Tax Season is Over!

Tax Season is finally over and Jeanie will be able to work more normal hours instead of the 13 to 14 hours a day she has been working. She was actually home yesterday all day which was wonderful!

Our Christmas

We enjoyed visiting our son and his family at Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Our grandsons have grown and we had a great time with them. Returned home on Christmas Eve and will visit Jeanie's mother today.

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!!

Wintertime

It is definitely winter time here in Sweetwater, Oklahoma with temperatures down in the teens this morning. We had a light dusting of snow and it looks like there is still some light snow falling.

Our water was off this morning for a few hours but is back on now. That happens sometimes out here in the country especially in cold weather. In some ice storms we have been without water for several days at a time.

A group from our church went caroling Sunday afternoon and we cancelled services Sunday night as the weather was already turning bad and I am still trying to rest my voice but it is improving.

Update - Nick and Ed

Nick's eye is healing well with no infection. Did not learn much about his vision from the doctor on Monday. He will return for another check up in January.

I will be having a small surgery on Friday to remove an ulcer on my vocal cord muscle. Will not be able to preach for a few weeks.

Thanks for all of your prayers!!!

Update - Nick's Eye Surgery

Update - Nick's Eye Surgery

We are back home in Sweetwater. The doctor checked Nick's eye this morning and all is well. The prognosis has changed, however. When we talked with the doctor three weeks ago he said there was no hope for any vision and the surgery would only salvage the eye to prevent it from having to be replaced with a prosthesis. The doctor said this morning that Nick would have some sight in the eye but that it was too early to say how much. The vision can continue to improve for six months after surgery. This morning Nick did not have any vision in the eye but apparently there is now hope that will change as the eye heals. God is at work giving hope where there was no hope before!!

Thank you all for praying and please continue to pray for Nick!!!

Our Recent Trip

For those who have not heard, our son Nick has lost the sight in one eye because of a detached retina and will be having surgery next week to stabilize it so that it won't have to be removed. After we found out about this we decided that we would go ahead and take a trip to Branson that we had planned for later. Nick is mentally handicapped with Down Syndrome and he has been a fan of the Oakridge Boys since he was a little boy (He is 30 now.). We thought it would take all of our minds off of what had happened and the surgery and I think that it did do that.

The eye surgeon told us when he said that Nick would not have sight in that eye that it was "Unfortunate." While listening to the Oakridge Boys they sang a song from their Christmas album. In the song a family has some bad things happen to them and repeatedly they say it was "Unfortunate", "Inconvenient", and then they say, "The most inconvenient Christmas ever was Was the first one, when God came so far To give himself to us So when stress hits each December How it helps me to remember God is with us most when things just can't get worse The most inconvenient Christmas ever was… was the first." It spoke to my heart and to Jeanie's.

I think we know why we needed to take the trip as we found God touching our hearts once again at a critical time in our lives.

Blessings!

Ed

Nick's Eye

Nick had cataract surgery on both of his eyes last year. The same follow up was used with both eyes and all seemed to be fine. However, several months ago one of the eyes developed "Traction Retinal Detachment." Because it was so long ago when it occurred scar tissue developed which prevents there from being a restoration of the vision in that eye.

The surgery on November 18th will involve the following: "Scleral buckle, uitrectomy with membrane peel, laser air/fluid/gas exchange and silicone oil, left eye." If nothing was done to the eye it would shrink and eventually have to be removed and be replaced with a prothesis. There is little hope for any vision in the eye.

Thank you for all of your prayers!!!!!!