Merle and I took Elizabeth to the Atlanta airport early this morning.  Jacob had gotten sick, so they were unable to go as earlier planned. The trip down was nice, very little traffic, and perfect weather. The Lord provided a cart left in the parking area to load her things, and it did look different to see three "trunks" instead of suitcases!

We watched until she went through security, when her hair pins set off the alarm. She called after she was at the gate and told us that they almost took her laundry detergent away!  The guy checking her carry-on did not know what it was, but one of the others recognized the item.  She would have been in a pickle without that!

We are home, and she called from Miami. She flies from there around 10:30 AM. and arrives in Haiti around 12:30 PM. She plans to be home over Easter to take part in Heidi's wedding, and then return to stay for 18 months.  Pray for her as the Lord brings her name to your mind. Thanks!

PS - Spoke to Elizabeth around 8:30 PM on Tuesday night. She had a good flight, and she and all her luggage have arrived safely in Haiti.  She will feel a little at loose ends until she gets to put things in place and begin a routine. Thanks for your prayers.

Daddy had two six hour visits home during this weekend.  The first one was Saturday afternoon, and he said that he slept quite a lot of it.  The second was on Sunday around noon, so he could be at the birthday celebration for one of his granddaughters.  He was heard to say that "he stayed up a little longer than he should have - he did not want to miss out on anything!"  The doctors are planning to release him to go home on Tuesday of this week!! We are grateful.

We are also seeing the blessing of the Lord on our daughter as she plans to leave for Haiti next Tuesday (Feb. 12). She is allowing Him to provide her financial needs, and He is doing a WONDERFUL thing in her life! She had invested over $1000 of her own money into the airline ticket, household items she would need to set up the "apartment" there, and supplies she would need to keep herself clean and healthy.  She had sent a lot of support/prayer letters out early last week. By Sunday evening, there was enough money to cover the present expenditures and have some left for her food and other supplies when she arrives in Haiti!!! We know that He will continue supplying the monthly support as well. We are grateful.

Merle has been hauling rock at a better rate than he hauled most of last year.  It has created a nice paycheck the last week or two, and we were rejoicing for the "extra"!  The Lord provides before the need arises - the water tank on the well needed replaced this past weekend!  The money was there!  We are grateful.

Elizabeth went with her cousin on Friday afternoon to see my father in the hospital at Thomasville, Ga. He was still very confused when they were there.  I picked up my youngest sister when she got off work at 11 PM and we headed south as well. We got to our parents place around 5:30 AM.  Ran into rain about Macon, Ga, (while Melvene was driving) but had good roads all the way.

We saw a steady improvement in Daddy all day Saturday. When the doctor came in on Sunday afternoon, he said that he was going to move Daddy out of IMCU onto the regular floor!  We found out later that he will be moved Monday or Tuesday to Rehab!  Things are looking up, and we are thanking the Lord for His healing power once again.

We are requesting prayer for our Daddy and our cousin that had operations on Monday. It seems that they are both having complications. 

 Daddy has been moved to IMCU for 24 hour observation.  He is retaining fluid, heart rate is a little high at times, and he is not allowed anything by mouth.

Our cousin is still in the hospital, and not sure when she will go home.  It was supposed to have been only an overnight stay. (We found out this evening that she has gone home today!)

Thanks for your interest in our family!

We are praising the Lord for two successful surgeries - Daddy had his knee replaced, and a cousin in Tenn. went through 4 1/2 hours of surgery this morning. Both are awake and doing well.  Daddy will be required to get "up and at 'em" very soon, and the cousin will be required to have three weeks of bed rest!

The ticket has been bought, the packing has begun.  Elizabeth is headed south to Haiti again!  She is scheduled to be there February 12 and plans to stay for eighteen months. The board of the Every Child School will all be there when she arrives, and will help her get settled before they leave.

This time will be much different than the last. She will be living with a Haitian family, using a room that they are building just for her. She will be cooking over charcoal, and there will be no electric. That also means no email or phone.  She will have a phone that she will be able to turn on and use in case of emergency - as long as it holds its charge!

She will be responsible to assist/oversee the school while it is session, and later set up classes with the young girls to teach them about the Christian life. Once or twice a month she plans to come down out of the mountain and visit the IFM campus.  It will give her time to catch up on her email and recharge herself and her phone!

If you would like to know more about the school and its activities, visit the xanga site-Every_Child_of_Soliette_Haiti. That site has the story of the school from the very beginning.

The one item that has not been completed yet -- and we know the Lord is going to provide it -- she is still in need of some monthly support. If you would like to help her with a donation or monthly support, message me and I will help you with the address. She is supplying all her personal needs, food, plane ticket and furnishing the house with these funds. None of the funds from the sponsorships of the children to attend school will be used for her term of service there.

Our family has spent a very quiet day at home.  Merle made a breakfast of grits and eggs, something we always enjoy. We had an late dinner/early supper around 4 PM - roast, corn and peas, mashed potatoes with gravy and lots of good iced tea!

Merle has taken the remainder of the grits to his Mom. He makes a large batch, and shares some with her. She shares them with Merle's brother, Buddy. This is usually done on Sunday evenings, then the sisters can attend church if they would like.

Jacob and family are in Florida at Valerie's mother's place.  They have done some work in her kitchen, much needed from what Valerie said. The floor got replaced, and a water heater put in from what I hear. I am so glad he can help her in that way. Helping others has been one of the things he has been known for in the past.

Merle, Elizabeth and I plan to go to Meigs and help to celebrate the 60 years of married life for my parents!  I think they are as pleased about us coming - and the celebrating - as we are.  We plan to return home on New Year's Eve day, stopping in on a get-together in Anderson to say "Hello".

We wanted everyone to know that Daddy took Mama home from the hospital yesterday around noon.

Thank you for every prayer lifted on their behalf.

The top part of Mama's heart was not doing the right rhythm, causing her blood pressure to react incorrectly. The nurse was standing in the room yesterday afternoon, watching the heart monitor, and saw it go into the correct rhythm!  It has stayed there too!  The EKG did not show any abnormalities today!

The doctor is planning to keep her a few more days - actually is not mentioning when we could expect her to come home!

Pray for Daddy though.  He is experiencing pain in his back and hip area again.  Last week he had very little that he was aware of, but has gone home to rest because of it today.  It really limits his walking when it hurts so badly.

Thanks to each of you who are willing to lift just one prayer on their behalf.

The day was spent giving thanks as I sat in the chair next to the bed with my mother in it!  It was enough just to sit there and watch her take naps -

Elizabeth had been willing to do the driving to Perry, GA, where we picked up Merle at 3:30 AM.  He drove from there to hospital where Mama is recovering. I slept off and on all the way down. We arrived at the hospital around 7:30 AM, just in time to hear the first doctor's report. We stayed with her until lunch time.

Our lunch was provided by Nathan and Mandy, Cheryl, Rose and Laura. It was a real feast! We fixed a plate to take back for Mother, thinking she would just "add" to her lunch. When we got back at 3 PM, we found a "starving" Mother! She had refused the hospital's lunch, and was waiting for the food we were bringing!

Daddy came back to the hospital, after taking a long nap, with a cooler full of "good" water from home! Mother has to drink quite a lot of water, and prefers their well water to the city water. We visited in the room with Mother for about an hour, and left around 4:30 PM when she was ready to rest.

Merle drove to Perry, GA, where we dropped him off.  I drove a little over an hour before we stopped to eat supper. Elizabeth drove from there to home.  I woke once to hear her say, "I'm going to pull over here to take another nap".  We were at our local fire department.  I finally woke enough to realize that I had slept through her first "stop". We drove about another 2 miles before she gave me the wheel to drive the last three. 

We are grateful for the watching hand of our Lord over our travels, and the knowledge that Mother is beginning the slow pace of recovery from a very hard heart attack. The doctor did tell us that we are not completely "out of the woods" yet.