Giving Thanks

Just a sample of the wonderful things...

Dogwood berries (background)

MomB Rolls (Granny)

Pumkin Pies (Granny)

Smoked Turkey (Autreys)

Sweet Potatoes (Rachel)

Spinach Medline (Convilles)

Cornbread Dressing (Glovers via Sheila & Lisa)

Corn Casserole (Andersons)

Cranberries (Granny)

Greenbean Casserole (Artie Clark)

Pecan Pie (Ms. Clark)

Strawberry Pie (Sonja Cardwell)

Shrimp Dip (Autreys)

Peanut Butter cup cookies (Sonja Cardwell)

Ham (James Fuller)

Water (Wesley)

and Doctor wrote this morning...

"Thanksgiving Day,

I am thankful for the Lord God giving us another day.

We often sit around and wish for more and we fail to appreciate the good we already have."

From David

Dad was somewhat inspired today and was typing on his Tobii.

Of late he has either lost interest or it has become too much of an effort and his communication has dropped off to a minimal. He was so lucid and aware and it was nice to have a little bit of him back with us.

Granny went for a sewing class and I brought over my work (computer) and stayed with him all day.

Anyway, he worked for a long time without talking to any of us and then just out of the blue, he "spoke" the following:

"God forgive me! I would like to be in your presence and sing your praises!
Oh lord God i have but a few days left to sing your praises! I am not
worthy! Yet i yearn to see you!"

The Cleanup

There are no other words but Thank You!!!!

Pictures from Gustav

Oops!.....I forgot to attach the pictures to the post. Rachel

A Visit from Gustav

Gustav made his visit here known. A huge oak tree blew over taking with it a few other trees and part of the fence. Yes, it made a loud sound but at least it fell on the driveway and across the street. We discovered that the guys living across the street had decided to throw a "Hurricane Party" and thought the tree falling down was "pretty cool".

Thankfully a generator had been purchased to keep all of Dr. Dale's machines going if the
electricity were to go out. Yes, the loss of electricity happened and it lasted for about 26 hours or so. Dr. Dale's "world" was perfectly intact except for the brief interruption of unplugging the machines from the wall and replugging them in to the cords going to the generator.

We made several calls to the City reminding them that Dr. Dale was on the priority list. The guys worked all they could to get us up and running. They had explained they had to start from the beginning of the "chain" and work their way here. We stood outside watching the guys going up in the bucket trucks, coming down giving us a false sense of hope, and then going back up to check the power lines.

Finally we achieved success! Electricity!!!!!!!

We thank the many of you who called checking in on us. Thanks for many offers of gas to keep us up and running. Thanks for the many prayers. We survived and are thankful for that.
We are again blessed to have family and friends who are dear and caring and thinking of us at all times.

Rachel

Another thought from Barbara
Do you remember that epiphany you had in your late teens or early twenties? The one in which you realized that your mother actually did know what she was talking about and had experienced life and was a source that you could trust and that she was a lot smarter than you thought she was. Well, I had that and again I have had a similar experience in my forties.

I have always known that my mom was a nurse and that she knew a lot about medicine, but I only saw it practiced as any mom practices nursing her children. I have been to places where she has worked and her fellow employees have raved about her nursing abilities and care beyond the call of duty that she demonstrated for her patients.

But, it has not been until this year that I have been able to see first hand her knowledge and abilities and care. She demonstrates her love for Dad every day in how she cares for him. Her hands are full of service and love. She is meticulous in his physical care. She is so detailed and demanding of herself. I would let things go that she will do and do and do until they are perfect. She knows how to do everything to care for Dad. She is so confident in what is to be done and how to do it properly that she makes me feel competent when I am copying her. She never stops and works tirelessly way beyond what I would be able to do. She has a broken foot and yet spends 12 to 14 hours standing by Dad's bedside without complaint. I could not do that.

I say all of this to quote Proverbs 31 that her children will rise up and call her blessed. I stand now to call my mom blessed and a blessing to Dad and to all of us. I know that this blog is about my dad, but he would not be the man he is if he had not had the woman I call Mom.

Please pray for her. Pray for God's strength when she has no more strength. Pray for health and unceasing grace to flow into and from her. She is in a precarious position - emotionally, physically, and spiritually. But God is able to do far more than she could ever ask or imagine for her.

With humility,
Barbara

Hello everyone,
I am posting for Dad today. This is Barbara and I have been visiting Mom and Dad for the past week. Joanna has also been here and left yesterday. Hopefully, we have helped Mom this week in her vigilant care for Dad. Also, we have tried to do all that David and Rachel do every day to help Mom and Dad.
Dad remains very happy and positive while being paralyzed by ALS. I would think that he would get discouraged or angry or upset at his condition or limitations, but he continues to be joyful and thankful and to see the greatness in everything in his very small world. He wrote the prayer just a few days ago and has sent me and others encouraging emails that express his joy in life.
His memory fades about some facts and events that have occurred in his life. This is sad for Mom and for all of us. It is sad for him, too, because thinking about yesterday, today, and the future is all that he can do. It is absolutely wonderful that he has this computer Tobi communication tool. I can still converse with him and "hear" what he is thinking. This would be almost impossible without this amazing technology because reading his lips becomes increasingly difficult. We need to figure out a way for him to blog using his Tobi computer. Right now, that is not possible and I am not enough of a computer person to even try to figure out how that could be accomplished.
I know that not everyone has had a wonderful father, but I have. To me, Dad is the earthly representative of God the Father here on earth. His unconditional love, his complete forgiveness, his servanthood, his humility, his endurance, his patience have always been the example of Jesus in a man here on earth. I have lived an unbelievably privileged life following in the footsteps of my earthly father. He has never led me anywhere except to the foot of my Heavenly Father. What a wonderful place to be!
In the footsteps of my father,
Barbara Boersma Keller