Mountain Musings

Pray for Granny

If you would, please pray for Granny! On Wednesday last week, she was in a lot of pain all day. Mom finally decided it was best to take her to the ER, and the doctors have been running lots of scans trying to figure out the source of the new and severe pain. Yesterday morning, they informed us that Granny has yet another compression fracture in her spine. 

Today they will be running a bone scan to determine how old the fracture is to try to pinpoint what caused it, as well as performing a vertebroplasty on the break. It's supposed to be a minimally invasive procedure that will help her pain pretty quickly. I'm not sure whether that will be today or maybe tomorrow, but we would appreciate your prayers for Granny's quick recovery and that her pain level will come down soon. Mom has been over at the hospital all day every day, which is why the blog has been quiet, so pray for her too as she cares for Granny.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are holding down the fort here at home.  We've all been making visits over to the hospital to see Granny and fill her in on what's going on. She hates missing out on the activities. :)

We'll have an update once Granny's procedure is done!

~Sarah

 

Happy Father's Day!

We didn't want to miss this opportunity for all the kids to have a picture taken with Dad on his special day. Here's Tom with Hannah, Jonathan and Sarah after church today.

And for his special meal tonight...grilled pizza with spicy Italian sausages, one of his favorites, and a fresh garden salad. For dessert, an Oreo ice cream cake will put a delicious touch to the end of the meal.

We are so very thankful for our Dad. His faithfulness to the Lord and to his family is a blessing to all of us.  Thank you, Dad/Tom, for all you do for our family!

Faith of Our Fathers

Faith of our fathers, living still
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!

Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
And blest would be their children’s fate,
If they, like them should die for thee:
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then indeed be free.
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife,
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!

~Deb

Congratulations, Dr. Girotti!

Last weekend, most of us were able to go up to Michigan to celebrate with Micah as he completed his 7 years of general surgery residency! He has been at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and now moves on for 2 more years of specialization in vascular surgery. Granny was unable to make the trip because of her continued back issues, but she certainly enjoyed looking at the pictures and videos we brought back. :)

We were honored to be invited to attend the special dinner for the 6 graduates. It was a very nicely catered meal, followed by awards and speeches from all the chief residents being recognized. Some of them are staying in Ann Arbor after graduation, others are going to various other fellowship programs around the country. Micah will be moving on to a hospital in Chicago, as he wraps up the final phase of his medical training.

It's been a long road with lots of hard work and long hours. Congratulations, Micah, on finishing the program! We love you and will be praying for you as you start your fellowship.

~Sarah

Homemade Vanilla Wafers

This afternoon it was time to try out one of my new recipes for market - homemade vanilla wafers. I'm not sure where I found the recipe, but it basically sounds like a sugar cookie. I decided to give it a shot!

As you can see, they spread quite a bit more than I was thinking they would...and definitely did not stay a wafer size. After letting them cool on the pan for just a few minutes, they decided they really liked the cookie sheet and didn't want to be taken off.

Hmph. That didn't work so well. :) But all was not lost, because these vanilla wafers happened to be for use in a cheesecake crust, so I was going to grind them into crumbs anyway! HA!

I just put my finished cheesecake into the fridge to firm up overnight, so I can slice and package it tomorrow. It's one of my new flavors this year, Luscious Almond. Hopefully it will sell well.

Tomorrow I'll be baking away in the kitchen. It happens to be National Donut Day, for those of you who don't know, and if I have time after market items finish, I may bake some. Also, Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, among others, are offering free donuts tomorrow! Don't miss out. :)

~Sarah