Happy 85th, Dad!

We celebrated my dad's 85th birthday this past weekend. When I approached him with the idea of a special party he requested only family and one family of friends. Since he was the birthday boy he got his wish!

Dad doesn't particularly like cake and he definitely doesn't like frosting, so we had birthday pies instead. Our menu also included a slider bar, which was very popular.

Happy Birthday, Dad... we love you!

He loved his gift...

... and the photo of his birthday banner

Me, Dan, Mom, Dad, Kelly (sil), Mark (brother)

Janel, JD, Zach, Jessica, Mom, Dad, Katie, Gabe

Matt, Shelby

The Martins' with Mom and Dad

The birthday banner

A Finish!

Last year I stitched this pattern to give to my mom at Christmas. Unfortunately, the move interfered and my Christmas plan flopped.

I wanted to make this into a box and fill it with gift cards for my folks.

Fast forward to July 2014. My parents 60th wedding anniversary was yesterday. They did not want a party or large celebration this year, so we all decided to gift them with gift cards to their favorite restaurants, eateries, and grocery stores. Yea! My box was revived.

I found this box at Goodwill. It was missing a drawer pull, so I bought a bead at Michael's and made my own. It is filled with gift cards and will be presented to them today in honor of their 60 year commitment to each other and this family.

Thanks!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. My dad had a stent procedure last night and was discharged today. He looks terrific and feels a lot better. He and Mom are happy to be home and look forward to catching up on their sleep!

Sometimes All You Can Do is Pray...

Last night my mom called with the news that my Dad had experienced chest pressure as they were shopping at Walmart and was in the ER awaiting admittance at a local hospital. We got to the hospital along with my brother and SIL before they moved him to his room. He was in good spirits and not in any pain. However, they were keeping him overnight to do more cardiac evals. I saw him this morning and they've scheduled an angio for this afternoon to determine if he needs a stent or angioplasty. Prayers are appreciated, but he's in really good spirits and the Dr. told him he was right to come to the ER.

While we were still in the ER I went looking for someone to come in and turn off an annoying alarm in his room. I saw a cubicle with several police milling around and observed a medical staff on top of a patient in a gurney doing chest compressions. What a sobering sight. I said a quick prayer for the patient and medical staff and returned to Dad's room. A short while later, we heard crying and saw three women in tears as they looked in the direction of that room. Obviously that person had lost their life. My brother commented that he thought that the patient was a young person brought in suffering from an OD. I heard an older lady say to someone on the phone "He's gone. They worked on him for over an hour, but couldn't bring him back". Heartbreaking to hear. I don't know this family. I don't know the circumstance. All I could do was pray.

After we got back home last night, I found my thoughts returning to that scene. Each time, I prayed. Of course I was also praying for my dad and mom and Dad's medical team. But the heartbreak of that family just stayed with me.

We don't need to know all of the details to pray for others. We don't need to know their names, their ages, their spiritual condition, the circumstances of their life. All we need is to know that they are a child of God. He knows every detail of their life. And it's our responsibility to pray.