Steve's Bypass Surgery & 5 Months of 2026

3 days post operation

In July, it will be three years since Steve's heart attack. Last year, his doctor suggested that they do a heart catheterization and check out the stents that were put in place then. Steve has been well but was just always tired and they wanted to check for blockages. We put it off until this year but finally in April he had the heart cath and they found that the one stent was 70% blocked. This was the most crucial one and they right away suggested open-heart surgery. There was also a blockage that we had actually known about 3 years ago but it wasn't a main artery so they weren't that concerned about it. They would also take care of that one so it would be considered a double-bypass surgery. 

On May 14 we arrived at the hospital at 5:15 am and by 7:00 he was taken to surgery. Jay was again the designated one to keep me company. He does a very good job and the time actually passed fairly quickly. At 11:15 we received notice that surgery was finishing up. The surgeon talked to us and said everything went smoothly so we were very happy to hear that. It was probably close to 1:30 until we could see him in the ICU. He was in the ICU until the next morning and then transferred to a regular room. He was able to check off all the boxes just like they wanted and on Monday, May 18 he was discharged! He is currently home recuperating. We are very thankful for a successful surgery and are praying the recovery continues to go well.

I should also mention that for most of the winter Steve was having trouble with a diabetic ulcer on the bottom of his left foot right underneath his little toe. Late January it became very inflamed and after x-rays and other tests it was discovered that there was an infection in two bones in his little toe. He had really struggled with high sugars for most of 2025 and this is what causes diabetic ulcers. Thankfully, we were finally able to get his sugar numbers down with some new medication, but it was too late to reverse the damage. After trying strong antibiotics for two months the decision was made to amputate his little toe on his left foot. That surgery was done on Friday, March 27. It went amazingly well and he healed very quickly which was a blessing since wounds typically take longer to heal for diabetics. So he just got the complete all clear from his foot surgery when he went into his by-pass surgery. I am praying that we get a break now from doctor appointments and surgeries.

Here's a little update of other happenings the first half of the year. January started with us keeping Cassidy & Seth for five days while Josh & Julissa celebrated their 10th year anniversary. We had a great time with them and enjoyed taking them to several local places like the Choo-Choo barn and Hands-On House. It was nice that I could take them home to sleep. I think sleeping in their own bed really helped them to get the rest that they needed and we all know that when kids are well rested they are much happier!

Seth enjoyed going along with Grandpa on his Amish taxiing runs.

Played lots of Legos

Choo-choo Barn

Someone likes ice cream :)

Lots of sprinkles make a little girl happy!

Hands-On house "food truck"

Playing store at Hands-On House

On January 26, Jake turned 5 years old! Jake likes preschool and is really interested in writing and I often get little notes from him that he has proudly written. He is an active little boy and even though he and Kyle can get mad at each other he is a wonderful big brother and they play together really well. He is also obsessed with Uno and even got so desperate to play that he tried to teach Kyle. It is pretty funny to see the two of them sitting on the floor with the Uno cards spread out all around them.

Big smile!

And here is the birthday video.

In February we had Hannah & Janae for a weekend while their parents were away. I was delighted to discover that Hannah enjoys Scrabble!

Pondering her next move

Bryce came to play with Janae. These two always get along so well!

March brought the end of the quizzing season! Alexis, Lydia and Mark were in the older division and Hannah & Clara in the younger. This was Clara's first year of quizzing and she did really well! She actually got top novice quizzer! Hannah & Clara were on the same team and they came in 4th overall.

Ready to jump!

The team

Jay coached Mark's team

Alexis & Lydia were on the same team and they came in 2nd overall.

In March we also did a weekend getaway with our Care Group to the cabin that we have gone to several times before. This is always such a time of refreshment and fun. 

Love doing life with this group!

April 5 was Naomi's 2nd birthday and it was also Easter. We gathered together at Jay's barn and had a wonderful time together. Naomi is a vibrant, enthusiastic little girl that lights up the room. She is talking quite well and it is obvious that her family adores her. She is all they need for entertainment!

All smiles from the gifts she received

All 13 grandchildren! Only Kyle is unhappy about taking the picture :)

Also in April my siblings got together at Les & Marian's house. It was so nice to all be together. It had been a while since Glen & Marilyn were able to join us so that made it extra special. 

l-r Les, Me, Glen, Lois, Gene

l-r Les, Marian, Jim, Lois, Steve, Me, Glen, Marilyn, Gene, Rhoda

I continue to keep the younger grandkids quite a bit. I know this time will come to a close all too soon. Bryce will start 1st grade in the Fall and I will be sad to not have him regularly on Wednesdays anymore. Our old playhouse has seen all of our grandkids playing in it and it's fun to see when the youngest ones start to interact and play house in it. Here's one of Kyle playing with the kitchen.

Lydia turned 15 on May 19. We managed to get her birthday party in on Sunday, May 10, before Steve's surgery. Lydia is beautiful inside and out and I always enjoy chatting with her. She has recently started playing guitar and is doing very well with it. She plays for their youth group and in church sometimes.

Beautiful!

Whoopie pies for a cake. Yummy!

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll post again before another 5 months goes by!

And Just Like That...Goodbye 2025

Our annual Christmas photo. Two of the grandchildren are very hard to see. Can you find them?

2025 was a very uneventful "normal" year for which I am very grateful. We had some wonderful family and friend times which I have written about on this Blog and which were the highlights of our year. Other than that the days were pretty much the same with me working the store and Steve taxiing the Amish. At our age we will take all the normal years we can get!

We got together at Jay & Kristen's for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time relaxing and talking together. Naomi entertained us with her antics. At a year and a half she is energy and cuteness wrapped up together. 

A couple of weeks later we celebrated Hannah's 11th birthday. Born on December 21 her birthday is so close to Christmas but I like that we always have a special evening just for her.

11 years old!

On Sunday, December 28 we had our family Christmas at Megan & Jeremy's. They have graciously hosted it the last few years and it works well. I provide the food and they provide the place and we both like it that way.  It is chaotic but everyone seems to have a good time. We always try to get a family picture which proves pretty challenging. This year something upset Bryce and he didn't want anything to do with a picture. If you look close you can see he is hunched over beside Melissa with his face in the carpet. :) Janae is sitting on Kristen's lap behind Shawn and you can barely see a little bit of her hair and shirt. It should be a fun talking point for anyone who looks at the picture in the future. We did a little better with the grandkids picture. At least you can kind of see everyone. Plus Bryce got happy again!

How did we get so lucky? Love that Jake & Kyle are holding hands!

Here are a few other pictures I took of the grandkids.

The older grandchildren

Cousins & friends

Kyle

Seth

Naomi

That just about wraps up the year. We will be keeping Steve's mom for two nights from December 31 to January 2. Mark & Doris are away for a week and since it didn't suit Nancy to have her, the brothers have been taking turns. I'll try to take a couple pictures and add it to this Blog.

It went well with Steve's mom. She slept a lot and was very pleasant when she was awake. Here are just a few pictures that I took.

Josh & Julissa & Cassidy & Seth stopped in for a visit

Jake & Kyle posing with Great Grandma

She enjoyed putting puzzles together

Here are the two that she did. The top was a 200 piece and the bottom a 150 piece

At the end of each year, I just like to pause and count my blessings. They are so numerous and I really have nothing to complain about. I am thankful for the gift of salvation and for our church who feeds us spiritually and emotionally. We love our small group friends and going places with them like the beach and cabin. We have felt so loved and accepted by them. Our family continues to amaze us. They show their love in many ways and we know that if we ever need anything, each one of them would be there in a heartbeat. The grandkids are so special. I enjoy talking with the older ones and hearing about their lives. The younger ones are so energetic and each has their individual personalities. I love that I still have some little ones to hug and snuggle and read to. We are both thankful that our bodies still allow us to work and we don't have too many limitations. Steve still continues to struggle with diabetes and his blood sugar. It would be nice if he could get it under control better in 2026. I guess if I have one wish for 2026 that would be it.

Here's a song that sums up my life right now.

There's a roof up above me

I've a good place to sleep

There's food on my table

And shoes on my feet

You gave me your love Lord

And a fine family

Thank you Lord

For your blessings on me. - The Easter Brothers

See you next year!

It's Time for a Catch-up Post

 

Vacation Time!

This Blog is becoming more like a diary for me but a very erratic one. I suppose that is okay. If I ever have something really important that I want to write about, I know where I can come to put my thoughts down. Maybe it is a good thing that my entries have been sporadic because it means that nothing really traumatic has happened and I do like when life moves along without too many bumps and turns.

Since my last post in June after the grandchildren camping week, we have had quite a few birthdays.

The first one was Kyle's who turned 2 on July 7.

Kyle had a Winnie-The-Pooh birthday cake and he was so happy to be celebrated. Here is a video of him blowing out his candles.

On July 12, Awstin turned 12.

Awstin loves sports, especially Philadelphia teams :)

July 16 was Clara's turn. She turned 8 years old.

Here's the traditional cake...

...and here's the pretzel jello dessert because Clara requested this also!

And then came the big one on August 8! Alexis turned 16 years old and was finally able to get her permit. She had been anxiously counting down the days for this happy occasion!

Lydia was taking a cake decorating class and decorated Alexis' cake!

August 23rd was our 45th wedding anniversary and we celebrated it by going to a Phillies game! We have been enjoying watching their games this summer and hadn't been to a game in years. We drove down on Saturday afternoon and checked into a hotel before going to the game. Then we just had to drive a short distance to our hotel after the game and returned back home on Sunday. It seems a simple thing to do for such a momentous occasion but we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the Phillies even won!

45 Years! :)

Citizens Park

On Sunday, August 24, we got together at Jay and Kristen's for our annual Lehman reunion with Steve's mother and siblings and grandchildren and families. We got a few pictures but none with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mom, children and spouses

 

Mom and children

September 10 brought another grandchild birthday. Seth turned 2 years old.

Seth loves any kind of farm equipment and trucks. Julissa made the cake!

Seth was a little shy about the cake, birthday song and candles. Here is the video.

In September we spent a weekend at a cabin with three couples from church. It is the same cabin I posted about earlier and is owned by Randy & Diane's daughter and son-in-law. We love going away with these couples and had a wonderful time together!

Just look at the beautiful mountains behind us! L-R - Randy, Diane, Becky, John, Me, Steve, Sue, Bob

 

Taking a ride in the buggy

Steve followed on a four-wheeler

In October, Jay & Kristen's four oldest children showed their hogs at the Manheim Fair.

Mark

Alexis

Lydia & Hannah

And more birthdays!

Bryce turned 6 on October 9

Bryce started Kindergarten this year and is loving it!

Cassidy turned 4 on October 26

Cassidy said she wanted a cat for her cake so Julissa made her one!

The last birthday in October was Mark's on the 29th. He turned 13 so entered the teenage years!

When one of their children, turn 13, Jay & Kristen invite grandparents, uncles, aunts & cousins from both sides of the family. We went around and said things that we appreciate about Mark. It was nice to see how his face lit up when people spoke about him.

The only grandchild yet to have a birthday this year will be Hannah on December 21, so I'll cover that in my Christmas and year-end blog.

The last thing I want to write about was our vacation week in Myrtle Beach as referenced in the first picture on this Blog. Randy & Diane were able to trade their Hilton Head timeshare for one in Myrtle Beach and invited us to go with them. An invite which we happily accepted! It was one of the most relaxing vacation's ever. We arrived on Saturday, November 1 and left the next Saturday, November 8. We purposely did not plan many activities because we wanted to have time to just enjoy the freedom of no schedule and the beautiful ocean setting. We had booked tickets for 3 shows which we went to on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They were all centered around Christmas and one was an acrobatic show, another a musical, and the last one was a Pirate Dinner Theater. All of them were really great and we loved them! We played miniature golf one day and usually ate out once a day, because what is a vacation if you don't enjoy different dining experiences! My highlight was watching the sun rise over the ocean each morning while drinking coffee on our deck. Of course we also spent plenty of time playing games, talking and laughing. We are so thankful for Randy & Diane! We joked that we are still friends after spending a week together but none of us were really worried about that! :)

Sunrise over the ocean

Sand, ocean & sky - beautiful!

We were on the 6th floor. Perfect for seeing out over the ocean!

This mini golf course was played on different levels with the top level showing a beautiful view out over the ocean.

I won! (But I didn't take the trophy home)

We were so fortunate to have beautiful weather all week.

Gotta have that picture on the beach!

Proof that I was on the beach!

Steve was the only one adventurous (or crazy enough) to go into the ocean. It was pretty cold! Here is proof that he actually did it.

That pretty much catches the year up. I'll be back to close it out late December or early January.