Thanks Claudia!
I do appreciate the support to help my family "deal" with this. It's especially hard this time of year, when family is supposed to be close and together. We thought my brother had hit the bottom more than once, but no one really knows where his "bottom" is. He's slept under bridges, lived in a homeless shelter and eaten from the soup kitchens because he can't stay sober enough to work. He IS a Christian and that makes it even more difficult to understand. Thank you again! And Congrats on your 5 years of sobriety!! Pat S SW Michigan From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Claudia Werner Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 9:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Suggestion Hi Pat I can not plame you.You are doing the right thing.I was "am" an alcoholic.Clean for over 5 years.I hat to hit the bottom before I was able to get up.Helping him in anyway is not helping him at all.Praying for him is the best think.I'm thankful to the ones that were praying for me .I will never go back to that.I found the Lord in a big way and I will pray that your brother find the love of the Lord and changes his live around as I did.All you can do is pray.It sound's like you have a fun live.Enjoy. Merry Christmas to all of you from Bruce,Brutus.Sissy and Claudia The reason for this season? Happy Birthday Jesus God bless you all. _____ From: Pat S <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 9:41:09 AM Subject: RE: [Chihuahuas] Suggestion Hi, I?m Pat and I live in Hudsonville, Michigan about 20 minutes from Lake Michigan. My hubby and I have been married almost 13 years (2nd marriage for both!). I?ve got 4 kids, Scott, 35, Stephanie, 30, Michelle 28 and Chuck 26. Hubby has a son Michael who is 21. We?ve also got 3 grandkids with another on the way. All our kids are married or out of the house. Hubby and I live on a small hobby farm and have 5 ½ acres. I am owned by Nitro, a 6 month old Chi, Jenny, a 6+ year old rescue Great Dane, Pebbles, a 1 yr old house cat and Fargo, a 6+ yr old house cat. In my barn, I?ve got 4 cats, Wilma, Olive Oyl, Mortisha and Wednesday. (We like cartoon names and the Adams Family!!). I?ve also got two gaited Rocky Mountain Horses. King?s Stormy Breeze is almost 3 and Maker?s Liberty Belle is 6. I show my horses when I can and Liberty is due to have a foal in April 2009. We love to do several different things like snowmobile, boat on Lake Michigan, 4-Wheel on the sand dunes and enjoy the Michigan summers. We use each season to the fullest! My kids think we are nuts but we have a GREAT time!!! I have a younger brother who is a raging alcoholic, jobless by his own choice, and is 2 steps away from being homeless. My parents and I have done everything that we can for him and it?s now time for him to attempt to stand on his own two feet. We?re praying that he can do it and leave the alcohol behind but it hasn?t proven to happen so far. We?ve dealt with his alcoholism for over 10 years now and there is nothing more that we can do. According to Al-anon we are not doing him any service by helping him but it is difficult not to because he is family! We are having our entire family over for Christmas dinner/presents and it remains to be seen whether or not my brother will be here. Any hint of alcohol on his breath and he will not be at my home. Harsh yes, but it?s our reality. Nitro and I hope that everyone here has a Wonder-filled, safe Holiday Season!! Pat
