Wardrobe

Working on the Wardrobe

After the ladies Bible study was over this morning I went to work in the garage.  It was very relaxing to slowly and carefully work on Janie's wardrobe.  It is beginning to take shape.  We decided on the stain to use that would best match the panels.  The next thing it needs is sanding and staining.  That will have to wait until after vacation since Wednesday will be a busy day for us.  I will be in Waco in the morning through early afternoon for a surgery there and then I will be getting ready for our Wednesday night services.

Happy Chairs

Janie moved our living room furniture around last night after I had gone to bed.  It looks good this way and, according to Janie our chairs are happy being next to each other again.  We have taken to sitting together on the couch when we watch TV or visit so our chairs don't get used much.
Well it is just 3 days to vacation.  On my day off this week I am going to take Janie to Canton and then we will be in Henderson Friday through the end of next week.  Friday morning we are to meet with a man from a pipeline company that is wanting to put a pipeline across our property in Henderson. I am anxious to see what they have in mind.  God bless you.

Fifth Sunday

Naomi and her parents at the end of a long Sunday.

This Sunday was the fifth Sunday of the month and Justin and Sarah came over to go to church with us Sunday night.  Naomi is really sweet.  She smiled for us and the people at church who were seeing her for the first time.  We are so proud of her and her parents.  We wish we could spend more time with her and that goes for all of our grandchildren.
The services at the church went really well.  We had lots of visitors in our morning service.  The night service was also well attended.  
Our new truck has over 12,000 miles on it now and is just 4 months old.  It needs an oil change and tires rotated and I hope to get that done tomorrow.  God bless you.
 

Drill Jig

Kregg Jig, I highly recommend it.

I have been, off and on (mostly off), working  on a wood project in the garage.  For Christmas I got a Kregg Jig which is a drill jig for making pre-drilled and counter sunk holes for wood screws.  It works really good.  The wood has to be cut square for this jig to work properly so I had to work on my table saw to get it to cut square.  It was way off.  The blade and the tee were both out of square.  I cut a few test pieces and then drilled and assembled them and it looked good.  I have now cut and drilled 20 parts and have them ready to assemble.  There are still 7 parts to cut but that can come latter.  It will be good to see the finished project.  Stay tuned for pictures.

Janie working out at the gym

My mother had a bad day on Friday but then it got better.  Thursday night she had threatened to kill herself again and so the nurse took everything out of her room that might harm her such as her picture frames that had glass in them.  Mother broke down and cried without ceasing and so the nurse called the doctor.  The doctor told her to give her back her things and just keep an eye on her.  They did this and mother was happy again.  My brother, Ralph, went over and spent some time playing cards with her and he said she was in a good mood.

The Jig

I had a migraine headache today and the best cure I have found is sleep.  I have thus slept the day away and now that it is evening I feel fine.  I think I will go out to the garage again and piddle with the project a little more.  I need to clean up out there so the truck won't have to spend the night outdoors.  God bless you.

MASH

Naomi and her great-grandmother, Charlcye Taylor

I will be on vacation in just a little over a week.  This of course means I have to do two weeks of work in one so I can take this vacation.  I am looking forward to being with the grandkids.  I don't have any specific plans as to what we will do together but I am sure we will do some cooking, cleaning, game playing, and hiking. 
We got over 4 inches of rain the other day and that will go a long way to getting us out of this drought.  It was good to see the streams and low lands full on our way to Henderson today.  We had to make a quick trip over to take care of some business there for my mother.  We needed to return to Hillsboro so we could be here for one of our church members who needed some help. 
Our services Wednesday night were really good.  My class had five and Janie had three students.  One of the ladies of our church started a Facebook page for our church and I am glad that she volunteered to maintain it.  In this age of electronic media it helps those who are so inclined to keep up with what's going on with our church. 

Stacie at Karate class baby shower

My daughter, Stacie had a baby shower in her honor today.  The Karate class they attend hosted it and they gave the baby a pink Karate outfit.  I can't wait until number 12 gets here in May.  I plan to spoil that one as much as I have her 11 predecessors.  I just LOVE those grandkids!!
The old TV show MASH had a theme song with some rather dark and morbid words.  The title of the song is "Suicide is Painless."  This statement certainly is not true.  Suicide is full of pain.

Janie's Wednesday night class

The visit with my mother did not go well today.  She was very upset and not at all in her right mind.  She has not taken her meds since she got out of the Hospital on Friday the 20th of January.  That means six days with no meds and her mind is beginning to show the signs of it.  She is very depressed.  She threatened to commit suicide not only to Janie and me but also to the staff.  The nurse talked her into taking her anxiety medicine but 45 minutes later she threw it up.  They have taken her scissors away from her for her own safety.  
The sermon for Sunday is almost ready.  I have it typed up but it needs a little tweaking.  I have not looked at the Sunday School lesson yet but that will have to wait for tomorrow.  I have to be up at 5:00 in the morning to get ready to head over to the hospital.  God bless you.

Package off to France

Some of Janie's students at the church

We sent Jason and Angie two boxes today.  Their Christmas presents and other goodies are on their way and should arrive next Monday.  I have spent the afternoon talking with Jason and Angie on Skype.  They are doing well and the weather seems as nice there as it has been here.  My part of the bulletin for Sunday is ready to go.  It is getting late and I just finished preparing the lesson for the ladies Bible study which meets here in the morning. 
Sunday our attendance was low but the services went well.  I preached from the Song of Songs and thought the sermon went well.  I was able to work in a nap Sunday afternoon and that was nice for a change. 

A cartoon I created for our church bulletin

I spoke with both of my daughters today one by phone and the other by text message.  I like days like that when I get to talk with all three of our children.  They are good kids.  (Even though they are all in their thirties now I still call them kids.) 
My mother is doing well by last report.  She still refuses her meds but is eating well.  Her sister, Maxine, visited with her today as did my brother Steve.  I will see her again on Thursday if the Lord be willing.  God bless you.

WEE

Janie's Mother posing with Janie's Triple doll

When your on a roller coaster and your having fun you say "WEE" and if you are not having fun you shout "Get me out of here." Mother is not saying "WEE."  She is not having fun.  Her first word was "amen" as we pulled away from the hospital.  Thursday I picked up mother's things from the nursing home.  They had already given her room to someone else.  I went then to Gregg Home and signed the papers to admit her there and unloaded her things.  Friday we decorated her room and then Ralph and I went to pick her up from the hospital. 
She is at Gregg Home now and is not happy.  She does not like it there and wants me to take her home.  I expect this will be the case for some time and will just have to be as positive with her as I can be that she is in a good place where they can take the best care of her.  She is refusing her medications but is eating.  They did convince her to take a shower and are trying to be patient with her.   We are going to head over there for a quick visit this afternoon on our way back to Hillsboro.
I have spent all morning working on the Song of Songs sermon for Sunday.  I have it ready to go and the Sunday School lesson also.  We missed the district ladies auxiliary meeting today due to having to deal with my mother.  Janie is working away upstairs getting things ready for our upcoming vacation.  We are going to take off the week of February 5th and spend the week at the cottage with Stacie's children.  I expect that will be a lot of fun and I hope the weather will be nice.  The grandkids and I will be saying "WEE" all week long.  God bless you.

Stress

Janie's husband and mother-in-law visiting at the hospital

Stress when used as a noun can be bad but when used as a verb it can be good.  Stress the noun has been working hard on Janie's husband.  It is taking its toll on his mind and his health.  It is time for him to take a vacation from it and be revitalized.  Admitting he is under the influence of stress is a big step for him.  He wants to think he is tough and can handle it.  Prayer and its being answered has kept him going but there comes a time when a getting away from stress to relax is needed.  So Janie is trying to get her husband to plan a vacation and he is giving it some thought.

LED rope lights upstairs at the cottage

Janie's mother-in-law is doing very well.  The nurse said today that she was complaining of back pain and so they gave her some pain medication and in a little while she was feeling great.  She has been laughing and joking with the staff and seems to be actually enjoying the group sessions.  Janie's husband and her brothers-in-law are planning to move their mother to a different nursing home.  They started the ball to rolling on that process this morning having a representative from the new nursing home, Greg Home in Kilgore, to evaluate her case to see if they can help her.  They come highly recommended and have a better rating than the nursing home she is in now. 
This weekend Janie helped her husband put up some new lighting in the upstairs of the cottage.  The old fixtures were only half working and needed to be replaced.  The new rope lights are out of the way and use far less energy. 

Naomi and her papa

Naomi and her parents came by for a visit at the cottage.  She is 4 months old now and is doing very well.  While Janie's husband was visiting with his brothers to discuss their mother's future Janie was visiting with Naomi.  Naomi's papa got there in time to hold her too.
Vacation time will have to wait for today for there are deadlines to meet and work that must be done.  God bless you.

The Report of my death was an exageration

My grandson Elijah, I know how he feels

In May of 1897 Mark Twain wrote these words "...the report of my death was an exageration."  I went on Facebook and left a comment that my mother's visitation was at 5:30 today.  This caused much angst among my Facebook friends.  They thought my mother had died and the visitation referred to one connected with her funeral.  I quickly set the record strait but had a good laugh at the various comments about near heart failure. 
Mother greeted us again with a big smile.  She was feeling good.  We talked for an hour and she shared an interesting story with us. It seems a woman about her age was trying to escape.  Mother said she was talking about needing to get home to her mother and father.  Mother asked her "How old is your father?" to which the woman replied "79."  Mother then asked her "Is he still alive?"  She answered "Yes."  Mother then asked her "How old are you?"  The woman replied "80."  Mother said "That makes you older than your father."  Mother said the woman calmed down and grew quiet.  Mother said she felt sorry for the woman.  She said "I hope I never get in that shape."   If this story is true I am very proud of my mother for reasoning with the woman trying to help her out. 
I worked all morning taking care of my duties as the clerk of the MBA of Texas.  I got a lot of work done and then hit an obstacle.  I have to get that problem dealt with soon because I am up against a deadline.  I had intended to work on the Song of Songs but that will now be tomorrow's project.  God bless you.

Its a Girl

My plumbers license from Janie's scrapbook

We found out today that our 12th grandchild is a girl.  She arrives in the month of May.  I love grandchildren.  Janie and I had a cold Monday.  We went to the nursing home to preach the services there.  There was a mix up and the services were not canceled after all. We were late missing the singing portion all except the last 2 verses of "Love Lifted Me."  It rained all day and was 44 degrees with about a 20 mile per hour wind.  The grave side service was very uncomfortable.  More than one person was shivering from the cold.  I kept the service short for the sake of those who had braved the weather to come to the service.  Tuesday we did not have ladies Bible study.  We did go down to Lorena and had a great visit and supper with our friends there.  It was a really good time. 

The fire feels good, suppose to get cold.

We left this morning to go to Kilgore to see my mother and talk with the staff.  Mother greeted us with a smile.  She was dehydrated and they were giving her IV fluids.  Her demeanor was very good but she is still very confused.  She is not eating much and drinking even less.  They will be keeping her several more days.  I plan to see her again tomorrow. 
I missed my class tonight.  I am sure it went well for I left it in very capable hands.  I need to type up my sermon for Sunday and look forward to doing that tomorrow.  God bless you.

A Smile

Janie's new wall hanging.

On Friday my mother had a mental breakdown and had to be taken to the mental hospital in Kilgore.  She refused to go at first and then consented to go but to a different hospital.  She refused to let the aide pack her clothes.  She got into the van and about halfway to the hospital, the one that she did not want to go to, she got out of her seat belt and tried to open the door of the van.  The driver had to stop and get her calmed down and back into her seat belt.  When she got to the hospital she refused to get off of the van.  They got one of the nurses to come out and talk to her and the nurse was able to persuade her to get out and go into the hospital.  Janie and I took her clothes to the hospital and left them with the nurses station.  We did not try to see her at that time, thought it best to let her get settled in first.

Janie doing one of her favorite things

On Saturday morning I called the hospital and they told me she had a UTI and they were starting antibiotics to treat that.  She called the charge nurse fat and told him to get out of her room.  Later he said she patted him on the back and asked him how he was doing.  He could tell she was already starting to feel better. 
I called the hospital again Sunday morning and I was excited to here them say she is smiling.  She is taking her meds and is cooperating with them.  I plan to call again in the morning to see how she is doing. 

I love winter in Texas!

We are planning to return to Henderson to see her on Wednesday.  I would like to talk to her doctor and hope that I will be able to do so.  My brother, Ralph, went by and cleaned up mother's room.  He put her pictures back on the wall and took away her three pairs of scissors.   It is my fear that she will, in about three months due to not drinking enough water, get another UTI and will start cutting her wander guard bracelet off again.  If that happens we will have to relocate her to a nursing home that can handle such patients.

The moon on Thursday

The services at church were good today.  The Song of Songs sermon went well.  The father of one our deacons passed away Saturday morning and I have been asked to preach his graveside service.  I have that sermon ready to go.  I was suppose to preach at the nursing home in the morning but that service has been canceled. 
We went by to see our granddaughter, Naomi, on Saturday.  She is a sweet little girl and we just don't see enough of her.  The same is true, really, of all our grandkids.  It would be nice to have them all just a little bit closer.  God bless you.

Autumn Leaves

The name of the nursing home where my mother resides is "Autumn Leaves."  Autumn leaves are colorful for a short time but then they turn brown and fall to the ground because Autumn leaves are near the end of their short lives.  Autumn leaves bring beauty into our world bringing a glorious end to summer and a loud start to winter.  When Autumn leaves winter sets in.  You can not leave Autumn Leaves, if you are a resident there, without permission.  Those that would do so must wear a bracelet that sounds an alarm whenever they get too close to leaving Autumn Leaves.  My mother can not remember many things.  She remembers well my running away from home at the age of 6 and her going to the end of the block to bring me back home.  She does not remember cutting at least 2 and probably 3 bracelets off of her arm.  Her calendar has X's, placed by her, on the days that have gone by and she has X-ed off through the 12th of January.  To her 12 days have gone by this year and not 6.  She confesses that she does not know most of the people in the pictures on her wall.  She knows her children of course and daughters-in-law but the grandchildren and great-grandchildren she knows but a few. 

Mother with her sons and daughters-in-law

Janie and I met with the nursing home department heads today to discuss the problem of mother not wearing the bracelet.  That meeting went well but when we met with mother afterward that did not go so well.  I left it up to Janie to reason with mother and though Janie was sweet and kind as she presented the problem to mother and much more diplomatic than I would have been she still got mad and upset.  She let the nurse put the bracelet back on but under protest.  When the nurse left mother refused to talk to us anymore.  She sat on her bed, knitting and crying, refusing to even look at us.  We left her to sulk.  I hope tomorrow when I go by she will be feeling better about all of this.  When we got back to the cottage I went out and with an ax chopped down several small Sweet gum trees.  It felt good.
Tomorrow Janie will spend time with her mother and I will do some work on the Song of Songs and then go over to see my mother. God bless you.

New Years Day 2

Janie's one student in her Sunday School Class. His name is Cole.

2012 arrived to find me in bed.  I had no desire to stay up until midnight on a Saturday night.  You can't go to bed that late and be at your best when you go to the house of the Lord to worship.  Our crowd was small at church Sunday morning but we had a better than usual attendance Sunday night.  We played a game Sunday night in our Auditorium pitting the kids against the adults in a Bible game.  The kids won.  Most everyone seemed to enjoy the game and it was nice to do something just a little different for a change.

Naomi at play

Today things were back to normal.  Monday is nursing home day for Janie and I.  I led the singing and preached a sermon from Psalms 85.  The sermon went a little long but the congregation did not seem to mind.  I love preaching there for the people are so eager to hear the Word of God preached.  After visiting with 4 of the residents there we went to lunch then visited the other nursing home in town.  It has been a long day.  I went over to the church this evening and visited with the instructor of a class on child raising.  She is teaching this class on Monday nights at our church and tonight she had no students so we visited a bit and then I returned to nursing home to check on one there who is near death.  I have been helping Janie with some wall decorating this evening and now it is time to head for bed.  She will still have to do her internet work but hopefully she won't have to be up long.  God bless you.