Monday, September 27, 2010

MONDAY, MONDAY ....

and a Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Cindy, Happy Birthday to me!!!  A new year begins and I am so blessed and grateful for my life!  And so we celebrated with Eli and Sharon again, only this time at the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls where by joining their birthday club (for any age) you receive a FREE lunch to include a luscious dessert, and this year the winner was yummy, yummy PEANUT BUTTER pie ...


Until next time ....

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A day with Dylan ...

well Carin called and asked if we wanted company the weekend of September 18th, of course, we always love company.  So she and Dylan arrived mid-morning Saturday for an overnight visit and fun with Grammie and Papa.  But, as always, Carin had a plan ... she wanted to introduce Dylan to "The Slab", and can we find her knee-board to take along?
     Lunch was eaten, clothes changed, pack the truck and off we go to Kingsland and "The Slab".  It was a beautiful afternoon and we expected many to take advantage of the weather, we were in luck, not crowded.  Park and unload the truck to find the perfect spot to put up our "tent" and settle in for some FUN ... please note you will not see pictures of Carin, there was something of a threat toward me!  So here we go,
Dylan on knee-board for the first time, HELP ME, HELP ME!!  Followed by, that was FUN, I want to go again!
We spent almost two hours playing in the water, Eli and Sharon joined the fun as well, and then we went our separate ways.  After a trip to Tamale King for a luscious Mexican food dinner, it was back  home to toss the football with Papa ...
Great catch Dylan!
So the evening comes to a close, it's time for a story and to bed!  Sunday morning arrives with "pancakes with holes" , otherwise known as waffles; but Dylan decides on Grammie's fried eggs instead ... that works!  A great breakfast and then it's time for a walk with Papa down to the lake ...

Who's having fun by now, Dylan is but tiring of having his picture taken, so one last picture from this weekend follows ...

     Our next adventure was painting faces on two pumpkins, I've now learned I must give more direction as Dylan painted several small faces on the pumpkin until Mommy came to the rescue.  They're cute, but Dylan tired of having his picture taken and asked "no pictures please".  We had a great time, and I'm amazed at how Dylan has grown emotionally since he joined the Ponder, Anderson, Waskevich clan.  He's come a long way in some 13 months, and we are so proud of him, Carin and Rusty.  We're looking forward already to our next visit, and the fun of Fall and Christmas Holidays!  So my friends, stay tuned, until next time ...

The plan was to ...

leave for my 45th high school class reunion on Thursday, September 2nd, arriving in Cedar Rapids on the 3rd, staying with my cousin Sharon and husband Jack for two nights, touring old haunts in Cedar Rapids, and then depart for Melisa and John's on Sunday, September 5th.  Well you know what they say about plans ....
     Talking with Melisa on Monday, August 23rd I could tell she wasn't feeling well and she'd been having minor gallbladder attacks.  John was getting ready for his annual Canadian fishing trip and she didn't want to upset his plan ... ahh, plans ... well, the gallbladder wouldn't settle down, so that evening it was off to the emergency room for Melisa and John.  Neighbor and friend Lorie and Bernie came over to watch Henry Donald.
     Melisa was admitted to the hospital that evening, John called to let us know of her situation and she'd probably have surgery on Wednesday.  Simple enough decision, we pack up early, stop the mail, advise the neighbors we're departing a week earlier than anticipated and we hit the road on Thursday, August 26th thinking we'd be there in time for Melisa to be at home.  Well the gallbladder attack turned into pancreatitis, Melisa's surgery scheduled for Wednesday would not happen until our arrival day of Saturday.
     What a drive that was, concerned about Melisa's health but knowing Henry Donald was in good hands with neighbors and relatives.  The day of her surgery was traumatic as John called us at 8:15am to say Melisa was in surgery.  Well having just had gallbladder surgery last year I assumed she'd be out in an hour and John would call around 9:45am to let us know she's in recovery.  No call at 9:45, no call at 10:00 or 10:30, wanting to call him, I didn't and finally at almost 11:30am my cell phone rang, she was out of surgery.  I'm thinking it was a three hour experience, however, finding out later that her doctor had an emergency c-section prior to her gallbladder.  Melisa was finally able to come home on Monday, August 30th.
     So, helping with Henry Donald beginning on that Sunday became the biggest part of our trip in addition to helping with cooking, laundry, Waldo and Misty, oh and the cat!  Melisa wasn't allowed to lift anything over 15 pounds and Henry was now tipping the scale at just over 15 pounds ... so bending from the knees always and praying my back would hold, Henry and I really bonded over the next two weeks ... everything from diaper changes, bottle making, feeding, until Melisa was feeling well enough to assist.  It was emotionally difficult for her in the beginning, but soon we established a routine I would carry Henry to the changing table and she'd dress him or change the diaper.  After a few days she was able to hold him for his bottles; she was able to pump her breast milk and then John or I would make 1/2 formula, 1/2 breast milk bottles until her supply returned.
     We had a great time helping with Henry, and feel so fortunate we could pull up stakes in Texas and head out to help, this was one of our longest trips North ... 16 days ... and here are two of my favorite pictures of Henry, he found his toes, was trying to roll over, and will soon be sitting up on his own ... enjoy ...

Handsome Henry, about 3-1/2 months old.

Well maybe one day soon this hat will fit me better!
As I always end my friends, until next time ....

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Going to play catch-up, not "ketchup" ...

     Okay, I haven't blogged in a while, a long while and I guess maybe as per Eli I've spent too much wasted time on FB.  Anyway, I plan to add two new posts this week, but you'll have to wait until Wednesday before I can begin ... TMI, so I'll spare you the details.
     I have changed my background to my favorite time of the year, now if I can only remember how to change all of my font colors on the headings things would look so much nicer, so, until next time ....