Some of my favorite things . . .

I'm sure you've heard the song from the musical Sound of Music that starts, "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . ."  (Now that I've mentioned it, it will probably be one of those tunes that get stuck in your head that won't go away.  Please accept my apology if that's the case.)  Anyway, what I saw as I walked into the hangar this morning makes my list of favorite things.

Mechanical restoration of the Cessna model 206 is practically complete.  Last Friday the plane was weighed and its new weight and balance data computed.  Ground-runs and final operational checks are yet to be done and all the maintenance records have to be completed before return-to-service flights can be made. 

The plane will soon meet transportation needs of Christian ministries in Brazil.  (They have a huge place there to take-off and land called the Amazon river and its tributaries.)  However, on a cold winter morning in Coshocton, Ohio, it's one of my favorite things.

A New Year At MMS

A new year has started at MMS. With inventory out of the way, work once again continues on many projects. Another item to deal with is the snow. Check out the MMS blog about this. Click here.

Flowers

Some little visitors and their Mommy brought me some beautiful flowers this afternoon. Gave my day a big lift. Thank you Jen, Javin and Chanelle.

Meet Stan

When Rena and I go for a stroll up and down the hallway, another fellow always goes with us.  I call him Stan.  He's a quiet fellow, but a more faithful guy you may never meet.  He's really skinny, but he holds I-V pumps and monitors day and night without complaint.  I've not seen him take any initiative and go where you don't want him to go.

Stan and I

Stan's big foot helps him perform his duties.

Stan's pretty stable as well.  I'm sure you'd have to be if you had the same vocation.  Now, you can picture, in your mind's eye, Rena, Dwight, and Stan out for a walk in the hospital corridor.

Most people might call him Stand, which is, I think, his full name.

Hospital Stay

December 30th, very early in the morning, Rena and I drove to Zanesville, Ohio to the Genesis Good Samaritan hospital.  Rena was scheduled to have a colon resection that day.  The surgery was made necessary by a few episodes of diverticulitis over the past several years.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the surgery went well.  Recovery has been more challenging than we hoped, but they tell us Rena's progress is quite normal.

It was rainy on the 30th, but New Years Eve day was sunny and quite nice.  Like most hospitals that have been around a while, it's a sprawling campus.  The main entrance is just left of center in the above photo.

New Years Eve visitors included Scott and Stephanie, Jen, Jason and Chanelle.  (Javin spent the night with a school buddy.)

I got to the hospital Sunday about 11:00 am and found Jen, Chanelle and Javin were already there to have church with Rena.  Jen brought their "Our Daily Bread" devotional and a Bible.  Chanelle and Javin read the Scripture passage and grandpa read the devotional.  (Chanelle and Javin are both very good readers.)  It was special of them to help make up for our missing church.

It's too late to back out now . . .

No pictures this time, but I'm sitting in a hospital room watching Rena sleep.  We got up at 4:00 this morning and drove about 36 miles to Zanesville (Ohio) to Good Samaritan Hospital where she underwent surgery this morning.  I'm not too knowledgeable in medical language, but she had a colon resection something-or-other. 

The surgeon was pleased with the result of his work and expects a normal recovery.  Rena will be in the hospital at least into early next week and I'll be spending my days with her.  In addition to the pain, she's kind of dopey and has a bitter taste in her mouth; but, if it was fun, everybody would want to spend New Years in the hospital.

We're grateful for the many, many people encouraging us and assuring us of their prayers.  Most of all, we're grateful for our Heavenly Father's care.  We trust Him fully with all the events of today and the days that follow.