Sunday, December 4, 2011

Joys and sorrows interwoven...

I know there are lots of people out there who are much better bloggers than I am but this last week held so many different kinds of experience that I decided I would share a few things here...

From 'back home'...a dear lady from a family that has known my family for 3 generations has come to the place in 20 years of battling cancer to make a decision to have no further treatments as they were not being effective...her Doctor said she likely won't live to Christmas....she has lived an exemplary live and leaves a wonderful testimony....she isn't young but not terrible old either...she will be missed but comforting to know she has much better things to go on to as well as knowing she is at peace about it now.

And our thoughts go to another family near us who are dealing with two rather difficult situations.  The Dad's, of the family, Mother is dealing with cancer....seemed treatments were going well and she would be gaining her strength again but she didn't and then began going down hill to the point of hospitalization again and the diagnoses being made last week that the cancer had metathesized to her brain and she would need more chemo...we do hope the treatments will help...she is very weak and has a lot of other issues related to the cancer so there is a long road ahead for them.  Last Tuesday the family had a real heart rending experience...they have a dairy farm and  were in the barn finishing up the evening milking when their 7 year old girl got a horrific head injury by somehow being trapped in a gate...she was airlifted to a hospital and had 4 hours of surgery...she is yet in ICU...we certainly feel for all of them....and surely want to know how to stand by them....they are a dear family...have 5 children....one surely never knows what may cross our path but glad we can leave it in God's hands.

On a little more up beat note we enjoyed having 4 family members visit our farm.  They are from Ohio and working on putting a plan in place to dairy farm.  They didn't stay quite as long as they had planned as a big storm was coming so want to get home ahead of that...hopefully they made it.  We enjoyed having them...it was like we had always known them!

Then Saturday was our 35th. wedding anniversary...kind of doesn't seem it could be ... glad to look back and realize how much we have been blessed....maybe we haven't gotten all we wanted but I feel I have gotten more than I ever expected. (Unfortunately Farmer Marv has been sick the last 3 days so haven't done anything so extra special for it)

 





Today our world was black and white....it was rather pretty out there...maybe I can share a few pictures!
 how it looks out my kitchen window now!

 everything black and white except for the flag....

even the cows!

And now a little about our Thanksgiving...not all our family made it as Shaun & Helen and household were battling the stomach flu....ugh for them...we missed them but did enjoy this little group...

didn't get just a lot of pictures but here is one more

...Mommy got a better one of him....bib says ...'My 1st. Thanksgiving'...
Will and Becky were also with us for the day...but didn't get a picture...will have to next time...

Now this week holds some busy days for us, too...first a 2 day dairy conference and then flying to Texas for a few days to do some work on our new 'estate' there...painting & cleaning and checking on the agricultural aspects of it.... the orange and grapefruit trees....then we'll be 'home', as in Wisconsin, for while and drive down for a more extended stay after the first of the year...(would love volunteers to do 1099's and W-2's...not my favorite job!)

1 comment:

Memories To Keep said...

We had a lovely time, so glad we missed that snow. Sunny and low 50's here Sat. and cloudy, but still in the 50's today. Happy anniversary, I didn't realize, Shawn said I was in the barn with Marv helping with the calves when you mentioned that. We felt at home, glad for fellowship that unites like we enjoyed with you and Marv. You did feel like friends we've had a long time to us also! Happy snow!