Updated prayer request

I am so happy I am wearing the happy hat and doing the happy dance.  See?

OK, OK I confess; this is an old picture and not the best quality, but you get the idea.
Last Wednesday Catherine, who is 4 1/2 months old, had major heart surgery to close a rather large Ventricular Septal Defect.  The surgery was wonderfully successful and Catherine was able to GO HOME yesterday morning!!  So for those of you who saw the post asking for your prayers, THANK YOU!!  Catherine has some challenges ahead of her.  She has Down's Syndrome and her family need a little extra grace in the days and years ahead.  She is a beautiful blessing and we are all praising God for her.

In the past few weeks I have found some wonderful folks who have offered their care and support for Catherine's family.  One of those wonderful folks is Tiffany Tachenko Underwood, whom I met through a mutual friend.  Tiffany announced today on her blog, Just a Little Bit Downsy (don't you love that title?!) that the old book, Angel Unawares, is back in print.  This is the book that was written by Dale Evans Rogers (yes, that Dale Evans Rogers) about her little daughter Robin.  It is a wonderful resource not only for families who are dealing with Down's Syndrome but any other special needs child.  So hop on over to the link and see what you think and you can register to win a copy too!

The Return of Homestead TV

Since we have moved to Alabama we have been surprised at how often it snows.  Of course, the snows we have and get all excited about make our northern friends laugh, but it is a big deal to us.  And yes, we do close schools for less than an inch in the grass and none on the roadways.  I don't know why, we just do, that's all.
Last week we had what I hope is our last snow of the year.  It was pretty coming down and I spent most of my time hopping up and down from my chair to gaze out the front window and watch it coming down.  At one point the cats got a little excited.  I figured they were being southern cats and excited about the snow.  I went to the front window to look again only to see an animal scurrying off the front porch!  I grabbed a flashlight and shone it out the window.  First I thought it was a possum.  I yelled for Mr. Marvelous because I was afraid the possum would go after the chickens.  I kept watching the animal rooting around in the snow by the front walk.  Then I wondered if it might be a raccoon; it was really hard to tell in the dark with the snow falling.  Mark grabbed his shoes and the big spotlight, I wrapped my warm blanket around me and stuffed my feet into my boots and we quietly went out the front door.
We were shocked to realize that the animal was neither a possum nor a coon.  It was an armadillo!  I tried to get a picture of him but the dark night, the falling snow, the beam of the spotlight and the very bashful armadillo all conspired against me.  Oh well; maybe next time!

Prayer Request

Please pray this week for Catherine, a 4 1/2 month old baby who will be having major heart surgery on Wednesday.  Pray for her healing, for peace for her parents and big sisters, and that God's glory will be obvious to everyone.

Back Up and Running!

Yes, this is back up and running.  In the last month I have learned how to find statistics for who is accessing the blog how often.  I stumbled across that while getting Mark's blog up and running.  I clicked on the statistics link for this blog last week and was rather startled to find out that this blog has had over 200 hits in the past month.  What was even more shocking was the number of international viewers I have had; Holland, Germany, Moldova, Latvia, Russian, Chile (thanks, Emilee!), Russia, Poland, Romania and Canada.  Wow! 

We have had 2 new additions to the extended family.  Our nephew and niece who had been living in the southwestern part of Alabama had their fourth baby, another precious little girl.  Another nephew and his wife had their first, a son, a few weeks later.  That got me started on embroidered baby blankets.  The great-niece got one with verses from Psalms and Proverbs.  The great-nephew is getting one with a Noah's Ark theme.  The Noah blankie is not finished yet.....sigh!  Hopefully it will be done within the next few weeks.  But here are a couple of pictures of the one with Psalms and Proverbs.

I backed it with a soft flannel so that the back of the stitching would not show and irritate

Here is a distance view of the front

 

And a view folded over so you can see how the back looks

Unfortunately, these are all the pictures I took and since the blankie is now with my babies in Utah, that is the best I can do!  Yes, my babies all moved to Utah and even worse, they took their parents with them!  I am happy they are there; they are helping to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and plant new churches for Christians out there.  I surely do miss them, though!

Now I have a request.  If you are reading my blog, would you please add a comment?  Just let me know where you are and how you found me.  I am curious!  Also, if there is something I may be praying about for you, please feel free to ask.  It would be my privilege to pray for you!  Just so you know, my prayers are offered to the Almighty God, the creator of the Universe, through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah. 

His peace to your home.