Rounds Inspirational Journeys

Hello! Well, I am really feeling the spirit this morning.  I am sitting in our family room, the tree lighted, the fire warming, and my mom and dad drinking coffee on the couch.  They arrived on Monday night and as soon as we picked them up the excitement of Christmas entered my heart and everything fell into place. Christmas is all about family and I am so glad to finally have mine all together again. I probably won't post again until after Christmas, but please know you will be in my thoughts and my heart this Christmas. God bless you all!  Merry Christmas!  Nancy

Well, it is that time of the year again to figure out what to get for the teachers in our lives.  They deserve our thanks and gratitude, but when there are 8 of them, you need to come up with gifts that won't break the bank. Here is a great gift idea that we will be giving out this Christmas: Sand Art Brownies Layer the following ingredients at the bottom of a quart jar as follows: 1/3 cup cocoa powder 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup chocolate chips 2/3 cup brown sugar 1 Cup + 2 tsp flour 1/4 TSP salt 1/4 cup chocolate chips On the card remind them to add the following ingredients to make their brownies. Add: 1 TSP vanilla 2/3 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes in a 9x9 greased pan. This recipe makes 16 brownies. Here is the card we attached: I purchased 1 ounce plastic storage containers and glued Christmas doilies to the top.  They turned out really cute and though they take time to make, I think they will be an appreciated gift. I also made the re...

I have to share with you the sadness I have been feeling this Christmas.  In every store I go to there are Christmas trees with childrens' names on them.  Children who will not have a merry Christmas without us.  I want to take every name and get them something wonderful, but, alas, I am not wealthy and do not have the resources to provide each child with what they need.  I walk by those trees and pray that someone will choose that child this Christmas and be their Santa. Yesterday I had the joy of delivering gifts to the family we adopted for Christmas.  The mother wept and thanked me so genuinely, it touched my heart.  She told me that now they would have a Merry Christmas.  That was better than any gift I will ever receive. St. Nicholas lives in each of us, right in the center of our heart.  He is as real as you and me.  Don't forget what he was truly all about.  Let's remember who Santa Claus really was: The true story of Santa...

It is hard to believe, but two years ago, right now, I was in surgery receiving the most amazing gift of all, the gift of new life and lungs.  God bless my donor! What an amazing two years this has been.  I have so much to be thankful for!  Thank you all for your continued love and prayers! All my love!  Nancy

I wanted to share this response with you from a comment made to my "This is Awful" post.  I really appreciate the research Julie has done on this topic.  She is a mother of a child with CF, so I truly value her feedback. It saddens me that the transplant patients in AZ who happen to be so low income that they qualify for Medicaid will no longer have access to transplants. Although I want to find out the background of why this happened because I think it is important to research what caused the decision in the first place so that perhaps other patients at or below the poverty level do not have to suffer the same consequences. There has been much speculation of fault in this instance, but for me it is not so much about fault, but about what preceded the decision that needs more scrutiny. After extensive research I found that much of this rationing is directly related to what is coming with the new federal health care reform law. AZ was the first to catch public scrutiny but ...

What a wonderful weekend for Hannah's Lego League Team the Portville Prosthetic Panthers. They had a great time in Rochester at the Finger Lakes Lego League Tournament. There were 35 teams competing, so it was a long and busy day. Meeting with their coach, Bernice Pierson Some great quotes! Before the Awards Ceremony the kids got to have a dance party.  They had a blast!! Portville was one of ten schools to win a trophy.  Theirs was for perseverance.  These kids overcame a lot; their computer that had all of the robot's programs on it crashed, so they had to start from scratch and re-program it.  They also missed two days of school before the competition because their school was closed due to flooding.  They didn't let these things stop them and they were honored for that! Great job Portville Panthers!

I wanted to make you all aware of the current situation in Arizona where the state's Medicaid program has cut financing for transplant patients.  I am HORRIFIED to think a that Arizona would cut transplants before other unnecessary budgetary items.  I am really angered by this. This article was in the New York Times: December 2, 2010 Arizona Cuts Financing for Transplant Patients By  MARC LACEY PHOENIX — Even physicians with decades of experience telling patients that their lives are nearing an end are having difficulty discussing a potentially fatal condition that has arisen in Arizona: Death by budget cut. Effective at the beginning of October, Arizona stopped financing certain transplant operations under the state’s version of  Medicaid . Many doctors say the decision amounts to a death sentence for some low-income patients, who have little chance of survival without transplants and lack the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to pay for them. “The most ...

I am so proud of my dad!  He received a much deserved "Hats Off" award from the  Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance : "For his dedication to and leadership in the community efforts to ensure wildlife crossings are incorporated into future highway expansion  projects in Jackson Hole" Being the humble man that he is, he didn't feel he deserved it, but I DO!!  I don't think there is anyone who is more passionate about the environment and preserving it for future generations than he is.  Daddy, I am so very proud of you!  Well done! We are off to Rochester today for the Lego League competition.  Please pray we don't have problems with the weather. May God bless you all!  Nancy

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  We continue to have so much to be thankful for.  The bronch results came back negative for Cepacia, so it appears that infection has been resolved. I have been under the weather since we returned from Pittsburgh, however, hence the lack of posts. Feeling the way I have been for the last few days has reminded me of how precious my health truly is.  It is not something to be taken for granted or abused.  I have to set limits.  I made a very difficult decision to cancel a presentation last week because I just didn't feel up to going.  My brain tried really hard to talk my body into it, but my body just wanted to go back to bed.  Not going was the right thing to do.  We all have to recognize our limits and sometimes make difficult decisions to protect our health. I have just lazed around the last few days, and it is really helping.  I tend to want to conquer the world, ...

Hello!  I wish I could tell you I had some results from my bronch, but I don't.  I promise to let you know when I do.  I recovered pretty well, though I slept all day on Friday. Saturday was an exciting day.  Hannah got involved with Lego League this year and they had their regional tournament on Saturday.  Now if you are anything like me, I hear Lego and think the kids will be playing, well, that is far from true.  According to the FLL website: Elementary and middle-school students get to:   Design, build and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology   Apply real-world math and science concepts   Research challenges facing today’s scientists   Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills   Participate in tournaments and celebrations This video illustrates what the students have to do with the robots they design. Three teams went to the tournament from Portville and there were 11 teams total. ...

Hi!  I was able to speak with Wendy's husband and mother and though they had a scare, she is doing much better.  She is out of ICU now, but she needs some special prayers.  Her lower lungs are not inflating the way they should be, so she needs us to pray that God will help to fill them with air.  Keep those prayers coming, she is so grateful, as am I!

I have a couple of prayer requests today. First, please continue to pray for my friend Wendy, I haven't heard anything from her or her family which really concerns me.  Please pray for her recovery and return to health. Second, we will be headed to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a follow-up to my infection.  Please pray that the bronch I have on Thursday will show that I have beat the Cepacia infection!  I really appreciate it! I hope all of you are well!  All my love!  Nancy

Sorry about my extended vacation from blogging, I will blame it on my mother whom I wanted to spend every minute with and thus neglected everything else (including my Bible Study, I am 2 weeks behind, shame on my mommy!)  We had a wonderful visit and she got to experience a lot, Hannah's friend and family birthday parties; an Irish Dance competition; and she came with me to Jamestown Community College for a presentation, so she got to witness that.  Luckily she will be back in less than 5 weeks for Christmas, so bringing her to the airport yesterday didn't hurt as much as it usually does. So, what have you missed? Hannah's Family Party, November 2 An Irish Dance Competition near Syracuse, NY Too bad the judge barely looked up during judging, I am not sure how she chose the places for the girls. Finally, yesterday, after I dropped my mom off at the airport, I got to visit a dear friend whom I haven't seen in years, Jeanne.  For any of you who have a copy o...

Wow, what a crazy weekend this has been.  We celebrated Hannah's Birthday with her girlfriends and, of course, did the Halloween thing.  Tomorrow is her actual Birthday, so I am re-grouping to prepare for that. Here are some pictures of our weekend. Thursday Night Our Pumpkins: Mine, Hannah's, Scott's Friday Night On Friday night there was a party at Hannah's school.  Don't the girls look spooky! Saturday Night The Birthday party snacks consisted of eye balls, bones and blood, brains, mouths, fingers, purple people eater punch, and a pumpkin cheese ball. We started the evening with flashlight tag. then a snack break and on to Minute to Win It The cake: I couldn't find candy pumpkins anywhere, so made ice cream pumpkins instead, hence the melting. Sunday Night Our costumes:  House, a duck, spiderwoman, a butterfly, Victoria (from Twilight) and Cruella Deville  trick or treating fun! Check out all our loot! I hope you all had...