Family

I spent a good part of last week getting ready for Stephen’s family to come for the weekend. Thursday, I baked an angel food cake and some snickerdoodles. (Nam made sure, on Saturday, that HE got the last cookie, instead of Grandad. The last time I made Snickerdoodles, Dennis ate the last one and about broke the poor little guy's heart!) The kids got here in time for lunch on Friday. Sheila and Nam didn’t come until a little afterwards. Nam had had to go get his second round of shots that morning. Then Sheila took him to the zoo for an hour or so to reward him for being so brave! (He wasn't nearly as sore this time as he was the first round!) It was fun watching the boys playing the rest of the day and on Saturday. They really enjoyed themselves! I had ordered a 3-pack of toys that you can disassemble and then reassemble (using plastic screwdrivers that came with them) and play with them:  a helicopter, a motorcycle and a train engine. They came in Friday, which worked out perfect! I told the boys that they were mine, and had to stay at my house, but they could play with them whenever they were here. So Jesse and Nam picked out which ones they wanted and Shepherd was happy to take what was leftover. They did really well working with them! They spent a good bit of their time over the two days playing with them. I was amazed at their dexterity in working with the tools and screws.

When it was time for Stephen’s family to leave Saturday, we all went to Brookdale so Daddy could see all of the boys. We sat outside in the courtyard, while the boys ran around playing. Daddy really enjoyed their visit, as did several other of the residents at Brookdale! Then we drove to FW to an Ethiopian restaurant for supper, and to celebrate Shepherd’s 2^nd Gotcha Day anniversary. I wasn't sure that Dennis would agree to go, since he is NOT an adventurous eater. But he ended up liking what he got. (Thankfully, one of his sides was collard greens, which he LOVES!) Of the three littles, only Nam liked the food. After eating, we decided to have the coffee ceremony, which was fun. After making our coffees, the hostess/cook made the boys some “children’s coffee” – warm milk with a little chocolate syrup added. They got a kick out of that. It was fun having all of the grandsons together, but boy was it ever busy and noisy! It was also good to visit with Stephen and Mandy. Mandy is about to pop! We are hoping to meet little Gracie any day now!

Speaking of which, I FINALLY finished the baby afghan that I’ve been making for her…today on our way home from Arkansas. I managed to do the final 5 or 6 rounds on the trip. I was determined to get it finished before our little girl made her appearance! (Oops, I just checked my pattern and realized I have a couple of rounds of edging to do before I'm finished! I should be able to finish this weekend, Lord willing!) I'll post a picture next time of the finished product.

We had 2 funerals to attend this week. My cousin Allan (Aunt Coez’s next to the oldest son) passed away on Saturday and was buried Tuesday. This was her third son to lose. I can't imagine how much that must hurt! The funeral was scheduled for the same time period that I had to be at the doctor, so Dennis picked up Daddy and they went. Ricky stayed home and kept Nam while we were all gone. Buddy Kelly also passed away Sunday morning (my sister-in-law’s dad), and his funeral was today in Benton. Sheila told us that she would manage Nam if we both wanted to go, so we left yesterday morning. I had to have some bloodwork done first thing, so after taking care of that, having a late breakfast and running another errand, we headed northeast. We made it in time to get settled into our room before heading over to the visitation. Dennis had known Buddy for almost his whole life…since his family moved to Houston when he was in 5^th grade. He was a very friendly and happy man who was well loved by all. He had really been having a lot of health problems over the past few years, so he was ready to go (at the age of 90!). My heart goes out to both his family and my Aunt’s family.

While I’m still on this subject, I want to commend my s-in-l, Linda, for the wonderful care that she took of her dad during his last years (as well as her mom before she passed away 6 years previously). The Kellys lived just across the pasture from Warren and Linda, and Linda (with help from Ben and Laura’s family) was over there daily to tend to her dad. During his final couple of weeks, his health finally declined to the point that she could no longer take care of him at home, so he was moved into a hospice facility. But she never stopped caring for his needs! She is probably going to be a bit lost over the next few weeks (or months), but she really needs and deserves a good rest!  

I got a call from Daddy this morning that he wanted to see a doctor about his knee. It has been bothering him for a couple of weeks. I THINK it was probably strained when he tripped at church and almost fell. I was able to get him in to see his primary care doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I imagine they will probably xray it to see if there is any visible damage. I'm hoping it is just a strain and will heal on its own.

Bobbie is supposed to be released from rehab on Sunday. She is feeling much better! Daddy told me this morning that she is disconnected from everything except her catheter (which may have been removed by now). She has also been walking (with her boot and walker) to the dining room. I hope she has a smooth transition going back to Brookdale. I know Daddy is ready to have her home, and she is more than ready to be there!

I’m looking forward to seeing Nam tomorrow and hearing about his last couple of days! On Wednesday, he spent the day at work with Sheila. She said he did very well! I'm so thankful that she has such a good boss who allows her to bring him with her when necessary! Then today, Pappy and Rue took care of him all day. I know he’ll have a lot to tell us about that! Pappy had planned some kind of project for them to work on in his shop.

Saturday morning, Sheila has an appointment to take Nam to have his picture taken. She asked us to go, so we can get one of us with him. I hope he does ok. He’s a little “iffy” about having his picture taken. Sometimes, he is fine with it. Other times, he gets very angry if you take his picture. Hopefully, he will look forward to getting all dressed up and going for a special photo shoot. He is such a handsome little guy and so photogenic!

Monday is going to be a full day! Ricky is scheduled to have his colonoscopy done (still don’t know what time). I take Daddy at 1:00 to the hearing specialist to get tested for hearing aids. Then JW and Janette are dropping by (with pizza) for supper that evening. That will be Nam and Sheila’s night to spend the night, and they are really looking forward to meeting Nam. (Rue will be keeping him all day, while we take care of medical appointments.) Then Tuesday, Daddy goes back to the pain management doctor for his follow-up from his procedure on his back. He’s still having pains, but they had told us to expect that. It will be interesting to see what they say about how he’s doing. I’m not sure he’s going to have as good of results as he had hoped.

Well, this has been a long couple of days, so I’m about ready to turn in. Please keep those who are grieving in your prayers…as well as Lesa A., who is recovering from back surgery! We saw Keith at the funeral today. He said she is in quite a bit of pain, but the surgery went very well and they are hopeful for a full recovery.