School Parties & Our Little Smarties...

The boys had their Halloween parade and Fall parties yesterday and today we had parent/teacher conferences. Noah dressed up as some scary skeleton guy, Lucas ended up being a black belt in karate and Eli dressed up as his hero...Scott. He wore Scott's shirt, sweater, borrowed one of his canes, wore a LD ribbon and made himself a guitar and keyboard too. When we go trick or treating we will finish up the outfit with a bald head and a gotee/beard. He was very excited to be his twin and he looked pretty cute. The boys had a good time at their parties.

Eli's class had a "wrap the mummy" game and yummy goody bags. When I left they were getting ready to judge the best wrapped mummy.

Noah's class was watching The Great Pumpkin (Charlie Brown) when I stopped in and Noah told me about their classroom ghost that had appeared that day. Every time the door opened, a ceiling tile would lift....and it was freaking them out...

When I got to Lucas' class, they were eating their goodies...so I snacked with him and chatted with one of his friends. He told me all about their Wrap the Mummy game and we discussed his costume. First he wanted to be a Ninja, then Scott, then someone from Star Wars, then a punk rocker but finally settled on a Black Belt...he quizzed me on if I could tell who he was...and I passed! Yeah!

Now for the part that really matters...their grades. Scott and I met with 2 of the 3 teachers and we are very pleased with their progress. We all discussed some of the issues that revolve around a 2 household family, different environments and schedules as well as expectations and goals. Lucas is doing a great job this year and Mrs. A. went on and on about how great he is. He is respectful, helpful and responsible. There were 3 little things that our little man needed to work on but she was very pleased with him. It seems that this year when his friends talk to him...he responds..because in his words he "doesn't want to be rude"...and sometimes he does not participate by answering questions because he is distracted. When I asked him what he was doing when the teacher was talking, he told us that he was a curious boy and he was checking out the room. We talked about that with Mrs. A. and she laughed...if you have ever seen a 1st grade room you can imagine...so many colors, posters, textures, letters, words and ideas plastered all over the wall...but Lucas is doing a great job in 1st grade and is excelling in all of his subjects! Yeah! Great job Lucas!!

Our next stop was with Mrs. L and she could not stop gushing over Eli...I know, I know...all parents think that their kids are the cutest, smartest, kindest, whateverest but if Mrs. L thinks it too it MUST be true! :) She said Eli was smart, sweet, kind, considerate and that she just loved him. She bragged on his math skills, spelling skills and his reading skills. Then she told us that he was doing so well she was recommending him for the gifted program (IEP) and that she was working on the paperwork this week. He will have an opportunity to leave the school once a week to work on special math and science projects and she was so excited for him. He will also be starting some pre-algebra work and she is going to push him harder on his reading and vocabulary. She was so proud of him and is excited about the IEP opportunity. Scott and I were so proud!!!! and excited for Eli. We have really worked with him on math skills since he was 4 and are so glad that he has an early love for it. His mom really challenged the boys last summer with their reading and Eli showed great progress from the end of 3rd grade. So, we are so proud of him and can't wait to see what he learns! After our meeting we called Eli to tell him about IEP because his teacher did not tell him when he had been there earlier. He was in shock! And so excited...and he had lots of questions so I am sure that Monday will be an exciting day for him as he learns about this new adventure. I will update you on Noah after our meeting with Mr. P. We have "talked" to his teacher this year thru email and know that he has A's & B's and is really being challenged academically. We are so proud of all the boys and their hard work!!

Mercy Medical Haven

Welcome to Mercy Medical Haven...that is what I am calling our home....now that we are a medical facility that is...Hmmm...that actually sounds like a soap opera....hmmm....that might work too...we do have a lot of drama around here...maybe I can make some extra money...hmmm....we could be the next reality tv family. haha *Autumn does tell us all the time how awesome our family is, that we aren't like other families and that we should be on tv....hmmm

Anyway, Mom officially left the hospital/rehab on Oct. 15th and moved into our little home. She was one day shy of 6 months in the hospital! She found out that she was leaving on Tuesday the 13th so we quickly moved things around in our home and got her room ready. Scott offered his music room (the only real bedroom on the main floor) and Eli has been planning on giving up his bed for the past 3 months. I had to remove a love seat from the music room, put it in my room, after I removed a trunk from my room and put it in Autumn's room, before I could borrow and take down Autumn's wooden bed frame and then use Eli's comfy mattress and then give Eli, Autumn's mattress...which leaves Autumn "camping out" on a comfy air mattress for now....it was quite a game of musical furniture. I normally LOVE to rearrange my furniture but this was quite a work out!! After a few "homey" touches her room was ready for her arrival...

*Side Note- The night before we were to pick up mom was the night the Mountaineer's transmission DIED at a busy intersection...and mom's van wouldn't work either but we were hoping to get it working and drive illegally without tags to pick her up...cause we had no other choice and I left a plea for someone to bail us out of jail in the likelihood that we were going to be arrested that next day... * So, the morning of her pick up we could not get the van to start. The battery died the first week of July and we thought we could get it started after a few hours of charging the battery but no such luck. I called a new friend of mine and she let us borrow her car to pick up mom, go to Ottawa and run our errands...so it worked out fine and WE DID NOT get arrested. Yeah! That's always a great day when you don't get arrested...not that I have EVER been arrested but I have been Frisked!!....but that's another story for another day...Man...I get sidetracked very easily!

So, we picked up Mom and took her to the coffeehouse so she could finally see her little boy. She stayed there for about 45 minutes while we ran to the courthouse to get the tags to the van. Then we took her to her house to get some winter clothes, coats and art projects including clay and her hand building tools. We rushed back home and got her safely inside and then over to pick the boys up from school. I kept our grandma secret all the way home and when we got there, the oxygen man was there too and the boys wanted to know who he was and what he was doing there...so I had Lucas open the door to the music room...and when he saw the bed he craned his neck around the corner and with a huge grin asked, " Is Grandma in there??" I said YES and he went running in there. All the boys were excited and Eli couldn't stop smiling. They had no idea she was coming and they were so excited to finally have her here. I couldn't have asked for more love and devotion. We stayed close to home that weekend and surprised Autumn the next day. The kids are great with helping Grandma get to the dining room table and getting her water or anything else she needs. Lucas really practices self control and gentleness when he is helping Grandma and it is really sweet to watch. It has been a good transition and after 2 weeks we are getting into our routine.

All the nurses and staff came to give mom hugs before she left. One thing I have noticed as we have traveled from place to place, is that she has made a lasting, loving impression on each of the medical staff. They love her and that has been a real blessing for us.

She gets meds twice a day, a daily weigh in, multiple BP checks thru out the day and a nightly pic line flush. I flush the line with saline and heparin and help her get ready in the morning and at night. She had a good first few days but then really struggled with nausea, loss of appetite, headaches and ear aches and it seems to change every day. One of her main heart meds causes headaches, nausea and loss of appetite so it seems there isn't very much we can do to help. She spends a lot of time laying in bed and has been struggling with her breathing. She is still on oxygen and we have a semi-portable tank as well as a big unit that we are keeping in our living room. It will reach to the bathroom, front room, dining room and her bedroom now. I got her a walker with wheels/seat and she uses that to get back and forth to the downstairs bathroom. Every day has been a struggle but I am happy she is here and she is happy to be here too. Today was an ok day for her and she spent quite a bit of time folding some clothes for me. We had a great visit from our Ottawa pastor last night and from our good friends Betty (Aunt Tweety), Jamie and Miles when she first came home. Overall it has been a good move and we are praying for her every day. We are praying that the fluid will not come back in the amount it did before and that we can keep her stable and increase her strength in preparation for that second surgery. Thank you for praying for her and us as we settle in to our new life. We are looking forward to some great family time this holiday season.

We had a good visit with Betty, Jamie and her son Miles. He is so adorable! The boys loved playing with him and Noah begged us for a baby sister...I tried to keep Miles while Jamie flew back home but no such luck...I can't wait till she moves back to KC...P.S. Did you notice Lucas' MOHAWK??? We are going to dye it green and spike it up with glue type gel. He is so excited!

I feel It's Gonna Rain Like This For Days...(Creed)

I have really been enjoying a new Creed song called Rain. It's not a depressing, why me type of song but just a straight forward song...and the chorus really has me hooked...

I feel it's gonna rain like this for days. So let it rain down and wash everything away.
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine. With every tomorrow comes another life...

I have had WAY too many people tell me that when it rains, it pours...and it just happens to be pouring at our house....but I have really been thinking on our circumstances lately. Does it seem like something is always happening in our life? Yes. But I don't believe this is a byproduct of anything we have done necessarily it is just a byproduct of a decaying body (or bodies) that affects every aspect of our life. With each new "event" I adjust my life to accommodate the new situation. I don't always do this with a gracious spirit or an obedient attitude but eventually I come around. I have come to embrace my role as a caregiver first to Scott and now to my mom and have found endless blessings that have come from those opportunities. It took a long time for Scott to be ok with me taking care of him but as his wife it is my honor to love and cherish him thru selfless acts of kindness and caregiving. Don't get me wrong, I don't always perform every act with a fantastic attitude and I don't always feel like doing the things that need to be done but I do believe that in my caregiving I am being obedient to God. There is usually a stigma that is attached to a chronic illness and with that we have experienced mean spirited comments and baseless ridicule stemming from a lack of compassion and ignorance. I must tell you that it is an ugly combination that showed us their true spirit and that spirit does not come from a happy place.

There are so many things to be thankful for that I am focusing on them instead of the frustrating parts of our life. I am so very thankful for the perfect job that opened up last Oct. and for the opportunity to find the perfect home in between kids and the clinic. I am super thankful that my boss lets me work from home at any time day or night so I can work around the health schedules of both Scott and mom. I am thankful that I live in KC and was only 30 minutes away from OMC where mom was for 6 months. I can't imagine how it would have worked if I had been in Ottawa still. I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend the last 190 days with my mother because I did not get to see her very much before the surgery. I didn't even see her this much when I lived with her! I am thankful for those ministering times in the hospital when I had to assist with her basic needs and she humbled herself and allowed me to help. I am thankful that my mom's brain is sharp and she is mentally here and strong. I am very thankful that God did not allow her to die after 6 months in the hospital....like my dad....because as strong as I have become I don't think I was quite ready for that yet. I am thankful that HE is teaching me patience in every moment of my life. You never really have the opportunity to see how selfish you are (or can be) unless selflessness is required of you on a regular basis. I found that it is easy to fake it for a little while, and put on that facade just to get by, but when the trials are daily it really brings you to your knees where you get an attitude adjustment. And I am thankful that God has shown me mercy and million times over when my attitude has just been crummy. I am thankful that we had the room for my mom to move in with us while she is waiting for open heart #2. I get to see her all day long, help her, take care of her and love on her. If this turns out to be our last few months together, what a blessing it will have been. Not every one gets an opportunity like this to bond with their parent while they are ill. I am thankful that my children love their grandma and wanted her to live with us before the opportunity presented itself. There is so much to be thankful for!

So, when I listen to "Rain" it is not a song of despair but a song of washing and renewing...Let it rain...and I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine....but I know that even if it doesn't the SON has already provided for me...With every tomorrow comes another life...and His mercies are new each morning...

Cider Fest, Dracula & Bob

Nothing says fall like fresh cider donuts and hot apple cider...especially when you combine that with the annual Cider Fest, Live Music, Dracula Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch and a scarecrow named Bob. We started the fun on friday night by raking up enough leaves to fill up some of Lucas' favorite clothes for our first ever scare crow. We tried out Noah's head and Eli's head on the body but ultimately decided to go with the red soccer ball. We did give him cool cowboy boots and a favorite straw hat before we knighted him....BOB...

Isn't the photo with Noah's head disturbing??!!

Since we went when the weather was still perfect for playing outside, we really got to enjoy the entire Cider Fest. There were hundreds (maybe over a thousand?) people at the Louisburg Cider Mill but that just made it more exciting! :) We started with our cider donuts and apple cider, listened to bluegrass and toured the red barn where they make the cider. The cider mill was awesome! The process is amazing and the kids loved it...they were in awe of the whole process. We made our way to the Dracula Corn Maze and got lost in the middle. They had signs posted every few turns but someone had taken off all the "you are here" stickers so after awhile I took over and randomly called out Left/Right and somehow we made it to the end. I got some great shots in the corn field and took them at extreme angles to help set the scary mood. It was fun. We let the kids play in the hay maze and then picked out pumpkins.

I really like "photo journalistic" type photography and I love it when I capture real life moments. Lucas picked out a pumpkin that was too heavy for him to hold for very long. He was really struggling in this next photo so I am loving his face. (not loving the fact that he was struggling though...just to clarify) I missed his smile and caught his "oompf" face...and I caught Sissy in a day dream I think...but it's one of my favorites from the day. There wasn't much in the way of vegetation out in the pumpkin patch so I had to drop the camera to the ground to get this shot.

Autumn went home on Sunday but the boys had a chance to decorate their pumpkins that night. When the kids were really little we used to draw on the pumpkins but then slowly graduated to carving...but last year we got these silly (mr. potato head type) faces and the kids really like creating their own look. This year, Noah wins the prize for most excessive....and weird...and gross...

Remember my attempt at scary? Here is another one I like. I know what you're thinking...put a shrub in front of the kids and suddenly its creepy....oohh, aahh.....spooky.....

And last but not least we have Bob....with his Pumpkin pals...

We Are THAT Family...

Ok, so I may have mentioned this before but it came up again in a conversation with my friend Kristi. We are that family...you know, that family that seems to always have something going on that makes you forget your own problems and remember how blessed you are? Yeah...we still are that family. Ready to feel better about your life?

Today was a day from Hell... I have been working on finishing up tax papers and forms and I have hit every roadblock you can imagine. Bear with me....I bought Quickbooks in 2004 for the coffeehouse and I have used the same version ever since. Like every good computer owner I backed up my computer on an external hard drive. 2 months ago my MAC started freaking out, freezing, crashing and not working and I tried to get everything off of my computer before it completely died and I thought I had. I thought I needed a new hard drive. I had just installed the latest OS and I thought that was the problem. After installing a new hard drive and installing the OS again, my computer would not come back on. I had tried to move all of my files over to Scott's mac but guess what? His also died that same week!! It needed a new power supply. I got 99% of the stuff of my computer but wasnt sure what I was missing. After a little trip to Microcenter, we discovered it was bad Ram (which was my second guess) and after they were replaced the mac worked great. When I was reinstalling all of my software I realized that I no longer had Quickbooks because it was a download.... But, never fear...I had a back up on my external hard drive....until I tried to find the power cord to that...and picked the wrong one and FRIED my back up....with the only copy of the software that I had....so never fear, I just decided to call the company to get another copy, but since its been 5 years they no longer support that version but they will let me upgrade to the latest version for $179. Last night I tried to work around that and upload my files to their free online version...but it wouldnt install mac files...so I call my dear mother in law and send her the file and walk her thru the process to install my files...and after an hour we get to a part where it tells us that my files are from a version that is not compatible with the online mac version....so I call them today, tell my sob story to 3 people and my phone drops the signal twice...and I might have said some bad words....and finally get a 3rd person who tells me I could use their free online trial and upload my files...oh, but the mac version isnt available online yet...and oh, I could buy the new 2010 version but oh wait, it won't be ready until 10/19/09....so there is nothing they can do for me.... So, it was a very frustrating day and I have no fix for my tax problem....which leads me to my afternoon...still with me???

In the past 2 months we have dealt with near death days with mom, horrible days with Scott's health and car problems. I have driven Scott to treatment 2 times a day, 7 days a week since may and have visited my mom almost every day at the hospital in the last 6 months. Our mountaineer was having big problems and we finally had the radiator replaced and then the manifold replaced....and within 2 days of a new manifold, our transmission started acting up... We have been babying it for the past month and thought we were doing ok until I left to go get Scott from his afternoon treatment. I made it 15 minutes from our house when it decided it didn't want to move anymore...I was stuck on State Line, at rush hour, at 435...not a great place to stop. I was horrified!!! Nothing I could do would make that dumb truck move...so I put on my hazards and texted Scott and 10 other people. Scott was stranded at the clinic while I was stranded on the busy road. After about 10 minutes of nervously watching the cars swerve at the last minute before rear ending me I called 911 and asked for an officer. He showed up about 10 minutes after that to protect me...There was one stupid idiot who honked at me as I was stuck...because OBVIOUSLY I just decided that Stateline and 435 was a great place to hang out...it couldn't have been because my CAR WASN'T WORKING YOU MORON!!! The 911 dispatcher called a tow truck for me (*side note- if you call a truck on your own it will save you 20-30 bucks!!! Don't have the police call them for you!!!) Anyway, did I mention it was raining? I called Kristi to have her come meet me at Midas, which was a block away...in the mean time some patients took pity on Scott and after getting my text, picked him up and brought him to Midas....but then Midas said they couldn't fix our problem and so we had the truck towed to a transmission shop....while Kristy picked up Scott and followed close behind...and the tow cost $77 bucks!!! And dear Kristi drove us back home...I called mom while stuck on State Line but she was eating dinner in the dining hall so I asked the nurse to pass on my message...I wouldn't make it there tonight...and we were supposed to finish up her paperwork and pack tonight because I am supposed to pick her up tomorrow morning...

Ok, are you starting to feel better about your day yet? Now, we have my moms van that we could use but guess what? The battery is dead and the tags are expired. I tried to renew the tags online but it was past the due date and they wouldn't let me do it and I haven't had a free moment to drive to Ottawa to get it done...oh, and it needs a new exhaust because it sounds like 50 Harley's (which Scott loves)...so this is where my plan starts to get a little desperate...I don't have a ride for Scott planned for the morning so we are going to jump start the van in the morning, with a charger my dear boss let me borrow 5 months ago for the fiat (now thats a whole other story!) and then we are going to drive an illegal van all the way to Ottawa, hoping we don't get pulled over, so we can get tags, run to my moms house to get some winter clothes and then back to the rehab place before 11. If I get arrested tomorrow, will someone please come bail us out and let the nice people read my blog so they can see that I can't possibly be making this story up?....And I haven't even mentioned Scott's heart attack scare last week and the FBI scare the week before...or any of the other health things that make up our exciting life....but that is the life we have right now and I am really trying to make the best of it...it could be worse...we could be that family across the street who called 911 tonight...and had 4 cop cars, 1 emt truck, 1 fire truck and 1 ambulance come invade their home only to leave empty handed after a few hours...and to then have the coroner and funeral home minivan come pick up your loved one...it could always be worse and we could be that family...I for one am glad that His Mercies Are New Every Morning...and that it didn't happen this morning when I was wearing my PJ's, half asleep with my parka on...cause I just can't handle another day like today...

I Can't Sleep...

I have not felt very good this week and I stayed in bed longer than usual today...so I am wide awake at 1:30 this morning, though my body is tired. My brain will not turn off because I have so many things to do but every one else is sleeping! I don't think they would appreciate my phone calls so early in the morning so I am going to distract myself by sharing some of my favorite pics with you...I just (RE)found them tonight and couldn't resist. Some of these brought tears to my eyes because we had such great memories in that red house and I wish that Scott was as healthy as he was then...plus I really miss having a baby in the house....

I love this one...messy table and all... E-4, L-2, N-6

I always wonder what they were talking about...

Oh, yes...he was...

This is the BEST way to taste your brothers popSICKle...

Serious musicians...I just can't believe how little they are!!

I love this true to life photo....crazy girl!

This was one of our last family shots before Scott went to Alaska.

Love this one...

This was his own pose...

Twins...

I love those faces!

Eli is just too precious...

Check out Noah's tattoo...although I just love his laugh...

I will leave you with this one...

I just can't say it enough... I am so thankful for my family and for my loving husband. I wouldn't be anywhere else and I have been so blessed by these babies. I am committed to them ALL in sickness and in health and I can't imagine my life without them. Thanks for reminiscing with me this morning...should I tell you that it is 2:45am now? Nope, prob. shouldn't....Good Night....

Our Cupcake Obsession....

I found a great recipe last year that has stuck with Noah and he claims it is his all time favorite meal EVER...he has been begging me to make it again so we set a date and he ended up making dinner all by himself again. It turns out that when he cooks, my job is to clean up after him....so we make a pretty good team and the kitchen is back in order by the time dinner is ready. So you're dieing to know what his favorite meal is...right? Well, it's Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Icing! It's awesome, easy and cooks quickly in the cupcake pan. This time we experimented with different kinds of "icing" by cooking carrots and using our food processor to mix, whip and cream them. Noah put green onion sprinkles on top and they were ready to serve. This time we used garlic croutons and I think that was our secret ingredient because it was better than I remember! I really enjoy our cooking time and he is getting good at knowing the basic herbs/spices that we use in most of our dishes. We have talked about kid cooking classes this summer when he is home more so we will see if that works out. I'm thinking he's getting a pretty good lesson here at home for FREE...

My Husband Rocks!

I have been working on a post titled "Health, Disability & Credibility" but I haven't had any precious moments to finish working out my thoughts. I have desperately needed to update you on Scott's health but my mom's health has taken priority over LD updates. But, something came up and I wanted to tell you about my amazing husband.

He has been mulling over an idea regarding Lyme Disease and podcasts for the past few weeks. He researched the topic/venue and couldn't really find any current/relevant/good podcasts on the subject so he decided to start one on his own. Last weekend he interviewed the boys and created an introduction to the Dawson family as his first podcast. The Lyme Light podcast is meant for the encouragement and enlightenment of those who suffer from Lyme Disease and their families, friends and caregivers.

His podcast website is:

http://sdawson.podbean.com/

I am so proud of Scott for putting this together because it took a lot of time, patience and talent. He was admitted to the hospital last Monday night because we thought he was having a heart attack. He had a "heart cath" done on Tuesday morning and the great news was that his heart looked great. The bad news was that he had a partially collapsed lung and those symptoms were just like a heart attack. They are not sure what caused the collapsed lung (he was sitting in a chair, asleep, finishing up IV treatment) but they gave him Nitro pills to take home because they relax the smooth muscles and will ease the pain and contractions and give him the ability to breathe again. His chest has hurt all week and it took a long time for him to be able to take a deep breath but he pushed thru his pain to get this podcast started. He has an amazing, sexy voice (that I could listen to all day) but you can hear him struggling to breath during his intro. I am proud of him for pushing thru his many unbearable moments to educate and give hope to other Lyme patients and their families. My husband is an amazing man and I have no problem telling the world that HE ROCKS! Please visit the website and subscribe to our podcast.

Going Away Party

It has been such a busy busy life lately and the last two weeks were no exception. My Aunt Norma, Aunt Betty & Uncle Ray surprised us with an overnight visit and they finally got to meet Scott. We had a nice dinner and then spent some time at the hospital together. It was so good to see my dad's sisters. I haven't seen them in years and they always keep me laughing. Aunt Betty & Uncle Ray told great stories about their honeymoon adventures and I love the way they tease and enjoy each other. It has been so good to see family from both sides and I'm thankful for those blessings.

Last tuesday (29th) was a big day for us because that is the day that Mom finally left the hospital. This last round was 62 days of her 5.5 month saga. It took forever to undo the damage that Dr. Ridiculous created in 3 short days and then as the Aunts were leaving she was hit by 2 infections that sent her back to the ICU. She bounced back pretty quickly and worked hard at walking and regaining some strength until her picc line fell out. That ended her last round of IV meds and they felt she was ready to go back to rehab. The last two days of her OMC stay were busy with activity. All of the nurses were stopping by to say their goodbyes and to buy up her pottery. The Aunts brought up two boxes of mom's pottery from the coffeehouse and she sold all but 4 pieces in those last days. At one point, she had 5 nurses in their competing for the last pieces and it was just a sweet moment for mom. On her last day I arrived at the hospital around 12:30 and could see her sitting on the edge of her bed as I walked down the hall. She had a light up tiara on her head and all the floor nurses were wearing party hats. The sweet nurses had thrown her a party to celebrate how far she had come. They were just too sweet. Mom's nurse for the day kept wiping her eyes and they were all so happy for her. As we wheeled mom down the hall about 15 nurses and aides lined the hallway, blew their noise makers and cheered for mom. It was a great send off and they all said they would see her again soon....

These photos are all from that day of freedom. I am so sorry I don't have photos of the nurses lining the hallway but I left my camera in the car with Scott. :( You can see mom's tiara from her party...isn't it cute? Her clothes were so baggy because she had lost 40+ lbs but she was ready for a good meal. I asked Eli and Lucas where we should take grandma for her first meal out and Lucas didn't hesititate at all before he recommended IHOP! He must have had pancakes on the brain? I asked Eli and he said Fazolli's (Italian food) but when I asked grandma she said Cinzetti's (Italian buffet). It is one of our favorite places so of course we agreed with her. :) Our great friend Cheryl met us there to surprise mom and then Cheryl surprised us by treating us to our lunch. Thanks Cheryl! Mom ate a good plate full of food and dessert. She had been struggling with nausea so I wasn't sure she would be able to eat but she managed. After our lunch we dropped Scott off at home, grandma got to meet Lady and then we headed to the rehab center.

Right as we got off the highway mom asked if we could go to the mall. I was shocked because mom does NOT like to go to the mall but of course I said yes. She said she wanted to buy me a nice outfit for a trip I have coming up and then she thought she should spend some of her pottery money to buy gifts for the 2 Nov. birthday boys. We had a nice hour at the mall finding gifts and talking. I wheeled her around in a wheelchair that another friend (Cheryl) lent us and she had a great 4 hours of freedom. It was a great day! Dr. Miller wants to see if he can get grandma thru the holidays and plan for her 2nd open heart surgery in January. Please be praying about her health during these next 3 months and that the leak will subside for a while. Thank you for all your prayers during this 6 month ordeal. We love you all! *I started this on the 5th but didn't get it finished until the 12th so if the time references don't make sense, that is why.