~Random Thoughts~

Surgery ~ orthopedic at that and dogs do not go hand in hand. Ripley will be 4 in July. Five weeks ago he had surgery on his elbow. How in the world do you keep a dog calm for 8 weeks? It has been a challenge! He doesn't understand that he is to remain calm for this length of time. This means no jumping on furniture and no running. Actually it means no doing anything for him. This little fellow had a congenital defect where one of his bones didn't grow properly and would pop out of place quite frequently. We still have 3 weeks to go and then after that I think we still have to be very careful. He's such a sweet dog and so loving. My heart goes out to him as he doesn't understand all the changes and he seems to be having a tough time lately. I'm hoping that all is well as this was a tricky surgery and one that is difficult to get good results.

I spent much of the day with my sister yesterday after finally cleaning house. Housework doesn't seem as important any more as it is to spend time with family and friends. However, the last few months has been quite busy with research and such that housework wasn't a priority. Oh, it would get cleaned, but in stages. Yesterday was an over haul housecleaning morning. So after cleaning I arranged to get Jan out of the house for a bit. It was a nice day, so we did some shopping. I'm so thankful that she felt good as it has seemed getting started on the meds has been an ordeal.

Today after church I spent time with a friend and her daughter. Emma is almost 3. She is adopted from China. I wish I had as much energy as she does. It's nice to spend time with friends. I keep in close contact with good friend, however there hasn't been a lot of time to do normal things lately.

I'm so ready for spring. It reminds us of our blessings. With spring come longer days, flowers, more sun and just an overall reminder of how good God is.

We are trusting at this new season, a time of renewed strength and hope in our God. We are praying for good results this week for Jan, as well as peace of mind. With so many family and friends walking this journey with us, we have felt a peace like only what God can provide. This comes from prayer. We are thankful that we have a God that we can go to at any time with anything.

Believers have a major advantage in life -- they can turn to God for wisdom and help.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5