We are having a lot of head and chest colds in our household, everyone has it including Bruce and little Josiah.  We decided to go bowling with my parents and family, probably against our better judgement, we all felt so run down.  We enjoyed the visit any ways, especially with Joanna, Garrett and Anita.  Joanna, Martha's daughter was in from Michigan.  Garrett proposed while at the beach in Delaware on Saturday, of course Joanna accepted!  Anita my niece is in from Florida, how I and Martha have missed her!  We have so much in common and really enjoyed catching up!
I hope you are enjoying the warmth of family and friends on these cold winter days as well!

Happy Thanksgiving

Our family just wants to thank each of you!  You all have enriched our lives and blessed us with your prayers! Thank you!

It has been a little while since I wrote and so I will catch you up on whats happening here.
Samuel's fractured nose is healing, so he has started rugby practice (more reason for gray hair).
Hannah is finally back to work after a bout with bronchitis and Anna is struggling to get through it as well.
Sarah came home Sunday, she had a lot of cramping and pain.  Tuesday she went to the doctor, they found red and white blood cells in her urine, the lab later reported a positive result for infection.  She started an antibiotic but is still having pain from the deep seated small lump in her back.  Further lab work and a MRI are to be done this week if she is not better.
Bruce has been working hard at plenty of service calls. He has been quite stiff and achy, I am not sure if it is because of the colder weather.  Otherwise, he is feeling well.
 Abby's room is now remodeled after being flooded and she is enjoying moving back in and getting her things organized.  Daniel and Anna's birthday have come and gone.  Martha and my mother and dad came for Anna's birthday helping to make her special day more festive.  Two of Anna's friends joined us as well and we enjoyed their songs and ballads as they performed using her new guitar.  Abby brought her boyfriend's dog (a gentle part pit bull breed) and he seemed to have a fondness for the girl's strumming and crooning.
I am still not allowed to drive from 3 more weeks and so I have been getting a lot of walking exercise going to the store (about 2 miles).  I walk more to get out, Bruce would drive me any time I ask, but he is very busy.  I have started using a CPAP machine at night.   It is somewhat of a challenge to get used to.  I am feeling somewhat more refreshed upon awaking so it is worth the challenge.  I am spending more time at doing crafts and ....cleaning. ( :
Each day brings with it new challenges and struggles,..and  blessings abundantly given by the Master's hand.

Youth Rally 11-6-2010

Wow, what a super evening! We were filled to capacity!  The youth and young adults came from Maryland, New York and Virginia. The Lanham MD group brought their worship band and led worship.  Dennis Farrar from New York shared some great worship songs he has recorded.  His praise team, included Cameron and Camilla Crayton and several others from NY, they sang with great harmony!  Jason Pack gave a super testimonial and Mike Waybright shared a humorous lesson!  More then 20 asked for prayer and anointing before the service was over.  Everyone headed for a late night at the gym after pizza and refreshments. Many slept over, filling almost every pew in the sanctuary and classrooms downstairs.
Hannah and Mark & Robin Sullivan put a lot of effort into preparations and their labor was definitely worth it!

The week went by fairly quickly and we are looking forward to having guests for the young adult/youth rally tomorrow.  Hannah has been working hard on preparations all week.
Bruce is a little upset.  Some business checks went missing this week and he has been so busy he is not sure if he miss laid them or if they have been stolen.
The clean up and remodeling is going well for Abby's room, it should be better then it was before.
Sarah has an ultra-sound scheduled for Monday, hopefully that will show us what the lump on her back is, so a course of treatment can start.  She is not sleeping or eating well.
I am doing much better as the week has gone by.  Swallowing is still a bit difficult, but it has improved.  Still tire easily and am losing weight ( which I will not complain about). ( :
Hope your Sabbath is peaceful and pleasant, full of God's mercy and grace!

We are a little concerned about Sarah.  She was told by an ER Doctor that she had a fatty tumor cyst and that she should see a dermatologist.  The lump has been increasingly painful and has enlarged over the past weeks. She saw the dermatologist today, who told her the lump is not a cyst.  They want her to have an ultrasound, suggesting that it may be a swollen lymph node or a muscle injury.  She was just getting excited about playing basket ball at Spring Vale, but must rest instead.
She is quite upset as you might imagine and we are again perplexed about whether we should bring her home for medical treatment here.  Your prayers again are greatly appreciated.

The days, now, are long and uneventful, except for the flooding of Abby's room.  Apparently someone thought it cool to put a running hose in her window well in the middle of the night.  The water ruined her new wood floor and part of the wall.  A demolition contractor was here assessing the damage today.
I am having less pain each day, but  am still struggling to eat because of swallowing difficulties. I have lost almost 10lbs, a positive side of not being able to eat much. ( :  I choke easily  and that is quite bothersome, especially because it keeps me from resting sometimes.  I am sure this will eventually heal as well, but it is something to pray about.
I talked to a nurse today, she told me that I am really fortunate to have had this surgery in time.  She told me that she takes care of a woman who is a quadriplegic because a disk in her neck disintegrated like the second disk they removed from my neck.  Unfortunately this woman did not get medical help soon enough. It caused me to really stop and be thankful!
Bruce is doing well and keeps busy with small service calls and such.  We are paying someone to help with the household chores, this relieves my mind a bit, I can't stand a dirty house.
Hannah is very busy planning a youth rally for this Sabbath.  About 100 youth plan to come from NY, NJ and MD.  They are renting a gym for activities later in the evening.  Many are sleeping over here and at other church family homes.
Hope you are staying warm on these cold November nights!