Another Year, Almost Gone...

I find it hard to believe that yet another year has come and gone and I am reluctant to let it go. There is just so much yet to do and so little time to do it in. I must say, however, that it has been an excellent year. Yes, I have grown another year older and who knows how much wiser; and I have accomplished a great deal more of my goals than I ever dreamed possible. God has been very good to me and to my family.

I want to highlight here our most recent trip to Orlando, Florida where we played as children play and thoroughly enjoyed the break from reality. Our first flight to fantasy was to Orlando Florida's amazing world of Universal Studio fantasy. We visited a great representation of Whooville, right out of Dr. Seuss's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." We lunched with the residents and played in their magical land for a very long time. They were all so jolly and brought a great deal of the Christmas spirit to life for us.



Next, we ventured into the magicaL world of Harry Potter in the new feature for Universal. It was like a trip right into the world of magic. I had to taste the amazing Butter Beer (which I absolutely adored) and bought myself a magic wand. I guess I will have to register for classes in order to make any magic come out of it. Oh! We had a grand time. We had to hurry, though, because we had to run over to Universal Studio's section to watch the Macy's Christmas parade, complete with giant balloons and bands. Then, we made sure that we had great seats on the lawn for the outdoor performance of one of the best Christmas Concerts I have ever seen. It was "The Manheim Steamroller's Christmas Concert" right there in Universal Studios. We loved every freezing minute of it. (Yes, it was freezing cold in Orlando!)

DAY THREE:




We spent a wonderful, cold third day traveling to the eastern Atlantic coast to Cape Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center. Oh, my we had such a wonderful time there. We had lunch with an astronaut and saw all of the exibits that we could possibly fit into one day. We took a bus ride out to the launch pads and saw the next Challenger poised on the pad and ready for launch sometime in February.

Last, but not least, we rode in a space shuttle simulator that was supposed to feel just like being launched into space. It was a wonderful ride and when they opened the hatch and we looked at the earth (which was supposed to be far below us) it took my breath away. Both Dean and I wanted to sign up for the next space launch right then and there. Did you know that when you go out into weightless space that you loose calcium right out of your bones? That is one of the reasons that the Astronauts excercise so much while they are in space.

I'm going to stop here and come back to this another day. Our vacation was a wonderful one and there is so much to tell and write about. But, right now, I just want to reflect on an amazing year that has made it possible for vacations like this one to happen. We have truly been blessed. We have relatively good health, we both have jobs that sustain us more than we could ever hope for. The preparation that we put into our life's careers has paid off in so many ways. We are able to help Dean's son with extra $$ for college, Billy with whatever he needs to keep his chosen career going, and whenever someone in the family has a need, we have been able to help even if it was just in some small way. The Lord has been so very, very good to us and we indeed are so very grateful.

I don't know if I will get anything posted before the New Year actually gets here, but if I don't, I pray that if 2011 is half as good to us as 2010 has been, we will be amply blessed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Kurt Bestor at his best...

What a way to begin the Holiday Season. On Saturday evening, November 27, 2010, Dean and I were treated to a top-notch Christmas Special by Kurt Bestor. In our minds, Kurt is among the top Christmas billings.

We last saw Kurt in Boise, Idaho at the beautiful Cathedral in the Rockies and were lifted to a new level of musical expertise by a gifted craftsman. We have been hoping he would come to Oregon and finally, he did. The venue was a wonderful little theater in Hillsboro called The Venetian Theater and Bistro. It isn't as grand as the Cathedral or as elegant as the Schnitzer in Portland, but it was a beautiful experience.


We came early, so we could enjoy the Bistro for an elegant Italian dinner before venturing upstairs to see the show. When we entered the building, who do you think was sitting at the bar, visiting with his co-star, Jenny Jordan Frogley, but Kurt Bestor himself. I smiled at him in recognition, and he returned the smile. I was too timid to walk up to him and start talking. That's just me!


We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and then headed up the stairs to be treated with dessert. Yes, it was a show worth skipping dessert for. Kurt arranges all of his own music and does an outstanding job with many of the standard Christmas favorites. His gift on the piano is something to behold. We learned that he hated piano lessons and hated practicing as a child. Then, one day his mother put away all of his music and told him to "play me a sunrise." And he did! His words, "It wasn't perfection, but that's where I began to love the piano."


We were also treated with an amazingly gifted singer, Jenny Jordan Frogley. We had never heard of her before, but she can really belt out a song. She was a joy to behold.


All in all, the entire evening was well worth the hour and a half drive to get there (and home). We were well fed both physically and spiritually. And so, the Holiday Season begins in earnest for us.

Is Your Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

I once knew a dear, sweet lady somewhere in my past who was badly crippled with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Every day was another day of excruciating pain just as it had been the day before, and just as it would be the following day. And yet, I never once heard her complain or saw anything but a broad welcome smile on her sweet round face.

She would say that her glass was more than half full of great blessings and the empty half was reserved for blessings yet to come. She was a marvel to me. Her positive attitude and her ability to take whatever challenges life brought to her as easily as she would receive a beautifully wrapped gift from someone special in her life was beyond understanding. Her wisdom and courage was an example to me.

Over the years, I have tried to emulate this lady, but, alas, I fear I have fallen far short of that goal on more than one occasion. I have allowed worldly woes to fill the empty void in my glass and threaten to turn the filled part into "murky forgotten blessings." I have oftimes failed to see my half full blessings.

My life is fractured in so many directions, that it is no wonder that I can't excell at any one thing. I am so involved with my work (it consumes me sometimes), my family (near and far), my home and the management of so many facets of its survival, my writing of written words and music, my newly found love for piano lessons, my participation in the community with choral groups and Church music that I begin to wonder, "Where in all of this chaos is there time for my creative side?" Things that I used to love to do, like scrapbooking, reading, sewing, quilting have all taken a backseat to everyday living.

And, "Where is my time for self?"

And then I stop, look at my glass, start counting my blessings again and again, and I remember that beautiful bent lady of my past and my glass is transformed into something beautiful.



I pray this Thanksgiving day will find you all praising God and giving thanks for each and every blessing that fills your glass.

Always remember this little quote that I received recently in these "Thanksgiving thoughts: Happy moments, PRAISE GOD; Difficult moments, SEEK GOD; Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD; Fearful moments, TRUST GOD; and Every moment, THANK GOD."



Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Yes, family, it does snow in Lincoln City...

I know, I know! We live on the coast. But, we also live on the 45th Parallel and it gets mighty cold here in the winter time.

This morning, we woke up to temperatures in the low 30's and white stuff on the ground that wasn't sand. I love it! The thing I love most about it, is that at some point the sun will come out and it will melt and I don't have to shovel it.


Wouldn't Billy have fun on his playground now, when it is all white?


Oh, and we get some mighty big surf in the winter time. Check out these pictures of our November 2nd Surfing Competition, drawing some of the best surfers in the world.



And now the sun will set on another day in Lincoln City. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I guess we will know in the morning!

Just call me the "Slug of Lincoln City"...

I cannot believe that it has been over a month since last I posted anything on my blog! And there were so many happenings in the month of October--what was I thinking? Rather than "catch up," I will just post a short recap of all of the fun pictures I received from my family with their Halloween antics posted on them.

Granddaughter, Jacki and her hubby, Mark were dressed so cute like "Woody" and his gal from Toy Story3. I loved it! And I bet little Dallen got a kick out of going Trick-or-Treating with mommy and daddy dressed in costume.

Daughter, Heather and hubby, Rich had an amazing Halloween party at their house. Everyone came in various costumes and appeared to be having an hilarious time. Heather looks like a pretty good copy of Gruella DaVille from "101 Dalmatian's" and Rich--well those short shorts on the "Cop of the Year" just might tell it all! Little Hailey was so cute as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and what else could you expect from Parker, but a Ninja fighter! He's a hoot! Beautiful Granddaughter, Elissa, looks like she is some sort of cave woman. All in all, the Tusko's had a great time on All Hallows E'en.

Grandson Gerald and his sweetie, Lily did a little dressing up of 6-month-old Ezekiel for Halloween. From all reports, they had a wonderful Halloween party and a great time with little Zeke.

The witch? Well, that is just my standard contribution to Halloween. Some say, "Where is your costume?" And I just laugh, because I like to go in my true character!

Hope everyone had a fun and playful Halloween. Where would we be if we couldn't just let down our hair and have some fun once in a while.

My Killer 71st Birthday...

I spent my 71st Birthday doing what I love to do most--hiking! At least, I used to love to do the hard stuff. I'm afraid I over did this one, however. Billy told me it was a tough hike, but being the stubborn Scottish/English lass that I am, I just said, "Bring it on!" (I think next time I'm going to believe him.)

We started our "walk" at the very end of Roads End which is just north of Lincln City. We followed a gravel road up a pretty good incline for about a block or so and then left that road to take a narrow path into the woods. It was beautiful on this wooded path and we saw all kinds of interesting specimens of nature. We saw tall aspens mixed in with the coastal pine trees that had beautiful moss-covered trunks. Billy saw a couple of small snakes and pointed out a little green frog.




Our path was an uphill climb on slippery gravel, mud and rocks and over logs across small streams. And, it was hot! After what seemed like forever and about a miles distance, our trail narrowed and became nothing more than a deer trail into the thick bushes. We had to be very careful in there and watch our footing. Sometimes we had to bend over to get through the brush.

After about 30 minutes of "bush country," we broke out into the trees and a cool clearing. This is where I had to sit down, catch my breath and drink water and eat crackers. I could feel the beginnings of "heat stroke." I've had this in the past, and I know the symptoms. I had that awful feeling of light-headedness, nausea and "other-worldly" sensations--the ones you get just before you pass out! Relax! I didn't! The 10 minutes or so rest and the water and salt kept me going.

Up ahead was another 15 minute trek through more bushes and then came the grassland! The grass was tall and the path through it was narrow. We could see flattened areas where deer had spent the night. Out in this open area, it was getting really hot and humid. I had one more attack of heat stroke before we reached the base of "the Devil's Thumb!"



I took one look up that trail and saw those itty-bitty "steps" formed by deer and almost called it a day right there. Billy encouraged me and Dean helped with a gentle push once in awhile and one step at a time, I climbed that 70 degree incline and collapsed in a heap on the top. I was exhausted, hot, and elated all at once. I did it! And Billy was right--the view from the top was worth every excruciating step.


We ate our lunch up there and rested. Then the fog began to roll in. I tried to stand up to begin our trek down, but when I stood at the edge, looking down, I said, "No way am I going to get down there!" After a few moments of contemplation, however, I decided that when the only two choices I had were to spend the rest of my life on top of that hill or make my way down, I figured that I better give it my best shot and get going.





The first few steps were wobbly and Billy held my hand and helped me with each painful step. Then I took a look at my situation and noted that all of that tall grass up there was actually a blessing, so I decided to slide down the hill to the bottom on MY bottom. And that is exactly what I did. That was great fun! I haven't slid down a hill like that in a very long time.

It only took us about a half hour to go back the way we came with me having to walk carefully with my rubber legs. But, it was all down hill and parts of it were great fun. I was really happy, though, when we broke out of the trees and were back on the gravel road.

Here are a few more pictures of some of the treasures we found on the trail. Billy found a leaf with a perfect heart eaten out of it by bugs and we had to have a picture of it. He also found some little seed pods from some plants nearby that fascinated him.



All in all, this was another memorable birthday. And I got to spend it with two of my favorite men!

P.S. It is now three days post-hike, and I have terribly sore legs. Walking is still painful. Ah, the price one pays for tryig to be 21 again. Next year? Maybe I'll try sky diving!

Billy's Playground...

There is a beach not far from where we live in Lincoln City, Oregon, that we call "Billy's Playground." It isn't your typical white sand beach, stretching for miles, or even a shorter version that you can walk on and play in the sand. This particular beach has a boat-load of logs that have washed ashore and planted themselves in a multitude of configurations that have Billy's name on them.

For as long as I can remember, Billy has been a climber. And if there is anything to climb on anywhere within a 50 foot perimeter of where he is, he will climb on it! This is why he loves this beach so much.


We took Billy and his new friend, Rachel (from Iowa) and his friends, Holt and Natalie to Billy's beach for an afternoon in the sun. It was a great day and everyone enjoyed the beach, the water, the walking, and the "playing on the logs."


Billy can make a teeter-totter out of a 50 foot long log, resting on top of another one; he can climb to the top of a planted log in the sand and stand straight up. I have learned, as his mother, not to watch the hard parts. I don't want to see him fall! Amazingly enough, he never seems to!
















Our next adventure was a hike to Drift Creek Falls where we found an abundance of trees and fallen logs for Billy to climb on. He's an amazing kid!

Every where we turned, there was Billy, climbing!







I wouldn't trade a day with Billy for all the luxuries in the world. He makes the grandest adventure out of nothing at all! Nature provides his playground, and he is eager to explore every facet of it. He is my Peter Pan!

Some of Life's Simple Journeys...

Somewhere between my age of discovery and my age of pseudo-wisdom, my #1 baby girl grew up and became a woman. Her journey took her from the cradle, through elementary learning and on into the learning that only life can provide. She began a dream through her college studies of becoming an Interior Designer and worked tirelessly for 3 1/2 years toward that goal.

Then, Cupid stepped in, drew back two arrows, aimed them very carefully at two hearts and Kim and Ken fell in love. Marriage and family became her new dream. Kim and Ken raised 4 beautiful children, sent them all to college (except for Scott, who will leave this fall for BYU-Hawaii) and then returned to her original dream.


On July 25, 2010, Kim graduated from The Interior Design Institute in Irvine, California with her Bachelor's Degree in Interior Design. It was a perfect day and this mother cried tears of pride as I watched my daughter walk across the stage to receive her degree. I thought of her dad, and how proud he would have been to witness this moment.
Kim's journey has been one of many rewards. She has persevered both in the raising of an amazing family and also in never letting go of the dream that consumed her all those years ago. Her words to me, after the graduation ceremony was over, were, "I'm not finished yet, Mom! I want to go on for my Master's Degree!"

That's my girl! And definitely her father's girl! It wouldn't surprise me if she went all the way to PhD, just like her Dad. Gotta' love and respect that girl.

"The 'Eyes' Have It..."

From where I sit, I see before me the benefit and blessing of sight. I submitted myself to many hands this past Tuesday. I placed my faith and hope in the hands of the Lord through blessings and prayers, and He was there. With confidence, I placed my faith in an extremely gifted Physician, and he did an amazing job. I placed my care in the hands of Nurses and Anesthesia personnel, and they gave me kind, tender and loving care.

I didn't pray for sight, because there was so much damage to my eye, I just didn't feel that it would be possible. I only prayed for a good outcome for a new cornea and I didn't leave out the donor, for he or she had to give his or her life in order to provide this gift. I can testify, it is a good cornea.

It was amazing to lay flat on my back with my whole head covered with a drape, in a dream-like state, and listen to my Surgeon and his Fellow discuss everything that they were doing to my eye. It was a teaching experience for the Fellow; and it was a teaching experience for me. I learned that my iris had adhered itself to the old cornea and had to be carefully scraped away, losing part of it in the process. Then my iris had to be sutured together in two places. Because of all of the damage, the pupil is still bigger than the other one and irregular in shape. And my iris has lost some of the color that would make it hazel, like the other eye. It is a beautiful blue color. Hmmm! Maybe I could talk the good Dr. into doing that to the other iris! (Just kidding!)

The morning after surgery, I was escorted into a little room where the bandage was removed. I then was directed to look to the far wall and tell the Tech what I could see. I nearly jumped out of the chair, because I was so excited. I could see the big "E"! I haven't seen it for 8 years. Not only that, I could read the line below it. It was like a light had been turned on in a dead eye!

I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the blessings and prayers of so many in my behalf. If I never believed in miracles before, I am more of a believer now. Oh, I will still have only partial vision in my right eye, because the optic nerve won't regenerate, but it is enough that I will be able to see with two eyes instead of only one. God is good! He certainly has blessed me this week.

There's a song by Celtic Woman, called "When You Believe" that tells how great our faith can be. Why, we can move mountains, when we believe! I love the words to that song. I tried to find it for my playlist, but couldn't locate it. It's probably too new, and they don't release the newest ones on Playlist. Anyway, I do believe! And my mountain was moved this week.

The eye still has a long way to go toward healing, and rejection is always a possiblity, but I will continue to have faith and pray.

"I was blind, and could not see..."

When I began this journey 10 years ago, I was facing blindness. That is not a very positive future for one who loves to read and see all of God's creations with my eyes as well as my heart. I was diagnosed with Fuch's Distrophy (a progressive disease to the corneas that causes them to thicken, and thus cloud over, eventually causing blindness.) My grandfather on my dad's side may have had that disease, but no one knew what it was back then. He was blind in his older years.

There is no cure for this condition. The only treatment is Cornea Transplant. I chose to take that road in 2002, when I had my first surgery. That transplant was anything but successful. First, my eye did not like the surgery and reacted by producing excessively high intraoccular pressure that destroyed 1/3 of my optic nerve in my right eye, thus rendering me with partial blindness anyway in that eye. Next, the high pressure also caused my lense to go completely white (a cataract) and had to be removed with a new lens implanted in a second surgery.

As if all of that wasn't enough, another result of the high pressure caused my pupil to enlarge and the edge of my iris stuck to the new cornea, which makes it impossible for my pupil to contract. Thus, a third surgery was done to try and release that scar tissue. It didn't work.

Lastly, my cornea began to reject, due to a herpes simplex virus (I have a long history of cold sores, and that virus travels the nerve paths to the eyes) that made my entire cornea become thick and opaque. That is the condition of my right eye that I have accepted and lived with now for 8 years.

Less than one year after my right eye surgery was done, my left eye began to thicken so badly that I had to retire from working because I could no longer see clearly, and being a Nurse, one needs her eyes to see! I was a danger to my patients, and so I chose to retire. My Opthalmalogist knew of a surgeon in Portland that did a relatively new procedure called a DLEK (simply put, instead of removing the entire thickness of the cornea, only the inner layer is removed and replaced with a donor's inner layer. It is very complex, and no 100% results were guaranteed.) I opted to try that surgery.

On the day of my 4th surgery (first on my left eye) I was apprehensive, to say the least. After much prayer, I felt better, though the outcome wasn't predicted to be the best because of my past history. This eye could have also reacted and gone sour, and then blindness would be an instant result. I figured, "What the heck, either way I will be blind", so I went for it. Prayers were answered and the results were that I have been given back the sight in my left eye. It has served me well without any ill effects for 7 years now.

On Tuesday of next week, I will go under the little itty-bitty knife yet another time. My right eye has been causing me considerable pain over the past year or two, progressing to almost unbearable. So I am going to have that old, dead cornea replaced with a new one. Dr. Terry will clean up the scar tissue while he is doing the surgery, and put a running stitch around the edges of my iris to bring my pupil back to mid-point. This surgery will not bring back the vision I have lost due to the loss of a crucial part of my optic nerve, but perhaps some of my outer peripheral vision will return. There are many prayers going out in my behalf, and I am confident that I will be blessed.

This has been an interesting journey for me and for my family. Many blessings have come to me because of this condition. I have been so grateful for the vision that I have been given. You just don't really appreciate it until you face losing it. I read like crazy. I have turned to writing, both literature and music. I have resumed my career and have been so blessed with good health to do the things that I love to do. I have returned to taking piano lessons and love it. For all of these things and more, I give thanks.

And so the journey continues.

Fathers...

Fathers! They come in an amazing array of sizes, shapes and colors. Some are tall and thin. Some are short and stout. Many come in various assortments and combinations that lie anywhere in between!

I love my own Father. Though he is gone from this earth, he is far from forgotten. He was the guiding force that helped shape my life and defined who I am today. I remember his quiet guidance in the background when I was a little girl. To me he could do no wrong. He always made me feel like I was his little raye of sunshine! When I was struggling through those up and down days of being a teen-ager, he loomed tall and sometimes threatening. But, still he regarded me as an important part of his life. When I was an adult, my dad and I had many conversations about life and what it had meant to him to be my Father. And he was an example of a good son because he always treated his own Father with respect and love. He was a good Dad!

I watch (and have watched) the Fathers of my own children. Gerry was the best! Oh, how he loved his children! He struggled, just like I did, through the diaper years, the toddler years, the young child years and even the pre-teen and teen years. But, when they became adults, well, that is where he shined as a Father! He loved to relate to them on a new level -- a more equal level. It was a transition that was a joy to behold.

Dean shines when his sons are around him. There is nothing he wouldn't give or sacrifice for either one of them. He truly is a Dad.

This brings me to the best Father of them all, our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father. He is there whenever I need Him -- all I have to do is call on Him. He blesses me beyond anything that I deserve. He gets me through tough times, lifts my heart when it is troubled, and through His Son, Jesus Christ, I am blessed with the knowledge that death has been concurred and each and every one of us will receive an eternal glory in the hereafter. I love my Heavenly Father.

I hope and pray that all of the Dads out there had a wonderful day celebrating your honorable title. God bless each and every one of you.

"I Wonder Where We'd Be Today..."

I woke up this morning (well, my morning! Actually it was 1:00 pm!) and thought about this day in history--fifty-two years ago today. There is sunshine today, just as there was sunshine on that day and for that I am grateful.

Fifty-two years ago, I married Gerald Vernon Henderson in the Los Angeles Temple. I do not regret that decision. We shared twenty-two years together, raised 5 amazing children, and traveled a very interesting road. I miss him! I will always miss him.

Someone asked me the other day, "Does it get any easier as time passes?" My answer then and now is yes and no. Yes, the festering wound that death leaves on our heart does heal over time. And no, because the yearning to know where we'd be today if he had lived never goes away.

I do have parts of him still with me. I see him in our son Mark's clear blue eyes. I experience him in our daughter, Kim's firmness. I hear his words sometimes come out of the mouth of our daughter, Debi. I see his face mirrored in the face of our daughter, JerriAnne. And I witness his amazing love in the hugs of our daughter, Heather. He left me this legacy and I guard them all with every fiber of my being.

I feel his warmth like a thick, warm blanket wrap around me whenever I am troubled, and I want to just keep it there forever. Every day, in many ways, I feel his closeness and sometimes I ask, "What would Gerry do in this situation?" That keeps me heading in the right direction.

So, today I am wishing "us" a Happy Anniversary. I love you Gerry! I always will.

Into each life...

Ezekiel Gerald

Into each life there comes some sunshine! Meet little Ezekiel Gerald Henderson. Born May 2, 2010 to Gerald and Lily in Taos, New Mexico. He weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches long. According to both Gerald and Lily, he looks just like Gerald did when he was a wee one! What do you think?
Gerald Mark


At least, I can see they both have blue eyes! Now, it seems to me that I learned somewhere that blue is a recessive color, so that tells me that Lily must have those recessive genes in her gene pool and Connie must have had them in hers. Very interesting, because both Connie and Lily have brown eyes! At any rate, blue has definitely shown its color in both of these boys.

We welcome this little new one into the family and pray for sunshine, health and that his life will be a happy one.