Christmas is Dorie's favorite time of the year....the decorations, the tree, the music, the snow(hopefully), the food, the presents, and of course the occasion...the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's something to celebrate! And we celebrate that she is able to celebrate too!

Some of you know that Dorie had her very own Christmas shop(Christmas Past) from 1990-95. She stocked decorations, collectibles, trees, specialty lights, stuffed animals, and more. But as the old saying goes, "we didn't make much money, but we had a lot of fun"! Somehow we ended up with lots of Christmas decorations after "Christmas Past" was a thing of the past.

Now we look forward to seeing grandchildren at Christmas time! Fun....we'll have to put up some pictures from Christmas Day. Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving!

Yes, well, it has been awhile since the last post! Dorie is doing well! Her eye has improved, though it's not 100% yet...still a very small spot where vision is not there. Her right foot still does not have all it's feeling back yet, either. We are praying for those things, especially.

She has been playing the piano, teaching James, doing housework, raking leaves...lots of normal things. And she'll be making pumpkin and apple-blueberry pies for our Thanksgiving dinner over at the Penney homestead in Eastport. We certainly have plenty for which to thank our Heavenly Father!

Thanks to the Lord and thanks to you all for praying for Dorie. Your prayers have been a great encouragement...please continue! And our prayer is that at this Thanksgiving season, we would all "praise God from Whom all blessings flow"!

Happy Birthday!

James and I took Dorie to NH for her birthday this past Wednesday. Went to the quaint little town of Exeter to shop and eat at the Loaf & Ladle. We stayed at a bed& breakfast in Strafford, Bow Lake Inn. Wednesday evening we went to the Lazy Lion in Deerfield for dinner with our friends, Ed & Sandy Cross and family.

On Thursday we went to the Deerfield Fair and did the fair things...watched the horse show, the woodsman competition, the pig scramble, and the Flying Wallendas. We also ate various fair-type junkfood. Met up with our good friends the Pinards, Jim & Joanne, and wandered around the Fair with them.

Friday we went back to Exeter to eat at the L&L again, and shop. On our way back to the Cross Sound Ferry, we stopped at Red's Shoe Barn(again... we stopped on the way up, but they didn't have something...it was coming in on Friday) in Plaistow, NH....great selection, prices and no tax! Cool! Next time we go we're hoping it will be more typical NH temperatures, instead of 90 degrees!

Dorie had a wonderful time with grandsons, Micah (left) and Sam (right), yesterday after church.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, so here is the scoop:

Dorie is much stronger than a few weeks ago. She has much more stamina, she is walking better. Still has issues with her right foot, especially the heel not having full feeling. This makes her gait a little awkward, since she doesn't feel her foot touching the ground instantly. Amazing how we take such things for granted! We are still praying for full recovery of her peripheral vision, which she is convinced is improving.

Because she is feeling quite peppy, James and I are going to take her on a trip to NH for her birthday (9/26) and go to the Deerfield Fair. We've been there lots of times and it's fun. We'll take the Orient ferry to New London, CT, drive up to Bow Lake Inn, Strafford, NH, and spend Thursday at the fair. Speaking of traveling, Dorie will be going to the the next meeting of the Augustine Presbytery of the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, in Cary, NC, October 10-12. We will be driving down with Kris and Lavaida Smith (our son, Joel's in-laws, Sam's grandparents, and Christ Covenant Church's ruling elder[Kris, of course!]).

Thank you all for your continued prayers for Dorie! What a blessing and encouragement it is to see our Heavenly Father answer them!

Back to Normal...Almost!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words...or so, and since Vacation Bible School is next week (yikes!), I leave you with this photo of Dorie (doesn't she look great!?). I'll post after VBS is over.

The key to recovery....

...is the Hand of God as He answers our prayers, in accordance with His will. "Full recovery" for Dorie awaits the Day of Resurrection, just as it does for all of us who limp through life. Yet we expect and work toward a substantial recovery of all that she could do before her "brain incident". Her OT and PT sessions have gone very well, as have her home exercises. She starts her second week of therapy tomorrow. And we have seen some good progress: she can walk more steadily, she has more stamina (even doing some household chores, i.e. wash, vacuuming, making beds), her handwriting is improving, she is playing the piano better, her memory, and conversational skills are much improved. For all these we are thankful to our gracious Heavenly Father!

We still ask for prayer these things: that the peripheral vision in her right eye would improve, that the tingling and numbness in her right arm and leg would fade (these are supposed to be good signs that they are "waking up"...but not very comfortable), that she would walk more steadily and with a normal gait, and that her fine motor coordination in her hand would return.

Again we thank you all for your faithful prayers! We know that the Lord hears His people when they pray!

Grand day out....

Dorie and I had a nice time out yesterday. James went swimming and we went to see Ratatouille. Fun! One of the promo trailers had Remy's (the protagonist) brother Emil say, " If you can get past the gag reflex, a lot of food possibilities open up."...but it wasn't in the movie. It makes me wonder if that could be changed to, "If you can get past the strict regulative principle of worship (gag!), a lot of liturgical possibilities..." Oh, never mind,that discussion is for other blogs!

In a little while I'll be taking Dorie over for her first day of OT and PT. She's looking forward to it! She has been faithfully doing her homework (exercises) and now she'll be getting the real program. Head physical therapist, Marc Wahl, said at her evaluation last week that she is farther ahead than many who come there after traumatic brain injuries. His plan is to take an aggressive approach to build strength and coordination. She has a good foundation, by the grace of God, and they hope to get those weak right side muscles going to help rewire the brain. I find this all fascinating, when you consider how God has designed and created our amazing bodies! And , of course, it is only by His hand that men have come to know , even in a small way, how these amazing bodies of ours work. So it's Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next month, two hours each day. Our prayer is that this therapy program will bring Dorie back 100%...or even better!