Blessings

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings and the one that we take the least care of all to acquire. Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca

Quote in a box

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes

Tuesday in LA

Spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventures. Had bought new shoes and they created a lot of foot pain for me on top of the knee pain. Wish I had rented a wheelchair. That would have got us to the front of the line faster. More pictures

Memorial Day in California

Memorial day
5/29/07 Star wars- slow to get here. Saw the helmet display, spent some time in the fan room and bought a few things.

At 3 o'clock we went to Hollywood. Kara was anxious to see the Kodak theatre. Not quite what she expected. Bought some stuff. Had a bite to eat and went back to watch the History Channel's coverage of the phenomena of the Universe of Star Wars. What a story!

You never outgrow the need for a mentor.

Try not. Do. Or do not.

Padme Amadalla embodies love. Her daughter Lea blossoms to become stronger.

"I love you." "I know." The most romantic line in all literature.

Evil exists. Darth Vader radiates the glamour of evil. Unstoppable. Anakin was gripped by anger and power and that ultimately destroyed him. Impatient. Spoiled teenager. Listens to the wrong mentor just ike Eve in the garden of Eden. Sells his Soul to the devil as in Paradise Lost. Lucifer's pride way is his downfall. Anakin ends up in hell. So much symbolism. He lost his humanity. He paid the price.

We need to watch Star Wars when we get home.

Tomorrow we go to Disney's California Adventure. Wednesday to Universal and Hollywood and Thursday to Knott's Berry farm and the beaches. A bit of shoping on Friday and home by 9 pm

Back to work next week.

Today at Star Wars

5/27/07 were planning to go to the 9 am service at Saddleback but when we saw they have a 6:30 service we decided to go to Star Wars in the morning
10:00 am Creating new worlds interviews w the designers and model makers.
11:00 am Fan Fair hall where the fan clubs demonstrate their diorama and model building skills.
Long line up for a Starbucks Coffee. I'm so tired I could go back to the hotel for a good sleep.
1:00 pm One Man Star Wars trilogy. By Charlie Ross, who started it as a one man show off Broadway.
2:30 pm Billy Dee Williams and the Lando diaries. Hosted by Scott Chernoff - Star Wars nerd. Very funny. Debonair.
4:30pm The Force of The Fetts in Concourse Hall with Jiay La'Guya from Australia
Reunion of friends.
the youngest- Daniel Logan from New Zealand now in college. Boba Fett as a child.
Jeremy Bullock the flying adult Boba Fett
Temeura Morrisson Jengo Fett

6:30 pm www.saddleback.com for church. Got there 15 minutes late partly because there were 2 Portola parkway exits.
Rick Warren pastor preached on "Setting Financial Goals"
Tithe 10% save 10% no matter what. He has a dozen billionaire friends. They all follow that principle. Only buy what you need. Wear it out. God wants to be your financial advisor.
Provide for family needs. Not greeds. God expects it. 1 Tim 5:8 Don't live beyond your needs.

Testimony: Mary Hunt grew up poor and wanted to be rich to have what she wanted. Maried Harold - a banker. She got a credit card. Got into fights with her husband. He quit his good job to get into multi-level marketing. Lost everything. She finally saw her cheating heart and made God a promise to tithe and save. Spent 10 years in frugality and thrift. Her husband started calling her "my little cheapskate" They paid back more than $100,000 in unsecured debt. Now they own a business.

Use some money to grow your character. Grow Spiritually with Seminars Conferences Fitness memberships.
He bought his first Bible as a teenager. Cost 2 month's allowance. Still have that Bible today. Better to have wisdom and knowledge than to have gold and silver.
Buy some good books.
Use some money to help others. The only safe investment for eternity. 2,000 verses about helping the poor.
Saddleback Church is the most generous church in North America. 1.6 million $ raised in one offering for the tsunami plus $1.7MM for hurricane victims.
Nothing becomes great without sacrifice. Are our greatest days behind us or before us? Start tithing today!
Luke16:9 Give to get some friends into heaven. That is the highest use of your money. There will be people in heaven because of your help.
Only people who don't know God are always worried about money. Circle the words about heaven.
You can pile it up on earth or in heaven. If your treasure is on earth, you get one day further away from it every day.

8:45pm dinner at Memphis Bar B-Q Company. ''We didn't invent Bar-B-Q it just tastes like it"

Saturday Star Wars

11:00 VFX Rock stars
12:00 Wait
Carrie Fisher Autograph
3:30 bite of Pizza
4:00 501st Costume Bounty Hunters
5:00 Wait
6:30 Star Wars in 30 min
7:30 laser tag
8:00 Wait
9:00 Conversation w Carrie Fisher $15 each
10:00 Celebration

Sitting in Line

I'm blogging from my PDA
Karalee and I are sitting in line waiting for Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) to come back from her break. We've been in the line since 12:10 and we'd like to go to the next stage show at 2:30
It does not look like that will happen.

Martha called from Peter & Trudy's cabin. She's out camping on Hecla with the Reimer family this weekend.

Justin went to Lonnie's place so he wouldn't be home alone. He still has a very serious case of the flu he's been battling for 3 weeks.

Renee now has a job at Value Village. Not her first choice but something to keep busy.

Alayna is going to start painting houses soon. She wants to earn her own way thru university. Very independent of her parents. Enslaved by her boyfriend. Pray for her.

Karalee is trying to decide what to do next year. She'd like to go to university to study film production. Her parents would like that to be in a Christian environment. Pray for her.

Business is more than busy and often requires more wisdom than I have.

We did eventually get that wonderful signature after a 3 hr wait. Then it was time to go to a costume making work shop and from there to a play "star wars in 30 minutes" after a 1-1/2 hr wait.

After that it was time to line up for "a conversation with Carrie Fisher". Another 1 hr wait for 1 hr show.

All in all - not a bad day -

What is the moral of the story of Star Wars?

Anikin Skywalker is born of a virgin and has more ''Life" in him than anyone else. He is looked up to as the Promised One.

He thinks he knows more the his teachers. He wants to be recognized as a Jedi (leader) before he is ready. He has nightmares about his wife Padme dying in childbirth. When he starts to listen to the Dark Side he is convinced he can save his wife, if only he turns to the dark side. When he does, he loses everything and becomes the evil Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. In the end his son Luke demonstrates real love and he turns away from the Dark Side just before he dies.

In short- listen to those who love you and you will avoid the dark side of life.

Star Wars Celebration IV

Father Daughter graduation trip.

Karalee selected where she wanted to go, and I'm really enjoying my time with her. We left Calgary on Tuesday morning after Tyler and Chrystel's wedding (Monday). Los Angeles is a lot crummier than Karalee had imagined. I am posting the pictures to www.dueckpics.blogspot.com.

George Lucas's Star Wars 1st showing was 30 years ago today, in 30 theatres. The word blockbuster was invented to apply to Star Wars. It ran in theatres continuously for more than a year. Many of the words invented by George Lucas, are now in the standard dictionary.

The US Post Office released 15 new stamps yeasterday to celebrate the 30 years of Star Wars and the impact it has had around the world.

Happy Birthday, Renee

Happy Birthday to Renee - today 23

Click on the title to read her blog

This picture was taken on the beach in Vancouver in November 2006. More pictures on our PictureBlog

Trip to Thailand (Siam)

Does this look like Thailand?

No - we went to Vancouver for a nice visit with Renee, and then headed off to Thailand. We took some 600 pictures and those can be found on our pics blog. There are some detailed descriptions about our experiences in Thailand.

Renee is doing well and enjoying her studies at Capilano College. Check her blog.

In Vacouver there has been an extraordinary amount of snow, and the snow caused us to get to Thailand somewhat later than it should have. We had a good time. Would have loved to stay longer, but we are glad to be home.

One Year Later

Friends:
One Year ago TODAY we sent the email included below. Little did we know what was in store for us.

Renee was initially admitted to Cleveland Clinic for intravenous antibiotics to treat the swelling in her legs as a result of AML. She had gone into the Clinic on Monday, back on Tuesday, saw the specialist on Wednesday and Thursday, was admitted Friday, and we got there Saturday. Tuesday she was transferred to New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. During the 6 months in treatment, she received 3 rounds of chemo. Normally they would do 6 rounds in 6 months, but her recovery was too slow.

On Dec 23 she was discharged and returned home to Winnipeg. She enrolled at CMU for the winter semester. When that was complete she found a job at Global Connections at the Forks Johston Terminal. She has been working there ever since.

She has enrolled at North Vancouver’s Capilano College Film School for next winter. We have really enjoyed getting to know her again and seeing her more often. We will miss her terribly. We know she wants to be in the center of God’s will for her life, and so we bless her in that decision. For more information check http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/programs/film/diploma.html

Thank you for asking. Her blood tests and bone marrow tests are normal. We trust that she will remain leukemia free for the rest of her life.

Thanks again for your prayers. They have sustained and healed.

Raymond & Martha

Check out Renee’s blog at www.ReneeDueck.blogspot.com and www.Duecks.com


From: Raymond Dueck
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 11:52 PM
Subject: Renee is in hospital
She was admitted today at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland with acute leukemia our flight leaves at 7 a.m. Saturday morning we have no idea when we will be back please pray for her and God's hand of healing on her and wisdom for her doctors
Renee has been admitted to
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/
Her doctor is Anjali Advani, M.D.
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/cancer/physician/docs.asp?StaffID=4490
She is on intravenous antibiotics
The phone # at her bedside is
Your prayers are much appreciated!
Raymond & Martha Dueck
2 Eagle Court
East St Paul MB R0E 0L2
204-661-5348
cell 204-782-2112
Martha's cell 204-771-7559
204-364-2454 fax
Raymond@Dueck.net
http://www.duecks.com/
Check out
http://www.thelifelight.com/

oFF TO nEW yORK - tIME FOR A cHECKuP

Friday morning early Renee and Martha are heading off to New York to do some shopping etc, and to see Dr Steinherz for a bone marrow aspiration and a complete checkup. All indications are that Renee is in remission and we hope and pray that she is cured of the leukemia. They plan to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, but the social worker was not sure a room would be available,so we are looking for alternatives. They expect to return Tuesday.

We celebrated Renee's 22nd birthday in March. You can see her pictures at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=54n7ril.2ggx6p75&x=0&y=-d2q6i0

Thanks again for your prayers and support for our family.
--
The Duecks
We welcome your calls
Martha 204-771-7559
Renee's NEW PHONE # 204-296-0493 NEW email ReneeDueck@gmail.com
Keep up to date by reading Renee's blog

See our pictures
We live in E St Paul MB Canada R2E 0L2 and attend Eastview Community Church
See Renee's hospital at www.mskcc.org/
Visit us at www.Duecks.com/
Support our favorite charity www.TheLifeLight.com/

Time to Celebrate!

Renee will be 22 years old on Saturday March 18. We plan to have lunch at the WAG, and Renee wants to party with her cousins in the evening.

On Sunday we are inviting all of Renee's cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends to our house for the BIG PIZZA PARTY! Sunday – March 19, 2006 - Come to our house after 3 p.m. – pizza (and other goodies) are served 5 p.m. Please email Martha@Duecks.com to let us know you are coming.

Her recent blood test showed normal everything. She wants to get her central line removed ASAP. She needs the New York doctors to advise our family doctor to zip it out. Hopefully that will happen soon! Early May she plans to go for a New York checkup.

Greetings may be sent to Renee directly at her new email reneedueck@gmail.com or
to our home at #2 Eagle Court, E ST Paul, MB, R2E 0L2 Canada

May God bless you! Thanks again for your prayers.

--
Raymond and Martha Dueck

Keep up to date by reading Renee's blog at http://reneedueck.blogspot.com/
http://daddydueck.blogspot.com/

See our pictures at http://www.dueckpics.blogspot.com/
Visit us at www.Duecks.com/
Support our favorite charity www.TheLifeLight.com/

Praying for our children

Praying for our children, adapted from Shattering Your Strongholds by Liberty Savard

Lord God, I thank you that I am your child, seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. I ask Lord that you will bind __________’s body, soul and spirit to your will and purposes for his/her life. I ask you to bind __________’s mind, will and emotions to your will. I ask you to bind him/her to the truth and to the blood of Jesus. I ask you to bind his/her mind to the mind of Christ, that the very thoughts, feelings and purposes of Jesus heart would be within his/her thoughts. I ask you to bind __________’s feet to the paths of righteousness that his/her steps would be steady and sure. Bind him/her to the work of the cross with all of its mercy, grace, love, forgiveness and dying to self.

I pray that you, by your mighty power, loose every old, wrong, ungodly pattern of thinking, idea, desire, belief, motivation, habit and behaviour fr0m him/her. I ask You to tear down, crush, smash and destroy every stronghold associated with these things. Please loose any stronghold in his/her life that has been justifying and protecting hard feelings against anyone. Loose the strongholds of unforgiveness, fear and distrust from him/her.

I ask you Lord to loose the power and effects of deceptions and lies from him/her. And to loose the confusion and blindness of the god of this world from __________’s mind that has kept him/her from seeing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bring to his/her remembrance every precious word of Scripture that has ever entered into his/her mind and heart that it would rise up in power within him/her.

I pray Lord, that you would loose the power and effects of any harsh or hard words spoken to, about or by _______. Loose all generational bondages and associated strongholds from __________. Loose all effects and bondages from him/her that may have been caused by mistakes I have made. Father, I ask You to crush, smash and destroy generational bondages of any kind from mistakes made at any point between generations. May they be completely destroyed so that they will not bind and curse any more members of this family.

Lord God, I ask you to bind the strong man, Satan that his house will be spoiled and that every material and spiritual possession he has wrongfully taken from __________ will be returned. I ask you to loose the enemy’s influence over every part of his/her body, soul and spirit. I ask you to loose, crush, smash and destroy every evil device Satan may try to bring into his/her sphere of influence during this day.

I bind and loose these things in Jesus’ name. Thank you, Lord, for the truth. Amen.

Thank God for a Happy Birthday!

I just want to give thanks to God for so many blessings He has bestowed on us. I thank God for our family. We had such a good time together this weekend celebrating my birthday. Saturday night we went to an Ethiopian restaurant. We really like the food and it is fun all eating out of the same dish with our hands. Then as if we hadn’t had enough to eat, we went to Baked Expectations, just up the street a bit for dessert. On Sunday I made a roast beef for lunch with potatoes and carrots. That really went over good. It is so convenient that Justin and Renee live so close together, when it comes to picking them up, etc. I’m sure that was no accident.
Martha

Hello God

Hello God,
I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.
You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.
Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.
I thank you God for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.
Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.
So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!
A man whispered, "God, speak to me"
and a meadowlark sang.
But, the man did not hear. So the man yelled,
"God, speak to me"
and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen. The man looked around and said,
"God let me see you." And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see. And, the man shouted,
"God show me a miracle."
And, a life was born.
But, the man did not notice. So, the man cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you are here.
" Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But, the man brushed the butterfly away
and walked on.

Alayna is home!!!!!!!!

It is so good to have her home again. She arrived late last night, and slept a good part of today. She went to the chiropractor this morning, had a voice lesson this afternoon, and theory this evening. She is planning to perform at the Music Festival at the end of February.

Thanks for praying

Maybe we overreacted. Alayna called us late Monday night to tell us she was OK! She said they were on a rock-climbing trip for the fun of it, and to visit Katie in Phoenix. She said she had done "nothing wrong". They have separate sleeping arrangements, and nothing improper was going to happen. When I offered to buy her a ticket to fly home, she was clear that she did not want that. We made it clear that we felt that what she had done was highly inappropriate to say the least. She said she knew that she would have to live with the consequences of her decisions.

Some time ago I asked her if she knew what was the best gift her mom had ever given me. When I told her that it was that her mom had given me her virginity on our wedding night, she was emphatic that that is what she wanted to give her husband-to-be as well. So many marriages break up for lack of purity before the wedding.

Alayna is a vivacious, articulate, highly skilled individual. She sings, acts, and generally knows everything about anything. She loves the Lord and wants to walk in the center of His will. She is searching for God's will to be revealed to her. We look forward with keen anticipation to see what that will be! Please continue to pray for her.

--
Raymond and Martha

Pray for Alayna

Please pray for Alayna….

Over the last 7 months, we have been concentrating on Renee, and her health needs. Alayna (19), we thought, was a well-adjusted Christian teenager, going to university, attending church, volunteering for choir, drama, and youth leadership. In June she started hanging out with this rock climbing enthusiast guy, who was also working part time at the Centennial Concert Hall.

During my first meeting with him, I found that he had no moral compass, no sense of God, and was totally illiterate as far as the Christian message is concerned. I presented him with a How to Find God New Testament, and reviewed the basics of salvation with him, urging him to read the Word for himself. He attended church maybe a ½ dozen times.

From time to time I would discuss issues with Alayna regarding Joel and faith. He claimed to be a Christian on the basis of following the good teachings of the Bible. Over time I became more and more concerned about his salvation and the effect of his worldview on Alayna. I suggested that she should tell him she could not see him again unless he became a born again Christian. She agreed that that might be a good idea, but she never acted on it.

She knew that I was concerned about her relationship with Joel, and my opposition to her continuing on with him as long as he did not commit himself to the Lord. I asked her if she wanted me to get to like Joel. She said she would. I told her that if she would go away for 3 months to study (all expenses paid) at one of the Torchbearer Schools in Spain http://www.riovida.org/ and if, when she came back, she still wanted to date Joel, then I would make a real effort to get to like him. She thought that would be a good idea.

I took to calling him Mr. Manners. Not once has he ever greeted me with anything but a grunt. Never, “How do you do Mr. Dueck?”, or “How is Renee?” He would come into the house and stand still staring like a statue. Mostly he totally ignored me.

When trying to engage him in light conversation, nothing came out, unless you started talking about issues that counter-culture people hold dear. At one after-church lunch at our house, he started to get very animated and yelling across the table about how the CIA reported Canada’s life expectancy was higher that the US’s. “Why would the CIA tell lies?” he yelled across the table at me. I am not sure what the point of that outburst was. I checked various sources and found that the life expectancies were statistically tied. If one wanted to make a point about life expectancy, Japan would serve as the best example.

At Alayna’s birthday party, she had invited some of her high school friends, including an articulate, intelligent music major. I happened to sit next to him, and had conversation with him about various interesting topics. At one point we started talking about Iraq. All of a sudden Joel piped up from the other end of the table, in that loud abrasive voice of his, “That’s a lie!” If I wasn’t so polite, I should have sent him packing then and there.

At a lunch at Joel’s parents’ house, the topic had been – is it better to burp at the table, or to fart at the table? Joel’s mom had thought farting was more polite than burping.

In January, Alayna dropped out of university. She said she wanted some time off. Originally she had wanted to travel in Europe. When I offered her the opportunity to study in Spain, she turned it down. She traveled to work with me for 2 weeks, just being my assistant, and observing my work. She said she might want to switch to an MBA program.

We heard about the “Couples of Promise” cruise with www.christiancruises.net, and we thought that might be a good break for us. Renee was at CMU.ca, Alayna said she’d go looking for a job, and Karalee was still in high school. With 2 available drivers, Karalee should be able to get around to her classes and appointments. We thought the home front was taken care of.

We needed to clean out the apartment in New York, so we flew out a few days early, cleaned out the apartment, saw a potential client there, and then flew to Fort Lauderdale to sail on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas for 5 nights. The program on board was interesting and uplifting.

We came off the boat on Thursday morning. Finally we had phone connections. We called home. Renee answered the phone. She had an appointment with a specialist and was wondering who would take Karalee to school and pick her up after the exam. I said, “What about Alayna, what is she doing?” Renee responded with, “Didn’t you know, Alayna went to Phoenix by car? She went with Joel. They left yesterday.”

That came as an absolute shocker. Never in our wildest nightmares had we expected that Alayna would do such a thing. Clearly she had been psychologically abducted and seduced by a dangerous psychopath. What could we do? What should we do? Could we fly home right away and find her? She was not answering her cell. The message on the cell said she’d be home Feb 7. We left messages on her cell. We left messages on her friend’s voice mail.

Could we have Alayna arrested and brought home? On what grounds? An hour later we went to a beachfront restaurant for lunch. Providence seated us next to a police officer, so we could discuss our options. Turns out that the only option we would have is that if she had taken our car, we could have her arrested for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. She did not take our car. They went with Joel’s parents’ car.

We called Joel’s mom to express our shock and dismay at this turn of events. “This goes against everything we have taught her!” We asked her to tell Alayna to call if she heard from her.

Alayna has not called. We have heard through her friend’s mom that they arrived in Phoenix.

What is this world coming to? Why is the Bible not relevant any more? Why does God’s Word not matter? Are we forgetting that we will have to “give account” for every word we utter and every sin that we commit? Do we think that God’s grace is cheap? We can sin, ask Him to forgive us, and keep sinning? With that kind of attitude, how are we salt and light?

Does she have any idea of the pain she has inflicted on us? When a child dies physically the parents feel the loss keenly and the neighbours rally around for support. When a child rejects her parents’ teachings and values, the loss is even more painful. It’s a slap in the face by the protégé you thought was going to become someone important. That heart surgeon. That individual to take over the business in the next generation. Where do we turn? What did we do wrong? How did we fail? Which conversation was the door that I did not go through to discuss values and to be her guide?

I am a Christian. I want the love of God to flow through my life. How can I get violent about this? Christ, my master, was slapped, tortured, and killed for my sake. All his friends ran away. Yet he loved them. He forgave them. Can I forgive him? Them? I must! I don’t like it but I must! Jesus said that if we don’t forgive others their transgressions, he cannot forgive us ours. I am not perfect. I need God’s forgiveness in my life. I need his healing balm in the worst way right now. So I must learn to forgive whether I like it or not.

Oh, God! When is it enough suffering already? Our 2 boys died 30 years ago. We have a son with FAS and a drug problem. 2 daughters with SCIDS. One with leukemia. And now one with an unsaved boyfriend. When is it enough suffering already?

Pray for Alayna, that she might want to walk in the center of God’s will for her life. Pray for Joel, that he will recognize that he is a sinner, and only through Christ and his salvation, can he have eternal life. Pray that he might learn to love God. Pray for Karalee, that she too might walk in the center of God’s will, and that a God honoring man may come into her life in due time. Pray for Renee, that her good health and love for God may continue and that a God honoring man may come into her life in due time. Pray for Justin, that he would be willing to get the help we so anxiously wish to give. Pray for their parents, that we might be the God honoring parents these wonderful young people deserve.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name on earth. We ask that through us your kingdom might increase in this world, in spite of the difficulties we face. Thank you for providing us with an abundance of good tings, and we pray for those who have less that they too might get enough food for this day. Forgive us our sins and transgressions against you and help us to forgive those who have hurt us. Help us to respond in kindness to those who hurt us. Keep us from falling for the temptations of this world that seek to destroy us. Keep us safe from the evil one. Help us to recognize and avoid his evil plans to destroy us. For we know that You have the Power to build Your Kingdom in us. Your Glory exceeds all our pain. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Update

Renee is a UNIVERSITY student, enrolled at CMU and enjoying it! She is taking 4 courses. Commuting from home.

She goes for a blood test every week. Wednesday last week she got her blood test. Dr decided she needed more blood. Had to go to Concordia Hospital for a blood match draw. The soonest they could get the blood was Monday.

As long as Renee’s blood counts continue to go up, she does not need to go to New York ‘till end of March for a bone marrow aspiration. Every 3 months she will have to get the check up till they declare her cured!

Martha and I are booked to cruise! Couples of Promise from Fort Lauderdale Jan 21 on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas! We are booked for 2 days at Beachcomber Resort. Would be nice to see King Tut and the Everglades Park. But then, we really want to relax and recharge.

On the way to FLL we are scheduled to stop in NYC for a few days to clean up the apartment. If any one would like a week in NYC let us know. We have the apartment till the end of March. C$1,000 a week would help cover the costs.

We helped one of Justin’s friends move last Saturday. Justin seems to think he is doing better, and is looking for a job.

Alayna is tagging along with me in January to get a feel for business. Karalee is back home from Egypt, recuperating from the stress of overseas travel, and back in Gr 11 at River East.

Many of you keep asking about Renee, assuring us of your prayers for her, and for that we thank you. May God bless you real good!