The Rescuers

I remember when I started working for Medtronic, my Dad looked over my benefit information and advised me to make sure I invested in my retirement. We have a couple of options and the company takes very good care of me. As a CFO, he recognized this benefit and told me this was a great job. He was right- it is.

Over the past 18 months we have spent an unbelievable amount of money on medical bills. While America may still have insured health care, mess that it is, there are copays if you want to get things done- especially if you have to make a trip to the ER. So, I have a fairly finite salary, I have two kids who are working, but for minimal wages, and one kid not quite old enough to work who is in school. There just isn't a big revenue stream - which is something LOTS of families are facing right now.

So....little by little the mortgage has slipped behind. A few hundred dollars short one month, then a couple months later the same thing- it has gone on for quite a while. Long enough in fact for the mortgage company to notice, unfortunately. Three weeks ago I got a notice about foreclosure - and I have been sick about it ever since. How will I come up with the back money- will they even let me- will I be packing over Christmas instead of celebrating???? Super fun questions for this season, let me tell you.

I talked to God about this. I always feel a little uncomfortable asking God to help me out of a mess that to some degree, I created, but considering it meant losing or keeping the house, I didn't think I had much choice- so I asked Him to take pity on us- and on Nicole and Charlie who have already lost one home this year. He told me to pay attention- which He says quite often in response to my prayers. So.... I got all of the letters from the mortgage company and the lawyer's office and read through them. Then I filled out every last worksheet I could find from teh lawyer's office and sent it all in - followed up by several phone calls- and I got a dollar figure to work with. Honestly, once the problem is defined, it is a WHOLE lot easier to deal with!

I called a friend who does financial planning- since I can't call my Dad anymore about this stuff, and he suggested that I let the Church help me back- that is still in process. Then I called my mom, and asked her to loan me part of the money- but it is only a loan, meaning I still need to come up with cash to pay her back as I am borrowing from her retirement funds. Then it struck me: I have a retirement fund as well. Dad encouraged me to put a nice chunk of each check in that fund so that I would have "a little something put away". And amazingly enough, we are allowed to take a loan out from that money. Unbelievable. What I thought was a hopeless situation has resolved itself with 8 days to go before Christmas. Hoorah!

I am trying to use the refinancing options- trying to make a long-term fix, though I anticipate that with three months seizureless for us, our days of rampant medical bills should be over. Anyway, I just wanted to express my thanks for my Mom and my dad and my Father in Heaven for watching over me and being there when I needed their help the most. Thanks

72 Degrees on the week of Thanksgiving

There are a lot of cultural things that strike me as odd about living in the South as a transplant- and because I am still here by choice, I will not use this space to fuss about them. I do, however, LOVE the weather here most of the time. In the summer, it is HOT everywhere, Atlanta being no exception. I wish there were a better way to shield me from those 90 degree days than just the plethora of trees surrounding the house, but no other viable options have presented themselves, so AC it is. The fall and winter, though, that is where things here get amazing. Three days until Thanksgiving - an occasion that typically is heralded by snow in Indiana, I laid out in the yard in the sun over the weekend and today, drove with the windows down and the sunroof open - being caressed by the sun.

I put in a crop of garlic and leeks last weekend to grow over the winter. The asparagus is lovely with its delicate ferns covering the patch in my garden, carefully guarded by St Francis.

The mums are still covered in miniature firework bursts and bright-faced pansies will winterover in the pots on my south-facing porch. I have pepper plants growing on the windowsill of my kitchen, just waiting to be put into outside pots this weekend. The same weekend we will decorate the house for Christmas. Can't get over the fact that I plant and put up Christmas decorations in the same week. Not a bad deal at all. Lots of crops do well over the winter including the root vegetables like onions and leeks and carrots. I still have tomotoes ripening on the vine and parsley vivid green along the walk. The fruit trees are just branches now and the blueberries have fiery red leaves disguising them as fire bushes for the remainder of the season.

Like nearly every person in the US right now, money is tight, but we have been blessed with a lovely piece of land, a little garden to sustain us and a ton of Ball jars filled with the bounty from this year. There is enough fallen wood to build a skyscraper and if I handle it right, I should be able to have firewood for the bonfire for months to come- now if I could only figure out a way to get a fireplace in my house - I really miss that - and it seems a waste not to have one with so much wood fallen about. But that is another story all together.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for a full pantry, and enough money to pay my bills.

AMAZING- BREAK THE RECORD DAY!!!

It is with a humble heart that I tell you that today is BREAK THE RECORD DAY!!!!

We went to Cleveland Clinic 6 weeks ago, and as of TODAY Jake has gone over 6 weeks without a seizure-breaking our previous record which was 1 day short of 6 weeks. His medication is working! We are well on our way to the 52 weeks that he needs to get his learner's permit - which in his view as a nearly 16-year old, is probably the most important thing ever.

Cannot begin to express how very thankful I am. Honestly, I can tell you that this is not my best literary work because I am just to darn elated to worry much about how it sounds. The happiness feels like it is pouring out of my fingers and the grin on my face like a Roman Candle on the Fourth of July!!! Lord help the souls I see today, I am giddy as a schoolgirl and will be intolerably happy ALL DAY.

I am eternally thankful that the Lord has kept His promise when He said He had plans for us,plans to prosper and not to harm us. I am thankful that He still loved us when I lost it there in the hospital room and said some choice words to Him. Forgiveness is a powerful entity. I am soooo thankful to those who have prayed for us- complete strangers who lifted Jake up to Our Father in prayer, asking for healing. Thankful for the man, whose name I don't even know, who told his Rosary Group that he was praying for a total healing for Jake-his prayers are being answered. Thankful for those people who thought of us, sent us notes, gave us hope and something to believe in when it didn't seem like there was much to be thankful for.

I am thankful that He has seen fit to allow us to start back to a normal life again- a life without the fear that totally without warning, Jake will plummet to the floor and start seizing. We have lived with almost 2 years of unpredictable seizures, having the confidence that he can make it more than half an hour without us checking on him has been so liberating for everyone in my household. I cannot express the joy and hope that come along with seeing him thrive and actively work on getting his life back to a NORMAL teenager's life.

In celebration, we are headed to the Golden Corrall for dinner- for those of you NOT hosting teenaged boys in your house, it is an all you can eat buffett with tons of good food - and lots of desserts that I just don't keep here in the house- so Jake will be in Heaven.

It was that nagging voice in the back of my head, which is the Holy Spirit at work, which prompted me to take him to Cleveland, spending money we didn't have to get there. And as usual, the Holy Spirit provided understanding of the situation and a clarity that I didn't posess.

I am so extraordinarily blessed to have Jake as my son. His gentle spirit and willingness to help just astounds me. Sure he has normal teenaged moments, but overall, he is just a joy.

He has decided that he would like to go back to High school now, a big shift in plans as we have been preparing him to take his GED in a couple of months. He wants to play football- The Replacements, The Blind Side and about a dozen other football movies have occupied his attention of late- and at 6'3" 260# it seems like a great outlet for him.

However this whole epilepsy situation plays out long-term, I for one am thankful that for today, we are seizure free for 6 weeks! Thank you, Lord from that place in my heart that You know is true.

Coasting

The great experiment which involved telling all of the adults in this house that they had to have a job or be going to school as of October 1st has been a grand success.

Now I will digress for just a moment to say that the whole idea of having to put my children out without employment and taking the car and cell phones, thus eliminating their ability to get a job- was entirely a possibility - and the whole idea of it made me physically ill to think about. But good parenting means that you have to push sometimes - and the gentle pressure applied at the right location has worked.

Josh actually got 2 job offers today - and he was genuinely pleased about it. It was amazing to see the pride on his face when he realized he was awash in job offers. I am still pushing for him to be in school in January - but that is a battle for another day - today I am just happy for him.

Nicole got an offer last week for something that was okay, but seasonal- and today she got an offer from Home Depot - solid and with possibilities. A great blessing and a new beginning to start her life over again.

My brother has been working steadily doing odd jobs, but got a regular position a couple of weeks ago - and a raise just today.

And Jerra -will not be getting a job just now - she has about 60-days of work to finish her beautician's license and since that is where her talent is, I have asked her to go back full time so that she can graduate and make a lot of money doing what she is good at.

Mostly, I just wanted to post about how very pleased I am that God gave me the grace to push - that He helped me not back down when I wanted to - and that the jobs became available before my deadline - which is in less than 48 hours - allowing all of them to keep their dignity.

So thank you thank you thank you.

Quiet

It is almost 11 and the room is dark.  We saw doctors and nurse practitioners and assorted EEG and EKG techs as well as a slieu of nurses to start this journey - and frankly, I am tired.

Jake was so intrigued by the sheer number of people in and out of our room that he started trying to call them all by name - something I am woefully inadequate at doing - and when he couldn't remember the names, he would just wave.  He had a blast and the staff is really taken with him.

We went down to breakfast at the Ronald McDonald house and amazingly, the one other family from Georgia happened to be down there.  I talked to the mom for a long time and when I get back over there I'll add her to FB and we can correspond.  We have had a lot of the same experiences with providers in the Atlanta area, and we are seeing the same docs here.  Her daughter has epilepsy as well and just had the sutgery to eliminate her seizures.   She told me to keep the room  - and since I don't believe in coincidences and I was looking for an answer to that question, I took the advice and kept the room.  It will give me solice for the next couple of days so that I can go and take a shower in peace.  The house is only 5 minutes away on foot - and I really loved the gardens.

Jake is wrapped up in his red blanket - the one I bought for him when we moved back to Lafayette 11 years ago - he said it was a necessity and 10 minutes after I covered him up, he was breathing that soft rhythmic sound of peaceful sleep.

Tonight I am focusing on the gift of good friends.  I have had so many notes, so many texts and phone calls with offers to help and to keep us in prayer.  This is such a blessing and I want to just be grateful for those people who stepped up.   What a gift they are to the soul.

Treasure...

Did you ever have something in your hand that you thought was not very valuable, only to discover that it was real and valuable?I have gotten kitchen gadgets and jewelery before thinking they were cute or ingenious, and later discovered that they were far more valuable than I had originally estimated.  I find that with people sometimes.   I'll meet someone and think they are interesting and down the line, I find their companionship and counsel invaluable. Sometimes the most mundane of circumstances produce the people who will make up your friends for the rest of your life- and it is a joyful surprise. You just never know.   Have you had it in reverse: where you thought something or someone was incredibly valuable and that you couldn't live without it or them, only to find that you got along just fine after they were gone. I don't miss my dishwasher at all- and I thought I had to have one to survive.  Turns out, you don't.

As a little girl I was always fascinated with the story of the man who had a huge harvest and was planning how to store it when God took his life from him that same night.  This story quite frankly, scares me a little. As though the minute things were going well for the man - poof - he was gone.We seem to stay so very focused on monetary wealth, on what we have, what we want, what we would get if we had a million dollars...you get the picture. It always surprises me that we value each other much less than we value our things.  A big screen TV does not hold you through a long night, an iPod doesn't bring you meals after you come home from the hospital, a new car doesn't stop to ask if you need help with the yardwork.  I know these are obvious examples, but the most glaring thing about the story of the man is that he was planning ways to provide comfort to himself with all of his wealth.  There was no mention of what he would give to widows or orphans or his good-for-nothing brother or anyone.  It occurs to me that this may be the reason that his life was taken: his laser-focus on his owncomfort without thought to sharing the wealth with others.  Maybe this is the difference between wealth which is shared with others and is a blessing versus wealth that overtakes a person's life because they are struggling to keep it to themselves.

I have not had to worry much about wealth as an entity.  Probably a good thing.  I think people are more valuable than things- though I do like having a car, using it to see my friends and patients is it's more important purpose.  The most important thing we can do is to let others know just how important they are, how valued they are, flaws and all, and how much we appreciate them in our lives.  So today, if there is someone you should thank -take the time and do it!