PRAYER REQUEST!!

Please!! Pray for my mom. Her leg (same one as the knee replacement) was swollen today, and then her temp. went up. She's on the way back to the hospital (the therapy center totally dropped the ball and did not do a test that the doctor ordered for her!!! GRRR!) for tests and more recovery. Please, please pray!

Storms and the Calm

I'll be blogging in more detail later, but things have been a little stormy around our home lately. We're looking into some changes to make to help calm our passage as we get through our Total Money Makeover plan.

I'll give more details when I can, but in the meantime, if you could please pray for our family - that we'll be open to God's will and His guidance - it would be appreciated.

Update

Thank you to everyone who prayed for Travel Man's grandmother.  She came through surgery fine, and is on her way home today for her six to seven week recovery there.  She is back on solid food again (after a few days with an NG tube), and, God willing, she'll make a complete recovery.

Thank you again for praying for her!

Urgent Prayer Request!!

Travel Man's grandmother (who is 90) is undergoing surgery today to remove a tumor. Please pray for her, her family (including her 90 year old husband!), and her surgical team.

Thank you, and God bless you.

PRAYER REQUEST

Big Girl took a big tumble off her bike today, and seems to be okay.  But please pray for her, anyway.  Right now, our adrenaline is running high, and, for her, it might mask some pains, and I've impressed upon her that she needs to let me know if she feels sore or hurt, even much later.  

But I nearly threw up, it was so scary.  She isn't even scratched up much, but I'll be watching her closely for the next couple of days.

And she's going to keep her feet on her bicycle pedals from now on, as well as watch her speed down hills.  (No it wasn't over the front of her handlebars.)

Prayers for the Dubruiel Family

I feel terrible for Amy Welborn.  I don't know what I'd do without Travel Man, and my heartfelt prayers go out to her and to her family, and especially for the repose of Michael's soul.  

May the Mother of God be with you and keep you protected under her mantle.

Prayers, Please

I read this earlier today, but didn't post about it. But please pray for Father Neuhaus; he may be near death today.

Morning Prayer

This morning, as I got up, Travel Man looked out the window and said, "What are those trucks in the neighbor's driveway?"

Across the street, there were lights on two large vehicles.  Pulling the curtains aside revealed that one is a fire truck and one, an ambulance.  We said a prayer for our across-the-street neighbor, but about ten minutes ago, they brought out someone on a stretcher and put him (her?) into the ambulance.  The ambulance has not moved, and Travel Man said that he was pretty sure it was someone covered head-to-toe.

Still no sign of the ambulance going anywhere, and there is also no activity near the fire truck.  

So, say a prayer for whoever that was.  I only met the older couple in that house once, though they were nice enough.  Mostly, they just keep to themselves.  

OH!  As I typed the last sentence, the ambulance turned on its lights and drove away.  Maybe - just maybe - that someone on the stretcher was just bundled very well against the cold morning.  The fire truck also just pulled away.

Dark and quiet out there again.

A Special Intention

A friend of mine is going through a very tough divorce, and needs special prayers at this time.  Please also pray for her husband, as well.  She's a homeschooling mother of seven, and things are not going very well for her and the kids right now.

No other details, but please, please, please, remember a special intention for her husband.  It's very important to pray for his intention.

Thanks.

Big Night for Little Girl

Tonight is Little Girl's First Confession.  She is really nervous about speaking to the priest (she is incredibly shy around adults), but is looking forward to being forgiven.  Unfortunately, children making their first Confession at our parish do not have the option of an anonymous Confession; they must make a face-to-face Confession.  I sincerely wish that they weren't forced into that (not to mention that it would make it easier for me to partake of the Sacrament tonight if I could go into the Confessional - er, Reconciliation Room - and sit behind a screen).  I know Little Girl is probably more nervous because of the face-to-face nature of the whole thing, as well.  

If I were a better parent, I would have advocated three years ago for an "in the box" Confession option at the First Reconciliation Service.  I'll have to make the suggestion to the DRE for elementary kids for future years.  Honestly, if I'd been away for years (and I have been, at times), I'd be hard-pressed to sit face-to-face with a priest.  I'm nervous enough as it is!  I am completely flustered when I can't be behind the screen!  (And, yeah, I miss the box.  Everyone seems to make fun of it these days, but I like the box, thankyouverymuch!)

Besides, the children actually have the right to an anonymous Confession.

Anyway, I have a page set up with her examination of conscience and a small card with the Act of Contrition (what the religious ed. department here would call the "adult version") for her to bring tonight.  And I'll be praying for her.  Bunches.  If you could, please send up a prayer for her, too.  It's not easy for a shy child to talk to grown-ups.

Request for Prayers

Please pray for the Martins.  (And stop by Christina's blog and look for that button if you can spare it.)

Prayer Request

Ten years ago this morning, soon-to-be Soccer Dad and I were sleeping late.  I was due the next day, and he'd arranged to take a week off around my due date.  (Silly us!  Planning like that!)

That morning, we got a phone call from my mother in law to tell us that Soccer Dad's father had passed away from cancer.  

Please, if you are the kind who does so, say a prayer on his behalf.  If you'd rather, you can also say a prayer for Soccer Dad, his brother, and his mother.  

It's really hard to believe it's been ten years.  

Pass the Word...

...and help if you can.

Roanoke Cop finds for us an example of why he eats at cruddy Subways and places where he can see his food made for him.  Some people are total slimebags and cowards.

Seriously, this man's family needs help.  Pass it on, too.  I've only got six readers!  ;)


(UPDATE:  Sorry, forgot the link to the explanation!  All fixed now!)

Important Prayer Request

Please keep my aunt (the one who paints the icons*) in your prayers.  She is okay now, but was in a very serious accident at the beach and will be having a very long and painful recovery.  She had surgery yesterday (the last of the really scary stuff), and did well.  Our family had prayed that the doctors' hands would be guided by the Lord, and the Lord delivered for us.  (Alleluia!)  But now the hard stuff begins.


*Note: I updated that icon post from last week to fix the problem with the pictures.  I finally realzied that I was trying to post the pictures from my logged-in address rather than the public gallery I have set up.  Sorry!  But please do go look at them.  Her icons are really beautiful!

Non-Official Update

My father has spoken to his brothers recently, and his older brother just finished up a visit to their sister (my aunt, who has cancer). My uncle tells us that her days seem to be few, and that she is slipping very quickly.

Please pray for her, most of all, and my grandmother, as well. (I think my grandma is still in Texas with her only daughter.) Also, please keep all the "boys" of the family - her five brothers - in your prayers, as well. My own father is traveling to Texas next week for a one-day visit with her, and my prayers for his trip are that he arrives in time. This is a very difficult time for everyone, and your prayers are not only appreciated, but the effects of them are felt, as well.

Thank you in advance.





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Saint Joseph, Patron of a Happy Death, Pray for Us

I have actually known this for a few days (since Thursday?), but since my grandma hadn't been told yet, I had to hold off putting it on my blog since she has a bookmark for it.

This is the most recent update from my family in Texas. My mother forwarded this to me, so it is her "piecing together" below.

************************

Howdy, everyone.

How do I write this note? I guess I just start...

We are home from the hospital. Our oncologist said that B****'s latest health turn, especially the blood clots in her lungs, is a real setback to her health and to her ability to withstand further cancer treatment. He recommended focusing on making her as comfortable as possible.

We will be assisted in this regard by Hospice ************. We have heard wonderful things about them and from our experience so far the compliments are well-deserved. B**** is not in any pain but she is usually very tired and so she spends the better part of the day snoozing. She's on oxygen and, along with other medication, is now receiving daily injections of Lovenox to prevent formation of further blood clots.

We were not given an an estimate as to the possible time line of the hospice phase. God, I hate euphemisms, but they sometimes hurt less than calling a spade a spade.

Until my next health update, I just want you all to know how much we treasure each and every one of you. Your love and your prayers and support for all of us through this whole experience have been like uplifting air currents, supporting our wings when we find ourselves sinking under the physical, mental, and emotional weight. How do people deal with such illnesses without faith, family, and friends? I don't know, but I do know that we are blessed to have all three.

God bless you all. Hug and kiss one another. No matter what else is going on, it's a wonderful day when you're in the company of those you love.

Love, B*****, B*******, and the boys


************** Part Two.. about visiting... This was a separate email, but I have combined them. ************

Hi, all.

In order to minimize tiring B****** out and adding to her stress level, we hope that those of you who would like to visit us soon will try to keep your visit with B****** relatively brief. As it is now, much of her day is spent asleep. I think that visits that exceed an afternoon or maybe the better part of the day would be too taxing for her.

Also, I think it would be better for her and for you if visits were "intimate", i.e., without too many visitors at a time. For those of you who would like to travel in two's, I think that would be fine, but if we have a crowd here I think it'll just wear her out. Besides, I would think that you would like your time together to be intimate, to allow you to reminisce and share your love without an audience. To help accomplish this, I've asked S*** and K**** [ed: oldest son and his wife] to act as the primary points of contact in order to coordinate who's visiting when. Their contact info is:

S**** phone: ***-***-****
K**** phone: ***-***-****

S***** email: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
K***** email: xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx

For those of you who would like to grab a hotel room locally, I'm sure that S&K can assist in your selection if your Internet search leaves you with more choices than you can figure out. I think the best "local" places to stay are in the ****** area. Our mailing address says "******" but ******* is an old, small town that's on the decline. ******* is about 30 min away from our home.

One thought on staying locally... the only times it's hard to get hotel rooms in the **********[nearby college] area are during home football game weekends and during graduation. The [college] website says that graduation will be held from May 8-10. If you try to stay locally over that weekend you will find a reduced selection of hotel rooms and probably higher prices. I'm not saying you should not come then, but you should start checking for available rooms now if that weekend works best for you.

Let me/S****/K**** know if you have any questions.

Love, B*********

************************************

I ask you once again, dear friends, to please pray for my family. I feel as though I've asked again and again, but I just know that they need prayers. My aunt is the fourth of six children, the only girl in her family. My father prayed to the Blessed Virgin for a sister the very year she was born. My grandmother delighted in her only daughter, who was named for her in deference to my grandfather's wishes. (I actually named Big Girl the name my grandmother wanted for my aunt, and her middle name is that of my grandmother and aunt.) Her big brothers loved on her and her little brothers looked up to her. I named her my "uncle," thinking that since Daddy had all brothers (save this one sister) and Mommy had all sisters, Daddy's siblings must be uncles as Mommy's are aunts. Though I figured out the truth by the time I was six, she loved being "uncle" so much that she requested that I call her by that name. "Okay, as long as you know you're really my aunt," I said. To this day, she is my Uncle Aunt, and my children and my sister's children all call her uncle, too. (This unusual name was the cause of some very interesting conversations, such as the time when my father called my college dorm and left a message that my uncle had a baby boy; my roommate had no sense of humor and just didn't get it, even after the explanation.) My aunt just turned 53 this December after welcoming her first grandchild into the world in September. This is so difficult for their family, too. Two sons still live at home and are in the local Catholic high school.

Please keep them all in your prayers.

Thank you and God bless you.






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Stupid Court Tricks

What kind of judicial system does Virginia have when fidelity is done last of all in a divorce proceeding and they decide custody and child support FIRST? This means an abusive spouse, or an addicted spouse, or an unfaithful spouse can wind up with custody of the children while the one who was abused or put up with the addictions or was left behind without monetary support has to suffer even more as well as lose the children to the unfaithful spouse! What total rot that is!!

Please pray for my friend and her children - they are going to court again next week, and things are very, very tense. And please pray that her husband has a conversion and a change of heart. He needs prayers quite desperately, and praying for him is one of the hardest things to do right now.

Saint Monica, pray for us!

Saint Rita, pray for us!

Saint Jude, pray for us!

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Saint Michael the Archangel, protect us!

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Father Corapi is Ill

Mark Shea has a little more, though not much. Please keep him in your prayers.




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More Prayers, Please!

I asked a while ago for prayers because I was writing to my bishop. I have received a response and am now waiting for the fallout from it. The bishop received our letter and forwarded everything back to the person in question, who has been asked to respond and copy His Excellency. Things might not go well, but I feel like I've done what is right.

Anyway, please say a prayer for this intention, as vague as it might be. Thank you.






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Update from Texas

As I mentioned earlier in the week, our family needed prayers. The special intention was for (is for) my aunt and uncle in Texas. I received an "unofficial" update, which had not been passed on to the rest of the family yet (especially my grandmother), and I didn't want to post it until I knew my grandma heard the news. (While I don't think she comes by the blog much at all, it is bookmarked on her computer, so if she did click by, I didn't want her to see the news here.)

Here is the latest update from my family in Texas. Thank you for praying for them, and thank you for continuing to pray for them.

**************

Howdy, all.

We had our visit to MD Anderson this past Tuesday, as scheduled. The news on the recent MRI was not great and so we are going to change to a different therapy. The doctor reported that the tumor has grown and has crossed the midline of the brain. Previously, it had been on the right side and now it has entered the left side as well.

The doc said there was no reason to continue the Temodar/Accutane chemo protocol that we've been following for the past two months since it did not seem to have affected the tumor. He suggested following a chemo/antibody therapy that was used in one of their clinical trials (experiments) that was recently completed. He said that it showed very promising results...

As it stands now, B****** will start this therapy in the upcoming week. It's administered by infusion once every two weeks. We don't know whether it'll be done as an outpatient at the hospital or in the cancer clinic. It just depends upon what the doc learns as opposed to how things are reimbursed. He is almost positive that BC/BS will not pay for this because it's still considered "experimental". I believe the $$ lingo is that it's considered to be "off-label" use. Interestingly, today's paper reported that the antibody medicine, Avastin, was just approved by the FDA for use in breast cancer cases. It had previously been approved for use in colon and lung cancer.

After three of these once-every-two-week treatments we will have another MRI and then go back to MD Anderson so that they can determine whether it has been effective.

All in all, not tremendous news. I sometimes feel as if we were on a roller coaster, and on some days it seems that there are more lows than highs. Still, we're enjoying every day. We cherish one another's company and every moment we spend together. We are so grateful for everyone's support and prayers. We are blessed to have a healthy little grandson who seems to have invented the smile and we thank God every day that our sons K**** and C**** are surrounded by such wonderful people at St. ********* High School. There are lots of good things going on and we focus on them rather than on B******'s illness. We're just moving forward with this new treatment. We'll also be attending a healing ministry at our church in a couple of days. Healing comes in all sorts - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual - and we're asking for whatever we can receive.

Thanks for all the offers of assistance, the thoughts, and the prayers. Today is a good day, so go hug and kiss your loved ones. Make the world a better place.

Love, B*****, B*******, and the boys

********************

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