Ok I am still around. The last two weeks have been very busy. My father-in-law is home but has a long recovery ahead of him yet. They discovered on Mon after his surgery that he has congestive heart failure so he is on water pills to help with that. This past Sat he had a light stroke which has affected his right side. I was there several times this week and it has affected his speech some but you can still visit with him.
Otherwise we are doing well and staying busy. We have quite a bit lined up to do this next week so stay tuned for updates. Today I need to get a few groceries and then I need to sew as fast as I can. I have not sewed for two weeks and in turn, no paycheck!
The big news is last. My sister Rachel is getting married in Dec. so just in case we thought we were bored this summer, that gives us something to think about.

What a difference a day can make! They moved my father-in-law out of ICU and he is doing very well. He is allowed clear liquids and is wanting a lot of them. I could hardly believe how well he looked when I got to the hospital at noon. They put him in his room around 2:30 which was great. The girls were not allowed in ICU and they thought it was not fair that the nurse wouldn't let them in to see grandpa. Once he was moved they both made a beeline for his room to see him. I think that really brightened his day. Continue to pray for healing as the danger of infection is not totally past yet.
It has been very hot and dry. I have been watering garden and flower beds almost every day for a week. We need some rain badly as some corn in the fields is starting to curl. I don't mind the watering but the yard is totally brown and I don't water the yard. I hear something calling me, OH it is my bed. Better go check it out.

The Lord is the Master healer!! We went through some very emotional times this morning with my father-in-law. He was scheduled for gallbladder surgey at 8:00. When we got to the hospital his blood pressure was very high again so they gave him some meds to try to lower it. They did not take hold so they decided to take the risk that it was high from infection. The surgery was supposed to last 1 hour but lasted nearly 2 because of complications. When they made the first incision, it began to discharge pus, a sign of serious infection. They had to put a tube into the incision to keep it draining, it will need to be in for several days. They also have him in ICU for at least one day. We are hoping he can come home by Monday. We are so thankful that he is still with us. The doctor said if it had been much longer his gallbladder could have burst from all the inflamation and infection and that would have poisoned him. Keep praying for him and us as a family that we can be strong and stay healthy as well. It is very emotionally and physically draining not knowing for sure what to expect next. There is also a risk of infection for trying to clean out all the infection and such. I trust God will heal him so we can bring him home soon.

What a difference a day can make. The last few weeks have been so busy I have to take time to breathe. I have been very busy sewing for several upcoming shows. The girls have really enjoyed being able to play outside and get lots of fresh air and dirt by evening. Last Friday, Maria (2) stuck a piece of colored pencil up her nose. It was the twist up kind so it was approx. 1/4" across and about 1/2" long. We tried for a while to get it out and finally took her to a freinds house to get it out. Our tweezer that we were using did not have the grips on them so it just slipped off. Our friend works in the doctor's office and has a scissors they use to tie stitches. It took 2 of us to hold her down to safely extract the color. She really fought but as soon as it was out she was very happy and singing shortly thereafter. On Sat evening they took my father-in-law (80) to the ER with lots of pain. They did a bunch of tests and decided to remove his gall bladder which seemed to be te problem. He was scheduled for Mon morn but cancelled since he had infection on his bronical and was coughing a lot. We are going to see the doctor tomorrow then hopefully they can still do his surgery this week. It has caused a lot of not knowing for us as a family. Pray that we can be patient in this and grow closer. It has really been hard on my mother-in -law since this is the first time in 58 years of marriage that they have faced something of this sort. I need to go along to bed so I can function tomorrow. I want to clean the flower beds before I have to take my father-in-law to the doctor. I am trying to make the best of each oppertunity to spend time with my in-laws. They are wonderful and I love them dearly. Mom is 85 so it doesn't always go the best for them to do things or they need or want to do. Keep praying for us as we deal with each situation.

Good morning to all of you! We had some rain overnight, not a lot but enough to settle the dust. It has been so busy the last few weeks I thought I should take a day off. Actually I am trying to clean up the house so it looks close to presentable for anyone to enter. I got 2 of the kitchen counters cleared and it looks a lot better. I want to finish the kitchen then hit the sewing room with a bang.I want to do some rearranging in the sewing room but it needs to be cleaned up first. I have the card table well, loaded with stuff to be put away. I have a smaller table that I wasnt to put where we had the fax machine and then not use the card table. I also want to get the tank filled for the grill so we can grill this weekend if we want. I have some meat here to grill but no gas to do it with. We are going away for supper tonight so I am making vegtable pizza to take along. Tomorrow I will be working at the Farmer's Market since Rachel is going to PA for the weekend. I really enjoy it even if it is a long day. I try to be up by 2:30 so I can shower, pick up the van and Ben by 3:30. Then we have to load thebaked goods on the van and be in South Bend by 5:00. It takes close to an hour to get to South Bend. The market then closes at 3 so it is often 4:30 or so until we get back to the bakery. It is fun to do something like that for a change but I would not want to do it every week with children. I usually try to find a sitter so LaVern can do his errands easier. Well, if I want to get my list done I need to keep moving on.