71 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 4-23-16”

  1. Spring flowers make me happy! Thanks, AJ. They are lovely.

    Hoping to hear a good word about Elvera this morning.

    My brother is along the way to arriving early so he can help me with trimming things in the yard and possibly putting out some roundup. Those honeysuckle bushes/trees are so invasive. I cut them down last fall but did not dig them up so they came back with vengeance.

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  3. Good morning everyone
    I talked to her briefly on the phone this morning.
    She sounds a lot better. She carried on a conversation. She couldn’t yesterday.
    I’m going over about 9:00.
    Her room is more visitor friendly than the ER.

    It’s complet5ely enervating but essentially just doing nothing.

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  4. Good morning, Janice. Hello, fellow wanderers.
    Becca ended up spending the night at the neighbor’s….so we have a childless house. It is rare for both girls to be out of the house at same time. Scott and I had a nice evening, but commented on how strange it felt to be alone. Stranger still is that Lindsey will be off to college in a couple of years…

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  8. Good Morning and happy Spurrrr….ing!! Those are lovely photos and gives me hope that someday we too will experience the new life of His beautiful garden!
    What a blessed start of this day to hear of Elvera’s feeling better….continuing prayers for her healing…the Lord is good indeed ❤

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  9. Yes, they are lovely flowers! I’m so happy that spring is here, thought it feels as though in Midwest terms we didn’t actually earn it, and certainly didn’t earn an early one. But I’ll take it!

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  11. My party last night was good. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Middle son arrived soon after on his trip from Camp Lejeune to Miramar. We will take him to breakfast and he will head west.
    So Mr P and I each had a chicken in the nest last night
    I awake this morning to a good report on Elvera
    I can’t think of much more to make me happy this morning!

    Oh and Amos enjoyed being the center of attention at the party last night

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  12. Jo (I think it was you who was anonymous last night) they have computer lab in kinder where you are? I wouldn’t be very happy with that if I was a missionary parent! It wouldn’t even occur to me that might be the case.

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  13. Cheryl, they have computer lab for everybody in schools. That is why we have to tell them our children are not allowed on the computer until high school. It makes their life more difficult but with only eight children in a class, they can deal with it. And it helps my children to develop writing and calculating skills. And makes them different.

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  16. Mumsee, I knew that was true of many (most?) public schools within America, but isn’t this a missions school? I simply wouldn’t expect it there–I would expect the directors to know better (pedagogically) or to believe differently (wanting to avoid computer addictions) or both. But I guess I’m still naive in some areas.

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  17. Gorgeous spring flowers & weird animal news (cheryl). Happy Saturday!

    I watched that 2015 movie “San Andreas” last night with all the familiar LA landmarks, even our beloved Hollywood sign, toppling as the earth opened up and SHOOK-shook-shook for 2 hours on my free HBO weekend preview … But SF & Northern California got the worst of it. Don’t watch it, Kim.

    So glad to hear Elvera is improving. Amazing what a couple IVs can do in just 24 hours. Yay. She’ll be happy to get home to resume shopping and feeding Chas now that she’s feeling better.

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  19. Cheryl, I imagine missionaries are people too. They want their children to be able to keep up and compete in the job market. The teaching is that the earlier they get into computers, the more they will be able to use them. I disagree. I believe the more they are taught to use their brains, the more they will be able to use whatever computer is in use at the time of their graduation. Computers change every eighteen months. What they learn now may well not be applicable in ten years.

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  23. Our mimeograph machine was a hand cranked one….and the ink was purple. What a joy to be sent to the secretary in elementary school and ask her to run off 20 copies….and then return to class with a stack of freshly printed, still wet and smelling oh so fresh, copies for all the students…..ah the good ol’ days 🙂

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  24. She’s home!
    I went in about 9:00 and saw a toe sticking out, so I pinched it.
    She sais, “Owwwww”.
    I got my woman back.

    They went through a lot of stuff and released her about 2:00. Turns out, it wasn’t pneumonia. It was, as some of you suggested, and Mary did too, Urinary tract infection. The physician this morning was a lady. I don’t know what difference that made, but she said that it wasn’t pneumonia, it was the urinary tract.

    I don’t understand none of that.
    But I have my woman back. That’s what matters.
    😆

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  26. so happy chas.
    Not my choice on computer class. They do a drawing and math program.
    They take a test on the computer so need to know how to use the mouse. I wanted them to have art, but no teacher

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  28. Glad Elvera’s home!

    I agree with mumsee on computer usage. Way too much screen time for young ones now-a-days. I give my students something to read in Spanish and the first thing they want to do is use Google translator.

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  30. It has been a good day at my house. Slept late, took son to breakfast, sent him on his way, picked up dog and cat food, found a metal table for the patio, went to the grocery store, went to the flea market to buy the hand blown hummingbirds feeders we had seen a couple of weeks ago, sat outside and read, had hamburgers for dinner, rearranged guest room, put everything away from last night’s party. Mr. P mowed the small area of the back yard we had re-sodded.
    I am about to haul myself to the bathtub.

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  37. Jo: I’m sorry you’re sick. Praying for a speedy recovery!

    I awakened at 4:30 with a migraine, so got up to take medicine. The dog was eager to be freed from her kennel, so I took her out and started the coffee…. Fortunately, I guess I caught it early enough because Imitrex worked and I’m feeling significantly less pain already!

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  39. An e-mail I sent out to some this morning.

    We aren’t going to church and SS today.
    We had an event yesterday afternoon/night.

    I brought her home from the hospital. Got settled in and I went to CVS to get her prescription filled..
    I returned and she took one of the pills, as prescribed.
    It’s about three o’clock now.
    We later had dinner (she ate most of it). A bit later, I looked at the pills again.
    There was only one pill there!. I asked if she took two more pills, but she couldn’t or wouldn’t say. So? I had to assume that she took three pills that afternoon.
    I tried to call CVS, but the pharmacy was closed.
    The other alternative was back to the ER.
    We got there and waited in the ER for 1.5 hours and still didn’t see anyone.
    At nine o’clock, I figured that it was at least five hrs since she had taken the pills, if, indeed, she did. And I was fed up with the ER.
    So we came home
    She slept well and she is lethargic this morning, but otherwise OK.
    Charlie
    Dad
    Da
    p.s You don’t want to be in an emergency room of a Saturday night.

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  40. Chas, put the meds away. My sister has a brother with a brain injury that wiped out his short term memory. He will eat breakfast all morning long, eating a bowl of cereal, washing the bowl, putting it in the cupboard, taking it out, filling it up and eating a bowl of cereal, washing the bowl, putting it in the cupboard, taking it out…. The same with the meds. Though she will need a refill so the antibiotics have the length of time to work, I imagine.

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  41. Praying this morning for rest Chas…what Mumsee said…the meds will need to be place where she cannot see them….so sad that the ER could not attend to the need….thankful HE got you through the crisis…trusting Him to continue to walk you through….

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  42. I’m keeping everything now.
    Chuck says I need to start treating her like a child.
    I know that, but it’s a learning experience for me.
    She seems pleased when I have to ask her for help with something.

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  44. Well, I guess they figure if people can survive the wait in ER, and can then get up and physically walk themselves out, they’ll be fine. 🙄

    But I’m glad to hear everything is alright this morning. Praying you can both can have an easy, restful, emergency-free Sunday at home.

    Always something.

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  45. Chas, yes, you are going to have to start treating her like a child, but still talk to her as if she is still all there. It will be good for both of you to “pretend” all is well. You will be the only one who knows it isn’t. Above all, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Even to the point of asking someone to come visit with her while you go to Lions on Fridays. Right now you are concerned about her –as you should be—but you also need to be concerned about yourself. Please don’t let yourself get so worn down in her care so quickly that someone has to take care of both of you.
    I prayed for both of you this morning during the Prayers of the People. I don’t know what I feel like prayers said in a church have special weight, but I do.
    We all love you and will continue to pray. This blog feels so much like family. 😉

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  46. A lot of the learning will probably take place after experiences like that. You might want to consider beginning to slowly move out things like area rugs, tripping places. She may never get to that stage or she might and you don’t want broken bones to deal with.

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  47. My step mom has very short term memory and they talk about it. Dad tries to remind her that she does not always remember things clearly. She sometimes gets paranoid and he reminds her that she is not thinking as clearly as before and perhaps the perceived threat is not really what it appears.

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  48. Emily has said the same thing about rugs on the floor. A lot of elderly trip on those rugs & end up with broken hips.

    Chas – Emily said you have probably already been told this, but if not. . .

    “Make sure she is getting adequate fluids & not holding it when she has to go.
    Acidic juices help keep bacteria from overgrowing.”

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  49. I’m glad you have the support network you do, Chas. I echo what everyone else has said about getting the meds somewhere that Elvera doesn’t know about. I’ll add that, especially if she has multiple medications that she’s been prescribed, it would be good to have a written schedule of what she needs to take when, so there aren’t too many of one and/or too few of another taken accidentally. It’s very easy when new meds get added to previous ones for dosage mistakes to happen. My best friend’s mother-in-law got prescribed a new medication, on top of her usual ones, and she misread the instructions to take one every three days, and instead took three every day.

    By the time she or family realized her mistake, it was too late, and she died shortly after.

    Not to be a messenger of gloom, but these things unfortunately happen. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

    I’m praying for you both.

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  50. I’m bugging her right now about drinking.
    I have straws for her.
    But she doesn’t want to drink. I tell her that’s what put her in the ER on Wednesday.
    She was dehydrated.
    We’re getting there slowly, but getting there.

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  52. BG was born with reflux from her kidneys to her bladder. She drank a lot of cranberry juice as a child and still loves it. Maybe you could make it more tempting by putting it in some sparkling water? I know that you are not drinkers but you may ask about getting her to drink one beer a day. Beer is actually good for the kidneys if not abused. (There is a saying that you don’t buy beer, you rent it). But again, ask for medical advice on that. Talk to your granddaughter, Mary, about some of these things. You want her to have fluids but not so much water that it dilutes her electrolytes which can lead to other problems.
    Also, please stick with the same pharmacy and pharmacists. Going from doctor to doctor, one my prescribe something that counteracts or is the same as something another doctor has prescribed. Your pharmacist is in a better position to catch it and know the interactions than anyone else. Explain to the pharmacist what is going on and they will be your best friend.
    There are resources out there for you to tap into that can really help you. My county has a council on the aging that provides a lot of information like sitters to sit with patients. Respite care for you to get out some.
    A friend who kept her grandmother at home as long as she could described it as having a grown up toddler in the house that she had been taught to mind. I think it is a good description.

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  53. That was scary, Chas. ER’s are not good at night. Mornings are the time to go, as if anyone has any choice in the matter.

    I am very sore and stiff today. There is a lot more clean up left in the yard for me to do. It will be my exercise of the week, by default. Default of my brother, LOL! Very thankful for his strength and stick-to-it-tive-ness. My phone does not find that or similar words acceptable. (See Janice stick out her tongue at her phone.) I have a wicked phone.

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  54. My MIL was like a toddler who doesn’t want to cooperate with anything or anyone. 🙂

    A friend told about her mother, who became non-verbal, but was happy. One thing she delighted in doing was moving the dining room chairs around into different rooms, or stealing off with her husband’s walker. (My friend would hear her father yell, “Hey!” & then hear her mother giggle. 🙂 )

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  55. Many folks with dementia keep the same gentle spirit and wear the same dignity they developed over a lifetime, they just don’t remember things. Like eating or drinking or that they have already had their meds. They need gentle reminders and to be treated with love and dignity and compassion. They may get paranoid or forget their children or whatever, but they are still Image bearers and are a gift from Him to those who serve them.

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  58. Very good sermon and SS and service today. Afterward, there was talk of Idaho (friend’s son & DIL have moved there, just outside Boise, they all love-love-love Idaho …).

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  59. Yes, Mumsee. I was a bit flippant about my MIL being like a toddler, but we were very careful to preserve her dignity as much as possible.

    Many people with various forms of dementia have a change in personality, some for the better, some for the worse. I know of a couple men who were gruff & strict who turned into sweet marshmallows as they descending into dementia, & of nice people who became exceedingly grumpy.

    But what I read about former president Reagan was that his innate courteousness was still intact even as the Alzheimer’s got worse.

    With my MIL, what made it hard for me to chalk her behavior up to “it’s just the disease talking” is that she was quite critical & negative even before she developed Alzheimer’s. (She had a disapproving scowl that was so intimidating!) As we were in the process of moving her down here to live with us, a friend of hers expressed her worry about the situation. I assured her that we would take very good care of Mary, to which she replied, “Oh, I’m not worried about Mary. It’s you I’m worried about!” 🙂

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  60. Sermon this morning noted the rather remarkable growth of Christianity in China of all places, an officially atheist, communist, repressive regime.

    The point was made that no matter how bleak the culture seems, we should know that God is doing a larger work in it all.

    It also was noted that the gospel will always collide with (popular) culture. We will have to get used to being disdained and mocked. Do we have the courage? When we bemoan the eclipse of the west, we are to remember that we are His people. We should not be discouraged by the direction of our culture; God is very probably intending to do something remarkable.

    We are emissaries and ambassadors for God, we are to be salt and light, we are His representatives in the world.

    Whenever we go forth to show kindness, gentleness, mercy, His kingdom advances.

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  62. Chas, my wife says you ought to get hold of a poison control center. number and keep it handy. You can call any time day or night to get advice in a situation like that. They’d tell you if you need to go to the ER.

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  66. Calling her doctor is one of the first thing I’m going to do.
    My major problem at this stage is that I have to oversee every ounce she drinks.
    I can’t keep this up forever.
    She just won’t drink until I push her.
    I tell her that she’s going to get back to the ER.
    None of us want that.
    But I’m calling her Dr. early tomorrow.

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  68. You can’t just sit with her and tell her she needs to drink. Step away and come back in a couple minutes and ask her if she thinks you made this drink correctly, would she taste it for you? Step away and ask her to taste this to see if you fixed it correctly.,, Let her forget she just had something. Ask her to taste this new icecream, this new lemonade, this new tea you just made up. Ask her if this soup broth you fixed seems right to her or if you need to add more of something.

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