A day of rest, of progress, of family joy

Dear Friends and Family,

We are winding down now after a very big day. Keanna spent the night last night, went to bed at 10:30 and was up at 6:30 to gently tell us good morning Grammy, Good morning Grampy. We suggested to her that she go back to her room and rest, she went when I turned on a DVD and we did not hear from her again until 8:30 which was almost too late for Sabbath School. We quickly made breakfast and headed to SS. She wanted to wear casual clothes so I relented and let her. We arrived late but there were only 2 girls there when we arrived. Keanna enjoyed Sabbath School and was a good girl throughout. Kim sent a present home for Keanna's birthday, Keanna loved it, a new sippy cup and a nice purse. When we left SS we called Nikki to find she was sleeping in so we hit the Burger King and had an early lunch and a play time. Then home to see Grammy and Aunt Marilyn. Hearing that Nikki and Steve were coming over Nan made her way downstairs to her recliner. Nikki and Steve came later and we did some cleaning up in the back, Steve cut some cat tails in the lake, power washed the dock and cleaned the paddle boat. Steve and Keanna went swimming in the lake and Melaboo was in the water at least 25 times to chase geese, fetch the ball and just get wet. What a fun dog and what a great afternoon with family. When I finally came in Nan had some ideas of her own. Since I would have to take Keanna home, their Tahoe did not have a child seat so I drove her home and then picked up tomatoes, yellow squash, onion and ice. Nan had decided that she wanted some squash for supper, sure enough, she had a small serving of squash, cottage cheese and a tomato slice. First food in 4 weeks and she did well with it. Nan decided that she would like to go to the back deck and see what we had done and to check on her plants. She made it down to the lower deck and looked over the squash, the tomatoes and the lake. Just before we walked outside we decided to empty all the bags and nan said to be sure to empty the colostomy as well. Well it had a LOT in it this time, every day Marilyn has been here the bag has had a little more in it. We are thrilled, seems she brings the best out in us!! Ha Ha! Marilyn has added a wonderful element of family and has been such a great help to Nan in every way possible. We are very happy with the progress Nan is experiencing. She is still very weak and tires easily but is staying up most of the day now and doing lots of things. At this point she is resting in her hospital bed and we are watching a great movie on the Hallmark Channel. We often find great movies which enhance family and are wonderful and enjoyable.

What a nice 24 hours we have had. It reminds me of the blessings of life we enjoy and it was so good to see many friends at church today. It was especially nice to see the Toons who now live in Oregon on the coast. They are precious people and reminded me that they pray for Nan every day.

Tonight we are grateful for a very special day with family which includes Marilyn. This is a wonderful time of year with good temperatures, cool breezes and pleasant sunsets.

So good evening my friends, my family.

Please pray for the blockage to continue to break up, for some way to solve the tumor growth, for strength.

love

tim and nan and marilyn

PS. As of 11 pm we emptied the colostomy bag again and this time there were three pills there clearly visible in the mix. Also when we tried to pump the stomach after she ate the squash, cottage cheese and tomato almost nothing came out. Seems it may have moved on through the system. I have included a few photos taken this afternoon. Perhaps they will illustrate the day and yes that is Nan on the lower deck checking out the squash which she ate later in the afternoon. The geese were nice enough to bring their little goslings by for Keanna to see.