Alex

Well, the little guy has a severe ear infection and now has a tube in his ear. He has lost 25% of his total weight even though he's been eating. We're trying to take good care of him. We return to the vet on wednesday to remove the tube.

Another surgery? Really?

Alex's swollen ear called for yet another surgery. I've inadvertantly neglected an ear infection causing a hematoma. I feel terrible the little guy is having to go through this because of me. I'm calling as soon as the office opens tomorrow to check on him. I've not heard anything yet. Dr Jack assured me they would take good care of him.

Well...

Last week I had to get a DMX to see if there are any changes in my spine injury. Doc said if he saw anything that appeared to be worse he'd request a specific MRI to look more closely. I truly thought it wouldn't come to that, however, I received the call this morning that I've been scheduled for an MRI this wednesday. I don't know that it'll confirm progression or not, either way I'll be o.k. about it.
Steven and I are excited about the financial ministry at church. We've been a part in planning the upcoming seminar, hoping that would whet the appetite of our people to not give up and to sign up for the class coming in January. I've enjoyed being a part of this and I look forward to what God will do through this ministry. I firmly believe it is urgent that we take seriously our walk with God. Pastor Hagee's prophetic messages further convince me that these are the last days. I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.

America Owes Who?

Reading the Sunday paper I ran across an interesting article "Who America Owes". This list bothered me for two reasons. First, our leaders, not just one president either, have ran our nation into the ground. We are supposedly the world's leader- a superpower. Yet, our government overspends and doesn't care what tragedies that cause. Don't say it can't be done without debt! The Mayor of Mississigua, Canada runs her city without debt- so can we. It's a matter of self-control and accountable congressmen. Secondly, this article bothers me because some of the nations that own U.S. debt don't like us and we are positioning ourselves to be ripe for destruction. Here's the list on the countries that own the most U.S. debt:
Japan $585.9 billion
China $541 billion
United Kingdom $307.4 billion
OPEC nations* $179.8 billion
Caribbean banking centers $147.7 billion

*OPEC include: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela.

Contact your congressman and tell him or her that you want to drill for oil here and start developing wind, solar, nuclear power.

Gift

Friends, Steve and Judy blessed Steven with a 4-wheeler! Steven is really enjoying it. He used it to haul stuff down for the hay ride and also to carry his chainsaw to cut up the tree that fell on the other side of the property. He'll enjoy this gift immensely.

hay ride

We held our second annual hay ride and it was great. We had about 50 people over for a hot dog & marshmallow roast, hike, and hay ride. It was a cold day so the hot cider and cocoa really hit the spot! The kids enjoyed finding walking sticks in the woods and playing outside. We gave glow bracelets out after dark. The kids loved them and it was much easier to keep an eye on them. It is a blessing to have so many friends in our lives.

Looking for mice in the hay

Bee Trauma

Our strongest bee hive disappeared in one week. They abandoned the hive. We are perplexed and disappointed. Steven has sent an email to a state level "bee guy" to have him examine the hive and see if it is safe to extract the honey left behind.