They're Back...

Hayden and Bailey started their Spring Break Easter weekend and it would go through the week following Easter. Andie has made a point of bringing them over for a couple of days during their Spring Break. Monday (April 9th) and Tuesday (April 10th) were the days for their visit this year. They would head back home Wednesday.

What a difference two little ones make in this home!!  They hit the ground running after their car ride and just fill up a day in the most wonderful way.

Bailey found the box of barrettes in the guest bedroom and proceed to fix her own hair and add several barrettes to the style.

Hayden also impressed us with his Cub Scouting skills. He just advanced from Tiger to Wolf. He asked for a rope. Claude got one from the garage. Hayden assured Claude it was too short. So Claude headed out to get a longer rope. Then Hayden laid it out in a figure 8 and proceeded to make a square knot out of it. He also used one of my exercising bands to make another knot. I can't remember what he called it but Claude told him Grampa Evan called it a half-hitch.

I purchased some Lego-like toys and the kids and I worked on putting them together.

They both had a good round of fun in the big tub with the water jets going.

Papa came out Monday night and visited. He enjoyed reading through the album I just finished of our January cruise. He read every single page and enjoyed the pictures (99 pages of text and pictures). He laughed out loud at the picture of the cemetery in the center of town. Our tour guide told us it was the 'dead center of town'. I had labeled that picture accordingly and Papa got a real laugh out of it.

Kite flying filled a part of the afternoon as well. I was so pleased I could get my left arm up enough to help get the kite in the air. That is really progress for my left shoulder and it truly felt great. Something I was taking for granted and now will recognize every time how great movement is. They kids loved holding the kite and trying to chase and catch it. Tiny just enjoyed running the hill with them.

Monday night we asked the kids where they wanted to sleep. They both said they wanted to sleep in the basement. Wonder of wonders!! They have done this before but it was when Aubrey and Paul were down there with them throughout the night. This time they would be staying down there just the two of them. Now, our basement is a welcoming place but for a little kid that is a good distance from the adult protective figures in their lives. They made it through that night just fine. We were duly impressed.

Tuesday was our full day to play. We started with Hayden's favorite breakfast of cinnamon rolls. I also scrambled some eggs and fried up some bacon.

I'm trying to clean out the shelves in the storage that hold my seminary materials. In doing that I determined to empty out the big ziplock bags of items I used as clues for scripture mastery. I had a bag of these items upstairs and used it for our game in the morning. Hayden and Bailey each took an item from the bag and placed it in front of them. Once the bag was empty each was given a minute or so to think up a story or play using the items they took out of the bag. Then I made a video of each of them telling their story. By the end of Bailey's exceptionally long story, they were playing with the items together. I think we could call that a success.

While Andie got her shower, the Mini's and I looked for another way to channel their energy. I looked around the room and found the throw rugs I made for in front of the sink and in front of the stove. Hmmm...two rugs and two kids. Just right. We proceeded to have rug races. Amazing how much fun that can be.

We had a good day, a little cool but great otherwise. So we headed to Sadieville's park to play.Bailey and Hayden learned to play on the teeter-totter together. I thought Andie would have heart failure trying to get them to understand they couldn't just get off when they wanted to. They needed and adult to steady the opposite end so that the other person wouldn't go flying through the air. It took a few times but they finally got the hang of doing that. It was delightful watching them. Hayden would get Bailey up in the air and she would bounce and laugh. As Bailey so dearly puts it, "I yuv to yalf!"

Hayden also taught Bailey how to go down the fireman's pole.

Hayden was totally enjoying climbing the outside of this yellow slide. I did get him to pause long enough for a good picture though.

Another one of Hayden's goals was to practice riding his bike. He made three laps around the track at the park. Yeah Hayden!!

While Hayden did his third lap, Bailey and I took a little hike across the park and down by the creek. The fence had been pulled down and we could walk where I had never walked before. I was able to get pictures of the bridge over Luke Road.

Bailey also picked a few wild flowers to take back to Andie. She hid them behind her back as she ran across the park to give them to her.

When we got back, Hayden and Andie had finished Hayden's lap and were having a nice chat waiting for our return.

We called Claude and asked him to meet us at the caboose. He came with snacks in hand. He unlocked the caboose and the kids had fun climbing in, around, under and through the caboose.

When the Mini's were officially worn out, Claude said he would pay them each if they would help him with a chore at the house. There was an affirmative response on the part of the Mini's. So we all headed back to the house.

Claude's chore was to help him spread some mulch around the bench on the hill.

After finishing their work, Claude gave them each a turn sitting on top of one of his tree stumps. The fun of country living. These are big ticket kinds of entertainment.

They got a little ride in the Jeep. Since we don't have car seats in it they don't usually get to do anything but sit in the Jeep. They are a bit older and I'm guessing Andie must have said yes, so Claude took them down the hill and up and down the flat and then back up the hill. You can tell they enjoyed it by the look on Hayden's face.

Wednesday was head home day. We had the morning together and then the Marx van headed to Louisville for lunch with Michael.

One little thing happened that I'll treasure for a very long time. Hayden was curled up on my lap and we were hugging each other. I could hug hard or long enough for this young man. He looked up at me at one point and said, "I wish I was glued to you."  Later in the visit I watched and heard him do and say the same thing with Andie. I love hugs. So happy he loves hugs that much.

It was a fun visit. Thanks for including us in your Spring Break. Let's do that again next year!!

Easter...

This Easter was indicative the passage of time.

I awoke earlier than needed so I could do that hour of exercises on my shoulder. As I did the exercises and watched the sun working its way further in the sky, I realized there were no colored Easter eggs in my home, there were no baskets filled with goodies for little ones to come and find. I felt a little sad about that. While Easter is clearly not about baskets full of goodies or colored eggs, they do make for some extra energy and fun in a home.

I had purchased a new blouse I could wear with the scarf we got at Caribelle Batik while on our cruise in January. That would be my 'Easter outfit'.

After I was all ready and about to leave, I received a call from my father. He was very dizzy and was not going to attend church that morning. He just didn't want me to worry. We determined it might be the new pain medication his doctor has prescribed for him. He just started taking it. I read the information about the drug on the Internet the night before and knew this might be one of the side effects. Papa assured me he was okay alone, he just didn't feel like he could be out and about that dizzy. I assured Papa I would be there in the afternoon to check on him and I'd keep my cell phone close so he could call if his situation changed at all.

We had a nice Easter program at church. I played the piano for the choir to sing their two numbers. After teaching my Sunday School lesson I skipped Relief Society so I could get to the nursing home to feed mom. I really didn't want Papa trying to do that if he was dizzy.

Mimi at well and ate quite quickly for her. She was in good spirits and chuckled a time or two and rattled off some phrases that only meant something to her.

Then I went to check on Papa. He was well enough that we picked out some songs for singing in the nursing home on Wednesday. His dizziness was subsiding a little. We discussed what he was taking and the information I read on the Internet about his new drug. He is going to take it less frequently but still steadily to help him and that will hopefully work to dull his pain and keep him not so dizzy.

I headed out to Sadieville for a quiet rest of my day. No children. No Easter baskets. But a good day nonetheless.

Officially Old...

Somehow, when you turn 55 and they send you an AARP application it seems like you are beginning to age. However, my 50's were the best decade of my life. Not sure why but I truly enjoyed them. I joked about being old and I felt it in the joints and gray hair but really I felt younger than my 50+ years mentally and enthusiastically.

Then I hit 60 and realized I was truly aging. Again, I can't really explain it but I definitely could tell a marked difference.

Claude and I started talking about our social security and when we should file. You can file at 62 but if you wait a few years longer you can get a few more dollars each month. When we plotted retirement we factored the social security income as a pay raise to our retirement.

Claude and I were talking last night and he told me he applied for his social security. I was impressed. We discussed how easy it was filing on-line.

This morning Claude got a phone call from the Social Security Administration. I answered it in the basement and took the phone upstairs to Claude. Then I went back downstairs to work. I was surprised when he came down with the phone in his hand for me.

It seems, during his discussion with the nice lady at the Social Security Administration, she realized I would be eligible to file in a few months. She could actually complete my application over the telephone if I wanted to do that. I assured her I intended to file at 62. So she took my information and that was that!!!

Goodness, I'm officially old and going to being to get social security. It seems like something way in the future and now it will be a reality in a few months. So be gentle with me and patient and kind and understanding. Allow me the privilege of moving a little slower as I continue to accomplish things. I'm old but there is still a lot of life in this 'old girl'.

A Little Bird Told Me...

Sometimes in life we have a moment with the past floods back in pleasant waves of remembering. This morning was one of those for me.

I was in my laundry room which has a little window to the back yard. I had the window open to let fresh cool air in while the dryer was doing its warming up the house thing. As I folded a towel I heard a little bird outside singing up a storm. I paused just a minute to listen and a cool breeze came in the window. Suddenly I was a kid again in Louisiana and happy memories came to mind.

For a moment I was at my mother's parents, Gramma and Grampa Fisch. They lived way out in the country in southern Louisiana. They had no running water and no electricity. Visiting there was always chock full of fun.

I remembered napping on a pallet in the hallway and that same kind of breeze blowing over me. I remembered Jeep rides with Uncle Clifford, my mother's brother, in the woods where no roads were ever created. I remembered fishing for crawdads in the ditch down the lane by the highway. I remembered eating all the strawberries I wanted from the huge strawberry patch. I remembered the taste of water out of a pail with a ladle that everyone shared. I remembered eating satsuma oranges, pomegranates, figs, pecans and tons of other things that my grandparents had in their yard. And the list goes on and on. All good memories.

The next minute I was in Shreveport where I spent most of my growing up years. I was suntanning as a teenager in the back yard till I was brown. I remembered playing school on the screened in front porch during the summer vacation. I remembered doing cartwheels and back bends in the green grass of the yard. I remembered getting up very early to practice the piano before going to early morning seminary. I remember Papa raising beagles and us playing with those puppies. I remembered trips to Ford Park where we had picnic lunches and playing in the play land. And the list goes on and on. All good memories.

Funny how quickly years pass when you have a flood of memories like that. It was good to remember and feel very blessed that I was basically a happy kid with not too many cares. So thank you little bird for helping me start my day with those good memories. I like it when that happens.

There's An Artist In The House...

This weekend we journeyed to LaGrange in search of the most recent graduate of the Community Center Art Class...Miss Bailey Marx. This little chickie has worked very hard for the past several Saturday's learning to do artwork. She has totally enjoyed her class and was fairly bursting with excitement at the opportunity for us to come to her class and see their art show on the final day of class.

Bailey made a full size drawing of herself. She made a diorama with a lot of bling on the outside of the box and inside was a beautiful horse and some eggs for it to take care of. She also made a large painting of a purple pony out in a multi-colored snow storm. And finally she completed a butterfly made out of her hand prints. The butterfly must have been made Saturday because one of her hands was very pink.

Right after the art show was the Spring Fling at Hayden's school.  Andie volunteered to help and we would take the Mini's with us. We enjoyed a hot dog dinner and the movie "Rio" at the Spring Fling before heading out. Andie would call us to pick her up when she finished.

The irony of the Spring Fling is that the date was chosen and publicized so as not to interfere with all the festivities associated with Derby Day in Louisville. There is a month long celebration prior to Derby Day. Then...the NCAA tournament ended up with University of Kentucky pitted against University of Louisville on Saturday evening. The Spring Fling moved its time a little earlier in the day so that people could get home to watch this momentous game. It is a really big rivalry and you could feel the electricity in the air up to the UK / UofL game. Churchill Downs had one of their spires blue and one red in honor of this event. T-shirts with the school logos were selling like hot cakes (where did that expression come from?).

I suggested to Claude and the kids as we left the school that we might go for ice cream. The kids were definitely on board for Dairy Queen. So Pa (Claude) headed to downtown LaGrange. Hayden and Bailey have both gotten old enough they are pretty neat with their ice cream eating. But Bailey gave us a laugh when she bit the top off her chocolate coating and then nibbled a hole in the side. This allowed her to get her thumb and a finger inside the chocolate shell and pull it completely off.

Bailey still doesn't always say the 'l' sound. She still substitutes it with a 'y' sound. Claude and I cracked up when she was licking away on her ice cream cone and said, "I yuv lickin'!!"

The Marx family were invited to the Soderquist's to watch the big Final Four game. Andie and Michael took Miss Bailey with them and Hayden, Claude and me stayed to watch the second movie for book 7 in the Harry Potter series.

We spent Saturday night and Sunday morning with the Marx family. Hayden woke me up and 7:20am with a little knocking on the wall. My signal to get up and come snuggle. We enjoyed our snuggle time as the rain poured down outside. Bailey eventually joined us. We decided to give Andie a present by the kids getting dressed and being downstairs so the rest of the adults could sleep a bit longer.

The kids watched a show while I did my physical therapy exercises. Andie joined us and she made banana nut pancakes for the breakfast.

It was decidedly cooler that we anticipated on Sunday with the rain pouring outside. We found Hayden snuggled down in the basket that holds the HUGE afghan I made. Bailey then had to have a turn. Then Andie assured them they didn't need to do that again, even though it was fun for one time, because it would destroy the integrity of the basket. So these are one time only pictures.

Hayden left with Andie to purchase a birthday gift for their little friend whose party they were attending in the afternoon. Bailey and I played kitty. She was the kitty and I was the owner. Basically I just followed her imagination as she laid out the things we should do. Lovin' life through the eyes of a five year old.

We managed to get Bailey and Andie's hair cut during the weekend. As Andie and Michael finished getting ready to take the kids to their birthday party, I realized Hayden had signed the card but Bailey had not. I gave the card to her and asked her to please sign it. She carefully drew two solid lines across the card with a dotted line in between, just like the paper they use to write on in school. Then she proceeded to write her name and add little curls and flourishes to some of the letters. Guess that art class is kickin' in now!!

Thanks Marx Family for inviting us to the Art Show, the Spring Fling and to enjoy a little time with the family.