Happy Birthday Hayden, Jayden, & Jesi

Happy Birthday to my nephew Hayden Foster, my brother Tom's son. Hayden turned 22 on this past Saturday, May 24th. He spent his birthday being in the wedding of his childhood friend, Heath Hemphill from West Monroe. Hayden is the youth pastor for his Dad at Dallas First Church in Dallas. Hayden, we love you and are proud of you!

Happy Birthday to my great neices, Jayden & Jesi, my nephew Jeremy's girls. Jayden & Jesi are 11 months to the day apart. Jesi turned 6 on April 23rd & Jayden turned 7 on May 23rd. Jayden & Jesi, we love you and are proud of you both!

Happy Birthday Mom!

This is a belated post to honor an incredible woman....Mom! She doesn't like her picture taken and much less put on the internet, but she is an amazing woman who we love very much. She is always taking care of her kids, grandkids and great grandkids. She gives unselfishly of her time, love, money and ....food! Ha! Her homemade flour tortillas are the best. Not to mention many of her other culinary masterpieces.

Last Monday, the 19th, was her 74th birthday! We took her and Dad to "The Pantry" for breakfast and the went on to the "Garment District" and the "Alley." Later on that day we grilled some salmon with all the trimmings for her bday dinner. Debbie then brought out her favorite yogurt from "Penguin's" with a candle in it as we sang "Happy Birthday."

Happy Birthday Mom!

Why I love Southern California!

Deb and I took some time later this evening and drove to the water. We live in an area that is almost surrounded by the ocean. We drove to a place in Redondo Beach called the Esplanade. The road sits up high over the beach below, but the view is incredible as you can tell by the pictures. We then drove around Palos Verdes Pennisula and got to see Catalina Island on an incredibly clear day. The temperature was about 62 degrees. The drive around the pennisula puts us close to our house when we get to the other side. So it's a neat way to go home from Redondo on a beautiful day!

Our Puppy Is Getting Big!

Today was a big day for Dexter! He had his rabies shot, his last set of shots from the Puppy Program that he has been on. This means there is life beyond the house and our backyard! He is not to sure about the leash. It won't be long before he realizes that it is the leash that will take him a lot of fun places! He is 4.5 months old and weighs 32 pounds! He was 12 pounds when we got him! ! He is a growing puppy! His Daddy took him for his first walk down the street about 4 houses! He is a lot of fun and is a cuddle bug! The pics are of him today in the front yard when we came back from the Vet. I can hardly wait to take him on walks like Bauer and I used to take every day!

Prayer Updates

I talked to my friend, Melanie Elms today. She arrived in Denver early this morning to be with her Dad, Bro. Hale. She said that he was doing better, still in ICU. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. You can be updated on him by visiting the church that he pastors, Landmark Tabernacle's website.
Please continue to keep Kris Anderson in your prayers. I received this e-mail from her husband, Mike today:
Words are not enough to express our appreciation for the support we feel from all of your prayers. This is truly an unusual trial of Kris and my faith. In spite of some not so positive reports yesterday, our trust has continued to be "who's report do you believe, we shall believe the report of the Lord". Last evening, I went to the hospital chapel and asked the Lord to give me a word and He gave me a scripture from the Psalms. "Wait I say on the Lord and be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart, Wait I say, Wait on the Lord". I received this as a direct answer.
Today the reports were much more encouraging. Kris is still being assisted to breath on a Bpap machine, but it is better than the ventilator. If everything continues to go well they will do a heart cath on Tuesday. This is very trying for her, as it requires total bed rest and no relief from the routine of ICU until then. Please pray for God's extra grace. The prognosis is she can be restored to a more normal life. Which is what we all asked for.
No one knows what it means to us to have such a powerful network of family, friends, and our Christ Church saints. The nurses and those attending Kris keep asking me "Are you Okay?" I say, “We have a tremendous support group”, and I mean that with all my heart. We thank all of you for standing with us. We are not quite out of the woods yet, but we do see that light of hope for the future.

Urgent Prayer Request

Bro. Billy Hale of Denver, CO (District Superintendent) suffered a heart attack tonight after their Weds. night service. A report from Ed Cantu said that he was in surgery late tonight and they were putting in two stints in a couple of arteries, one of which had 100% blockage. Please pray for Bro. & Sis. Hale and their family!

Prayer Request

Our friend, Kris Anderson was admitted again on Wednesday night in the hospital with some of the same symptoms and is currently back in ICU. Please keep her in your prayers.
Thanks.

UPDATE

I received this e-mail from Mike Anderson about his wife, Kris.

"Praise the Lord and thank you to all of our friends and family for your prayers in our scary happenings of last week. We are home from the hospital and Kris has been given good prognosis for complete recovery and long life. These words are a great comfort to us both. We are so grateful to God for his sparing her life and a return to normal life. We love all of you and are so glad to be networked with so many Holy Ghost filled prayer warriors that get things done in prayer. What a change in just one week. The Glory goes to God, in Jesus Name."

Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for our friend, Kris Anderson, wife of Pastor Mike Anderson. They pastor Christ Church in Houston, TX. Kris was rushed to the Hospital early Monday morning unable to breathe. She was extremely critical, but because of prayer she has responded very well to treatment. The cardiologist ruled out a major heart attack. Her doctor says this is severe flu causing pneumonia which triggered heart stress. Today they were able to take her off of the ventilator. I talked with Mike earlier today and he said she was resting and doing better. The Anderson's are dear friends of ours and I know that they appreciate your prayers.

Happy 40th Birthday Melanie!

On Wednesday, April 23 I flew to Las Vegas for a surprise 40th birthday get-to-gether for my dear friend, Melanie Elms. Sunday night, Mel's husband, David and their church, Cathedral of Pentecost in Ft. Lauderdale, FL gave her a big surprise birthday dinner that included her parents and his parents. It was there that David told her that he was taking her on her birthday to Vegas for a few days. What she did not know, was that 6 of her dear friends. . . .Myself, Mel's sister, Lori Hood, Farah, Julie Finical, Tiffany Barnaby, & her sis-n-law, Melodie Eliseo were going to be there when she arrived! Dave had the suite booked, we arrived and got busy decorating. When Dave & Mel arrived that afternoon and the door opened with all of us, what a great surprise!!! There was many surprises for Mel the rest of the week. David was a part of our party that afternoon and went to the 40th Dinner that evening at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. He flew home Thursday morning. Melody missed her plane and surprised Mel around 10:30 that night when she walked in the hotel room! Needless to say there was so much catching up with these friends! Lots of laughs, fun, shopping, eating, and just good old fun of friends getting together to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday!!

Happy Birthday Vanessa!

Happy Birthday to our daughter Vanessa! Her birthday was Saturday, April 26th. This is a belated post due to the fact that we were wanting pictures from our celebration night. We surprised her and took her to see the play "Wicked" that, contrary to the name, was an incredible performance. She didn't know where we were taking her until we pulled into the parking lot. We then went to "The Kettle" in Manhattan Beach for a late dinner. Vanessa, we love you very much!