Wednesday Night

Johnnie and her grands got here late today because they went to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  I'm glad they took some time to have fun.  They ate at Dick's Last Resort, a crazy, kind of fun place on the Riverwalk.  

I love having them all in here with me, lying on my bed, looking at pictures and talking up a storm.  Reece and Braden are so cute together.  

Cyrise made a yummy dinner for us, pork in the crockpot.  And I had a little dish of ice cream for dessert, which was a real treat.

Johnnie and her grands are leaving tomorrow.  They will go to see Mom and Sandi in Bryan before heading for Kansas.  

Jason and Ahlyssa are going home, too.  Ron will drive them halfway, and Jason's friend will meet them and take them home.  I'm glad he is able to do that, because it will make the time Ron's away shorter.  He has another two furlough days on Thursday and Friday.  I think Jason is planning to come back in a couple of weeks or so.  I'm sure going to miss him.

Kelly will be here tomorrow to spend time with me until Ron comes home.  Cyrise and the kids will be here, but Cyrise has her hands full with the girls, so Ron wanted Kelly to be here as well.  Sometimes I feel as if I'm an awful lot of trouble.

I'm kind of tired tonight, but it's a good tired.  See you back here soon!

Daybook

Date:  Wednesday, April 17, 2013. 

Time and Weather:  It's 3:35 PM.  It's 79 degrees and cloudy.  Hoping for a good rain.  Supposed to get to 82 degrees.

Clothes:  Blue jeans, old pale pink boat neck tee with three quarter length sleeves, black SAS sandals.      

Food:  Toast for breakfast, a chicken fajita roll-up for lunch, and fried mushrooms for dinner.   

Sounds:  The kids are home from school.  They are sitting on the couch at the end of my bed watching the movie, Rio.  I hear the movie and the kids talking.  I heard thunder earlier, but don't hear any now.

Comings and Goings:  I went to see my new radiation oncologist today.  It was a six month follow-up.  My original radiation oncologist (the one I credit with keeping me out of a wheelchair) left the Army and is starting up his office in Austin.  I miss him.  

The new doctor is a girl.  She is so young.  She didn't have any answers about the increased numbness in my lower back and legs which causes me to have a little trouble walking.  She is referring me to another physical therapist.  She saw my MRI and said it looks good.  

Dr. O called yesterday to tell me it looked totally normal.  No sign of any cancer or deterioration of my spine.  That's great news, and now I hope that a little physical therapy will help me get back to some kind of normal.

After leaving the hospital, I picked up lunch and took it to Mom's.  I didn't stay there long because I had to get the kids from school.  But when I got home, Josh was on his way and said that he would get the kids.  

Mom needs a few things, so I'll probably go out again this evening.  
  
Little Favorites:  I have a tiny pair of gold and sapphire earrings that Ron gave to me in the early 80s.  He has given me other jewelry over the years, but these are special because we didn't have much money, yet he wanted to give me something beautiful.  I stopped wearing earrings during my cancer treatment, and the hole in one earlobe has closed, so I need to have them re-pierced.         
    
Music:

    
Memories:  One of the first times I went out with Ron, we went to a basketball game at our university.  Then he took me to a little hole in the wall bar.  Harbor Lights came on, and we danced for the first time.  He wore a blue sweater and gray slacks and he smelled so good.  His sweater matched his blue eyes.  His eyes would crinkle up when he smiled--they still do.  :o)  

Thank you, God: for Ron and our marriage of forty-four years.  I've always known that he is the one you had chosen for me.  I wouldn't change a thing.  Amen  

Wednesday With The Grands

I'm here with Camryn and Gina while Josh and Cyrise take Reece and Aubrey to the doctor.  They haven't been to school all week and both of them are miserable, especially Reece.  They have bad chest coughs, runny noses and just want to sit around or sleep.  Poor little kids.  I hope it's just a chest cold and not bronchitis or pneumonia (or whooping cough).  Reece was holding his fingers in his ears a couple of days ago, making me think he may have an ear infection.

I was at Mom's earlier.  She is doing fine.  I took her some lemon chicken and rice for lunch, and a plate of salmon patties for dinner later.  She is doing well and over the cold she had.  

Someone from her new apartment complex called to ask if we would accept a different apartment.  The lady who is in the one Mom was supposed to get has asked to stay longer.  They have another one on the ground floor in the same building, and I told them that was okay.  The new one faces the same direction as the first one, it's just at the other end of the building.  I told them we didn't want her to face the parking lot or trash containers, and they assured me it doesn't.  

Ron is in Colorado. Bless his heart.  He had to leave the next morning after we got back from Kansas.  Not much time to rest.  He calls every night, and things are going well there.  

My cousin Jan sent me an email saying that Jewell had been sitting up, and had eaten some potato soup.  She said that Jewell had a slumber party on her bucket list, so the other night they all put on their PJs and had a little wine and listened to Dwight Yoakum.  :o)  Wish I could have been there for the party.

I had my first visit to the BMT clinic in over a month on Tuesday.  My labs are all normal and Dr. O doesn't need to see me again until the end of January.  He was a little concerned about the darkening of my skin, but I told him it isn't itching or hurting, so I'm not worried about it.  It seems a small price to pay for being alive.  The graft vs host disease seems better to me.  Maybe is will gradually go away.

The girlies are watching the movie Brave.  It's a cute movie and they are both totally engrossed.

I am anxious for the kids to get home to hear what the doctor had to say.  Will let you know later.

*later*
The doctor said it's the flu.  He said to keep them home from school until next Monday.  Reece, Aubrey and Cammie were sitting on the couch all looking miserable.  Camryn slept most of the time the kids were at the docs.  She had a fever when they got back.  Reece doesn't want to eat or move.  They all just need to go to bed.

Glad I got my flu shot and hope it works.

A Regular Wednesday

The fishermen are back, with no fish. Oh well, maybe next time. They said they enjoyed their trip and being able to relax for a few days, though.

I've enjoyed taking the kids to school and picking them up, but now their daddy will be doing it. He is gone now to get them. They will be surprised to see him. :o)

When I got back from taking Reece to school this morning, I made the little girls scrambled eggs with cheese and toast with strawberry jam. They enjoyed their breakfast. Reece had Lucky Charms. He doesn't like eggs.

I made Mom a grilled cheese sandwich, chips and applesauce for lunch, and she had a couple of pecan sandies for dessert. I stopped to pick up a few groceries for her after I dropped Aubrey at school. Mom does okay with things like soup, frozen waffles, PBJ sandwiches, but if there is any cooking to be done, I usually do that when I'm there. She also likes fast food (hamburgers, Mexican food, fried chicken, barbecue, etc.) and the leftovers from our dinners (home cooking).

So now I'm home, Ron and Jason are watching The Princess Bride on TV, and Josh and Cyrise just got back with Reece and Aubrey. Reece is in here with me, asking to watch Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs again. I sat out back with my dogs for a bit, until Ron came out and put them in the dog yard. :o(

I feel blessed to be at home, living our normal, everyday lives, when the world seems to be falling apart around us. Maybe I need to stop watching the news. Praying for peace all over the world.

More Random Thoughts

1. Happy that Scott Walker won the recall election in Wisconsin.

2. Someone tried to use my debit card to make a $769 on-line purchase to a business in Thailand. What the heck? The bank's fraud division caught it and denied the charge, thank goodness. They shut down the card so it can't be used. It's an inconvenience to have to wait for a new one, but I'm glad it was caught so quickly.

3. My new rug was delivered this morning. It is so pretty, and feels very cushy underfoot. Love the colors!

4. Rituxan tomorrow. :o(

5. I misunderstood. Ron is going out of town next week, but only for one week. His three week trip will be in July. Who is going to buy me Dilly Bars?

Weird Week

It has seemed like a strange week. Reece is still sick. That tamiflu didn't do a thing to help him. I guess his flu was already too far along. You have to start it early, the doctor said. And today Cyrise and Camryn are sick. We're probably all passing it back and forth. Our schedule is all messed up, so I hardly know what day it is each morning.  


Yesterday (Tuesday) Kelly came and got me and we went up to the outlet mall in San Marcos. It was nice just to get out for a few hours and spend time with Kel. We really didn't shop much, but it was fun. I exchanged those big bras I ordered for some that fit. I ordered on-line for the convenience, and it turned out to be very inconvenient. I never have very good luck ordering things on-line. It's always better if I can just buy it locally. 


Kelly got some really cute little mini cocottes--four of them in different colors--at the Le Creuset store. She also got a cookbook with recipes for them, and something free. I think it was a square baking pan, but I'm not sure. She loves dishes and cookware. Me too. 


I'll be at the BMT clinic at BAMC tomorrow for my weekly labs. Dr. O increased my synthroid dose last week, and added folic acid to my meds, so I'm curious to see if anything changed.

Just A Little Chitchat

Good morning! I thought I had posted since last week, but I see I haven't.

Spring break is over and Reece is going to school again, so we're back into a fairly normal routine.

We had thunderstorms at the beginning of the week, and three areas around us were struck by small tornadoes! We don't see many tornadoes in our area and I didn't know a thing about them until the next day. Thank God no one was killed, but some people were hurt and homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.

I did take my Shark steam mop back to Target and they gave me my money back, but they didn't have another steam mop that I wanted. I'm thinking of getting a Eureka Enviro Steamer, since I've read more good reviews about it than any of the others. Reading reviews just makes me more confused, though, as there are good and bad ones about all of them.

Cyrise has been getting ready for a garage sale. She has washed and tagged five or six loads of baby clothes. Every time I go through the room she holds up something cute and says, "Remember this?" :o) They do bring back sweet memories.

Guess I'll go downstairs and find something for breakfast. Reece had his usual oatmeal this morning and it smelled cinnamon-y and good. Have a great Wednesday!

Wednesday With Reece

Reecism: Something is "scrap-ted." It means that something is messed up. It might be his shorts are pulled up crooked, a pillow is sliding off the chair he's sitting in, a paper cut-out got torn. We don't know where he came up with it, but he uses "scrap-ted" pretty often. :o) Variation: Something is "all scrapped up." Hmmm.

Daily conversation at our house:

Gramma: Reece, did you throw plastic toys in the dog yard? (Or any other naughty thing).

Reece: No, Aubrey did it.

Gramma: Aubrey, did you throw that in the dog yard?

Aubrey: No, Cammie dood it.

Gramma: Cammie, did you throw the toy in the dog yard?

Cammie: *Grin*

Still don't know who keeps throwing stuff into the dog yard, but I suspect all of them.

Ron and I took Reece to Mass with us Sunday evening. I was standing and he was sitting beside me in the pew. I felt him rubbing the wrinkled skin on my elbow. Then suddenly he was pinching the skin and rubbing his face on it! He's a weird little kid, but he sure makes me laugh. :o)

I've been picking quite a few tomatoes the past few days. We've had them in salads, sliced, and today I made fresh salsa using the black krim tomatoes, one of my cowhorn peppers, some onion and salt and pepper. Oh my goodness, it is so delicious! I didn't put in much of the cowhorn pepper because it was hot. I didn't notice the heat while I was eating the salsa, but afterwards I could feel my lips burning a little. Yummy!

Josh is working again. I hope they will stay with us for awhile, until they've saved up a good amount of money and are on their feet. They'll need money for a deposit on a rental house, rent, utilities, and they also need a good used van and truck. Prayers that this job works out would be so appreciated. Thank you!

Looks like we might get some rain. Reece said he heard thunder earlier, and there are big, puffy dark clouds. Come on rain! We really, really need it.

Wednesday With Reece

Wednesday With Reece

Our peace roses that bloom in spring are so much prettier than the ones that bloom during the summer. They have much more color. The summer roses seem to get bleached out by the hot Texas sun. This one smells wonderful, too.

Ron is home from Indiana. He had to go right back to work today, but he's glad to be home. And we are all glad to have him home!

Reece came in yesterday evening and when he saw his Papa sitting on the couch he stopped short and just stood there looking at him for the longest time. It was so cute. Then he acted shy, but it wasn't long before things got back to normal, and they were off to HEB.

The three of us stayed outside for most of the evening. Papa's allergies started bothering him so he came in, but Reece wanted to play outside. We stayed out there until around sundown.

We made oatmeal cookies when we came in. That's why they went to the grocery store--we were out of butter. Reece fell in the parking lot and hit his mouth, so now he has another fat lip--the second one this month. :o(

We took Gran lunch and cookies, and she enjoyed both. Reece and I went to a playground park near his house on the way home. He had a good time playing with some children there. We left after about an hour, much to his dismay. As we drove away he said, "That was fun!" I had fun too, watching him play and talking to another grandmother and a young mom there.

Wednesday With Reece (& Barbara & Jewell)

It's been a busy, fun couple of days while my cousins were visiting. They went with me to Mom's on Tuesday and Wednesday. She loved spending time with them.

Tuesday we went downtown to see the Alamo and have lunch on the Riverwalk. Mom didn't go since her hip was still bothering her and it's a lot of walking. The Alamo is always moving, and the Riverwalk is always pretty. We enjoyed the afternoon, then got lost in the parking garage. :o)

Tuesday night Reece spent the night, and he stayed with us all day Wednesday. It was amazing how he felt comfortable with my cousins almost immediately. He just loved them!

After leaving Gran's on Wednesday, we stopped for lunch then drove out to Gruene. We looked around there most of the afternoon, and still didn't see everything. The weather was warm, but not hot, so perfect for sightseeing.

We went to Gruene Hall, the Grist Mill, the antique store, the old fashioned general store, a wine shop, a tee shirt shop and a garden store. We barely scratched the surface. :o)

Reece enjoyed an ice cream cone at the general store where there is an old fashioned soda fountain. (We all enjoyed the ice cream there).

He also liked Gruene Hall, where he insisted on climbing onto the stage. I told him to sing and dance, and he did. :o) Then we went to catch up with Barbara and Jewell, who were reading the clippings about the famous people who have performed at Gruene Hall. Reece was trying to leave at that point. :o)

We got home that day just as Ron arrived from work. He grilled pork tenderloins for dinner, and we had mashed potatoes and broccoli with it. Ron took Reece home after dinner. Then we sat and talked and talked again, but I don't think three days was enough time to really catch up. They left this morning, and I miss them already. Reece will be disappointed that they are gone.

Wednesday With Reece

Yesterday was our 42nd wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything special to celebrate, but our daughter-in-law bought us this beautiful cake. Reece insisted it needed candles, so we added candles. :o) Thank you, Cyrise. We enjoyed the cake and shared it with Gran and her neighbors.

My little buddy is sick. He felt terrible yesterday and last night, but woke up feeling a little better today. Not sure what it is, probably just a bad cold, but two of his sisters have also come down with it. The symptoms are fever, runny nose and feeling awful. He was absolutely miserable last night; not himself at all. We gave him some children's cold meds, hoping to stop the runny nose, because he was rubbing his lip and chin raw wiping his nose with a cloth. He wouldn't use a tissue. He hated taking the medicine, but it did make him feel better. Made him sleepy, though. He fell asleep while I was reading to him, and slept well all night. He woke up this morning feeling chipper. He sat up and said, "It's morning, Gramma!" He's always so glad to see a new day. Me, too. :o)

He wore one of Ron's old t-shirts to sleep in last night since his daddy didn't bring his PJs. He looked so sweet in the t-shirt and his socks. In the picture he was watching Silly Symphonies again on my computer.

It's cloudy but warm here, and we spent a few minutes outside before we went to see Great Gran. You can see by the circles under his eyes that he was not feeling 100%. He still wanted to play on the playset for a bit, and to go for a walk with Gran and Teddy, though.

Wednesday With Reece!

It was nice to have a two day break from the hospital, but I was back again this morning. My lab results were good enough that I didn't need a transfusion. We are hoping that my body is beginning to make enough platelets on its own again. I understand why I need to go often for labs, but I wish it didn't take half the day!

Ron dropped me off, went to work, then picked me up when I was finished. We stopped at Mom's on the way home. She and Teddy were doing fine, but I found out from a neighbor that Mom was walking on the street outside the grounds of her apartment complex yesterday. She said that Teddy had pulled away from her and run away. She managed to coax him back to her, but she said she had to go a long way and that it wasn't easy. It makes me so angry with him when he does that to her. I really don't want her to walk on the street because it's a busy street, the neighborhood is not the best, and I'm afraid she will go too far and forget where she lives. I guess it's time to get one of those ID bracelets for her. And a new halter collar for naughty Teddy.

Ron brought me home and had lunch here, then went back to work. I've been watching the rescue of the Chilean miners, but fell asleep on the couch.

Josh called to ask if Reece can come over later, and I'm looking forward to seeing him. Sometimes I miss him so much that it hurts. Yesterday I was talking to him on the phone, and he wanted to know if we could go to Rockport. He and his mommy had been looking at pictures of Rockport and she said he pointed to the exact room where we stayed and asked if he could go there. When we were there, he stayed with me and Papa every single night. All of the Grands would come to our room off and on during the day. It was such a special time. I do hope that we can do it again sometime soon. Reece said, "Gramma, can I take you there?" He is such a sweetheart!

*later*

It was wonderful to have Reece here! Being with my grandchildren makes me so happy, it has to be good for me. :o) Reece wanted to have a tea party, so we did that, twice. He loves pouring the tea from the pretty little teapot into the tiny cups and then drinking from them. We also played outside for a little bit, read a book about dogs, drew dogs and cut them out, drew his family and cut them out, played with his box of little cars and the "coobies" (that's what Reece calls the cootie game), and I stole as many hugs as I could get away with. He wasn't happy about having to go home this evening, but Papa stopped at HEB on the way to his house and got him pumpkin shaped cookies and a Cars vehicle, so he was okay.

Josh and Cyrise sent grilled raspberry marinated chicken and steamed rice home with Ron, so I'm having that for dinner. Yummy! Thank you, kids.

And all of the miners are now safely out of the mine in Chile. Thank you, Lord!

Wednesday Walkabout

Had a long, busy day and I'm really tired. I was at Wilford Hall by 7:45 AM, had lab work and vitals done, waited for an hour for the lab results, then had a meeting with my doctor. After he examined me, we talked about the upcoming stem cell transplant.

After that he walked me down to the Apheresis/Cellular Therapy clinic where the nurses had me fill out paperwork, drew more blood and checked my veins to see if I'd need a tube implanted in my chest for the stem cell harvest procedure or not. They decided it would be easier to have one, so it will be done sometime in the next few weeks.

My next chemo (number six) will be August 9. About 2 weeks after that they will do the stem cell harvest using a machine that is similar to a dialysis machine. I'll explain more about the procedure as the time draws near.

I was at the hospital all morning, then drove to BAMC to pick up a prescription I'd called in over the weekend. Then I went to Mom's and did the stuff I always do over there.

Finally got home around 2 PM, just as it started raining and in time to let the dogs in before they got soaked.

I was getting something to eat when Josh called. Wednesdays are his day off. He said that Cyrise had some spotting and cramps and the doctor wanted to see her, so they brought Reece, Aubrey and Camryn over here.

They were all so sweet and good. The little girls both took naps, and Reece and I played quietly until their parents came to get them around 4:45 PM.

All is well with baby. Cyrise said she was moving her arms and legs all around during the sonogram. They brought home a sonogram picture, and of course Baby Girl is beautiful. :o)

When Ron got home, he went to Wendy's and got me some chili and fries for dinner, so no cooking tonight.

I took these pictures this evening after the rain stopped. I'm wondering if the fox that was in the pool the other day came in to feast on the Black Spanish grapes that are now ripe.

My turk's cap is blooming like crazy right now. I love how the little red blooms do look like turk's caps.

Sister and Katy were playing with a stick, tussling over who would get it. Sister won this time. :o) I had to take the stick away because I was afraid someone was going to get poked in the eye.

Hope you've had a beautiful Wednesday!

Platelets

Get it? Platelets? Ha!

Sorry for the slow blogging. I think I'm just sick of myself. :o)

All is well. I'm extremely neutropenic right now, so laying low. It's pretty boring.

Had a platelet transfusion and fluids today. Good thing I like my doctors and nurses; I see them too often.

Missed Mass on Sunday because I was feeling sick. Ron and Mom went, and ate at the Asian buffet afterwards. I think I slept most of that day.

I had to go to Wilford Hall for labs on Monday. It was a holiday, so the parking lot was nearly empty, very few people were at the hospital, and there was a skeleton crew working. It seemed very strange, since the place is usually bustling.

Tuesday was quiet; I went to Mom's and came home. It felt like Monday all day.

Today I was at the hospital for most of the day. Ron took me and stayed until we got the lab results to see if I'd need a transfusion. When we found out I did need one, he went to Mom's for me, taking her meds and some lunch. Then he went to work for awhile and came back for me when I was finished. They gave me benedryl and tylenol before the platelets, and the benedryl made me so sleepy! I crashed when we got home, and slept all evening.

And that has been my exciting life the past few days. :o)

Late Night Chitchat

Something was wrong with our server or router or modem or something for the past couple of days, so I haven't been online. Ron was able to get it fixed this evening when he got home from work, with a little help from a service tech. :o)

I had an appointment for labs and a picc line flush this morning, so I was at my home away from home, Wilford Hall. They are so wonderful to me there. My doctor is keeping a close eye on my lab reports because of the strong chemo I had over the weekend. I was there on Monday, again this morning, and I'll go back again Friday morning for more lab tests.

I'm doing okay after the second cycle of chemo. I'm short of breath with just a little exertion, a bit of nausea that started today from the yucky taste of the dying cells in my bloodstream, and some fatigue. Nothing I can't handle, though.

After leaving Wilford Hall, I stopped and picked up lunch for me and Mom. I was at Mom's for about an hour. My appetite is good (so is Mom's). :o)

When I got home Kelly came over with Darcy and Banzai. We left the dogs playing together in the backyard while we went shopping. Sis and Katy are always delighted to see their pals.

We went to CVS for some things Kel needed, then to Burlington Coat Factory to look at hats. We had fun trying on hats, but they didn't have any that I liked. Kelly saw my bald head for the first time since I had Josh buzz it. I told her I looked like the bald guy in the Six Flags commercials and she laughed and sang the little song. :o)

Kelly was looking for a fabric sunhat and some garden shoes, so we went to Macy's, then WalMart. No luck. So we stopped at Academy on the way home, and she found the perfect little Crocs there, and I found a cute pair of brown and white sandals for only $10.

It was a nice afternoon, and good for me to be out and about rather than sleeping on the couch at home.

I did a couple of loads of laundry, and Ron and I got some beef fajita nachos from Taco Cabana for dinner. I made old fashioned cherry pudding last night, and that was our dessert. A foot rub, Criminal Minds on TV, and some computer time and now it's time for sleep.

G'night.

Wednesday Without Reece :o(

Busy, busy day today. I was up early and at Wilford Hall by 8:30 AM for a PICC line flush and bandage change.

While I was there the techs said my doctor had called to order labs, so they also drew blood for those. He also wanted the nurse practitioner to take a look at an abscess that appeared on my chest over the weekend. After checking it, she sent me to a dermatologist who put me on an antibiotic. It's nothing serious and shouldn't affect the start of chemo on Friday.

I picked up the antibiotic at the pharmacy, then called Kelly as I was leaving to see if she wanted to have lunch (by then it was 11:30). She did, so I picked her up and we went to a little Vietnamese place called Pho Ha Long (sounds like Fa Ha La) that sells the best noodle soup ever! It was fun having lunch with her, and I got to see her veggie garden.

I dropped her off at home and drove back across town to BAMC to pick up refills for my diabetes and BP meds. Thankfully, they had them ready and gave me a high priority number, so I didn't have to wait long at all.

By the time I stopped by Mom's it was 2:30 PM. I got home around 3:30, let the puppies in and we all crashed for a long nap.

Ron is volunteering with some of his co-workers at the Texas Valero Open. Today was the day they got to meet the golf pros and hang out with them. He just got home, very tired and a little wind-burned, but said it was a fun day.

My Christmas amaryllis surprised me by blooming 5 months late. :o) Isn't it pretty? There are two huge blooms, and a couple more little buds still growing.

Hope you're all having a good week.

Wednesday With Reece

Our visitors have gone home. It's been a busy, fun couple of weeks. My sister from Kansas and her sweet, funny granddaughter left yesterday afternoon. We stopped by Josh's to say good-bye, and then went to Gran's for a little while before I took them to the airport.

Reece spent the night, so the house doesn't seem as empty as it would have. He absolutely loves to have company, but he gets so excited and keyed up! Last night and today he was much calmer. We spent time outside yesterday because it's so warm and pretty. In the picture, he is having supper (chicken strips and fries from Whataburger) on the patio while he watches YouTube videos.

He was ready to go see his Great Gran this morning. We stopped at Toys R Us to buy a Playmobil police car he wanted, but they didn't have it. Instead he found a veterinarian set that has two vets, two dogs, a cat, and a turtle and the vet's office with a table, kennels, a scanner, x-ray table and x-rays, and little bottles, bandages and vet equipment of all kinds. We took it to Gran's and put it together and he was so delighted!

I hope the weather stays as perfect when we go to the coast next week. It feels like summer, and makes me happy.

I can hardly believe that Lent is nearly over and we're halfway through Holy Week. We'll be at the coast for Easter. I'll be looking on the internet for a church to attend there.

Wednesday With Reece

I asked Reece if he wanted to go on a nature hike yesterday when he got here, and he was all for it! I told him that nature is all the things that God makes outside, like trees, flowers, the sky, birds and animals, and that we were going to look for things like that on our hike.

The first thing we saw was a bird's nest in one of our trees. I might try and get it down for him tomorrow (it's an old one) so that he can see how the bird made it.

Here he is eating a piece of apple and inspecting a fire hydrant. :o)









Wow, God made some big old plants in Texas!


















He wasn't interested in picking up too much, but he did pick a couple of pretty yellow dandelions, and this stick. Earlier he had given me a little stick, which I dropped and couldn't find. He said, "It's okay, Gramma. You can have mine." :o) He's so sweet.

He is still munching on apple slices.








Another red fire hydrant caught his eye, and then an open water meter. He took a good look at it, then announced that there was a clock in there, and that it was going round and round.

He had oatmeal and toast with apricot jam for breakfast. A bit later he had some of the chocolate fudge oatmeal cookies we made last night and watched The Little Rascals on DVD. I thought it was going to be the old Little Rascals series on DVD, but it turns out they made a Little Rascals movie--who knew? Reece likes it.



He went with me to Gran's and fell asleep in the truck on the way. But he was alert and happy when we got there. She likes to watch Francis with him. She thinks the characters are so cute, and loves the way they move. :o)

Reece has a doctor appointment this afternoon for some tummy trouble he is having. His daddy is taking him. I hope all goes well. Reece hates for strangers to touch him, and wouldn't even let the pediatrician examine him the last time we were there. Please send up a little prayer! Thanks.

Wednesday With Reece

Reece was so sweet yesterday and today. He is always so happy to be at our house, and it lifts my heart to see him walk in the front door, smiling and talking.

Here he is watching Pingu on my iphone. He is usually not allowed to touch my phone, so he was delighted when I handed it to him and let him hold it while he watched. :o) (Don't you love his little hands)?

After supper we played with his Hot Wheels City while Papa went to the grocery store. He came back with cookies and candy and a "present" for Reece--more Hot Wheels, of course.



Our home school unit for now is "forest animals," and I got a bunch of library books with that theme to read. We read some of them, but still have plenty left.

He wasn't interested in the book about beavers, so we haven't built the beaver dam yet, but I'm looking forward to doing that with him.

I didn't find all of the books on the list for this unit, but I think these will do. They are: Bedtime For Bears, Box Turtle At Long Pond, Otters Underwater, In The Deep Dark Forest, Every Autumn Comes The Bear, Raccoons And Ripe Corn, Rabbits And Raindrops, Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?, The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, Bears In The Forest, The Beaver Pond, Over In The Meadow, Small Green Snake, and Father Bear Comes Home (a Little Bear book. He loves Little Bear). We're a bit heavy on the bear books, but he likes stories about bears.

He was a sweetheart at Great Gran's today. We stopped on the way at McDonald's (yes, again!) and took her some lunch, too. Then they played with some cut-out cars and bears we had made. Then Reece wanted to walk Teddy, so the three of us took him out.

We met one of Mom's neighbors with her son and grandson. It was Patricia, whose husband Ralph wrote the book Tad. She said that Ralph is not doing well at all. I think that is why some of their children are here from out of state. They are the sweetest couple, and I'm really sad that he is so ill. Please send up prayers for him. Thank you!

Reece has met Patricia before. She gave him some candy when we delivered a cake to them for Christmas. Their interaction was so sweet. Reece talked to her and her son and grandson, and showed them a dandelion he had picked. Patricia gave him a big hug. I hope we brightened her day.

Sometimes Reece gets upset when it is time to leave Gran's, or when he realizes that I'm taking him home, but today he seemed to be looking forward to seeing Aubrey (his little sister). He kept asking me what I thought she was doing, and I'd give him a different answer each time. When we got to his house, he went right in and went looking for Aubrey to see what she was doing. :o)

Ron has found a gated arbor at Lowe's that he likes, so we are planning to go out to eat this evening, then stop and pick up the arbor.