We woke up very early Tuesday morning to a thunderstorm, lightning and lots of wind. When I checked the rain gauge mid morning and after it let up we had about 1 inch.. Nick and I ran some errands and about the time we pulled into Shopkos parking lot it let loose again. When I got home I checked the rain gauge again, 1/2 inch. Later that evening I attended a memorial service for another of our local surgeons. He was 57 years old, an avid bicyclist and orthopaedic surgeon, I had worked with him for many years in surgery at the hospital and considered him a friend. He was on a biking tour in Sienna, Italy with his son and for some unknown reason (maybe a pothole) veered into traffic and was killed instantly. What a shock for all of us at the hospital and in the community. He took care of Dan when he was hit by a car and performed 2 surgeries on his leg.
That is actually the third surgeon here to die in 3 months, the first was a surgeon who was 77 years old, Dr Drennan, who died of a heart attack, then Dr Fox and now Dr Scott. We found out about Dr Scotts death on May 28th, on May 29th the hospital had a memorial for Dr Fox, at which I was asked to speak. It was a very difficult thing, and I really wish I could have been less emotional, but I couldn't, I cried. His wife and 3 of his 5 children attended. I was happy for the opportunity to share what a friend he was and to relate the impact he had on my life.
Deaths of those close to us at a young age is a reminder that God can call us home at a moments notice and we need to be ready. It makes me consider alot of things: have I said all the things I want to say to the people who are important to me, have I made amends with those whom I have offended, have I forgiven those who have offended me, have I shared the love of Christ with those who are lost, so when they die they also will see Jesus? I have always known life was fleeting, but these deaths have brought it home to me again.
During the memorial service it started pouring rain, the wind picked up and the tornado warning sirens went off! We were in a chapel on the campus of Illinois College, it was filled with the high society of our little town, Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, civic leaders, the mayor and hundreds of others, if a tornado would have took us out, the town would have lost most of its leaders. But no one moved, except the funeral directors who went to the back, my guess they contacted authorities to see if there was immediate danger to the area and obviously not, because the service continued for another 30 minutes and when it ended, the rain was coming down in buckets still. Very appropriate for the sadness felt in our community.
The next morning I checked the rain gauge another 1.8 inches for a total of 3.3 inches in 24 hours. Now about Colorado Springs, Colarado. Christopher got an innocent looking email at work yesterday morning, and surprise ... you and your family are being transferred to Colorado Springs, Colarado, the Air Force Academy, effective September 2008! Yes that is just 3 months away, they are in shock, needless to say. Please pray for them as they have to sell their house, find a new one, say goodbye to those they have come to love in Shreveport, including their church family and start all over in Colorado. This is a 4 year tour, and yes he may have to be deployed overseas again, however we will deal with that when and if the time comes. God is good, and He is in control, so I am excited to see what exciting adventure he has planned for Christopher, Jennifer, Jordan and Caylee in Colorado Springs! (and what a beautiful place to visit!)
This is a picture of the screen porch on the back of the house, every year on or around the 4th of July I take all the windows and screens out and wash them, normally Wendell works on the 4th of July, Nick is in Florida and I am home alone, so I took to washing windows on the 4th for something to do - sounds like a very fun day - huh?! A couple years ago Wendell decided he would help me, so we started doing them a week or so before. Of course if you do the windows on the porch you have to do the whole house! There are 10 windows on the porch, they are storm windows and the screens are on the outside, but everything comes out on the inside, so you have to take all the windows out to wash both sides and I take the screens out and give them a scrub too. There are only 11 windows on the rest of the house, so we just do them all the same day.
Wendell came up with this idea of using a carpenters apron for all his supplies, he washed the windows and I washed the screens - it sure makes it go quicker when you have help!
We started about 10:00 in the morning and got done about 6:00 last night. We finished up with hamburgers on the grill and fresh strawberries, a fitting reward!
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