My dad: day 40

Yesterday was day 40 of my dad's hospital stay but it was a big day!! He was released from the hospital!
  He has done well over the last week. He moved out of ICU last week and into a rehab room. He is up and moving on his own. He has passed all his memory tests with flying colors and his diet is even back to normal. He will continue to need some therapy for the time being to regain his strength.

  Last weekend Jacob and his family came to see my dad and it was a wonderful time.

My dad meet Collin for the first time.

  We debated all weekend on what nursing home we were going to move him into and on Tuesday God made the choice for us, he was not able to return to his previous nursing home so he has moved in and gotten settled at The Texas State Veterans home here in Amarillo. It is really close to me and we have been very impressed with the facility. We know it will be an adjustment for him but we are just so blessed to have him healing and settled back in.
   Our family has been so blessed over the last 40 days with meals, prayers, help with our kids and encouragement. We will be forever grateful.

Dallas weekend getaway

We planned a weekend getaway to Dallas months ago when the Rangers tickets first went on sale. That was before my dad got sick and I almost cancelled it but my family really encouraged me to take a break and clear my head. I am so thankful for their support because it was a wonderful trip! 

   We arrived in Arlington Saturday afternoon and we always make the same stop for lunch at In-n-out burger. Yum!

Then we headed to our favorite Wal-Mart in all of Texas to get some new Rangers and Cowboys gear! Then off to the hotel for some rest before the game!

We had a really fun night at the ballpark, it's one of our favorite places to be!

On Sunday morning we met our friends for breakfast and then headed to the Ft Worth Zoo. 

Rick and James have been friends since they were Makayla's age and he was our best man at our wedding. Rick and his wife Tiffany are high school sweethearts just like us and they also have three kids.

It was so much fun catching up and hanging out with them. Plus, the kids had a blast!

We really had a great weekend. It was a much needed break for us and we enjoyed visiting with our friends!

My dad: day 30 in ICU

When I wrote my last post on my dad, I really didn't think that 2 weeks later we would still be in ICU but alas, here we are.

   He is still doing well medically, he has done amazing off the vent and no longer even needs oxygen support. He has also come off all IV medication and they are maintaining his blood sugars. His lab work has looked good every day. 

  He is still under ICU care because he has some dementia and has had some out of character behavior because of it. They did a CT on his brain last Monday and it did not show any new events only the precious strokes we were already aware of. In ICU they are able to give him one on one care and he even has a 24 hour beside CNA. 

   In the last few days his mind seems to have cleared a little bit and he has been walking with therapy more and more and has been able to leave his room to go

outside. He continues to work with occupational therapy and with speech therapy on swallowing and eating solid foods. 

   Some days I am discouraged and I have to remind myself that no matter how small, progress is progress. He is still alive and here with us, and right now that is all that matters. The kids have really been missing him and since they are not allowed in ICU they put my dad up to the window and let us peak in!

  Sadly, his current nursing home only holds their beds for 30 days so tomorrow I have the daunting task of moving him out of the home he has known for the last 6 years. This is devastating to us!

 Our prayer is that once he is able to move back to a nursing home, he will be able to return to his current home if they have an available bed or our plan B, is the state veterans home. James and I really like it and thankfully put my dad on the waiting list two weeks ago, just in case. 

   We continue to be blessed with prayers and so much support and for that we will be forever grateful.

Mother's Day 2014

I enjoyed my entire week of celebrating Mother's Day this year!

  On Wednesday I had my very last preschool Mother's Day Tea with James Henry. It was bittersweet knowing it was my last one, it made every poem, every song and every moment that much more special to me. 

He wanted me to take a picture of him with his Dr. Who bow-tie!

some of my treasures from the tea.....

On Saturday the kids and I went to a Mother's Memory event at our church. We did crafts together, ate together and had fun in the photo booth!

On Sunday morning the kids woke me up with breakfast in bed and several new treasures!

They also gave me 5 new dresses and a new top. Every mom, needs new clothes :)

Sunday afternoon we enjoyed seeing Peter Pan at Amarillo Little Theater. I loved my week and I am so blessed to be the mom to these three amazing human beings. Their dad is pretty special too!

We love our teachers!

Last week was Teacher Appreciation week at Makayla and Christopher's school.  I always try and do do something for them each day of the week. 

We have been blessed this year was great teachers who have enriched our kid's lives and invested so much into them. We are so grateful for Ms. Roberts and Mrs. Reneau.

Thanks to my mom for pulling kid duty so while I was on a break from the hospital with my dad I could get these done!

Thanks to my husband for going with me to the grocery store to purchase 9 gallons of tea and orange juice and 3 bags of ice to help the PTO feed the teachers breakfast and lunch all week! I know we got some strange looks!

Here is what we did this year....

Day one: Teacher's like you paint bright futures!

 Day two: Thank you for making this a smooth year!

 Day three: Thanks to you, I am one smart cookie!

 Day four: No other teacher holds a candle to you! Thanks for lighting my life!

 Day five: You are one sharp teacher!

Agape League

Christopher just performed for the second year in our church's spring children's musical. This year's play was The Agape League. They used super heroes to teach the fruit of the spirit. It was such a good play and the music was wonderful. The kids worked all semester and performed in both Sunday morning services. They did a great job!

Our handsome guy!

I am so thankful for our church and all of the pastors and volunteers that invest in our children and love God with all of their hearts.

Makayla and the AYC

Makayla just finished up her first year with the Amarillo Girl Prep Choir. She had her final concert two weeks ago and was blessed to have her nonna here from Shreveport.

 And her pawpaw Roland in attendance...

 That same weekend we attended her end of the year awards luncheon.

 She really enjoys choir and always looks forward to rehearsals every week and loves the big concerts. Her good friend Katelynn is in the choir too.

We are proud to say she was asked back next year and promoted to The Amarillo Girl Concert Choir.