Nice Moments...

Nice Moment #1:

I am very grateful for digital pictures, Facebook and text messages...most of the time. One of their biggest benefits is the ability to watch this first great grandmonster grow even though they live 8 hours away. And I am grateful Katelyn and Drew are good at taking and posting pictures or texting them to me. Such a blessing.

This last Friday, while Papa and I were gallivanting through the countryside, Katelyn and Drew were enjoying little Raelyn. She is really working at holding her head up for long periods of time. To encourage that and record it for history, they posted a series of pictures with Drew holding her in a sitting position and Katelyn taking pictures. They even took a video clip. Amazing!! This is my favorite picture from the group.

I think our little dear may have just about had it with her parents antics at this point. I mentioned to Katelyn that it was great fun to have a baby to play with. She agreed. Nissa, our daughter and Raelyn's grandmother, says this picture reminds her of a kewpie doll. I just think she is cute as all git out!!

Nice Moment #2:

I stopped at the Love's Travel Plaza to fill my car with gasoline. The Scott County firetruck was parked there. In front of it was a mother wrapped in a blanket with a little boy. I was hoping she had not been a victim of a fire and that was what she had left. Turns out this little family of three was from Dayton, Ohio. Her little guy LOVES fire trucks and she was out in the cold letting him check this one out under her watchful eye while daddy filled their car. 

The fireman was headed into Hardee's and turned and saw them. He came back and asked if the little guy wanted to see inside the fire truck. They were happy to have permission for him to walk around and touch the truck. The father returned and I asked if I could take a picture for our Sadieville Facebook page. The family and fireman agreed.

I truly don't know if the little guy was happier or the fireman was happier to have the attention of this little guy. 

Then the fireman went inside the truck and came back with a plastic fireman's helmet. He gave it to a very happy little guy. This was just one of those really precious moments. How many hard things do firemen have to do in their day. How good it must have been to share his world with a very interested and eager little boy. I was happy I was able to enjoy this moment in time. Like having those nice moments in our days.

Nice Moment #3:

This last week I was able to visit with three of the sisters in our ward (congregation). We have a program called 'Visiting Teaching' in the Church. Each of us are assigned ladies to visit and be sure they are okay. If something happened in their lives and they needed help, they would call me first and I would set up help in the form they needed. Mostly, we just get to know each other better and build wonderful friendships. 

I have been the visiting teacher for two of these ladies for years. The third was my first time visiting her. Each of the ladies has many different and varied needs. 

I find myself sometimes wondering about things in my own life. Why is this happening in my life? What in the world am I supposed to learn from it? Am I making things harder by my feelings or actions? You know, all those questions that we drill ourselves with that sometimes help and sometimes just make us feel worse. I had been in the middle of one of those times and then I spend a week visiting others. 

Each visit was 1 1/2 hours or more. Each of these ladies have trials they must bear and what they needed from me was a listening ear and an understanding heart. I could do that. And, in the process, become aware of my own questions and how insignificant some of them are and what the real answer is to some of the real pertinent questions that do have bearing on my life. It fills me with awe that the Lord can place in our lives times like this where answers are received and perspective is given that truly lifts me up. That is the tender mercy of the Lord in my life. I recognize it and am grateful for it. None of these ladies had any clue that as I came their homes I too needed answers. None of these ladies know that I found them by listening to them and their personal journey. It is just how these things work and how we sometimes receive answers to prayers and questions we have. 

Tender mercy, very tender mercy. 

Time Out With Papa

Friday Papa and I spent the day taking a nice long ride in the countryside. He picked the route and away we went. 

Along the way, as we drove down a mountain, I noticed an overlook with a car on it that looked interesting below us. I told Papa we needed to check that out. I pulled into the entry and we went down the hill on a very narrow road. Sure enough, we had to make room for that car I saw while coming down the mountain as it tried to leave the overlook and come back up to the highway. We parked in the little parking lot. However, you couldn't see over the edge from sitting in the car. The name of this place is 'Broken Leg Falls'. You will see the irony as you read this post.

I got out to go find a spot to take a picture. I thought Papa was staying in the car. I walked back along the parking lot to where railing was built and a platform for a picnic table. I looked back and saw Papa getting out of the car. My heart started to beat faster. Here's why.

Papa as a young man had absolutely no fear of heights. He could stand right on the edge of a cliff and have no qualms at all.  Today he has very poor balance. When he starts to walk he begins to lean forward and gets faster and faster until he falls unless you slow him down. This is especially true on any little decline at all. Now I saw him at the edge of the cliff trying to get a peek over the side.

I started to yell at him to be still until I got there. His pride kicks in and he is sure he is okay. I tell him if he goes over the edge I can't help him. Please stay still till I get there. No. He is not going to do that.

Now, they had a series of for of those wood beam steps going down from the parking lot to the next left of the edge near the car. To my dismay, Papa started to go down these steps. I saw disaster in our future as I continued to yell, "Please wait till I get there. Don't take any more steps." Papa continued to take steps. My heart was in my throat.

I made it to that last step just as Papa took it and really started to go forward out of his own control. I reached to get him and he fell forward. There happened to be a tree on the edge of the cliff and Papa put his hand out and the tree stopped him. I said a silent prayer thanking the good Lord for that tree growing right there. 

I told Papa to follow me and we would walk to the part of this lookout with railing for us to hold on to. Papa turned back toward the cliff where there were more steps going down that edge. No rail and they were cut into the rock. I assured Papa we were not going there. He turned and followed me to the area that was railed off. Once I got him to the rails I felt better about going ahead a bit. 

I made it to the bottom with the intent to take a quick picture and then back up the hill to him. He was headed to the bridge I was on to see what he could see. He was holding those rails on both sides and made it safely to where I was. 

Quite the adventure for us to get there. A very pretty and interesting view. Then it was time to try and make our way back to the top. This would totally exhaust Papa. He just plodded along until we got back up that hill and across the parking lot to the car. I had a Mello Yellow in the front of the car and he had some of that to get some liquid in him. Then we were off again on the highway.

Now I must insert that during this month Papa has had two heart episodes. He didn't go to the hospital but he was in enough pain he called for my support. His INR readings have vacillated between blood too thick and blood too thin, never in the acceptable range. As I left him in his apartment, he was so very happy to be in his chair and resting. But he kept thanking me for that wonderful day on the road enjoying the countryside, the blossoming trees in the spring, the lay of the land as the trees get ready to fill in with leaves and those views will then be different. He was a happy and very tired man.

When I got home that night I reflected on that possibility that he could very easily have gone over the edge. It was all too close for me. 

I called Papa the next night to be sure he had taken his 6pm medications. We talked about the joy of the drive again. Then I told him my thoughts after our visit to Broken Leg Falls. I told him I thought about the fact I could have been the reason my father was at a place where he fell over the edge of a cliff and died. I told him I was feeling very bad about that until my mind caught hold of the next thought. It was, "At least he was doing something he really enjoyed and had one more adventure." Then Papa and I laughed at that. It was okay.  We did have a good ride. 

Saw a man walking up and down in front of Wendy's with a real wooden, life-sized cross on his shoulder. He was wearing a fatigue jacket. No sign to tell us the reason he was walking. It was the beginning of Easter weekend but there was no church in sight. You never know what you will find on a drive like that. But it was beautiful and a good day for both of us.

Happy Hubby...

My hubby, Claude, has found a wide variety of interesting things to fill these retirement years.  One of them is serving on the board of the Senior Center here in Scott County.  In that capacity and also because he is the Mayor of Sadieville, he receives an invitation to help deliver "Meals on Wheels" to senior citizens each year. Last week he had that opportunity again. This is one of the three pictures I have of him providing this service. You can tell by the look on his face it is something he truly enjoys being asked to help with.

Last Friday he went to Northern Elementary School to participate in 'Career Day'. He would talk to five different groups of third to fifth grade students about being the Mayor of Sadieville. I must admit he was very nervous about this one. He wasn't quite sure how to make this interesting for them. We talked about it. He made some notes. Then we talked again Friday morning before I left for the day. I gave him all the ideas I had. Told him he should take his business cards with the Japanese translation on the back and give to the kids. They would probably enjoy that he represented Sadieville in Japan. Suggested he take a sign from when he ran for Mayor as the name 'Christensen' is a mouthful for kids. Turns out he had a great time. When he got home he told me one of the kids looked at him and asked, "Would you come to my birthday party?" He has never had a birthday party invite. Cute, very cute.

One evening we were watching television at the end of a long day. I looked over at Claude and he was intently coloring. Jake, our son, gave the family a coloring book for all of us to use over Christmas. Claude has purchased himself another coloring book. He works between the two some evenings. I sent Jake this picture and thanked him for giving his father a new hobby.

Sunday I got home about 5:30pm. Claude got home before me and had time to take a little nap. I came in and found that the Easter bunny must have come to our home!! Hmmmmm...

How happy I was that he made his appearance. At the end of that day I really appreciated that Cadbury Easter egg.

Cell Phone Madness...

I am tethered to the digital world and struggling with it a bit. It seems our lives are all held in the palm of our hand in that little cell phone. I live with my calendar which has Claude's calendar overlaid on it. I have all Papa's medical information in there to grab if needed. Facebook helps me stay connected in some small way with my life back to my childhood. I use the alarm regularly to get myself going in the morning. So many features that I use throughout each day of my life. But the most important is knowing that is the number Papa has programmed into his home phone and that is the one he will call first if he needs anything. So...I need to have my phone.

About a year ago we purchased new batteries for our cell phones. They were not holding a charge. That really did absolutely no good whatsoever.

My phone was three years old in January of this year. That means it is obsolete compared to today's technology. Mine is a Samsung 3 and they now have a Samsung 7 version. That is so very, very, very frustrating to me. My phone has the ability to do all I need. Just because the company needs to keep 'improving' and 'updating' means my phone gets behind where everyone else's phones are and I have to keep buying something new so mine will even function. It seems like progress to others but to me I see a downward spiral of monetary proportions and hours of frustration with a new phone because, let's face it, it never really loads our contacts and everything just like it was before. 

My phone has gotten so bad that we drove for an hour with my phone plugged into the car charger. At the end of that hour I had 20% less battery than when I plugged it into the car charger. And...the little lightning bolt was on the entire time like it was charging. 

When we were in Michigan, I plugged my charging cable into the outlet and attached my cell phone to it. The lightning bolt was there. I went to sleep. At 6am my phone is making the noise telling me my battery was at 15%. What in the world is that all about? Yep, the lightning bolt is still signaling that it is charging but it really isn't. 

I took part of one afternoon last week and went to the AT&T store to talk with them. I felt and they agreed that it is with the phone. I have four charging cables. They all work on my Kindle and they all work at various times on my cell phone. So, the option is to buy a new phone with all the new plans that they have now. Goodness. 

Claude will get a new phone at the same time I do just because it's what we do. We have to decide on a couple of things with this change. Do we get rid of our land line? Do we switch to DirectV and made the bundle price better? Which plan with DirecTV comes closest to what we currently have with Dish in terms of channels we really watch? I am weary of it all. Weary I tell you. Just plain weary.

But, I am tethered to this digital world and it is most important as I care for my father. So I'll continue to run from outlet to outlet and try to keep my phone charged while I hope and pray Papa doesn't need to make that call. Ain't life grand? Joy in the Journey people. Joy in the Journey.

Papa Update...

And someone asked, "How is Papa doing?" 
  
Wednesday, March 2nd, I took him to see Dr. Thomas, his cardiologist. Papa had had no issues and so he was given a good go ahead with the only change being to reduce the amount of one of his meds. That is always good.

Since Dr. Weckman is in the building next door, we walked to Dr. Weckman's office for his INR to be done. This time it read 1.2. It should be between 2 and 3. This meant his blood was too thick. We were asked to return in a week. 

The very next morning at 6:30am I received a call from Papa. He had experienced what he thought may have been a heart attack. It didn't last very long but felt strong like the February heart attack. How ironic it would occur the day after seeing the cardiologist. Papa was feeling better but he felt I should know. 

One week later would have been the 9th of March. That afternoon I spent at Frank Shoop getting new brakes on my car. We did not get the INR done that day. Instead I took Papa on Friday, March 11th. This time his count was 1.6. Getting better but not quite right. I was told to keep his dosage of warfarin the same and bring him back in 2 weeks. 

This is where I messed up. I put the day for the next INR at one week instead of two. We were in Dr. Weckman's office waiting to go back for the INR when I realized my error. I was a week early. However,  On March 16th while Bonnie and Shannon were hear Papa called and was sure he was having a heart attack. I rushed in to find him much better. However, as I sat beside him while he was stretched out in his recliner, I noticed that his breathing is as irregular as his heart beat. When I felt his pulse after I arrived he would have 3 or 4 very strong heartbeats and then a pause like it skipped a beat. This is the AFib. When he slept, he would breathe really deep so that his belly rose way high with the breath getting continually more shallow and then I found myself looking to be sure he was still breathing for what should have been a breath or two. Very concerning and I'll mention this when we visit Dr. Weckman next. Because of this episode I asked Justin, the RN, if they would still check the INR to be sure his blood was not too think. Justin said he would surely do that. The little test read 3.8. That means Papa's blood is now too thin. Great. Dr. Weckman said to return in one week and leave the meds like they are. Justin asked me to actually return on the 24th (Thursday) as Dr. Weckman teaches classes on the 25th (Friday). I will try to get that right...except...

Papa has his 3 month check with Dr. Weckman on Wednesday the 23rd. I'm hoping Dr. Weckman will do the next INR then so I don't have to tramp Papa around the next day to the doctor's office. We'll see. 

In the meantime Papa thinks his hearing has improved!!!  He just got a Q-tip and cleaned his ears because he heard on his television set at 100 that most hearing problems are just wax in the ear. Sunday when I got to his apartment he assured me he was hearing so much better. I grinned and told him I was happy to hear that. Well, I yelled it because the television is really loud at 100. Then I sat and crocheted while we watched television and talked. I said something to him as I bent over to pull out more yarn. He assured me he couldn't hear me. I looked up and him and said, "Then I'm just not sure your hearing is that much better." He laughed and we went on with our conversation. Trust me, a little ear wax is not his hearing issue. 

We'll just keep on doing the best that we can for Papa. Life is what it is for him at this point. I'll try again this Friday to get him out for a drive in the country. That is truly his best medicine.

I also printed the 'Essays' they have posted at lds.org. He will enjoy reading them over the next little while and they will surely give us fodder for more discussions. That is also a good thing.

Joy in the Journey...

The Relief Society birthday celebration for the Georgetown Ward was held Saturday evening. Relief Society is the women's organization at Church. Every year we celebrate it's organization on or about March 17th. This year our Relief Society Presidency did a 'shopping' theme. 

We were each given a gift bag and a 'Master in Charge' credit card. These credit cards were a play on a MasterCard with the two circles in red and orange. Except the title was 'Master in Charge'. A scripture was written at the bottom. Very cute. We had four shops for each sister to visit. At each shop they would be taught something and then given something for their shopping bag that went along with the lesson. The four topics and teachers were: Pure Beauty Salon taught by Bridgette Allen, Joy in the Journeys taught by me, The Children's Place taught by Molly Hamlin and, last but not least, New Balance taught by Kathy Alexander.

For the shop titled Joy in the Journey which I taught, I found a talk by President Thomas S. Monson titled "Finding Joy in the Journey" from 2008 and another talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks titled "Joy and Mercy" from 1991. Both were excellent resources.

I opened with a Pres. Monson quote:

     "This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not."

I also focused on the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:25 from the Book of Mormon:

     "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Elder Oaks speaks of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He quotes 2 Nephi 2:23 where it speaks of the condition Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden, “having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”  I commented about how we all think of living in a Garden of Eden as being perfect. But this really sounds hmmmmm to me. 

Then Elder Oaks quoted from Moses 5:10 - 11 in the Pearl of Great Price. He explains that after Adam and Eve understood the importance of them experiencing the fall Adam declared “because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy.” (Moses 5:10.) With inspired insight, Eve explained the purpose of life and the source of joy: “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” (Moses 5:11.) 

We talked about the importance of the Fall and the need for it in our lives. For us to understand and feel 'joy' there must be the opposite that we experience as well.  We won't feel happy all the time.

We talked about the difference between being 'happy' and having 'joy'. In the talks I referenced the phrases 'mortal joy' and 'eternal joy' are used. I really liked that way of defining happy and joy. Though we use the words interchangeably, they really are different. Happy really refers to the things that make us happy in this life. True joy is more an eternal nature type of thing. 

Elder Oaks quote states it beautifully: "Joy is more than happiness. Joy is the ultimate sensation of well-being. It comes from being complete and in harmony with our Creator and his eternal laws." 

We only had 10 minutes to cover things so this was our discussion in a nutshell. Other things were said and other quotes used but these are the important points made.

I covered the walls in the room with pictures of my journey through life, maps of places we have traveled and brochures from some of those places, and printed quotes and scriptures about 'joy'. 

My handout for their 'shopping bags' was a "Joy in the Journey" kit. I went through all the 'kits' I have received as handouts through the years and selected the items that fit having a joyful life. Each sister was given a quart Ziplock bag filled with one of each of these items. There was a card in the front with a list of the items and what it was to help them remember to have a 'joyful journey' in their life. Here is the list from the card:

‘JOY IN THE JOURNEY’ KIT

ERASER:  Everyone makes mistakes to “grow on” and that’s alright.

TOOTHPICK:  “Pick out” the good qualities of everyone – including you!

RUBBER BAND:  Be flexible, things might not always go the way you want, 

but it will work out.

SWEET & SOUR CANDY:  Accept and appreciate the differences in each of us.

PAPER CLIP:  Little things can help keep it all together.

HAPPY FACE:  Smiling not only increases your face value – it’s contagious. 

RELIEF SOCIETY LOGO:  Do something special for others as a symbol of caring.

CONFETTI:  Celebrate even the small successes.

BAND AID:  Heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's.

PENCIL:  Relax and list your blessings every day, reflect on all the positive 

things in your life.

CHEWING GUM:  Stick with it and you can accomplish anything.

MINT:  You are worth a mint and everyone needs a nice treat occasionally.

After the movement thru the four classes, everyone gathered in the cultural hall for refreshments and the closing prayer. 

It was a very nice evening. The sisters all seemed to enjoy themselves. 

Fulfilling Their Oath...

Boy Scout Oath or Promise:
     On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Saturday Claude and I went to church meetinghouse as our first stop of the day. Quinn Parret is working on his Eagle Scout requirement and we wanted to take a few pictures that Claude would try and get in the Georgetown NewsGraphic.

Quinn's Eagle Project is to collect food for the Amen House in Georgetown which helps fill some of the food needs of those in need. Quinn set up routes throughout Georgetown, prepared 1,300 bags with notes in them and requested the help of other scouts and their parents to accomplish his goal. He has created careful tracking records of every step of the process. A week ago the scouts in his troop and their parents delivered the bags with the information about their purpose and the date they would be collected. Last Saturday was the pick-up day. Again the scouts in his troop and their parents covered the routes the bags had been delivered to the week before to collect the food donations and bring them back to the church. Monday, Quinn would go down and take the food from the church and deliver it to the Amen House. 

What a great project!! How nice to do it at a time other than Christmas. Quinn is definitely fulfilling that portion of the Boy Scout Oath which says he will "help other people at all times". Great to see youth doing good things with their time and their lives. 

Pictured below are: Joseph Jenkins, Brendan Charles and Quinn Parret. Excellent job young men!!

Bloom Where You Get Yourself Planted...

So...I backed out of my driveway to go to Georgetown a couple days ago. As I turned on Eagle Bend, I noticed a bright color to the left in front of our home. Sure enough, in the ditch was this hardy little fella. 

It is trying really hard to work into Spring around here. And there are signs of it happening all around. Buds coming out on trees. The Star Magnolias in front of the apartments near Papa are laden with beautiful white blossoms. Things look a little greener. But this little guy surprised me.

This is the ditch in front of our home. We had some extra day lilies given to us by our daughter. Claude and I both love the day lilies along the sides of the road in Kentucky that just seem to have made their way into the ditches somehow. They are gorgeous in bloom. So we put those extra day lilies in the ditch in front of our home. They are nice to have but we really should have thought the weeding of them a bit better before we did the planting. 

If I had seen day lily shoots coming out of the ground I would not have been surprised. But this little guy just got there himself and burst into bloom. Hence, my surprise to find him in the place where I expect day lilies.

I just love this. It reminds be of that old saying "Bloom where you are planted!" That is always an encouraging thought to me. Make the most of your situation. Excel at whatever you are given. Sometimes you aren't quite happy with where you are planted but you can always make it a bit better. And the doing of hard things is what makes us stronger and teaches us lessons. It polishes us. I don't know what this little guy did to actually grow in the ditch. I planted no bulbs there for him. But I love that he took root and is brightening our little spot of the world.

Lessons learned from a single little flower in an interesting place.

A Landmark Lost...

You never really know who is looking at or reading your Blog. You just put the stuff out there for whatever your reason and there is sits. For me, it is a record of my life (or bits of it) that I want to be there for my family. It is a good resource for Claude each year when he writes his very amusing Christmas letter. He keeps a list through the year and the checks my Blog journal to fill out his list and remember things. So it serves the purpose for which I intended.

However, every now and then I get a glimpse into the fact that others know my Blog is out there. I have had two people authoring books find pictures I took that they wanted to use in their books. I find this amazing. I just take pictures. I might crop them but they are really just things I want to remember when I am too old to travel. I plan on pulling those pictures and travel scrapbooks out and travel again in my mind. So they contact me and say something about what they are writing and why they would like to use my picture. I verify they are legitimate and then I give permission for the use of that picture. It has always amazed me.

While we were in Guatemala I received an eMail from a man in California working on a PHD about Blogs and the people who write them. Something about extracting data and understanding, etc. My antennae went up and I just left that one until we returned to the United States. Then I researched on-line to be sure this was a legitimate deal. Sure enough. It was. It is part of a University research project. However, this time I just feel I am too busy to add another thing to respond to or worry about. That is evidenced by the length of time it takes me to get to do my little bit of Blogging. So I deleted this request. 

While Bonnie and Shannon were here I received another request. This one touched my heart. Claude and I visited Rabbit Hash, Kentucky and I posted pictures of that visit. We visited August 24th, 2015 and I posted August 27th, 2015 in a Blog post titled "Rabbit Hash, KY" (How original is that title?). This little spot on the river is a fun bit of Kentucky history. Then a while back I heard on the news where the store caught fire and burned down. I was so grateful Claude and I made it there before that happened. Then I received this eMail from a member of the board of that works to preserve Rabbit Hash and its history. It seems a candle company wants to make and sell candles to help raise funds to restore the Rabbit Hash store. They came across my picture of the store and, since it is not one used all the time, they wondered if I would give permission to use it on the candle to help raise funds for the restoration. This is a tender part of my life. I am chair for the Friends of Sadieville. We worked to raise funds to help restore the Rosenwald School in Sadieville. Now we are working to raise funds to restore the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church to be used as the Sadieville Community Center after its restoration. I assured this good man that he could use my picture. He asked if I had a watermark to put on it and said they would give me full credit. I felt like a real photographer for a just moment. Then I assured him I had no watermark and if that picture would raise money for a very worthy cause they were welcome to use it.

Here is the picture. If you see it on a candle...buy the candle and help a good cause.

There are truly lots of good things we can do with our time and our money. Learning about our history and contributing to preserving that history are very worthwhile things. That is the gospel according to Sandi!

Ms. B On Stage Again...

What do a Genie, a Camel Driver, and a Person in a Crowd all have in common? They were the parts Bailey played in the play Scheherazade at the Oldham County Schools Arts Center on Thursday and Friday, March 10th and 11th. Great Gramma Bonnie was in town so we ended our day with the Marx family and watching Bailey perform. She was magnificent! And I am not just a prejudiced Gramma. She seems so very natural on stage. Andie did her make-up at home and she looked so very grown up. Grampa Claude was aching when he saw how old she looked. After all, that is our youngest grandmonsters. 

They performed Scheherazade telling three of her tales. They were back to back in one play. This was followed by a performance of Aladdin which we all stayed and watched. Conner was in this play. His family lives behind the Marx family and Bailey and Conner are very best friends.

Here are a few pictures of our girl:

And, I got this cute one of Bonnie and Hayden having a moment while we waited for the show to begin. It was wonderful seeing them enjoy their great Gramma Bonnie. And watching her revel in her little descendants.

It was late when the play finished. It was a school day the next day and work for Michael and Andie. But we all forgot that for a bit and went to Dairy Queen for a quick (well, we thought it would be quick) treat before everyone headed for home. 

Andie and Michael got to the Dairy Queen just before we did. When we arrived they were full of people. The LDS Temple is down Hwy 22 from the Dairy Queen. They just had a youth group finish doing baptisms and their adults also thought it was a good idea to have a treat before heading home. Between the Temple group and the Arts Center group, Dairy Queen was a happenin' place in Crestwood. In addition, the one girl at the counter taking orders was at work for her first night! How great is that? The rest of the people seemed to be cooking or making ice cream treats as the orders flew. More family time while we waited. Eventually ice cream treats were enjoyed and we all parted ways till the coming Monday evening.

Loved watching Bailey perform. She gets better all the time. So happy we live close enough to enjoy these moments in the Mini's lives.

Visitors From The West...

Tuesday, March 8th, Bonnie, Claude's mom, and Shannon, his niece, arrived at Cincinnati Airport. The purpose of their visit was to drive Bonnie up to Michigan to see her first great great grandchild. She also wanted to see all of her grandkids and great grandkids that live in Kentucky and Michigan. We filled up their trip just about as full as it could be done.

After a late night arrival in Sadieville, everyone was enjoying the opportunity to sleep in on Wednesday morning. I left at 1:oopm to get my brakes fixed. I would be gone the rest of the day. Claude would load Bonnie and Shannon in the Jeep and bring them to Georgetown to have dinner with me at Panera. Then Shannon stayed with me to attend Institute that night. 

Thursday we left the house at a reasonable hour and went to Louisville. It rained on us all day long. We first took Shannon to see Churchill Downs. Then we went to Mega Caverns. This is an amazing cavern system formed when limestone was quarried from under ground. It is literally under the Louisville Zoo and the Watterson Expressway. They drive you through on a tram. We had a really fun guide. They have added several things since we were there before. Still want to go back at Christmas and see it full of lights.

We went to LaGrange to be with the Marx family for the rest of the day.  In these three pictures are Shannon, Bonnie, Bailey, Andie and Hayden. Bailey is creating a game with dominoes which will eventually be moved to the table. Hayden is introducing Pip to everyone. And the final is the Mini's enjoying their great Gramma Bonnie.

In the evening we went to see Bailey in the play at the Oldham County School Arts Center. I'll blog that separately. It was a late night returning home to Sadieville...in the rain.

Friday I went into Georgetown to be sure Papa had milk and bananas to get him through until Tuesday. I also took him for his INR. More about Papa in another Blog entry. Then I filled the car with gas and headed home. We loaded the red Buick and pointed it north. 

We taught Shannon about Butter Jesus. In Monroe, Ohio the Solid Rock Church has a pond in front of the building. Coming out of this pond was a statue of Jesus. The coloring of the statue made it look like he was carved out of butter, hence the name 'Butter Jesus'. There is a song written about him and everything. The statue was made to look like Jesus was coming out of the water with his hands up in the air like a touchdown call in football. I am not trying to disrespectful. This was a landmark and it was called this by lots of people traveling from Michigan to the southern states. June 15, 2010 lightening struck this styrofoam statute and it went down in flames. The Solid Rock Church has built a new statue that is white in color and is a full body standing at the edge of the water with his arms outstretched. It is definitely a kinder, gentler Jesus. There is a song written about the statue before the fire ever happened.  The version of the song I played for Bonnie and Shannon can be found on YouTube titled "Big Butter Jesus" and performed by Heywood Banks. It is definitely worth a listen. It is important to be sure the relatives are educated on local culture and get the best bang for their travel buck.

Our goal Friday was to meet Jake at his apartment at 5:30pm. We were there and he put his stuff in the truck and now we were five headed to Muskegon with a dinner stop on the way and another stop in Grand Haven for the obligatory two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. They were making donuts so Shannon got to see this process for the first time. Thank you Krispy Kreme.

We arrived at the Tyler home where Jake would stay for the weekend. Drew and Katelyn made sure Nissa had Raelyn so Bonnie could get her first hugs of this precious bundle. Then we headed for our hotel rooms and a nice night's rest after a long day. 

Saturday we started our day at about 9am. Katelyn and Drew brought Raelyn to our hotel room. Bonnie and Shannon joined us there. Then I left to go to the Tyler home to pick up Jake and Aubrey Anne. Then we went to pick up Paul at his apartment. Whew!! The four of us stopped at the grocery store for some bottles of water to keep everyone going until lunch time. 

We joined everyone else at the hotel room and just visited until time for lunch. Where do Claude and I always eat lunch once when in Muskegon. If you read this Blog you should be able to answer that question...The Pita Place!! It was great. Love having a really good falafel.

Back to the hotel we headed for the rest of the afternoon. This time we located by the pool. Lots of room to spread out. Bonnie gave Katelyn, Shannon, Aubrey and Paul some money to go buy an Apples to Apples game. They walked to Walmart and brought back a game and we spent the afternoon playing Apples to Apples.

Soon it was time to take Paul home so he could get ready for work. The rest of us went to the Tyler home for the evening. Nissa, Claude and I drove to Lee's Chicken to pick up something for dinner. In the meantime, Raelyn was not doing well. She was a little warm and Katelyn called the 24 hour nurse to talk with her. The nurse suggested they take her to the ER. Concern...Turns out she had a little bit of a cold and lots of air bubbles. Meds were given and our little Lady perked right up. Growing up can be very hard for a little one.

Sunday was the big day. We all dressed in our Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes and headed to Grand Haven. Claude was going to give his first great grandchild a name and blessing during Sacrament meeting. Tender moment for this great Grampa. Well, for all of us. 

We got to the part of the meeting for the blessing. I had given Shannon some paper and she and I were going to make bullet points of what was said. Then compare notes later. Drew handed Raelyn dressed in the blessing gown I made and the booties Bonnie brought. Claude went to the front and the bishopric stood with him. He started the blessing and before he finished the first part Raelyn started to wail. Not just a little cry. This tiny bundle has a set of really good lungs and she was using them to their full capacity. Claude gave her a beautiful blessing. Shannon and I took notes. Then Claude proudly turned Raelyn for the congregation to see his much loved great granddaughter before he sat down. He gave her to me and she quieted down a bit but she was just really hungry. Katelyn handed me a little disposable bottle. It only held two ounces and she gulped that right down. Then she wanted more and there was no more. Katelyn left to go to their car to get another bottle. I could tell Raelyn was about to wail again. I turned to Drew and told him I would take her out into the foyer. And, away Raelyn and I went to the foyer. 

Katelyn brought in another bottle and she took most of it. Then she unloaded everything. There was some serious noise and she filled her pants big time. Then she really needed a change. The diaper bag was in the chapel with Drew. Back into the chapel Katelyn went to get the things needed to change her diaper. We found a bathroom and had to disrobe her from the beautiful blessing gown before we could change her. She was a mess. What a routine that was. Once Raelyn was clean and only in her onesie she was a very happy baby. We left her laying on the changing table to kick and play for a bit with us standing close against it. I held up her pacifier and she was trying to focus on it and reach for it. She is very advanced for only being six weeks old at the time.

After the meeting, Katelyn and I went back into the chapel to be with the family we had deserted. The game plan then was to go back to Muskegon and harass Aubrey at Arby's for lunch. We did this very, very well. She was happy the family came to see her at work. Our tummies were filled. It was a win-win for everyone.

The rest of the day was spent at the Tyler home. We spent some time taking family pictures. It is not often one gets a 5-generation picture. We wanted to be sure that one was taken. The first picture is the 5-generation: Nissa, Claude, Bonnie, Katelyn and Raelyn. The second picture is Drew, Claude, Jake, Nissa, Sandi, Katelyn and Raelyn. The last picture is the little family: Drew, Katelyn and Raelyn.

I love this one of Claude with Raelyn and the next one of Katelyn having a chat with her little girl.

We had to put Raelyn back in the blessing gown for the pictures. That is an ordeal. Man was I happy I made the short dress from the pattern instead of the long one. And I even shortened it some. The dress has a little matching bonnet but it just wasn't happening this time. Bonnie brought the cute white shoes. We put the green socks on to help them stay on her feet for these pictures. Raelyn was one stylin' baby I tell you. 

Then it was time to hit the road. We needed to get Jake back to Chelsea Sunday night. We arrived in Chelsea and dropped Jake off. Then we checked into our hotel and met him at Bob's Big Boy for a last meal with him. He did come back to our hotel room and we visited until he had to leave to get a few things done in preparation for going to work on Monday. 

Monday morning we ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel and then loaded our car for the drive back to LaGrange...in the rain. Well at least part of the way and then off and on the rest of the way. We had tickets to see Gordon Lightfoot at the Brown Theater in Louisville that night. We arrived at the Marx home so Bonnie had time for a nap before the Mini's got home from school. We had kept her going steady for the entire trip and she did get a good little nap. 

Michael brought the Mini's home and we had about an hour and a half before we headed to the theater.  Andie came home from class and we all had soup she made for us. We said our goodbye and took a few more pictures before going to Louisville. 

The first picture is a 4-generation picture: Claude, Bonnie, Andie, Bailey and Hayden. The second picture is Michael, Andie and Shannon. The third picture is Hayden and his Arrow of Light. He had his final Cub Scout Pack meeting on Saturday. We missed it being with Michigan family. At this meeting he received his Arrow of Light. This is a big deal in Cub Scouts. Now Hayden is officially a Boy Scout. Where did that time go???

Bless Shannon's heart. She was a really sport and a trooper tagging around with us 'old people'. Then to get to go to see Gordon Lightfoot!! He is still great but probably not what Shannon would have picked first at her age. She did seem to enjoy it okay. 

The first picture is Shannon reading the Play Bill. The second picture is a really silly attempt on my part to get a picture of all four of us in the theater. If you look at the second column of window panes from the right side of the window and you look at the third from the bottom, you will see a lady in a white sweater vest. That is Bonnie. I am to her right in the window pane. Shannon and then Claude are to her left in the window pane. Really. I promise. The last picture is Shannon outside the Brown Theater. The marquee says 'Gordon Lightfoot' but the lighting was awful for a picture. 

Back to Sadieville by midnight. 

Tuesday they just laid around and rested all day. Bonnie did her laundry. I went to Georgetown to buy Papa's groceries and spend some time with him.  We had talked about going somewhere unique for dinner. Claude had a recipe he wanted to try and we opted for that instead. It was a delicious recipe.

Wednesday was the day for Bonnie and Shannon to fly home. Their plane was to leave about 7:30pm. I received a call from Papa about noon and he thought he might be having a mild heart attack. I grabbed my purse and craft bag in case I was there for a long time. Into Georgetown I went. By the time I got there he was feeling better. His heart was still pounding but he looked fine and felt a lot better. We opted for me to sit with him for a while to be sure before going to the ER. His heart settled down and after several hours he felt well enough for me to leave.

Back to Sadieville. Loaded the car and headed to Florence for dinner at Smokey Bones before dropping Bonnie and Shannon off at the airport. 

It was a very good visit. Lots and lots of miles on the car but we had lots and lots of good family time for Bonnie. And, it was extra special to have Shannon visit us again.