A House of 44 Celebrate Christmas!

Merry Christmas friends and family! We had the best day - dad arrived around 11:30. . . my brother Tommy picked up he and mom in the van and when they arrived - they wheeled him right up the new ramp to my back door and we got him right into the recliner after he took a look at the Christmas tree. He said it was a very special day. . . although he did confessed to me later when I was taking him home that he thought about my Aunt Nora all day and how much she and her kids/family must be missing Uncle Charles.

We packed 44 people into our house. I think this is the first Christmas or holiday we have had every single sibling, spouse, grandkids, great grandkids here under one roof in a long time! What a day! Dad had his share of laughs and loving. He even enjoyed holding his youngest great grandson - Trey! (whose on his lap in the picture). They both got all emotional when they opened their gifts from us. . . besides some small gifts, my brothers and sister and I went together to get them a new flat screen tv for their back bedroom - their old one blew up a couple of months ago! They cried when they opened it! (you can probably tell in the one picture)

We took dad and mom home around 5:30 and got him settled in bed - he was tired, but happy. He enjoyed being able to get out today since the weather kept him in all last weekend.

Thank you God for the gift of your son Jesus and for giving us a reason to celebrate this day! Merry Christmas everyone1

Merry Christmas Eve!

The busyness of the season has kept me from posting lately. . .sorry about that! It's been so hectic this year that I have yet to sit down and pen my annual Christmas card/newsletter so the plan now is to put it together between now and the new years and send out a combo one to everyone!

Dad and mom are doing fabulous! We are so blessed with dad's health this year compared to this time last year! We were bringing him home from Winchester Rehab for the first time since his stroke last Christmas Eve. We were cautiously optimistic at that time because even though dad was stable, his mind was still only 60 % at best and of course taking care of him required a lot of manpower. But praise God, this past year dad has completely regained his memory and understanding of life and we have our dad back in full - other than the fact that he remains unable to lift himself to a sitting position or make enough movement of his left side and stomach muscles to have any independence. HOWEVER>that being said. . . we reflect now on all the progress and we still believe there will be much more to come.

I am so very excited about Christmas. I went in this morning and we got dad a shower and into his recliner for the day. He is very content. . . this week during both shower sessions he has been able to also use the bathroom and that always makes him feel so much better so we should have a great Christmas tomorrow. We are having the Kisner family meal here at my house and thanks to my cousin's husband C.W. Coe and my cousin Steve Howell, we now have a wheelchair ramp in my backyard. We'll be able to wheel him down the sidewalk alongside our house into back yard to ramp and onto our deck which leads right into our living room thru sliding glass doors. There he will get to be transferred into our recliner where he can stay all day comfortably! THANKS C.W. AND STEVE -THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR ME AND MY FAMILY!!!! Now we can bring dad to my house anytime!!! He said today he was trying to remember what my house looked like - he hasn't been here for over a year!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Aunt Nora and her children Becky, Doug, Kelly and Marc who will have the difficult task of their first Christmas without Uncle Charles - since his passing from Cancer on December 5th. We also extend our best wishes to all of our family and friends out there for their ongoing prayers and support for my mom & dad. There are so many of you who send cards regularly (Chris Carter you are the most amazing card writer!) and so many who come see my parents every week (Shelly & Lee your support has been incredible). . . and then there are those of you who by tuning into this blog and lifting dad in prayer support us in the best way possible - there is nothing more powerful than prayer.

We love you all - and we wish you a Christmas that is filled with the love and warmth of Jesus Christ. . . he is the only reason for the season and thank God for the best Christmas gift of all - his Son!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

Mom and Dad are doing better this week. Last week really took a toll on dad as he had so many memories and emotions regarding my uncle Charles' passing. But as the weekend approached, dad found himself in the middle of a 2 day cookie bake at their house and that really sweetened him up! Mom has her annual cookie bake at Christmas with her daughters, daughters-n-law and grandgirls and the result is about 15 different cookie recipes, lots of laughing and lots of eating! Dad was spoiled during this 2day event. . . my daughter Lexy loved serving him his favorite coconut & raisin cookie! He was up in his recliner all weekend and he was also able to come to church Sunday. It was a special day because his great grandson Barham (we call him Bear) was Dedicated and the message our pastor spoke included a little part about dad and his dedication and faithfulness - even when his life has been turned upside down. So it was an encouraging and uplifting day for my daddy and mom too. I was pleased when I went to see him today and he was ready to get up again and get in his chair, because last week he tended to want to stay in bed, again, I think he was grieving and just needed some time. We are looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas at my house this year. . . and we have so much to be thankful for. I was shopping in Winchester this week and reminded of how last year at this time we were spending every day in Winchester, but it wasnt shopping, it was visiting dad at the Rehab Center. At that time, he still was not fully himself mentally- maybe 50%. Praise God that his mind is perfectly in tact now! Thanks for checking in again and as always, continue to join us in believing for that miracle of dad's body and also we ask that you keep the Porterfield family (our Uncle Charles' family) in your prayers throughout this Christmas season as I'm sure it will not be easy without their father.

Weathering the Season!

Hey Folks - all is good on the homefront. Mom & Dad are weathering the season of burr coldness... staying cozy in their living room enjoying the specials of the Christmas season on tv. It was so cold Sunday morning they did not brave the weather to go to church. But hey did get out on Sunday afternoon to the Family Viewing for my Uncle Charles' funeral. It was very emotional for my dad. . . he did a lot of crying, but he stayed almost the whole 2 hours and enjoyed visiting with all of mom's family. Everyone thought dad looked very good. My Aunt Nora is so strong - she was able to comfort dad thru special memories that brought happiness to dad as well.

Other than that, not a whole lot to report. Thanks for checking in... I promise to try to get you some pictures up on the web soon.

Saying Goodbye to Uncle Charles

This afternoon our beloved Uncle Charles went home to be with the Lord. He was such an awesome man and we will dearly miss him. But he was ready to meet his maker and we know he sickness is now gone and he is in a better place because he knew Jesus Christ as his saviour. Thank you for praying for the Porterfield family. . . Aunt Nora is my mom's sister and we all grew up so very close. Our vacations were together, our weekends were spent together and for me, I pretty much had two homes - mine and theirs. Dad was pretty sad and has cried several times, but I was able to get them to still go to our church Christmas dinner - we thought it would be good to get him out tonight so he wouldn't be home crying all evening. They enjoyed the meal - it was delicious. I didn't get any pictures though because with everything that happened in the afternoon,I had too much on my mind!

Thanks for your love and prayers. . .

As Good As Good Can Get!

Dad and mom are still doing very well. . . as good as good can get when you are living with one side of your body paralyzed! Dad still works with his left hand a lot and trys to get more movement, but so far it's still about the same. Although Dad's inability to get himself up and around on his own is something he struggles with, he lives with an amazing attitude of gratitude for that which still remains. And what remains is an absolute miracle from our observation. Dad is such a funny and loving man. . .we are blessed to still have him in a full-mind capacity. We live in constant appreciation to our Lord and Saviour for healing dad's mind and giving him the quality of life that he has right now. We still have faith for dad's complete healing - and that is something we will never let anyone talk us out of! Faith is that which we can not see but have the confidence in God to believe that it can happen even when it seems impossible to us! Whether Dad's complete healing comes on this earth or one day when he goes home to be with His Saviour - we know that he will be whole again. Thank you for having faith with us - we don't think like the medical field who say "well, after a year, they say you've really reached your full potential of recovery..." and basically they "write you off their books." No, we serve a God who is able to do more than we can think or imagine - the Bible says that all things are possible for those who believe. Our faith is not in medical professionals or medical history but in the Master Physician. . . who is not limited by anything or anyone!

Please continue to pray for our Uncle Charles whose battle with cancer has really taken a turn for the worse. . . he is in the hospital this week and is fighting with all he's got - he and his family (Aunt Nora, Becky, Kelly, Doug and Mark) all need your prayers! Thanks for checking in!

Tomorrow I'm taking mom & dad to our church Christmas dinner and I will try to snap a picture of them enjoying the meal for the blog!