We've Been Busy and Prayers Needed

 

   I know that it has been a few weeks since my last post.  There has been a lot going on and both Jeff and I have been going and going strong.  I have also been completely thrown for a loop with my sister Leonie's declining health and a horrible scare we had with her.  Not that all is bad, there have also been some wonderful things going on in our family as well.

   First off, my sweet sister Leonie is in need of prayer.  She has to be medically evacuated from Tahiti to France as her heart was having some serious issues and her cancer is progressing rather rapidly. 😭 She needs a bone marrow transplant and the two donors that matched her were not able to donate after all.  One had passed away, and the other had recently had covid and the flu, which made that one ineligible.  My sister needs a donor with the blood type O or O+.  From what I understand, the bone marrow transplant is the last line of treatment that can possibly save her.  The thought of losing my sister has been weighing heavily upon me.  She and I need to have more time together to make up for all those many years apart.  I love her beyond words and even as I am typing this, I am a complete mess with tears flowing down my face.  Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.

   Now switching gears and trying to pull myself out of going down a teary path any further...

   Bradley has been busy playing baseball with his team and is now in tournament play.  So far they have won their first game in the tournament and play again tonight.  Jeff and I have been going to as many of his games as possible.  We have watched as his entire team as grown and gotten better. We love seeing how they encourage and cheer each other on...I think that is the best part.  

   Isaiah had his dance recital the other night and it was wonderful!  His Grandma Tammy is his dance teacher.  Isaiah is taking tap from her and the progress that he and the other kids in his class really showed.  Our son Jaysn ran the sound for the recital, Max (Tammy's oldest grandson) took pictures, Grandma Sandra (Heather's grandmother) did alterations of the costumes, Bruce (Heather's dad) supervised the boys backstage, and Macie (Tammy's oldest granddaughter) helped with the younger dancers and was also in the recital.  She is also a very talented dancer herself.  It really was a family affair.  LOL!

   Steven had his school play a few days before the recital.  He had practiced and was so excited about it.  Then came the day of the recital and he absolutely froze and shut down when he saw about 500 people there to watch.  He is high functioning on the autism spectrum and I instantly realized what was happening.  He refused to do the play and tried to shut everything off around him by getting as small as he possibly could.  We all left before the play started and it took awhile to get him calmed down enough where he was not trying to hide from the world.  He finally came out of it and was back to his happy self once he felt secure again.  We are very proud of him for trying something scary.  It did not work out this time, but maybe with a much smaller group of people watching, he might be able to handle it.  If he can, wonderful, if not, that is okay too.

   Jeff and I have both been busy in the gardens also.  The weeds have been going bananas and the Spring crops need to be harvested today as the heat is making them bolt.  Jeff brought home a truckload of topsoil for us to use in the raised beds to hill up the rapidly growing potatoes and also add more soil to the strawberry, rhubarb and asparagus beds.  My sweet neighbor across the street gave me some terra cotta planters, along with some that hook over railings that you can grow flowers in.  I am giving her a cherry tomato plant.  I think I will also run over some of the pok choi that I harvest today to her.  She loves it and I have lots and lots of it.  We still had some dirt left over, so Jeff is taking it, along with our truck, to Jaysn and Rachel.  Jeff and Rachel built some raised beds together for Rachel to plant it.  The dirt will help to partially fill the planters so that they will not have to buy as much more.  They will be using our truck for about a week to get things done that they need to also.

   Our Josh is off for a month of training in Texas, leaving Lauren at home with Tate and Peyton.  Tate has been having a rough time of it lately.  He is 2 years old now and given that there have been so many changes in his life with the recent move and having huge emotions and not knowing how to express them with words has led to typical 2 year old meltdowns.  This is a new thing for both Josh and Lauren to deal with since up to this point, he has been such an easy child.  Luckily for all of us, Lauren is an extremely patient mother who can diffuse and redirect his attention.  Peyton continues to be a very happy little girl and is close to crawling.  I think when her daddy gets back from his training that she will be all over the house and into everything! 😉  We can't wait to see them when they all come up in August for a visit!

   Anyway, it is starting to get hot outside and I need to get the laundry hung out to dry.  I have a very long "to do" list this week and am praying that I can get it all done.  This week we concentrate on the gardens and next week on the house, along with some more work and planting in the gardens.  Be blessed my friends and remember to make your home a safe and nurturing place in this world that seems to have gone mad.  Much love to you all!