My Week!

"Mom! My pig has purple spots!" our son exclaimed.  Then he said he took a picture of the spots and showed them to the vet. "Her eyes got big, and she said she was going to notify the USDA and they would be out to look at the pig!" he said to our alarm.

Meanwhile, I looked up the symptoms on the internet, and found it did not sound serious. "The meat is not affected," I read. Still, we were uneasy for the next couple of days, until Greg had another phone call from the vet.  "I have been doing some reading, and it's not dangerous," she said. "The USDA will not be out," she finished.

And now the pig is fine, her appetite is back and she is enjoying pig life after her several days of malaise. Apparently she had a virus. Whew! What a week it has been! This time last week we were just getting home from a trip to Texas  to be at the bedside of our grandson in the hospital. A serious infection required a ventilator for almost two weeks, then the side effects of removing it were difficult.  We learned today he is up in his chair, asking for his cell phone! Praise God for His healing power!

The hospital was almost right next door to IKEA, so when we were urged to take a break, we spent an hour of welcome distraction there. It was like a breath of fresh air! Viewing the beautiful room settings, innovative ideas, and tempting merchandise, not to mention reasonable prices, lifted my spirits like a vacation!

Since we were less than two hours from Houston, we diverted our trip homeward to visit briefly with our youngest son's family.  How wonderful to enjoy the little grands and watch them play! Part of the next day was spent observing them in their classes at a creative arts worship event for children at their church.  Seven-year-old Maddie produced an original painting of Jesus and a cross in her art session, then we watched her go over her lines in Drama for a commencement presentation. She was also learning the drums, but we missed that.

Anne-Marie, 9, participated in Voice, singing joyfully with the other kids in a melisma as we watched. I saw videos of her later in creative worship Dance gracefully waving billowing, turquoise fans to music and movement.

2 1/2 year-old Isaac emerged from the nursery occasionally to take rides around the church in a fanciful cart reminiscent of England's red double-decker buses. As I tried to get a shot of his lasagna-smeared face at lunch, he looked past the child facing him on the other side of the table, pointing to me for her to notice, yelling, "It's Mimi!  It's Mimi!"  Our son said the first thing Isaac said when he picked him up from the nursery was, "Where Mimi and Pa Pa?" That warmed me all the way home!