Monday, January 19, 2009

We are so thankful to God for a WONDERFUL 40th anniversary celebration for Mom and Dad on Saturday! It was held at the West Paris (ME) Baptist Church, where they were married 40 years ago on May 24. God gave perfect weather so everyone could drive safely to get there. The room was crowded, which, despite the lack of elbow room, was a wonderful tribute to how many lives Mom and Dad have touched.

Because purple lilacs were in bloom when Mom and Dad were married, we decorated the room with that theme. We had plenty of food, thanks to many who helped!! The cake, made by Katie Parsons, was beautiful and featured Mom and Dad's original wedding cake top. They also used their original cake knife to cut it.

Several folks from their wedding party were there, including the flower girl and ringbearer. The ringbearer, Jerry Oja, served as our photographer, and I will post some of his pictures when I get them. I took one:


Mom and Dad received many wonderful cards. They were so pleased.

Lois and I sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" to thank God for the parents He gave us. We have come to realize that the loving, stable home we enjoyed growing up is the exception rather than the rule, and we are so grateful for it.

We shared a slide presentation of photos from Mom and Dad's past and present. The music that was supposed to accompany it didn't, but at least the pictures worked and everyone enjoyed it.

Lois and Chris, and Jack and I and our families, will be in the Gorham area the rest of this week. Next week we will go our separate ways. It will be hard to leave Mom and Dad. We have to trust that they are in God's hands. We are grateful for all the help and support that is available to them.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

We praise the Lord that Mom and Dad are somewhat settling in to their lives again. I say "somewhat" because there are definitely challenges.

We are grateful for the availability of home care services to help Mom with housekeeping. She is grateful too, but it is always tough when someone else is doing your work, who may not do it the way you are accustomed to. If you feel the need to closely supervise them, it can be almost as much work as doing it yourself.

Dad is finding it stressful also, to have unfamiliar people in the house so often. So, when he is irritable, we would really appreciate prayer for grace and strength for Mom to respond gently but firmly.

Mom has days where she feels quite good! She tries to get a lot accomplished . . . and then she is exhausted for several days. Please pray that she would have wisdom to pace herself, and to know what tasks are most important to tackle with her limited strength.

She is very excited about their 40th Wedding Anniversary party, coming up on Jan. 17, 1:00 pm, at West Paris Baptist Church, West Paris Maine. Please come join us if you can! We are praying for good weather.

Thanks so much for your caring and friendship for our family. We give thanks to God for you.