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Birthday Celebration 3

Posted by eph21920 on May 4, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Food, Fun, Grateful, Love

Today was the big family birthday party for my mom. Unfortunately, my younger sister has been sick, so she was unable to come. My other sister’s son called from California and chatted with my mom a bit, so that was nice. Mom got a gift from her sister in Wisconsin and loved the handwritten note that was included. The rest of us celebrated here at the house. We knew that going to a restaurant would be overwhelming, so we ordered food from mom’s favorite German restaurant. My daughter in law made a small stein for her with an outline of Germany and a heart. It was super cute. We even managed to sing Happy Birthday to her in German and did the chicken dance. Since it was Kentucky Derby day, we made some hats, chose our favorite horse and watched the most exciting 2 minutes in sports. It was also May the 4th so it seemed fitting to make some Star Wars snacks. Honestly, the day was quite overwhelming for my mom. My family was gracious to indulge me in my over planning of the day. But I had fun doing it and I think they had fun participating. Even with all the excitement, at one point my mom said that she thought my dad would have liked the party. I told her I thought he was right here celebrating along with us. It was a big day, but my Mom certainly had a lot of love showered upon her.

I Found God today continuing to celebrate my mom.

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Birthday Celebration 2

Posted by eph21920 on May 3, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Generosity, Grateful, Love

Today my travelling brother came to the house with his dog. They have been away for 6 months. They were both happy to see our mom and she was happy to see them. It was like they never left. He told us some tales of his travels. Also today, one of the caregivers came over and brought my mom a big bag of goodies with all her favorites, including board puzzles, colored pencils, coloring books, and a bright pink T-shirt. She also wrote a heartfelt card. It was so sweet. As difficult as it has been to get steady caregivers in, we are truly blessed with the people who help care for my mom.

I Found God today in my brother and a thoughtful caregiver.

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Birthday Celebration 1

Posted by eph21920 on May 2, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Grateful, Love

Today was my mom’s 92nd birthday. It started out rough as she didn’t sleep much last night. She’s been battling several bouts of UTIs and several different antibiotics. All of it has been taking a toll on her. So, it was a late, slow morning. All during the day we gave her cards and presents. When she was asked how old she was, her answers were anywhere from 37 to 200. It was pretty funny. There were a couple times during the day when she seemed to feel a little better. All week when asked what kind of cake she wanted, she had the same answer – angel food. So, I made her an angel food cake. When asked what she would like for dinner, however, we never got a clear answer. She always liked the Chinese place up the road, so we ordered from there. She enjoyed it just fine. Our neighbors came over for cake after dinner. By the time she was getting ready for bed, she was a little overwhelmed. In all, it was a nice beginning to what will be several days of celebrating. I feel blessed that she is here to celebrate and for the love that is being showered upon her.

I Found God today celebrating my mom’s birthday.

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Brothers Arrived

Posted by eph21920 on May 1, 2024 in Birthday, Family, Grateful

In anticipation of my mother’s birthday, both my brothers have arrived in town. One came to the house this evening. It was good to see him. My mom was a little surprised. Then she didn’t think she should go to bed because he was here. We assured her she would see him tomorrow. We are all looking forward to celebrating the next few days.

I Found God today in my brothers.

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Future Love

Posted by eph21920 on April 30, 2024 in Answer, Hope, Life, Love, Present

As I was listening to the radio today, I heard a beautiful statement, “God doesn’t love your future self more than your current self.” In other words, God loves us individually, perfectly, at all times, in all circumstances of life. That gave me comfort and hope.

I Found God today reminded that He loves me perfectly right now.

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God Picked Reading

Posted by eph21920 on April 29, 2024 in Answer, Connected, Family, Love

This afternoon as my mom and I were sitting at the table, I picked up the friendship book that was there. I told her I would just open it and read whatever page I landed upon. Our caregiver noted that she loved to do that and let God choose what she should read. I opened the book and read this to my mother,

“You, my friend, are the rainbow of my life; the pastel, the bright; the pot of gold; the promise after the storm; the reminder that God loves me.” Conover

“It is right for me to feel this way about…you, since I have you in my heart.” Phillipians 1:7

These were beautiful, relevant, heartfelt messages from me to my mom. God made a good pick – as always.

I Found God today in a beautiful reading to my mother.

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She Did Remember

Posted by eph21920 on April 28, 2024 in Birthday, Connected, Family, Life, Present

This is typically celebration season in our household. During about a 2 week period is my parents’ anniversary and both of their birthdays. My mom’s is coming up in a couple of days and everyone has been making a big deal about it. This morning when she got up, she thought we were going to celebrate it today. After lunch prayer, she made sure to include “Happy Birthday!” The interesting thing is that today is actually my dad’s birthday. I had been wondering how and/or if my mom would react these couple of weeks. We didn’t say anything to her about their anniversary or Dad’s birthday because we didn’t want to upset her. At the same time, it felt unnatural and sad not to. According to her, he is always around. She asks where he went since he was “just here”, or she figures he’s downstairs, or out running errands. I sense him here as well and, of course, he was on my mind all day. Later in the evening, she saw the date on the TV and said, “It’s dad’s birthday!” My sister and I said she was right, it was, and held our breath. I could see her pondering, but she didn’t say anything else and we just moved on. I was glad that she remembered and that she didn’t get upset. It was good to be able to acknowledge the day with her.

I Found God today remembering my dad’s birthday with my mom.

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Shopping Online

Posted by eph21920 on April 27, 2024 in Answer, Grateful, Shopping

There are several things that I have been wanting/needing to get to help make things a little easier for my mom. I shopped several stores here in the city with no luck. Finally, I gave in and shopped online. It was a long, tedious process, but I hopefully found what I was looking for. Even though I would really rather see and feel a product before I buy it, I am grateful for the option to shop online. And I am happy to be done.

I Found God today being able to order things that we need.

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Like a Ballerina

Posted by eph21920 on April 26, 2024 in Answer, Faith, Life

Today we read yesterday’s reflection in “Jesus Calling”. It described a beautiful image of a ballerina spinning around and around. In order to keep her balanced, she must have a focal point. I suppose the same is true for other dancers and ice skaters as well. This concept tied in with our faith life. In a world where we can find ourselves sometimes spinning out of control, we need to have God as our focal point. If we continue to look to Him, we can remain balanced. It was very relevant especially as just before we read this, my mom said that she felt her head was spinning. After listening to the reflection and putting on our Holy Water, we all felt better.

I Found God today reminded to keep focused on Him.

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Steadfast in Faith

Posted by eph21920 on April 25, 2024 in Answer, Faith, Life, Struggles

I listened to a podcast today that talked about how to resist the devil. First and foremost was to remain steadfast in faith. 1Peter 1:6-7 was quoted, “In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In other words, we will all suffer. The important thing is to remain steadfast in faith, offering your suffering to God, trusting that He is with you and will see you through to the other side. I found this to be comforting and somehow energizing at the same time.

I Found God today encouraged to remain steadfast in faith.

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