Bernice Webster here.  I am sorry if I haven't written; so much has happened ... hope you understand.

I am back home in my own house, but changes were made.  I don't get around nearly as well as I used to, so I use a wheelchair to get around.  My home is now wheelchair-accessible, so I can get around better; it's made a world of difference!  I am just not as strong as I used to be: that illness I had earlier this year really tried to knock the stuffing out of me!

Garfield, my darling husband, had a heart attack in March; he is now on a cholesterol-and-salt free diet.  He has high blood pressure; he has to take medication and see his doctor every three months, to make sure he is doing okay.  It scared me when he ended up in the hospital; I thought for sure he was gonna buy the farm, but God intervened, and we got the miracle we prayed for.  I am indeed grateful!

Our children (Thomas, Bridget, Bryce, and Shayla) are all doing well, as are our ten grandchildren.  I still see them every week; it is always a joy to see them!  And speaking of grandchildren, I have two more: twin boys, born in May; they are the cutest little things!  The boys (named Ethan and Evan) are now three and a half months old; they'll be four months old on the 11th of next month.  They just got out of the hospital last month; they were very sick for a time, but happily, both boys are doing much better.  (The smaller one, Ethan, is still on oxygen, but hopefully he will be off of it soon. Other than his breathing, Ethan is thriving!)  I now have an even dozen grandbabies to spoil!

Gar and I are thinking of going on another Alaskan cruise; we have been looking for bargains, but so far nothing.  Maybe by Christmas time there will be some.  We had such a good time last year when we went; everybody enjoyed themselves emmensely.  Even got to see some northern lights when we went to Fairbanks; that was rather exciting!  They looked like multi-colored curtains dancing in the wind; they were constantly in motion and changed colors.  Mostly green and blue, but they also turned pink, purple, white, orange, even yellow and red.  They were spectacular!

I still hear from the nurses who took such good care of me when I was in the hospital, and I see some of them at church.  That's another thing.  I have been going back to my home church since I got out of the nursing home, and everybody has been so friendly and welcoming!  They call me every week (sometimes several times a week) and ask if I need anything.  They come by for a visit; it is so good to see my church family!  I missed them so much when I was in the nursing home!

The weather has been so hot and oppressive.  I have been staying in; if I do get out, Gar and I go in the early mornings, where we meet some friends at McDonald's or Jack-in-the-Box for morning coffee and donuts.  We then go to the mall but are usually home by 11:30-12:00, before the heat really gets cranking.  Even as bad as the heat is here in Middle Tennessee, it's not nearly as bad as it is in Texas or Oklahoma, plus Texas is in the middle of a severe drought: a lot of Texas hasn't had rain since the middle of May and everything is dying or drying up.

I'm just thankful we have had rain, but even we have had a lot of that.  It has been a bad year weather-wise for a lot of the country.  And, speaking of weather, there is a hurricane churning up the east coast; a lot of the big cities are in direct line of fire to get hurricane'ed upon: New York City.  Washington, DC.  Baltimore.  Philadelphia.  Trenton.  Boston.  I just pray that there's no heavy loss of life or property damage!  I have been in a hurricane once (when Gar and I went to Louisiana in the early nineties), and that is something I don't ever want to do again!  (We were in Andrew; that scared me so bad!  I will never forget the sound of the winds shrieking or the hammering of the rainfall; it sounded like the building we were in was gonna fall in!  It is something I remember all these years later.)

Well, I am getting sleepy.  The heat does that to me: it drains me and I have to rest.  I will write in here again soon; sorry it has been so long!  Please forgive me.  Now you know why I haven't written.  Take care and may God bless you as much as He's blessed me!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Bernice.  :)