Witnessing A Miracle

Our friends Mike & Debbie---Picture taken in December 2008

OK...Jesus did not appear in the flesh to us...but the miracle was evident.

As most of you know who read our blog, or got our request for prayers, know that our friend Mike from church, who has cancer, was very near death one week ago today. Anyone who read our blog, knew that he was prayed over for a miracle. http://sweethomerichards.blogspot.com/2009/02/blessings-miracles.html

I called Debbie on Thursday to see what I could take to them for meals, and she told me that Mike was eating again, but only soft foods that were easy to eat & digest. So, I asked his favorite soup. Split Pea....easy to do, and I happened to have the ingredients. Yahoo! I also made a pot of Cream of Potato, as Debbies favorite soup WAS not split pea!!

Yesterday...Bill & I took over two big pots of soup and some fresh rolls. When we arrived the hopsital bed was no longer in the living room, but had been moved to the kitchen. When we walked in, Mike was sitting up!! His color was back, and he greeted us as we walked in. AMAZING! After talking to Debbie & Mike's son (The one who drove from TX with a 3 day old baby), we found that:

His pneumonia is GONE!
His pain is GONE! (No more morphine needed)
He is able to eat--
His body is digesting and eliminating things properly again--
He was using MUCH less oxygen--
His lung capacity has increased--
His color was back to normal--
He is sleeping in his own bed with his wife at night--
He was SPEAKING!!

What can we say, except:

We do not know the state of which his small cell cancer is at, but I think he goes to the DR this week. We do know that the change this week has been incredible, and that we attribute it all to prayer and miracle.

We do know that we are thankful that he has had this week to coherently visit with family and friends, especially his son from out of state and his family, along with their new baby. Regardless of what is ahead, we have witnessed a true miracle, and feel so blessed to have seen God's power.

We continue to pray for the miracle for Mike--as well as financial stability for them in this difficult time. Debbie has been laid off from her job, and I'm sure though they aren't saying, that things are difficult financially. We pray for peace, and for God's will for them. Until that is totally revealed to us...we will continue to:

AMEN!!! Thanks for your prayers....

Declan's Birthday

Declan's 10th birthday was today...and although we had sniffles, Tracey told us to come for his birthday anyway. Robert joined us, as did Dallas, and Amy. Declan's Godparents arrived later for cake. The first gluten free cake I've ever had...home baked by Tracey...and it was great! Chocolate with cream cheese frosting...yum!

We shared a nice evening, and then Tracey, who is also learning guitar from Robert, played us a tune. She's coming along very well!! Robert & Dallas both played as well. We love to hear guitar...especially when Robert decides to sing too.

Happy Birthday Declan!

We Thought it was Spring!

I woke at 5AM, and looked out the window...snow everywhere! It was raining hard when we went to bed. We got over an inch of rain yeseterday, and it turned to snow sometime during the night.

When we got up at 6:30, it had melted off some...but still was on the ground and freezing. I looked out on the porch to check on the dogs (we are watching Jen & Brad's two dogs) and I saw my frog...he looked so cute with the snow all over him and covering most of him except what his umbrella was covering.....

It was a pretty morning, and the dogs had fun playing in it...with the exception of Porter, who said "I've done my stuff..now let me back in the warm house!". We're doing well for having five big dogs in the house. Everyone is well behaved!

As for Bill...he is doing well now that the news is out. He took the lay off from HP very well, and is relying on God to show us the way. In fact, his exact words were "I'm excited to see what God has in store for us." If that's not peace, then I don't know what is. Thankfully, we have the Lord to lean on, and we've been pretty "leaned" this week. Everyone else in the family is doing well too. Ryan has relaxed, and Kristin, as usual, rolls with the punches, and realizes that it's not time to sell everything, and live on the road in the 5th wheel....at least not yet! (She thinks there would be nothing better!) Thanks for all those prayer for peace for us...they are working!

Looking forward to a fun weekend with Jen, Brady, Jason & Brooklyn. Watch for pictures next week!

Blessings & Miracles?

Update on Mike 2-24:
Mike is still hanging on. No changes, and the family is still praying for a miracle. He is in a lot of pain, and while we don't know the reason God is allowing this, he is in control, and knows the big picture for Mike. Our pastors wife was there yesterday, and she said God is big enough to perform this miracle, so we must still believe, continue to pray and know that only God knows what is best.
Update on Mike 2-23:
As of yeseterday afternoon, Mike was still the same, with no major change. His son arrived from TX with his family, including the new baby, and has had a chance to visit with his Dad. That in itself was nice to hear. I will update this as I hear of any changes. Thanks again for your prayers for Mike & Debbie, as well as their family.


Our friend Mike has been battling cancer for awhile now. Recently, things have gone downhill, and he has not responded to Chemotherapy, and was unable to have radiation because of pneumonia. He was sent home last Wednesday with Hospice.

On Saturday (Feb 21), his family decided to have a bbq celebrating his life, and for a chance to say good-bye. On top of it, his daughter was being baptised at 6pm. We arrived around 5pm to find that he was not doing well. He was going a VERY long time between breaths and we were sure the end was very close. Our pastor was there and he prayed with him, as did his wife. Bill & I said our good-byes, and then headed outside. There were many people there, sharing stories, and told us how they had Mike outside earlier in the day, and took some photos with his baseball cap on. It was so sad to see Mike that way, but again, what a blessing to have the time to say good-bye. We went back inside before leaving and Mike was breathing easier, and some of the house had cleared out from the visitors. We said goodbye, gave his wife Debbie a big hug, and prayed for the best.

Fast forward to Sunday morning in church. Pastor's wife Sherry shared this story with us: This is the way I remembered it...so I may not have it word for word...but you'll get the idea.....God is working!

After everyone left on Saturday night, Mike started quoting scripture to one of his family members who is an elder in another church. Mike told this man that since he had been anointed by God, Mike wanted him to anoint him with oil, and pray for a miracle. (Mind you, Mike has not been able to speak much these last few weeks do to cancer..so this in itself is a miracle). SO...last night, they did just that. Anointed Mike with oil, and prayed for a miracle. Amazingly enough, Mike slept ALL night peacefully, something I understand he has not done in awhile. This morning, he awoke, and was again quoting scripture. He refused his morphine (which he could not do without every 15 minutes yesterday) and said he was sure that God was preforming a miracle, and that he did not need it. We would have not been surprised if he came to church today...just because of the way God was moving.

I have not had any news today, so am assuming that no news is good news. I pray that God does work a miracle in him...and that he is restored to health and we can share this story to give God the glory! Keep Mike & Debbie in prayer...only God can perform a miracle!

Ryan's Guitar

Ryan & Robert working on the basics

A few months back, after watching the guys at church play around with the guitars before & after service...Ryan thought it was something he might enjoy doing, so started looking for a guitar. We really didn't have to look to far, as God put one right in our path at the first place we looked. Amazing. Get this..

We were supposed to go to work in Eugene, but I had a sore throat and wasn't feeling too hot, so stayed home. We had made plans to visit the music store in Eugene, so Ryan was REALLY disappointed. He wanted to look at how much he would need to save, what was available for lefties, etc. I told him that I would have to go into Costco in Albany later in the week, and we could stop & look either there or in Corvallis when I was feeling better. SO...Ryan started looking through the yellow pages for music stores. He brought me one and jokingly said "You'll like this one...it has a frog in the ad"....so, we thought "Why not hit Bullfrog Music" in Corvallis. On Thursday, we picked up Bill for lunch, and headed over. The man that met us in the store was a really neat guy, and said that if he were a lefty, he would try to learn right handed...as the options for choosing a guitar were greater, and the price was lower....plus, he happened to have a used guitar on consignment that sounded great, and was in the right price range. There was a sticker mark on the front of the guitar face, but other than that, it seemed like a good deal....BUT, being we aren't guitar people, and our friend Robert had asked us if we would take him along guitar shopping to make sure we got a good one, we decided we weren't buying. We happened to know that Robert was working in Corvallis that day, so Bill called him to see if he could stop on the way home to check it out for us. Robert asked Bill where the guitar was, and once Bill told him, Robert said that Kurt would not steer us wrong....that it must be a good guitar, and the price was right. SO..we bought it. Looking turned to buying, but the circumstance was perfect, and it all feel into place. Ryan as it turned out had EXACTLY the right amount of money!

Last evening, Robert came over for supper and a visit. He sat down with Ryan for nearly an hour, going over proper care of a guitar, how to hold it, explained the mechanics to him, and told him what he'd need to purchase for it yet. Ryan seemed to do really well in understanding what Robert was sharing with him. They played around a bit on Ryan's guitar, then Robert went out & got his guitar, and they worked on things together. It was nice to hear Robert play and sing...and good for Ryan to see it was something he could do if he put his mind to it. Robert explaining the guitar to Ryan

Ryan spent about three or four 15 minute sessions today practicing, and each time he improved. I heard him changing chords much quicker tonight, than he had this morning. He was actually making nice sounds instead of idle stumming! Way to go Ryan! We will be looking forward to our first campfire song on our next trip out!

A Farewell Weekend at Washburne

We departed home on Friday AM, around 11, and arrived at Washburne around 1:30. Flo met us as we rounded the loop and gave us a nice greeting! We parked, and headed up to visit with Harry & Flo for awhile. We conned them into taking some pictures in front of their volunteer sign at the park, and then we headed off to Florence for our usual Friday night supper, and visit to Bi-Mart!

We woke on Saturday to some drizzle, but it quickly dried off, and the sun came out. Kristin took off to ride her bike, and I was busy working on a parting gift for Flo & Harry. They have been park hosts in the winter at Carl Washburne since 1997. We officially met them in Jan 2000, when the mud slide in Florence closed the highway, and we frequented the park, because no one else did & we loved having it to ourselves! It was this way for 3 months before they opened the road. In that time, we got to know Harry & Flo, and always tried to spend some time there when they were hosting in the park. Winter is our camping time on the coast anyway, since it is way to busy in the summer. For these last 9 years, they have been adopted grandparents for our kids while we are at camp, and good friends to us as well. We look forward to our visits when we camp.

Kristin over the years has picked up many treasures off the beach at Washburne, and she helped with our project by contributing a small sand dollar, 2 agates, and a pretty shell. We grouped these together in a nice wooden collage, and pasted the treasures around the frame. Together with the photos we took on Friday, along with some nice pictures of Washburne beach, and Heceta Head Light House, it made a great grouping. We took our gift down to them on Saturday after supper, and they were both very pleased. Flo had visited earlier in the day (thankfully, I had already finished & wrapped the gift!), but she saw that I had printed the group picture I had taken the night before, and had it on our fridge. Needless to say, we talked our way out of that, and made sure we gave them the gift that night!

Sunday brought a lazy morning, in which Ryan read us the lesson we were working on at church. He was disappointed because it was the lesson on Sampson....so we read the two chapters, had a good discussion, and will download Sunday's teaching tonight, and listen to it on the way to work tomorrow!

After our quiet morning, we had lunch, a nap, and then we headed to the beach. As we got onto the beach, it was nice & sunny, but a storm quickly blew in, and we spent the evening inside at Harry & Flo's visiting while the wind blew. Thankfully, Washburne is protected by a high bluff behind the camp, and lots of trees. It rained hard all night, and thankfully, come Monday morning, it burned off, and we had another beautiful day...so beautiful, that we decided to stay another day. Bill called work and took a vacation day, and we enjoyed yet another relaxing day in our favorite place.

Today was sad as we pulled out of camp after lunch. We realized it was our last trip there with our smiling hosts there to greet us. We will miss the, and Washburne won't be the same. I guess we'll have to start camping in southern Oregon where Harry & Flo are going to settle. Thankfully, they are keeping their doctors in Corvallis, so will see them for that, and of course we will get together from time to time...so we're not "too sad"!! We wish them well in their new adventure!

Just some funny pictures

Sunday after church, we headed to the O'Hara's for pizza and some much needed catch up time! We had a nice lunch together, a game of cribbage for the adults, and some dress up & play time for the kids. Kim & Kristin are here in their funny get ups!

This other picture is from Monday School--after class, the kids hang out & play while the teachers clean up. Kristin found her way to the dress up box in the preschool room!