Last Day

Note: This is what we posted on our web site this morning. We want to repeart it here for those who don't look at our daily messages on the web site.
NOSTALGIATechnically this is our last day with Shepherds. They have been good to us beyond measure and even granted a bonus which means I will still be writing some letters.  It is our way of saying in a very small way THANK YOU. Our 11 years as representative have been some of the best of our lives.   To be able to tell folks about this wonderful place and the care given our daughter Joy for 44 years has been a privilege we will never forget.  To Dr. Wm. Amstutz, Dan DeDonato,the Board and all responsible for this opportunity given us, we say thank you, and our interest and prayers will always be with you and the  vital ministry you perform daily for these precious ones with intellectual disabilities.  God bless each one and may He give you the best year in 2011 that Shepherds has ever witnessed is our prayer.
Ralph andMargie Poulson

Home going

Our son called yesterday morning to inform us that his father-in-law, John Harder passed away. The memorial service will be held Saturday, January 8th at 2 PM at First Baptist Church in Ferndale, WA.  We know you will be praying for the family these days.  Gina has had a tremendous load caring for her mother, who died in June and now her dad.  The business details she has to deal with are almost overwhelming.  Please pray.
This afternoon we have prayer meeting at church and we look forward to that.  Yesterday Margie was able to do some house cleaning for the first time since her illness.  We are pleased, although I am very happy to do it.  I was away helping a family startup a new computer and Margie did it while I was gone.  She's "sneaky" isn't she. She was so happy to be able to do it.  I cleaned the floors for her upon my return home.  Thank you all for praying.

Snow

The weatherman forecast snow for this morning and he was right.  It's beautiful.  Margie did not have a real good night but she's OK this morning.  For some reason I wanted to sleep in this morning. That's unusual for me. I am supposed to go down the hill this  morning and help a couple get their new computer up and working.  I'm happy to be able to help them.  Margie and I are glad we went to town yesterday and got the essentials taken care of. With this snow, it may have been difficult to do today. I am trying to zero in on a couple of employment possibilities and hope to get that settled before long.  We appreciate your help in prayer about this.

Glitches

Sometimes computers decide to stop functioning. That happened just now and I could not publish this blog or our web pages. I will try it now that this blog program finally opened.  Margie had a good night but we are concerned about her morning choking spells.  She had another this morning. We are at a standstill on what is causing them.  We are supposed to go to Bellingham this morning. Tomorrow snow is forecast for part of the county so we want to go today. I am still spending much time on the Internet investigating at-home possibilities for employment. It is a VAST field and requires much study and most certainly Divine direction to know what is right. We thank you for praying for these things.

Countdown: 4 more days

The year went quickly, didn't it?  We were so glad we were able to attend our church service yesterday.  We had a quiet afternoon at home, viewing & listening to a  recorded sermon.  I took several pictures during the service but became unhappy when I edited them.  Editing lowers the resolution of the picture and I went "too far" in the editing and they were not good.  The problem is I deleted the pictures from the SD (Secure Digital) card .
BUT, I have photo recovery software and was able to retrieve all the deleted pictures from the blank SD card.  Oh the marvel of technology. So, one of my favorite verses is Psalm 116:6 "The Lord preserves the simply". I give that verse overload status most of the time. Thank you for praying for us - especially Margie.  She had a good night and we are glad.

After Christmas greetings

We had a wonderful Christmas day with our family.  We enjoyed an afternoon meal, a nice time of visiting, then left for home.   It took an hour and 10 minutes for the return trip.  It was already dark when we arrived.  We spent the rest of the evening quietly watching some recorded programs.  Today is church and we look forward to that as well.  Margie had a good night for which we are very thankful.  She had a very busy week and it was an answer to prayer she was able to do as much as she did.  We are very thankful.  We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas also.

Merry Christmas

We hope and pray this day will be very special to each of you.  Yesterday Margie did nobly as she prepared the traditional brunch for our family.  We pitched in to help and alleviate her load somewhat.  The family as usual enjoyed so much the delicious food.  Today, Lord willing, we'll travel south to Stanwood and enjoy our Christmas meal with our family.   Margie has baked two pies and some goodies for the occasion.  Margie and I are so grateful for the measure of health given.  We treasure these times so much to enjoy family and friends.  We have mild weather here, unlike many places so the travel should be easy.  We'll let you know tomorrow how today's events went.