The Coolin' Station

I have to admit that I enjoy blogging more about the adventures of my parents than anything else! The girls and I went down this week to pick up my niece, and we stayed overnight in Murfreesboro. We never know what project they will have going on until we get there. This trip they have been working on The Coolin' Station and doing quite a bit of gardening. Here's a picture of Daddy sitting in the newly created Coolin' Station complete with "Cyclone" fan (Mom says it helps to keep the flies and mosquitos away), radio (to keep you entertained) and police scanner (so Momma can keep up with all the outlaws in town!).



This next photo is of the view from the "Station". Momma said that she needed to remember not to plant corn in this garden next year, because she is afraid when it is grown she won't be able to see over it.

Yes, this what you do at the Coolin' Station, sit and watch traffic go by. Mom & Dad are now on a corner lot since they bought the lot next to the house and tore down the old house that was where the garden is now. It was funny to see how many people drove by (and slowly I might add) just to see their garden and what all they have been doing. They drive up from the front of the house and make a right turn just on the other side of the garden.

And this is what they will see on the other side of the row of corn! More peas and flowers!! There is another entrance, if you will, from that lot and Mom has made it pretty as a picture. A couple of weeks before Mother's Day, she called and said, "Are you gettin' me anything for Mother's Day?" because I usually send a fresh bouquet. She had gone to the neighborhood greenhouse and had some plants put back that she wanted. The owner of the greenhouse is a good friend of mine so I called and purchased the plants (I think she called them Mandevillas??) and they are now happily climbing and blooming on this arched gateway. You can't see the pretty little yellow blooms, but there were several on it. Each side of the entrance is flanked with a wagonwheel and set of lights. I don't know what it is, but she must like wagonwheels. I remember she had several set around at our old house! And that's the second garden you'll see in the background. Now remember, they moved to town so they wouldn't have as much to take care of as they did out on the 20-acre home place!

So the purpose of the Coolin' Station is (at least) 3-fold:

1. By the time they get through with all the yard and garden and flowers they just need a place to cool off!
2. This is Mom's outdoor living room. Daddy is so cold-natured and keeps the house so warm Mom just has to get out so she can breathe. And...
3. I found out some of Daddy's buddy have been know recently to stop by for a cup of coffee!! Not to mention a couple of neighbors that wondered over that afternoon just to visit!

Whatever their purposes are, I must say that even I enjoyed the outdoor living space. It was quite comfortable. If there wouldn't have been so many kids around disturbing my peace ;) I would have enjoyed several chapters of a good book while I was there!

So I'll end with a picture of myself with Mom. I really haven't gotten the knack of self-portraits yet. I was just happy that both of our heads were in the frame! (hehe) And one of Daddy before he left to go to "preaching". We've got to go back next week to return the niece, and the project of the week we're hoping is putting the pool up!! More pictures to come.

Chapter Two

So Daddy's hospital stay in January was because the time had come to start dialysis. His kidneys just were not cleaning the impurities out of his blood anymore. We were ready!!...so we thought! Daddy had had the fistula in for about a year...it should be ready to use, right? Nope, not the case! They drew the blood out, but when they routed it back into his arm, it blew up like a balloon in his vein! Stop the train, we've got to go with plan B! The doctor scheduled a procedure the next morning to have port put in his neck area. As the dialysis doctor was checking on him before the surgery, he was explaining what they were going to do. How they were going to put the catheter in that they will use temporarily until the fistula is usable. Well all Daddy heard was "CATHETER" and his eyes got as big as baseballs and he looked down. The doctor noticed the body language and quickly says, "No, no!! Not that kind of catheter!!" Daddy's room was full of our family and I wasn't sure who all was listening to the conversation between them, so I just snickered to myself and let the doctor finish explaining. Later, after Daddy came back to his room after the surgery, we were sitting around talking and my brother starting reminding Daddy about "catheter" story and the expression on his face, but he got SO tickled he couldn't even talk!! I haven't seen my brother laugh that hard in a very long time. We were all crying from laughing so hard before it was all over with!!

To give an update on the fistula, they have been using it for about 3 months or more. They removed the catheter at the end of March and he is doing well.

Sheridan comes between Searcy Co. & Shirley...

As the school closing are scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen, I am searching and hoping that "Sheridan School District" will be there-right after Searcy County School District and before Shirley School District. It's not there!! :( We're going to school.

Chapter One

Because of my dad's diabetes, he suffers from neuropathy which is a constant pain in his feet. So Friday night as he was lying in his hospital bed, he asked me to rub and massage the bottom of his feet. Since I am the good daughter that I am, I scoot my chair up to the end of the bed and start rubbing away. Even though this should make his feet feel better, he still hollers out in pain. I think it probably feels like rubbing pressure over a tender bruise. Daddy is a very "vocal" person, and by vocal I mean that he makes man noises and makes them very loudly. For example, he yawns loud enough for people 3 floors away to hear. Or when he clears his throat, it's a very distinct sound. Well, this evening he had the TV on, but he wasn't really watching it. Now remember that my dad is deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other. And you know how in hospitals that the speaker to the TV is on the remote control. While Daddy was laid back in his bed, he had laid the speaker in his lap so to speak, where the crease of his leg (in the groin area) and belly met. Also keep in mind that my daddy has a pot belly plus he was retaining extra fluid that made his belly even larger. So just as I am starting to rub his feet, he starts with a few "OHHH!"s & "OWWW!"s And then I hear this pooting sound. Yes you read correctly-Pooting, as in farting!! I jumped back and looked at Daddy. But I had figured out that it was coming from the TV, but with the position of the speaker, I wasn't sure at first. Well, I started laughing and looked at my mom. She finally figured out what was going on and started laughing with me. But Daddy still hasn't caught on, but he finally heard the pooting sound. But HE couldn't figure out where it was coming from! He had forgotten that he put the speaker in his lap and couldn't see it. He practically sits up in his bed, looks from side to side, looks under his bed, looks back and forth from Mom to me! I am laughing so hard I can't hardly breathe. I picked up the speaker so Daddy could see where the sound was coming from and then he started laughing with us! I asked him if "Lori, rub my feet." was something like "pull my finger"!! He thought Mom and I were pulling a trick on him. I guess he thought we had one of those farting machines or something. So if you're still reading this, have you guessed what was on the TV? It was the scene from "Blazing Saddles" where the cowboys are sitting around the campfire cooking and eating beans. If I can figure out how to add the video here, I'll post it. But for now you'll just have to follow the link. It is nearly a full minute, so picture this all going on while this sound is playing in the background. We laughed till we cried!

To be continued

I haven't forgotten that I need to finish my story. I have just been too tired the last couple of days to get to the computer. However, just to update about my dad...he's home and resting better! He told me that he stayed outside most of today. I think sunshine probably did him some good! He will start his 3-days per week dialysis treatments tomorrow.

The Books I'll Write - Part One

Before I was married or had children, I swore I knew more about raising kids than the people who actual birthed them. And later after I married, but still before my own children were born, I had a partner with whom we swore we would write a book on the correct methods of child rearing. Both of us childless at the time, but had so much wisdom to share with the world. Needless to say, we never got around to write "the book", but both agreed that we would have had to completely revamp and revise the original after we actually had children of our own! We also discovered that we would now have to write two completely different books, because we had two completely different styles of raising our girls. We have laughed many days about the concept of "the book".

Well, I decided this weekend that the next book I'll write will be about the adventures of my dad's last days! No my dad is not dead...yet. My dad is however a very sick man, but today he is alive. We've been told Dad could die any minute or he could live for years. My dad loves to aggravate people for good laugh. He's always looking for a way to pull one over on someone. So with that mind, I'll say that my family has a choice to either cry and dwell on the vital state of my father's health or laugh with him each day that he's still with us. I choose to laugh! I have my moments when the realization that his days are numbered hits me, but I choose not to dwell there.

So let me catch you up to this weekend.

My dad is 67 years old. He is a heart, diabetic and kidney patient. His heart is just about worn out. The diabetes is eating his body up. And his kidneys have all but stopped working. Daddy is just an old country boy that was raised on fried foods and hard work. Taking care of himself (eating healthy and exercising) was never thought of I'm sure, so now he's suffering the consequences.

Daddy had his first heart attack in 2000; his second in 2007. Repair after the first was a triple bypass. The second only allowed for a stint because the diabetes had done so much damage to the heart muscle. His doctor told us that Daddy was "a walking time bomb". The next heart attack will be massive and will kill him. The doctor did not beat around the bush to explain the seriousness of his condition. This is same doctor that said, "So...you're still alive??!!" on one of dad's follow-up visits after H/A #2!

During his stay in the hospital with the last heart attack, his kidneys starting shutting down. So he has had regular visits with a kidney specialists since then. My dad lovingly refers to this doctor as "Dr. Kervorkian". He is Russian with a strong accent and very soft spoken. Oh did I mention my dad is deaf in his right ear and hard of hearing in his left. After several failed attempts of gaining kidney function with medicines and diet, Daddy had to have a procedure done last year to insert a fistula into his arm which is a port to have dialysis done when the time came.

Within the last month, Daddy has had to change to a "sliding scale" for his insulin. So at least once a week, he has been going to a local doctor where they live, and having blood drawn so they can manage the correct amount of insulin his body needs. We think a lot of this doctor. He is the one who took care of Daddy when he had his 2nd heart attack until they could transfer him to a Hot Springs hospital. He is also the doctor that took care of Aunt Mildred at the end. As he was struggling to get Daddy's meds right, he told him that he "didn't have much to work with" referring to the condition of my dad's health. Which all leads up to Daddy being admitted to the hospital this weekend.

This story is much longer than I anticipated so I'll continue tomorrow. But I'll leave with a couple of my favorite photos of Daddy.

Months in Review

I just noticed how I was on a roll with my postings in October and it seems that I might have fallen of the face of the earth. So here's to catch up...

October 24 & 25 I went to Oklahoma City, OK with a friend of mine for a women's ministry training event, "Relevant and Recharged". It was one of the best events that I had been to in a while. The conferences were just what I needed and was looking for. I came home with fresh ideas and ready to get to work. The approaching holidays put a small damper on my enthusiasm, but it was definitely God's timing. Our WM Team had dwindle down to 5 ladies, and we had put the word out that we were looking for more ladies. This time of "waiting for the holidays" gave about 7 or 8 ladies time to respond to our plea for help! Hopefully when we meet again in January we will have 12 ladies present instead of just 3 that was at our last meeting! ;)

This is my friend and me with a couple of ladies that lead and organized the conference.

I can't leave out the fun my friend and I had together that weekend. We don't get to see each other very often, but a road trip to OK gave us a chance to catch up. I also saw a couple at the hotel in OKC that were from the town we lived in before. That was kind of odd. I thought I recognized this man as we pulled into the hotel driveway, but that couldn't be...really, what were the chances! But as I was walking to the door, I looked at him, he looked at me, and about the same time we said, "Don't I know you??" It was quite funny at that point! His wife was on her way back down from their room. They were there visiting one of their kids and their family. One of their grandkids was being christened that weekend. After the conference was over, we traveled back to my friend's home and I stayed overnight with her & her family before traveling home the next day. It was a great weekend.

Wendy & Me!!

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to my parents' as we always do for lunch. We opted months earlier to have Pop smoke our dinner this year instead of the traditional dinner that we normally have. We had smoked boston butt, pork ribs, brisket and all the BBQ trimmings. We had about 25 present for lunch. My cousin and his family drove up from southern AR this year to join us. The best I can remember, it's probably been over 20 years since we've had Thanksgiving together. My other cousin and her twin girls were able to join us this year also. She got a new job recently that allows her to have holidays off now. Here are some pictures from our annual "photo op".

This is my husband, two girls and me.

This is my parents, brother, sister, and me with our families.

This is our whole gang (minus my aunt who was taking the picture.

These are some of my favorite candid shots.

And that was my November!