Thanks for checking in!!!

I had business meetings in the Washington DC area last week so Irene’s sister, Jane, and our good friend, Tina McIntyre, took turns staying with Irene while I was away.  The personal highlight of my trip was enjoying dinner with Emily, Lisa, and James Brydon in Bethesda, MD!!  Lisa is my first cousin whose mom, Carmel, is my dad’s sister.  Below is their good looking photo!!

Irene did well in my absence and really enjoyed Jane and Tina.  Certainly the nausea continues to linger but her upbeat and persevering spirit is inspiring.  We’re still waiting for the most current report concerning Irene’s kidney function.

Several times EAGLES have been a featured theme in many of the updates.  In scripture, the eagle is often used as a majestic metaphor.  A friend recently shared the following which I offer to you today ….

The eagle is a symbol mentioned 38 times throughout the Bible.  We can learn some important lessons from this majestic creation of God.  Eagles have a wing span of 2 meters and are around 90 cm tall.  The eagle mates for life and uses the same nest for life.  This nest is built in a safe place, often on the ledge of a sharp cliff.  It is built to last and the largest nest reported is 9 ½ feet wide and 20 feet deep.

When the babies are born, both parents assume responsibility for their care.  They are gentle parents, sitting on the eggs for one month.  The parents bring food up to the nest and feed them small pieces of meat. Within 45 days they can weigh nearly 40 times their birth weight.  At three months they get special feathers for flying and a new learning experience begins.  The mother eagle flies into the nest and begins to thrash around causing a great commotion.  Eventually one of the babies will fall out of the nest and begin heading for the earth below.  Never having used his wings before, he’s not really sure what to do, but does do lots of flapping while heading straight down!  Just before the baby

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Are there circumstances that would cause you to “jump to your feet” with excitement and anticipation?  Clearly, in the following passage, there was reason for this man to do so ….

As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Mark 10:46-52

Banishing the nausea, Irene was up and out of the house early this morning, shopping at Beverly’s for more holiday accents.  She returned home and “raked the dirt” for aesthetic purposes in the front yard where fresh deer prints had been left from the invigorating rain last night.  Another motivation for being outside today was that the air was so incredibly fresh that she wanted to inhale deeply and savor the occasion.

Shirley Churchill graciously worked with Irene for two+ hours related to physiology techniques designed to wake up the kidneys.  Irene’s strength is growing daily and we remain hopeful that sometime soon we’ll learn evidence of increased kidney function.

Irene’s sister, Jane, arrived late this afternoon and will be staying at the house for a few days.

Irene is beginning to “jump to her feet” as each day begins.  Her energy is returning and the biggest challenge of the day is the ongoing nausea.  But it is getting better than what it was.  She’s able to occasionally sleep on her side which was impossible until

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