10 year Anniversary - A Miracle

May God Bless you every day of your life!

Letter to self – recap of the past 10 years:

2008 – In July you were turning 65 when you were diagnosed with a

rare terminal Cancer that had metastasized. After much soul searching

and prayers you made the decision to stop treatment. You turned your

life over to God. You sold your condo, got rid of all the material things

that no longer meant anything to you, and set your affairs in order to

include funeral arrangements. You chose quality of life over quantity

of life.

When you quit treatment and refused further treatment the doctors

were upset and most discharged you immediately. To date they cannot

explain why you are still alive so they do not use the term “in remission”

– they will only say it is “not active”.  Oh well, it is just terminology and

you know that the glory belongs to our one and only Savior Jesus Christ.

You moved into low income senior housing that was run by Franciscan

Ministries. Nine years later you are still living there. Many things have

changed but you are hanging in there and making the best of it and

continue to trust God.

After your second surgery you continued to refuse treatment. The

surgeon was angry and  informed you that your God cannot do

everything. I loved your response to her – “Then you don’t know my God.”

2013 - In July you celebrated God’s goodness by showing you that your

life was not finished here on earth and you were to continue doing His

work. You threw yourself a beautiful birthday party with about 90 family

members and friends in attendance. God gave you a few more years than

diagnosed and you turned 70 years old.

After being diagnosed you had to give up working while going through

two major surgeries. After sitting around for about 5 years it was time

to get back in the swing of things and you were offered a position with

Dayspring Villa Assisted Living as Life Enrichment Associate for 18 hours

a week. That has been perfect for you.

2018 – You have said all along that you were going to retire when you

turned 75. Well plans do change and I guess you have decided to go PRN

instead, reducing your hours from 18 to 4 a week. You just cannot give up

your Bible Study on Wednesday afternoon and Church Service on Saturday

evenings. Grace Church of Arvada supplied Dayspring and your group with

a 62 inch Smart TV so that your elders could watch the service live-stream

on Saturday evenings. Grace is a non-denominational service at

5 pm held in the community room. Mass is at 3 pm in the dining room.

There are church services for elders that want to attend. It is obvious that

you love doing God’s work. Such exciting times for you. God has blessed

you beyond measure and you continue to be thankful. No party this time

but I am sure you will celebrate God’s love in your own way. In fact

something has come up. You will be celebrating with your Bible Study

group. You have your quarterly lunch on your birthday. Perfect!

You will turn 75.

You still have your medical challenges like most people of your age but

so far you are able to handle them as they come along. In October when

you had the pulmonary emboli, both lungs, the doctors ordered a PET scan

to check on the Cancer before they would treat you - all was clear.

Thank you once again Lord.

The Bible verse, your favorite, that gets you through each and every day:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord,”

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

My "Thank You" to everyone who has prayed for me and offered
encouragement over the years. I pray for each of you as I read your posts
on Facebook. Much Love to all of you and to my 28 nieces and nephews
plus a new baby one the way in December 2018.
Katherine, Kathy Jo, Kathy, Kate

Katherine Johanna Crofford - Europe 100%

Katherine Crofford IRELAND - 46%
Primarily located in: Ireland, Wales, Scotland
Also found in: France, England
Ireland is located in the eastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean, directly west of Great Britain. A variety of internal and external influences have shaped Ireland as we know it today. Ireland’s modern cultural remains deeply rooted in the Celtic culture that spread across much of Central Europe and into the British Isles. Along with Wales, Scotland, and a handful of other isolated communities within the British Isles, Ireland remains one of the last holdouts of the ancient Celtic languages that were once spoken throughout much of Western Europe. And though closely tied to Great Britain, both geographically and historically, the Irish have fiercely maintained their unique character through the centuries.
People living in the Ireland region today have a slightly admixed genetic structure, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we see some similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 95% of a typical Irish native’s DNA comes from the region of Ireland.

Katherine Crofford EUROPE WEST - 35%
Primarily located in: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein
Also found in: England, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic
The Europe West region is a broad expanse stretching from Amsterdam's sea-level metropolis to the majestic peaks of the Alps. Geographically dominated by France in the west and Germany in the east, it includes several nations with distinct cultural identities. From the boisterous beer gardens of Munich to the sun-soaked vineyards of Bordeaux and the alpine dairy farms of Switzerland, it is a region of charming cultural diversity.
The people living in the Europe West region are among the most admixed of all our regions, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we often see similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 48% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.

Katherine Crofford GREAT BRITAIN - 8%
Primarily located in: England, Scotland, Wales
Also found in: Ireland, France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy
The history of Great Britain is often told in terms of the invasions with different groups of invaders displacing the native population. The Romans, Anglo-Saxon, Vikings and Normans have all left their mark on Great Britain both politically and culturally. However, the story of Great Britain is far more complex than the traditional view of invaders displacing existing populations. In fact modern studies of British people tend to suggest the earliest populations continued to exist and adapt and absorb the new arrivals.
The people living in the Great Britain region today are more admixed than most other regions, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we often see similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 60% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.

Katherine Crofford ITALY/GREECE - 6%
The people living in the Italy/Greece region are admixed, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for individuals native to this area, we frequently see some similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 72% of the typical native’s DNA

Katherine Crofford SCANDINAVIA - 3%
The people living in the Scandinavia region today are slightly admixed, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we see some similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 84% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.

Katherine Crofford IBERIAN PENINSULA - 1%
The people living in the Iberian Peninsula region are fairly admixed, which means that when creating genetic ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we see similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 51% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.

Katherine Crofford EUROPEAN JEWISH - <1%
The people living in the European Jewish region are much less admixed than most other regions, which means that when creating ethnicity estimates for people native to this area, we rarely see similarities to DNA profiles from other nearby regions. We’ve found that approximately 96% of the typical native’s DNA comes from this region.