On the Sea Of Life

For about the past week or so, we've been having some after effects of one of the hurricanes that missed us.  We're getting some windy weather which has kicked up the Sea and has made it very angry!!  The waves are really rough looking out there.  Yesterday afternoon as I was laying on the sofa reading and resting I could hear the waves crashing on the rocks along the coast over across the road.  It was so loud that it almost sounded like thunder.  There were white caps on the Sea even which is very rare here!  Usually the Sea is really calm and the water so beautiful with so many different shades of blue and aqua that it's really breath taking for the first time that you see it.  As I lay there listening to the waves pounding  on the coast, the winds began to howl around the corners of the house.  If I wouldn't know better I would think I was up north and the snow was blowing :o)  Then after work today we drove out to George Town and went to "MY" favorite restaurant Burger King.  I love the view there of the Sea.  When we got out of the car we walked over and looked down into the Sea almost dodging the waves that were coming up over the wall where we were standing.  The beautiful blues and aquas weren't there.  Now there were dirty, sandy waters instead with lots of seaweed.  You never see that unless it's been windy like this.  We stopped and I got some pictures.  It's hard to believe it's actually the same Sea that's usually so calm and pretty.  In fact, we were supposed to have a Baptism Service yesterday after the morning service, but it had to be postponed for a few days to see if the Sea will calm down and clear up.  And that's how my life has been lately ~ churning and turned upside down so to speak!  A lot has been happening and I have a lot of fears and concerns in my life right now.  Brett was supposed to leave this past Friday to go to Afghanistan but it has been changed and he is leaving to go to Virginia and then with the rest of the trip to the Middle East.  He will leave sometime probably between 1 and 3 tomorrow morning.  I'm so concerned about him as he'll be going where it's not fit for our military personnel to be right now!!  I wake up at night and just cry and pray.  Then I worry about Karissa and the boys.  They need to be together as a family and that won't be happening for another 6 months or so.  They all need Brett with them!  The sea's of my life right now are churning and pretty rough.  At times I feel like the waves are literally going to swallow me up!!  It's not a fun feeling, believe me!  I'm waiting for the Master to say "Peace Be Still" and for things to calm down again.  I know it will happen and

it will be soon!!

Please, Please Pray For Brett

PLEASE REMEMBER BRETT IN YOUR PRAYERS!!

On Monday evening the phone rang and it was Brett.  He's been in New Jersey since the beginning of August in training to go to Afghanistan.  He was supposed to leave late next week, but only as the military does they moved his date up to this Saturday.  His group will be getting up very early, boarding a bus and going to Virginia to begin the long, tiring journey to his next deployment.  He is to be there for about six months.  We're praying he'll get sent home early like he has in the past!  But then again it's the military, so you just wait and see what happens.  He's doing some very, very dangerous missions.  For one, he's the leader of a fire team and will be searching door to door for the enemy!  How horrible!!  At times, they will be getting on a helicopter and flying long distances to do this.  I just can't imagine.  I don't know if you heard on the news this week about the helicopter that crashed and all the soldiers were killed.  What a risk these brave ones are taking for our freedom!!  Please remember Karissa and the boys, too.  They've been separated already almost two months and they have to wait another six +/- months until he returns to the States to be together as a family.  I just hate war!  I hate it!!  I would love to go to Ohio to see Karissa and the boys.  Not sure if that will work out or not.  She's doing her best to care for Caden and Jordan, but it's tough being a "single" parent during this time.  When God brings all of them to your mind, please breathe a prayer for them ~ especially for Brett's safety!!!

What Do You See?

Do you see anything on the Church roof? Maybe you will if you click on the picture. Here's #1 "peeking" over the "peak" of the roof.
#2 Crawling along the edge by the rainspout.

And #3 climbing up toward the steeple. When I saw these three I just had to get my camera. This was the first I ever saw three up there. I'm sure there may even be more than that sometimes and I just don't see them!

Some Recent Happenings

On Grandparents Day, the Church gave corsages to the Grandparents. Here's mine looking a little bit wilted, but I wore it proudly :o) I got my Fall decorations out the other day that I brought here with me. Dennis wondered why I would decorate for Fall when it doesn't feel like it! ha!
A beautiful basket of flowers that were delivered to me by one of the local florists. A lady who has started coming to Church since we've come to Cayman sent them to me for being her friend. WOW!! I was so impressed!

A pretty bouquet of roses given to me this past Saturday while sitting around with my foot elevated after falling. These were from a very close friend of mine here!

This fruit basket is so delicious looking. In the picture it doesn't look very big, but it is. It is filled with several types of fruit, a piece of cheese, box of crackers, a box of Chip Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Snickers. I think there were some Kit Kat's in there too, that I wanted, but I'm assuming they're history :o) A few posts back I wrote about Sister Veta's funeral. Well, three of her daughters and one granddaughter brought the fruit basket along with a delicious cake on Saturday. That was a small token of their appreciation to Dennis for all he did for them at this sad time in their lives. How thoughtful of them!

Oh, Be Careful Little Feet What Happens To You

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a little over an hour here at the Cayman Island Hospital . . . . .

and saw one of these . . . . .
who took an x ray of this!

Now for the rest of the story :o)

Everyday this week up until today we've had rain off and on. I was ready to go to lunch yesterday when I decided to come home first and take off my sandals to put on a pair of shoes. After I did that, I was making my way down to the cafeteria to indulge in some delicious sloppy joes. On my way, I stopped and spoke to a couple of teachers who were on their lunch break. I continued on down the wet sidewalk when all at once my feet slid out from under me and I slipped and went down on the hard cement!! In the process of falling, my right foot went under me and turned. Another teacher who happened to just come around the corner when this all transpired came hurriedly to want to help me get up. I told him I had to sit there a minute as I was in horrible pain! He asked if Dennis was home and I told him he was on our enclosed back porch washing it down. So he hollered over and told him what happened and he came as fast as lightning almost. Of course, several of the kids were outside playing basketball and saw the commotion. Dennis had two of them who were nearby pull a bench over for me to sit on when I got up. The teacher ran and got a pair of crutches which had to be adjusted two times. I decided to come home then and rest. After a short period, I thought it might be best to go get it x rayed and was hoping it wasn't broke but wanted to make sure. So, Dennis backed the car into the garage for me and off we went to the hospital. When we got there, there weren't any parking spaces available near the emergency room, so Dennis got a wheel chair. After many questions from the receptionist, we were finally taken back into the ER and on to the x ray room where we waited for the technician to come. To make a long story short, when we saw the doctor she said no bones were broken, but some tendons and ligaments may have been torn. I came home and put ice on it and elevated it. This morning when I woke up, all I could think about was yesterday's monies not getting tallied up at the end of the day that was still in my desk. So, I got up and went over to the office for about three hours and then came home to ice and elevate my foot for a couple more hours. Finally, I went back and finished everything up and am getting ready to repeat the process again for a while. So far, there isn't any swelling but much soreness and some pain. Hopefully it will be much better in a few, short days. I hate being down like this!! This didn't come to stay!! It, too, shall pass!! I'm just so thankful that nothing was broke!!

SEASON CHURNS UP MORE TURBULENT WEATHER

SEASON CHURNS UP MORE TURBULENT WEATHER

"As Igor strengthened into a category one hurricane last night an area of showers and thunderstorms in the Caribbean became a little less organised. However, forecasters from the NHC say it could still turn into a cyclone over the next few days. Regardless of development it is expected to bring some bad weather to the Cayman Islands early next week. This broad area of low pressure located over the eastern Caribbean sea currently has a fifty percent chance of developing over the next 48 hours the NHC said as environmental conditions appear favourable. “A tropical depression could form as the system moves westward into the central and western Caribbean Sea,” forecasters stated."

~ From our local news

Please, please, please! No, no, no!!

It is's 6 years ago today that Hurricane Ivan devastated Grand Cayman Island. This season has many named storms out there. So far, we haven't even really had any side effects from the storms for which we're really thankful!!

Nine Years Ago Today

Let Us Never Forget!!

9/1/01

It doesn't even seen possible that nine years ago today the Towers came crashing down, the plane crashed near Somerset, PA and the plane crashed into the Pentagon!! Nine years!! Do you remember where you were when this was all happening? I sure do! I was in a big Church by myself working in the office when I heard on the radio that a plane had just crashed into the first tower. In just a few minutes time, another plane crashed into the other tower. I was so scared that I left my office and went home as fast as I could possibly get there. A little while later, the plane crashed in Somerset and then the terrible tragedy happened in Washington D.C. Our country has forever been changed because of what happened that day! So many lives were lost and many scarred for life. So, so sad!!

Thank You For Your Prayers For Jordan

I just talked to Karissa and the tests for Jordan came out good!! But the doctor is going to check him every month to make sure nothing is going on. Thank you to those of you who prayed for him. I hope all continues to go well for him!!

Another picture that I love!! Karissa had the boys to a high school football game last night. It looks like it was cool. Oh, how I'd like to know what "cool" feels like :o)) I can't believe I have to wait over three more long months until I see my little men!! They are growing way to fast!!

One Sweet Lady

We have so many sweet elderly people in our Church! One of these dear people was a lady of 88 years. In the past before we came to Cayman she had cancer in her mouth and had surgery. You know the story that so many hear ~ "We think we got it all!" Probably three or four months ago, we learned that it was back. After many trips to see her doctor she and the family decided that she would have surgery again. As much as I loved my wonderful Mother, I don't think at 88 years of age I could possibly put her through that and the treatments that so often follow that surgery. But that was their decision! Our dear friend who was known to so many as Sister Veta came through the surgery and treatments to be progressing as well as one might expect. BUT then things went in the reverse direction and she progressively became more sick and weaker and weaker. Her time on this earth was slowly coming to an end. A little over two weeks ago, one of her daughters who come to our Church called to say the helper had just phoned to say that her Mother's breathing had changed. This was in the early hours of the morning and we weren't out of bed yet. Dennis jumped up, got ready and went to the family home. A little later in the morning went on he called and asked me to call the local grocery store to order some meat and fruit trays for the family. There are five girls and one son plus the husband who is almost 92 years old. Dennis wanted them to have some food there so they didn't have to worry about preparing anything major. About an hour after talking to him, he called me back to tell me our sweet Sister Veta went to Heaven where there's no more pain and suffering! I was happy for her but hurting for the family. This past Sunday afternoon was Sister Veta's funeral at our Church. The funeral service was to begin at 3:00 pm. SInce I had to play the piano for the service, I decided to go over and make some copies of songs a little after 2:00. When I went into the Sanctuary there were already several people there. As the minutes ticked on more and more people were coming in. Our Sanctuary holds about a little over 500 people! Well, it was one of the largest funerals that I've been to. Every pew was crowded except a few in the front. We had ushers setting people and they ended up putting chairs across the back of the Sanctuary and up the middle aisle!! Someone told me there were people even out in the Narthax of the Church. This lady was so loved by everyone who knew her. Though she has six children there are only 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. There were many beautiful bouquets of flowers as expression of love for Sister Veta! What a great example of a lady she was to everyone!! Some people have a way of making a big impression on you and Sister Veta was one of them!! We will sure miss her and her hearty laugh, but know she is not sick anymore and has a new body!!

Happy Birthday, Thelma

Dear Thelma,

It still doesn't seem possible that you've left us and aren't here for me to pick~up the phone to call you and wish you a "Happy Birthday" today!! I'm sure you're having a great time in Heaven and will be having the party above all parties today!! I think of you so often and miss you. You'll always be my big sis.

I love you and wish you a Happy Birthday!!

Lots of love,

Your little sister

Dorcas

Please Pray For Baby Jordan

Today while I was at work and Dennis was in his office, our daughter~in~law called and left a message saying for us to call her as she had taken baby Jordan to the doctor. So, as soon as I heard that I called over to Dennis to come home that we needed to make a phone call. He came home soon after and we called Karissa. She had taken the baby to the doctor and there are some major concerns. From the doctor's observation and Karissa told the pediatrician there's a real concern that his little hips may be out of joint! Karissa said he cries when she lifts his legs to change his diaper. He cried when the doctor moved them around also. Next Tuesday, Jordan goes for a MRI and X-rays to see what the problem may be. Please, please pray that nothing will show up on these tests and that if there is something there right now that God will touch and heal his little body. He just turned 1 month old on August 31st. It is so pitiful that I got all teary eyed when I heard this. I just feel so bad that I can't be there to help Karissa with the boys right now!! I'll try to update more when I have the time. Thanks!

Isn't the picture adorable?