Merry ChristmasI have not been able to get on the Internet . Peter fixed it on Christmas when he came down . We had a nice Christmas with more to come when Pat and the boys come tomorrow . Decorating was haphazard . Pennie thought that cleaning was more important than decorating . I got a tree up and one drawer of balls on it , and the star on top . I got a new fibre optics tree and John had a train that also glowed in different colors . I put them on top of the bookshelf . When Luke saw them , he suggested that I get them to move with music . His Grandfather would have loved that . HAPPY NEW YEAR Today was the first time for me that I did not attend service , because there wasn 't one held . It felt strange . Next week is the children 's Christmas program and of course we were to practice . The choir was doing a special program , and the stewardship committee was hosting a tailgate party , and we were to watch the Packers after service . Pledges were to be made before the party . The blizzard made all this unsafe to hold . Pennie cancelled , the practice before the church service was cancelled . Next week all that was to happen this week will happen then , with the addition of the Christmas Program . Wrong . The choir 's program will be held on Christmas Eve . My snow shoveler broke his snow blower on what he said was a extension cord . There were no extension cords on the side walk or driveway . He is trying to fix it with parts so he will not have to but a new blower . Only part of the driveway got cleared . He thinks that Pennie may be able to get out . I know I can not get out . As a Christian , I have a concern . We pack bags for the Sunday School children to get after the Christmas Program . I went looking for items to but in the bags . Small toys and candy . I could not find any with Christian symbols on them . It was Santa . Rudolph , or Frosty . Pennie ordered some from Oriental Trading , but have we replaced Jesus with Santa . Is Santa an Idol ? I could not find any wrapping paper with a Christian design . I would like to keep Santa and his friends from the church , because he has taken over everything else . If the Children do not have the pastor , teachers , and congregation talking about Jesus , not Santa , how are they to learn about the real meaning of Christmas ? Instead of reading about Jesus birth to the children Christmas Eve , It is The Night Before Christmas , on TV shows , and maybe in homes . Just something to think about . I hope all had a Happy Thanksgiving . We went to my son Pete 's house for the meal , we all went including the dog . The food was very good , and we all ate too much . The dogs [ Pete has a dog too ] also shared in the meal , but that was not the way we thought it should be . As we were eating apparently a dog or dogs had some pie crust . We were not sure if the pie had been crushed on the way there or not . One pie was missing crust on one side , but later Spanky was after the pie so that answered that question . My oldest grandson made five pies . One of the pumpkin pie was made from scratch starting with the whole pumpkin . Canasta was played . As Lori 's mom was leaving the house she placed the left over beans in a pot on the floor , not having a dog of her own at home , and the dogs added to their meal for the day . Pat , Curtis , and the boys had to go back early Sunday . Pennie and I were at the church at 7AM to set up . I carried in the cookies I made for fellowship after the service , leaving my purse behind . I returned to the car to get my purse , and the church door locked behind me . I was left outside in the very chilly weather . I knocked , and knocked . After about five minutes Pennie heard me , and let me in . It was celebration Sunday for the children and they got to play a quiz game going over the material they had for the last unit . They also take part in the service by being ushers , greeters , and reading the lessons . At the beginning of the service Pennie explained how the children 's offerings were used from last year . The children took part in the heifer program and bought a goat , sheep , a pig , and geese . She had pictures of the animals on sheets of 9x10 paper , she placed them on the pulpit holding them up one by one . Ending her presentation she picked up all of the papers on the pulpit . Pastor Steve when he got up to do his sermon starting looking around , and then asked has anyone taken my sermon . There were no responses . The children did a play for the children 's Sermon and there was a thought the the sermon got mixed in with Posted by I went to the latest Harry Potter movie at midnight , with my daughter . We were the last to be getting tickets , and knew that all theaters were sold out , so we went early to get good seats . I watched as the theater filled with mostly teens with a few middle aged scattered about . I saw no one who looked to be my age , and that could be because seniors do not want to out at midnight , but I could sleep in . I enjoyed the movie . I have read the book , along time ago , but I am looking forward to the ending , in the theater . It has been long a long time since I have blogged . My bathroom got painted finally after four years . When they put in the walk in tub , they replastered , but they did not paint saying I could save so much doing it myself . I thought that was true , and it was small , no problem . Problem how does a height challenged person paint over a tub with no room for a ladder to be safely placed in the tub ? Answer , call in the family troops . My son , daughter , and grandsons Alex and Caleb . They did a fine job . I now have a beautiful coral room , which I added a verse and stick on flowers and butterflies . I would show a picture but I have lost the cord and the instructor to put pictures on the blog . I hope to figure this out . I got a big scare last month when I discovered my bank had not been paying my mortgage for eight months . I discovered it not my bank . They had not done as I instructed to make the new account as the old . I got a new account because of John 's death . I asked several times if they had done that and they said they had taken care of it . The loan was from them so I figured they had done that . On the statements that came from the bank there was no record , and that bothered me , I finally decided instead of worrying I would check into it , I should have done that much earlier . I had the money because it had not gone out from my account , but I was thinking I was doing so well , I could take a trip to Germany . Glad I did not do that . I now have little trust in that bank , but I am afraid of a change . This whole incidenPosted by Pat had vacation , and did not want to spend money , so he came here . Bree and Luke were coming for the week . We planned to go to Door County . While looking for things to do , we found geocaching . It is sort of a treasure hunt from the Internet . This was a time were everyone could enjoy , we even brought the dog . She did have to spend some time in the car while we ate supper at Al Johnson 's . A Swedish restaurant with goats on a sod roof in Sister Bay . The food was very good . Across from the restaurant at a ice cream shop in the ground was hidden one of the caches . At lunch in Sturgeon Bay , we ate at a coffee shop with tables outside , and they let the dog sit with us . In Sturgeon Bay there was a cach at the Welcome Center . There were three others that were progressive . When you found one it had a clue to the next . The first clue was at the start of the canal . It was a nice park area . The next clue led us to a field next to the canal . The last one was at a lighthouse . We did not find the treasure . The kids loved the beach and managed to get wet . I held the dog away from the water , a ride home with a wet dog would not be pleasant . Our first outing was to a Harley Davidson resort , kind of . There was a zoo , a museum , a restaurant , a flea market , and a pirate sailing ship the kids could play on . Pat wanted to just sit around the house reading and playing computer games , and we did that too . On Thursday , Pat and I went to the Packer preseason game , with Pete and Bree . It was fun and they won . The boys stayed at their aunt 's home with her and Luke . Pennie came up later after work . On Saturday we went to the " Y " so the boys could go rock climbing . They would like to stay longer than our paid for time . I have had a hard time getting on to blog , but apparently I was not going the correct way because Pennie got me on to do this post . VBS was fun . We did High Sea Adventure . Pats boys came for that the first week in August . The older boys were part of the staff . I was the bible story person . We acted out Peter 's escape from prison , Paul ' Posted by I have been painting , not my house , but in the church . Kay who is not a designer by trade , but gifted and her family have taken on the challenge to spruce up St . Marks . Finished are the library , and Pastor Steve 's office . Pennie and I are painting her SS office . We have finished two walls with two coats . We have two panels between windows with one coat . The walls are tan . the panels are are maroon . We have to move numerous items to get to the last wall , which is an area above the shelving units . Pennie and I took some time off , and went up to Green Bay to the Heritage Hill State Park for the Laura Ingalls Wilder days . Lori and Brea joined us . The place was packed , so we did not get to see Dean Butler , Melissa Anderson or William Anderson . They let only a few in the Library at a time and there was a long line . We went to all the open buildings . It was a nice day , but storms preceded and there was a lot of muddy trails . Pennie did get to grind coffee . We chose not to scrub clothes on scrub boards . It was a very nice day , but we will come back when the park is less full . It was fun to see all the children in costume . Vacation Bible School is coming soon . It starts on Aug . 8 . Pennie and I have to figure out how to build the canon . Quilly I have not been able to get to your blog . I have not been able to blog myself . Don 't know what is going on . We went to Lifefest from Wednesday through Thursday . Peter brought down Brea and a friend . The bands were great , and which were the best , depended on your choice of music likes . It rained Wed . night . The show did not stop , and we did get wet . Thursday we dodged puddles , and mud . I was embarrested for my car as Pennie and I traveled to Indianapolis on Friday for my nieces wedding . I thought the word that my daughter used to discribe the wedding was perfect " elegant " . The bride looked like a princess . The reception was across the street from the motel . The caterers did an excellent job . Each guest was served salad and a meal of stuffed shells , roast beef , potatoes and shrimp . The cake was sooo good . The bride had a friend make up a small jar of honey , which had the couples name and date on it , given to each of the guests . The being with family for a very happy ocassion was so nice . I don 't get to see my sister often , only about twice a year . Her whole family less . Her older daughter lives in Spain . My sister 's grandson from Spain was adorable . He was the ring bearer at the ceremony . Happy 4th , late . Busy getting ready for the fourth , Lifefest , and my niece 's wedding . Everything comes all together . Pennie and I are back eating healthy . We were cooking our steak , when a alarm went off . Think it was the smoke alarm . Your wrong it was the carbon monoxide alarm . We thought it was the smoke alarm too . The alarm is very loud . The alarm was plugged in under the card table I have up . I crawled under the table to read it and found it was telling that there was gas . I unplugged it and moved it to another location and it continued to sound . I got out the other alarm I have in the bedroom . It did not go off , but we called 911 and the firemen came . They found no gas leak . We had a nice Fourth , Peter , and family came down after church . We grilled , played canasta , and set off fireworks . Luke helped his father , and had a great time . Grandpa would be proud . Many things were planned that did not happen . Pennie put some pictures together for a slide show and I was to talk with it so I did not have to stand in front of the church where I was sure to cry . We worked on it through the week , but something would go wrong . The memorial was to be at 1 : 30PM , but we were to at the church at 12 : 30PM to visit before the service . We stayed in Iron Mountain 45 min . from Crystal Falls . We were still working at the slide show at 11 : 30 . We were to meet Peter at Fabs Restaurant for lunch , the memorial was going to have only desserts . They had finished eating , but Pats kids were hungry so we ordered . I ordered toast and a egg , quick and easy . It took a half hour to get our meal . Fabs is not fast food , but it does have good food . We were late getting to the church . This was not a bad thing it turns out . I came in the back way , and my circle was serving . They were in the kitchen so I got to greet them and was able to have a short visit with them . It was hard going through a service twice but it was so very nice to be able to see our friends again . I also got to visit with members of the choir before the service . Our first Intern was there . The service was very nice , but long . The one hour became two . Borning Cry was dropped . the flowers were beautiful , red roses . On Friday at the motel the whole family was there , and we got to go swimming . On Sunday we went to one of Pats favorite restaurants in Iron Mountain B 's . It has huge cinnamon rolls . We got three and shared . I am writing this for the second time , because I can not get it to publish . It then disappeared . I am shortening this now . Sunday service honored those graduating . After church Pennie and I worked in the SS office organizing last years SS material so it will be easy to get to when we decide to use it again . We were there for five hours . Thursday night those interested in VBS gathered to do some more planning . Those gathered were excited at the way everything was going . Stations to teach were picked . Saturday a Christian Ed meeting was called for at 9 : 00 AM . Pennie was on call , and had many calls out , one coming at 7 : 00 AM . She was to be off at 8 : 00 AM . It was five minutes to nine when I picked up the agenda on what I knew she wanted to discuss and headed out to the church . The back door was locked . I had Pennie 's keys so I unlocked it and came in with the agendas . The superintendent office was open and two of the committee were sitting in the room . I was a bit surprised , but figured they had keys also . I noticed the cupboards were open and again I figured they opened them . Then Pastor came over and asked if we were the first people in the church , and if we noticed anything wrong with the locks . The lady who had the trouble with the talking parrot said she was there first and had let the others in . They noticed nothing wrong with the doors . Pastor said that his office was broken into , and the gift cards he gave to those who needed help were taken and a small amount of money he had in his desk was taken . Pennie came just at that time . So we explained what had happened . Pastor went back to wait for the police . We sat down to begin our meeting , when we noticed the safe which was not used but taking up our space was opened and a metal box with keys were laying on the floor . Then we noticed the door jam was pulled from the wall . Pennie 's office was broken into also . We reported this to Pastor , and then we did a check of the other rooms . In the nursery we found where they had entered through the window . In the library where the food pantry is the door to it was open which is closed but not locked . Nothing was taken . There is a paddle locked door with items to give away which showed signs that there was an attempted to enter . We made plans for next years SS . Another meeting was held to find out the teachers wants for their rooms , it was 1 : 00PM when we lePosted by My oldest son had vacation last week so he and his wife came down here for a visit and to help me . I had boxes of items to go to Goodwill . They were loaded up and taken there . Then we went to Steins to pick flowers for Memorial day to put on Dr . Johns grave site . I did not want to plant this year because I was afraid that I would not be able to take care of those planted . I found a nice stand that would hold the beautiful flower basket I picked out . We went out to lunch at the Old Country Buffet . On Saturday my daughter and I drove up north to Norway for my nephew 's graduation party . We were a surprise . Coming in early gave us time to visit . The weather was perfect , although my sister - in law thought it was too warm . Memorial Day we rested in the morning . I went out later to shop for items for my mantel , for the summer . In the evening we started to prepare for next years Sunday School . We are hoping that then my daughter will not have the stress during the actual teaching time . Earlier in the week my sister and brother - in - law stopped over on their way up North for a family reunion on his side . We had a nice visit and we went out to eat at Oslos 's . This is the place that was full so Pennie and I could not go . The road to get there is now all torn up under construction . It was hard to get to it , but it was open , and we were the only people there to eat . The food was very good , and the choices were not your ordinary ones . I had Norweigen chicken . I am not sure of all that was on the chicken for sure cheeze , and mushrooms . It was served with new potatoes [ there was a potato choice ] rutabager and a large beet slice . I ho ; e every one had a good Memorial Day . When Dr John and i first married we got a parrot called Polly . I think Dr John did blog about Polly . When Pete was born we had to sell Polly . Dr John continued to want a parrot . Christmas a few years ago Walmart was selling these talking dancing parrots . I thought perfect parrot for Dr John . no clean - up . Polly 's leg broke when we took it out of the box , but I taped it up , and Polly sat on the perch in the bedroom . One of the rotations at Sunday School this year was Treasures in Heaven and it had a station in it that needed a parrot . We took Polly off the perch and she went to church and sat in the Palm tree the church has for decoration , and was used in the station that needed the parrot . Kids and adults would be startled when Polly would squawk hello . After the rotation was done Polly was placed in a box with the other items used in the rotation and was forgotten about . There is a lady in the church who volunteers to clean - up the bathrooms after their use , and she takes care of the food pantry . While she was working last week she heard a voice saying hello . She looked around for who was in the church , because she thought it was empty . She could not find anyone . She went back to work . Again she heard hello . She did a search and after many hellos she found the box with the parrot . She took the parrot to her car to silence it . On Sunday she was telling another person about the parrot just as I came in the church after the sack race . I told her that was my parrot so she gladly went to her car and brought him to me . I turned off the button and silenced him and brought him home . Some gifts in up with many uses , and in places they were not intented to be . The end of Sunday School had come for the year . My daughter , the Sunday School superintendent , had great plans for honoring the students , and the teachers . The students , and teachers were to get certificates , which a member of the Christian Ed . committee created and gave to my daughter to sign . My daughter also wanted to give a plastic red apple filled with candy to the teachers and a box filled with candy for the shepherds . My job , if I chose to take it , was to fill the apples and boxes with candy . Filling the boxes and apples was not hard , but tying small ribbons on them , not easy . My old fingers had difficulty with the bows . My daughter also wanted to give each teacher , shepherd , and the piano player a slide show of the year . Dr John had taken pictures during the Sunday School hour , and during the services . Pictures became fewer after his death , because you forget to take pictures while you are teaching . Pennie began the week before last Sunday collecting pictures , making sure each child had their picture and name on the slide show . Background music music came next . The close of the year was to be a family event with games and snacks to follow the the awards . My daughter found a shoe cookie cutter { explain later the significance of shoe } , she planned for cookies to be made . The problem with her plan is that everything did not go smoothly . Her slide show kept crashing even though she bought a program that was to make the process easier . She had difficulty putting the music exactly where she wanted it . On Saturday evening I made the cookies , but I do not do decorations well . My idea is to frost then throw on sprinkles , not what she wanted . I went to bed at 1 : 00 AM Sunday morning . Pennie was not able to get a separate show for the pianist , or the students First Communion . She did get the the cookies decorated cutely . Part of the last six week rotation was a shoe drive . The rotation before was a toy drive for the shelter . We got two boxes of toys . We did not expect too much for this drive although we advertised each Posted by I had a very nice Mother 's day . My class at church was fun . It was the fourth grade , and they knew the Beatitudes . They did a great job in making their Kingdom Cups . I had time to fellowship after the church service , because the students helped me in cleaning up after class . My daughter took me out to lunch but where we wanted to go changed . At fellowship a lady recomended Oslo 's for it 's food and being quiet and peaceful . They were full , so we could not go there . Then we went to Olive Garden , and they had an hour wait . I looked over at Red Lopster and they had a line out side , so we went to Noodles . No line and very good food . My sons and family gave me a call . Hope you had a great day too . Many were brave or foolish and photographed the storm , we got to see the photos . I was glad to see their work . I did have some of my siding come off , but it came off today . We had high wind gust today also . I am not sure what to do with a two foot piece . I wiped it down and stuck it back up on the house . I had comments from the different people who gave bids on the roof how badly the siding job was . One person showed me how there should be nails and there were none . If you do not like to have consistent weather , Wisconsin is the place to be . We had 70 to 80 temperatures the end of last week and sunny , then it rained but was warm , followed by storms with tornado , clear and cool with gusting winds of 50mph came next . We are expecting snow next . They advertise to buy plants for Mother 's Day to plant . Not for me I am waiting for June before anything is planted . I am going to wish to all mothers a Happy Mother 's Day . It is early but I may not get back . It all happened so fast . We were watching The Biggest Loser , when the news broke in and said there is a tornado warning . I said " that means they saw a tornado . " Pennie said " Yes . " The news begins to explain where it was sighted . Then the siren goes off . Pennie and I said together " That is where we are . " The night before we had a tornado watch and we decided to go to Pennie 's basement if we got a warning . We went out our back patio door , and ran over to Pennie 's . I looked to my left and there was the angry cloud . I felt I was in the Wizard of Oz . We had a bit of a problem with the dog who did not want to go to the basement . When we were down in the basement Maggie wanted to explore . The basement had a TV and we continued watching the weather news . My basement has a battery run radio , in case we had to go down there . I forgot that . The electricity does not go out . We were in the basement for an hour . The tornado was moving away from us not toward us . There was damage to buildings , but no injury to people . The scare made us forget that today was garbage pick up day . We missed the pick up , but we only had one bag this week . My grandson Luke will be 9 tomorrow . After church Pennie and I drove to Luke 's house to celebrate his birthday . Before we went out to eat we went to Hazelwood one of the first large homes in the area . My granddaughter was giving the tour of the home . She volunteers , but had not been in the home for five weeks . She had not also given the tour on her own . This was the day she got to give the tour solo . She did a good job and we gave her a hard time with questions she did not have the answers for . There were no other visitors at this time , so it was a good practice . She got to discover items she had not noticed before . After our tour my granddaughter got to join us because she was through for the day . We went to Perkins , Luke 's choice . We went back to the house for cake , and Luke opened his gifts from his sister and parents . Pennie and I will celebrate again on mother 's day because it will also my son in Madison birthday . We had an active morning at church , because the children in the kindergarten , and fourth grades got their bibles . Pennie because she is superintendent had to sign all the bibles and put the child 's name in them . We did this on Saturday but as she was doing that she put the wrong name on one of the bibles . There was a white out pen but that did not work . She then wanted to put in a new dedication label . She had to get one more bible for a child who had not attended Sunday school all year , but because he got a letter he might show up . Pennie also thought that it would be nice to bring him the bible even if he did not show up . We had the bibles from before stored , and we wanted to get a bible that would be alike , but they are now out of print and had to get a new version . We then asked for a label , and the store did not have them , but would engrave the bible . Not what she wanted . She tried all Saturday night and Sunday Morning to get a nice dedication label made , she had one made , but it was too large . She had left the bible at church so it would not be forgotten . We went to church at 7 : 00 AM . I also Posted by I have been trying to blog for over a week , but not able to get here . I would sign in and then I would get a white page . This happened before , but one night it came back . This time I came in another way and it worked . My friend called me last Saturday and asked me to go with her to the 66th Annual Fox Valleyaires Men 's Barbershop Show . She won the tickets . She picked me up and we went the back roads into Appleton . There was a park I didn 't know about that she showed me . There was also an island . It is occupied by large condos on the water , so all the land is privately owned . The show was very good . They had a group Lunch Break which was very funny . The Lunch Break repertoire includes barbershop , jazz , gospel and folk - hiphop fusion . The other guest Quartet was Skyline . Skyline won the Central States District Quartet Competition in 2009 . The Valleyaires were very good . Pennie had a bad car time last week . She had to go out of town , and her GPS sent her on a round about way home , which was good because her transmission went . If she went the direct way her car would have died out in the country . She was able to hobble into her work parking lot . This was the second transmission that went in five years . Her protection had expired on the car but not the transmission . There was no cost . She then put new tires on . She was told her tires were bad and needed changing , almost a year ago . My son Peter and family came down Saturday and took me out for my birthday , he would have included Pennie for her birthday but Pennie went out to lunch with the other Pennie . [ Former roommate also named Pennie . ] We went to Applebees . I had the steak on the 550 calorie list . It was just the right size . Nothing came home . Hope I can blog again . Snow came back to remind us about the winter . Next week we should be in the 70s . I still do not feel well , there is pain in my chest when I have to cough , and I am still doing that too often . We have medicine for Maggie [ the dog ] to help her loose weight , and we lost the directions . I found them today . We should have increased the dosage a couple of weeks ago , and we are to bring her in tomorrow . We will bring her in to see how much she lost and tell the doc what happened . There is a lady in our church who was and is interested in working with the youth from 6th grade to 8th grade . In a series of her meetings she provided cooking instructions . The children learned how to cook different foods . Then one evening they prepared a full meal . Pennie and I were invited to the meal . There were a few burnt edges on the potatoes and green beans but the meal was very good . I am going to provide an answer why we did not go to Peters for Easter . Bree came down with what Pennie and I had . We still are coughing , and we did not want the chance to come down sick again . I have not been able to get here to blog . My screen went white and moved no further . Happy Easter ! I went with my daughter to see at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center " Little House on the Prairie " the Musical with Melissa Gilbert as " Ma " . It was very good , but Melissa Gilbert did not perform . We went in the afternoon maybe that is why . Pennie took me out to Red Lobster for my birthday . She does not like fish but she went anyway . We also took a trip down to Madison to see my grandson get a certificate of honor . My son 's X had the kids but she let them come out with us and my son for supper . Pennie and I had Easter dinner alone , baloney sandwich , but the day before we were at Red Lobster . We did not need any more food . Easter felt different . I went to Maundy Thursday service , Good Friday service and Easter . The Education Committee filled bags on Saturday and hid them Sunday for the kids . Toddlers got small stuffed animals and animal crackers placed in a very large plastic egg . The bible campers prepared and served Easter breakfast . On Saturday I went with 24 people on a bus to the Milwaukee Public Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit . I found it very interesting . There was just so much to take in in the time we had . I should have bought a book , to help in the memory of what I saw . There was a bad part and that was I had a cold , and was not feeling the best , and I was soon very tired . I was introduced now to the museum and I can go back when I am feeling better . Sunday I was still feeling bad , but I had to teach so the plan was to go home to bed after church . One of the ladies from my bible study group invited me to go with her to her son 's church , the one on the end of my block , to eat . The youth prepare a meal once a month to raise money for a mission trip . Her daughter - in - law helped in the preparation of the meat sauce for the pasta . My friends granddaughter was not able to come . After the meal , my friend gave me a tour of the church . A friend of hers , and a member of the church is an artist , had a mural in the church , and she shared it with me . My friend asked if I had time to go for a ride . We went down to the park . In the park there is a museum which has a collection of paperweights . We went in and I learned about glass making . We called it a day then . I came home feeling much better . Institutions do not move quickly . Insurance companies , banks etc . go at their speed not at the speed I would like them to move . When I am facing something I do not like to do , I face it right off the bat so the uncomfortable feeling will go away . Paper work is not something I like to do . and I started there , and now I am holding waiting for new checks and forms from one bank . The problem is I get stuck . There are probably other things I could be doing , so I am going to do other things today . Pennie got the St Marks web page working but it still has problems . I had the wrong date for the Dead Sea Scrolls trip . The trip is on the twentieth of March . I was ready last week , and then I checked the bulletin and saw the correct date . I have that to look forward to . The service was a nice healing service last night . It was not attended well . There were more at the meal before the service . I did not go forward because I do not know what to ask for . A former pastor sang " In The Garden " all sang the chorus . The pastors sermon was on the difference of being healed , and a cure . I have been asked by many concerned friends how am I doing . I think I am doing well . I have my sad feel sorry for me time , but for the most part I am OK . I have given this some thought . Thirty - five years ago Dr John developed fluid on the brain which acted like a tumor . They thought he might die . His heart stopped many times on the six block trip to the hospital . He had surgery in Green Bay Christmas Eve . He recovered . Eight years ago in September he went into a coma , and the Dr . called me and said he was dieing and to call my children to come home . They sent him to the larger hospital in Marquette . They told me he was a dead man when he came in . God performed miracle after miracle . It was a very hard and scary time for me , for he was never out of danger . Dr John had many challenges in the six months he was there . He went home on a ventilator , which he used at night . It took three years and help from Mayo to get off the ventilator to the Bi Pap . These eight years have not been easy for him . We may have had longer time if we have been able to get to Dr . Wilson . He just seemed to go down hill in the last two weeks before his death . He did not want to go to the hospital and face it all over again . The eight years might have not been easy , but he got to see his grandchildren grow up . They worked on the model trains with him . Bree shared Pigeon Falls with him writing the Co - coo song . She wrote a story for his contest . The move to Neenah brought the family closer . I guess what I am trying to say is that I thank God for the extra years He gave us . We found a new church family at St . Marks , and friends on the blog . I attended the weekend visioning for St Marks . We looked at our strengths . We also thought about how we would like to see the church grow . We made plans and times for the changes . This coming Saturday I am going with a group from St Marks to Milwaukee to the museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit . My daughter has a problem in trying to keep up Dr John 's St . Marks web page . She has a new home page constructed but can not get it into the old page . Is there help ? I am doing ok . Evenings are the hardest , although my daughter has been here until late . I have been to two bible studies and the Lenten Service . The service for Dr John was very nice . There was a representative from the Bishops office a former Pastor of my son spoke . Also a former intern now pastor and a former president of the congregation in the UP . Pastor Steve 's sermon used Dr John 's final page on his study on grief . He is buried in the cemetery opposite from our home . I can walk there . The flowers were beautiful but the cut flowers are now fading . Leaving Dr John 's page as it was for now . There have been requests to have the Sunday sermons printed and Pigeon Falls printed . I want to thank all who have come to me with their kind thoughts . I want to come to each individually , but I am not ready yet . I miss him so much . I know that my friend , brother , and Lord Jesus will be with me . The funeral will be on Thursday at 11 : oo AM at St Marks in Neenah . John 's younger sister came home from the hospital to get stronger for the surgery in a month . Dr John died Monday Feb . 15 , 2010 . I am numb , just came from the funeral home . We { my son and I } were taking him to the Dr . He had a rough morning and was going down hill . At the stop light he slumped in his seat . They called the ambulance from the clinic . They tried to save him but could not . John 's sister needs to have a valve put in . She is high risk but they are going to have it done . She is also in need of your prayers . Thank you for your support . Dr John has been weaker . I called Dr . Office they said to call 911 . He will not go so no use to call . I asked to talk to Dr and he was out of the office until Monday . I called home nursing places and they need a Dr . order . I called the Dr on call and and he increased pills and nebulizer treatments . I have an appointment for Monday morning . Not a good night or day for Dr . John . The equipment man came to look at the machine but not the Bi pap . He does not do those . He thought maybe I could get a nurse in to evaluate Dr . John 's physical condition and he or she would call in a doctor . John wants to wait until Sunday to see if he would be back in ok health . Called Dr . but Doctor had to move to Fond du Lac because of flooding in clinic . Too far to travel because Dr . John needed Bi Pap at that time . Dr by phone increased the pills that took out water . He has improved since Sunday so he is dressing and can be on just O2 . Thank you for your prayers . On Wednesday Dr John went to the Dr . He was OK then but has been having a hard time since . I will call the lung Dr and see what can be done . Asking for prayer . Pat and the boys came up on Friday , and Peter came down . Saturday the boys built two bookcases for me for the study , and they took out the old microwave cart which I was using for a bookcase . It was falling apart . I now have a place for E - Bay boxes , paper and mailing material . Pat also fixed Pennies toilet . I Today I face another Raven 's Challenge . This week 's words were : alternate reality , shadows , frantic , tomatoes , field , lilies , DVD , snow mobile , aggravation , music And for the mini : grounds for divorce , pink panther , salutations , wavering , lasagneTen word : Sandy Shore was frantic seeing shadows of creatures from the alternate reality world of no sound trying to steal the medallion from her . She did not have it , but knew that Knight her companion an invisible penguin was protecting it . To keep her calm , and not thinking about the aggravation that would come if they found her , she put on a DVD with soothing music and pictures of fields of tomatoes and lilies . A DVD of snow mobiles racing in the UP came next . Mini : If she were married her lasagne would be grounds for divorce . She was not married , and at this point in her life probably a very good thing thought Sandy Shore . Her life had become much too complicated , with an invisible penguin . In this world of hers there were panthers that were invisible also , but not pink panthers . She had finally left the TV and had made supper of lasagne . The door bell rang , and she went to the door . She wavered as to whether she should open it to the unknown gentleman in formal attire standing there . She decided to open it . " Salutations , " he said . Strange she thought . He had a large smile , but she found that she felt that it was false . He pushed his way into the apartment . He was talking , more like rambling on and on about her fine apartment , and the smell of the burned lasagne . He was looking intensely around as he talked . He went into her bedroom , grabbing her jewelery box tossing its contents unto the bed . Sandy picked up her cell phone , and started to dial the police , angry at herself for not doing that immediately . The stranger noticed her actions , and hit the phone out of her hands . " Where is it ? " he asked . " Where is what ? " " The medallion ? " " I don 't know what you are talking about . " It seemed like a force hit his legs , and he fell to the floor . A pot of left over lasagna hit him obettygram Today I face another Raven 's Challenge . 10 - word challenge are : space cadet , silver lining , wood , turtle soup , minaret , ice , grease , sales , mandala , mugAnd for the mini : broken bones , slide rule , garbage , Chinese , sanguineI am not doing a Raven 's challenge because I smashed my fingers yesterday while taking down the Christmas decorations to the basement . I had to carry a large box so I put it on Dr . John 's chair that goes to the basement . At the bottom I turned to lift the box off the chair and it got stuck . I pulled and the chairs button got hit and my hand was wedge between the box and the wood railing . with the chair heading back up the stairs . I didn 't have any broken bones but the hand was bruised . I put an ice pack on the hand . I got to use a word , that might be a silver lining . I did not drink turtle soup from a mug . That is the best I can do .