My Hubs' 51st Birthday Celebration

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY HUBBY!
My hubs turned 51 last week. He celebrated by going to an Ice Hockey game at our new arena in town. We gave him a few gifts and were planning to go out to eat after church last Sunday, but he was sick. We'll find a date to go out for lunch sometime soon I hope.

Jack is always helpful at opening the gifts (not). He just loves the paper and gift bags.

Relaxing after trashing paper.

The arena. Shiny, slick ice.

And of course the ZAMBONI!

My son & his friend (Nan's son) at the Hockey game with my hubs.

My hubs' little brother went too. His wife went too, but no one took her picture. Just can't trust the guys with the camera, geesh!

Happy Birthday, honey!!

There's Been Better Days!

I can honestly say I've had better days this summer, like this day when I went to an island with my kids and my sis.

I'm still having tooth problems. I thank you all for dropping by and for your kind words and thoughts. I don't need to go on & on, but it seems to be going on & on. I have a warm chair waiting for me 2 to 3 times a week at the dentist's office these days. Gotta find some humor in this somewhere.

I will be enjoying blogging again soon, I'm sure. I miss you all. Take care.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and
tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth
with good things, so that your youth is
renewed like the eagle's."
Psalm 103:2 through 5 NKJV

An 80's Birthday Party

Gosh the 80's were bright! NEON, baby!! I was in my twenties and I didn't wear quite so bright outfits as these birthday girls did. We had fun tonight celebrating birthdays for three girls from our church. The youngest turned 18 today. She obviously was not born in the 80's, but she dressed the part. Alright, here we go...

Here they are from left to right. Ashly, the 18 year old; Jenny, my Letterboxing teacher; and Rhonda a mom who blogs at have2havehumor.

Here are some of the leggings and shoes. It's a little dark, but I think you get the idea.

What better to celebrate with than a "HOT PINK" cake. Ashly's mom made it and it was good.

The inside was Neapolitan, Mmmm Mmmm good! I love her cakes.

You know the "Preppie" on the right. That's Nan at Momstheword. She's with Kaytee who also has a blog or two. Kaytee is also 18 and going off to college this fall. Nan jokes about going with her in one of her suit cases.

Some cake for the colorful birthday girls.

We ate some BBQ, had some cake and listened to music from the eighties. We also remembered movies that we enjoyed or were forbidden to see. It was a great time and the little kids liked it too. Some of the guys even dressed up a little. I was a party pooper, but I still had fun.

"Every party has a pooper that's why we invited you, party pooper, party pooper, that's you" Just thought I'd throw that in there. Take care.

Happy Birthday GIRLS!! Have a great year.

My Mom Walked Today

I've been anxious for the weekend to be over so my mom could get started on her therapies. Finally this afternoon while my dad and I were there the PT came in and took her for a walk.

She did very good. Just a few reminders to keep a straighter back (not leaning over at the shoulders) and walk heal toe especially with the left foot.

Getting out and into bed carefully and without bending or twisting was a challenge (it would be for me too) and mom will need plenty of practice with this. It's especially hard when you have weak joints from other surgeries.

She has no shortage of visitors. I guess all those years of visiting the sick and disabled has blessed her in return. Blessed to be a blessing and blessed right back.

Many thanks to the faithful prayer warriors out there. You have helped to keep my mom lifted up. Things are certainly looking better.

Great Day For Mom

My whole family went together to visit my mom today. She had company when we arrived and another friend from church dropped in while we were there. Mom was doing real good getting in and out of bed so I was real pleased.

We took her to the church service at 3:00pm and she said "You made my whole day," so I was real happy. We took her out into the courtyard because she hadn't been out side for quite some time.

Here's everyone singing at the church service held in the main dining room. Mom is in the yellow and her friend is in the blue. My family is on the right. The service lasted about a half an hour which was perfect.

I feel so much better about mom's situation. Thank you once more for your prayers. It just feels wonderful to have the prayer support.

Please continue to pray and remember my dad as well. He locked himself out of the house two days in a row. Thankfully he had people that took care of him. I hope he'll remember not to do this again.

Praising God for His daily care and love for my family.

I Heard My Mom Laughing Today!!!

I'd like to keep thanking you all for your support and encouragement. I'm just posting most comments without responding these days. I appreciate you all and I will be reading and commenting on your blogs again, soon I hope.

Thanks to the new people who have dropped by. I will visit I promise. I just have to get more time and some real sleep. God bless you all.

Today my mom was pretty much herself. I was so glad to walk into her room and she was awake and speaking sensibly and clearly. She was in one of her own pantsuits and we had a good visit. I left the room briefly and on the way back I could hear her laughing with my daughter. YAY!!

The doctor had the pain medicine changed and that has made the difference. God's divine intervention is so cool. I'm very tired so I'll be going for now. I'll be back to my old self soon too.

Still In Family Care Mode

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and kind comments of support and encouragement concerning my mom.

Toady we transferred her from the hospital to the care center for rehab. The Oxycontin (spelling?) for pain is really too much for my mom. She cannot even stay awake to eat so I was with her for lunch and dinner to make sure she ate as much as possible.

It's difficult to see her trying to do things and she just can't complete a task. I inquired about the meds and the Dr. called about my mom right when I got to the desk and the nurse took care of that while I was standing there. I call that divine intervention. I expect to see a change in my mom next time I visit.

Today I had to go to find the safe deposit box (SDB) at the bank to get the POA out to take to the care center. Mom couldn't tell me where the bank was (the meds, not her) and dad never goes to the bank so he didn't know which bank it was.

We found the check book in the "hiding place" and the keys to the SDB were there too. I also had to read and sign about 25 pages of info. today. My brain is fried. I've been gone for eight & 1/2 hours doing Family Care. I feel bad for the folks doing a permanent transition to a care center. It has been a stressful day.

I feel like my schedule is totally flipped out. My eating habits have gotten worse in just four days. I'm getting concerned because I have two kids to get ready for school and I'm suppose to go to two orientations next week for two substitute para educator jobs.

But you know what? I will not worry about these things because they are in God's hands. Praise God! He cares about every detail of our lives.

Please continue to pray for my mom and our family. Thanks so much.

My Mom Is Coming Along

In case you just stopped in for the first time, my mom had back surgery two days ago. She is still in the hospital. She has to be medically well before she gets released. Meaning she has to be passing fluid, have the drain removed, and her blood work has to come back with good results.

She will probably be released tomorrow (August 7th) to a rehab facility. Now, she is not happy about rehab, but for her own safety she needs more physical therapy. Her face just went sad when they told her she needed to go to rehab. They had forewarned her so she wasn't shocked, but just sad that things aren't going as she had planned.

It's good to have a goal, but there are steps to take and hoops to jump through to meet that goal. She'll just readjust the goal now.

I think she would have done a little better if the pain meds hadn't made her so drowsy. She's coherant, but she keeps dozing off. I got her a cup of coffee at the canteen and she kept dozing off and the cup would tip. Thank goodness it had a lid on it.

I may inquire about the pain meds and see if there is anything that will be effective and not cause the drowziness.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue. Tomorow could be a long and stressful day for all of us as we transfer her to rehab.

Mom Is Doing Fine

Thank you all for your prayers. My mom came through her surgery fine, but she had to stay in the hospital today too. She has some hoops to jump through first. She is concerned that they will send her to a care facility for her therapies.

I told her to work hard and prove herself today and she'll do fine. If she goes to a care center, I told her to remember it would only be for a short time.

She's not as young as she was with the first back surgery. She thought she'd go home the same day again. Things take their toll a little differently now and she needs more time to recover.

I appreciate and covet your continued prayers.

Thanks

My Dad's 88th Birthday

Last Sunday we celebrated dad's 88th birthday. It is amazing to me that we've been blessed to have our parents with us for so long. God knew some of us needed more time to appreciate them for all they've done for us.

I think that since I wasn't a believer until I was thirty, it took me longer to appreciate my folks. I'm glad God gave me these years to grow up and learn to love and appreciate my dear parents. I digress, but for good reason.

We went to an Asian restaurant that my parents like and go to often called Wendy's Two. We ordered several types of food. It seems like I was eating for a long time. I like the food there too.


We have our food and are passing things on the lazy susan thing in the middle.

This is part of us. From the left are:
my daughter, my sister, my mom, my dad.



This is my son and my hubs.




This is the birthday boy! There is the dessert in front of him, Mmmmm!

Dad opened some gifts. He has some books to read and look at now. He loves reading, but his vision is bad so he uses a magnifier now.




We gave him a book about the places in the Bible. There are a lot of pictures which should make the reading easier.




This is what is left of the fruit tart. It was so good. It was very good!

The last piece was shared by my son & my sister.





And here's the family. I do have two brothers, but they live in other states.

I'm on the right if you don't know me yet.

Happy Birthday, dear daddy, happy birthday to you!!

Me And My Good Old Buddy

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

I want to take part in Erica's A Walk Down Memory Lane tonight. So I have a picture of me and a very dear friend of mine since tenth grade.

She introduced herself to me while we were in P.E. class one morning during that first week of tenth grade and we've been friends ever since. That would be thirty-six years ago. Oh my goodness!

My mom still has friends from high school which would be sixty-six years ago. We graduated from the same high school thirty years apart. Cool huh? And the school is still there. It is a historical building, but was renovated recently and it is still a functioning high school. I Digress. This is a walk down memory lane after all, and I go on some long walks at times.

This picture was taken this past May when Tami and I joined her SIL's church for a retreat. We had never spent time like that together. It was so fun!

She got married and had kids right away. I made Lot's of mistakes and finally married my current husband and didn't have kids until I was in my late thirties. It was difficult to get together. Her kids are all grown now and mine are independent and hubby can handle them for extended weekends easily enough. So I went and it was a great experience.

There is my Walk Down Memory Lane. I hope you enjoyed it. I did! :0)

You're Only as Old as You Feel

After being a stay at home mom (SAHM) for 13 years and homeschooling our two children I am looking for work with the elderly again or in the school system. I had worked in a nursing home as an Activities Assistant for four years before I became a SAHM.

Thinking back on my employment at the nursing home, I remembered some days when residents would say how old they were or how they realized they were "really old now". I, in my 30's, would respond with, "You're only as old as you feel." I thought I was so wise & that this would cheer them up. Basically it shut them up. In retrospect I think, "What was I thinking?"

These elderly people were the wise ones. They had lived decades & had wisdom beyond my understanding. I imagine instead of going on to tell me what made them feel old, they, the wise ones, quietly sat & let me chatter on about the weather or whatever. Wise ones do a lot of listening, observing, reflecting and evaluating. That must be how they become so wise.

Well now that I'm closer to 100 than I was 15 years ago I am beginning to experience what it's like to feel "old". I know that I am too young to feel old and that all of these thoughts & feelings, aches & pains are just the tip of the iceburg. I almost feel unqualified to even begin talking about it. Being old & wise is something you earn & people respect you for your wisdom (well they used to) . People listen to your stories and want to hear more because it's all about how to live & heritage & legacies & history. Good stuff.

At this stage of "old" it seems like half the population (kids, teens & my husband ) will not listen to me, my eyes are getting worse by the week (I am in denial though & only wear glasses as needed-Ha ha), I can't hear a lot of things, I don't understand"the music these days" (like my folks used to say), the clothing available in stores for the young & restless is ridiculous, just about every part of my body hurts at one time or another & sometimes more parts at one time than at others, and on and on and.....you get the picture.

So what have I learned & why am I sharing this story? Let me think...maybe I should do more listening, observing, reflecting and evaluating? A good start, but mostly I know that I am only here on earth for a given amount of time. Earth isn't my permanent home, heaven is. In addition I have seen how others "live each day to it's fullest" & that is a goal I would like to attain. Then of course there's always exercise & eating healthy (there, I said it & it hurt).

It's been fun writing my first post. I plan to write as often as possible. Maybe I'll say something wise or interesting or encouraging that will lift your spirits for the day. That is what I really want to do & it does feel good to write again.