Easter has come and gone. We hope yours has been as good as ours. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.
HOME AT LAST! Mom came home last Tuesday after 22 days. She is doing very well and happy to be sleeping in her own bed as well and having the freedom to get up and move around when she wants to.
We do feel very fortunate that Mom's stroke was no worse than it was. She is still wobbly and using a walker to walk, and she still tires easily. We are still making sure she has someone with her 24/7 even though she's having an easier time of it than she did last year after breaking her ankle.
Mom has been out twice since coming home: once to get her hair fixed and then yesterday to go to church.
SWEET SIXTEEN. Jenna's sixteenth birthday was Friday. Fortunately for her it was a holiday since it was Good Friday as well so she got to do exactly what she wanted to do which included setting out 200 strawberry plants in her garden.
Gardening wasn't all that Jenna wanted to do for her birthday. On Saturday she, Vicki, Mackenzie, Maegan, Michelle (Maegan's mom), and Katie all had a girls' night out on the town. They went to the Melting Pot, a fondue style restaurant in Nashville, did a little shopping, and then went to see Thorn, an Easter play, at Cornerstone Church and Madison. They said they had a lot of fun.
Unfortunately for Jenna the DMV was closed for Good Friday so she had to wait until today to take her driving test, but she has her license now!
NIGHTTIME SERENADE. Now that spring is here and birds are beginning to nest we have a mockingbird that is setting up house in the tree outside our bedroom window. This bird sings all night long and this fellow knows his stuff, however, he hasn’t picked up city sounds like his cousin on YouTube that mimics a car alarm. I am assuming this one is a male because the websites I’ve read say females don’t sing as much or as loudly this time of year. I don’t know if he’s looking for a mate or trying to make our yard seem full to protect his territory, but he gives me something to listen to when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Joe
Monday, April 21, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Mowing Season
I cut grass for the first time this year on Saturday. My yard has needed it for about a week but between the rain and the schedule I am just now getting to it. Mom’s yard isn’t so bad off, but we do need to mulch the leaves that have fallen since November.
UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is still in the hospital but due to be discharged tomorrow. Her therapy seems to have gone well and she will continue that when she gets home. From what we have seen Mom has already regained the function and range of motion she lost, but not all the dexterity. She is doing most things on her own with little assistance required. She is able to walk with a walker. She can use a fork with her right hand and even sign her name, though her signature isn’t as good as it was before the stroke. We are trying to make sure she has people with her for the next few weeks like she did last year after breaking her ankle.
We anticipate Mom’s biggest hurdle will be fatigue. We simply don’t know to what extent that will affect her daily routine once she gets home and is allowed to do more for herself. I think by the time she gets up and gets ready for the day and then a therapist comes in to work with her she is going to be totally exhausted. At any rate, I know that after three full weeks in the hospital Mom is ready to come home.
A BUSY VICKI. Vicki has had an extremely full week, well, almost two weeks really. I briefly mentioned last time that Vicki was gone to a women’s retreat with a group from our church. She had a small role in organizing part of the event (I know I saw a chocolate fountain in our kitchen at one point) so she had more than just a casual commitment. She said they crammed the material intended for a six week study (Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst) into one weekend and that everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Vicki didn’t go anywhere this past weekend, however, our first ever “He Lives” celebration for kids was on the calendar for yesterday. This was a family event beginning after our second service with lunch and crafts. From there we had a storytelling time and the whole event ended with an Easter egg hunt. It was a success, but a whole lot to organize.
ASTRONOMY CAMPOUT. The Scouts have been working on their Astronomy merit badge. They had a guy come in and speak to them a couple of weeks ago and this past weekend’s campout was supposed to give them some hands on time with telescopes and time with knowledgable people who could point things out in the sky. Unfortunately the sky had other plans this weekend and the only celestial objects that could be seen were the sun and moon. The boys still had a lot of fun and came home so tired they slept most of the afternoon yesterday.
RAINBOW. The only rain we got all weekend was a brief squall that moved through late Friday evening. I told Vicki I didn’t envy the boys setting up camp. The rain also brought with it the most spectacular light show. The clouds were clearing off in the west as the sun was setting creating a glorious sunset. And to the east, where it was still raining, could be seen the largest, almost perfect double rainbow. The effect from the bows was so brilliant the area inside the bows glowed while the sky outside the bows was considerably darker. I’ve seen beautiful rainbows before, but this was probably a once in a lifetime sight.
Joe
UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is still in the hospital but due to be discharged tomorrow. Her therapy seems to have gone well and she will continue that when she gets home. From what we have seen Mom has already regained the function and range of motion she lost, but not all the dexterity. She is doing most things on her own with little assistance required. She is able to walk with a walker. She can use a fork with her right hand and even sign her name, though her signature isn’t as good as it was before the stroke. We are trying to make sure she has people with her for the next few weeks like she did last year after breaking her ankle.
We anticipate Mom’s biggest hurdle will be fatigue. We simply don’t know to what extent that will affect her daily routine once she gets home and is allowed to do more for herself. I think by the time she gets up and gets ready for the day and then a therapist comes in to work with her she is going to be totally exhausted. At any rate, I know that after three full weeks in the hospital Mom is ready to come home.
A BUSY VICKI. Vicki has had an extremely full week, well, almost two weeks really. I briefly mentioned last time that Vicki was gone to a women’s retreat with a group from our church. She had a small role in organizing part of the event (I know I saw a chocolate fountain in our kitchen at one point) so she had more than just a casual commitment. She said they crammed the material intended for a six week study (Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst) into one weekend and that everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Vicki didn’t go anywhere this past weekend, however, our first ever “He Lives” celebration for kids was on the calendar for yesterday. This was a family event beginning after our second service with lunch and crafts. From there we had a storytelling time and the whole event ended with an Easter egg hunt. It was a success, but a whole lot to organize.
ASTRONOMY CAMPOUT. The Scouts have been working on their Astronomy merit badge. They had a guy come in and speak to them a couple of weeks ago and this past weekend’s campout was supposed to give them some hands on time with telescopes and time with knowledgable people who could point things out in the sky. Unfortunately the sky had other plans this weekend and the only celestial objects that could be seen were the sun and moon. The boys still had a lot of fun and came home so tired they slept most of the afternoon yesterday.
RAINBOW. The only rain we got all weekend was a brief squall that moved through late Friday evening. I told Vicki I didn’t envy the boys setting up camp. The rain also brought with it the most spectacular light show. The clouds were clearing off in the west as the sun was setting creating a glorious sunset. And to the east, where it was still raining, could be seen the largest, almost perfect double rainbow. The effect from the bows was so brilliant the area inside the bows glowed while the sky outside the bows was considerably darker. I’ve seen beautiful rainbows before, but this was probably a once in a lifetime sight.
Joe
Monday, April 7, 2014
Busy Times
I don’t mind saying that we are coming and going so much we don’t know what direction we’re heading. Take last weekend as an example, Vicki was away on a Women’s Retreat with a group from church, Jenna spent Friday night with friends, the boys were committed to help someone with their Eagle Scout project, and Mom developed a really bad cough.
UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is still in the hospital receiving therapy. I think she is making progress but it is slow. She wears out more easily now. I am still optimistic that she will regain most of what the stroke has affected but it will probably take much longer than any of us have anticipated. I think fatigue will be a real factor in the speed of her recovery.
I do want to say that she really appreciates all the prayers on her behalf as well as the calls and cards. That’s what is keeping her spirits up.
As far as Mom’s stay in the hospital goes, we have met some of the nicest, most caring nurses and doctors. They have really been wonderful to work with, especially the nurse and doctor that got on top of that bad cough Mom developed over the weekend. However, I don’t think Mom will be writing a thank you note to the hospital chef this time as she has been known to do in the past. (To be fair, the food hasn’t been bad. Her diet has been restricted to things that are easy to swallow as a precaution.)
APRIL FOOLS. We didn’t have too much in the way of April foolery at our house this year. Mom’s being in the hospital had me preoccupied although I did have an opportunity to get our secretary at the office that I couldn’t pass up.
Kenny, too, tried to get us by saying they had put police tape up all around where we park for the bus. Everyone knew the date and was on their guard when they heard him call.
The best joke of the day belongs to Ben. He replaced the filling in one of Vicki’s Oreo cookies with toothpaste. She chewed on that cookie for several seconds thinking it was a mint filling cookie placed in the bag before she finally realized it was toothpaste.
CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD. I had an appointment with my doctor one day last week. When Nate heard I was going to the doctor he asked what I was sick with.
“Nothing,” I replied, “It’s a regular checkup.”
“Why would you want to go to the doctor if you’re not sick?”
“Well,” I explained, “sometimes you just need the doctor to keep an eye on things. It’s good to have someone check under the hood every now and then.”
Nate was taken aback. “Well, I like my hood covered!”
COINED A NEW WORD. We bought a two seat papasan for the boys’ room last year. They have placed it in front of their Wii. Granted, a papasan is not a standard piece of furniture in most people’s homes so the word can be hard to recall. I got a chuckle this morning when Ben wanted Nate to bring something downstairs and told him to look on the “tufon.” Tufon (not futon, and definitely not papasan) probably has the best chance of sticking in their minds.
Joe
UPDATE ON MOM. Mom is still in the hospital receiving therapy. I think she is making progress but it is slow. She wears out more easily now. I am still optimistic that she will regain most of what the stroke has affected but it will probably take much longer than any of us have anticipated. I think fatigue will be a real factor in the speed of her recovery.
I do want to say that she really appreciates all the prayers on her behalf as well as the calls and cards. That’s what is keeping her spirits up.
As far as Mom’s stay in the hospital goes, we have met some of the nicest, most caring nurses and doctors. They have really been wonderful to work with, especially the nurse and doctor that got on top of that bad cough Mom developed over the weekend. However, I don’t think Mom will be writing a thank you note to the hospital chef this time as she has been known to do in the past. (To be fair, the food hasn’t been bad. Her diet has been restricted to things that are easy to swallow as a precaution.)
APRIL FOOLS. We didn’t have too much in the way of April foolery at our house this year. Mom’s being in the hospital had me preoccupied although I did have an opportunity to get our secretary at the office that I couldn’t pass up.
Kenny, too, tried to get us by saying they had put police tape up all around where we park for the bus. Everyone knew the date and was on their guard when they heard him call.
The best joke of the day belongs to Ben. He replaced the filling in one of Vicki’s Oreo cookies with toothpaste. She chewed on that cookie for several seconds thinking it was a mint filling cookie placed in the bag before she finally realized it was toothpaste.
CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD. I had an appointment with my doctor one day last week. When Nate heard I was going to the doctor he asked what I was sick with.
“Nothing,” I replied, “It’s a regular checkup.”
“Why would you want to go to the doctor if you’re not sick?”
“Well,” I explained, “sometimes you just need the doctor to keep an eye on things. It’s good to have someone check under the hood every now and then.”
Nate was taken aback. “Well, I like my hood covered!”
COINED A NEW WORD. We bought a two seat papasan for the boys’ room last year. They have placed it in front of their Wii. Granted, a papasan is not a standard piece of furniture in most people’s homes so the word can be hard to recall. I got a chuckle this morning when Ben wanted Nate to bring something downstairs and told him to look on the “tufon.” Tufon (not futon, and definitely not papasan) probably has the best chance of sticking in their minds.
Joe
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