Ivory Necklace

My father served in WWII, and brought back several beautiful pieces to my mother, from Iran. This is one of those treasures, hand painted ivory necklace. It's quite long, with four scenes repeating. This is a portion of it. Hard to believe this is 70 years old.

Mom
We're hoping that a new team of specialists will be able to help Mom. We've had so many ups and downs, we just want her to be ok. Thank-you to all for your thoughts and prayers. Our prayers continue for healing and a turn around for her.

God is in Control

After being in surgery for almost 7 hours, Mom is out and in ICU for at least 48 more hours. The surgery didn't go as planned, and because of this, it is going to be a long haul. We are back to square one with finding out what is wrong, and all I can say is please. All the prayers she can have right now will be so appreciated. We don't know where all this will lead. I don't have the energy to go into detail, except to say we need a miracle.
I haven't kept up on my reading, but will get back to all of you soon.
Blessings,
Laurie

Mom Update

The last two weeks have been crazy! Mom is now in U of M hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. My sisters have been back and forth, getting updates from the many drs. and specialists that have gone in and out of her room. Originally, we were told Mom's surgery would be on Saturday, but we don't know where the misinformation came from, as there is so much preparation for this rare surgery. Scopes, electrocardiograms, catscans, etc. have been keeping Mom and her team busy. Yesterday, she finally got the ok for surgery, tomorrow. We will know a more certain time this evening. So please continue the prayers, it will be so good to have this over and Mom home again.
Bless You,
Laurie
Update:
Surgery is scheduled for 9 a.m., had to change from non-evasive. Please heap on some extra prayers, not an easy surgery.

U of M Patient

Mom was transported to University of Michigan Hospital today, for her surgery Saturday. She should be home in a week, good as new. Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated.

Just For Me!!

I LOVE burnt potato chips~since childhood, I've dug through open bags looking for what were the prime chip."Bendy foldy's" and burnt. To me these are the chip of chips! So, it's only natural that the perfect bag of chips would be just that. A burnt potato chip paradise!

Somebody at Bettermade, must have used telepathy to read my mind. Finally! My dream came true!

Bendy foldy burnt chip heaven!! Just look at that beautiful bowl of chip goodness, Slices of potatoes burnt to perfection! Oh thank-you Bettermade! You made my day!!

The Power of Prayer

"Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of thee."

During the past several months, we have watched my mother decline. Loss of appetite, signs of dementia, severe weight loss, forgetfulness, the list goes on. When she ended up in the hospital this time, we prepared ourselves for the inevitable. Mom would be in a nursing home. How would we get through this? Every morning, hoping the nurses could revive her after having her blood sugar dip seriously into danger, even after pumping her full of glucose, and high carb foods. The frailty that became part of her. My feeling was of no hope.
Then, this afternoon, life changed for Mom. Her endocrinologist came in, to reveal the results of her blood work up. "We have an answer!" Words that we longed to hear, but thought were just a dream. Mom has a small non- cancerous tumor on her pancreas, causing insulin to pump constantly into her bloodstream. All the other complications she has been experiencing are the effects of this tumor. And, there is a surgery to correct it! Medication to prepare her for this surgery will be started as soon as it arrives, then to either Mayo Clinic or U of M to one of the few drs. who preform this surgery. Recovery is short, and then? Mom will be perfectly fine and will be able to go home to her apartment!!!
God has truly answered our prayers. And I want to thank each and every one of you, my dear dear friends for your words of encouragement and your prayers. We have our Mom back. Praise God!

Eggstatic!

First, thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement for our family and my mother. We are in for a hard couple months, and all the prayers we can receive are so much appreciated.

Yesterday, in all the confusion of the day, I didn't post that my buff orpington, Bella, laid her first egg!

She was quite restless for some time, she wanted me by her. Whenever I'd walk away from the coop, she'd come to the door clucking at me. I guess her first "birth" was a little frightening to her?

So this is her first triumph! Much smaller than the picture makes it appear, but a nice size for her very first. She was more relaxed today, just went in her nest, deposited her egg, and went about her business. So, two down, eleven to go.