Happy Birthday, Ahlyssa!

Wishing you a very happy birthday, Lys!

We love you,

Gramma and Papa

Quick Post

There hasn't been a lot to blog about lately. Mom continues to improve. She will see her surgeon on Friday for a follow-up. I don't expect any surprises. She will see her regular doctor on the 28th, and then we will get her scheduled to see a gastroenterologist.

I haven't been doing so well the past few weeks. My doctor diagnosed the problem as coccydynia. It's an inflammation of the tailbone (coccyx) and the ligaments that connect to it, and is very painful. If things don't improve soon, I'll have to go back and see what else can be done. So far it's just been pain meds and waiting for it to get better.

We got some rain here in drought-stricken south-central Texas this evening. We may get more tomorrow; we really need it. It cooled things off a bit, but now it's so humid.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Update on Gran

Larkspur, July's flower.

Great-Gran is recovering nicely from the surgery to remove the plaque from her carotid artery. Her throat and neck were swollen and sore, but are much better now. I think the sore throat was more from the tube they used for the anesthesia than from the surgery. She still has a little swelling around the incision, but it looks great and is healing well. She is sleeping well, and her appetite is good.

She's been coughing, which is also a result of the anesthesia. I'm encouraging her to cough deeply to get everything out, instead of the little "ladylike" coughs she does when people are around. She's using a spirometer, too, to strengthen her lungs.

She will see the surgeon for a follow-up July 22nd. Once she is completely recovered from the surgery, she will see a gastroenterologist about her low red blood cell count which they think is caused by a slow bleed from somewhere in her gut. Meanwhile, she is taking iron twice a day.

We are thankful that she is healing well, thankful for the doctors who are taking care of her, and thankful for your prayers!

Missing Lily

Lily, our nine year old granddaughter, stayed with us for a week from June 25th, when she arrived with her family, until July 2, when she, Papa and Reece met her daddy halfway so that he could take her home.

We didn't get a chance to do as much together as I'd hoped. Papa took her the movies during the week, just the two of them, and she enjoyed that. They saw Cars 2. She usually goes to the movies with her 3 sibs and several cousins, so it might have seemed a bit strange to her to have only Papa with her. :o)

I took her shopping for clothes on Wednesday, and for toys on Thursday, and that was fun for both of us. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and happiness over choosing three outfits at Macy's. She looked so cute in all of them. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. We went to Toys R Us and she looked at so many toys before making her decisions. She's a doll.

After Gran's mini-stroke I wasn't around much, but I did get to see her before she left to meet her daddy. She enjoyed spending time with Reece, Aubrey and Camryn, and is absolutely crazy about baby Gina. Cyrise said she really helped a lot with the girls.

She also enjoyed the pool nearly every day and is a good little swimmer. Reece and the girls asked "Where is Lily?" for days after she left. :o) They missed her so much, and so did I!

Aubrey

Aubrey getting ready to go swimming.

She's such a smart, funny little girl. She's always saying something that makes me laugh.

One day I was sitting on the couch with one leg bent and my toes sticking out from under my other leg. Aubrey, who thinks about food constantly, pointed to my toes and said, "What's dat? Chicken nuggets?" :o)

She loves for me to read to her, sing to her, and recite nursery rhymes. That's what we do at nap time and bedtime. She is a joy!

Gina

Taken with Photo Booth on my Mac.

A Difficult Week

Last week on Friday, July 1st, Mom had a TMI (mini-stroke) as we were getting back to her house after lunch. I took her to a nearby emergency clinic, and they sent her in an ambulance to the hospital. They confirmed the TMI, and after lots of tests, scans, etc. they determined that she had a severe blockage in her left carotid artery.

Thursday morning (July 7) she had surgery to clear out the blockage in her artery. She did very well, and was able to come home this afternoon. We are relieved to have that part over with.

The second part is that they discovered that Mom was very anemic. She was given 3 units of blood over the two days that she was in the hospital, and we are to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist soon. They did find evidence of blood in her stool this morning, and suspect that she has a "slow leak" somewhere. Once the wound from the surgery has healed, she will begin tests to discover what is causing the bleeding.

My sister Sandi and her daughter came on Sunday, and have been wonderful. They got me back on an even keel when I seemed to lose my common sense, helping with everything from cleaning Mom's apartment from top to bottom over the holiday weekend, to getting in touch with her primary care doctor who was on vacation to schedule an assessment on Tuesday.

My niece had to get home to her family, and Sandi had to work on Wednesday. I took Mom to the hospital to get her registered and have her lab work done in preparation for the surgery. Sandi was back at midnight Wednesday night to go to the hospital with us at 6 AM Thursday. One or both of us was with Mom during her hospital stay. Sandi is still here, and is with Mom at home tonight.

That's the bare bones description of what has happened over the past week since I posted last. It's been a complicated and trying experience, but we are sure now that Mom won't have a stroke. Her artery was 80 to 90% blocked.

Please pray for our mom as we go through the process of discovering what else is wrong and what can be done about it. She's always been amazingly strong and healthy physically, and this is very difficult for her (and for all of us). Thank you for your prayers!

Zoo Pics

Found the camera cord, and here are a few of the zoo pictures from last week.

Jacob, Reece and Ahlyssa, butterfly buddies.

Cammie

Camryn has the wildest hair when she wakes up from her nap. :o) She's giving me the "mean look."

I was looking for something to put on her and found these little overalls in the closet. I think she looks adorable in them. She liked them, too. I used to dress my kids in overalls without shirts in the summer when they were little.

She's a delightful little girl. I love her tiny hands.

Summer's Bounty

Veggies from my garden--tomatoes, onions, two kinds of peppers, cherry tomatoes and a handful of basil.

The peaches are what's left from our trip to Fredericksburg. I've been eating them like crazy; they are delicious. I want to make a cobbler if I can keep from eating them all. :o)

I used the small tomatoes that Josh brought home to make roasted tomatoes; they are outstanding! I cut them in half, seasoned them with salt and pepper and some of my home-grown basil, put them on a cookie sheet and drizzled them with plenty of olive oil. I roasted them for 2 hours at 300 degrees, and they came out perfect. I've been eating them on round crackers spread with cream cheese and topped with a roasted tomato. Yum!! Thanks, JoAnn, for the directions.

My onions are Texas Sweets, and they are supposed to be "giant." I think they are small because they were grown in a small container (wooden window boxes). They are very sweet and good, even if they are small. We've already used them in cooking a few times.

It's so nice to have fresh fruits and veggies!