Jesus Came....

Jesus came.  It was in the plan all along.  It was not a surprise to Him that He was born to die on a cross.  He did not just look at the wicked people around Him.  He saw the evil in man long before that...and far ahead to you and I and even beyond that.  And still Jesus came.
Let this day be a day of rejoicing in that fact alone.  JESUS CAME!!  He came to redeem us, give us hope, save us from the wrath of God to come, and lead us to eternal life.  God's only Son came.
So, in the midst of your day - whether you sit in traffic or stand in a line at the store, whether you are doing laundry or caring for the elderly...Rejoice!! Jesus came to offer peace, joy, love, and salvation to a world that desperately needs it. He came!

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Merry Christmas!!

A Little Bit of Christmas

Tommy has been in St. Luke's for six days as I write this.  (By the time it goes on my blog, we better be home. That's all I can say.)  It costs a fortune to park, so I stay the limit...my limit, not theirs.  Usually I am there for eight hours.  Then I leave him to the nurses' care.  I feel like I come in as fresh as a daisy and leave looking like I scrub floors for a living.  Not that I am complaining, but...I am.  Sorry.
Anyway, I have discovered that Christmas is still going on in the world.  I am glad about that, but it's been hard to find that elusive spirit.  However I saw it when I least expected it.  On the tree by the elevators.

There were pieces of paper pushed into the greenery with Santa letters written on them.

On my way to the lobby, I passed Mc Donalds and decided to get an ice cream.  And then changed my mind.

All I wanted was a cup of ice cream...but not that badly.

This is the best picture of Christmas...the only one that counts.
Thank you, Jesus for coming to redeem us!

Luke 2:11-12   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Merry Christmas!!

Clones in the Hallway

Tommy has had to take his walks on his floor of the hospital while clinging to this metal thingy that is keeping him alive.  Well, not really alive, but if anyone tries to take that morphine pump, my money is on the man with the big cut in his gut.
I see others walking, too, slowly moving, slightly bent, and grimacing as they say hello in passing. It's like creatures from another planet...men and women all dressed in blue...holding on to a contraption with tubes, wires, and bags of liquid.  Every now and then they will nod and say, "It gets better."
Today as we passed a man coming our way, Tommy challenged him to a race.  Nice.  Can you see it? Give me that morphine bag.
The man said, "Tomorrow" and kept going.

Merry Christmas!!

Pictures On The Wall

When we arrived in Tommy's hospital room on the 15th floor, he noticed a picture of a fluffy cat hanging on the wall and commented on it.  (He usually would not notice anything like that, so I am blaming it on the morphine.)
The next day, a woman dressed for the holidays in a green tie with candy canes on it and wearing ornaments for earrings came into the room and asked us if we would like our picture replaced or if we were happy with it.
Tommy quickly said, "Whatever is fine."
I asked her what our choices were.
She said, "I have several for you to choose from" and disappeared taking the cat picture with her.
Soon she was back with two prints - a man holding a dog, and a huddled football team. (She let me know that it was a picture of Peyton Manning.)  I smiled. I mean really. Who can get enough football?  So, yes, let's put Peyton Manning on the wall.  If you have seen one team in a huddle, you've seen them all in my opinion, but Tommy said yes to that one.
We said goodbye to the 'man with the dog' and the volunteer that came with it.  But I followed her out into the hall and she asked me if I would like to see a picture of her cat.  I said, "Of course."
She thumbed through the frames and pulled up a print of her black cat, 'Stretchy.'  She had taken a picture of her cat and added it to the pictures that hang in the rooms.
This woman gives her time freely to go from room to room and ask people what they would like to look at during their stay at St. Luke's.  She is in charge of two floors.  I love her.
Stretchy will probably find his place on a wall down the hall...at least for a few days.  Meanwhile, we have to...I mean get to look at Peyton in a huddle.

The cat we said goodbye to.

Stretchy

We said goodbye to him, too.

Ah, yes. Peyton. Little does he know, he replaced a cat in a hospital room.

Merry Christmas!

Cuts and Staples and Recovery Antics

I have never seen Tommy come out of surgery, or be on pain meds, or any other mind numbing substance. He was quite entertaining...and annoying.  His surgery lasted four hours.  I did not get to see him until late afternoon.  When I did, he was glassy-eyed, but wide awake.  As I walked into recovery, he was asking the nurse her name.
Nurse:  I done told you eight times.  My name is Brenda.
Tommy: Ok. Brenda. Got it.
Nurse Brenda: You look like that movie star. (She looked at me and said, "You know who I'm talking about.") (I did not.)
She then said to him, "I need to scan your arm."
Tommy:  Nope
She looked at me again. I whispered, "Sorry."
Nurse Brenda:  Mr. Dahn, I am going to scan your arm.
Tommy:  Nope.
Another nurse walked in and told a story about a woman who thought she was married to Denzel Washington when she came out of surgery.
Tommy:  Is that who I look like?
Nurse Brenda:  No. Wait. You look like that guy on Lost!  You look just like him!

I had to admit that it was true.  He has been told that before.
After I left, Brenda pulled out her computer and they looked up movie stars together.

The days following proved to be less than humorous - in fact, anything but.  Life is just a blast sometimes.  Keep your sense of humor.  You will need it.

Merry Christmas!!

'Twas The Night Before Surgery...

Tommy recently underwent surgery.  On the night before, we went to watch grandson Luke practice basketball.  His team are the Minute Men.  He said that was cool and then asked me what a minute man was.  The Revolutionary War explanation seem to please him and again he said, "Cool."
On the sidelines, Shannon and I were telling Bella about Grampy's surgery the next day.
Bella listened without saying a word.
Me:  The doctor will probably cut him.
Shannon: And then he use staples to close him back together.
Me: Or he will stitch him up.
Shannon:  Kind of like sewing.
Me: Yes, Bella...it's kind of like a craft day for doctors.
She nodded her head.
The next morning we went to Doctor Craft Day at St. Luke's.
I have several more posts to share with you about our hospital adventure.

Merry Christmas!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - in Mabee Theatre

Tommy and I took Luke, Emma, and Bella to a play put on by an HBU homeschool theatre group. Josh Brown, who attends our church, was Mr. Beaver in the production.  It was thoroughly delightful.

Emma and Katie Brown

Josh

Our friend Madi was there, too!

I leave you with Dennis Brown and Luke - hijinks!

Me and Aubs

Aubrey is my niece.  My sister-in-law sings in the ensemble at church.  While they practice, the kids wait patiently in the pews, attentively listening to their parents.  I am kidding.  They run around like wild banshees, like...kids.  Anyway, I was on my way out to the car and decided to pop in and enjoy the music for a moment. Aubrey wandered in, too.
Remembering that I had some Christmas stickers in my bible, I pulled them out and handed them to her.  I also had a dinosaur paper.  She enjoyed dressing the dinosaur in red and green joy.  I try to keep stickers of some sort in my bible because you never know when a child just can't listen to Tommy's preaching anymore. They get wiggly and whiney.  Stickers fix the problem every time. (I've seen an adult or two in that state as well.)
So, Aubs and I shared a few moments together and then she was off with paper in hand.
Spend some time with a child or two.  Moments count...for them...for you.

Merry Christmas!!

Open House

We finally had our Open House at church after almost a year.  There was much work to do in order to get to this point.  We are thankful that things are finally finished...not perfect...but finished for now.
(When is a building ever perfectly finished?)  Kind of like a freeway being finished.  Or not.
We did not have a huge turnout from the neighborhood, but fun was had by all who attended.  See?

That's Marlon with his hands in the air.  He is afraid he would go unnoticed.  Never.

The Wilmore girls.  Their dad is on the International Space Station.

This is Karen.  She belongs to Marlon.

One of those random things...

And I leave you with these cheetos...on the ground.  And....Merry Christmas!