Healing Meals!

Dear Ones,

Just a quick note to see if anyone would have time to put together a few meals each for the Smiths, the Paddocks, and/or the Haverkoses. Without question, the overwhelming job of just keeping up with the day to day tasks and activities of daily living is taking a toll on the Smith / Paddock / Haverkos families. It would be a great measure of God's healing touch to be able to give this small gift to these families at this time.

Many of you have offered this service of Love already, for which all are exceedingly grateful. For example, to quote Nellie today,

"Meals are always welcomed ... Barb Hine brought casseroles for Charity and I. I can't tell you how much I appreciated it."

Nellie heads to the farm every weekend and can take any food that people can offer. She also takes a cooler with Graeter's vanilla ice cream and double chocolate chip, which Tom enjoys immensely.

If you can help, please send a note to Barb Hine (Cincinnati area) or LovingDebSmith@gmail.com to make arrangements for delivering meals.

I will rejoice in hope, persevere in affliction, and continue steadfastly in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

Praise God for cream of wheat!

Tom reports that Deb is better today.

A new med yesterday is helping with the nausea. Nellie fixed Deb cream of wheat for breakfast this morning, and it stayed down. First food to stay down in over a month.

Praise the Lord for the small things, especially cream of wheat.

Blessings,
tom

Israel I would feed with the finest wheat, satisfy them with honey from the rock.
(Psalm 81:17)

Amazon Grace!

Dear Ones,

You may have noticed the unobtrusive Amazon search box in the left side bar.

Please encourage anyone in your circle of love who may have a propensity to help to do their Amazon shopping using this link, since Deb & Tom will receive a portion of all spending. The wider you can share this story the more "Love Bombing" you can accomplish through Loving Deb Smith. Those who prefer to offer Deb and Tom something tangible rather than send a check (see instructions elsewhere on Loving Deb Smith), may want to purchase those items on Amazon and have them shipped to their house. Anything from paper products, to consumable household items, food, gift cards, etc.

One thing you can do easily to spread the word about the Amazon opportunity is to copy this post and paste it into an e-mail that you can share with anyone and everyone.

In the left side bar section titled "HELPFUL CHRISTIAN WRITING AND MUSIC" there are a growing number of books and music resources you may wish to consider. If you hover over the text links an Amazon preview bubble may appear. In any event, clicking through the links will take you to Amazon to purchase the resource.

Any other respectful ideas you have in this regard definitely are welcome. Please pass them on as comments to this post or e-mail them to Loving Deb Smith.

MANY BLESSINGS!

Everybody's gotta eat Cincinnati's favorites!

Often, caregivers of seriously ill people have little time or energy to care for themselves -- little sleep, a bite to eat on the run, etc. You can help Deb and Tom concretely by providing homemade food for the family. But if you live in Cincinnati, or North Carolina, or Colorado, or Michigan, home cooking might be out of the question. Perhaps you would consider sending along some Skyline Chili, Montgomery Inn ribs, Graeter's ice cream, Busken's baked goods, or LaRosa's pasta sauce and all the fixins. Check out Cincinnati Favorites.com or Best of Cincinnati.com if you feel led to help in this way. You can find Deb & Tom's address in the left side-bar, along with those of Nellie and Charity.

Deb is doing well at home on her first day!

Dear friends, Thank you for visiting this blog, for praying, for caring so much about our mom. We want you to know how much we appreciate and recognize your love for our family!

The great news is that she is at home after 3 weeks in the hospital. Thank God!! Today, she said she was able to put on her clothes and walk around. Over the phone, her voice sounded better than it has in all these weeks. She was also able to eat a little more than normal. Right now, the goal is to get all of her medicines straight. My dad said a nurse visited the house today.

Shane (age 5), Jordan's son, came over for the evening and entertained her. Nellie and Zach came in from Cincinnati to help out.

She said her eyes are really bothering her. Since the cancer is also in her retinas, she has been having trouble with her vision. She says it gets blurrier by the day. Can you pray specifically that her eyes are healed as well as the rest of her body? Thanks again. --Charity

Everybody's gotta eat! Favorite recipe's from Deb Smith

Dear ones,

It's likely that Deb has shared yummy recipes over the years with many folks in Cincinnati and Illinois, especially fixins her family really enjoys. Here is an opportunity to bless Deb and Tom and the whole clan in the breaking of bread. If you have a recipe that Deb has told you her family loves for her to make, why not share it here in the comments section of this post for all to see and try. Better yet, share it here, make up a batch, then send the food to Deb and family at home or drop it off to one of the girls if you are in Cincinnati. That way they can enjoy it here or take your loving kindness (the sweetest dish of all) with them the next time the go to be with Deb and Tom in Illinois (see the addresses at the left).