Blog Facts...

Thursday, May 9th, Claude and I had a Stake Self-Reliance Meeting in Lexington. We usually have dinner before at a place that we don't have one of in Georgetown. This night we picked something we haven't tried before...Ted's Montana Grill. We each had a very nice burger. Not beef. It was bison. Yum!! We will definitely go back to this place to dine.

Monday, May 13th, we received a link for a delightful You-Tube video. Bailey was given a special gift. Michel told her to check an envelope on the island. Bailey opened it and found the contents. She crumbled to the ground with joy. Then she jumped up and down with pure glee. It seems Michael bought her tickets to see Hamilton. This is something she has wanted to go to for such a long time. Andie will go with her. But to say our girl was happy is truly an understatement.

These picture were taken Wednesday, May 15th. Our little Nelson had been throwing everything up and having awful stomach cramps before we went to Michigan. His pediatrician gave Aubrey meds to help with him not throwing up. When we visited over Mother's Day weekend, the use of the meds kept him okay for that day. However, he started right up again. Tuesday he threw up every meal. Finally in the evening Aubrey took him to the emergency room and they referred him to the children's hospital in Grand Rapids. These pictures were taken while he was in that hospital. Please note the club on his right arm to keep his IV in place. They ran lots of tests and determined he had an infection and the meds his pediatrician had Aubrey giving him cleared up the infection but they messed up his GI system. They gave him things to rehydrate him and get him back on track a bit. He was released after a few days of tests and observation with meds to be taken daily to help him keep meals down and his intestines to continue healing. He had a rough go of it. Thankful he had a very cheerful, indomitable spirit and this kept him going. 

Wednesday was a full day for Claude and I. He left to go to Lexington earlier than me to attend a meeting. I came in later and he joined me for our Religion Class. After this class we quickly had lunch together. Then Claude headed home to meet the roofing man. I stayed at the Stake Center to help serve lunch to the missionaries at their Zone Conference. After this I went to spend time with Papa. It was a full day indeed. A good one but a full day.

Katelyn posted these two pictures of her little girls. Look at the great expression on Raelyn's face. I just love this nugget. She is strong willed and confident, even at 3 years old. She is going to be great to watch grow up. Wonder what Emelia will be like as she grows up? 

Then Katelyn posted this picture of her two week old daughter holding up her own bottle. How fun is that?

Thursday, May 16th, Claude and I drove to LaGrange for the Oldham County Middle School Spring Gala of all their bands. Bailey is in the 6th grade band playing the trumpet. Hayden is in the 8th grade band playing the baritone. 

First, Bailey. She is in the pink dress. In the first picture she is receiving a band award. You can find her in the second picture playing her trumpet. In the last picture she is grinning from ear to ear because the other bands and the parents gave them a standing ovation. What a treat for the 6th grade band. It was so nice having the kids in the other bands stand up first for the 6th grade band. 

Second, Hayden. Hayden is in the center of the first picture receiving his award. He is standing by his friend, Charles. The award was for a duet they played. The second picture is the entire 8th grade band. This would be their last concert in Middle School. Mr. Wise, their band teacher, had the band stand to be recognized for their distinguished rating when they were the 7th grade band and also as the 8th grade band at the KMEA competition. They were the only Middle School band to receive this recognition and they did it two years in a row. One of the pieces they played that night was led by Mr. Rogers, the high school band teacher and they were playing music written for high school level. This is just an excellent band program. The last picture was taken as they prepared to play their last piece of music as a Middle School Band. 

It was an excellent program. The last piece of music was titled "Lightning". Ironically as they prepared to play it the thunder outside was shaking the gym. We were getting alerts on our phone for lightning close by and for a severe thunderstorm. 

That catches me up on some bits of blog.

A Walk in a Park-like Setting...

Let's take a pictorial journal of our morning. Claude has determined (and I concur) that we should do some of the 5K walks that pop up around our neck of the woods. He found one at RJ Corman, the railroad people. The walk was to support Chrysalis House. This is a rehab facility for women in Lexington. Good cause to support. We arrived at 8:45am and hurried from the parking area down to the registration area. As we walked we commented that this walk to registration should count in the 5K, It has to be at least a half mile. We also noted it had a nice downhill portion and we both noted we would have to hike back up that hill after the 5K.

Now, I took a picture as we left the starting gate of the walkers ahead of us. We were close to the back of the pack as we started and there was a nice picture of them as they took the turn and went to the left. Lots of green grass with tree lined streets on which we would walk. Somehow, that picture is not on my cell phone camera. 

We finally got to this sign. Claude obliged me by posing for this picture. It was not just Claude and me who felt that we had already walked 3 miles judging by the comments of our fellow walkers. It was good to see this marker and feel the progress.

The next two pictures were taken during the next mile of walking. When we finally reached the building in the first picture there were wonderful ladies there with cups of water. Yeah!! 

Every day is a good day when I find a turtle along the side of the road. I'm not sure this one wasn't laying eggs. It had churned up the ground with its back legs so...I'm thinking it was laying eggs.  

Finally we found Mile Marker #2. Claude is really getting into posing for the landmark signs. Feet were getting tired at this point but we knew we were making progress. 

Over another hill and we finally made it down the road to Mile Marker #3. Yippee!! Only a little more to go. We could see the end from here and the smoke where they were grilling hamburgers. Progress...and that felt great. We would press on. 

Along the route we kept seeing 25 mph signs. We joked about not breaking that speed limit. We were actually walking the roads on the RJ Corman campus so the signs would make sense for that. However, for walkers, not so much. I asked Claude to pose for this picture so it would show him making a strong finish. I assured him this would put him in my Blog. We would make a turn here and then just a bit to the finish line. How appropriate that the ambulance was parked there?!?! As Claude posed for this picture, they were all grins. Then they gave me a thumbs up as I made that turn. We did not break the 25 mph speed limit.  

And after a few more minutes, there was the finish line. And there is my Big Guy Clauda crossing the finish line. He had said between Mile Marker #2 and Mile Marker #3 that he just didn't want to finish with the ladies pushing babies in strollers. Look, not a stroller in sight. It took us about an hour to make that 3+ miles. We felt good about our time. We each took a bottle of water and found a fence in the shade to lean against to replenish fluids.

After a pause we headed to the car. Back up that hill we went and it was just as trying as we figured it would be when we walked down it to registration. We sat in the Jeep and drank our water. Claude turned on the A/C and we just rested a minute. 

We were going to Schlotzsky's for lunch. That was the plan. However, we were back in our car by 10:15am and we were not sure Schlotzky's would be open yet. Eventually Claude decided it was time to drive and we started back toward Lexington. As he drove I started to not feel well at all. By the time we were pulling into the parking lot at Schlotzsky's I told Claude I was not right. Right to the bathroom I went. Yep, it must have been the heat but I hurled my cookies and was not good at all. After I stumbled back to the dining room, I asked Claude to order us a drink and I found a table to sit at. I had a paper towel I wet down with cold water and kept wiping my face. Claude came back and the beverage tasted great but my stomach was still not right. I told Claude he should go ahead and have his sandwich. I sipped my beverage and then make one more trip to the bathroom before we headed home. At home I would go straight to bed. Two naps and three chapters more in my book and I was ready to sit up straight in the living room. Claude made us a nice dinner which I kept down just fine. So, I must be okay now. 

Well, it was a good walk, a fun walk and a nice time with my hubby. The rest this afternoon was good too. That middle part, not so much. But I am grateful for a good day and evening. Now, where was that flyer for the next walk?

The Latest and Greatest Dental Technology...

Thursday, May 19th was my semi-annual cleaning of the teeth. The hygienist is great and quick. She uses the water thing they use to clean if one has periodontal disease. I do not have periodontal disease but that water thing is really a great way to clean teeth. I do a pretty good job of caring for these choppers so she doesn't have tons to do. But it feels great to get that extra clean feeling and then a tiny bit of scraping on those spots that are harder to reach. 

When she finished she wheeled in this little machine. She explained that they are now going to do this imaging annually and today would be my first time. That little blue and white gadget on the post she puts in your mouth and runs it over and around your teeth. While she is doing this it is making a picture of your teeth. She will pause and let the monitor create the image. There are blue spots where the gadget didn't get a clear image. Into the mouth she goes again and fills in all those spots on the image on the monitor. This was just cool to me.

When she finished I asked if I could take a picture for this Blog. She said that would be great. So, here it is people, the inside of my mouth!! Upper right shows a black spot that is where a root canal was done through a crown. It was done in Maryland and seemed fine. We retired and then moved to Kentucky. Then the tooth area went bad and I found myself back at the oral surgeon. It seems there was an additional tiny root that didn't show up when they did the first root canal. So, another root canal in the same crown. You can also see my silver tooth. Funny thing, I have had that silver crown for so many years I don't even remember when I got it. While in Michigan this weekend Raelyn opened my mouth to look inside. Why, I have no idea? But being a good great gramma I let her do this. She found that silver tooth and was fascinated. Even the Mini's find this silver tooth fascinating.  

So why do all this imaging and then do it again in a year. As it turns out this is what they will use to make crowns in the future. The dentist will take this image and send it to the person that makes the crowns. With this image they make a crown that is an exact fit. No putty in your mouth and hoping that mold makes the perfect crown, which it often doesn't. Of course they can and will be watching other things in your mouth with these images. They will also still need x-rays to detect cavities, etc. But what a great tool for a dentist to be accurate with what happens in your mouth.

There you have the Latest and Greatest in Dental Technology!

Michigan Bound...

What do grandparents do when they have a new great grandmonster? Well, they make a road trip to see that bundle of joy.

Friday, May 10th I spent the morning visiting Papa. Then I hurried home and we filled the car with all the things that needed to go to Michigan. We were out on the road before noon. The goal was to be to Chelsea, Michigan by 5:30pm to pick up Jake after he got off work. We got to Chelsea a bit before that and Jake joined us as soon as he was home from work.

I had a nice moment at Jake's apartment. His apartment is a portion of an older home. One of his neighbors is Max. Jake has often spoken about her but we have never seen or met her. This time Max was on her little porch. Jake emptied the birdbath and then returned it to it's stand for her. I went over to meet her. She said to me about Jake, "You are fortunate. He is one of the good ones." I had to agree with her. Jake is one of the good ones. Jake may be 44 years old but it still feels good to a mother to have someone say nice things about her kid.

We got on the road as quickly as possible. We were driving through to Holton where we would stay with Nissa and Todd for the next two nights. We did stop along the way for dinner.

Saturday morning the kids were to arrive about 10am. Here the goal was to take family pictures. First, a few pictures of the family just enjoying themselves. We'll start with Nissa being a Gramma. This is so fun to watch. In the first picture Nissa is holding Nelson. In the second she has Nelson and Raelyn on her lap...sort of!

Nelson was just too cute. He was smitten with the blue plastic bucket. Reminded us of the movie "Parenthood".

And one picture of Nelson just being sweet. He has to be one of the happiest little ones I have ever come across.

Raelyn is just on the move CONSTANTLY!! She loved trying her hand a T-ball. The thing she loves the most is her little sister, Emelia. She would come up to whoever was holding Emelia and say she wanted to hold her little sister. She would have her pillow in hand for Emelia to lay on while she held her. Raelyn's attention span is very short so she never held her but a few minutes. Then she would let us know she was finished and off she would go till the next time. She is very gentle with Emelia and very tender.

Todd has purchased a new zero-turn mower to cut their grass. He took his two grandmonsters for a short ride.

Of course we all took turns snuggling little Emelia. She is a really good baby. Only cries when hungry or when you are changing her. At least for now that is how it is. Here is Jake, Claude and me holding our newest family member. I believe Emelia and Claude are kindred spirits as they each enjoy a nice nap.

One final picture of Nissa and I having a camera face off.

Now, a few pictures of the family. First, Nissa with her progeny. From left to right we have Drew holding Raelyn, Katelyn holding Emelia, Paul, Nissa, Todd holding Nelson and Aubrey. We even managed to get a picture of Nissa and Todd together.

Now, in birth order we begin with Nissa and Katelyn's family. Todd, Nissa, Katelyn holding Raelyn and Drew holding Emelia. Then just Katelyn and Nissa.

Then Paul with Nissa and Todd followed by Nissa and Paul.

And Aubrey was born last. The first picture is Todd, Nissa holding Nelson and Aubrey. The second picture is Aubrey and Nissa.

Back to the Roper family. Drew holding Emelia and Katelyn holding Raelyn. Then Drew and Katelyn.

Paul was born second. 

And, it appears I didn't get one of Aubrey by herself. We really must make a list and check it off next time we do this kind of thing. Invariably we miss something we wanted to take a picture of. 

Time for Claude and me. First Nissa was born. Then Andie (who was in Kentucky during all this picture taking). Then Jake.

It is pretty easy now to take a picture of us with the grandmonsters. Paul, Aubrey, Sandi, Claude and Katelyn. But trying to get one with great grandmonsters included becomes a bit more tricky. We have Raelyn who is very tired of picture taking and we have Nelson who is always watching to see what wonderful thing Raelyn will do next and then quiet little Emelia. (Sandi holding Emelia, Paul, Claude holding Nelson, Katelyn wrangling Raelyn and Aubrey.

Lastly we have Jake who assures us he knows of now progeny he has fathered at this time!

Great set of pictures. Whew!! Next time we make a list.

Sunday was Mother's Day. This is not my favorite holiday. But this year was a really good Mother's Day. I was with my daughter and all of her family. Claude would give a name and a blessing to Little Miss Emelia. It was all about family and that makes it a really, really good day. 

When we arrived at the church, we paused to take a 4-generation picture. Sandi, Claude, Katelyn holding Emelia and Nissa. 

After the sacrament meeting, Drew's mother, Denise was holding Emelia so I was able to get this picture of our little one in her precious outfit. So sweet. Claude was very happy, when he gave her the blessing she didn't cry once. Unlike dear little Raelyn who screamed all the way through her blessing. 

This is a very happy great grampa with his little Emelia. Love the little grin on Claude's face. He might be holding back a tear. 

Then Drew asked for a 3-generation picture with his mother. Drew, Emelia and Denise. 

We all went back to the Tyler's for the rest of the afternoon. 

After a nice afternoon, Claude, Jake and I piled into the Buick and headed for Chelsea.  We would have dinner together and then visit a bit in our hotel room before Jake would head home. We slept in Monday till Claude was ready to drive again. Then we made our way back to Kentucky, arriving in time for me to make a quick visit to Papa.

When Raelyn was born there was no doubt at all who her father was. She was facially Drew, no doubt about that. But Emelia did not resemble Drew as strongly. We were talking about who she looked like and Nissa had Katelyn get a photo album. There we found a picture of newborn Katelyn and put it up against a newborn picture of Emelia. Now we knew. Katelyn was ecstatic. This little one was really her replica.

Whew, that was a full but very quick trip. Always great to have family time.