Life Just Keeps on Movin' Along...

This past Monday, January 22nd, our first great grandmonster turned two whole years old. Time does fly right on by. I am posting only two pictures we received of her special day. These were actually taken during the weekend party when family could come and tell her happy birthday. She is wearing the tutu I made for her first birthday party. The second picture gave me giggles. Raelyn has always preferred minimal clothing. Sometimes even a diaper is way to much for her to bear and she will work at ripping it right off. I told her mother she looks like she is saying, "But Mom, I don't like clothes. And this itches!" The futures holds lots of interesting moment for Raelyn's parents.

We also got several pictures of your second great grandmonster, Nelson. Aubrey shared video of him working on rolling over and practicing raising up his body while laying on his tummy. These are the work for a baby. We sit there and cheer them on and video, etc. while the little guy is working very, very hard. Keep it up Nelson!

Then there are the two youngest grandmonsters, Bailey and Hayden. When they visited at Christmas, Bailey was not well. I loaned her my flannel shirt so it would keep her cozy and warm. She fell in love with it. We talked about her getting one and I told her they are all cotton and they shrink so get one a little large to allow for it shrinking in the wash. Later I heard her explaining to her mother her desire for a soft shirt like that but to be sure she found one a little large so it could shrink in the wash. She was listening. 

Fast backward to a couple of weeks ago...I was in Walmart getting some groceries and walked by the boys clothing. What happened to be on sale but boys flannel shirts. I purchased two in different colors. Fast forward to last Friday, January 26th. I took Papa for a long car ride. I plotted my drive so I could go to the Marx home and leave these shirts on the island in their kitchen with a note on them. The kids didn't know I purchased them and it would be a fun surprise when they got home from school. That Friday evening I received this picture from Andie of the Mini's in their new shirts. I think they were a hit. Can you see the personality of our 'savagely quirky' Bailey and our newly minted teenager Hayden? 

Love our grandmonsters and great grandmonsters. 

Then there was the battle to get fabric. I saved a chair from Papa's apartment. It was one he brought home to my Mother many years ago (I would have been in Junior High School). He drove a moving van across country. A family he was moving was tossing the chair and he felt Mom would love it. He brought it home and she reupholstered it and it always sat in their living room. I talked with Claude and said I just wanted that chair to stay in the family. He agreed. We know someone that had done reupholstery work for us in the past. She was willing to reupholster this chair. Nissa and Todd were in a new home and I asked Nissa if she would like the chair and told her its history. She was very happy about that. I asked her to go to a fabric store and pick out a few fabrics they liked and I would try to come close to that here when I purchased the fabric. Well, Heather said she can reupholster the chair the second week of February so I needed to get that fabric. I took a friend to her doctor appointment in Frankfort, Kentucky and there is a Joann's fabric there. We stopped on our way home. They only had one fabric I would have considered. I talked to the clerk and she found what Nissa liked on line and got the numbers and names of the fabric for me. She assured me Louisville would have it and I could call them and be sure. So I left with that fabric purchasing chore still on my to do list. Ugh!! 

I went last Wednesday, January 24th, to Lexington before going to the nursing home. There is a Joann's fabric store there. They had two bolts I would have used. Sent Nissa a text with pictures of the two fabrics. She opted for one of them and I was able to purchase the one she wanted at half price. Yippee!! Now I have a roll of six yards of fabric waiting for Heather to call to tell me to bring the chair and the fabric. That is now off the to do list and in plenty of time. 

Friday evening, January 26th, Claude went with me to an Evening with a General Authority. This is an annual event for Seminary and Institute teachers in the Church. It is a broadcast from Salt Lake City and the speaker is one of the First Presidency of the Church or one of the twelve Apostles. This time it was Elder D. Todd Christofferson. The two stakes in Lexington combine for this event and a dinner is provided for everyone prior to the broadcast. They served food from Athenian Grill which is a very popular place in Lexington. Food was excellent. The talk given by Elder Christofferson was amazing. It was about Truth. Can't wait until I can print out the talk and pour over it again and again. So grateful for these 'fill my cup' moments in my life. 

Yesterday I had a really sweet experience. Went to visit Papa. Took him a root beer and Hostess chocolate cupcakes. He devoured them. We talked about his amazing sweet tooth and how I inherited it from him. He still holds the record for being able to eat the most sweets. Dubious honor I suppose. After he finished these he asked if I wanted to walk down to the dining room with him. So we loaded up my gear and wandered to the dining room. I pulled out my old Kindle and asked Papa if he wanted to listen to a talk or watch a Church video. He said he would like to play a game. So we opened up Solitaire and he poured over his game. 

Loretta came in. She has been a resident for several years now. She loves to make jigsaw puzzles. I am a addict when it comes to puzzles so I watch from a distance. But Saturday, Loretta wheeled right over to me and said, "I need help with this puzzle. Will you come and help me?" I told her about my addiction and she said that was okay. You see, her sight is really going. She wants to make the puzzle and can do some of it but it gets tedious for her. So she and I sat at her puzzle right by Papa. It turned out she had three, and maybe four, puzzles combined. We sorted as best we could and then tried to find where the right pieces went in the puzzle she had about half finished. She would hand me a piece and say, "Where does this one go? Does it fit in here?" I would try my best to find each piece while sorting through pieces she had on top of what she had done and around the edges. If I found one, I would show her where to put it. But she would usually say, "I can't see. Would you put it in for me?" At first I was nervous about doing the puzzle for her and her not having the satisfaction of putting those pieces in herself. But we worked out a rhythm and we got it mostly finished in a short time. Every now and then she would hand me a piece that would go right by where her hand was and I would say tell her to put it right in there. She would tell me I could do it. I would put the piece in and she would say, "I found a piece!" It was just sweet. You realize that their reality may not fit with what you would normally think or do. It is okay to help that much and have her have the satisfaction of finishing something she loved that was getting really frustrating for her. Her son came and she was off to visit him. But it was a tender moment for me. The CNA's can't take that time with her. There aren't other residents interested in puzzles. So it was nice to do that with her.  

And Papa, well, he just kept on playing his Solitaire. When he would win one he would call and I would come to watch the Kindle reshuffle the cards in a new pattern each time. He might call if he couldn't get the cards to move or stay where he put them. This is usually because he has his thumb resting on a tiny piece of the screen. He was happy and Loretta was happy. It was a good visit.

That is enough for this week. What interesting things will  this week bring as we leave January and move into February. Can't wait to find out.