Time for the Christmas Letter

Each year about this time Deb writes a Christmas letter to send out to our friends and family members via both email and regular mail. This was quite an eventful year for us, with both harrowing trials and joyful celebrations.

Even the writing of the Christmas letter had a minor trial or two. Deb now has a new computer with a new operating system and a new version of Microsoft Word.  For a while neither of us could get the spell checker to work, even aftter following the official instructions. Then suddenly the spell checker started working, and that was a relief.

When it came time to print the paper copies of the letter another hitch developed. The letter wouldn't print. The printer was connected and turned on and the program was telling it to print, but nothing was happening. Well, I didn't know what else to do, so I turned the printer off, then on again. Sure enough, that took care of the problem.

Originally Deb was going to include my online Avon webstore URL in the letter, but then I checked and discovered the URL no longer works. After many years as an Avon representative, I'd had to give up the direct selling to my local customers this year due health problems and drop in sales, but I'd kept the online webstore for those who wanted to use it and have orders shipped directly to them. But, apparently due to lack of activity, the webstore was closed and I'm no longer an Avon representative.

But I'll still do what I can when I can to earn some extra money. I'm a guy and like many men I like to do something to earn money to provide for my wife. It's not essential that I work, but as long as I'm able I will seek to do so.

 Although I'm no longer an Avon representative, but I am still an Amazon affiliate. That is why you will see Amazon banners on my blogs. If anyone goes to Amazon by clicking on one of the banners and then orders anything on Amazon I will earn a commission.

This has been quite a year for Deb and me. Getting the Christmas letter written and ready to send out has been a time to look back at what God has brought us through, both the trials and the blessings.

Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you to all who have helped us in so many ways. May you all be greatly blessed at this Christmastime and throughout the coming year.

Time For A New Computer For Deb

Deb's computer is quite old, and  lately we'd been considering getting a new one. Yesterday it became clear to us that right about now was the right time to go ahead and order one.

Thankfully, we won't have to go into debt to get the computer. Thanks to the generosity of many of you, we no longer have the debt that medical expenses put us into. We now have enough money to purchase a new computer outright.

We won't be extravagant with the buying of the computer. She doesn't need one that can play dazzling high action video games. But she does need one that can handle an artwork program, a good Bible study program, go online for blogging, research, and fellowship, and playing games like Bookworm, and Scrabble.

I'm so glad that God chose for DebbieLynne and I to be born and live at a time when home computers are available. DebbieLynne is so creative both in her writing and art, and a computer enables her to express those gifts in so many ways. A computer and the Internet also make it so much easier for her to communicate with people using Facebook, Twitter, and e-mails.

The computer that will be coming for DebbieLynne will be one with a good reputation for being reliable and repairable if that's ever needed.

When I went online to order the computer yesterday I ran into some difficulty completing the order. But the online help service chatted with me and soon things were completed and I was given a good deal on next business day delivery. Since we didn't know if we could get Deb's old computer to cooperate a much longer, I asked for the quicker shipping service. So hopefully by tomorrow the new computer will be here and a friend from church has offered to come help get it set up.

I am very happy for Deb that she won't be without a computer. It will be fun to see what she does with the art program that will come with it. It will probably operate faster than the old one, which will be nice. Not so much waiting to go online or for programs to start. And it will even have a keyboard that won't have to be propped up with old cassette boxes like her current keyboard needs.

I get so blessed whenever something good comes along for DebbieLynne. I hurt when she's hurting, but that's part of being married, and it's worth it, because I get to share the fun and joyful things with her as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today. I hope all is well for all of you.

Watching Citizen Kane Together

Last night DebbieLynne and I started watching a movie named Doc Martin because we both very much enjoy the quirky humor of the TV series by the same name. Right away it was clear that the movie was not like the TV show. We gave the movie a few more minutes, but concluded that neither of us were interested in the film. So instead we decided to watch a commentary on Citizen Kane, which is one of DebbieLynne's favorite movies.

DebbieLynne has good taste in both food and movies and (in my opinion) what man to marry. I'm glad she let me know how much she likes Citizen Kane because that encouraged me to give her a two DVD set of the classic movie. The extras include a documentary about the movie and two commentaries.

We'd already seen one of the commentaries, so last night we started watching the second one. I was fun to learn about the innovative things Orson Wells did in the making the film, usually not just be be "new" but simply because this was his first film and he didn't know how he was "supposed" to do things.

Orson Wells had already had success on radio and in the theater, so he used techniques he'd learned in those areas to enhance how he presented the story in Citizen Kane. He used what he'd learned before and experimented to learn more about what would or would not work in making a motion picture.

DebbieLynne likes well made movies, and, like Orson Wells, she like to be creative. In her artwork that she does on the computer. She studies what others have done and written, and experiments to discover new ways to get the results she wants.

I love being married to DebbieLynne for many reasons. One reason is because I get to have more enjoyment out of watching and learning and appreciating movies like Citizen Kane as I do so with my darling Deb.

Doing What We Can for Each Other

Since both my wife Deb and I have been disabled since childhood, we are limited in what we can do for each other. She'd love to prepare meals for me, but since she physically can't do that, she does all she can to see that I eat healthy. She finds good recipes online, modifies them to fit my dietary restrictions, then prints them out so her attendant can shop for the ingredients and cook the meals for us.

She knows I like old movies, so she browses online and picks out ones for us to view when they come in the mail from Netflix.

She knows I enjoy driving both our chairs at the same time when we're out and about, so she often lets me do that even though she's quite capable of operating the joystick of her chair by pushing on it with her head.

It is a privilege and a pleasure for us to do what we can for each other.

During the storm that just came through, when Deb's regular attendants couldn't get here, I helped out a bit more than usual. Back-up attendants aren't as familiar with how things are done so I helped out with explaining things and assisting when I could.

Most days, unless I'm sick, we have lunch and supper by ourselves. The food has already been cooked and frozen, so all I have to do is thaw and microwave it. We both like it that way, rather than having the extra company of an attendant sharing the table with us. At lunch time we even usually have music playing. DebbieLynne picks out music she knows I like and plays it on her computer.

In the morning, after my attendant gets me up, and before DebbieLynne's attendant gets her up, we usually have time to pray while I massage her feet for a few minutes. One of Deb's feet has especially poor circulation since (for some reason) she doesn't ever do any walking. Even my massaging that foot in the morning hadn't helped much. But yesterday the back-up attendant explained that if the lower leg isn't also massaged, the blood pooled in the foot won't have any place to go. So we tried that this morning and her foot looked much better after just a few minutes!

Deb and I can't do a lot of things for one another. But what we can do, we are so glad to do. You see, after just over ten years of marriage, we're still very much in love with one another.

The Storm Named Sandy Stayed Away From Us

Folks in New Jersey and New York were severely impacted by hurricane Sandy. Deb and I are praying for them and the workers who are striving to rescue those who are stranded, and repair the damage that was done to their property and lives.

Here in our apartment on the third floor of our building we saw the trees blowing back and forth by the strong gusts of wind. From time to time there were torrential downpours, but they didn't last very long.

My mom, who lives in another part of  town, lost power for a few hours. DebbieLynne's evening personal care attendant wasn't able to come because driving wasn't safe at the height of the storm. Deb's morning attendant couldn't come this morning due to a tree having fallen on her car while it was parked in her driveway.

But our building only lost power for less than a minute. DebbieLynne was helped out last night and this morning by a woman in  the building. I got help from the guy who normally helps me who also lives in the building.

We also got phone calls from people offering to come to our aid if needed. But we were safe. We didn't need to use the water that we'd filled the tub with. We didn't need to use either the electric lantern that we bought or the one that had been given to us by a friend at church.

Thank you for those who prayed for us. Now lets pray for those who are recovering from the damages inflicted by the storm named Sandy which did not do harm to Deb and me.

A View of the Custom House Tower in Boston

Two days ago Deb and I took advantage of a mild late October day to venture into Boston. We visited the Granary Burial Ground where the graves of John Hancock, John Adams, Paul Revere and other patriots are located. We shared a turkey burger at a healthier than most hamburger restaurant. Then headed for Haymarket to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables.

Just before getting to Haymarket we passed by Quincy Market where I took this picture since the fall colors of the foliage looked nice with blue sky and the Custom House tower in the background.

The Custom House Tower can been seen from many locations in Boston. It's not the tallest building in Boston, but it is very distinctive. It does have an observation deck but the day we decided to visit it we learned that the deck has high walls and so those of us in wheelchairs wouldn't be able to see much.

Even though we've never been up in the tower, I always enjoy seeing it, and from time to time take another picture of it. It so good to be able to go out and about with DebbieLynne and see interesting sites.

I So Appreciate the Help Deb Gives Me

Gen 2:18  Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." ESV

 I need help. I get to be reminded of that quite often. For example, just yesterday I was letting the day go by without calling the paratransit service to request transport for DebbieLynne's doctor's appointment today at noon. After all, the office is less than a half mile away and the weather forecast was for no rain until late afternoon. But DebbieLynne reminded me that it would be good to request the trip, and in the morning cancel it if the weather was indeed what it was forecast to be. So I called.

Well, sure enough this morning we woke up and it was raining. Not heavily, but enough to have soaked DebbieLynne and me if we're tried to get to and from the doctor's office in our power wheelchairs. It was still raining both when the van took us to the office and back home again afterwards.

Deb also helps me eat healthy, which is so important for somebody like me who's had cancer and a heart attack. She finds healthy recipes online and adjusts them to fit our dietary restrictions.

She also helps me improve the writing for my blogs. She's an excellent writer and has even served as an editor. Now that I'm blogging more, she's giving me points to help me communicate more effectively.

She also helps me be a better husband. When I blow it as a loving husband, she helps me try to do better. She also forgives me, and that, too, make me want to do better.

She also encourages me to be a more godly man. Even though we very much like to be with each other while at church, she's happy for me to spend time fellowshipping and praying with the other men.

I thank God that Deb is my wife. I can never thank Him enough for that.