Two Miracles

 NASA has been posting pictures of the Carina Nebula, have you seen it? Usually it's posted like this, showing mountains and valleys: It's just phenomenal.

 

 But they recently posted it this way and it took my breath away! Do you see the face?

 

 

I showed it to a friend of ours and the first words he said were, "It's the face of God!!" Okay good. I wondered if I was the only one seeing this! It's like His mouth is open, the beard, the light emanating from it... I can't stop looking at it. But sometimes I also see a lion. Maybe the... Lion of Judah? The heavens declare His glory!

 

Then --

 

Sharaya, Chuck and I loaded our cars with stuff and took them over to Sharaya's new place. After we unloaded, she needed to get a few items out of storage so I closed the windows in my car and rode over with Chuck. We loaded both their cars, then I rode back with her. We pull up in front of her place to find I had left my car unlocked, the key in the ignition and the engine running!! It sat there for 45 minutes or more and was still there when we returned! Talk about God's protection!

Heaven on Earth

When we were heading to the airport a couple weeks ago I opened the front door and Ally was behind me, then Sharaya, Chuck, we had our luggage... and I whispered, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" 

One of the baby birds was perched precariously on the edge of the nest! I put down my suitcase and tried to get my phone to take a picture but he flew away. The other birds were hunkered deep down in the nest and I knew by the time I got back from Pennsylvania they'd all be gone.

And I was right. The nest was on the ground and there were leftover twigs and sticks hanging from the wreath. The Junko family has moved out. It sure was fun watching them grow!

Sharaya and Ally came over for dinner on Saturday. After we ate we played Uno, and then went out back to sit and talk and play some more.

 

Sunday we celebrated Pentecost. We had food trucks out in the parking lot for people to have lunch after church which meant me and my crew arrived at 7:30am to cone off the parking lot and set up the round tables and chairs. It was a very early start but it is one of my favorite Sundays of the whole year! We have many Internationals at our church and they each carry a flag from the country they were born in. One by one they walk through the Sanctuary and then they go up on the platform and say, "Vietnam exalts the name of the Lord!" "Nigeria exalts the name of the Lord!" But they say it in their native tongue. Nation after nation after nation, there isn't a dry eye in the place by the time it's over!

Waiting in the foyer for their cue to start

A friend of mine took this picture

People wear their national dress. The church is filled with so many nations, tribes and tongues. It truly is heaven on earth.

Rest In Peace Dad

My dad went into hospice on Wednesday, September 4 and I flew down on the 6th to be with him.

The hospice facility was phenomenal because not only did they take such great care of my dad but they also cared for me and my sisters, our whole family! There were only 4 patients in the facility and the nurses and assistants would bake fresh cookies for the family members every day, they made sure there was plenty of coffee and tea. The rooms even have couches and recliners so you can spend the night with your loved one! One night my sister and I were awake at 2 am so we went out and talked with one of the nurses for quite a while. They made you feel so at home there. 

I spent a lot of time out on the back patio

A very calm and peaceful living room

My dads room was big and most evenings all the family would gather to look at pictures and reminisce.

All week I'd been praying I'd be there when he passed away but he kept holding on. I even extended my stay by a couple of days but it looked like it wasn't gonna happen. About 45 minutes before I was due to leave, I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Well dad it looks like I'm gonna have to leave for home before you do. I love you and I'm gonna miss you so much." 

On Wednesday, September 11 at 12:37pm my sister and I stood together next to his bed and we had our arms around each others waist when my dad took his last breath. Even though we had been expecting it, it still came as a shock. We cried and hugged each other and she went out to get the nurse.

I picked up my phone to text Chuck and saw the message from Super Shuttle telling me my ride was outside waiting to take me to the airport. 

I was still crying when I went outside to tell the driver that my dad had just passed away and could he give me 5 minutes. He apologized, he felt so bad and said he could wait. One of the NAs came out with me and asked the driver if he would like some coffee. They ministered to absolutely everybody involved!

I went back in and called our other sister, then I got my suitcase and Deb walked me out to the shuttle. It was a whirlwind few minutes but I'm so grateful the Lord let me be there when he died!

John Theodore Burke

November 23, 1924 - September 11, 2019

My mom and dad

Me, my sisters and our dad

My daughters and granddaughter

 Taken in August 2019

I Knew it Was Time

I don't think I told you that our dog Buddy, a black lab, was diagnosed with cancer a couple months ago. There was a small bump, like a blister growing in his nose. The vet did a biopsy and it turned out to be cancer. Because of where it was located, they couldn't really do surgery. They would have had to cut into his nasal passage and that would have been just too difficult.

(We rescued Buddy 10 years ago from a local shelter. He was a year old and was so big, they told us that if no one adopted him by that weekend, they were gonna put him down.)

We had the vet take a chest xray and that showed the cancer had spread into his lungs and lymph nodes. They basically told us there was nothing they could do. It was growing so fast, it began to cut off his air supply. He started having a hard time breathing; I would wake up with him in the morning and he'd be trying to catch his breath. Each day got harder and harder.

Early Saturday morning his ears were warm and he was struggling to breathe. I knew in my heart it was time.

We didn't know how Beth would handle being there when Buddy was put to sleep. Maybe it was better to experience it first with an animal, rather than a person. But we decided to let her decide. She chose to stay home, but gave Buddy a hug and began to sob. I gave her a hug and we cried for a while.

Buddy was excited to go for a ride! He always loved car rides! In the back of the van, you could hear his tail thumping against the back seat as he stuck his nose out the window. I told the vet later, "It would help if he would at least act sick!"

Just before 3 PM yesterday, Buddy went to heaven. (I don't know how all this animal stuff works in heaven. I know there will be horses, but for the rest, I'm not sure. For now, we're telling Beth that Buddy is in heaven with my mom and our cat Tigger.)

I pulled out a bunch of pictures last night. Many I had forgotten about!


Each Christmas we put our tree in the corner of the livingroom. For 11 months out of the year, it's where Buddy's bed is. One year Chuck took the tree outside and I went to get the vacuum. When I came back, this is what I saw:

That goofy dog was trying to get settled in the tiny spot left by the Christmas tree stand! He hated it when we moved his bed!

He was a big dog. He was the only dog we had ever had so we didn't really notice how big he was. Until he got around other dogs. and people. Everyone commented on how big he was! We decided to take this picture last week so Allison could one day see Buddy. (You can see the carcinoma in Buddy's nose.)

This picture was taken in January 2009. That dog loved the snow. He would jump and run and dive and eat snowballs. He could play in the snow for hours.

He loved to 'get the paper'. We would ask him, "Buddy, do ya wanna get the paper??" He would practically kill himself trying to get out the door. Off the porch, across the yard, to the driveway. Grab the paper and bring it back to the porch. Then he'd head into the kitchen for a bone.

He loved 'bowling for mellows'. We would get on one side of the kitchen and roll mini marshmellows toward him. He would scramble to eat them before they hit the carpet.

When I would go outside to pull weeds, he would stand in the gravel area and wait for me to throw small rocks or pebbles. He would just stand there, poised, eyebrows raised, so excited about chasing rocks!

We're gonna miss him. He was Our Bud. Our Budster Dog. Buddy Boy. It's just not going to be the same without him.

 

"I see the cheerio! Does anyone else see the cheerio?!

I see it! There it is!! There's the cheerio!!"

Nothin'  like a good shake after a swim!