My sweet niece, with her baby, "Bunny."
My Dad with his granddaughter...they love each other :) 
Dad with all his grandkids...precious little people!
And Dad with his kids...he thinks we're pretty special, too :) In the next pic, we put on our funny faces...do you think it's an improvement?
Here is the famous "Canasta Cake." Yep, it's just as good as it looks. Above are the ecstatic dads(and Janae) ready to eat the cake :)
Here is Cameron, enjoying his new double barrel shotgun...relax, it's a toy! Below, Jared can't wait to see what he's opening :)
Tonight it is my happy privilege to help you understand my scattered thoughts. I'm just gonna tell you a little about my week.
On Saturday, we attended my nephew Cameron's 5th birthday party. It was a nice day, though a bit hot, and my sister grilled out. We had a lovely meal, and wonderful cake and ice cream, always a happy happening! It was fun to spend time with the fam, and watch the kiddos play together.
On Sunday, we had a Father's day celebration for the dads in the family. I had secretly fixed their very favorite cake in the whole world on Saturday, and presented it with a flourish on Sunday! I don't make it often, as it takes 2 hours to make, and that's if you don't pause to do anything else. It is the most delicious cake in the whole world, I promise. Adding the sprinkles to just the bottom of the cake is my personal purgatory :) It is called Canasta Cake...(Philip Bishop, eat your heart out.) The funny thing was, my brother and brother-in-law were teasing me at Cameron's party Saturday, trying to put me on a guilt trip about making them a cake. I hadn't been able to keep it from Dad, as we live in the same house, and he was really enjoying it! Dad finally told them "No one in this house is going to go home and make a Canasta cake tonight." And it was true: it was already done and ready to eat :) I could hardly keep from laughing. When I took it into the dining room Sunday, I made David and Daniel close their eyes. David closed his eyes, and said "Oh, please let it be a Canasta cake...." Imagine their delight when they saw it. They couldn't believe it...that was fun. We ALL enjoyed eating it, and I'm happy to say, that we polished it off completely on Sunday.We had a really fun day together. I love my Dad, and think he's tops. I am including some pics of Dad and his kids, and his grandkids. (btw, I don't know how to rearrange pics to flow with the story line, so if you can help me, sing out...)
On Monday, I went to work as usual, and got a call from my Mom in the afternoon that my sister, Diane, had been in an automobile accident. It had been raining, she was in a bit of a hurry as she was running late for an appointment. Those of you who have been to my house will probably remember a treacherous one-lane bridge. She met someone as she was trying to get on the bridge, and she was in the middle of the road. She hit the brakes, and thinks she skidded. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the ambulance. Cameron was with her, and just got a small bruise on his belly from the seatbelt. He seems to be adjusting well. However, Diane was hurt pretty badly. She broke her left arm in 3 places, 2 breaks in the radius, and one in the ulna. She also has a small skull fracture, but it doesn't seem to be causing her any problems. They wanted to do her surgery that night, but had to send to Fort Wayne for a special screw. She was in surgery 4 and a half hours Tuesday evening. The surgeon really struggled, because the x-ray looked like clean breaks. However, when he got in there and tried to get the rod into the bone shaft of the ulna, he found that it had shattered into fragments. He finally got the rod in to his satisfaction, and then had to wire the bones together. We were really getting worried, as the whole surgery was supposed to take 2 hours. We spent some time talking to God, asking Him to help the surgeon. Diane was released to our home yesterday. Before he released her, the surgeon told her that it was one of the worst breaks he had ever seen, and that when he saw it, he thought that she would lose her arm. He said he was very surprised that they didn't have to amputate. He didn't tell us that prior to the operation, or we would've been really scared! Thank God for His unfailing mercy! The surgeon is still worried, not sure about the final outcome. But we serve a great big God who hears and answers our prayers. If you think about it, please pray for Diane, that God's will be accomplished through all this. Diane is concerned about being off work for a long time, and worried about possible disability. Please help us pray that she will be able to rest in God's provision. After all, He loves to give good gifts to His children! We're just so thankful that she is alive to tell about it....
Diane and her boys are here to stay with us for a little while. She needs help dressing, combing her hair,etc, and is unable to care for her 2 small boys right now. Her husband works long hours, and can't be around much to help out. So, the Matlock convalescent home is now open for business :) It's definitely a full house, but we don't mind. We're glad to be able to help out. Our extended family and church family is helping out by providing meals for a few days.
Other than that, I've had an incredible work week. TGIF!!!!!!! I worked 12 and a half hours yesterday, as I was on call plus my regular hours(no lunch break.) Today, it was over 9 hours. I've got some really sick patients right now, a couple of which are trying to die. God has been helping me to be a witness to my patients, and I pray that He will continue to use me in whatever way seems best. Anyway...I've been really busy. I fear that I'm starting to look my age...it may have something to do with sleep deprivation, not sure. Last summer/fall, I had a guy bugging me about wanting to have a relationship. I was NOT interested, but didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I told him that I was really busy, too busy for new relationships. While that is true, for the right person, I would make time :) Since I last talked with him, I fear that life has gotten even crazier. I really don't know how I would make time for anything else. Right now, I'm working full time, teaching piano, and now trying to help out caring for my sis and her babies. Not to mention that I have to play for a wedding in 2 weeks...and am woefully unprepared. I expect I will be pulling out a lot of old faithfuls...:) Fortunately, the bride isn't too picky. Tomorrow, I'm taking a long awaited and much put-off trip to Cincinnati to see the Creation Museum. While I'm excited about that, I also wish I could just sleep all day. Not gonna happen.
So now I trust you understand a little better why my mind is so boggled sometimes. And please pray for me, and the entire family. We really do need it. I know God has promised not to give us more than we can bear, but sometimes it seems we're just hanging on by a thread and the rope's gonna give way any minute. I'm really not complaining...life is too precious for that. Just gotta learn to hold His hand through the storms.
Okay, I probably should try to sleep for a few....thanks for listening.
