A Day To Count Blessings--With Updates

News of the week:

My friend who kept trying to teach me Swedish, Brother Pehrson, passed away somewhat suddenly on Monday.--I am so grateful to have known him.  He was so kind to try and try to get me to say something in Swedish, anything!!  He and his wife also were "extra grandparents" to the Overfelt children. 

My brand-new niece, Keira, was diagnosed with a cardiac defect.Sounds like she's doing fine and they're just going to monitor her with echocardiograms every three months.

Cousin Laurie's grandson, Skyler, started chemotherapy for leukemia today.  He's...4?  5?  He's just a little guy.Well, Sky's not doing very well as of this writing.  Thank Heaven for a large, strong, loving, extended family that is praying their hearts out for Sky and his mom.  I know that, whatever happens, it will be fine.  "Fine" doesn't always mean what we think it should mean at the time, but that's okay.

SuperMario told me that he could schedule R's surgery for "sometime in September".  If he marks the case as "somewhat urgent", he could operate as soon as two weeks from now.  Keep praying that the endoscopy tomorrow shows a Crohn's-free duodenum.Yahoo!  Good job on the prayers, everybody!!  The EGD demonstrated just a little bit of erosion from heartburn, but nothing in the duodenum.  So the surgery will just be to take out the short, diseased segement that has been bothering him for two years now.  Annnnd...Rowdy interviewed for a new job today, here in my own department!  Funny about the timing of that, but it is what it is.  R and I would work just fine together, and it's not like he would be over my exact section and techs.  And I know he would be wonderful at this particular job.