Last Day of 2009

2009 has been a challenging year, but I've been dramatically reminded to thank God for our blessings! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Had a wonderful 2 days of family fun at our house! Too tired to write much, so will just post a few pics for tonight.....

12-22-09

Getting ready for lots of company at our house after a very busy November/December, and looking forward to being with family! Another post-op checkup for Danny this afternoon, neurology checkup soon, pulmonary checkup for me, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Gong Gong and Pop Pop are headed south to San Antonio for a few days. Mom and I had lunch and window shopped at NorthPark Mall on Saturday, which was so much fun. We took photos by the Anthropologie window, shown above. The line at the cash registers (I guess that's an obsolete term?) was probably 20 people deep! It was so nostalgic, having taken Kevin and Danny to see the same Santa Claus there for so many years. His beard used to be strawberry-blonde, but now it's completely white, and he looks like a true Santa Claus! The minute we walked into the mall, we saw a "mall walker", which reminded me of Papa. The only other "Christmasy" thing we've had time to do is drive around town looking at lights one evening. Andrew has been so helpful with everything, even putting ornaments on the tree when I was sick. Kevin and Rachel will drive up on Christmas day; his company is moving offices this week, and he is excited about getting his own office with a window. Danny is making progress with his arm, rotator cuff injuries and post concussive syndrome. He is even playing his guitars, making Jimi Hendrix proud.

Wed 12/16

Sorry to anyone whose call I haven't returned.. It's just a little crazy around here, trying to work (busy time at the photography studio!), rest & recuperate, Christmas shop (thank goodness for online shopping!), wrap presents, etc. Not sending Christmas cards this year, which I love to do, just no time. Trying to count blessings, focus on the important stuff, and not sweat the small stuff, which is hard for me since I tend to sweat the small stuff, the medium stuff, the big stuff... Hopefully the new year will bring a little more time to keep in touch with everyone...

Monday 12-14-09

Word of advice... don't tempt fate by saying something stupid like we did in November... "we still have a little money left in our medical spending account since we've hardly been sick at all this year!" Now that Danny's on the mend, I had a little excitement of my own on Friday. My left arm had been hurting and I had some sharp chest pains, so when I came home from work on Friday and mentioned it to Andrew, he immediately called 911 and within minutes we had a livingroom full of firemen, taking my vital signs, hooking me up for an EKG, etc, with my blood pressure at 168/104...trip to the hospital in an ambulance...5 failed attempts at starting an IV... several tests and a CT scan later... I have pleurisy and pneumonial bacteria. Nothing major, just need to take an antibiotic and take it easy a few days. So, we needed a little FUN around here... Kevin & Rachel came up to go to the Cowboy game at the new stadium... Rachel's boss gave them 2 amazing tickets as her end-of-year bonus. Danny is trying to play his guitar again, which is somewhat painful, but he is working on stretching his wrist and fingers.

Who did it?

Who took the amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and condensed it into what seems like 3 days?!?

Update 12-9-09

Surgeon says Danny's range of motion in his wrist is better than he expected, and he may regain 90% of it, and not even miss the other 10%. He is really proud of Danny for not using the narcotic pain reliever for more than a couple days right after the surgery; said most people have to use it for that much pain. He's still taking a non-narcotic prescription pain reliever and anti-inflammatory, but can start trying to taper off, and should be off it in a week. He has some pain in his right shoulder area and also in his left elbow, that the surgeon said would hopefully just subside within a few weeks. He removed Danny's outer layer of stitches on both sides of his arm, and said he could start showering without trying to keep it dry as he's been doing. He won't be able to drive until he's off the pain medication, so that will probably be incentive for him to taper off and quit sooner. Danny thinks he's still having memory issues - his example was that he had to look at the calendar 3 times today to remember what day it was. I hope that's mostly a matter of just being so off his normal schedule AND being on the pain meds, which do make you drowsy and can make you dizzy, too. I haven't noticed his being forgetful. The neurosurgeon had told us to come back ONLY if he was still experiencing memory problems in a couple of weeks.

Update 12-7-09

Danny's still in pain most of the time, but his dizziness and headaches have subsided. He goes to the surgeon for a followup checkup tomorrow afternoon.

Slowing Down

Danny is recovering slowly but surely. Thankfully, he thinks his 2 new 6" long incisions will make for impressive scars and possible "chick magnets." When he is not in pain, his sense of humor is still intact, which is a blessing. This whole incident has left me a bit shell-shocked. My normal rushing-around-trying-to-make-the-holidays-perfect has been replaced with nothing-is-more-important-than-sitting-on-the-sofa-giving-Danny-a-foot-massage-to-ease-his-pain. As tough as this has been, it has also been a time to thank God for the blessings... his injuries could have been so much worse. So I am trying to not stress over the things that really do not matter in the grand scheme of things - the fact that I won't have time or money to buy just the right gifts for everyone this year, the fact that my house isn't decorated for Christmas, my oven is broken, my carpet needs cleaning, etc. Danny has always liked falling asleep on the livingroom sofa; it's in the center of the house, so trying to let a sleeping person stay asleep, it's hard to do the dishes and laundry and generally get stuff done. So, here I sit at the computer as Danny sleeps and my sink is full of dirty dishes. "Chilling" is not something I do very well, but I'm just having to learn to do it...

update on Danny 12-01-09

Danny had surgery on his 2 broken bones in his left arm today, and is home asleep. The surgeon inserted 2 metal plates and screws in his arm. The surgeon also discovered that Danny had partially dislocated his left wrist. He may always have stiffness and some loss of motion moving forward and backward. He should regain rotational movement. He will have to work at stretching his fingers to regain full motion. Thankfully he has no cast, since there are metal plates in his arm, so maybe he can regain finger strength by playing the guitar that he so loves to play, one of these days. Andrew and I will take turns working half days while he's recuperating. I'm sure that Danny will love hearing from friends and family in a few days when he's awake a little more and not in so much pain. Thanks for your love and support. Danny's cell is 214-864-1000 - a "hello text" would be great!

Update on Danny 11-30-09

Danny will have surgery tomorrow morning to repair the 2 broken bones in his left forearm - 2 plates & screws will be inserted through 2 incisions. We spent all day today either at doctors' offices or the pharmacy. The neurologist says he has postconcussive syndrome - symptoms include headaches, dizzyness, fatigue, occasional blurred vision, nausea, etc., which can last from weeks to months. He has been asleep probably 80% of the time since last Wednesday. The neurologist cleared him to go under general anesthesia for his surgery in the morning. Thank you for your love and support! I'm sure Danny would love to hear from you later in the week...

Danny's crash

Danny crashed on his dirt bike during practice in Fort Worth on Wed...ambulance to JPS Hospital in FW... concussion, 2 broken bones in left forearm...CT scans.... 5 grown men trying to hold Danny down while they tried to "set" the broken bones before casting...another CT scan... all 3 of us overnight at hospital...vital signs and blood drawn every couple of hours...asking questions to determine his memory/cognitive abilities...morphine...next night - 2am MRI to make sure his tiny hemorrhage hadn't worsened...futile calls to Blue Cross Blue Shield...decision made to postpone arm surgery until early this week...discharged from hospital Friday...trying to manage pain without using highly addictive pain killers... lots and lots of sleeping... little appetite...sitting on a lawnchair in the shower to get cleaned up...a very long, very scary Thanksgiving weekend. SO thankful his injuries weren't even worse. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers and calls!

November!

How can it possibly be November already?! I wanted to say how proud I am of Danny. He was in the first race of the new TORO series, had a great hole shot start, and was riding well when another racer had a bad crash on a downhill part of the track that made him nearly invisible to approaching racers. Danny stopped his race to go help him and to flag down approaching racers to keep them from hitting the downed rider. Gong Gong and Pop Pop just returned from a trip to Arkansas & Oklahoma to see the autumn color. Papa C will be getting a Mustang this weekend to begin rebuilding. Kevin & Rachel went to a Halloween party dressed as "Where's Waldo?" and "A 70's Chick".

Beautiful Morning Light

The light this morning was surreal and beautiful. The western sky was filled with strange dark heavy clouds, and the eastern sky was bright and sunny, after many days of rain. The resulting light was amazing. This photo is SOOC (straight out of camera), with no Photoshop adjustments. Sure was hard to put the camera away and go inside to work at 8:30 this morning!

Fall is Here!

It is pure bliss to finally experience temps in the 50s after a long, hot summer!!! Mom and I shopped at Watters Edge in Allen on Saturday, and Mom wished she had worn her winter gloves. What a lovely shopping area! Even has a Sample House, a shop that I could spend hours in, and a Swoozie's, Charming Charlie's, Chico's, Cheesecake Factory... Made a huge pot of taco soup, and watch the UT football game last night. Today was the Vinson family reunion, so got to catch up with everyone. Listened to the Cowboys on the radio on the way home -- it's a good thing they found a way to win this one, or Coach Wade might have been updating his resume. Anyway, it's wonderful to have autumn weather!!!

Good Intentions

I really do have good intentions to finish editing my NYC photos, and posting some more, but my allergies called me to take a short (?) nap today, so I still have more to work on. My niece Shannon and I had lunch together at Cafe Express at the Shops at Legacy today, and had fun chatting. I had the most delicious spinach & penne pasta salad with lemon olive oil dressing; I might have to attempt to make it at home. It was only in the 60s today, hallelujah; the season to make homemade soups. Off to bed...

TMS

Last Sat. at Texas Motor Speedway's "Laps for Charity" event was so much fun! Andrew, James, Maridelle and Missy drove Papa C's 1969 pace car Camaro 3 laps around TMS, Shannon and Kelley drove Shannon's Mustang, and Jeremy and Mike drove Jeremy's Mustang. Papa C built the Camaro from scratch, starting many years ago with nothing but a rusted car body (whatever that thing is called!) Everyone came over after for sandwiches and cherry cheesecake. A fun night!

New York Family Visit

A few pics of my cousin Joseph & Denise's adorable children, Sean & Jake, and my Aunt Lynn, in NY. They invited us over to their beautiful house, for a delicious dinner during our visit. It really brought back memories of Kevin & Danny at that age! More NY photos, as I find time to post...

Austin Race

Danny enjoyed a great race weekend in Austin, earning a 2nd & 3rd place finish, and Kawasaki contingency $. Kevin & Rachel joined Andrew & Danny at the race, while Mom stayed home, sick. It was so much fun that Kevin & Rachel plan to drive up on Sunday for another one. Pop Pop is feeling better, and resting at home. The antibiotics he's had to take for the infection and pneumonia seem to have helped his back pain. Papa C will be driving his vintage Camaro pace car in the laps-for-charity event at TX Motor Speedway tomorrow evening. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Quick Post

Trying to catch up after a week on vacation and a bad cold. Had a GREAT time in NY!!! Pop Pop is in the hospital recuperating from pneumonia and a bacterial infection. Aunt Lynn and Missy fly back to NY today; wish I could have seen Missy while she was here. More soon...

NYC!!

Leaving soon for 6 days with Mom in NYC!!!

Happy Labor Day

Thanks to Shannon for lending me her zoom lens for my NYC trip next week, I also borrowed a tripod & head from Arlington Camera, while I was there finalizing Steph's homecoming mum, and headed to Grapevine Springs Park in Coppell this morning at sunrise. First stop... McDonalds iced coffee, no sugar. Pretty sure I was the first human in the park this morning. I eventually spotted another hawk - there must be quite a few of them calling the park home. I have *SO* much to learn about my camera, but had fun experimenting for about an hour. Headed to Wagon Wheel Park before going home to laundry/chores. Andrew took another bike ride - he's gotten back into a regular exercise routine - I need to follow his lead! Looking forward to 5 days in NYC with Mom! Cousin Donna will pick us up at Laguardia, Mom will head to Long Island with Aunt Lynn while I visit Donna, Jenn, Thomas, Uncle Allen & Aunt Gloria, Glenn & Lynn over the weekend. Spending 2 days/1 night in Manhattan, the remainder on Long Island at Aunt Lynn & Uncle George's. Pop Pop organized a pool tournament at their apartment complex, Danny & Danielle went to a Cross Canadian Ragweed/Robert Earle Keene concert at the Fort Worth stockyards, Kevin & Rachel went to a UT tailgating party and played sand volleyball. Sounds like a fun & relaxing long weekend for everyone!

TGIF

We are going out to dinner for Gong Gong and my birthdays tomorrow night, and Kevin & Rachel are driving up for the weekend! GG & PP are so busy at their new place that we are lucky to get an evening of their time tomorrow! Danny is racing in Oklahoma this weekend; hopefully that "cold front" will kick in. Mr. Fix-it has been busy installing a new ceiling fan to replace the one that broke in the guest room, helping a friend with his son's dirt bike, it's always something! I am so lucky to be married to such a wonderfully handy man. And a handsome one, too.

Weekend at Barbara's

I'm too sleepy to write more than a line or two, but had a WONDERFUL weekend with my dear friend, Barbara, and her husband Gary, in East Texas! It felt like a fun time at a bed & breakfast, with good friends and a few friendly pets, too.

Rain!

We're finally getting a little more rain this morning! Quick updates - Andrew is planning to ride his bike for some fun & exercise this weekend while I visit Barbara in East TX. Danny moves into his Denton apartment on Sunday. The Cowboys play tonight in the new stadium! Murr C & I went to see Julie & Julia on Tuesday night - it's a fun chick flick. Gong Gong & Pop Pop are having fun at Franklin Place. She emailed this morning that they had dinner last night there with Bill Mercer and his wife; he was the sports broadcaster who called lots of baseball games, and they loved talking baseball with him. Okay, off to work!

Happy Birthday Danny!

Danny is 19!!!! When I asked what kind of birthday cake he wanted me to make, he said "can you fix ribs instead?" That's my Danny! He didn't inherit my sweet tooth, but he loves to eat everything else. So, I grilled pork ribs, shrimp and sauteed scallops, with asparagus and corn, and he was happy. Fruit tarts with a candles on top were his "birthday cake". Danielle gave him a gift card to the shooting range, which he loved! He also received the favorite gift of a 19-year-old - cash. Hope you have a great 19th year, Danny - you are a blessing!

Wed 7/29 Handsome Husband & Horses!

Took a break from chores to go photograph horses (and my very handsome husband!) in Grapevine after work. While we were there, Danny texted us that Troy Aikman was eating dinner where he and Danielle were... Andrew said "how come he can afford to eat dinner where Troy Aikman is eating?", and I suggested maybe it was a Wing Stop, that T.A. does commercials for, which made him feel better. After all, we had just "dined" at Steak n' Shake for $7 total!) Gong Gong & Pop Pop are moved into their apartment, their air conditioning is finally working, and they are enjoying their new home! Murr C & Papa C have been socializing again - going to breakfast and visiting friends. Danny will be 19 on Friday.. one more year and we will have to quit saying we have a teenager and start saying we have two grown children... ouch. Guess I'd better go do those chores now...

Thursday

Just a quick post... we spent a nice "birthday" with Papa C this weekend... Gong Gong & Pop Pop moved into their new apartment yesterday, and I've been helping unpack, set up the computer, etc. We're having a wonderful break from temps over 100 degrees! The company that Kevin works for moved into new offices this week. Happy Birthday, Kelley (she is 21 today)!

Friday

Feeling better after having a 24-hour bug of some kind that Danny shared with me! Getting ready to paint the dining room. It will finally be a real dining room! First, it was a wide open play place for Kevin and Danny. When Kevin was a toddler, we would put the baby gates on the doors in the dining room, and when Andrew got home from work, he would lay on the floor relaxing in that room while Kevin played all around him and "told" him, in his toddler words, about his day, while I cooked dinner. Later, it became "the computer room" with a big desk. At some point, we "inherited" the big mahogony bar from Gong Gong and Pop Pop; they had purchased it at an antiques auction, and when they moved to Kerrville, they didn't have the space for it, so we added it to our "dining room/computer room". When Danny moved to his college dorm, we moved the desk and computer into his old room (yes, now the computer can be viewed in complete privacy, without "MOM" walking by to check what is being viewed!). Now that Gong Gong and Pop Pop are downsizing to a retirement community apartment, we have inherited their dining room furniture, so we will finally have a REAL dining room! I'm looking forward to having family holiday dinners there!

Wed 7/15

Gong Gong and Pop Pop are back home, with lots to do to get ready for their July 22nd move! We will really miss their house, but we have many happy family memories to cherish. Tomorrow is our 26th anniversary! Papa C and Murr C are doing well, back at home, surrounded by friends.

Tuesday 7/14

Wonderful news!!! Papa C & Murr C are *HOME*! Missy stayed with them last night, and Andrew is going down this morning to help. 21 days in the hospital is too long to be away from home!

Monday morning update

Great news... Papa C made tremendous improvement over the weekend, even walking all the way around the hospital floor, with no oxygen and no walker! They are hoping to be discharged today, and Missy will go home with them to get them settled. Yesterday, we picked up diningroom furniture at Gong Gong and Pop Pop's - Andrew, Kevin and Danny carried a table, 6 chairs, and a breakfront in this horrible heat. Gotta run, Danny needs the computer...

Friday update

Papa C had a much better day yesterday! He walked, with help and oxygen, all the way around the 3rd floor of the hospital 3 times, had a better appetite and felt better. We are hopeful that he will be discharged from the hospital either today or Monday. Today marks Kevin & Rachel's 2-year dating anniversary! This Sunday, we plan to move Mom's diningroom furniture from Granbury to our house, since the movers will be there the following weekend. Gong Gong and Pop Pop went to Ruidosa Downs yesterday (horse racing). I am so ready for a sleep-in-late (like 7:30!) morning, but there's way too much on the to-do list. Have a good weekend!

Wed 11pm update

Plans have changed again... Papa C's blood level was too low, potassium level low, so doctors want to keep him in the hospital at least another day. His breathing seemed better tonight, and he walked about 200 feet, with a walker, oxygen, and a nurse on both sides. Days and nights are really starting to all blur together, and boredom is creeping in. Murr C hopes they will allow him to use a wheelchair so that he can venture further from his room. Tonight a cool breeze had blown in, so Murr C and I stood on the 3rd floor patio, wishing Papa C could experience it, too. One of the nurses with a good sense of humor had written on the whiteboard in Aggie maroon color "This color beats burnt orange!", so I crossed it out and left the message "Hook 'em Horns!" The night nurse tonight seemed so compassionate; I think her name was Linda. I swear there have been about 50 nurses!

Wed. update

Papa C is supposed to be discharged from the hospital today, and as of last night, he and Murr C are planning to come stay with us for a few days before going back home to Cedar Creek Lake. Running late for work, more later...

Tuesday update 7/7/09

We have not visited yet today, but Murr C reports that Papa C had 500ml drained from his right lung. The doctors are still talking about discharging him from the hospital within a day or two. He had several visitors yesterday, including Gary Webb, who is always an entertaining visitor, and Charlie Deckert and his girlfriend, in addition to family. Will post more tonight or in the morning, after our visit.

Update Mon. 6pm

Papa C's heart went back into atrial fib (irregular heartbeat) last night. He continues to have labored breathing, probably from a combination of the diaphragm nerve damage which occurred during surgery, the fluid on his lungs, and possibly low blood count. His wonderful sense of humor is still intact, and he always has a daily smile when we visit. Today marks 2 weeks in the hospital. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Update Sun. 7:50am

First, let me exclaim that we got a little RAIN this morning :) This is a really joyous event when you don't have an automatic sprinkler system, it's 100 degrees HOT, and your lawn is constantly thirsty. We visited Papa C at the hospital yesterday, and he looked really good. He was able to take a shower, with assistance, without using his oxygen! After draining 500ml from one lung and 700ml from the other, his breathing is so much better. His heart rate is regular, and blood pressure is normal. He has a huge mystery bruise on one leg, and a little swelling, but they're monitoring that. They use an extremely sophisticated medical device, called a Sharpie, to draw circles around the bruise, to determine whether it is getting larger or smaller. Always Mr. Sociable, Papa C was envious of our July 4th getting-together-with-friends plans for last night. Murr C has gotten some rest and feels good. Tomorrow will be the two-week-anniversary of when Papa C arrived at Baylor Heart Hospital. Hopefully he will be discharged early this week.

Update Sat. 3:30am

As of last night, fluid was drained off of Papa C's lung, and he is breathing much better. Looking forward to visiting him in a few hours..! Spent a nice day with Gong Gong, helping her downsize for their upcoming move on July 22nd. They are excited about moving into a new retirement community apartment, which has about 1700 sq. ft, and is right off of Geo. Bush tollway in Plano. It will be so nice to have them closer. Andrew and I watched fireworks in Coppell last night, and took lots of photos.

Friday morning update

8am Friday Papa C's doctors decided it would be best to send him from the hospital in Athens, back to the Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, at about 3am (via ambulance). He has some fluid on his right lung. His heart is still in regular rhythm, which is great. Murr C and Andrew were sent home (Cedar Creek) to get some much-needed rest.

Thursday update.... a very long day

Papa C, Murr C and Andrew have had one wild day and night. Found out this morning that the doctors had decided to discharge Papa C TODAY. Murr C & Papa C decided they wanted to be in their own house, so Andrew met them at the hospital, helped pack the car, and then followed them down to their house at Cedar Creek Lake. They were supposed to receive a delivery of an oxygen tank when they arrived. The delivery didn't show up, and Papa C was feeling out of breath, so they called an ambulance, and followed behind it to a hospital in Athens, about 45 mins. away. As of an hour ago, they were waiting in the emergency room for a CT scan, to be sure all is okay, but his breathing was back to normal, with the oxygen there. Poor Murr C is exhausted, Andrew is too, and they're still waiting to see if Papa C will be kept overnight in the hospital. I'll be leaving early to go help Gong Gong and Pop Pop pack up some of the belongings that they won't be moving to the retirement community apartment in Plano.

Update on Papa C 7/1/09

Papa C had his cardioversion procedure today, since he was back in atrial flutter again. They told us they would do it around noon, and of course he couldn't eat anything before hand. They (doctor and anesthetist) finally came in at 5:10pm to start the 20 minute procedure. The atrial flutter was corrected, and what was a 140 beat-heart-rate last night was back down in the mid-80's tonight. His breathing was much less labored, and his appetite was great, considering he hadn't eaten all day. When we left tonight at 9pm, the night nurse GUESSED he won't be discharged for a couple more days, so they can observe his heart rate and be sure it remains in regular rhythm.

Update

A lot going on... today is Rachel's 21st birthday - Happy Birthday!!! The test on Papa C's diaphragm shows there was some kind of nerve damage during surgery, which is contributing to his shortness of breath. It must heal on its own, and will be a long process, according to the doctors. Also, x-rays show some white matter in one lung, which they don't think is pneumonia, but possibly a contributor to his breathing problems. His heart is in atrial flutter; doctors plan to do another cardioversion today at noon. Plans were to try to go through the night last night without using the bi-pap (sp?) breathing machine. Plans are still uncertain, but Papa C may be released from the hospital in a day or two, and will probably come stay at our house until he is strong enough to return home to Cedar Creek Lake. In other news, Gong Gong and Pop Pop's house sold and they are now making a decision about moving to a retirement community in either Plano or Bedford! After having their house on the market a year or two ago and not getting a nibble, they put it on the market, went to Ruidoso, New Mexico to get out of the Dallas heat for a month, and had an immediate offer. We were planning to go look at RV parks on Friday, because Papa C and Murr C offered to let Danny use their travel trailer when he goes back to school in the fall, so we're looking into that possibility. Enough news for today?

Rachel's 21st birthday barbeque

Had a lovely time at Rachel's Mom's - the family gathered for Rachel's 21st birthday (July 1st). Her cousin Katie and uncle Jesse also have the same birthdays! The family was so warm and welcoming. Kevin manned the grill in Carol's back yard, and the food was great. Amazingly, I had bought Rachel a summer sweater a couple weeks ago at J. Crew, and she had just bought the identical sweater yesterday. She got a really pretty beach towel, new cupcake charm for her charm bracelet, summer sandals, etc. It was a really fun time! And... Papa C made great improvement today! He was feeling better, walked a little, changed from a full oxygen mask to a less cumbersome oxygen tube, and was not disoriented. Danny paid him a visit this afternoon, too.

Saturday update

Papa C is still requiring oxygen, so doctors plan to test his diaphragm on Monday for a possible problem. A family member is in the hospital with him 24/7, to help when he is disoriented or agitated, and trying to remove his equipment and oxygen mask. Missy explains that he is experiencing "sundowners", a not-uncommon phenomenon with older patients, who experience disorientation after the sun goes down. He doesn't remember that he is in a hospital, and wants to remove the equipment and go home. Missy brought some "tools" from Home Depot - an assortment of nuts and bolts and things for him to fidget with to try to keep him from fiddling with his own tubes and medical equipment. Andrew really liked the day nurse he had today, who had him up and walking this morning.

Friday Update

Papa C. is still at Baylor Heart Hospital, Plano, and is making progress. Wednesday was a rough day, but he is doing better now, and we are all so relieved. As of right now, we don't know when he will be going home, but considering it's about 150 degrees outside (!), he may not be in too much of a hurry to leave his beautiful room there, even if he would like to get disconnected from the 50 wires and multiple machines he's harnessed to. Rachel's Mom is throwing her a 21st Birthday barbeque on Sunday, so depending on Papa C's situation, we hope to go to Georgetown to celebrate. Kevin and Rachel longboarded to Chipotle, and also down the apartment parking garage ramps - fun! Once a Mom, always a Mom, I asked him "are y'all wearing helmets?" Ugh! Gong Gong & Pop Pop made it to Ruidoso, where I am sure they are enjoying the cooler weather and scenery. (No new photos this week, too busy!)

Tuesday 6/23

Papa C is doing well. His wonderful sense of humor was back tonight, his color looked good, and he was not in too much pain. He seems to have great nurses. His meal choices read like a TGI Friday's menu! We told him the Longhorns would win one for him tonight, and it's 5-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning, so looking good. GG & PP leave tomorrow for a month in Ruidoso. Back to watch UT beat LSU to tie up the college world series..

Update on Papa C

Papa C's cardiac ablation procedure was completed this morning at Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, and Papa will be staying there four days. That is one beautiful hospital, his room is nice, and the staff is wonderful. If you asked Papa C, having to go without his coffee this morning was probably the hardest part! Papa C, you're in our prayers, and we wish you a speedy recovery! Sure wish those Longhorns could've pulled off a victory over LSU tonight for you, but they'll get 'em tomorrow night. Went to see Emily Elbert in concert at the Unity Church in Arlington Sat. night - she is such a delightful talented lady!

Summer's here...

It's supposed to be 100 degrees this weekend, and it sure felt that HOT last weekend at the race! Papa C came out to the track on Saturday with a couple of friends, and they almost melted in the heat. Here are a couple of photos of Papa C's friend Jack's two beautiful grandchildren, who were oblivious to the temperature outside.

3rd night in a row...

After 2 exciting nights, I was settling in for a normal one last night, when Kevin calls and says "there's a tornado heading for us." I turned on the weather radar map online, and sure enough, one of those RED hook-echo formations those meteorologists are always talking about, smack dab over my first-born's apartment. Not much a mom can do but sit there and watch that red blob as it slowly drifts on by, waiting for a phone call from the stairwell of their apartment complex, "everything's fine now." Tonight's getting ready for a race, followed by two days at the race track... we're not young enough for all of this excitement...

A couple of exciting evenings

See photos above.... no, Danny is NOT one of the two riders safely traveling on 2 wheels on the dirt, he's the OTHER one in the photo...This was in the late evening, and into the night. Having a new SLR camera is a little like having a dirt bike, there's always a list of "wanna haves" Just in case Shannon reads my blog, she'll know just what I mean. I "wanna get" a tripod and a zoom lens for getting really good racing photos. These shots were from Tuesday night at the practice track. LAST night was another exciting night... we stood on the porch and watched an amazing storm blow through, cracking trees in half and blowing leaves and limbs all over the street. Our yard was spared, but others on our street weren't as lucky. We should have been inside, huddled under a mattress, but it was JUST SO COOL to watch the dark clouds zooming past and swirling around, and believe it or not, I stood there thinking, "I've raised my kids, I can stand here and take my chances and watch this if I want to." I think I slept about an hour total last night; there was rain, lightening and thunder ALL night long and into mid-morning.

Back to work to relax...

We worked hard this weekend, painting the back of the house (finally done!), replacing a large shrub/small tree that had died, cleaning, etc. Again, Papa C's cardiac ablation is scheduled for June 23rd, and he'll be in the hospital about 4 days (Medical City, Dallas). Danny rode at Village Creek and did ALL of the jumps out there for the first time. He likes his job at RPM Cycles, even if he does have to do all the errands that nobody else wants to do! His schedule is perfect for a teenager: M-TH 12-6 and 10-6 on Saturdays, unless it's a race weekend (only 2 left before summer break). Kevin and Rachel met some people at their apartment who work at Dell, and they've been playing water volleyball and grilling at the pool. Ahh, beats the heck out of painting the back of the house :) I've been experimenting with spot metering with my camera at sunset, to get silhouetted foreground images, like the pond image, above. Pop Pop has been playing in senior pool tournaments in Richardson, and enjoying that alot. I hear that Kelley and her new puppy, Gunner, are doing well! Hope everyone has a good week!

UT baseball

UT won the longest college baseball game ever played last night, against Boston College, to advance in the NCAA tournament. The 25-inning game lasted 7 hours and 3 minutes! Andrew and I listened to most of the game online, but finally went to bed in the bottom of the 20th inning. UT won the college baseball championship the first summer that Kevin attended UT, in 2005. He and Rachel went to Friday night's game. For anyone really interested in baseball, skip down to the bottom of this post for an excerpt from TexasSports.com. Danny got a part-time summer job at RPM Cycle, in Carrollton, and is so excited! He starts tomorrow. I met Missy and Shannon yesterday for a fun lunch at Cheesecake Factory (the lemon-raspberry cheesecake was unbelievable). I reluctantly returned the zoom lens I had borrowed from Shannon (she had to pry it out of my hands). So, today, is "paint the back of the house day" (ugh!) If you're wondering why this post is so long, it's because I'm stalling! Andrew is off riding his bike, so he is stalling, too! From Texassports.com: "The evening was highlighted by the relief performance of Austin Wood. The Longhorns left-hander entered the game with one out and a runner on second base in the seventh inning and proceeded to pitch 12.1 innings before yielding a hit. For the game, Wood pitched 13.0 scoreless innings, scattering two hits and four walks while striking out a career-high 14. He logged 169 pitches on the evening."

Graduation!!!

We had so much fun celebrating with Kevin as he graduated on Friday from the University of Texas at Austin! Wow, those 4 years seemed to fly by! We're so proud of his hard work and determination. Thank you to everyone in the family who made it down to Round Rock to help celebrate, and to all who sent well wishes. Love you all.

Happy Mother's Day Two

Today we spent a late Mother's Day with Murr C and Papa C, and had a nice, relaxing day together. Shannon lent me her zoom lens (for graduation in Austin next weekend), and my boss lent me one of his tripods, so I took photos of everything in their yard with the new toys. Andrew cooked stuffed jalapenos as an appetizer, filled with bits of steak and cream cheese, and we grilled lunch for Murr C. Danny raced his first pro class race today, in Davis, Oklahoma, and got a 4th place finish, even after getting stuck in the mud a couple times.

Rainy Day... Finally Updating...

Barbara and I are cursed! This is about the 4th time that a visit has been postponed, this time because of pouring rain all the way between here and East TX (will try again June 5th, for a crop at her church and overnight stay at their new house in Gilmer). Kevin and Danny finished their college finals.. even 25 years later, I can remember that feeling of relief! I remember studying with Andrew and Mike for a political science final we all had. That was the only course that the three of us had together. Most of their courses had titles like "Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines"! Kevin is officially graduating from UT next weekend!!!!! Hook 'em Horns! Can't wait to see the fireworks under the UT tower. Just read that the UT Co-op on Guadelupe is opening a store in Dallas, across from North Park mall, this summer. Danny is headed to Oklahoma this weekend to race. He's driving the van, pulling the trailer and going with a friend. I'm sure it feels like a very exciting road trip, now that school's out. Okay, off to Photoshop a little...and maybe take a rainy day nap.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Gong Gong & Murr C! We all love you very much!

Kevin found a job!

Congrats, Kevin, for accepting a great job offer today. We know you'll knock their socks off! Just a couple more weeks of studying, then your nights will be free to enjoy some "leisure time" - do you remember what that is??? We're so proud of your hard work! OOXX

Miscellaneous, Random Stuff

Enough already with the rain, and the upper respiratory crud going around (highly recommend Mucinex-D)... Kevin picked all 8 first-round NBA playoff teams correctly, including a couple of upsets (see link to his Lone Star Sports blog). Can the Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets? ... I saw a clip somewhere of Kevin James' hilarious 2003 comedy DVD, "Sweat the Small Stuff" so thought I'd order the DVD, but it's over $100! Maybe I'm out of touch, but over $100... REALLY?! ...Danny is racing this weekend at a new track, in Archer City. Years ago, Mom and I went there to check out Larry McMurty's bookstores (Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books), and as we exited a store, I saw Larry McMurty walking across the street, and ran after him like a teenager chasing down the Jonas Brothers, to get his autograph on a book I'd brought on the slim chance that we would see him... Looking forward to spending the weekend with Mom in Granbury for Mother's Day!

Kelley's Menagerie

Kelley gave me permission to show off her menagerie.... Hank and Barbie, and her puppy, Gunner. I believe she has to wait until May 8 to "take custody of" Gunner, but Hank the duck hangs out full time at Kelley's home, and Kelly is babysitting Barbie the chicken for a friend. Looks like lots of fun to me! Now I need some updated photos of Dolly and Sophie, especially now that Dolly is sporting a Mohawk!

93 Degrees

Even a 93 degree HOT day feels great after being sick and indoors for several days. Poor Jim Riddles was our high tech online Dell guru yesterday, answering emails about Kevin's dying laptop: "Isn't there a way to coax a laptop into surviving just a few more weeks until graduation?!" Sounds like Papa C made a spectacular recovery after his heart cardioversion - by going out for a ride on his motorcycle with friends! Andrew had a stressful but successful long week of testing at work. Hang in there, Kevin, Danny, Rachel, Danielle, Kelley and anyone else who might be counting down to the end of the semester! A few folks have emailed that they aren't able to add a comment to my posts, and being new to this blogging thing, I don't have the answer :( Gong Gong and Pop Pop are traveling in Louisiana and then on to Houston, and I hope they're having a good time. I swore I wasn't going to get hooked on American Idol this season, but it happened again. Chris has really grown on me, but Adam is so amazingly talented. Aunt Jackie is leaving on a week-long cruise with her Mom and sister - bon voyage and drink a pina colada for me! I hope Kelley will let us know when she's ready to show off her new residence, and Shannon will let me know when she's ready to go on a photo shoot, because that would be a lot more fun than the spring cleaning I have planned for this weekend. One more thing; I was looking back on some of the photos I've posted and realized that the layout I did with Mom and me was one of the first photos I posted, before I figured out how to size photos. Mom, I messed up and can't make it any larger, so I'm posting a larger photo of just you, looking beautiful. Good night.

Papa C - Monday evening

I'm so happy to report that Papa C made it through the cardioversion with no problems, and his heartbeat is now back to normal. Knowing Murr C and Papa C, they will be back to square dancing by Saturday! We send our love!!!

Papa C

I will post as soon as I hear from Andrew about Papa C's cardioversion procedure this afternoon. Andrew and Missy are at the hospital. It's my turn for the virus that's been going around, and it's no fun at all. Spent all day in bed yesterday, same today. Andrew is finally getting better, but still coughing a lot and not 100%. Danny just texted that he might be getting sick, too :( Today is the six-month anniversary of Danny & Danielle's dating! Again, keep Papa C and Murr C in your prayers.

Family Stuff...

Enjoyed a wonderful Easter buffet at Pecan Plantation, thanks to the generosity of "Gong Gong" & "Pop Pop"! I'll post some Easter photos in the next few days. Stephanie is turning into the most beautiful young lady, and Cheston and Matthew are handsome and adventurous... we spent some time in the back yard waiting for Cheston's homemade ziploc bag explosive to detonate, and also cracked some confetti Easter eggs on each other's heads! We missed Andrew (still sick, but finally went to the doctor today, and is on a Z-pack), Kevin (who had a fun day at Rachel's uncle's house, and tried eating lamb for the first time), and Danny (who raced in tons of mud, and got a great "hole shot" - first racer to the first turn after the start). I'm sorry to miss Stephanie and Matthew's school orchestra concert tonight, and hope it goes well! I'll be feeding chicken noodle soup to Uncle Andrew, but we'll be thinkin' of you! I ordered Kevin's graduation invitations today- sounds like graduation will be so much fun - the UT band playing "The Eyes of Texas", fireworks at the UT tower.... save the date - May 23rd! I hear that Kelley is renting a house near Tarleton, Mike & Missy helped build a dog run in the back yard for the arrival of a new puppy (Kelley's long-awaited-dream-come-true). Shannon has been taking some gorgeous photos at the arboretum - see samples below. She and I now have the exact same model camera....hmmm, I wonder who I could borrow a telephoto lens from....We'll be taking Danny & Danielle out for her birthday dinner this week. She and Danny sent cell phone photos of the two of them petting a baby tiger last Friday. Rachel also sent photos the same day of Dolly in her new mohawk "hairdo" - I sent a suggestion that they get her a black leather spiked collar to go with the mohawk, and she sent another photo right back with her wearing one! Papa C will be having a procedure done on Monday to "shock" his heart back into a regular rhythm; it is called cardioversion. It is day surgery. He won’t feel anything, will be under sedation. They hope it will shock his heart back into regular rhythm. When I talked to Murr C and Papa C on Friday, they were headed to a car club meeting on Saturday. Their social life is twice as active as ours have ever been! Happy 25th wedding anniversary to Mike & Margo, who are headed to New York City on Friday to celebrate. I guess that's enough for today. We send our love to everyone!

Quick Hello

Oh, to be back in East TX photographing azaleas instead of going to work this morning! We're in for a stormy Easter weekend; lots of indoor Easter egg hunts this year. I sure miss putting together Easter baskets; Andrew insists that 22 and 18-year old guys do not want Easter baskets! Oops, out of time, off to work...

Weekend Retreat

Enjoyed a wonderful weekend retreat in beautiful East Texas. Met my friend Barbara at Crossroads Country Cottage for a scrapbooking/laughing/eating/photo-taking/staying up late/wine-drinking/catching up weekend. Barbara is a truly great friend, and has been such a blessing in my life. I met many fun and talented ladies- Donna, Diane, Pauline, Dee, Cindy... - thanks for a great weekend! What a wonderful way to celebrate family, catch up with friends, be creative, and let someone else do the cooking & cleaning! Andrew worked in the yard while I was gone, and did all the dirt bike tinkering he could stand for one weekend. When's the next retreat???

Really Random...

Get well, Gong Gong and Pop Pop, we love you! Looking forward to Easter with you.
Totally random thoughts.... Enjoyed "Ain't No Sunshine" on AI tonight, might have to download that! Enjoying my Photoshop obsession, but need to start studying my camera manual, too. Hope to go on a photo shoot one of these days with Shannon. Edamame with sea salt? mmmmm, so good. Six weeks until Kevin's graduation... hook 'em! Thanks, Bob, for taking cap & gown photos this weekend. Danny bought flowers for Danielle with his race winnings! Taking our neighbors to dinner tomorrow before they move :( My wonderful, generous Andrew plans to paint the back of the house while I am at a retreat this weekend....what a guy! Praying tonight that my friend Ruby, in Phoenix, and her family, find the right path for them. Good night.

Weekend with Friends & Family

Pop Pop should be released from the hospital today - great news! Looking forward to a weekend with Mike & Margo, Kevin & Rachel, Danny, Kaleen & Brent.

Update on Pop Pop

Call me for an update on Pop Pop. Test results were good, and he will be treated with medicine, and probably not surgery. He will hopefully be released from the hospital today. Good news!

Emily Elbert's new CD

Go check out a wonderful talent from Coppell, Emily Elbert, who is releasing her second CD this summer. She's at Berklee School of Music in Boston, and is an amazing talent with a huge heart: http://www.emilyelbert.com/New_Album.html

Update on Pop Pop

A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Aunt Lynn! Pop Pop's exploratory procedure was inconclusive today, so he will have a special type of 'scope' done tomorrow or Wednesday. He is resting more comfortably now, and says that all the doctors and nurses are treating him well. He asked GG to bring the laptop to the hospital so he can play "Hearts", so he must be feeling better! Andrew was chosen as "juror #3" today, for what he hopes is a short trial in downtown Dallas. Rachel participated as a paralegal in her first jury trial today, in Georgetown, sitting at the lawyers' table. She and Kevin have both contracted "March Madness", BOTH selecting 13 correct out of the 16 "sweet sixteen" college basketball teams (not all the same guesses, though). Shannon shared some beautiful photos that she took at the Arboretum (see below). I am still staying up until midnight every night, doing homework for the advanced Photoshop class I'm taking online, which I am loving! Danny's race this week is in Morgan, the town in which we have family reunions every October. Sorry this has been random and rambling... I'm so sleepy... (it's 11:35pm, even thought this post says it's only 9:21 -still have lots to learn about this blog thing) Good-night.

Get well, Pop Pop

Pop Pop is having an exploratory procedure done tomorrow to determine why he has a stomach blockage, so we will all say a prayer for a speedy recovery! In typical Pop Pop style, he has negotiated with the doctors to be bumped up to first in line for the morning! :) Papa C is also on a special heart monitor and new medication, so our thoughts are with him, as well.

Spring Break Trip

Thanks, Gong Gong and Pop Pop, for a wonderful 3-day trip to Houston! I'll post more as soon as I can get caught up, but my goal is to add 2 photos a day from the trip.

Shopping the Woodlands

Looking forward to a long weekend with Mom and my niece, Stephanie, in Houston this weekend. Weather doesn’t sound cooperative, but it would take a tornado to slow my niece down on a shopping trip! Forever 21, Delia’s, Hollister’s… here we come.

Photoshop class

One of my Christmas gifts was an online Advanced Photoshop class (Jessica Sprague's "Digi in Deep"), which just started yesterday. Yes, I had to wait two whole months, but I always love having something to look forward to on my calendar. Another exciting thing on my calendar is a trip to NYC with Mom in September! Can't wait, Mom! Anyway, this is a month-long online class I'm taking! So... in addition to letting my housecleaning and cooking slide a little this month, I probably won't add new posts here very often. There are people taking this online class from around the world; we all introduced ourselves in a special "forum" just for the students. There are students in Germany, Australia, Bahrain, Sweden... very fun! I think 85 people have introduced themselves, and about 4 or 5 of us are from TX (nobody else close, though). Okay, I'm off to do my Photoshop homework...

Baby News!

Baby news! Jim and Sara Riddles are expecting a baby in September! Jim is Andrew's younger cousin, who lives in Round Rock, TX. (Jim's wonderful Mom, Sue, and Andrew's Dad were siblings.) Jim and Sara had the most beautiful wedding at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, in 2002. They are as nice as they are handsome/beautiful, and we are so excited about their wonderful news!
Danny had a fun and successful race weekend, and Kevin is finally headache-free after having two wisdom teeth removed!
Pop Pop and Gong Gong travelled to San Antonio today, plan to take Kevin and Rachel to dinner on Friday, then travel to Rockport. After listening to President Obama, we are headed off to bed.... good night.

H A P P Y 2 2 n d B I R T H D A Y, K E V I N !!!!!!!

We love you!!! I hope you have a wonderful day, (with not too much homework), and lots of fun. You are amazing, and you have given us 22 years of joy, pride, love, and fun. We send all our love today, on your birthday...
Love,
Mom & Dad
OOXX

Kevin's girlfriend Rachel, and her Mom, Carol, gave us the prettiest teal, black & white damask-print toiletry set for Christmas (photos, right). I decided to try to match the existing framed prints in our guest bathroom with photos that I changed to B&W and mounted on a B&W damask print which I downloaded. Thanks, Rachel and Carol!
Mom (Gong Gong) got a new Dell laptop, and printer/scanner today. Now the rest of the family needs to upgrade to try to keep up with her!
This shouldn't rank very high on a list of sad things, I know, but it was still sad to me to see our neighborhood Chili's Too close today. Somewhere, I have a photo of Kevin and Danny on the first day the restaurant opened, both with disdainful teenage expressions showing their displeasure over my taking their picture in such a public place. Goodbye Chili's chips & salsa & margaritas!
Poor Danny has the flu, and after confirming it at his hometown doctor, filling a Tamiflu prescription, and spending 24 hours at home being pampered by Mom, he hightailed it back to UNT to continue his recovery in the company of friends and his beautiful nurse, Danielle!
Kevin turns 22 on the 22nd, had two wisdom teeth out last week (he was very brave and opted for only local anesthesia), and will celebrate a late Valentine's Day/birthday this weekend, with HIS beautiful girlfriend, Rachel!

First Post, First Blog

The first blog I can remember ever reading was CheckonSteve.blogspot.com, which is written by one of our clients at Freeman Photography Studio in Coppell, TX, where I've worked for almost 8 years. Tyra Damm is a writer at the Dallas Morning News, and the blog is the inspirational story of her husband Steve, who was diagnosed about a year ago with a brain tumor, and their amazing family, friends, and medical community that have rallied around them. It includes daily accounts of his treatments, listings of support provided by friends and family, photos, etc. (Note, in case you go read their blog: Since their last name is Damm, they call his tumor the "Damm spot".)

I'm not sure WHY I've started a blog... I am home with a stomach bug/flu today, and am doing this on a whim, and because I'd like to learn how to blog, though I WOULD like to provide links to other blogs and websites that I've enjoyed and would like to share: photography, Photoshop, digital scrapbooking, inspirational, humorous, etc. I've added a couple, and will keep adding more. I'd like to occasionally post photos and scrapbook layouts. If there's anything going on in the family that needs to be shared, I'll try to post it.

I don't know about all of the etiquette of blogs, so if I step on anyone's toes, sorry, and feel free to correct me!

For now.... I hope that IF anyone actually reads this (Hi Mom!), that they have a nice Monday!