"Grace and Peace" by Fernando Ortega
10 years of growing in love and understanding with my wife
20 acres along the river to explore with my sons
6 visitors at our tiny church
A baby girl born to a friend who waited 36 years to marry
A baby who signs "More please!"
A friend who continually lets me down, reminding me of God's faithfulness
A God who knows we need consistency, and so created the seasons
A grandma who brings snow clothes just so she can play outside with the boys
A husband who imagines with his children
A husband who is able to come home for lunch nearly every day
A husband who washes dishes
A living room full of free furniture
A long, narrow hallway, lined with family pictures
A sage green plate, precious gift from a friend; a place to lay my wedding ring at night
A stack of books I need to read
Brother, Aaron
Sister, Abbie
Acorns
The Family Wellness Council
"Age of Mythology" computer game
Airy, whipped butter
All of the postal and delivery workers who labored so long and hard to deliver packages this season
Amish buggies
Amish Friendship bread
Amish napkin baskets
Sister in law, Amy
An extra freezer full of food
An organized linen closet - don't blink - you'll miss it!
My friend, Andrea
My friend, Ann
Antique stores
Apricot crayola crayons
Asterix Comics
Astonishingly tall trees, waving in the breeze
Augustine's Confessions
Austin Graduate School of Theology
Autumn decorations
Babies clapping their hands
Babies giving kisses
Babies rubbing their eyes, ready for a nap...
Babies waving bye-bye
Baby dolls
Baby food grinders
Baby girl dresses
Baby hair bows
Baby monitors
Baby sweet breath
Baby walkers
Baby-to-be for my brother and his wife
Background music during school time
Backrubs
Bagpipes
Baker's racks
Baptism - new life
Barn Red
Baskets full of heavy blankets
Bath salts
Bath toys for babyBathtubs
Beautiful, rugged snow-capped mountains
Beautiful old hymns
Bedside lamps
Being a bookend
Being home
Being raised in a two-parent, loving home
Being refined
Berry wreaths
sister, Bethany
Big dreams from old preachers
Big pockets
Bing Crosby's voice
Bins of baby clothes given to us
Bird nests; visible in the dead trees
Birdfeeders
Blowing curtains
Blue Spruces
Bookshelves
Box fans, muffling naptime noise in a tiny house
Brand-new notebooks
Breadboxes
Break time during school
Bricks
Bronte books, Dickens, classics of any kind
Brooms
Brushed nickel and brass
Bubbles
Bulk food bins
Bulky blankets keeping us warm
Bunk beds - freeing up space in a tiny parsonage
Burl Ives' voice
Burning barrels
Cake platters
Calculators
Brother, Caleb
Camouflage
Camp Ivydale
Camping
Canning jars
Capturing a Christmas kiss
Carnations
Caroling on a hay wagon
CD players
Cellos
Chair backs to rest against
Chalk
Chalkboards
Chariots of Fire
Cheesy potatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Children learning Robert Frost poetry, and reciting it for Grandpa, bringing tears to his eyes
Children who don't mind hand-me-downs. YET.
Children, fresh from the bath, nails clipped, necks and behind the ears scrubbed clean
Children's imaginations
Chili dinner with the caroling community
Chimneys
China doll furniture
China hutches
Chips and salsa
Chocolate-mint pinwheel cookies
Chore lists that help the house run smoothly
My friend, Christine
Christmas carols
Christmas cookies
Church bells
Church steeples
Chutes and Ladders
Cider, simmering in the crock pot
Cinnamon pancakes
Cinnamon raisin bread, fresh from the oven
Clam chowder
Classic Pooh
Claudia, the best evangelist I have ever known
Clementines
Clotheslines
Our family coat of arms
Coffee
Cold drinking water
Cold, winter air
College basketball
College-ruled paper
Colored raffia – making simple presents look homespun-beautiful
Colorful miniature pumpkins
Comforting, heavy chimney smoke
Communion
Conversations with teenagers during camp
Corban asking me, "Are you okay, Mama?" when I'm a little quiet
Corban writing his own hymns during evening class
Corban's desire to speak publicly at our church
Corban's protection of his brother and sister
Cords to tie back the curtains and let the sunshine in
Corny old lava lamps
Cranberries
Creaky boards in our church building
Crisp white paper
Cruise control
Curlers
Curly-cues
Cutting my sons' hair like my father did mine
Daily bread
Sister in law, Dana
Dancing around my house with my children
Dandelions in grubby hands, an offering of love for Mama
Brother, Daniel
Dark chocolate - 85%
Dean Martin's voice
Dear friendships
Deer sausage
Dental floss
Digital cameras
Dinner by lamplight
Dishdrains full of clean dishes
Distance-education through Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Doorbells
Dr. Pepper
Dress up clothes - hours and hours of fun for the boys!
Dried flowers
Dried fruit
Dried pineapple, fresh pineapple, canned pineapple...
Dried potpourri
Dripping candles
Drops of water, dangling from sleeping branches
Dryers
Dust ruffles
Dusting powder
Dwight, custom-knife maker and friend
Early Sunday mornings, refining my sermon one last time
Ecumenical events
Elevator "dings"
Eliana, when she leans against the couch and pokes her stomach out
Eliana, laughing in excitement when I say "Do you want to go night-night?"
Eliana crawling into my lap and very deliberately turning around, ready for a story
Eliana lifting her whole leg over a tiny little toy she's trying to crawl over
Eliana’s big-eyed wonder at her first taste of a biter biscuit
Eliana's feathery wisps
Eliana's laugh when I sign "Are you hungry?"
Eliana's pink fingertips
Eliana's wrinkled-up-nose when she smiles
E-mail
Epic movies like "Braveheart", The Patriot, Gladiator and "Band of Brothers"
Nephew, Ethan
Eucalyptus leaves – so soothing and fragrant
Niece, Evelyn
Eye contact with my children
Ezekiel
Faithquest
Family just an hour and a half away
Family meals
Family reading time
Fast-growing American Redbud Trees
Fellowship
Fields of cows
Filigree
Filtered Brita water
Finding a cheerio inside Eliana's sleeve
Finding delight in my children
Firemen
Policemen
Doctors
Military personnel
Fireplaces - I can still be thankful for them, even if I don't have one right now!
First steps
First-time garden that grows above and beyond!
Fishing
Fleece-lined boots
Flexibility. Which kind, you ask? Well, both, I suppose.
Flickering candles
Flying Pie Pizza
Fondue
Forgiveness
Forgiving hugs
Freckles
Freebird's burritos
Fresh tortillas
Friendly deer - and not-so-friendly deer
Friends
Frozen grass, creating hours of fun for little boys
Full cookie jars
Fully stocked freezers
Fuzzy baby hats with ears on them
Fuzzy slippers
My friend, Gail
Gala apples
Garage sale dressers
Garlic
Garlic bread
Gentle reminders
Gently swaying trees
Geo-caching
Getting to know my oldest brother for the first time
Glow in the dark stars on the ceiling
Glue sticks
God's discipline and tutoring learned through arguments
God's provision from unexpected sources
Gold leaf
Good night kisses
Good renters
Grand pianos
Grandfather clocks
Grandma’s shrimp – the boys new favorite!
Grandmother’s china, passed on to me
Griddles for cooking pancakes
Grilling chicken fajitas
Hail storms
Hallways adorned with pictures
Hammered tin salt and pepper shakers
Hand bells to call my children to come inside
Hand towels
Handmade earrings from my auntie…
...hanging on a handmade holder
Handmade mittens and scarves from a dear friend
Hand-me-down couches - I don't know what we'll do if we ever have to buy one ourselves!
Happy chaos
Happy husband at lunchtime
Christian concerts with teens
Having a brilliant beyond brilliant idea – at least to me
Having a preschooler; remembering the fun and simple way to school
Having a second-grader who can read to his brother while I feed the baby
Having my husband home for lunch
Having my husband's office next door
Having my sons request to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" over and over
Having no dishwasher, and opening my eyes to the peace of after mealtime; scrubbing, rinsing, stacking
Hearing "Yes, Mama!" when giving an instruction
Hearing Corban and Micah giggling over Berenstain Bear books
Hearing Micah count to 100 and Corban say, "Good job, buddy!"
Hearing my children cackle during a Jerry Lewis movie
Hearing my sons giggle at Daddy's jokes
Heart 'n Home Hospice and Palliative Care
Heat proof spatulas
Heating pads, easing aches and throbs
Heavenly Ham
Heaven's Gate, elevation 8,970
Heavy brown wrapping paper
Heavy farm tables
Heavy frost on the trees, like feathers
Heavy platters
Heavy pots and pans
Heavy rolling pins
Heavy wooden puzzles, just right for little fingers
Hell's Canyon Wilderness Area
Herbs
Heroes of the Bible
Highlights of Michael Jordan
Hiking and mountain climbing
Hips - for holding baby so I can cook dinner with my other hand
Hojo - my 'elenisti didaskolos
Holding hands
Holding my son when he cries over missing Vivian
My friend, Holly
Holly and ivy
Homemade corn bread with honey butter
Homemade tomato soup
Homemade wooden toyboxes
Honking geese
Hooded sweatshirts
Hot beef stew
Hot chocolate and sugar cookies when we return home
Hot turkey sandwiches made with leftovers
Hot water
Hot, soothing tea
Huge old cathedrals
Hugs
Hummingbirds
Husbands who cut their sons' hair
Husbands who kill spiders
Husbands who trek through cold and snow to make a path to the door
Hymns by Isaac Watts
Ice skating
I'm thankful for lists!
Indian paintbrush
Indian Valley
Indigo blue ink
Innocence in my children
Intimacy with my husband
Intimacy with my Lord
It's a Wonderful Life
Jane Austen books, esp. Jane Eyre
My friend, Jenn
Jeremy
Jesus - The Glorious Coming!
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
Jochebed - in giving her son up to God she humbles and inspires me
Kernel corn sprinkled with lemon-pepper
Kettle-popped corn, buttery and salty
Kevin and Corban's thick hair
Kissing owies
Kleenexes
Kyoto Japanese Restaurant
Lace
Lacy cobwebs
Lacy curtains
Lakey's
Lamposts
Lantern light that makes the most simple fare feel like an elegant banquet
Large pink bibs with a "trough"
Laughter
Laundry baskets
Lavender
Learning sign language with my children
Legends
Legos!
Lewis & Clark who inspire my sons to explore
Lighthouses
Little boy breath
Little boy hands extended, and a "May I help you up, Mama?"
Little boy prayers
Little boy ties
Little boy voices singing Bible verses
Little boys, keeping watch for the neighborhood cats who come to eat the sparrows
Little boys reciting Robert Frost poetry for Grandpa; making him cry
Little boys taking out the trash "just like Daddy does".
Little boys who wake at 6:30 am, then crash by 7:00 pm
Cheerios, broken in half, littering the dining room floor
Little girl dresses
Little hands turning pages carefully
Little Women
Living in a tiny town
Long, hot showers to loosen my back
Long drives through the mountains
Long hair
Lotion for thirsty skin
Lying in the comfort of my husband’s arms
My friend, Lyn
Madeline
Magnets - hours and hours of fun for the baby!
Mailbox flags
Making up!
Mama
Mama's Milk Tea
Mars Hill Audio Journal
Martyrs; Deitrich Bonhoeffer
Matte finished photographs
Meatloaf
Memory
Mercies
Messages of salt and light, igniting hope and encouragement
Mexican hot chocolate
Micah, looking at the stars and saying, "God and Jesus must have turned on their CHRISTmas lights!"
Micah’s tender heart; tears flowing freely
Micah's cowlicks
Micah's selfless spirit
Michael Card lullabies
Middle of the night nursings
Middle Valley
Mike and Howard, ministers who mentored me in my early years
My friend, Miriam
Mixed nuts
Mondays
Mountain Dew
Mountains of leaves
MP3 players
My 1982 Ford truck
My blogging friends
My brother, Caleb, uncomplainingly giving up his room every time we visit so Eliana and I have a quiet space.
My brothers
My children's laughter
My china from grandmother
My cookbooks - old and new
My crockpots
My custom-mounted map of "Middle Earth" made by my wife
My dear friend, Tim
My dishdrain
My draping…sitting…reading…and sipping chair in the bedroom
My Eeyore mug – reminding me to smile
My ESV Bible with a Celtic cross on the cover
My father's love for teaching high school
My father's wheezing laughter
My favorite letter - H - it's so unassuming, don't you think? But strong.
My friend, Wilson
My friendship with a 91-year-old WW2 Vet
My grandmother, who prayed for each of her children's future spouses. We're still enjoying the effect of those prayers generations later.
My heavy Hawaiian bag from my mother-in-law - great for library day!
My hope
My husband, whistling
My husband’s parents, raising SUCH a person
My husband's beard
My husband's soft t-shirts
My in-laws who push my faith to grow
My laptop computer
My mama’s homemade refried beans
My mama's knowledge of canning
My mission trips to Mexico with teenagers
My mother who showed me that art of empathy
My new vacuum cleaner
My old home on Kirkwood Circle
My oven
My pantry – tiny, narrow, but full and used
My parents
My patient husband
My recipe box
My rocking chair
My Savior
My school bell – ringing across our small town to bring the boys home
My sister Bethany’s photography – so striking
My sister-in-law's Lamb Cassoulet
My sister-in-law's salad with strawberries
My sisters
My sons learning to interact with people 17 times their age
My tea tray from my Mama
My Thesaurus
My Vita-mix
My wedding ring
My weekly prayer-partner, Jim
My wife's love for cooking
Nacho cheese Doritos
Nails for hanging pictures
Naptime
National Geographic Society
NBA Playoffs
Needs in the community that send my little boys running to fill boxes with favorite foods and toys
Netflix
New schoolbooks
Nieces and nephews!
Nightgowns
Nightlights
No need for "icicle lights" on the house – we have the real thing; the light from the warmth inside makes our icicles glitter
Norman Rockwell paintings
Northwest Expositor's Seminar
Nursing babies who pull back just to look into your eyes and smile
"O Sacred Head"
October Glory Maples
Old barns
Old castles, still standing
Old fashioned coffee grinders that don't even work anymore
Old fashioned handkerchiefs
Old front-page newspapers given to me by my father from his mother
Old Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies
Old quilts
Old students learning biblical exegesis for the first time!
Olive oil
"On the Road" by John Denver
Open windows
Opportunity: for passing on truth, for inspiration, for a kiss...anything
Orange Twizzlers
Orange-cranberry scones
Ordering photos online and having them shipped directly to loved ones
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Our cell phone, a gift from my brother – keeping us connected with family
Our Christmas village that lights up
Our good health
Our neighbors’ snow plow – clearing the alley behind the garage
Our parsonage - small it may be, but so very home for now.
Our refrigerator; so covered with pictures I’ve forgotten what color it is!
Our tiny library - just 2 blocks away
Our tiny library deciding to open for four hours on Saturdays! Hooray!
Our tiny market - 2 blocks away
Our tiny post office - again, 2 blocks away
Our video camera
Oven mitts
Paddington Bear books
Paisley
Papa
Pat the Bunny
Pearls
Pears
Peeking at Eliana through the bars of her crib
Pencil sharpeners
Peppermills
Peppermint whipped cream
Perplexing theological questions from my sons
Pictures of my children in the kitchen sink windowsill
Piggy banks that are voluntarily emptied on Sundays
Pine Creek
Pine needles
Pinecones
Pink roses that remind me of my mother
Placemats
Playgrounds
Playing "peek-a-boo" with Eliana
Playing Scrabble with my husband
Pointe shoes
Polka dots
Pollyanna
Posies in a nosegay
Potlucks with too much food, made by a handful of people. Loaves and fishes.
Potlucks!
Prayer
Prayer with my husband
Pregnancy - such a gift
Professors who take a pay cut to serve where they're needed
Quaking Aspens
Rain
Rainbows
Rainy days
Raising children who belong to God
My friend, Randi
Reading "Good Night, Moon" to my baby girl and watching her big eyes turn to me when I say, "Hush".
Reading bedtime stories
Rear heating vents
Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Red berries against brown branches and winter snow
Red hair - I don't have it, but it is so beautiful!
Red Sunset Maples
Renaissance Festivals
Repentance in a five-year-old
Restored relationships
Reuniting with estranged friends
Rick-rack
Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not Wax Museum
Road trips
Roots
Rosebuds in winter snow
Rosin
Routine
Rubberbands to braid the long hair that is driving me crazy
Ruth - a beautiful, feminine picture of servanthood
Ry Krisp Crackers
Sabbath rest - media free, lit by the lantern, surrounding the table with family.
Sacrifice
Salsa
Sandwiches wrapped in wax paper
Saturday morning
Schedules
Schindler's List music
Schwan's ice cream delivered to your door
Scientific minds: going where I cannot go and making my life easier
Seeing the light in Corban’s eyes when understanding dawns (we’re "borrowing" in Math!)
Selfless widows
Sermons by Helmut Thielicke
Serving as minister in the same church that my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather attended
Several church families under one roof for a harvest meal
Sharp, sharp cheddar
Sharpie markers
Shelf paper
Shishkebobs
Shoelaces
Shooting baskets in the gymnasium where I played high school ball
Sighing - it fills the lungs and calms the spirit
Silver glitter
Sitting on the stairs in my parents’ home, feeling like a little girl again
Slanted tin roofs, designed for snow to slide right off
Sleigh bells
Sleigh rides on the trail
Slippers and hot tea
Small bathtubs - size doesn't matter. What I will remember is the beautiful children spashing merrily in it.
Small victories
Smiles from my husband from his place behind the pulpit
Smiles on the faces of lonely people holding my daughter and talking with my sons
Smiling at my husband at his place behind the pulpit
Smocking on little girl dresses
Snoring boys
Snow covered mountain peaks
Snow forts
Snow sliding off the tin roof above my head
Snowflakes, lovingly crocheted and starched by Kevin's mama
snowsuits
Soap
Sofa tables
Soft, thick toilet paper
Soft towels, their old age making them just right
Soft, heavy blankets for our beds in the winter
Soothing, classical music
Soup tureens
Spatulas
Squeals of terror and laughter when I jump out and scare my family
Stacey
Staircases
Star Wars movies and collectibles
Starting to talk them out of giving up their favorites, just to realize that it is the only way to give
Sticks - dead bones to trees, swords of immeasurable power to my sons
Stitt Library
Stone walls
Strategy games
Straw brooms
Structure
Sunlight breaking through the clouds
Sunshine
Survivors of the Holocaust
Swaddling a baby
Sweat pants
Sweaty little boy hugs
Sweet thank-you notes
Swingsets - for me AND my kids!
Taking a road just to see where it goes
Taking my trash to the dump instead of having a service do it
Talking to Mama on the phone, praying for and encouraging each other
Talking with my Papa, diving deep, for just a moment before the sun is hardly up
Tall stacks of library books
Tartans
Tchaikovsky
Tea with my sisters
Teaching my children about savings accounts
Teen class in my office on old couches
Teens from my youth group who have grown up to be faithful adults
Terry, my old preacher, friend, and woodcarver
That tears fade
The ache in my heart to be a better husband and father
The Adventure Bus
The anticipation of spring
The architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
The bald eagle we spotted from the sleigh
The beautiful language of Latin
The beauty and seasons of the Northwest
The bed-and-breakfast around the corner where friends and family can stay – want to visit? The Bible handed down from my grandfather to my mother to me
The blisters on my husband's fingers after he has chopped wood for a neighbor
The board game "Acquire"
The books of the Bible song
The Bronte Sisters
The call to worship
The Child
The Chronicles of Narnia
The civil war between wanderlust and security
The cold of the morning, eased by plunging my hands into the hot dishwater
The color pink
The color sage green
The communion table made by my great-grandfather
The consistent, dutiful seasons
The contentment of having enough
The deep theological musings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The earth and all that is in it
The enormous trees in the park in front of our house
The fireplace in our church's adult classroom
The first green of spring; so timid, yet so brave
The freedom to homeschool
The funny mixture of "To Train up a Child" books and my husband’s comics in the bathroom
The fury in the wings of a pheasant
The History Channel
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
The Hope
The hope of living in a home of my own once again
The huge wooden dollhouse built by friends of my family
The image of Jesus looking over Jerusalem and longing to embrace it
The joy my wife feels in blogging
The Kingdom Walk
The listening ears of my sisters
The long, long eyelashes of my boys
The moon
The mountains
The old dark wood paneling around our church's sanctuary
The opportunity to be a gracious receiver
The opportunity to extend grace when I’ve been given so much
The opportunity to give
The peaceful satisfaction seen in my sons' faces while they sleep
The piano given to us by my wife's grandfather
The pink of the skyline where the mountains touch it at sunset
The Plan
The Promise
The Psalms
The references to "Yahweh-God" in our advent readings from my Jerusalem Bible.
The Righteous - Yad Vashem
The river running behind our home – beautiful with ice chunks cutting through it
The senior saints in our church family
The Seven Devils Mountains
The shaky cry of a brand new baby
The simple peace of the evening ritual; turning off lights, checking locks
Looking in on slumbering children
The smell of a roast in the oven after worship
The smell of garlic
The smell of my children while they sleep
The smell of my tea, simmering on the stove
The soundtrack for "Road to Perdition"
The soundtrack to "Braveheart"
The Star
The stars
The sun
The sweetness of a smile, a touch on the shoulder after a tiff with my husband
The swimming pool down the street
The texture of ice cream bars: crunchy outside, soft inside. Yummy!
The Thoene’s – so moving
The transcendent, yet intimate nature of God
The trusting nature of children, sleeping so peacefully
The way Eliana's hair feathers out behind her ear
The Weiser River Trail (85 miles)
The wisdom of the senior saints
The Word
The world-map border my wife applied to my office walls
The writings of John Stott
Theologians; great works
Chicken-salad sandwiches
Thick cut bacon
Thick sheets of ice pushed up alongside the river
Thick socks
Think-it-Thru tiles
"The Flower", by George Hebert, its’ dual meaning pouncing on me and bringing awakening
Those I can always count on to show up.
Thousands of crayons and heavy paper
Throw rugs
Throwing birdseed onto the snow for the sparrows
Tickle fights
Tie tacks
Tillamook Cheese
Time
Time alone to rest, think, pray
Timelines
Tin lunch pails
Tintin Comics
Tiny church buildings
Tiny drawers
Tiny picture frames
Toilet paper
Tom, my old friend and woodcarver
Tomatoes, warm from the garden
Train whistles
Tree branches, bending with the weight of the snow
Tulle
Turbo, my cat from years' past
Turkey, dressing and gravy
Turning off the television to talk with my wife
Two mirrors, one sink – bringing us close
Undeserved grace
Using up what we have and finding the most delicious ways to cook with simple ingredients
Vacations
Vanilla spice candles by Salt City
Violins
Visiting friends
Vivian
Walking for 45 minutes instead of driving for 10
Walking on the Greenbelt
Warm baths
Washing dishes by hand
Watching "Apocalypto" with my doctor!
Watching football
Watching my Papa, my husband, and my brothers playing Carcassonne
Watching teens grow into faithful adults
Watermelon
Whipped cream on pumpkin pie
Wildlife
Willow tree figurines
Wind chimes
Wind gusts that rattle the house
making us shiver and laugh
thankful to be warm and safe
Window latches
Window screens
Window seats
Winter days that feel like spring; sunny and crisp
Winter Retreat with teenagers
Wood grain
Wood shavings
Wooden banisters
Wooden blocks
Wooden boxes for pencils
Wooden rulers
Work gloves
Worship around a campfire
Worshipping every week in a building my husband worshipped in as a child
Wyatt
Young girls eager to hold the baby so mama can eat
Zippers
Forgiveness in the form of Jesus
Grace in the form of my husband
Papa, breathing - finally, on his own.
Steady, beating hearts
Papa's green eyes, open after a long sleep
Papa's laughter
Papa's crooked teeth
The way Papa moved in his anesthetized sleep only when Mama talked to him
Papa's ring, worn on a chain around Mama's neck
Papa's swollen, gentle, violin playing fingers
Being told Papa is a textbook patient
Papa's wonderful nurses, fussing over him constantly
Lots of siblings to help carry the load
My wise, strong, capable brothers
Drinking chai tea with my siblings as we play the Farming Game and laugh, forgetting for a time. Our path to the Father through Jesus
The opportunity to speak with Him anytime
Papa's slurred words to Mama before being wheeled into the operating room, "I've been having good fellowship with the Lord, sweetheart."
Technology
Oxygen
Thankful for wonder - it keeps God in His place with me - as GOD
A husband who takes time out of his days to teach the boys
Beautiful flower arrangements saying, "We love you!"
Ice chips, soothing a sore, dry mouth
Medical leave, so Papa can really rest
The surgeons