Friday Happenings

Teamwork! Stacia and I headed out at 0730 for Bible Study and the gym. I left the monitor and call button receiver in our room. Dad was sleeping soundly and I checked the fall alarm to make sure it was attached.  Our guess was dad would sleep until we were home. 

It was not to be...Millie wasn't happy to see us leave. Dad was wandering....no sleep at the house. Shew. 

Michael ran out for Bible Study with Alex; Stacia and I took over at home. I HAD to go to the bathroom. Dad SAID he was going to take a nap. I THOUGHT he was safe and taken care of. We don't activate all the alarms as we haven't had trouble with naps.  I heard a fall. Yep, he was NOT taking a nap. I found him on the floor. Millie was sitting beside him and nudging his shoulder. I'm glad he is off  blood thinners this week. 

Millie does seem aware of Dad and his needs. I am hoping she can eventually be trained to alert us when he is doing something he's not supposed to do...like practicing walking. This was the first time I was successful getting dad up from the floor by myself.  It is not easy. 

Arielle called in the midst of this "situation." 

"Hi Mom. What are you doing?"

"Trying to get Grandpa off the floor." 

Team CoRielle to the rescue. They brightened our day and changed our afternoon's focus! 

Cory texted me on the sly and asked if we could watch the boys so he could take Arielle out. Yes, we sure could.  Danny is 2 months old now, 16 lbs, and off the chart! We've suspected he may be a ginger, but we know hair color can change....it sure looked ginger today. 

We were happy to watch the boys. This is Arielle's first trip without Danny. They both did great. They DID end up eating in our driveway! BUT WE HAVE STARS out here. 

Baking with Benny....I had been wanting to make Aunt Gin's cookies (Doubletree cookies). I have made them totally sugar free and they were dry and dense. I subbed 1/2 of the sugar this time and they were good. 

Such an enthusiastic helper! 

What a character! 

Guess he isn't sure about the lemon juice?

It must have been o.k. as he was happy to snitch dough. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to get the dough off the beaters....when I saw him eating the dough I said something like, "Benny! What are you doing?" 

"Mama does it!" ::snort:: 

Benny moved on to movies with Papa and I settled in for snuggles with Danny. 

There were no end of volunteers for Danny snuggling. 

👟👟👟

Every mile counts! Walking Tally 71 miles out of 100 miles

Dad's Outing

 Look at that bruise! My word! I was glad dad had to wear a mask that covers his nose and mouth today when we were out.  The audiologist was a bit alarmed today when he took his mask off. 

BTW - we encountered the WORST handicap parking spot yet...there was barely enough room for the chair to fit between us and the SUV next to us...and my car covered half the ramp....LOL 

Dad got new hearing aids in July, and never made it back for the follow up appointment. Along the way he decided he didn't like wearing the hearing aids. We went in today to see if they were working. They were...but she she gave me a kit for cleaning them - which we hadn't gotten originally. She also stressed how important hearing is for positive brain activity. Having her say it confirmed what I've been saying and Dad has agreed to try the hearing aids again. 

I have an app on my phone which controls the volume of his hearing aides. He asked me repeatedly to turn his left ear down. She shared he has to wear them, let his brain hear all the noises, and his brain will then learn which ones to filter out....but if he doesn't wear them - that will never happen. 

It is nice when he wears them....otherwise we have to scream at the top of our voice to be heard...and that is hard for all.  

Dad's Day

Tuesday night

Dad had oral surgery this week. He looks like he's been beaten up. But he says it isn't "too bad." This is making me rethink that wisdom tooth referral again. LOL 

Wednesday morning 

 Walking Tally 64.5 miles out of 100 miles

Finding Normal Part 2

I have previously shared about "finding normal" in our new season. This week my goal was to add in ONE tea/coffee date, and two gym dates. 

We've had a few days go "off the tracks" this week and so the tea date didn't happen....but today....

Stacia and I made it to the gym for the first time since we brought Dad home from skilled nursing. It felt great. 

Michael has added in a chapter of reading with Stacia each night - I join sometimes...and sometimes I blog. LOL 

Nothing feels "effortless," but we're learning to coordinate schedules as we haven't had to do for decade. 

Another thing I did was come up with five "essentials" for me to feel productive.  I made a habit tracker and try to get these 5 done every day. If I miss one for 3 days, on the 4th day it is number 1.  They are Time in the Word, move (walk, elliptical whatever), read, blog, laundry.... Three are totally SELF CARE....spending time with Jesus, reading and moving....since I don't LOVE exercise, I am making sure I read at least one fun chapter a day. LOL  Laundry and blogging are both things that get away from me quite easily if I don't keep on it and are both things my family appreciates me to tend to. LOL

And NOW you know why there were a couple of early morning blogs today....I tend to let it slide. LOL  

Walking Tally 61/25 miles out of 100 miles

Winter Woes

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Michael and Alex tried to melt our driveway today. I think it would be easier to buy us all ice skates. 

Pushing the wheelchair in this mess is quite an adventure. LOL 

Walking Tally - 59 miles out of 100 miles 
 

Sunday

This week has been emotionally busy....dads meds are back on board and he's starting to normalize....we're all dreaming of Sunday naps....but first....church....

Dad proved he can do what he wants and muscled himself down the wheelchair ramp by himself. He waited by the door. We've asked him not to do this at our home as the ramp is outside, icy and longer. 

Michael challenged us this morning to be full of grace and truth....and to live consecrated in the midst of...you know 2021...whatever that may mean to you. 

My all-time favorite pastor

We spent the rest of the day reading....Michael displays a unique cross-word puzzle skill. 

We caught those naps on the fly.....Jamin and Arielle and the boys dropped by!  It was a great day. 

Millie is happy to be with Stacia

 

Salmon and Gifts

Josiah and Carrie often visit on the weekend. This time they brought jars, salt and salmon.  We've been looking for the opportunity for me to show Cy how to can some of the fish he catches. This was that day. 

It's a long process.....once it was in the canner and the pressure was being watched....

Us girls - made a run for Thrifters Rock. Yep. We had a girls day OUT and it was fun. We scored some great deals. 

Cy, Carrie and Olivia headed back to the big town....we finally settled down and had our household gift exchange for 2020. 

Willing helpers

GG's haul...

Note the motorcycle vest...he is determined he is buying a motorcycle....said that isn't the same as driving. 

Stacia made a gorgeous purse for Krista and a great book bag for me! She could market these. 

Nolan received 2, possibly 3, new sets of Monopoly. He simply needs to find more who LIKE this game. LOL  He got an Alaskaopoly and this vintage set...there's another....

And now...I suppose "Christmas" is officially over. We aren't 100% sure when we'll take down the Christmas tree. It was up for our anniversary on Valentine's Day last year. 

Walking Tally - 55 miles out of 100 miles