I TOLD FRANK I HAD FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT

The Tank and I were laying in bed the other night talking

about this and that.

One of the things I shared with him was that I had

 finally figured out Oprah's question that hadn't been

  weighing on my mind though I know

 she'd be so proud to know that I had finally figured it out.

I'm a stress eater.

But, I get ahead of myself...

Y'all know that mom moved to the ranch in the middle

of January this year for me to take care of her.

She moved here from a memory center

in Portage, Michigan, where she was residing because

she had onset vascular dementia.

So, we make it to the ranch a couple of weeks before

this............

drove up.

Oh, heavens, that was one big moving van. 

Before I became concerned as to how much room mom's

things were taking up inside the van, I derived a great

sense of satisfaction knowing that whomever was

driving by the ranch as this monster drove up the lane,

would be wondering why we were moving, where we

were moving, had we run out of money? goats?

Center Point is like so many other small towns in that respect.

The sight of this van driving up the lane would give

the old men that drink coffee at the local mini mart

great fodder. Still makes me smile when I think about it.

Here are some shots of mom's things.

Not all of them be any stretch, but, enough that you can

get an idea of what those men pulled out of that moving van.

Oh, the boxes.

The entire mess was supposed to fit into mom's

room - a really decent sized bedroom with a 

sitting area and attached bath. Lots of storage.

But, please! A whole house into a suite?

And, of course, she wanted to start going through

the boxes one...at...a...time, handling, touching,

caressing every...single...item...in...each...box.

This picture is of mom shortly after she arrived.

I remember when I looked at this photo that it struck

me as so odd -- my mom was "old", you know, 

a senior. I had never seen it in her before and 

maybe that's because she was never "sick" before, 

I don't know. But, though she looks different to me here, 

she's still beautiful and 85 this summer.

Mom has to use a walker to get around.

She is a bit frail and her sense of balance is

somewhat off. This is the safest way for her

to get around -- even when re-introducing herself

to the goats. 

So, mom has dementia, she's moved everything

she's ever owned to the ranch and

on top of that, after she had been here for a few 

weeks, she fell and sustained three hairline fractures

in these two bones that attach to the bottom of your

hips. Yeah.

Pain, such pain sitting, standing, sitting.

Nothing that can be done (in the way of surgery) 

and thank goodness she is almost healed and the

pain is lessening weekly because she has really been hurting.

However, even in the middle of hurting she manages to

dig out her sense of humor...the picture above is mom in

a sweat suit, hood up, topped by her heavy robe 

(and an asked for pathetic look) because she 

was/is/is always cold. Someone needs to tell her she's 

in south Texas now, not Michigan.

This picture was taken this Easter, just a couple of weeks ago.

We had just been to church to witness Blake, Clay and

their daddy's baptism (it was so cool).

Blake and Clay wanted a picture taken with Grammy once

we got home. Oh, and Sophie, too.

These are the moments I like to remember.

The ones I must remember to get through the

other moments that fill my days.

I remember growing up, into my adult years, always

fearful that one of my parents would get cancer and die.

The word "cancer" had always scared me and I could

picture having to live through one of my parents getting

sick with "the C word".

Never, however, did I or have I thought that one of my parents 

would develop dementia.

It's a condition that does no apparent 'physical' harm to the person

suffering from it because they don't know that there's

anything wrong. It's the children and all of those who love

my mom that have been the greatest affected.

She has moments with me where she will question "why"

in reference to her confusion and memory loss,

but, except for those moments, 

it's those of us that love her that are feeling

the most pain. And, I'm sure there are many of you

that can relate to that.

And to those of you that are the care givers or have been

the care giver, I know what you're feeling.

I know your frustration, your feelings of inadequacy,

your fear, your exhaustion, the pounds you've added

or the pounds you've lost, those moments of delight that

you share with your parent. I know all of it

and I pray for you as I hope you are praying for me

and all of the caregivers.

AN ALZHEIMER'S POEM

Do not ask me to remember

Don't try to make me understand

Let me rest and know you're with me

Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.

I'm confused beyond your concept

I am sad and sick and lost

All I know is that I need you

To be with me at all cost.

Do not lose your patience with me

Do not scold or curse or cry

I can't help the way I'm acting

Can't be different though I try.

Just remember that I need you

That the best of me is gone

Please don't fail to stand beside me

Love me until my life is done.

Amen.

SOMEONE GET THIS WOMAN A COMPASS!!

This is day two on my drive back home from Michigan.
I'm not ready to post about the trip yet, but I do have a funny story to tell and it's too long for Facebook, so y'all win:)

The day started out nicely - I grabbed my double espresso from the gas station while I filled the car, turned on my phone's GPS and headed out of town.
I had stayed in Hopkinsville, Tennessee, last night, and as I started out of town I was a little curious as to the route I was being sent on by Jana, my current GPS "girl".

You see, since my GPS voice is a woman's, I named my GPS after a woman in my family.....Oh, Jana isn't the first.....she's the third.
The first was Carly (after my niece) but it seems that "Carly" had a drinking problem and was continuously showing up to work drunk and unable to give me the correct directions.
So, as hard as it was, I fired her behind (felt kinda good). 
I hired "Mother" (after my mom) next and was to be disappointed yet again.
Seems she has a problem with the bubbly and I couldn't count on her either.

The hardest part was that in my new "safe" Tonka (Tonka yellow Nissan) I don't have a stinkin' compass. So, even if my GPS shows up to work sober, I STILL don't have my compass.
Would someone PLEASE buy me a compass for my new "safe" car??

.....Back to task - my newest GPS girl is Jana (after my DIL). She's been doing quite a good job and I've been very pleased. I really thought I had found a young adult with the sense of responsibility needed to be an effective GPS girl.
Well, it seems she has simply been able to hide a serious drug problem.....until today.
It took me TWO HOURS......................TWO. HOURS. .......................to get out of the Hopkinsville wilderness this morning.
Oh, I fired her before the first hour was over, I was so disappointed.
So, there I was with no GPS girl and no compass.
Are you seein' my problem??

I finally made my way out of the maze and headed south.
I'll continue the trip without a GPS girl as I mull over whom to hire next - I'm definitely going outside of the family.
The compass?? Well, seems I always think of one when I NEED one and that's in the middle of no where, so someone is going to have to buy this woman a compass!

The day picked up this afternoon when my little girl, Skyler, called to give me an update on her dog, Sooner.
Sooner had a 104 degree temperature and wouldn't walk on one of her legs yesterday so they (she and her husband, Brian) took her to the emergency clinic last night and got antibiotics and some pills or something for her.
Today Sooner is doing better.

Skyler said that when she came home at lunch that Sooner was standing up in her CRATE and barked a couple of times.
I said, "She's still in a crate??"

Skyler knows how I feel about crate training dogs - it's not my favorite thing (anyone that strongly disagrees with my stand should send all letters, emails and comments to Oprah).
I understand that sometimes it's necessary and Skyler and I tease back and forth about it.

Skyler said, "She's comfortable in the crate. She came to us crate trained and it keeps her out of trouble. She's got lots of room."

I said, "If you had a bird would you keep it in a cage??"

*L-O-O-O-O-O-O-NG MOMENT OF SILENCE*
..............and then we both bust out laughin'.

It was sooooo funny!
I don't know if you had to be there - you might think so if you have never heard me talk, but if you have then you can hear me sayin' all of that and maybe it would be funnier.
Oh, alright, I THINK it might be funnier to you because I thought it was cuh-razy funny when it happened.

So, that was my day.
That a glass of complimentary wine at the hotel when I got here.

Love you more!
   Jan

EARRINGS, EARRINGS, LOOK WHO'S MAKING EARRINGS

Hi, y'all! Believe it or not I'm stepping up and posting the first two pairs of earrings that I've made.............. ever.............. before.................. posting them for the entire world to critique.

I think I've lost my mind. But, I decided a bit ago that I needed to get back into jewelry making.

I have made grunge pendants in the past, about three years ago, and some charms for an Art-n-Soul retreat (a swap) several years ago.

Then, this last fall, my BFF, Molly Alexander, asked me to be in a jewelry swap. Actually, she didn't mention the word "jewelry" until I had said that I would love to be in a swap! She knows me well - if she would have mentioned "jewelry" I would have run for the hills!

Once again, God paves the path he wants me to go down. I am now making jewelry again and have started with some earrings. It's only fair that I share them with you - when I get them perfect *which they're not yet*, I'll list them in my Etsy shop so y'all can fight over who is going to get to buy them.

This top pair I made because I just loved those square turqouise stones. They have a light brown border which makes them look vintage to me. And the round stones I did some wire wrapping. I used silver wire with a copper center that should 'tarnish' with time which will give the earrings more of a vintage look. I also made the ear wires myself. They need to be shaped a bit more so they're exactly alike. I'll get right on that.

This pair (above) was made with beautiful flat round black obsidian stones *they really are so gorgeous* and a clear red glass bead that I just love. In between those two pieces is a small Petosky stone which is the Michigan state stone. 

Really. Michigan has a state stone. Odd, but so cool, because when we were kids we would go to Lake Michigan with the "diddy bags" my mom had made all of us kids and we would walk the beach looking for Petosky stones. When they're shined up or under water they have the most amazing markings that you can see. (When I found these stones at the bead shop on sale I was so excited!) So, anyway, that's the smallish tan stone between the two larger stones.

I also made the ear wires - wire wrapping and all - do I rock or what? heehee

Thanks for taking a few minutes and reading about my new adventure.

If you want to leave some CONSTRUCTIVE critizism, I welcome it!!

Happy New Year, y'all!! I hope that 2010 turns out to be even better than 2009!

God bless you,

Jan

A RECIPE FROM MICHIGAN THAT IS QUESTIONABLE AT BEST...heehee

Actually, that's not entirely true..........the title of this post.
The recipe I'm going to share with you IS from Michigan and it WOULD be questionable if it wasn't my mother's recipe (she's a great cook).

The reason it would be questionable is because it's a recipe for Beef-Bean ENCHILADAS and everyone knows that you can't get decent enchiladas in Michigan.............. (please send all complaint letters for that crack to Oprah)

Mom's BEEF-BEAN ENCHILADAS

1 1/2 # ground beef, crumbled (which, in Texas, would mean that you could use axis meat and, also, we wouldn't put "crumbled" in the recipe - that should be a given. Uh, duh.)
1 onion, chopped (I feel I need to tell you that in Texas we would use a red onion - just in case you're a northerner making this dish)
1 - 1# can refried beans (Now, I would buy the refried beans with jalapenos. We can get those in Texas, but I'm not sure you can get them with jalapenos up north or that you could stand them even if you can find them.)
1 t. salt

1/8 t. garlic powder (Now, here's where I have to ask, "why bother?")

1/2 C. canned or bottled TACO sauce (never heard of it, actually. Might just be a Yankee thing. If I can't find it in Texas, I'll use Enchilada sauce.)

1 C. pitted chopped black olives ("pitted"? ya think???)

2 - 10 oz. cans of enchilada sauce (sure hope you can find that taco sauce)

Salad oil

12 corn tortillas (For those of you that are true Yankees, like my sister, Joan, you tend to pronounce this "tor-teel-yas". Now, as I've told Joan, on more than one occasion, that makes her sound purely stupid. The correct pronunciation is "tor-tee-ahs". Practice)

Oh, and, fyi, my family prefers to use flour tortillas and not just because it makes the recipe easier for me to fix either (you don't soften the flour tortillas in oil).

3 C. shredded cheddar cheese (Ladies. Ladies. Ladies. You don't use cheddar cheese when making Mexican food. You use shredded AMERICAN CHEESE. You buy it in a block at the deli and shred it by hand. See??? Kinda scary recipe, huh.)

In a frying pan, saute ground beef and onions until the meat is browned and onions are soft. Stir in beans, salt, garlic powder, taco sauce, and olives; heat until bubbly.

Pour about half of the enchilada sauce into a greased 9 X 13" pan.

If you're using corn tortillas, pour oil into a frying pan big enough to fit a corn tortilla.

Heat and dip tortillas, one at a time, in hot oil to soften; drain quickly and blot with paper towels.

Place about 1/3 up of the meat mixture on each tortilla and roll to enclose filling.

Place, seam sides down, into sauce in pan.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over tortillas; cover with cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

When you serve these, mom always has garnishes - olive slices (redundant), chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream and picante sauce (NOT Pace. Please.)

These really are good.

Thank goodness mom has a southern Texas daughter, huh.

So.

Let me know if you like my mom's Enchiladas (in-chee-lah-das - heehee)!

We're leaving in the morning for Texas - PRAISE GOD! - and when we get home, this is probably what Frank's going to want for supper very soon after my arrival - I'll bet he hasn't had any since I left five weeks ago unless my BFF made him some!

So.

Since I don't have a picture of Mexican food, this dish in particular, or a lady cooking, I'm letting you see my kitchen where I'll be fixin my enchiladas this weekend.

I can't wait!!

Thanks for reading my post, ladies. I do so love you!

XOXO,

. . . . . Jan

NOT SNOW, NOR SLEET........

Just a quick note to let you know that I made it to my mother's late this afternoon!
Oh, don't let the casual tone of my voice fool you.
I could have been killed!

I was quite fine until I got to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on my way to my sister, Joan's, last night.
Then I could see snow on the ground, it was really windy so snow was blowing across the highway and I couldn't see the road at times and I was driving in the dark.
A lone woman.

I got to Angola where my sister lives and then I almost hit an unsuspecting car stopped at a light.
Oh, it wasn't that I was traveling too fast for the conditions or texting while drove (I'm too old to even try). I drive a convertible and I told Frank the Tank that my car was too light to drive in the snow.

I was right.

But, God loves me so much he got me to mom's this afternoon.
Oh, once again, my casual tone is deceiving.
I could have been killed.
It was snowing so hard that sometimes everything looked white.

And it's cold up here.
I wanna go home.
I'm holding off my final opinion that you have got to be nuts to live in this weather until I've been here a bit longer.
You see, I grew up here until I left for college in Oklahoma in '71.
But, I'm thinking old people should all live in Texas.
In fact, we've got our guest house for rent.
If you're old, then you should seriously consider moving to Texas.
You can live on the ranch with us.
It was 75 there today.

I've got wonderful pictures of purchases I made in an antique mall in Noblesville, Indiana, on the way up here.
I'll get them posted tomorrow:)

XOXO,
. .
. . .

MISSOURI - AMERICA'S VACATION STATE???

Okay, before you start reading this you must take two things into consideration.
One, I'm really tired.
And, two, I'm really tired.
Oh, wait.
I already said that. LOL
Okay. Two, if you live in Missouri or hold it dear to your heart for whatever reason, read this in the spirit that it's written - I'm just going for a laugh and, actually, I could be writing about many different states that I've driven through in the past...

As my blog followers and friends know, I'm driving to Michigan to get my mom and bring her back to the ranch for a few months like we did last winter.
The difference this year is that I've packed most of my studio, including my Lollishop listings, in my trunk because I'll be dog sitting my sister's dog, Mo, for four weeks (you read that right - long story and you'd be bored) while she's in Florida before mom and I start back for the ranch. I'll have lots of time to work!

Anyway, today I hit Missouri and I declare, I'm on the tollroad and the minute I cross into Missouri from Oklahoma, it was like vacationer's Hell.
Missouri - America's vacation state??...........
you be the judge. LOL

Billboards...........lots of billboards, advertising all there is to do - how does anyone get through this state???

PRECIOUS MOMENTS MUSEUM - The first billboard I saw.
What do I do???
Do I stop?
How do I NOT stop?

SNAKE WORLD ZOO - If I stop, I can die happy.

XXX ADULT VIDEO SUPERSTORE - Do they have motels close by???
I could hit the Precious Moments Museum first, then XXX and walk across the parking lot to my motel.

WALNUT BOWL FACTORY - I can always use another bowl and these are wooden.

COZY COFFEE CORNER AT CALICO COUNTRY - Cozy coffee? We do not have that in Texas. Might be worth a stop...

WORLD'S LARGEST GIFT STORE - Christmas shopping early.
I wonder how big their gag section is?

So, I had some fast thinking to do............
stop???
keep driving???
stop???
keep driving???

And then I saw a Motel 6.

XOXO,
. .

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU PUT TOGETHER A BLANKET, FLARES, EXTRA WATER BOTTLES AND A CHARGED CELL PHONE???

What do you get when you put together a blanket, flares, extra water bottles and a charged cell phone?
Me.

Me and my really light weight convertible driving from south Texas *leaving today* to Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Snow storms, blizzards, really cold weather (lower than FORTY!!), black ice, truckers that really should have stopped hours ago for a nap on the interstate with me.....oh, my, that certainly doesn't sound right!

What I meant was that I'm on the interstate with truckers that should have stopped hours ago for a nap.

Not a nap with me.

Just a nap alone in their truck so that they don't fall asleep at the wheel and my car becomes their extra axle. (I think I know what an axle is so that crack should have worked...)

So, there you have it! I'm on my way to Michigan, laptop in hand so as to keep you up to date on all of the excitement on the way, while I'm there for FOUR *stinkin* weeks (another post), and the drive home.

Bringing mom back with me like I did last year. What a blast!! We do have fun!

So, until later, keep those prayers comin' for travel safety and I'll keep you abreast (still thinkin' about that trucker) of the adventures I happen upon on my way up north!

Loveyoumeanit.

You're the best!!

(oh, and not to worry, I'm takin' the giveaway with me:) It's all packaged up and ready to go out to the "winn'ah"!)

Hey, I'm taking all of my precious (leaving the stupid ones home) Valentines with me that are listed in my Lollishop.

Go order something.

I may need the money to pay the tow truck to pull my little lightweight convertible out from under than sleepy trucker!

.

Blessing to you all,

.

XOXO,

.

"praiseGod,praiseGod,praiseGod"

Hi, my precious friends and family, my faithful prayer warriors, and all of you that voted for McCain. (I'm kidding, you sillies)

We'll start this post with a picture of my mother *going through her Publisher's Clearinghouse tree*
(get it? the trees they waste putting all of those packets together? Junk mail - another post...). She's home! She feels like sitting up and reading, she's eating and drinking (water - I'm drinking Boones Farm) JK!
If we keep her on her pain med schedule then she doesn't get a headache! woooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

I was so happy when I saw my mom the morning after her *brain* surgery and saw how wonderful she looked compared to the night before {just after her surgery} that the words just popped out of my mouth - "I'M SO HAPPY!" when I saw her.
I was just so stinkin' happy! God is so good! I knew that he would fix everything, that he would heal my mother, but to have him do it per my request [heehee], uh-hum, in such a wonderful way was, well, all I can say is, "PRAISE GOD!" Remember my first post? "pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease"?
We're a far cry from that with, "praiseGodpraiseGodpraiseGodpraiseGod"! PRAISE GOD!!

Through all of this I was stressed from sitting, sitting, sitting at the hospital waiting, waiting, waiting for doctors, didn't get very good sleep *or enough*, concerned that the doctors weren't communicating with each other [don't get me started], determined to keep up with my blog posts for those of y'all that I knew were praying and checking for updates - you get it.
But not once, never, did I doubt God, loose my faith, waver in my belief that God was in charge no matter what his will. My mom was in the best of hands - His - and now she's home and doing fabulously.

The neurosurgeon drilled two holes in her skull and drained out approximately 1/4 cup of f-l-u-i-d. *gagging*
The night of the surgery, after mom had been moved into ICU, she had a honkin' headache ("I know!!") and it was pretty spooky looking down at her in her bed in the darkened room where we were told "no cell phones, no noise". Needless to say, my brother and sisters and I didn't stay long.
Flash forward to the next morning. . . ."I'M SO HAPPY!"

So. The next day, that would be yesterday, mom is being released - *happy dance*.
It's going to be a while before the paper work is finished and she can leave and Jean's at the hospital so. . . . . .Joan and I make a quick run to the antique mall in downtown Kalamazoo and I managed to get a hit, a fix.
These things below are just a few of the precious treasures that I found. Check out that sweet girl, and that small square box thing with the vintage ribbon. Those black dots are straight pins, and then there are the vintage baby shoes *I hope to make into pin cushions*, oh, and that fabric children's book, and the pink floral hat with pink netting, and that beautiful vintage hankie.
I wish you could have been there. I had goosebumps.

I just must show you a close-up of the vintage hankie. Isn't it gorgeous?
I found about a half dozen white vintage hankies there with beautiful needle work. Again, goosebumps.

One more thing and I'll stop talking! {I think because I'm getting to talk about something other than p-u-s and s-c-a-b-s that I'm a bit giddy}
Okay, these vintage Valentines were THE FIND OF THE DAY!
About 20 of them, all precious and all priced at, well, I just can't say it. It's obscene.
Wanna guess???
Hmmmm. Okay, I'm tired and wanna go to bed and read. Tomorrow will be here before I know it!
Oh, and fyi, I was supposed to be home yesterday, but, changed my plane reservations and will be staying with my mother until the 20th. That's two more weeks.
Please don't forget me - I'll need some type of stimulation other than a med schedule, taking mom's blood pressure 3X a day, doctor's appointments, walking to the mailbox and back every day for mom's exercise, cooking (okay, heating up what Joan cooked and froze), watching Law and Order re-runs day after day, and counting my blessings - I need y'all to keep me mindful of my studio and that it WILL be waiting for me when I go home.
Oh, and Frank the Tank??? He misses me terribly - says it's boring without me. Hope that doesn't change! LOL


XOXO,

MY MOTHER, MY FRIEND

I've been wrestling all day with sharing some things with y'all - before I get into all of that, look at this photo. It's my mother. She has always thought that she looks like a boy in this picture, but I think she looks like, well, like 'her'. And, look closely - you can see that she's holding the locket on the necklace around her neck.
Of course, I love this picture. I adore it.
What I've been wrestling with is sharing with y'all how bad yesterday really was for me. I have been skimming over my feelings about all that has happened to my mother when posting because
I am quite aware that I'm not the first one to deal with an elderly (she would kill me for using that word! LOL) parent's health issues.
So, why should I give what I'm going through credence by blogging about it, by telling y'all?
I decided that I should because, first of all, there are those of you that haven't dealt with aging parents and health issues and maybe what I'm going through can help you in some way.
And, also because this is my blog, my diary of sorts, and I can write about what I want to write about - ewww, a little attitude caused by stress. LOL

Yesterday was hard in that it was another day of watching my mom act like she's on morphine.
Which she is, I know that.
I'm not THAT stressed.
Watching her doze, see things that aren't there (a bug - oh gosh, if there really was a bug there, please let it not be a june bug), doze, refuse to eat, doze, drink very little, doze, and for some reason, yesterday she had to go to the bathroom (or felt like she did) at least 12 times during the day.
It was an exhausting day though not that unusual of one since I got here on Tuesday night.

So, when the night nurse got here at 10:30, I went to bed very willingly.
I read for a long bit (Water for Elephants - it's soooooo good), crunched my nightly glass of ice as I read (pure heaven), finished reading, turned out the light and settled down into the soft bed under the fluffy comforter (remember, I'm in Michigan where it's already winter).
Ohhhh, it felt so good.
I said my nighttime prayers which I usually fall asleep saying and laid there thinking about the day and all that my mom had been going through.
It was then that I started to sob.
I just started sobbing. No warning. No toilet paper.
I cried for what seemed like forever, but, in reality, just long enough to soak my pillow, puff my eyes completely closed and impact my nose with snot.
I was so sad.
It hurts me so badly to see my mom not be my mom. Does that make sense?
And, I am well aware that I'm not the first, nor will I be the last, adult child to go through this. . . .so, when your best friend, or a person that goes to your church, or a neighbor, goes through something like this, pray really hard for them.
Pray for them, cook for them, why aren't you cooking for me?, help take care of their family, hug them, and do favors for them without having to first be asked.

Y'all have been so wonderful to me - your post comments and your emails.
Thank you for caring enough about me to care about my mother.

love,

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008

MOM UPDATE:
mom is doing so much better today! she actually did quite well yesterday, also. She's been eating some (praise God), focusing, watching a bit of television(we just finished watching The Price is Right - it reminded me of the boys when they were young - they loved that show.), visiting, had a bath, and is wearing clothes instead of p.j.'s today!
I'm so excited about how she looks and is acting.

Praise God and thank you for praying.

And, after I finish this post p.s., i'm going to find that paper and glitter i brought with me! woooooooo hoooooooo!!!
I am so blessed with my family and friends. All y'all have been so darling. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers. Just keep on prayin'!

xoxo, jan

"Thank you, Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you"

Hi, dear friends and family! I thought you might like an update on my mother's medical situation. . . . .but, first let's talk about ME:)


I have so much to be thankful for. . . .mom's progress *which we'll get to in a minute*, the fact that I was able to come to Michigan to be with her [because I'm married to the amazing Frank the Tank] and y'all, for your prayers.
Prayer works and mom's progress is a testament to that!!
Thank you, my sweet, sweet friends and family, for taking the time to pray for my mother.
Keep praying - it's working, but, she's far from recovered so we've got aways to go.


This first picture is of mom in the E.R. after her fall.

I always have my camera with me, but I'm not sure I would have been thinking along the lines of taking pictures in the emergency room! LOL! But, my sister, Jean, did - she thought I might want to scrapbook all of this.
Hmmmm, doesn't know me as well as I thought!!
I cannot look at this picture. No. No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no,no.

Eileen bought this little plush in the hospital gift shop - it looks JUST LIKE mom's maltese, Sophie. Oh, my, gosh, mom was thrilled! She kept that little Sophie wannabe at her side her entire hospital stay. Bless her heart!

This good lookin' thing is her favorite doctor, Dr. Rogers. She adored him and he took such good care of her in the hospital - he's now her *new* cardiologist:)

Would you believe this is her second day in the hospital???

"I KNOW!"

It looks like a Mickey D's birthday party! All they were missing was the ball pit!

She had a big smile, enjoyed her best friend *who brought the food*, and that 1/2 of a wee bitty cheeseburger she ate.

Heck, that's the most she's eaten since then!

Right now my sister, Jean, is having her drink an Ensure which she is doing quite obediently.

That's because Jean told her that the doctor called and said that she had to drink it......all of it.

JEAN LIED TO MY MOTHER!!

But, that's just fine with me - she drank it! LOL

Trust me. She is SO on morphine! She's crackin' me up, but it's not funny!

Bless her heart, I hate to see her loopy.

However, the first time I said that, my sisters were like in my face......"It's soooo much better than listening to her whimper in her sleep because the pain's so, so bad."

The picture below is one I took yesterday, my first day here.

I call this look her "Morphine Smile".

That's about it for today. Thanks, y'all for all you've been doing - the cards, calls and most of all, the prayers. They're working! That much you can see for yourself just by reading this post.

And, I know that she will continue to improve and will be completely healed, all accoring to God's will.

I have to tell you that the hardest part of this was, first, being in Texas when all of this happened last Wednesday and the following days, and now that I'm here???

It's so hard to see my mom incapacitated. I know a lot of you have already been through this kind of thing, that I'm not the first, but it's still hard.

I was thinking late last night about how this is like taking care of my babies those many years ago and here I am taking care of my mother like I took care of them. I hate it. . . .where's that vibrant, laughing, *fast moving without a walker* woman that I talked to on the phone two weeks ago?

I think about it, cry, go to sleep and get up the next morning ready to be Nurse Jannie another day - and, it's all good because God's in charge, you're praying, I'm with mom and mom's BFF cooked dinner:)

XOXO,

"pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease"

"pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.", was all I could whimper.

". . . . . .I am glad that God promises that his Spirit interprets for us when all we have in us is prayers like these. . . . ." (Jay Dozier, my friend and pastor)


I will pray for you at any time for any reason.
If you've got something sad, hard, depressing or tough, I'll be right there with the right words and the right spirit.

Until my precious mother fell backwards, knocked herself unconcious and literally, for real, cracked her skull and incurred a hematoma. A hematoma is blood between the skull and the brain causing pressure that gives you a killer headache estimated to last for approximately two weeks - that's the way this was explained to me).
This happened last Wednesday and landed her in ICU two thousand miles away from me.

Then, all I could pray, all I could whimper, was "please" and at times, "nononononononononono...".

Jay said it so well when he said, "Our individual cries for help are perfectly suitable. And when we link our cries for help with those who love the Lord, we are more able to see him working all things out for the good for those who love him."

I'm asking you now, if I haven't asked you already, to pray with me for my mother. My heart bleeds to hear my sister(s) tell me how she whimpers in pain, how she begs for more pain medicine.
It's been so hard being so far away.
I've not been afraid for my mother's healing because I know God is taking care of her, but, I am suffering along with her because I am so, so far away during this horrible time.

It's been scary news, bad news, then good news, then bad news, then good news.
We're back to the bad news.
Mom started out in ICU, was sent home, her headache was totally unmanageable and she was taken back to the ER in the early hours this morning.
She's been re-admitted to the hospital and will probably be there through Tuesday. They've changed her pain meds *yet again* and hopefully this marriage will work and she will receive some relief from the excruciating pain in her head.
If that happens, she'll get to go back home *under 24/7 care*.

If it doesn't, ohhhhh, this is so hard to say.
If it doesn't, she'll very likely be put in a nursing facility (I will not say "home" because the only way I am going to let her go, is fighting tooth and nail) until the pain is manageable, gone,
whatever.

Jean, Eileen and Joan have been there with mom since last week. They all have committments and jobs and families, so I am flying out on Tuesday (this Tuesday) and unless something changes and I need to stay longer, I'll be with my mom for two weeks.

I have custom orders to fulfill and holiday pieces to create, but I work well under pressure:) I should be back by November 4th, so I should be okay with "my job". *giggle*

So. There you go, dear friends. I'm counting on you to be praying for my sweet mother.
Oh, and for those of you that don't know what caused her to black out, it was her blood pressure. It dipped and she lost it.

If she had my butt, it would have hit the floor first instead of her head and we wouldn't be going through all of this. That's how I see it.



XOXO,