Pumpkins for Squirrels (Toben)

We had a pumpkin laying around, leftover from Halloween. It wasn't carved or anything and it jsut sat by itself in the living room, adding a limited amount of decorative fall flair. Then it started to stink. So Audrey took it out back, broke it into pieces and assured me that the aquirrels would make short work of it. I was skeptical. Why would a squirrel eat a pumpkin? But Audrey couldn't have been more right. The squirrels are going nuts! We have identified and named at least three of the little critters that show up like clockwork every morning to feast on pumpkin. And they do it all day! I guess they are packing it on for the winter but they are big eaters. I would say that they are half-way through the 8-10 pound pumpkin that Audrey put out there.

For the cats it's a combination of pure entertainment and torture. The pumkin is literally a foot from the glass back patio door and Joey, our boy cat, will spend hours, hunkered down, watching the squirrels come and go. Occassionally he bats at the glass and at least one time he has made a run for them only to careen head-on into the door. Pretty funny to watch. The squirrels must know he is there, but they show no fear whatsoever. The thrill of available pumpkin overcomes the fear of the cat.

Jo and I are in for a normal day today. I work from home on Tuesday's so we get to share each others company. I am working on an email campaign for December and am enjoying the creative process so much. Writing is a lot of hard work, but it is so rewarding. I love to watch the word count climb on my Word documents as the thoughts and concepts and quotes, and dreams  and stories all come together in one cohesive piece. There is nothing I would rather be doing than writing for a living. Pretty sweet!

Joanne is deep in a book. Her Kindle has been a God-send. She struggles with regular books as they can be hard to read with just one hand. But the Kindle is made for her! She reads almost a book every day or two. I so clearly remember that my prayer for Joanne when she was in her coma was that she would not die and that she would retain the ability to read. Both came true! Joanne has talked many times about how desperate her situation would be if it weren't for the ability to read. To that was a good prayer I prayed. Of course Joanne gives me a hard time that I didn't ask for more when I was praying for her during her coma. She says, "Both the prayers you prayed came true. You should have asked for more!" Of course those were the only two prayers I thought to pray, so be it.

Do you miss your kids while they are at school? When I get home from dropping Emma off the house always seems so quiet and empty. I like it so much better when they are here. Last week I was spoiled becasue Audrey was home for the week on fall break. This week we are back in the swing of things. I always look forward to 3:30 when all my little chicks are back in the roost.

We are purging the house. Joanne was a meticulous housekeeper and every thing was kept tidy and put away. But for the last almost two years "stuff" has been piling up. So we are slowly going through the house putting into boxes the stuff we don't really need. Some of it will go up on Craig's List, some to storage and some to Goodwill or Savers. We were able to give a couple of boxes of children's books to the Denver Christian libarary and the librarian over there was pretty excited about that. My folks are coming up again today and we will continue to chip away.

I guess that's about it.

Prayer requests:

1. It is very hard for Joanne that she can't help clean/pack things up. Please pray for peace for her as those of us that are able seek to put the house in order. Everything in our house has a stroy behind it, some that only Joanne knows. So to us it may look like and antique photo gathering dust, but to Joanne it is something that means so much more. Please pray for her patience and peace.

2. Thank God for his provision. I won't go into detail here, but over the last two years he has provided for our family faithfully and in surprising ways. Way to go God!

3. I am especially thankful today for Joanne's faithful frineds. She has a couple that have really stuck by her through all the ups and downs (and more downs) of the last 20 months. Thanks God for them!

Toben

Comments

[r.elliott]

I continue to pray...I share this not to bring attention to me...but maybe to know that God cares...He will put you all on a strangers heart in the middle of the night to pray...and that is just what He did last night...God is faithful...He sees and He hears and He does care. blessings and continued grace to you all~

[Child of God]

Continuing to pray and pray for your family. :)

I just chuckled about the squirrels. I had no idea they liked pumpkin that's neat. We have been infested with chipmunks. The 13 lined back chipmunks have discovered the open container of bird seed on our deck. They come many times during the day to feast and stuff their little cheeks to bursting and it drives our 3 cats mad! It is so funny to watch. You see the container of seeds is right beneath the bay window. The cats literally are on top of these beasties as they feast. It quite hilarious to watch the cats tail flick back and forth and to hear the various sounds coming from them. You are right in saying these little guys are fearless.

God's peace and presence be with you.
<><

[Lynn]

Joanne, I think of you so often and the struggles and challenges and sudden changes your life has taken. My best friend's hubby (formerly healthy and NO illness) had a stroke one year after yours. Altho he is much older, the challenges are very similar, although you have much more cognitive ability than Jerry does.

I'm so glad to know you can read and plan and converse. We pray for you often here in my circles and trust that God will continue to bless you and your precious family!
Lynn

[carmen]

love, heartfelt hugs and prayers to your family. your determination and trust in God is wonderful to witness. praying for you, joanne, as you help your family 'springclean' your home - may God grant you unexpected joys and peace in the process!

[Rubelyn Sandoval]

You are very attached to God. I will pray for you Joanne and in your family as well. God will never leave you if you really need him. God Bless You.

[Kim Feth]

Toben and Joanne,
We will continue to pray your prayer requests! Yes, the days I'm home I miss our son horribly and can't wait for him to come home. But I also miss him when I'm at work!
Maybe Joanne could use a "picker upper" that lets her pick things up with just one hand and then she would feel more like a part of the cleaning team. She blogged once about how she was organizing the bookshelf in your home - maybe she could still be in charge of something like that!
Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC

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