Happy Birthday Ashley!

Ashley Anglea

Today we want to honor and celebrate with our niece, Ashley.  Ashley is married to our nephew, Ben.  We are so grateful for an awesome helpmate for him as they serve together on the mission field in Madagascar.  Ashley is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet and we are so blessed to have her in our family.  Not only is she an incredible wife to Ben, but the most wonderful mother to three adorable little girls...Makenna, Brinley and Nellie.

Ben & Ashley

Makenna, Brinley & Nellie

Who would have thought that Ben would look so good surrounded in pink?!

"Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband."

Ephesians 5:33

We are thankful that Ashley respects Ben and that her obedience to Christ is exemplified in her relationship with her husband.  What a sacrifice they have made to serve God in a third world country so far from "home".  It is our prayer that we will get to visit with them sometime over the next months as they are home on furlough.  It was interesting to find out that the "Madagascar periwinkle is key in the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkin's disease."  It was is in 1989 and again in 1994 that I, Lisa, battled Hodgkin's Disease.  I don't think that the Madagascar periwinkle was a part of my treatment plan...unless of course it was in the herbal tea that Granny Anglea bought for me!!!

 

Madagascar Periwinkle

We are so thankful that this busy week has come and gone.  We met with the neuro-surgeon on Tuesday, the neuro-oncologist on Thursday and the Infectious Disease Nurse Practitioner on Friday!  All appointments were good..."keep up the good work" news we needed to hear.  Tuesday was frigid and cold but the weather changed and we were thankful to have on Thursday and Friday much milder weather with beautiful sunshine and blue skies to be out and about in.  Each day I finally feel Tom is getting a little stronger and his desire to work harder and push himself with his speech is noticeably better!  Each day that  I change Tom's IV I am getting a little more comfortable and it's going much smoother.  I believe the same is true for Julie as she feels the same about the weekly dressing changes on the PICC line...we will both be professionals at the end of these eight weeks!

Fresh Spinach Salad, Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread

(Apple Crunch - not pictured) compliments of Julie McIntosh

We continue to be blessed with great meals and if I seem a little chubbier in the cheeks you'll know why!  This week Julie McIntosh brought, pictured above, a wonderful and healthy meal, thanks Julie!

Even with the busy week we ventured out Thursday night to Mt. Vernon to watch Matt start his first varsity game!  It was a victory for him in personal areas but a defeat for the Cougars as they lost to Huntington College.  It was an exciting game and fun to see Matt play his most varsity minutes yet.  Thanks to our "insider" who tipped us off that Matt was starting or we may have missed that game.