Getting back to normal

 Life is pretty much back to normal for us now. We are enjoying the freedom to visit others and eat out at restaurants and only don our masks when it is necessary or best to do so. The numbers of active COVID cases and fatalities are staying low (in Texas, anyway), so hopefully the worst is behind us now. 

I did most of my CASA training last week...for the year. We are required to get 12 hours of training per year, and I now have 11. I watched a seminar hosted by Cook Children's Medical Center that was 7.5 hours long. I broke it up into 3 days, so it wasn't so overwhelming! It feels good to not have to worry about getting my hours in every month. 

We took my Aunt Coez out to eat at Pulido's on Thursday. We had promised that when we were all fully vaccinated that we would go out and celebrate. We all really enjoyed it! It was very tiring for her, but she loved it. Dennis had a hard time helping her back into her house afterwards. Her legs give out on her, and she has trouble breathing, so she has to stop and rest frequently. I'd love to make it a weekly thing, but I'm not sure she could handle that...maybe once a month. She rarely leaves her house anymore.

Yesterday a group of us went out for hamburgers after church services. We all really enjoyed that! Everyone is thankful to be able to socialize and get out more! We are also enjoying not wearing masks during the assembly. It is so good to see each other's smiling faces and be able to give and receive hugs again! 

Dennis finished out the shower today, so everything is fully functional in the hall bathroom now! Hallelujah! I cleaned it up and set out soaps and shampoo and such. We are now ready for overnight guests! Dennis will be taking the next few weeks off (basically), so the house won't be torn up when we have our family get-together the latter part of May. It will be our "make-up" time from missing Thanksgiving. We won't be doing Thanksgiving foods though. Hamburgers and Mexican food will be what's on the menu. SO looking forward to having all of my kiddos home together!

My surgeon released me from his care last week! Then tomorrow is my last day of PT, in which my therapist will be doing my final evaluation. I will still have exercises to continue doing at home. My doctor told me that it will take about a full year for my shoulder to be back to normal. The better I am at doing my exercises, the better my recovery will continue to be. I have really good range of movement already, and I'm regaining strength in my right arm. Reaching backwards is still difficult, and painful, but it is improving. 

Dennis is hoping to do some fishing while he is taking a break from remodeling. He went out to PP Lake this afternoon to make sure the boat is working well. He hasn't been out in it in months. It will be good for him to have some good recreation time!

I hope that all is going well with all of you! Take care and be kind!

Together Again

 The past two weeks have been WONDERFUL! Sunday before last, we met up with Matt and Sheila at the park in Weatherford to get Nam. He was able to negotiate a THREE night stay that trip. (I told Dennis to expect him to try for a week next time!) As always we enjoyed our time with him. When we took him to Sheila's workplace Wednesday afternoon, we decided to do a little shopping and eat out while we were in Fort Worth. It feels SO liberating to be inoculated against the virus!

We started in cleaning the house, getting ready for company, the next day. It took us the whole three days (at our slower pace) to get everything put away (tools and such) and clean. Then Sunday, after our first assembly without masks, we had everyone over for a potluck. We enjoyed it SO much. I'm looking forward to more in the near future.

I had to squeeze in a PT session Monday morning, then spent the rest of the day doing up laundry and packing for our trip. We left first thing Tuesday morning and drove to SE Texas. It was overcast for most of the day, which made for pleasant travelling. Everything is so lush and green right now! We loved the rich smell of pine as we made our way through the Big Thicket. It has been TOO long since we had visited that part of the state. We lived in Livingston when we first married, which is just west of the Big Thicket. Dennis' first job with the Texas Forest Service was all through that area. It brought back a lot of good memories driving through there again. After a nice visit with my CASA baby and her grandmother, we headed to Jasper for the night.

Wednesday morning, we headed to San Augustine. We spent all day and then the night with Larry and Johnnie. It was so nice to catch up after way too many years! That evening, Dora and Blaine came over for supper. When we left the Rocky Hill congregation to move up here, Blaine was just a toddler. Now he's a big, strapping senior...about to graduate and head off to college on a football scholarship! Where does the time go? We really enjoyed visiting with all of them and seeing them doing so well.

Thursday, after a few more hours of visiting, we headed north to Paris. We drove through Center, where we lived about 40 years ago. We had to do a quick drive-by of our old home place. The empty lot where our mobile home had been set up, now had a beautiful brick house sitting on it. The house of our landlord (and next door neighbor) was gone. All that remained of it was the chimney. It was fun to see everything again and reminisce as we made our way through the countryside. We spent most of the first 28 years of our married life in that area.

We visited with Stephen and his family Thursday evening and all day Friday. It was so good to be able to spend some quality time with them! Those kids are growing up way too fast. We gave Gracie her 3rd birthday present, which was a Duplo dollhouse set. She loved it and played with it all day, after Jesse assembled it for her. Her favorite thing in it was the potty! 😂 She is at such a fun age! She can carry on a conversation for as long as you like, about pretty much anything! The boys are learning so much in their homeschooling! It was so special, after reading to Shepherd for the past several years, to have him read to us. We also enjoyed seeing his and Jesse's burgeoning math skills as we played Yahtzee with them.

We also enjoyed visiting with Stephen and Mandy and seeing how well their house remodeling is coming along. Mandy has quite a gift for design, so her large country kitchen is going to be gorgeous when it is complete! 

After a good night's sleep, we got up and started home this morning. Even though it rained off and on all week during our trip, we managed to avoid most of it while actually driving. We were very thankful for that! Everything went well, and we arrived home safely. Awww! There's no place like home!

I hope all of you have had a good couple of weeks as well. Take care, and be kind!

Update on March activites

 Spring has arrived! The weather has been beautiful, dreary, sunny, rainy, warm, chilly…and windy. Typical spring weather. The trees have been blossoming and greening up. Wildflowers (especially bluebonnets) are popping out everywhere. I love springtime! (My allergies are acting up big time, but that is typical for this time of year, too!)

We had a two-night sleepover in March with Nam. It was so good to have him over again! We just picked up where we left off a half-year ago. I fixed him his favorite foods, he and Grandad played their usual games, and we enjoyed seeing life through Nam-eyes again. His folks came over to pick him up and we “picnicked” in the front yard. It was really great to spend some time visiting with them again, too! I had a hard time saying good-bye, but at least I knew that things were finally easing up so that we can be together more. (We have another sleepover coming up in a few days!)

We had Rick and Amber over last week for supper. Dennis needed help carrying the marble vanity top and setting it in place. It was WAY too heavy for me to handle! We really enjoyed our time with them. I’m ready to start doing monthly (at LEAST) get-togethers with them again. I’m ready to start cooking for company again! I’m really tired of just fixing for just Dennis and myself. (However, we just ordered in this time...kind of a last minute thing.)

Dennis and I received our second Moderna vaccines, and Coez got both of her Pfizers. We still have another week until we are up to “full” immunity, but it feels good to start loosening up a bit. I have an appointment to get my hair cut next Friday (first time in 18 months!). We are planning a potluck on the 11^th. Then we have a trip planned a couple of days later. I have a CASA kid who is placed in East Texas that I’ll finally be able to go see. While we are in the area, we plan to have a short visit with Larry and Johnnie. We haven’t visited with them in years! We are really looking forward to that. Then we plan to swing by Stephen’s for a visit (and take Gracie’s birthday present to her – can’t believe she is almost 3). I am really looking forward to spending more time with family and friends {and going out to restaurants again}!

I’m on my 5^th week of PT which is continuing to go well. I am slowly regaining strength and mobility in my right shoulder. I noticed this morning, as I was making the bed, that I can do more things without pain than I could before. I used to could really feel it when I used my right arm to fling the covers across the bed to straighten them. But this morning, I did it without even noticing it. My upward and forward motion is probably about 95% or more of normal. I still have a long way to go on reaching behind my back. But I can tell that I’ve made a little progress there, too. I’m very thankful for my good surgeon, my physical therapist, and the easy healing that God has granted me throughout this process!

The hall bathroom is looking great! Dennis is still working on trim…particularly around the tub surround. We finally got all of the “accessories” hung up this afternoon, including a picture that I found that I really like in there. I am SO happy with how it has turned out! Dennis thinks that he’ll have it completely finished by the 11^th, when we have folks over for the potluck. He plans to take a short break, then on to the back bedroom! That should be a relatively easy remodel. There aren’t any structural changes to make, other than walling over the built-in cabinet. Since we are replacing the sheetrock anyway, that won’t be a problem. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

During demolition

After

Well, I guess that about catches us up since my last post. I hope you all are staying healthy and able to start re-integrating into society. I know COVID isn’t gone, but I hope that the worst is behind us and we can move on. Be safe and be kind!