Spring Blessings

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful spring. The weather is glorious (although windy), and the wildflowers are so beautiful right now…the vibrant hues of the bluebonnets, the bright coral of the Indian paintbrushes, the gorgeous fuchsia of the horse mint, and the pale pink of the primroses. I love springtime!

Nam came for a sleepover last month during spring break. We really enjoyed his visit, as always. He is growing up so much! He is now old enough and tall enough to ride in the front seat of our vehicles. He really enjoyed riding in the front of Grandad's truck! The whole dynamic of our relationship is changing. It’s still good…just different. Our three boys are getting so close to adolescence! 

Diane came over the week after his visit and spent the night. We got up the next morning and drove to San Saba for our annual pecan purchase. It was fun having her along for the trip! We also picked up pecans for others that wanted some, so we had a LOT of pecans to bring home. (Of course, we also bought a few treats to eat on the road!) It was a nice day for driving through the countryside. The bluebonnets were just starting to bloom, but it was still a beautiful drive.

The church in Hurst had their meeting the first weekend of this month. We were able to make it over there Friday night and Saturday. We enjoyed the lessons and felllowship. After the Saturday morning assembly, everyone went to Koh and Michelle’s for lunch and more visiting. It was pretty chilly out, but we all enjoyed the food and the time spent together. It was great to catch up with so many loved ones. 

This past weekend, we drove to Paris to celebrate Stephen’s girls’ birthdays (a little early). Friday night, we met up at the park for Shepherd’s soccer practice. (He is completely healed from his appendix surgery!) We took the other kids to the playground while he practiced. It was fun. Little Rosie never slowed down or stopped smiling! That child always has such a big, sweet smile on her face. Afterwards, we went out for Mexican food to a restaurant with outdoor seating. It was such a nice evening to sit out and visit. Saturday morning, the guys and kids fished Stephen’s pond while I played with Rosie and watched. They caught a few fish and just enjoyed the beautiful day. I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with our sweet little 2 year-old. She is such a doll! 

We had quite a few visitors at Eastside yesterday. The Joiner clan had camped out at the state park over the weekend, and most of them joined our assembly. It was good to see all of them and have a bigger crowd than usual...and hear a good lesson from Andy. Later that afternoon, Sheila’s family came over for dinner to celebrate Caleb’s 20th birthday. (Can you believe that?!) As always, we really enjoyed their visit! It has been so nice to be able to see all of my grandkids within the same week. 

I am now officially drawing Social Security! There were a few hurdles to jump through to get everything lined out. Poor Dennis had to spend ALL of one day on the phone, trying to sort out a mistake that the SS administration had made on the form that he had to sign in order for me to draw off of his earnings. He finally got through to talk to a real person the first thing the next morning. So all has been sorted out, and I got my first deposit on the 2nd. That, plus having our house paid off, will really make a big difference in our monthly finances!

I’ve been working on some small projects this past month…knitting dishrags and pot holders, and sewing some quick items. I decided to make memory bears for the grandsons out of Dennis’ army dress uniform. I’ve finished one, so far. I’ll probably start on bear #2 next week. I have 4 total to make. I’ll share pictures after they are made and gifted. I also made me some PJ pants and some hanging kitchen towels for Mandy. I hope to get some towels made for Amber this week, and maybe another pair of PJ pants for me. I’m doing lightweight cotton that comes to just below the knee for cooler summer sleeping. 

PJs

one of Mandy's towels

Well, that’s what’s been going on around here. Let’s keep those who are facing serious health issues in our thoughts and prayers, as well as reaching out in other ways that we can to help. And remember to count your blessings! 

Isa 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Springtime Pleasures

 Can you believe that it is April already?! 

March was filled with good times with loved ones! Right after we returned from our vacation to Big Bend, Stephen's family came to stay a couple of nights. We enjoyed their visit so much! They showed up Sunday afternoon, along with Ricky's family (who they had spent the previous night with). It was great having them all here together. Monday morning, we went shopping at The Crazy Water Hotel. The kids loved exploring the toy store! (I always enjoy it, too!) We still had some time before lunch when we finished, so we headed out to the state park to do some hiking at Penitentiary Hollow. It is a beautiful trail with LOTS of rocks for the kids to climb and pose on. I have to admit, this Granny was a bit nervous at times...those kids are fearless! We got a good workout and then grabbed some lunch before heading home to rest up a bit. That afternoon, Stephen and I took the kids to the city park for an hour or two, while Rosie stayed home with Mom and Grandad to nap. After supper, Stephen took the kids BACK out to the state park for even more hiking! I stayed home to play with Rosie that time. I was pooped!

Stephen's family headed out after breakfast the next morning, and I went to the eye doctor. I had been a couple of weeks earlier and he had checked me really well because of a new floater that had appeared. He said everything looked good but to return if anything new or different showed up. Well, that morning, the floater changed...it looked like an additional one had appeared. He checked it out really well again and said it probably just changed position...there were no new ones. I go back in a couple of weeks for a final checkup. He said if there still are no new ones, we can relax and it will eventually fade away. His fear has been that I might be developing a retinal tear, which if caught early can be repaired. If it leads to a full detachment, it is much more serious. It is still annoying, but I haven't detected any new changes, so I think it is going to be nothing but an annoying floater.

Dennis' latest dental implant failed. UGH! The oral surgeon said the risk of failure is quite a bit higher when the implant is put in at time of extraction, which this one was. So he'll go back in another couople of months and have it done again. Thankfully, the doctor doesn't charge us for the "makeup" implant surgery!

Sheila's family had originally planned to come over when Stephen's family was here to go hiking with us. Unfortunately Caleb ended up with a stomach bug, so they bowed out to keep from possibly infecting anyone else. So they ended up coming over that Saturday for lunch. We had a great visit and fun game of Mexican Train. With school and work, we usually only are able to get together about once a month. But it was really nice being able to visit with all of our kids and grands that week...even it is wasn't all at the same time.

Diane came and spent the night the next week, then we did a little shopping at The Market downtown. We also enjoyed a leisurely lunch before time for her to head back home. As always, I enjoyed our time together. This time, however, Dennis got to enjoy visiting with her too!

That Saturday, Rick and Amber invited us over for dinner. We spent all afternoon visiting and playing with the kids. Archer is at such a fun age! He is learning new things every time we see him. We can carry on conversations with him now, which is a blast. We don't always understand what he's saying, but we can usually get the gist of it. They ended up coming over and going to church at Eastside and spending the afternoon with us the next day, too. We love having them so close!

Last week, on Wednesday, we took Amber and the kids to the Fort Worth Zoo. That is always fun! The weather was nice and the kids were great. The next day, Dennis had his chemical stress test/PET scan done in FW. (The results were normal, thankfully!) Afterwards he wanted to go to Arlington to the Rockler store to get a new tool. We stopped for lunch at Luby's and bumped into Marlin. So we ended up having lunch together and catching up. It was good to see him!

Saturday we went to the meeting in Hurst. They had a houseful! Everyone went to Koh and Michelle's for lunch and visiting afterwards. We SO enjoyed visiting with so many that we hadn't seen in years! Ricky's family also showed up, so we even got extra time with the littles. Archer rode with us to the Box's (which was about a 40 minute drive) and never quit talking the whole way! 

Driving home through the country from Koh and Michelle's was a delight. The bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes are at their peak right now. They were gorgeous! We saw large fields full of color. Such a pleasant conclusion to a wonderful day!

Yesterday was a 5th Sunday, which we normally have a guest speaker come and then have a potluck. Since we knew most people would have other plans we decided not to do the potluck, but Jett came and spoke for us. He did a really good job, too! It was the first time I'd heard him speak. We were pretty tired from the week's activities, so Dennis and I just came home (after our weekly lunch at Whataburger) and rested the remainder of the day. 

I have been working on Gracie's birthday gifts the past couple of weeks. I decided to do homemade presents this time. I've finished most of them, but still have one last thing to make. It is going to require more time and skill. I hope to get it made this week. If it turns out like I hope, I'll share a picture after it has been gifted. It is going to try my meager abilities!

I hope you have been enjoying your Spring! Be sure to take the time to appreciate the beauty around us!

Isa 35:1-2 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God.  (NKJV)

Spring Blessings!

Happy 1^st Birthday to our dear Gracie! It was such a blessing one year ago today to welcome this sweet little girl into our tribe of rowdy boys! I can’t wait to see her this weekend and celebrate the occasion. Nam will be traveling to Paris with Dennis and I on Friday, and his parents will be coming Saturday morning. He is pretty excited to have a sleepover with his cousins! (Although he will be sleeping in our room, NOT with the boys! That would be asking for trouble!)

Congratulations to Becca and Weston, as well as the rest of the family, on the birth of beautiful Claire! Amber was keeping in close touch with her mom all day yesterday, and she was keeping me informed on Becca’s progress. It sounded like they all had a very difficult and exhausting 24 hours! But now that sweet baby girl is with them, and everyone is safe and healthy. Praise God for that!

Things are going well here. It has been raining pretty much solid for the past day…lots of thunder and lightening last night. Dennis has been busy staining and oiling the bedframe that he’s been making for Sheila and Matt. It has turned out beautifully! I’ll try to post a picture of the finished product when he gets through.

I am into my 4^th week of chiropractic care for my displaced ribs. Last week and this week I got a massage before my adjustment. That really seemed to help a LOT! Those muscles between my ribs have been very tight and inflamed. Right now I’m feeling pretty good…about 80% normal. I’m still pretty sore after my adjustments, but when the pain settles down, I’m pretty much pain free unless I put too much strain on my ribs (or lay on them). I have two more weeks to go before Dr. Pray expects me to be completely normal. She said that when ribs are displaced in the back, they adjust quickly. But mine were displaced all the way around to my sternum, which takes longer to manipulate. It has been very painful, but it looks like it is almost over! So thankful for that! Now that my ribs are almost back to normal, and my right ankle has completely healed, I actually feel like doing things again.

I have a photo book from Shutterfly on its way that I made from Sheila’s wedding pictures. I can’t wait to see it! I am SO pleased with how the pictures all turned out! I ordered several prints and enlargements that I’ve been finding places for this past week. There were so many good shots of the grandkids and group pictures of all my kiddos. I love good photographs!

This has really been a beautiful spring! The bluebonnets are starting to wane now, but they have been SO pretty. The Indian paintbrushes has been spectacular this year! Right now, it looks like all of the wildflowers are blooming at once: bluebonnets, paintbrushes, primroses, and many others that I can’t identify. Patches of blue, coral, pink, yellow, and purple are set against the vivid green of the grass. I have really been enjoying my drives between here and Willow Park or Weatherford to pick up Nam.

I hope spring is lovely wherever you are and that you are enjoying the blessings that surround you!

So happy to have my guys home!

Well, things didn’t exactly turn out as expected on Sunday. I picked the folks up and took them to Highway that morning, and I thought everything was going well. As soon as we got in the car, Bobbie said she needed to go home right after lunch…her restless legs were bothering her. So we ate as soon as I could get everything on the table, but Bobbie sat in the living room and said she couldn’t eat. Anita helped me clear the table and put up leftovers, then they left and we loaded up and headed to Brookdale. I guess she got to feeling better, because I didn’t hear back from them or Brookdale. By this time, I wasn’t feeling too great…stomach issues and totally exhausted…so I just rested the remainder of the day (other than cleaning up the mess in my kitchen).

Nam was a little angel when I picked him up Monday morning. On our way home, we stopped by Brookdale. Daddy had some errands he needed to run. (Bobbie had to go for her iron infusion, so she didn’t come with us.) We went to the bank, then to Office Max, and finally to WalMart. Daddy had to show off Nam to everyone we encountered along the way! Nam would hold PawPaw’s hand and “help him walk”. At Office Max, he carried PawPaw’s stuff for him. Then he rode on the electric cart with PawPaw at WalMart. I had been concerned that he would get tired of all of the stops we had to make, but he really enjoyed himself! Daddy also gave him a little plush green frog that they had won at Bingo. Nam loved it! He amazes me at how sweet he is with Daddy and Bobbie. He understands the importance of caring for our elders…a rare thing among kids nowadays!

The guys got back from their trip right at noon on Monday. Nam was one excited little guy! He couldn’t get enough of Grandad! That afternoon, the guys rigged up Dennis’ computer to play a slideshow of their trip pictures on Ricky’s big screen tv. We all enjoyed looking at the mountains and snow and ice. Nam really wants to take a trip to the mountains with Grandad now! We keep telling him that we will try to do that when he gets a little bigger. Dennis said he kept playing a game yesterday morning, where he went to the mountains and saw snow, deer, elk, eagles…and elephants. LOL! That kid!

While we were waiting on the guys to arrive Monday morning, Nam and I saw the neighbors outside playing frizbee with their dog. Nam wanted to go watch, so we headed over. The dog was as scared of Nam as Nam was of her, so we had to work with both of them to get them to play together. It was mostly my neighbor handing the frizbee to Nam, and Nam throwing it back over the fence. But he and the dog both seemed to enjoy the game!

Yesterday was filled with catching up on laundry from the trip, plus what I had around here, and buying groceries. I still felt like I was running on fumes (I guess it is partly the time change bothering me), so I didn’t do much else other than that. After naptime, Dennis hooked up the boat and the three guys went out to the lake. They all seemed to enjoy their outing. It was time to load up and take Nam home as soon as they got back.

Tonette called me yesterday to tell me Bobbie had fallen again. They took her to Urgent Care, where they xrayed her foot/leg and said it looks like it might be broken just above the ankle. She goes to see her orthopedic doctor tomorrow to see what he thinks. They put her in a wheel chair and said not to put any weight on that foot. If it is broken, it may turn out to be a rough ride for a while. She will be needing help to bathe and dress, among other things. It will be interesting to see what Dr. Brock says. Prayers are much appreciated!

Spring allergies are giving all of us fits around here. It is really turning gorgeous outside, but along with the pretty flowers and new foliage comes sneezing and stuffy noses and sore throats. My two favorite times of the year are spring and fall…both bad allergy seasons for me. Oh well, such is life! I’m looking forward to getting outside more and being more active. Nam definitely makes outdoor activities more interesting!

A day of peace and quiet! 😉

Today is the 4 month anniversary of Nam’s adoption. It’s hard to believe it has already been one-third of a year since he joined our family! But it is also getting hard to remember what our lives were like before he arrived…he has become such an integral part of our existence.

This week has been quite exhausting! I have a newfound respect for single parents. With Dennis and Ricky gone, I have had Nam by myself during the day, plus I’ve had to do all of the driving to pick him up. Trying to keep up with my normal chores, keeping him entertained, and dealing with any and all discipline issues has worn this old woman out! He was REALLY good Wednesday and Thursday. But I think he didn’t realize how long Dennis was going to be gone, and it started getting to him yesterday. He was really missing Grandad, and it definitely showed up in his behavior. I was ready to hand him off to Sheila last night and have a weekend to myself!

The guys made it all the way up to Carbondale, CO, near Aspen, yesterday and are headed back to Bayfield tonight. They expect to be home sometime Monday. I was hoping they would make it back then, since I kept telling Nam Grandad would be home in 3 days yesterday. We ended up calling and talking to him for a few minutes yesterday morning, which helped for a while. But afterwards, when he got upset, he would cry that he wanted to go see the snow with Grandad! I showed him on the map how far away it was, but I don’t think he really understood the concept.

Tonette was out of town this week and needed to get some medicine to her mom, so Thursday, we dropped by on our way home from FW to pick it up at the pharmacy and take it to Brookdale. As usual, Nam charmed everyone that we came in contact with! He is such a friendly little guy! Then we took the medicine to the office manager at Brookdale and dropped in to see Memaw and Pawpaw for a few minutes. Daddy had received his final refund check from an insurance policy that Momma had had (and had never been canceled when she died, that I’ve been working on trying to take care of for the past few months), and he said he needed to take it to the bank. I suggested he just endorse it and let me take it for him (so I could just go through the drive-thru and not have to get Nam in and out again). Bobbie also had a check she wanted me to cash, but she told me that I could just give her the money on Sunday. So, we ran those errands and then headed to the house. After lunch (and a good nap), we went to Walmart to buy a few groceries. Nam loves to operate the portable scanner that they now have. He does a really good job, too! Thursday night, I cooked chicken pot pie for supper and also prepared a (frozen) dish of mashed cauliflower with garlic and bacon bits. Nam ate two helpings of the pie and cauliflower, and then grabbed the serving dish of cauliflower and finished it off! I just love to watch this kid eat! He has a good appetite and eats such a wide variety of food (unless he is distracted or upset!).

Sheila has been working with Nam on learning everyone’s names (hers, mine and Grandad’s, and Nam’s full name). It is so cute to hear him tell you that he is Nam Josiah Gerrald! He really likes his middle name. Sheila read the story of Josiah from his children’s bible to him, so he knows he is named after a king. He does really well at remembering Sheila’s name and my name. For some reason, he has trouble remembering Dennis’. We have also been working on learning to catch a ball. It looks like he has never even had the opportunity to play with any kind of ball before. We have a tennis ball that we’ve been using to teach him. He is picking it up pretty well, but he gets so excited that he starts jumping around while he tries to catch it…which doesn’t work and frustrates him. He is also starting to turn into an outdoor-loving kid. He wasn’t very interested in playing outside when he first arrived from Vietnam. That’s probably because it was so much colder than he had ever experienced! Now that spring is just around the corner, he is loving going out to play. He really loves going to the park…especially when there are other kids to play with there. It really warms my heart to see him starting to act like “a normal kid”. He has made SO many adjustments and had to learn SO many new things, but he has really handled it very well!

Thursday night was Sheila and Nam’s night to spend the night. I normally fix pancakes once a week when they are here, so Friday was it. Nam ate 4 (small) pancakes for breakfast, and then wanted another one plus his bacon (that he didn’t eat at breakfast) as a morning snack. That kids LOVES pancakes! Yesterday afternoon, we decided to bake cookies. He wanted Snickerdoodles, so that’s what we did. He helped me mix up the dough, then I scooped and shaped it, and he rolled it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and placed it on the baking sheet. He really likes being involved in whatever anyone is doing. I have a wooden step ladder that I keep in the kitchen for him to stand on. It reminds me of when I was little and used to “help” my Grandma Mahaffey in the kitchen. As Vicki F. likes to say all the time, “making memories”.

This morning I slept in until 7:40! What a luxury!!! I have quite a bit to get done today (writing a court report, doing laundry, cleaning house, and baking a cake for tomorrow), but I have all day by myself to get it all done, so I’m not getting in any hurry. I may not even get out of my PJs and robe until noon!

Since it would have been just me and the folks tomorrow for Sunday dinner, I invited Anita and Sherrod over to eat with us. Sherrod will be great for keeping the folks entertained! I don’t know about anyone else, but when I’m around someone a lot, I run out of things to talk about. Therefore, our Sunday afternoons are pretty boring! It will be nice to add another couple into the mix to liven things up.

Well, tonight we “spring forward”. I do NOT like time changes! It doesn’t affect me as bad as it does Dennis, but it does take a few nights to adjust. Sheila is actually looking forward to it this year. She is hoping that with the change, Nam will start sleeping until 6-6:30, instead of getting up every morning at 5-5:30! It will also give them more time in the evenings to do things together before it gets “black” outside. I hope the time change has no ill effects on you, and that you all continue to enjoy the joys of watching springtime arrive. (The pear trees, here, are gorgeous right now!)

Making progress and looking forward to spring

We hit some new milestones last week. On Thursday, I took Nam to Gina’s house to stay until Sheila got off work. Gina was cooking supper for them and Jessica. I left Nam there with her for a little over an hour. He did great! He wasn’t scared and really enjoyed himself. I think we’ll be able to do a whole day within a week or so.

Dennis and Ricky are going to try again to go on their road trip this week. They plan to leave Wednesday morning and be gone until sometime next week. I think Nam will do just fine while they are gone. I know he’ll miss Grandad, but it will give us some special time together. Right now, as long as Grandad is around, I'm primarily just a beloved caregiver. He showers all of his affection on Grandad. Maybe I'll get some more enthusiastic hugs and kisses when we are alone together!

Nam's language skills continue to improve every week. He is using more complete sentences and learning to vocalize more abstract ideas. He repeats almost everything that is said. If he doesn't understand something, he furrows his brow and holds his hand up to his ear. Sheila is really working with him on being polite, and he is getting very good at saying "yes, sir or ma'am" and "no, sir or ma'am." He has been obsessed with super heroes since we first met him, and he likes to play like they are "bad guys". So we are really working on curbing his enthusiasm over bad guys. When it really got noticeable was when we would read to him from his picture bibles, and he always wanted to see Pilate and the soldiers and other bad guys in the bible. So we are working on making our house a "bad guy-free zone". Little boys! Ha!

Ricky is feeling quite a bit better. He never did get in to see a doctor. He has an appointment with a gastroenterologist toward the end of March. It will be interesting to see what a colonoscopy will tell us. He was really feeling rotten all last week. I’m glad he finally got some relief. Our only other option was to take him to the ER.

Daddy and Bobbie were ready to go back to visit at the Henrietta Creek congregation, so we took them over there yesterday and spent the day. It was good to see everyone! Daddy and Bobbie loved being able to visit with old friends. A group of us went out to eat hamburgers between services. Another milestone:  Nam sat with the “big boys” during lunch. He is really enjoying having the boys at church to play with. They have all been so sweet with him! He really likes the older ones who show him attention. He talks about Parker a LOT!

Spring is definitely on its way! The grass is starting to green up…especially in the Aledo area where they had the big fire. A lot of the trees (especially fruit trees) are beginning to bloom, and all of them are budding out. The rain that we’ve so abundantly received lately is getting everything ready to take off, and the warmer weather is lighting the ignition. Dandelions have been blooming like crazy for weeks now! It won't be long before the other flowers follow suit.

Enjoy the sunshine and milder weather! Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you-The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. (Joel 2:21-23 NKJV)