After the ordeal last night Dad was released from the VA Hospital this afternoon. Him and Carla got home about 3:30 so he was able to join us for a good dinner. They just kept him for monitoring overnight and to look at his hip. He actually had a cortisone shot to help with the pain. Overall everything is OK and he is back to his normal self, a smart ass.
Once again we had a plethora of food; green beans from the garden, marinated turkey, homemade applesauce, broccoli, stuffing, and new potatoes. Now sitting in the recliner wanting to take a nap. What do they call that after thankgiving dinner? Triptifan? Well I have that now, just that it’s not thanks giving.
We got in about midnight last night and settled in. We all slept like rocks. This morning my sister flew into Bangor, ME so Dad and I went to pick her up at 11:00am. After that we made a few stops and headed back to the house for some lunch. Dad had a Polaris 6 wheeler being worked on up the road so we went to get that when lunch was over. We made a trip into town to get a power adapter for the Netgear wireless router I brought from the house. Once we got back Grandma and Grandad were here, just stopping in for a few minutes. They had several doctors appointments so they didn’t stay. We are going to visit with them tomorrow.
For dinner Carla and Sandy made Homemade biscuits, brown bread, beans, potatoes salad, Waldorf salad, hot dogs, and pickled beets. All was really really good! Dad sat down in the chair and we watched the NBC evening news. Dad started complaining about his left arm. A few more minutes he really couldn’t move anything on the left side of his body. Carla and Letitia took his blood sugar which was like 384 and his blood pressure was really high. At that point we decided to take him down to the VA in Augusta to the ER. It took all of us to get him into the truck at which point he started seizing a little bit which was quite scary. We got him down there and they ran all sorts of tests. He started getting better after a couple of hours but they concluded that he had a TIA or “Mini Stroke”. We left about 11pm and they were keeping him overnight just to monitor everything.
Not a fun night and quite scary. We are up here visiting my sick Grandfather and my dad goes into the hospital. Getting back to Grandad, he really didn’t look well. Lots of shakes and I could tell he was retaining a lot of fluid. This trip is disheartening but I am really glad we are here to visit with him in what most think is his last few weeks. Have to enjoy this time as best we can. It’s still hard….
We are at Wendy’s in Lowell, MA taking a much needed break from driving. I’ve been at it since 11:30 this morning so Amy is taking over for the remainder of the trip. Only a couple more hours and we’ll be there. We ran I to a little traffic just inside CT but everything else has been smooth. Below is a picture of Ellie at Wendys and a screenshot of the road left to our destination. The iPhone has really come in handy on this trip mapping out things with GPS. Gotta love technology.
Next time I write an entry on the blog it will be from my computer in Maine.
We just crossed into New York state and parked at a lookout off the highway. Just to snap a pic and stretch our legs. Oh, and get a sandwich from the cooler. Snow has stopped for the most part but it wasn’t as bad as last night in WV. We are only in NY for a short time before we cross into Conneticut. I’ll post up once we stop again. Here’s a pox from. The lookout.
and now we are leaving again. Got in about midnight and got much needed sleep. We stayed at a nice hotel just north of Harrisburg,PA. It was nice and quiet, so quiet it was like we were the only people in the entire hotel. By the look of the empty parking lot, I’d say we were! After the continental breakfast we loaded up, gased up, and are now trecking through the snowy terrain of PA.
Well the first leg of the trip (not yet complete) has been full of SNOW! Once we hit Charleston, WV it started coming down in sheets. We are headed up 79 to Morgantown, WV then taking 68 into Maryland and on into PA via 81.
At one point we were going like 25 mph on 79. So this has put us an hour or two behind schedule. Next stop is Harrisburg, PA to stay the night. Here are a couple of shots I snapped on the drive. The snowy pic is at the McDonalds in Morgantown.
I haven’t mentioned this but my Grandfather is really been in bad shape over the past year or so. The past few weeks he has takin a turn for the worst. So we decided to take a trip, leaving today, up to see him and staying through Thanksgiving. Of course flying is out of the question cause tickets are about 700 per seat! Driving is the only option. So I will have entries throughout the trip up north both on the way and when we get there. We plan to have a good visit over the next couple of weeks.
Last Sunday our Church had a Bonfire and hayride. Terry and Georgia Lunsford were nice enough to host the event at their farm as it was truly a blessing and lots of fun. We arrived about 5:30 and the fire was already started, food was being prepared, and everyone was bundled up. Let me tell you it was COLD. I would say it was in the low to mid 30s when you factored in the windchill. But the fire was WARM WARM WARM.
The boys ran off to play with Austin, Jordan, Josh and other kids from the church. Trey played T-Ball with Austin so they already know each other. Makes things a little easier. They went on about tackling the wrestling (as boys do) each other. On the menu was Hotdogs, Chips, snacks, hot chocolate, Apple Cider. And of course all the ingredients to make smores! They even provided sticks for roasting the dogs and marsh mellows.
Once the daylight drifted away and wind started to howl and it got chilly. All the kids got glow sticks to run around in the dark. I got a video of it and I will have to say it looks cool. After all the bellys were full it was time for the hayride. Amy decided to hang back and chat with the ladies while I policed the kids. (and adults, lol) It was really cold roaming around in the dark for about 45 minutes on the back of a tractor but we had fun. Let me tell you everyone was ready for the fire once we got back. You can see in the pictures there is a shot of everyone warming their rear! All the patrions that stayed behind were nice enough to build up the fire for the popcycles we had become on the hayride. God bless them! After some hot cider I was all toasty again.
We packed it up around 8:00 but all had a really good time. Good times. good food, good company. What more could you ask for.
I have some announcements to share with everyone. Friday Trey got several awards in a cerimony at school. I wasn’t able to attend but wanted to pass along the info. Trey got a Math Wiz award, Perfect Attendence award and The Warner Wildcat award. The wildcat award is explained below:
A Warner WIldcat always remembers to: Follow the “Rules for Living;” Accepts responsibility for their own learning, decisions and actions; Shows consideration for teachers, staff, fellow students and visitors; Believes in themself andtakes pride in what they do; Works with the teacher to make sure they learn as mich as they can.
Jalen also got the Perfect Attendence award and is getting a Math Wiz award next week. Some other big news is that Jalen made the Academic Team! We are very proud of both the boys for staying focused in school and getting things done. Trey has improved ten fold over last year and we couldn’t be happier. Congrats boys!
When Amy went to the store the other day she picked up a box of make-it-yourself pizza. The boys were with her so they liked the idea of making their own pizza. So when I got home from work Friday they had the box out ready to go. Trey and Amy made one and Jalen and I made the other. I will have to say that Jalen and mine turned out to be the best. To give Amy and Trey the benefit of the doubt they cooked their’s on a stone which was a little different. Anyway, we had a good time making the pizza. It was a good family moment, lots of laughs. Here are some pics.
A lot can change in a short amount of time, especially when you have a baby around. They are born and then all of a sudden they are 8 years old giving you lip. Boy time sure fly’s by. There are many definitions of change or categories I should say. People want to change their weight, jobs, cars, lifestyles, hell….Presidents! Thinking all along we are going to get a different result. Change is good but anything worth doing has its challenges. Most just talk about the changed they are going to make in their lives but don’t put forth the effort to make it happen. The old saying goes, “you must crawl before you walk”. This couldn’t be more true and can be applied to almost any kind of “change”. Take Ellie for example; as each month moves along she can do more and more things. From bottles to cereal, from only being able to lay on her belly to rolling over (or across the room), now she can sit up, starting to crawl. Each accomplishment, although small, is a stepping stone to the next. Soon she will be able to pull up on things and eventually walk.
I guess what I am getting at is we tend to (at least I do) look at changes or challenges as a whole and not the little steps it takes to get there. Did Barack Obama know he was going to win the election? No, but small persistent steps got him there. Did the 30 pounds I lost earlier this year come off in 1 month? No, it took 5 months. The point is, take the time to enjoy each step of the mountain and before you know it you’ll be at the top, changed. Now a video of Ellie attempting to crawl forward but goes backward instead. She’ll get it soon enough….
