August 9, 2009

Today is August 8 and Jeff has a granddaughter! Scarlett was born Saturday morning at 9:25. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. The exact same as her mother! She is 21 inches long. Liz and Josh just came home this afternoon and the baby is sleeping in her bed! She has hair and big feet. HA! The picture is of course Jeff and Scarlett. She is already spoiled and very much loved. Liz was in labor for 12 hours. Josh did a great job of coaching her. Vangie and Josh D. got here yesterday evening. It is so good to have everyone here. Next is our family photo! Jeff has done really well these last few days. Our pastor, Bob, came and visited us on Friday and we all got to have communion together, the five of us. It was very special. Aunt Betty Anne is coming for dinner tonight so we will probably take more photos and pst them on my facebook page. Thank you for praying for us. We are so grateful! We love you...Gina.

August 5, 2009

Today is August 5. We still do not have a granddaughter. She must be a stubborn little girl! We are all anxiously awaiting her birth.I have not updated the blog because I have not known what to say. This past weekend Jeff turned some type of corner. I can't really explain it. But I feel it and know it. He is so much weaker, he eats very little, his speech is worse and he is oh so very tired. He did perk up for a trip to McDonalds on Monday for Liz's birthday. But he has had chunks of time where he is confused. He can't read and has lost a lot of hand eye coordination. I think he is here to see the baby and our daughter Vangie, who is arriving back home this weekend for a week. We got the script for the text to speech machine but I am unsure whether or not he can use it. The speech therapist is on vacation until August 10, so we will see how he is then. He did wake up this morning and is doing better than the last few days. Please pray with us for God's continued mercy and grace. Today's picture is of Jeff in Colorado at Cinnamon Pass. We love you and so appreciate you sweet words.

July 1, 2009

Today is Wednesday the first of July. I don't think Jeff thought he would live this long but we are still here. Today we went to a Speech Pathologist to find out if Jeff could get a text to speech device. We found one that he could operate with one hand and it was pretty slick. His speech is very hard to understand now. The problem is that if he is on Hospice the insurance won't pay for one. So maybe we can rent one for a while or try to find a used one. I actually looked on e-bay and found one but it was not the model we liked. We still have about two months left to hear from Social Security as to whether or not they consider him disabled. So we are caught between a rock and a hard place. Jeff had a choking incident tonight, our friend the respiratory therapist was with us (God is SO good) and she said his strong coughing response was a really good thing. Nice to hear because I was really upset. He has had no major changes this week just further decline in speech and he is sleeping more. Daniel had all four wisdom teeth pulled today, a part of getting everyone fixed up before we loose our insurance. He is doing really well! Liz is now 5 weeks away from having baby Scarlett. Jeff is torn between wanting this to be over and wanting to see her. I am too. I watch him every day, and my heart aches. Please God, heal him soon. If that means in heaven, I can't help but want him there. Vangie and Josh are still up in the air about getting married, not that they will or not... just timing, location... all still undecided. My two best friends' daughters got married this summer and it has been very hard on Jeff, and Vangie too. She has been in both weddings. The last one was just this past weekend and Jeff couldn't go. I sat and just silently cried as I watched the bride dance with her father. Again, same as with Scarlett's birth, conflicted feelings all around. I know not every bride has the opportunity to have her father with her. I didn't, our marriage has lasted 30 years, and I have reminded Jeff of that. He has given instructions that his brother Jim is to stand in his place. But I can still understand his pain. Thank you all for continuing to add comments. Jeff reads the comment page at least three times a day. Please pray for healing. We love you.-Gina