting pool on the bathroom floor that seeped out into the carpeted area. We threw some old towels in there to start sopping it up. Then I called my neighbor who let me use his shop vac to get the rest. In the meantime, my sister called a friend who does flooring. He knew people in the restoration business. They were over in an hour. They cleaned and sanitized and inspected and put machines in the bathroom. Unfortunately water did get into the subflooring underneath. The team will be back tomorrow to start ripping things apart and sanitizing even deeper. It was a disgusting mess and will be a pain to deal with for a few days. However, there is much to be grateful for. I am thankful that we know people who know people who were immediately helpful. I am grateful that the damage done is not interfering with my mom’s bedroom so she can sleep as comfortably as possible. I am really grateful for the bedside commode. I am grateful for helpful neighbors. I was most grateful to take a shower once everything was done.

I Found God today in help getting a messy problem taken care of.

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You Are That Special

Posted by eph21920 on May 8, 2024 in Creation, Life, Present

I went to prayer group tonight and we got on the topic of the universe and creation. Specifically, how amazing it is when you see photos of the universe and the little tiny space that our Earth takes up. When you then think about each person on our planet, we are quite minute indeed. I commented that it makes me feel completely insignificant. One of the other ladies viewed it quite differently. She said that makes each one of us very special. God chose us to be alive, here, now. I liked her interpretation much better.

I Found God today pondering our unique existence.

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