Another funeral and a very special Christmas

We lost a life long member of the Highway Church last week. Alena was the last of our elderly ladies who were raised in the Highway congregation which began in a “tabernacle” on the river. She suffered a stroke 2 ½ years ago and had been housebound since. She was recently diagnosed with cancer and decided to go on hospice rather than undergo any further medical tests or treatments. She passed away in her home, surrounded by family, at the age of 88. She will be remembered by the whole community as someone who loved to serve others and who was a master pie baker. She will be greatly missed!

Cara and Heather spent Friday night with us after eating supper at Sheila’s and playing with Nam for a while. We really enjoyed their visit. I stayed up much later than I’m used to these days talking to them! They left Saturday morning to go visit more with Sheila and Nam, and then headed home from there. Nam loved meeting them and playing with them!

Sunday, we picked up Daddy and Bobbie and went to Henrietta Creek for services. It was nice to visit with the group over there and eat out with a few of them. Of course, we also enjoyed the time with Sheila and Nam. Nam did really well during both the assemblies. He is still learning to be quiet and still, but he is making good progress. After the second service, Dennis took the folks home, while I went home with Sheila for the night. We put up her tree and decorated it (she waited until the last minute, because she wasn’t sure how Nam would act with it). He was thrilled! Then we drove around until we found a Vietnamese restaurant that was open and had pho for supper. When we got back to the apartment, we opened our first gifts, which were pajamas (and also a new pair of slippers for me!). Nam also got the animated version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, which we watched (after having changed into our pjs). We ate junk food and watched a little tv until Nam finally fell asleep. Sheila and I stayed up for less than an hour before we gave it up for the night. Knowing that Nam would be up before the sun the next morning has a tendency to make one turn in early!

Nam had no idea what day it was when he got up the next morning or what it meant. He crawled up beside me on the couch to snuggle a bit while he fully woke up. Then we showed him what was under the Christmas tree…a tricycle! He was super excited and rode it all around the apartment. Then we showed him that he had a few other presents to open, which he also enjoyed. His trike has a little “trunk”, which he used to stash away his stocking stuffers. After breakfast, we got dressed and headed over to Weatherford to see “Memaw and Papa”. Unfortunately we had to rouse them out of bed. Bobbie had had one of her “spells” the night before and went to the ER. They hadn’t made it back home and to bed until around 4 am. So we just wished them a Merry Christmas, let Nam give them hugs, and then left to come back to our house. Nam couldn’t wait to see Grandad! He also got his gift from Ricky, which was a set of toy power and construction tools. Well, he loved that! He and Grandad spent the rest of the day “fixing” things around the house, when they weren’t “hunting”. We had tamales and rice for lunch and our traditional seafood boil for supper (with key lime pie for dessert). Nam enjoyed both meals! I do believe the shrimp was his favorite though…just like Grandad!

Dennis left this morning to go hunting in Brownwood. He will be gone until Sunday afternoon. I’m planning to spend all day tomorrow at Sheila and Nam’s apartment. I plan to make jerky on Saturday, as well as prepare food to take to the Pettit’s New Years Eve party Sunday evening. Since Sunday afternoon will be our monthly singing service, Sheila plans to bring Nam over for that. That kid loves to sing!

Sheila starts back to work next week. I plan to go over Monday, so she can do a practice run for a couple of hours. Then she’ll work a couple of half days on Tuesday and Wednesday, while I keep him at their apartment. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for her to start back fulltime after that. We’ll just have to play it by ear. The first couple of days will not be easy. He does NOT like his Momma to leave him! Even though we tell him she will be back at a certain time, he is still insecure about being separated from her…not really trusting that she really WILL be back. Poor little guy! I think he’ll do fine once he sees that she comes back every day when she says she will. It won’t be easy on Sheila either. But we will all get through it together…and with God’s help. Your prayers for our little guy would be much appreciated!

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

Special times with friends and family

Well, we enjoyed our time spent with Janette last week. Although I’ve seen her at meetings and such for years, it has only been very recently that we’ve really gotten to know one another. It was fun to have her in our home, and she helped make the long drive to Benton and back more pleasant with her presence!

It was good to see everyone in Benton, but it was heartbreaking to “say good-bye” to dear Kenneth. Ken read a note that Kenneth had written for Sue’s funeral, but then forgot to take, so he wrote another note instructing “the boys” to read it at his funeral. It was very sweet. Then Jack did an excellent job talking about Kenneth and Sue, because you really can’t give credit to Kenneth for his work without mentioning her. Jack was able to add a very personal perspective to his comments, since he grew up with Kenneth’s boys. We stayed and enjoyed the lunch provided by the local churches, as well as a little extra visiting with the family. I also got to hold cute little Eleanor K. so her mom could eat without distraction. She is adorable! I’m sure looking forward to having one of those in about 4 months!

Thursday morning, I had court (which, thankfully, went very quickly and well!), then came home to Sheila and Nam. They actually arrived a little before I left. Sheila said Nam did not like having me leave! We had a fun day with them, and then drove around looking at lights after supper. I had cooked Zuppa Toscana for supper, and Nam loved it! He went back for seconds and upended his bowl! That kiddo is probably the best soup eater I’ve ever seen in a young child…even when the soup has kale in it! I also sent them home with some leftover shrimp etouffee. Sheila said he loved it too, when she heated it up for him. She told him that I had made it for them, and he said, “I love you, Granny!” What a sweetie!

Sheila and Nam spent Thursday night, so Friday morning we took them to see my Aunt Coez. She has been so excited about the adoption! Nam enjoyed our visit with her. She has SO many cool things all over her house. She gave him a cute little musical decoration that plays “Jingle Bells”. I think that has now replaced “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” as his favorite song. I had come home from Benton with another cold, and was feeling worse each day, so I didn’t do much for the next couple of days. I finally started feeling better Sunday morning. I didn’t fix Sunday dinner, so we just took the folks back to Brookdale after taking them to Braum’s for lunch. Then that evening, a bunch of us all went out to Rosa’s together. It was fun! Sarah P. and her kiddos were visiting, so they went with us.

This morning, I’ve been taking care of insurance stuff and paying bills. I THINK I’ve got Daddy’s insurance straightened out again. It has been a real pain! I am NOT a fan of TRS for creating all of the problems that I’ve had to clean up. After lunch we went to Walmart to buy groceries. I got my regular stuff, plus what I’ll need for our seafood boil next Monday…shrimp, crab legs, baby potatoes and stuff to make a key lime pie. That has been our “traditional” Christmas dinner for the past several years. Dennis isn’t a ham eater, and it is too soon after Thanksgiving for turkey, so I decided to do something completely different for our holiday meal. We all really enjoy it. It is one of those meals that is too expensive to do on a regular basis, but it is perfect for a special occasion!

We are taking Daddy to do some errands tomorrow. He needs to get some bloodwork done, plus we need to go get a handicap placard to place on our rearview mirror when we are driving them around. We got the paperwork from the doctor a couple of weeks ago, but we’ve been too busy to go get the placard ever since. Daddy will then have his PT that afternoon. He started last week, and he thinks it is helping already to build up his strength. He will have it twice a week for 6 weeks, plus they’ve told him to do it on his own a couple of times a day when they aren’t around.

We are going to Sheila’s and Nam’s on Wednesday to visit, go out for supper, and go look at lights in either Hudson Oaks or Willow Park…I can’t remember which. It is supposed to be a display that you can walk around amongst. Nam ought to LOVE that! I hope they have snowmen, because that is his favorite right now.

Cara and Heather are coming into town this weekend. They will spend Saturday visiting with Sheila and Nam and then come over here to spend the night. (Sheila isn’t quite ready for entertaining overnight guests just yet.) Then we all plan to go to services at Henrietta Creek on Sunday, including Daddy and Bobbie, and spend the day visiting. Dennis will bring the folks back home, but I plan to spend Sunday night with Sheila and Nam. We want to start our new tradition for Christmas Eve…exchanging pj’s, then wearing our new pajamas while drinking hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies. Then Monday, we’ll head back over here for our seafood boil. Everything is a little more special now that Nam has become a part of our family!

Well, I need to take care of some things, so I’ll bid you all adieu and wish you a very merry Christmas!

Travels and tears

My heart is breaking for the Avaritt family as they mourn the loss of dear Brother Kenneth. He was a special guy and will be missed by so many! When I think of him, I will always remember his deep voice, his twinkling eyes, his “Hello, Sugar”, and his HUGE heart. As a child, he seemed like a somewhat intimidating man; but as I grew to know him more personally, I realized what a sweetie he was. He had a strong love for God which directed everything he did and had a deep love for people and a committed desire to serve. He also had genuine humility. I sure loved that man, as many of you did, and the world just won’t be the same without him. However, I know that he is better off now. The last few years have been very hard on him, and now he can rest from the pain and sorrow that he had to endure. Our loss, his gain!

We enjoyed our short trip to Paris last week. Stephen and Mandy had a company party to attend, so we stayed with the boys. We spent the whole evening camping and battling coyotes! We would hike through the Grand Canyon looking for “tails” (we had brought the boys a book from there that identified different animals living in the Canyon by their tails). We would gather firewood from the bathroom and hallway and then cook marshmallows over the fire. But the most fun was when a couple of us would hide (either in the closet or under blankets) while the other two chased off those pesky coyotes! You would not believe how many of those critters they had in their house! Ha ha!

We were a little concerned about how the boys would do at bedtime, because they (Jessie in particular) do NOT like to go to bed when company is around. I guess we had worn them out, though, because after reading a couple of books to them, they crawled in bed and went to sleep, and we never heard a peep out of them! When Stephen and Mandy made it home, Dennis and I were dozing on the couch. Those boys had worn us out, too!

After a little more playtime Friday morning, we went out to each lunch with them before heading back homeward. We stopped at Sheila’s to visit with her and Nam on the way. Sheila cooked us supper and then we went driving around looking at Christmas lights. We found this one house that was amazing! It had lights choreographed to music that you tuned into on the car radio. We sat and watched the lights for a LONG time…through four or five songs. It was so fun to watch Nam, who was mesmerized by the whole thing. After each song, we would all clap and cheer! Nam finally started getting sleeping in the dark car, so we went back to their apartment and played some more until his bedtime. He did really good again! He gave us hugs, told us he loved us and then bid us goodbye as he saw us to the door. I think he got a bit teary a little later on and had to call us to get cheered up again. If he had his way, the four of us would all live together in the same house. It is so hard for him to wait patiently for our visits! I have to admit to getting a little teary-eyed myself. That little fella has sure wound his way into our hearts. I think I miss him as much as he misses us when we are apart!

We had brought gifts from Stephen and Mandy and Daddy and Bobbie for Nam, plus I’d brought him a pair of overalls that I’d ordered for him. As soon as he saw the overalls, he started stripping down to put them on. He LOVED being dressed like Grandad! He would put on Dennis' hat and say that he was Grandad! Then he opened Stephen and Mandy’s gift and found some PJ Mask pajamas (as well as some other neat goodies). He was super excited about that, too, and couldn’t wait to put them on! Then he opened the Mickey and Minnie Mouse that “Memaw and Papaw” had sent. He would hug them and call them “Baby Granny” and “Baby Grandad”. It was quite an exciting evening!

In some ways it is hard believe that Nam has been with us a whole month. In other ways, it feels like he has always been with us. He still has his struggles, and he is a 4-year-old boy (with all THAT entails), but he is one of the sweetest little guys I've ever known. Sheila really hit the jackpot with this kid! Even though we felt like we could "read" his personality from his early pictures, we didn't know what he was actually going to be like. But the pictures really did accurately portray his character. He is sweet, mischievous, fun-loving and sensitive...all the things that we could see in his face from the beginning. Our family has really been blessed by having him join it!

Janette D. is coming to spend the night tonight, so she can ride with us to Benton tomorrow. We want to leave fairly early, so we’ll have time to check into our rooms before the visitation tomorrow evening. We will stay until after the funeral Wednesday and then head back home. I have court on Thursday morning, and then Sheila and Nam are coming over to spend Thursday night with us. So this week is pretty full!

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you this week, even though the occasion will be a sad one. Praying for safe travels for all who will be on the road!

Getting back to "normal"

Whew! Been helping Dennis clean out the garage today, and I’m pooped! So I decided to do a little blogging to rest up a bit.

First time we've been able to park in the garage in well over a year!

We fit everything on one side, with room to spare! (of course, the trash men will have their work cut out for them tomorrow!)

Daddy’s tests all turned out fine last week…no blockage anywhere. The tests were done partly to make sure it was safe for him to wear compression stockings for the swelling in his legs. After discussing it with him, though, he’s decided not to wear them anyway. The doctor ordered thigh highs, and it would be impossible for him to put them on without assistance. He says the swelling has gone down some anyway. I guess it is something that he can live with easier than wrestling with those stockings every day.

We went to see Nam and Sheila last Wednesday. We went to the park, played around the apartment, and then decided to go to the FW Zoo. We LOVE that zoo! We’ll probably get a season pass next year, since it only takes about 10-15 minutes to get there from Sheila’s apartment. We arrived about 2:30 and stayed until they ran us out after closing time. Nam really enjoyed it and did really well. We rented a stroller and weren’t sure how he would do with that. But he enjoyed the ride. He would hop out every time we came to a new animal to see and want to be held so he could see better. He LOVES elephants, and lions, and tigers, and bears, and giraffes…and most everything else. Dennis took him inside the aviary to feed the birds. He was a little nervous at first, but he eventually worked up the courage to hold the feeding stick for a little while. He was worn out by the time we left! That didn’t bode well for when Dennis and I had to leave. That boy is certainly attached to his grandad!

I went over the next morning to help Sheila take Nam for his checkup. He did great! He would hug on the doctor and nurse. I don’t think they are used to that! Sheila put off his bloodwork and vaccines until later down the road, so his first experience there would be a positive one. He was found to be a healthy little boy...a little lightweight (about 27%) and just about average on height (around 48%). He has a problem with eczema, but we are hoping a change in soap and lotion will take care of most of that problem.

Dennis and I went back to see Nam Saturday morning, and Dennis finished installing the bench over Sheila’s fireplace. It turned out perfect! Now she has extra seating and toy storage, plus we don’t have to worry about Nam falling and busting his head open on the brick hearth. We stayed for lunch and naptime, so Nam was in a good mood when we left. He did great! No tears! That was a first. This week Sheila is trying to keep him home and things “normal”, so we won’t go over there until Friday evening. He really needed to be weaned off Grandad! Sheila says he is doing very well. Of course, he is still a strong-willed 4 year old boy, but he is adjusting to being home without a lot of entertainment and learning to obey Mom a little better.

I have one Nam story that I want to share. Sheila has been ordering her groceries from Walmart, online, and using their pickup service. She went to get some things one day this week, including more bread (for Nam’s PB sandwiches) and the yogurt and jello cups that he likes for snacks. He fell asleep in the car and didn’t wake up until they got back home. When he saw her unloading the groceries (with HIS stuff), he hugged her really big and said, “Thank you, Momma!” Now that is a sweet kiddo who appreciates the simple things in life!

Dennis and I have been discussing needing a bigger car now that we are driving Daddy and Bobbie to church every Sunday. Our Avalon only sat four, comfortably, and we have five riding to church every week. This past Sunday, we had to take two vehicles to make it work…I picked up the folks in the Avalon and Dennis and Ricky rode in the truck. So we started shopping online for options. Dennis found a really good deal on a 2013 Toyota Highlander, that only had 53.000 miles on it, at a dealership in Frisco. So Monday morning, we drove over there to check it out. It was in pristine condition, and we loved the features and how it drove, so Dennis worked out a deal for a trade-in on our Avalon, and we drove the Highlander home that afternoon. It ended up taking all day, but we are happy with the results. It comfortably seats six adults (or five adults and a carseat), and with the back seats put down, it has plenty of cargo room for vacations…plus a trailer hitch and cargo rack. It also has the backup camera, which will be very handy with 3 active little grandsons around!

Yesterday, I spent the day doing “Daddy stuff”.  His medical insurance was messed up, so I had to get a notarized form to send in to TRS, then spend a lot of time on the phone getting him set back up with the insurance that we had him on. He also needed to do a Walmart run, so we took him there to get a few things. Bobbie had fallen in their closet, so Tonette spent the day with her in the ER. She is fine, but they did discover an old compression fracture in her spine. She had been complaining that her back had been bothering her lately, but she was attributing it to their mattress. I really don’t know what, if anything, they can do about it, other than possibly fitting her in a back brace. I’m not sure that she would wear one if they did. There are just some problems with “old age” that can’t be fixed (actually a LOT of problems).

Tomorrow morning I take Daddy to see his primary care doctor, then Dennis and I are heading to Paris for the night. Dennis killed another deer last week, and we are taking the meat to Stephen and Mandy. They also have plans for the evening, so Dennis and I are going to “sit” with the boys. We are looking forward to it! On our way home Friday, we plan to stop at Sheila’s for supper and a visit. So we’ll get some time in with all three of our boys! (Just not all at one time.)

Well, I guess I’ve avoided work long enough. I hope everyone is enjoying these cooler temperatures as much as I am. (Sheila said Nam got up yesterday morning and did NOT like the cold…but some thick socks and a vest took care of it!)

Meanwhile on the home front...

While I was in Vietnam, Dennis and my brother, Rodney, took care of Daddy’s needs. I was hoping for a very uneventful couple of weeks, so they wouldn’t have to do much; but the best laid plans….

Daddy fell the week I left and bruised up his face pretty bad. He didn’t want to go to the doctor, but Dennis talked him into letting him take him to the ER…just in case. There wasn’t any internal bleeding, just a lot of bruising (plus his blood pressure shot up really high). Afterwards, his hand started hurting. Don’t know if it was a mild break or just sore from trying to break his fall. It is still giving him some trouble but is slowly getting better. His doctor decided he probably needs some physical therapy to help him gain some strength in hopes of preventing future falls. He has been pretty unsteady lately. They haven’t started the therapy yet. Daddy was supposed to go see his primary care doctor today, but we had a last minute cancellation, so it will be next Thursday before I get to talk to him about it. They also changed a couple of his medications while I was gone, because his blood pressure had gotten too high.

He actually looks worse now. The bruising has spread all over his face!

Daddy also lost his driver’s license while I was gone. He received a notice in the mail that it would be revoked unless he appealed the decision, which, of course, he did. Dennis took him for his court appearance, and the judge ruled against him. Daddy says he is going to fight it, but I don’t see anything coming of that. So now we are driving them wherever they need to go. So far, it has gone pretty smoothly.

Sheila and Nam spent most of last week with us. Sheila came home with a nasty cold and wasn’t getting much, if any, sleep at night with Nam having his sleep cycle off. We were able to entertain him during the days, so that she could get some rest. We were also able to celebrate Thanksgiving after all, since we got home three days earlier than expected. I picked up my smoked turkey on Tuesday, on our way home from Sheila’s, then finished my grocery shopping and baking/food prep on Wednesday. We kept our celebration to just the five of us, because we figured Nam didn’t need the extra stimulation of a big group. We were right. Although he is adjusting very well, he is still an active four-year-old who has been raised in an institution.

We took Nam to church Sunday night for the first time. Dennis stayed home that morning with him, so Sheila could rest. We were having our “singing service” for our afternoon assembly, which was a perfect initiation for Nam. (He LOVES singing!) You should have seen his face light up when the singing began! He wanted to hold his song book and have the page turned to the correct number. He would sing along on a lot of the songs…especially when Dennis lead “Jesus Loves Me”. He KNOWS that song! He did really well throughout the whole service. We were really amazed! He also enjoyed meeting all the new folks. He would shake their hand or give them a hug, and even told a few ladies, “I love you.” Afterwards, we took them and the folks out to Chicken E for supper. Nam had fallen asleep in the car on the way and was pretty grumpy when we had to wake him up to eat. It took a few minutes for him to get his attitude adjusted and finally eat his supper. Then we went with Sheila to her apartment, so she wouldn’t have to drive a heartbroken little boy home alone. He fell asleep in the car and she was able to transfer him to bed without waking him, so Dennis and I just came on home. They have been on their own since.

I’ve come down with Sheila’s cold now. I’m not as sick as she was, though. Her lack of sleep really made her susceptible to it, and she was miserable! I’m doing ok…just coughing and hoarse and tired. I took Daddy for some tests yesterday morning, then took him and Bobbie to Walmart to get a few things. Talk about a circus! They are easy to keep up with on foot, but when they both get on a scooter…watch out! I spent half my time trying to hunt them down. They would each take off in a different direction. When I’d find one, I’d tell them to stay put while I hunted down the other, but no…when I returned, they would have disappeared again! They wore me out!

Daddy has more tests tomorrow morning, but Rodney is taking him for that appointment. Dennis and I plan to go visit Nam. When he woke up yesterday wanting to see us, Sheila told him we would come over in 2 days. He held up his finger and said, “One day!” LOL! Then I plan to go with Sheila to take him for his first checkup with his pediatrician on Thursday. They don’t plan to do any “needlework” that day, so it ought to go fine. Then Saturday, we are going over for his birthday party. We decided to postpone the party a week to give him more time to “settle in” before the overstimulation of a party.

I have a CASA visit tonight and then a court report to write. I had a long talk with the CPS caseworker yesterday, trying to get caught up on all that had happened in my absence. I sure had hoped to have this case completed before getting Nam home! I have to admit that my heart just isn’t in it right now. I’m looking forward to taking some time off when we finally get this case settled. Right now, my family needs all of my time and attention.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

A Successful Journey Home

We are home, safe and sound!

Our stay in Hanoi was our least favorite of the trip. It seems like everything we did ended up being difficult. When we arrived at our hotel, we were informed that we didn’t have a room. Our original plans and reservations were for arriving on Friday. The booking agent had not informed us that they hadn’t been able to secure us a room for Thursday night. Our “guide” from Dillon abandoned us, so we were left to deal with the mix-up on our own. The hotel was great, though. They secured us a room at a sister hotel across town, arranged for a taxi to take us there, and even sent one of their staff with us to facilitate everything. The biggest problem was that we were traveling with a little boy that didn’t understand why we were having to move AGAIN and was very cranky! Once we got in our (extremely nice) room, he settled in as usual.

Friday morning, our guide was supposed to meet us in the lobby to take us to the US embassy to pick up Nam’s visa and do the interview. We waited in the lobby for about 15 minutes, with Nam getting crankier every minute, and finally received a phone call from the original hotel telling us that he was waiting for us THERE, and we needed to catch a taxi to meet up with him. (We had contacted him the previous evening and made arrangements for him to meet us at the hotel that we ended up staying in.) Sheila’s interview was at 10:00, and if we were more than 20 minutes late, we would lose our spot and have to go back at another time (which might possibly knock us out of our new flight schedule). Thankfully, we were able to make it to the hotel, meet up with him and made it to the embassy at 10:00 on the dot! We got in, turned in the necessary paperwork, and Sheila did her short interview. We were told it would take about 20 minutes to process the visa. An hour later, we were still waiting…and struggling to keep Nam occupied. It is hard to sit in a government office for over an hour with an active (almost) 4 year old boy, and with NOTHING with which to entertain him (our phones had been confiscated at the entrance of the embassy). He is a very sociable little boy, so he visited with the security guards, the cleaning lady, and any one else who happened by. Thankfully, there was a little snack bar just outside the waiting room that sold bananas, so he was able to have a little snack while waiting. (You do NOT want this child to get hungry…he gets very hangry!) Sheila finally got his visa (they were having printer problems), and we headed back to the hotel to pack up and move to our hotel that we were supposed to be in. Of course, check-out time at the first hotel was noon, and check-in time at the second was 3:00 pm, so we had a couple of hours that we had to kill before we could get settled. We ate lunch and found a playroom for Nam to blow off some steam in and then were FINALLY able to get settled in our apartment. We were now through with everything official, so we just camped in our rooms for the next couple of days. We used the hotel restaurant for breakfast and ordered in food to be delivered all weekend, as the area our hotel was located was NOT a good place to be walking around with a rambunctious 4 year old in tow. (It really wasn’t a good place for US to be walking around in!) Those last 36 hours or so were VERY long!

The time to go to the airport finally arrived! We gathered up our luggage, woke Nam up, and got a taxi to the airport. The drive was quite beautiful! The lights of the city were mesmerizing. We had a bridge to cross that had these amazing arches over it with lights that reflected on them in various colors. Nam practiced his English on the drive. He is such a smart little guy. We could hear him whispering to himself, saying a work in Vietnamese first, then saying the English word equivalent:  colors, animals, people’s titles. He obviously knew that we were going to America where he was going to have to speak in English, and he wanted to be prepared.

We had a few difficulties at the Hanoi airport. We didn’t have our e-tickets, since the flights had been changed, and we didn’t know where to go. We were first directed to one check-in, which informed us to go to a different one. We had hoped that flying out at midnight would mean a less crowded airport, but THAT didn’t happened. We finally made it to the correct desk and handed over our passports and Nam’s adoption paperwork. They scrutinized EVERY page very closely and acted like we were criminals or something. It was very unnerving! (We were in a communist country!) Finally, they approved our documentation, checked our luggage and sent us on our way. We made it to the next line we had to navigate, made it to the front and were redirected, because there was an issue with our luggage! Thankfully it just turned out to be the portable battery charger that needed to be moved from my checked luggage to carry-on. We went back to the long line to wait again, but as we got close enough for the security guard to recognize us, he went ahead and let us through. Then we had about an hour to kill before time to board. By this time, Nam was getting a bit cranky. We bought him a snack and tried to amuse him the best we could until we finally boarded our plane. Thankfully, he went right to sleep as soon as we took off and slept pretty much the whole 5 hour flight to Seoul. That was SO helpful, as the airplane we were on for this leg was the worst either of us had ever been on! (I do NOT recommend ever flying on Jin Air!) This was the only part of the whole trip when I was tempted to use my emergency medication for anxiety. Sheila and I both were feeling pretty claustrophobic by the end of the flight, and my back was killing me. Neither of us got any sleep. We finally landed in Seoul and had about 4 hours until our final flight home.

Let me just say that our “layover” in Seoul did not go well.

FINALLY, we boarded our (wonderful Korean Air) plane and started the final 12 hour leg to the good ole US! Any flight that lasts that long is going to be a struggle, and adding a travel-weary little boy to the equation made that struggle even greater. Nam slept some, played some, struggled some, watched Frozen a couple of times (which he loved!), and tried starting up conversations with our fellow travelers. That boy is VERY social! We had “met” a couple of families while waiting in Seoul. Every time he saw them from then on, they would call out and talk to each other. One was a Vietnamese family that lives in Dallas. They were wonderful! They were able to communicate with Nam and help us out some with his frustrations. The other was a Korean born woman, who had been adopted by Americans as a baby, who had returned to Korea with her daughter. She couldn’t communicate with Nam, but they were still able to make friends! Sheila and I enjoyed our visits with her.

After a couple of rough patches on the plane, Nam started getting really excited as we neared the end of our flight. He was SO looking forward to meeting his Grandad! About an hour away from DFW, he couldn’t stand it any more and just started crying and calling out “ông nội!, ông nội!”, (the Vietnamese word for grandfather) over and over again. It was SO sad! We finally got him settled down by showing him the video of Dennis singing and talking to him. Then we landed at DFW!

The process of going through immigration and customs went very smoothly, other than having to wait in the long lines. Then we made it to the receiving party! Dennis, Stephen’s family, Teddy, Leslie and Bellamy, and Gina were all there to welcome us home. Nam was a little shy at first, then when Sheila played the “Grandad video” for him, he recognized Dennis and was ecstatic! He clung to him and hugged on him like his life depended on it! He didn’t have much to do with anyone else. The boys finally “met” each other and sweet Jesse shared one of his matchbox cars with Nam. It will take some time for the three of them to really gel as buddies. There is going to be some major jealousy over Grandad to deal with!

After spending quite some time greeting each other and visiting, the crowd dispersed and we finally loaded up and headed to Sheila’s apartment. I had my concerns about Nam riding in his carseat, but he thought it was pretty cool to have his own special seat that allowed him to see out of the car. When we arrived at the apartment, he settled right in! He has seen pictures of everything, in his book that Sheila had sent him, so he KNEW he was home! He thoroughly explored his bedroom, pointing out all of the elephants (which happens to be his favorite animal). He then started exploring the rest of the apartment. He found our family picture (that was on the cover of his book) in the living room. He got really excited and decided that it belonged in HIS room! It was so heartwarming to see him process that he was finally in his permanent home!

Dennis and I spent Monday night at Sheila’s, to give Nam a little time to process, and also for Dennis to allow Sheila and I to get some sleep (we hadn’t been able to sleep for the previous 40 hours). Sheila put Nam down in his bed and made herself a pallet beside him. Unfortunately that didn’t last very long. Nam was used to sleeping in the same bed with his Momma and kept waking up and reaching out for her. Finally, around 2 am, Sheila decided to blow up the air mattress that Dennis had brought, so they could sleep together. (Dennis and I were sleeping in her bed.) I helped her get them situated. By this time, Nam was awake and wanting Grandad, so he spent the rest of the night entertaining Nam, while Sheila and I tried to get caught up on sleep. That allowed the two of them some great bonding time (as if they needed it!). I woke up around 8 and traded places with Dennis, so he could get a little rest. Nam slept for a couple more hours, which allowed Sheila and Dennis to get some much needed sleep.

After everyone was up, I cooked us a late breakfast, then we went for a walk outside. The walking trail led us through a construction area, which totally fascinated Nam! He got to watch the equipment scoop mud from the channel bank and load it into dump trucks to be hauled off. Every time a truck drove by, we would all wave and they would honk for him. He REALLY got a kick out of that! We finally headed back to the apartment, visited and played, and then had a light lunch. Then it was time for Dennis and I to leave, and for Nam to take a nap. Poor little guy was heartbroken! We left, and Sheila was finally able to calm him down (with Grandad’s video and pictures of me that Nam had taken) and get him to sleep…telling him that they would be coming to visit us “tomorrow”.

It felt WONDERFUL to finally get home! I was terribly jet-lagged, so I didn’t accomplish anything other than unpacking and putting on a load of laundry. We went out to eat supper, and I was able to eat salad for the first time in 2 weeks! (We avoided fresh veggies in Vietnam, because of their poor water quality.) I managed to stay awake (with the help of some coffee) until 9:00, to try to get my circadian rhythm back in sync with our local time. I went right to sleep, but woke up every two hours. I finally had to get up around 5:30, because my old body couldn’t stand being in bed any longer. I feel pretty rested, though, and my jet-lag headache is finally gone. Today I will buy my groceries for Thanksgiving dinner (I picked up my smoked turkey last night), bake a pecan pie and cornbread for my dressing, and clean house. I’m not sure what time Sheila and Nam will be coming over. I’m sure he’ll be wanting to leave as soon as he wakes up! They will spend tonight with us and all day tomorrow. It will be a very special Thanksgiving Day, for sure! (It will just be the 5 of us this year. We didn't think Nam would be up to the whole family quite yet!)

I want to thank all of you who kept us in your prayers and wished us well during our travels. There were SO many times that we felt like God was smoothing our path along the way. Even though we had our difficulties, things went incredibly well! We believe that your prayers definitely played a part in our successful journey!

Wrapping things up

We are on day 8 in Vietnam, and we are really ready to go home! Jessica left Monday, which turned out to be a rough day for Nam. We weathered through as best we could, staying in our apartment to make things easier. Thankfully things greatly improved by the next morning. It is amazing what a good night's sleep will do!
Sheila has already obtained Nam's passport and taken him for his medical exam and Tb test. We go back first thing in the morning for them to read his test, then we fly to Hanoi. Sheila will pick up his Visa on Friday, as well as interview with the US embassy. We are HOPING to leave early to head home...either over the weekend or Monday, at the latest. That will get us home in time for Thanksgiving ! Nam can hardly wait to meet his Grandad. He asks for him all the time! Grandad is pretty excited about meeting him, too! They have face-timed already, but that's not as good as being face to face!
We haven't done much sightseeing. HCMC is HUGE and busy and hot. Not very enjoyable for having fun. We did venture out to the zoo this morning before it got too hot. Nam really enjoyed that, but it wore us all out. We are looking forward to cooler temperatures when we get home!
Nam is such a joy. He is full of life and loves to have fun. He is all boy, full of energy and mischief! He loves to tease! He continues to amaze us with his intelligence and resourcefulness. His vocabulary grows daily.
The next couple of days are going to be full. Hopefully we can fly home soon after that. Vietnam has been an adventure that we will always be thankful for, but we are ready for home and family!

It's Official!

"Where do I begin, to tell the story of how greater love can be? The sweet love story that is older than the sea. The simple truth about the love (he) brings to me. Where do I start?"

This song came to my mind as I was thinking about the last few days. My heart has been overflowing with love and joy as we've gotten to know Nam, and I've watched the relationship grow between him and Sheila. As Sheila says, we are probably in a "honeymoon phase", but I have been totally blown away by how well everything has gone, so far! We had no idea what to expect when we arrived at the social center  (what the orphanage is called). As we walked up to his building, we saw him on the stairs with his nanny. He saw Sheila and the most beautiful smile covered his face! It was his Momma! He recognized her from the photo book that she had sent him. They told us that he had been asking when she would arrive since he had awaken from his nap. He was so excited!
We only stayed an hour or two that first day. The next morning, we were able to go pick him up and take him out for a few hours. He loved riding in the taxi! We started at the beach. It was a little intimidating for him, so we walked back to our hotel to hang out. He was super excited with the few things that Sheila gave him: a small stuffed toy, some straw cups and plastic utensils. They are now prized possessions. She had also downloaded some learning games on her IPad for him. He caught on very quickly!  He is very intelligent and learns so quickly! He has already learned the English words for several colors and animals.
He fell asleep in the taxi on the way back to the social central and was still asleep as they carried him in. Nice to know that he is such a sound sleeper!
Yesterday morning, we met up with our Dillon representative  (who has been an amazing support for us!) and went to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony. Nam met us there. I gave him a toy airplane, and Thomas explained that after awhile we would be going on a plane to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). He was excited about that! The ceremony didn't last long, but it was very touching. Of course I cried, which the officials found amusing  (as did the nannies two days before when we met Nam). Then it was official...Nam was Sheila's son by law, not just in heart!
We returned to our hotel, packed, played and had an early lunch before heading to the airport. Nam loved eating at the hotel restaurant, and he had the waitstaff totally charmed! He is such a friendly little guy. He is also a budding photographer! Every time he gets ahold of a phone or camera, he starts shooting!
He did great on the flight to HCMC! He didn't much like wearing a seat belt (I haven't seen anyone in Vietnam who does!), but once he looked at the safety instructions and saw how they were supposed to be worn, he acquiesced. (I told you he was smart!) After the short flight, we caught a taxi to our residence for the week. As usual, Nam slept on the ride. (I told Sheila she knows what to do if she ever has trouble getting him to sleep!)  We were all happy to settle into our apartment and relax! We walked across the street for some Northern style Vietnamese food, and then returned home and played until bedtime.
As we expected after such a late nap, it took awhile for Nam to wind down and go to sleep. He wanted all of his things and the 3 of us with him in bed. He finally settled down and drifted off to sleep in his Momma's arms. Sheila and I both got a bit weepy with that! He has slept like a rock! It will be interesting to see when he wakes up after such a full day yesterday.
Throughout this whole process, Nam hasn't cried at all. He bonded so quickly with Sheila. When he gets nervous in a strange environment, he instinctively clings to Sheila. He knows that she is his mother, that I am his "ba ba", and that Jessica is his Momma's friend.
There are still many steps to complete before we can go home, but so far we couldn't ask for things to be any better! Thanks for all of your prayers! We know that is what is smoothing our way in this foreign land!
Well he is up, so we need to get a start on this new day!

Vietnam, here we come!

Two more days. It is hard to believe that it is almost here. I’ve got my bags all packed, except for a few last minute items. I have my money exchanged. All of the travel and accommodation arrangements are made. All that’s left is flying over to Vietnam and getting our little boy (plus all of the hoops that Sheila will have to jump through to enable Nam to return home with us).

I appreciate any and all prayers for the safety of the children at the orphanage in Nha Trang, where Nam is. The typhoon passed through there and did some damage, with a few casualties, but from what Sheila was able to find out from her Vietnamese contact, the orphanage and children there are fine. Praise God for that! The storm has moved out of the area, so our travels shouldn’t be hindered. They are still in the monsoon season, so it will be rainy and hot, but we have been expecting that.

I want to thank, again, all of those who have been so supportive of Sheila and our family throughout this process. That sweet boy is going from having lived his whole life in a state-run orphanage, without anything that he can call his own, to having a fully furnished bedroom with all of the clothes that he needs (plus!) and everything else a four year old could need or want. It has been an emotional roller coaster for all of us…Sheila, especially. Knowing that there are so many out there who support and encourage her is more helpful than you can imagine! It hasn’t been easy for her to make this decision and then spend countless hours researching all of the problems that she might face. Believe me, if there is a possible negative consequence that adopted children might suffer from, she is pretty much an expert on the subject by now. That would terrify me, but it comforts her to be informed and prepare herself for what might happen. Adopted children almost always suffer from trauma, whether it be physical or emotional. Just growing up in an institution, no matter how good it might be, leaves scars on children. Nam is going to need a lot of love and stability and understanding and assistance in dealing with any scars that he may have, and I believe Sheila is ready to help him through whatever it is he has to face. Of course, Dennis and I are here to help her and him in whatever way we can. Plus Thiess and Gina (the appointed other grandparents) and Sheila’s church family are all on board to assist, too! My heart is full from such an outpouring of love and support!

Other than adoption preparations, this week has been filled with doctor appointments (for Daddy); hunting (for Dennis – he harvested a nice doe this morning); getting things ready, here, for me being gone three weeks (paying bills for the month, taking care of CASA stuff, buying groceries for my guys, etc); and trying to see to Coez as much as possible (she is in swing bed and making good progress). Daddy and Bobbie are doing well and are excited to meet their new great-grandson when we return. Coez is making improvements every day. She is also very excited for Sheila and gave her one of the quilts that she had made for Nam. She has been telling all of her doctors and nurses all about our upcoming trip! Even the people that I’ve met through my CASA work are super excited for us! (Of course, I talk about it with EVERYONE!)

Of course there will be hardships along the trip: 20+ hours of flying one-way, being away from Dennis for almost 3 weeks (a first for us), not being able to assemble with the church for 2 Lord’s Days (but I am taking elements for the Lord’s Supper, so we can privately observe it), and dealing with jet lag and the emotional roller coaster that we are most certainly going to experience as we meet Nam and take him from all that he’s ever known. I fervently ask for your prayers…for safe travels, for strength to face whatever we have to, and especially for Nam to have an easy transition. It is incredible to realize how much we already love that little boy, even though we’ve never seen him or spoken with him. It will be challenging to comfort and interact with him without breaking down when he is in distress. I’m almost 60 years old and I’ve never had to face what he is about to. Even though we hope that he is excited to have a family and looking forward to his new life, he will go through grief at leaving his only known “home” and friends. He will have to learn a new language, travel half-way across the world to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people who look different from him, and learn a whole new way of life. That’s a LOT for a barely 4 year old little boy! I believe that eventually he will be happy and well adjusted, Lord willing, but it will be a process. So please keep us all in your prayers, that we may get through this with as little trauma as possible!

Well, I could go on and on, but I guess I’d better finish the things that I have to do today. We plan to leave here to go pick up Sheila and Jessica at 5:30 Monday morning. We want to get to the airport plenty early to get checked in and have time for brunch before boarding. It is going to be a LONG day…leaving DFW at 10:50 am and arriving in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday night (their time). I’m hoping to be able to post some while we are in Vietnam, but I don’t know how good the WiFi will be in our hotels, and my cellphone will be on airplane mode the whole time (so NO cell service). But I do promise to post pictures at some point in time, so stay tuned!

A Study in Communication

What a wonderful weekend!

I was overwhelmed Friday evening when we entered the church building and saw all of the people who had traveled to be a part of our meeting. We had quite a few new faces join us this year. It was great to meet new people and catch up with old friends!

The theme of our meeting was communication. One person mentioned to me that it seemed funny that the speakers chosen for this topic were such quiet men. I explained that it was by design…that most of the wisest people we meet in this life are those who are slow to speak and choose their words carefully. We certainly had the right line-up!

Gene gave an excellent lesson on Communicating with God. Prayer is such a basic Christian principal, but we often neglect it or misuse it. Gene gently instructed us on how we should be using this powerful aid that God has provided for us.

After Friday night’s service, a bunch of us went to Braums. Some hadn’t had supper, others just wanted ice cream, but we all enjoyed having some “semi-private” time to visit. Before we knew it, we had kept the store open past their normal hours of business! They were very gracious, though, and allowed us our visiting time.

We met up at the Millsap Community Center for a hamburger/hot-dog lunch on Saturday. We filled the building! The guys were “in charge” of serving on Saturday. After a good lunch and a lot of time for visiting, we assembled to hear Terry speak on Communication in our Congregations. He used Ecclesiastes 10:10 as a reference on how we should use wisdom to sharpen our communication skills. He showed how our communication should all be done in a sense of cooperation (as a body) and sincere love. I’ve always thought highly of Terry and enjoyed visiting with him privately. Hearing him speak for the first time was no different. His teaching style is just like his “one-on-one” style:  gentle, sincere, and full of wisdom.

After the assembly, we headed back to the Community Center for more fellowship and a sandwich supper. Afterwards, Kay and Diane came home with us to spend the night. Sheila also came over to visit for a few hours. We enjoyed them all so much! That is such a wonderful side benefit of these meetings…having dear ones in our home and getting that extra special time to enjoy one another’s company.

Yesterday, David P. gave the morning lesson on Communication Between Congregations. I didn’t really understand why he was chosen for this topic, because David is a very private, introspective guy. However, he rose to the challenge and gave an amazing lesson, utilizing his skills that he has developed in his professional life. He emphasized how necessary it is that we take the time and effort to keep those lines of communication open in order to all be working for the same goal…and that all needs to be done to promote unity and love.

After the morning assembly, we enjoyed a potluck back at the Community Center. Many had to leave after lunch to start their long journey home. Our building was no longer full for the afternoon assembly, but we still had a nice crowd for Jensen to speak to us about Communication with the World. I love listening to Jensen. He brings a fresh perspective to his lessons that I really enjoy. The thing I enjoy most, though, is that his lessons all come from his personal experiences in working with the “inner city” students of his. He definitely practices what he preaches! He shared with us what our common mistakes are in trying to share the gospel, used the story of the “Good Samaritan” as an example (to stop, to stoop, to save, to serve), and ended by emphasizing that we are to share the answer of Hope to those who have none.

It was sad to say our good-byes when it was all over. These times we have together are so precious! We greatly appreciate all who took the time and effort to travel to our meeting to make it such a success. I hope that we all do a better job of keeping our lines of communication open, and I look forward to the next time we can be together.

Ready, Set.....

Things are about to get pretty busy. Our meeting starts tonight. I've got all of my baking done and just have a little more food prep to do. I've started cleaning house and plan to finish (what I have time for) today. My company (Kay and Diane) aren't coming until tomorrow, so I still have a little wiggle room. I've been so distracted with other things that I really haven't thought much about the meeting. Now that it is here, I'm really looking forward to it:  seeing everyone (we're expected a really good crowd), hearing the speakers, and spending the weekend growing in the Lord. I'm needing the booster!

This week has not turned out like I expected. We started it out by going to Henrietta Creek last Sunday. We enjoyed our visit with the congregation there, plus having a little extra time with Sheila. On our drive home, I got a call from my Aunt Coez. She was having some problems and needed a ride to the ER. We were still in FW, but I told her if she couldn't find anyone else before we made it back to MW, that we'd take her as soon as we got there. When we got to Weatherford, I checked on her again, and she was on her way. She was able to get in touch with one of her grandsons to take her. When we got to MW, I dropped Dennis and Ricky off at the house and headed to the hospital. She was still in the ER, but they had already decided to admit her. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis and started on IV antibiotics and given something for pain. I stayed until they got her settled into her room. It has been a rough week for her! She is still having quite a bit of pain, but they have her back on solid foods again. They were thinking about releasing her yesterday, but she hurt her leg somehow and is having a lot of pain with that...and can't get up and around. They did a MRI on it yesterday, but they hadn't told her the results yet last night when I was there. She's not able to get around and take care of herself right now, because of her leg pain and from being so weak. They are talking about either moving her to a swing bed (if she qualifies) or sending her to rehab for a few days to build her strength back up. She lives by herself, and there is no way that she could manage on her own in her present condition. The timing is really bad for me being able to help out much right now! Please continue to remember her in your prayers. She has taken care of SO many people during her lifetime (including me!), and I hate to see her not even being able to take care of herself. I wish I could do more for her.

We are down to 10 days until we leave for Vietnam! Sheila talked to Dillon on Tuesday and got some very helpful information about what to expect on the trip and when we get Nam. We will have a guide with us the whole time to help with travel arrangements, interpreting and helping us wade through all of the details of handling an overseas adoption (which are many!). Since we will be getting on an airplane back to HCMC the same day as the adoption ceremony, it will be invaluable to have him help with Nam...explaining everything to him and helping calm him as he tries to understand the changes taking place.

We had good news from Daddy's nephrologist this week! His kidney function INCREASED from 31% to 43%. The doctor started him back on the BP medicine that he had stopped, but just reduced the dosage. He also started him on a low salt/potassium/phosphorus diet. I'm not sure what that is going to entail...I haven't looked into it yet. It will raise his rates at Brookdale, which he isn't going to like. I am still waiting to hear back from the office manager on how much of a difference it will make. I'm really happy to see that his kidneys are still healthy enough to respond positively to lifestyle changes. From what we'd read on the internet, when they drop below 30%, the damage is irreversible, and he was awfully close to that! I'm really hoping that we can keep him off dialysis!

Well, today is Stephen's 33rd birthday. It is hard to believe! I remember this day 33 years ago quite well...and my memory is usually not good enough to remember that far back. I remember how terrified I was at becoming a mother...afraid that I couldn't do it! Then after that first night home from the hospital, I was sure I couldn't! LOL! But I soon learned that I could and started enjoying the thrill of being the primary caregiver to another little person. It fills my heart with wonder to think that Sheila is about to embark on the same journey. The circumstances may be different, but the love and joy and amazement of motherhood is the same. Just as a mother falls in love with her unborn child as she carries it for 9 months, I've watched Sheila fall deeply in love with Nam over the past 18 months as she has prepared for this new adventure. Motherhood is the greatest calling a woman can have, and I'm so very thankful that she is able to achieve it...even as a single woman. It will be more challenging, but I have confidence that she will be an amazing mom!

Well, I need to get started on my activities of the day. It is time to start on this whirlwind!

16 Days!

That's how many days are left until we board the plane for Vietnam, Lord willing. Things have really been popping this week! Sheila received our visas on Monday. (That was FAST!) Then Tuesday we had an adoption date set...November 10! We have our itinerary and plane tickets purchased. I've notified my credit card company of my travel plans, as well as the State Dept. Travel insurance, purchased. Packing list, finalized. Last minute purchases, made. Carry on bag, mostly packed. It's hard to believe, after all of these MANY months of waiting, that the time is just around the corner now!

The girls are having one last "hurrah" before Sheila becomes a mother. Heather and Allison came down to spend the weekend with Sheila, and they, with Jessica and Stacey, have been enjoying their time together. We plan to head over to HC for services tomorrow to see the girls. I also need to pick up my visa and passport from Sheila and get them packed. Sheila and I have been texting back and forth constantly all week. SO many things to talk about and plans to make!

Other than travel plans, I spent 3 days taking folks to doctor visits. I took my Aunt Coez to FW on Monday. We had lunch together and then, on our way home, we dropped off to visit Daddy and Bobbie. It was Coez's first time to see their home at Brookdale. Then Thursday and Friday, Daddy had his Mohs surgery on his nose and skin graft. Both went well, and he goes back in 2 weeks to get his stitches out. We go back to the kidney specialist on Tuesday to find out the results of the tests that he had done. I'm really interested in finding out what he has to tell us.

I also got some baking done this week. I made snickerdoodles and a pecan pie for our upcoming meeting (next weekend!). I also made a batch of oatmeal cookies to keep in the freezer for grandson visits. My granny ALWAYS kept a stash in her freezer when we were growing up. I plan to uphold the tradition!

I have a couple of CASA visits to do next week (along with Daddy's doctor's appointment), then the rest of my time will be spent getting things ready for the meeting, which starts Friday night. I need to get the house cleaned, groceries bought and my food prepped and ready to cook.

Dennis hunted 2 or 3 days this past week and ended up bagging a nice fat young buck. I'm hoping we can wait until AFTER the meeting before we butcher it, but I doubt that happens. Dennis is planning a trip to East Texas as soon as our meeting is over, so he'll probably want to have that chore out of the way early. I'm thankful for the freezer that we bought from Daddy, because for the first time in our 40 years of marriage, I DIDN'T have to defrost the freezer before hunting season!

Another first for our 40 years of marriage, we won't be able to spend our anniversary together this year. Since I'll be in Vietnam from the 6th through the 23rd of November, and our anniversary is the 19th, we will have to celebrate either very early or a bit late. (We did have our Grand Canyon trip though!) We are also having to cancel our annual Thanksgiving celebration. We are supposed to return home on Thanksgiving Day, and the first few weeks will be spent helping Nam adjust to his new home...not a good time for introducing him to the whole family. Hopefully when he gets used to things here, we can get the family together for a quiet celebration.

Well, that's enough exciting news for this week! I hope to see some of you next weekend!

A lot of "showering" going on!

What a great weekend! Sheila came over Friday for supper and spent the night. Yesterday morning, we headed over to Gina’s for her adoption shower. Gina had decorated things up SO cute! She and Jessica did a great job hosting the party. Gina served us some delicious food and Vietnamese coffee, and Jessica had a couple of fun activities that were also very meaningful. It was a small crowd, but we all enjoyed our visit, and Sheila got some great stuff for Nam. We were so late getting home from the party, that the guys had already gone out for Dennis’ birthday lunch. He turned 65 on Saturday. Ricky took him to eat bbq at the Natty Flatt Smokehouse here in MW. Later that afternoon, he headed out to one of his hunting spots (after having waited to buy his license until that morning…so he could get the senior price of $7!). He saw several deer but decided not to take one. It was pretty hot that afternoon and he was hoping for a better opportunity.

The personalized blanket on the rocker was Gina's gift to Sheila...so pretty!

I really liked this gift from Gwen!

Last night, we fried shrimp for his birthday supper. Sheila bought the ingredients and helped me prepare the shrimp and French fries and coleslaw. He was one happy man when he walked in and smelled supper!

This morning, I drove to Henrietta Creek to spend the day with our church family over there.  They were throwing another shower for Sheila, along with having a potluck, at Diane’s house. It was a good turnout! Sheila got a lot MORE great stuff for Nam…even a bicycle! The church there has been such a great support for Sheila throughout this whole process. I am so thankful that she has them!

I headed home after the afternoon assembly, so I could have supper with Dennis. On my way, I stopped by Daddy’s old house to see how much progress they had made on fixing it up. It is barely recognizable! It looks great! I can’t wait until they put it on the market so that I can see pictures of the inside.

This will be another pretty full week. I take my aunt to the doctor in FW tomorrow. I’m looking forward to spending the day with her! I always enjoy our visits. Wednesday, I go back to FW for a CASA visit. Then Thursday and Friday, Daddy will have the cancer on his nose removed and a skin graft done where it is excised.

We are HOPING that we get word on Nam’s adoption date this week…or maybe next week. We have already sent in our visa applications and should have them back in about a week. All we have left to do is make our reservations (when we have the date) and pack. I’m starting to get a little nervous…and very excited!

Hoping for a little time to recuperate!

It has been a busy week and a half since my last post! We made our trip to Shreveport and enjoyed our visit with the folks there. There were just the locals, since others who might have visited were either at the Ole Time Camp Meeting or on other travels. But we enjoyed our visit with old friends. Dot was only able to come on Sunday. She is now living in an assisted living facility. She looks good (as always) but time has definitely made a mark on her body and mind. It was good to have Sheila with us on the trip. Spending hours together in the car is a great way to catch up on some quality conversation.

Monday morning, I had to meet up with Sheila in FW to get our typhoid vaccine at the health clinic. Then I spent a good chunk of the day on the phone trying to work out another “issue” with Daddy’s business. He had received a check in Momma’s name the week before from the same insurance as the cancer policy that he’d had (and we’d finally gotten payment from). There wasn’t an explanation letter with the check, so we couldn’t figure out what it was for. I told him NOT to try to cash it until I had time to check and see what it was for and IF he was eligible to cash it. It took a lot of time, talking to 3 different people, to finally make them understand that my mother had been deceased for 11 years and I needed to know if my dad could cash the check (it was for overpayment of premiums). Evidently she had also had a cancer policy that Daddy had forgotten about and continued to pay premiums for, and he had never notified them of her death. So they asked for us to send back the (voided) check, along with a letter of explanation and a copy of her death certificate. They will refigure how much has been overpaid and reissue a check to my dad. So he will be getting another nice check from insurance that he didn’t know he had. All of these “found” monies that we’ve worked on discovering and getting reimbursement for have really made a huge difference in Daddy’s level of financial security.

Tuesday morning, Dennis and I had an appointment with our new primary care doctor. We ended up spending ALL morning in his office. They had just been bought out by a new company (the day before) and were having to install and learn a new computer system (THAT day), so everything took a LONG time! Then that afternoon I worked on getting things ready for Daddy’s meds for their trip to Spur. I use tiny Ziploc bags that I label and sort out for each day and time and which meds are given at each given time. It takes a good while to get them all ready! Then first thing Wednesday morning, I went to Brookdale to get his meds and put them in the appropriate bags. Tonette left with them about 9:30. They went by Abilene to have lunch with Wallace and Linda. Then Thursday they went to see Ted and Carol. They should be on their way back home by now.

Wednesday afternoon, I baked Shepherd’s birthday cookies, then decorated them on Thursday. My royal icing was giving me trouble…not setting up hard. So I didn’t finish all of the details on the zebras until Friday morning. Then I had to transport them in a single layer, since the icing was still sticky.  But they made the trip fine, and the boys loved them! We got to Stephen and Mandy’s about 4 Friday afternoon. Sheila arrived about 30 minutes later. We had a feast that Mandy had prepared for the occasion! We all enjoyed playing with the boys until they (reluctantly) had to go to bed. Then Sheila headed off to Arkansas to attend Brother Ross’ funeral Saturday morning. We stayed the night in Paris and got one more short visit with the boys on Saturday morning before heading home. (Sheila’s adoption shower ended up being postponed until this next Saturday because of the funeral. So instead of Stephen’s family coming to MW for the shower, we decided it would work better for us to travel to them, so Sheila could make it to Malvern Saturday morning. We had planned to attend the funeral, but other things came up that needed our attention.)

Ricky had some health issues arise early Thursday morning and spent a couple of days in ICU. I was there from about 4:00 am until about 7:30, until they got him out of the ER and settled into ICU. After eating breakfast and cleaning up, Dennis and I headed back up there for a couple of hours. I was trying to be there with him during visiting hours as much as I could while trying to get everything ready for going to Paris. He got out of the hospital Saturday morning and moved back home when we got back from Paris. He is feeling much better, but needs a little extra support right now.

Today was our first time back at Highway in 4 weeks! It was good to be home. Things have been pretty crazy lately, and I’m not sure they are going to get any better for the foreseeable future. Next Sunday is the shower that the HC congregation is throwing for Sheila and Nam. Then 2 weeks from that is our meeting. Sheila and Jessica and I could be leaving for Vietnam at any time after that (or possibly even before). The HW bunch is going to start thinking I’m just a visitor with all of this running around!

Daddy has a doctor’s appointment and his renal ultrasound on Tuesday. Then I have my 3 hour visit to observe in FW on Wednesday. Sheila’s shower is Saturday morning. I also need to start doing some baking (and freezing) for the meeting. I’m HOPING I actually have time to do a little housework in between everything else! My house has definitely been neglected of late.

Hope your week goes well!

Doctor visits and adoption travel plans!

It has been a busy week since we returned from our vacation.  I had a lot of catching up to do on Monday:  paying bills, doing laundry, buying groceries, etc.  Tuesday, I had to take Daddy to a doctor appointment in Ft. Worth. That turned into quite the adventure! We were making good time and should have arrived early. Daddy told me where the doctor’s office was, so I dropped them off at the door and then hunted down a parking space. When I finally made it to the lobby, Daddy told me his doctor’s name wasn’t on the list of doctors in the building. So I used the GPS on my phone to find out exactly where his office was. I went back to get the car, and as I was driving up to the front of the building, I saw Daddy and Bobbie getting in someone else’s car!!! I honked until they looked up and noticed me. Then they crawled out of the stranger’s car and came and got in mine, like nothing had happened out of the way. When I asked if the driver of the other car had said anything about them getting in, Daddy said he was there to pick someone up…so I guess it was an Uber driver. I came “that close” to losing the folks!

We made it to the correct office building and the rest of the visit was uneventful. I got the folks back to Brookdale just in time for lunch. I had a couple of errands to run, so I just dropped them off and then returned a couple of hours later to take them to Daddy’s appointment with the kidney doctor. He was quite concerned about Daddy’s declining kidney function. It has dropped 20% points since June and is borderline for stage 4 kidney failure. He tweaked his meds to take some of the strain off of his kidneys and told him to push the water and cut out salt. He also ordered a renal ultrasound and more bloodwork. We go back in 4 weeks.

Yesterday, I had a CASA visit to observe in Ft. Worth, which took all morning. Afterwards I met up with Sheila for lunch, and we spent the whole time discussing arrangements for our upcoming trip to Vietnam. Since she was issued her Article 5 on Monday, we could be leaving within a month’s time! So we are getting our visa applications ready to be sent off and getting our typhoid shots on Monday. I plan to talk to my doctor next week about getting something for anxiety…just in case…for the 24 hour plane ride. I’ve flown commercially 5 times in my life:  once to Houston from Dallas and back (1 hour each way), once from St. Louis to DFW (about an hour), and once to Spokane, then from Seattle to DFW (about 3 hours each). The trip to Washington and back was the only time that I didn’t have anxiety about flying. I may do fine on this trip, but it is better to be safe than sorry on a trip like that!

Today, Daddy had two more doctor appointments. This morning we saw his primary care doctor and this afternoon, his dermatologist/plastic surgeon. He is going to have his skin cancer on his nose removed in 3 weeks, then have a skin graft the next day. He goes to see an interventional cardiologist in a week and a half because of the leaky valves in his legs. Then he’ll go see our dentist at the end of October. That should get him pretty much caught up! (Of course, with this kidney failure, we will probably be seeing the nephrologist pretty regularly after that!)

Tomorrow, I don’t have anything scheduled! That will let me get caught up on housework. Then Saturday morning, we are leaving for Shreveport. We’ll pick up Sheila on the way. Dennis is holding them a short meeting this weekend. We are looking forward to visiting with all of them!

Daddy and Bobbie are leaving on the 4^th to go to Spur for their homecoming. Tonette is taking them. They will stay through the weekend. Bobbie is really looking forward to that trip! That same weekend is Sheila’s adoption shower. Stephen and Mandy and the boys are coming. We are going to celebrate Shepherd’s 3^rd birthday, too. Sure looking forward to seeing my boys! I have really been missing them lately!

So that’s what is going on around here. What’s happening where you are?

Our 40th Anniversary Trip

Home at last! It was an amazing week of gorgeous sites, but it feels SO good to be back in my own space.

We started out a week ago Saturday driving to Floydada to spend 2 nights with Lawrence and Sharon. We really enjoyed our visit with them and the other folks at the church there. It stormed on us both nights we were there, leaving us without electricity all Sunday night. I hope they got it restored soon! We greatly appreciated their warm hospitality.

We left their house Monday morning right after breakfast and drove to Gallup, NM. We saw a few pronghorns on the way. Just as we were getting close to Grants, NM, our “check engine” light came on. So we peeled off the interstate and found an O’Reilly’s. They put their analyzer on it and determined that it was just an O2 sensor that was probably being affected by the change in altitude. So we just ignored it and drove on.

Tuesday morning, we got up EARLY and headed into Arizona. We ended up driving through the Navajo and Hopi Reservations, which meant we drove for 3 hours with NO PLACE TO STOP! I told Dennis when we finally made it to a town (albeit a small one) that I didn’t want to return that way, no matter how much further we had to drive! That was truly desolate country!

Starting to get into "canyon country"

We made it to Page, Arizona, and had an early lunch; then drove out to the Lower Antelope Canyon. We had only discovered this slot canyon the week before leaving on vacation. Dennis originally found the Upper Canyon and tried to reserve tickets for a tour, but they were sold out. Then he found information on the Lower Canyon, which ended up being cheaper and (many said) better. We ended up being very early, because we were confused by the time. Arizona does NOT observe Daylight Saving time, but the Navajo Nation does (which is where the canyon is located). So we weren’t sure whether the tours were on Arizona time or Navajo time. But when we turned in our tickets and signed our waiver (for liability in case of injury), they said if we let the guides know, we could probably go on an earlier tour…which is what happened. We only had to wait about 10-15 minutes before they called us. Then we walked about 100 yards to the mouth of the canyon where we waited with about 75 other people for our turn. To enter the canyon, you have to climb down some very steep steps (which were really more like ladders). There was an area at the mouth of the canyon where about 15-20 people could stand, but from there on, it was mostly walking single file. There were more ladders to ascend and descend, as well as some tight spots where you almost had to turn sideways to fit through. But it was absolutely amazing!!! It turned out being the highlight of our trip!

Walking down to Antelope Canyon

Yes, these are real, unaltered pictures!

After the 1 ½ hour tour through the canyon, we drove to Horseshoe Bend and walked down to the edge of the bluffs overlooking it. It was pretty, but it was probably my least favorite site on the trip.

Horseshoe Bend

I don’t do well climbing on rocks since my surgery, and it was necessary to do so to get a good view of the river. Then the hike back up to the car was difficult for me. I was starting to have trouble with the altitude and had trouble breathing. (The problem continued throughout our trip whenever I had to do any climbing.) So we decided to just head on up to our cabin and get settled. We arrived at the Kaibab Lodge around 3 or 3:30 (Arizona time). After getting checked in and unloaded, we drove on to the Grand Canyon National Park. We viewed the North Rim from the Lodge and then walked down to one of the observation points. The altitude (about 9000 feet) was really getting to me by that time, so we headed on back to our cabin. As we had been entering the park, we met up with some emergency vehicles leaving the park. Then on our way out, a medivac helicopter had flown overhead. When we got to the entrance to our lodge, it was blocked by the emergency vehicles while the helicopter was being loaded and then flying off. We were never able to find out what had happened (wonderful HIPAA!). I have to admit that it made me slightly nervous, since I was feeling so poorly from the altitude. I definitely didn’t want my vacation to end with a flight to the ER!

We got up about 5:30 Wednesday morning, had breakfast at the Lodge, and headed back into the national park for our first full day of viewing the canyon. Our first stop was Imperial Point. It was COLD…about 35 degrees with about a 35 mph wind. As soon as I stepped out onto the observation deck and looked at the vista, I burst into tears. I’ve never reacted that way before, but the awesome majesty of the canyon left me very emotional. Thankfully, I settled down in a few minutes and didn’t have that happen again! The views were all quite awe inspiring though!

We made our way through the park, stopping at each vantage point and taking pictures of the views…eventually ending up at Cape Royal. As the morning progressed, we began seeing more and more tourists. The North Rim only has about 10% of the visitors that the South Rim has, but it still stays busy. We didn’t have to fight crowds, but there was a steady stream of folks coming and going at all of the vistas. While enjoying the view and taking pictures at Cape Royal, a rock squirrel decided to put on a show for us. A lady had laid down her tote bag on a pile of rocks. The squirrel decided to investigate. He provided plenty of picture taking opportunities for everyone who was there!

On our way to Cape Royal, we had also passed a nice mule deer buck. We were hoping to get another glimpse of him on our way out. Not only did we see him again, he was lying about 30 feet or so off the road, chewing his cud, and Dennis was able to get several pictures of him.

By this time it was getting to be lunchtime, so we stopped at another vantage point where there were a couple of picnic tables and had lunch. It was simple fare, but we couldn’t have asked for a better view!

We headed back to our cabin, downloaded pictures and then napped for an hour or two before driving back to the park to try to get some better pictures. The canyon was filled with haze that morning, so a lot of our pictures didn’t turn out very well. That afternoon, tho, the haze had either burned off or blown out and we were able to get some good pictures down in the canyon. We timed it so that we’d end up back at Cape Royal for sunset. It is known for being the best place for sunrise and sunset viewing. We spent about an hour there watching the changing shadows and then watching the sunset. Right before sunset, I happened to notice an older couple on the rocks holding a bloody rag up to the man’s head. I told Dennis that someone was hurt, and he went to check on him. He had fallen and busted his eyebrow on the rocks. Dennis looked at the wound and said he probably needed a couple of stitches, then checked his pupils and determined that he hadn't suffered a concussion. He helped him up and offered to help him to their car (it was about a quarter of a mile walk back to the parking area). He said he’d be ok, watched the sunset and then he and his wife headed on back. We told them we’d be coming after them and if they needed help to just wait for us; but they made it back ok on their own.

Thursday, we slept in, had a late breakfast (8:00!) and then drove back to the North Rim Lodge. We happened on a Kaibab squirrel which got close enough that Dennis was able to get some fairly decent pictures of him. They are gorgeous little guys…and only found on the Kaibab Plateau. They have a “cousin”, the Abert’s squirrel, which also has a white tail, that lives other places in the Rockies, but their other coloration is different. It was fun to get a good look at that little guy.

I was having some stomach issues, so Dennis took me back to the cabin and did some exploring on his own. One of the park rangers had told us about some western points that could be reached by gravel road in the national forest. So Dennis spent the rest of the day checking out a couple of them and taking more pictures. He said the aspens were the best he had seen on the whole trip. The aspens were gorgeous while we were there. They were just turning good when we arrived, and the colors got better every day we were there.

It was time to leave Friday morning, so we loaded up and headed out. The country up there is SO remote and isolated. At the North Rim is the Park Headquarters, visitor center and lodge. Then there are no other places to buy anything until you got to the Kaibab Lodge, where we were staying, which was about 20 miles north. The next store of any kind was another 15 miles or so north of there at Jacob Lake. After that it was about 50-60 miles until we came to another store. I’m not talking about a group of businesses…just a single store to buy gas and a few groceries. In between is just wilderness. It is one of the least populated areas in the nation. I guess that is why so few people go to the North Rim. You have to be willing to rough it and do without services! At our lodge, there was no cell service, no tvs and no wifi. You could either bring your own food or eat at the Kaibab Lodge (which was expensive) or drive to the North Rim Lodge (which was VERY expensive). There is NO competition, so they can charge whatever they want! But it was quite a unique experience, and one that I’m thankful that we were able to experience.

We made it to Albuquerque Friday night and enjoyed some nice rain. It continued to rain on us all day Saturday as we made our way back to Texas. We stopped for a late lunch at the 66 Diner, just a couple miles west of the Texas state line. We were glad we waited! It had a diner and a Subway inside, as well as your usual convenience store/tourist items. But the best part was a vintage car museum that was free to the public! It made for a nice reprieve from the road for a little while.

We spent last night in Hereford, then worshipped with the Amarillo church this morning. Charlotte and Alvin were gracious enough to have us over for dinner afterward. We enjoyed visiting with them and Coby and Brenda’s family. (Rob and Charlotte had gone to Floydada for the day, so we missed seeing them.) After lunch, we got back on the road and made that last (and hardest) drive home. We both struggled to stay awake for awhile. Dennis finally got a nap in, and I turned the radio on LOUD to keep me awake. We stopped in Vernon for a treat and made it ok from then on. It sure felt good to get home, though! As much as we enjoy seeing new places and visiting folks, there is no place that feels as good as home!