Buffy

We had to say goodbye to our golden retreiver, Buffy, on Tuesday, January 12. She was such a sweet dog and never any trouble. She had cancer. In June of last year, we had a tumor taken off her leg and were told that it was cancer but they thought they got it all. Well, it came back in September and we were told it was the type of cancer that is in the blood stream. We didn't have a lot of choices. We chose to keep her with us and keep her comfortable as long as we could.

We were on the road over the weekend doing ministry in Michigan and got home around 1:30 in the afternoon and she died at 2:30. We had a dear friend watch her when we were gone. She came to meet us at the door when we arrived home. We knew that she was very sick and didn't have much time left. She wagged her tail until the end. Buddy was holding her in his arms when she died.

Buffy was 8 years old. She was six weeks old when we got her. We still have Casey (another golden) and Cricket (English Setter). Casey was raised with Buffy and is 8 as well. We will miss her terribly.

One thing that our friend told us about Buffy was that day when he came to let her out and feed her, she did not come to the door. He looked and found her on our bed. Now let me explain that she was too weak to even get up on a low sofa that we had. Our bed is a log bed and very high. There was no way she could get up on that bed but that is where he found her. Casey was with her.

Buffy is mentioned in Buddy's song, I've Got A Warm Heart for a Real Cold Nose and you can see her in both of the Front Porch Gospel DVD's (Summer and Autumn). Our hearts are broken but we were so glad that we got to have her for 8 years.

Happy New Year

Can you believe it is 2010? We are looking forward to an exciting year of ministry. Just a quick note, Buddy's eye is doing great. It has completely healed up.

We were blessed to be able to bring Kay's Mom down to the cabin Christmas day. We did not think that would be possible since she had her stroke. She has really improved dramatically since Thanksgiving. We were not sure she would even be here. She still gets confused but has been able to walk with help. We pray that she will continue to improve as much as she can.

I don't know if I shared this or not but our female retriever, Buffy, has cancer and has really gone down hill since Thanksgiving. She is not in any pain and still likes to take a ride in the mule (4 wheeler with a bed in back). We try to take her every day that we can. But she is not eating well and has lost weight. We know that it is only a matter of time for her but we will love her and keep care of her until then. It is a very sad time for us. We have had her for 8 years and she is so sweet.

We were blessed to get to share some time with dear friends of ours from southern Ohio. We went to their home before Christmas and shared gifts and a great meal with them. We dearly love this family. They are a Godly family that is an inspiration to us every day. We also went to the Creation Museum with them on the 26th of December. That was a great time of fun and fellowship. We loved showing them Bethlehem Blessings. If you missed it this year, please make plans for next year. It is definitely worth making a trip!!

We were also blessed to have some Australian friends stop by and spend some time with us. One couple and their son was able to spend a night with us at our cabin. It was good to see them again. We had met them when we had traveled a few years ago to Australia. We also met another couple of Aussies and their three children at the museum when we went down on the 26th. We really enjoyed seeing them again and finding out how they were doing. We can't believe how fast children grow up. Their children were young adults now!! It was a great time for us to see all of our Australian friends once again. The time was way too short.

We have been working on new children's workshops for the museum and updating some of the talks that I do. We are always updating the talks and trying to find new subjects for the workshops and new crafts for the children to do. Buddy is working also on a new CD that will hopefully be coming out this year. He has 14 new songs that he has been working on. The ministry has for its theme this year, "I am not ashamed". Buddy wrote two songs along those lines and one is the scripture in Romans 1:16. Pray that we will be able to do this CD. We believe that it will bless a lot of people. Of course, there are always some fun songs in with the more serious ones. We like to make CD's that are for the entire family.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:16