HAPPY SUMMER!!!

We're certainly enjoying times sitting on the porch and even having a meal at the picnic table. The weather here has been incredible. Ronnie has so looked forward to warmer weather, but the hot is really hard on him. We're certainly thankful for this beautiful weather. Our friend "Red" has taken Ronnie turkey hunting several times, but no turkey yet. I'm not the best wild turkey chef as we found out Sunday.

I failed to mention in the last post how excited we are about the addition of a new grand baby. It's been over four years since Simon was born and we're ready for "baby Blacker". I would refer to our new grand baby by the name Ronnie affectionately calls him/her, but I think Megan is afraid it'll stick. We know Mike and Megan will be wonderful parents and we can't wait to be grand parents again.

Ronnie continues his favorite routines. He doesn't feel as well, but continues to push himself, for that we're grateful. His pain is greater and comes more often--we continue to be thankful the medicine mostly controls it. He was the overseer on Tuesday evening of the annual garden planting. Now I know many of you are chopping your gardens by now, but Ronnie has never believed in getting in a hurry when planting. We had lots of fun. We just might make farmers of Jeremiah and Simon yet. Ronnie's trusty 4-wheeler came in handy for him to travel from place to place that night.

Ronnie has been concerned about all the HUGE trees really close to our house for quite a while. I finally agreed to the loggers. We watched from the safety of our front porch yesterday as logs hit the ground with such a thud they shook the earth. I know we'll feel much safer during storms without all those stately poplars so close. I went through the woods closest to our house with strings in hand as Ronnie agreed for me to mark some trees for keeping. Thank heavens we have some pretty large white oaks on the outer edge that we can keep.

We're so thankful for family and friends as well as each day we have to spend together. Ronnie continues to enjoy visits and calls. Please continue to pray for God's Grace for our family.

Update

I would imagine any of you who has been checking this blog have given up by now. Sorry for the length absence. Continuing from my last post. Ronnie did get to go turkey hunting on the Saturday before Easter and got a pretty nice bird. He was exhausted that night, but enjoyed the hunt.

We had an incredible Easter with friends and family. We were so blessed to, again, have all our children here and at Grannie's. What a blessing to be able to celebrate together during the blessed season of Easter. The knowledge that we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord on that day is just breath taking.

Ronnie has continued to feel pretty bad since my last post. Mostly just really tired. He began having some pain on Sunday afternoon and that has continued. We are thankful for medicines that help control that pain and make it possible for Ronnie to lead a semi-normal life. He continues to visit McCollum's and the guys there most mornings. His appetite hasn't been as good the last few weeks and for those of you who know Ronnie he, unlike me, doesn't have any extra weight.

So having said all that--our request for prayer at the present is that Ronnie will not have so much pain and I'll be able to think of think of things to cook that he just can't resist. We continue to Praise God for every day and are enjoying this time together. I am only working 3 days a week now and am really enjoying having more time to spend here.

I really tried to include pics on this post, but I guess the other time was beginner's luck.

Our prayer for each of you is that you make the most of every day, which is a gift from God. I think we take that for granted far too much.

Pa is getting another Grandbaby! :)

In case you have been out of the country(or maybe even in outer space!) and have somehow not heard that Mike and Megan are expecting a baby... well, they are! October 9th to be exact! This little one will be joining the best family on the planet and I know baby Blacker just can't wait to get here and meet all the Reids. Particularly Graggie and Pa!

Update

We continue to be thankful for God's provisions. We have had the answer to many prayers. Ronnie has felt much better than anyone ever imagined he would for the last 3 months. For that we are so thankful. For the last 3 weeks Ronnie has felt increasingly worse. His energy level has diminished greatly--he's tired most of time. I pray this will pass and he'll feel more like doing things he loves.

The spring turkey season begins Saturday. He hopes to be able to participate and if JB, Matt, Red and others have anything to do with it he'll be right out there. I don't believe Ronnie is quite as sure he'll be able to join them.

We look forward to a great celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. What a blessed time. All of our children will be here for the weekend. We plan dinner together on Friday night with Grandma Mildred joining us. On Sunday we'll be joining my family at "Grannie's" for lunch following the service at church. I'm really hoping to get to help Jeremiah and Simon find some Easter eggs. Hopefully they'll find at least one with a surprise in it.

Our family hopes for each of you a wonderful Easter season with a celebration of Life!! We ask that you continue to pray as we wait to see what God has planned for us. Hallelujah--What a Savior!!

Happy Easter to each of you!!

Update

We've had a pretty good week. Ronnie did go quail hunting with Charles and Wayne on Monday and they enjoyed the hunt.

Ronnie hasn't felt quite as well for a couple of weeks now. We saw the Dr. yesterday and he didn't have very good news for us. Apparently he saw from the scan on Tuesday that the chemo isn't helping so that will be discontinued. Dr. Neijstrom is still amazed at how good Ronnie looks and that he isn't nauseated and that he doesn't spend a portion of each day in bed and that he hasn't lost weight. We have all the right answers to those questions, but according to the doctor the cancer just isn't getting better. We continue to be thankful for God's Amazing Grace. When you're a believer it is a win/win situation. Please continue to pray for Ronnie and our family as we're hoping for a lot of good days ahead of us.

We're so grateful for this beautiful weekend--hope you've been able to enjoy it.